Download a PDF version of this article here - Flames of War

More documents

Recommendations

Info

The Dacians enjoyed mostly peaceful relations with the empire for the next 70 years, benefiting from an increase in imported Roman goods. The Sarmatian Iazyges complicated things for all parties, warring against and allying with both the Romans and Dacians at different times. The Dacian kingdom retrenched in Transylvania before the middle of the century, about 40 AD. To Rome’s relief, they declined to interfere in the imperial wars of succession that originated in Nero’s death in the Year of Four Emperors (69 AD), although they couldn’t but help themselves to minor raiding in Moesia. ThE AGE Of DECEBAL Decebal was the last great Dacian king. He came to power at the beginning of Domitian’s Dacian wars in the mid/late 80s and he fell with his kingdom 20 years later to Trajan. Roman historian Cassius Dio lauded Decebal for his diplomatic and strategic talents. The wily king managed to keep his power despite long odds and refused to let Rome humiliate him in its final triumph. Emperor Domitian began his war against King Duras and the Dacians in response to their spectacular plundering of Moesia in 86 AD (they even slew the provincial governor in battle). Cornelius Fuscus, the Praetorian Guard commander, successfully led the Roman army in its restorative operations in the devastated province, completely repelling the raiding warbands. In the wake of their reverses in Moesia, Duras stepped down and Decebal took the Dacian kingship and prepared for the inevitable punitive campaign even as he dispatched embassies to negotiate peace. The Romans invaded Dacia nevertheless, and the armies decisively clashed at a mountain pass in 87 AD. Decabal’s showdown with Fuscus ended disastrously for the Romans. The Dacians inflicted massive casualties (including Fuscus) on their enemy, and captured many prisoners, standards, and weapons. The following year Tettius Julianus waged a promising campaign, defeating the Dacians at Tapae (in Transylvania). The Romans stopped short of absolutely conquering Dacia and turned their attention to the troublesome Sarmatians, Marcomanni, and Quadi. Rome accepted Dacia as a client state, re-establishing peace and a flow of gifts, goods, and skilled craftsmen. Despite his submission to Domitian, Decebal still stood in a position of power. Friendship with Rome rarely failed to elevate one’s status, and surely he benefited from his client status. Cassius Dio advises us that his onerous pride and receipt of Roman stipends provoked Top: The Dacians were one of the few “barbarian tribes” that employed war machines. Above: As the Second Dacian War drew to a close only small pockets of resistance held out. Trajan to war at the turn of the century. Considering the lack of threatening Dacian activity, the roots of Trajan’s wars against Decebal sprang more from his desire for personal glory and than a necessary defense of the empire. Trajan waged his first bloody war with Dacia in 101-102, and the second in 105-106. Despite the harsh terrain and foes, the massive Roman army (and its many auxiliaries and mercenaries) fought until much of Dacia accepted Trajan’s authority and Decebal surrendered short of his removal and the destruction of his capital, Sarmizegethusa. The short-lived peace witnessed both side preparing for war again, and the following campaign saw the destruction of the Dacian capital and the transformation of the kingdom into another Roman province. Decebal committed suicide before his capture and Trajan displayed his head in the triumphal march in Rome. GAMING ROME’S DACIAN WARS The Dacians offer a lot of interesting options to players who enjoy games that match Roman armies against barbarian opponents. Seriously, how many of Rome’s tribal enemies normally employed siege artillery in their own defense? Any attempts to replicate Rome’s Dacian campaigns should include challenging elements such as rough/ wooded terrain and fortifications, plus contingents of Sarmatian cavalry and other auxiliaries.
DACIAN ARMy LISTS A number of rulesets place the Dacians in some kind of ‘other’ category when it comes to interpreting how they should work on the tabletop. Essentially, most games focus on one or more of these attributes when it comes to differentiating them from other contemporary barbarians: weaponry, discipline, and adaptability. The famous Dacian falx sometimes assumes the role of a significant combat factor, usually meaning that players field at least one superior unit of warriors armed with the weapon. De Bellis Antiquitatis, Warmaster Ancients, and Warhammer Ancient Battles both note the falx in their army lists. The existence WARhAMMER ANCIENT BATTLES VARIANT DACIAN LISTS The Dacians appear as variant Barbarian armies in WAB, first under Mountain Tribesmen in the core rules, and in the Barbarian Tribes appendix of Armies of Antiquity. Units of these light infantry warbands may be armed with falxes, which the rules equate with two-handed weapons or halberds. Neither list allows the purchase of siege artillery. With a few tweaks, players may create other playable versions of the Dacian army. For example: • Players do not have to build entire units of falx-armed warriors, but may combine them with groups of infantry equipped with mixed weapons. Purchase shields, heavy of large Dacian formations strictly armed with falxes remains debatable, leaving the weapon’s impact on rules mechanics open to interpretation. The bow features prominently in many rules lists as well, usually in the hands of skirmishers. Warmaster Ancients and Warhammer Ancient Battles (WAB) both allow sizeable bodies of archers. Dacian army lists lack siege artillery in most game systems, with the notable exception of Warmaster Ancients. Consider amending the unit rosters for scenarios in which the Dacians defend their homeland, and especially if they garrison fortifications. The most commonly addressed characteristic regards the Dacians’ compatibility with the given game system’s warband rules, which typically give massed barbarian infantry an advantageous hard-charging shock value sometimes paired with tendencies toward compulsive moves and attacks. More often than not, the Dacians play the same as other barbarians in this respect for most miniature wargames. Some rulesets do not require the Dacians to make uncontrolled charges, differentiating them from other warband types. The Dacians fought well against the Roman armies that invaded their mountainous kingdom despite their eventual capitulation. Some rules handle them no differently from any other barbarian warband in rough ground and woods, while others treat them as light infantry types well-suited to such limiting ground. Above: The Dacians were very familiar with fighting in rough, forested terrain, the kind of terrain that broke up Roman formations. throwing spears, and javelins (+2 points per model). Note that no actual heavy throwing spears enter play, but their rules give the Dacians that extra punch. • Players may use up to 25% of the Dacian army points to purchase artillery, such as bolt throwers and catapults, in a siege scenario. This is WAB canon, per Siege & Conquest (p. 22). • Finally, players may use the Early Slavs list from the supplement Byzantium: Beyond the Golden Gate as a viable substitute. The Leadership values seem a bit low for the Dacians’ reputation, but the cavalry-to-infantry ratios, equipment options, and the Balkan Ruse special rule do much to commend its use.
Page 1 and 2: The Dacians A LOOk AT ThE LAST GREA
Page 3: Above: Dacia and some of the surrou

Download a PDF version of this article here - Flames of War

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?