Heraclea 280 BC scenario

[Paul59]

Also available now is my Heraclea 280 BC scenario.

This started out at the normal representational scale of the game (100% strength multiplier). That resulted in a huge scenario that would have broken computers across the globe! It could just about play on my PC, which is not powerful by todays standards, but frame rate was very slow. Performance improved after about turn 15, once a lot of units had dispersed, but it was dead slow in the early turns. That does not bother me too much, as I prefer to have the animations running quite slow anyway, it helps me keep track of what is going on, and looks more realistic to my old eyes. I normally run the game at 60% animation speed when playing a smaller scenario. So I decided to create a smaller version of my original Heraclea, at 200% strength multiplier, which is what you have here.

I originally had the two armies lined up for battle in the traditional style, facing each other in battle order not too far apart. But then my research into the battle caused me to rethink this. It seems to me that Pyrrhus was caught a bit by surprise by the Roman attack, and he had to hold them off with his cavalry while his phalanx, and eventually the elephants, marched up from his camp. So I redesigned the scenario to have the Epirote phalanx just coming onto the battle map at the start. The elephants join later as reinforcements.


Here are the rest of the design notes;

2) I have made some major adjustments to elephants in this scenario;

a) their effect on the Romans was very great, so I have increased the disorder on cavalry to Severe when next to an elephant unit. Adjacent friendly cavalry units are slightly disordered.

b) also the RBS mod for increased elephant effect (as used in the stock Bagradas scenario) is used. This means that all units in impact with an elephant unit have a minus 100 POA penalty. I have withdrawn the 100 POA penalty for units in melee though.

c) I have made a design decision that the elephant model actually represents 4 elephants with 4 drivers, 12 fighting crew and 16 supporting infantry. The displayed value of 32 actually refers to the total number of men. The Unitsize remains at 400, the standard game value, so this change has no real effect on play.

d) When an elephant unit routs, all friendly units within 3 squares suffer a cohesion test.

e) I have reduced elephant experience and elan levels to 25, from 100.

3) The Principes seem to have been still armed with a long spear during the Pyrrhic War, only adopting the pilum later. So I have created seperate Hastati and Principes units. The Principes use the standard Triarii unit model, but with the unit man count increased to 8 to reflect the larger unit strength.

4) I have distinguished the Allied Italian legions (Ala) by giving them an alternative unit texture.

5) There are lots of new textures for cavalry units on both sides. Thanks to Little Big Men Studios for most of the new shield designs.

6) I have created a new Greek Light Javelin Horse unit, by using the Grk_Arm_Cav figure and modifying the textures.

7) I have decided to remove from the battle:

a) Two of the Allied Italian Ala. Assumed to be unable to ford the river.

b) The Campanian and Brutii javelinmen, assumed to be guarding the camp.

I have given the player extra units at lower difficulty levels. This is a difficult scenario, so you may have to use the lower levels to get a win.


I hope you enjoy it.

[JaM2013]

actually, Principes were equiped the same as Hastati even with Pyrrhic war.. whole Roman army was reformed years before it, after their war with Samnites. Confusion about principes with hasta came from Greek historian, who was obviously a bit confused, he even claimed Principes used these spears in both hands (like a pike), which is just impossible with the scutum... (if anything, this might be a sole thing where Principes took spears from cavalry to specifically attack elephants, but it doesnt mean they fought that way all the time) even word Hastati actually refers to throwing hasta as suggested by Ennius in his poem - "Hastati spargunt hastas, fit ferreus imber" Hastati hurl hasta, making rain of iron. Ennius was a legionary during second punic war, so he knew what he was writing about. Also, Pilum was Etruscan in origin, and well known by the time of Pyrrhic wars.


btw, Jeff Champion's book (Pyrrhos of Epirus) has this battle described in quite a detail, definitely recommend it for anybody interested in Pyrrhic wars!

[Paul59]

actually, Principes were equiped the same as Hastati even with Pyrrhic war.. whole Roman army was reformed years before it, after their war with Samnites.

Thanks JaM2013. Out of interest, what's your source for that?

[JaM2013]

Jeff Champion - "Pyrrhus of Epiros" book (or at least i think it was that book, i've read it some time ago), should have it around as digital, will post more details later. Anyway part about Hastati hurling hastae was mentioned i dont even remember who.. its one of those things where you find dirrect mention about something hidden in somewhere.. same like felt+vinegar armor being used by Italians..

Anyway, personally i think answer is a lot less complicated - Romans were using even Pilum in close combat, as heavy socketed one would be ideal at that. it was even longer than spears Carthaginian use, which kinda perfectly explain why Livy mentions Roman infantry to have longer reach than Carthaginian infantry - Carthaginians typically used light spear, about 2m long without sautoter, therefore this "spear" was capable of being used as spear and javelin.. Carthaginian Marines fought in this way on their ships, using multiple javelins some historians call "Lonchae". Sometimes, they refered to them as Lonchophoroi. I think whole situation about javelins is relatively simple, there were three distinct categories of spears - javelin, optimized for throwing only, usually very thin and short, then there is universal javelin-spear, useable for both close combat and throwing, and last is the thrusting spear, balanced out for thrusting, equipped with counterbalancing sauroter.. Thrusting spears like for example Dory, was impossible to throw, as saurother would influence it way too much in flight and it would land flat most of the time (rear part was heavier than the front). In greek art, whenever throwing spears are painted, they have very visible throwing loops - ankyles (roman amentum).

So with Hastati and Principes in time of Pyrrhus, they were just using their pila as thrusting spears even in close combat, and that practice was kept even in Punic wars. Triarii at the other side, were equipped with thrusting spears similar to Greek Dory. these men were not expected to use these weapons as ranged weapons, as they no longer had stamina for it anyway..

[Paul59]

3) The Principes seem to have been still armed with a long spear during the Pyrrhic War, only adopting the pilum later. So I have created seperate Hastati and Principes units. The Principes use the standard Triarii unit model, but with the unit man count increased to 8 to reflect the larger unit strength.

Just in case anyone was wondering, my sources for this decision are:

Duncan Head, Armies and Enemies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars

Michael J Taylor, article in Ancient Warfare Magazine Vol VI Issue 4, Rise of a Superpower.

Both discuss a passage from Dionysius of Halicarnassus, in which he mentions the Principes wielding a long cavalry spear during another Pyrrhic war battle. Neither of these modern authors dismiss the quote as nonsense.