The battle is an impressive affair, and the account in Polybius, book 5, provides a description of the historical event. The armies met near Raphia to decide control of Palestine: Ptolemy of Egypt leading 70,000 infantry, 5000 cavalry and 73 elephants against Antiochus of the Seleucids with 62,000 infantry, 6000 cavalry and 102 elephants.
Although fought in the same year as Lake Trasimene, Gaza in 217 BC seems a world away from northern Italy, closer to the time of Alexander than the time of Hannibal.
The two armies are fairly even in Commands & Colors: Ancients Epic. Both sides have 31 units and three leaders. Ptolemy has a slight edge in line infantry, with twelve units to Antiochus's ten, but Antiochus has four elephant units to three and ten light infantry to nine. Cavalry numbers are equal, with Antiochus' having more oomph in the charge and Ptolemy an advantage in missiles.
To win requires 13 banners, with banners won by destroying units or killing leaders.
Set up has the Seleucid leaders concentrated in the centre and right zones; the Ptolemaic leaders are spread one to each zone.
Scenario from Commandsandcolors.net |
According to commandsandcolors.net, Ptolemy wins 61% of the time to 39% for Antiochus. Let's see how our fight got on.
Turn 1:
Antiochus starts with an order two left and order two right. He advances lights to screen his own elephants from unwanted attention and to fire pot shots at the enemy. With one fortunate volley he inflicts a hit on Andromachus's guard unit, weakening it to three blocks.
Ptolemy plays order light troops, activating troops on both flanks. Daring attacks cause two elephants to rampage, scoring a total of five hits on the surrounding troops. A strong start!
Translation - both sides activate units on the flanks to skirmish for local advantage, aiming particularly to harass elephant units in the hope that they rampage, or to screen them to prevent such attacks on their own forces.
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Initial dispositions, looking from Ptolemy's left. |
Turn 2:
Antiochus plays outflanked to activate units on each wing for more skirmishing and order medium troops in the centre to begin the slow process of advancing the infantry line.
Ptolemy shuffles units into positions on both flanks to minimise enemy options. The movements are still watchful at this point.
Translation - neither side is in a strong enough position to commit to an attack at this stage. Early manouvering focuses on creating or denying opportunities on the wings while preparing for a decisive clash in the centre.
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Early skirmishing, looking from Ptolemy's left. |
Turn 3:
Antiochus activates units in the central and left zones.
Ptolemy advances units in the centre and right.
Translation - both sides are trying to get their heavy and medium infantry units into line for advances into charge range.
Turn 4:
Antiochus advances units in the centre and plays darken the sky on the left. Despite bucketloads of missile dice thrown, little damage is caused - units just retreat.
Ptolemy plays order medium troops and consolidates in the centre.
Translation - both sides are still getting into position.
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The centres are edging closer to each other. |
Turns 5 and 6:
Both sides continue to jab at each other on the flanks and advance in the centre.
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The two lines of infantry about to meet. |
Turn 7:
Antiochus plays order two right to bring an elephant into contact with the left of Ptolemy’s infantry line, line command to bring the infantry lines into contact, and order four left for missile attacks. One light unit is killed, three units of heavy infantry and Ptolemy himself are killed. Three other units are hit badly and pushed back. Antiochus's men only take one hit in total. Five banners are gained and the integrity of the line is maintained.
The Ptolemaics play two left to attack the elephant, line command to fight back in the centre and order mounted on his right. The elephant is killed but another infantry unit is lost in the centre.
The score is 1-6 to Antiochus.
Translation - Antiochus's attack causes monstrous damage. Ptolemy is dead and his centre is in pieces. It is hard to see how the Ptolemaics can come back from this.
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The phalanx about to go in. |
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Ptolemy (leader top of screen) loses his unit and his own life in the initial clash. |
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The aftermath, looking from behind Antiochus's right centre. |
Turn 8:
Antiochus orders clash of shields centre. Two more units are destroyed, giving him an 8-1 advantage.
The Ptolemaics play move-fire-move and order two in the centre and eliminate a unit of heavy unit. 2-8
Translation - Antiochus continues to apply the pressure. The Ptolemaics, now under the command of Andromachus, scramble to avoid defeat and attack where they can.
Turn 9:
Antiochus plays order three centre and order one left. An elephant unit attacks the leader and kills the heavy cavalry. 10-2
Ptolemaic remnants attack on each flank. One skirmisher unit is killed on the left and a light cavalry on the right. Attacks on the elephants are unsuccessful. 4-10
Translation - the end is near, and the gods favour the mighty.
Turn 10:
Antiochus plays I am Spartacus to kill two more units. 12-4
Ptolemaics play counterattack for an I am Spartacus of their own. They kill three, and miss out on two kills more. The enemy elephant is killed by bowmen! 7-12
Translation - I am Spartacus an gives additional attack dice to units activated. For a moment there was a glimmer of hope for the underdogs, but the dice are capricious.
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Death of the elephant, killed by bowmen. |
Turn 11:
Antiochus plays inspired leadership left, move four centre, and inspired leadership right. Two more hits are scored and 14-7 is enough to confirm the victory.
Summary:
In this case the initial attack in the centre by Antiochus decided the battle. After that it devolved into local clashes with the Seleucids holding the advantage in numbers, leaders, and battlefield agency. The final positions showed a chaotic scene and the photos do not present it to advantage!
An enjoyable solo outing but it was over as a game after the first major clash, and went very much against the historical victor.