Men of Bronze - Battle for Cyprus: Ionian Revolt

[Easy E]

This is the continuing recreation of the Ionian Revolt.  The Ionian Revolt was a revolt against the Persian Empire by the Ionian Greeks and their allies prior to the Greco-Persian War.  It took place from 499 to 493 BCE.  It was a land and sea affair, so I am using a combination of Poseidon's Warriors and Men of Bronze to re-create the campaign.  Both are from the Osprey Wargaming Series.  In addition, Men of Bronze has a specific supplement for the conflict called The Ionian Revolt.



Despite the loss at the Battle of Ephesus, the Ionian Revolt spread.  The Ionians managed to gain the support of the Carians, and many other cities in the region.  They all rose up against the Persians.  The island of Cyprus also decided to rise up.  All the cities except for one decided to rebel.  The other cities laid siege to the lone loyalist city.  However, the Persians sent aid tot he island, supported by a Phoenician fleet.  The rebels reached out to the Ionians for help.  They also responded with a fleet and an army.

Earlier, we played the sea battle off the coast near Salamis.  In that battle, the Persians were victorious which was an ahistorical outcome.  Supposedly, on the same day as the sea battle there was also a land battle. Today, we are going to be playing the land battle as presented in the Ionian Revolt supplement.  There are some special rules regarding Cypriotes changing sides in the battle, and due to the loss during the sea battle, we will be making it easier for Cypriote forces to change sides.



Forces

The Cypriotes
Militia Hoplites - Ionians
3 Peltasts - Cypriotes
1 Drilled Infantry - Cypriotes and General

The Persians
2 Drilled Infantry - 1 with General
2 Archers
2 Psiloi

Mission:
This is a Decisive Battle scenario as found in the main Men of Bronze rulebook.

There is a complication that involves the potential for Cypriotes to desert to the Persian side of the battle.

Set-up:
Behind the Persian deployment zone is a coastline, and on the Persian left leading into the ocean.  The table itself is 48 MU by 72 MU.  The rest of the terrain on the board is scattered foliage, a rock outcropping or two, and a lone tree or two.

The Persians deploy in front of the shoreline.  This represents them deploying from their troop transports or Triremes.  The Psiloi take each flank with the Infantry and archers alternating in the center.   



The Cypriotes are on the opposite long table edge.  The Ionians are on the right flank along the river edge.  The Phalanx is in Open Order to get us started.     



I am going to avoid turn by turn descriptions for this battle report.  I have found them a bit cumbersome to put together, and they were distracting me from actually playing the game.  Therefore, I am going to divide the report into three segments; the Maneuver Phase, the Battle Phase, and the End Game.  Hopefully, this will give you a good feel for the battle without me wasting a bunch of time on and energy on less relevant moves, Arete Point usage, and the dice results.

Take a glance at this new format of battle reports on my blog, and give me some feedback on the approach.  Thanks.
http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2023/06/battle-report-men-of-bronze-ionian.html

[Pattus Magnus]

A good looking game and an excellent report. I like the way you organized the battle report into phases - I think it allows you to summarize the events well and a large majority of games will follow that pattern. You can always tweak the format a bit for reporting games that don’t follow the pattern (ambushes come to mind, since the move to contact may happen pre-game in a successful one!).

I’m looking forward to reading about events in the Hellespont!

[LouieN]

A fun read TY

[Pattus Magnus]

Actually, if you ever decide to play an ambush scenario, the Carian ambush of a Persian force at Pedasa gorge would be a candidate. Home field advantage definitely made a difference and it is one of the few times in the Ionian revolt when a Persian force was wiped out (at least according to Herodotus - he lived nearby and likely visited the site). No major impact on the ultimate outcome of the war though - a year or two later the Carians were back in the Persian army a fighting beside them.

[Easy E]

We'll see what happens.   

Thanks for reading!