The information below is an extract from the Hercules Abroad supplement that can be found on the Wargame Vault. This post has been sitting in my draft box for a long time, but as I have been working on the Carthaginian supplement Rise and Fall I might as well send it out into the wild now. Merry Christmas!
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As we continue to expand the world of the Ancient Greeks, it is natural to expand westward into Magna Graecia. This was a series of loosely affiliated Greek colonies located in Sicily and southern Italy. This Diaspora was often attributed to the Greeks following in the footsteps of the "Journeys of Hercules". This mythology was used to justify their expansion, colonization, and infringing on indigenous people's territory.
We all ready have a list for Syracuse and the City-States of Sicily. However, Magna Graecia had a vague definition and also included the Southern coastal regions of Italy. These colonies existed before and during the rise of Rome on the Peninsula, and eventually were rivals to her growth. The area of Southern Italy was ill suited for traditional Greek hoplite battle, so local variations were required in the military habits of the Greeks who found themselves there.
This area began to see extensive Greek settlement in the 8th and 7th centuries BCE. These colonists brought their Greek culture with them such as the idea of an independent City-state, religious traditions, and trade with their homeland. These Hellenic cities became vital power houses in the region and began to fuse the native Italic cultures with Greek cultural practices as well.
These Italic-Greek city-states eventually formed their own league for mutual support, trade, and protection against the neighboring Oscan tribes and other Greek rivals in 430 BCE. This was known as the Italiote League and was controlled by the city of Tarentine in the late 5th century.
How They Fought
As usual, nothing is known precisely about how the City-States of the Italiote League fought. We can make some assumption based on how their founding city-states fought, and how rival Italic tribes fought as well. In addition, there were some military trends in the Hellenistic World that would impact the Italiotes as well.
Of course, the foundational unit of any Greek city-state army was going to be the Phalanx composed of the land-owning freemen farmers of the nearby lands. They had the status to buy their own equipment and assemble for drill with their peers. The Hoplite warriors in Magna Graecia was similar to their brothers elsewhere. However, the terrain and conditions of Southern Italy were not conducive to the normal Hoplite tactics.
Native Italic tribes tended to be lighter armored and more mobile than their Hoplite neighbors. Hit-and-Run attacks and cattle raids were the de facto fighting style of the local tribes. In this fighting style, speed, mobility, and lighter weapons were critical. Distance fighting with Javelins was also a common feature.
Therefore, the Greek colonists to the region needed to meet these needs of warfare. To do so, Hoplites tended to avoid the use of the panoply and instead used a lighter, native garb that featured bronze pectoral armor plates in the front and rear. In addition, their head ware tended to be open in the front allowing greater visibility and allow a greater field of vision. Greaves were often reduced to a single leg or discarded to reduce weight and increase the soldiers ability to pursue or evade. Indeed, the Hoplite of Italian Magna Graecia was a much lighter and nimbler foe than the heavily armed shock troops of the Greek Peninsula.
In addition to the lighter hoplites the Italic Greeks made extensive use of Peltasts and Psiloi. These were used to supplement the infantry. They could provide covering fire for the advance, or screen the other troops. These were frequently mercenaries or poorer members of the city-state, much like Greece. The javelin was the favored missile weapon of the region.
The Italiotes made great use of Light Cavalry. These were designed as a skirmisher based force that utilized javelins and missile weapons, but also had small shields and curved swords for melee combat. They were an excellent pursuit and scouting force. This type of light cavalry was frequently referred to as Tarentine Cavalry, even though they were not necessarily native to the city of Tarentum. It was in reference to the style of skirmish cavalry that was being referenced.
The final element of an Italiote force would also be made up of Greek mercenaries. These would fit the more standard Hoplite, heavy infantry role in an Italiote force. They could form a solid core of heavy infantry.
Italiote Army List
Armed with the information above, we can start to piece together an army list for the soldiers of the Italiote League or its member city-states. The bulk of the infantry will most likely be composed of Light Hoplites to represent their lighter panoply and more mobile style of fighting. This will be supplemented by good Peltast and Psiloi options as the Javelin was a popular weapon in Italian conflicts.
The Cavalry should be Light Cavalry, but the melee ability and skirmisher nature can not be discounted. Therefore, I am going to add the following Option for the Tarentine Cavalry forces.
Tarentine Cavalry - 8 Points
Move Attack Armor Courage Discipline
12BW 4 1 4 2
Shoot: 2 (6BW)
Special: Evade, Pursue, Move and Shoot
This differentiates them from standard Greek Light Cavalry that focused more on skirmishing, missile fire, and pursuit. Now, you have a Light Cavalry unit that had enough Melee capability to challenge other Light Cavalry, Peltasts, Warband Infantry, and Psiloi. However, they are still no match for dedicated Heavy Cavalry, Elites, or Drilled units.
Italiote Line of Battle
Use the following lists to build your historical forces for the Italiote League or other Itallic-Greek forces. The Lines of Battle help to choose the appropriate units for your historical forces. These are sample lists and there to provide a flavor of potential forces. Players can always modify these lists as they see fit
Each Line of Battle will have an entry with a number. The number indicates the limit of that Unit you can take in the army. If an entry says 1+ your army must have at least one of these units in it. If it is 0+ any number of that unit may be taken. If a Unit is not on the list, it can not be chosen.
Italiotes
1+ Light Hoplites
0+ Peltasts
0-4 Psiloi
0-4 Tarentine or Cavalry
0-1 Drilled Hoplites
0-1 Archers/Slingers
The list above gives access to regular Light Cavalry or you can use the upgraded Tarentine Cavalry provided in the rules. In addition, the bulk of the force will be Light Hoplites to match the subtle differences between mainland Greece and their Italic colonies on the table.
Sample Army Lists
Below you can see an example force for the Italiote Greek City-States. It is built to the 38 point standard and is composed of 6 units.
2 Light Hoplites
2 Tarentine Cavalry
1 Peltast
1 Psiloi
Battle of the Elloporus
Most of the warfare of the Italiote League was between fellow Greek City-states and the nearby Latin, Oscan, and Samnite tribes. However, the threat from Sicily by the Tyrant Dionysus I was a primary concern. Some scholars speculate that the rise of Dionysus the I of Syracuse was the prime motivation for creating the Italiote League. Therefore, eventually the rivalry between Syracuse and the Italiote League would come to a head. This inevitable clash happened in 389 BCE.
Unsurprisingly, we know little of the actual events of the battle. We know that it was fought, and that Syracuse won the battle. The armies were probably in the 15 to 25K range on both sides. Sources also indicate the battle was fought in the toe of Italy near the Stilaro River. That pretty much summarizes what little we know of the battle.
To put it in perspective, this battle took place during the 3rd Sicilian War. In the same year, the Spartan King Aegislaus II was crossing the Gulf of Corinth to attack the Arcananians. Athens is getting involved with Rhodes and taking control of the Hellespont under the command of Thrasybulus. Military activity across Greece and Sicily was common during this time period.
Of course, situations like these allow for a wargame to fill in the blanks. We don't know much about the battle strategy, tactics, or terrain. We also know next to nothing about the forces involved. Therefore, whatever we choose to do is as accurate as anyone else chooses to do!
Forces
For this battle, we will be using the Syracuse list and the Italiote League Lists. Neither of these can be found in the Men of Bronze rulebook itself. Both lists can be found in the Hercules Abroad supplement on the Wargame Vault.
Italiote League
2 Light Hoplites
2 Tarentine Cavalry
1 Peltast
1 Psiloi
Syracuse of Dionysus I
2 Militia Hoplites
1 Cavalry
2 Archers
1 Peltast
Since we know nothing about this battle, we can safely use any lists we want. I have opted to use the sample Lines of Battle provided for both forces up to 38 points.
Set-up
We know so little about the Battle of Elleporus, that it seems like just about ANY scenario from the main Men of Bronze rulebook could be used. However, I feel that the Set Piece Battle scenario maybe the best and safest option.
The game should take place on a 72 BW by 48 BW board. The only set feature would be a river traveling along one flank of the battle, probably with the deepest edge being no more than 8 BW in from either short edge. This could be Difficult, Dangerous, or Impassable terrain depending on how restricting you want the terrain to be. After placing the river, I would recommend deploying terrain in the remaining sections of the board and rolling for complications as normal. The Set-Piece Battle scenario should be a good guide.
Special Rules
Again, since we know so little about the battle, its prelude, and what occurred we can use any complications that we wish! No special rules are needed for this battle and the normal process for generating Complications should be sufficient.
Victory
Again, we know so little that special Victory conditions do not seem to be necessary. Instead, the Victory Conditions for a Set-Piece Battle should be sufficient.
However, feel free to add any spice you want to the battle. For example, the Italiotes could be trying to kill Dionysus I once and for all, and their Victory Condition could be routing the Unit he is in. If successful, the Italiote wins. If Dionysus I unit is not routed, then the Syracusans win. Your choice really!
Final Thoughts
The Italiote Greek City-States act as an interesting bridge between the world of the Romans and the world of the Greeks. Since the Italic-Greek City-States began their life in the 8th and 7th Centuries that leaves a lot of time for them to clash with their fellow Greeks such as Athenian Marines or colonists new to the region. They can also clash with the Barbarian tribe lists, or some of the lists from Hercules Abroad such as the Carthaginians, Syracusan/Sicilian Greeks, or the Etruscans. There are always no shortage of opponents to fight in the ancient world!
I think I am starting to wrap-up the world of the Greeks for Men of Bronze. I have covered a variety of different regions and cultures far beyond Mainland Greece now. The full list can be found below. If I go too much further and deeper, I will be into the Roman period which will be covered in Osprey's Wars of the Republic. No need to to do that, since it is fully compatible with Men of Bronze.
You can get all of the updated materials including a FAQ, Campaign rules, and Lines-of-Battle in the Men of Bronze Supplement: Hercules Abroad.
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