Manlii v Julii Game 37

Game 37 – Roman Era 7: Late Empire

Late Imperial Roman (Gordon 220 pts) v Late Imperial Roman usurper (Alec 220 pts)

Major Defence 425 CE (ADLG Std, 24-Jan-2024).

Battlefield Effects: None

The Plan (penned in advance of the battle)

This is a Major Defence by the Romans against a Usurper, I am playing the Usurper, and Gordon is playing the Empire. I decided not to underbid Gordon’s opening 220 point bid as I didn’t want to risk losing whilst playing as the Roman side which would've wiped out my one Prestige Point in the era to date.

I have chosen to go with an Eastern Roman army with Visigoth allies, going with numbers over quality with thirty units all told. One large infantry command with twelve heavy and medium infantry and two light infantry led by a brilliant commander; one cavalry command with four heavy and four light cavalry led by a competent commander and the Visigoth command consisting of six impetuous heavy swordsmen and two light infantry bowmen under another brilliant commander.

My plan is, on the face of it, a deceptively simple one - to advance across the table in a straight line on a wide front to try to overwhelm any and all opposition using the advantage of numbers to pick up overlaps where I can. I will try to close down one flank with terrain so that it’s not suitable for mounted troops, on the other a command consisting of cavalry and light horse will be tasked with holding off all opposition if it is evenly or over-matched, or being more aggressive if it has an advantage.

As long as the Visigoth command does not turn out to be hesitant I will advance to the attack as soon as possible. If it does roll the dreaded one on its first command roll I will delay the advance until it becomes active.  I will endeavour to place one or two of the light infantry in ambush as far forward as they can just in case the command does turn out to be hesitant so that any advance by Gordon will trigger the command into action.

I’m not too fussed about the terrain as Gordon will have a similar mix of troops, but as mentioned, my goal will be to attempt to close down one flank whilst trying to minimise Gordon's chances of making a terrain fortress.

Whilst the plan is theoretically simple the key to victory will be to try to arrange for all the commands to be in a position to attack at the same time. What I don’t want is for one part of the line to get into combat at any sort of disadvantage before the other parts are ready so, unless Gordon throws his troops into combat against part of my army whilst at a disadvantage like the last game, I will need to hold the line until I’m ready to commit as planned. This may be difficult with the impetuous Visigoth troops but I have given them a brilliant commander to maximise my ability to keep them under control, so hopefully, all will be well.

That’s the plan!

The Battle

Terrain

I decided that what I didn't want was lots of hills that Gordon could use to give his army defensive terrain advantages, so I went with Plains as the region for the battle. In addition to the compulsory field Gordon picked a coastal area, a gentle hill and another field, I picked two more fields. Following placement neither of us managed to remove/remove any pieces. 

I wasn't particularly happy with the end result of the terrain placing process, little of the terrain was where I would have liked it - in particular the hill. Consequently I felt that I would have to modify my plans slightly, instead of a full on advance across the width of the table, I now decided on a sweeping left hook, with the cavalry on the left and the Visigoth allies on my right. Holding the Visigoths back until the opportunity to advance presented itself would enable me to avoid the hill whilst stretching the battle line as much as possible to obtain those, much needed overlaps. otherwise my plan remained the same

As usual my army is on the left in all the photos, picture as below:

Battle plan and Deployment

As mentioned above I deployed my Visigoth command on my right, the large infantry command in the centre and the cavalry command on my left.

As defender, Gordon had to deploy a command first and he started by placing a command of four medium swordsmen, two light horse bow and one heavy cavalry on his left. He followed with a command of eight heavy swordsmen in the centre and a cavalry command on his right that was almost identical to mine except he had one cataphract in place of my two light horse bow. All three of Gordon's commands were commanded by brilliant commanders. 

Gordon's on-table units came to twenty-two (plus a fortified camp) v thirty for me, so I had a substantial numbers advantage as hoped; the quid pro quo, of course, was that Gordon's infantry in particular were better quality with a mixture of impact, armour and support. This meant that I would have to be very careful not to get my infantry in a position where they were fighting against his one-on-one, exploiting overlaps would be essential if I was to win the day.

After deployment the position was as below. Interestingly Gordon had placed his cavalry some distance from his infantry due to a field that I had managed to place on his baseline. I hadn't particularly considered the effect this would have on Gordon's setup when I placed it (other than to be a minor nuisance to him) but, because of the way he had deployed, the result was a large gap between Gordon's cavalry and infantry. 

After some thought, rather than use my Auxilia Pseudocomitatenses (my worst infantry) as a reserve behind the line, I decided to place them in the front line in the field on my baseline where they would be able to march forward towards the field I had placed on Gordon's. This way I might be able to isolate his cavalry from his infantry, plus when far enough forward they could swing left or right as opportunity allowed to get those overlaps/ flank attacks I was banking on. It's not everyday that my plan for victory hinges on the worst troops in my army!

Action

As the attacker I went first. 

My turn one:

I started by rolling for my Visigoth allied command to see if it would turn out to be hesitant, it wasn't, however as I was going for a left hook I left the heavy infantry on the baseline, merely moving the skirmishers forward to contest the rough terrain to their front by the coastal zone, from where they could harass Gordon's light cavalry units deployed on the hill.

I advanced the right wing of my centrally deployed command forward one move and the left wing of that command forward two moves. The cavalry command I advanced forward as aggressively as I could. In the shooting phase my light horse archers scored the first hit of the battle (though Gordon rapidly rallied it off).

Position at the end of my first turn as below:

Gordon's first turn:

In his turn Gordon advanced on his left to occupy the hill with some of his medium swordsmen auxilia; his central command also advanced and Gordon began to wheel half of that command's forces to their right anchoring their right on the offending field on his baseline. I wondered whether Gordon would take the brief opportunity, before I closed in, of sending all his cavalry on his right wing to his left to safety behind his infantry, but no. Instead Gordon charged with his heavy cavalry to clear away my light cavalry, which subsequently obliged by evading to behind my heavy cavalry. This set up what was going to be a decisive clash of cavalry, 

The position at the end of Gordon's first turn is below:

My second turn:

I decided to advance my infantry line to create a threat to Gordon's centre, in particular the infantry group just to the right of my Auxilia Pseudocomitatenses, swinging round a bit to their right so that they could match Gordon's wheel with his infantry and start to close off any assistance Gordon's infantry might try to give to his cavalry. On my left I continued to advance the Auxilia Pseudocomitatenses towards the field on Gordon's baseline, and I moved my heavy cavalry to be toe-to-toe with Gordon's, pinning them in place. 

On my extreme left I sent my light cavalry on a wide sweep to threaten Gordon's cavalry flank in order to setup a position where I could use my superior numbers to sweep around both flanks. The only question in my mind was whether there was anything lurking in the ambush Gordon had placed in the field, I wasn't too concerned though as it could only be light infantry hiding in a field.

I figured next turn Gordon was going to need to make a decision with his cavalry wing - to charge in or not to charge in. If he charged in, as long as my cavalry line didn't collapse in one turn, I was in a position to start nipping away at their flanks. If he decided not to then I could begin to work around their flanks whilst I pinned his cavalry from the front. 

Position at the end of my second turn is as below:

Gordon's second turn:

Gordon continued to advance his infantry but, as expected, the main action occurred on the cavalry wing. Gordon decided now was the time to commit and charged in, sending one light cavalry unit to hold off my four threatening light cavalry units I had placed on his extreme right wing. Unfortunately fortune didn't favour the brave, we tied one combat but Gordon lost the other three. To add insult to injury Gordon threw his commander into the fight and lost him, he was definitely going to be up against it going forward.

Also, probably due to a lack of command points, he left a big hole in front of my Auxilia Pseudocomitatenses for two of them to advance through.

The position at the end of Gordon's second turn is below:

My third turn:

I advanced the infantry of my central command forward to keep Gordon's infantry away from the Auxilia Pseudocomitatenses that I was pushing towards the field on Gordon's base edge, and moved up into shooting range with the four light cavalry on the extreme left (finding that Gordon's ambush was a bluff). 

The three disorder results that Gordon's cavalry took in his last turn enabled me to speed up what I now thought must be the inevitable outcome in the clash of the cavalry. In the shooting phase I disordered Gordon's light cavalry flank guard and in combat phase I was able to destroy two of Gordon's heavy cavalry; in the process also disordering the light cavalry behind in the rout.

I moved my infantry forward to pin Gordon's main line of legionaries which enabled me to move two of my Auxilia Pseudocomitatenses safely through the gap where, as planned, they would be in a position to charge into flank contact in either direction.

Position at the end of my third turn is as below:

Gordon's third turn:

At this stage Gordon considered surrendering as he was already feeling that his position was hopeless but decided to complete his turn in case there was a substantial change of luck in his favour.

Gordon charged into contact with the right of his infantry line, four heavy swordsmen impact legionaries charged to contact three of my medium swordsmen impact Auxilia Palatina and one mediocre medium swordsman Auxilia Pseudocomitatenses. I think Gordon's idea was that if his legionaries managed to sweep away my auxilia in one turn he may carry on. They actually did quite well, disordering two of mine against only one of his, but it appeared it wasn't enough to give him any belief in anything other than ultimate defeat. 

The above results, combined with the loss of another heavy cavalry unit engaged in melee and the light cavalry unit guarding his extreme right flank from shooting, was the final nail in the coffin. With both my Auxilia Pseudocomitatenses now behind his infantry flank and my light cavalry behind his cavalry's, both poised to charge, Gordon considered the situation to be hopeless and waved the white labarum.

The position at the end of Gordon's third turn and the game is below, the score was 14 out of 23 to me, 3 out of 30 to Gordon.

Post mortem

Another game, similar to the last, where the cavalry fight rapidly decided the game before the infantry could really get stuck in.

Whilst the hill on the right (from my army's perspective) made me reconsider my plan it seems the field on Gordon's baseline had much more impact on the game. I'm not sure what Gordon's plan was but the gap between the two commands deployed either side combined with my rapid advance, made it difficult for Gordon to manoeuvre his infantry to be in a position to support his cavalry; consequently, I was able to isolate and overwhelm his cavalry command with superior numbers.

Not much more to be said really.

Gordon's comments

 Pre-Game

Alec invades and has to win. So, I am happy to bid to be the defender.

I will aim for a strong defensive force: primarily lots of heavy infantry, but a strong medium infantry command (in case of poor terrain) and a strong cavalry command with some chance of winning on a flank or at least holding a flank. The infantry commanded by a competent general (bit of a risk, but main point is to hold and rally losses). The cavalry commanded by a brilliant general in case of the opportunity to win with them. The auxilia commanded by a brilliant general as I include three cavalry units in the command.

We are likely to have similar troops but there are lots of options, so hoping the mix gives me the opportunity to deal with most eventualities. 

The Deployment

We both choose less than the maximum terrain pieces. I close down one flank with a water feature, in case Alec goes for a cavalry heavy army, or even two cavalry wings.

The terrain seems to favour my plan to defend. The hill falls nicely – the left is somewhere for my auxilia. The heavy infantry will sit in the middle. The central field messes things up quite a lot, but I put the cavalry on its right where there is room for manoeuvre. The gap between them and the infantry could be a problem, so I am going to have to be a bit more aggressive than I want to deal with that. Shame that my entire battle plan is determined by one field.

I don’t think any set of mainstream wargames rules make sense for terrain deployment.

Alec deploys a large army, albeit some of them are of lesser quality. My left feels secure – I doubt the Goths will be sent to fight my auxilia in the field or on the hill. The gap between my infantry and cavalry is an even bigger worry given my cavalry are facing a similar number of similar cavalry. I also balls up the deployment by putting the cataphracts behind the front line. They should be in the front line to do damage. They are too slow to be a particularly good reserve, although my thinking was that they could be redeployed to the front; given time! 

The Game

Alec holds back on my left while I get to advance the auxilia onto the hill. The centre has to advance to support them and to slow down Alec’s centre and try to minimise the amount of units he can send to support his cavalry. On my right Alec advances quickly with his cavalry and my cavalry have to respond. Once we are within charge range it looks like an even fight so I might as well get stuck in. I lost three of the four first round combats and a general. I did no damage in return. Next round the cavalry were destroyed.

I fought one round of combat with my infantry in the centre, but didn’t roll the four 6-1's I needed to give myself any chance of winning.

With no right flank left it was pointless to carry on, so Game Over and a win to Alec. 

Post-Game

Find a set of rules that don’t put bloody stupid terrain in the middle of the deployment zone and that allow commands to deploy behind each other. Moan, moan, bloody moan.

If I had got a more reasonable spread of combat results with the cavalry the game would have lasted longer, but Alec’s deployment would have beaten me I think. My better quality infantry would probably have been overwhelmed by Alec’s slightly poorer but still good infantry and he is a better player. 

Result

Usurper win - minus three Prestige Point to the Julii