Post by diades on Jul 4, 2020 17:05:00 GMT
So, where I grew up, we used to say as rich as Croesus, but then this rich dude from Rome turns up, Crassus. Join the army, they said, see the world. All the girls love a soldier...
Well it's been kind of fun. We get fed, we are kept busy, we get to play with weapons and armour and learn drill...then of course there's the digging, but no more than I used to.
Anyway so apparently we are now trained and legionaries and Crassus is invading Parthia. Sweet goodness, really? Well Artavasdes, the great Armenian King of my youth invited Crassus to go that way, but no, through the wastes of Mesopotamia we've trudged. We are now in sight of a wee town called Carrhae apparently, but a Parthian by the name of Surena reckons to stop us.
We've drawn up in two lines. Crassus has at least got off his high horse and joined his legion. Me and the lads reckon that's because he doesn't want showing up by those Gallic horse he has with us. They're pretty good for a bunch of tattooed westerners. I only hope they can ride as well as the Parthians are supposed to. Anyhow, Crassus is formed up on the road to Carrhae, with slingers in front of him and auxilia behind. Either side of him are more legionaries and on each flank, those Gallic horse.
Me and the lads are in the second line. We're behind and off to the left. We have light horse on our right, two more units of legionaries and some slingers off to our left, with a wood beyond them.
Surena has so many horsemen! Some are over beyond the right of our front line outside Carrhae. A host are directly ahead of us all, and behind them, cataphracts. I really don't want to face them from what I've heard.
Crassus heads on up the road with the legions, sends his slingers up front into the outskirts of Carrhae, by the road. He shuffles his auxilia and cavalry off right to counter the threat of the enemy there.
Meanwhile, Surena sends both flanks forward and wide. Crassus send the Gauls in and the enemy's left flank is completely crushed. Whoop, go boys!
Our advance guard, however, don't seem to fare so well, or do they. Trapped between cataphracts moving through the town on the road and lighter horse behind them they look done for, but, lo, they beat them all off, must be the terrain.
Crassus seems to know what he's doing. He wheels his line to the left and brings the cavalry right and ahead. Now we too move forward wheeling to the left. If the auxilia get here in time they will bridge the gap between the lines and we will have a wall between the woods and the town.
Surena is clearly no mug either. He and his cataphracts veer towards the town to form his left, whilst another unit heads towards the centre of his line and his light horse start to form up against us, line vs line.
The Parthian centre strike first, straight at our light horse, who back up and let me and the gang in, but despite all those arrows we're largely safe behind our scuta as long as we stay together like we've been drilled, and they soon retire. Crassus sends half the Gauls and the light horse over to back us up.
Now it gets lairy. The horse archers come back at us, whilst the cataphracts advance to within charge distance of Crassus. We push our opponents back when they are too thick and destroy a unit. Way to go! Surena soon reorganises and light horse once more pin us all down.
There they go. All that armoured horseflesh piling in against our right. I wouldn't want to be with Crassus right now. Our Gallic horse back off, the legion next to them are destroyed, but Crassus and the auxilia repulse Surena and the cataphracts right.
Our second unit of Gauls behind me race over to the plug the gap left by the destroyed legion. Massed light horse crowd a lonely unit of my mates off to our left, whilst the cataphracts all pile in once more. My mates out left survive. Good on you boys, but Crassus is flattened by Surena. It's not looking good for getting home safely.
And so history is repeated. A 3G - 3 victory for the Parthians. I think the lack of Roman missile troops and the 4 to 8 cataphracts to light horse ratio for the Parthians worked well. I thought I had this one until very near the end, having polished off two light horse with my cavalry so early on! Ho hum. It could be Bouvines next week!
Well it's been kind of fun. We get fed, we are kept busy, we get to play with weapons and armour and learn drill...then of course there's the digging, but no more than I used to.
Anyway so apparently we are now trained and legionaries and Crassus is invading Parthia. Sweet goodness, really? Well Artavasdes, the great Armenian King of my youth invited Crassus to go that way, but no, through the wastes of Mesopotamia we've trudged. We are now in sight of a wee town called Carrhae apparently, but a Parthian by the name of Surena reckons to stop us.
We've drawn up in two lines. Crassus has at least got off his high horse and joined his legion. Me and the lads reckon that's because he doesn't want showing up by those Gallic horse he has with us. They're pretty good for a bunch of tattooed westerners. I only hope they can ride as well as the Parthians are supposed to. Anyhow, Crassus is formed up on the road to Carrhae, with slingers in front of him and auxilia behind. Either side of him are more legionaries and on each flank, those Gallic horse.
Me and the lads are in the second line. We're behind and off to the left. We have light horse on our right, two more units of legionaries and some slingers off to our left, with a wood beyond them.
Surena has so many horsemen! Some are over beyond the right of our front line outside Carrhae. A host are directly ahead of us all, and behind them, cataphracts. I really don't want to face them from what I've heard.
Crassus heads on up the road with the legions, sends his slingers up front into the outskirts of Carrhae, by the road. He shuffles his auxilia and cavalry off right to counter the threat of the enemy there.
Meanwhile, Surena sends both flanks forward and wide. Crassus send the Gauls in and the enemy's left flank is completely crushed. Whoop, go boys!
Our advance guard, however, don't seem to fare so well, or do they. Trapped between cataphracts moving through the town on the road and lighter horse behind them they look done for, but, lo, they beat them all off, must be the terrain.
Crassus seems to know what he's doing. He wheels his line to the left and brings the cavalry right and ahead. Now we too move forward wheeling to the left. If the auxilia get here in time they will bridge the gap between the lines and we will have a wall between the woods and the town.
Surena is clearly no mug either. He and his cataphracts veer towards the town to form his left, whilst another unit heads towards the centre of his line and his light horse start to form up against us, line vs line.
The Parthian centre strike first, straight at our light horse, who back up and let me and the gang in, but despite all those arrows we're largely safe behind our scuta as long as we stay together like we've been drilled, and they soon retire. Crassus sends half the Gauls and the light horse over to back us up.
Now it gets lairy. The horse archers come back at us, whilst the cataphracts advance to within charge distance of Crassus. We push our opponents back when they are too thick and destroy a unit. Way to go! Surena soon reorganises and light horse once more pin us all down.
There they go. All that armoured horseflesh piling in against our right. I wouldn't want to be with Crassus right now. Our Gallic horse back off, the legion next to them are destroyed, but Crassus and the auxilia repulse Surena and the cataphracts right.
Our second unit of Gauls behind me race over to the plug the gap left by the destroyed legion. Massed light horse crowd a lonely unit of my mates off to our left, whilst the cataphracts all pile in once more. My mates out left survive. Good on you boys, but Crassus is flattened by Surena. It's not looking good for getting home safely.
And so history is repeated. A 3G - 3 victory for the Parthians. I think the lack of Roman missile troops and the 4 to 8 cataphracts to light horse ratio for the Parthians worked well. I thought I had this one until very near the end, having polished off two light horse with my cavalry so early on! Ho hum. It could be Bouvines next week!
