Introduction & Historical Notes

A fascinating aspect of our war gaming hobby is its ability to allow experimenting with “what if’s”. The Judean Rebellion against Imperial Rome in 66 A.D. offers an interesting and plausible “what if” insofar as Jerusalem was concerned. What if the Rebels delayed their assault on the city’s garrison (i.e., to better prepare or due to worse than actual in-fighting amongst Judean Factions)?

Of course the longer the Rebels waited, the greater likelihood of the Romans, who were no slouches… they did have spies & informers among the populace, discovering what was afoot and taking counter-measures.

The supposition behind this scenario is that the Judeans do delay their Jerusalem revolt, the Romans get wind of imminent armed hostilities and are in the process of force marching a Legion of the Syrian Provincial Garrison south as reinforcement when the Rebels realize it’s “now or never” and take to the streets. Can the Judeans wrest Jerusalem from Rome before the Legio XII Fulminata under Gallus, Governor of Syria, reinforces Florus’ garrison who could then crush the revolt?

Scenario Rules are the same as The Rebellion save as modified herein:

Roman Forces

Add to the Roman Order of Battle the entire XII Legion Fulminata, without Siege Towers, and with Gallus in command in lieu of the usual Legate (Leader Unit). Remember, Gallus is a Commander Unit.

The following rules 1&2 apply to Legio XII Fulminata units, rule 3 to the Jerusalem Garrison’s Heavy Infantry (7- 8, 6-8,5-8’s):

1 Legio XII Heavy Infantry Units:

Due to the effects of their long forced march and unfamiliarity with the city, the Legion’s Heavy Infantry do not have special DRM modifiers or Leader ability like Jerusalem’s Garrison Heavy Infantry. Treat XII Legion’s Heavy Infantry as in the regular Siege of Jerusalem game.

2 Arrival:

XII Legion’s arrival is at the Roman Player’s discretion subject to the following Table at right:

2.1 Once a map edge is chosen, all XII Legion units must arrive from that map edge.

2.2 The Roman Player, to keep the Judeans guessing, may delay arrival of the Legion. For example, the entire XII Legion could arrive from North Map Edge Turn Four.

3 Jerusalem Garrison Heavy Infantry: In this scenario, Garrison Heavy Infantry only receive the two column melee combat shift when all three units of a cohort attack out of the same hex. Other than this one change, all Rebellion Scenario rules for the Garrison’s Heavy Infantry continue to apply.

Judean Forces

1 Add to the Judean Order of Battle all Cauldron units of SoJ’s counter mix.

1.1 On a Reserve Activation Table (18.611) die roll result of six (6) a Cauldron may be taken in lieu of a Zealot 7-7 unit. A new Cauldron unit may be placed, subject to stacking limits, within any Judean-controlled Bastion/Bastion Gate or Fort/Fortress Gate adjacent to the city area Reserve Release rolled for.

1.2 Like Judean 5-7 & 2-6 units, Cauldrons are eliminated rather than disrupted (whether from fire or melee combat) in this scenario. They receive Command Control as Regulars/Militia.

2 Use the following Judean Reserve Activation Die Roll Modifiers for this scenario. All are cumulative.

+1 Activating in Upper or Lower Cities or The City of David Areas
+1 Judeans control Temple Quarter with no Roman unit(s) on or within its exterior walls.
+1 New City and/or Tyropean City not under Roman control
-4 At least one fresh Roman unit is within the Temple Quarter’s exterior wall perimeter.

Special Rules

(Remember, all rules are the same as The Rebellion scenario save as modified herein.)

1 Units Outside Jerusalem

1.1 The Roman Garrison, awaiting relief and reinforcement by Gallus’ Legion, is assumed to be under orders not to leave Jerusalem. Conversely, concern with the imminent arrival of XII Legion would keep the Judeans within the city as well. Consequently…

1.2 Until at least one unit of XII Legion is placed upon the map, no Judean or Roman Jerusalem Garrison unit may voluntarily leave the city’s interior or wall hexes except as a result of melee combat. Once a retreating unit is outside the city, the owning Player may do with it as per all normal SoJ rules. It is then under no special restriction.

2 Time Limit:

The scenario is played until Turn Seven’s Judean Melee Phase conclusion (day’s end), at which time victory condition is assessed. Ignore all special ending an Assault Period early rules.

3 Victory Conditions are solely based on how many areas of Jerusalem under Roman control at the conclusion of the scenario.

3.1 Instant Roman Victory: All play immediately ends should any Judean Melee Phase conclude with the Romans in control of The Temple.

3.2 Otherwise, play through Turn Seven’s Judean Melee Phase’s. Then…

3.2a Romans control any three Jerusalem areas = Roman Victory

3.2b Romans control any two Jerusalem areas = Draw (This is the worst possible result for the city’s populace.)

3.2c Romans control one or no Jerusalem area = Judean Victory.

Players Notes

Within the group of gamers with whom I tested these scenarios, the Delayed Rebellion / Quick Roman Response is one of our favorite SoJ scenarios.

To be sure, the Judeans have lots of unit raising die/dice rolling as is the case with The Rebellion scenario (just have a healthy handful of dice available).

However, Players will notice that with both The Rebellion and Delayed Rebellion / Quick Roman Response scenarios this dice rolling takes care of itself by mid-game, when most Judean Pool Units are on the map. Thereafter, regardless of the Judeans’ potential for new units, there’ll simply be inadequate pieces in the “Pool”.

It’s then a question of whether those units on the map are in the right place at the right time, and that’s where the fascination of the scenario can really come into play. For this is a scenario giving both the Judean and Roman sides opportunities to be on the strategic and tactical offense. As with The Rebellion, the Roman’s initial placement of Jerusalem Garrison units is critical.

In this scenario, foreknowledge of XII Legion’s eventual arrival makes a “Cordon Defense” a viable Roman strategic option. The value of Garrison units surviving in Yafo Gate, Women’s Gate or the southern Gate of the Essenes when XII Legion arrives should be readily apparent.

The Judeans’ task is complicated by having to deal with Rome’s Jerusalem Garrison while simultaneously securing city gates and walls against XII Legion. If a gate cannot be seized and held outright, the Judeans should mass as many 5-7 Regulars as they can gather around and behind it. This may dissuade a XII Legion attack, or at least slow it down. Occasionally, the Judeans may be successful luring the XIIth into attacking from an approach it will have great difficulty exploiting. As for the Romans, I’ll let others write suggestions as to best play.

The Siege of Jerusalem: 70 AD Scenarios

Introduction
1: The Rebellion
2: Delayed Rebellion/Quick Roman Response
3: The First Assault Period

The Siege of Jerusalem Review and Analysis
The Siege of Jerusalem: Designer's Notes
Jerusalem and Matthew 19:24 : Camel Through Eye of Needle