A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO DBM

Richard Bodley Scott

This article works from the premise that the basic mechanisms of DBM (De Bellis Multitudinis) are easily understood, and that most newcomers will have familiarized themselves with the system by playing DBA (De Bellis Antiquitatis) first. The advice which follows is therefore intended to help those who have as yet only acquired DBA armies to choose their first ''full sized'' DBM army, and to give hopefully useful tactical advice to both newcomers and those converting from other rule sets.

This is largely a matter of personal preference. If you intend to play against historical opponents, you will find that most armies have a good chance against these. If your local group prefers only to fight within historical and geographical sub-periods, you will be well advised to choose an army which historically fought several of the available opponents. In most sub-periods this should still allow you plenty of choice.

If you intend to fight non-historical opponents in competition, some armies have Achilles' heels which can make them a risky bet. For example, warbands are very effective against most of their historical opponents, but will succumb rapidly in open terrain against a knightly array. This is reflected in their points cost, which may in fact give them the advantage against historical opponents who have no Kn. Similarly, knights will rapidly be destroyed by elephants. On the other hand, you will find that some armies which had little hope against anachronistic opponents under 7th edition are a good bet now. This is particularly true of chariot armies, previously kept down by the ineffectiveness of the light chariot and 2-horse heavy chariot. New Kingdom Egyptians and Hittites, for example, formerly only used in competitions by the truly dedicated, are now probably competition armies of the first rank.

The most important thing is to choose an army to suit your temperament and preferred style of play. If you like to have maximal control over your troops, you should choose a regular army. If you enjoy defeating the enemy by sheer ferocity and do not mind being unable to manoeuvre, you should choose an impetuous army of warbands or knights. If it amuses you to run rings around the enemy, you should choose a cavalry army with plenty of light horse. If you prefer to win by virtue of sheer hard fighting, a Roman or Swiss army may suit you. If you fancy exotic troop-types there are plenty to choose from, such as scythed chariots, Khmer elephant artillery, Chinese fire-lancers and many others, although I cannot vouch for their effectiveness!

Another consideration if you are starting from scratch is the potential interchangeability of troops. In the long run it will be useful to be able to use some or most of the figures you acquire in more than one army. This can save you from disaster if you find you do not like your initial choice of army after all, or cannot find historical opponents. It can also allow you to try a wider variety of historical confrontations within a sub-period.

For example, most of the troops in a Hellenistic army can be used in any Hellenistic army. On the other hand, you will not find much tactical difference between one Hellenistic army and another.

Roman armies may appear to vary little from one list to another, but in fact the appearance of the troops did change substantially over time. You will probably attract derision from knowledgable players if you use the wrong figures for the period of your army, so you need to make a decision about which Roman army to acquire right from the start. This is especially true of the legionary figures, although Late Roman legionaries can be used in a Middle Imperial, Late Imperial, Patrician or Early Byzantine army without raising any eyebrows.

Steppe nomad cavalry are largely interchangeable from one army to another if you are not too picky. If you plan to do this, get as big a variety of figures as possible in the first place, so as not to tie the army too closely to one nationality. Remember that the illustrations in ''armies'' books are often based on a single contemporary illustration, or at least only on the commonest contemporary variant. In fact there was probably quite wide variation in appearance from individual to individual and sub-tribe to sub-tribe.

Medieval armies are particularly interchangeable. Knights of a certain date can be used in any Western European army of the same approximate period, and much of the infantry is also interchangeable. Despite this, there is more tactical variation between 15th century armies than between different Hellenistic armies or different steppe nomad armies.

The flip side to interchangeability is that you will identify with an army more closely if all the figures are correct and you have researched shield patterns, flags, unit names and generals' names where such information is obtainable. To field the army of a hero such as Alexander the Great, Hannibal, Alexius Comnenus or Vlad Dracula certainly gives a boost to the player's morale. It can also save you from endless alchemical attempts to produce an invincible army by juggling the army lists instead of by perfecting your tactical skills.

Troop Types

Elephants [El], first because they are listed first in the rules (because they are the biggest?), are not numerically a major constituent of many armies, although they may have an effect disproportionate to their numbers. They are mainly effective against enemy heavy cavalry [Kn or Cv], particularly the first of these, against which they are deadly. They are also sudden death to warbands [Wb] and quite effective against Roman legionaries [Bd]. They cannot make much headway against spearmen [Sp] or pikemen [Pk], who will usually defeat them after a long struggle. Although they have a much higher combat factor, they are vulnerable to light infantry [Ax or Ps] and to a lesser extent light cavalry [LH], especially if overlapped. They should therefore be well supported, and should also keep clear of rough or difficult going. Elephants are irregular and require an extra PIP (Player Initiative Point) to move other than straight ahead their full move of 150 paces. This means that if they are included in a group with close order infantry such as pikemen [Pk], whose own move is 100 paces, the group will require 2 PIPs for each tactical or march move. (See rules P. 16).

Knights [Kn] include the shock chariots of later chariot armies, Hellenistic xystophoroi, cataphracts and Gothic cavalry of the 5th century AD as well as actual medieval knights. They are effective against most troops in good going. They are very vulnerable to elephants, and will probably be destroyed if they charge into contact with good longbowmen [Bw (S)]. They will also, of course, be destroyed eventually if they stand around in front of the latter, so should if possible avoid them altogether. They are not particularly likely to win a frontal contest against pikemen [Pk] or spearmen [Sp], so these should also be avoided. They should keep away from rough or difficult going. The main problem is that, if irregular, they are impetuous, and can fairly easily be drawn into spontaneous advances by enemy light cavalry [LH] as will be described later. Once out of formation it is almost impossible to bring them back under control and they may be attacked in flank by enemy light horse, or drawn into rough going to be destroyed by enemy light infantry [Ax or Ps]. Regular knights are easier to control, but [unless (S)] have a built in disadvantage against their more enthusiastic irregular colleagues.

Cavalry [Cv] include the skirmishing chariots of many chariot armies, as well as being the main heavy cavalry type of most ancient armies and most eastern cavalry armies. They are not quite as vulnerable to elephants as knights [Kn] are, but should still avoid them. They cannot stand up to knights in frontal combat, so need to achieve some tactical advantage in order to defeat them. They have little or no chance against pikemen [Pk] or spearmen [Sp]. They should keep away from rough or difficult going. They are faster and more easily controlled than knights, even if irregular.

Light horse [LH] are found in most ancient and medieval armies after the introduction of the ridden horse. They are unlikely to defeat most enemy in frontal combat, but can use their speed and manoeuvrability to attack enemy flanks or rear. Because they can make 180 degree turns as a group move, they can retire in front of enemy without difficulty. They are thus useful for harassing enemy infantry you do not wish to contact or keeping the enemy cavalry occupied on a refused wing. Enemy infantry (other than bowmen [Bw]) are unable to destroy them in frontal combat in good going - but can destroy them if they also contact them in flank. They should keep away from rough or difficult going.

Camelry [Cm] are only found in a few armies. They are effective against enemy mounted troops, but not against foot.

Expendables [Exp] are found in various armies, notably Seleucid or Pontic armies using scythed chariots. They can occasionally be effective, particularly against legionaries [Bd], but are almost impossible to control. Realistically, your best hope is to let them charge straight forward against the enemy immediately the battle starts, in the hope that even if they do no damage they may disrupt his plan. Opponents often over-react to expendables, so this can be successful. If the enemy is wise he will counter them with Psiloi [Ps] who will very likely destroy them before they can reach his heavier troops.

Spears [Sp] are one of commonest infantry types in ancient and medieval armies. They are good all-rounders, with high combat factors against both mounted and foot. They are quite vulnerable to enemy warbands [Wb]. Their normal formation is two elements deep. They should keep away from rough or difficult going.

Pikes [Pk] are the mainstay of Hellenistic armies, but are also found in several later medieval armies. If deployed four elements deep, they are more powerful in frontal combat than hoplites [Sp] or legionaries [Bd]. Despite their lower points cost, however, their deep formation means that they occupy less frontage. They are therefore vulnerable to outflanking unless well supported by other troops. Against armies without effective infantry they can safely be deployed two elements deep. They should avoid rough or difficult going.

Blades [Bd] occur throughout the ancient and medieval periods. Notable exponents include Roman legionaries, Dacian falxmen, Viking huscarles, and medieval halberdiers, billmen and dismounted knights. They are very effective against enemy foot, but less so against mounted troops. They can operate one element deep against enemy foot, but need to be two elements deep against mounted troops. Because their factor starts so high, they can hold their own in rough or difficult going despite the -2 tactical factor.

Warband [Wb] occur mainly in the ancient and early medieval periods. They are especially effective against spearmen [Sp], legionaries [Bd] and shallow pike [Pk] formations. They are extremely vulnerable to elephants [El] and knights [Kn]. Their normal formation is two elements deep. Wb (F) can operate equally well in all types of terrain, but Wb (O) and (S) should keep away from rough and difficult going.

Auxilia [Ax] occur in most ancient and some medieval armies. They are the most cost-effective troops in rough or difficult going. They can be used to seize such terrain from which they may be able to attack the flanks of enemy attempting to pass by. In good going they are very vulnerable to mounted troops and unable to stand up to heavier infantry [Sp, Pk or Bd] for long.

Bowmen [Bw] are common in eastern and medieval armies. They are mainly effective against cavalry [Kn, Cv or LH], although they are at risk of being ridden down in good going. They will not last long against heavy infantry [Sp, Pk or Bd]. They shoot most effectively if two elements deep, but this does not improve their close combat strength. Bowmen (X) are stronger in close combat, but less manoeuvrable and more adversely affected by terrain.

Psiloi [Ps] are another ubiquitous type. They are very effective in a number of roles, such as contesting rough or difficult going (though they are not as effective at this as auxilia [Ax]), skirmishing against enemy foot to delay them, driving off less well equipped psiloi, supporting heavier infantry [Sp, Pk, Bd or Ax] against mounted troops, fighting elephants [El] or scythed chariots [Exp], attacking the flanks of enemy foot, or hiding in ambush in vineyards, marsh, rocky areas or brush where more densely arrayed troops would be visible to the enemy. They should not be left out in the open against enemy cavalry [Kn, Cv or LH], who will easily ride them down.

Artillery [Art] is found mainly in regular armies. Being unable to move and shoot, most artillery needs to be placed in a suitable position then must wait for the enemy to move into range. Not surprisingly most opponents will be sensible enough not to oblige, although impetuous troops may be unable to restrain themselves. In some circumstances, however, carefully placed artillery can restrict the enemy's scope for manoeuvre. Artillery is particularly effective in forcing enemy to come out of an otherwise impregnable defensive position. Artillery (F) can move and shoot, so should be more flexible. All artillery, however, is vulnerable to close combat, so needs to be closely supported by infantry or protected by temporary fortifications [TF].

War wagons [WWg] are something of a novelty type, found mainly in late medieval eastern European armies. They can be effective against mounted troops, but are fairly useless against infantry.

Hordes [Hd] are common in eastern armies. They are fairly useless in combat, but can bolster the morale of the rest of the army by increasing its apparent size (in element equivalents). Of course, if the enemy does reach them they will not last long.

Organising Your Army

You should first consider how many generals you require. Most armies are permitted a C-in-C and two sub-generals. This should be taken as being the standard organisation for a regular army (and indeed most irregular armies). A fourth general may be available either in the form of a third sub-general or an ally-general.

A fourth general may be thought desirable to improve control of the troops by providing extra PIPs, or to allow a command to flank march without compromising control of the on-table commands. However, particularly in the case of a fourth regular general, the cost of the general will reduce the size of the army, and dividing the army into four commands may leave each command very small and hence vulnerable to early demoralisation. The unreliability of an ally-general, even one not liable to change sides, may also outweigh the benefit of an extra PIP die.

It will seldom be advisable to have less than three generals, except perhaps in 300 AP armies. However, in the case of an army where only one sub-general is permitted, the player must very carefully weigh up the benefits and risks of employing an ally-general as third general. In the case of Hellenistic pike armies, where about half the total elements are phalangites, it may be wise to stick to a C-in-C and one sub-general, otherwise the flank commands may be too brittle. One general can command the phalanx and the weaker wing, while the other commands the attacking wing. This can work quite well, as the phalanx seldom needs to do much manoeuvring.

There are various ways that a three command army can be organised. The commonest will be as a centre and two wings, with the majority of the close-fighting infantry in the centre and the majority of the cavalry divided between the two wings. This has the advantage that the slowest and least manoeuvrable troops will usually have the shortest distance to travel and the straightest path. One cavalry wing can be larger or heavier than the other, so that an oblique attack can be attempted, with the other wing refused.

A medieval army, on the other hand, may be historically and effectively deployed with knights in the centre and infantry on the wings, particular if the latter include a large proportion of bowmen.

Sometimes it will be more effective to deploy two commands in the front line and the third in reserve or on a flank march. Occasionally it may be worth having one large command to take the brunt of the fighting, and two small reserve commands. This is historical and can work well in late medieval armies where the high points cost of the troops results in a small total number of elements.

It is usually advisable to avoid a complicated organisation in an irregular army, particularly if some of the troops are impetuous. Mixing two or more sorts of impetuous troops in the same command makes for poor control and can be a recipe for disaster.

If your army contains only a few impetuous troops, it may be wise to put them under the direct command of the C-in-C, whose ''free'' PIP allows him to halt his own group even when his PIP die score is 1.

The most important lesson that a beginner has to learn is that he should have a plan. Almost any plan is better than no plan at all. A good plan, however, is the first step to victory. It should take into account the strengths and weaknesses of your own forces, the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy, the terrain, and the enemy's possible deployments and plans. If you misjudge, you will find it difficult to change your plan or redeploy, so best get it right first time if possible.

Ask yourself how your army differs from that of the enemy. Who has the best close combat infantry [Pk, Sp, Bd or Wb]? If you do, you should plan to attack with them. If the enemy does, you will need to avoid his, or delay contact with them. Who has the best rough/difficult terrain infantry [Ax or Ps - or at a pinch Bd or Bw]? If you do, you can use terrain to secure your flanks and outflank the enemy. If the enemy does, you should plan to avoid such terrain. Who has the best cavalry? If you do, you may be able to outflank the enemy. If he does, or if his army greatly outnumbers yours, you must attempt to avoid yourself being outflanked. Does the enemy have any troops that are deadly to some of yours? If so, you had better take steps to keep them occupied with other troops better able to cope with them. Do you have troops that are deadly to some of the enemy? If so, you should plan to hit the vulnerable enemy with them, if you can do so without exposing them to enemy troops they themselves cannot cope with. Are the enemy troops impetuous? If so, you should aim to draw them out of formation before the decisive impact. Are your troops impetuous? If so, you must take steps to keep them under control until the decisive moment.

Unless your army is impetuous, it is not always necessary to attack. If you adopt a defensive position, your opponent may be impatient enough to attack you. He may not be able to avoid doing so if his troops are impetuous. Some players can be taunted into attacking. If you adopt a rigid defense, however, a clever opponent will concentrate his main attack on your weakest point while demonstrating against the rest of your troops to keep them occupied or lure them out of position. A defensive stance followed by a pre-planned counter-attack can be more effective.

It is often effective to attack on one wing while skirmishing or defending on the other. Such a plan is particularly beneficial to regular armies, as the refused command can absorb the worst PIP die each turn - this presumably representing it receiving least of the C-in-C's attention. Obviously the attacking wing should contain shock troops and the refused wing should contain suitable light troops or be in a secure defensive position. If your refused wing looks as if it is in danger, do not be tempted to siphon off troops (and PIP dice) from your attacking wing to bolster it. All this will do is ensure that your attack peters out, and that you lose effective control of troops that move out of command range (> 1200p or out of sight and > 600p) of their general. If you are playing with several players a side, make sure that you give control of the refused wing to a defensively minded player. Some players are unable to restrain themselves from attacking whatever the situation, usually with disastrous results. Similarly, avoid giving command of your attacking wing to an over-cautious player.

You should try to keep your plan and your deployment as simple as possible, particularly if your army has irregular generals or impetuous troops. You should plan always to be able to cope with a PIP die score of 1. The bulk of each command should initially be deployed as a single group. Where appropriate they can separate out into multiple lines when they are closer to the enemy. Different types of troops should not be inappropriately mixed together, particularly if irregular. Solid lines of troops are nearly always best. You should not leave gaps between commands - except possibly, as will be discussed later, if you have a cavalry army.

Your plan should if possible avoid troops moving out of command range of their general. If you plan a masterful wide on-table outflanking move, you should take the whole command on this manoeuvre, otherwise it will become very difficult to control the part of the command furthest from the general. Similarly, you should try to avoid deploying a command on either side of a visibility obstructing terrain feature, unless the general can be placed in a vantage point from which both parts of the command can be seen.

If the battle is to start in fog or mist or at night, you may be able to force march some troops into useful positions while visibility is restricted, but remember that they will only be able to move straight ahead in a single element wide column, so must be deployed in column facing their target position.

Off-table flank marches can be effective, but may arrive too late or never.

The defender has the greater scope for ambushes. If the terrain is suitable, a large ambush comprising a whole command can be devastating if the enemy believes it to be off table on a flank march. Even if he suspects the truth, the uncertainty will cramp his style. Single elements of psiloi in ambush between the armies can interrupt enemy march moves and hence disrupt the enemy player's plan.

Ally generals may turn out to be unreliable. The effect of this can be minimised if they are deployed in such a position that the enemy will be forced to attack them in order to prosecute his own plan. This will then commit the unreliable ally to your side. It is risky to send an ally-general on an off-table flank march, as he may not arrive for several turns and when he eventually does so may stand around doing nothing or change sides.

Most armies will benefit from a deployment in some depth. Spears obviously require to be formed 2 elements deep to benefit from rear support factors, pikes 2 to 4 elements deep, and blades 2 elements deep if fighting mounted troops, but other troops who cannot directly benefit from rear support will also usually benefit from a second line. This is because of the danger of enemy breakthroughs. If troops are deployed in a single line, and front line elements are destroyed, not only will the enemy immediately benefit from overlaps, but he may subsequently be able to contact the flank of the elements adjacent to the gap, which will result in their being destroyed if the enemy close combat total is higher, instead of only if it is double. Thus the initial breakthrough can result in a rapid collapse of the line.

A second line, however, would prevent the enemy contacting the flank of the adjacent front rank elements, as this would entail crossing the front of a rear line element. Subsequently, a rear line element can move forward to plug the gap. Of course, the rear line must be at least one element width behind the rear edge of the front line to avoid being swept away when a front line element is destroyed, but less than two element widths behind the front edge of the front line to prevent enemy contacting the flank of front rank elements adjacent to the breakthrough.

Second line elements can also be redeployed to face enemy threatening the flank of the front line. At a pinch they form a last ditch reserve which can be moved elsewhere if necessary. This should only be a last resort, however, as the proper role of the second line is to support the first line and prevent breakthroughs and outflanking.

An army should have reserves additional to any rear line. These should ideally be mobile and of good quality. Unless you plan to have a whole command in reserve, it will usually be best for each command to have its own reserves. This is because you do not want the reserves to have to travel too far from the rest of their command, otherwise part of the command is likely to get out of command range from its general.

An army with a second line and reserves will obviously occupy less frontage than an army deployed in less depth. There is therefore a risk of being outflanked. However, terrain can be used secure flanks, and failing that the rear line and reserves are available to counter any enemy outflanking manoeuvre. This flexibility and ability to deal with all eventualities can be contrasted with the brittleness of the army deployed on too wide a front, which has no counter to an enemy breakthrough and cannot compensate for any deficiencies in its original plan.

One possible exception to the above general rule might be armies largely consisting of light horse, who cannot expect to win a frontal contest and must therefore attempt to outflank the enemy on one or both flanks. In my view, however, they will still benefit from deploying each command in at least two lines, even if this leads to gaps between their commands. If the enemy attempts to exploit these gaps, he will have to break up his own formation to do so. This may present the more mobile light horse with additional flanks to attack!

A more valid exception would be armies of impetuous troops. There is no point in deploying impetuous troops as a separate second line, as you are unlikely to be able to prevent them from catching up with the front line.

When a regular army fights another regular army, it can be important to seize the initiative. If one player presses an attack by his stronger wing, his opponent, particularly if inexperienced, may waste his best PIP die (i.e. most of his C-in-C's attention) each turn on a vain attempt to stem the tide, instead of using it to press his own attack on the first player's weaker wing. This is an example of the importance of the classic tactical precept, ''Maintenance of the Aim''.

An irregular army fighting a regular army will usually be best advised to exert pressure on the whole enemy line, both to take advantage of its own probable superiority in numbers, and to give the regular player no safe haven to dump his worst PIP die score each turn - representing stretching the regular army's command system to its limits.

If you wish to delay the enemy, you should rush forward light cavalry [LH] or psiloi [Ps] to obstruct his path and prevent him using march moves. They can then fall back slowly in front of the enemy staying just out of his tactical move reach. Remember, however, that psiloi are vulnerable to mounted troops in the open and may not be able to move fast enough to get away. They may be able to delay the enemy more effectively if deployed in ambush in rough or difficult going obstructing his path. Troops other than LH and Ps cannot move backwards as a group, so cannot be expected to retire safely in front of the enemy.

Troops close to the enemy should not remain in deeper formations than required for rear support. Additional rear rank elements will not add to the strength of the formation and will be swept away if the front rank element is destroyed. At least an element's width gap should be left between front and second lines. Troops moving across the rear should avoid getting too close to the front line. Elements that must get close to the front line should end their move facing the same direction as the front line elements, so as not to obstruct them if they recoil.

Flank attacks can be deadly, as they may result in several elements being swept away, so you should try to ensure that you do not leave your lines exposed to this danger. If a flank is not protected by terrain or the board edge, it can be protected by leaving an element as a flank guard set back with its front edge level with the rear edge of the flank element or its supports. The enemy cannot then contact the flank of the flank element of the line without crossing the front of the flank guard, which is not permitted. If the enemy attacks the flank guard in its flank, it can turn to face, and if forced to recoil will not be pushed back into the line.

Conversely, you should try to attack enemy elements in the flank where possible, but not if this puts your own element at risk. Remember that if your element fighting the front of an enemy element recoils, any element you have in contact with the enemy element's flank must also recoil. If it meets enemy, or friends facing the wrong direction, it will be destroyed.

A general fighting in the front rank will give your attack extra impetus, but you must support him well to avoid losing him, which would be disastrous. If you are going to move your general into contact with enemy, remember to move him last, otherwise all other moves by that command that turn will cost an extra PIP. (This is one that I just don't seem to be able to remember myself - curses and gnashing of teeth!)

The remainder of the article is devoted to a review of common army types and their preferred tactics. The main types discussed are chariot armies, Hellenistic armies, Romans, impetuous armies, cavalry armies and medieval European armies.

These do not form a homogeneous group. Many of the earliest armies cannot really expect to hold their own in a competitive situation, but can provide interesting battles against historical opponents.

The situation improves after the introduction of effective chariots in the early 2nd millenium BC. Several armies then appear based on massed skirmishing chariots [Cv (O) or Cv (S)] - for example Canaanites, Hyksos and Mitanni. None of these armies have particularly effective infantry [mostly Ax and Ps], but low quality infantry are cheap in points and bolster the morale of the chariots provided that they keep out of harm's way. They are also effective in rough or difficult going where the chariots cannot go. The main tactical difference between such armies and later cavalry armies (discussed later) arises from the lack of light cavalry [LH]. Against opponents with effective infantry they must instead rely on their light infantry skirmishers [Ps] to keep superior enemy infantry occupied while the chariots defeat the enemy mounted troops.

New Kingdom Egyptians have fewer chariots but plenty of effective infantry, including archers [Bw], spearmen [Sp] and axemen [Bd]. Other armies, such as Minoans and Early Mycenaeans, are based on shock chariots [Kn]. Some, such as Hittite Empire, Early Neo-Assyrian or Neo-Hittite armies can contain a useful mixture of shock [Kn] and skirmishing [Cv] chariots. Later armies, such as Neo-Babylonians or Sargonid Assyrians, retain the shock chariots [Kn], but replace the skirmishing chariots with actual cavalry [Cv]. Several other armies offer interesting variations on the above themes.

Most chariot armies should be able to hold their own in anachronistic competition games as well as against their historical opponents. I personally fancy the chances of a Canaanite army - if only I could face the thought of painting all those chariots!

The distinguishing characteristic of most Hellenistic armies is the pike phalanx [Pk]. This is usually supported by effective cavalry [Kn, Cv and LH] and light infantry [Ax and Ps]. Various other minority types are available to some Hellenistic armies, including elephants [El], scythed chariots [Exp], hoplites [Sp], warbands [Wb] and imitation legionaries [Bd]. Beginners are well advised to stick to the basic types. The more exotic types can be added as experience increases.

As mentioned above, a Hellenistic army could be organised as two commands, one general commanding the phalanx and the weaker wing, the other commanding the stronger wing. Alternatively it could be divided into three commands, one comprising the phalanx and a small reserve, the other comprising the two wings. It would probably be unhelpful to split the phalanx between two commands. A sub-division into four commands is likely to leave some commands too small and brittle.

Your intention may, like Alexander, be to pin the enemy with the phalanx while you achieve victory on one wing with the Companions [Kn (F)]. If so, and if the enemy, like the Persians at Gaugamela, has little or no effective close-fighting infantry of his own, it may be most effective to deploy the phalanx two elements deep, instead of the more usual four.

Alternatively, like Alexander's Successors, you may hope to use the phalanx itself as your battle-winning arm. This is unlikely to be successful against enemy who will not stand and fight, such as Skythians or other armies largely consisting of light horse. Even against mixed arms opponents, the enemy will not wish you to contact his infantry if yours is superior, and will no doubt be doing everything in his power to avoid contact with your phalanx long enough to defeat one or both of your wings. You must do everything you can to bring your phalanx into contact as soon as possible. Your own light horse can move ahead to slow the advance of the enemy wings. Apart from this, you should use as many PIPs as possible to march the phalanx forward rapidly in the early turns. Elephants should not be intermixed with the phalanx, as each march move would then require 2 PIPs, as discussed previously. They may be useful on your wings to help deter enemy cavalry - their most effective historical role - but once again will require 2 PIPs to move in a mixed group with Kn (F), Cv or LH. Javelinmen [Ps (S)] in front of your phalanx should be able to drive off enemy archers or slingers [Ps (O)]. A phalanx is hard to defeat, but your army's morale will collapse very rapidly if it is, as four elements will be lost each time a front rank phalanx element is destroyed. You must support the phalanx's flanks, for example with elephants, xystophoroi [Kn (F)] or thureophoroi [Ax (S)], or, as a last resort, psiloi.

It is important to deploy the phalanx so that it need not cross any rough or difficult going. If there is any rough terrain in front of the phalanx, you may hope to cross it safely before engaging the enemy in close combat, but he may have other ideas. If he is the defender, he may have placed psiloi in ambush. If the attacker, he may rush psiloi or auxilia forward to occupy the rough terrain on his first turn. Once there, they will prove difficult or impossible to dislodge with pikemen, and your plan will be severely disrupted. A Hellenistic army usually has excellent light infantry, notably thureophoroi, with which to occupy or contest such terrain, so ending up fighting there with the phalanx is an unforgiveable blunder - though admittedly entirely historical!

The Roman army changed over time, but at least from the 1st Punic War in the 3rd century BC until the accession to power of Aetius in the 5th century AD, its backbone was the legionary swordsman [Bd (O)]. As time went on the proportion and variety of supporting troops, including auxiliary infantry and cavalry, increased, but the legions always remained an important arm.

In wargaming terms, prior to Augustus's reformed army, represented by the Early Imperial Roman list, the largest component of the army will be the legionary Bd (O), and the battle must be won or lost with these. Cavalry [largely Cv (O) with a few LH (O)] and other supporting troops are only sufficient to drive off enemy psiloi and support the flanks of the legions.

Legionary Bd (O) should preferably be deployed two elements deep. This is essential against knights. If facing enemy foot, however, the front line of elements should move forward to leave an element's width gap between the front and second lines. As previously discussed, this prevents second line elements being swept away if front line elements are destroyed. The second line element prevents the enemy exploiting the break-through to attack the flanks of adjacent front line elements, and can move forward to plug the gap. This is particularly necessary against warbands. Those who think warbands are too effective against legionaries should be aware that the rules are intended to balance the effect of a two element deep warband formation vs a two line legionary formation.

Such a legionary formation will usually defeat opposing foot. Fighting warbands can be risky, however, and it is wise to weight the odds in the legionaries' favour, for example by adopting a position upslope, or attempting to draw the impetuous warbands out of formation. One way of achieving the latter is to deploy the legionaries behind patches of difficult terrain which will break up the warbands' formation, particularly if occupied by psiloi. Another is to deploy the legionaries in an unexpected position so that the warbands have to advance obliquely to engage them.

Against pikes, legionaries have a slight disadvantage in frontal close combat, but will usually sooner or later be able to outflank the phalanx and so defeat it.

Even in rough or difficult going legionary Bd are able to hold their own against enemy light troops, although it should be borne in mind that the latter will be cheaper and hence potentially more numerous, so such combat should be avoided unless essential.

In the Polybian Roman army, the velites [Ps (S)] can drive off enemy psiloi [Ps (O)], can fend off or defeat enemy scythed chariots [Exp] and elephants [El], and can attack the flanks of enemy infantry. The triarii [Sp (S)] form a useful reserve, and are particularly good at fending off enemy cavalry if the Roman cavalry wings are driven in.

The Marian Roman army loses the triarii and velites, although plenty of tribal Ps (S) and a few tribal Ax (S) are available.

The main change in the Early Imperial Roman list is the availability of large numbers of regular auxiliary infantry [Ax (S)]. These significantly improve the capability of the army in bad terrain, but, of course, at the expense of a reduced proportion of legionaries. They can hold their own against warbands in all terrains. Auxiliary archers, if deployed as Ps (O) in support of the legionaries, give them the advantage against enemy mounted troops. A few early equites catafractarii [Kn (F)] are permitted, which can improve the shock power of the cavalry. However, cavalry should still be regarded as very much a subsidiary arm. The Middle Imperial Roman list is not greatly different.

Despite sweeping changes in organisation and, later, equipment, the Late Imperial Roman list is not in fact all that different from the two previous lists, except in continuing the progressive increase in availability of cavalry, which can now include a significant number of catafractarii [Kn (F) or Kn (X)] and clibanarii [Kn (X)]. This gives increased scope for offensive cavalry action. The army should not, however, be regarded as a cavalry army, and works best as a balanced force with all branches of the infantry and cavalry cooperating to make best use of their respective strengths.

The Patrician Roman list is really a complete departure, in that the main strength of the army has become barbarian cavalry [Kn (F)] or infantry [Wb (S)]. This army should be treated as an impetuous barbarian army with the advantage of regular generals and supporting troops.

Impetuous Armies:

These include, amongst others, city-state Greek armies [Irr Sp (O)], barbarian warband armies [Wb], Germanic cavalry armies [Irr Kn (F)] and most feudal armies [Irr Kn (F) or (O) and Irr Sp (I)].

You can forget any thought of manoeuvre. Each group of impetuous troops will require 2 PIPs each turn if you want it to halt, 1 PIP if they move straight forward their full move. This will not leave many PIPs for manoeuvring.

Impetuous troops should be deployed so that they can move as near as possible straight ahead against the enemy. Kn should be one element deep, Wb or Sp two. There is no point in deploying a separate second line of impetuous troops, as you are unlikely to be able to restrain them from catching up with the front line. If you deploy impetuous troops behind other non-impetuous troops, they may sooner or later burst through them if your advance is checked.

The only group that can be relied on to halt is the C-in-C's, because his ''bonus'' PIP allows him to halt even on a PIP die score of 1. He should therefore be in command of any reserve - although it may be difficult to manoeuvre this into any useful position.

You cannot afford to lose control of an impetuous group even for one turn. Remember that troops making spontaneous advances move towards the nearest enemy as individual elements. Unless the nearest enemy is a group lined up exactly parallel to the spontaneous advancers' starting position, the impetuous troops will no longer be in a group after one spontaneous advance. Once out of a group, the chance of re-constituting it is negligible.

Each command should have all its impetuous troops deployed in a single group. If possible you should avoid including more than one troop-type, other than psiloi, unless they have the same normal move. Otherwise you will need 2 PIPs even to move straight forward, and you will lose control as soon as you throw a 1.

Unless your army consists of Wb (F), you should avoid rough or difficult going. Do not deploy other impetuous troops facing such terrain, otherwise either you will lose control of them as they attempt to cross or manoeuvre round difficult going, or they may end up spontaneously advancing into rough going occupied by enemy troops more suited to the terrain. Even Wb (F) should avoid advancing through difficult going - where one PIP will be required for each element frontage - although they may usefully be deployed halted as an ambush in a wood or defensively on a steep hill. If you are lucky you may have some light infantry [Ax or Ps] who can occupy or contest rough or difficult terrain.

If you manage to successfully control your troops until you are ready to charge into contact with the enemy, their impetuosity then becomes an advantage. They no longer require PIPs to engage the enemy, and will press forward until they are victorious or defeated. If they are in the right place at the right time (and are fighting the right opponents!), they should be victorious.

By this I mean armies consisting largely of non-impetuous heavy and light cavalry [Cv and LH], including most steppe nomad, Byzantine and later Islamic armies.

Unlike other armies, these possess the twin luxuries of ease of control and maximum manoeuvrability. This is just as well, for they are unlikely to win against other army types by a straightforward advance to contact. Instead they must attempt to outmanoeuvre heavier enemy and attack his flanks or rear.

As discussed previously, I favour the Byzantine method of deployment in multiple lines, although I would deploy each command in multiple lines rather than have each line as a separate command. Against enemy Cv or LH, Cv benefit from rear support from a second element of Cv. Against other troops, a rear line can prevent enemy breakthroughs and outflanking manoeuvres.

Enemy spearmen [Sp] and pikemen [Pk] are best avoided by your Cv, as are legionaries [Bd] if in two ranks and supported by a third rank of archers [Ps (O)]. They can be harassed by LH - who are in no danger of being destroyed by them unless outflanked - while your Cv concentrate on destroying their supporting troops.

Elephants [El] are worse, and can only safely be avoided. If you have a few light infantry [Ax or Ps], you may be able to ambush elephants as they follow your retreating light horse through rough going, or past difficult going. Otherwise, if you have any spearmen [Sp], they are your best defense against elephants if you can manoeuvre them into the right position. Concentrating too much attention and effort on the elephants, however, can play into the enemy's hands by delaying your own plan.

Knights [Kn] should not be engaged frontally without first attempting to disrupt their formation or gain some other advantage. This is not difficult if they are irregular, and hence impetuous: If you place two individual elements of light horse [LH] in front of a group of enemy knights, with an element gap between the two LH elements, the knights must attack them in order to continue their advance. If the knight elements in contact win, they must pursue, thus disrupting their group if it was a single element deep line. If either of your LH elements survives, it can break off next turn, forcing the Kn element in contact with it to pursue again, thus further disrupting the group. By their next turn, the former group of knights has broken up into as many as five separate groups. The player is unlikely to be able to regain control. The impetuous knights can then be drawn on into rough going, where they can be set upon by your light infantry, or can be attacked from all sides by light horse. Regular knights are harder to deal with, but superior numbers may allow you to hit them in the flank while they are fighting your Cv to their front.

Medieval European Armies:

Most medieval European armies are based around their heavily armoured knights or men-at-arms [Kn], usually supported by infantry of various sorts and variable quality. Some Iberian or Eastern European armies also include substantial numbers of light cavalry [LH]. A few armies are based largely on infantry, for example Scots or Flemish [Pk] or Swiss [Bd and Pk].

Feudal armies are usually irregular and hence impetuous. For these see also the section on impetuous armies above.

Mounted knights [Kn] are superior to Muslim cavalry [Cv and LH] in frontal combat, but should attempt to maintain formation to avoid being overlapped or outflanked by these. This can be very difficult if the knights are impetuous.

Mounted knights are unlikely to win a frontal combat against pikemen [Pk], good spearmen [Sp (O)], or good longbowmen [Bw (S)]. Against these it will usually be advisable to dismount if permitted by the army's list. This should be done at deployment time, particularly if the knights are irregular, as dismounting later requires 1 PIP per element. Riderless mounts should be provided in case you wish to remount the knights later in the battle. Post 1150 AD dismounted knights [Bd (S)] can win against any infantry opponents, and are so hard to destroy that they can probably be safely deployed one element deep provided that the enemy has few mounted heavy cavalry [Kn or Cv] of his own. If the enemy does have a lot of these, your knights should normally remain mounted unless threatened by longbowmen.

Good longbowmen [Bw (S)] are very effective against all cavalry [Kn, Cv and LH]. They are also surprisingly resilient against enemy infantry, but cannot be expected to hold out indefinitely against these. If deployed in rough going, however, they need not fear the enemy close order infantry, but will probably eventually be defeated by auxilia [Ax].

Crossbowmen [Bw (O)] and inferior longbowmen [Bw (O) or Bw (I)] cannot usually stand against mounted heavy cavalry [Kn or Cv] in the open, and are unlikely to survive long in an exchange of shooting with Bw (S). They can nevertheless be useful in circumstances where the enemy is unable to shoot back and unable or unwilling to charge into close combat - for example in rough going facing mounted troops, or shooting across a river at the enemy flank.

Bowmen (X) supported by Bw (S) (e.g. Burgundian Ordonnance foot) are as effective as plain Bw (S) against mounted troops, and may be more effective against infantry, but are less manoeuvrable and are disadvantaged in rough terrain. Bowmen (X) unsupported (e.g. Crusader foot) or supported by Bw (O) (e.g. Italian civic militia) are superior to plain Bw (O) against Cv, but are likely to be ridden down by Kn.

Other infantry, such as spearmen [Sp], pikemen [Pk] or halberdiers [Bd], are often present only in relatively small numbers, in which case you should not expect them to hold their own unsupported against superior numbers of enemy foot.

In competition against non-historical opponents, you must remember that knights are extremely vulnerable against elephants, and longbowmen not much better.

Other Armies:

There are many armies which do not fit into the above categories. Armies based on regular spearmen [Sp], such as Carthaginians or Chinese, can be very effective. Indian and similar armies containing large numbers of elephants [El] can be lots of fun, if difficult to manoeuvre. The Early Achaemenid Persian army is almost unique in being based primarily on Bowmen (X). Armies consisting largely of auxilia [Ax], such as Ancient Spanish or Samnites, are probably not suitable for beginners.

The important thing is to enjoy your games even when you lose. Hopefully you will have learned something from your defeat which may help you to win next time. Swallow your pride and ask your opponent if he has any views on the reasons for your defeat. Always accept bad dice throws with good grace (well, perhaps a tastefully chosen oath) and never ever spend the rest of the evening whingeing about your bad luck.

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