Manlii v Julii Game 38

Game 38 - Roman Era 1: Early Republic

Tullian Roman (Alec 156 pts) v Etruscan (Gordon 160pts)

Minor invasion 450 BCE (ADLG Std, 31-Jan-2024)

Battlefield Effects: None

The Plan (penned in advance of the battle)

As I’m three up in Prestige Points in the era I decided I should keep the pressure on Gordon by keeping the bidding competitive. I thought Gordon would start with a low bid in order to get the chance to win two Prestige Points but he started by bidding 160 points to be the Romans, I tad higher than I expected. I was happy to go lower at 156 points and Gordon let me have the Romans; I felt I got off lightly.

So, this battle is largely going to be a battle of heavy infantry spearmen. I am forced to choose a couple of cavalry and a couple of skirmishing javelinmen but otherwise the winner of this battle will be the army that wins the infantry fight. Gordon can choose to have a couple of elite axemen, but they are expensive so if he does so he will have reduced numbers elsewhere which would give me flanking opportunities that I will have to ensure I take advantage of.

I decided that there was no point going with anything but the minimum cavalry as spearmen are as cheap as heavy cavalry and opposing them with spearmen will enable me to pin any cavalry Gordon chooses to field.

I also decided to field a small command of Latin allies; with only four units comprising the command I have the option to place it in ambush if the terrain recommends it.

Otherwise, I’m just going to advance and take it to the Etruscans anywhere I can attack on equal terms.

That’s the plan!

The Battle

 Terrain

As invader I chose Plains to be the region of the battle. Gordon managed to place the hill and one field on his side in positions that would make perfect anchor positions for his flanks, so it was easy enough to guess where he would deploy. Terrain placement ended up as below, as usual I am on the left of the photo:

Deployment

Gordon deployed a command first, placing his troops exactly as predicted. He placed ambushes in the field and behind the hill, some javelinmen in the field and a line of heavy spearmen in between. In his centre Gordon placed two units of Guardsmen, the famed Etruscan axemen. I placed my Latin allies on my right and my cavalry on my left, as below:

Action

The first three turns saw Gordon pretty much stand on the defence and me advance my forces forward. My Latin allies deployed on my right turned out to be reliable and advanced to screen the hill.

Gordon revealed his ambush on his left flank, another heavy spearmen unit and two cavalry units, and advanced over the brow of the hill. The position at the end of our first three turns was as below:

Turn four

Considering the situation I decided that the section of the Roman army that was the most vulnerable, or at least where I stood the best chance of success, was the line of four vanilla Etruscan heavy spearmen Gordon had deployed to the right of the hill (from his perspective). Consequently, I advanced my heavy spearmen in my centre-right ready to go in next turn. The position at the end of my turn was as below:

In Gordon's turn he moved up his Guardsmen to support his heavy spearmen. The position at the end of Gordon's turn was as below:

Turn five

I charged in but the results were disappointing I lost four combats to Gordon's two. The position at the end of my turn was as follows:

In Gordon's turn the pain continued, by the end of his turn I was down in six combats to Gordon's three, as follows:

Turn six

In my turn, the situation only got worse, three of my spear units evaporated completely. The position at the end of my turn was as follows:

The position at the end of Gordon's turn was as below - another of my heavy spearmen units had gone:

Turn seven

As the situation, and my chances of victory were getting pretty hopeless at this point I charged two of my Latin ally heavy spearmen units into Gordon's right wing heavy cavalry, not ideal as they were uphill but I had to try something to turn the tide. However, both lost, getting disordered; the position at the end of my turn was as below, I managed to finally destroy two of Gordon's units but lost another heavy spear unit in the centre.

The position at the end of Gordon's turn was as below, he was unsurprisingly moving his forces around my flanks getting ready for the coup de grace. As below:

Turn eight

At this point my cup of hot chocolate arrived so I resolved to fight to the bitter end. I charged my remaining uncommitted Latin allies up the hill, unfortunately they both lost their combats too, both getting disordered. Plus I lost one of the spearmen units fighting the cavalry. At this point I was only two points from army demoralisation. The position at the end of my turn was as below:

In Gordon's turn he polished off another four units, it was all over. The position at the end of Gordon's turn and the game was as below:

Victory to the Etruscans!

Post-mortem

A thoroughly enjoyable game that reflected the feeling of an early Roman v Etruscan infantry fight, unfortunately for me Gordon played a very good game and the Etruscans fought better on the day (i.e. Gordon's luck proved largely superior) from the getgo, forcing me to take ever more desperate actions until it was finally all over. You can't win them all.

Gordon's comments

 Pre-Game

The armies are likely to be very similar: a few cavalry and lots of spearmen. Subject to not doing anything silly it is likely to come down to lucky dice in combat. I am not confident of winning this as the invader so let Alec invade.

The compulsory Etruscan troops determine most of the army given the 160 point army. I will go with quality and add armour for a couple of first class spearmen. The Etruscans have an option on some axemen who I choose to form a cutting edge. Otherwise, three cavalry and some javelinmen with the aim of trying for some terrain to defend a flank or annoy a centre.

The main command under a brilliant general has six spearmen, two axemen and two light infantry. The bad terrain command under a competent general has three javelinmen and one medium cavalry (to give a bit more manoeuvrability and provide some protection against Roman cavalry). The third command under a competent general has two spearmen and two heavy cavalry: they can provide protection to an open flank.

 The Deployment

The terrain goes very well. I have a hill on my left and a field on my right. The small mixed command will deploy to take position on the hill, the javelinmen will deploy in the field; the main infantry command between those two.

Alec deploys an allied command of spearmen facing the hill; a central command of spearmen; a strong command under a brilliant general on my right with lots more spearmen and some cavalry.

I am outnumbered, which is a worry, even with the decent terrain. Alec might try to sneak some cavalry through the field or even take a chance there with his heavy spearmen. Not much I can do except stay in the terrain and use the medium cavalry to delay any movement of his troops into the gap between the field and my main line. My left flank will advance onto the hill and stay there. The main line will have to advance slightly to protect the gap between the left and centre and deal with the longer Roman line in the centre and right. Could be tricky.

Basically, I will stand still and hope for the best. 

The Game

Alec advances across the table width. I move my left flank over the hill crest and move up six of my central command to form a line. I hold back two spearmen to stop Alec simply advancing past my right flank. I keep the javelinmen in the field where they are to prevent any attempt to outflank me.

Alec charges into contact in the centre where I have more luck and disorder four of his units for two of mine. This is a very good start and gives me hope. It could easily have gone the other way given we are basically the same troops. My super-duper axemen don’t perform as well as the hype would have me believe: they win one and lose one. The combat continues with me having most of the luck, including in rally attempts. I am happy to keep my troops on the hill uncommitted while my centre seems on course to win. I move my uncommitted two spearmen into contact and over the next few turns have to sacrifice my cavalry and one unit of javelinmen to protect the flank of the main line, but that is why they are there.

I had a moment of panic when Alec’s hot chocolate arrived, but I was now too committed to combat to do any more than grit my teeth and roll high.

Alec charged on my left flank but more good luck came my way and I saw off his troops.

And then it was over and the Etruscans had won. 

Post-Game

I am going to put this down to the favour of the Gods.

Good terrain, a bit of self-control on my part so I did not lose the terrain advantage and then better luck in the evenly matched combats. 

Result

 Etruscan win - minus one Prestige Point to the Manlii