The Battle of Marathon, 490 B.C.

An expansion for The Great Battles of Alexander, this module is found in RBM/GMT's C3i Magazine Nr 1. It is the first C3i magazine scenario for Great Battles of History. As with other games in the series, it uses a combat system that emphasizes weapon/armor superiority and maneuverability over quantity. According to designer Mark Herman, "Hoplite warfare is a rather stolid affair. In most battles it's a question of whether Phalanx "a" can outpush and outsnarl Phalanx "b". This, for the most part, is why we chose not to begin our Great Battles of History series with something like HOPLITE: Classical Greek Warfare. With only a few exceptions, the scenario pickings alternate between dreary and grim. Marathon, one of the pivotal battles in classical history, is one of those exceptions." Marathon features the first bloody meeting between the great Persian Empire and the emerging power of Athens. The Persian army utilized light infantry and light cavalry from across their cosmopolitan empire. The Athenians used the famed Greek hoplites.