Battle Day 2010 – Zama 202 BC

The seventh annual Society of Ancients Battle Day, Saturday 17 April 2010. Venue: Sycamore Hall, Drayton Road, Bletchley, Near Milton Keynes, MK2 3RR.

“He ordered each officer to address his own men, bidding them rest their hopes of victory on him and the army he had brought with him; while he bade their officers remind the Carthaginians in plain terms what would happen to their wives and children if the battle should be lost. While these orders were carried out by the officers, Hannibal himself went along the lines of his Italian army and urged them "to remember the seventeen years during which they had been brothers-in-arms, and the number of battles they had fought with the Romans, in which they had never been beaten or given the Romans even a hope of victory…” Polybius, Histories, 15.11, as found in the Perseus Digital Library at http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plb.+15.11

For our seventh annual Battle Day, we once again invite you to a unique day’s wargaming. This year one can join one of the most famous generals of all time, Hannibal, in saving Carthage from the Roman invaders, or else fight with Publius Cornelius Scipio, soon to earn the epithet “Africanus”, and rid the Romans of their great Mediterranean rival once and for all.

The battle: Zama 202 BC – this needs little introduction to ancient wargamers, as it is the decisive clash of the 2nd Punic War, and features two of the contenders for “best commander” in the Ancient world

As ever, the aims of the day remain the same:

To have fun!
To gather as many ancient wargamers as possible to refight a historical battle.
To fight the same battle simultaneously on many tables, using a different set of rules on each table.

As usual the day will run from 9am until 5pm, with an hour either side to set up and pack away. We hope to repeat pick-up and drop-off arrangements from Bletchley station should anyone require them.

There will be the now legendary additional related features taking place during the day.

Phil Sabin, Professor of Strategic Studies at London University but better known to Society of Ancients members as the innovative game designer and author of the book Lost Battles, will be giving a pre-battle introduction to Zama, putting it in its historical context and highlighting the controversial aspects of the battle.
Also, I am delighted that we will have Adrian Goldsworthy and Duncan Head, both well-known authors and contributors to Slingshot, to host a lunchtime Q&A session on aspects of warfare in this period. I am thinking that Adrian will lead on Roman questions (for obvious reasons) and Duncan on Carthaginian (as he is writing a book on that army), but I suspect both will have plenty to say across the board. Send me your questions in advance to give them time to prepare answers!

And of course, The Society of Ancients will be awarding a number of prizes (for various criteria, some more frivolous than others) to the wargamers on the day, including prizes for Best Game and Best Terrain. With luck the lazy figure painter (that would be me) will have painted them beforehand this year…

We already have the following nine games coming:

Armati in 15mm
Civitates Simplex in 2mm
Command & Colors in 28mm
DBMM in 28mm
Lost Battles in 28mm
Peltasts and Pila (Tony Bath's rules) in 15mm
Piquet in 28mm
Warhammer Ancient Battles in 28mm
Warlord in 15mm

To offer to stage a game, contact Richard Lockwood using the Contact Form (set the Message Topic to “Battleday”) or else via the contact details provided in Slingshot. But in any case, come along and take part as a player.

The cost of participating in the Battle Day, to contribute towards hire of venue and tables, will be held at £7 (juniors free) , as it has been for several years now. To reserve your place, send your name, address, telephone number, email address, preferred game and your £7 (cheques payable to the Society of Ancients) to Richard Lockwood, SOA Battle Day, 13 The Leys, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 6AU. Alternatively, turn up and pay on the day!

Every year it just gets better and better – this really should be a regular event on your calendar. Don’t miss out – come and be part of it!

The Battle Day is open to both members and non-members of the Society of Ancients.

Richard Lockwood