The Battle of Carrhae - Page 2

Aftermath

The death of Crassus removed the only thing holding Caesar and Pompey apart: leading indirectly to the civil war between them, and the end of the Roman republic.

Surena was executed by his jealous king shortly after the battle: but his family would eventually contribute to the overthrow of the ruling dynasty and thus to the rise of the Sassanids, also legendary enemies of Rome.

The legionary standards lost at Carrhae were held in the temples of Parthia until 20BC, when Augustus negotiated their return. Neither Caesar nor Pompey were interested in an immediate revenge strike: they had the bigger fish to fry!

Wargaming Carrhae

There are many ways in which Carrhae can be wargamed.

The Campaign and/or Whole Battle

Firstly, the relatively small size of the forces involved allows a group of players to re-fight the entire campaign: either from the moment Crassus crosses the border or, perhaps the more immediately playable option, the moment that the Parthians come into sight.

The Parthians should have at their disposal 1,000 cataphracts and 10,000 horse archers. In Vis Bellica terms, this could be represented by three bases of heavy horse and 30 bases of skirmish order light horse. This is the equivalent of two or three normal-sized-game horse archer armies, but bases could be re-cycled without much difficulty.

The Romans should have 35 bases of legionaries, organised into seven legions of five bases each. These should be supported by eight bases of Auxilia, two bases of Gallic cavalry, and eight bases of Asiatic light horse. Providing the legionary bases will be the problem here: but every ancient wargamer has a few Romans secreted somewhere in his collection! Generous players might also allow the Romans twelve bases of assorted Armenian horse.

If playing the latter option, i.e. from the moment the main Parthian force is spotted, the Romans should begin the game strung out in a march column and all downgraded by one morale class (Elites become Veterans; Veterans become Average etc) to represent the effects of their forced march and the heat and dust of the desert.

Playing Publius

Although technically playable for all, the above obviously represents a significant effort in terms of time, space and figures, and is perhaps really suitable only for those players using small scale figures, or for a huge demonstration game.

Those wanting a game for a typical club evening could, instead, re-fight Publius' attempt to chase away the Parthian horse archers from the rear of the Roman square.

Rather than a straight encounter, this game is best played as the Romans trying to get back to the safety of the square. Assuming a standard rectangular table, the Romans start at one of the short ends, and must get as many of their men off the other as possible. The Parthians must prevent the Romans moving across the long part of the table and off the other side.

Under Vis Bellica the Romans could be given the special order "Move to the other side of the field". Bases with this order move at least ¾ of their move directly across the table, declaring charges on any enemy bases directly in their path.

As for forces, using Vis Bellica, Publius should have at his disposal two bases of Gallic cavalry; two bases of light Auxilia; and eight bases of Legionaries. The Parthians should be given two bases of cataphracts and twenty bases of horse archers.

This option would work well as a solo game, with the player taking either side.

Skirmish Possibilities

Those gamers who prefer skirmish gaming might like to consider playing out the fate of Varguntius' force: 2,000 assorted Roman types separated from the main body in the night-time retreat to Carrhae.

This would also work well as a linear game: with the Romans seeking to traverse the battlefield without being picked off by roving bands of Parthians. An umpire could run the Parthians, with several players each controlling a small number of Romans.

The Parthians would enter the table at various points (roll a d6: 1 = 1d6 cataphracts; 2-6 = 2d6 horse archers), and head towards the nearest Romans in sight.

Breakout - a quick and easy Carrhae Scenario

In a desperate attempt to prevent the encirclement of their square, the Romans have sent a sizeable force under Crassus’ son, Publius, to drive off the hoardes of Parthian horse-archers.

The Parthians have given ground before Publius’ advance: luring him further and further away from the safety of the square. Now that he is too far for help to reach him, they have turned, and overwhelming numbers of troops block both his advance and retreat.

His only hope of survival is to fight his way back to the Roman square!

Player Briefing: The Romans

You are Publius, son of one of the three most powerful men in the world. You have accompanied your father, Crassus, into the desolate wastes of Parthia and you are as desperate as he is to win fame and glory.

Over the last few days, you have seen the might of the Roman army reduced to a shambling mess of exhausted and weary men, seemingly unable to counter the swarms of barbarian horse archers that incessantly pour arrows into your flanks.

Earlier you were told that the square was about to be surrounded: cut off from any hope of relief. You led a sizeable party of men out towards the enemy: determined to drive the horse archers away from your rear.

At first all went well: the enemy melting away before your advance. Now, however, just when you are too far from the square to expect help, the Parthians have turned: blocking your way back to safety.

There is nothing for it: you must fight your way through – or die trying!

Player Briefing: The Parthians

Your tactics have worked perfectly. The Roman sortie has been lured further and further from the square until it is now too far for any help to reach it.

Your job is simple: finish them off!

Notes

The Romans enter at one of the short sides of the table, and must exit at the other. The Parthians may set up anywhere on the table outside of an exclusion zone extending 30” from the edge of the table where the Romans enter.

The Romans score one victory point for each base (including officers) that successfully exits the table. The Parthians score one victory point for each enemy base (including officers) destroyed. The side with the most points at the end of the battle wins the game.

The following two files are Adobe PDFs that contain the correct Orders of Battle for playing Breakout using Robert Avery's Vis Bellica rules for ancient wargaming. Simply click on the link to view or download the PDF. Don't forget to Right-Click the link to give you the Save Target As option:

Breakout Romans

Breakout Parthians

The following two Adobe PDFs have been created by the author to give you the total number of units per army that you should use if considering playing Carrhae as a campaign game:

Campaign - Romans

Campaign - Parthians