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Thursday, February 8, 2024

Battle of Lake Trasimene 217BCE

As hinted at in the prior post, the Battle of Lake Trasimene is on the table in what may be a series of replays.  The first game saw Mark (Roman Right) and David (Flaminius, Roman Left) take command of the Roman Army while Chris (Maharbal, Carthaginian Right) and Tony (Hannibal, Carthaginian Left) attempt to channel Hannibal and the Carthaginian Army. 

Initial situation

Carthaginians look on as the Romans march below.
The Romans Army finds itself in a difficult position with Flaminius and his legion strung out along the north shore of Lake Trasimene.  Flaminius' vanguard is advancing through the defile to the east in pursuit of retreating Carthaginians.  Mist shrouds the battlefield.  Hannibal has the initiative on Turn 1.

With initiative on Turn 1, Hannibal sets Maharbal's mostly cavalry wing into motion on the first impulse.  With three Gallic warbands hiding in the woods, the eastern-most warband charges down the hill into the unsuspecting Romans.  The warband hits the nearest hastati.  Surprised, hastati are forced back into the lake.  The impetuous warband pursues its defeated foe into the lake hacking as it wades into the water.  The second warband charges downhill but halts once it clears the trees.     
Gauls charge out of the woods and into the Romans!
A charge stalls.
With one warband swimming in the lake and another stalled, Chris launches the third warband into the fray.  These Gauls reach their target (another surprised unit of hastati).  The sudden impact breaks the hastati and they rout into the lake to their doom.  This time, the warband does not run pell-mell into the lake after the vanquished foe.  Cautiously, Maharbal advances his cavalry up into the woods to get within striking distance.
A second Hastati takes a swim!
While Hannibal and his center stands quietly in reserve, Flaminius sends word to the van to attempt to break out of the defile.  He may be sacrificing his command to allow part of the army to escape.  The Roman vanguard advances toward the mouth of the defile.  Carthaginian heavy infantry move up to block the path.
Hannibal watches on at the destruction below...
his heavy infantry move up to block the defile.
Still having a grip on initiative, Hannibal orders Maharbal to keep hammering away at Flaminius.  The warband nearest the road, having dispatched hastati to its front, turns to attack Flaminius' principes in flank.  Despite the unfavorable situation, Flaminius rallies his men and the Gauls are repulsed.  Hurrah! 
Flaminius attacked in flank.
Flaminius' triumph is short-lived.

The warband that stopped short only moments before, gains the courage to charge into Flaminius' principes.  After a desperate fight, the principes are driven into the lake.  Flaminius narrowly escapes death and rides to join the nearest friendly unit.
Another Roman unit takes a swim... 
as Flaminius flees for his life.
With the enemy positioned between him and his escape to the east, Flaminius charges into the Gauls blocking his path.  Still fatigued from their exertions hacking apart the principes moments before, the Gauls fall back along the road to the east. 
Flaminius attacks!
Back in the defile, the battle rages as the blocks of heavy infantry grind away at each other.  First the Romans are driven back.  Then the Carthaginians are driven back.  Finally, the Roman van sees daylight ahead as lead elements break out of the defile.  
Grind...
Grind...
Breakthrough!
Concerned with the situation degrading on his left at the defile, Hannibal orders his center into action against Flaminius' remnants.  His hope is to destroy Flaminius before the Roman van can break out of the defile and turn his flank.

First Spanish light infantry are sent in against auxilia light infantry.  The Spanish are repulsed!  Then two units of slingers are sent forward.  They fail to drive the enemy back.  Finally, the warband straddling the road attacks Flaminius and the principes.  The warband is scattered for its efforts.
Spanish light infantry attacks!
and is repulsed!
Slingers come forward to threaten the auxilia.
In desperation, the warband attacks and
is destroyed by Flaminius' principes.
With his left wavering, Hannibal turns about his third heavy infantry and two units of scutarii.  Still the grind at the defile continues.  Casualties mount as heavy infantry continue to attack and counter attack.  One minute the Carthaginian infantry are pushed back. In the next minute, the Roman heavy infantry are pushed back.
Fighting continues as large units are cut in half.
Ebb and flow at the mouth of the defile.
Situation on the Carthaginian Left.
While Flaminius' legion has taken a hard pounding and his army is inching toward the breaking point, Hannibal's army is not in much better condition.  The loss of two warbands in the center and several heavy infantry units on the left pushes the Carthaginian Army toward the brink as well.
Flaminius holds on by his fingertips.
Taking the initiative, Maharbal leads his cavalry back into action before the Roman van can press on with the attack at the defile.  Spanish medium cavalry attacks Flaminius only to be repulsed by the staunch defense of the Romans.  Then, the Numidian light cavalry on the far right of the Carthaginian line go in to sweep away the Roman velites.  With attack after attack, the last of the velites are cut down.
Spanish cavalry repulsed!
Roman velites attacked again...
and again.
Finally, with Maharbal leading the charge, Flaminius and his principes are caught at the lake's edge.  For the battle-weary Romans, this is one too many fights.  The Romans break and rout back into the lake.  While the Roman van is still intact and poised to move out of the defile, this battle is over. 
Maharbal v Flaminius
Flaminius and his legion are destroyed.
What a great game!

Hannibal wins the battle but the cost is high.  From the Army Breakpoint Clock, the Carthaginian clock was down to '5' when the Roman clock reached '0'.  Had the Romans won the initiative on this turn, Mark's vanguard may have been able to inflict enough damage to break the Carthaginian Army.  Just as in the historical battle, fortune was not with Flaminius. 
Ending positions.
Also as in the historical fight, Flamininius' legion was destroyed but the vanguard escaped, for now.  Accounts say the historical battle took about three hours.  Our refight took three hours to fight to conclusion.  Uncanny the similarities.

Well played by both sides.  Congratulations to Chris and Tony for the victory.  Close but no cigar for Mark and David.

Before the game, Mark said, “I think this will be the toughest battle I’ll have ever fought.”  I replied with, "Flaminius probably thought the same…"

We plan to swap sides and let the players refight the battle from the opposite perspective.  We will see if the Carthaginians come out victorious a second time.

Great fun!

61 comments:

  1. Fascinating to see such an iconic piece of history recreated. I especially admired the clarity of the scenery emphasing the difficulties of the Roman starting point. I look forward to the replay. Thanks
    Stephen

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    1. Stephen, your encouragement is much appreciated! We are in process of scheduling a replay for this group next week where the tables (and commands) are turned.

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  2. Great game. It's a cliché to say "it could have gone either way", but it's absolutely true this time. I thought the Carthaginians did most of the right things, but the Romans fought like demons, which could easily have turned it around. I continue to be impressed by the pragmatism and flexibility of Basic Impetus.

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    1. The game was superb and it really could have gone either way as we watched the clock tick down. The grinding match in the defile was how I envision two lines of heavy infantry pressing on.

      I am happy to see that you approve of BI and the amendments made. I have yet to see a result that is at least not plausible.

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  3. An excellent AAR and a very close run thing, much closer than I expected, given your previous games of this historical action. I look forward to the re-match and see how swapping sides alters things, or not, as the case may be...

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    1. Thanks, Steve! I look forward to the rematch too along with a few games with others as well.

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  4. Great battle and great write up. All I need to do now is paint another legion and the whole of Hannibal's army and I can try a refight for myself! Looking forward to your next episodes.

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    1. Thank you, Kim, on both counts! Get your brushes out and set to work!

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  5. You are so fast in uploading large battle reports that I'm really surprised. Lake Trasimine is a classic. Great photos!

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    1. Writing the battle reports takes a lot of time for me. While turn-around may be quick, it is a time-consuming endeavor. Thank you!

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  6. That was a great game Jon - it's always going to be nigh on impossible for the Romans to win - but they came surprisingly close, so well done to them in particular. It will be very interesting to see how the refight goes - my guess is, the experience of playing the Romans first might advantage Mark and David more than Chris and Tony get out of having been the Carthaginians - but we will see in due course!

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    1. your final point is a very good one - I hope!

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    2. Thanks, Keith! The game was terrific with much drama and tension throughout. hope the players enjoyed it as much as I.

      Interesting point. Did the Romans learn more about how to play the Carthaginians than the reverse? We will find out in due time.

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    3. David, this is a good point and an interesting observation.

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    4. I think playing it from the Roman perspective we gained a lot of insight. Hopefully we can make this work for us in the rematch. With that said it’s quite freeing going into a battle that you don’t see any real chance of winning. Maybe our erstwhile opponents may also discover the same thing. With little to lose you are not afraid to take risks - and that can make you dangerous.

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    5. JBM, you make a good point too! Did you play more aggressively than you thought prudent?

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    6. Seeing which side learned the most from Game #1 is going to be interesting.

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    7. Absolutely Jon our original plan was to just hold him off defensively in the pass while the balance of the army made it across the board to safety. That all went out of the window when the carthaginians made such a strong showing in the first turn. There didn’t seem to be any point in holding back our combat power if nothing was going to make it across the board in the first place.

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  7. Thanks Jon, for a great report and a really great game! As Flaminius, I thought we were going to be lucky to last 2 moves after losing 40% of my Legion on Turn 1! But we hung on a lot longer than I expected - those Roman infantry were tough, once the initial surprise effect was discounted. Flaminius was probably right to sacrifice himself, having made the strategic error of getting his army into such a terrible position. I figured our best bet was for Mark to try to fight his way out - which he very nearly did! Very much looking forward to trying it again from the Carthaginian side..

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    1. You are welcome! I thought the action non-stop and quite entertaining. Your Romans very nearly pulled off an upset. Turn 1 certainly looked dire, didn't it? While I was surprised that you allowed Mark to activate on T1, it almost worked out as Mark cut is way through the defile.

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  8. Again a useful AAR showing an excellent overview of what was a well thought out scenario well played. Bravo to all the players in their fighting spirit. Referring the report to my local players for their edification.

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    1. Thanks, Joe! I am happy to see the AAR was useful.
      All players played brilliantly and (hopefully) had some good fun doing so. Let me know what your local players think of this game.

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  9. Wonderful report and some historical similarities.

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  10. A cracking scenario, game and narrative and a very historical outcome too

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  11. Great AAR and 2nd Punic war right up my street! Lovely looking miniatures and set up

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    1. Thanks, Tony! Prepare for more Trasimene battles over the next few weeks.

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    2. Oh yes! Looking forward to that!

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  12. Good to see Jon a really interesting battle to try and stage. I’m sure if Flaminius had known he was facing a battle he would have turned around 👍

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    1. I would have turned around too! Both David and Mark did not envy their army's position either.

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  13. A gripping encounter matching the historical outcome.

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  14. Another excellent looking game Jonathan!

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  15. The battle is instantly recognisable as Lake Trasimene. The Romans put up a great fight and for a moment there I thought they were going to escape.

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    1. Always encouraging when one can actually recognize the battlefield I am recreating, Lawrence!

      The Romans got off to a very rough start but once the situation stabilized a bit, they did quite well.

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  16. very cool to see how a historical scenario can be so much fun to play, even though one side is really disadvantaged. all the players seem to be saying how much they enjoyed the game.
    Makes you want to root for the romans for being the underdog in this situation, and everyone likes an underdog.
    Almost. I make it a point to never root for the romans. 😜😁

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    1. The players seemed to enjoy the game, but then, they are all gentlemen. Being a self-proclaimed non-reader of battle reports, how much if this one did you read?

      It is tough not to root for the underdog, even if Roman.

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    2. Well ‘non reader’ is a too strong a word. More like skimmer. I tend to read more closely AARs that include labels / arrows for movement (as you often do) as it increases my understanding of what is being described.
      That’s the main reason why I skim them, because I’ve found that my ability to follow the action is about the same whether I skim it or read it closely. I find the ‘standard’ AAR set up; picture of the whole table to start and then close ups of portions of the battle, to be disjointing. There’s usually not enough detail provided for me but I get why, to do so is a PIA to write and makes for an incredibly long post. I don’t write detailed AARs for the same reasons.
      It also masters of course if it’s a battle or genre I’m familiar with or into. Like everyone else. I can recognize ACW troops by looking at them but in a Naps battle I don’t know who is who without labels while it’s obvious to others.
      Course, this has more to do with me and my limited brain power than it does with blog writers. 😀

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    3. Fair enough. I reclassify you as “skimmer.”

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  17. Very enjoyable replay. Going into this battle and knowing something of it, I would imagine that most Roman players mindset is already prepared to lose and that playing the game is all about involvement rather than winning …. and yet here we are, both sides had a very entertaining game, with each thinking ‘one more turn and I might have this’.

    I have always been interested in the battle and think this scenario has been very successful. It will be interesting to see how the replay changes things as players can use their experiences of game one, but more importantly, approaching mindsets may change to we ‘we can win this’ (Roman) and ‘we may well lose this’ (Carthaginian).

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    1. Thank you, Norm! Reading battle reports (especially reports based upon historical battles) always make more sense if one is familiar with even the basics of the fight. As seen from my quote from Mark in the body of text, beforehand, he reckoned this would be the hardest fight he has ever had to endure. He may be right.

      Both sides seemed to enjoy the challenges presented and made the most of opportunities as they came up. Watching these fellas replay the battle with roles reversed will be very interesting. I know both teams took away learnings that can be applied in their next match-up.

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  18. That was a great game and AAR. You had even me wondering how things turned out and I was playing!
    Mark and Dave really had us sweating (Tony as Hannibal and me as McHorribal, leader Celtic warbands). At one point they even had a lead on points. They demonstrated that it is possible for the Romans to win. Just hold that thought in your heads guys when you come to the replay 😆
    Must admit I’m not looking forward to being the Romans.
    Chris

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    1. Thank you on both counts, Chris!

      In your role as Maharbal, you played a tenacious foe striking Flaminius time and time again. Marks focused push in the defile almost sealed victory for the Romans. As you note, they came very close to pulling off an unlikely victory. I, too, believe the Romans have a chance at winning here. I look forward to seeing how you and David take on this new challenge.

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  19. Great report Jon. I never woyld have thought the Romans could have achieved that much damage against the Carthaginians in this fight. I'm looking forward to playing.

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    1. Thanks! The Romans came close but fell just a wee bit short.

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  20. Fantastic games with CCA. I've used the system as well on 3" hexes. My figures are 20-22mm.

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    1. Thanks! While the scenario was based upon CCA, the battle was actually fought using Basic Impetvs.

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  21. Great looking game of an iconic Ancient battle, Jonathan!

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  22. Enjoyed reading every word of this cliffhanger! Well done to all, but especially to Mark and David who, despite the terrible situation managed to take the fight down to the wire even if they lost in the end. Looking forward to the next round.

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    1. Much appreciated, Mike, to see you read the whole account! Mark and David fought hard despite the unfortunate start.

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  23. A very enjoyable report Jonathan…
    I was actually starting to think that the Romans might have a good chance of a victory…
    Close … but no Triumph.

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Great! Happy to see you enjoyed the report. I was actually thinking the Romans might have a chance to reverse history too.

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  24. Good game, closer than I expected!
    Best Iain caveadsum1471

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  25. Lovely looking game Jonathan. Trying not to read the reports yet so they do not influence my decisions when the Rejects get around this table.. fog of war and all that.

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    1. Thanks, Richard, and I understand although you are missing out on the account of a very good scrap.

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