Hail Caesar Battle Report: Rome vs. Carthage

Turn one: The Roman III legion advanced cautiously (one move) as did the Samnites. The Carthaginians sent some skirmishers forward and they drew first blood. The III Legion advanced one move, but the Italians and Celts didn’t budge (high command rolls)

Turn two: The Carthaginians won the initiative. On their left, two skirmisher units charged their counterparts with mixed results. They drove back one, but lost one unit all together. The Numidians infantry advanced, but its cavalry held back. In the middle, the elephants moved forward hoping to engage the legionaires to their front, but they fell short. The cavalry charged the IV Legions cavalry and, much to their surprise, were soundly defeated (no saves made on five hits!) and driven back disordered. The veterans again only advanced one move. On the Roman turn, the Italians and Celts both rolled high again and didn’t move. The IV Legion engaged one of the elephants and destroyed it and drove back its supports. This turn would show what a significant advantage pilum is for the Romans. Since they were charging, they would hit on 3+, and the enemy would save -1, in this case on sixes only. The Samnites refused to advance, but the mighty III Legion rolled incredibly well and covered 18 inches to slam into the Numidian medium infantry. Two groups were driven back disordered with the victorious legionaires following right on their heels. A group of Roman cavalry charged home into some citizen spearmen and won the combat, but the citizen soldiers rolled well on their break test and held their ground. Overall, it was not a good turn for the Carthaginians. Hopefully, in turn three, their better infantry will enter the fray and turn the tide.

Turn three, Roman first initiative: The Roman III Legion was largely successful in neutralizing the Libyan spearmen on this flank. With the help of the Samnite division, they completely destroyed the Numidian infantry. The Carthaginians are in real trouble on this flank. The IV Legion’s infantry is pressing hard against the Carthaginian center. The Italians and Celts are not enthusiastic about engaging the veteran units confronting them.

Turn three, Carthaginian initiative: The Numidian cavalry did its best to hold back the Romans and Samnites. On the hill, the remaining elephant was driven back close to being shaken`while the other units were locked in a battle of attrition. Two veteran units finally locked horns with the Italian legion. The levy Italians held their own against this assault.

Turn four, Roman initiative: On turn four the Romans won the initiative. On their right, they continued to battle the Libyan spearmen without a clear outcome. To their left, however, the Numidian cavalry was completely destroyed, leaving the Carthaginian line pierced. On the hill, the Roman Fourth Legion continued to drive back the Carthaginians before them. One hastati unit was particularly heroic in fighting three Carthaginian units to a draw three consecutive times before having to retire. The Italian Legion stubbornly wrestled with Hanibal’s veterans. The Celtic cavalry charged home against one veteran phalanx but was forced to pull back disordered.

Turn four, Carthaginian initiative: The Carthaginian left was eager to press its advantage. Unfortunately, on its command roll a six and a five tumbled forth and that was that. The last two small units of Numidian light cavalry ran off allowing the Samnite infantry to use their sweeping advance to turn into position to attack the Carthaginian flank to their left. On the hill, two units of Libyan spearmen finally drove off the feisty hastati unit that had held them up for three rounds of combat. They surged forward and destroyed a unit of cavalry but had to stop there. This was the high water mark of the attack. Both units, however, were close to reaching their stamina limit and several unscathed Roman units were ready to counterattack. The Carthaginian cavalry rolled poorly on its command attempt and was only able to advance nine inches, not nearly enough to support the overall attack. The veterans finally ground down three units of Italians, but at a significant cost. They, too, were close to reaching their breaking point. It was clear that the Carthaginians had been defeated. Though the Romans had sustained heavy casualties, they clearly had subdued the enemy.

This was a fun game. Despite the points being even, it sure seemed that the Romans had an edge in both numbers and troop quality. The fact that the Carthaginians rolled poorly in both command and combat situations did not help their cause. This was the first game where the cavalry were fielded as small units. They were quite powerful. The long spears of the Carthaginians were quite helpful against the cavalry. I will need to do some more research on what units can do once they win a combat. If they have supports, are the supports able to advance with them to remain in contact? That's one question I have. Also, I need to do a better job of using initiative for units that are within 12 inches of the enemy.