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Avalon Hill
"Siege of Jerusalem"
Board Game

First Edition 1976 / Revision 1989

B. Sinigaglio | Fred Schachter | Steve Weiss

INTRODUCTION

Can you, as Eliezar Ben Yair, rally Jerusalem's defenders to exact a fearful price on the besiegers, or escape to fulfill your destiny at Masada? Can you, as Cestius Gallus, quell the revolt at its source and take Jerusalem with a single legion? It is 70 A.D. Dawn breaks on the combined might of four Legions arrayed on the heights of Mount Scopus, starting their methodical advance across the valley to the ancient walled city of Jerusalem. Siege lines have been secured tight about the city. There is no hope of escape. The besieged must persist behind their stout walls or perish before a vengeful Rome. Five grueling years of campaigning in Judea is now culminating in the Siege of Jerusalem.

But the fortified city defies even the might of Rome. The thick walls atop the steep slopes literally bristle with natural and manmade fortifications. It will take all of Rome's considerable engineering skills to winch their war machines into position for an assault up the slopes to the city. Only here in the north plain can the city's walls be taken by escalade. The rhythmic approach of the Legions is muted by the rumble of the siege engines as an assortment of towers, rams, and artillery precede the maniples. The distant walls seethe with the frenzied activity of an alerted populace as the antagonists draw near. This majestic view is abruptly halted by the blare of trumpets which soon gives way to the cacophony of the clash of arms and screams of the dying.

Morning turns to dusk before the walls are breached and the weary legions exact their vengeance. The sky turns bright again, aglow in the reflection of a thousand fires as the northern outskirts burn. But what price victory? Another day such as this will break the Roman Army and only one of the city's ten walled sections has fallen this day. They will have to find another way. Shafts must be dug to undermine the walls or earthen ramps built with which to scale them. It will be a long campaign.

This is The Siege of Jerusalem...An epic battle simulation with all the trappings and majesty of a Cecil B. DeMille film spectacular. Facing the greatest army of antiquity, the Judeans must rely on the stoutness of their walls to halt the unbeatable Roman legions and therein lies the fascination: the immovable object vs the unstoppable force. As Eliezar Ben Yair, leader of the Zealots, you must conduct a skilled defense of the city's ever shrinking perimeter - exacting from the Romans a price so terrible that they will be forced to lift their siege - or break out to continue your struggle for freedom at Massada. As Titus, commander of the Roman army, you must decide when, where and how to renew the assault - gauging your troop needs against the progress of your siege works and the press of time caused by outside threats. More than just conducting tactical combat, the Roman must formulate an overall strategic plan for the conduct of the siege.

Vastly revised from its initial printing of the 70's, Siege of Jerusalem now boasts two-sided counters, a continuous combat system, a strategic interphase for conducting the entire siege, and the morale / panic rules so important in portraying ancient warfare. An Introductory Scenario depicting the abortive assault of Gallus with the XII Legion three years previous allows players to learn how to handle a legion in a single day's play while training for eventual participation in the conduct of the epic siege.

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The Siege of Jerusalem: Scenarios
By Fred Schachter

The original Siege of Jerusalem game published as an “Amateur Release” by Steve Weiss and I back in 1976 (wow! over a quarter century ago!) had several scenarios omitted from The Avalon Hill Game Company’s 1989 version.  Thanks to Multi-Man Publishing’s resuming distribution of the game, an opportunity to rectify this omission is hereby remedied.

This article contains three scenarios.   One, “The Rebellion”, was included within the 1976 edition. The second, also provided with the original game, is a variation of “The Rebellion” and the third a special “First Assault Period” scenario just for those of you who acquired Siege of Jerusalem via Multi-Man Publishing.  The hoped for interest and enjoyment of these scenarios are:

A)    “The Rebellion”: A five turn game (compare that to the length and time-consumption of a “Full Siege Campaign Game”) which pits Roman Procurator Gessius Florus’ Jerusalem garrison against hordes of armed and outraged Judeans determined to expunge Imperial Rome’s authority from their holy city.  This scenario’s action takes place inside Jerusalem… giving players a rather different perspective of the city from what it assumes during a “Full Siege Campaign Game”.

B)     “Delayed Rebellion / Quick Roman Response”: A seven turn “what if” scenario which allows both the Romans & Judeans to be on the offensive.  The Judeans attack as during “The Rebellion” scenario by trying to force Rome’s Garrison out of Jerusalem.  The Romans then have their opportunity to attack when Legio XII “Fulminata” force-marches to their beleaguered comrades aid from off-map under leadership of Rome’s Syrian Provincial Governor, Cestius Gallus.  This is “The Assault of Gallus” scenario within a plausible “what if” historical framework making for a novel, fascinating, game situation.

C)    “The First Assault Period Scenario”: This permits players to experience the grand scope of a “Full Siege Campaign Game” by resolving a single Assault Period as a game unto itself.  This scenario explores some alternative interpretations of the historical event.

All these scenarios use Siege of Jerusalem’s standard rules as a base with, as seems inevitable with scenarios, special rules which I’ve tried to keep to a minimum.  Designer and Player Notes are also provided.

Hope these scenarios enhance player appreciation of the overall Siege of Jerusalem game and do, above all, provide some enjoyable gaming experiences.  Special thanks to the “Rockland Guys” gaming group for their help play testing these scenarios.  Believe it or not, we wargame each week in New City, N.Y., following traditional weekly gaming sessions going back to our youth in “Da Bronx”.  Furthermore, my birthday is June 8^th… the anniversary of the 66 A.D. Jerusalem Revolt depicted within the scenario herewith provided.

Scenarios are presented in chronological order:

“THE REBELLION”

Introduction & Historical Notes:

In June 66 A.D., the depredations of Gessius Florus, Imperial Rome’s Procurator in Jerusalem, had driven an already desperate Judean populace into open revolt.  Judean freedom-fighters, many of whom were secretly armed for quite some time, rallied to their respective factions leaders.

Florus’ garrison was primarily composed of foreign Velitae and Foederatti, soldiers of King Herod Agrippa II: Rome’s local client King.  He had relatively few “reliable” regular Legionnaires available… but what Imperial Heavy Infantry Florus had would prove utterly fearsome to the ill-armed and trained Judeans.  Most of the garrison’s light infantry was spread about the city, manning peacetime positions within Jerusalem’s various gates.  The tough, disciplined, Heavy Infantry was split between Antonia Fortress and Herod’s Palace.

Isolated fort and gate garrisons swiftly fell to the numerous, enraged, and vengeful Judeans.  After parrying a tentative Roman advance upon the Temple; a Judean horde from Jerusalem’s southern quarters overwhelmed Antonia Fortress.

Surviving Roman & Foederatti forces fell back to Herod’s Palace.  This enabled a coalesced defense of that walled area which proved too much for the rag-tag Judeans to take head-on.

A truce was called.  After some weeks of negotiation, what remained of Rome’s Jerusalem garrison was afforded “The Honors of War” and allowed to depart the city.  Jerusalem and it’s holy Temple was at last free of foreign troops!

USE ALL STANDARD RULES PER SIEGE OF JERUSALEM’S REGULAR RULEBOOK unless modified or overridden by this scenario’s special instructions.  

Roman Forces & Set-up:

The Roman Player sets-up first in accordance with the following Order of Battle and set-up instructions.  Use playing pieces from any Siege of Jerusalem Legion except the XII (Legio XII “Fulminata” should be set aside).

1. Antonia Fortress Garrison:  four (4) catapult units, one in each Antonia Fortress fort hex.  The following nine (9) units may be placed in any hex of Antonia Fortress or its walls, including those congruent to The Temple, subject to stacking limits: one Heavy Infantry Cohort consisting of a 7-8, 6-8, & 5-8; three (3) 3-9 Velitae, and three (3) 1-9 Syrian Archers.

2. Herod’s Palace Garrison:  The following nine (9) units may be placed in any hex of Herod’s Palace and/or “The Fortress Triangle”, on or within the walls.  Additionally, Herod’s Palace garrison units may optionally occupy gate hexes of Yafo Gate Complex: one Heavy Infantry Cohort consisting of a 7-8, 6-8, & 5-8; three (3) 3-9 Velitae, and three (3) 1-9 Syrian Archers.

3. Optional Placement Garrison Units: consist of twenty-four (24) units, one Heavy Infantry Cohort consisting of a 7-8, 6-8, and 5-8, three (3) 3-9  Velitae, and eighteen (18) 2-10 Foederatti.  Deploy these in the following sequence:

3.1  All Jerusalem gate hexes, with the exception of those of the Temple Quarter’s inner and exterior walls, MUST be garrisoned (occupied) by at least one optional placement unit of the Roman Player’s choice.  Remember, the Temple Quarter’s gates must be left empty of Roman units.

3.2  After fulfilling 3.1’s “Gate Garrison” requirement, all still unallocated Roman optional placement units may go into:

A)    Any fort or fortress hex, except those of the Temple Quarter, Antonia Fortress, and/or Herod’s Palace garrison (i.e. they can’t reinforce item 1 or 2’s placements).  Yafo Gate Complex placement is permitted.

B)    Any built-up / non-edifice hex of Jerusalem.

When all Roman built-up hex unit placement is complete, every Jerusalem built-up hex which is not occupied by a Roman unit immediately becomes Judean controlled! (This is a critical point to setting up Judean forces for this scenario.)

Judean Forces and their Set-up on the Map:

The Judean Player sets-up second per the following Order of Battle and “set-up” instructions.  Use all Siege of Jerusalem Judean 7-7 Zealot, 5-7 Regular, and 2-6 Militia with their faction leaders as a “pool” for possible Judean forces.  Do not place Garrison (purple), artillery/cauldrons, or the Eliezar ben Yair Commander Unit into this “pool”.

1. Judean Placement Reserve Activation:

1.1  The Judean Player first places the four (4) Faction Leader units on the map:

A)    Each must be placed within ANY Judean-controlled built-up terrain hex (see 1.3).

B)    No more than two Judean Leaders may ever occupy a single Jerusalem Area for purpose of Reserve Activation (see 1.3).

1.2  Reserve Activation, per Siege of Jerusalem Rule 18.611, then takes place.  IMPORTANT: In this scenario, there are no “Judean Reserve Activation Modifiers”.  Just use the straight unmodified die/dice Reserve roll for each applicable city area without DRM.

1.3  Normal Reserve Activation is followed by a Special Judean Leader Reserve 

      Activation:

A)    Each Judean Leader (exception, 1.1B) occupying a built-up/non-edifice hex not adjacent to or in an L.O.F. of a Roman unit may activate additional reserves every Judean Rally Phase.

B)    Each applicable Leader receives a two dice Reserve release roll:

·        Use the regular Siege of Jerusalem Activation Table (18.611) to determine the type of units to take out of the “pool”.

·        However, for this and ensuing Special Judean Leader Reserve Activations, only units of that particular Leader, or Zealot 7-7’s, may be taken from the pool.  If no 5-7’s or 2-6’s of that faction Leader are available from the pool or dead box when needed; these units may not be taken (may not accumulate untaken Reserves).

C)    Special Reserve Activation may not be prevented by Roman control of an area (see special rules defining “control” of a Jerusalem area for this scenario… Rule 8) during:

·        Initial Reserve Placements AND

·        Turn One’s Judean Rally Phase.  Thereafter, Roman control of a Jerusalem area will prevent new Judean Reserves from both regular and Special Leader sources from being taken.

1.4  IMPORTANT! There are no Reserve Limits (Siege of Jerusalem Rule 18.612). Players have no need to track activated Judean Reserve units by hash mark.

2. After Initial Placement Reserve Activations are taken, “The Rebellion” Scenario begins with Turn One’s Judean Rally Phase (consequently, each applicable Jerusalem city area will get two full cycles of Reserve Activations before the Roman Player gets first chance to respond with Turn Two). 

SPECIAL RULES

1.      All roads outside Jerusalem exist.  Movement rates along roads outside Jerusalem, whether in clear or slope terrain, is ½ MP for both Roman & Judean Units.

 

2.      Roman Refuge (Siege of Jerusalem rule 15.4) is any Roman-controlled area of the city or a map edge… whichever is closest to an effected Roman unit when it retreats.  If more than one refuge area is equidistant, choice is the Roman Player’s.

3.      Judean Unit Disruption: Only Zealot 7-7 and Leader Units may be disrupted by fire and/or melee combat in this scenario.  Other Judean units: 5-7’s and/or 2-6’s are immediately ELIMINATED when disrupted.

4.      Judean Escalade Ability: Judean units within Jerusalem, from any ground level hex (including built-up & edifice hexes) may make escalade attacks and movement per all regular Siege of Jerusalem escalade rules usually effecting only the Roman Player.  Any Judean unit may serve as an escalade “base”.  The Judeans may not make escalade attacks from a hex outside the city.  The Romans, of course, may continue to do so with any appropriate units.

5.      Roman Cohort Integrity (Siege of Jerusalem rule 11.841):

5.1 Cohort Integrity’s +1/-1 DRM applies to any melee combat involving at least one fresh Roman Heavy Infantry.

5.2 Should all three units (7-8, 6-8, & 5-8) of a particular Cohort attack the same hex, even if from different hexes, an additional Cohort Integrity Bonus applies: shift the odds of that melee combat two columns in the Romans’ favor… for example, a 1 to 1 becomes a 3 to 1 melee attack.  There is no odds shift bonus for a Cohort on melee defense.

6.      Roman Hesitation to Attack the  Temple: No Roman unit may enter a hex of the Temple Quarter or its perimeter walls (except those hexes which are congruent to Antonia Fortress) until Turn Three.  This is a political restriction… although some legend has it that the Romans hesitated through intervention of other “forces”.

7.      Command Control:

7.1 Judean – In addition to the four (4) Leaders, each Zealot 7-7 unit may serve as a Leader for any faction’s 5-7 and 2-6 units.  Zealots, however, do not convey Rally DRM’s.

7.2 Roman – Gessius Florus was ineffective as a military commander and is consequently not represented by a Playing Piece.  What Roman Leadership there was came from the tough and highly trained officers and Centurions of Jerusalem’s Legionnaire Garrison.   Consequently…

A)    Each Heavy Infantry (7-8,6-8, 5-8) may serve as a Leader capable of providing “cc” to any non-Heavy Infantry Roman unit on the map.

B)     As Leaders, Roman Heavy Infantry may provide Rally DRM’s (although a single disrupted Heavy Infantry cannot provide itself with Rally DRM – any other undisrupted Heavy Infantry in range could: a maximum of one unit can provide Rally DRM to any Rally Die Roll.

C)    Heavy Infantry units themselves require no command control.

8.      Controlling Jerusalem City Areas (use this rule in lieu of Siege of Jerusalem 18.3):

8.1 Unless a city area is controlled by the Roman Player, per rule section 8.2, it is automatically presumed to be Judean controlled.

8.2 Roman Control of Jerusalem City Areas:

A)    The Temple – is Roman controlled at the end of any Judean Melee Phase with at least one of its edifice hexes occupied by at least one fresh Roman unit of any type.

B)     Tyropean City, New City, David’s City, Upper & Lower Cities – can be Roman controlled with at least ten (10) of an area’s unnamed built-up hexes occupied by ten (10) fresh Roman units of any type within the area’s walls.

C)    Antonia Fortress – The Romans control Antonia Fortress by preventing Judean occupation of both its edifice hexes (barracks) and at least two of its fortress hexes.

D)    Herod’s Palace – The Romans control this area by preventing Judean occupation of any of its edifice hexes by game’s end.

 

SCENARIO TIME LIMIT & VICTORY CONDITIONS

1.      Time Limit:

1.1  “The Rebellion” Scenario is not a Full Siege Game Assault Period.  Consequently, Players ignore all special ending an Assault Period early rules.

1.2  The scenario is played until Turn Five’s Judean Melee Phase’s conclusion, unless a Roman automatic victory is achieved (see 2.2A), at which time Players assess which side has won.

 

2.      Victory Conditions:

2.1    Judean Victory.

A)    The Romans control one Jerusalem city area = Judean Historic Victory.

B)     The Romans do not control any area of Jerusalem = Judean Decisive Victory.  Achieving this is an interesting historical speculation; for what could or would have happened had the Judean Revolutionary Government been able to give more immediate attention to better preparing the city and Province against inevitable Roman counter-attack?

2.2    Roman Victory

A)    Should the Romans end any game turn in control of the Temple Quarter, the game immediately ends with a Roman victory.

B)     The Romans may also win the scenario by controlling two or more Jerusalem areas by the end of play (per 8.2’s B, C, or D).

DESIGNER & PLAYERS NOTES

The Judean Army, such as it was at this time, is numerous but quite brittle (i.e. Regulars and Militia are eliminated when disrupted).  Lack of City Area Reserve Limits and Faction Leaders’ ability to raise reserve units themselves compensate for this weakness.

Although Rebel advance preparation, planning, stockpiled material, and knowledge of the city allow them to make interior escalade attacks in this scenario; it is very difficult for them to overcome any defended wall line without “clouds” of projectiles for firepower support.  If the Romans have reserves to replace their disrupted wall defenders, a Judean assault, as they found historically at Herod’s Palace, can be thwarted with relative ease.

In short, Judean strategy is responsive to what the Romans do with their “Optional Placement” units.  The Judean Player must hope for good Reserve release die rolling where and when needed: although there’s so much reserve dice rolling that things should “average out” and the Judeans find themselves with a truly huge army containing numerous units capable of attritioning down to size the qualitatively superior Roman Imperial Garrison.  There can be a bit of a dilemma knowing when Leaders are best left in the rear, raising fresh reserves, or being at the fighting front where their combat bonus could be telling.  Playing experience should indicate optimal use.

For the Romans, their deployment of “Optional Placement” units is critical.  Two basic strategies are available to the Garrison: 1) Abandon Jerusalem’s built-up sections and adopt a “cordon” defense centered on gates.  This segments the city and if Judean Reserve die rolling is poor for a particular area, greatly impede enemy offensive movement & momentum.

The other Roman Placement Strategy is: 2) Concentrate “Optional Placement” units to control a built-up area of Jerusalem.  This restricts the Judeans to only their Leader Units Reserve die rolling for that area and then no more after Turn One (assuming the Romans retain control).  The Judeans could contest this strategy by placing a Leader or two in the area; but if they get poor Reserve dice rolling, the Romans could swiftly crush the Rebels and eliminate a crucial Leader.  The downside of this approach is it exposes Roman units to some possibly most nasty close-in street fighting.

However, “The Rebellion” is the scenario where Roman Heavy Infantry possess a tremendously potent tactical superiority.  Free of “cc” (command control) restrictions, the Roman Player will find the Legionnaires virtually unstoppable if in sufficient numbers for a given situation… of course that’s the catch, since the Romans will generally find themselves heavily outnumbered.

Finally, if you’re trying to control a Jerusalem built-up area but finding the effort flagging, know when to “cut and run” back to the walls of those areas still Roman-held (i.e. Herod’s Palace).  There’s no sense giving the Judeans additional Reserve Release Die rolling by triggering regular releases, through Roman units being within a city area, in addition to those they receive via Leaders.

“DELAYED REBELLION / QUICK ROMAN RESPONSE SCENARIO”

Introduction & Historical Notes:

A fascinating aspect of our wargaming hobby is its ability to allow experimenting with “what if’s”.

The Judean Rebellion against Imperial Rome in 66 A.D. offers an interesting and plausible “what if” in-so-far as Jerusalem was concerned.  What if the Rebels delayed their assault on the city’s garrison (i.e. to better prepare or due to worse than actual in-fighting amongst Judean Factions)?

Of course the longer the Rebels waited, the greater likelihood of the Romans, who were no slouches… they did have spies & informers among the populace, discovering what was afoot and taking counter-measures.

The supposition behind this scenario is that the Judeans do delay their Jerusalem revolt, the Romans get wind of imminent armed hostilities and are in process of force marching a Legion of the Syrian Provincial Garrison south as reinforcement when the Rebels realize it’s “now or never” and take to the streets.

Can the Judeans wrest Jerusalem from Rome before the Legio XII “Fulminata” under Gallus, Governor of Syria, reinforces Florus’ garrison who could then crush the revolt?

Scenario Rules are the same as “The Rebellion” save as modified herein:

Roman Forces

Add to the Roman Order of Battle the entire XII Legion “Fulminata”, without Siege Towers, and with Gallus in command in lieu of the usual Legate (Leader Unit).  Remember, Gallus is a Commander Unit.

The following rules 1&2 apply to Legio XII “Fulminata” units. Rule 3 to the Jerusalem Garrison’s Heavy Infantry (7-8, 6-8,5-8’s)

1.      Legio XII Heavy Infantry Units: Due to the effects of their long forced march and unfamiliarity with the city, the Legion’s Heavy Infantry do not have special DRM modifiers or Leader ability like Jerusalem’s Garrison Heavy Infantry.  Treat XII Legion’s Heavy Infantry as in the regular Siege of Jerusalem game.

2.      Arrival: XII Legion’s arrival is at the Roman Player’s discretion subject to the following Table.

2.1 Once a map edge is chosen, all XII Legion units must arrive from that map edge.

      2.2 The Roman Player, to keep the Judeans guessing, may delay arrival of the Legion. 

            For example, the entire XII Legion could arrive from North Map Edge Turn Four.    

3. Jerusalem Garrison Heavy Infantry: In this scenario, Garrison Heavy Infantry only receive the two column melee combat shift when all three units of a cohort attack out of the same hex.  Other than this one change, all Rebellion Scenario rules for the Garrison’s Heavy Infantry continue to apply.

Judean Forces

1.      Add to the Judean Order of Battle all Cauldron units of Siege of Jerusalem’s counter mix.

1.1  On a Reserve Activation Table (18.611) die roll result of six (6) a Cauldron may be taken in lieu of a Zealot 7-7 unit.  A new Cauldron unit may be placed, subject to stacking limits, within any Judean-controlled Bastion/Bastion Gate or Fort/Fortress Gate adjacent to the city area Reserve Release rolled for.

1.2  Like Judean 5-7 & 2-6 units, Cauldrons are eliminated rather than disrupted (whether from fire or melee combat) in this scenario.  They receive Command Control as Regulars/Militia.

2.      Use the following JUDEAN RESERVE ACTIVATION DIE ROLL MODIFIERS (DRM’S) for this scenario.  All DRM’s are cumulative.

SPECIAL RULES (Remember, all rules are the same as “The Rebellion” scenario save as modified herein.)

1. Units Outside Jerusalem:

1.1  The Roman Garrison, awaiting relief and reinforcement by Gallus’ Legion, is assumed to be under orders not to leave Jerusalem.  Conversely, concern with the imminent arrival of XII Legion would keep the Judeans within the city as well.  Consequently…

1.2  Until at least one unit of XII Legion is placed upon the map, no Judean or Roman Jerusalem Garrison unit may voluntarily leave the city’s interior or wall hexes except as a result of melee combat.  Once a retreating unit is outside the city, the owning Player may do with it as per all normal Siege of Jerusalem rules. It is then under no special restriction.

2. Time Limit: The scenario is played until Turn Seven’s Judean Melee Phase conclusion (day’s end); at which time victory condition is assessed.  Ignore all special ending an

     Assault Period early rules.

 

3. Victory Conditions are solely based on how many areas of Jerusalem under Roman  control at the conclusion of the scenario.

    3.1 Instant Roman Victory: All play immediately ends should any Judean Melee Phase            conclude with the Romans in control of The Temple.

    3.2 Otherwise, play through Turn Seven’s Judean Melee Phase’s.  Then…

A)    Romans control any three (3) Jerusalem areas = Roman Victory

B)     Romans control any two (2) Jerusalem areas = Draw (This is the worst possible result for the city’s populace.)

C)    Romans control one or no Jerusalem area = Judean Victory.

PLAYERS NOTES

  Within the group of gamers with whom I tested these scenarios, the “Delayed Rebellion / Quick Roman Response” is one of our favorite Siege of Jerusalem scenarios.

To be sure, the Judeans have lots of unit raising die/dice rolling as is the case with “The Rebellion” scenario (just have a healthy handful of dice available).  However, Players will notice that with both “The Rebellion” and “Delayed Rebellion / Quick Roman Response” scenarios this dice rolling takes care of itself by mid-game, when most Judean Pool Units are on the map.  Thereafter, regardless of the Judeans’ potential for new units… there’ll simply be inadequate pieces in the “Pool”.  It’s then a question of whether those units on the map are in the right place at the right time; and that’s where the fascination of the “Delayed Rebellion / Quick Roman Response” scenario can really come into play.

For this is a scenario giving both the Judean and Roman sides opportunities to be on the strategic and tactical offense.  As with “The Rebellion”, the Romans initial placement of Jerusalem Garrison units is critical.

In this scenario, foreknowledge of XII Legion’s eventual arrival makes a “Cordon Defense” a viable Roman strategic option.  The value of Garrison units surviving in Yafo Gate, Women’s Gate or the southern Gate of the Essenes when XII Legion arrives should be readily apparent. 

The Judeans’ task is complicated by having to deal with Rome’s Jerusalem Garrison while simultaneously securing city gates and walls against XII Legion.  If a gate cannot be seized and held outright, the Judeans should mass as many 5-7 Regulars as they can gather around and behind it.  This may dissuade a XII Legion attack, or at least slow it down.  Occasionally, the Judeans may be successful luring the XIIth into attacking from an approach it will have great difficulty exploiting.

As for the Romans… I’ll let others write suggestions as to “best play”. 

 

“THE FIRST ASSAULT PERIOD SCENARIO”

 Introduction & Historical Notes:

When researching and designing an ancients game, which Siege of Jerusalem certainly is, alternate historical interpretations can be explored.  Furthermore, this “First Assault Period Scenario” is a kind of “Full Siege Game” unto itself… resolvable in a single Assault Period.  So if you and your opponent(s) don’t have time or inclination to play a “Full Siege Game” through, this should serve as something of an alternative.  It will certainly reveal insights to many “Full Siege Game” playing considerations and provide a gaming session with the full scope and grandeur of attacking one of the Ancient World’s best fortified cities… Jerusalem!

The design of the boxed Avalon Hill Siege of Jerusalem “Full Siege Campaign Game”

Allows the Romans complete freedom of action in deciding how much time to spend mining.  With experience, many Roman Players will elect to use as little time possible, expressed in “weeks before Assault” on Siege of Jerusalem’s Preparation Chart to achieve 3 or 4 main mine shafts as preparation for the 1^st Assault Period.

In this respect the Roman Player is in the role of Titus.  However, with this scenario we’ll put the Roman Player in the role of Titus’ Chief of Staff, Tiberius Alexander, and compel closer adherence to Titus’, as well as many of this officers, historical attitude towards Jerusalem and its Judean defenders.

This does not invalidate the “Full Siege Campaign Game’s” design approach.  It is, along with Judean “Increased Factionalism” rules built into this “First Assault Period” scenario, another alternative interpretation of the event.  These two new design elements are:

1.      Roman Confidence:  Many of the Legionnaires, as well as their officers, believed either through a misguided interpretation of Jerusalem’s defenses, their enemies’ capabilities & determination, or just plain arrogance; that four fully readied Imperial Roman Legions would swiftly crush Judean resistance within the city.  Consequently, little time was spent “Preparing” (at least in relative Siege of Jerusalem game terms).

                                  AND

2.   Increased Judean Factionalism: Although we won’t go so far as having different factions actually fight one another; there’s little doubt that historically Judean factions concern with politics external to the fight against Rome did impact Rebel military effectiveness.  In this scenario’s interpretation, no neighborhood of the city wishes to be without defenders and vociferously protests reduction or loss of their  protection. 

    

      This is reflected by the Inactive/Active Factions & Judean Initial Placement rules.   The Romans’ knowledge of the Judean initial placement’s basic pattern reflects that  they have some idea of their enemy’s deployment through their own observations,  spies, and/or Judean Roman-Sympathizers.

 

Roman & Judean Forces with their Set-Up on Map

1.      Refer to “The Full Siege Campaign Game” Card provided with Siege of Jerusalem for both sides Order of Battle details.

2.      Conduct the Card’s set-up steps 3 (Judean secretly records artillery positions) and then step 5 (Roman sets-up units on or off map) ONLY.  NEXT . . .

3.      The Roman Player may now complete one main mine shaft resolution.  There are no Judean repairs possible.  No other “Assault Period Interphase” actions take place.  Use regular Siege of Jerusalem mining rules.

4.      After the Romans have set-up and resolved their one main mine shaft, the Judeans place their surviving artillery in their pre-recorded positions and place their four factions units on the map, one faction for each listed deployment zone:

4.1  The deployment zones are:

A)    New City

B)     Antonia Fortress / Temple Quarter / City of David

C)    Lower City

D)    Upper City / Herod’s Palace / Fortress Triangle / Yafo Gate Complex

4.2  Every gate, bastion, and fortress hex of a deployment zone’s external-to-Jerusalem wall perimeter must, if possible, be occupied by at least one Judean unit.  Garrison (purple) units may fulfill this requirement, as permitted, in lieu of faction units.  The Judean Player may assign Zealot 7-7 units, as desired, to supplement a faction’s 5-7’s & 2-6’s.

4.3  The Judeans must also garrison, with at least one unit, all internal gate hexes leading into a deployment zone.  Should one of these gates be garrisonable by more than one faction, which faction occupies it is the Judean Player’s choice.

4.4  After all garrison hexes are occupied by at least one Judean unit of any type, excess units may be added to each hex at the Judean Player’s discretion per stacking limits.

5.      SPECIAL RULES: INACTIVE / ACTIVE JUDEAN FACTIONS – To reflect the Judean forces’ poor threat response times due to command control problems in this scenario, not reflected in the regular “Full Siege Campaign Game”, all faction units are inactive at the start of play.  Zealot units and artillery are exempt from this restriction.  Inactive faction units, 5-7’s, 2-6’s and their Leaders, are flipped to their disrupted side to indicate this status.

5.1  A faction is immediately activated, with all its units free to move and fight normally, the instant one of its units is attacked by fire or melee combat (can effect only a single inactive faction) and/or a Judean Rally Phase begins with…

A)    An area of Jerusalem under Roman control (effects all inactive factions) or

B)     A Roman unit occupies any interior hex of The Temple Quarter (effects all inactive factions), or

C)    Any Roman unit is within three hexes of one of a particular faction’s initially deployed units.  In this case, all of that faction’s units are activated (only effects the units of the faction(s) within range of the triggering Romans).

5.2  An inactive faction may partially mobilize its units during each Judean Rally Phase

A)    If there’s at least one Roman unit within any Jerusalem area’s exterior wall perimeter (Temple Quarter exempted, since as noted before, a Roman unit within its wall perimeter activates everything), each faction with inactive units makes a 2 dice roll.

B)     Otherwise, a faction makes a one die mobilization die roll each Judean Rally Phase, starting with Turn One.

C)    The result of a mobilization die/dice roll is the number of inactive faction units flipped to their FRESH side.  The units may be freely selected by the Judean Player from those eligible.  They may then move and attack normally.

6.      VICTORY CONDITIONS: The Romans automatically lose the game, resulting in a Decisive Judean win, if they sustain 400 or more casualty victory points.  The Roman Army mutinies after such grievous casualties (see Siege of Jerusalem rule 18.91).

Otherwise, this scenario’s victory conditions strictly pertain only to the percentage of Jerusalem under Roman control at play’s end.

7.      Time Limit: Play the “First Assault Period” scenario as a regular “Full Siege Game” Assault Period in-so-far as its time limit is concerned (Siege of Jerusalem rule 18.1).

PLAYERS NOTES

Here are some broad observations from prior playings of this scenario.

A Decisive Roman Victory, what Titus was going for historically, seems to have three (3) possible strategies:

A)    Capture New City and, believe it or not, The Lower City: This isn’t as bad an approach as it may initially seem, although the Romans will have to move fast and hope for some poor Judean faction activation and Reserve Release die/dice rolling for this to really work.

B)     Assault the Temple through its eastern exterior and northern (via New City) walls:  This strategy will likely result in a bloodbath of problematic outcome for the Romans since this scenario provides but a single main mine shaft.

C)    Capture New City, Tyropean City, and Herod’s Palace:  This seems doable, but Roman resources and the scenario’s time limit make this a “toughie”.

The difficulty of achieving a Roman Decisive Victory, controlling 25% of the city, is as it should be.  This goal seemed so elusive that the group with whom I playtested this scenario believed it best for the Romans to be content to strive for a Substantive Victory: 20% control of Jerusalem.  This is still no easy task, but seems more attainable.

Our strategy duplicated Titus’ historical approach.  All four Legions are flung at New City, with forces directed to impede the flow of Judean reinforcements by seizing and blocking key wall and road hexes.  This isolates New City’s sparse defenders.  Moving swiftly across New City’s open ground and roads, the Romans should be able to strike Tyropean City’s wall’s by Turn Four or Five and hopefully take control of that city area by Assault Period end.

The Romans did decline the Judeans kind offer to concede New City (Siege of Jerusalem rule 18.11) and immediately conclude the Assault Period.  Of course, should you as the Roman Player succeed in grabbing control of Tyropean City at the end of any Judean Melee Phase while simultaneously holding New City, end the Assault Period instantly per rule 18.1… certainly do so if the goal is a Substantive Roman Victory.

An alternative strategy is going for New City and Herod’s Palace for the Marginal Victory. 

Both sides should notice that with “The First Assault Period” scenario’s restrictions on Judean units initial placement, it’s possible for the Romans to escalade attack up some Jerusalem exterior walls on the game’s very first turn.

Will leave observations and suggestions concerning the Judean side for this scenario to others.  Judean Players should take heart as “The First Assault Period” scenario is designed to reflect historical forces in place.  It isn’t that easy for your Roman Player adversaries to do better than Titus did in 70 A.D., he only took New City, but it is possible to do better, so watch out!

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The following is a Siege of Jerusalem Sequence of Play Aid developed recently by Bruno Sinigaglio and reviewed by Don Greenwood. It is intended to assist players with the complex activities occurring before the start of the campaign game and during the Interphases. It will also eliminate any confusion resulting from the incorrect sequence provided in General 26-4.

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Full Siege Campaign Game. Sequence of Preparation prior to 1st Assault Period (AP).

1. Roman declares if a Ramp (18.8, 19.4) is being built, yes or no. If yes, 1st hex of ramp is placed.
2. Judean secretly records the positions of his artillery.
3. Roman declares number of weeks of preparation. Victory Points (VP) for Judean are noted.
4. Roman declares if mining will be performed. If No go to Step 5. If Yes, follow procedure a thru e below.
   1. Roll for number of shafts using the appropriate week column on the Prep Chart (19.2).
   2. Position each mine shaft using a blank counter.
   3. Select a shaft, resolve engineering die roll for hexes affected and determine elevated hex damage for each.
   4. Select another shaft (if any), repeat step c above, etc. Continue until damage for each shaft is completed.
   5. At this point, Roman must declare if AP will begin or if he will delay one week for further mining. If he declares "Immediate Assault," go to Step 5. If he delays for one more week, follow procedure f thru i below.
   6. Judean VP are increased to the next level indicated in the Prep Chart.
   7. Judean rolls one die and applies result to repair damaged wall hexes per 19.6.
   8. Judean secretly repositions his surviving artillery. Judean artillery in hexes breached was destroyed.
   9. Repeat above procedure a thru e again.
5. Roman rolls for Armored Towers using the appropriate week column on the Prep Chart.
6. Roman completes Ramp, if yes was declared in Step 1.
7. Roman sets up his army per Setup Rule 5 of the Campaign Scenario, and per 19.21 if mining was used.
8. Judean places his artillery on board.
9. Judean sets up the rest of the army per Setup Rule 6 of the Campaign Scenario.
10. Judean resolves free Fire Phase per Setup Rule 7 of the Campaign Scenario Card.
11. Roman begins 1st AP with Rally Phase (4.1).

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Full Siege Campaign Game. Interphase Sequence after each Assault Period (AP).

1. Check External Influence Table (18.7) to see if Romans control enough Levy value for siege to continue.
2. Calculate VP to Judean for Roman casualties during previous AP (18.91).
3. Calculate VP to Judean for escaped units during previous AP (18.922).
4. Calculate VP to Judean for redoubts at end of 5th AP (18.93).
5. Roman removes all surviving units on the board to areas he controls (18.3 and 18.31-18.35). All become fresh.
6. Both players reclaim eliminated leaders (not Commanders) from the dead (18.52, 18.6). Reduce CC range.
7. Judean places blank in each Fort/Fortress (2.11) occupied by a Judean unit at the end of the previous AP.
8. Judean removes and sets aside surviving units that were on the board at the end of the AP. All become fresh.
9. Calculate Judean replacements to be randomly drawn from the dead pile per 18.6. Draw and set aside. All fresh.
10. Judean sets aside reinforcements from Areas that fell to the Romans in previous AP per 18.62.
11. Roman declares if a Ramp (18.8, 19.4) is being built, yes or no. If yes, 1st hex of ramp is placed.
12. Judean secretly records the positions of his artillery for next AP.
13. Judean places a unit of any type in bypassed fortresses (noted by blanks) he wishes to occupy at start of next AP.
14. Roman declares number of weeks of preparation for next AP. Victory Points (VP) for Judean are noted.
15. Judean rolls two dice, adds Prep Chart DRM, and applies result to repair damaged wall hexes per 19.6.
16. Roman declares if mining will be performed. If No go to Step 17. If Yes, follow procedure a thru e below.
    1. Roll for number of shafts using the appropriate week column on the Prep Chart (19.2).
    2. Position each mine shaft using a blank counter.
    3. Select a shaft, resolve engineering die roll for hexes affected and determine elevated hex damage for each.
    4. Select another shaft (if any), repeat step c above, etc. Continue until damage for each shaft is completed.
    5. At this point, Roman must declare if AP will begin or if he will delay one week for further mining. If he declares "Immediate Assault," go to Step 17. If he delays for one more week, follow procedure f thru i below.
    6. Judean VP are increased to the next level indicated in the Prep Chart.
    7. Judean rolls one die and applies result to repair damaged wall hexes per 19.6.
    8. Judean secretly repositions his surviving artillery. Judean artillery in hexes breached was destroyed.
    9. Repeat above procedure a thru e again.
17. Roman adds total number of weeks expended on siege so far. If total exceeds 25, siege ends (18.7, 19.1).
18. Roman declares if he will remove 1 Siege Tower and 1 Ram in order to receive 1 Armored Tower (18.51).
19. Roman declares if he will trade a new Armored Tower for 3 destroyed Siege Towers and/or Rams (19.5).
20. Roman rolls for new Armored Towers (19.5) using the appropriate week column on the Prep Chart.
21. Roman trades a new Armored Tower from Step 20 in accordance with declaration in Step 19 (if applicable).
22. Roman completes Ramp, if yes was declared in Step 11.
23. Romans may breach one controlled elevated hex per week of preparation expended (19.7).
24. Roman draws replacements from the dead pile as indicated on the Prep Chart (18.5). All are fresh.
25. Roman sets up per Setup Rule 5 of the Campaign Scenario, per 8.4 for arty, and per 19.21 if mining was used.
26. Judean constructs new staircases per 18.38.
27. Judean places his artillery on board
28. Judean adds units to fortresses he garrisoned in Step 13. Units are available from those set aside in Steps 8-10.
29. Judean abandons bypassed fortresses he garrisoned in Step 13. The recalled units are available for Step 30.
30. Judean sets up the rest of the units set aside in Steps 8-10 and 29 in controlled city hexes (18.3 and 18.31-18.35).
31. Judean resolves free Fire Phase per Setup Rule 7 of the Campaign Scenario Card.
32. Roman begins new assault phase with Rally Phase (4.1).

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Siege of Jerusalem clarifications (unofficial)

Question #1:
1. I found the rules a bit vague on missile fire "D" results on cauldrons. Do cauldrons go through the rout / panic stuff or are they eliminated if already disrupted? The rules say that they are do not get replaced with an Elim marker, but I can't tell if this also means they are an exception to the rout/panic stuff.

Answers & Commentary:
From: hansen@math.gwu.edu (Clifford Hansen)
Date: 22-APR-1994 15:09:03
Description: Re: Siege of Jerusalem

Cauldrons are eliminated by a second D result. THey do not leave ELIM markers behind. They are treated as artillery for the purposes of rallying - rolling for them is optional. As I understand it, they do not have to move to refuge if routed or paniced. However, if panicked they do affect defense of their hex.

From: bas@phys.uva.nl (Bas de Bakker)

The rule that says that Artillery is routed, not eliminated, on a second D makes an exception for Cauldrons. They are just removed when disrupted again.

Bas.

Question #2:
2. Do routed/panicked artillery have to move towards Refuge? How about the Judean artillery which can't move. I assume if the artillery can move, it must move to refuge, but if it can't, it just stays put.

Answers & Commentary:
From: hansen@math.gwu.edu (Clifford Hansen)

Judean artillery does not; Roman artillery does. [I could be wrong on this]

Cliff Hansen
hansen@math.gwu.edu

From: bas@phys.uva.nl (Bas de Bakker)

Sure, why not.

Bas.

Question #3:
3. Does the complete cohort drm apply when the hex is a tower w/2 pushers and 1 on top? How about an escalade? I've been assuming that the entire cohort must attack/defend as a group for this to apply.

Answers & Commentary:
From: hansen@math.gwu.edu (Clifford Hansen)

You've got this one right. THe cohort bonus only applies when the full cohort is involved in melee.

Cliff Hansen
hansen@math.gwu.edu

From: bas@phys.uva.nl (Bas de Bakker)

That's how we play it, I'm not sure if there's an explicit rule about this.

Bas.

Rule Clarifications

• What is the missile drm for the below missile attack?
  • missile untis A,B,C, each in a different hex, fire through tower Z at hex H.
  • missile untis D,E,F, each in a different hex, fire through tower Y at hex H.
  Answer : -2

 House Rules

• Combat retreats need not be the most direct path toward Refuge, but instead 'away from enemy in the general direction of refuge'. Experience was that forcing the retreat to refuge gave some "daft" results, the only wart on an an excellent system. Wart removed.

 

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THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM. 70 A. D.

"ERRATA SHEET"

The Siege of Jerusalem, 70 A.D. is the first attempt made by Historical Perspectives, namely Steve Weiss and myself, to produce a "Professional Game" (We both have been designing our own games, kept at home in closets, for years. This simulation game is the first one we designed that we felt good enough for exposure to the rest of the hobby at large.)

In any event, as the final rulebook copy was being proofread; I began to be plagued by the thought that perhaps certain things were not explained in the Rules as clearly as they might have been. Consequently, you now have this "Errata Sheet" before you.
 

1. The Mapboard - although the Terrain Effects Chart mentions it, there are two places on the mapboard where the delineation of exit/entrance bexsides were forgotten. One of the towers of Antonia Fortress lacks exit/entrance hexsides as does a tower of "The Fortress Triangle" (to the north of Herod's Palace). In both cases, exit/entrance hexsides are in order for all approaches into the interior of the area. There may be bastions or fortresses without any E/E hexsides. Remember, ALL EXTERIOR PERIMETER CURTAIN WALL HEXES OF THE TEMPLE ARE CONSIDERED BASTIONS.

2. The Playing Pieces - The die we used for The Siege of Jerusalem, 70 A.D unit counters provided for 400 playing pieces per sheet. Even this was not enough for all the Playing Aide Counters weld have liked to have. A bloody Assault Period or Scenario may well require more "Disruption" status indicator markers than we provided you with. It is easy to draft more of these using counters from another game or the reverse side of unused counters from your Siege of Jerusalem,70 A.D
game. Fifty more "Disruption" Status Indicator Markers should do the trick. We are sorry for any inconvenience this might cause.

3. RULE CLARIFICATIONS

A) Rules of Game Mechanics - A Roman Infantry unit (i.e. a 6-8 or 3-9) which begins its movement phase on a hex containing a base unit is the only circumstance of a unit being able to immediately move from the "base" into an adjacent, vacant of the enemy, wall hex and no further under the ESCALADE ATTACK RULES. (also referred to as "scalinq attacks").

Rebel units brought into play through the rolling of a die on the Rebel Raising Table (RRT) may be brought onto the mapboard in ANY un-named built-up area hexagon; not only those which are behind Roman lines as the rules presently, and erroneously state.

B) Rules for the Full Siege Game - THE ESCAPE FROM JERUSALEM RULES are triggered at the instant Rebel control of viable replacement areas of Jerusalem falls to 25% OR LESS. The fifty points tacked onto the Roman Point total at the end of the game, should the Eliezer ben Yair unit still be on the mapboard, is based upon the assumption that Elizer will always escape the city at the end of the Siege should he survive, to cause the Romans further grief at Masada. The Eliezer ben Yair unit, if eliminated, is replaceable along with all other lost Rebel units; but if lost, the 50 point penalty for that unit's survival upon the map at the end of the game is ignored (should the Rebel Player be lucky enough to pick it out randomly from all his units in the Dead Box) even if the unit itself is replaced.

C) Assault On the Temple Scenario - Just to repeat, at the beginning of the scenario the Roman Player received 150 Wall Reduction Points. These points may then be applied against the rebel wall perimeter in any manner the Roman Player sees fit. However, none of these points may be applied against the interior wall of the Temple Quarter (i.e. the wall surrounding the Temple Building itself). In addition to the 150 Wall Reduction Points, the Roman Player may place three "breach hexes" in any wall hexes he controls (so long as the hex is not immediately adjacent to a Rebel controlled hex or Area).

D) The Assault of Gallus/ Roman Quick Response Scenarios- both of these scenarios have a Legion entering the game from a mapboard edge. In both games the Legion receives an Initial Placement move (fully defined in the rules for The Full Siege Game). However, in the Assault of Gallus Scenario, units of the Legion may take their Initial Placement to the full limits of their movement allowance and may end such a move anywhere. They are not subject to the restriction, present in the Quick Roman Response and Full Siege Game of having to halt an Initial Placement Move when within nine hexes of a rebel unit (i.e. just out of maximum range for a 5-7 unit). To repeat, save for the Gallus Scenario.

no initial placement move for the Romans, or rebels, may end within the maximum range of a 5-7 unit for the Romans. or a 3-9 unit for the Rebels.

E) A Brief Historical Note: The Full Siege of Jerusalem, 70 A.D. depicts the Roman attacks made on the city during the period from May-Sept. 70 A.D. The Romans began the siege considerably earlier, in late 69. However, the Roman Civil War of 69-70 interrupted the conduct of the war in Judea while the Flavians were busy asserting their control in Rome. By May, 70 A.D., Vespasian's throne was secure enough so that he could give Titus the O.K. to finish off the matter of the Judean Rebellion. It is at this point that the Full Siege Game begins.

F) We may not have covered all possible contingencies in writing the rules. Situations may arise in your play of the game that are not covered in any of the existing rules. Should this occur, you are urged to come up with your own solution within the spirit of the rules as presently written. Of course, should you desire a written response from the designers of the game we will most assuredly cooperate and send you a quick reply. We believe we have done a thorough job... but one never can know for sure when it comes to these things. The entire game is a reflection of the designer's impression of the historical event based upon years of research and interest in the subject. Comments are welcome.

FRED SCHACHTER

 

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