At the Roman Republic themed DBA tournament in Devizes yesterday I took Ptolemaic (Cleopatra era) Egyptians, around 50-30 BC, with a scrappy medley of troops including ex Romans, Gallic mercenaries, pirates and brigands from Cilicia and a few local troops, including a small phalanx and some Alexandrian rioters (always entertaining).
My five games were:-
1. Defending Egypt against Simon C.'s Gallic invaders. An initial push by my 'solid centre' of phalangites and ex-Roman legionaries cut a few Gallic warriors down, but a sudden counter-surge by the trousered barbarians saw the unexpected collapse of my swordsmen and pikemen. (Loss 2-4).
IMG_6096.jpeg
2. Now we unwisely invaded the barren wastes of Keith M.'s Parthians, who had deployed a solid wall of cataphracts against us, including some supplied by his Commagene ally, supplemented by some foot and horse archers. Rather than wait to be overrun we attacked, initially achieving a few successes against the heavy horsemen before succumbing to the bronze and steel clad tidal wave. (Loss 2-5).
3. Q. Who is Spartacus? A. John S., at this event...🙂, and he invaded Egypt with his Slave Revolt army, looking for somewhere to settle. The Alexandrian rioters disembarked on the slave right flank and waded in, but a group of ex-slaves fighting in Gallo-German warband style cut them down in short order. A cagey standoff ensued, while the Ptolemaics redeployed cavalry to the right flank. Pushing on, the Egyptian mounted overran ex-slave skirmishers, that enemy flank being saved by the intervention of Spartacus and bodyguard. On the opposite flank the Phalanx and Romans ground relentlessly forward, slaughtering great masses of poorly armed ex-slaves to trigger a win. Win, 4 (+ 4 x Hd) to 1 (+2 x Hd).
IMG_6107.jpeg
4. Facing Dan M.'s invading Polybian Romans. The Romans were assaulted from the Nile by my ravening rioters, who, despite little hope of success, still managed to distract 1/4 of the enemy for most of the battle, including the Triarii. Meanwhile the main Ptolemaic line edged forward, all the while dreading a punchy charge from the invader's Hastati and Principes. However, the rioters seem to have distracted more attention than they deserved, and some fortunate combats as the lines closed saw a Ptolemaic win. 5 to 1 (+2 x Hd).IMG_6111.jpeg
5. Last game, and, just like in game 1, Gauls under Vince C. invaded Egypt. The Alexandrian mob did their stuff, landing from boats on the Gallic left flank, though they didn't last long. Fortunately for Cleo, a burst of initiative (6 PIPs) allowed some decisive manoeuvre: as the Ptolemaic heavy foot charged their opponents Macedonian and Tarentine cavalry arrived on the enemy flanks, causing a sudden Gallic collapse. Win 4 to 1 (+ 2xHd).
IMG_6112.jpeg
A well run event, with some challenging fights against some very capable opponents.
3 wins isn't too shabby there Martin :)
The idea of an amphibious assault rioting mob was amusing :) But well done Martin.
Quote from: Erpingham on Jul 20, 2025, 12:46 PMThe idea of an amphibious assault rioting mob was amusing :) But well done Martin.
They're great fun to use....justifying them taking to the boats historically would be a tough ask, but 'within the rules as written' they're a legal and one of the few strengths this hotch-potch of an army has to offer.
Quote from: Erpingham on Jul 20, 2025, 12:46 PMThe idea of an amphibious assault rioting mob was amusing :) But well done Martin.
French fishermen, perhaps?
Quote from: Cantabrigian on Jul 20, 2025, 01:01 PMQuote from: Erpingham on Jul 20, 2025, 12:46 PMThe idea of an amphibious assault rioting mob was amusing :) But well done Martin.
French fishermen, perhaps?
From a French perspective, an amphibious assault rioting mob might be a good description of the British bovver boys who kept turning up on their shores during the Hundred Years' war. Indeed, I once sat through a splendid production of the Shakespeare history plays performed over three days in which the English were depicted exactly thus ::)
I'm not sure "rioting mob" is a fair description of either English or French raiding forces during the HYW. They were quite well organised. More like organised crime gangs or state-sponsored terrorists really.
Poetic licence ;)