An Ancient Campaign - Part 10

Over recent posts, we have followed a hypothetical Ancient campaign where a Carthaginian force has invaded a Roman client state, Luninaria, and marched on its capital city and administrative centre. Now, we arrive at the concluding map moves, leading us to the ultimate and decisive battle that will determine the fate of the campaign.

Campaign map

After their recent success in the previous tabletop game, the Carthaginians advance their battle readiness token by one step, reflecting their army’s battle readiness. Their goal is to reach the Aurelia city square, they roll the dice for their next map move. The first roll yields a result of 3, moving their token to land on "supply delayed" and causing them to retreat by 3 squares. With their next roll of the dice a 4 is achieved, enabling them to progress 4 squares and position themselves just outside the city of Aurelia. With a final roll of 1, they successfully breach the city's defences. The Roman army’s battle readiness is advanced 3 steps, 1 for each dice rolled. This sets the stage for the ultimate and decisive battle on the tabletop, where the battle readiness tables will come into play. The outcome of this battle will determine the victor of the entire campaign.

A Late Rule Change

When I initially created the battle readiness tables, I had the idea of incorporating advantage cards into the chance card decks utilised by both sides, replacing the no effect cards. However, after some further thinking, I have reconsidered this rule. Including three advantage chance cards for each side would potentially introduce an excessive number of advantages, potentially leading to a very chaotic game. Therefore, I have decided to modify this rule. Instead, for each advantage indicated on the readiness tables, an army can select a unit to be a veteran unit, giving them certain combat benefits during the game.

As I am using the One-Hour Wargames Ancient rules throughout this campaign, the veteran unit rule will operate as follows: 

• Whenever a veteran unit is involved in shooting or combat, they will roll two dice and choose the highest scoring dice, discarding the lower scoring one. This highest scoring dice will be used to determine the number of hits inflicted during the shooting or combat action. 
• This modification aims to reflect the enhanced skill and effectiveness of the veteran unit in battle.

The Scenario

The scenario selected is Pitched Battle (1) from One-Hours Wargames.

The armies deployed ready for the final campaign battle.

Order of Battle…

Rome:

• 6 x heavy infantry (3 will be veterans)
• 2 x light infantry
• 1 x cavalry

Carthage:

• 3 x heavy infantry (2 will be veterans)
• 2 x cavalry (1 will be veteran)
• 1 x light infantry
• 2 x Gaul warbands

Campaign Narrative…

After securing a resounding victory at Solara, Mago, the veteran Carthaginian commander, wasted no time in pressing forward along the coastal road towards his coveted prize, Aurelia. This distinguished city serves as the capital and administrative centre of Luminaria. Mago's local network of spies relayed valuable intelligence, the Romans, recognising the gravity of the impending confrontation, had mustered a formidable army to confront him outside Aurelia's gates. Sensing the need for replenishment and to rest his army ahead of a major battle, Mago made the strategic decision to return to Solara, replenishing his supplies and assembling his largest force for the march towards Aurelia.

Meanwhile, Marcus, the Roman commander, although wounded from the battle at Solara, retained nominal command but had entrusted much of his authority to Lucius Octavius Marcellus, the Governor of Luminaria. Their forces had received a significant boost with the arrival of some veteran units from the frontier city of Pyrrhus, renowned for its rich military heritage in safeguarding Luminaria from local warbands.

As Mago's forces drew within a day’s march to Aurelia, his scouts returned in the waning hours of the evening, bearing crucial news. The Roman army stood deployed, blocking his advance. Undeterred, Mago meticulously prepared his own forces, deploying them across the valley from their Roman counterparts, primed for a decisive battle on the following day.

The next post will cover the decisive battle.