Battle of Pharsalus 48 BCE

Got my first FtF game of the year in on Sunday.  Kevin stopped by to refight the Battle of Pharsalus using Commands & Colors: Ancients (CC:A) and my 6mm armies.

The Society of Ancients' 2016 Battle Day tackles Caesar vs Pompey at Pharsalus 48 BCE.  By providing excellent historical and gaming materials for prospective participants, the SoA gave me the motivation to give this battle a try.

Under the CC:A scenario, all medium and heavy infantry can throw pila as well as increase movement allowance from one to two hexes.  Moving two hexes negates both their ability to fire missiles and close combat.

Caesar is outnumbered but holds advantages over Pompey in both troop quality and leadership.  Caesar's force is dominated by heavy infantry but suffers from few cavalry.  Pompey fields a strong cavalry wing on the left with a mix of auxilia, medium, and heavy infantry.  Caesar holds an added advantage by adding one extra die to close combat and allowing a unit to which he is attached to move two hexes and still battle in close combat.  That is a powerful advantage.

Pharsalus was fought twice with the victory going to Caesar in both games.  Kevin commanded Pompey in Game One while I commanded Pompey in Game Two.  In Game Two with Kevin commanding Caesar, Pompey's medium cavalry wing quickly overwhelmed Caesar's cavalry on the right wing and then attacked Caesar, himself.  Caesar nearly fell in battle after his attached infantry was destroyed and the great man was attacked alone.  He managed to survive to triumph in a very close 7-6 victory. 

After reading the SoA's materials, I dug a little deeper and read a few good papers and accounts of the battle. Now having fought the battle twice with CC:A, I am motivated to dig a little more deeply. 

With CC:A, history repeated itself, twice!