Battle of Lake Trasimene - scenarios and remote game report

This week, I hosted a remote Ancients game with Jon of Palouse Wargaming Journal blog. The Battle of Lake Trasimene was selected, and we would be using a variant of One-Hour Wargames that uses D3 dice instead of D6. These rules can be found at the top of the tab. I recently added a morale and an army resolve system to the rules, the resolve mechanism is based on Jon's approach in his Hex-Based Basic Impetus rules variant.

Early stages of the game.

When setting up the scenario, I searched the internet looking at various historical sites, wargaming sites, and some board game sites for ideas on both the terrain layout and composition of forces involved. I also ran a couple of quick solo play tests to ensure that the scenario was reasonably balanced a possible for an ambush scenario.

Here is the scenario detailed below followed by the battle report.

Scenario - Battle or Lake Trasimene

Background

On June 21, 217 BC, Hannibal and his Carthaginian army ambushed a Roman army led by Gaius Flaminius at Lake Trasimene. The battle resulted in a decisive victory for Hannibal, with the Romans suffering heavy casualties.

Hannibal had positioned his army on the hills overlooking the road that the Romans would be marching along. When the Romans arrived, they were attacked from all sides. The Romans were caught completely by surprise and were unable to form a proper battle line.

The battle raged for several hours, but the Carthaginians eventually overwhelmed the Romans. Flaminius was killed in the battle, and the majority of the Roman army was either killed or captured. Only a small number of Romans managed to escape.

Situation

The Roman army is marching along the southern edge of the tabletop while the ambushing Carthaginian army is positioned in and around the hills ready to spring the trap.

The layout on a 6x4 foot tabletop

Orders of Battle

Roman

6 x heavy infantry

1 x cavalry

2 x light infantry

Roman Army Resolve = 14

Carthaginian

3 x heavy infantry

2 x Gaul war bands

1 x light infantry

3 x cavalry

Carthaginian Army Resolve = 18

Deployment

Roman units must deploy along the road beside the lake's edge.

Carthaginian units cannot be within 12 inches of the Roman deployment.

Starting deployment positions

Reinforcements

There are no reinforcements in this game.

Special Rules

The Roman Army Resolve has been reduced by 4 to 14 to reflect the surprise element of the ambush. They can however increase their resolve by 4 if a unit exits from the eastern edge of the table.

Game Length

The game lasts for 15 turns or until one arm’s resolve is reduced to zero. The Carthaginian player goes first in each turn.

Victory Conditions

The player with the most army resolve is the victor.

Battle Report

I suggested that Jon play the Carthaginians, as the Roman tactics for the battle are relatively simple which is always helpful when you are hosting a game. They just needed to deploy their units and create space so that they are not forced to retreat into the lake, then try to force their way along the road.

From a Carthaginian perspective, the best strategy is to engage quickly and prevent the Romans from deploying fully. This will give the Carthaginians an advantage early on, as their cavalry and Gaul war bands are less resilient than the Roman heavy infantry. The challenge for the Carthaginian side is to us their units wisely and take advantage of any Roman retreats. The longer the game goes on the batter it is for the Romans.

Opening Game Turns

The Carthaginian cavalry and Gaul war bands descended rapidly from the hills, giving the Romans little time to deploy. Only about a third of the Roman army was effectively deployed before the Carthaginians attacked, forcing one Roman unit to retreat. This early retreat increased the difficulty for the Romans to manoeuvre.

The Carthaginian ambush is sprung.

Mid-Game Turns

At the front of the Roman column, the units were holding their own and getting organized, ready to counterattack. However, at the back of the column, things were going from bad to worse. Carthage's cavalry attacked two heavy infantry units, forcing them to retreat. In their retreat they pushed back two other units into the lake, eliminating them from the game, and costing the Romans a full 6 army resolve points.

Mid way through the game.

End Game Turns

Carthage's cavalry quickly exploited their success and began to encircle the rear of the Roman column. In the center, the little success the Romans had achieved under the leadership of Gaius Flaminius and his veteran heavy infantry evaporated with the arrival of the Carthaginian cavalry on their flank. The veteran infantry eventually succumbed to the cavalry onslaught, along with Gaius Flaminius himself. This broke the remaining resolve of the Roman army, and the battle was lost.

Gaius Flaminius in the thick of battle.

The Roman army resolve collapses as in the distance Carthage’s cavalry start to mop up the panicked Roman units.

After Game Thoughts

A historical result, and from a game point of view, the double retreat at the tail of the column turned out to be a real blow to the Romans. This was not just from the lost units, but it allowed the swift Carthaginian cavalry to quickly engage Roman units in the flank and capitalise upon their good fortune.

Well played Jon and a comprehensive victory!