Clusium 225 BC with Commands and Colors: Ancients.

I've had a hankering to play some C&C: Ancients recently. I went for a Gallic scenario, Clusium (or Faesulae as it's also known) 225 BC, pitting Gauls against Romans in the decade before the 2nd Punic War commenced.

While describing ongoing Roman / Gallic struggles for power in Italy, Polybius tells us that in the year 232, during the consulship of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, the Romans divided Picenum, previously a territory controlled by the Senones, amongst its own citizens.

Gaius Flaminius was the originator of this popular policy, which we must pronounce to have been, one may say, the first step in the demoralization of the populace, as well as the cause of the war with the Gauls which followed. 9 For what prompted many of the Gauls and especially the Boii, whose territory bordered on that of Rome, to take action was the conviction that now the Romans no longer made war on them for the sake of supremacy and sovereignty, but with a view to their total expulsion and extermination. (Polybius's Histories, 2.21)

Against this backdrop of Roman expansionism the Boii and Insubres made common cause with 'Gaesatae' tribes dwelling in the Alps and near the Rhone to make war on the Romans. Not needing too much convincing, this coalition gathered a combined force of 50,000 foot and 20,000 cavalry and chariots under the command of the kings Concolitanus and Aneroëstus and prepared to descend on Etruria. Fearing the consequences of such an incursion, Rome sent a Consul to Ariminium, a Praetor to Etruria, and levied troops both citizen and allied. 

On every side there was a ready disposition to help in every possible way; 12 for the inhabitants of Italy, terror-struck by the invasion of the Gauls, no longer thought of themselves as the allies of Rome or regarded this war as undertaken to establish Roman supremacy, but every man considered that the peril was descending on himself and his own city and country. (Polybius's Histories, 2.23)

The Praetor in Etruria appears to have been commanding allies from the Sabines and Etruscans, presumably in addition to whatever citizen force he led. This force amounted to 4000 cavalry and above 50,000 foot, says Polybius. The rest of the Roman troops were with the Consuls Lucius Amelius in Ariminium and Gaius Atilius in Sardinia. In reserve was a force stationed in Rome itself.

The Gallic army made its way through Etruria, laying waste the countryside and gathering spoils. Three days march from Rome, at the town of Clusium, the unnamed Praetor caught up with them. The Gauls left cavalry in a forward position and retreated north overnight towards the town of Faesulae, seemingly hoping to draw the Roman force into a rash assault.  

According to Polybius the Romans moved on the cavalry at daybreak, at which point the rest of the Gallic force 'left their position' and attacked. The Romans had the worst of it, losing some 6000 men in casualties, and the rest fled to a nearby hill, where they made a stand and drove off the pursuing Gauls. It had been a long day: too fatigued to continue the attack, the Gauls settled in for the night and waited for what the next day would bring.

As it turned out, the next day brought the arrival of Lucius Amelius and his consular army. He had force-marched from Ariminium to bring assistance to his countrymen. Seeing the campfires of the newcomers, the Gauls held a council of war and decided to move north, taking their booty with them. 

Rome had been given a bloody nose, but Lucius Amelius's timely arrival had warded off further immediate danger.

So where was Clusium? If you look at the map below, draw an imaginary line between Volsinii and Arretium, then find Perusia and draw another imaginary line due west. Where those two lines intersect is about the site of the town. 

Link to map.

The Commands and Colors scenario presents us with the first day's battle. With not a lot to go on in the ancient sources, the scenario is necessarily just an impression of events. The map below shows the terrain and dispositions.

Map taken from the commandsandcolors.net site.

The Gauls have a numerical advantage but they are positionally compromised: there is a camp forward of their main line, garrisoned by cavalry only, and their forces are scattered. The Romans are formed in a solid line with a formidable centre of medium infantry and leaders supported by a heavy infantry reserve. If the Romans can take the camp hexes it will yield a victory banner, and their proximity to the central ridge also gives them first opportunity to take the high ground should they want it.

Both sides have five cards in their hands, and the game is played to six banners. At first glance it appears to be quite a balanced scenario, with the central tension being whether the Gauls can coordinate their forces well enough to challenge a Roman advance through the centre.

The Gauls move first. 

The battlefield at game start, viewed from the Roman side.

The Gauls begin by pulling back one of the exposed cavalry units to the right centre, moving a leader to join them, and advancing a unit of auxiliaries towards the closest camp hex. The plan is to have leaders positioned to make use of the initial card hand and to provide options for attack on both ends of the Gallic line.

The Romans use a Move-Fire-Move card to drive off another unit of cavalry from the camp, occupy a camp hex, and take the hill on their right centre.

The Gauls use an Order Two Units Centre card to get their auxiliaries into a camp hex and the last of the vulnerable cavalry out of the way.

The Romans use a Coordinated Attack card to bring the Heavy infantry into contact with the main line and reinforce both flanks. 

So far there are no losses on either side.

 

The situation after two card plays each.

The Gauls pull out a big play - an Inspired Right Leadership card, which they use to attack the auxiliaries and light infantry of the Roman left. A combination of missile and melee attacks damage two units and force the left to retreat. 

The Romans respond with a Double Time card. They bring forward their centre, occupy another camp hex, and attack the lead units. There are casualties on both sides, but no banners are taken as yet. The auxiliaries in the last camp hex under Gallic control fight hard and hold on despite taking heavy losses.

The situation after the Roman Double Time play.

An Order Medium Troops played by the Gauls brings warriors and cavalry into action. Attacks on the Roman position on the hill are futile, resulting in more damage to the attackers than the defenders, but on the other flank the Gauls destroy a unit of medium infantry and an auxiliary unit to take two banners, damage but can't finish off another medium infantry unit, and drive the light infantry back to the Roman baseline.

The unnamed Praetor and his assistants survey the damage.

The Praetor does not need to survey too long: a Clash of Shields card is produced, allowing all Roman units adjacent to Gallic units to melee with plus 2 dice! The Gallic groan is audible. Two units are destroyed, and three others take damage, but it could have been worse. Banners are even at two each, but the Romans have now occupied the last camp hex, so will gain an extra banner next turn unless dislodged.

After the Clash of Shields. How you like that, as Blackpink might say.

Gallic plans have gone awry. With few good options, a Double Time is used to activate the weakened warriors on the Gallic right to drive forward against the light infantry on the Roman baseline. It is a 'pick off the vulnerable' and 'distract the enemy' move, but it gets the warriors out of immediate danger, evens up the score to 3-3, and gives the Romans something to think about. 

The unnamed Praetor uses a Line Command to keep the pressure on in the centre where the Gallic cavalry has nowhere to retreat to, but is not able to add any further banners to the tally. 

The Romans press forward against the vulnerable Gallic centre. Note the warriors in the foreground who have pushed through to the Roman baseline.

The Gauls have some good cards, but given that they need to destroy three units in the next turn or two, they go for immediate effect - an Order Four Units Left which they use to attack the Romans on the hill. They kill off the auxiliary infantry, and drive off the cavalry, but can only take one block off the light infantry. 4-3 to the Gauls.

 

The Gauls are on the hill and the Romans are disordered, but the Gallic centre is pushed back right to the baseline and has no room to retreat.

The question now for the Romans is what cards they have in their hand. With vulnerable units across the board, there is a sense of urgency. They play an Order Medium Troops: it gives options to get the three banners needed for victory. 

Cavalry is moved into position to attack the warrior unit in the Roman rear; the centre moves forward to threaten the weakened unit in the woods and the cavalry on the Gallic baseline. Lastly, the medium infantry is activated on the hill. 

The first attack is against the warrior infantry. Two hits are needed, or else a hit and a retreat, which can then be followed up with another attack. Disastrously, only one hit is scored, and no retreat is rolled. The warriors battle back, forcing the cavalry off the map. 5-3 to the Gauls!

The next option is the centre. The unit of weakened medium infantry attacks the auxiliary unit in the woods. One hit needed; two dice. Success! 5-4 to the Gauls. The Roman medium infantry with leader attack a unit of medium cavalry on the baseline. If they succeed, they can use their leader to advance into the emptied hex and attack again. The result? Two retreats. The cavalry are forced off the board. 5-5. The leader and unit advance into the gap, and attack the chariots to their left. 

Attack to come - how will it go?

A roll of two light (green) hits is good enough! 6-5 to Rome. 

A good final roll!

And in a reversal of the historical result it is a victory for the unnamed Praetor.

Board at game end.

The win was a good example of the Commands and Colors: Ancients principle of playing what is in front of you. A conservative play by the Romans on the final turn may well have cost them the battle; but you never quite know. In this case they took the risk and it paid off. 

The cards played each turn, in order, Gauls to the left.

It was a most enjoyable game. I had hoped by this time to be able to play with figures on the 4 inch mat I ordered some time ago, but as it has not yet arrived, I decided to just go ahead and play with the board game version. 

To close, I must salute, once more, the great Richard Borg, designer of not only this superb game, but a superb family of the things. He is a legend of the hobby! 

Greek cavalry and Successor elephants done.

And together at last! Thebans and hamippoi from Xyston along with a test pair of the Potbelly Miniatures Successor jumbos (sans towers).

 

There's nothing negative to be said about Xyston, and the Potbelly models were good to work with. I do fear for the pikes, as the 3d printed plastic is quite brittle. To replace them was going to cause problems as well, so I decided to leave them be and if they break I will cross that bridge when I come to it. It would be great to have the option to order them with open hands, but they are very good value and take paint nicely. They are a little larger than your usual 15mm Indian elephant, but they should look good on the table and on the whole I am very pleased with them.

A new approach to painting.

As a painter, I've tended to be one of those people who works in big batches. In my case it has made for periods of great progress followed by long fallow patches. Having just come out of a fallow patch that, for various reasons, lasted about five years, I've been wondering if it's time to change my approach.

Back in May I took stock of the leadpile and thought about what I was going to do with all these figures I had yet to paint. Was I going to give up further progress as a bad job and start selling things off or was I going to get back on the metaphorical horse? I wondered if I could set myself a goal of painting two figures a day until the end of the year. If I could do that, I thought, it would give me a) more figures to game with and b) a potential way to move forward with the rest of the unpainted collection.

As per usual, my default was to go into big-batch mode. I got about 80 foot painted, and then started on a large cavalry lot, which I have just finished. All of this of course requires decision-making at scale, time spent prepping in large numbers, and then painting one or two steps a session (64 spears in brown, 32 tunic base colours in light grey, 32 in a variety of others, etc...) until the batch is finished.

What this means in practice is my hobby space is completely taken up with prepped figures, paints, bits and pieces, and the sense that you are on a big job. You can't, for example, set up an evening game if you feel like it, because to do so would require you to pack everything away to clear space, play the game, and then put everything back out again.

So I decided to try a new approach. For the moment, I'm calling it 'four for now'. Four to a base is how my infantry figures are organised for painting, so why not just do four figures to (almost) completion in a session? You see immediate progress, you shorten the time frame for playable numbers, and you can do it all in a much a smaller space footprint. I can store prepped figures elsewhere, so when I want to play a game, I can. 

I suppose the idea is to make painting less of an all-or-nothing thing, so that I can work on getting through the figures I have but without making it all-consuming, and by making painting something I am always doing in little bits. 

My first 'four for now'. Washes, base painting and shield patterns to come when I'm up to bigger numbers.

We'll see how long I last! 

Next batch of figures

I had previously harped on here about how keen I was to next get stuck into painting some Persians. Well, so much for that: this next batch (due for magic wash tomorrow) is Greek cavalry and hamippoi of the Theban variety. 

Xyston figures. My goodness, they are a treat to paint. I am a workman, not an artist, so am not able to quite do them justice, but even so, they are wonderful to work with. They do take a bit of prepping, mind....

I'm also working on some 3d printed elephants and from the Xyston pile have another 50-odd Greek cavalry and 80-odd Theban hoplites prepped. 

Successor beasts from Potbelly. Drybrushing underway.

With work extremely busy at the moment but without much tangible to show for it it has been nice to come back home to practical hobbying and feel like you are getting somewhere in at least one aspect of your life!

In the post

Since moving back to New Zealand in 2019 I've missed playing Commands & Colors: Ancients. I have the boardgames of course, but playing with figures is for me where the game is best as a spectacle.  

In Japan I had made a hexmat myself, but utilizing as it did quite a lot of spray paint, it would not be very economical to use that method in New Zealand. So after a delay of five almost gameless C&C:A years, I decided to order a mat from Tiny Wargames in the UK. It should arrive soonish, and I am looking forward to it very much. Commands & Colors will never be the best simulation you will find, but it is easy to remember, small enough to play on the kitchen table, and so quick to set up and take down you can give the table back to the family by breakfast. 

Also heading this way is the World War One boardgame The Lamps Are Going Out. I have been looking for an affordable copy of it for years. The one I am getting is the paper map first edition, but that suits me fine. I will be playing it solo, and the fact that it uses areas rather than hexes is something I find helps to avoid analysis paralysis. Time will tell how much play it gets (my record with boardgames is not great!), but I hope that it will be one I can set up and play in a weekend, and come back to repeatedly when the mood strikes.

Speaking of boardgames, I also recently got hold of a copy of Ben Hull's Fields of Fire. It is a heavy undertaking, but I am building up to it. As a dedicated solitaire game it is something that once learned will be rewarding. But I digress from my stated purpose - that one is already out of the post and on the shelf!

Sentinum 295 BC with Lost Battles

SP came around tonight for another session of Lost Battles. Our last ancients game was, looking at blog records, late last year, when we played Zama and SP carried off the Washbourn Trophy in triumph. This time around we would play Sentinum. 

SP elected to play the Romans. They have an advantage in fighting value, 69 as against 60 for the Samnites and Gauls, but most of that is taken up with superior Roman generalship. The armies themselves are pretty even - five units of cavalry for the Romans - one veteran, the rest average; five units of mounted for the coalition, four heavy cavalry, one chariotry.

In infantry the coalition has fourteen units of heavy infantry against the Roman ten legionary units and two levy light infantry units. The numbers favour the coalition, but the Roman legionaries have better morale and when fresh are harder to hit.

The Romans have an average commander in Fabius and an uninspired cavalry leader in Decius Mus. The coalition has Gellius Egnatius as an uninspired infantry leader.

So far there is not much between the armies, but at Sentinum the coalition is classed as fatigued: that is, their staying power is compromised. Once a Gallic or Samnite unit has taken a hit, it attacks thereafter at -1, meaning in effect that all things being equal a fatigued heavy infantry unit up against a legionary unit will need 11 or 12 on two dice to to score a hit, so the coalition troops have to try to make an impact early and keep as many units fresh as possible for as long as possible.

Looking from behind the Roman right.

As it eventuated, there was not too much need for deep strategy: it was one of those rare games when everything went right for my side and nothing for my worthy opponent. 

Our right wing engaged immediately, and the infantry in the three central zones advanced. I kept the cavalry on my left refused. They were outnumbered and I felt it was best to be circumspect at the outset.

One wing and the centre engaged. My refused left can be seen on right of the picture.

The Gauls on my right quickly made inroads and the chariots burst through after just two turns of combat, shattering one unit and routing the guard for the unfortunate Decius Mus and denuding the Roman left of any meaningful defenders.

A double hit is scored, Decius Mus is unable to rally either of them, and the Roman left is lost.

Why did the Romans not invoke Favour of the Gods and force a re-roll, Lost Battles afficionadoes may ask? The reason for this is that I had already had such frighteningly good dice in the centre that SP had invoked the gods there, and with the token now in my hands, could not do so again until I had issued an invocation of my own. 

The action continued apace.

Galvanised by the early loss of his left wing and cognisant of the need to fight fire with fire in the centre, SP put as many command points into combat bonuses as he could. This paid off with hits against the Samnite left centre under Gellius. But in doing this he neglected to make use of his cavalry superiority on the right.

 

The refused Samnite cavalry wing is left unmolested.

Gellius Egnatius leads the Samnites as the centres continue the fight. The victorious Gallic cavalry and chariotry can just be seen in the distance in behind the Roman left.

The Roman rear is now exposed and with three units to use for this purpose, the Gauls focus on getting deep in behind the Romans to interfere with their morale and prepare to strike in future turns. SP pulls two units of cavalry out of the line on his right to respond to the threat.

A double hit by Gellius on the Roman right centre sees another unit shattered and the levy light infantry flee.  

With options running out for Rome bold attacks are initiated by the cavalry, now split across two zones to meet threats from two directions, and by the legionaries in the central zones.

Black arrows show direction of Roman attacks in turn 6.

The chariots are hit, but do not break. The other cavalry fails to hit at all. In the right centre, a mighty effort smites Gellius's unit, but in a scene which epitomises SP's luck tonight, Gellius rallies the hit. There is another successful attack in the central zone, but not enough to turn the tide. 

A series of attacks by the coalition sweep away the remaining Roman cavalry and Fabius's sector of the infantry line. The rest of the army holds on for the remainder of the turn, but Gellius administers the coup de grace on the turn after.

Final attack: Gellius rolls up the Roman line, already beset front and rear, with an attack from the flank.

It was a rather unfortunate game for SP. He stuck at it but you can't do much when the dice are your enemy.

From my perspective The Gauls and Samnites were able to keep just enough units fresh to avoid the worst effects of fatigue, and seemed to manage to align their most important attacking moments with their most potent dice rolling. The luck went entirely my way, but it was interesting to see a Lost Battles Roman army unexpected defeated on the table: beat the cavalry, surround the infantry, wear them down until morale starts to fail. 

It was pretty much the historical formula.

Victory Points:

Rome: 

The coalition spent: 3 x average heavy cavalry, 1 x average chariot, 9 x average heavy infantry equates to 52 points

Samnites & Gauls:

Roman shattered: 2 x average legionaries, 2 x average heavy cavalry, 1 x veteran heavy cavalry equates to 32 points

Roman routed: 2 x levy light infantry, 8 x average legionaries, 2 x average heavy cavalry equates to 46 points

Withdrawn: 1 x average commander, 1 x uninspired leader, equates to 9 points. 

Handicap: 18 points

Fatigued: 20 points

Total points for Rome: 52; for Samnites & Gauls: 125, for a major victory.

I now get to keep the Washbourn Trophy for a spell, which makes a bit of a change!

Libyans on base

There have been a few delays but we've finally got to the fun part - taking the freshly varnished figures off their temporary strips and arranging them on their bases. I think I've said it here before, but it's the part of the painting process I enjoy most. 

The hard work is done and the game - as it were - is almost afoot.

To delay things further, the reason it took about four weeks to get these chaps to this stage is two-fold: one, I decided to bolster the ranks a little, and two, it has been difficult to find the right paints I use during the basing process.

The extra figures I got are from Potbelly Miniatures, a 3d printing enterprise based in New Zealand, of whose existence Mike of Bucellarii kindly apprised me a few posts ago. They are nice figures, but the resin used presented a challenge - none of my glues would work! It took me a bit of time to find the solution, which turned out to be Cyanoacrylate from Avetek NZ. 

The other problem (still not resolved, unfortunately!) is paint. In Japan I used to finish figure bases in Tamiya Flat Green, cardboard bases in any variety of green or khaki, and the edges of said bases in Mr Hobby H58, Interior Green. In order to maintain consistency, I wanted to use the same colours over here, but had not got them yet. I therefore ordered a few pots of the H58. These took about a week to arrive. When I went to use them, I found to my surprise that it is no longer the same colour. I wondered if I'd ordered the wrong code, and went to check: apparently Mr Hobby changed the formula in 2019. 

So I was stuck. I had two pots of paint that won't do the business. Do I order some black and try to mix them to the right colour or find something from another manufacturer that's closer? In the interests of saving time and shipping costs I tried buying a Humbrol pot from a local store, but that is not quite right either. Hmm.

It wouldn't be so bad if this were Japan. It would take ten minutes to find an alternative hobby paint at the local Joshin, and even if you got things wrong it would cost you about $10 for the various paints and thinners I've picked up so far. In New Zealand these mis-steps have cost me $80 and I still don't have the right colour. Oh well. It's never going to do much for your equilibrium comparing prices of hobby products between NZ and Japan!

So I will just use the wrong colour in the meantime and hope it is only me that notices the difference.

The figures drying on their bases (with the offending H58 in the background!)

One thing I have reason to be thankful for is that I was able to bring my non-hobby acrylic paints back here from Japan with me, so it's rare for me to need to actually buy any paint. I shouldn't grumble too much!

Anyway, on to the flocking stage, and I have a game planned for tonight with SP, so it should be a good long weekend.