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Fourth century romans versus Sassanid Persians one the Armenian borders.  Mike  and Michael took on phils romans with their mighty Persian force.  Both sides garnered 250 points each.

With all that light horse the Persians won the scouting phase.  So the romans deployed first and the Sassanids would take the first move.

So the romans deployed a mixed force of heavy cavalry and infantry on the left around the villa.  In the centre was the infantry and the ballista.  On the right was the strong force of heavy cavalry.  The Persians placed elephants and deep units of levy in the centre and a holding force of light and heavy cavalry opposite the roman right .  They then placed a very strong force of cavalry including cataphracts against the weaker roman left.

The Persian right was slow to advance .  The elephants advanced in the centre supported by levy.  The light horse moved to skirmish with romans and generally delay them amidst the broken ground and fields near the river.
The roman ballista truly struggled to activate and fire despite a clear shot of the elephants ahead.  They only fired one Miss as I turned out the whole game.  On the roman left the light horse and gothic  and roman cavalry advanced towards the Persians it wer ineffective and had to evade in disorder.  The elephant commander was shot dead by the roman legions extrabow in the first shot of the game in the centre.  Then the legions led by the roman left general with a clever retire and charge took out. An elephant unit thus gaining the hill.   

On the right by slow attrition and advance the romans pushed back the Persian refused flank.  Eventually they were able to turn and threaten.  The Persians though still pushed hard on the roman left where troops pulled back in line. With the villa being held only by lanciari the Persians were able to ignore it and try to threaten the roman centre but the auxilia were strong and forced the cataphracts back.  

Eventually with darkness falling the victory coins and positions were compared.  Mike and Michael generously awarded victory to the romans .