wargamesdiary   Just another WordPress.com site

In 451 CE. Attila the Hun with his horsemen, after having been repulsed before Orleans in Gaul, was brought to bay by Aetius, the Roman general, and his allies, the Germanic Visigoths, Burgundians, and Franks. It should be remembered in this connection that the Huns were, if possible, more hated by the Germans than by the Romans.

We will be taking part in the Society of Ancients Battle Day.

This year we will be recreating the famous Battle of Chalons 451 AD.  We will fight this in 15mm using Impetus Rules.  We have previously fought this battle using Impetus and Warmaster rules.

At the moment we are creating the Army Lists.  For the terain we will be using the modular terrain boards with 15mm buildings and terrain.

The battle of Chalons or Catalaunian Plains, 451 AD is recorded by Jordanes :

“The battlefield was a plain rising by a sharp slope to a ridge which both armies sought to gain; for advantage of position is a great help. The Huns with their forces seized the right side, the Romans, the Visigoths and their allies the left, and then began a struggle for the yet untaken crest.”

One flank is anchored on the river Marne.  There was no outflanking manoeuvre recorded so I placed some dense forests on the other flank.  Attila’s camp is purely figurative and the Romans are not expected to storm this fortress.  It is simply there for effect and for Attila to retreat to of he is getting beaten. Troops cannot therefore hide in the camp and fire from the ramparts in order to effect the Battle though we can assume they are there to defend the camp.

The troops on the Roman side represent those available to Aetius at the time and his Visigothic Allies.  Not all the infantry would have been true Roman Legions (heavy infantry) or Auxilia (light infantry) as traditionally described and recorded in the Notititia Dignitatum.  However they clearly were able to hold their ground whilst the Theodoric’s Shock cavalry forced the victory.  The troops on the Roman side commanded by Aetius and Sangiban would have been equipped I imagine in arms and armour forged in the Gallo-Roman weapons factories whether they were Alans or Romans from the Civitas of Aurelianum (Orleans) .   I have imagined that Aetius would have brought up the Roman Field Army, comprised of better quality troops (Palatina) andadded to this the Local Comitatenses (heavy and light infantry) placed under his command.   Sangiban would have his own Alans (heavy and medium cavalry plus archers, but equipped in the Roman fashion).   Some of the Allied troops, settled in Gaul and equipped in Roman fashion; commanded by officers trained in Roman tactics would have possibly been extremely similar in appearance to “Roman” troops.  These perhaps represent some of those categorised as “Comitatanses” in Aetius’ Command.  The Visigoths at this time were a mix of Gothic people fairly recently settled in what was to later become the Visigothic Kingdom of Toulouse.   I have chosen to depict them as more distinctly “Barbarian” in appearance, though probably they would be equipped with Roman-made weapons and armour.  The Warrior infantry under Theodoric’s command represent those less Romanised Franks and Burgundians as well as their own infantry.

Sangiban was considered treacherous and untrustworthy by Aetius and is said to have been placed in the centre of the battle so he could not switch sides or flee without fighting.  It is rumoured that he was suspected of negotiating the surrender of Aurelianum (Orleans) to Attila before the arrival of Aetius’ relieving force.  We have chosen therefore to represent as an Incompetent Commander of a small force of Alans.

For the Huns the forces are mainly Hunnic light cavalry supported by Noble Cavalry armed with Lances, spears and bows.  This was a major battle fought to a conclusion so most of the Huns are fighting in formed units as medium cavalry.  This was not a battle that was based on skirmish and flee tactics across the wide open steppes.  For their Gepid or Alamannic Allies I have depicted these as medium cavalry fighting with spear and shield.  The Ostrogoths are heavy cavalry armed with Lances relying on the shock of the charge in a similar way to their Visigothic cousins.  The infantry would be German (Alamannic) warband tributaries.  For example the Burgundians who appear to have been fighting on both sides as well as the Gepids, Rugians, Thurungians and Franks.  These are depicted as heavy infantry warbands armed with a variety of weapons such as a spear, sword or axe but again relying on the shock of the charge with the better armed, more experienced warriors in the front ranks.  This was Attila’s Army at its apogee; undefeated and led by the “Scourge of God”.  Thus the allied troops are fighting at their full effectiveness and ferocity at his command.   I have chosen therefore to depict him as “Charismatic” with Noble Cavalry and Veteran warriors.

Skirmish Duel and Die Roll of Destiny

The Battle will begin with a Skirmish duel involving the skirmish troops from each command not included in the Army Lists below.   For each command (left, centre, right) roll a d6.  The victorious side can claim a Die Roll of Destiny for their command during the battle.  In this way the preliminary skirmishing between the numerous horse archers and infantry can be abstracted to enable us to quickly get to grips with combat, deploying the forces closer together.  To represent the relative strengths and aggressiveness of the contingents as

The protagonists and map of the field of battle

Source Headfirst digital media.

Aetius

Attila

Theodoric

The Field of Battle

The Forces

The forces are designed using the Impetus Army Lists.