Lost Battles: Magnesia 190BC

Rome began with Eumenes who forced the withdrawal of the Scythed Chariots, no one else suffered from this flight from the field but the continued combats wore down the levy light infantry. The Roman veteran cavalry swiftly dispatched the Galatian levy horse on the Seleucid left, this caused the yet to be bloodied levy heavy infantry on the Seleucid left to withdraw. Fighting in the centre was inconclusive while the Seleucid levy skirmishers on the right became spent. 

The Seleucids countered, somewhat on the back foot, the Roman advance had pressed the Seleucid in the rear of the battlefield so they needed to push the Romans back. They started in the centre the Seleucid Light Infantry pressed the velites back being able to retreat behind the legions they avoided a second hit. The Seleucid phalangites used their depth to push the Roman legions, there were two successful attacks one had to all out attack by becoming spent, hoping that the greater numbers of Seleucids would pressure the Romans with less troops, causing veteran legionaries to become spent. The second was also an all out attack but this time the phalangites in their effort expended two veteran legionaries as well as themselves. The Seleucid left after seeming quite brittle pushed back hard, Eumenes guard (who forgot to rally) took a hit along with the Roman allied cavalry and the veteran Cretan archers.

The Romans after taking some hits knew they had to press their advantage, having control of most of the battlefield was dampening the spirits of the Seleucid troops just as much as the damp conditions were dampening bow strings. Roman velites pushed themselves almost to breaking point to shatter the Seleucid levy skirmishers. Another Seleucid skirmisher swarm was shattered, the resultant morale of the Seleucids saw a levy heavy infantry rout and the withdrawal of an average heavy cavalry and the levy cataphracts. The flight inspired the withdrawal of last light levy troops in the centre.

While the cavalry on the left withdrew to fight another day, the remaining troops felt the pressure, they had to start breaking Roman troops before the Roman right regrouped to attack their flank. The elephants pressed some veteran legionaries inflicting a hit as Antiochus finally got into the fight his Agema wrecked havoc on the Roman lines with allied legionares and veterans becoming spent. The cataphracts followed in the carnage and in their attempt to emulate the kings guard exerted themselves inflicting damage on two veteran legions.

The Romans used to dealing with elephants and inflicted a double hit the levy phalangites taking the brunt of the elephants wrath. A following veteran legion finished off the elephants and the levy pikes routed from the field. Antiochus himself was under threat the Agema received a hit but the king rallied his men.

The king knew this was his last chance, after his men rallied they once again undertook a thunderous charge destroying veteran legionaries and the Velities sheltering behind them. Roman morale held despite the looming threat of light cavalry to their rear who appeared after skirting along by the river. The Silvershields brought their strength to bear shattering average and veteran legionaries, this caused the remaining veteran legionaries to rout as well at the velites in the centre. The light cavalry now headed to threaten the Roman centre but the phalanxes did not make any headway.

By now the victoriuos roman right was geared to strike the flank of the phalanx and after the final phalanx became spent a unit of pikes were shattered causing the rout of the remaining two and the levy light cavalry quietly withdrew, the victorious Roman right now swept towards the Seleucid camp, the Roman centre now thier opposing troops dissipated, turned to finish the Silvershields with another shattered phalanx and another two routing units after a attack from their left flank. Antiochus could only withdraw, the cataphracts routed following the kings decision and Antiochus he hoped to rally his army to fight again, and that the Romans were bloodied enough to slow their advance into Asia Minor!       

Rome 

Shattered: 1 x ALE, 2 x VLE, 1 x ALI  

Rout: 1 x VLE, 1 x ALI 

Spent: 3 x VLE, 1 x AHC, 1 x VHC, 1 x VLI                                      
74 Seleucid VP (94 with handicap)

Seleucids 
Shattered: 1 x LHC, 2 x LLI. 1 x IEL, 2 x APH

Rout: 1 x LHI, 1 x LPH, 4 x APH, 2 x ACA

Withdrawn: 1 x SCH, 1 x LHI, 1 x AHC, 1 x LCA, AL + VHC
109 Roman VP

Clear Roman victory (Narrow victory with handicap)

Very Bad Day in Cisalpine Gaul

I made a couple of army lists for Strength and Honour, based loosely on the Battle of Trebia. I also wanted both armies to have a chance at winning so I used the points system to buy roughly equal amounts of troops. Also based on my Lost Battle refights of Trebia I wanted the Roman infantry to outclass the Punic while the Punic Cavalry would outclass the Romans. By the time I added the Generals the points cost was skewed towards the Carthaginians who ended up with 6 generalship points to Rome's 1.    

Both Armies advanced, the Carthaginian Infantry did so expecting to be pushed back, hoping the advance would give them space to fall back, they just needed to hold on enough for the cavalry to encircle to Roman lines. The legions advanced steadily confident in their superior combat abilities the cavalry just had to hold long enough to break the Punic lines. 

The cavalry wings advanced both Roman wings were out classed and the Roman left wing was set to be overwhelmed by flanking Numidians. However the Equites despite overwhelming odds and losing most combats held their nerve and kept in the fight even successfully defending against a Crunch. Mago had to use his generalship point to avoid losing an attack combat despite having the advantage. This prevented the Numidians from getting around the flanks, the Equites falling back frustrated the efforts of the flanking force. On the other flank the Gallic cavalry pushed back the Roman horse although it wasn't all plain sailing, a Grind result frustrated the Punic momentum on the flanks. Eventually the Romans were disordered and began to retire they were on the brink of being destroyed!

As the cavalry wings of the Romans were being pushed back towards their rear, the legions marched fourth Sempronious' emphasis on attack proved to be the true Roman way. Attack after attack went Romes way, the Carthaginians burned through Defence points in rerolling terrible Discipline rolls. The Romans called a Homunculous Est! Hannibal used a generalship point to remove a card before the reveal. Despite this the Carthaginian army became fatigued and that would make the results of bad rolls worse. Eventually the terrible Discipline rolls with no options for rerolls lead the various infantry units to become disordered units began to retire, and another Homuculous Est! was called but Hannibal burned a Generalship Point to cancel it, merely delaying the inevitable. After another round of combats Punic infantry contingents went from retiring to routing with 3 units routing 1 retiring and another disordered Sempronius' victory was complete and it was a victory worthy of a triumph! A whopping 42 for the Carthaginians after so many disasters and the Romans save for a crumbling but hobbling on right flank and 6 legions losing their velites were still only sat on 13 break points.

With Hannibal a fugitive in Cisalpine Gaul would it be a matter of time before a Gallic tribe hand him over to Sempronius for leniency. Those that were waiting to see what happed after the battle would undoubtedly stop sharpening their spears and send gifts of thanks for repelling the invader from Cisalpine Gaul.     

Strength and Honour Redux

I've started to get back into my main Ancients project. Its nice to get back into it and fancied digging out my Newline Designs 20mm ancients and setting up a battle. Its been just shy of a year since I set a up my last game  of Strength & Honour, its difficult getting the time and energy to set these things up! I was hoping that the flow of the rules and the various gaming aids would help me pick up the game back up quickly. I feel like overall I did but the following report has missed out the defence dice roll! Not sure how I forgot that but it wasn't game breaking (I think). I was also getting mixed up with discipline tests and the result roll of failed discipline test, this favoured the Greeks, going forward I may make a step by step cheat/check sheet to make sure I haven't missed a step, or get more games under my belt so that I'm more familiar with the rules. I also ran out of time (I'm working on something to aid a quicker set up) but I muddled my way through to some kind of conclusion which I will recount best I can below. Overall I was trying to do too much at once, lessons were learnt.  

The Army list below, based on the Pontic and Roman Warlord lists, however the figures are  Seleucid and Polybian era Romans. They seemed to be equally matched on points I added fortified camps last minute but didn't update the Army break point, I did also add 1 cavalry unit per side and did update the break point to 16 each. The Romans already having an edge of command points, having gained more favourable auguries than the Greeks, who in turned favoured more defence options while the Romans had a more even spread.  

Rosters before amendments 

The battlefield; every other square was marked out
with bits of terrain and took a while to set up
I think a more permanent solution is required! 

In general I deployed the cavalry independently with at least 1 square from the main line without spending command points just to make the winner of any cavalry fights have a bit further to flank attack anyone. Also the skirmishers were given to 4 units 1 skirmish line each in the hope that the skirmishers would dissipate quicker.

The Greeks deployed their best cavalry with a ferocious charge and their general on their right flank. Then the Imitation Legion protected the flank of the Veteran Phalanx (Silver Shields) 2 units of Regular Phalanx followed whose flank was protected by thureophoroi and out on the left flank was more cavalry. Various light troops screened the troops except the thureophoroi. 

The Romans mirrored the Greek Cavalry although were at a disadvantage on their left flank, the Legions were deployed to counter the Greeks, so the Veteran Legion on the left to counter 2 units of Greeks then 2 Experienced Legions and the Raw Legion on the right. Each Legion had a skirmish screen.     

Greeks arrayed 

Roman Legions wait for battle

The Greeks made the first move and they stormed the field, both cavalry units moved 4 spaces while the infantry moved 3, only the Veteran Pikes lagged moving 2 spaces.

The Romans must have been confounded by this advance as only the Raw Legion advanced 1 square. At least the cavalry moved ahead 2 spaces beforehand. 

Greeks advancing enthusiastically 

Romans stubbornly remain in place
not wanting to rush into that pike hedge

Raw Legion advances while the more experienced troops hold
back.

The Greeks continued a steady advance making sure not to get strung out and maintain a united front. Their cavalry advanced cautiously to hopefully get the first charge. The Roman Legions probably shamed by the enthusiasm of the Raw Legion began to advance. Roman allied Cavalry on the left flank failed to move probably intimidated by the Greek general's elite unit. However the Roman cavalry on their right did advance.

The Greeks continue to seize the field
the Romans begrudgingly advance 

The Greeks marshal their forces to form a continuous line knowing an unbroken front is their best chance against these seasoned legionaries! The Greek general lead his cavalry in a ferocious charge, advancing against the Roman allied cavalry, first blood to the Greeks and the first setback for the Romans. The allied cavalry fall back and the Greeks hold back to prepare another charge. The Greek left show no sign of movement!

Not wishing again to suffer a ferocious charge the Roman allied cavalry inflict their own charge inflicting a crunch and pushing the Greeks back 3 spaces. The Roman cavalry on their right have a similar success advancing on the Greeks pushing them back 2 spaces. 

The Greeks then advanced their line, steadily, but still there were lagging troops, only the Imitation Legion on the Greek right. The general lead his cavalry and through personal example (burning a Command Point) advanced against the Roman allied cavalry, the Roman allies' discipline failed them, even after some command effort! They ended up in disorder.

The Greek cavalry on their left flank inflicted a crunch on the Romans, the Romans failed their discipline, in an effort to save the situation the Roman command tried to rally the troops only to fumble and worsen the situation, snake eyes and a critical failure! The Roman right cavalry wing then routed from the field dealing a disaster to the Roman army.

The Veteran Legion after some coaxing from their accompanying general, charged the Veteran Phalanx, the pikemen had their discipline tested, but only held it together with the help of the Greek command. Both formations' skirmishers were dispersed in the clash. The rest of the legions steadily advanced to close the lines. The remaining Roman cavalry had to redress their ranks or face the full brunt of the Greek cavalry charge unprepared, they were successful!

The Greeks then prioritised reforming their battle line, the general and his cavalry charged the now reformed allies managing a crunch, but this time after some command effort the allied cavalry remained cohesive. On the Greek left the cavalry stormed ahead hoping to turn turn the enemy's flank and hopefully the battle. At this point the Greeks called Homunculus Est! in the hope that the Romans would become fatigued, which they were with 12, the Romans in turn discarded the 5 point disaster card.

Despite being fatigued the Veteran Legion didn't show signs of slowing pushing back the Imitation Legion. The rest of the legions closed with the Greeks, one of the experienced Legions launched an attack but became a grind the Greek pikemen retreated quite far and after expending command effort remained formed up. The attacking Romans however (after getting confused on where to apply fatigue modifiers) ended up breaking causing another disaster, and leaving a gaping hole in the Roman line with the Raw Legion exposed, about to be overwhelmed by pikes, thureophoroi and cavalry.

The Greek cavalry again charged the allied cavalry which firmly stood their ground. The second Phalanx unit supported by thureophoroi charged the Raw Legion which was then pushed back and ended  up disordered, the thureophoroi followed up and charged the disordered Romans whom managed to stand their ground against the lighter armed troops. The Veteran Phalanx supported by the Imitation Legion advanced on the Romans the Roman general used his last command to re roll and pass the discipline test. The final Phalanx in the centre also found success scoring a crunch on the Romans who went on to pass their discipline test. 

The last of the Roman cavalry pushed back the Greek cavalry showing they were still in the fight, the Veteran Legion got back into position ready to fight. The Remaining experienced Legion launched a desperate attack hoping to cause damage to the Greeks, the Romans were repulsed but they managed to disperse the Greek skirmishers and remained in the fight after a discipline test. 

The Greeks finally got their left cavalry wing into the flank of the Raw Legion who were defeated but after passing their discipline check survived this time! With the evening closing and the Romans slowly being ground down the Roman commander called an orderly retreat. The Romans had continued to receive quite a few setbacks and despite discarding their first disaster card were still closer to breaking than the Greeks, who from the setbacks they had received, quite a few were zeroes. The auguries had looked more positive on the morning but the hesitation initially shown by the Roman Legions quickly lost them the blessings of the gods!     

 

Greek Cavalry with their general ferociously charge the 
Roman allied cavalry

After failing a discipline test the defence point reroll faired far
worse ultimately sending the Roman cavalry off the field. 

Greeks form a solid phalanx while their cavalry eye up
the Roman flank.

After some to and fro the Greeks begin to get the edge

Isolated and disordered the Raw
legion struggles

The Raw Legion's situation becomes more
precarious as the Veteran Legion struggles
 against the Veteran Phalanx and Imitation Legion

The Raw Legion continued to hold its own 
redressing their ranks ready to take on 
Thureophoroi, pikemen and flanking 
cavalry 

The Raw Legion holds on but the Roman general 
signals an  ordered retreat before any more routs 
occur

Again I have enjoyed playing Strength & Honour solo, despite my poor implementation of some key rules. Calling an early Homunculus Est! seems like it is a risky strategy, it also slowed me down a bit and meant having to inflict more setbacks on the Romans to regain the lost disaster card. In future solo games I will probably avoid such an early call, at least until I'm more fluent with the rules. To save on setting up time I've since marked a grid using black dots on my gaming cloth, I exclusively play gridded wargames, on those rare occasions, or convert games to use a grid as they are far more convenient anyway!