Introduction

The nostalgia days of 5th Edition where the enemy automatically took a -3 on their reaction test if Huns were within 150 paces may never return, but nevertheless the table top fortune of the Huns has improved somewhat under DBM compared to 6th and 7th Edition. This article is a follow on from my series on the Huns, and covers gaming with the Huns under DBM.

Why Hun?

If you like armies of fluid movements, rapid strikes, and feigned flights, then the Hunnic army is for you. It has an abundance of superior light horse, and enough allied troop types to prevent it from becoming a one-dimensional army. It can also be used as a core for a Patrician Roman army, an Alan army, a Hsiung-Nu army, or another similar steppe nomad army.

Going Native

Prior to 375 AD, the Huns were light armed horse archers, and a pre-375 army should be composed almost exclusively of light horse. Such an army can be problematic on the wargames table if your opponent is cautious and anchors his flank on suitable terrain or otherwise guards his flanks. Under such circumstances, the Hun general typically needs a long game in which to work around a flank or perhaps lure a part of the enemy's line away from its support. The four to five hours needed is usually not affordable in a competition or an evenings club gaming, but can lead to an interesting friendly game where time is available.

It may be worth considering using a sacrificial command if you are playing against an enemy whose flanks are secure and who will not march out to meet you. The whole enemy line must be put under pressure so that the opponent does not have spare PIPs. A smallish Hunnic command is allowed to become demoralized. The enemy's troops near the demoralized command are then considered impetuous and he must now expend PIPs on holding them. If you put enough pressure on his line he will not have these PIPs available and his troops will roll forward in the (mistaken) belief that they have won. You will of course need to maintain a small reserve to pick off the pursuing elements.

The First Conquests

This covers the period from period 374 AD to 432 AD (pre Attila's reign). For an open game or a competition this is my favourite sub-period. Apart from being able to take even more superior light horse in the form of Alans, you also get some other goodies. These are in the form of Sciri or Herul subjects and Gepids, all of which are optional. The Sciri and the Gepids have the equivalent of gold dust to a Hunnic army: light infantry. True, you have to take fast knight types, but these give the Hunnic army some punch. I usually also take the Gepids, but use the mounted arm-- the foot (Wb(S) plus Ps(O)) are too difficult to control.

In most armies an ally general is a dubious asset because of his propensity of turning out to be unreliable at least 66.7% of the time, despite the mathematics telling us that he will only be unreliable 33 and 1/3 percent of the time. In a Hunnic army, I'm usually quite happy for the ally to start unreliable because it means that I don't loose control of the Gepid cavalry too soon. Any dice roll higher than a 2 in the opening few turns are usually used to halt the Gepid cavalry. I usually take the minimum elements of Gepids, that is, seven elements including the allied general. The Gepids are intended to strike against enemy cavalry or auxilia. Alternatively, they can be used as a sacrificial command intended to lure an enemy away from its main body. After all, allies are meant to be sacrificed!

Usually, a Gepid ally still allows the Huns to deploy three Hunnic commands. At least one of these commands is a "micro" command of four elements, with the general deployed as LH(S). It is this command that gets sent on flank marches, or wide turning movements on-table. The cardinal rule for the command is to remain in one group. If faced by superior forces, it hovers just outside the enemy's charge reach.

Otherwise it goes for an exposed flank or (joy of joys!) the baggage.

The remaining two commands get the bulk of the Hunnic light horse. The C-in-C is allocated the three Noble elements, deployed as superior cavalry. These act as your main reserve. It is worth taking the three Sciri/Herul light infantry; even better if you get to deploy them in ambush. Usually their main function is to contest some difficult terrain. They are unlikely to win, their job being to dispute a key terrain piece long enough to allow the cavalry to do the main job of defeating the enemy.

If you take the Sciri/Herul foot, you are required to take between one and four elements of associated cavalry (Kn(F)). On first glance these appear to be a liability.

However, instead of deploying them with the C-in-C and spending PIPs trying to hold them in reserve, it might be worth simply aiming them at the enemy and letting them go early in the game. A friend of mine uses this tactic with two elements of Norman Knights in a Byzantine army. They eventually get destroyed, but they often cause far more havoc that can be achieved with double the number of light horse in the same circumstance.

Attila's Allies

The traditional tabletop weakness of the Huns is the total lack of light troops to contest terrain. Under the old, old sixth edition lists the only way to get any light infantry was to take the optional infantry which were, unfortunately, D grade and not much use to anyone. Under the DBM lists, the optional infantry are reasonable, but the quid pro quo is that they are usually under the command of an ally general.

I'm not totally convinced by the ally status of the subjugated tribes during Attila's lifetime. While I accept that they were less integrated into the Hun's military hierarchy than, say, the Alans, I'm not away of any ally threatening insubordination on the battlefield. Of course, after Attila's death the allies became much more uncertain. In fact, many allied tribes revolted after Attila died and eventually the erstwhile allies defeated the Huns at the Naedo River. Putting aside this minor glitch, the use of the full allied contingent can make for an interesting army. And besides, not many people will expect a Hun army to be stuffed full of warband.

Tactics

I tend to deploy the Hunnic commands in two lines (except any "micro" command, which either gets deployed as a single group or sent off on a flank march). The first line advances as rapidly as practical with the intention of harassing the opposing enemy troops. Light cavalry, psiloi, and auxilia should be engaged. Against most other troop types you should simply remain outside charge reach.

If you have any allied cavalry (i.e. Kn(F) types) these should attempt to engage enemy cavalry, cataphracts, or auxilia. Your impetuous allied cavalry will need to be closely supported by Hun cavalry since they tend to have trouble providing themselves with local reserves.

The second line acts as a local reserve. Sections of the line move forward in column to weak points in the enemy line, to exploit a gap; or to replace losses in the first line.

Generals are almost invariably deployed in the second line, and should only engage in combat later rather than sooner. They are needed for command and control purposes, not for the plus one that is generated in a melee. For this reason, I often take my sub-generals as light horse rather than as cavalry.

The most problematic troops types Huns may face include bows, elephants, and double ranked cavalry. If you can isolate the bows or elephants you stand some chance in melee, but in general all you can do is remain outside their charge reach and spend PIPs reforming a skirmish line in front of them. The main advantage is that the Hunnic horse have more manoeuvrability than the opposing bows or elephants.

Double ranked cavalry can be difficult because they are almost as fast and manoeuvrable as the Hun cavalry, and they stand a high chance of inflicting a kill on Huns in melee. The best thing to throw against double ranked cavalry are you allied cavalry (Kn(F) types).

Finally, remember that in using Huns on the table you should try to emulate their reputation as the "Scourge of God". That means flank marches, ambushes, wide sweeps, sudden pushes through gaps in the enemy line, rapid strikes. In a competition you can always try demanding a huge sum of money, in gold bullion naturally, to not attack your opponent (which you may or may not honour should your opponent pay up).

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© Copyright 1996 by Terry Gore

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