Second Punic War - 2nd Beneventum (214 BC)

This is the sixth scenario in our campaign representing the Second Punic War based on my own campaign rules. It represents the Battle of Beneventum fought in 214 BC near modern Benevento in Campania, 50 kilometres northeast of Naples. 

The scenario was played using the Commands & Colors Ancients rules but on hex terrain from Kallistra and using 6mm figures from Baccus instead of blocks. The river was made by turning some Kallistra hexes upside down and filling with modelling clay; I have posted about this method in an earlier blog post.

The History

Desperate for manpower to replace the losses at Cannae, the Romans found a unique solution; they formed two legions from slaves. They were given to Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus who saw their potential and trained them well. Two years later, still under his command, these legions engaged a Carthaginian army under Hanno.

Hannibal, while preparing to assault the city of Nola in Campania, was waiting for his nephew Hanno to bring reinforcements up the Via Appia by way of Beneventum. The consul Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus ordered Gracchus, to march from Lucercia to Beneventum with the idea of confining Hannibal in Campania. Hanno and Gracchus reached the city about the same time, but Gracchus got actual possession of the city due to the fact that there was a Roman garrison within. 

The two armies lined up in order of battle, arrayed in the fashion typical of the day. Gracchus issued a decree to his men before the battle - freedom to any soldier bringing back a Carthaginian head. 

The Roman attack started well, but as soon as Carthaginians began to fall, scores of Gracchus's troops broke ranks to decapitate corpses. Faced with a disintegrating army, Gracchus corrected his error by amending his decree to "win the battle and secure your freedom." The slave soldiers quickly reformed and swept all before them. 

Interestingly, these soldiers gave their loyalty to Gracchus - not Rome. When he was killed a few years later, most of the soldiers in these legions deserted.

The Refight

The Romans and the Carthaginians faced off against each other. Rome at the bottom of this picture, and Carthage at the top.

Seeing that his troops were not yet in line, Gracchus ordered his troops forward to form an ordered line.

The Carthaginian light troops, advanced, shot at the Roman warriors and lights, and then moved back again.

The Romans advanced on both their flanks to challenge the Carthaginians.

Mago led his light cavalry and elephants forward in a mounted charge. The cavalry charged the Roman auxilia forcing them to retreat with some loss.

The elephant charged straight into the Roman warriors, even they retreated after having taken losses.

The Carthaginians advanced their right flank, and the Romans countered this by advancing against them.

Hanno led his elite African heavy infantry to attack the Roman legionaries

The fight was a tough one, but the Carthaginians steadily got the better of the Romans.

Hanno ordered his African infantry to double time and surround the lone Roman auxilia unit. At the same time his Spanish warriors double-timed into a position to flank the Romans.

The Romans pushed forward their troops, reforming their line.

The Carthaginian medium infantry crashed into the Roman flank doing great damage.

The Romans fought back, the elite Roman legionaries led by Gracchus charged into the fight. 

This attack wiped out the African medium infantry and caused the Spanish warriors to flee with great loss.

Seeing the success of the Romans, Hanno led his elite African heavy infantry to attack the elite Roman legionaries under the command of Gracchus himself. The legionaries were wiped out and Gracchus was killed in the fighting.

Seeing the loss of their general, and the slaughter of their elite troops, the Roman army fled the field.

Scenario Result 

Carthaginian Victory: Carthaginians 7 - Romans 2

Campaign Result 

	Victories	Banners
Romans	3	32
Carthaginians	3	27

Second Punic War - Dertosa (215 BC)

This is the fifth scenario in our campaign representing the Second Punic War based on my own campaign rules. It represents the Battle of Dertosa which was also know as the Batlle of Ibera. 

The scenario was played using the Commands & Colors Ancients rules but on hex terrain from Kallistra and using 6mm figures from Baccus instead of blocks.

The History

After Cannae, Rome struggled to rebuild its armies, but needed time. In Spain, Hannibal’s brother Hasdrubal Barca commanded an army large enough to possibly let Carthage win the war – if it united with Hannibal’s victorious veterans. Standing in his way, however, were the legions of two capable (at last) consuls, the brothers Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus and Publius Cornelius Scipio (the father of Scipio Africanus).

The Romans had crossed the Ebro to besiege the Carthaginian-aligned town of Ibera. Hasdrubal approached and offered battle, which the Scipio brothers accepted. Both armies were of similar sizes, about 25,000 men. 

Both brothers knew of Cannae, but felt the only way to prevent encirclement was to quickly break the Carthaginian centre. When the battle commenced, the Roman legions fiercely attacked the Carthaginian centre, but unlike Cannae, there was enough Roman cavalry to hold their flanks. Lacking cavalry superiority (and his brother’s tactical genius), Hasdrubal was unable to surround the Romans before they broke through his centre. His cavalry joined the retreat, leaving the splendid heavy infantry to its fate. Rome was granted the time it needed to live and fight another day. Eight years later, Hasdrubal finally was able to march to Italy, but lost both his army and his life at the Battle of the Metaurus.

The Refight

The Romans and the Carthaginians faced off against each other. Rome at the bottom of this picture, and Carthage at the top.

The Roman commanders decided that their light infantry was too vulnerable in front of the legions, so ordered them to move towards the flanks.

Hasdrubal ordered his Numidian light cavalry to charge the Roman light infantry. Two units of Numidians attacked with the third in support. The first Numidians charged into the Roman, doing little damage but the hail of Roman javelins caused casualties to the Numidians and caused them to retreat back behind their own infantry. The result of the second Numidian attack was much more cautious, with neither side taking noticeable losses.

Deciding that the Carthaginian flanks were the danger, the Roman commanders ordered their whole infantry line to advance. They would push back the Numidian horse and the continue towards the Carthaginian centre.

The Numidian horse evaded the slow moving Roman infantry, but still took losses from the Roman pila.

The Carthaginian commander decided it would be better to be offensive, rather than wait for the slowly advancing Roman line. So Hasdrubal ordered his three units of the unarmoured Iberian infantry from the centre of his line to double time and attack the Romans. And a unit of Balearic slingers to attack the Roman light infantry.

The Carthaginian attack was unsuccessful and they took heavy losses, while only causing losses to the Roman light infantry.

The Roman legionaries attacked in response, even creeping round the right flank as their medium cavalry secured the left flank.

The attack of the legionaries destroyed 2 units of Iberian infantry an caused 50% casualties to a third. Only the legionaries under the command of Gnaeus Scipio took some losses.

With a shout of "I AM HASDRUBAL!" the Carthaginian commander ordered his elephants, supported by his medium cavalry, to charge the Roman light infantry to their front.

At the same time, on his right flank, Hasdrubal ordered his Iberian infantry to finish the fight with the Roman light infantry, which the destroyed.

While this was happening, the charge of the elephants was repulsed by the Roman light infantry. The elephants lost half their strength to the Roman javelins, and then turned and rampaged back to their own lines, but with out trampling any other unit.

Annoyed by the loss of his light infantry, Gnaeus Scipio led his legionaries to attack and destroy the offending Iberian infantry. In support he ordered his medium cavalry to drive of the Numidian light cavalry.

Seeing a chance to kill Gnaeus, Hasdrubal ordered his elite African infantry to double-time into the attack, with a unit of Balearic slingers in support.

Gnaeus' legionaries, the elite African infantry and the Balearic slingers all took heavy losses, but stood firm as the battle raged.

The Romans ordered their medium troops, cavalry and legionaries into the attack.

On the left, they destroyed the elite African infantry and forced the Balearic slingers to evade with losses.

On the right, three units of legionaries advanced in an arrow formation, to attack the Iberian infantry to their front causing 50% casualties.

On the Carthaginian right flank, two units of Numidian light cavalry started skirmishing with the advancing Romans, throwing their javelin out of range from the Roman swords. However, the caused no noticeable casualties.

The Romans continued their push forward in the centre, causing casualties to the defending Carthaginians as they were slowly pushed back.

Seeing that things were getting desperate, the Carthaginian commander ordered his remaining elephants to attack. They advanced past the legionaries, and then wheeled to attack them from the rear. Initially the legionaries took casualties, but the could battle back and eliminate the elephants.

Cheered on by Publius Cornelius Scipio, the Roman legionaries charged into the unarmoured Iberian infantry and wiped them out.

As they had taken so many losses, the Carthaginians lost the will to fight and retired from the battlefield, leaving the victorious Romans in possession.

Scenario Result 

Roman Victory: Carthaginians 1 - Romans 6

Campaign Result 

	Victories	Banners
Romans	3	30
Carthaginians	2	20

Second Punic War - Cannae (216 BC)

This is the fourth scenario in our campaign representing the Second Punic War based on my own campaign rules. 

The scenario was played using the Commands & Colors Ancients rules but on hex terrain from Kallistra and using 6mm figures from Baccus instead of blocks.

The History

Now, fully aware of the threat posed by Hannibal, the Romans assembled a truly large army, perhaps up to 80,000 strong, led by two consuls (Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro) who commanded on alternate days.

The traditional account puts Varro in command on the day of the battle, and much of the blame for the defeat has been laid on his shoulders. His low origins seem to be exaggerated in the sources, and Varro may have been made a scapegoat by the aristocratic establishment. He lacked the powerful descendants that Paullus had, descendants who were willing and able to protect his reputation—most notably his grandson Scipio Aemilianus, the patron of Polybius, one of the main sources of this history.

Varro was determined to attack Hannibal, who had posted his army in a location that negated the Roman advantage in numbers – bluffs on one flank and the Aufidus river (now called the Ofanto) on the other. Undeterred, Varro simply packed his legions one behind the other into the constricted area and launched the mass headlong at the Carthaginian centre. They advanced into yet another trap. Hannibal had deployed his excellent cavalry and heavy infantry on the wings, leaving his medium infantry and Celt levies in the centre. The Roman advance did indeed push the Carthaginian centre back and inflict losses, but in the meantime the Carthaginian cavalry had routed the Roman cavalry on both flanks and closed in on the rear of the Roman army while the heavy infantry advanced on both Roman flanks. Surrounded and unable to manoeuvre, the Roman soldiers were slaughtered by the thousands, and the army was destroyed. Cannae was Rome’s greatest military defeat, and Hannibal’s greatest victory.

 

The Refight

The Romans and the Carthaginians faced off against each other. Rome at the bottom of this picture, and Carthage at the top.

The battle started with the Romans widening their left flank in order to make envelopment by the Carthaginian Numidian cavalry much harder.

On the Carthaginian left flank, Hannibal and Hastrubal led forward their troops. The Balearic slingers advanced in front and started inflicting losses on the Roman light infantry.

Consul Gaius Terentius Varro then ordered his entire line of infantry to advance towards the enemy.

The Carthaginians advanced the infantry on their right flack, The heavy infantry moved into the front line and the Balearic slingers moved in front to start skirmishing with their Roman opponents.

The javelins of the Roman skirmishers caused the Balearic slingers to take losses and fall back.

On their right flank, the Carthaginians ordered forward Marhalbal with his Numidian light cavalry and the Balearic slingers to skirmish with the enemy. But they had no noticeable effect on the Roman line.

The Roman auxilia threw their javelins at Marhalbal's Numidian light cavalry causing some casualties.

The Carthaginians attacked with their centre, with the Gallic warriors in the lead. They crashed into the Roman light infantry who stood firm, having the legionaries and the consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus directly to their rear. Both sides took losses, but the Gallic warriors failed to gain ground.

The Roman light infantry moved out of the way as the Roman legionaries with consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus at their head charged into the Gallic warriors and annihilated them.

Determined to avenge their comrades, the Libyan heavy infantry double-timed to attack the Roman legionaries.

The fighting in the centre paused, with both sides having taken heavy losses. However the Carthaginian advance had been halted and consul Paullus had retired to bring up hid heavy infantry to block the gap.

The Romans pushed forward their auxilia into the attack.

The first Roman auxilia caused Marhalbal's Numidian light cavalry to evade after taking losses. 

The second Roman auxilia finished off the already decimated Libyan heavy infantry,

However the other Libyan heavy infantry was too hard a nut to crack even though it too had been decimated, and they managed to strike first causing the third Roman auxilia to retire after taking 50% losses.

Now much emboldened, these Libyan heavy infantry - with Marhalbal and a handful of Numidian light cavalry in support - charged into the neared Roman legionaries. However the Romans stood firm, and wiped out the attacking Libyans without taking any losses themselves.

The Romans ordered forward their light troops, to deal with the Numidian cavalry which evaded after taking some losses.

The Carthaginian light troops opened up on the Roman auxilia, causing some losses and the most advanced unit to retire to the safety of its own line. 

Seemingly unsure where to concentrate, the Romans attacked with their cavalry on the left flank, moved forward their heavy infantry with Paullus in the centre, and on the right a unit of legionaries advanced.

The advancing legionaries were immediately charged by a combination of Carthaginian Cavalry with Hasdrubal at their head and Gallic warriors.

Both the warriors and the legionaries took losses before the legionaries retired.

On the Roman left, they pushed forward and their cavalry yet again caused the Numidians to evade after taking losses.

In the centre, the Carthaginian Cavalry and the Gallic warriors attacked again, the cavalry charged the legionaries while the warriors charged the supporting auxilia.

But yet again this attack failed, the Romans stood firm despite being outnumbered.

Now seeing their chance to attack the weakened Carthaginians, Marcus Atilius Regulus brought up a fresh unit of heavy infantry, and together with the legionaries and auxilia they wiped out both the  Gallic warriors and the Carthaginian Cavalry killing their commander Hasdrubal.

These losses were the final straw for the Carthaginian army, they turned and fled the field.

The Romans had reversed history and defeated the Carthaginians, they achieved the major victory that Hannibal had hoped for. However consul Varro remained stationary on the unengaged right wing throughout the battle, proving perhaps that Polybius' view of him wasn't that far off.

Scenario Result 

Roman Victory: Carthaginians 2 - Romans 7

Campaign Result 

	Victories	Banners
Romans	2	24
Carthaginians	2	19