As I mentioned in my blog last week, Osprey has asked me to
do some work on a new Wargaming Series book based on the wars of the Roman Republic. This project actually started by working on
two separate projects for myself. One project
was centered on the Roman conquest of Italy and the other was focused on the revolt
of Spartacus. A third project about the
wars of the Diadochi also ended up tied into this book as well, since the
Romans and the later Successor kingdoms tended to clash as well.
Much of the rules use the Men of Bronze engine as a
base. However, I have taken a great deal
of feedback and incorporated it into the rules.
Therefore, they are their own unique beast. However, I do maintain the basic concepts
such as generic troop types, model and base agnostic, and mass battles at more manageable
sizes.
This is just an initial play-test that led to some
interesting learnings going forward. I
hope you enjoy it as I work diligently on streamlining the rules.
Celtic and tribes of
Gaul were a constant problem for the Romans and the more settled people of the
Italian peninsula. Roving warbands,
tribes, and clans would often swoop into the area for plunder and also ended up
displacing the local populations. . This
challenge was one shared by the Romans, Latin League, Etruscans, and many more. During the early days of the Republic, the
threat of barbarian invasion was real, and it is said the Rome itself was
sacked by the warlord Brennus in 387 BCE.
Roman Consuls
frequently had to take the legions out to defend the borders of Roman territory
from the barbarians moving in. Some of
these missions were successful, but some were not. However, the battle between Romans and Gauls
was a perennial feature of the Roman campaigning season.
Today’s battle will represent an Early Republic “Polybian
Legion” or Triplex Acies formation facing off against a migrating tribe from
Gaul somewhere to the north of Rome.
Forces
Gauls
1 Elite Infantry
1 Drilled Infantry
2 Light Infantry
1 Warband Infantry
1 Lancer Cavalry
1 Skirmisher
1 Slinger*
Points= 42
*- Due to a faulty memory on my part, I set-up the game with
the slingers and did not realize the points mismatch until it was too late.
Romans
1 Triarri- Drilled Hoplites
1 Principes
2 Hastati
2 Velites
Points= 38 Points
Mission
This will be a standard set-piece battle. I opted not to use some of the more exotic
scenarios and avoided complications this time around. I am revamping the scenario and campaign system
completely, but those will not play a part in today’s battle. This is more of a straight up test of battle.
Set-up
The Romans rolled up a field, and put it in the corner of
their deployment zone. The Gauls also
got field and put it in the middle of the board to try and force the Romans out
of formation. The Romans put a hill in
their deployment zone to avoid breaking up their forces. The Gauls got a small wood and again put it
in the middle of the field for cover and to break up the Roman Legion
formations.
The Romans on their side deployed with the Velites on both
flanks, one in the field and the other on the hill respectively. The Triarri were in the center back, with the
Principes in front of them. The
Principes were flnaked by the Hastati.
All were deploed in open order.
The Gauls forces barely fit on their edge of the 4x4
table. The cavalry had to deploy in
reserve as they did not have room to deploy.
On the left were the slingers, then the warband, followed by the light
infantry. The center was the Drilled
Infantry and the Elite infantry. The
right was the light infantry and skirmishers.
Turn 1
The Gauls spend all of their Commander's Gaze to go
first. The Romans only spent two.
The Drilled and Light infantry on the Celtic left move
forward to secure the grove. However,
the Romans then steal the initiative and move up. The Principes and right flank Hastati form
Legion. The other Hastati is in a field
and can not form up. The Roman army
advances forward.
The Gauls follow suit with their forces also moving up. The cavalry moves onto the edge of the
board.
Turn 2:
The Gauls go first again, and the Romans do not
interrupt. The Celts win the bid 2 to 0.
The slingers try to move and shoot the Velites but fail. The Light infantry takes the grove, while the
Elite and Light infantry on the opposite flank move into the field with some
skirmishers supporting them. The Celtic
cavalry hovers around in reserve ready to support.
The Romans move forward.
Their light infantry also moves up and throw their Javelins. The Slingers are too far away still. However, the Skirmishers at the bottom of the
hill and they take some Courage loss from the barrage, and start to Waver!
Turn 3
The Gauls bid 2 to Romes 0.
Gallic slingers pelt the Roman Velites on the flank, and
reduce them to 2 Courage and wavering.
The Romans try to interrupt and fail.
Gallic skirmishers fire on the Velites in front of them, but
fail to damage as they are wavering.
This time, a Roman interrupt succeeds.
The Velites charge down into the barbarian skirmishers, who do not try
to evade.
On the other flank, the Roman Hastati clear the field and
form Legion. This time, the Gauls use
Commander's Gaze and successfully interrupt. Gallic light infantry moves to charge the remnants of the Velite and
Skirmisher battle, but they do not choose to support the Skirmishers. Meanwhile, the Warband infantry moves up to
support the slingers from the Velites.
The Gallic Light Infantry moves out of the woods and screens the Drilled
Infantry moving into position. The
legion will have a tough time cracking those woods.
The Romans move up, with the Triarri staying in open order to
act as a reserve. The Velites ont eh
right flank are rallied and are no longer Wavering. The Hastati supporting their flank form
legion.
The Melee between the skirmishers and the velites on the
Roman left is resolved. Both sides fight
valiantly. The skirmishers reduce
the Velites 1 Courage. The Skirmishers
also lose 1 Courage, but fail their discipline check. Since they were all ready wavering, they lose
their last courage and flee.
Turn 4
Gauls bid 2 and the Romans bid 4! Romans go first.
The Velites on the Roman right fall back from the
slingers. The Gauls then interrupt and
steal the initiative. Gallic light
infantry on the Roman left storm out of the field and hit the Velites in the
Flank. The Velites try to evade, but
fail to go far enough. They are trapped
in melee.
The Romans try to interrupt, but fail. The Gauls maneuver around with the Warband
infantry moving in front of the Slingers to shield them. The Gauls are inviting the Romans to attack
them in the difficult terrain, and the Romans need to decide how to respond to
the challenge.
The Hastati on the Roman left break formation and try to
charge into the Light infantry skirmish as a flank attack. However, their momentum is broken up by the
edge of the field and they fail to make the distance and are wavering! The Triarri move to support them, but do not
have enough Commander's Gaze to form up.
The Hastati on the Right shuffle over to protect the Velites
and square off against the Gallic warband.
The Light Infantry Melee is resolved and the Celts steam roll
the Velites into a rout. However, the
Gauls also lose 2 Courage and are Wavering.
Turn 5
Romans bid 3 while the Celts bid 4.
The Romans gulp, realizing that the Hastati are in a tight
place. The Gallic Elite Infantry
containing the Celtic chieftain charges the flank of the hastati and is
supported by the Gallic light infantry.
Meanwhile, the Celtic Light infnatry runs screaming from the center of
the battle and throws their javelins at the triarri, but they are batted away
by the veteran's shields.
On the Right, the Celts fall back from the Hastati and
Velites there while the Drilled infantry holds the woods.
The Triarri form up and charge into the Celtic light infantry
with abandon. The Principes also go into
open order and charge the light infantry flank.
Melees need to be resolved, and the Celts decide to resolve
the Light Infantry vs. the triarri and Principes first. The Celtic Light infantry is swept from the
board and the Triarri only take 1 Courage loss.
The Celtic attack slams into the Hastati flank and they are
reduced to 1 Courage and are wavering!
They are pushed back 2 Measurement units.
Turn 6
Gauls bid 4 and Romans bid 0.
Ferocious Drilled Infantry of the Gauls storms from the woods
and attacks the Principes in the rear!
Meanwhile, barbarian cavalry comes thundering down between the woods and
fields and also attacks the Roman Principes.
The triarri jump in to support their comrades.
The Gallic Warband moves to block the Romans on the right
from supporting their friends in the center.
The slingers also move up to threaten a barrage. However, the Hastati break formation and
charge headlong into the Celtic troops with the light infantry in support. Things are about to get messy!
The Gallic chieftain and his entourage drive-off the Roman
Hastati in a rout.
The fighting in the center is bloody an intense. The Romans use their Pila special ability and
the two sides destroy each other in an orgy of blood and combat.
On the Roman right, the Hastati break through and destroy the
barbarian warband infantry. However, the
Hastati lose 1 Courage and begin to Waver.
In the End phase, the Roman Hastati and Velite flee the
board, as do the Gallic slingers.
However, the Celtic Elite infantry, along with their Light Infantry
stay. They have won the spoils of War
this day!
Conclusion
The Gauls manage to defeat the Romans when the Roman army
collapsed at the loss of its Consul and main fighting units. What did we learn from this test?
The Roman Legion formation allows for powerful armor bonus,
but it can be beaten by careful planning and maneuver. For example, difficult terrain breaks up
formations. In addition, the Legion
formation is more mobile than a Phalanx, but is limited in the diagonal
approaches and can be out-maneuvered there.
Any overwhelming attack can cause them to fail a Discipline test and
break formation. If you keep them out of
formation units with lower attack and armor ratings can beat the Romans.
Command and Control was vital in this game. A lack of command resources hampered the
Romans ability to respond effectively in the key Turn 5. They could not use their Pila special rule
and could not provide a key support charge.
In addition, a mis-timed charge in Turn 3 by Hastati left them
vulnerable to counter-attack, and the Gauls had the Command points to make sure
they could capitalize on the error.
Proper supporting also was a big component of the game. Without support units, the Elite Infantry
would have tar-pitted in the Hastati. In
addition, the Triarri/Principes vs. Drilled Infantry/Cavalry fight would have
not been as decisive. Units going
one-on-one would be a grind, but with support a Melee can end quickly.
The new wavering and Discipline check rules make wavering a
more common occurrence. It is harder to
recover from a devastating attack that rolled a lot of attack dice. This means you may want to let a damaged unit
get destroyed instead of helping it with more support units. You have to decide. For example, in this battle the Light
Infantry decided NOT to support their Skirmishers allies since they were all
ready in desperate shape. Joining and
supporting them would have led to the loss of the Gallic Light Infantry and
Skirmishers in one melee. I am not sure
how I feel about this yet, but it is a decision point for the commander.
The terrain placement rules played a big part in this
battle. The Romans tried to keep terrain
out of their way so their formations could stay together. However, the Gauls used it to their advantage
and allowed them to control the center of the battlefield. In retrospect, the Romans should have placed
out of their deployment zone and forced the difficult terrain away from the center
of the board.
Overall, a lot was learned as I start to test out the rules
and lists I have written so far. I learned
a lot. I tinkered with the turn
sequence, supporting, terrain placement, and C&C. This let me try it out on the field of
battle. More to come as I keep tinkering
with the rules prior to publication.
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