Second Punic War - Castulo (211 BC)

This is the seventh scenario in our campaign representing the Second Punic War based on my own campaign rules. It represents the Battle of Castulo fought in 211 BC near modern Linares in Andalusia. 

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

The History

Time runs out for Publius Scipio. After several years of unbroken successes, the Scipio brothers rashly divide their armies to defeat the Carthaginians in detail. 

As Publius Scipio neared Castulo, he was harassed day and night by the Numidian light cavalry under Masinissa. When informed that Indibilis was moving across his line of retreat with 7,500 Celt-Iberians, Publius Scipio decided not to face Mago but to attack the Iberian chieftain, fearing that he would be surrounded by Carthaginian forces. The Romans marched out that night to launch an attack on the Iberians and, hopefully, evade Masinissa's cavalry. They marched throughout the night and caught Indibilis and his men by surprise in the early morning; and, with a numerical superiority, began to gain the upper hand in the ensuing action. However, the Iberians managed to hold off the Romans in the confused night battle just long enough for Masinissa to arrive.

With the Numidian cavalry attacking from the flank, the Roman assault on the Iberians began to slacken. When Mago and Hasdrubal Gisco arrived with their combined armies, the Romans finally, after a grim struggle, broke and fled, leaving Publius Scipio and most of their comrades dead on the field. 

Shortly thereafter, Publius Scipio’s son, Scipio Africanus, comes to Spain, rebuilds and retrains the Roman army, and wins the battles of Baecula and Ilipa, thus avenging the deaths of his father and uncle.

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 Romans started by ordering forward their elite heavy legionaries to complete their line.

Ignoring the Roman centre, the Carthaginians activated their flanks.

On their right flank, the Carthaginian infantry with Hasdrubal in command moved into the woods.

While on their left flank, the Celt-Iberian warriors, with Masinissa in close support, charged into the Roman legionaries. Both sides took losses, but the Romans came off the worse. 

The whole Roman line was ordered to advance. They contacted a unit of Celt-Iberian auxilia, which they pushed back with casualties.

The Carthaginians pushed forward their left flank.

The charging Celt-Iberian warriors destroyed one unit of Roman legionaries and caused serious casualties to a second. Masinissa's Numidian light horse caused the Roman light infantry to retreat. Javelins from a unit of Celt-Iberian auxilia caused casualties to the unit of legionaries led by Publius Scipio himself.

The Romans continued their advance in the centre

One unit of Celt-Iberian auxilia was destroyed, the second unit of warriors was decimated and fled, but the third unit of Celt-Iberian auxilia fought well and despite taking losses caused serious casualties to Publius Scipio's already understrength legionaries.

The Carthaginians advanced their right flank though the woods, but this was ignored by the Romans who instead continued to advance their centre.

As they advanced, the Roman elite heavy legionaries eliminated the Celt-Iberian auxilia who stood bravely, but perhaps foolishly, in their path.

Masinissa ordered his Numidian light horse to perform a mounted charge, they rode behind Scipio and his legionaries and attacked from the rear. They destroyed the single unit of legionaries marching with Scipio.

Having first despatched the legionaries, the Numidian light horse with Masinissa at their head, slaughtered Publius Cornelius Scipio and his staff.

Seeing the loss of their general, the Roman army fled the field.

Scenario Result 

Carthaginian Victory: Carthaginians 4 - Romans 3

Campaign Result 

	Victories	Banners
Romans	3	35
Carthaginians	4	31

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