SoA Forums

Quote from: Ian61 on Today at 08:24:03 AMSome thinking points there I might try myself.

Good, because that's why I wrote it up.  This one wasn't a rule test but an scenario idea test.  I hoped to lay out a basic idea which folks might try variations of.

Quote from: Martin Smith on Today at 07:59:40 AMDo you solo game much?

Two part answer.  I don't game that much at all (a motivation/mood thing, rather than an available time thing).  But when I do, it is solo.

Thanks for the write up a good report. Some thinking points there I might try myself.

Great report, Anthony. Soloing stuff to try out a theory or explore options is a good way to go... + no-one's feeling het hurt when they lose! (No dice flung across the room as the flank force arrives eg 😁).
Do you solo game much?

Quote from: dwkay57 on July 26, 2024, 05:49:25 PMI think Steve's middle paragraph is quite key. The most likely answer is that we probably don't know and how we replicate this on our model battlefields is down to the 4 A's (ambition, abstraction, authenticity, and aesthetics) of wargaming. The result is dependent upon where we are in our individual four-dimensional matrix of those factors.

This is one of the questions that keeps coming to me and I'm sure I've raised it before. Who on earth gave the order for line relief, and what was the mechanism for relaying it to the centurions?
Did the legate decide and have a signal blown so the whole front line replaced the whole second line. It would make sense in that he could spot a lull and have it happen then.
Or was it done 'locally' where two centurions communicated with each other and did it quickly when their bit of the 'front' was quiet.
I must admit I lean towards the first. It seems more practical especially if you assume that the Western Med way of way was one where lulls in the fighting as men caught their breath wasn't unusual

It also begs the question that within this theatre of warfare was it relatively common to swap lines forward, say among other Italians, Spanish, even Gauls who'd settled in these areas but they never got to write about it?

Quote from: stevenneate on July 26, 2024, 02:42:42 PMWas there a morale advantage to the Principes & Hastati knowing these elite "heroes" had our backs?

I think I recall attending a talk by Marian Helm (possibly at King's College London in 2019 or online in 2023) where he spoke about "Creating 'natural fighters': Age and social expectations in the Roman republican army." I don't think his ideas have yet made it into print.

If I remember correctly, one of his arguments was that the triarii, as established married heads of families, had an important social function within the army. The younger legionaries, the bulk of the fighting men, operated under the watchful (and watching) eyes of their social superiors who were in a position to assess, judge, and validate their performance both within the army and to their families back home. With such peer pressure the younger men were likely thereby encouraged to greater acts of virtus and thus the overall fighting ability and moral resilience of the army were enhanced.

Adrian.

https://www-cambridge--news-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/history/lost-cambridgeshire-castle-no-visible-29580173.amp?amp_gsa=1&amp_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQGsAEggAID#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17220165918682&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cambridge-news.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fhistory%2Flost-cambridgeshire-castle-no-visible-29580173

Always check under the park

https://news-artnet-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/news.artnet.com/art-world/oldest-houses-wales-cardiff-2509392/amp-page?amp_gsa=1&amp_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQGsAEggAID#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17220161035350&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.artnet.com%2Fart-world%2Foldest-houses-wales-cardiff-2509392

Another bronze age discovery

Nice report

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/stone-age-climate-resilient-village-b2584331.html

Although ultimately...not