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Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Ilipa Again, Again

In post-game discussions following the first refight of Ilipa with the five-player UK/France group, talk centered on how the Romans could win.  Is a victory even possible?  I assured them that it was and I had done so.  (Note: I still need to chronicle Sunday's game with Matt).  For a refresher on that battle, see A Tale of Two Armies.  

I suggested that a refight might help settle the issue.  All agreed to give the scenario another go.  On Game Day, Wednesday (13 SEP), Mark had another commitment, so the number of players was reduced to four.  Two-teams of two players would make the game. Swapping sides from Game #1, Tony and David B. volunteered to take the Romans straight away.  Tony would command the Roman Right under Scipio while David took Marcius' legion and the center.  That left the Carthaginians to Chris and David C.  Chris took Hasdrubal's central command while David C. commanded the two wings.

Did the Romans turn the tables on the Carthaginians in this contest?  Read on to find out.

The battle opened in a similar fashion to the first game.  That is, the two lines slowly closed the distance while skirmishers deployed ahead of the main battle line harassed their opposition.  Roman Velites on both wings were very effective in driving off Carthaginian elephants from each wing.  To stabilize the Carthaginian Left, Spanish cavalry attack.  They too are driven off.
Velites harass the enemy elephant.
Elephant on the Carthaginian Left is driven off.
Elephant on the Carthaginian Right meets the same fate.
The two armies close.
Spanish cavalry attack and are repulsed.
Seeing these early reverses, Hasdrubal presses on by launching an attack with a warband against Scipio's Legion.  The legionaries stand firm and the warband is repulsed.  Still, the warband provides time for Hasdrubal to bring his heavily armored spearmen up to the front.  Hasdrubal follows-up by sending Spanish infantry in against the Roman Center.  His Spanish hesitate and fail to close with the enemy.
Warband charges in...
and charges back!
This diversion buys time for Hasdrubal
to bring up his heavy infantry.
A view of Hasdrubal's heavy infantry.
Seeing Spanish Scutarii caught in No Man's Land between the main battle lines, Marcius strikes!  The force of the legion bearing down upon the light infantry is too much.  They turn and flee.  Marcius (David B) orders his legion to pursue.  They oblige.  The legionaries plow into the adjacent warband.  They, too, are overpowered and retire.  Bloodlusted by their success, David's Romans press on, catching the retiring warband.  The warband turns and flees.  Still the Romans advance.  Is there no stopping them?  Not yet!  Next victim is a hapless unit of skirmishers.  They are easily overpowered and scatter.  With the Carthaginian Center hollowing out, David's Ever Victorious Legionaries turn to strike the elephant from the rear.  With escape route blocked, the rampaging elephant is dispatched. 

Witnessing all of this destruction to its front and its own chance for glory slipping away, the other half of Marcius' (David's) legion moves into action.  They attack the Spanish light infantry that were supporting the elephant.  In all of the chaos, the Spanish turn with their back to the enemy and flee.  The Carthaginian Right is no more!
Marcius attacks in the center.  
The enemy are driven back.
With the enemy dissolving before him,
Marcius pursues...
and pursues...
and pursues...
and pursues, destroying an elephant.
Marcius' legionaries drive off more Spanish.
Having witnessed his right and center ripped to shreds, Hasdrubal attempts to salvage the dire situation by sending his heavy infantry in against Scipio's legion.  They are repulsed!  Sensing complete victory is only one charge away, the Romans in the center throw volleys of javelins into the remaining Spanish Scutarii in the center.  With the Spanish in disorder, a warband charges in to deliver the coup de grace.  Unfortunately for the warband, the Spanish are made of sterner stuff.  The warband's attack is repulsed.  
Carthaginian heavy infantry go in...
and are sent back.
A warband's attack is also repulsed.
With his right completely in shambles and his flank turned, Hasdrubal orders his army to retire.
Much of the Carthaginian right is put to flight!
Victory to the Romans! A convincing victory it was too.

Congratulations to Tony and David B. for a well-played game.  The level of destruction David wreaked with Marcius' legion in pursuit after pursuit was simply awe inspiring.  The continued attacks by Marcius crippled the Carthaginian Right and opened up Hasdrubal's Center.  Rather than fighting to the bitter and preordained end, Hasdrubal was wise to order his army's withdrawal.

To Chris and David C., that was a tough loss.  From my vantage point, it looked like a train wreck in slow motion unfolding upon the table.  David B's persistent (and successful) pursuits cut through the Carthaginian Right before turning inward toward the center.  

From the Roman perspective, it was poetry in motion.  For the Carthaginians, it was a Natural Disaster.

Thanks everyone for a very entertaining game.  As always, much appreciated.

Mark will be sorry that he missed out on this action.  See, the Romans can win at Ilipa!

59 comments:

  1. Yeah! A win for the Romans, a most convincing one too, like a knife through butter. Another cracking game there with two fine looking armies.

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    1. A most convincing Roman win, no doubt about it! David cut through the Carthaginian just like a hot knife through butter, for sure. I reckon David enjoyed himself there.

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  2. This has definitely shown that the Romans can win. It's been interesting to see the different versions of the battle.
    I'm left wondering if the elephants can do anything useful. They seem to be early victims of light infantry firepower. Is their position too exposed or are the small numbers just not significant?
    Thanks for sharing such full reports so we can follow the action.
    Stephen

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    1. Stephen, good to see that you have been following this Ilipa series of battle and find them interesting.

      On elephants, they need to be screened from skirmisher fire until they are within reach of the enemy line. While skirmishers are no good against opposing skirmishers and only slightly better when facing foot. skirmishers can be quite effective against elephants. elephants are not as effective at running down skirmishers either.

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  3. Can’t believe I missed that just to entertain the ruddy neighbours! Looks like Dave B got drunk on pursuit success and just went all in - to great effect.

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    1. Yeah, I think David enjoyed himself! The choice to pursue in the first opportunity required some careful thought. With each success, that decision became increasingly easier.

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  4. Wow, that was a complete reversal of the previous game - well done the Romans!

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    1. It sure was! The Romans pulled off a magnificent victory.

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  5. Excellent, if depressing account Jon 😄.
    I think I opened the door for David’s rampage by mishandling the Scutarii attack and invited pressure. Once that attack went in, David was on a roll. My original plan was to refuse my right centre but got distracted.
    As for the elephants. I see where the expression ‘a white elephant’ comes from now. 😉 Seriously though, they need to be shielded until close enough to do damage.
    Chris/Nundanket

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    1. Thanks!

      Chris, I am not sure that a reversal of your disappointment in the center could have altered David's sweep through the Carthaginian Right. He seemed unstoppable once he got on a roll.

      I agree that elephants need to be shielded from skirmish fire until thy are ready to strike.

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  6. Quite different from game to game, attempting to stop a force on a roll does appear to be difficult. I will need to go back in the AAR to get a better feel for the mechanics of the game as the hour is late and I am sure I missed something important. Great AAR, as usual; thanks Jonathan.

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    1. Seeing outcome swing from army to army illustrates that both armies have opportunities for victory. That is what makes the game so fun and interesting.

      Thank you, Joe!

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  7. Yet another great report. I really enjoy the replays and seeing the luck and tactics change. Good work here by the Romans, they certainly took the chances provided but I suspect the Carthaginians felt luck deserted them for a while.
    John

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    1. Thank you, John! Your encouragement is much appreciated.

      The Carthaginians were not feeling lucky on this day.

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  8. Another fine looking game Jonathan! It's always nice to see Impetus on the table!

    Christopher

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  9. Great report Jon - another terrific game. In my role as Antonius Scipio Africanus, I am happy to have the triumphal parade and accept the honours, but my friend Marcius just about won this one on his own. Remarkable - he's going to have to work hard to match this one!

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    1. Happy you approve of the report, Tony! You fellas played a great game and had a good plan going in. I really enjoyed reading your pre-battle, decision-making discussions. Seeing players immerse themselves into the game is one of the joys of hosting.

      You and David both deserve Triumphal Parades.

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    2. thanks Tony, although I think it was largely the dice gods, not me! ( Maybe it makes up for that great Scottish Pike and Shot period game you staged, where Dave C utterly wiped me out..)

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  10. Very interesting - not the finest showing of the Spanish troops though, but sometimes the Roman juggernaut truly is unstoppable.

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    1. Not the finest showing by the Carthaginians but an impressive showing by the Romans!

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  11. So is it predominantly down to luck or the skill of the player?
    In both recent games it was Marcius' command that appears to have decided matters....
    Neil

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    1. It really comes down to a combination of skill, luck, timing, and capitalizing on opportunities. So far, the battle has been decided by action on the wings.

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  12. A splendid looking and sounding game…
    Definitely a resounding win for the Romans…

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Definitely a resounding Roman victory. For me, it was a terrific game to watch unfold.

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  13. Sometimes I think the battle-hardened veteran rank and file troops basically win the battle on their own, in spite of their commanders dithering, and maybe that would especially apply with Roman legions.. I think in gaming terms, that can be reflected by the intervention of 'the dice gods'. I was lucky that Chris/Hasdrubal's Spanish infantry attack stalled and I was able to take the opportunity to charge them with my legion, but after that the dice/legionaries took over, I think! It was funny when the Elephants were knocked out - my response was 'but my other legion were going to charge them'! All the same, one of my best gaming moments ever, which won't be forgotten. I think your rules around pursuit etc work very well and give quite a lot of jeopardy, so to speak - a breakthrough can really cause chaos - or simply grind to a halt.
    Many thanks again for a brilliant game and your equally brilliant hosting and umpiring, and of course, to Tony, Dave and Chris - 'and gentlemen in France now abed, shall think themselves accursed they were not here...'(!)

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    1. You're welcome, David! Glad you enjoyed the game and doubly pleased to see that the game may have produced one of your best wargaming moments ever! You certainly were on fire.

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    2. I certainly do consider myself accursed - well done Dave!

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    3. You missed an exciting battle, Mark!

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  14. I enjoy reading these reports and seeing how the troop types behave when compared with DBMM, the ruleset we play. Lots of similarities as you'd expect, but I like the pursuits in BAsic Impetus. There seems a bit more opportunity for marauding units to run amok once they have broken through.

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    1. Lawrence, I am encouraged that you read these battle reports and compare differences between other rules. Rules often have many similarities, but the execution can be different. Following up a successful melee can be a deadly pursuit...

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  15. Lovely looking game and nice to get a big win for the Romans to even things up a bit, we need Dave v Richard to see who would come out on top!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks! Yes, evening things up is good. The score now stands at two victories apiece. A David v Richard match-up might be a fun game to watch.

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  16. It has been most interesting reading about the different outcomes. Pursuits and the ability to keep them rolling on can be quite deadly in the Impetus rules.

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    1. Hi Peter, seeing several playings of the same scenario with different groups of players does provide a sense of what is possible. Pursuits can open up huge holes when successful.

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  17. Great to see the Romans get a win over the dreaded Carthaginians . As my ancestor (adopted) said - "Furthermore, I consider that Carthage must be destroyed”
    [Ceterum censeo Karthaginem esse delendam] - Tony & David certainly delivered.
    Thanks for writing up the reports for us Jonathan.

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    1. You’re welcome! Still one more Ilipa game to chronicle.

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  18. Those sneaky Romans. Always winning when they’re not supposed to. Never could trust them. Lol. 😀

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    1. Historically, the Romans did win this battle. The gaming outcome tilts back to its historical axis.

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    2. Oh. I meant those consistent Romans. Always winning when they’re supposed to. One can always trust them. 😀

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  19. Another fine game and a complete and utter victory of Rome! That continuing charge that rolled through so many units really won the game. Memorable for both sides, that's for sure!

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    1. Total and undeniable Roman victory this time. The probability of Marcius’ legion making four pursuits is quite small at 0.50*0.50*0.50*0.50 = 6.25%! Yes, this will be remembered for a very long time.

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  20. That certainly was a different game to the last refight!!!! Well done the the Roman juggernaut!!!

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    1. Much different outcome and highly entertaining to watch unfold.

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  21. Wow, a stunning victory for the Romans. A great battle report

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  22. Great AAR Jon! That Roman avalanche reminded me of those old Hollywood movies when some Kirk Douglas-type character would demolish tens of foes single handedly!

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    1. Thanks, Mike! The action did seem to have a bit of Hollywood epic drama to it.

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  23. Excellent report on a stunningly opposite outcome from last time. Was it great generalship or was it chance and divine favour with the Romans this time?

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    1. Your encouragement is much appreciated, Richard!

      Looking in as an outsider (or the Hand of God in a sense), I reckon it is a bit of both. Seeing the results of a Carthaginian victory in their first meeting, the Romans developed a battle plan and stuck to it. Chance and Divine Favor helped in pulling off this battle plan. What a fun game this was to watch.

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  24. Okay, this was dice rolls winning the day, surely? Either way, it read as a very exciting battle with Rampaging Romans Riproaringly Romping through enemy Ranks. (Title of my next novel.)

    Congrats to the victors.

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    1. Love your alliteration! Yes, the Roman Legion ripping through the enemy line was a low probability event. Post-game, the probability for pulling off four sequential pursuits computed at about 6%. That does not include the probability of actually driving back the enemy each time either.

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  25. Exciting win for the Romans and very different from the last game. I do have a question about the rules you are using. It's my understanding that any side, oblique or wheel movement in Impetus results in disorder for that unit. I don't see that, or am I missing something? Are these house rules?

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    1. The Romans were very pleased with the result!

      Disorder on side/oblique/rear movement depends upon troop type. Generally, you are correct but not so for S or FL units. Based upon the nature of the hex grid an a unit facing two hexes, any move forward could be seen as an oblique. To account for this, the first hex entered is considered forward and a second obliques is counted as an oblique.

      A unit can wheel in place without disorder. A unit wheeling and then moving is disordered. A unit in pursuit gets one free (non-disordering) wheel before moving off in pursuit.

      Does that match to what you are seeing on the table?

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    2. Yes, that makes sense. I forgot about the wheel then move disorder requirement. It's been several years.

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    3. The rules’ basics will return quickly in play.

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