Rome pulls it out (what? maybe a finger...)

OK, so who had how much on which army at what odds?

Sure enough, the Romans (mostly because of their new Gallic overlords...) pull the proverbial cat out of the proverbial hat. What? A rabbit? That makes no sense at all--have you ever stuck a cat in a hat and then pulled it out? Do you know how angry it is? Rabbits? Faugh!

Anyway... with some luck and some good timing and a Gaelic-speaking mounted arm, the tricksy Romans manage to beat the Bruttii 4-0. No camps or generals went down, so no extra losses. The Bruttii are 3 Ax and a Ps poorer. The Gauls gain 2 prestige and so do the Romans (honours were even in today's Calabrian-killing event).

The Bruttii fall back on Bruttia 2 (*cough* assuming that Syracuse lets them through...) and we move on to Syracuse's turn.

Battle report here.

Autumn 214 start

Latium falls to the Syrcusan army (and the Gauls, and the Bruttii...)

A dark day for Rome! Their fierce defense of Latium has been in vain. Due to the rapid arrival of the Syrcusans' allies, the battle swung against Rome in the seventh turn, and the Roman army broke and, fighting, fell.

Rome lost its Cav general in combat on Turn 3, but actually kept fighting because it had already killed off a rash Syrcusan LH. It lost a Blade to the Gauls on Turn 7, but even that wouldn't have broken the warrior spirit of that gallant band, as their lead Blade, fighting at odds of 3:1 for several turns, had previously killed off a Syrcusan Spear.

What broke the back of the Roman Army was the Gallic leader charging with his chariot riders (presumably on foot...) over the parapet of the Romans' marching camp and beginning to sack the sutlers' supplies of wine and goodies. "Save the boys in the baggage!" cried the Primus Pilus, sounding strangely like Ian Holm in Kenneth Branagh's Henry V, and "Who will protect the washer-women?" was the shout raised by the Tribune of the Plebs (played by Terry Jones).

Upcoming battle

Rome is gasping and against the ropes, with Syracuse coming in swinging! Rome lost its northern territories to the Gauls; then it lost the southern lands it had seized from Bruttia. Now its next-to-last territory is under threat, as enemy ships beach on the Bay of Naples bearing grim-faced foemen and cavalry ride up from the south bearing banners emblazoned with the great tree of the Forest Sila.

The Roman army has staggered forward to defend Latium (Rome 1), with perhaps more hope than certitude. The thin Roman ranks number only 7 elements, while the Enemies of Rome roll in with 16! (10 from Syracuse and allied contingents of 3 each from Bruttia and Gaul)

Will the plucky Romans maneuver their way out of the path of this powerful haymaker? Or will they prove to have a glass jaw and go down for the count? Only the gods of war know for sure (and they're not telling!)

A Crushing Blow in Calabria

Last season, the Roman army had decided that discretion was the better part of valour and withdrew in the face of the surging Bruttian hordes. Their legate's confidence in the garrison commander he left behind in Naples seemed justified by the stout way that they resisted the assaults of the angry Bruttii upon the walls of their citadel (a pronoun of uncertain antecedent, as the citadel might be currently held by the Romans, but it originally belonged to those who now sought to wrench open its gates and soak its stones with the blood of its defenders).

And soak it they did, as the might (or was it the trickery?) of the city's original owners would not be denied. Come the dawn of midsummer, the banner of the Forest Sila once again floated above the ramparts in the morning breeze, and none but the crows knew where the velites and hastati left behind to hold the gates and walls were now to be found.

map for start of Summer 214

post-Gallic move map

Spring 214 Gallic move

Dire news the heralds bear this day to Rome! The army, led by the legate T. Durmius Ahala, has been defeated despite battling with great bravery against superior numbers. Romanus Secundus has been abandoned to the enemy as the field army has fallen back on (Roman player's choice: Rome or Romanus Primus). Three tribunes of the people fell on the plain of Mars; elections for their successors will be held shortly. Refugees are already arriving at the gates of the city.


I'm about to leave on a break (a week in the Highlands!), so I will try to file a full battle report when I return (hopefully with pictures). It was very close-run, with the Romans hoping at first to use their mounted arm to outflank the Gauls before the Syrcusans showed up, but being hampered by redeployments by the Gauls at start and a string of bad pip dice (6,5 to begin with, then 2,1,1,1,1--if I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it). The Syrcusans didn't turn up until Turn 7, and when they did they didn't actually *do* much, but they did keep the Roman left flank pinned down. Once the battlelines ran together, the Romans had to make the best of a bad job and press hard where they could get overlaps and flanks. The element of Titus Durmius (fighting among the princeps) actually killed off an element of Gallic skirmishers (so much for the deadliness of teenagers with stones), but the Gauls won the battle of broken-field fighting.

Final result: 4-3 Gaul

Gauls lose 2 Wb, 1 Ps; Romans lose 2 Bd, 1 Cv, 1 Ps; Syracusans lose no elements but kill none either.

Gauls earn 1 prestige point and capture the city.

Updated map when I return.