Best of Greco-Persian Wars

7/27/2019 Best of Greco-Persian Wars

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EPHESUS - 498 BC

Persian vs Greek

Historical BackgroundIn 499BC the tyrant of Miletus, Aristagoras, persuaded the Ionian Greeks to rise in rebellion

against their Persian ruler King Darius. Darius placed Miletus under siege while Aristsgorus

sailed to Greece to enlist the support of Athens and Sparta. The Spartans refused, but the

Athenians sent 20 ships along with 5 ships from the city of Eretria who owed a debt of gratitudeto the Milasians for their help in a former conflict. The ships landed at Ephesus and an allied

army of Athenians, Eretrians and Ionians marched on the Persian regional capital of Sardes

under the command of Charopinos, the brother of Aristagoras, and Hermophantus a man from

Miletus.The Greeks easily captured Sardes and drove the regional Satrap, Artaphernes, into the city

citadel. The approach of a large Persian army, probably the one that had been besieging Miletus,

forced the Greeks to retreat back to Ephesus, but the Persian supremecy in cavalry meant theGreeks were caught and forced to turn and fight. The outnumbered and mainly infantry Greek

army was heavily defeated with the Eretrian general Eualcides being killed. The Athenians

retreated to their ships and then back to Athens.The Ionian revolt would rage for many more years and was eventually crushed in 494BC. Darius

never forgot the aid the Ionians received from mainland Greece and he determined that Persia

should exact its revenge in the future.

The stage is set. The battle lines are drawn and you are in command. Can you change history?


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War Council

Persian Army

Leader: Artaphernes

5 Command CardsMove first

Greek Army

Leader: Charopinos

4 Command Cards

Victory

5 Banners

Special Rules

none.


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CYPRIAN SALAMIS - 498 BC

Persian vs Cypriot Rebels

Historical BackgroundSeizing upon the chaos created elsewhere by the Ionian Revolt, Onesilus, the brother of King

Gorgos of Salamis (Cyprus), took the throne in 498 BCE with the support of Cypriot

Greeks. Moving swiftly to respond, Persia dispatched an invasion force to join with loyalists on

the island and crush the uprising.The Persian force, led by Artybius, included Greek-style Punic hoplites, typical Persian

spearmen and light infantry alongside chariots and cavalry. Opposing the Persians, the rebel

Cypriots fielded nearly as many infantry, mustering perhaps 10,000 hoplites complemented by

light infantry and a chariot force composed primarily of Cypriot aristocracy.The two armies met on the plains of Salamis, with the rebels gaining the upper hand initially by

withstanding a charge by the Persian left, killing Artybius. According to Herodotus, it was at

this point that members of the Cypriot aristocracy, led by Stasenor of Curium, abruptly switchedsides, killed Onesilus, and assisted the combined Persian-Punic force in rolling up the Greek line

and destroying the rebel force. The victory at Salamis was decisive, as the anti-Persian uprising

against Gorgos was soon completely crushed, as the focus of the Ionian Revolt returned to themainland.

The stage is set. The battle lines are drawn and you are in command. Can you change history?


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War Council

Persian Army ( use Eastern Kingdom [X] blocks )

Leader: Artybius, Persian general

5 Command Cards Move First

Cypriot Rebel Army ( use Greek [X] blocks )

Leader: Onesilus, Cypriot usurper

5 Command Cards

Victory

7 banners

Special Rules

Curian Nobles Defection

1. Every Persian turn beginning on turn 3, the Persian player will roll 1 die before playing hiscommand card. If a LDR is rolled, the Curian Nobles light chariot unit will immediately switch

sides, and Onesilus, if still attached to the unit, will immediately be removed from the board and

counted as a banner.


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1a. If the Curian Nobles unit defects, the Persian will gain another leader (Stasenor of Curium),

who will be immediately attached to the unit.

1b. If Onesilus is NOT attached to the unit at the beginning of any Persian turn (3rd or later), the

Persian player rolls 2 dice, with the same rules applying.

MARATHON490 BC

Athenian vs Persian

Historical BackgroundDarius sent an army to punish Greece for rebellion, and the Athenians sent a force to face the

Persians near Marathon. For eight days the armies stared at each other and nothing happened. Onthe ninth day (either 12 September or possibly 12 August 490 BC reckoned in the proleptic

Julian calendar) it became known to the Athenians that Eretria had fallen by treachery. Thismeant that Artaphernes was now free to move, and might attack Athens. The Athenian army

went out to face the Persians. This was probably a combined decision by the generals, although

Herodotus reports that they were rotating days of command and that Miltiades was in charge at

this point, since he had a large part in persuading the others to do so. According to Herodotus,five Strategoi voted for the move and five voted against it, with Callimachus, the Polemarch,

casting the deciding vote in favor of attack. Since the bulk of Persian infantry carried bows, the

Greek plan was to advance in formation until they reached the limit of the archer's effectiveness,the "beaten zone," or roughly 200 yards, then advance in double time to close ranks quickly and

bring their heavy infantry into play. This meant that they would almost certainly end up fightingin disordered ranks, but this was preferable to giving the Persian archers more time. The Greek

center was reduced to possibly four ranks, from the normal eight, in order to extend the line andprevent the Persian line from overlapping the Greeks. The wings maintained their eight ranks.

The Greek heavy infantryman, or hoplite, was much more heavily armored than the Persian

troops and the pike the Greeks carried gave them greater range than the short spears and swordsof the Persian foot soldier. The Persian advantage came from the bow that most of them carried

(the advantage was partially cancelled by the superiority of Greek armor). As the Greeks

advanced, their wings drew ahead of the center, which was under heavy fire from the archers. Asthey closed some Persians broke through the resulting gaps and drove the center back in rout.

The Greek retreat in the center, besides pulling the Persians in, also brought the Greek wings

inwards, shortening the Greek line. The inadvertent result was a double envelopment, and thebattle ended when the whole Persian army, crowded into confusion, broke back in panic towardstheir ships and were pursued by the Greeks. Herodotus records that 6,400 Persians died for the

loss of approximately 192 Athenians. As soon as Datis had put to sea, the Athenians marched to

Athens. They arrived in time to prevent Artaphernes from securing a landing. Seeing hisopportunity lost, Artaphernes set about and returned to Asia. The Spartans arrived afterwards,

toured the battlefield at Marathon, and agreed that the Athenians had won a great victory. The

Greek upset of the Persians, who had not been defeated on land for many decades, caused great


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problems for the Persians. Seeing that the Persians were not invincible, many people subject to

their rule rose up following the defeat of their overlords at Marathon and order was not restored

for several years. The common enemy of Persia helped provide some solidarity to the disunitedGreek city-states. The victory helped solidify the view that Greeks were "civilized" and Asians

were merely "Barbarians."

Notes:The Persian force was largely conscript, hence they have only 4 cards. The Greek force incomparison was fighting for its homeland and brilliantly led. The Greeks start close to the

Persian force to simulate their famous advance at the double to minimise losses through missile

fire. This meant they hit the Persians with somewhat disordered ranks, hence their threecommands are staggered and widely split. Why are there cavalry units in this scenario? A story

tells that Ionian deserters brought news to the Greeks that the Persian cavalry were away,

whichmade up their mind to attack. The Persians in the scenario have a minimum of cavalry;

most had been embarked, and most of the rest were away being watered, but many sourcesmention some cavalry at the battle. Another story tells that Pheidippides ran from Marathon to

Sparta to request help, ran back to Marathon with the news that the Spartans would not come

until after their religious festival was over, ran back to Marathon and battled the Persians, thenran to Athens to tell of the wonderful victory, then fell dead of exhaustion. Other sources suggest

he ran from Athens to Sparta and back in three days. Either way, a remarkable achievement!

The stage is set. The battle lines are drawn and you are in command. The rest is history.


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War Council

Athenian Army

Leader: CallimachusTake 6 cards.

Move first.

Persian Army

Leader: Datis

Take 4 cards.

Victory

6 banners

Special RulesThe marsh hexes play as forest, except they do not block line of sight.

The river is fordable along its length.


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THERMOPYLAE - 480 BC

Persian vs Greek

Historical BackgroundKing Xerxes, eager to punish the Athenians for his father's defeat at Marathon and their support

for Ionian revolts, planned a second invasion of Greece in 480 BC. He amassed a huge army,

determined to extend the Persian Empire into Europe. Several Greek city-states gathered around

Athens and Sparta, and decided to slow the Persian advance on a narrow pass. After a firstunsuccessful expedition to Tempe, the next choke point was Thermopylae. The Oracle at Delphi

had announced that Sparta would either be destroyed or lose a King, and Leonidas, one of the

two Kings, chose the latter, leading 300 Spartans and other Greeks to one of History's most

famous last stands. Xerxes waited four days for the small Greek force to leave. Then, for twodays and a half he unleashed his army, wave after wave, against the Greek phalanx that stood

firm... until Ephialtes betrayed the Greeks by revealing a goat path that led behind their lines.

Dismissing the rest of the army, Leonidas fought with the Spartans and some Thespian andTheban volunteers to their death. Their epitaph reads: "Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,

that here obedient to their laws we lie". While a tactical victory, the heavy losses and the one

week delay inflicted by just a few hundred Greeks was a significant blow to the Persian morale.In September the Greeks defeated the Persians at the naval battle of Salamis and Xerxes, fearful

of being trapped in Europe, returned to Asia with part of his army. The following summer a

Greek army led by the Spartans crushed the Persian forces in Europe at Plataea; on the same day,

a Greek fleet landed at Mycale, in Asia Minor, routed the remainder of the Persian army anddestroyed their fleet. The Persians were never to return to Greece.



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War Council

Persian Army

Leader: Xerxes

5 Command Cards(including Darken the Sky)

Move First

Greek Army

Leader: Leonidas5 Command Cards

(including Rally)

Victory8 Banners or Kill Xerxes

Special RulesImmortals: they move like Auxilia and are armed with bows.


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300 Spartans, 100 Nations: each Greek heavy infantry unit counts as two Banners if eliminated;

any Persian unit/leader counts as 1 Banner, but may be immediately re-placed at full strength on

an empty hex along the Persian baseline.

Mount Anopaea: all the hill hexes are impassable. However, the Persian player can use

Leadership cards to transfer units on the upper broken ground hexes, accross the mountains, toany empty hex of the corresponding section along the Greek baseline. These units are ordered

(may move and battle).

Go Tell: the Greek player may, at the beginning of every turn, remove from the board light units

that are closer to their baseline than any Persian unit and not adjacent to the enemy. These units

are out of the game but do not count as Banners. Leonidas and Xerxes can never evade off theboard.


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Himera (480 BC)

Syracusan vs Carthaginian

Historical BackgroundPhoenicia and Greece both colonized the western Mediterranean. Carthage unified the Punic

cities into an empire, while Syracuse rose to become the leading Greek city under its first Tyrant,

Gelon. With Theron of Akragas, Gelon took control of Himera and drove out the former ruler,

Terillus, in 483. King Hamilcar of Carthage, an ally and friend of Terillus, led an army to Sicilyin 480 BC to restore him to power. Hamilcar established two camps to the west and southwest of

Himera. As the armies skirmished outside the city, Gelon's raiders captured a message providing

the date of arrival of a body of Greek cavalry reinforcing Hamilcar's army. A treacherous plan

was hatched to substitute Gelon's own cavalry for these reinforcements. At dawn on the specifiedday, Gelon's horsemen entered the Punic sea-camp without raising any suspicion. They suddenly

attacked, raising havoc and killing Hamilcar. Meanwhile the rest of Gelons army launched a

surprise attack against both camps. Most of the forces in the sea-camp were slaughtered but asuccessful counter-attack at the hill camp prevented the total destruction of the Carthaginian

army. A peace treaty was signed between Syracuse and Carthage, which held for seven decades.

Since Hamilcars expedition coincided with the Xerxes invasion, it was believed to be part of acoordinated assault on the Greek world.



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War Council

Carthagian Army (Use Carthaginian blocks)

Leader: Hamilcar Gisgo

5 Command Cards

Syracusan Army (Use Greek blocks) Leader: Gelon

5 Command Cards

Move First

Victory

6 Banners


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MYCALE - 479 BC

Persian vs Greek

Historical BackgroundIn the spring of 479 BC various Ionian cities began a revolt against their Persian rulers, and soon

they were forced to turn to the Greek mainland for help. A meeting was called in Athens, and

ambassadors from several Ionian cities, Athens and Sparta met in the early summer. A Greek

fleet of 110 ships set sail from Delos under the command of the Spartan King Leotychides. ThePersians, no longer confident after the crushing defeat at Salamis, dismissed their Phoenician

naval contingent and moved the remainder of the fleet to Mycale, where they joined forces with

the army that Xerxes had led back to Asia. The Greeks expected a naval battle, but when they

approached the Persian camp the ships were beached and the Persian army in combat formation.Leotychides sailed his ship close to the beach and shouted an appeal to the Ionians in the Persian

camp; the Persians then disarmed the Samians, ordered the Milesians to guard the hill passes in

order to keep them away from the camp, and brought together their shields, partly buried in thesand, to serve them as a wall. The Athenians under Xanthippus, the father of Pericles, landed on

the beach and advanced. The Spartans, however, landed at another site and had to march through

rough terrain. During their advance, the Athenians found a herald's scepter on the beach andthought it was a divine sign: the other Greeks must had been victorious at Plataea (both battles

were fought on the same day). Now they were eager to fight and charged forward to the attack

before the Spartans arrived. The Persians repelled assault after assault on their shield wall.

Eventually the Athenians did manage to burst through the shields and pursued them to theircamp. The battle continued with no side certain of victory until the desertion of the Ionian

Greeks, who joined in the attack on the Persians. With the arrival of the Spartans, the Persian

army turned and fled to the mountains, where the Milesians killed most of them, while the

Greeks at the beach burnt their ships. The Persian Wars were over. The Greek cities in Asia wereliberated and accepted in a league with Athens against Persia, that soon became an Athenian

Empire.



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War Council

Persian Army

Leader: Tigranes

Take 4 Command cards.

Greek ArmyLeader: Leotychides

Take 6 Command cards.

Move First

Victory

6 Banners.

Special RulesThe Gaison River is fordable with no battle dice reduction.

Shield Wall: if a Greek unit enters a rampart hex, it breaks the shields and removes the tile.


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Ionian Greeks: place two Special Unit blocks to distinguish them from other Persian units. If a

Greek unit enters the camp or any adjacent hex, the Ionians desert: they are replaced by full

strength Greek units and are ordered (may move and battle).

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Best of Greco-Persian Wars