The Society of Ancients magazine, Slingshot 342, is with the printers …

[SoApub]

… and should land in SoA members' postboxes in the next few days!  Here is the cover picture, together with a list of the contents and a short summary of each article , or go to the SoA news page.  (If you aren’t already a member of The Society of Ancients , you can read about and join the society here.)

"Oh no, it's raining on the first bound.  All the Plough will be Rough Going.  Varlet! bring me my Hunter wellies."

Committee election notice and Editorial

The view from the editor's chair.

Interview with Lorenzo Sartori by Gordon Garrod

Lorenzo is the author of the Impetus series of Rules covering Ancient, Medieval and Renaissance periods, first released in 2008. He started out wargaming in the 1990s in Italy and is the owner and editor of the Italian wargames magazine Dadi & Piombo. He is also responsible for organising the Italian wargames conventions CovoGames, Dadi.com and MilanoWargames.

Newbury and Reading Wargames Society and Colours - a short history by Nick Harbud

Or perhaps, "Armageddon - delving back into ancient times"?

Westbury Wars 2022 - a convention report by John Graham-Leigh

For many years DBM open competitions with 25mm armies have been popular.  The first John attended was in 1997.  This year’s competition had a record turnout, with players fielding lots of historical or at least contemporary matchups from armies spanning the period 3,000 BC to 1500 AD.  Polybian Romans against Carthaginians and each other, Wars of the Roses English against Venetians with Swiss allies, Achaemenid Persians against Macedonians.

The Lamian War Part 2 by Bjorn Floderus

Part 1, in Slingshot 340, told about the background to the Lamian War and how it started. Alexander the Great’s death as the trigger for a Greek rebellion led by Athens and Aitolia. The allied states started the war strong, twice beating their opponents in the field. First, a combined Boiotian and Euboian army at Plateia then later a Makedonian army under Antipatros near the city Lamia.  But an old war-horse like Antipatros is not easily beaten and he retreated to Lamia with his army intact.  There Antipatros had a stroke of luck, with the death of the Athenian general Leosthenes. Could this be the break Antipatros was waiting for?  Read on and find out.

Hoplites at the SOA Conference 2022 by Simon MacDowall

The Society of Ancients Conference has a long history of showcasing new rule ideas and for playing games that are a bit out of the ordinary. With the upcoming Mantinea Battle Day in mind (25 March 2023) Simon has developed a new set of rules for Hoplite warfare called Alala! which he used to put on a demonstration game.  The game was a straight forward Theban v Spartan bash-up using mostly 1:72 scale plastic figures with all players and umpires having lots of fun.

Command & Colours Knockout Tournament at the SOA Conference 2022 by John Drewienkiewicz and Andrew Brentnall

Although the ‘main events’ of the annual conference didn’t start until Saturday morning, more than 20 attendees arrived on Friday evening in good time for some ‘beer and pretzels’ games and some not-too- demanding dice rolling, including this Command and Colours knockout for four pairs using the Zama scenario.

My First Society of Ancients Article - from a longstanding member by Baird McClellan

Ah me, a nostalgic wallow of the best kind.  Plastic figures, putty and pins.  And even a mention for Bob O'Brien.  Read and remember.

Selecting my Sassanid Aesthetic by Gavin Pearson

If you're going to ride down your enemies, ride them down in style.

How I became the first non-UK member to win the SOA Championship by Harry Dudrow

It's said that in Southern California Harry is now being called "World Champion" but, being modest, he demurs, though he'll happily answer to "SOA Champion".  Read on to find out why.

A Hex on your terrain by David Kay

The “River Deep Mountain High” thread on the Society’s forum, has been a great source of debate and reflection about terrain usage and practices.  Here is one member's personal take on the question of terrain aesthetics vs practicalities.

Horse Archer Units in Armati by Roy Boss

This article was originally written as a preface to the army booklet that each participant in the annual Bournemouth ‘Armati by the Sea’ event is given. As all the armies used are supplied by the event, and players take a different army each round, the booklet is a great reference and a souvenir to take away! This is the first of what we hope will be a number of related articles.

Shield Patterns at Second Mantinea by Duncan Head

The battle chosen for the Society’s Battle Day 2023 is the Second Battle of Mantineia, 362 BC so here is a short piece that might help if you are painting armies for the Battle Day (or, of course, selecting which hoplite figures to use from your already extensive collection).

Slingshot Book & Game Reviews Including reviews of:

SAGA - Age of Alexander supplement, review by Ken Butt
Age of Hannibal, rules review by Steve Neate
Strength and Honour, rules review by Richard Jeffrey-Cook
The Long War for Britannia, book review by Dave Hollin
The Field Campaigns of Alexander the Great, book review by Jim Webster
Septimius Severus and the Roman Army, book review by Duncan Head
Empire of Horses, book review by Dan N. Hazelwood

Battle Day 2023 - 2nd Mantinea 362 BC

"Meanwhile Epaminondas led forward his army prow on, like a trireme, believing that if he could strike and cut through anywhere, he would destroy the entire army of his adversaries. For he was preparing to make the contest with the strongest part of his force, and the weakest part he had stationed far back, knowing that if defeated it would cause discouragement to the troops who were with him and give courage to the enemy."

Renowned Theban general Epaminondas makes his famous deep deployment of his hoplite phalanx aimed at crushing the Spartan army.

The nineteenth annual Society of Ancients Battle Day will be held on Saturday 25 March 2023 at Newbury Rugby Club, Monks Lane, Newbury RG14 7RW.  We once again invite you to a unique day’s wargaming. Don’t miss out – come and be part of it!

The Battle Day is open to both members and non-members of the Society of Ancients.