Nobiscum Deus

In 838 the Abbasid Caliphate invaded Anatolia. Emperor Theophilos led the Byzantine field army, reinforced by Khurrami Persians, to attack Prince Afshin’s Arabs, Turks and Armenians at Dasymon. The Emperor attacked at dawn when many of Afshin’s Turks were away foraging. His intent — to destroy the Arab army before the Turks can come to their aid.

This game is another play-test for my revision of Comitatus rules which will be published in the new year. Most of the Byzantine figures are Minifig and Hinchliffe 25 mm that I painted some 40+ years ago!

The Byzantines deploy for battle with Aetios’s Thematic cavalry on the left, the Tagmata commanded by the Emperor in the centre and Theophobos’ Khurrami Persians on the right. They decide to hold their infantry back as a reserve line.

Sembat leads a force of Arab and Turkish cavalry up the hill of Anzen which dominates the field. From here he hopes to harass and disrupt the Byzantine right wing.

Theophobos’ Persians and Armenians turn to face the threat from Sembat’s cavalry. Although outnumbered the Persian light cavalry get the better of the archery duel. They then bravely charge up the hill but are driven back. The Armenian heavy cavalry take casualties from arrows but decide not to move up the hill as the steep slopes would disrupt their formation.

On the other flank Omar’s Arab infantry hold a strong position on a hill. As Aetios’ Thematic cavalry advance on them the Arabs pepper them with arrows and the toll begins to tell on the Byzantines.

Undaunted, Aetios leads his men forward in an uphill charge against the Arab spearmen.

Cavalry charging uphill against steady spearmen whilst being disrupted by archery usually has only one outcome. The Byzantines are driven back shaken (marked by red counters).

In the centre Prince Afshin’s Askari and Ghulams prepare to meet the Emperor’s Tagmata. They let loose a volley of arrows but it has little effect and is countered by a similar volley from the Byzantines.

When Prince Afshin’s and Emperor Theophilos’ men clash in hand to hand combat the odds are more or less even. Shouting out ‘Nobiscum Deus’, the Byzantines invoke the help of the Christian god. It appears he is listening. The Byzantines score 8 hits on 10 dice. The Arabs score none. Perhaps Afshin had a sneaky glass of wine before battle thus earning Allah’s displeasure!

The result is catastrophic for the Arabs. Their best troops are routed and Prince Afshin is killed.

With the collapse of the Arab centre, Theophobos’ Persians close in for the coup de grâce. Following up behind them are the Armenians whose fate it is to be constantly harassed by Sembat’s light horse archers and never managing to get into hand to hand combat.

As the noon day sun shines brightly over the battlefield (after 6 game turns) the Turkish advance guard arrives on the field. They are too late. The Byzantine victory conditions were to suffer less casualties than the Arabs, and at least 3 enemy A or B Grade units are shaken, broken or destroyed with no more than one Byzantine unit in the same state. Aetios has rallied his shaken units but the best Arab units have been destroyed and Afshin has been killed. The Byzantines have won the day.

The rules worked really well and after a few minor tweaks and a final proof read I shall go to print.

I have set up a facebook page for Comitatus and I will post updates there. Questions and observations are most welcome.