Battle of the Clanis River, 228 BC, (Med Campaign 3)

In the year of the consulships of Spurius Ruga and Quintus Verrucosus, The Boii and Senones, angered at continued Roman encroachment upon their lands, formed an alliance with Gaesatae from Transalpine Gaul to lay waste to Etruria. As reports of their depredations reached Rome, Spurius Ruga gathered an army which he led north to meet the Gauls in battle. 

Now the Gauls had accumulated much plunder and had grown careless from their daily excesses. They had made camp in the vicinity of Clusium, between the river Clanis and a formidible hill, but in a position which did not allow them to make easy use of their numbers for anything but debauchery. 

Spurius Ruga saw this opportunity to fall upon the Gauls and catch them unprepared. He ordered the army to breakfast and sent the missile troops across the river to harass the Gallic left flank while using the river for protection. Meanwhile the legions formed up on the plain between the Clanis and the hill and began to advance on the Gauls. Spurius Ruga commanded the right and Spurius Sinistus the left. 

At last aware of the Roman threat, the Gauls debouched from their camp and, each man swaying slightly, began to form for battle. The Boii under Youcansaythatagain were arrayed on the left; the Senones, led by Damnthelotofthem on the right. The Gaesatae, in their eagerness for war threw themselves forward.

The account of the esteemed Ian Piper is as follows:

The Gauls had found a nice campsite but not thought carefully enough. Canny old Spurius Ruga has realised that there is a bottle neck that he can use to his advantage. He has the Marines get some Archers over to the other side of the steep sided but narrow river from which they can fire quite safely into the Gauls who stray close enough (in Hail Caesar 2 shooting isn't usually very effective so this is more a hurry-up for the Gauls, although one Warband managed a command Blunder that moved them into the firing line. 

Assaulting at dawn the Gauls panic fearing being boxed in and their battle lines fill up as each group gets sorted out. Apart from some Fanatics (sorry, I know, but they helped the points balance! - perfectly acceptable!) each unit had to be rolled for in order to get to the front. All this means that there is not enough room for all the Warbands and when they do arrive there will be some confusion and difficult positioning. 

It is a Roman Victory but tighter than you might expect. Both right wings did well and Gauls looked like they might break out alongside the hill but the Heroes of the Hour undoubtedly the Auxillaries as they held up a Warband for a couple of rounds before being overwhelmed by numbers and a flank attack from the Gaulish Cavalry. The (now shaken) Warband then proved easy meat for the Legionaries.

Key:

C = Cavalry VL = Vet Legionaries L= Legionaries M = Marines A = Archers

S= Slingers Aux = Auxiliaries F = Fanatic Warband WB = Warband 1 and 2 = i/c and 2i/c

Forces at start, with Gauls just waking up.

End of turn 4

Final positions

Many thanks to Ian for fighting out what looks to have been a royal ding-dong of a battle. The brief was equal forces but for the Romans to have a terrain advantage. Between the battle, the evocative maps, the photo of the final scene (there is also an account of the forces for both sides but it is hard to format that for the blog), and the report he deserves a bit of plunder himself! 

An update on the overall campaign situation will follow, but for now the Gauls have been driven out of Italia and been unsuccessful in their attack.

Thanks again to Ian!

Campaign history.