FoG V1.0 Ancients in the ITC in Lisbon 2012

Later Carthaginian vs Late Republican Roman

Game 1 Later Carthaginian vs Alexandrian Macedonian

Game 2 Later Carthaginian vs Late Republican Roman

Game 3 Later Carthaginian vs Later Seleucid

Game 4 Later Carthaginian vs Later Republican Roman (Cassius)

Match Reports Index

So, 3 games down and the forces of Hannibal are on the up again, having recorded a clear victory in round 3. The 4th game was a grudge match - well, for the other players in the Barbarian team who were all Portuguese locals, as our opponents were the "actual" Portuguese team. Would the game offer salvation, redemption, or another right shoe-ing for the noble leader yet somewhat oversized leader of the Carthaginian nation?

The lists for the Later Carthaginian and Later Republican Roman (Cassius) from this game, as well as all the other lists from the games at ITC Lisbon can be seen here in the FoG:AM Wiki.

The initial matchup was less than promising - it was another one of those dastardly Roman armies. But at least history was on Hannibal's side, on the rather unlikely and mathematically suspect basis that the tactic of taking on 4 Legions with 6 Superior Armoured Spearmen hadn't worked last time around, but really it should so perhaps the dice gods owed Hannibal a victory in compensation for their capriciousness the previous afternoon.

For the fourth time (not entirely unsurprising perhaps given the tightly themed nature of the tournament) the Carthaginians tactics were to throw down lots of terrain and try and split up the enemy army as it advanced, creating opportunities to overlap them and grind them into the Lisbon dust.

This initial stage of the game however went spectacularly wrong, with not a single piece of terrain falling on the Carthaginian side of the table at all, leaving a billiard table into which the Romans could advance.

The Romans had, unsurprisingly, a solid core of Superior legionaries bulked out with a group of rather odd looking Thracians, with cavalry and light horse on either wing. Their skirmishers were lurking in some rough ground to the left of the main battle line. Hannibal, needing maximum flexibility, had deployed his African Spearmen in the middle, flanked by the two small units of Romans who intended to act as mini mobile terrain pieces to support the mounted on the flanks. All the Gallic cavalry were masses on the Carthaginian left, supported by the 2 Elephants, and the Spanish MF were poised to make a bee-line for the only accessible piece of terrain, currently occupied by Roman skirmishers, in an attempt both to outflank the Roman Legions and also get themselves into a position where they would be less vulnerable to the Heavy Infantry that made up the Romans battle troops.

The Carthaginians inched slowly forward against what seemed like a surprisingly small number of Legions in the Roman middle.

Yes, 4 legions, in 2 blocks of 2 flanking a unit of 6 bases of Thracians dressed as armoured Greek Peltasts with round shields. With only 4 Legions to face with 3 Spear units and potentially the Elephants, Hannibal started to think this game could actually be won - it was less than half the number of Legions he had faced yesterday.

On the right a unit of Numidians were attempting to delay a slightly larger Roman mounted skirmish unit, buying time until the armoured Campanian Imitation Legions could get into play and help push them back. The Romans rather underpowered unit of bog-standard cavalry were being distracted by the rapid advance of the Carthaginians skirmish screen, which was already contesting the one piece of terrain as they too waited for heavier support in the form of the onrushing Spanish

The left looked good as well - 2 units of Gauls faced off only one unit of Roman cavalry, and with Hannibal's Elephant Corps also coming into play, and the end of the African Spear line the Carthaginians enjoyed a distinct advantage - perhaps the open terrain would help them sweep the Romans LH away more quickly, and there would be little if any need to engage the Legions at all ?

Here the cautious and coherent nature of the Carthaginian advance can be seen clearly, as the Romans have scattered their various units on the left of the shot. The Legions are yet to make a move, freeing up the Carthaginians to invest effort pushing on both flanks where they seem to hold the advantage

As the Gauls move up they, and the Numidians next to them, come under a rain of arrows from the rather surprising amount of LH Bw/Sw in the Roman army (that's the Cassius version for you - the only Roman army Dave Ruddock would use I guess) and despite the proximity of Hannibal (just out of shot to the right) two of the three Carthaginian units suffer cohesion losses. That doesn't help..

Irritated by the impudence, and annoyed to be fighting an army which combined the highly offensive characteristics of being both "Roman" and a "LH skirmisher dancing" army, Hannibal flies into a rage and orders his Gauls to charge, scattering the Roman LH like LH being charged in a game of FoG by heavier cavalry. This bold advance surprises the Romans own horsemen, who are for some strange reason deployed in a single line - they are now too close to the Gauls to risk an evade in a future move, so the battle will be joined right here..

On the other flank the Campanians have now moved up into position, and with the Roman cavalry still transfixed by the Baleric slingers the Campanians feel confident enough to widen out into a single rank as with only a couple of LH units shooting at them their armour will protect them. The Romans try a tricksy LH move to sneak past, but the ever vigilant Numidians close the door on them with some alacrity. This flank seems stable, all the better to press on the other one…

The Gauls are starting to bully the Roman LH, who are now a long way from being a coherent formation. One Gallic unit pins a Roman LH unit against the edge of the world, whilst the other continues to stare down the Romans, secure in the knowledge that the Carthaginian Elephants are almost ready to join in the charge

Hannibal's reassuring presence fixes the Gauls cohesion, and as the Romans realise the game is up they themselves initiate a charge against the Gallic nobility. Hannibal is offering words of encouragement, but is not yet ready to commit himself to battle - and with the Elephants nearby, he has no real need to either.

On the other flank the other Roman cavalry decide they too want to join in, and initiate a rather evens-odds charge against the Campanians - that should bog down the right flank even more, as well as absorbing another Roman general. And still the Legions are yet to commit themselves

Well, many plans do seem to fail at the point of contact with the enemy, and this is not an exception to that rule - the Campanians lose a base and lose cohesion in an evens fight, and instantly are facing defeat either from one more base loss, or from an inevitable cohesion slide as suddenly they are rolling just two dice against four.

That didn't take long - they break in the melee phase….

On the left a Gallic charge rolls short as the Romans roll long, and just fails to catch the evading light horse as they squirt along the edge of the table. Hmmm…

But as all this takes place on the extreme flanks, closer to where the decisive combat will occur the Spanish mercenaries are driving back the Roman skirmish screen. Once they push them out of the way the flank of the Roman Legions will be exposed - the Spanish drop cohesion but with the attentions of a Carthaginian general they will surely be O against a rather feeble fusillade of arrows and slingshots ?

The Gauls are coming of worst in the evens-odds battle against the Roman cavalry, losing a base as the melee grinds onwards. The Carthaginian Elephants however are now well within sniffing distance (which is quite a long way if you are an elephant with a 2-meter long nose) of committing themselves to the fray and the Gauls know that their influence in a cavalry battle will no doubt be significant.

That knowledge however does not stop the Gauls from losing yet another round of melee, losing another base and dropping to DISR. The elephants had better get a move on…

The Elephants charge home, supported by a line of African Spearmen, whilst more spearmen charge home on the far right. Battle is now being joined exactly as Hannibal would wish it - Both units of Africans are committed against single units of legionaries, and the Elephants are in against a combination of LH and Cavalry.

Even the Carthaginian sub generals are in the right places. The Romans will strike back, but for now the African Spearmen have the best possible opportunity to damage one of the Legions before the battle expands.

Well, that was a good theory while it lasted. But for the Africans losing a base is better than losing cohesion - the Africans are now advantaged in melee, and they have more dice. Observant readers may have spotted the other difference between this and the previous photo and will have realised that it would have been nice if their General had not just been killed though…

On the other flank, the Romans are proving vaguely resilient, as a LH unit manages to survive impact without losing a base - although it does acquire a nasty looking big black marker behind it. I suppose that is what happens when you are hit by Superior Spearmen and Elephants. The overlaps the Carthaginians had planned for, expected and assumed are now looking like they will be soon forthcoming.

However the Spanish, reading the writing on the wall, suffer two more cohesion losses as they are shot by a handful of skirmishers and break and flee from the superb threatening position that they have just marched half way across the field of battle to occupy. The Carthaginian plan is unravelling at a rate of knots not seen since a trans-Canadian dog sled driver got his woolly jumper snagged on a tree just before the start of the dog sled sprint race.

Finally something gives, and the Carthaginians record a broken enemy unit as the LH unsurprisingly rout away. Hannibal's men now have the overlaps they crave, against Legions and against the Roman Cavalry fighting the Gauls and the Elephants.

The routing Spanish rush past the rather astonished Roman cavalry and burst through the Balaeric slingers on their way to the back of the table…

The rather odd looking Thracians wade into the combat in a somewhat Assyrian-looking way (although with some of these Essex figures, the differences between Assyrians, Medieval Germans and Ghaznavid infantry are sometimes rather slim). The Carthaginians overlaps are now gone, however the Thracians are still MF so if they lose a round of combat their cohesion could take a battering quite quickly.

But the Thraciano-ssyrians are having none of that rubbish - they contribute to base losses on both sets of African Spearmen and as Hannibal's men drop to single ranks in both melees, their hoes of victory drop too.

The first unit of Africans is simply eroded by base losses and breaks - they have not had the best of days, although technically their commanding general has had an even worse one. At least he was killed before he could see their rout.

With the right flank now long evaporated for the Carthaginians, Roman LH have been steadily making a bee line for Hannibal's baggage and they now reach it, eating it on contact.

Things are desperate now for Carthage - the Campanians are the only troops left with which Hannibal can plug a gap in the line against the far better legions. At least by committing them it will force the issue - either their weight of numbers will tell and the Carthaginians can claw some more points from the game, or they too will be crushed by the skilled swordsmanship of the Romans proper Legions and the game will be over sooner…

For now everything in the Carthaginian army is at least coherent, and the Africans are fighting either an overlapped Legion or the MF Thraciano-ssyrians. Perhaps there is still hope…

One Legion has read Hannibal's script and picks up a nasty black marker - but elsewhere the ranks of the Africans are being thinned down dramatically by the relentless success of the Thraciano-ssyrrians.

Putting up an even more remarkable fight have been the Roman Cavalry - they have fought the Elephants to a standstill over multiple turns, and finally they knock the Gauls cohesion down to broken, all despite the influence of Hannibal. A phenomenal performance of resilience by one unit which has single-handedly held up an entire flank and kept the Carthaginian battle plan from being successful.

The clock is ticking ever more loudly in the middle as one lot of Africans drop to an irrecoverable FRAGGED, and the Camapnians feel the full force of a whole legion. At least one Roman Legion now has a nasty black hexagonal marker against it.. whatever that means?

The FRAGGED Africans inevitably break, disheartening the Campanians still further.

The Carthaginian attack had been stopped cold on a line drawn in the Roman sand - a ferocious assault involving all of Hannibal's best units has come up short against extraordinary Roman resilience.

The Campanians inevitably go…

And with that the game is over- a rapid, dramatic and crushing defeat for Hannibal at the hands of Rome.

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Game 1 Later Carthaginian vs Alexandrian Macedonian

Game 2 Later Carthaginian vs Late Republican Roman

Game 3 Later Carthaginian vs Later Seleucid

Game 4 Later Carthaginian vs Later Republican Roman (Cassius)

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