Composition

The Early Sumerian list encompasses four chronological sublists, broken down as follows:

I/1a - Early Sumerian (3000-2800 BC)

1x 3Bd (Gen) Sumerian CnC with household retainers and nobles with sickle swords and axes of bronze..

8x 4Bw Household & militia archers.

3x 2Ps Levies (settled and/or nomadic) with slings, javelins and/or bows.

I/1b - Early Sumerian (2799-2500 BC)

1x HCh (Gen) Sumerian CnC with retainers/nobles on four wheeled battlecars drawn by donkey/onager hybrids.

6x 4Pk Well-organized spear phalanxes formed from household troops and city-state militias.

2x 4Pk or 4Bd More spearmen or Kish household axemen (4Bd).

3x 2Ps Levies (settled and/or nomadic) with slings, javelins and/or bows.

I/1c - Early Sumerian (2500-2334 BC)

1x 4Pk or HCh (Gen)Sumerian CnC with retainers/nobles either dismounted with his spear phalanx or mounted on four wheeled battlecars drawn by donkey/onager hybrids.

1x HCh Battle cars.

6x 4Pk Well-organized spear phalanxes formed from household troops and city-state militias.

1x 4Pk or 3Bd More spearmen or Kish axemen.

1x 3Ax or 2Ps Martu mercenaries (3Ax) in service of Umma or Apishal, otherwise levies (2Ps).

2x 2Ps Levies (settled and/or nomadic) with slings, javelins and/or bows.

II/1d - Sumerian Revolt (2250 BC)

1x 4Pk or HCh (Gen)Sumerian CnC with retainers/nobles either dismounted with his spear phalanx or mounted on four wheeled battlecars drawn by donkey/onager hybrids.

1x HCh Battle cards

4x 4Pk Well-organized spear phalanxes formed from household

troops and city-state militias.

1x 4Pk or 3Bd More spearmen or Kish axemen.

2x 7Hd Levies and emergency reserves.

1x 3Ax or 2Ps Martu or Zagros Highland mercenaries  (3Ax) in service of Umma or Apishal, otherwise levies (2Ps).

2x 2Ps Levies (settled and/or nomadic) with slings, javelins and/or bows.

One disappointment is that the DBA 2 lists no longer support the Sumerian Straddle-Cars (LCh), which Barker suggests were used as couriers and scouts, but apparently not in battle formation.

Akkad

Searching for a new period of history to wargame on holidays, I decided to choose a period that markedly based its social life on warfare, Mesopotamia since 3000 B.C., and the Akkadian period. Specifically, I decided to concentrate myself on the conquests of Sargon, founder of the dynasty of Akkad.

This empire made warfare its principal way to obtain financial or economic profits, creating a political and social steadiness, apparently strong and self supported. The Sargon's Legend counselled warfare as a way of life, the sieges as the tactics, the use of weapons as the solution, and conquest the goal. This way, Sargon built up a real commercial empire. Since then, his campaigns aimed to send away the threat of others political, military and economic competitors.

The conquest of this empire by Sargon in 2334 B.C. resulted on a profound alteration on the armament and the structure of the ancient war machine. A lighter armed bow army was the preponderant element on the outcome of the confrontation with the Sumer armies, which presented a different morphology. The Sumer army was much heavier in terms of its equipment, wearing helmets and shields of copper or bronze, and manoeuvred in its typical closed formation - "the Sumerian apple."

On the contrary, the Akkadian armies were equipped in a lightness form, did not wear the copper elements, becoming more swift on manoeuvring, together with the use of the bows that allowed distant fight, giving them a incontestable superiority. Only an extremely mobile army would permit an easy and quick capacity of manoeuvre, important to establish a difference on the strategic equilibrium on the Mesopotamia world. That was what made Sargon victorious.

The technical advantage of that bow allowed shooting down their foes at a distance. Besides this factor, there was also the fact that the army would manoeuvre more quickly and easily in comparison with the block pike formations. Thus, the Akkadian bowmen had an important role, as the battle result would depend upon their capacity to decimate

the compact the Sumer shield ranks, creating breaches through which to infiltrate infantry armed with axes, spears and daggers.

Observing the army lists, I noticed that I/11(a) army presents five elements of light troops (4 x 2 Ps and 1 x 7 Hd), which in fact gives some lightness to this army. However, the fundamental strategic element of Sargon (Bw) is not contemplated . Thus, I elaborated a proposition for a variant army list, that in my point of view, is more according with historical reality and which express the factor that made it possible for Sargon to conquer and maintain his empire.

DBA I/11. (a) Variant Army for I/11. (a)

Akkadian 2334BC-2139BC Akkadian 2334BC-2139BC

1 HCh (Gen) 1 HCh (Gen)

2 3Sp or 4Pk 1 3Sp, 4Pk or 4Bw

4 4 Pk 3 4Pk

4 2Ps 2 2Ps

1 7Hd 1 2Ps or 7Hd

4 4Bw

Substituting the four bases of Ps for Bw and allowing an option for one more Bw, reducing the Pk in a way to make the army more swift, light and effective.

In terms of the DBA tactical warfare factor interpretation, emerges the principal problem. This is the incapacity of Bw to confront and became superior against Pk. The unique solution is, in this case, to attribute a factor (+ 4 vs Pk, thus making a +1 difference) more accordingly to that historical reality, in such a way that the Sumerian commander could experiment and understand the difficulty on holding the Akkadian forces. That advantage, mathematically speaking, gives to the bows 21 victories, 5 pushes and 10 defeats, on a 10 for 1 proportion.

This fact suggests that apart from the high degree of playability and pleasure of the DBA game, it reverts that punctual situations suffer the process of generalisation (however this generalisation is understandable). At last, I state here the idea for keeping the rules, the basic structure (philosophy), as they are, changing only the combat factor for three to four main historical periods in history: Pre-Classic, Classic, Dark ages and/or Medieval.

Early Egyptians

Composition

The Old & Middle Kingdom Egyptian army was comprised primarily of spear and bowmen, each recruited from three different classes: Shemsu (retainers), Ahauty (warriors) and Nome (conscripts). In addition, there was a small proportion of the army (i.e. groups of Ahauty and the famous Menhat Axemen) who carried waraxes.

Old Kingdom (I/2a)

Middle Kingdom

(I/2b)Notes

1x 4Bd or Lit (Gen) 1x LCh (Gen) Pharaoh or General with his Shemshu

(retainers)

5x 4Bw 4x 4Bw Ahouty (warrior class) archers

2x 3Bd 3x 3BdAhouty (warrior class), including Menfat

axemen, marines, and spearmen of the residence.

1x 3Bd or 3Bw More Ahouty or Medjay/Nubian archers.

1x 7Hd Nome (Egyptian conscripts)

2x 2PsEgyptian Javelinmen (w/quiver carriers), Bedouin slingers, and/or Medjay/Nubian

archers

The DBM Early Egyptian (I/2) army list allows for up to 8 javelinmen with quiver carriers as Reg. Ax(O) or Reg. Ps(S), which suggests that at least one of the 2Ps elements could be reclassed as 1x 3Ax or 2Ps. The DBM list also allows for upgrading the CnC element as Reg. Cv (O) after 1640 BC, which suggests that the I/2b CnC should be revised as 1x LCh or Cv (Gen).

Tactics

Historically, the close fighters formed lines or columns in the center of the battleline supported by archers and lighter auxiliaries on the wings. The archers would discharge a rain of arrows at short range, and then the spear and axe-armed fighters would close for the decisive melee. Middle Kingdom chariots were primarily missile platforms, often held in reserve to be unleased in the pursuit.

Numidian Army Composition

2LH The famous Numidian light horsemen

2Ps or 3AX

The not so famous Numidian light foot. The primary sources recount the Numidians either fighting loosely, as guerrillas, from ambush and raiding which would suit the 2Ps choice while at times they faced off the Romans in battle lines which would suit the 3Ax option.

ElAfrican elephants were employed in the armies of Jugurtha and Juba

3Cv or Generals element, Cavalry option are Spanish/Gallic

2Lh mercenaries, who formed Juba's bodyguard

3/4Aux or 4Bd

Aux are Roman trained foot, Gaetuli, Spanish scutari, or Ligurian deserters. Blade are imitation legionaries or Roman deserters.

Moorish Army Composition

3Cv or 2LH Generals element. Cavalry are bodyguards.

2LH Moorish horsemen

2Ps Moorish infantry