The (Unofficial) Great Battles of History
Interactive Replay
This site's Sample Game has drawn several nice compliments (thanks, guys!) and a few suggestions that a "real" replay (e.g. strategic and tactical pointers) would be an interesting addition. I think so, too, but (a) these Replays are tremendous amounts of work, and (b) I'm by no means an expert player.
My solution is to turn the Series Replay format into an Interactive Replay, where each week (more or less) you folks can look at the current situation and chime in with what you think should happen next. I'll collate the answers, make and resolve the move, and post the issues for the next move. And so on.
Obviously, this will only work if enough people cooperate. But it shouldn't take very much effort. In many cases just jotting an e-note with the overall course of the action should be sufficient.
Of course, I solicit strategy and tactical tips, too, and if you'd like to be more detailed (and the more detail, the better), I can incorporate your comments into the game narrative.
Like the Sample Game, I'll put each activation on it's own separate web page. You can always access the current situation using the Current Move link. I've also provided an Index page for a thumbnail summary of what's happened so far.
I've chosen Heraclea for this IR for several reasons. It's a big scenario, which makes a nice contrast to the smaller battles that I've been analyzing. It's also relatively even -- or reputedly so. We'll put it to the test here! Last, it's got an important decision to make right off the bat.
Don't give up if you prefer the other games in the series. If this works out, we'll do some other game next time. (Now all you have to do is help make this replay a success!)
And don't worry if you don't have the Pyrrhic Victory module; I'll provide enough information for you to follow along.
On the Epirote left is Pyrrhus, with TQ 7 and 8 HC. The cavalry under Philocles guarding the right flank is weaker both in TQ (5 and 6) and troop type (LC).
The phalanx is in the center, of course, aided by a line of MI and another of HI commanded by Milon. Behind them, in reserve, are the Elephants (Indians, with TQ 6). Special rules cover the historical Roman panic on encountering the tuskers (+5 TQ check for OW cavalry, +3 drm for infantry being shock attacked, no EL Pre-Shock TQ checks for first turn of shock).
The Romans are in their standard legionary formation, with the standard III and V legions flanked by (from Roman left to right) the recruit XV, XIV, XIX, and VII alae legions. Velites are in front, triarii in the back.
The Roman flanks are, for once, adequately guarded by the cavalry. If you're looking at the map empty space on the Roman right and scratching your head: no, you're not missing anything. The right wing cavalry begins off map, and will enter on the first turn (see below).
The order of leader activation (Romans in Italics [naturally!]) will be:
However, the first turn is a little unusual, in that the off-map Roman cavalry (7 RC units) under Drusus has the option of pre-empting Pyrrhus's Elite Initiative Orders Phase and entering the west edge of the map within two hexes of the river.
If the Romans use this option, they can't quite reach the Epirote HC, but they can pick off the westernmost skirmisher. The units enter sequentially, using the Beneventum scenario special rule, so it's hard to advance very far and adequately protect the flanks. Then again, if the Plautius and Rebilus don't try for Momentum (and hence allow Pyrrhus no Trump Attempts), Drusus may get to move again before Pyrrhus gets a chance to react. It all depends on which 3 initiative leader goes first; if it's an Epirote, Pyrrhus can attempt a Trump....
(I usually trim the map graphics down to the minimum to cut down on bandwidth, but the left edge of the above graphic is truly the edge of the map.)
So, what should the Romans do?