African Elephants

DBA ignores the historical behaviour of the now extinct small African forest elephant in actual battles.
These intelligent animals often reacted to loud noises and high pitched sounds, so could be unpredictable.
Players would complain if 3Kn and 4Kn were identical to each other...well, it’s the same with elephants.
To simulate their true characteristics, apply the following:-

(to be added to the page 11 combat outcomes of the basic rules:-)

(and add “African Elephants” to Winning and Losing on page 12 of the basic rules, so that it reads as:-)


Historical justification
The justification for the smaller African elephants being slightly weaker in combat is borne out by Polybius.
As for them being expendable; they were often placed out in front on their own, and were expected to be lost.

Another consideration is that when re-creating the Battle of Zama, the Carthaginians are defeated too quickly.
Lose the two elephants, and the two mounted on each wing, and the battle is over before the foot even engage!
By making African Elephants expendable, the battles of Bagradas and Zama can be re-created more accurately.

The loss of two elements, even if they don’t count towards defeat, can still hurt as you will be outnumbered.
Losing Indian elephants, what with them being larger, stronger, and more expensive to import, does still count.
Note that on an equal score, African Elephants will recoil from any Scythed Chariots crashing into them, even
though the chariots themselves are destroyed, and both side’s African Elephants will recoil on an equal score.


Armies affected
The following armies have African Elephants: the I/58 Meroitic Kushites (El general), II/32a Later Carthage,
the II/40 Numidians, and the II/49 Marian Romans (the II/20 Ptolemaic army has both Indian Elephants and
African Elephants depending upon the period in question, but these are already mentioned in their Army List).


                                     Historical examples and links to the sources:-

     African elephant behaviour at Raphia 217 BC
    “Most of Ptolemy’s elephants, however, declined the combat, as is the habit of African elephants; for unable to stand
     the smell and the trumpeting of the Indian elephants, and terrified, I suppose, also by their great size and strength, 
     they at once turn tail and take to flight before they get near them.
    (Source: penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Polybius/5*.html#62%20Polybius page 207, section 84)

     Deployment at Bagradas 255 BC
    “(Xanthippus) at once acted upon this authority. He ordered out the (100) elephants, and placed them in a single line in
      front of the whole army. The heavy phalanx of the Carthaginians he stationed at a moderate interval in the rear of these.”
     (Source: www.yorku.ca/inpar/polybius_one.pdf section 33)

     Deployment at Zama 202 BC
    “Hannibal placed in front of his whole force his elephants, of which he had over eighty, and behind them the mercenaries
     numbering about twelve thousand. They were composed of Ligurians, Celts, Balearic Islanders, and Moors.”
    (Source: www.johndclare.net/AncientHistory/Hannibal_Sources8.html Polybius section 11.1 and Livy section 33.4)

     Elephants were rarely killed but often captured after battle. Following Caesar’s victory at Thapsus in 46 BC:-
    “He then took sixty-four (captured African) elephants, equipped, armed and complete with towers and harness, and these
     he drew up in an array in front of the town: his object in doing so was to see if Vergilius and the others would surrender.”
    (Source: penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Caesar/African_War/E*.html section 86)

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