Inspired by GMT board game scenarios:
SPQR Series
Malventum at Beneventum -ironwulf download.
The Battle of Cannae -ironwulf download.
Roman Civil Wars Series
The Maccabean Revolt
download Nahal el-Haramiah -ironwulf.zip download
download Battle of Beth Horon -ironwulf download
download Battle of Emmaus -ironwulf download
Malventum @ Beneventum download
275 BC.
Pyyrus conducts a night attack on Consul M. Dentatus and his 2 legions.
The Battle of Cannae download
SPQR Series
Malventum at Beneventum -ironwulf download.
The Battle of Cannae -ironwulf download.
Roman Civil Wars Series
The Battle of Dyyrachium I -wulf download
The Battle of Dyyrachium II -wulf download
download Nahal el-Haramiah -ironwulf.zip download
download Battle of Beth Horon -ironwulf download
download Battle of Emmaus -ironwulf download
Malventum @ Beneventum download
275 BC.
Pyyrus conducts a night attack on Consul M. Dentatus and his 2 legions.The Battle of Cannae download
August 2nd, 216 BC.
Its been 2 years since Hannibal entered Italy via the Alps to challenge Rome's growing trade power in the Mediterranean...
The battle that is to follow would be one of Rome's greatest defeats. Of the 80,000 or so Roman soldiers present, only a few thousand survived that day. It has been estimated that, on average, 600 Roman soldiers were killed each minute at Cannae by Hannibal's army. And the killing went on all day...
Background:
Two newly appointed Roman Consuls, Varro and Paulus, each lead 2 newly raised consular armies to meet with two other former consuls, Servilius and Atilus, and their respective armies. Together, this force totals 8 double Legions or over 75,000 men*. Their task is to seek out Hannibal and bring him to a decisive engagement. On this day it is Consul Varro's turn to lead the army and the Romans find Hannibal raiding the granary at Cannae. Varro decides to leave a small detachment in camp nearby and form up his 8 double legions between the Aufidus river and the hillside town of Cannae, leaving just enough room for his cavalry wings and little else (including room for his own forces to maneuver). Historians remarked that the roman soldiers were packed in so tightly that they could hardly move side to side nor deploy their front maniples at full strength.
Anticipating a Roman attack direct into the center of his lines, Hannibal decides to move his medium infantry front and center to receive the brunt of the 4 legion frontal assault while anchoring his flanks with his African Phalanx units. He also routes both wings of Varro's roman cavalry in the opening stages of the battle.
Following standard Roman practice of the day, Varro commands the legions forward into the center ranks of the celts and gauls, driving them steadily back... but at the same time putting himself and all his legions further into a trap as Hannibal's phalanx units close in from each flank, boxing the roman formation in and leaving them no room to maneuver.
Playnotes: Best played as the Carthaginians when playing against the AI. Plays well vs AI or via pbem.
Its been 2 years since Hannibal entered Italy via the Alps to challenge Rome's growing trade power in the Mediterranean...
The battle that is to follow would be one of Rome's greatest defeats. Of the 80,000 or so Roman soldiers present, only a few thousand survived that day. It has been estimated that, on average, 600 Roman soldiers were killed each minute at Cannae by Hannibal's army. And the killing went on all day...
Background:
Two newly appointed Roman Consuls, Varro and Paulus, each lead 2 newly raised consular armies to meet with two other former consuls, Servilius and Atilus, and their respective armies. Together, this force totals 8 double Legions or over 75,000 men*. Their task is to seek out Hannibal and bring him to a decisive engagement. On this day it is Consul Varro's turn to lead the army and the Romans find Hannibal raiding the granary at Cannae. Varro decides to leave a small detachment in camp nearby and form up his 8 double legions between the Aufidus river and the hillside town of Cannae, leaving just enough room for his cavalry wings and little else (including room for his own forces to maneuver). Historians remarked that the roman soldiers were packed in so tightly that they could hardly move side to side nor deploy their front maniples at full strength.
Anticipating a Roman attack direct into the center of his lines, Hannibal decides to move his medium infantry front and center to receive the brunt of the 4 legion frontal assault while anchoring his flanks with his African Phalanx units. He also routes both wings of Varro's roman cavalry in the opening stages of the battle.
Following standard Roman practice of the day, Varro commands the legions forward into the center ranks of the celts and gauls, driving them steadily back... but at the same time putting himself and all his legions further into a trap as Hannibal's phalanx units close in from each flank, boxing the roman formation in and leaving them no room to maneuver.
Playnotes: Best played as the Carthaginians when playing against the AI. Plays well vs AI or via pbem.
The Battle of Dyrrhachium I download
Illyrian Coast, Greece
48 BC
"The Battle of Dyrrhachium" - Pompey's Breakout
48 BC
"The Battle of Dyrrhachium" - Pompey's Breakout
After a series of moves and counter-moves along the Illyrian coast, Caesar has finally cornered Pompey in his main supply depot at the port of Dyrrhachium and from there both sides race to build lines of vallation to cut the other off from much needed supplies. Caesar's IXth Legion, through the use of lines of contra and circumvallation, has succeeded in blocking Pompey's force from any access to land outside Dyrrhachium.
Pompey, in an effort to break the blockade and regain access to much needed forage to the south, has landed a special force of marines under the command of Ahenobarbus at the open end of Caesar's siege lines while he and 60 Cohorts from the I, the III, and the Macedonian, Cilician and Cretan legions, storm south from their camp across the Lesnikia river.
The IXth Legion is encamped in their new fort to the east and have only a few cohorts out on sentry duty when Pompey attacks.
Marcus Antonius and Caesar have just arrived from the north east with reinforcements from the VIIIth and Xth Legions along with 5 cohorts of the Alaudae legion.
Historical notes: Caesar's forces here were at first overwhelmed. Pompey's legions stormed south out of their camp on the Lesnikia and were stopped just short of the IXth Legion's camp when Caesar counter-attacked with 13 cohorts, driving Pompey's fatigued troops back to the river. Pompey had succeeded though in breaking Caesar's blockade and had regained access to grazing lands to the south.
Free Deployment: This makes for a fun game when using Free Deployment. Historically, Caesar and Antonius reinforced from the NE into the battle and their forces routed back into the new IXth Legion camp while Pompey's legions orginated from the NW. The game doesn't allow me to really setup route and deployment zones to reflect this so Caesar's forces will route southwards and Pompey's northwards. With Free Deployment, the Caesarians have a chance to counterattack from the south instead of the NE and this could lead to a very different kind of battle.
Map Notes: An unused fort of the IXth legion lays to the west along the coast that was abandoned in favor of their new location to the NE.
The Battle of Dyrrhachium II download
Illyrian Coast, Greece
48 BC
48 BC
"The Battle of the Lesnikia River" - Caesar's Counterattack
Pompey, after having successfully broken Caesar's siege lines and gained access to valuable grazing lands to the south, has built a new and larger camp further south of the Lesnikia river. To reinforce his new position he has begun to enlarge and rebuild the old abandoned IXth Legion camp to his north.
With Pompey's naval forces in firm control of the sea and his land forces in strong blocking positions, Caesar is now running desperately low on supplies himself and must break through Pompey's lines. Caesar plans a night raid on the old IXth Legion camp now being rebuilt by one of Pompey's Macedonian legions...
Historical notes: Caesar conducted the assault during the night using the woods between his lines and the old IXth Legion camp as his approach route. In the dark, the right wing grew confused as to their actual location and upon reaching the wall between the old IXth camp and the Lesnikia river, panicked and broke, routing back to their new camp. Caesar's left wing having successfully taken the camp, were now left alone to face the full brunt of Pompey's 4 Legion counterattack. Alone, and with their morale sinking, the left wing finally broke and Caesar's counterattack failed. By virtue of terrain and low light, his forces were able to escape back to the new IX Legion camp to fight another day... or night.
Free Deploy: This makes for a fun game when done as free deployment.
* A roman legion at this time consisted of the standard legion plus one allied legion composed of 10 cohorts. There has been some debate among historians as to whether or not those were in fact double legions at Cannae, but based on a few sources who have reverse engineered the historic data, it does appear entirely likely that it was 8 double legions.
A year after the battle of Nahal el-Haramiah, Antioch IV decides to send General Seron and 4 phalanxes east from the coast to break the blockade around Jerusalem and quash the growing unrest there. It is hoped that where Appolonias failed, Seron will prevail.
Design Notes: These scenarios are inspired by GMT boardgames GBoH series.
Battle of Emmaus download
Judea, 165 BC
Battle of Beth Horon download
Judea, 165 BC
A year after the battle of Nahal el-Haramiah, Antioch IV decides to send General Seron and 4 phalanxes east from the coast to break the blockade around Jerusalem and quash the growing unrest there. It is hoped that where Appolonias failed, Seron will prevail.
As at Nahal el-Haramiah, Judah and his brothers, along with a band of medium and light infantry, set a trap in a defile for the oncoming Seleucid force...
Nahal el-Haramiah download
Judea, 166 BC
2 years prior, Antiochus IV is withdrawing north along the coast after an unsuccesful siege of Alexandria when he receives reports of major factional riots breaking out in Jerusalem. He decides to send Apollonius and a Seleucid military force to deal with the problem...
It is now 166 BC and Appolonias is leading 2 phalanxes of about 2,000 men, heading south along a mountain watershed from Samaria to Jerusalem in an attempt to break a blockade of that city put in place by Judean forces operating in the hinterland.
2 years prior, Antiochus IV is withdrawing north along the coast after an unsuccesful siege of Alexandria when he receives reports of major factional riots breaking out in Jerusalem. He decides to send Apollonius and a Seleucid military force to deal with the problem...It is now 166 BC and Appolonias is leading 2 phalanxes of about 2,000 men, heading south along a mountain watershed from Samaria to Jerusalem in an attempt to break a blockade of that city put in place by Judean forces operating in the hinterland.
For Judah and his brothers, this is an opportunity to inflict a serious defeat on the Seleucids. Judah's plan is pretty straightforward and simple: he divides his 600+ warrior band into 4 groups - each led by one of his brothers. When the lead element of the Seleucid column enters the defile one force will attack from the east, forcing the phalanx to turn and face them, while a second element will attack from the west into the exposed flank of the phalanx. The other two groups will seal off both the south and the north end of the defile, blocking the Seleucid route of retreat.
Historical after action notes: The plan worked as set out by Judah. The lead phalanx was cut off in the defile and ambushed. Appolonius and the rest of his force retreated, but they would be back again...
Design Notes: These scenarios are inspired by GMT boardgames GBoH series.
