Post by Eric Farrington on Sept 8, 2020 14:55:39 GMT
I finished painting my 6mm Diadochi armies from Baccus Miniatures and I wanted to celebrate with a game of Heirs of Empire. This was the game I built to use these armies in. It focuses specifically on the Wars of the Diadochi after Alexander's death. As an added bonus, I am going to add the rules for Heirs of Empire on the Wargame Vault so you can pick them up for yourself!
Today, we are going to look at a side show operation after the Conference at Babylon established Perdiccas as the Royal Regent.
After Perdiccas solidified his position as Regent defending Roxanne and her unborn son, he had a great deal of work formalizing and consolidating Alexander’s gains. This was no longer a campaign to push the boundaries of the empire, instead it was stabilizing the internal arrangements of the Macedonian Empire. This included regions bypassed by Alexander for various reasons. One of his first goals was to re-open the old Persian Royal Road.
Perdiccas turned his attention to a Persian Satrap that had still been loyal to the old regime. This rebel still possessed a formidable force and threatened the re-opening of the roadway. Perdiccas mustered the army and marched to overthrow the Satrap.
History does not record who this was, but we do know that Perdiccas fought two battles with his Persian foe before defeating his army in central Anatolia. We also know nothing about these battles, so they make good fodder for our battle reports here!
Forces
We will be using the Perdiccan Army list on one side, versus a Minor Satrap list on the other side of the board. They are of equal points.
Perdiccas’ Royal Army
Right Wing:
Companion Cavalry- Perdiccas
Center:
Silver Shields
Bronze Shields
2 Thureophoroi
Left Wing:
Epilektoi Cavalry
Persian Satrap
Right Wing:
Epilekotoi Cavalry- Satrap
Center:
2 White Shields
1 Thureophoroi
1 Archers
2 Skirmishers
Left Wing:
2 Asphracts (Javelins)
We don’t know too much about the forces involved, so some assumptions have been made based on the Persian Royal Army during Alexander's campaigns and the later forces Perdiccas used during the wars of the Diadochi.
Mission
I randomly rolled up a Set-piece battle. This aligns a bit with what we know about the history. Perdiccas faced the rebel Persian Satrap and fought two battles before defeating him. A set-piece battle would fit right in for such a campaign.
Set-up
The rules for terrain placement simply specify have one item of terrain per each 24MU x 24MU foot section. We will be playing on a 48MU x 48MU board.
On one board edge there is a river meanders on its way. This will help secure the flanks as it is dangerous terrain. The opposite short board edge has a series of rocks and hills, making it difficult terrain. In the center is watering hole with a small oasis next to it. The watering hole is impassable.
Persian Deployment
The Persians anchor their left flank on the river, with the Macedonians using the river on their right flank. From left to right the Persians are Epilektoi Cavalry, then Thureophoroi, White Shields, Archers, White Shields, Skirmishers, and then the two Javelin Asphracts. The Macedonians follow the standard Companions, Thureophoroi, Silver Shields, Bronze Shields, Thureophoroi, and then Epilektoi on the left flank.
Perdiccas' Deployment
You can read all about how it turns out on the blog here:
bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2020/09/battle-report-heirs-of-empire-perdiccas.html