As I had a pleasure of playing in short succession the Byzantine Battle of Callinicum (531 AD) using both Mark Herman Great Battles of History (GBoH) and then Richard Borg Commands Colors Medieval (CCM) I would like to share not-so-typical after action report. Yes, I will look into the details of the engagement, historical result, how it went on the board and what result was. But I will also do the comparison of how it feels to play with both systems. Should be fun!

The Systems

Let me first tell you a little about both games and systems.

Cataphract

Cataphract is the eighth volume in the Great Battles of History Series, following titles like The Great Battles of Alexander or SPQR. As such, it uses the same “basic” system as the preceding titles in the series:

• Troops activation & sequence based on Generals ratings and initiative system
• Battle resolution based on units types, direction of attack, size of units, etc.
• Cohesion and Troops Quality as decisive metrics of troops experience and value
• Rout and Rally actions
• and many more mechanics making this system pretty detailed simulation

Still, Cataphract portrays the development of the art of war wrought by the early Byzantine empire (also known as the Eastern Roman Empire) during the reign of the Emperor Justinian under its great generals Belisarius and Narses. During this period, the Byzantine Empire for a brief period re-captured a large portion of what was formerly the Western Roman Empire. Although successful in its attempts to re-conquer Italy and North Africa, the Byzantine empire’s resources were insufficient to hold onto its gains.

Commands & Colors: Medieval

Commands & Colors: Medieval is based on the Commands & Colors game system and by design is not overly complex – especially in comparison to just mentioned above series. We have the deck of Medieval Command cards that drive movement while creating a “fog of war,” and the battle dice that will resolve combat quickly and efficiently. The stylized battlefield scenario maps emphasize the important terrain features and highlight the historical deployment of forces in scale with the game system.

On the other hand, CCM bring many new mechanics to the system, justifying new line of games:

• Superior armor and status when battling
• Cavalry units increase to 4 blocks
• Heavy infantry battle dice are reduced from 5 dice down to 4
• Light Bow Cavalry units can employ the Parthian Shot when they evade

Now, let us move to Historical Background!

The Battle

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

Belisarius was caught unawares by the rapid invasion and had to quickly scramble all the forces he could muster. He outmaneuvered the Persian army and wished they just simply retreat but was forced by his subordinates – and threat of mutiny – to deploy for battle. The first part of battle was focused on initial skirmish, extensive missile fire exchange and the Sassanid charging and getting great tactical position on nearby hills. In the second part – when the key hills were already occupied by Sassanids – the Romans had not much space for maneuver and the result of the battle was decided. Let us see how it played-out on the table!

Great Battles of History (Cataphract) Session Report

Let me start with the GBoH session. My companion in both games was Marcin – a sturdy opponent, with whom I had a pleasure to play many various games. As for the report, I will use pictures which probably convey most information and allows Dear Readers to easily follow the flow events. Enjoy!

Although I played many more games in Cataphract than Marcin, he had no problem with outmaneuvering and outshooting my forces. Belisarius was right not to engage Sassanids – they have devastating advantage, mainly in bows.

Commands & Colors: Medieval Session Report

Let us see how the battle unfolded in C&C game. Remark here – C&C Medieval splits the engagement in two phases and so we have played also two scenarios.

Callinicum 531 AD (Phase 1)

Callinicum 531 AD (Phase 2)

Playthrough-comparison

After those two sessions with two titles I am ready now to share my thoughts how the games went when you compare one to another. I will use my favorite approach, so go in bullets:

• The Scale – even looking at the maps, you can see that we talk about completely different scale. Each unit in CCM represents many more units / troops that the counter in GBoH; that is of course reflected in number of block formations (fewer) than the chits (many more)
• The Sassanid’s Bows were much more deadly in GBoH then in CCM; I am not sure if this was due to the number of Cavalry units, probability of hit or other factors but evidently, the range combat in Cataphract is much more important / deadly than in Medieval
• In CCM once unit is destroyed it is gone; in GBoH you have Rout Mechanism, and units – although battered – were coming back to fight!
• The activation and sequence is of course much more straightforward in block game; in counter position you have leaders initiative, you can have 2-3 turns with each of them and you can try to trump – much deeper tactical decisions
• Of course, the final result of the battle on the table made a huge difference – GBoH was a swift and decisive Sassanid victory, the Medieval, at least first part, a much closer contest.

With this great experience I am planning to play more battles in similar way, utilizing both systems and comparing the experiences and results. This is indeed great fun and allows look at the interesting engagements from different perspectives!

---