Pyrrhus: 272 BC near Argos: No Thanksgiving

Started by MengJiao, November 26, 2020, 04:34:51 PM

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MengJiao


  So after failing to do much in Italy and Sicily, Pyrrhus returned to Greece and took over Macedon, overthrowing Antigonus who had taken the place after the Thunderbolt perished.

  Historically, when Pyrrhus persued Anitgonus south, Antigonus avoided battle while elephant accidents and debris finished off Pyrrhus for good...however in this scenario we suppose that Pyrrhus has trapped Antigonus and his allies and is preparing to defeat them in detail.  Here is Pyrrhus with the Gauls, oxebelles and other enemies in the woods on his right and the Spartans with catapults behind a river on his left.  I'm supposing Pyrrhus will send the elephants and cavalry to face the Gauls while he takes his superior heavy infantry to crush the Spartans and Argolids in their defensive positions.

MengJiao

Quote from: MengJiao on November 26, 2020, 04:34:51 PM

  So after failing to do much in Italy and Sicily, Pyrrhus returned to Greece and took over Macedon, overthrowing Antigonus who had taken the place after the Thunderbolt perished.

  Historically, when Pyrrhus persued Anitgonus south, Antigonus avoided battle while elephant accidents and debris finished off Pyrrhus for good...however in this scenario we suppose that Pyrrhus has trapped Antigonus and his allies and is preparing to defeat them in detail.  Here is Pyrrhus with the Gauls, oxebelles and other enemies in the woods on his right and the Spartans with catapults behind a river on his left.  I'm supposing Pyrrhus will send the elephants and cavalry to face the Gauls while he takes his superior heavy infantry to crush the Spartans and Argolids in their defensive positions.

  15 minutes into the battle, it looks like the threat from the north (Gauls, light troops, heavy cavarly and anti-elephant wagons) might be both more immediate and easier to crush.  So Pyrrhus will turn north since it will take the Spartans quite a while to get out of their position and get over to save the Gauls:


MengJiao

Quote from: MengJiao on November 27, 2020, 09:04:31 AM
Quote from: MengJiao on November 26, 2020, 04:34:51 PM

  So after failing to do much in Italy and Sicily, Pyrrhus returned to Greece and took over Macedon, overthrowing Antigonus who had taken the place after the Thunderbolt perished.

  Historically, when Pyrrhus persued Anitgonus south, Antigonus avoided battle while elephant accidents and debris finished off Pyrrhus for good...however in this scenario we suppose that Pyrrhus has trapped Antigonus and his allies and is preparing to defeat them in detail.  Here is Pyrrhus with the Gauls, oxebelles and other enemies in the woods on his right and the Spartans with catapults behind a river on his left.  I'm supposing Pyrrhus will send the elephants and cavalry to face the Gauls while he takes his superior heavy infantry to crush the Spartans and Argolids in their defensive positions.

  15 minutes into the battle, it looks like the threat from the north (Gauls, light troops, heavy cavarly and anti-elephant wagons) might be both more immediate and easier to crush.  So Pyrrhus will turn north since it will take the Spartans quite a while to get out of their position and get over to save the Gauls:

  Around half-an-hour into the battle and things suddenly look bad for Pyrrhus.  The shift toward the Gauls and others have caused lot of confusion and macedonian traffic jams plus the Gauls have put up quite a fight.  The routs are equal (12 points per side) and both sides will collapse at 120 rout points so things aren't over yet, but the Spartans are rolling out with their artillery and that could be a problem:


ArizonaTank

Great system. I have played a bunch of the battles and have most of the game boxes. So I am enjoying your AAR.
Johannes "Honus" Wagner
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Shortstop: Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-1917
Rated as the 2nd most valuable player of all time by Bill James.

MengJiao

Quote from: ArizonaTank on November 28, 2020, 10:34:35 AM
Great system. I have played a bunch of the battles and have most of the game boxes. So I am enjoying your AAR.

  I never liked it until I played Hoplite.  Now I've extended a somewhat simplified Hoplite-style fairly random command system that
works well for solitaire.  So the command system is simplified Hoplite, but I like the combat tables in Great Battles of Alexander...plus artillery and elephants and what not make for some moderately wild battles sometimes.  I also like getting some perspective on complete nuts of the ancient world like Pyrrhus and the Thunderbolt.  Antigonas was a relatively normal person and its kind of charming that he beat everybody from the Gauls to Pyrrhus in the end.  the game system gives him an astounding 5 for hand-to-hand so I guess he was a gymnast or something in his spare time.

MengJiao

Quote from: MengJiao on November 28, 2020, 04:05:14 PM
Quote from: ArizonaTank on November 28, 2020, 10:34:35 AM
Great system. I have played a bunch of the battles and have most of the game boxes. So I am enjoying your AAR.

  I never liked it until I played Hoplite.  Now I've extended a somewhat simplified Hoplite-style fairly random command system that
works well for solitaire.  So the command system is simplified Hoplite, but I like the combat tables in Great Battles of Alexander...plus artillery and elephants and what not make for some moderately wild battles sometimes.  I also like getting some perspective on complete nuts of the ancient world like Pyrrhus and the Thunderbolt.  Antigonas was a relatively normal person and its kind of charming that he beat everybody from the Gauls to Pyrrhus in the end.  the game system gives him an astounding 5 for hand-to-hand so I guess he was a gymnast or something in his spare time.

  Pyrrhus lost this enounter, but not too badly -- doing far better than his real results in 272 when he was killed.  He got away before his army collapsed.  So I'm going to see if he can win with a slightly larger army against Antigonas with fewer Gauls.