TACTICA II: TESTING AND TINKERING

Being a “student” with a few years (decades, actually) of experience using the various rule books written by “Professor” Arty Conliffe, the contents of his latest and long-awaited sequel to Tactica were found to be fairly familiar. [1] However, there were some “new” mechanics and procedures that, while not overly complicated, warranted a period of testing and trial before a proper wargame employing the spiral-bound and rather plain-of-cover-when-compared-to-other-sets rules was staged on my table top. [2] With the intention of educating myself and developing a certain level of comfort with as well as confidence in these “foreign” mechanics and procedures, I designed and then conducted a number of small-scale scenarios or learning labs. The focus of these tutorials was combat, specifically the conduct and resolution of missile fire and melees, though I readily admit that more attention was paid to the conduct and resolution of hand-to-hand fighting.  

Exercise 1

Diagram A illustrates my first solo seminar staged with my newly acquired copy of Tactica II. [3] Three units of archers, identified as A, B, and C, selected from the Indian army list found on page L 9, face two units of Pezetaroi (identified as 1 and 2) and one unit of Greek Hoplites (identified as 3), drawn from the Macedonian (Philip—Alexander) army list found on page L 7. Each unit of Indian archers contains 24 figures, arranged in 2 rows of 12. Combat in Tactica II is conducted on a front rank, figure by figure basis, so, under normal circumstances, each Indian unit will roll 12 six-sided dice if letting off a volley of arrows or engaging in close combat. Each of these units has a fighting value or FV of 4-6, which means that when fighting a melee, the enemy commander or unit has to throw a result of 4, 5, or 6 on a d6 to inflict damage, to score a hit, to produce a casualty. 

The unit quality of the archers is listed as V, which stands for Veterans. The definition of Veterans is provided on page 3 of the rules, in Section 2.8. Veterans are “trained troops of some experience”. According to the table provided on page 36 of the rules, a Veteran unit with 24 figures will have to check its morale to see if it remains on the field/table once it has lost 16 figures (66 percent of its original strength). The weapons carried by each unit of Indian archers are described as Various/Bows. The Indians will use Various when engaged in melees and Bows when engaged in missile fire. The maximum range of the bows carried by the Indian archers is 15 inches. According to the explanation in Section 6.1: “These Missile Ranges represent a tactical fighting area, relative to the unit move distances rather any precise “scaled-down” ranges. Note that the ranges of foot bows, horse bows and slings are the same. This is partly because the ballistic ranges were similar . . .” Turning to the Macedonian formations, each unit of pikemen (1 and 2) contains 32 figures, arranged in 4 rows or ranks of 8. These heavy infantry have a fighting value of 5-6, a unit quality rating of Veterans, and are armed with pikes, obviously. Being Veterans, the pikemen will have to check morale when casualties add up to 21 or more figures. The Hoplites have a fighting value of 4-6, are Veterans, and carry spears instead of pikes. With a roster of 30 figures, their unit break point (at which a morale check is required) is 20 “kills”. Diagram A shows the status of this training field after Steps 3 and 4 of the Sequence of Play have been completed. Step 3 is the movement phase, and Step 4 is the Rally Phase. Step 5 is the missile fire phase. Here, according to the explanation on page 10, “Missile Fire is simultaneously adjudicated by both players”. As the Macedonian units do not possess any missile weapons, the Indian units will be the only ones shooting, the only ones rolling dice. The white bars in the diagram show the maximum reach or range of the arrows launched by the Indian archers. All the enemy units are within range. The different coloured bars indicate the division of targets for each participating unit. For example, Indian archers in Unit A will let fly against the pikemen in Unit 1 and Unit 2. Archers in Unit B will target Units 2 and 3, while the archers of Unit C will focus all of their arrows against the ranks of Unit 3. Section 6.4 on page 22 explains the firing procedure and how “kills” are scored. It reads: “One die is rolled for each firing figure (1:1) against most target unit types. Every “6” rolled produces one “Kill,” regardless of the target unit type”. In terms of dice rolled then, Unit A will pick up 8 dice; Units A and B will gather 9 dice, and Units B and C will scoop up an impressive total of 19 dice. There are 3 types of target protection in the Tactica II rules. These are not modifiers per se, but the classification does affect the number of dice thrown. For example, based on my study, Macedonian phalangites are neither well-protected or fully-protected targets, so they will receive missiles from each firing figure. Well-protected target units, such as hoplites, who carry a rather large shield, will have 2 dice rolled against them for every 3 enemy figures firing. Fully-protected target units, such as cataphracts or knights, will have 1 dice rolled against them for every 2 enemy figures firing. Returning to Diagram A, Units 1 and 2 will receive arrows from each Indian archer figure. The Greek Hoplites, however, will only have 12 dice rolled against them, as they are considered well-protected. (Nineteen figures at 2 dice for every 3 figures equals 6 groups of 3 times 2 dice which produces 12 dice total. Only whole multiples of 3 firing figures apply.) 

Eight dice are rolled to see what happens to the pikemen in Unit 1. Two figures are hit. Reading further on page 22, under Section 6.4, it is explained: “When Massed units receive Kills, the figures are not physically removed. Use casualty markers, numbered counters, or some other simple method for recording losses”. There is also this: “All Kills applied to a Massed unit are applied to the “living” rear Rank(s) of the unit. It is assumed that wherever these losses actually occurred historically, the gaps were filled by other soldiers”. For the purposes of this exercise, I shall use red Xs to indicate “killed” figures. Two of these Xs were placed on the rear rank of Macedonian Unit 1. Nine dice were selected and rolled against Unit 2. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on one’s viewpoint), not a single die showed the needed result. The pikemen had survived this volley. Twelve dice were picked up and shaken to see what happened to the Hoplites in Unit 3. Three dice registered as hits or “kills”. According to Section 6.8 of the rules, “If any target unit receives at least 3 Kills in one Turn (from all shooting sources combined), it must take a Control Test. If the unit fails the test it is Halted for the entire next Turn—making no movement in any Phase”. According to Section 8.0 of the rules (pages 38-39), Control Tests use two six-sided dice, and the number required to pass is a “7” or higher. The quality of a unit taking the test may modify this number. The Greek Hoplites are Veterans, so the modifier to the required number is 0. This unit needs to roll a “7” or better with two dice in order to pass. The Hoplites roll a 4 and fail, so they are halted. After the missile fire phase is completed, the game move sequence finishes out with melee, pursuit, and breakthrough movement. As the focus of this particular scenario is missile fire resolution, I will skip forward to the next turn of play. Diagram A-1 shows the state of the field/table after the Macedonians have moved. 

The Indian archers have remained in place. The Hoplites, as a result of their failed Control Test, are halted. During the Rally Phase, which follows Movement, they can rally automatically, according to Section 5.14 on page 19. They are still within range, however, so will be subjected to another volley of arrows. Once again, 8 dice are picked up by the archers in Unit A. These are rolled against the pikemen in Unit 1. Even though the range has decreased, the archers did not do at all well. None of their arrows found a target. The pikemen of Unit 1 are safe and are looking forward to moving into melee contact during the next turn. Unit 2 readies itself for the 9 dice thrown by the archers from Units A and B. Three of the dice indicate hits or “kills”, so another Control Test is required. The pikemen of Unit 2 roll an 11, and pass with ease. They too will be making contact with the archers in the next game turn. Twelve dice are grabbed and rolled against the rallied or recovered Hoplites of Unit 3. This volley only produces a single hit, so a total of 4 Hoplites have been taken out of the battle. They can move next turn, but will be late in joining the melee against the archers. They will also be subjected to another volley from the Indians in Unit C. 

Thoughts

The Indian archers rolled 58 dice during these 2 missile fire phases. A total of 9 Macedonian and Greek figures were removed. That impresses me as quite a few dice for very little impact. On the other hand, I did not have to roll any “save dice” for the Macedonians and Greeks. The “Missile Storm” rules are a nice touch, though I wondered about the automatic rally and recovery. I also wondered why there was not a negative modifier for long range fire or a positive modifier for short range fire. A third question was raised about the protection rating given to the pikemen. I would have thought that their hedgerow of pikes would have presented some kind of barrier to incoming arrows. 

Exercise 2

Diagram B illustrates the second training exercise conducted on a portion of my small table top. Three units of Hoplites (A, B, and C), taken from the Greek (City States) army list on page L 4, stand in the way of 2 units of Pezetaroi (1 and 2) and a unit of Hypaspists (3) drafted from the Macedonian (Philip—Alexander) army list on page L 7. Unit A contains 36 figures, arranged in 3 ranks of 12. These heavy infantry have a fighting value of 5-6, are rated as Militia Grade (MG), and carry spears. Being a low quality unit, they will have to test their morale when 18 figures have been lost. Unit B has 27 figures, formed in 3 ranks of 9. These Hoplites are Veterans, have a fighting value of 5-6 as well, and will break or potentially break when 18 figures are removed. 

The Hoplites in Unit C are rated as Elite (EL), carry spears, and have a fighting value of 5-6 like the other units. The 24 figures in this formation are arranged in 3 ranks of 8. They will have to test their morale when 18 figures have been “killed”. On the Macedonian side of the staged contest, Units 1 and 2 are 48-figures strong. Both units have 6 ranks of 8 figures. As in the previous encounter, these units of pikemen are Veterans, carry a very long weapon, and have a fighting value of 5-6. The Hypaspists in Unit 3 also have a fighting value of 5-6, but these heavy infantry (phalanx or PH in Tactica II “language”) are arranged in 3 ranks of 10 figures, are Elite troops and carry spears. 

At the start of the melee phase of the game turn (the sixth step in an eight-step process), both sides roll a d6. This roll is not modified. The high score gets to decide in which direction, in which order, left to right or right to left, melees are resolved. For the sake of this example, the Macedonians win the die roll by a score of 4 to 1 and elect to conduct the combats from their left to their right. The melees start then, with the action between the Hypaspists (Unit 3) and the Elite Hoplites (Unit C). Even though the units are not aligned perfectly, all of the figures in the front rank will fight. The Macedonians secure 10 dice, while the Greeks pick up 8 dice. Both sides roll; both sides are looking for 5s or 6s. Each unit manages to inflict 2 casualties on the other. These are marked and the melee continues next turn. Moving to the next melee area, Unit 2 will fight against Unit B. In this particular situation, the Macedonians receive extra dice as they have a depth advantage versus the Hoplites. Per the bullet point at the bottom of page 33, “pike-armed heavy infantry phalanxes receive 3 additional dice for each rank deeper than their opponent”. The Macedonians are 6 ranks deep; the Hoplites are 3 ranks deep, so 9 additional dice are awarded to the pikemen. Adding the dice for the figures fighting in the front rank, this gives a total of 17 dice. The Greeks will roll just 9 dice for the 9 figures in their front rank. Again, each unit is looking for 5s or 6s. The pikemen skewer 5 Greeks and the Hoplites respond by killing 3 phalangites. These casualties are marked. In the third melee, the Macedonians will have another handful of 17 dice (8 for those in the front rank and 9 for being three ranks deeper than their enemy), while the Hoplites will have 12 dice, even though a portion of the unit is facing open ground. The result? The Hoplites do rather well and eliminate 7 pikemen while suffering 5 casualties in return. At the end of one round of fighting, both sides have lost 12 figures. 

In the second round of melee, no other units have moved into contact and the melee direction decision goes to the Greeks by a score of 3 to 2. The Hoplites decide to conduct the melees from their left to right. Diagram B-1 illustrates the results of these combats. Unit A will roll 12 dice. Unit 1 will roll 15 dice, as their depth advantage has been reduced to 2 ranks instead of a full 3 ranks. In this second round, the Greeks score 4 hits or kills, while the Macedonians inflict an impressive 9. Moving to the contest between Unit B and Unit 2, 9 dice are rolled for one side and 17 dice for the other, as the pikemen still maintain a good depth advantage. The combat is almost even: the Greeks score 5 hits, and the Macedonians score 6 hits. These losses are marked. 

The final contest sees 8 dice rolled for the Hoplites and 10 thrown for the Hypaspists. In this local action, the Hoplites score 4 kills against 3 inflicted by the Hypaspists. These procedures are repeated for the third round of this melee. (Please see Diagram B-2.) 

The direction determination is won by the men from Macedon. They choose to start with the Hypaspists. Once again, 10 dice are rolled against 8. The battle is even: 3 figures from each unit are marked as lost. In the centre, 14 Macedonian dice are rolled against 9 Greek dice. The results inform that 3 Greek Hoplites are laid low and just 2 Macedonian pikemen are eliminated. On the Macedonian right, their depth advantage is increased to 3 ranks due to the losses suffered by the Hoplites. So, 17 dice will be thrown versus 12 rolled for the Greeks. This combat produces 2 casualties against the pikemen and 6 losses for the Hoplites. Unit A has exceeded its unit breakpoint of 18 “kills”. It has to take a Fates Test to see if it remains on the field. As it is rated as a Militia Grade unit, the roll is modified by a negative one. In sum, this unit must roll a 12 on 2d6 in order to stay in the fight. The roll is . . . an 8. This Greek unit collapses and runs. The opposing unit of pikemen choose to execute a “breakthrough move” and advance 4 inches. Unit B is close enough (within 4 inches) to the routing unit, so it has to check its morale as a result. The Hoplites in Unit B need to roll a 7 or better on 2d6. The roll is . . . a 7. They just make it. Had they failed this test, they would have become disordered and would have been at a disadvantage in the melee for the next turn. 

Thoughts

Goodness, but I rolled a lot of dice during this exercise. While one of the Hoplite units failed under the pressure of the “push of pike”, the combat was not what I would call exciting or riveting. It seemed a simple contest of throwing more 5s and 6s than the enemy unit. While this approach to resolving close combat is clean (there are no tables of multiple modifiers to consult such as one would find in Impetvs or L’Art de la Guerre), it does seem like it would take a while to produce a tangible result. Perhaps my experience with Armati colours my assessment, but I wondered about units participating in turn after turn of melee with no apparent impact on their ability to fight - well, as long as they were not disordered and had an intact front line. 

Exercise 3

In Diagram C, 4 cohorts of legionaries, drafted from the Roman (Marian) army list on page L 14, are attacked by 3 warbands of Germans, selected from the Gallic & German army list on page L 15. Three of the cohorts have 8 figures, deployed in a single line. The fourth cohort, the Eagle Cohort of the legion, has 16 figures, organized in 2 ranks of 8. The Romans have a fighting value of 5-6, are Veterans, and are listed as carrying pila and swords. The German warbands are all 30 figures strong. Each unit has 3 ranks of 10 figures. The warbands are classed as Veterans as well, and are armed with various weapons. In contrast to the Romans, the German warriors have a fighting value of 4-6 and may receive an impetus benefit or bonus in combat situations. 

During the movement phase of a game turn, let us imagine that it is the fourth turn of a fairly large if also fictional battle, 3 warbands represented by Units A, B, and C, charge and make contact with a solid Roman line composed of 4 cohorts, labeled I, II, III, and IV. As in the previous example, each side rolls a d6. The Romans win 5 to 3 and decide that the melees will be resolved starting on their left and moving to their right. This first contest sees Cohort IV attacked by Warband A. Prior to rolling any melee dice, the German warriors roll 2d6 to see if they get to use their impetus benefit against the Romans. Just like the Control Test, they will need a score of “7” or better. Unit A throws an “8”, so they will get impetus. This means that instead of just 10 dice (the number of figures in the front rank), they will receive 20 dice. In addition, the Germans gain 1 extra die for each rank that they are deeper than the Romans. So, they will add 2 more dice to their already impressive total of 20. But wait.The Romans get to throw their pila before the actual melee starts. As there are 8 figures in the line, 8 dice will be thrown. Sixes, as always, indicate a hit with a missile. The Romans roll their dice and manage just 1 hit. This casualty is deducted from the German front line, so the actual number of dice that they will get to roll is 20. (Ten figures in the front rank, minus one due to the pila volley, doubled for the impetus bonus, plus two more dice for rank depth, equals 20 dice.) The bellowing warriors roll their dice and score 6 kills against the cohort. At the same time, the heavy infantry of the cohort roll 8 dice and inflict 6 losses on the warband. In the next round of melee, just 2 Roman figures will face a horde of 23 barbarians. The individual cohort does not have a breakpoint, but the full legion does. As this cohort is a part of a Veteran legion, 7 cohorts will have to be destroyed or routed before the legion decides to quit the field. In the centre of this clash, Cohorts II and III are engaged by Warband B. Though portions of each cohort are facing open ground, it seemed to me that all Roman figures would count for throwing the pila, so 16 dice were collected and rolled to see what damage would be done to the charging Germans. Even with all those heavy javelins, the legionaries only scored 2 kills. The Germans checked for impetus and achieved it with a roll of 10. Eight front rank figures doubled, plus the rank bonus gave the German warriors a total of 18 dice. As the Germans were engaged with 2 Roman units, their dice would be divided, so 9 rolls were against Cohort III and 9 were against Cohort II. Each Roman cohort would roll 8 dice against the barbarians. The German warriors killed 2 Romans in Cohort III and 3 Romans in Cohort II. The legionaries inflicted 7 casualties against the Germans. In the action between Cohort I and Warband C, the Roman pila volley took out a single enemy warrior. The Germans rolled to see if they won impetus. A result of 8 indicated that impetus was achieved, so 9 dice for figures surviving in the front rank were doubled and 2 were added because of the depth advantage. The barbarians would roll 20 dice versus the 8 thrown by the Romans. The melee was a bloody tie with both units losing 5 figures. 

The melee during the next game turn is shown in Diagram C-1. 

The Romans won the direction roll and decided to proceed from their right to their left. As this was the second round of close combat, there would be no more pila volleys from the Roman ranks. Now it was just sword, shield, skill, and courage. The Eagle Cohort of the legion rolled 8 dice. The Germans checked to see if they maintained their impetus. The required score was “8” on 2d6. The warriors rolled a paltry 5. There would be no doubling of the dice in this round. For this melee, the Germans would roll 10 dice while the legionaries would roll 8. The warband suffered 3 losses but inflicted 4 against the long gray line of heavy infantry. In the centre, another check was made regarding impetus. The required score was rolled so 21 dice would be divided between the two Roman cohorts. (Ten figures in the front rank doubled plus the extra die for depth advantage. Note: The third line of the German warband has been rather depleted, so it does not add an extra die.) Eleven dice were thrown against Cohort III, and 10 dice were rolled against Cohort II. The Romans tossed 16 dice. Cohort III lost 3 figures. Cohort II was destroyed when it lost 5, and the warband suffered 6 kills. As a product of this destruction, both Cohort I and Cohort III had to take a Control Test to see if their morale, their condition would be affected by seeing friends rout. Each Cohort needed to score a “7” or better on 2d6. Fortunately for the Romans, both units passed the test. Continuing to the melee on the Roman left, Cohort IV would roll just 2 dice. The Germans checked to see if they maintained their impetus and did with a roll of 10. The barbarians would throw 21 dice (10 figures doubled plus the extra for the rank bonus) versus just a pair of dice for the enemy. The result? The surviving Romans took 2 Germans with them, but were killed four times over. Cohort IV was wiped out. Once again, the men of Cohort III needed to take a Control Test after seeing the friendly unit to their immediate left erased from the field. 

Thoughts

Unlike other sets of rules in my comparatively small collection, Tactica II permits the full deployment of a Marian Roman legion on my table top. (The rules also provide for the depiction of Republican legions with their separate but carefully coordinated lines of Hastati, Principes, and Triarii.[4]) In fact, if I reduce the given dimensions for figure bases, for unit footprints, I could comfortably fit 4 legions (or perhaps even 6) on a model battlefield. Tactica II, like Impetvs, provides for the pre-melee volley of Roman pila. In the scenario just played, this tactic did not help the Romans. Indeed, it would be fair to say that they were swamped, and in fairly quick order too. One likes to think, however, that the second and third line of the legion would have been able to move up and contain the two gaps created by the rampaging German warriors. 

Exercise 4

In Diagram D, 3 units of heavy cavalry taken from the Arab (Conquest) army list on page L 18 have charged into melee against 3 units of heavy infantry Skutatoi, drawn from the Byzantine army list on page L 17. Two of the heavy cavalry units (1 and 2) are Nobles, have a fighting value of 4-6, a unit quality of Elite, and are armed with lances. Unit 1 has 18 figures, formed in 2 ranks of 9; Unit 2 has 14 figures, arranged in 2 ranks of 7. Unit 3 is a group of Persian heavy cavalry containing 16 figures deployed in 2 ranks of 8. These troopers have a fighting value of 5-6, are rated as Veterans, and carry a mix of lances/bows. The formations of Byzantine foot (A, B, and C) are all the same. Each contains 24 figures organized in 3 ranks of 8. Each has a fighting value of 4-6, each formation is made up of Veterans, and each unit carries spears. 

Prior to the Arab and Persian cavalry making contact with the Byzantine infantry, the Persian horse was able to inflict 3 kills on Unit C with a volley of arrows. These casualties have been marked with red Xs. As with the infantry contests previously described, both sides rolled a d6 to determine the order of the melees. The Arab/Persian force won with a score of 5 to 2. Per Section 7.3.1 of the rules, the flank attack by Unit 3 versus Unit C takes priority, so this engagement will be resolved first. To keep things simple, the Arab/Persian force will conduct the melees from its left to right. Per Section 7.7, which covers the requirements of flank attacks, the Persian cavalry has successfully met these requirements. As a result, the Persian horse will get double the number of dice in the melee, so 8 figures in the front rank produces 16 dice. The Persians, being a unit of heavy cavalry, can also qualify for impetus against the enemy infantry. They take a Control Test, hoping for a score of “7” or higher. They roll a 9, so the impetus advantage is secured. The Persians gain an additional 8 dice, so they will roll a large handful of 24 six-sided dice in this melee round. The Byzantine infantry in Unit C is automatically disordered as a result of being struck in the flank. As a penalty, they will lose half of their normal melee dice, so 8 figures in the front rank equals 8 dice, take away half, and the poor bloody infantry gets only 4 dice in this combat. As they are also being attacked from the front, they have to divide this low number of dice, so they will roll just 2 dice against the flanking Persians. The result of the melee is as follows: The Byzantines manage to unhorse 1 cavalryman, while the Persians, needing to roll 4-6 on their dice, skewer, stab, and ride down a terrible total of 15 Byzantine figures. Added to their previous losses from arrows, this brings the casualty count to 18. Though a Veteran unit, this amount of death and destruction pushes the Byzantines past their unit breakpoint. They must take an immediate Fates Test, even before resolving the melee against the Arab cavalry attacking them frontally. They need to roll an 11 or 12 on 2d6. They roll a 6 and fail, so they break and rout. Since Unit B is in the path of the routing survivors, this formation must take an immediate Control Test to see if they become disordered. Again, the base number needed to pass is “7” or better. Unit B picks up 2 dice and throws an 11. Whew, they have successfully passed and will not be disordered for the melee against the cavalry of Unit 2. 

As Unit B is in contact with a couple of enemy formations, its melee dice will be divided for the contests. Unit B will roll 4 dice against the Arab Nobles of Unit 2, and it will roll 4 dice in support of the melee versus Unit 1. The action between Units B and 2 is resolved first. The Arab cavalry checks to see if it gets impetus versus the foot. (Note: If the enemy infantry were classed as PH armed with spears and especially pikes, the cavalry would not get impetus. In fact, against these types of units, PH and not FT, the cavalry would roll just half of their available dice.) They roll a 5, so do not gain double the normal amount of dice. The Nobles will throw 7 dice against 4 dice for the Byzantines. Three infantry are killed, while just 1 cavalryman is “removed” from his unit’s stand. The action now moves to the melee on the right of the Arab/Persian line, where Unit 1 faces Unit A and part of Unit B. The cavalry checks to see if the are granted impetus for their charge. They have impetus, so will roll 18 dice total. This number will have to be divided between enemy units, however, as Unit 1 is in physical contact with Units A and B. At the same time, Unit A will roll 8 dice and Unit B will roll 4 dice, for a total of 12. The close combat is rather bloody. Six figures are removed from Unit A; 5 are removed from Unit B, and the Arab Nobles suffer 6 casualties. As it stands, things do not look good for the Byzantines. In the next game turn, the Persian cavalry will fall upon the flank of the engaged foot of Unit B causing them to become disordered. This will impact their fighting ability. The Persians will have double the amount of dice before they check to see if they also get the impetus advantage. It seems safe to conclude that the Byzantine infantry will not last long. 

Thoughts

Flank attacks and impetus are powerful variables in Tactica II, as they were in dozens of historical examples and as they are in many other sets of rules. Again, it is impressive the amount of dice that are needed in some melee situations. In the learning lab just completed, I wondered why the Persian horse would not have pursued the fugitives into the flank of the exposed unit and generated another melee that very turn. Then again, I may be letting my limited experience with Impetvs and Hail Caesar influence my thinking. Either that, or I need to read the spiral-bound rules a fourth time.  

Exercise 5

My final solo seminar or scenario is illustrated in Diagram E. Here, a unit of Indian archers, reinforced by a couple of units of elephants, contend with a few units of pike-wielding heavy infantry. The archers or Foot (FT - Unit B) were taken from the familiar Indian army list on page L 9. These troops numbered 18 figures, arranged in 2 ranks of 9, and were rated as Militia Grade (MG) infantry. They carried various/bows and in the previous turn, managed to score a few arrow hits against the advancing phalanx. Their fighting value is 4-6. The elephants (Units A and C) were classed as massed as opposed to a screen and had a fighting value of 5-6. The unit quality of these animals was Veteran, they had the impetus ability, and their crews carried a variety of weapons (but no long range missile ability). The enemy formations were drafted from the Macedonian (Philip—Alexander) army list on page L 7. These phalangites numbered 48 figures in each unit, arranged in 6 ranks of 8. Their fighting value was 5-6, and they were Veterans. 

At the start of the melee phase of the current turn, both sides rolled a d6. The Indians won the directional determination by a score of 6 to 3 and decided to start on their right and move to their left. The contest between the elephants of Unit C and the pikemen of Unit 3 would be conducted first. The elephants roll 2d6 to see if they can claim impetus against the pikemen. The result is a “7”, so the elephants and their crews just manage to achieve the impetus bonus. Per Section 10.7 of the rules, each elephant model gets 3 melee dice. There are 3 models in this unit, so 9 dice will be rolled. As impetus has been secured, that number is doubled to 18 dice. The pikemen will throw 8 dice. According to Section 7.11.1, the depth of the phalanx does not offer any benefit when facing elephants or even cavalry. The larger Indian elephants do some damage in this first round by stomping or otherwise discomforting 7 figures in the opposing phalanx. In response, the pikemen are only able to inflict 2 casualties against the elephants. In Section 10.7.1 of the rules, one is informed that each model of a larger Indian elephant represents 6 figures for purposes of tracking casualties or losses. In the Section just above that, one learns that elephant units keep “all of their melee dice until the unit is broken”. The losses were marked and I moved to the centre contest. The Indian archers picked up 9 dice. They would need to roll 5s and 6s to inflict damage. The pikemen gathered 8 dice for the front rank and then 12 more dice, as the phalanx receives 3 additional dice for each rank of depth more than an opponent. For their 20 total dice, the Macedonian infantry would need to throw 4s, 5s, or 6s to produce casualties. The archers did not do well. They lost 11 versus 3 kills suffered by the pikemen. Being a Militia Grade unit, these casualties pushed the archers past their unit breakpoint. A Fates Test was conducted. The archers needed to roll a 12 on 2d6 (their unit quality rating modified the number required) and rolled a 4. The archers, those that were left anyway, fled in terror from the punishing pike phalanx. This development caused a morale check (disorder test) for the elephants in Unit A. They needed to roll a “7” or better to remain sound or in good order. Two dice were thrown and a 5 was the result. The elephants would be disordered when they fought the pikemen of Unit 1. As a consequence of being disordered, the elephants could not claim or roll for impetus. Instead of rolling 9 dice (3 dice for each model), the elephants in Unit A would roll 4 (half of 9 is 4.5, rounded down), while the pikemen would roll 8 dice. The elephants, even though in a state of disorder, managed to knock down 3 Macedonians. The pikemen inflicted 2 losses on the elephants. 

In the next game turn, the melees between Units 1 and A and Units 3 and C continued. The pikemen of Unit 2 could not assist either friendly unit as wheeling or pivoting in place would have resulted in a disordering mix of friendly formations. For this melee phase, the Indian retained the directional advantage by rolling a 4 against a 3 thrown by the Macedonians. Once again, the Indians started on their right. Two dice were rolled to see if the elephants of Unit C maintained their impetus. A “9” was the result, so the Indians would roll 18 dice versus just 8 for the enemy foot. The results indicated that 4 more Macedonians were killed, while 3 elephant crew would be removed from the combat. In the action on the left, the Indian elephants were still disordered, so they were limited to just 4 dice. This melee was even: 3 pikemen were eliminated and 3 elephant riders were removed. Diagram E-1 shows the state of the field at this point in the exercise. 

Thoughts

The elephants of Unit A were in trouble as Section 5.14 of the rules informs that disordered units fighting a melee cannot rally. Furthermore, Section 8.6 indicates: “if a disordered unit is outscored by an enemy unit in melee, it must take a Control Test. If this test is failed, the disordered unit is broken”. Otherwise, it seems that elephants versus pikes is a fairly even contest. At 48 figures, the units of foot can absorb more damage, so again, it looks like any contest between pikemen and pachyderms is going to require a lot of dice and at least a few turns before a decision is reached. A further point. I thought it somewhat odd that elephants were permitted to keep all of their melee dice until the unit was broken. If, for large or larger Indian elephants anyway, each model is worth 6 figures, then when the unit has taken 6 figures of casualties, the melee dice of an elephant unit should be reduced by 3, as this is the number of melee dice an elephant model receives. How can a depleted or wounded elephant unit fight as if it is a full-strength elephant unit? 

Thinking about Tinkering

While reading and annotating the rules and while working my way, however slowly and imperfectly through the various educational exercises described above, I could not help but think about making some adjustments to the rules-as-written. There were seven areas or sections of the Tactica II rules that I marked for possible tinkering and “development”. 

First, I considered removing the restrictions on the minimums and maximums with regard to unit frontages. For example, I wondered what would happen and what kind of wargame would result if heavy infantry were permitted to deploy with as few as 6 figures in the front rank or as many as 15 figures in the front rank. Similar questions were asked of the other unit types, though I confess I stayed away, at least for now, from the elephants and chariots. 

Next, finding the several categories of unit quality somewhat limiting, I drafted a revision to this “table” that would increase the number of categories to seven. As this proposal impacted a few other sections of the rules, combining the suggested changes into a table format seemed the logical course of action.

Unit Quality Unit Breakpoint Fates Test Roll Control Test Modifier

Levy          30 percent automatic break minus 2

Militia Grade 40 percent 11-12 minus 1

Average/Regular/Trained 50 percent 10-12 no modifier

Veteran                 60 percent 9-12         plus 1

Elite         70 percent 8-12         plus 2

Guard         80 percent 7-12         plus 3

Legendary         90 percent 6-12         plus 4

As an example, a unit of Athenian hoplites, rated as Average, has 32 figures in their formation. They are deployed in 4 ranks of 8. When they have lost 16 figures, or 50 percent of their original strength, they have to take a Fates Test. They have to roll a 10, 11, or 12 in order to stay on the field. The Control Test modifier, which is zero, will be applied in all other situations, such as being too close to friends who have routed. 

After playing around with unit quality, it was not a great leap to consider the abilities of army generals and their subordinates. Instead of having just 2 types of army general and an abstracted representation of subordinates or divisional commanders, I thought it might be worthwhile to draft a few amendments. The following table offers a summary snapshot of this work in progress and was inspired by experiences while using Impetvs, Hail Caesar, and L’Art de la Guerre.

Rating Command Radius Melee Modifier Morale Modifier

Poor         10 inches         +1         0

Average                 12 inches         +1         +1

Expert         14 inches         +2         +2

Brilliant                 16 inches         +2         +3

Charismatic/

Genius         18 inches         +3*         +4*

Rating             Figure Value Cost in Points

Poor             5                 5

Average                     10         10

Expert             15         15

Brilliant                     20         20

Charismatic/

Genius             30*         30

*Note: Charismatic/Genius commanders such as Alexander, Hannibal, and Caesar may have their melee modifier, morale modifier, and figure value adjusted for specific scenarios and or on agreement of the assembled player-generals. 

Finding the movement rates of Tactica II a bit generic, I thought some variety might be added if the movement rates of Armati 2nd Edition were substituted. Heavy infantry would move 6 inches and light infantry and skirmishers would move 9 inches instead of all foot units moving a uniform 8 inches. Additionally, I wondered what would happen if I bumped up the speed of light cavalry to 18 inches. 

As a tangent to this tinkering with the movement rules, I thought I might try to add a wrinkle that would allow units in skirmish formation to be recalled and reformed. With this proposed amendment, light infantry, such as peltasts, and light cavalry could be recalled and reformed into the massed formation “order” described in Tactica II. This would be considered a complex move or it would require a control test. In conjunction with the adoption of the Armati 2nd Edition movement rates, I would also borrow the Armati 2nd Edition missile ranges, as I feel these provide a little more variety. 

My final adjustment or amendment would also be taken from the Armati 2nd Edition rules. In broad overview, for each round of melee fought, each participating unit would receive a fatigue marker. Each fatigue marker would result in 1 melee die being removed from the number a unit could roll in a subsequent close combat phase. For example, a unit of hoplites with 11 figures in the front rank would typically throw 11 dice when fighting an enemy. Let us say that the hoplites have fought for 3 rounds. The unit would have 3 fatigue markers. Assuming that the front rank is still intact at 11 figures, in the fourth round of close combat, this unit of hoplites would roll 8 dice (11 dice for 11 figures minus 3 dice for the 3 fatigue markers). If a unit was covered in fatigue markers so that it could not roll any melee dice, then a “rule” would be established where a unit would always roll at least 1 six-sided die when engaged in melee. 

Remarks

On page 60 of the Tactica II rule book, there is an order of battle provided for a 21-unit and 2,000-point strong Macedonian army (of Alexander). On the same page, there is an order of battle given for a 22-unit and 2,000-point strong Persian army (of Darius). It would be a relatively simple matter then, to fabricate the various units, set up some terrain pieces, deploy the opposing armies, and stage my first official wargame using Tactica II. Thinking back to the educational exercises completed over the course of a few weeks, I hesitate to do so as I am imagining the handfuls of dice that will have to be thrown turn after turn. I am also wondering about handling the 10 units of skirmishers (the combined strength of both sides). At the same time, I can see the value of wargaming this “guided scenario”. Then again, while reading through the rules a second and third time, I found myself thinking about staging a historical battle with Tactica II. What would Mantinea 362 BC look like, and how would it play? Could I select a previous Battle Day engagement and refight it using Tactica II? What would that be like? Bosworth has been chosen for Battle Day 2020. Would it be possible to stage a refight of this Wars of the Roses clash using my new set of rules? While there are a number of army lists provided in the spiral-bound set, these stop with the year 1066, approximately four centuries short of 1485. Further, there are no rules in Tactica II for handguns or artillery. Perhaps I could find some direction by posting questions to the members of the Yahoo Group? Perhaps I should post my list of adjustments and amendments to get their impressions, suggestions, and reactions? Perhaps my time would be better used by spending the summer months playing a number of 1,000 points per side scenarios with Tactica II, as written, until I feel very comfortable and very confident. Once I have staged a number of these games (a dozen? two dozen? more?), then I can graduate to larger battles or historical refights and experimenting with various rule variants. 

Notes

1. I think the use of educational titles is apt. My guess is that readers will be aware of Arty Conliffe and his contributions to the library of wargaming rules. He wrote Armati, Advanced Armati, and had a hand in Armati 2nd Edition. For the Horse and Musket period, or more specifically, the Napoleonic Wars, he produced Shako. For World War 2, he wrote Crossfire and Spearhead. I have experience with the first four rule books. The first ancients wargame report that I was fortunate enough to have published appeared in the July/August 1996 issue of MWAN (Midwest Wargamers Association Newsletter). The 8-page narrative was titled: “Springtime in Pontus: An Ancients Wargame Report”. The rules used were Armati. From what I have been able to gather, a lot of folks have been waiting quite a few years for Tactica II to appear. Please see the discussion on TMP at: http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=496099. With regard to these new rules being familiar or having familiar sections, I would point to the sections covering or governing unit types, the game move sequence, terrain, and the rout path as well as impact of broken units. 

2. The definition of “proper wargame” is subjective, though I would expect or imagine that such a wargame would include the following: a playing surface decorated to look like an actual battlefield; two miniature armies, painted and based and formed into units; two player-generals and perhaps a subordinate or partner in command, along with dice, rulers, other playing aids and of course, rules. Here are a few links to the hundreds of blogs or sites that does an excellent job of illustrating this working definition. Please see https://westsoundwarriors.blogspot.com/2019/02/tactica-ii-romans-vs-parthians.html, https://gapagnw.blogspot.com/2019/05/julian-vs-shapur-ii-hail-caesar-aar.html, or http://caliban-somewhen.blogspot.com/2015/01/battle-of-sulga-121-bc-romans-against.html. For a brief video showing how spectacular the hobby can be when it is “done right” (this, of course, is also a subjective assessment), please see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyUH_Y6UqAE. My guess is that readers will be aware that I do not use miniatures, at least in the traditional or usual sense, and that my wargaming is primarily a solo pursuit. On these technical but significant points then, I would readily stipulate to the statement that my wargames are not “proper wargames”. 

3. Succumbing to curiosity and temptation, I ordered my copy from On Military Matters in early January of 2019. Unfortunately, due to a variety of factors, some of which involved personal and professional reverses, I was unable to find and dedicate sufficient time for a thorough reading of the rules until the last week of April. After rereading the rules, after checking out the posts on the Yahoo Group (please see https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/TACTICA/info), and after attempting and discarding a number of drafts of ideas, this article was started in the early evening of 10 May. 

4. In Simon Miller’s To the Strongest! rules, a player-general can deploy a Polybian Roman Army with its legion(s) in the historically correct 3 lines. Four, if one counts the velites. Interested readers are invited to check the following site: https://aventineminiatures.co.uk//wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Polybian-Romans.pdf.