Tuesday 14 August 2012

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."

9 comments:

Sgt Steiner said...

Super stuff as always !!

Gunny Highway said...

James,
Seems like Peter is getting the gist of the flanks now. Your going to have to up the ante, me thinks! Good game and report...
Respectfully,

Gunny

Anonymous said...

Great game and a lovely report! The amount of minis on the table is always amazing and only underlined by the huge empty spaces in your showcases in the background!

BigRedBat said...

Top stuff! That campaign system is certainly working.

Cheers SImon

JAMES ROACH said...

Hi Gunny, to be fair to Peter, it's hard to get the "gist" of flanks when your cavalry is typically ountnumbered 2:1.

I fear for the Carthaginian cause in Italy and wonder, from turn to turn, if it is not time for him to withdraw. I'm sure that Hannibal, after so many years there, started to wonder the same - damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

JAMES ROACH said...

"The amount of minis on the table is always amazing and only underlined by the huge empty spaces in your showcases in the background!"

That is forward planning! The space in the cabinets is 'fully booked'. I just wish I could paint as fast as I could buy!!!!!!


Christopher(aka Axebreaker) said...

Fantastic as always!!

"I just wish I could paint as fast as I could buy!!!!!!"

Yes, me too and in addition I wish I could paint as fast you and still maintain your high standard!

Christopher

JLPmaquetas said...

¡Que espectacular!, es realmente envidiable.

Jose Luis

JAMES ROACH said...

Thanks, guys.

Sorry to JLP for the tardy publication of his comment. I've just got back from holidaying on Ile de Re.