Camillan Romans versus Samnites Mortem et Gloriam Game

View of the table from the Samnite side

View from the Roman side

Armies advance

Roman right flank with Italian allies

Samnite left flank and centre

Samnite right flank and centre

Apulian javelinmen and Samnite foot

Samnite javelinmen and foot

Roman cavalry on the right flank moves around the wood

The armies close

Cavalry manoeuvre near the wood

The Samnites hold, the Romans advance

Samnite infantry move into a marsh

Last Thursday afternoon out in the shed I played a solo Mortem et Gloriam (MeG) game, with the Camillan Romans taking on the Samnites in a Pacto (small) sized game of about 3,500 points a side. I thought the Romans would easily crush the Samnites but it proved to a very close game, level pegging through out much of it. In the end both armies were on the verge of breaking and the Samnites just managed to pip the Romans at the post with a 15-10 victory.

Roman cavalry declare a charge on the right flank

Roman cavalry declare a charge on the left

The Romans charge into combat with the Samnites on the Roman right

And on the left

Infantry combat in the centre

Roman cavalry break on the Roman right, Samnite cavalry break on the Roman left

Infantry slog it out

It's level pegging

Casualties mount

Both armies are on the verge of breaking

Samnite left flank hangs on, the centre is almost gone

Romans break first

Samnites just pip the Romans at the post with a 15-10 victory

Samnite versus Camillan Roman Basic Impetus Game

I've just finished painting another unit for my Samnites (see photos above) and thought I would try a solo Basic Impetus game with them against my Camillan Romans out in the shed. I bought these A&A and Gripping Beast figures second hand and although they were painted it still took a fair bit of work to get them to a reasonable standard. Most have LBM shield transfers, except for some of the back ranks, which include some rather dodgy hand painted, swastika type shield designs! I think the Italian officer figure was a freebie from an old Ancient Warfare magazine subscription offer.

In the game I gave both sides an extra medium cavalry unit (CM) each and I had to draft in a unit of Velites for the Romans as I didn't have enough painted Leves as skirmishers. The Romans were the attackers and didn't have too much trouble at all against the Samnites. The Samnites caught the Roman Leves who failed to evade early in the game and later also managed to rout one Roman cavalry unit, including the Roman commander. Apart from that it was pretty much a Roman one way street!

View of the table with armies deployed

Samnite right flank near the wood

Samnite left flank - between a rock and a hard place!

Opposite end of the table

Both armies advance

The Linen Legion are the Samnite reserves in the centre

Samnite cavalry skirt the woods

The armies get closer

Samnites charge the Leves who fail to evade

Roman Hastati and Principes charge

Samnites are driven back

Roman Cavalry rout Samnite Cavalry

Samnite army is about to rout