Commands & Colors: Medieval Belisarius Campaign Part 5 – Callinicum (531 AD) Part 1

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Below is the fifth in a series of articles from The Boardgames Chronicle playing through the Belisarius campaign in Commands & Colors: Medieval. You can find the first four articles in the series here. Enjoy! -Rachel

The Campaign

Dear Boardgamers, welcome to my series of articles focused on the greatest Byzantine general–Belisarius–and the battles he fought in sixth century AD in the name of the Roman Empire. The episodes were grouped in the so-called Belisarius Campaign, and it is already the fifth installment in this series. We already covered skirmishes at Thannuris (528 AD) & Melebasa (528 AD) as well as sieges of Dara (530 AD) and Stala (530 AD). Now is the time for a two-scenario battle–Callinicum.

Belisarius Campaign:

Thannuris (528 SD) => Melebasa (528 AD) => Dara (530 AD) => Satala (530 AD) => Callinicum (531 AD) Part 1

The Scenario

The Sassanids had lost at Dara and Satala in 530 AD, but that definitely did not end the Iberian War–a conflict raging between the Byzantine and Sassanid Empires from 526 AD to 532 AD over the eastern Georgian kingdom of Iberia. The spring of 531 AD saw another Sassanid army invading Roman Mesopotamia.

Belisarius was caught unawares by the quick and rapid invasion and had to quickly scramble all the forces he could muster. He outmaneuvered the Persian army and wished they would retreat but was forced by his subordinates–and the threat of mutiny–to deploy for battle. The first scenario in the book shows the initial skirmish, an extensive missile fire exchange, and the Sassanids charging and getting great tactical position in the nearby hills. Let’s see how it played out on the table!

GAME 1

The initial deployment of the forces–Romans still occupying the hills on their right wing
Let the game begin! After some maneuvering and range fire–much less than historically–the Romans, having nothing to lose, charged the exposed Sassanid center
Of course, the Persians responded in a similar way, and the center of the board was engulfed in mutual carnage and destruction
Quick look at the strategic situation mid-game, both sides still preserved enough forces to continue the fight
The next few turns saw systematic Sassanid advances on their right wing, gaining more and more advantage over the Byzantines
And then it happened–another Mounted Charge with 4 units activated, an unsuccessful leader escape roll, and the game went to the Persians
Final dispositions–my Persians won 6-4

GAME 2

So we switched the sides and sat down for an immediate counter-mach. Let’s see how it went!
Unsurprisingly, the more numerous and well-equipped Sassanids advanced in the center, only to smash and charge headlong (I am sorry for picture quality)
Oh, how surprised the Persians were when they faced a successful Roman Ambush! In the end, the charge finished in a draw, seeing both sides severely weakened
“Not all is lost!” yelled Belisarius when he played Rally to recover most of his depleted forces. He was very successful in the process and brought the whole infantry to its maximum strength
“It was all in vain,” thought Belisarius after a while, when he saw charging enemy cavalry, hitting the infantry lines and smashing the poor Roman soldiers
But the great general would not be himself if he did not have something prepared for the Persians. Four Swords rolled on the battle back completely obliterated enemy cavalry!
Still, the charge had a devastating effect on the Romans and their morale. See above.
“A coup de grace,” thought the great general, when he observed again the Mounted Charge coming from the Sassanid side. And so it was…
Final dispositions–my Byzantines showed a decent amount of fighting spirit but still lost.

Summary

That is really a great scenario: balanced, with a lot of maneuvers plus heavy units on both sides. The hills were not so crucial as historically–they rather gave a stable base to the Romans, which the Persians were not able to crush. But they are key in the long term–which will be visible in the second part of Callinicum! Hope to see you in this session report soon!

Thank You!

The BoardGames Chronicle

https://theboardgameschronicle.com/

Commands & Colors: Medieval Belisarius Campaign Part 1 – Thannuris (528 AD)

Commands & Colors: Medieval Belisarius Campaign Part 2 – Melebasa (528 AD)

Commands & Colors: Medieval Belisarius Campaign Part 3 – Dara (530 AD)

Commands & Colors: Medieval Belisarius Campaign Part 4 – Satala (530 AD)

The Boardgames Chronicle
Author: The Boardgames Chronicle

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Category: After Action Report

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