Pages

Sunday, February 18, 2024

Third Battle of Trasimene

In reparation for the defeat Flaminius suffered in the First Battle of Lake Trasimene (see Lake Trasimene), David and Mark (Romans in Game #1) swapped sides with Chris and Tony (Carthaginians in Game #1) to refight this battle.  Recall that Hannibal and his Carthaginians won Game #1.

Before the game began, the battlefield appeared as,
Battlefield
with armies deployed as,
Army deployments
Will Chris and Tony turn the table and secure a Roman victory in this rematch?  If you have not tired of Trasimene yet, please read on to find out. 

The battle begins in similar fashion to the previous two.  That is, the Gallic warbands come screaming out of the hills and down toward the lake.  Unfortunately, only one of three warbands actually reaches the enemy.  The other two warbands stop short.

The one warband successfully carrying on into the enemy hits the lead hastati.  Surprised by the sudden attack out of the mist, the hastati buckle and rout into the lake.  Seeing the debacle to its front, Flaminius leads his principes into the fight.  Quickly the enemy are driven back.  Crisis averted, for now.    
Gallic warbands rush toward the lake.
Flaminius counterattacks and drives the enemy off.
Farther to the west, Roman heavy infantry turns and advances away from the lakeside.  Having encountered the enemy, the principes are forced back.  Watching the principes retire in front of its position, the hastati, now to the principes' right, turn and engage the Gauls.  This action drives the warband back into the hills.   
Principes advance quickly and then retire just as quickly. 
Hastati finish the job!
Having successfully countered the first warband attack, Flaminius begins a march inland.  Not much ground is covered before enemy light infantry attacks.  Not expecting a second, sudden attack out of the mist, Flaminius and his heavy infantry are driven back to the lake.  With his back to the lake, the Romans fight heroically.  The enemy is driven off having suffered greatly.  Flaminius' legionaries have suffered, likewise.

There is no rest for Flaminius, though.  As quickly as one enemy is vanquished, another takes its place.  This time, Spanish scutarii attack.  Weakened by its earlier, exhausting efforts, Flaminius' principes are driven into the lake.  Flaminius narrowly avoids a similar fate.  Flaminius slips away to join triarii to the east.  In the defile, Hannibal seals the exit as heavy infantry fill the canyon.       
Flaminius attacked...
and is driven back to the lake where he makes a stand.
Flaminius attacked again!
Principes destroyed as Flaminius slips away.
Moving quickly over to the triarri, Flaminius encourages these fine, heavies to avenge the loss of their countrymen.  With Flaminius at the head, the triarii advance. Shifting back to the Roman Left, the situation has stabilized as the enemy cavalry are content to remain in the woods. 
Flaminius leads triarii foward.
The battle quietens on the Roman Left.
All is not quiet in the defile, however.

As Carthaginian heavy infantry advances down the defile, two large bodies of heavy infantry clash.  First, a block of Roman legionaries is driven off in great disorder.  As one legion retreats, a second moves up to continue the fight.  Weakened from its recent combat, the Carthaginians sustain heavy casualties and are forced back.  The Romans do not pursue. 
Heavies clash in the defile.
Showing grit, the Romans force the enemy back.
With a momentary lull in the defile, action returns to Flaminius along the lake.

Without wasting a moment, Flaminius leads an attack against the scutarii. Roman cavalry come up alongside in support.  The enemy is dispatched quickly.  Flaminius is caught up in pursuing the vanquished foe.  His pursuit carries the triarii into a second scutarii.  This enemy is driven off as the one before.  Still Flaminius pursues.  Again, a third enemy formation is encountered.  Fighting into the woods and uphill, Flaminius is unable to easily dislodge the enemy.  In the fighting, Flaminius falls.  Seeing Flaminius go down, the triarii break.   
Flaminius attacks...
and attacks...
and attacks before falling in battle.
With the start of a new turn, players roll for initiative.  Hannibal wins.  Tony, as Flaminius, asks for his one game initiative reroll.  I point out that since the Roman CiC, Flaminius, is dead on the field, there will be no reroll.  Tony replies, he thought that might be the case but tried to slip it in, anyway.  Nice try!

Holding the initiative, Hannibal advances his heavy infantry farther into the defile.  Carthaginian and Roman heavy infantry clash once again.  After a prolonged melee with casualties mounting, the Carthaginians are pushed back.  The Romans pursue but the chase is stopped short by a depleted body of enemy heavy infantry.  The Carthaginians stand firm.  The Romans suffer heavily and are forced to retreat. 

Seeing two bodies of Roman legionaries turn their backs and run, Hannibal pushes on.  The Romans are caught from behind and scattered.  Seeing that all is lost in the defile, the remnants of Flaminius' legion surrenders.  The battle is over. 
Heavy fighting in the defile.
Romans retreat and Hannibal pursues.
Caught from behind...
What remains of Flaminius' legion surrenders.
Dead Pile
Victory to Hannibal again!

Congratulations for providing an exciting and well-played game by all.  David and Mark get battle honors, this time, but the attritional nature of this battle meant that the lead was going back and forth throughout.  The turn before Flaminius' Army broke, the score was knotted at 7-7.  Only with the collapse of the Romans in the defile did Hannibal seal the victory.  Had the Romans managed to grab initiative on T6, the outcome may have been different.  Very different.

Another magnificent and closely-fought game!

Thanks fellas!

A fourth battle test is up for Monday.

51 comments:

  1. Excellent battle report (indeed all three so far have been riveting). Hopefully Ray and I can replicate the Carthaginian success in our game with you tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Lee! Hopefully something useful can be gleaned from these three battle reports.

      Delete
  2. I must say, I enjoy reading these reports (even though I know what happened). One of the read is I get to see in close up how good your figures are. My view over Zoom is not so clear.
    One of the reasons the game was so close is because David didn’t have much luck initially, and Tony exploited the slender opportunity.
    Chris/Nundanket

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hopefully, my chronicling of events is true. David’s warbands let him down in the initial ambush.

      Sorry about the video quality. I noticed that while Mark, Tony, and David’s facial images from their cameras were sharp, your camera image seemed a bit hazy and washed-out. I wonder if it is a broadband or signal issue? Next time your table image is too fuzzy, let me know and can try to troubleshoot.

      Delete
  3. Learnt a lot from our first game and tried to put it into practise this time around. Even so it was a damned close run thing. Kudos to Tony and Chris for putting up such a stiff fight.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I reckon you all are learning something with each passing game. It was damn close, for sure!

      Delete
  4. Another grand battle report and victory to Carthage

    ReplyDelete
  5. Another great and enjoyable game - thanks again Jon. My attempt to get an illegal re-roll for initiative was just a check to see if the UN observers are as good as they claim. I am suitably ashamed. All right - I admit it - I forgot I was dead.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are most welcome! The game was enjoyable especially due to the camaraderie of you players. Your aborted attempt at a re-roll added much levity to the proceedings. Great fun, as always.

      Delete
  6. Another close run, rather exciting and tense game! With the casualties so high, a Pyrrhic victory for Hannibal?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The battle was very exciting with much to and fro. Pyrrhic Victory? I think this a victory of Hannibolic proportions.

      Delete
  7. This scenario is working out to be far closer than I originally thought it would. Very tough for the Romans of course, but this was a close one and Vol showed that it can be done.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lawrence, all three battles have been close and the outcome only decided as both armies approach exhaustion. As Flaminius, Tony withstood David's (Maharbal's) ambush, straightened himself out and began to march inland. Had the Romans broken out of the defile as in the previous two games, Rome may have experienced victory once again.

      Mark (Hannibal) countered such an outcome by reinforcing the defile with one more heavy infantry unit to backstop the whole affair.

      Delete
  8. That was a really interesting scenario, wondering if it can be done or if this was a high-water mark for skill/luck as the Roman player(s)! Just been thinking about this battle recently as IIRC it is one of the base scenarios in Rome: Total War 2 which my son has been playing (in which the Romans can win). I guess a lot depends on how much freedom the Romans have to do much, versus have to make rolls and hope for the best...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you look at the Game #2 results (https://palousewargamingjournal.blogspot.com/2024/02/trasimene-again.html), you can see that a Roman victory is possible. Well, possible, at least, when I command the Carthaginians!

      Delete
  9. Is the mechanism that makes it uncertain as to whether Hannibal's men can reach the Romans on their first charge from ambush a special feature to give the Romans a chance in this set up, or a standard feature of your rules?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kim, it is a standard feature of the rules. Warbands can charge two hexes with a 50% chance of charging three. Three hexes reaches the Roman line. In this battle, you can see that only one of three warbands actually made it into contact on T1.

      Delete
  10. Well, seems like prior experience of command from the other side did not help the Roman's in this refight, Jon....but it's always going to be touch and go for them in this scenario...Flaminius getting himself killed certainly did not help, of course! Great looking game and top AAR as usual....let's see how The Rejects go with it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Keith, I think players are learning and adapting at a similar rate. With a similar learning curve, Flaminius seems more likely to lose the battle. Flaminius going down was no help to the Romans especially since his loss cost points and the prospect of grabbing initiative faded.

      Glad you enjoyed the table and BatRep. I look forward to the Reject game on Monday too. It will be especially interesting since one team refuses to read prior battle reports and the other team makes careful study of them.

      Delete
  11. Very good effort to march off of the lake. Just a smidge better Dice would have done the trick. And moving that extra heavy infantry unit into the defile to block the Romans was a smart move. Great game, again!
    Once a game initiative re-roll? Didn't know about that one.
    Looking forward to the BatRep for Monday's game, and our next F2F game.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, that was a smart play to reinforce the defile. It was another excellent game. As for the re-roll, you didn’t need it!

      Delete
  12. Another great report Jonathan and well played by everyone.
    I think what the Battle of Trasimene teaches us is the importance of flank security! Something the Romans forgot about in Germany a few centuries later 😂

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Ben! Yes, Flaminius should have sent those velites out to protect his flank and line of march. That oversight was his downfall.

      Delete
  13. It has been unusual and rewarding to have a number of reports of the same battle and such a famous one too. The descriptions illustrated with photos has been easy to follow [thanks for the arrows too]. I look forward to the next. Is it the Roman or the Cathaginian commanders who have been studying the match reports?
    Stephen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stephen, the replaying of the same scenario is not unusual here. I often refight a battle multiple times with different players. Happy to see that you enjoy the reports and that the battle is easy to follow. I appreciate your feedback on that. Which team for Monday’s game has been studying the other reports? The Carthaginians!

      Delete
  14. It will be interesting to see the results of a battle where some players have neither the experience of playing the other side nor studying others attempts.
    Of course chance plays a major part in the outcome, but it will be interesting to see if a fresh perspective brings any new tactics or if deployment and terrain determine things to a great extent.
    Neil

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tackling the battle from different perspectives and different information sets makes for interesting battles. I am looking forward to Monday’s battle since the group (Postie’s Rejects) always come to the table having planned and discussed the upcoming battle. They are very thoughtful and competent players and always provide an entertaining gaming session.

      Delete
  15. Another excellent close run thing with your splendid troops and informed commentary!
    Best Iain caveadsum1471

    ReplyDelete
  16. Glad you and all the players are enjoying the scenario. You’ve seem to have picked / designed another winner that is providing many good games. You’re like a musician that keeps writing bangers. 😀

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stew, I enjoy playing the same scenario multiple times but, I know, it is not for everyone. Luckily, I found likeminded gamers who enjoy the same.

      On scenario design/development, once you are at this for a while, you get a sense of what will make an interesting game and what will not.

      Delete
    2. Oh no, don’t get me wrong, I think it’s be great fun to play a scenario series like this. Though I might be very tempted to tweak things along the way. 🙄

      Delete
  17. Hi, it is nice how much you can play different periods. Great work again! Hannibal's victory is not so much a surprise.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I have many different Wargaming periods to bring to the table. Hannibal’s victory may not a surprise but he gets another test today.

      Delete
  18. Great report, Jon, and a great game too, of course - thank you so much! The warbands were interesting - in the first game I was on the receiving end of their charge and lost 40% of my legion in Turn 1. So in the rematch I rather assumed they would do the same under my command, but of course it was a 50/50 die roll as to whether each unit charged home, and the dice were not with me. Tony grabbed the opportunity thus presented - though Mark's furious charges did for Flaminius! All the credit for the win goes to Mark. You are right that it was very close, and that last initiative roll was crucial. It's been really interesting how the three versions of the game have gone in such different directions, let's see how Postie's Rejects handle it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, David! The battle was close and, you are correct, you did not enjoy the ambush success against Tony that Chris enjoyed against you. Mark is a natural beast on the gaming table. He plugged the defile effectively and then drove Chris' Romans from the field.

      Rejects take to the field in about 30 minutes. We will see how they do.

      Delete
  19. Another great report, Jon! Should we try to set up the Commands and Colors scenario at my place in the coming month?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! Trasimene at your place sounds good. If you want to make the drive, you could play BI on my setup as well.

      Delete
  20. Another great narrative generated by this scenario!

    With BI2 is the only change to the rules free movement to gridded?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indeed! There are other changes too but the core game engine remains mostly intact.

      Delete
    2. Is the morale one of them? I'm currently writing a basic set of rules to introduce a friend to miniatures gaming (very stripped down) but still mulling on the morale aspect

      Delete
    3. No, Cohesion Tests remain ‘as is’.

      Delete
    4. Apologies I meant it say Army Break point.

      Delete
    5. For Army Break Point, in addition to the standard of deducting points for eliminated units, I also deduct one point for a retreat that is followed up by a successful pursuit.

      Delete
    6. Very interesting! Thank you for your insights Jonathan!

      Delete