You have to move fast

Rome vs Carthage again. I know, I promised different armies this time. Promise promise for next time....

We tried a new terrain map for the pre-game - heavily forested countryside which supplied good anchors for flanks.

The two armies encountered each other in the middle of the map.

The battlefield template was centered over the square in which the two armies had collided....

....and then moved one small square sideways and up by the defender (the player whose army occupied that big battlefield square first, Peter in this case).

Then time for deployment. Carthage (Peter) on the left, Rome (yours truly) on the right. I had hoped for this kind of terrain: the forest shortened the width of the battlefield, making it easier for me to counter Peter's superior cavalry.

Turn 1. Rome.

I had deployed first so moved first. My plan was pretty simple: Advance the legions at top speed to engage Peter's Poeni foot and Warband, whilst my Auxilia hung back as a flank guard to be committed as late as possible and my cavalry delayed Peter's  mounted units for as long as possible. But you know what Moltke said about plans....

Turn 1. Carthage.

Peter moves his Slingers up and starts shooting my cavalry. His Slinger are Balearic, elite and so with superior range (3 squares instead of the usual 2). His LH also start advancing, but let the Slingers soften me up first before the LH and MC engage.

Turn 2. Rome.

I decide that sitting there and getting shot up by the Slingers is for the birds, and so charge them, obliging them to evade through their own LH. My General's MC unit moves up in support and my Legions keep ploughing ahead. Nothing must be allowed to stop them.

Turn 2. Carthage.

Peter pulls his LH back through the Slingers and charges in with his MC. My own MC is in a thin line, not a problem for the charge, but it will be at a disadvantage in the ensuing melee. After weighing things up, I decide not to evade but to receive the charge.

Turn 2. Melee.

My MC take a beating as expected....

....and break off after melee is done. Mounted units can break off from mounted units in this fashion directly after melee. They can break off from foot units directly after charging, i.e. before melee.

Turn 3. Rome.

I decide to move my cavalry right back. If they hang around any longer they will be destroyed. One MC unit moves only one square since it began the turn out of command (not part of a battleline containing an uncharged unit with a leader). The Legions keep advancing, moving diagonally to engage the Carthaginian heavy infantry head-on. The Auxilia also move diagonally to the rear of the Legions - they won't be needed as a flank guard after all and serve better as a protective anti-cavalry second line behind the Legions.

Turn 3. Carthage.

Peter's MC charge my lone uncommanded MC unit which evades. His LH stay put. What are they up to?

Turn 4. Rome.

The Legions keep advancing and the Skirmisher Foot (Velites if you like) start shooting up the Poeni Foot and Warband. The cavalry meanwhile form up in a flank guard. The Auxilia spend a order point to stop as they cannot move diagonally any further with their current order. Stopping moves the orders counter into their commander's square (the round yellow thing for the Auxilia), so next turn they can continue moving diagonally again. Some things take time to do.

Turn 4. Carthage.

Peter's MC form column and move to the rear next to the LH who also form column. What are they up to? The Slingers on the other hand move up at full speed.

....and then the Poeni Foot and Warband charge the Roman Skirmisher Foot, obliging them to evade through the Legions. That was unexpected.

Turn 5. Rome.

The Legionaries aren't complaining. In they go, taking some knocks in the charge from the Warband. The Auxilia finally get into position behind the Legions whilst the lone MC unit also moves to the rear.

Turn 5. Carthage.

Peter reveals his plan. The advance of the Warband opened a gap on their right which the MC can exploit, whilst the LH move to the other flank. A classic double envelopment. Oh heck....

Turn 5. Melee.

The slow attritional grind begins.

Turn 6. Rome.

The two understrength MC units move to the flanks whilst my general's MC unit takes up position in the middle, ready to help either flank as needed. The Auxilia move up behind the Legions, ready to help protect them. I must keep Peter's cavalry away from my Legions whilst they engage the Carthaginian HI.

Turn 6. Carthage.

Peter's MC move into the ZOC of the MC unit on my left flank. The MC turn from column into line. This disorders the lead unit since it does it in an enemy ZOC but Peter decides that's acceptable. Meanwhile the LH get into position on my right flank, ready to sweep in. As a nice hors d'oeuvre his Slingers shoot my one MC unit to rout. Ouch!

Turn 6. Melee.

The main clash continues in the centre. The Legionaries just need time....

Turn 7. Rome.

Realising that my left flank guard MC is about to be routed, I move my general's MC unit across in support. The Auxilia will have to handle the Carthaginian LH on the other flank.

The Legions meantime execute line relief, returning to full morale.

Turn 7. Carthage.

In go the Carthaginian MC, charging one Legion and inflicting an all-grey negative modifier on it: from now on all firm morale intervals are treated as shaken and suffer a -1 modifier in combat in consequence. Besides inflicting this negative modifier, there's no actual resolution of combat. The other Carthaginian MC units charges my own MC. A drawn fight but things will be different in the melee.

The LH advance on my left. I'm beginning to feel like a lemon in a lemon squeezer.

Turn 7. Melee.

My MC unit routs as expected, but I notice the Carthaginian Warband are beginning to look pretty battered.

The victorious Carthaginian MC unit occupies the square vacated by the routed Roman MC unit.

Turn 8. Rome.

My Roman MC unit flank charges the Carthaginian MC, disordering it, whilst the Auxilia turn to face the music.

Turn 8. Carthage.

The LH charge the Auxilia, hammering them.

The Carthaginian MC that was charged in the flank turn to face the Roman MC just before melee.

Turn 8. Melee.

The Auxilia rout but so do the two Warband units!

Victorious units occupy the vacated squares.

Turn 9. Rome.

The free Legions do a 180 turn to face the Carthaginian cavalry in their rear.

Turn 9. Carthage.

The LH charge the next Auxilia unit whilst the unengaged (and uncommanded) MC units heads towards the flank of my engaged MC unit. Peter is steadily cleaning up my rear.

The charged Auxilia turn to face the LH before melee.

Turn 9. Melee.

The Caerthaginian MC unit routs as do the Poeni Foot. Peter has now lost all his HI.

The Legions and Roman MC occupy the vacated squares.

And then it's over. Carthage has lost enough stands for all its average units to automatically rout, which is the remainder of the army. Game over!

Peter had a good plan - advance his HI to allow his cavalry to execute a double envelopment past both flanks, but it just needed to be accomplished a little earlier.

Why don't they just settle it over a pint?

Rome vs Carthage again. Definitely new armies next time. But for now....

The terrain pre-game gave us this battlefield. Fairly open which favored Peter's Carthaginian cavalry and Numidian LH. I would need to make a real plan.

Peter chose a general with a command rating of 1 whilst my general had a rating of 4. Command ratings for generals are important. They don't use them for orders as commanders do, but the worse a general is compared to his opponent, the more of his army he has to deploy first: ⅓ if the difference is 1, ⅔ if the difference is 2, and the entire army if the difference is 3 or more - which was the case here.

That game me the opportunity to deploy in consequence of Peter's deployment, and that meant a big advantage. I massed the bulk of my army against Peter's left whilst my Auxilia took on the noble job of sacrificial lambs on my own left.

Peter deployed first so moved first.

Turn 1. Carthage.

Peter naturally advances on my vulnerable left.

Turn 1. Rome.

My Auxilia shake out a line whilst my Legions advance. They are screened by LI who will prevent them taking any missile damage until they are ready to charge the HI in front of them. My MC wait to see what the Carthaginian MC and Numidian LC decide to do.

Turn 2. Carthage.

Peter's MC move up and start a javelin exchange with my LI whilst his Poeni foot and Slingers move up. His Numidian LH are being very coy. What is he up to?

Turn 2. Rome.

Since Peter's MC are now engaged on my left, I waste no more time on my right, advancing my own MC towards Peter's Numidians. I try a new tactic, moving up one unit with the other staying back to counter any outflanking attempt by Peter's light horse.

The Legions meanwhile drive ahead with the Auxilia hanging back. They're there as a flank guard and must survive as long as possible. Notice how one legion advances into the square occuped by a LI - the LI cannot advance in step with the other units since it has Carthaginian MC in front of it. So it stays where it is and lets the Legion catch up with it.

Turn 3. Carthage.

Chaaarge! In go the Carthaginian cavalry, obliging a LI unit to evade straight through a Legion whilst the Auxilia unit must take it on the chin. Peter's general, leading the cavalry charge against the Legion, has a better combat rating than the commander of the legion, so breaks the tied combat and wins the charge combat, knocking a morale interval off the legion. But the commander of the Auxilia unit breaks the tie there and drops the cavalry by a morale interval.

The cavalry break off from the infantry right after the charge. They would not do well in melee combat if they hung around. Meanwhilst the Numidian LH decide to throw caution to the winds, form column and double-move into the Roman rear. Damn! I hadn't anticipated that.

Turn 3. Rome.

Thinking about it, I decide to keep pushing ahead with the Legions whilst my MC form column but stay a respectable distance from Peter's LH. Columns are extremely vulnerable if in the vicinity of enemy units that can attack them.

My Auxilia also advance. They're not going to let the Carthaginian MC sneak around the Legion's left flank into their rear.

The air is now thick with javelins.

Turn 4. Carthage.

Peter's MC charge again. This is how cavalry often operated against infantry: repeated charges and break-offs, never remaining motionless which would allow the infantry to pull the riders off their horses.

Meanwhile Peter's own infantry advance whilst the LH shake out a line and get ready to rear-end the Romans.

The cavalry break off after the charge, one unit passing through a unit of LI.

Turn 4. Rome.

In go the Legions. It's never a good idea to hold them back.

Turn 4. Melee.

Nobody routs.

Turn 5. Carthage.

The Warband close in on the Auxilia whilst the LH charge them in the rear, knocking off a morale interval. Meanwhile the general's MC unit charges a Legion unit, also winning the fight.

The MC break off....

....as do the LH.

Turn 5. Rome.

The Legions in the centre continue to drive ahead. One MC unit rear-ends the Poeni foot (ouch!) whilst another moves up to engage the Numidian LH.

Turn 5. Melee.

No rout yet.

Turn 6. Carthage.

In go the Warband and the LH, routing one Auxilia unit and seriously damaging the other. The Auxilia are doing their involuntary devotio just as planned. The bards will write a decent song in your honour chaps....

The Warband unit occupies the vacated square.

Turn 6. Rome.

The uncommitted MC unit leaves the Auxilia to their fate whilst the uncommanded LI see if they can get somewhere useful. One Legion executes much needed line relief, returning to its highest morale interval.

Turn 6. Melee.

The surviving Auxilia unit and one of the Poeni units fold.

Victorious units occupy the vacated squares.

Turn 7. Carthage.

The Numidian LH get active, one unit obliging some LI to evade (though they still get in their shot)

Turn 7. Rome.

The one Roman MC unit pulls back, ready to protect the Legions from the Numidians whilst the other comes up to see what mischief it can accomplish. Legions charge the Carthaginian MC and LI, driving them back.

Turn 7. Melee.

Nothing much.

Turn 8. Carthage.

MC rear-end a Legion, inflicting an all-grey modifier (firm morale intervals are treated as shaken) on it and winning the charge combat. Normally a unit charged in the rear becomes disordered with all morale intervals suffering a -2 modifier, but in the case of Legions the rear line is able to turn and face the threat, mitigating its effect.

A Numidian LH unit charges some LI, which evades back through Roman MC whilst the Warband, disordered from their about-face manoeuvre earlier (180 degree turns disorder unwieldy units) try to lumber back into the action.

The MC breaks off after the charge.

Turn 8. Rome.

One Legion charges a LI unit off the board. Roman MC move up on the flank of Carthaginian MC, ZOCing them and preventing them from charging the Legion again. The other Roman MC unit charges the Numidian LH who evade. Finally a Legion charges the last Poeni unit in the flank, disordering it.

Turn 8. Melee.

The Poeni unit routs....

....and its square is occupied by the victorious Legion.

At this point Peter called it. His Poeni were gone, his Warband too clumsy to get back into the fight in time and his MC pinned. He still had active Numidians but they weren't strong enough to make a real difference. Game over!