Post by Eric Farrington on Sept 27, 2021 14:32:21 GMT
After Perdiccas' death at the Nile, the remaining Successors met to divide the empire once more. At Triparadisus in 321 BCE Antipater was made the new Regent. Perdiccan loyalists were cut out of the agreement entirely and became rebels against the regent overnight. Antigonus was put in charge to root out these rebels as Strategos of Asia. At the command of the Royal Army, Antigonus marched into Asia and forced Eumenes of Cardia to withdraw into a mountain fortress and out of the political game.
Eumenes of Cardia was not the only remaining Perdiccan loyalist though. There was a group of Perdiccas' relatives and hold-outs. They gathered an army of their own and prepared to face Antigonus at a pass near Kretopolis in Asia-Minor. They had recruited a phalanx, peltasts, cavalry; a true Macedonian style combined arms force.
Antigonus Monopthalamos left the siege of Eumenes and force marched his troops 300+ miles to get the drop on the Perdiccans. This caught the 4 loyalist generals by surprise and they rushed to rally their troops. A battle between the Royalists and the Perdiccan rebels ensued for control of Asia Minor.
Forces
Again, we know very little of each army, except the following. 1 Perdiccan General was busy raising and forming the Phalanx units. A second one led the Peltasts and Cavalry in a delaying attack on Antigonus' troops. Meanwhile, Antigonus also had a strong cavalry component to his army. There was also a reference to the trumpeting of Antigonus' elephants. Otherwise, we will use the Minor Successor list for the Perdiccan Loyalists Line of Battle and the Antigonus list from the rules for his forces.
Antigonus
Center:
2 Bronze Shields
Elephant
Left:
2 Asphracts Cavalry
Right:
Companion Cavalry- Antigonus (General)
Perdiccan Loyalists
Center:
Bronze Shield - Dokimos (General)
2 White Shields- Attolos
Left:
1 Asphract (Javelins)- Alketas
1 Asphract (Javelins)
Right:
1 Archer
1 Thureophoroi- Polemon
1 Skirmisher
You can read about how I built and painted these armies here.
Mission
To fit the historical situation, today's battle will be a surprise assault fought on a 48MU by 48MU board. In the Surprise Assault, the Attacker can deploy on any board edge, while the defender sets-up in the center of the board. The Defender wins if they can escape the board with up to 15 points of models.
Set-up
After reading up on the battle, we decide to place it on a 48MU x 48MU board with each MU being 1 inch.
The board is a long pass with dangerous mountains on the west side of the board, with large ones being impassable. The east side has hills running along the edge with various clear areas. The Hills themselves are difficult terrain. North and South are the entrances and exits to the pass.
The Perdiccan Loyalists are placed in the center of the board, in column of march heading to the North Side of the Pass. That means they are deployed with their Right Wing in front, Center in the center, and Left wing in the rearguard.
Antigonus places his Right Wing coming down the North side of the pass, the Center threading the hills on the East side of the board, and his left wing coming from the South up the pass.
The Heirs of Empire: Wars of the Diadochi rules are available on the Blood And Spectacles Wargame Vault page.
You can read the full report on the blog:
bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2021/09/battle-report-heirs-of-empire-battle-of.html