THE TITANS CLASH
Roman Turn Four (Rome 0/17AP, Carthage 1/17AP)
On the Roman right, Legion IV continues with the plan to move towards the Gallic foot - the velites are lined up to act as a screen against the elephants, spearmen and cavalry
(which I still thought were light horse). The scutarii and pedites move forward to secure the flank of the center and to support the anticipated move of Legion IV. On the Roman left, the Italian foot stays in the fields, with the veteran Legion I on is far flank - moving the medium foot into the open in the face of the cavalry, elephants and Gallic foot seems a bit like suicide. Meanwhile, the Roman cavalry - isolated, cut off, surrounded - begins its attempt to fight out of the bear trap its stepped into. In the center, the Roman velites charge forward and drive off the javelinmen and slingers, exposing the mercenary scutarii in the middle.
On the far left, I was hoping my Legion and Italian foot could threaten the flank of any force that tried to wheel in on the flank of my center Legions, so I held it back. On the right, emboldened by the slow advance of Carthage and safe in the belief that there was only a light horse unit to threaten my flank (d'oh), I continued to maneuver to gain superiority over the Gallic foot that was advancing.
Carthage Turn Four (Rome 0/17AP, Carthage 1/17AP)
On Carthage's right, the elephants, spearmen and cavalry don't really advance but shift for position. The Gallic foot comes forward, now committed towards the exposed Roman scutarii and pedites. In the center, the mercenary scutarii charge the velites and drive them off, but end up in charge range of the Roman hastati & principes. The slingers move up on the scutarrii flank to provide some fire support. The Gallic foot on the left wheels towards the center and the light horse wheel and advances out to the right to screen the Roman legion. Meanwhile, the elephants and spearmen on that right side turn around and face away from the Roman line towards the Roman cavalry.
Over in the back, Carthage cavalry engages the Roman armoured cavalry, while the Numidian lights pepper the Roman protected cavalry (in the gully) with javelins.
The elephants and spearmen turning around was an interesting move - with them facing away, I felt that me left flank was no longer under threat and that I was free to move the Italian allies out of the terrain (as you'll see). Definitely the key move in this turn for shaping the flow of the battle. Another possible key, had I realized they were cavalry and not light horse, would have been the lining up of the cavalry on the river bank to point at my Legion - however, thinking they were just light horse, I didn't adjust my plan much at all.
Roman Turn Five (Rome 0/17AP, Carthage 1/17AP)
The real fighting begins...
Legion II, in the center (a BG of 8 Hastatii & Principes) charges into the mercenary scutarii and despite being disordered manages to win impact and melee. Legion III (the other H&P BG), screened off by the conforming of its partner, turns to move to better position. On the Roman right, the Roman scutarii throw themselves at the Gallic foot to no effect... the pedites move into position to provide help in the next Roman turn. On the far right, Legion IV does some mental math and decides that the elephants and spearmen on that side may come in quick - it dresses the lines to face them. The velites go to screen what they think is light horse, to prevent it from dashing in on the flank of the now engaged medium foot past the open field.
On the left, feeling emboldened by the reverse of the elephants and spearmen on that side, the Roman velites come out to toss ineffective javelins at the light horse and the Italian allied foot begins to march out of the enclosed field. Meanwhile, the Roman cavalry fights on - the armored engaged and the protected futilely chasing after Numidian lights in the gully... while Carthage lurks and waits for its chance to do a flank charge on the unwary equites.
I expected the scutarii to be broken by the Gallic foot (they don't have the greatest track record for me so far), so was maneuvering the Legion III to fill that hole when it appeared. Despite being disordered, I figured I had a good chance to hold the mercenary scutarii in the center... my plan being to get the velites on the flank of that battle. I had totally written off the cavalry by this point, and was just happy that my two units were apparently tying up 6 units of Carthage.
Carthage Turn Five (Rome 1/17AP, Carthage 2/17AP)
Carthage's left organizes itself, with the elephants and spearmen getting into line again. The cavalry moves past the velites screen and aims for the Roman flank
(of course, I'm still thinking its light horse, so am not too worried about the shooting... *sigh*). The scutarii come off worse against the Gallic foot, but aren't broken yet. In the center, luck goes with the Romans, who manage to win by a hit and fragment the mercenary scutarii. The Gallic foot on the right moves up threateningly... but the light horse moves away, heading towards Carthage's far left.
In the cavalry battles in the rear, a flank charge by the Numidians is telling, and the Roman equites begin to falter and crack.
I'm amused how much my ignorance of the true nature of that cavalry on the river side influenced events. Had I but clicked that it was not light horse earlier, things would have been different on that flank. As it was, my biggest fear about it was that Malcolm was going to run it past my Legion to overrun my camp for the 2 APs.
At this point, it looked like my outflank had drawn off 7 Carthage battlegroups - nearly a third of the army was either fighting or facing the Roman cavalry. This definitely gave me the confidence to move out on the flanks, since I felt my own flanks to be fairly secure.
Roman Turn Six (Rome 3/17AP, Carthage 2/17AP)
Not worried at all about the "light horse" on their right, Legion IV turns and aims itself to march towards the center... the plan is back on to try and plug the gap between the open field and the plantation. Unfortunately, their commander had moved away so the battleline was broken and they moved separately. The scutarii hold the line, but take more casualties. However, the support from the pedites, which join the fray, helps to balance the odds somewhat. Legion III is still expecting a collapse, though, and sets up to deal with the resulting hole.
The center battle between Legion II and the mercenary scutarii goes nowhere, with both sides holding steady. The velites on the left of the Legion move up, while the Italian foot organizes itself in front of the enclosed fields. Legion I wheels and aims towards the Gallic foot as well, anticipating they will advance into range... Legion I's velites move to screen off the light horse, in case it comes back.
The Roman equites break and route off the table... the other Roman cavalry finally is lured into position for the lurking Carthage cavalry to launch its flank charge.
The elephants and spearmen on my right had been so passive to this point, I decided I could probably screen them with the velites and march the Legion away with impunity. On the contrary, I think presenting my flank and rear to the Carthaginians was a bit like handing them a Red Bull and waving a red flag. My thinking with the velites was that I had to get that Gallic foot committed away from the center... I wasn't sure my Italian foot would hold against it, but with Legion I getting set up to come in for support, it was worth the risk.
Carthage Turn Six (Rome 5/17AP, Carthage 5/17AP)
Carthage lurches into activity on the flanks ... on their left, the elephants plow ahead through the open fields, driving off the velites screen and threatening the Legion's flanks. The cavalry also moves up to threaten the rear. The Gallic foot breaks the scutarii, opening the hole that Legion III was waiting for - the pedites, being superior, hold their ground.
In the center, one of the mercenary scutarii cracks and runs to the rear - this shakes its partner battlegroup badly. The Gallic foot charge the velites, but end up impacting the Italian foot, who get lucky and manage to fragment the Gallic barbarians. On Carthage's right, the light horse is free to roam and runs around the flank... meanwhile, the elephants and spearmen reverse and point back to the Roman line.
Over in the gully, Carthage sticks in its cavalry and begins the destruction of the last of the Roman equites.
This is the point where I clicked that the "light horse" wasn't so light, realized I'd made a pretty big mistake turning the Legion as I had. The reverse of the elephants and spearmen, combined with the light horse running around my flank tossed a wrench in my plans a bit. That wing was once more threatened... but with the Gallic foot fragmented and the scutarrii wavering, I felt I could recover. On the other wing, though, I had broken my new rule and split the Legion and had no real plan to recover in the face of elephants, cavalry and spearmen.
