Peter Sides ancient scenarios list and reports

Introduction
Peter Sides put out 4 books of historical scenarios with around 40-50 scenarios in each.  I have the following three:
  • Ancient Historical Battles 1479 BC -378AD (AHB)
  • Ancient Historical Battles Volume 2 (AHB2)
  • Historical Medieval Battles (HMB)
Volume 2 covers roughly the same time period as volume 1 but has different battles.

My goal is to replay as many of these scenarios as I can on a 2'x2' table using some fast play rules of my own.

Battle Scenarios
Each Peter Sides battle scenario description is on one A5 page with:
  • a short background to the battle
  • a list of the troops for each size and suggested DBA and DBM equivalents
  • a deployment map for the force
  • victory conditions
  • a short description of how the actual battle went and the aftermath
The deployment maps suggest table sizes that varied with the scenario - anywhere from 18"x18" to 8'x6'!  I want to play the scenarios on a 2'x2' board, and so will scale the forces and deployment to suit.

Why my own rules?
I wanted something solo friendly, would play in less than 1 hour, preferably 30-40 minutes, on a 2'x2' table and give a good game with what I want in historical feel.  I started writing my own in 2001, and then actively searching for published rules and blogging the experience since 2010. I found Rally Round the King/Warrior Kings and they are close but just a bit too long to play. Justified Ancients and Bill Banks Ancients are other contenders but not solo-friendly enough.  I ended up creating a new ruleset - Ancient Warrior Battles (AWB) - using these rules as a basis. At the end of 2012 and the Battle of Marathon I realised I was not completely satisfied with the rules and did some streamlining.  The new incarnation was evolution not revolution but I gave the rules a new name and a new page - see Ancient Battlelines Clash (ABC) page. At the end of 2016 (after the Battle of the River Thatis) I streamlined the rules more and changed the combat mechanism to be based on the throw of 1-3 dice, rather than addition and subtraction of modifiers to a single die.  Those rules have a new name - When Warriors Collide - but I used them for replaying a few games but was a step to far.  I went back to the one die mechanisms in ABC.  I did fix a number of small issues I had with the existing ABC creating ABC version 3.  Hopefully playing over 100 historical battles will tune up the rules even further!  I have evolved them further into rules only using a D3, called D3 Ancients Clash, played a few games but went back to 1d6 with some small streamlining of the rules.
In late 2021 I went back to the drawing board and heavily modified Bill Banks Ancients with learning form Ancients Battlelines Clash.  These rules are called When Warriors Collide v2.  This blog post has the background for the change of direction.  Rules not published.   And then in early 2022 I did a cross over of WWC2 and DBA for a 12x12 gridded version with no disorders (i.e. no markers) called ABCG (ABC Gridded).  And by mid-2022 I merged ABCG back into ABC to create ABCv6.  Again, rules are only 3 page cheat sheets and so not published.   The first half of 2023 saw me now playing on an 8x8 grid with rules loosely based on Phil Sabins Phalanx.  The second half saw me apply the Phalanx movement mechanisms and orginal Bill Banks Ancients melee table to When Warriors Collide. The quest continues!

The Battles
The following is the list of the Peter Sides battle scenarios in chronological order, the book it came from and a link the game report (If I have done one).  I expect to do them in roughly the order listed.  I have split them into 9 large groups to make it a bit easier to read.  A group's title broadly covers the battles within. There are exceptions and overlaps between groups but I kept the battles in order, rather than move them between groups.  I will also try and investigate the battle I am playing as well so I will get double the fun - a game and some interesting reading. I will try not to modify the scenarios too much based on my research.

For a bonus I have also added the scenarios from the boardgame Bill Banks Ancients (BBA) that are not in the Peter Sides booklets. BBA was the original inspiration to write my own rules. Lastly, I am assuming I will fill in some battles of interest as I progress.  For example, the first battle - Uruk -  played is not in any of the previously mentioned books!

Chariots
Battle of Uruk 2271BC (GMT Chariots of Fire) - battle report AWB June 2012
Megiddo 1479BC (AHB) - battle report AWB July 2012
Kadesh 1288BC (AHB) - battle report AWB July 2012
KarKar 853BC (BBA) - battle report AWB September 2012

Note: I will skip the Chinese battles (Mu, Che, Yen Ling) until I have based the Chinese infantry I acquired in 2011.
Mu 1027BC (AHB)
Che 717BC (AHB)
Yen Ling 575BC (AHB)

Hoplite era
Thymbra 546BC (BBA) - battle report AWB November 2012
Marathon 490BC (AHB) - battle report AWB November 2012
Plataea 479BC (AHB) - battle report ABC March 2013
Delium 424 BC (new) - battle report ABC July 2013
Acragas 406BC (AHB2) - battle report ABC May 2013
Cunaxa 401BC (AHB) - battle report ABC June 2013
Leuctra 371BC (AHB) - battle report ABC July 2013
2nd Mantinea 362BC (AHB) - battle report ABC August 2013
Crocus Plain 352BC (AHB2) - battle report ABC August 2013
Crimisus 341BC (AHB2) - battle report ABC August 2013
Veseris (aka Suessa) 340BC (AHB2) -battle report ABC August 2013

Macedonian and Early Successor
Cheronea 338BC (AHB) - battle report ABC September 2014
Granicus 334BC (AHB) - battle report ABC October 2014
Issus 333BC (AHB) - battle report ABC November 2014
Gaugamela 331BC (AHB) - battle report ABC December 2014
Hydaspes 326BC (AHB) - battle report AWB January 2012, ABC December 2014
Caudine Forks 321BC (AHB2) - battle report ABC September 2013
Hellespoint 321BC (AHB2) - battle report ABC May 2015
Paraitakene 317BC (AHB2) - battle report ABC October 2016
Gabiene 316BC (AHB2) - battle report ABC October 2016
Gaza 312BC (Lost Battles) - battle report ABC November 2016
River Thatis 310BC (AHB2) - battle report ABC December 2016

Successors and Rise of Rome
Tunis 310BC (Lost Battles) - battle report ABC January 2019
Ipsus 301BC (AHB) - battle report ABC November 2016
Sentinum 295BC (AHB2) - battle report ABC September 2013
Heraclea 280BC (AHB) - done with lots of different rules; battle report WWC October 2017 and a revised WWC January 2018
Asculum 279BC (AHB) - battle report ABCv3 August 2019
Beneventum 275BC (AHB) - battle report ABCv3 September 2019
Bagradas 255BC (AHB2) - battle report ABCv3 November 2019
Telamon 225BC (AHB2) - battle report  ABCv3 January 2020
Sellasia 222BC (AHB2) - battle report ABCv3 October 2019
Ticinus 218BC (AHB2) - battle report ABCv3 November 2019
Trebia 218BC (AHB2) - battle report ABCv3 November 2019
Raphia 217BC (AHB) - battle report ABC December 2016
Lake Trasimene 217BC (AHB) - battle report ABCv3 November 2019
Detosa 216BC (AHB2) - battle report ABCv3 November 2019
Cannae 216BC (AHB) - battle report ABCv3 December 2019
Baecula 208BC (AHB) - battle report ABCv3 December 2019
Mataurus 207BC (AHB) - battle report ABCv3 December 2019
Illipa 206BC (AHB) - battle report ABCv3 December 2019
Zama 202BC (AHB)  - battle report ABCv3 December 2019  Also done with a few rules (none mine)
Cynopscephalae 197BC (AHB) - battle report D3AC May 2020
Magnesia 189BC (AHB2) - battle report D3AC May 2020
Pydna 168BC (AHB2) - battle report D3ACOctober 2020
Corinth 146BC (AHB2) - battle report D3AC October 2020
Arausio 105BC (AHB2) - battle report D3AC October 2020
Aquae Sextiae 102BC  (AHB2) - battle report D3AC February 2021
Chaeronea 86BC (AHB2) - battle report ABCv3 February 2021
Orchomenus 86BC (AHB2) - battle report ABCv3 February 2021
Tigranocerta 69BC (AHB2) - battle report ABC v3 June 2021

Caesar to Trajan
Bibracte 59BC (AHB2) - battle report December 2014
Vosges 58BC (AHB2) - battle  report WWC2 November 2021
Sambre 57BC (AHB2) - battle report WWC2 December 2021
Carrhae 53BC (AHB) - battle report ABCG March 2022
Alesia 52BC (AHB2) - I decided not to do this one as it is attacking a fortification.
Phasalus 48BC (AHB) - battle report WWC2 April 2023
Thapsus 46BC (AHB) - battle report ABC May 2023
Munda 45BC (AHB) - battle report ABC May 2023
Philippi 42BC (AHB2) - battle report ABC May 2023
Taurus 39BC (AHB2) - battle report  modified Phalanx June 2023
Angrivarii Boundary 16AD (AHB2) - battle report WWC October 2023
Idistaviso 16AD (AHB) - battle report WWC October 2023
Boudicca's Revolt 60AD (AHB) - battle report WWC January 2024
Mons Graupius 84AD (AHB) - battle report WWC January 2024

Serverus to the End of Empire
Issus 194AD (AHB)
Lugdunum 197AD (AHB)
Naissus 268AD (AHB2)
Milvan Bridge 312AD (AHB)
Cibalis 315AD (BBA)
Mursa 351AD (AHB2)
Argentoratum 357AD (AHB)
Adrianople 378AD (AHB)
Chalons-Sur-Marne 451AD (AHB2)

Byzantine and the East
Daras 531AD (AHB2)
Callinicum 531AD (Society of Ancients Battle Day) - done with lots of different rules (none mine)
Decimum 533AD (AHB2)
Tricamerum 533AD (AHB2)
Taginae 552AD (AHB2)
Casilinum 553AD (AHB2)

From here on I have not really gamed battles in this era and am not as well versed in the history as prior to this.  So getting past here will be good, and I think I may enjoy reading more about this era than playing! 
 
Yarmuk 636AD (AHB2)
Tours 732AD (HMB)
Ashdown 871AD (BBA)
Lech 955AD (BBA)
Arbaq 957AD (HMB)
Clontarf 1014AD (HMB)
Gate Fulford 1066AD (HMB)
Standford Bridge 1066AD (HMB)
Hastings 1066AD (HMB)
Manzikert 1071AD (HMB)
Durrazzo 1081AD (HMB)
Zallaca 1086AD (HMB)
Durazzo 1081AD (BBA)
Dorylaeum 1097AD (BBA)
Antioch 1098AD (HMB)


Medieval
Tinchebrai 1106AD (HMB)
Cardigan 1136AD (HMB)
Standard 1138AD (HMB)
Legnano 1176AD (BBA)
Dublin 1183AD (HMB)
Kurikara 1183AD (HMB)
Hattin 1187AD (BBA)
Arsuf 1191AD (HMB)
Bouvines 1214AD (HMB)
River Indus 1221AD (HMB)
Kalka 1223AD (BBA)
Liegnitz 1241AD (BBA)
Lewes 1264AD (HMB)
Evesham 1265AD (HMB)
Benevento 1266AD (HMB)
Stirling Bridge 1297AD (HMB)
Falkirk 1297AD (HMB)
Courtrai 1302AD (HMB)
Bannockburn 1314AD (HMB)
Dysert O'Dea 1318AD (HMB)
Crecy 1346AD (HMB)
Poitiers 1356AD (HMB)
RooseBerke 1382AD (HMB)
Ajubourotta 1385AD (HMB)
Sempach 1386AD (BBA)
Shrewsberry 1403AD (HMB)
Grunwald 1410AD (HMB)
Agincourt 1415AD (HMB)

I may not get past here as I have never gamed War of the Roses, nor read too much on it.
 
War of the Roses
Wakefield 1460AD (HMB)
Northhampton 1460AD (HMB)
Towton 1461AD (HMB)
Mortimer's Cross 1461AD (HMB)
Barnet 1471AD (HMB)
Tewkesbury 1471AD (HMB)
Bosworth Field 1485AD (HMB)

2 comments:

  1. Shaun, what is the other Peter Sides book you are missing. I see Historical Renaissance Battles for DBR (Vols 1 and 2), so I am wondering if there is another one that is not listed on the On Military Matters web site. Do you know the name of the missing volume?

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  2. Hello Dale,

    I thought there was only one Renaissance scenario booklet and so that was the 4th one I was missing. I have done a search after your comment and there are two! So I should say there are *5* Peter Sides scenario booklets:

    Ancients Historical Battles Vol 1
    Ancients Historical Battles Vol 2
    Historical Medieval Battles
    Historical Renaissance Battles for DBR Vol 1
    Historical Renaissance Battles for DRR Vol 2

    So I only have, and hope to play through, the first three.

    Sorry for the confusion!

    ReplyDelete