So, our intrepid war reporter for “Sol” returned from deepest Scythia to the sun-drenched plains of Southern Italy to find the pesky Carthaginians still there. The game of two weeks ago was reprised but with sides reversed.
Phil started quite aggressively pushing the massed Quincunx in the Roman center forward. Malcolm did likewise on the Roman right, Chris remained passive on the left. Was treachery afoot?? With Dave “hors de combat” both Punic wings were left to Tony and he advanced, seizing the high ground on their right and advancing to meet Malcolm on the left. Not to be outdone Rob pushed the deep units of the centre forward to confront the Roman Legions. This was going to be painful.
The Chris/Tony battle on the Roman right settled into a tit-for-tat game of disorder but seemed to have no impact on the game. How wrong we would be!
Malcolm soon destroyed a unit of cavalry and the Punic left seemed to be in trouble. Deft use of Velites only added to the Carthaginian woes. In the centre however Rob scored a victory when a combined slinger, elephant, Gallic warband attack on a Qincunx destroyed it in a single turn .The battle almost seemed to swing in favour of the Carthaginians.
Malcolm however continued his aggressive attack. One of the Carthaginian camps was stormed, a second cavalry unit destroyed and Numidians forced to flee off table. In the centre Rob couldn’t repeat his early feat and indeed his pachyderms were stuck behind his own units. A few disorders also made life far more difficult. Suddenly a one box gap appeared in the line of the Carthaginian right and a unit of Chris’ velites rushed through. Tony lost slingers and Chris some more Velites, but those losses brought the Carthaginians close to defeat. One more turn saw Chris’ lights storm the camp and claim victory.
A hard-fought game and one which was probably more even than the coin-count implied. Some poor chit-pulling for the Carthaginians was unfortunate and my the end Tony was decidedly grumpy. Still, if you will go and invade someone else’s country best watch out. A literally painful lesson for Crassus about 150 years later!
Simon
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