Battle of Chaeronea (338BC) - A 28mm Wargame

 Afternoon All

Following my last post which focussed on my completed Macedonian/Successor army (HERE) , it was about time that this force saw some action on the table. 

Over the last couple of Monday nights we have refought the Battle of Chaeronea in two very brutal games.

This post wont detail the specifics of the battles but suffice to say that the Greeks won the first engagement and the Macedonians the second. These were extremely tight affairs and the results could have gone either way. This is definitely a balanced game.

 

Background

The Battle of Chaeronea was fought in central Greece in 338 BC. It was fought between Philip II of Macedonia and an alliance of Greek City states (chiefly Thebes & Athens). The battle was the culmination of Philips desire to be the dominant player in the North Aegean Greek peninsular and resulted in a final victory for the Macedonians.

The two sides met on san open plain near the city of Chaeronea which was boundaried by the Kephisos river and the foothills of Mount Thurion. The two sides were relatively well matcjhed with about 30,000 troops on each side. However the Macedonians were significantly more experienced and had much greater numbers of horse. Alexander, Philip's son commanded the Macedonian Companion horse on their left wing. The Macedonians fought with 15ft long pikes (sarissas) which gave them a longer reach that their Greek hoplite opponents. Many of the Greeks had been pressed into service to face the Macedonian threat and were as a result somewhat raw. The Athenians took the Greek left wing with the men of Thebes holding the right. The honour of holding the end of the Greek right wing fell to the Sacred Band, an elite unit of 300 hoplites.

The actual battle was a masterclass of Philips generalship. He drew out the Athenian forces to face his experienced phalanxes and wore them down in a brutal melee. As the Greek forces wavered Alexander lead a charge across the field splitting the City State Alliance in two.

At this point the Greeks morale crumbled and many fled the field. Only the sacred Band held firm dying to a man to give their companions are chance to escape.   

Wargaming the Battle

Using Hail Caesar this was a very straightforward battle to organise, both sides are comparable in size (number of units) and the field is open save for the flanks. 

Macedonians order of Battle

Right wing under Phiip (rating 9) plus two sub-commanders (rating 8)

6 units of Phalangites (veteran/Elite)

2 units of Hypaspists (veteran/Elite)

light troops (3 x slings, 3 x bows, 3 x peltasts, 2 x light horse) - all small units

2 units medium cavalry (small units)

Centre two subcommanders rating 8

8 units Phalangites

6 units of various light troops

Left Wing under Alexander (rating 9)

6 units of Phalangites

3 units of medium cavalry (Companions)

6 units of various light troops

Greek City States - all commanders rated at level 8)

Left Wing 

Eight units of Hoplites (of which four are levy)

Twelve units of skirmish troops - slings, bows, peltasts, lt cavalry)

Centre Wing 

Eight units of Hoplites (of which four are levy)

Two units of small medium Cavalry

Right Wing 

Seven units of Hoplites (of which four are levy)

One unit Sacred Band (Elite, Veteran Hoplites - count as Spartans)

Twelve units of skirmish troops - slings, bows, peltasts, lt cavalry)

The following are a series of photos from the games in no particular order

There are no special rules in play other than the standard attributes awarded to each of the units.

It became apparent in game one that the Greeks were better placed to attack given they would lose out against charging sarissas.

The game ebbed and flowed across a 16ft table

The ranked units looked fabulous - with about 1600 figures on the table

The impact of the cavalry was minimal in both games - they did manage to pin units but no stunning charges

In the first game the Macedonian centre collapsed under an assault by the Greeks - the flanks held firm giving the city states the win.

Fortunately we played this three aside and with a general familiarity of the rules across the table both games played out in about three and half hours.

We are going to try this battle with to the Strongest later in the year.

What next...well I have started on the Persians.

More games soon