Mycale 479 BC

[MengJiao]

  Marathon went very much for the Athenians.   At Mycale 11 years later, the Athenians and Spartans were even tougher as they chased down a
Persian naval force and then disembarked to finish it off.  So, to give the more agile Persians more of a chance, I'm playing the free deployment version.  The Persians have to get out of camp and the Greeks are entering in column.

[bayonetbrant]

"You start in that corner and I'll start in this corner, and I'll meet you in the middle!"

[MengJiao]

"You start in that corner and I'll start in this corner, and I'll meet you in the middle!"

There are some twists: the Persians have lots of good archers and good commanders.  Their medium infantry is extremely motivated and there's a
small river to mess up the Greek advance.  The Spartans are arriving late and in rough terrain.  Maybe they can do better this time.

[MengJiao]

"You start in that corner and I'll start in this corner, and I'll meet you in the middle!"

There are some twists: the Persians have lots of good archers and good commanders.  Their medium infantry is extremely motivated and there's a
small river to mess up the Greek advance.  The Spartans are arriving late and in rough terrain.  Maybe they can do better this time.

Well, so far the Persians have done better:  The medium infantry counterattacked at the river as the Athenians were just getting across.  Both Army commanders were killed which should slow things for a bit, but the Persians are deploying at the river line and the Spartans have yet to get there.  So, I'm betting the Persians do much better than they did historically.  I'll probably post some photos of the engagement soon.

[MengJiao]

"You start in that corner and I'll start in this corner, and I'll meet you in the middle!"

There are some twists: the Persians have lots of good archers and good commanders.  Their medium infantry is extremely motivated and there's a
small river to mess up the Greek advance.  The Spartans are arriving late and in rough terrain.  Maybe they can do better this time.

Well, so far the Persians have done better:  The medium infantry counterattacked at the river as the Athenians were just getting across.  Both Army commanders were killed which should slow things for a bit, but the Persians are deploying at the river line and the Spartans have yet to get there.  So, I'm betting the Persians do much better than they did historically.  I'll probably post some photos of the engagement soon.

The Athenian Approach in column (for the hoplites):

[MengJiao]

"You start in that corner and I'll start in this corner, and I'll meet you in the middle!"

There are some twists: the Persians have lots of good archers and good commanders.  Their medium infantry is extremely motivated and there's a
small river to mess up the Greek advance.  The Spartans are arriving late and in rough terrain.  Maybe they can do better this time.

Well, so far the Persians have done better:  The medium infantry counterattacked at the river as the Athenians were just getting across.  Both Army commanders were killed which should slow things for a bit, but the Persians are deploying at the river line and the Spartans have yet to get there.  So, I'm betting the Persians do much better than they did historically.  I'll probably post some photos of the engagement soon.

The Athenian Approach in column (for the hoplites):

Main Athenian phalanx about to cross:

[MengJiao]

"You start in that corner and I'll start in this corner, and I'll meet you in the middle!"

There are some twists: the Persians have lots of good archers and good commanders.  Their medium infantry is extremely motivated and there's a
small river to mess up the Greek advance.  The Spartans are arriving late and in rough terrain.  Maybe they can do better this time.

Well, so far the Persians have done better:  The medium infantry counterattacked at the river as the Athenians were just getting across.  Both Army commanders were killed which should slow things for a bit, but the Persians are deploying at the river line and the Spartans have yet to get there.  So, I'm betting the Persians do much better than they did historically.  I'll probably post some photos of the engagement soon.

The Athenian Approach in column (for the hoplites):

Main Athenian phalanx about to cross:

The big Clash:

[MengJiao]

"You start in that corner and I'll start in this corner, and I'll meet you in the middle!"

There are some twists: the Persians have lots of good archers and good commanders.  Their medium infantry is extremely motivated and there's a
small river to mess up the Greek advance.  The Spartans are arriving late and in rough terrain.  Maybe they can do better this time.

Well, so far the Persians have done better:  The medium infantry counterattacked at the river as the Athenians were just getting across.  Both Army commanders were killed which should slow things for a bit, but the Persians are deploying at the river line and the Spartans have yet to get there.  So, I'm betting the Persians do much better than they did historically.  I'll probably post some photos of the engagement soon.

The Athenian Approach in column (for the hoplites):

Main Athenian phalanx about to cross:

The big Clash:

Turn 3:  Persians renew the counter attack with a new commander and the Athenians defend with a new commander as the Spartans arrive in column:

[MengJiao]

Turn 3:  Persians renew the counter attack with a new commander and the Athenians defend with a new commander as the Spartans arrive in column:

  Much to my surprise, the Athenian phalanx held on and routed a lot of Persians, which left it in an odd position when it came to the Athenian move: it had a surviving Persian formation on the flank that it could not shock attack.  This seems to be a event not covered in the rules.  Fortunately a small group of hoplites shocked and routed the anomolous Persians otherwise I would have had to resolve the anomoly with some extraneous die rolls.
   The Spartans are coming up, but much as happened historically, the Persians are already in bad shape.