Slitherine

Reading Tom Holland's book Persian Fire, it came to my attention that Herodotus said that the centre of the Persian line at the Battle of Marathon was formed by elite Persian and Saka infantry. I am under the impression that Herodotus also said that the Saka were capable axemen, using the sagaris, I assume. Yet when I look at the Achaemenid Persian army list at the relevant time, I can recruit no Saka axemen, even with Saka allies. I'm not complaining, because this is an amazing game, but perhaps shock infantry axemen should be added to the Scythian or Saka army lists.

Adding impact infantry would help the Persians, who already suffer terribly against armoured hoplites not easily withered down by sparabara arrow bombardment, besides being of historical merit.

All of the Sparabara and Immortals are “axemen”. They were all armed with sagaris, which is a single handed axe with a relatively small head. We treat them as swordsmen For POA purposes.

They were certainly not shock infantry axemen. They were archers, with sagaris as a sidearm.

I see! Thanks for the response!

Kerait wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2020 3:55 pmAdding impact infantry would help the Persians, who already suffer terribly against armoured hoplites not easily withered down by sparabara arrow bombardment, besides being of historical merit.

That's not exactly true. Sparabara Foot and the Immortals are deadly, you only need to use them properly to get desired effect - set up field of fire that allows you to concentrate on disrupting chosen targets. It's perfectly doable, but an experienced opponent may make it hard for you by trying to get into melee as soon as possible. This in turn may reinforce a feeling that Persian bowmen are a poor choice.

One volley of Persian arrows at close range (<=2 squares) is devastating for any foot unit with <=2 lines of men. Your goal is to disrupt heavy melee infantry closest to your line and reduce their POA so you are not as disadvantaged in melee which eventually will happen. For that you may only need 2-3 volleys. Try setting up the bowmen in checkerboard formation - with the Immortals in front - it could give better results, because then you can always try to fall back with your Immortals and shoot - if the enemy is close but isn't disrupted yet.

Also, use terrain to your advantage. Your bowmen are medium foot, so they get a negative modifier in open terrain against heavies and cavalry. Place them on non-open terrain to reduce enemy POA.

Another way of winning a battle as the Persians is to target all enemy non-heavy troops first, as they will break easier under fire. This way you can relatively easily score required 40 points and win the battle. This tactic depends on how your opponent's dealing with the situation, though. I, for example, actually lost a battle against the Persians this way, as I failed to quickly engage in melee with my heavies. As I was following my plan blindly, my medium foot was being shot to pieces, and then it was enough for my opponent to break just a couple of my heavy units.

This is very useful and actionable advice. Thanks. My impression of Persian weakness against hoplite armies was informed by personal experience and the poor Persian win rate, but I have no doubt that in the hands of a more skilled player, much better results can be attained.