I have started two major Strength and Honour projects this year: converting my 6mm Romans and Successor armies to 120mm bases and secondly, working on amendments stretching the rules into the High Medieval era. Both will be a few month's work, so in the meantime, I am playing Marius’ campaign against the Germans in the Cimbrian Wars 113-101 BC. The first battle to hit the table was Aquae Sextiae 102 BC.
If you are interested in Marius’s wars against the Northern Tribes and the military reforms of this period, a good starting point is Ospreys’ The Cimbrian Wars by Nic Fields.
Aquae Sextiae 102 BC.
Mark Backhouse wrote an article on this battle in Wargames Soldiers & Strategy (119). In Mark’s suggested reconstruction, the battle against the Teutones and Ambrones tribes was fought in two separate engagements. The first was a skirmish near a local stream, and the second occurred a day later when the main armies clashed.
The First Action.
This action involved some skirmishers on both sides. The Romans supported their water gathers with a couple of legions and cavalry. The latter, whilst they did not fight, had a major influence on the skirmish that followed. The Ambrones lacking mounted support became clumped together and never managed to neutralised the cavalry threat on their left flank.
The skirmishers exchanged missiles but with little impact. The Ligurians on the Roman right finally managed to move through the wooded area and threaten the Ambrones’ right flank. However, the superiority of the Roman legion plus the Germans' inability to manoeuvre, due to the treat of the Roman cavalry, led to several routs. Soon, the Ambrones were seeking the safety of their camp, so they could not fight another day.
Meanwhile, Marius now having the upper hand but did not want to call 'Homunculus Est' because he wanted to inflict maximum damage to weaken the force he knew he had to face the following day.
The Second Day
Two warbands had been routed during the river skirmish, and one was unavailable on the second day. Despite these losses, the Germanic host was impressive, amounting to ten warbands plus cavalry and skirmishers.
The Romans followed Marius’s historical tactics of holding the hill and forcing the Germans to meet them on slightly unfavourable terms. I also used the ambush option mentioned by Plutarch, and one legion was also hidden in the wood on the Roman left flank.
The German tactics I used needed to be more sophisticated. They aimed to attach through the centre, hoping to exploit Marius’ raw legion that he had placed as part of his centre formation. They also tried to outflank the Romans on their right, where the Germans, on the face of it, had a numerical advantage.
Opening Moves
Roman Left Wing - A Reappraisal
The first clash was inconclusive, with equal honours, but the Teutones warbands soon threatened to envelop the Roman left, where their numbers became a major threat to Marius’ plan. For Marius, the battle soon boiled down to deciding when to trigger the ambush. The Roman left was outnumbered and under intense pressure, which caused the Romans to review their plans. Marius intended to wait until the warbands were fully committed before he unleashed the ambush. However, because of the Germans’ success on his left flank, he could not wait.
Ambush
The IV Legion was signalled to attack. At first, nothing seemed to move, and Marius feared the worst, then suddenly, the legion burst forth, hitting a Teutone warband in the flank. Luck followed Marius that day because, at their moment, the Roman cavalry gained an unexpected success on the right, and the German now found themselves with a successful flanking action on both their wings. The ‘Setback Cards’ were stacking up.
The Roman Attack Falters
Suddenly, the Germans rediscovered their fighting spirit and began to push back the legions in the centre. Marius’ raw legion suffered the worst in this counteroffensive, and Marius looked on in horror as the German veteran warriors moved closer and closer to the Roman camp. Meanwhile, the Roman success on the flanks faltered, thanks to a series of matched dice in several key melees.
The Dam Bursts.
The German success in the end proved short-lived. In the next round of action, the legions re-found their momentum, and the flanks began to collapse as two warbands routed. Marius would not take any further risks; he had too many surprises that day. He called 'Homunculus Est' , and the German Setback Cards, when counted, just equalled their breakpoints, and German's broke. It was a close call but victory was with the rising star of Rome
Comments
After the double envelopment, I thought Rome had achieved its victory. All that remained was requiring enough Set Back and Disaster cards. In the end, this proved correct, but not before a couple of rounds of doubt when the Roam advance halted, and the German elite warband came within a move of the Roman camp. I love these little narrative twists that these rules produce..
Pushback
The big learning element in this game was how to play the pushback rules when the attack came from the flank. Ultimately, I used common sense, and the pushback caused a ripple effect along the tribal frontline. I will have to do some rereading and ask some questions of the groups, but any flank attack soon proves lethal. I think this outcome is historical.
Warband Strategies?
The second question from this replay is, can I play a warband army more effectively? I find it hard to keep coherency with the maximum moved rule. Also, as warbands get support from a warband in the rear, the army tends to clump, leaving the flank open to exploitation. Therefore, the tactics I am using are unsophisticated. Either attack one element of the enemy line or a mass charge and quickly exploit any weakness that appears from this clash. More playtesting is required to develop some new ideas!
What Next?
Following his victory at Aquae Sexitae, Marius must face the Germans at Vercellae. I am also considering
playing one of these battles using To the Strongest to see how the rules differ in these historical encounters.
