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ALEXANDER's WEAPONRY Recent Research and Its Relevance to Wargaming by Ben Miller

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8 SCENARIOS & VARIANTS ALEXANDER'S WEAPONRY Recent Research and Its Relevance to Wargaming by Ben Miller See, just w hen you think you know me, ju st when Game designers, innuenced by I he his­ you til ink you'll never see sce ne rios or ru les tories they have read, have for some lime va rian ts ever pu bli shed in MO VES, I do a 180 10 beli eved that the Macedoni an infantr'y al­ keep you o ff bala nce . Actua lly, the man ner in ways used the sari ssa. New archeological which Mr. M iller supports and explains hi s va ria nts fi nds have been partially res ponsible for a (even th ough rendered for a nOi-wildly-popular major cha nge in views. Lance points UIl­ gamel is the rea l reason this article is seeing print. eart hed from the Macedonian fune ral 1/ so me more of 'IOU develop thoughtful bases l or variant rules, documen ted by seriOl1 S readings, I'll mound at Chaeronea have shown that only be happy to serioUSly consider them for publica­ the cavalry sarissa were present, as tion as well . - RAS di st inguished by the differi ng sizes of the ca valry and infantry sari ssas . Now rea li zing that onl y the cavalr y carried a sa rissa . it is possible to retranslate and reinterpret the original Greek sources. This knowledge, plus reexam inat ion of the batt lefie ld lerrain, as It is a commonly-held belief that the we ll as ot her supporti ng wo rk, has enabled a Macedonia n in fan ll'y of Alexander I he Great new view of Macecloni an sarissa use 10 be and his falhe r, Phil ip II, reg ularly employed formu lated. the sarissa , or long la nce , in com bat, A sari s­ According 10 the best es ti mat e, the sa consiSled of a wooden sha ft wit h a metal Macedonian cavalry carried a fiftee n fOOl point an d butt spi ke, and varied in lengt h sa rissa, dating from Chaeronea. In game from fifteen to eighteen feel, f rom the Battle terms, hal f the cavalr y in any given scenario of Chaeronea in 338 B.C. unti l Guagamela, involving Phil ip or Alexander should be sel in 331 B.C., the Macedonian infatmy are aside and marked as sarissa-armed. Only the depicted as using the sarissa , and this has Macedonian ca valry, such as the Compan­ been r'eflected in wargame designs concern­ ions, and perhap5 a very few others , were [8.26] Spca r-a rmcd infanr ry (C lass A) recei ve no ing the period. Examples of this are SPI 's defens ive benefit , when allacked by sarissa-ar med saris sa-armed. It should be noted, though, Spanan and Conquerors. This article at ­ caval ry (Cl ass C). that the sarissa-armed cavalry could also tempts 10 show that it was the Macedonia n employ the standard javelin instead of I he The effectiv eness of the saris sa-armed cavalry wh ich carried a sarissa at Chaeronea cavalry was a combillation of their arma­ sa ri ssa. Us ing the Spartan rules as a and I hat I he Macedonian infant ry di d not use framework, ru les fot' sarissa-armed cavalry ment, formation , and shock. Cavalry armed a saris sa in a pitched battle until Guagamela. in I his manner carried a fi ftee n fo ot sarissa would be: These changes will be di scussed in relation 10 along wit h a saber. The sarissa was gripped game rules changes and alteration of unit close 10 the middle and carried l2itber under­ capabil ities. hand, or overhand above the shoulder. A regular Greek hoplite spear of 7 to 8 feet [8.0] SARISSA-ARMED would project only about three and one half CAVALRY feel in fronl of the bearer. A sarissa-armed cavalryman would have about four to five CASES: feet of the sarissa in front of the horse's [8,1 ] MOVEMENT head, which would Outreach a spear-armed hoplite. A Macedonian cavalry squadro n of [8 .1 1] Sa ri ssd -ar me d ca val ry pa y nor ma l movc ­ menl cosr" one hundred and twenty men used a we dge­ shaped formation, with a point facing the [8.2] MELEE COMBAT enemy line. Greek hoplites usually formed in [8.2 1] In the first offensive melee ,-'om bat , and a li ne eight deep. The point rider would, in a on ly the first, double the melee srren gth of th e charge, kill a hoplite with his sarissa and con­ unilS. tinue on with his saber. Wilh a fift een fOOl [8.22] After the firs t offensive me lee . the un irs are sa rissa, combined with the lac k of stirrups, it Ir ea too as normal cavalry. would be necessary to release the sarissa or be [8.23] AI'rer determining [he combat res ult s or rile unhorsed. Behind and to the side of the point firSI ol'fen sive melee, rotl thc dic again, if a "6" is rider were two more horsemen who would rolled, th e unil is disrupt ed, kill Iheir opponents and continue on wit h [8.24] If Ihe defending un il(s) ~ r e elim ina red, the their sabers . Even if none of th e riders killed ca vatr y musl ad va nee i11 10 the va ca ted hex . a second man with their sabers, [here were (8,25] If the sa ri ssJ-nrm ed caval ry are altacked seven ot her men direct ly beh ind them, in pri or tOt hei r Ow n fi r.lt au ac k, do ub le I hei r mel ee every other rank. All th is , plus the shock of a .I treng th. Continue this unli l Ih e sar issa-nrmcd massed cavalry charge would enable the cava lr y makes Ihe ir own first auack. squad ron to pierc e a hopIite line. 9 The inabili ty of the sarissa-armed caval­ Sarissa-armed tioll to .rh e men under them. The addit io n to t he fire combat roll portrays this advantage. ryman to re tain his sarissa after charging ex­ IJII' Clear ~nl/S l ope Stream plains the one turn advantage in melee 1, The fo ur ranks of me n behind the fi rst -' ran k were ab le to maint ain an even wall of strength. Sin ce there is also a chance the at­ 2 tack could unsettle the squadron due to its vi­ spear po int.~ by hol di ng the sa l' issa furt he r 3 olence, a roll for possible disruption is called toward the butt and using t he shoulders o f 4 D for. Defensive ly, the reach of the sarissa the men in fronl fo r support. The butts and woul d put any attacker at a di sadva ntage . 5 '0 ' D ' sha fl s o f lhe first mnk's sarissas would pm­ The reach of the sariss a wou ld void any 6 D D D jec! backward, inl eri o<: king t he men be t ~ ' e en derensive advant age spear-armed in fan t ry them . This, plus Ihe weig ht of thc rear ranks receive . A successful alrac k would demolish [10.1) EXPL.I\.!\IATION OF HES U LTS press ing forward , jammi ng the fron t ranks slill cl ose r toget her, made fla nki ng ma­ that sect ion of the-tlOp ti te line an d carry the " - " = no effecl; " 0 " = disrll pli OIl . Th e affecled attac king cavall'y into the space the hoplit es unils arc lagged by Ih e pla<.:e me nl 01' a di .sru pt io ll neuvers very dif ficult. The increased cos ts to had he ld . ma rker. change fa cing is a depicti on of th is. T he pha­ lanx 's non-ma neu verabili[ y als o made it T he Macedon ian infanl ry carrie d an [10 .2] EFI'ECTS 01; DISIWPTION much more vu lnerable to a fia nk attack as it eigh tee n foot sarissa as opposed to [he caval­ UnilS wh ich arc disrup led in I his ma nner arc wou Id be ve rv hard to turn 10 meet it. If a so 1- ry's fiftee n f OOl one. The Macedonians may Irea led :1 , unil S Ih31 we re di srup ted by cornba l. di er was f OI 'c~ d to drop hi s sarissa, hc had on­ have bee n using the infan try sarissa as eady i.e., they may not inil ia,1e combat or be moved for ly a dagger and ve ry light armol' to figh t with. as 335 B.C. , bUl there is no eviden ce [hat it Ih e dura li on or I heir di sru pi ion. Di srupl iqn ne ver When implememed, these aforemen­ affe U5 lea der un i!.l, All norma l disru pli on rul e.1 was used in a pitched ball Ie un lil Guagamela t ioned rules changes will lessen the role of Ihc appl y. in 33 1 B.C. The Macedon ia n infant ry we re phalanx to a eert ai ll ex ten t, but it maintains trained in the use of bO lh the'hoplite spea r [10 .21 ] When Ihe unil' 3re Slacked with a Leader , an import ant position.
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