Time to share yet another fan-made EPIC scenario for Commands & Colors Ancients – and this one is as exciting and fresh as previous ones! As you probably know very well by now, this is my favorite way of enjoying that fantastic game: getting more than two of my wargaming friends around the table for a truly fierce battle!

Having played through all the official scenarios and a good number of unofficial ones, I recently started designing my own – in EPIC mode, naturally. I already completed a full EPIC Julius Caesar campaign and was looking for something a bit more exotic to tackle next. Reading about Constantine the Great, I realized that – beyond the famous Battle of Milvian Bridge – there were plenty of other large-scale engagements he fought before finally consolidating his grip on the Roman Empire. After some digging, I decided to start a new series of scenarios under the working title Wars of Constantine the Great, kicking off with Chrysopolis (324 AD) – and now continuing with Adrianople (324 AD).

Below I am sharing the picture-rich session report. It was true fun to play and the scenario will be soon available on https://www.commandsandcolors.net/ancients/.

PS. As always, you can click on each picture to see the details.

Some of my articles regarding C&C system:
Commands and Colors games – my 3 favorite
[REVIEW] Commands Colors Ancients
Strategy Article – Skirmishing and Evasion
Strategy Article – Breaking The Line, Holding The Line

My EPIC scenarios series:
EPIC Illerda (49 BC)
EPIC Dyrrhachium (48 BC)
EPIC Pharsalus (48 BC) 
EPIC Thapsus (46 BC)
EPIC Munda (45 BC)
EPIC Nisibis (217 AD)
EPIC Chrysopolis (324 AD)

Adrianople (324 AD)

Historical background

But first things first – wargames are primarily about fun, but they are also a lesson in history! So let’s take a moment to learn about this important yet not particularly well-known engagement.

The Battle of Adrianople was fought on 3 July 324 between the Roman emperors Constantine I and Licinius near Adrianople (modern Edirne, Turkey), on the confluence of the Hebrus (Evros) river with its tributary the Ardas. The battle was part of the Civil Wars of the Tetrarchy, the final chapter of the power struggles that had plagued the Roman Empire since the collapse of Diocletian’s system of shared rule.

Constantine had already defeated Licinius in 316, seizing the entire Balkan Peninsula except Thrace, after which a peace held for seven years. By 324 he was ready to renew the conflict. When his army crossed into Licinius territory in pursuit of a raiding Visigothic or possibly Sarmatian force, a convenient pretext for war was created. Licinius overreacted, his response was interpreted as hostile, and Constantine invaded Thrace with a large army numbering around 130,000 men against Licinius’ 165,000.

The two armies faced each other for several days across the Hebrus, neither willing to risk a crossing against a prepared enemy. Constantine then resorted to deception: he had construction materials and ropes conspicuously assembled at one point along the river, far from his intended crossing, to mislead Licinius into expecting a bridge there. Meanwhile, he secretly positioned 5,000 foot archers and cavalry on a wooded hillside overlooking a narrow stretch of the river upstream, then led his cavalry across the narrows in a surprise attack. The ruse succeeded completely; the rest of his army crossed at the same point, and what followed was, in the words of the historian Zosimus, “a great massacre.” Licinius was slightly wounded and fled to the city of Byzantium. Losses on his side exceeded 34,000 killed.

Notably, this was the first major engagement in which Constantine army fought under the labarum, his Christian standard. Its presence reportedly inspired his own troops while unnerving those of Licinius.

The battle was one of the largest armed clashes of the 4th century, fought on a site that would see many other historic engagements – described by the source as “the most disputed spot in World History.” Though it did not immediately end the civil war, Adrianople marked the beginning of the end for Licinius, who was ultimately defeated at the Battle of Chrysopolis later that same year and eventually executed.

Set-up

We played four of us in total, split randomly into two teams of two. The idea was for one player on each side to take the role of overall commander – me leading the Licinius forces and Lukasz commanding Constantine’s army – while the other team member would act as a wing commander (Kuba G was facing off Kuba J). And then the dice were cast, and the rest, as they say, became history…

Here is the disposition of forces as shown in details by VASSAL module. You can see the river dividing the armies, hills to the right and Constantine’s cavalry ready to charge!
And now the game on the table, with sides assigned to players: me and Kuba G leading Licinius forces, Lukasz and Kuba J commanding Constantine army.

Session Report

Not surprisingly, the Constantine side started with the attack through the river, but lacking Mounted Charge only minor damage was inflicted.
On the other side of the map, near the town of Adrianople, a fierce battle to cross the river ensued. It was a true blood-bath and at some point in time Constantine forces almost managed to get on the walls.
You see that single Auxilia block? After battle they were called “heroes of the marshes” – single-handedly they killed / dispatched 3 enemy full-strength units, never taking that last, final hit. They survived that battle and were a key element in stopping the Constantine on the most endangered wing.
Finally, Constantine forces managed to get through the river, rough terrain and woods. All of this in central section. The slaughter ensued, especially if you can play a timely Double Time…
…battlefield after series of Constantine forces attacks. Huge losses, but pretty balanced.
The last moments of the game were very tense. It was 12-12 and whoever scores, wins! Constantine charged, pushed my forces back but my counter-attack managed to kill his cavalry. Victory!
In the end the game finished in a very close way! Draw in the center and on the left (near Adrianople), small victory by Licinius on right flank. And that was enough!

Summary

I knew this would be a blast – and I was not disappointed. The game turned out to be an enormous amount of fun for both sides, full of twists and turns, plenty of surprising developments, and more than a few laughs, especially with that 1-block super-durable Auxilia guy. Not to mention, we got very balanced scenario here!

I will definitely continue and post scenarios to CCA NET page:

More scenarios in the Constantine the Great Wars will come – stay tuned!