Pummelling Pompey, Pharsalus 48BCE

Pompeian troops stand at the ready

As alluded to in the previous post, I refought the Battle of Pharsalus as a solo exercise using Commands & Colors: Ancients (CCA) and my 6mm ancients.  In an earlier, F2F battle, Pompey pulled out an upset victory with a 7-6 win.  This time, it will be ego in ego.  The Julian Legions Rule is in effect for both armies as is the Julius Caesar Rule.  The Julius Caesar Rule is especially powerful since it allows a unit led by Caesar to move two hexes and still battle and battles with one additional die.  For solo play, I play the two hands of cards with an unbiased and optimal card selection.  When I draw a card from the deck for each player, I never look at the new card until it is that player's turn.  Cards that can be played to interrupt the opposing player are removed from the hand and turned face up as a reminder that these cards can be played at the optimal time.

For this replay, I try something different.  Rather than having dialog of the play-by-play separate from the relevant game photo, dialog has been embedded within the photo, itself.  For this situation, embedded description seems a good idea since one can sequence through the photos and read the dialog without referring back to the separate text.  I am curious to read opinions on this technique rather than my normal battle report format.  White arrows denote moves, yellow arrows denote retreats, and red arrows denote combats.  Anyway, on to battle.

This was a convincing win for Caesar.  I figured Pompey's early massive cavalry attack, under the leadership of Labienus, upon the Caesarian right would be a successful gambit.  If successful, the attack would open up the game before Caesar's preponderance of heavy infantry could close with the Pompeian battle line.  With Caesar's light troops evading and Caesar, himself, repulsing an attack, Labienus was stopped short of his objective.  Caesar then turned the tables and launched a series of attacks against Labienus.  After a few turns, the Pompeian left was in tatters.  It was Pompey's flank that had been compromised, not Caesar’s!  Great fun and an eye-opener to the power of Caesar when leading troops into battle.

Perhaps, I ought to give Pompey another chance?