CREMONA 69 (first battle of)
Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 9:44 pm
UPDATE: minor changes to order of battle and placement.
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Thanks to Queen Victoria, we had a long weekend in Canada, which allowed me to get some serious work done.
Upon the death of Nero, the Roman world was convulsed by civil war. The Rhine legions which had backed their commander, Vitellius, marched on Italy where Otho, who had disposed of Nero's successor, Galba, had gathered the support of Italy and the Danube legions. In the heavily cultivated Po river valley, near Cremona, Otho Titianus, the Emperor's brother, led two and a half legions (I Adiutrix, XIII Gemina, parts of XIV Gemina) and the Praetorian cohorts against the Vitellians' three legions (I Italica, V Alaudae, XXI Rapax) under Caecina and Valens.
Designer's note:
the standard text on the "Year of the Four Emperors" is still Kenneth Wellesley's book of the same name (1975, new edition, Routledge, 2000)
the battle is also known as the first battle of Bedriacum.
All legions are similarly superior, impact foot, swordmen, with a few wrinkles:
I Adiutrix was a new legion raised from naval personnel but did have a very good core: half of it is average, but the first cohort is elite, swordmen +.
V Alaudae first cohort is elite, swordmen + due to superior leadership.
XIII Gemina suffered from poor leadership and its first cohort leadership rating is Troop, not Field like other legions.
Praetorian cohorts are Elite, impact foot, swordmen +.
The Othonians tried to outflank the Vitellians by ferrying a group of gladiators across the Po but they were surrounded and destroyed by the Batavians. Don't forget them in the corner.
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- Cremona 69.zip
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Upon the death of Nero, the Roman world was convulsed by civil war. The Rhine legions which had backed their commander, Vitellius, marched on Italy where Otho, who had disposed of Nero's successor, Galba, had gathered the support of Italy and the Danube legions. In the heavily cultivated Po river valley, near Cremona, Otho Titianus, the Emperor's brother, led two and a half legions (I Adiutrix, XIII Gemina, parts of XIV Gemina) and the Praetorian cohorts against the Vitellians' three legions (I Italica, V Alaudae, XXI Rapax) under Caecina and Valens.
Designer's note:
the standard text on the "Year of the Four Emperors" is still Kenneth Wellesley's book of the same name (1975, new edition, Routledge, 2000)
the battle is also known as the first battle of Bedriacum.
All legions are similarly superior, impact foot, swordmen, with a few wrinkles:
I Adiutrix was a new legion raised from naval personnel but did have a very good core: half of it is average, but the first cohort is elite, swordmen +.
V Alaudae first cohort is elite, swordmen + due to superior leadership.
XIII Gemina suffered from poor leadership and its first cohort leadership rating is Troop, not Field like other legions.
Praetorian cohorts are Elite, impact foot, swordmen +.
The Othonians tried to outflank the Vitellians by ferrying a group of gladiators across the Po but they were surrounded and destroyed by the Batavians. Don't forget them in the corner.