ATTILA

        A GREAT BATTLES OF HISTORY ( VOLUME VIII ) MODULE

Review
By Lodovico Badali

INTRODUCTION

This short review is dedicated to the interesting ATTILA module of Cataphract. First, we will write about the rules’ changes from Cataphract, then about the two scenarios of the module ( the battles of THE UTUS and THE CATALAUNIAN FIELDS ). ATTILA is a Cataphract module, so the most part of the Cataphract rules are applied, with some exceptions. The following rules are not used: the Size Rating, the Column Formation, the Dismounted Cavalry, the Bow-Armed Cavalry and the Champion Challenge. The module ATTILA adds some new rules and below we write shortly about all of them.

THE NEWS RULES

THE FEIGNED RETREAT ( FR )
This rule is very interesting and shows one of the favourite tactics of the Steppe’s tribes. The Feigned Retreat can be used either in defence or in attack as part of Harassment & Dispersal tactic ( we will write about it below ). 
When an enemy unit moves within two hexes from a Light Cavalry unit, this one can retreats from three to five hexes ( the difference in movement’s allowance of the two units is not important ). The attacking unit uses the FR Reaction die roll ( that depends from the scenario and from the unit ) to see if it must follow or not the retreating unit. As soon as the pursuer moves within two hexes from the retreating unit, the player rolls a die. If the DR is the same as or lower than the retreating unit’s TQ, that unit may turn around and either fire to the pursuer or move adjacent to it and attack in shock combat. If the DR is higher than the retreating unit’s TQ, the pursuer may moves adjacent the retreating unit and either fire at it or attack it in a shock combat. 
This tactic is very effective, especially when the FR reaction die roll is low ( as in THE UTUS ) and allows the mobile Hun light cavalry to defend effectively against the charges of the enemy heavy cavalry. Using the FR tactic, the Hun player is able to recreate the great mobility of the Hun light cavalry and the difficulty for the other player to stop the own cavalry before it moves to far away from its line. It is also a good defensive tactic against the superior heavy cavalry and the Hun player has the option to fight the battle with a great use of his superior mobility.
REACTION FIRE
Any non –phasing unit may Missile Fire “ back “ at an enemy unit that has fired at it: this fire is resolved after the phasing unit’s missile fire. In ATTILA, there is a new MISSILE RANGE AND RESULTS CHART that can be used instead of the Cataphract one: also, this new chart is used for the Cheiroballistrae and the Mounted Javelins, which do not appear in Cataphract. The players are free to use the new or the old Missile chart. The main difference is that the composite bow is more effective at short range than at medium range, as it is in Cataphract. 
SWORDS
In ATTILA, some barbarian tribes are armed with a large, slashing sword, very unlike the Roman gladius. The new kind of sword gives some advantages in certain types of fighting. In the game, all sword-armed infantry are Attack Superior against any foot unit that has a flank hex that is neither occupied by another friendly unit, nor in the ZOC of a friendly unit. This rule reflect the great power of the large sword, often used with two hands, against other infantry units and it is interesting to notice the importance to maintain the infantry units “ covered “, i.e. protected by other friendly units, in order to avoid the Attack Superior of the enemy.
ENGAGED
At the end of any Shock Resolution in which the opposing units remain in place ( no advance and no retreat ), the units remain ENGAGED: they cannot use the Missile fire until they remain in this status. This is an optional and experimental rule, which, we think, recreates the fact that units engaged in shock combat usually continue to fight until one of the two retreats due to the combat result. 
We have used this rule and we can write that it makes the combats more bloody and, at the same time, most interesting. If the players want to use it, they have to remember to be very carefully before to attack an enemy unit in shock combat, because, then, it is more difficult to move away a unit before it must retreat as routed.
ARMY DISCIPLINE and UNCONTROLLED ADVANCE
In ATTILA, this rule is applied only to tribal contingents and not to entire armies. With this change, you could have problems only with some units of your army and this fact makes you surer of the controlled use of your army.
HARASSMENT AND DISPERSAL TACTICS
Only the LC with any missile capability may use the H&D tactic: it must start within four hexes from the target unit and it may not start in an enemy ZOC. The H&D path may be through/into friendly-occupied hexes or any non-Rough hex to which the LC unit can trace a LOS. If a LC unit satisfies the above, it may fire its arrows/javelins against the target. The steps for H&D tactic are: 1) note which unit is using H&D, 2) note the target, 3) fire the arrows/javelins at a range of one hex, 4) take Entry Reaction Fire. All these actions are performed without moving the units in order to avoid the micromanagements. If the target is an infantry unit, which suffers a hit, roll a die if the result is equal or lower than the TQ of the infantry unit, nothing happens: if the result is higher, the unit must move one hex towards the LC unit that has performed the H&D. If the target is a cavalry unit, the LC unit that uses the H&D tactic may combines it with the Feigned Retreat. 
The use of the H&D tactic is the secret and most powerful weapon in the hands of the Hun player. When he may combine it with the Feigned Retreat, his Hun LC units are able to do great things. The purpose of the use of the two tactics ( Feigned Retreat and H&D ) is to inflict some losses to an enemy unit, then to run away. The enemy unit ( in this case, cavalry ) often is unable to stay in place and therefore it pursuers the Hun LC; in doing so, it moves alone far from its friendly units and it becomes a easy prey for the Hun cavalry units. It is not only a good tactic, but also a beautiful one that makes the battle more intriguing than the old wall-to-wall of the phalanx’s warfare stile. 
FIELD ARTILLERY
In ATTILA, there are two field artillery units ( in THE UTUS scenario ): both of them are Cheiroballistrae, an advanced and more effective version of the old Roman Scorpio. They are very effective in defence, above all against infantry units: unfortunately, the bulk of the Hun army is the cavalry the mobility of which renders the Byzantine Cheiroballistrae of less importance. However, the Byzantine player can count on them if the Hun player is so foolish to move its units near the two missile weapons.
ROMAN SHIELD WALL
The instant any Roman HI or MI unit is fired upon, by an enemy unit at a distance of two hexes or more, that unit may go into Shield Wall. In this way, the unit is more protected against the missile fire ( the shields of the men creates an iron “ wall “ ) and it can still fight hand-to-hand combat without penalty. 
It is interesting to notice this tactic ( for some aspects a kind of Testudo ), that gives the Roman infantry the best defence against the Hun mobile fire units. 

THE TWO SCENARIOS

BATTLE OF THE UTUS RIVER; 447 CE
In a flat terrain, the two armies, the East Roman one and the Hun one, are face to face. The East Romans have deployed in the centre all their HI and MI units in a long line, behind the line there is the OC ( Valerian ) and little reserve of MI and LC. Twelve HC units (six for each flank) protect the two flanks. Just one hex ahead of the HI and MI line there are twelve LI units. This is the normal battle‘s disposition of a East Roman army in this era. On the other side, twelve hexes away, there is the Hun army. It is divided in four “ packages “ of nine LC units, in the centre there are seven HC units and Attila: each “ package “ has its own commander. In first line, there are six MI units. 
The tactic of the Hun player is simple: to use the H&D with Feigned Retreat in order to compel the East Roman HC to pursue and to move near the Hun LC units without protection and without an order ( the Feigned Retreat Reaction rating is only two ). Then it is easy to destroy unit after unit: when the East Roman has lost his HC units, the battle is won. In the meantime, the LC units not employed in these actions may inflict several losses to the East Roman infantry. The things very important are to use the Hun advantages in the best way: their great firepower, their superior mobility and their tactics not yet well known by the enemy. In addition, Attila is an Elite commander: he can make the difference!
It is not an easy job for the East Roman player: although he has a good army, the slower infantry units and the unknown Hun tactics give his opponent great advantages. If he advances slow with his infantry and uses the cavalry units to attempt to envelop the Hun flanks, he makes the game of the Hun and his HC units will be destroyed without any hope. We find that there is only one thing to do: to attack! All the East Roman units must move fast towards the Huns and attack with all their strength without any indecision. It is important that the Huns should use their superior mobility and their tactics fewer times. In other words, the East Roman player must attack from the first turn without saving. He must overrun the Huns using the great efficacy of his HC units with his HI and MI units. Even in this case, the battle favours the Huns: but it is better to lose with honour than to see the own army destroyed units by units. 
THE CATALAUNIAN FIELDS, GAUL, 451 CE
The two armies are one in front of the other. The Hun one has not only its LC and HC units with the support of the MI units: in this battle, there are four other contingents. On the left flank, there are twelve Ostrogoth units ( four HC units, four MI units and four LI units ): on the right flank, there are three tribes, the Gepid with four MI units, the Burgundian with three MI units and four Frank MI units. On the other side, the Romans are the left flank of the army, having seven Roman units ( four HI and three MI units ) plus three Saxon MI units, four Burgundian MI units, three Frank MI units and two Armorican Mi units. The Roman and Saxon units are deployed in the first line, behind them there is the other units. The right flank is composed by the Visigoths ( five HC units, thirteen LC units and four MI units ): all the units are on two lines. In the centre, there are the Alans ( five HC units and two MI units ): this is the best contingent, even if it is small, but their allegiance is uncertain and their employment depends from some factors that often compel the Roman player not to use them at all. There are also five Visigoth MI units deployed behind the right flank of the Huns: a very interesting thing! In realty, there are two armies: the Romans and the minor contingents under their command and the Visigoths under the command of their king Theodoric. 
This battle is very intriguing for both the two parts because not only the Huns have Feigned Retreat and H&D tactics, but the Visigoths too ( the Feigned Retreat Reaction Ratings are: six for Visigoth LC, five for Visigoth HC, for the Huns they are eight for the HC and seven for the LC ). In this manner, the battle is based not only on the great mobility of the cavalry units, but also upon the better use of all the units: in other words, it is a tactical battle.
The Hun player has as the first problem to resolve the four Frank units behind his right flank. It is important to destroy them before they can make too troubles and the Roman infantry units are too near the right flank. Use all the eleven units of your right flank to resolve the problem in few turns ( not more than three, two are the best ), in order to use the units to protect your right flank in the subsequent turns. Other problem is the units of your left flank: the Ostrogoths are weak and it is better not to count on them too much. They can be employed in support role but ( apart for the four HC units ) they are not suitable for a strong protection of the flank. On what you can count is your Hun cavalry units and the high ratings of Attila. We suggest to play a battle not based upon the same tactic of The Utus ( this time you have fewer possibility to trap the enemy cavalry units ), but a battle of attack. The Roman units are good, but they are infantry, and then slow: the Visigoths are the real danger, especially their cavalry units. We think you can move all your Hun cavalry units some hexes towards the Visigoths in the first turn ( at the same time your Hun MI units can move towards the Romans in order to cover the hole between your cavalry units and you right flank ). In the second turn, a general charge is mandatory. Use all the units you can and Attila in the first line. Acting so, you have great risks, but with good lack, you should destroy the bulk of the Visigoths and then turn over the Romans. It is not sure that the general charge reaches its objectives, even if we think that the other possibilities are not only less applicable but even they could give the time to the Romans infantry to reach your line in force. In this case it should be difficult for the other your units to stand along against the Romans and the Visigoths can be free to attack in force your left flank and your Hun cavalry units.
For the Roman player the situation is this: there are two separate armies ( the Romans and the Visigoths ), which are formed the first by infantry units and the second, almost exclusively, by cavalry units. Above this, in the middle there are the Alans who can be used with an extremely prudence. Therefore, the Roman player must fight a tactical battle, with the correct employment of the Romans and the Visigoths. We think that in the first turns it is better to move towards the Huns line only few hexes and see what the other player does. Then the Romans have to advance to their full MA against the right of the Huns and the Visigoths have to charge with all the available cavalry units the left of the Hun army. Acting so, the Visigoths reach their targets before the Romans, but the Hun player cannot distract forces from the right of his army to aid the left because the six Hun MI units cannot stand for long time against the Roman HI and MI units. The Hun player is compelled to use several of his cavalry units to fight the Romans the units of whom are good and most are armed with swords. In the meantime, the Visigoths are capable to do their job without any aid and then turn against the remaining Hun units. The Alans is better that they stay in their starting positions: their employment is so uncertain that their should become a trouble for the Romans.
Naturally, like in The Utus scenario, there are so numerous variables that it is impossible to have a sure plan.

FINAL CONSIDERATION

The module ATTILA is a great complement of Cataphract and the two scenarios give the player the opportunity to play two intriguing and interesting battles, with an historical accuracy of high level.