The Loose Association of Wargamers

I know a little about the SYW & a little bit more about Napoleonics but really not much about anything else.

As I'm painting my Pyrrhic army (s-l-o-w-l-y), I'm thinking about how command actually functioned in Ancient times.
Our preferred rule set (Field of Glory) has an abstract system of a C-i-C & 2-3 sub-commanders - all of whom can "command" any unit in command range. Certainly unrealistic but it works well enough in gaming terms. They don't actually do much apart from adding various morale/rally factors.The actual command is the gamer making helicopter decisions: none of this transmission of orders nonsense.

I've had a look at some primary sources (Polybios & Arrian) but can't find much. There's an overall commander & some sub-commanders who seem to command semi-independant "wings". How orders were given in battle or how responsibilities were devolved is very unclear. There's frequent mentions of plans but we all know what happens to plans when the sling shots start to fly.

Clearly, there's a difference between, say, Bronze Age chariot armies & EIRs but what do we know/can legitimately surmise?
Where there messengers carrying orders to far-flung units? Where there discreet commands, if not quite brigades & divisions? After battle commenced was all reliant on the Hannibal/Scipio/Pyrrhus literally on the spot to save things if they went awry?

What do we know about Ancient C&C.?

donald

It's a matter of scale. Trumpets and drums can communicate simple message. Couriers can deliver more complex messages longer distance. I suspect that it came down to a CinC calling people forward or back and a wing commander either attacking, defending or withdrawing.

Professional armies which trained in numbers may have been able to do a little more.

Read up on Pharsalus, and how ceasar commanded and used Mark Anthony. It is as well documented an example of how roman command worked as any.

Hmmm. I'll need to revise plans & add horn players to all my command stands.

donald

Grizz,

And add in the local commander's initiative on the ground. E.g. the Roman manoeuvre at Cynoscephalae was most probably just a local commander reacting to the tactical situation.

So, perhaps three elements:
a) Direct comms from the C-in-C.
b) Trumpets & Drums communicating pre-set drill manoeuvres.
c) Local initiative.

DB

I thnink local initiative is more likely in a disciplined army. Full time training enables battle drills (like pulling back maniples for rest) and allows more sophisticated orders (archers firing other than to their front, wheeling) but, other than launching an unscheduled attack, (a command roll once, twice, or thrice in a battle) I doubt that most Ancient armies would be doing much on initiative.