Monday, December 30, 2013

Hail Caesar: Rome v. Seleucis

Rome: Mark & Renfrey - on the left of pics.
Seleucids: Jim, Mike & Chris - on the right of pics.
Seleucis stood & waited for the first 2 turns.   His phalanx is in the centre with cataphracts on his left & elephants on his right. There is a second cavalry division hidden behind one of the ridges on his flanks.
The Romans are advancing their left hand legion with their cavalry covering their far flank, their 2nd legion advancing in echelon covering their right and their auxiliary division on the ridge in front of the camp.
Contrary to Seleucis' orders, Mike's elephant division advanced to meet the Romans.  Though muttering about crucifixion, Seleucis ordered his left forward in concert, though the phalanx was slow to move.  Mike's elephants had mixed success, one cohort being stopped & the other hurt bad enough not to be able to follow up its success.
The elephants renewed their attack.  Seleucis revealed his cavalry on the far flank, moving it forward to meet the Roman cavalry.  The phalanx has advanced, but not fast enough to get into the 1st legion's flank.
On the right, Mike's cavalry and elephants are gaining the upper hand.  The left of the phalanx has charged to hold back half the 2nd legion, but the right has been intercepted in its attempt to flank the 1st legion.
The Romans are feeling the pressure now.  Their cavalry has been beaten back.  The 1st legion has been beaten by the elephants & their supports. The 2nd legion is broken up and being destroyed in detail.
The Romans made a desperate counterattack with their surviving cavalry, but light v. heavy needed a miracle that didn't happen.  The 2nd legion was swamped & the Romans had lost 3 of 4 divisions & are broken.  All talk of crucifixion in the Seleucid camp was replaced by talk of extra virgins.  It was good to have Renfrey back for a summer away from the English winter, though we gave him a pretty rugged introduction to the joys of Hail Caesar. 

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