Battle Scenarios

[Hitoriki Batosai]

Form line of battle and drive straight at 'em. Not very elaborate but it worked for the Romans very well...

 

I might wait till later in the day to avoid the disadvantage of the sun in my troops face but not if the enemy looked like withdrawing, or indeed if they looked like doing anything other than standing still.

 

 

 

yes but forming a line of battle could encurage the enemy to fight harder, or you could have the legions through tere pilums and spread panik through out the enemy.

[Dominus Rex]

Hi, I'm new here. Let's try another scenario.

 

It is a couple years after the defeat of Hannibal and are commanding 2 legions, 1 is made up of veterans from the punic war and the other is made up of raw recruits. You are in Macedonia, as the Macedonians had helped Carthage, and you are chasing the macedonian army. Finally you have drawn them to battle, but the outnumber you 2 to 1. They have set up on a hill with a heavy forest to your left, and a light one to the right. The hill is covered with grass. It is about mid-day. You have been trying to get them to battle, and now they are ready. they cavalry outnumbers yours 3 to 1. What will you do?

 

Have fun

[Hitoriki Batosai]

Hi, I'm new here. Let's try another scenario.

 

It is a couple years after the defeat of Hannibal and are commanding 2 legions, 1 is made up of veterans from the punic war and the other is made up of raw recruits. You are in Macedonia, as the Macedonians had helped Carthage, and you are chasing the macedonian army. Finally you have drawn them to battle, but the outnumber you 2 to 1. They have set up on a hill with a heavy forest to your left, and a light one to the right. The hill is covered with grass. It is about mid-day. You have been trying to get them to battle, and now they are ready. they cavalry outnumbers yours 3 to 1. What will you do?

 

Have fun

 

The macidoinan cavelry is supurb a calvery fight is out of the question espacilly if they out number you 3-1. I would head to the dense forest were the phalanx would have a hard time manovering and thus fall victom to a charge of vetran legonares and raw recruts. With the phalanx in dire need of help the enemy calvery would come to there aid thats were you have your calvery comes and attacks them from the side (as a decoy). When they are close but the legonares still have there pila to throw. So before their calvery get there you hit them witha barrage of pila scaring the horses and possibly causing a stamped and then hit the phalanx hard in the back with your cavery. then when the phalanx are destroded kill off the calvery with pilum and cavery.

[Virgil61]

...

It is the fourth century BC, and a Roman legion, with a cavalry force of 300 men, has encountered an equally sized Samnite contingent on a flat field flanked by hills covered with a light forest. It is early morning, the field is still damp with dew, and the sun is rising. The Samnites are approaching from the east, with the sun at the backs; you and your legion are facing the sun. The location is in territory between the two nations, therefore giving no one combatant any advantage in terms of support. What would you do?

 

Enjoy,

 

Legionnaire

 

It's fairly simple, no need to overthink this one with complicated approaches. Just use the simplest and most effective tactic there is; fix and flank.

 

Fix the Samnite line in place with a large part of your legionaries, flank with with cav and light troops on their weakest side. Make it quick, don't let them get fancy on you, keep a reserve to react or add support with. Trust in your troops abilities--if you can't do that you'd better retire from that field--and let the chips fall.

[Rameses the Great]

I would have my legionaries throw their pilas before charging, and try to kill as much as I can. When they kill as much as possible have them shoot the gap and try to hack through the center of their line. While they are occupied have the cavalry flank them from the sides and route them.

[Prometheus]

It's fairly simple, no need to overthink this one with complicated approaches. Just use the simplest and most effective tactic there is; fix and flank.

 

Fix the Samnite line in place with a large part of your legionaries, flank with with cav and light troops on their weakest side. Make it quick, don't let them get fancy on you, keep a reserve to react or add support with. Trust in your troops abilities--if you can't do that you'd better retire from that field--and let the chips fall.

 

Since their cavalry outnumbers yours 3 to 1 this would be impossible. Sure, you would 'fix' their infantry with yours but then when you are going to outflank them you have to cut through their cavalry first. I mean, what do you expect the enemy will do? Just have their cavalry look while you outflank their infantry and then cut them to pieces?

And in this story it is easy to do because space on the flanks for the cavalry is limited by the forests on both sides. Plus they have the higher ground. I also think their cavalry will be stronger.

 

I think the enemy will want to fix and flank and when you try and probably fail you walk right into their plan.

 

I don't think this scenario has much promise. You chase an army that is twice your size while half your troops are raw recruits. You are inside enemy territory and it seems the enemy also has the advantage of terrain. At least I can't interpret it so that there is an advantage for us. Plus they have the cavaltry advantage as well.

 

What advantage do the romans have here?

 

It seems to me that the only way to win is to have the enemy phalanx fight inside the forest or on broken ground. Cut the cavaltry out of the picture completely. Maybe the enemy general can be tricked to do this with deception but since they are in their own lands I don't see much reason why the enemy would think he has to fight a battle like this. It's hard to ambush the enemy in their own country.

 

A head on confrontation seems pointless. Maybe missile weapons can do the trick. Maybe if you had two experienced legions you could set up a battle where the enemy cavalry would not be effective and then just win the infantry battle with some good maneuvering and tactics.

 

[edit]

 

Wait, the fight is in neutral country. Hmm, why would the Macedonians have themselves chased from their own country while they have the stronger army? They would just pick the perfect battleground for them and then the romans would have to fight or stop chasing.

 

Well, since the Macedonians have the advantage of numbers and cavalry and maybe even of experience the romans need to gain advantages to neutralise these. Maybe the enemy is afraid to fight because they are fleeing. Maybe sack their towns since they fled their homeland. It forces them to go back and then catch them on disadvantages terrian and circumstances. Have them line up their phalanx on the battle field several times; harras it and then leave. Your men know their won't be any battle while they have to except the worst every time.

 

[second edit]

 

Ack, he was still talking about the samnites. I got confused. Ooh well. I typed enough. Figure it out yourself

Edited April 14, 2006 by Prometheus

[Rameses the Great]

Try this one.

 

Your in Germanic lands and they have sent a detatchement of 80,000 men! Your stuck until your reenforcements come and have you only 20,000 men. They have twice as much cavalry, and are hungry for Roman blood. Your siege equipment is firing down on the enemy and your archers do too. Their axeman run into your legions, and you realize their cavalry is slamming into yours. Your now in a full attack as your reenforcements arrive. The army will be doomed if you don't get your fresh troops to them, and you must be diligent ad hurry. How would you come across in an effective attack to overrun the enemy?

[caldrail]

Try this one.

 

Your in Germanic lands and they have sent a detatchement of 80,000 men! Your stuck until your reenforcements come and have you only 20,000 men. They have twice as much cavalry, and are hungry for Roman blood. Your siege equipment is firing down on the enemy and your archers do too. Their axeman run into your legions, and you realize their cavalry is slamming into yours. Your now in a full attack as your reenforcements arrive. The army will be doomed if you don't get your fresh troops to them, and you must be diligent ad hurry. How would you come across in an effective attack to overrun the enemy?

 

Hmmm.... I would attempt to draw the enemy across the path of my reinforcements if possible, thus leading them into a nasty ambush, or even have them surrounded by their own folly. Attack Rome? Tch tch tch...

[Virgil61]

...

Ack, he was still talking about the samnites. I got confused. Ooh well. I typed enough. Figure it out yourself

 

Hopefully my post now makes a bit more sense to you!

[Rameses the Great]

It appears my scenario is the one that does not make any sense!

[Furius Venator]

How about this?

 

It is a time of civil war. You have just come to the command of four legions, of which one is veteran but has only recently joined your forces after long service with another commander who, you have just heard, joined the opposition last week. Your veteran legion is at half strength, your recruit legions at nearly full strength. You also have a small force of Numidian cavalry and some auxiliary light troops.

 

Desertion is becoming a problem and discipline seems lax.

 

You have two subordinates with sufficient authority to exercise independent command. One has a reputation for extreme loyalty but is notoriously lacking in initiative and, to be frank, a bit dense. The other is a very clever man and a shrewd political operator. He may not be entirely trustworthy.

 

The opposition consist of two forces. Two veteran legions under a very able commander devoted to his cause lie somewhere to your north. Another is rumoured to have landed by sea thirty miles east of your position. It consists of an unknown number of troops but is unlikely to be more than three legions strong. Their experience is unknown but probably low. Their commander is a decent man but has a very poor reputation as a commander of troops

 

Your forces are grouped in two camps (one of veterans, one of the recruits) around a walled town that is critical to hold.

 

Supplies are sufficient for at least two months but in the event of siege, relief is unlikely (but not impossible)within that time.

 

What orders will you give?

[Prometheus]

Hmm, obviously there is something to be done about the veteran legion. It seems that it is untrustworthy and that it may switch sides or desert; 'they leader' is now the enemy.

 

 

I think I would disband the veteran legion and use it to get the three other legions to full strenght. By fragmenting these troops and surrounding them with troops that should be totally loyal to me I would neutralise the possibility of a conspiracy by these veteran troops. At least, I fix the problem as well as I can.

 

Then I need to do something about the moral and discipline in general. I need to appeal to their interests and motivations. I would like to treathen them with strong punishment and promice them great rewards. Of course I need to be able to back that up and I also don't want to scare them. Hmm, I don't think I personally can hold a strong speech. Maybe I can have the clever politically inclined subordinate give a speech. It needs to appear as a spontanious one. I need to avoid the idea that I am 'too weak' to give a speech on my own. But then again, these people are new to me and I am new to them. If I am a roman general I can probably give a better speech as I would be able to do now.

 

I would march my army towards the enemy in the east and try to crush them as quickly as possible. It is clear that I have to fight. I cannot be passive or flee because then the enemy army will unite and be undefeatable. It doesn't seem that I can risk a siege. Two months of food isn't that much, though this is a bit hard to tell. I would definitely gather more information and try to find more solutions before abandoning it. At least in the time given, the time needed to prepare the army for the march. But in that case I will need one very strong camp.

 

Hmm, the army north requires some deception. I would like to catch the army to the east off guard. I assume the army north is relatively close and that their strategy will be to wait for the other army to arrive to my camps. They will have scouts near my camps and they will have messengers travelling between the two armies.

 

Maybe I could have my loyal subordinate stay in one of the camps with a small portion of the army. The enemy may not now the size of the army and they may assume my whole army is still inside the camp. Hmm on second thoughts it may be impossible to sneak out my army and launch a real suprise attack on the enemy in the east.

 

Hopefully in the best case the experienced army in the north spend time and resources trying to take the camp/town with a siege. My loyal commander will not have any chance, but he will be too loyal and too dense to ignore my order/realise this. These two enemy legions will win this siege battle at a price.

 

At the same time I launch an attack on the enemy in the east. In the best scenario they will assume my entire army is pinned down in the siege and not expect anything. They will probably be outnumbered, not that experienced and they will have a poor commander. So I should be able to win without much problems even if they do know I am comming. The victory will give me moral momentum to beat the experienced two enemy legions.

 

The question is what 'the town is critical to hold' really means. Does it mean I need to hold it at the end of the battle or during the battle. Also, the possibility that the enemy in the north will occupy the walled town while I defeat the other enemy could be a problem. When I return I have to besiege them. That's not what I want. If this is really critical then that would mean I would lose the war.

 

Hmm, can't think of a perfect solution. I don't want to split up my troops. My original idea was the have my loyal supordinate hold the town more with a 'ghost army' than with a real one. Maybe he needs to be given a real army of more than half a legion. It seems to me that half a legion should be enough to hold a small town against two legions. But then again I could be wrong. But I also expect the enemy in the north to wait for their army in the east.

 

 

Furius Venator, your scenario was the most interesting one up till now. Strategy is more important than tactics and it is easier to speculate about.

Edited April 17, 2006 by Prometheus

[Furius Venator]

Hearing rumours that they are to be disbanded, the veteran legion mutinies, the legate only narrowly escaping with his life. They are fortifying their camp...

 

The army to the north is at least 70 miles away.

 

That to the east now identified as two full strength legions currently camped about 25 miles away.

 

Roman citizens in the town have approached you wondering if they are to be abandoned.

 

 

 

To be clear, the town must not fall to the enemy (or if it does, you'd better get it back pronto). The citadel could easily be held by a small force, the town itself would require either a strong garrison (at least one legion) and/or active help from the townsmen, the bulk of whom are non citizens keen for peace.

[Dominus Rex]

Try this one.

 

Your in Germanic lands and they have sent a detatchement of 80,000 men! Your stuck until your reenforcements come and have you only 20,000 men. They have twice as much cavalry, and are hungry for Roman blood. Your siege equipment is firing down on the enemy and your archers do too. Their axeman run into your legions, and you realize their cavalry is slamming into yours. Your now in a full attack as your reenforcements arrive. The army will be doomed if you don't get your fresh troops to them, and you must be diligent ad hurry. How would you come across in an effective attack to overrun the enemy?

 

I would probably allow my army to be surrounded. Then, no matter where my reinforcements attack, they will be attacking a rear. They could cut through the germans and rescue the 20,000. Then I would counter attack and destroy the germans.

[Hitoriki Batosai]

Try this one.

 

Your in Germanic lands and they have sent a detatchement of 80,000 men! Your stuck until your reenforcements come and have you only 20,000 men. They have twice as much cavalry, and are hungry for Roman blood. Your siege equipment is firing down on the enemy and your archers do too. Their axeman run into your legions, and you realize their cavalry is slamming into yours. Your now in a full attack as your reenforcements arrive. The army will be doomed if you don't get your fresh troops to them, and you must be diligent ad hurry. How would you come across in an effective attack to overrun the enemy?

 

 

 

Let the 20,000 men die for roman honor and leave the germans tired and have huge casultys because of roman strength.

The germans dont know of the reniforments comig so wait until night and ambush them using roman archers to attack with a quick barrage of arrows then liht the arrows a blaze, then they would know were you are and attack with no armour. have your velites and legions throuh their pila and masacre them. after that send every man in for a full on charge to wipe them out.