Looks like I was wrong...the Athenian centre
was thinly held and only a few ranks deep...Herodotus says so himself.
Nonetheless, the Greek centre at Marthon was broken...and it should be possible on our wargames table as well.
As I can’t read Greek (or Latin), I am dependent on English translations, which can sometimes differ.
So here is another better translation of Herodotus’ account of the Battle of Marathon:-
111. “As the Athenians were marshalled at Marathon, it happened that their line of battle was as long as the line of the
Medes. The center, where the line was weakest, was only a few ranks deep, but each wing was strong in numbers.”
113. “They fought a long time at Marathon. In the center of the line the foreigners prevailed, where the Persians and
Sacae were arrayed. The foreigners prevailed there and broke through in pursuit inland, but on each wing the
Athenians and Plataeans prevailed. In victory they let the routed foreigners flee, and brought the wings together to
fight those who had broken through the center. The Athenians prevailed, then followed the fleeing Persians and struck
them down. When they reached the sea they demanded fire and laid hold of the Persian ships.”
(Source: www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:abo:tlg,0016,001:6 )...and just so that we can compare different translations, here is another one:-
111. “But now, when the Athenians were arriving at Marathon, it so fell out that their line being equal in length to the Median,
the middle part of it was but a few ranks deep, and here the line was weakest, each wing being strong in numbers.”
113. “For a long time they fought at Marathon; and the foreigners overcame the middle part of the line, against which the
Persians themselves and the Sacae were arrayed; here the foreigners prevailed and broke the Greeks, pursuing them
inland. But on either wing the Athenians and Plataeans were victorious; and being so, they suffered the routed of their
enemies to fly, and drew their wings together to fight against those that had broken the middle of their line; and here
the Athenians had the victory, and followed after the Persians in their flight, hewing them down, till they came to the sea.
There they called for fire and laid hands on the ships.”
(Source: penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Herodotus/6C*.html )So here are the basic facts:-
“They fought for a long time at Marathon.” (i.e. it was not a quick walk-over, the Persians held for quite a while).
“In the center of the line the Persians were victorious”
“The Persians broke through the centre and pursued inland.”
“...(The Greeks) brought their wings together to fight those who had broken through the center.”
The battle lasted a long time, and the Athenian centre was broken and pursued.
And it’s a big jump going from Herodotus’ account to now saying that a Hoplite line can
never be broken by the Persians,
Now try to reproduce that with a combat factor of 3 against a combat factor of 5 on the wargames table.
It can’t be done (unless the Persian roll three '6's' and the Greeks roll three '1's' in a row...about a 1 in 46,000 chance).
Ah, but it
is at least possible with a CF of 4 against a CF of 5...if the Persians can somehow arrange to get a double-overlap...
So yes
Jim, I do think that a cleverly led Persian army can beat a Greek one...and sometimes, rarely, even break their line.
And I would hardly call 10 chances in 36 of getting a single recoil (less than 2 in 6),
and then getting another 10 chances in 36
of getting another recoil on the opposite flank (again 2 chances out of 6, making a double-overlap less than 1 chance in 6),
and
even then, with a perfect double-overlap, only having 9 chances in 36 of actually getting a kill, as ‘
common’.
But, although extremely rare, it would be possible...
I want to re-create battles as the ancient historians said they happened.
And I don't give a toss if the Athenian centre was weak, or if they had a bad-hair-day, or they rolled nothing but '1's' on their dice...
...their centre was broken, Herodotus says so, and I want to be able to do the same.
Not only in this particular engagement, but in any one-off hypothetical what-if battle.
Some Helpful Downloads can be found here: fanaticus-dba.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Reference_sheets_and_epitomes
And here is the latest Jan 2019 FAQ: fanaticus-dba.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ_2019_1st_Quarter
