Sixth century Persian Wars battle, played with vintage 25mm models from Minifigs and Garrrison,I believe, using Comitatus rules.

The enemies

The battle

Romans are advancing along the Euphrates with their fleet. They have now reached a logistic center full of food built along the river.

They have to attack the defending persians.

The fleet can hold their archers, which may fire from the flotilla on the enemy troops. Fleet moves as infantry.

The terrain is rather flat, with some low hills. The Euphrates flows along one long side of the table. On the persian side their settlement, which has to be defended from the romans. No troops may enter buildings.

Romans arrive in battle or marching order from the other short end of the table. Their fleet accompanies the troops.

It is not possible to reach the other side of the river unless the romans use their boats.

Here is the roman right flank, Euphrates on the right.

Sasanid rigth flank, light cavalry and Clibanarii.

Sasanid center, cataphracts and light cavalry.

The romans start to advance with their right and center battlelines.

The Sasanid infantry waits in defence of the supply center.

Here the view of the full battle, romans in the foreground.

The roman battleline approaches very fast the enemy line. Arrows pour onto the unmotivated infantry units, coming mainly from border garrison towns.

Fiirst clash happens in the center. Cataphracts and clibanarii charge the enemy infantry. The cataphracts cut through the poor roman infantry, which routs immediately, while the clibanarii are stopped and must retire from the shieldwall of the roman comitatus.

The rest of the sasanid center charges in two cunei against the heavy horse archers.

The romans are veterans, but the leftmost unit gets caught on the flank from the far right flank wing.

The right wing of the sasanids have done a very daring move. They may have thought that these weak romans would never dare to attack the flower of the persian chivalry. But they do it, on the now exposed flank.

In the center the better drill of the roman infantry, if not the morale, causes a slow fallback of the sasanid infantry. The roman general, at the head of his comitatus, manages to stand firm against a second clibanarii charge, which retreats shaken. The road to the supplies seems open now!

Here is the infantry struggle. The sasanids are now shaken, they will rout very soon. The cavalry battle on the left roman flank is a stalemate. The sasanid cavalry will retire from the battlefield.

Now the romans start loading with food their boats, to continue their advance in enemy territory.

In the end a very enjoyable game, played with Luca and Roberto, with these old figures that had not been played for many many years.

Comments from everybody tell that Comitatus is the best set of rules for this very ineteresting period of warfare.