DBMM is a radical development of DBM, retaining the main structures and procedures and much of the basic data. The most major difference is in simulating command and control more realistically and in particular emphasizing the C-in-C’s plan. There is also a decrease in the importance of the geometrical positioning of elements in deciding combat results. The current version can be found at www.phil-barker.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk.

DBMM is still being play tested although this is now in the final stages. Refights of historical battles are valuable when playtesting and Dorylaeum has now been played in whole or part at least seven times before and during the Battleday.

Chris Hanley provided the troops and made the terrain for the battle and he and I jointly decided on the composition of the armies and the necessary scenario rules. We used the battle fighting rules of the 3^rd June edition of DBMM without any change other than to limit the use of flank marches and strategems and kept as much as possible of the deployment rules as well. (In DBMM strategem rules cover such activities as feigned flight, ambush and pre battle scouting.)

The Turks were defending, had to deploy first and were only allowed to flank march to their right hand side edge. The Crusaders had to deploy entirely in the valleys with their baggage in front of and in contact with the marsh, could not flank march, delay a command or use stratagems. Both armies had to deploy the standard distances from the table centre line. Bohemond was a brilliant general which gave him the capability of doubling his PIP score or having a close combat advantage when making close combat contact on two occasions

The relief column was due to arrive after four hours (twelve double bounds). This was a mistake on our part and we now think it should have been diced for as a flank march after two hours. We paid too much respect to the accounts of the chroniclers and their guesses at elapsed time.

Our terrain included the South West to North East valley (the Approach Valley) that the Crusaders marched along to get to the battlefield as well as the wider North to South valley (the Wide Valley) with the Drumlins along its western side. This allowed us to have twelve of the fifteen pilgrim elements placed straggling along the approach valley by the umpire. The entire table was good going except for the double contour slopes of the south edge of the approach valley and most of both sides of the wide valley which were considered steep and difficult going. The Crusader camp and the marsh were in the northern end of the wide valley.

While playtesting DBMM uses the DBM army lists with a page of amendments but we departed from the Early Crusader and Seljuq army lists in several ways:

The Pilgrims were changed to Horde (O) as they were not in any way impetuous in accounts of the battle.

The Crusaders had sub generals rather than allies within the army that started on table. There was little scope for unreliability when the Turks attacked.

The Seljuqs did not have an ally Turkoman general but two allied Seljuq generals and all their generals were Cavalry (S) after the advice of Duncan Head.

Each of the three Crusader commands had four Knight (F) elements that could dismount as Blade (O), six Spear (I), two Psiloi (O) and five Horde (O). The six baggage elements in the baggage command were all Baggage (I).

Each of the four Seljuq commands had one Cavalry (S) general and eleven Light Horse (S) elements. One of the generals was a sub.

However much you play through the game with one player per side you can never predict how other players coming to the scenario for the first time will choose to fight it as a team. Dorylaeum was a good choice of battle, better than it seemed at first, as it offers a lot of tactical opportunities and pitfalls and was a nice change of pace from the Sambre which was comparatively straight ahead.

In our tryouts before the Battleday the Crusaders had always started with the knights dismounted and all troops deployed as three sides of a tight defensive box with right angled corners which contained the baggage and connected with the marsh. The three non-combatant pilgrim (Horde) elements that had reached the camp were used as the fourth side of the box defending against an attack from the rear across the marsh. The Turkish attacks had always been awaited in this formation with the inferior spearmen in two ranks with a third of Psiloi (O) in support where available. The spears obtained no tactical plus factor for their second rank but were able lose a front rank element without breaking the line. The dismounted knights were often a single rank as they were better able to defend themselves as Blade (O). Only when a Turkish command had blunted itself by attacking the perimeter, was dispersed by repulse moves or appeared particularly vulnerable did the Crusaders break their formation and counter attack on foot.

In the first game the Turks were led by Phil Barker with Sue Barker as the sub general. Duncan Head and William Hanley (son of Chris) were the ally generals. The Crusaders were led by Ray Briggs with Stuart Whigham and Jeff Bayton as his subgenerals.

The Turks deployed two commands in the wide valley, a third on the high ground overlooking the approach valley and that of the sub general was sent on a flank march to arrive on the Turkish right hand side edge.

The Crusaders formed up in a rough box around the baggage but, except for the part of the line covering the front of some of the baggage, were only one element deep and the eastern corner of the perimeter was held by an element of pilgrims at an angle to both the edges it joined. The command facing the approach valley kept most of its knights mounted while the knights at the other end of the camp retained their mounts in case they should need them later.

The Turks got off to a good start when their flank march scored a six to arrive on the second bound. The organisers got off to a relieved start when both ally generals proved reliable.

The two Turkish commands in the wide valley moved straight up to attack the enemy perimeter. The western most of these Turks got into an attritional struggle where the Christians were in a two deep spear line with psiloi support in some places. There were losses on both sides, some Crusader spearmen were recoiled and Turkish Light Horse repulsed. One great difference in DBMM is that superior Light Horse are impetuous and this produced a very realistic effect with the Turcomans repeatedly returning to the fight after being driven off. The Turkish commanders took full advantage of this.

The Turks on the eastern side of the wide valley had an easier task as the horsemen were able to find an overlap at the corner of the Crusader perimeter and destroy the pilgrims to get in behind the spearmen and move round towards the baggage. The difficulties of the Crusaders on this flank were compounded by the immediate arrival of the Turkish flank march which charged straight down the easy slope into the dismounted knight and psiloi line protecting the flank of the camp and in front of the eastern edge of the marsh. Crusader PIPs (Player Initiative Points; the score of one D6) for this command were insufficient to move elements to provide adjustments to face these attacks from two directions at once and left the line of dismounted knights moving up to face the flank march just at the bottom of the slope giving the Turks a downhill tactical advantage when they contacted it.

On the opposite side of the table the Turkish command on the hill overlooking the approach valley took a while to get down the steep slope and deploy from column to line as the nearness of the pilgrims precluded march movement. When they did get into shape they started to destroy horde elements but had to beware of a counter attack from the westernmost Crusader command that largely faced the approach valley and the knights of which had remained mounted.

This Crusader command, which was unengaged to its west facing front, also provided a reserve and infantry elements from it moved across the back of the marsh to try to help the beleaguered eastern command. The marsh being in the way limited what could be sent and it turned out to be too little too late as the eastern command became disheartened after three double bounds and broke after another three single bounds. This break disheartened the embattled but still resisting middle Crusader command and allowed the Turks to get into the baggage, start to sack it and thus further reduce the ME of both the remaining commands. ME or Morale Equivalents replace the Element Equivalents of DBM and differ in that elite troops and baggage (hot meals, tents and servants) contribute more to the army's morale than do peasant filler. The end came swiftly after five double bounds when more baggage was lost and the middle command broke to lose the game. It had taken two hours from first PIP dice to the end of the game.

For the second game most of the players changed sides. Phil, Sue and Duncan became the Crusaders with Phil as Bohemond. William moved over to be the Turkish sub general with Stuart and Ray as the allies and Chris Hanley joined the game to be Kilij Arslan.

The Turks set up similarly to the first game with two commands in the wide valley and one on the high ground overlooking the approach valley. The fourth command, that of the sub general, did not flank march this time but was set to climb up the eastern side of the wide valley and travel along the high ground to come down the same gentle slope into the marsh area that the flank march had done in the previous game.

The Crusaders deployed in a thin line of spearmen with some dismounted knights in the centre but the commands to the West and East kept their chivalry mounted. The infantry line did not try to cover the easy slope seeing that there was no flank march and that there would be time to react if that flank were threatened later.

The Crusaders had failed to win the first game with correct defensive tactics so the new Crusader players, now knowing there was no prospect of the relief force arriving in time, thought it a useful exercise to try risky offensive tactics. Happily for history they lost rather quicker.  

Once again the middle Crusader command stood its ground against frontal attack with both sides taking losses, falling back and returning to the fray. This time however the Crusaders counter attacked fiercely with their knights. The western Crusader command came out to meet some of the Turkish command that were pressuring their middle command but did so into constricted terrain near the Drumlins and, because of this, attacked in column formation. It proved difficult to expand from column and the Turkish command from the high ground came down to support its neighbour sending only part of its force to attack the straggling pilgrims. Suffering from being in column the knights soon took losses became overlapped then flanked and finally attacked in rear until after five double bounds they were all lost and the command was broken.

On the eastern side of the wide valley Kilij Arslan held back his horsemen while the sub general’s command took its time to climb the hill. The general of this command was left behind in the wide valley so as not to hold up the more rapid Light Horse. Bohemond, seeing this lone element behind a thin screen of LH, decided to lead out his line of Knights to attack it hoping to badly weaken an enemy command by its destruction. The line of LH, which was part of Kilij Arslan’s command, turned into column and moved eastwards away from this attack while the targeted general made a run for it up the steep slope of the valley side. The general, which was the sub general and not Kilij Arslan as Bohemond had thought, had to fight two knightly elements on the steep hillside and win the combat in order to escape. A shortage of PIPs and the distraction of the sub general having to defend himself meant that his command never got to make its down hill attack towards the marsh.

The attack by Bohemond and his knights left those of them not on the hillside badly exposed when the line of Light Horse that had initially moved away from them turned again and put in an attack which double enveloped them. Bohemond was among the casualties of this attack and his loss broke his command to end the game after five and half double bounds. This game was even quicker to play taking an hour and a half from the first PIPs to the conclusion.

The rules played well as the arrangements for movement into contact, lining up elements, combat results and outcome moves are all in place. The failure to have an historical outcome is partly because the scenario kept the relief force off table for too long but also because of the Crusaders’ wide deployments and their aggressive tactics in the second game. If the relief force had arrived late in the first game the Turks would have been the victims of their own success being totally engaged and busy with looting the camp. We were inclined to wonder if this had perhaps been the case in the real battle but spin had prevailed.

Chris and I would like to thank all the players and the SOA organisers for their company and two good games. It makes a change not to have to append any rules notes for Phil because for these games he was able to make his own.