The Parthian Kings

[Karvon]

The first in a semi-historical series of battles of the Parthians vs some of their historical enemies.

1. Revolt Against the Seleucids.

Raising the flag of revolt against the foreign dogs, our governor led our nobles and retainers against the local military garrison, encountering them in a gentle valley.

We divided our army in half, placing one wing on each side of the valley. Our lights led the way, followed by our heavy horse archers and a small reserve of cataphracts.

The Seleucids deployed a massive phalanx in the center, with a few medium foot flankers and a light foot screen. Their lancers deployed to cover their left, and some assorted horse and camels covered their right.

We pushed aggressively forward along both flanks, swinging out wide to envelope the advancing enemy forces. Our light horse quickly outflanked the opposing horse and we skirmished them to death on both flanks.

The Seleucids, split their infantry, swinging out to the flanks to counter our threats. Again, our horse archers swarmed around their mediums and slowly shot them to pieces as they charged vainly after our fleet horse.

Some of the pikes got drawn away from the rest in attempting to drive off our horse and we surrounded and shot them up as well, before flanking and breaking them.

With nearly all of their supporters gone and a couple of pikes in rout, the remaining Seleucids gave up.

Final Score: Parthians 41 Seleucids 2.

[Karvon]

The 2nd in a semi-historical series of battles of the Parthians vs some of their historical enemies.

2. Battle along the Euphrates.

We shadowed the invading Seleucid forces out of the higher hills (rerolled) to the banks of the mighty Euphrates, which covered our right flank. A chain of gentle hills snaked across our front and looked down on a pair of large farming complexes on our right. A cluster of smaller fields and nearby villages lay on the far left end of the hills, sealing that flank.
A series of rough patches spread along the center left beyond the hills. A lone spire rose near the center right of the Seleucid side, looking down on connecting hills spreading across their center, a medium-sized date grove before it, with a farming hamlet and surrounding fields sealing off their right flank.

It wasn't the most appealing field, but it did offer more options than the encounter in the rugged hill country had.

We deployed 3 mixed horse archer divisions across the field, with a light foot command opposite the rough sector and a small cataphract command in reserve.

The Seleucids deployed their phalanx in the center with a small mounted command with an elephant covering their left and a couple of medium foot covering their right. A few lights were scattered across the front as a screen with their light horse holding down their far right.

We pushed forward pretty aggressively on both flanks while our light foot moved up through the rough. The Seleucids responded by pushing forward and shifting left to anchor on the river.

On the right, our horse archers drove in his lights and showered his mounted with a hail of arrows, which they unfortunately managed to shrug off. The pikes pushed forward in support, chasing off our horse archers and provided a shelter for his mounted to recover.

On the left, our mixed horse archers quickly saw off the opposing enemy lights and ranged around the hills and moved into the center to help our lights clear away a few enemy lights and mediums defending the rough areas. The Seleucids responded by detaching a couple of pikes to drive off our horse.

In the face of the advancing phalanx and elephant, we began a long retreat on the right, slowly attempting to shift as much as we could to our open left. The Seleucids pushed forward and shifted as fast as their foot could, in an attempt to trap as much as possible against back edge.

In the meantime, our troops pretty much obliterated the scattered Seleucid forces on the left and in the center. His two lone pikes were underfire from all sides and both were flanked before they could form square.

On our right, the Seleucids pressed us to the backedge, driving off a couple of our horse and destroying one of our cataphracts. Most of our horse did manage to get away and work their way around the left. The Seleucid foot turned about to face the wreckage to the rear. Some of our victorious light horse swept down and finished off the previously shot up lancers who'd been hiding behind the pikes.

On the left, one of the embattled pikes broke, and that was the final straw for the Seleucids and then fled the field.

Final Score Parthians - 46 Seleucids - 20

[Karvon]

The 3rd in a semi-historical series of battles of the Parthians vs some of their historical enemies.

3. The Mountain Pass

Following the successful revolt against the Selucids, our king directed his armies ride east against some troublesome Graeco-Bactrian neighbors. The enemy mobilized more quickly than we anticipated and marched to block our advance along the banks of a deep stream running through a mountainous pass. Mountains blocked off the right from about the center to the far edge. On our left, they ran from our far left to the center edge. The stream flowed through the mountains across the middle of the field, ending in a small marsh on our right. A plateau ran from the center towards far side of the field, divided by the stream, and scattered with a few rough areas and a tree or two. A couple of small farms and surrounding enclosures lay at the foot of the hills in our center area.

We massed our light foot on our right opposite the marsh and extended the line across the center with our light horse. Our heavier horse archers formed up in two divisions behind the lights and our cataphracts were massed in the rear towards our right as a reserve.

The Graeco-Bactrians massed their infantry, some pike supported by some mediums, in the more open plains opposite our left. They were supported by a pair of elephants and a couple of lancers and screened by some lights. On the plateau, the deployed the bulk of their horse, a mix of lancers and cataphracts, screened by some light horse.

Our plan was to swarm the horse wing with our lights and horse archers on our right, supported by our cataphracts, while delaying his infantry with a few of our lights, supported by some horse archers.

The Graeco-Bactrians pushed forward aggressively with his infantry on our left, while shifting his horse to reinforce his horse wing on our right.

On our right, our lights unleashed a barrage of missiles on his opposing horse, and we drove off his screening lights with our heavier horse archers. In response, the enemy lancers charged to drive off our skirmishers. This exposed them more to concentrated fire, and once disrupted, our cataphracts ran them over. Our light horse ran down and finished off the earlier disrupted screening light horse.

On our left, the enemy pushed his elephants forward to drive off our skirmishers as his infantry plodded forward. We surrounded and showered the elephants with arrows at a safe range, and the eventually lost heart and fled, disrupting the nearby phalanxes.

On our right, our victorious horse surrounded, shot up and flanked some of the enemy mediums and cataphracts. When these gave way, the Graeco-Bactrians had enough and the army fled the field.

Final Score: Parthians 40 Graeco-Bactrians 7

[Karvon]

The 4th in a semi-historical series of battles of the Parthians vs some of their historical enemies.

4. Battle of the Farms

Pushing on through the mountains, we came into a farming region and found the Graeco-Bactrians awaiting us beyond a farming settlement. A large farm and fields lay in our center sector, faced by a strip of rough. A large grove was on the left of the enclosures. A pair of hills ran from beside the grove to our left corner. They looked down on another farm and enclosures running along the left edge. An oasis sat in about the center, a little way past the main enclosures. A chain of medium-sized rough patches stretched from the left of the oasis off to the left edge. Two medium-sized rough patches were in the center, off to the right of the farm, running toward the far side, separating the center from the right sector. A large rough patch lay opposite those along the far right edge of the field. A large grove was along the back of the far right sector. A medium-sized farm lay along the back of the far center sector. A smaller grove and another farm were along the back of the far left sector.

We divided our force into four groups. We placed one mixed horse archer group on our far left in the gap between the two farming complexes. We deployed a similar group on our far right between the rough areas. We massed our light foot in a single group opposite the center rough areas on the left of our horse. Finally, our cataphracts were placed in reserve along the back edge in the center. This placed us in a position to quickly threaten on both wings with our horse and shift our lights in support as needed, with our cataphracts able to move to reinforce and support whichever wing proved more viable.

The Graeco-Bactrians deployed a mixed infantry force in the center, a pair of pikes supported by a few medium foot and screened by a few light foot. On their right, they deployed cataphracts screened by some light horse. On their left, were some lancers screened by a few light horse. I was pleasantly surprised to see no elephants along, as those often caused problems for my own horse.

We initially advanced on both wings with our horse as our foot moved up into the rough to harass the opposing foot and nearby horse. The enemy advanced to engage all along the front. After drawing them forward on our left, we suddenly shifted right, using the oasis to screen us from a quick pursuit by the opposing slower cataphracts. With our superior number of bow, on foot and mounted, we rather quickly shot up or drove back his screening lights and began to take a heavy toll on his lancers facing us on our right.

The Graeco-Bactrians pressed forward with his light horse against our smaller retreating screen on our left as his cataphracts struggled along behind. We lost a couple of our lights in the delaying action.

In the center, our horse rode up close and slowed the advance of his infantry. We lost one horse that pursued through the infantry and got surrounded by his supporting horse. Our light foot shredded up several of his mediums with fire and aided in shooting up his lancers. Invariably, a few of these got caught and killed while evading.

On our right, the enemy lancers surged forward, trying to catch the horse archers tormenting them. This led them to be scattered, and our horse archers converged on them, shooting them up and pinning them down. Our cataphracts rode up and finished this all off. Some of our horse flanked mediums venturing out of the central rough, and they got swept away by our cataphracts pretty quickly as well. With their left and most of their center gone, the pikes formed up in squares to save themselves from our horse swirling around them, as their army gave up and fled the field.

Final score: Parthians 41 - Graeco-Bactrians 13.