The Battle of Faleri 209 BC - I could lose the war.......

....with one more victory like this!

This battle had all the makings of a straight attack Vs defence game. The Romans clung to their hill whilst the Carthaginians positioned themselves in the valley.

 

It soon became clear that Hannibal was trying to force the issue on his left. The Romans quickly moved reserves to bolster this flank.

 

The Romans withdrew some their cavalry in the face of the advancing Carthaginian phalanx, whilst launching a probing attack and extending the flank with others.

A furious cavalry battle started to develop.

 

The Romans got the better of the first round but Hannibal was ready with his reserves.



....these managed to stabilise the deteriorating situation.

 

On Hannibal's right things were not going much better. Velites were holding off superior numbers of Numidian cavalry from what became known as 'the grassy knoll'.

Back on the Carthaginian left, Hannibal's cavalry were soundly beaten.

Had it not been for a unit returning from pursuit and the action of Balearic slingers the flank might have been lost.

The Roman cavalry was spent and finally defeated. But the cost was very heavy to the Carthaginians and their cavalry attack ceased to exist. The Roman cavalry had performed extremely well.



The battle for this flank now became an infantry battle.

The advantage of the high ground evened things up against Hannibal's veteran troops, and several attacks were beaten off. The day was drawing to an end. The Romans were running on empty (no morale chips) and it would only be a matter of time before they cracked - but would they crack before nightfall brought an end to the battle? 

On the last turn, almost the last card of the battle, the bulk of Roman army broke, and what was left was left shattered.

It was a very narrow Carthaginian victory. Nero retreated with a loss (loss to Probe attack -2 DRM) of 3 CU. Hannibal held the field, but had lost 3 CU as well.

Scrotivious wrote:

"After Faleri, it was oft heard in Hannibal's camp that these were not the same old Romans."