The Battle of Tapae, 101 AD, using Three Ages of Rome - Table Setup.

This weekend I will be hosting Tom, Will and friends, Mike and Cody to play the Battle of Tapae using Three Ages of Rome (TAoR) by Philip Garton, with the Romano-Dacians taking the table for my inaugural game in my refitted wargames room, long overdue many would say, and this post picks up from my previous one looking at the preparation and planning that I did, to actually setting up the table and the armies in preparation for our game this Sunday. 

Trajan's Dacian Campaigns - map illustrating the location of our supposed battle site at Tapae in the Iron Gate Pass amid the Orăștie Mountains, close to Costesti and Sarmizegetusa Regia.

In the Prep & Planning post there is an outline to the scenario that the chaps have had as a pre-game brief, together with the opposing orders of battle and victory conditions, so if you are just picking this post up you might want to start there, as in this post I am looking at translating those armies to the table together with the terrain choices to interpret the map.

 

JJ's Wargames: The Battle of Tapae, 101 AD, using Three Ages of Rome - Preparation and Planning.

The map below is my interpretation of the one in the book used to illustrates the battle as it presumably might have been arranged with the two armies arrayed in a valley amid the Orăștie Mountains on the approach road to the Dacian capital, Sarmizegetusa Regia, near the Dacian citadel Costesti.

Below is my interpretation of the set up on my 9' x 5' table for playing the game in 28mm, with the two armies arrayed so that I could judge distances between the two forces for later deployment on the approach of the two lines.

The table arranged for Sunday's game and with both armies deployed, purely to illustrate the two forces and their respective footprints, using as I am 28mm figures. 

My use of my Roman citadel buildings to represent the outskirts of Contesti is based on an illustration in Radu Oltean's superb book, Dacia The Roman Wars Volume 1, covering the Dacian Wars of this period, a book I reviewed in 2015, and a much treasured tome in my library.

Radu Oltean's illustration of the citadel of Costesti in his book Dacia The Roman Wars.
JJ's Wargames: Dacia The Roman Wars, Volume One, Sarmizegetusa- Radu Oltean

In the pregame briefing the chaps will have a chance to arrange their troops in their preferred set up, and so the forces have been arranged on the table purely to mark up the points A,B and Y, Z as shown on the map to illustrate the width of the opposing lines on set up and the most furthest forward units, together with the space available to deploy in for both sides.

Point Z on the map for the Dacian line shows that any units deploying from here will be constricted by the woods in this area, close to the table edge.

Thus the opposing pairs of red and blue 'Carpe Diem' chits indicate those start positions illustrating the limited deployment line for the Romans, with likely just their forward line of units appearing on table at the start of the game , but with much more deployment space for the Dacians taking their blocking position across the road, with the Y position in front of Costesti giving them plenty of scope to stretch the Romans should they wish.

Point B on the Roman map illustrates my point that only the most forward Roman troops in their line of battle will have the space to deploy initially from here, with the Roman artillery keen to stake out an early position to start plying the Dacian line with heavy bolts.

The opposing set up points Y and A for the Dacians and Romans respectively can be seen in the pictures below, and as per the map, the two opposing lines will be facing each other diagonally across the valley, as opposed to the set up in the pictures.

Point Y on the Dacian side of the map marked up in front of Costesti, illustrating the scope for the Dacians to deploy all their forces in line should they choose, and to threaten the Roman left flank with and advance into the foothills ahead.

The Roman set up A marker can be seen besides the road to Sarmizegetusa Regia, better illustrating that initial Roman deployment will be limited to forward units.

I have made no alteration to my units to allow them to work with TAoR, and am planning to use my Augustus to Aurelian (AtoA) counters such as the pilum markers to indicate when the legionary cohorts have used them in combat, removing said counters as required, as well as my 'brave warrior' bases to indicate my veteran warbands, see the picture below.

Those and my unit status markers 'Disordered', 'Shaken' which will replace the disrupted status as written in the rules, and obviously, 'Rout' indicated by units facing away from the enemy. 

The orders for divisions will also use my AtoA counters with Hold and Attack orders as per the rules and 'Retire' orders replacing Withdraw.

The two veteran warbands are indicated by a pair of falx and sword wielding berserkers placed ahead of the main body of warriors.

This game is to test the rules out and see if they will work as a fast play set without losing the detail that characterises a particular era of ancient warfare, such as this early to middle period of Imperial Rome's age of conquest.

Three Ages of Rome | Groups | Facebook

Thus as well as incorporating much of the 28mm House Rules gleaned from Keith Flint on the TAoR Facebook Group, link above, which you should look at joining if interested in playing this series of rules. 

Dacian leader Scorisicus rides out ahead of his massed warbands and skirmishers

I'm not convinced about the idea of having my Roman Auxiliary Infantry, classed as 'Adaptable Infantry' running around in skirmish order, however I could argue the case for these often tribal based units from various parts of the empire bringing their looser movement arrangements to the Roman system of battle that would enable them to manoeuvre through 'Difficult Terrain' as warbands giving them a 7cm movement advantage over their legionary comrades.

King Decebalus leads a division that has two veteran warbands, one armoured, together with a veteran unit of heavy cavalry.

I also have some ideas of my own that I might adapt from AtoA that include Roman Triplex and Duplex Acies tactics and Impetuous Warbands that I feel better represent these very different armies. 

However I am getting ahead of myself and as always first things first and so lets get the play test done and dusted!

Decebalus' veteran warbands bar the way to the Roman invader.

You might also notice from the unit pictures that my AtoA Numbered Command Chits also fit well with TAoR as the respective numbered discs are placed next to their respective commanders and I intend to use them to facilitate the random draw to determine which commands get to activate in what particular order.

Legatus Pietus commands the Roman second division with Balearic slingers seen here ahead of his legionaries and auxiliaries.

No it's not Russell Crowe's Maximus Decimus Meridius, but rather the Numidian Prince Catus leading the Roman cavalry that includes his own Numidian light cavalry supported by Balearic slingers

The Emperor Marcus Ulpius Traianus, Trajan interviewing one of the locals before turning his attention to the task at hand.

So there we are, everything ready for our game on Sunday which will be the first played in my refitted room and I'm really looking forward to getting together with the chaps to put Three Ages of Rome through its paces and see what kind of a game it has to offer.

The Dacian battle line arranged in its deployment area with Decebalus' division closest to camera to better illustrate the final arrangement with the Roman army off table yet to deploy its lead units

The After Action Report for our game will follow, plus my 'The World Turned Upside Down' British Second Composite Light Infantry Battalion are nearing completion which I will be showcasing, and some new terrain items look set to join them as well, courtesy of my mate Jason.

So with lots to do, as always more anon.

JJ

A Great Year enjoying Devon Wildlife, among Other Things!

As is often my want, I very much enjoy natural history as much as most other history, with the former getting featured here on the blog often included in my adventures 'On Tour', and whilst including the more exotic species encountered in my overseas visits to places such as Australia, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka over the years, it's nice to emphasise now and again the amazing creatures we have in 'Blighty' and in particular in my home part of the country here in Devon, with links to other similar posts to be found in the side bar to the blog under 'Devon Sites and Wildlife'.

Tommy Brock, as illustrated by Beatrix Potter in The Tale of Mr. Tod

In recent years my own back garden, not exactly in the wilds of the Devon countryside, has been host to several interesting visitors, some nocturnal, with our resident badgers making regular visits and turning the back lawn into a mini version of the Somme battlefield, with the craters left after they have dug it over in search of 'Leather Jacket' grubs, one of their favourite night time snacks. 

These regular visits were doing Carolyn's head in as she very much enjoys her gardening, and to confirm our suspects, she installed a wildlife camera, triggered by any movement and the clip above soon confirmed who our new neighbours were. These are some clips from the hidden camera which can be clicked on to play.

However with a large tunnel dug under the back garden fence, the route in was soon being used by other visitors including a local hedgehog, and a couple of foxes, with one of their family, a young vixen boldly strolling through our garden in broad daylight!

The European badger (Meles meles), also known as the Eurasian badger, is native to Europe and West Asia and parts of Central Asia, and in the UK it is simply known as the "badger".

The badgers are a bit of a pain, but for the sake of having to reseed the lawn each autumn and occasionally tread down the divots of grass, rather like a golf club green keeper, it is rather special to have the largest wild mammal in the UK, (for mammal read ‘Carnivore’ - see Rob’s comment below), visiting our garden, and the fox and hedgehog make it feel like a rural oasis in the town.

The range of the European badger

As if to emphasise how much the British wildlife like what Carolyn has done to the garden we were visited by two birds, never before seen in our back yard, and to have both of them visit on the same day was even more special.

I just happened to look out into the back garden when I noticed some movement on the lawn and spotted a Green Woodpecker, making best use of the badger holes as it tucked into its favourite snack, ants.

The Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis) is the largest of the three woodpeckers that breed in Britain, and has a heavy-looking body, short tail and a strong, long bill. It's green on its upperparts with a paler belly, bright yellow rump and red on the top of its head. The black 'moustache' has a red centre in males, and the bird has a bouncing flight and a loud, laughing call.

Eventually this female headed off into a nearby tree and I carried on taking a few pictures with the camera, and was getting ready to put it away when my eye was drawn to further movement in the same tree.

The Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) is the next most common woodpecker seen here in the UK, but I have never seen the two species together in the same tree but was very happy that they chose to gather in my garden.

A male Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major), and a female Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis) visiting our garden this year.

The male Great Spotted, which this appears to be, has a bright red patch on the back of the head and young birds have a red crown.

As well as woodpeckers, the garden and local paths have been blessed with an abundance of fledgling Robins (Erithacus rubecula) this year and the one I photographed below proved particularly bold, happy to have his or her portrait made, and displaying the developing read breast to replace the pale light-brown spotted one in very young birds, the spots still clearly visible.

A fledgling Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

This summer in the UK was wall-to-wall-blue for most of the year which meant that Peggy the black Labrador got to help me with the barbecue and clear up the odd dropped piece of sausage.

Peggy helping with one of the family barbecues this summer

That weather obviously encouraged a few warbirds to put in an appearance over the garden during the summer months, that included a Piper L-4 Grasshopper, sporting its invasion stripes, a sight that would have been the scourge of German troops in Normandy, under strict orders not to open fire on the slow moving aircraft for fear of bringing down on them a barrage of retributive artillery fire, known as a 'stonk' in Royal Artillery parlance.

A Piper L-4 Grasshopper, sporting its invasion stripes, flies over the garden.

As well as the Piper L-4 we are blessed locally with our very own Spitfire that operates out of the former Battle of Britain aerodrome, RAF Exeter and now Exeter Airport.

Our spitfire is a regular site patrolling overhead and the owner is known to waggle his wings in response to those of us who appreciate his fly overs by making the appropriate signal with arms raised.

Our local Exeter based Spitfire on patrol.

In recent years the nearby estuary to the River Otter has been allowed to return to a more wild state, which has enabled the return of many species of water birds as well as plenty of fish in the river itself, and we now have a resident colony of European beavers living in the river as evidenced by the occasional heavily chewed tree stump.

As well as the many ducks, herons, egrets and cormorants, the estuary attracted a pair of ospreys, but they unfortunately were not to be seen on one of my several visits this summer.

The River Otter is looking very clean and regularly hosts teams of fish which is a big attraction for the birds.

Of course with camera in hand, if the birds aren't drawing my attention, then a beautifully restored six ton 6 x 6 American prime mover cargo truck, seen here this summer in Bicton Gardens is bound to get snapped, this type of vehicle a likely regular site in our part of the world in 1944 as our local area played host to the the US 4th (Ivy - IV) Division in preparation for its invasion of Normandy via Utah Beach.

As well as the River Otter estuary, we also got to enjoy plenty of beach walks along our part of the Jurassic Coast with the famous Devon Red sandstone cliffs playing host to our local pair of Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus).

The larger female seen here on her nest site in the cliffs looks out over the beach below.

Nearby the much smaller male bird keeps watch over his mate and has a ready eye for an opportunity of taking an unwary pigeon.

A careful eye turned towards the shoreline rocks and rock pools revealed a beautiful Rock Pipit (Anthus petrosus), much larger than its cousin the Meadow Pipit, busy hunting for food and no doubt keeping an eye on the Peregines.

Inland from the Jurassic Coast is the remains of the ancient river that flowed at that time from what is now the French coast to our part of Devon and revealed in the pebble beach at nearby Budleigh Salterton and at the very unique pebble bed common, Woodbury Common where we like to walk with Peggy in the summer when dogs are banned from  the local beaches.

Common Spotted Orchids dotted the paths across Woodbury Common this spring.

In spring time the Common plays host to its own eco system of plants and wildlife which included this year a dramatic display of Common Spotted Orchids ( Dactylorhiza fuchsii) , which are quite small, and easily missed, but well worth inspecting a little closer. 

A Common Spotted Orchid( Dactylorhiza fuchsii), one of many seen on Woodbury Common this year.

Later in the year with autumn under way the paths over Woodbury become festooned with new blooms peculiar to the time of year that included this rather stunning Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita or simply red toadstool.

This funghi, like all of them found in the wild, have to be treated with respect, as ingestion of this mushroom can cause poisoning, especially in children and those seeking its hallucinogenic effects, due to psychoactive compounds like muscimol and ibotenic acid, that said, fatal poisonings are extremely rare.

Of course these are your classic 'fairy-tale' red mushrooms with this a very fine example, and I'm looking forward to showing my granddaughter when she's a little older with of course all the usual warnings.

I hope you have enjoyed my little excursion away from all things military-history, but normal service will be resumed as my work on His Majesty's 2nd Combined Light Infantry Battalion circa 1777 reaches a conclusion with a showcase post coming next, and my attention turns this week to the inaugural invitation game in my repurposed room as I gather with Tom, Will and friends to play the Battle of Tapae 101 AD as Emperor Trajan goes head to head with the King of the Dacians, Decebalus.

As always, more anon.

JJ