After last month's
Thapsus
, this was the final showdown. Both sides had taken time to assess the opening position; Pompeian forces glued themselves to the hill and Caesar's hoped that they could find a weak point before committing to attack.
The log file:
Some highlights:
Turn 6: Now's the time! Pompeian targets are proving elusive to ranged fire though one unwary Light Bow Infantry has been snagged. Caesar tries a more aggressive approach - a Cavalry Charge starts to open up the Pompeian right and an opportunistic Double Time takes out a blocked Light Infantry in the centre. A full-width Line Command gives the Pompeians a strong move, but little hits home and Maximus is able to retire in good order whilst the cavalry remain intact to follow up with a second Cavalry Charge on the next turn. When the dust settles, Pedius' cavalry will have taken 5 banners for the loss of 2 cavalry units:
Meanwhile, on the other flank, facing a more resilient defence, Caesar's Light Bow Infantry will keep holding on by luck whilst Caesar manouevres to find an opportunity to attack. Those Light Bow will even manage to grind out a banner before conceding one of their own. Fortuna is certainly with Caesar's army.
Turn 11: "Don't just stand there!" Having lost his cavalry and bows, Labienius isn't waiting to be peppered by long-range fire; a Move-Fire-Move sends his light troops forward to take the fight to the enemy. He will achieve some success, but Pedius is far from spent and will exact a heavy price, including Labienius himself:
Turn 16: The final attack. Accident-prone Caesar has been carried off the field (
again
!) after an unlucky strike from a Pompeian last-ditch attack but now his army closes in to envelop the flanks. Victory is taken by a single ranged die roll in the centre:
The Pompeians would have liked to see a Double Time or two. They were well provided with Line Commands but Caesar's "stand-off" strategy made Line Command less effective for an army that was determined not to sacrifice its terrain advantage. Labienius' foray demonstrated the dilemma.
Season tallies (Caesarian: Pompeian)
Illerda
14:11
Dyrrhachium
8:12
Pharsalus
12:14
Thapsus
14:11
Munda
14:7
Grand totals:
Caesar 3 (62 banners)
Pompeian 2 (55 banners)
In closing, thanks once more to
Michal
for an entertaining set of scenarios that gave a bunch of us something to look forward to over the past few months
