Introduction

Many many moons ago, in the days of a now-mystical set of rules called WRG 6th Edition, an Australian wargaming friend of mine who likes taking eccentric armies to competitions announced that he was going to be using Sarmatians. "Sarmwhat?" was my reaction as I hastily grabbed the army lists which revealed an army consisting entirely of shieldless lance-and-bow armed heavy cavalry. Rubbish! I decided. Well, my friend went on to win the competition and prove me wrong.

Since then I have always had an interest in the Sarmatians, but could never quite bring myself to building up such a one dimensional army. I did some reading of the background to the Sarmatians (there ain't much around) to find that they were a set Iranian tribal groups who originated in the area north of the Caspian between the Don and the Aral in the 5th century BC. To the north were the Finns, to the west were the Scyths, to the east the Sakas, and to the south the Persian and then later the various Greek and Greek-influenced kingdoms.

By the 2nd century BC the Sarmatians had driven the out or largely destroyed the Scyths to leave them in control of the Russian steppes. At this point they are divided into three tribal groups: the Iazygians, the Roxalani, and the Alans. The Bosporan Greek colonies in and around the Crimea also came under Sarmatian influence and the nobles fought as Sarmatian-style cavalry.

Enter the Romans

At this point Rome entered the arena from stage left and came into contact with the Sarmatians, remaining in contact with them for several centuries. Eventually the various Sarmatian nations were absorbed by the Germanic nations in the 3rd century BC or pushed aside by the westward sweep of the Huns around 375 AD.

The Sarmatians According to DBM

The DBM lists classify the Sarmatians as irregular fast knights - Kn(F). Although the Sarmatians carried a bow their propensity to charge to contact using the lance makes this a reasonable classification. The early Rhoxolani Sarmatians was more lightly armed with helmets and cuirasses of raw oxhide, wicker shield, light spears, bows and swords. They are classified as irregular cavalry - Cv(O) - due to their reliance on bow and light spear instead of the immediate charge. Sarmatian infantry are recorded as being 'sometimes numerous but never much use'. They are usually classed as missile armed light infantry - Ps(O), although the early Rhoxolani are allowed to deploy the peasants as archers - Bw(I). There are some lighter armed horse archers allowed - LH(F) - presumably representing adolescents who aren't yet old enough to fight in the main battle line or who are too poor to afford the heavier equipment needed.

The Sarmatians have an a relatively high aggression factor of 3 [attitude: charge first, ask questions later] so they will tend to be on the attack in a game. The Alans are treated as a separate list but can appear as allies in a Sarmatian army.

Building the Army

The fast knight is a decisive but sometimes brittle instrument. They can be effective against cavalry or light horse wings and against some troop types, particularly lighter types such as psiloi or auxilia. They can also die in great numbers under unfavourable circumstances. When organising the army you should keep this in mind. A command, of say, sixteen elements of Sarmatian knights with no other troop types in it looks impressive. Unfortunately, if it loses six elements it runs away and the remaining ten elements become expensive deserters. Therefore it is necessary to bolster the Sarmatian nobles with what I call "stocking-fillers". These are cheap troops that make up the numbers. If, for example, a command consists of 22 EE but only 10 Sarmatian knights, then you can afford to lose seven nobles and still keep on fighting, even with most knights lost.

I work on the principle of 'never mind the quality, feel the width'; therefore buy as many of the cheap troops as possible. In the Later Sarmatian army (book 2, list 26) this consists of 6 elements of horse archers, LH(F), and 10 elements of peasant psiloi, Ps(O). I tend to combine these elements with the majority of the nobles, Kn(F), in the CinC's command. I then take two very small commands of nobles (usually 4 elements each, including the sub-general). The final command consists of about 7 or 8 elements of Alan light horse, LH(S). If playing with armies of around 325 AP then drop one of the small command.

On the Table

The small sub-general commands act as a reserve and/or to support one wing of the main command. The Alans support the other wing of the main command. Their job is to protect the flank of the main command and keep away flanking light horse who try unmanly tactics like lapping around flanks and inducing impetuous pursuits.

There is no point is pussy footing with the main command. It consists of good ol' boys and has no other purpose than to ride down the enemy, preferably on turn one if possible, but turn two is okay. The peasants can be used to contest any rough terrain, but aren't expected to win. Remember, its not good to have the peasants win; they might get ideas above their station. The light horse can be used as a second line behind the knights as they are sensible and will hold station, unlike their impetuous betters.

This is not a subtle army. It is an army that will attempt to bludgeon the enemy to submission. However, charging headlong into pikes, elephants, spears, bows, or psiloi-backed legionaries will usually loose you the game. So you have to try and be cunning. That means positioning your main command carefully. Since you are usually the attacker you will get to see where the enemy's main command is deployed. Insist on playing weather rules if at all possible - with a bit of luck enemy naval or bow elements may be adversely affected. Send one (or both) small commands on a flank march, or if defending put it in ambush behind a hill. If fighting against elephants or bows bring the peasants forward to screen the knights. If fighting pikes try and match the light horse against the pike block. When deploying and moving commands during the early phase of the game always assume at least one command per turn will roll a 1. That means the impetuous nobles in each command must be capable of advancing straight ahead 200 paces. Remember, with impetuous troop you need to be ready to advance 'em or loose 'em.

Its a Bit One Dimensional, Isn't It?

True. But there is hope. The Later Sarmatian army can actually be used to metamorphose into several related armies. The first costume change is to the Early Rhoxolani Sarmatian list (book 2, list 25). Most mounted troops are classed as cavalry, although some can be deployed as noble knights. The generals are all as loony as ever, but you do get more peasants and they can be deployed as either psiloi or inferior bows. This army can be useful in the Hellenistic period against wall-to-wall spears and pikes. The cavalry cancel out the pikes as the cavalry just bounce off the pike wall. Small groups of nobles commanded by a general can be used to strike weak points and the foot bows can be used to drive light horse away from vulnerable flanks and/or to support the nobles. If nothing else you can enjoy the look of glee fall away from your opponent's face who, after arming himself to the teeth with pikes and elephants, realises that your mounted arm isn't going to dash itself to pieces on his infantry shield-wall.

In building the army there is little you need to add to the original Sarmatian army - some bows are needed. Although the early Sarmatian cavalry did look different from their later cousins, you can get away with a careful selection and grouping of figures on the bases - class the nobles with horse armour as nobles, but all other elements should be without horse armour and can be classed as cavalry.

How's Your Greek?

The second transformation is to the Bosporans (book 2, list 24). It has two features that make it unique, and well suited to competitions. The first is a very low aggressions factor of zero (attitude: we come in peace; charge at will). The second is a multitude of auxilia and light infantry types to choose from. Most people seem to like the superior Thracian auxilia, but I like the cheaper ordinary Maiotian auxilia. Initially I tended to minimise the infantry and maximise the nobles, but now I reverse this trend. If defending I go for a maximum of rough terrain (vineyard, scrubby hills, the occasional difficult hill or village) and deploy as much as possible in ambush. Your opponent is usually expecting an ambush, but he can be surprised when one ambush consists of 20 auxilia, the next consist of 10 psiloi, and the third consists of 4 elements of peltasts. I think of it as swarm tactics, a sort-of variant of the old space invaders game.

This possibility allows for a defensive deployment of the knights with an aggressive deployment of the infantry. The biggest group of nobles, under the CinC, should be held back in the centre. It's job is to entice the enemy's strike troops against it and/or to pin the opponents centre. Often the game is decided by the infantry struggle in the rough terrain, with the nobles making contact on the flanks or in support of the auxilia in order to maintain the pressure along the enemy line.

Alan Who?

The final option is Alan (book 2 list 58). This is a Huns-with-attitude list (never mind that when it came to the crunch the Huns came out tops). You get lots of superior light horse backed up by noble knights. Since your generals can be either light horse or knight then control need not be an issue. You get the usually smattering of peasant light infantry with the option of taking some axemen. They also have a relatively low aggressing factor of 1 (attitude: make my day punk - invade me!).

Charge Now, Pay Later

I hope you have enjoyed this foray into one of the steppe armies that lived on the fringes of the ancient Mediterranean world. The Sarmatian armies are not armies for people that like control, or for gamers that only feel comfortable behind a wall of infantry. With these armies the game can be made or lost on the deployment. However, a few games will start to give you a feel about what works and what doesn't work for the Sarmatian armies. If you deploy well and press forward you can gain some striking victories. If you loose, the consolation is that it is a quick game.