Gauls vs Gauls

[HoaryCenturion]

A Break in the Blog:
Being the Brief Record of a Recent Solo Wargame

Rules: GRAND TRIUMPH

Table Size: 78 inches x 45 inches (198 cm x 114 cm), which is approximately the ‘standard board size’ for a game of TRIUMPH! employing 40mm MU. However, my units/stands had a frontage of 40mm, so the MU was 20mm.

Terrain: Based on the diagram of Idistaviso (16 AD/CE) found on the bottom of page 192 in Warfare in the Classical World. My table had two medium-sized hills (one with a second tier) between the great forest and the river.

Opposing Armies: Both armies selected from the Warlike Gallic (400 BC to 100 BC) list available at Meshwesh. (Please see https://meshwesh.wgcwar.com/home)
The Condrusi consisted of 3 commands worth 144 points, containing the following: 36 warrior stands, 3 javelin cavalry stands, 6 rabble stands, and 4 bad horse stands.
The Treveri consisted of 3 commands worth 144 points, containing the following: 34 warrior stands, 6 javelin cavlary stands, 5 rabble stands, and 3 bad horse stands. Each side has 3 generals, one of these being the overall commander.
Tribal names were selected from a map provided in one of the several historical novels written by Colleen McCullough.

Deployments:
The Treveri had the great forest on their left; the river on their right. The majority of their good cavalry was positioned next to the river. Additionally, the right command was slightly forward of the other two. The Condrusi were in a long, even line. The overall commander (in a force of 3 stands of javelin cavalry) was in the center, behind a wall of warriors.

Summary:
The Treveri emerged victorious after an unsurprisingly no-frills, toe-to-toe battle. Though they were worried on their left, the enemy could not supply enough command pips to take advantage of this potentially vulnerable flank. The center witnessed some very bloody fighting, as the Condrusi threw themselves at the more solid lines of the Treveri. The main command of the Condrusi was demoralized after losing 18 points of troops. Twenty-four points were lost on the left flank, nearest to the river, even after alarming the Treveri by taking out two of their Javelin Cavalry units in the first minutes of the contest. In this sector, the most casualties were inflicted, with each side combining for an awful total of 41 points.

Evaluation:
A sharp and somewhat satisfying scenario, with lots of back and forth as might be expected when two armies consisting mainly of warrior stands/units meet. The Condrusi were hampered by poor command dice (on one turn they rolled a 1, 1, and 5 for the three commands) as well as by less than excellent combat dice. The Treveri were able to come back on their right (near the river), but this command became demoralized after suffering too many losses. Total points lost by the Treveri added up to 34 or approximately 24 percent of the army, while their hated enemy accumulated 54 points (around 37 percent of their starting strength) in the casualty pile.

In an article stumbled upon in the 1980 Memorial Issue of Slingshot, C.S. Grant remarked, “Wargaming, as I recall it, has always been a hobby which combines great enjoyment, warm friendship, model soldiers, historical research, a study of tactics and the desire to win.” Although this report was produced without three of the “requirements” listed, I think (perhaps foolishly or wrongly) that it still counts as wargaming. Granted, if placed on a spectrum of aesthetic appeal in addition to the half-dozen standards provided above, this tabletop action would be stuck with a pin rather far to the left. I think the closest neighbor would be https://wargamingwithoutdice.blogspot.c ... -game.html, with the following approach just to the right that well promoted hybrid https://wofungames.com/collections/the-renaissance-pd. Moving further to the right (not politically, though there may be something there - possibly), I think one would encounter this first https://ancientwargaming.wordpress.com/ ... seleucids/, with these representations vying for attention on the far right of the visual: https://bigredbat.blogspot.com/2016/11/ ... sis_6.html and https://olicanalad.blogspot.com/search/ ... nic%20Wars.

Possible Title if this had been an actual Blog Post:
BATTLE OF THE WARBANDS - The Gall of Some Tribes . . .