Sabis/Sambre 57 BC - Strength and Honour Game

 

Romans deployed, Belgae lurk in the woods

Belgae charge across the river, Romans are disordered

LC and skirmishers fight briefly before routing

XIII and XIV legions with baggage arrive on the table

Viromanui and Atrebates are pushed back

Nervii attack repeatedly

On Wednesday afternoon Rick and Garry came over to my place and we played another 28mm Strength and Honour game out in the shed. The scenario was the battle of Sabis 57 BC with Rick and Garry commanding the Gauls (Belgae), and I commanded the Romans. We modified the scenario slightly adding in some light cavalry, a single unit for the Belgae and two for the Romans - Numidians and Treveri. The light cavalry and skirmishers performed pretty much as expected, fighting briefly before routing, as they did in the actual battle!  

The Romans were extremely lucky at the start of the game rallying all four disordered legions in the first turn of the game. They also had the reinforcements, the XIII and XIV legions with the baggage train, arrive on the table exactly in turn three. Despite this it was quite a prolonged struggle that lasted many turns with quite a few twists in fortune and many push backs for both sides.  In the end we ran out of time, the Romans had the upper hand, the Belgae were demoralised but a result was still a few turns away.

Viromanui and Atrebates are pushed back over the river

They rally and fight back

Nervii are pushed back

Romans hold the line

Romans are pushed back

Belgae force is demoralised

Bibracte 58 BC - Strength and Honour Game

 

Gauls deployed on the left, Romans on the right

Opposite end from the Gallic side

Both sides advance

Helvetii cavalry and warband

Gallic advance is ragged

Boii and Tulingi flank attack appears in the woods

Romans wait on the edge of the hill

Romans charge downhill 

Last Sunday afternoon Rick came over to my place with his 9'x4' Deep Cut Studios 10 cm gridded mat and some Gauls. We played a Strength and Honour game of the Bibracte scenario which can be downloaded on the Too Fat Lardies Forum. We diced for sides, I was the Romans, rolling +4 for the Auguries, while the Gauls rolled +2. In the scenario a flanking force of Boii and Tulingi warbands could appear in the woods on the Roman right flank from turn three.

We played about ten turns of the game, and there was plenty of ebb and flow in fortunes before it ended in a draw. The actual battle continued on in to the night before the Helvetii broke. In the end we ran out of time but the Romans had their backs to the wall and were 14 breaking on 18 and only narrowly avoided having their fortified camp captured. It was a lot of fun, the Gauls definitely had the best of the encounter.

Combat in the centre

Raw XI becomes disordered, Caesar is attached to the Veteran X

Boii and Tulingi emerge from the woods

A Gallic warband is pushed back

Romans are pushed back

Gauls are on a roll

Roman setback and disaster cards mount

The Boii are Frenzied and charge but are pushed back

Game is a draw but Romans are 14 breaking on 18

Battle of Sabis 57 BC Mortem et Gloriam Game

The Belgae deployed L to R Atrebates, Viromandui and the Nervii

Caesar's army

Gallic cavalry cross the Sabis

Spanish cavalry advance to protect the Roman left flank

Gallic cavalry have the numbers

The Belgae advance

Numidian cavalry skirmish on the Roman right flank

Spanish cavalry charge

Gauls suffer early casualties

Gallic cavalry charge Caesar's legions on the hill!

Earlier today I played a solo Mortem et Gloriam (MeG) game out in the shed. The scenario was the Battle of Sabis 57 BC with Caesar's legions taking on the Belgae. The scenario for this was developed by Simon Elliott and Simon Hall for the recent MeG Compendium release and is available as a pdf on the MeG site. We played this battle a few years ago as a Hail Caesar game and the Romans suffered a heavy defeat. I used Spanish cavalry instead of Gallic for Caesar's army as I didn't have enough painted Gallic cavalry. I'm still learning the rules, this is only my fourth game, I was hoping to have the MeG Compendium by now but with all the mail delays this still seems to be a fair way off.

Casualties mount for the Gallic cavalry

Nervii and Viromandui close with Caesar's legions

Gallic cavalry on the right are in dire straights

Gallic javelin men are slowed by missile fire

View from the Roman lines

Romans hold the Gallic attack

Remaining Gallic cavalry are about to rout

Spanish cavalry charge Gallic slingers

Slingers evade,  Roman control tightens

Gallic right flank has routed and the centre is exposed and vulnerable

Battle of Sentinum 295 BC - Command & Colors Ancients

View of the table from the Samnite/Gallic side

View from the Roman side

Gallic and Roman cavalry in action

Gauls attack on their right flank

Roman right flank

Samnites on the left flank

Last Sunday Garry, Rick and I met at the Vikings Club in Lanyon for the monthly club meeting and we played a Command and Colors Ancients game (CCA) of the Battle of Sentinum, from the Third Samnite War in 295 BC. Rick commanded the Romans, Garry commanded the Gauls (the Senones) and I commanded the Samnites. In the afternoon we also played a Hun versus Patrician Roman 100 point ADLG game, and a game of Battle Ravens, the Dan Mersey shieldwall boardgame. I'll put photos of the Hun vs Roman game in a separate post.

The Gauls had early success on the right flank and before long had established a reasonable lead over the Romans. This brought in to play the Devotio Special Rule where the Romans could sacrifice the consul Decius Mus, when two or more victory banners behind, and receive a victory banner and in subsequent turns, units in combat would hit on a leader symbol. At the end of the turn the Roman player also draws two cards and plays with six for the rest of the game.

According to Livy (10.28)

Decius shouted to his men and asked them whither they were fleeing, what hope they had in flight; he tried to stop those who were retreating and recall the scattered units. Finding himself unable, do what he would, to check the demoralisation, he invoked the name of his father, P. Decius, and cried: ‘Why do I any longer delay the destined fate of my family? [13] This is the privilege granted to our house that we should be an expiatory sacrifice to avert dangers from the State. Now will I offer the legions of the enemy together with myself as a sacrifice to Tellus and the Dii Manes.’ [14] When he had uttered these words he ordered the pontiff, M. Livius, whom he had kept by his side all through the battle, to recite the prescribed form in which he was to devote ‘himself and the legions of the enemy on behalf of the army of the Roman people, the Quirites.’ [15] He was accordingly devoted in the same words and wearing the same garb as his father, P. Decius, at the battle of Veseris in the Latin war. [16] After the usual prayers had been recited he uttered the following awful curse: ‘I carry before me terror and rout and carnage and blood and the wrath of all the gods, those above and those below. [17] I will infect the standards, the armour, the weapons of the enemy with dire and manifold death, the place of my destruction shall also witness that of the Gauls and Samnites.’ [18] After uttering this imprecation on himself and on the enemy he spurred his horse against that part of the Gaulish line where they were most densely massed and leaping into it was slain by their missiles.

http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi00110.perseus-eng3:28

While our game was not quite as dramatic as that, there was close fighting and plenty of ebb and flow in fortunes from turn to turn. In the end the Romans managed to secure a close victory by eight to seven victory banners.

Gauls have early success on the right

Samnite cavalry attack

Samnite infantry

Fighting on the Samnite left flank 

Romans win a close victory