Thapsus, part the first

As I mentioned yesterday, Dug, mates and I re-fought the Roman Civil War battle of Thapsus 46BC, on Wednesday, using my draft ancients rules.  I won't dwell too long on the background to the battle, as I'll be writing it up as a magazine article, but here are Dug and my photos; all pics are clickable!

Above is a shot along the table (8' wide by 6' deep), with Caesar's Populares on the left, and the Pompeian Optimates, with their Numidian allies, on the right.  North is towards the bottom of the picture.  On on the near flank the table is bordered by the sea, and on the far flank a salt lagoon (neither shown).

The Optimates (above) looked a bit scruffy, especially the natives; the Caesarians (below, background) look like that scene in Spartacus...

Above, Caesar's slingers getting the range of the Numidian elephants (below).

The slingers have found the range of the elephants; but the deceased pachyderms provide a useful vantage-point for Titus Labienus, on the Pompeian left.

Above, the Caesarian centre rushes forward, as in the historical battle.

...and finally, for today, the surviving elephants plough into a cohort of V Alaudae, supported by a mass of Numidian city militia.

Tomorrow I'll be at the SOA Battle Day in Bletchley, and hope to see you there!  So Thapsus part II will likely hit this blog, on Sunday.