Late Imperial Romans at Cancon 2017

[Barritus]

Well, for Cancon (400AP plus 10AP for stratagems) I decided to run a Late Imperial Roman army. The LIRs had been a very popular army in the old 6th and 7th Edition days (particularly the triple-armed mutant legionaries). But their popularity declined in the days of DBM when their legionaries were no better than the legionaries of other periods (in fact Patricians became more popular in this time - at least in Australia).

I’d built a Patrician Roman ally as part of a Sub-Roman British army in those days, and later decided to expand it into a full army which could be used as either MIR, LIR or Patrician. I then took it as LIR in two comps, for a grand total of: Played 10, Drew 2, Lost 8. I quietly put the army away and turned to other armies, until I started having another look at them in the last year or so. After some experiments I thought I’d come up with a reasonable list, and was just able to complete the extra painting needed to have it ready for Cancon.

The army was Eastern in 394AD, based on the army of the Eastern Emperor Theodosius in his invasion of the West, and in particular the battle of the Frigidus River. The army structure was as follows:

Command 1 (33ME)

General as Reg LH (S)
6 Reg Kn (X)
2 Reg Cv (O)
5 Irr LH (S)
4 Reg Ax (S)
4 Reg Ps (O)

Command 2 (16ME)

Sub as Reg Cv (O)
4 Reg Bd (O)
2 Reg Ps (O)
6 Irr Wb (O)

Command 3 (25ME)

Sub as Reg Cv (O)
4 Reg Kn (F)
2 Reg Cv (O)
4 Reg LH (O)
1 Reg LH (F)
4 Reg Ps (S)

Command 4 (12ME)

6 Reg Bge (O)

Army: 86ME

Stratagem: Ambush

Deployment with this army was always going to be simple, with C2 in the centre and C1 and C3 on the flanks. With the C-in-C as LH (S) he’d be able to lead the LH to wherever they were needed using his own PIP, leaving the rest of the highest PIP dice to manage the advance of the rest of the troops. For C2 the Wb would deploy in three ranks with a column of Bd and Ps on each flank. And with Kn of some sort on each flank, I hoped to divide my opponents’ attention with the double threat. And with such a variety of troops I hoped that the Ambush stratagem would provide an opportunity to mislead opponents who were unfamiliar with the army with some unexpected arrivals. Finally, after using an army with ally generals and irregular generals at Cancon last year, I was looking forward to using an almost all-regular army with no allies to worry about.

My plan for PIPs was to give the highest PIP dice to C1, the second highest to C3, and the lowest to C2.

The army had performed quite well in practice games, breaking every opposing army, although this included a couple of mutual demoralisations. The cataphracts in particular had proved quite effective, knocking over LH (S), Bw (O) and even Kn (F) in various games. As a result I was quietly confident of finishing at least in the middle of the field.

[Orcoteuthis]

Warband in a low-PIP command seems a little brave? I guess the idea's they'll only be walking forwards anyway?

[Barritus]

Game 1 v Middle Imperial Roman (Craig)

I was the invader and deployed second. Terrain played little part in the game, with the key piece being a rough gentle hill at the right end of Craig's deployment zone. Weather and time of day played no part in the game.

Craig deployed three commands, all Roman. The centre of his army was a long line of Bd (O), supported by some scattered Ps (O) and one artillery cart. In reserve was a block of Bd (X) and some Bd (S) Praetorians. Scattered through the line were blocks of supported Ax (S), and a few Ax (O). On his right were some Kn (F), and there were some Cv (O) and LH (O) supporting all the commands. The biggest block of supported Ax (S) was on his left, and there were a couple of Ax (O) sitting on the rough hill on his right.

I deployed C3 on the left and C1 on the right, figuring that the Ps (S) could take on the Ax (O) to uncover that flank, the Wb could worry his Bd, and the mounted troops could monster his infantry-heavy left wing.

Craig, seeing my cataphracts, immediately sent his C-in-C with the Bd (X) out to support the flank facing the Kn (X). Otherwise, he was content to await my advance.

I sent the LH (S) out towards the Ax, hoping to get around their flank. I advanced the rest of the line as quickly as I could. As the lines closed, Craig’s artillery cart opened up, knocking over an Ax, which opened an annoying gap in the line. I slid a Cv across to cover the gap. Meanwhile, the Ps (S) headed up the hill to take on the Ax (O).

Out on his left flank Craig moved his supported Ax (S) block and some LH (O) to face my LH (S). I pulled them back and transferred the C-in-C to the cataphracts.

The first contact came in the centre where Craig attacked C1’s Ax with some Bd. But thanks to some bad combat dice two Bd died, opening up a hole for my Ax to exploit.

The fighting soon became general, spreading to the Bd and Wb in the centre and to the Bd and Kn (X) on my right. Craig’s Bd (X) charged into my cataphracts. Fortunately for me I had overlaps at both ends, and this saved me. In a series of close die rolls my cataphracts survived intact, and in my next bound I exploited a series of overlaps and double overlaps to wipe out three of the four Bd (X) for again no loss. Likewise, the Wb proved their usefulness, knocking over some Bd.

Over on my left things were a bit slower to get going. My Kn advanced behind a screen of LH. But thanks to a lack of PIPs I couldn’t get all the LH out of the way to let the Kn charge through, so my attack was a bit piecemeal.

But the troops in C2 and C1 did their thing, blowing away both Bd and Ax (S). Craig’s centre command became disheartened, and the infantry of C2 crashed into the Praetorians.

On my left my Kn were able to knock over a couple of elements, but then I lost a couple of Kn to Ax (S). But the main action was still in the centre and on my right. Craig’s centre command broke, followed shortly afterwards by his left wing. This was easily enough to break the army. My losses were surprisingly small, meaning the result was an unexpectedly decisive 25-0.

Poor Craig, his combat dice deserted him until it was way too late to retrieve things. My PIP dice were similarly poor (only 1 PIP dice of 5+, and then only late in the game) but my combat dice were great.

[Barritus]

Warband in a low-PIP command seems a little brave? I guess the idea's they'll only be walking forwards anyway?

Yes, that was the idea...

Read on to see how well it worked out.

[Barritus]

Game 2 v Medieval Portuguese (Greg)

I was the defender. As invader, Greg placed a massive difficult hill, which sat in the middle, stretching from my deployment zone to Greg’s. No other terrain played any significant role in the game, although I placed a vineyard on the left end of my deployment zone.

Such a large feature was always going to be tricky to defend given my small number of Ps, and by splitting the table in two it left me unsure how to deploy. I eventually discarded the idea of flank marching C3, and placed C1 and C2 on the left of the hill, and C3 on the right, with the Ps (S) on the hill. Greg placed a command of Irr Bw (O) and a couple of Art (I) in the gap to the right of the hill (as Greg saw it, facing C1 and C2) angled back to his table edge. Next to them were English allies – a couple of Bd (S) and a bunch of Bw (S). Then, behind the hill was a block of Irr Kn (O) under the C-in-C, with some light troops and Hd (F) in the hill. Finally on the left of the hill (as Greg saw it, facing C3) was a command of LH (O) and Reg Bw (O).

The deployment dice specified that the weather was a strong wind from my right to left.

My plan, such as it was, was to push forwards quickly on the flanks with the mounted. I figured the cataphracts could see to the Bw, while the Kn and LH of C3 could take on the LH of Greg’s left wing. Meanwhile I planned to use C2 and the Ax of C1 to take on the English.

Only, my PIPs weren’t much help. C2 kept getting only 1 PIP, which meant all it could do was advance straight ahead. C1 and C3 didn’t do much better, meaning the charges of the cataphracts and the Gothic knights were stately in the extreme.

Greg responded by transferring his C-in-C’s Kn from his right over to his left to support the LH, sending his English forward in a column along the edge of the hill nearest C2, and advancing the light troops through the rest of the hill. Due to lack of PIPs the Irr Bw on his right had to stand and await the arrival of the cataphracts.

To help develop C2’s attack on the hill I left behind the column of Bd and Ps nearest the hill, but the ongoing 1s for that command’s PIPs meant I actually lost control of the Wb. They lurched forward, blocking the remaining Bd column from swinging around to attack the English.

In contrast, Greg received enough PIPs to swing around the English so they could shoot at C2. And what shooting! Shooting downwind, the English Bw tore apart C2’s Wb and repeatedly recoiled the Bd. Eventually I managed to get a single column of Bd and Ps into contact, but the English won the combat, then counterattacked with a flank hit to destroy 2 Bd. This broke the centre command.

Meanwhile the Ax and LH of C1 kept getting in each other’s way as they turned inwards towards the hill and the two Portuguese guns, and the ongoing lack of PIPs made it hard to maneuver them in useful ways.

Then, finally, Greg got great PIPs for his Irr Bw (O), allowing him to turn them into column and march them across to his left, leaving the cataphracts charging at air, and his Art (I) to face the wrath of C1 alone. This didn’t seem to be a problem, as a shooting 6-1 destroyed one cataphract. I let a couple of LH (S) charge impetuously onto the Art, but thanks to terrible combat dice, one LH died and the other fled, recoiling some Ax they had to burst through.

By now my only hope for something good lay with C3. Things got off to a good start when I charged some LH (O) into Reg Bw (O) and managed to knock over two elements. Our Ps (S) forces also engaged on the difficult hill, but Greg’s larger numbers allowed him to gain a small advantage in the combats. Greg was able to line up his Kn to face mine, but couldn’t prevent me from charging into combat first. Sadly, despite starting with the destruction of a LH and creating an overlap for the first Kn-Kn combat, my combat dice rolls were average enough that all I could manage was a couple of recoils each way.

Greg’s Kn were then able to knock over a couple of my Kn, while his LH also destroyed a couple of my LH. This was enough to break C3, and along with the loss of C2 and the minor losses in C1, enough to break the army. Greg’s losses were as minor as mine had been in the previous game, meaning Greg won 25-0.

Once again my PIPs had been below average, with again only the one PIP score above 4, and C2 rarely getting more than 1 PIP. However this time my combat dice were generally poor as well, the only exception being the performance of my LH (O) against the Bw (O). By contrast, while Greg had sweated for several bounds waiting for decent PIPs to get his Irr Bw (O) out of the way, his other three commands seemed to get one or two good scores each bound among them, and his shooting dice were hot.

= = = =

So, end of day one, and I was as in the middle of the field as I could be.

[Barritus]

Game 3 v New Kingdom Egyptian (Liam)

I was the defender, and weather and time of day played no part in the game.

Liam placed a waterway on his left flank and a gentle hill at the right end of his deployment zone. I placed a piece of scrubby flat which landed at the left end of his deployment zone, next to the waterway.

I deployed first, placing C1 on the left flank and C3 on the right flank.

Liam placed a command of chariots with a screen of Ps (I) on his left. On his right were two commands. The smaller one, in front, consisted of a single line of Bw (I). The larger one contained another block of chariots, some Ps and some Bd (X) (in front of my cataphracts). He kept his Bd (I) well to the rear and out of harm’s way.

My plan was to get quickly into contact, moving the LH out to the left to have a go at getting around the right flank of the Egyptians. Otherwise I advanced the line as a whole, trusting that the cataphracts wouldn't have too much to worry about from the Bw (I), allowing me to then crunch his Bd (X).

Sadly for me, it didn't quite go like that...

Liam moved his Bd (X) through the Bw (I), and then had the Bw (I) which overlapped the Bd line to shoot away my overlaps. With quick kills at 4 to 4 the dice went badly against me and within a couple of bounds the cataphracts were a wreck.

As for the move of my LH, Liam moved the chariots of his right wing out to the gentle hill on his right, then off the hill to stop my Huns from marching.

In the centre Liam had placed Ps in front of C2, leaving them doing little but chasing the occasional element. In fact IIRC I even managed to lose a Wb to a Ps at one point.

Over on my right things looked a little better. I placed my Kn in the front and took a chance on letting Liam's chariots on his left flank attack me first. The Kn survived intact. Liam then considered a Feigned Flight, but realised it would allow the mounted elements of C3 to hit his reserve line of Ps in the rear, with quite a few elements at risk. Instead he decided to hold his breath and see what carnage my Kn could do to his chariots.

In the event the carnage was moderate, with a couple of chariots knocked over. Liam didn't have that much in the way of reserves, and the casualties began to rack up on his left wing. Only, I was also taking some losses here too.

But on my left wing things went from bad to worse. Desperate to seize the initiative, I sent the Huns in to attack the chariots, hoping that one good dice roll could set up a ripple of death against (S) mounted who gained no defensive benefit in my bound. The result was a disaster; my dice rolls were so bad that most of the Huns were wiped out, with no chariots lost. C1 was disheartened and close to broken.

The result from here was a formality. Liam was able to isolate the C-in-C, now about the only survivor of the charge against the chariots, and kill him. C1 broke, and the transmitted losses were enough to break C3 and the army. The one bright spot was that I was able to inflict enough casualties on Liam's left wing that the command was disheartened.

22-3 to Liam in a game where the Bd (X)/Kn battle went decisively the other way.

[Barritus]

Game 4 v Alexandrian Imperial (Michael)

The less said about this game, the better…!

Once again I was the defender, and once again I deployed first.

I decided that this was an army where I’d benefit from covering my flanks and duking it out frontally. As a result I chose a river which started on Michael’s right flank, and gradually curved outwards to the left table edge level with the front of my deployment zone. There was also some difficult terrain on my right flank, including a small wood.

I deployed C1 on the left and C3 on the right, with C3’s 4 Kn (F) placed in ambush in the wood. Michael then deployed a series of excellent match-ups. Facing the LH and cataphracts of C1 were Macedonian elephants, led by a Pk general; facing the Ax were double-ranked Kn (F) wedges, with Alexander lurking in the rear; and facing C2 were the (S) elephants of an Indian ally command, their flank covered by a WWg (I). Michael kept his phalanx well out of harm’s way to the rear on his left, and had some LH across the river on his right.

Faced with such diabolical match-ups, I figured my best hope was to get light troops into the elephants, and for that I needed decent PIP dice. No such luck. Once again my PIP dice were at the low end of average, with again nothing above 4 for the first few bounds. This made it hard both to get C3's Ps (S) in the way of the Indian elephants and to work out a way of getting a cataphract element to threaten the Macedonian Pk general while getting the Hun LH (S) into the Macedonian elephants.

I moved the Kn (F) out of ambush, but there was a distinct lack of targets for them - they couldn't threaten the Indian elephants and I didn't fancy charging them into the front of the phalanx over there.

Meanwhile, I finally got the LH (S) into the elephants. All I needed to do was get a draw in combat and the (S) advantage would do the rest. No such luck. I lost every combat. And thanks to my low PIPs I'd needed to use my C-in-C to do some of the manuevering in C1's command, meaning that when the elephants pursued destroyed Huns, one of them crashed into the C-in-C. Next bound I had a dead C-in-C. And a dead cataphract too: Michael just sent his LH charging through the river and onto the flank of the cataphract fighting the Macedonian Pk general. This was enough to dishearten the C-in-C's command.

Next in line were the Companions, who charged onto the Ax (S). Here the results were little better. One lucky dice roll resulted in a dead Kn (F), but in this section of the battle most of the casualties were the Auxilia. That was enough to break C1.

Things were little better in the centre, where the Indian elephants ground their way through the infantry, in particular the hapless Goths. Within a short time C2 was disheartened and then broken, with none of the light troops of C3 able to get into position to help. And with them gone, that was the army.

25-0 to Michael in one of the most comprehensive defeats I've ever experienced.

[additz]

Thanks for the battle reports.
That is very interesting.

So how satisfied are you with your choosen list alltogether ?

Axel

[Barritus]

Game 5 v Greco-Indian (Mick)

For the second game in a row I ran into a Hellenistic army containing elephants. I was the invader, and thinking that I had the maneuverability advantage chose to place as little terrain as possible.

I placed a difficult hill to cover my right flank against a possible flank march, while Mick placed a rough hill on my left, just in front of his deployment zone. That was the only terrain of note, and it left plenty of open space for me to exploit my speed advantage. I chose to place C1 on the left and C3 on the right, the idea being for the supported Ax to deal with the rough terrain, and the mounted troops of C3 to take advantage of the open space beyond the difficult hill on my right.

Mick deployed three commands, with Indian Bw facing the rough hill, supported by Ax (S); Pk and Ele in the centre; and more light troops out on the left, including Indian Pk (F).

With all those Bw facing the hill I quickly decided my Ax and Ps wouldn’t stand a chance. Instead I figured that counting as (S) against archery made the cataphracts the perfect troops to storm up and over the hill against the Indian Bw. I deployed the Huns out on my left flank, covering the flank of the cataphracts. The Ax faced the Greek Ax. In the centre I was left in the position of the Bd and Wb facing Pk and Ele, which wasn’t the best match-up. Out on my right I positioned the Ps as close to the centre as I could in the hope of getting them in the way of the elephants, while the mounted elements faced considerably more infantry.

Mick’s Bw duly moved onto the hill, although I was confident I’d be able to get the cataphracts into contact near the crest line. Low PIPs for C3 slowed the job of moving the Ps across to the centre. Even lower PIPs for C2 prevented me from holding the Wb back.

It was only as I moved the cataphracts onto the hill that I realised I’d blundered badly. By this time of the comp I was getting tired, and was already in a bad mood from my previous three defeats, and therefore not thinking properly. In the space of the few minutes it took Mick to complete his deployment I’d completely forgotten the hill on my left was rough going not good going: -1 in close combat and no quick-kill for the Kn against the Bw. My only consolation was that if I did actually manage to destroy a Bw element I’d still get the second rank as well. And the speed of the LH in rough meant that they got over the crest line to charge downhill onto the Greek Ps covering the flank of the Indian Bw.

I was right that the Bw had little effect on the cataphracts, and they were soon in close combat. But rather than the cataphracts breaking through quickly, it turned into an ugly mess with both sides fighting over the crest of the hill. Mick had reserves, but they were LH and he was clever enough to not send them into  the rough. The cataphracts slowly ground their way through the Bw while losing only the one element, but low PIPs made it hard for me to quickly exploit any successes.

Meanwhile in the centre a slight misalignment of troops meant that one column of Pk hit the Ax of C1. That Ax soon died, and I was left scrambling for reserves to keep the Pk at bay. Further along, the infantry of C2 were copping a beating from the Pk and Ele. All I could do with the Ps was move them behind the Wb, having to wait until they died before the Ps could go for the elephants. Out on my right a continuing lack of PIPs meant the Cv and Kn (F) couldn’t develop a strong attack against Mick’s Indian Pk (F), and even allowed him to slide a couple of LH through a hole in the line to threaten the rear of the Cv and Kn.

Over on my left the Hun LH eventually broke through onto flat ground where they could attack some more Ps. These casualties, combined with the loss of Bw elements, meant that Mick’s right wing collapsed. But a continued lack of PIPs, and Mick’s aggressive use of reserves from his centre, made it hard for me to gather up the cataphracts to swing around onto the flank of Mick’s centre command.

C2 collapsed soon after, by which time the Cv and Kn (F) of C3 were starting to cause casualties on Mick’s left flank. The game now became a race against time for me to break Mick’s army; despite losing my centre command my army was under little threat as Mick’s army was simply too unmaneuverable to generate any threat against my flank commands.

But time beat me. Mick’s centre and left commands had taken casualties, and IIRC his left flank was disheartened, but his army had held out. 15-10 to me in a game where I was perhaps fairly lucky to survive after my early silly mistake. But as with the previous game I was left ruing the lack of artillery, which would have been much more useful than the Wb turned out to be.

[Barritus]

Game 6 v Early Elamite (Tim)

This time, not surprisingly, I was the defender against an Aggression 3 army. On the one hand I was sure my army would be more maneuverable than Tim’s army, but on the other hand I knew I had to be careful of the danger of massed archery against most of my mounted. I was therefore caught in two minds over whether to try to get around the Elamites’ flanks or overrun them frontally.

I placed a road on my left flank with a BUA on it, roughly between our deployment zones. Protection against a flank march on my right was provided by a vineyard and scrubby flat on my base edge at the right end of my deployment zone. The only other significant piece of terrain was a rough covered hill at the left end of Tim’s deployment zone.

I deployed first, with C1 on the right and C3 on the left – my figuring was that the Ps could use the BUA as a base, while I planned to send the Huns out on my right to surround the left flank of Tim’s army. The rest of the army was spread out in an alarmingly thin line across the table.

Tim deployed four commands. On his right was the Elamite sub-general with a command containing a fair number of Bw (I) and Ps (O). Next was a small command including Bd (F) and more Bw, commanded by the C-in-C. On the left, partly on the rough hill, was a large Guti ally; as the date of the army coincided with the post-Akkadian Guti empire (have a look at List Book 1!) this allied command contained an awkward (for me) mix of Wb (F), Bw (I) and Sumerian-subject-city Reg Pk (F). Finally, out on the far left was an Elamite ally general with a smallish command.

Despite the low-tech nature of the Elamite army, Tim had managed to organise an almost perfect set of match-ups: my Kn (F), Cv and LH (O) were facing massed Bw; my cataphracts were facing Guti Wb; my Ax were facing Pk (F); and my Hun LH were facing more Bw. My main concern was that the cataphracts were facing roughly three times their number of Wb – a lot of troops to have to fight while counting as (I).

My excellent first bound PIPs decided the matter for me. I formed the cataphracts into column, turning left to move in front of C2, with the intention of getting them to take on the Elamite Bw on Tim’s right. Meanwhile the C-in-C led the Huns out on their flanking maneuver; the Ax of C1 moved right to occupy the space previously held by the cataphracts; the infantry in C2 formed up into column to move to the right; and I sent the LH of C3 along the road and through the village with the intention of getting around the Elamite right flank.

Things got a bit more interesting when the Elamite ally, out on Tim’s left, was unreliable. But this was small beer in comparison to the 6 PIPs he rolled for the Guti ally. This allowed Tim to wheel his Wb to his right, and advance them close enough to stop my cataphracts from marching. He also started to spread archers out on his right flank to guard against any mischief my LH might attempt.

Over the next few bounds I proceeded to roll a dismal sequence of PIPs, which completely messed up any hope of continuing with my plan. By contrast, Tim’s C-in-C was able to activate his recalcitrant ally, and those troops hurried forwards to threaten my Hun LH with arrows.

In the centre, the cataphracts were now the front line. Some of them were in front of the advancing Elamite Bw, and while the Elamites had little hope of success with their shooting they did manage to completely break up the cataphract group into individual elements. With few PIPs the cataphracts were reduced to individual element charges – some overlapped against the Elamite Bw and others against the Guti Wb where they weren’t overlapped but did count as (I). There were a couple of scattered successes but mostly the cataphracts were repulsed, fled or destroyed. Behind them the infantry of C2 were caught in column, and with a series of 1s for PIPs they were unable to expand into a more useful line. They ran into more eager Guti and also suffered casualties.

On my left the rest of the Elamite Bw advanced to bring the Cv and Kn (F) of C3 under fire. Here the archers had more success, not only breaking up the groups but also destroying a couple of elements. I managed to get a group of three or four elements into combat with the Bw and achieved a small amount of success, but overlaps at each end of the line were deadly. Tim also advanced other Bw to threaten the Roman LH, and I had to pull them back for fear of suffering more casualties; the chance of getting around Tim’s right flank was gone.

On my right I soon realised that sending the C-in-C off with the Huns was a mistake. But the Elamite ally was now loyal, plus there wasn’t much the LH (S) could achieve against infantry anyway, plus I needed to get the C-in-C closer to the cataphracts to avoid the PIP penalty, so I turned the column around and pulled them back. The Ax of C1 turned forwards to face the Pk (F) of the Guti ally. I had hopes of achieving something here, but terrible combat dice in my own bound meant that the Ax quickly died.

Over the course of the next few bounds the army collapsed into a disorganised mess which my continuing terrible PIPs could do little to restore. When the C-in-C’s command broke the transmitted losses were enough to break the other two commands. 25-0 to Tim, and a deserved victory; he’d managed his large low-tech army with finesse, while I made nearly every mistake in the book.

It was obvious in retrospect – I should simply have taken my chances and attacked straight forward, taking the risk with the cataphracts against the Guti Wb. The maneuvers I attempted at the start were better suited to a four-command all-mounted army, not my three-command mixed-clumsy infantry army.

[Barritus]

Thanks for the battle reports.
That is very interesting.

So how satisfied are you with your choosen list alltogether ?

Axel

G'day Axel, sorry about the delay in replying.

Well, not very satisfied at all (I came last in the comp). The army I fielded had one surprise factor - the Wb. They turned out to be useful in one battle (the first) and were a hindrance in most of the others. By putting them in the centre I figured that they'd be able to advance straight forwards into contact. But too often my opponents found fairly straightforward ways of dealing with them - deploying elephants in front of them, or massed Ps, or massed Bw (S). And because they were in the command with the lowest PIP, any attempt at tricky maneuvers was bound to run into trouble.

The Hun LH also proved mostly useless. (S) mounted as a whole aren't treated kindly in the latest version of the rules, but I felt that having some (S) LH would give me the edge against lesser LH. In the end the only mounted they ran into were Cv (S) Egyptian chariots and Macedonian Elephants and quickly destroyed on each occasion.

I realise now that Artillery in some form - either Art (O) or (F) - would have been much more useful. They would have made opponents with Ele much more cautious, and they would have been able to engage the Bw in the Portuguese, Egyptian and Elamite armies at a range they couldn't match.

The other problem I had was that with Aggression 2 and no Brilliant general I was often stuck with bad match-ups. If I'd taken Julian (or possibly Constantine I) as my Brilliant C-in-C I would have had to lose a few troops (the Goths! the Huns!) but the Change Deployment stratagem would have given me the chance to optimise my deployment. It may have also possibly paid dividends to have a mix of infantry and mounted in all three commands, rather than an obvious centre command and two obvious flank commands that could swap flanks.

An alternative might have been to take Constantius II as an Inert general and swamp the table with supported Ax (S) backed by Art (F). There still would have been enough points left over to afford an allied command, giving me four commands and a little more flexibility in attack directions.

The last alternative is to accept defeat with the Late Imperials and rebrand it as a Patrician Roman army. But that feels like giving up. I'm sure there's a good army somewhere in the LIR list - it just needs more work to find it...

[LawrenceG1]

I’d completely forgotten the hill on my left was rough going not good going: -1 in close combat and no quick-kill for the Kn against the Bw.

Bows are quick-killed by mounted in any terrain.

Of course, it gets harder to beat them due to the -1 or -2 for rough or difficult, but it's not impossible.

[Barritus]

Now that you mention it, I think we played that bit correctly - after all, my cataphracts did eventually break through.

I was just really annoyed that I completely forgot the hill was rough. That alone slowed down the progress of the cataphracts enough that it probably made the difference between simply breaking Mick's right wing and breaking his whole army.

[LawrenceG1]

Now that you mention it, I think we played that bit correctly - after all, my cataphracts did eventually break through.

I was just really annoyed that I completely forgot the hill was rough. That alone slowed down the progress of the cataphracts enough that it probably made the difference between simply breaking Mick's right wing and breaking his whole army.

It pays to put some model bushes or rocks etc on features to remind you what they are. By the way, Warband are the troop-type of choice for taking out Bows in any terrain. Drop 1 cataphract, spend the points on 4 more warband, attach the High PIP CinC to the warband group to manoeuvre them at the start of the game (using his ability to command sub-generals' troops). Once they are pointing in the right direction they are self-propelled. That might be enough to lift your army to reasonable effectiveness.