Classical & Roman, L'Art de la Guerre in Oxford in 2015
Late Imperial Roman vs Middle Imperial Roman
Game 1 Late Imperial Roman vs Classical Indian
Game 2 Late Imperial Roman vs Middle Imperial Roman
Game 3 Late Imperial Roman vs Palmyran
The lists for the Late Imperial Roman and Middle Imperial Roman from this game, as well as all the other lists from the games at Oxford can be seen here in the L'Art de la Guerre Wiki.
Pictures of Imperial Romans from my Ancients Photo Directory
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Game 2, a solid line of Middle Romans on a narrow table (because of a waterway) faces my much smaller and more mixed line. The two armies have lined their Auxilia up opposite each other but the enemy forces have more Legions and less Cataphracts. A good day for Little Big Man Studios shield transfers...
A General can only issue a command to a line of units 6 bases (or units) wide. So, it isn't quite as easy to line up and advance as it might seem.
Hoping to cause the enemy to break up their lines the Roman lancers and Cataphracts push up ahead of the line of legions.
The enemy are not quite wide enough to fill the whole table, and they have deployed some relatively weak textbook Roman cavalry on their flank - the Roman Lancers see an opportunity and charge home, down the hill and everything!
The combat works like this:
My Lancers: Heavy Cavalry = +1 vs mounted (for being Heavy Cavalry), +1 for "Impact" (because they are Lancers), +1 Uphill, -1 "Disordered" (the marker), +1 "Supporting unit" (the flank advantage of the 2nd unit) = +3
Enemy Cavalry = +1 vs mounted (for being Heavy Cavalry), -1 "Disordered" (the marker) = evens
Both sides roll a D6 and add their modifiers as above
Troops who are Elite add +1 to their roll if they roll a 1,2 or 3, and troops who are Mediocre deduct 1 if they roll 4,5 or 6
If my Lancers were to find themselves losing after the dice rolls they would add +1 for having better armour than their opponents
The loser then loses some cohesion levels: 1 level if the final difference is 1 or 2, 2 levels if the difference is 3 or 4, 3 levels if the difference is 5 or 6, and 4 levels on a difference of 7 or more (meaing anything is broken instantly by this swing)
The enemy Auxilia are also not quite wide enough, allowing the Later Roman Psiloi archers the opportunity to start shooting into their flank - the enemy pick up a cohesion marker at the end of the line which will weaken their combat ability, and make them one step (of three) closer to being destroyed.
The two lines clash - the Middle Romans have more Legions, but the Later Romans also have some overlaps too - and the potential for overlaps gets bigger, as the Middle Romans lose Auxilia in the early clashes
The Late Roman Lancers have also swept away the enemy horse, and now a proper envelopment thingy is about to happen (with just two units) as the enemy are forced to split off legions to try and halt the Lancers, who have an almost limitless pool of opportunities to choose from.
The Lancers charge home against the resolute enemy Heavy Foot
The combat works like this:
My Lancers: Heavy Cavalry = +1 Heavy Cavalry vs Heavy Foot in the flank (they would get nothing attacking them frontally), +1 for "Impact" (because they are Lancers), +1 for attacking anyone in the flank = +3
Enemy Legions = Zero (hit in the flank) = evens
Both sides roll a D6 and add their modifiers as above
The loser then loses some cohesion levels: 1 level if the final difference is 1 or 2, 2 levels if the difference is 3 or 4, 3 levels if the difference is 5 or 6, and 4 levels on a difference of 7 or more (meaing anything is broken instantly by this swing)
If the legion loses, it will also lose one EXTRA cohesion point because Lancers have "Impact" ability, which causes enemy foot one extra cohesion loss if they win in the first round of a combat. This is called "Furious Charge"
In the middle, the Legion on Legion fight is a slog - the Middle Romans have 2 overlaps though, slightly offset by the shooting the Later Romans have been able to do as the Middle Romans advance - markers sprout as the 4-hit Heavy Infantry start to slip down the cohesion ladder...
If a unit has suffered multiple cohesion losses, it still only counts a "-1" in combat - there is no extra penalty for having sufferd more than one loss. Rallying troops is therefore only really sensible if they are one cohesion point down...
The Auxilia battle is much more decisive - the Late Romans are chewing up the smaller formation of Middle Auxiia at a rate of knots, as overlaps and the drip drip of pre-combat infantry shooting takes its' toll
My Auxilia have rear support. This counts as a +1 if they lose the first round of a combat. Probably not worth it in retrospect..
The Lancers are struggling to really achieve much quickly, as their commander is also busy trying to rearrange the Cataphacts who have redeployed to the middle. This limits the number of pips available to move the Lancers onto the flanks of the advancing Legions.
The Legions at the end of the line take full advantage of the ability of units to turn and charge in this ruleset, driving off the LH and then allowing the other Legion to turn about and charge the flank of the still-engaged Lancers!
Being hit in the flank when engaged to the front is an IMMEDIATE cohesion loss, which then applies in the combat phase as a "-1". The two units originally fighting still fight the combat, however the one that has been hit on the flank loses any factors it may have had (for its troop type, such as IMpact, Javelins, Furious Charge or 2HW) and starts with a base factor of zero. Add to this the -1 cohesion modifier, and you are starting at at least -1. Not good... although at least Armour and Heavy Armour still count if (when) you lose.
The Late Roman Auxilia are now swirling through the woods, with only one enemy unit still left... The end of the Middle Roman Legionary line is now also in their sights ..
And not a moment too soon, as the overlapped Late Roman Legions are starting to crumble ... and also starting to push forwards to threaten the flanks of their opponents - the battle is breaking down into an attrition slog!
But, it still is much as Barker Intended, with the two lines of troops standing toe to toe and trading blows...
The flanking Lancer attack has now been mopped up by the tough as old sandals Middle Legions - some have take some serious damage, but they are not dead... yet!
The Late Romans have however suddenly achieved a breakthrough and have turned the end of the Middle Roman line - the Auxilia may be too late to join in...
Pinned from the front by the threat of the Cataphracts, the Middle Romans are now fighting a desperate rearguard action to stop their line being rolled up...
The Result is a big win for the Later Romans!
Click here for the report of the next game in this competition, or read on for the post match summaries from the Generals involved, as well as another episode of legendary expert analysis from Hannibal
Post Match Summary from the Late Imperial Roman Commander
For over a thousand years Roman conquerors returning from the wars have enjoyed the honor of triumph, a tumultuous parade and a flattery from the crowd - and here, emerging again from deep sleep my men have won for me exactly such a Triumph!
The simple expedient of having a wider army than the opposition, learnt at such a cost in the first game has now been turned to my advantage here in this mid-campaign battle, and to have it followed up by the blades of the legions, brave but outnumbered they forced their way forwards in this veritable Civil War against their brothers to win the crown for me and my family and not the other bloke (whoever he was)
It was a shame that my lancers were not more decisive after taking the edge off of the other army, but sometimes these things happen and the psychological impact of the rollup of the flank was almost as good.
I think now that the stage is well set for the next game - and my army is now motivated and well lead and ready to win again.
Hannibal's Post Match Analysis
You sir do not have the right to claim so much as a win at dice, and certainly not a triumph from this match of luck where your men took on a greater number of enemies frontally and somehow ended up winning. You are surely not a great soldier and so as one would not ask a shoemaker to judge beyond the sandal, we cannot expect you to take the true measure from this victory.
In reality you struggled to exploit a flanking opportunity created by the lack of opposition for your horse, and the reason was simple - your General was too far away helping the Cataphracts who did not need him, and he was out of command range of the Lancers who did in fact need the extra pips.
If they could have been commanded perhaps you could have run the length of the line and picked places to join in and support your legions and win a faster victory.
Looking back, it is not only clear that you are no great General, but that there's nothing that is more filthy than you in your victories - let's see if you can get lucky again in the next game
Click here for the report of the next game in this competition
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Game 1 Late Imperial Roman vs Classical Indian
Game 2 Late Imperial Roman vs Middle Imperial Roman
Game 3 Late Imperial Roman vs Palmyran
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