Manlii v Julii Game 41

Game  41 - Roman Era 4: Late Republic

Triumvirate Roman (Gordon 184 pts) v Ptolemaic Egypt (Alec 190pts)

Major invasion 47 BCE (ADLG Std, 28-Feb-2024)

Battlefield Effects: None

The Plan (penned in advance of the battle)

This is a tricky one as the Romans are going to consist of lots of hard-nosed heavy infantry. On the upside Gordon has to make the running to win his three points and he has bid six points lower than my army so I should have a slight edge somewhere!

The strength of the Ptolemaic army of this era lies in its Xystophoroi heavy lance-armed cavalry and its Roman-trained infantry. I am going to maximise the cavalry arm and place on each flank a small but strong cavalry command built around the Xystophoroi and  Greek heavy cavalry but also with one light horse unit each. If possible I will attempt to catch the Julii-led Roman army in a double envelopment.

In the centre will be a core of good defensive infantry comprised of four Egyptian pikemen and four Roman armoured and elite heavy infantry led by a brilliant commander. The Egyptian army during the decade following the restoration of Ptolemy XII was probably at a peak of efficiency it hadn't seen in decades, if not centuries, due to the installation of several cohorts of Roman legionaries by the Roman Pro-consul Aulus Gabinius to act as royal bodyguards in 55 BCE. These troops, known as the Gabiniani, went on to lead and train the Egyptian army as well as fight in their own Roman style and led the opposition to Caesar when he entered Alexandria in 48 BCE. 

So, I will deploy the infantry to the centre rear and try to put as much of the cavalry in ambush as I can to further tempt Gordon forward which he has to do in any case to win his three Prestige Points and then spring my trap.

That’s the plan!

The Battle

Terrain & Deployment

Gordon chose to attack in the plains and we both placed the minimum of terrain, all of which ended up on the left of the battlefield from my perspective, a field, a plantation and a gentle hill. There is also a road on my right - my army is on the left of all the photo's as ever. 

We both placed a couple of ambushes, Gordon's turned out to be a bluff, mine contained the two Xystophoroi impact cavalry of my left-most deployed command as per my plan. Otherwise we both deployed in the traditional classic way, heavy infantry centres with small cavalry commands on each wing. Neither of us had gone for fortified camps. 

Gordon's foot consisted of a mixture of Roman armoured heavy impact swordsmen in the centre (only one elite) flanked by an assortment of medium swordsmen and spearmen of various eastern Mediterranean nationalities. His cavalry was a mixture of two heavy cavalry on his right and medium and light cavalry on his left. He also had a few light infantry units scattered about, but given his need to force the issue I couldn't see those being that useful to him.

The position after deployment was as below:

Gordon's turn one as below, he advanced strongly with his left and centre. He held his right wing cavalry back, obviously worried about me getting behind his army to his baggage with my light horse.

My turn one was as below. Seeing Gordon's refused right flank and considering that I did indeed have a good chance of both taking Gordon's camp and flanking his infantry line I revealed my troops in ambush behind the hill, which consisted of that command's two heavy cavalry Xystophoroi. 

Also, as Gordon had deployed strongly on the right of my army I decided to swing my infantry line around in order that my left wing would be able to get into the fight all the sooner and additionally it gave Gordon's army a longer distance to travel to get around my army's right flank. It was already looking like, unless Gordon decided to radically redeploy his army, this battle might turn out to be a race to see who can overpower their opponent's right wing first. To that end there was no time to waste in getting my left wing cavalry forward.

Gordon's turn two as below, he swung his army around to match mine.

My turn two ended as below. I advanced my line and sidestepped a touch to my right. On my extreme left I confirmed that Gordon's ambush was a bluff and advanced my light horse unit around behind his right flank; Gordon would either have to respond rapidly or it would be able to take his camp. 

I also advanced my three heavy cavalry forward so that I was already outflanking his infantry line in the centre.

Gordon's turn three ended as below, he charged in everywhere where his infantry could contact mine. This was probably the crucial turn of the game - if one side or other could get a big advantage in the upcoming combats they would be in a good position to ultimately win, particularly as Gordon's heavy infantry were all impact foot. Unfortunately for Gordon I got the better die rolls, causing four disorders on his troops to his one against mine. 

On Gordon's extreme left he advanced to pin my cavalry with his medium foot and outflanked my line with his medium cavalry setting up a flank attack for next turn about which I wasn't in a position to do anything. Gordon also sent his two Illyrian light horse charging around behind my army; I only had one light horse to hold them off from my camp!

My turn three ended as below. As Gordon hadn't reacted to my light horse swinging behind his right rear I advanced them towards his camp and would be able to charge it next turn. 

The infantry fight continued and the first units were destroyed, one of my pike units died in the centre as well as Gordon's rightmost legionary unit whose flank Gordon had left hanging in the air in his last move due to his eagerness to get into action exposing it to one of my waiting Xystophoroi; a gift which I eagerly snatched.

Gordon's turn four ended as below. Perhaps sensing imminent doom Gordon sent his, as yet unengaged, medium infantry charging into my right wing heavy cavalry as his cavalry swung onto my right-most cavalry unit's flank (which he destroyed) and he sent a light horse unit into another's rear. In the centre the fight continued and hits racked up, particularly on Gordon's side as a consequence of his infantry's poor showing in the previous turn.

My turn four ended as below. I finally managed to sack the Roman camp and continued eating away at the right wing of Gordon's infantry line; on my right I hung on desperately. I sent my one light infantry unit into the rear of one of Gordon's light horse that was itself attacking the rear of one of my Xystophoroi, however it paid the price for being so bold with immediate destruction; as did my light horse unit on that flank. At that point however, with the help of the taken camp, Gordon was only two points from army destruction.

Gordon's turn five ended as below, gaps appeared in both our infantry lines and Gordon threw everything into the fray to try and secure a Julii victory. He failed, however, to get the six points he needed but I managed to push his army over the edge - a victory to the Ptolemaic army. 

Post-mortem

My plan largely worked, I wasn't able to do a double envelopment (which was probably always going to be wishful thinking on my part) but by having useful cavalry commands placed on each wing I was in a position to act on any opportunities that came my way. Luckily they did appear on one flank which I was able to take advantage of slightly before Gordon could do so on the other flank. 

Getting the initial luck in the infantry fight gave me the edge in most of those fights as the battle progressed which consequently gave me the time to unfold my plan and so ended in a win for me. It could easily have gone the other way though if the luck had been on Gordon's side, so I would say this battle was more of a dice lottery than most.

An interesting typical classical battle, with heavy infantry centres duking it out whilst the cavalry struggled for dominance on the flanks.

Gordon's comments

 Pre-Game

I win the bidding to be the Romans.

I plan to aim for historical authenticity and be Julius Caesar invading in 48/47 BC. The Ptolemaic army list can be many things, based around a few pike. Given Alec is defending and has only not to lose, I imagine he will take maximum pike and legionaries. The rest could be some good cavalry or some skirmishing/rough terrain troops. Either way, a tough nut to crack for a Roman army that will be mainly legions, who are no better than the pikemen and legions, and even if they win the first round against the pike will be fighting at evens.

Having decided to be Julius in 47BC, I opt for a number of medium spearmen, some light horse and Thracians to be Judaean troops, and eight legions. Only one legion is elite, as I need the numbers to try to find a way around what I expect to be a very solid infantry army. The spearmen might hold up any Xystophoroi. Three cavalry to help protect my flanks. So, three commands: centre of five legions and a couple of light infantry under a brilliant commander to break through the centre, one command of three legions and two heavy cavalry to support the centre and hold a flank, one command of medium infantry, medium cavalry, light infantry and light horse to hold a flank/outflank/take advantage of any terrain.

 The Deployment

Well, there isn’t much terrain. I put the light command on my left (Alec has an ambush behind the hill on my right which suggests a lot of unpleasantness in hiding). The central command take the centre, but towards the left flank, the mixed legion and heavy cavalry command go on the right. Alec deploys a very strong infantry army in the right centre, a strong cavalry command on my left (including two of the maximum four Xystophoroi) and a couple of cavalry on my far right (supporting the idea that the ambush is unpleasant). 

The Game

My right looks very weak and I am relying on luck and my left flank command to break his centre. So, hell-for-leather towards his troops to win quickly before I lose quickly.

Well, as soon as our centres got into combat I lost four out of five combats – this is very bad. My left flank makes some headway, and my centre breaks a couple of Alec’s units, but basically it just keeps losing (not helped by being outflanked). My right held on better than feared, but could not prevent Alec’s light horse sacking my camp. That and the losses in the centre broke the army. 

Post-Game

I had too many light infantry, some of whom never got near the action – the mixed command was too mixed. Replacing a couple of light infantry with one cavalry unit might have helped a bit. It could have been used to bolster the mixed legion/cavalry command, which was too unmanoeuvrable to properly do its job.

Despite that, my left hook was working. However, losing four out of five first round combats in the centre pretty much doomed me, given the pike were then two up against the disordered legions.  

Result

Ptolemaic win - minus one Prestige Points to the Julii