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As Phillip II's, army marched south from Macedon and into Greece the rival Greek city-states prepared to resist. Of course, Phillip was a canny warrior and political operative. As his main force moved to the decisive battle in Chaeronea, he split off small forces of soldiers to desecrate and destroy shrines and temples sacred to his opponents. He wanted them to be demoralized and prove that not even the gods could save them from his armies. As one of these detachments came to a shrine to Apollo, they encountered the unexpected. A pilgrimage of Spartan warriors and their Helot followers had made a pilgrimage to the site.

The Spartans were no friends of the Thebans or their Boetian League. However, when the Macedonian officer demanded they remove themselves from the shrine, he challenged their laconic sense of pride. The Spartan commander simply responded, “Move us.... if you can.”

Such disrespect made the young Macedonian commanders blood boil in rage. He would show these impudent Spartans who the new rulers of Greece were. He ordered his men and allied Thessalian infantry to prepare to attack.


Courtesy of: https://www.amazon.com/Men-Bronze-Ancient-Hoplite-Wargames/dp/1472832612

Clearly, this is an “ahistoric” battle. There is no evidence that Phillip waged spiritual warfare against the Greeks, and there is very little chance that a Macedonian Phalanx would have come to blows with a Spartan contingent north of Thebes; if at all. However, I wanted a small battle that used the models that I had painted at the moment, so this is what we get....

Forces

Spartans
1 Elite Phalanx
1 Psiloi
1 Peltast
- 18 Points

Macedonians
1 Macedonian Phalanx
1 Militia Hoplite
-18 points

Mission
This will be a Desecrate the Sacred scenario. The Spartans would be the defenders of the shrine that would be placed in the rough center of the 4x3 board. The shrine would be difficult terrain. The defenders can place 1 unit in the shrine, while the others come in from the board edge. Meanwhile, the Macedonians would come in from the opposite board edge.

If the Macedonians could keep a unit in the ruins for 1d3 turns, they would desecrate the place. The Spartans just had to keep them out.

Set-up
The Spartans choose to place their Phalanx in the shrine, with their Peltasts and Psiloi rushing on to relieve them. The Macedonians lined up with their main phalanx heading straight for the shrine, and their allies to their left in the field. The Macedonians and the Spartans begin in Phalanx, while the others (including the Thessalians) are in open order.



You can read all about the final results of this skirmish on the blog: https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2018/10/men-of-bronze-battle-report-desecrate.html

Nice report though I cant believe the Macedonians didn't crush the effete southerners! Like the look of both forces, are those Victrix Macedonians?
What size is the game played at as standard?

Yeah, by this time historically the Spartans were way past their prime! However, the cunning use of the shrine to blunt the initial Macedonian assault help a lot.

Typical game size is 5-7 units per side instead of 2-3.