“Then Cyrus, fearing that the King might get behind the Greeks and cut them up, moved directly towards him. With his six hundred he charged into and broke through the screen of troops in front of the King, routed the six thousand, and is said to have killed their commander, Artagerses, with his own hand. But
while they turned to flight, Cyrus’s own six hundred lost their cohesion in their eagerness for the pursuit, and there were only a very few left with him…”
Xenophon, Anabasis, I.8
The 2026 Society of Ancients Battle Day will take place at Hermitage Village Hall in Berkshire (postcode RG18 9WL), on Sunday 29th March 2026.
We will be re-fighting the epic Battle of Cunaxa in 401 BC where Cyrus The Younger, aided by a band of 10,000 mercenary Greek Hoplites, sought to overthrow his brother Artaxerxes II for the throne of Persia.
The day will run from 9am (with the hall available to set up from 8am) to 5pm and will consist of an opening presentation by renowned historian and veteran wargamer Duncan Head, followed by a full day of wargames to refight the battle itself. A wide variety of rules sets, figure scales and even, perhaps, widely divergent interpretations of the historical sources will be on display. Games are laid on by attendees, and participants can either volunteer to run a game, or turn up and find a free space to play. The event is open to both members and non-members, and will cost £12 per person.
This year we are also supported by an affiliated event organised by Durham Wargames Group who will run their own event as a ‘Battle Day In The North’. Please see below for more details!
For more information please email the Battle Day Coordinator.
If you wish to run a game please provide the following details:
- Name of Organiser
- Wargames Rules to be used
- Figure scale
- Size of table requested. Please note space is finite, so please do not ‘overbid’!
- Names and numbers of others in your group who are planning to attend (this helps with event planning).
- Number of ‘spare’ places you anticipate having at your table for unattached players to join you.
I will confirm your booking with a reference number; if you don’t have a reference number, I don’t have your booking! This is to try to avoid the recurring problem of organisers turning up thinking they have a table waiting for them but, for whatever reason, do not.
The deadline for booking games is Friday 13 th February 2026 in order to give time to confirm table hire etc., however booking is on a first come, first served basis as space is limited.
Battle Day in the North
This year we are delighted to have an affiliated event held on the same day, organised by Durham Wargames Group (DWG, website: http://www.durhamwargames.co.uk/). This will be held at Vane Tempest Hall, Maynards Row, Gilesgate, Durham, DH1 1QF. Parking at Vane Tempest Hall is free, providing you register on arrival with DWG. If you are interested in running a game at this event, please email Richard Phelan with the same information as outlined above.
Battle Day 2025 (Maldon 991 AD) in full swing!