We have encountered the Kingdom of Armenia in an
earlier test series against the Seleucid and that same composition of troops
will meet the Severan Army for these three games. Due to the time period, the
Armenian can now call up the assistance of a number of allied contingents. As
per our format, the first game played is with an unaltered list.
II/64b Middle
Imperial Roman (Eastern)
1 x general (Cv), 1 x cavalry (Cv), 1 x horse archer
(LH), 4 x legionnaires (4Bd), 3 x auxiliary (4Ax), 1 x auxiliary archer (4Bw),
1 x Clibinarii (4Kn).
II/28C
Armenia
1 x general (4Kn), 1 x cataphract (4Kn), 4 x horse
archers (LH), 4 x javelinmen (3Ax), 2 x archers (3Bw).
Game one
Armenia is defending and places difficult hills and
woods as per die cast. Rome attacking have seized the hilly area to face the
Armenian army and place their heavy infantry at the mouth of the valley with
auxilia positioned at the hill top, cavalry are held in reserve.
The Armenian
general has decided to take the initiative and capture the heights overlooking
the Roman left after which time the cataphract supported by javelinmen and
horse archers would attack the Roman centre, sending cavalry via a route
opening at the Roman rear would occupy their cavalry reserves.
Armenian patience grows thin as the hilltops are not
cleared as quickly as planned, but the tell-tale cloud of dust does indicate
Roman reserves are being sent to stave off the threat to the rear. Noticing
that the Armenian attack is losing its momentum the Roman centre launches an
unexpected attack.
Caught totally off balance, the Armenian loses a good
number of cavalry and their commander signalling a general route. Score 2 – 5 for Rome
Game two
Rome catch up to the Armenians deployed for battle at
the end of a valley and among the ranks can be seen new banners and standards
of cavalry units (it became later known that Armenia called on Parthian allies
to supply a contingent). Battle lines
were askew of one another so both armies would need to wheel to meet head on.
Maneuvering to cross the valley floor proved difficult
for Armenia and Parthia as their respective groups took longer to align them
and the Roman formations could be seen to close the distance between them.
Rome struck first, but the dense formation of cataphracts
sent most cohorts back, the Sagitarii were fortunate to cut down a unit of
horse. That was small consolation as Rome had twice as many casualties.
The Romans quickly moved into a routine and were
cutting down their opposition including the Armenian general. The jubilation and
cheers at the end of the valley were picked up by the auxilia atop the hills,
the cavalry were not to be a part of the plundering today, score 2 – 5 for Rome.
Game
three
This time, the hills would not interfere with Armenian
cavalry operations and the small woods would serve the javelinmen and archers as
cover.
The Armenian-Parthian coalition moved slowly forward
to give her infantry time to position them in the wood, the signal to advance was
not seen by all unfortunately. Rome moved quickly to take the wood and using
this position wheeled her battle line to the left. This would force the enemy
cavalry to adjust their approach thereby blocking any potential fire by the
archers positioned on the right flank.
Altering the initial plan, the Armenian general
deployed all his troops into extended line and would overwhelm the Roman first
line.
Rome countered by moving her centre slowly forward and
throwing both wings forward to attack the enemy infantry. This resulted in exposing
the Parthian left and likewise the Armenian right was seriously threatened.
The Parthian was able to recover and destroy two units
of legionnaires bringing the coalition close to victory. Close to victory, the
Roman second legion sent both supporting cataphract back leaving the Armenian
general to face the wrath of Mars. Score
3 – 4 for Rome.
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