Roman Civil War: Populares Ascendant

Battle of Narbo, from behind Caesarian lines.

 

His victory outside Massilia having secured that sea port, Julius Caesar was chagrinned to learn that his fleet was in no position to use it. The Pompeian fleet had defeated it, Decimus Brutus has been lost with his ship, and the surviving half of his ships were seeking refuge in Luca.

Nevertheless, having destroyed the army of Ahenobarbus, Caesar thought the moment propitious at once to seek out the last remaining Pompeian army in Spain. After three battles, Ahenobarbus had been reduced to 8SP - less than half the total SP he began with. For the purposes of this campaign, that implied the dispersal of his entire force.

Onward marched Caesar, to be met by the army of Lucius Afranius near the sea port of Narbo. Meanwhile, as he moved forward, far away in Syracuse Gaius Curio's fleet, laden with his army, set forth for Africa, and a landing at Thapsus. Before they could reach landfall, the Pompeian fleet anticipated them.

Caesarian campaign moves

For this, the third month of the campaign, the Caesarians had seized the initiative, but as the roll was just 3-1, could move 3 formations. As Curio's army was already embarked, then the whole expedition required just one activation. Caesar's army used up the second, and the retreat of Caesar's fleet was the final move. Meanwhile, the army of Trebonius, now commanded by Gaius Fabius, was reorganising itself at Luca.

Battle of Narbo.

The armies met in the coastal plain north of Narbo. The Pompeian right wing covered in woodland, the velites lurked therein, with the Auxilia in reserve behind them.

The Armies of Caesar and Afranius were very nearly equal in strength. From the 8 and 9 units available  respectively, the following 6-unit forces were engaged:

Caesarian Army:

• IX Legion = 3SP
• XI Legion = 3SP
• XII Legion = 2SP, classed as veteran, and Caesar himself commanding.
• I Auxilia = 2SP
• II Auxilia = 2SP
• Velites = 2SP

Totals: 14SP + Caesar.

(X Legion and the Equites absent)

Caesar placed IX and XII Legions in the right and centre, himself with the forward line, and XI Legion in support in the centre. The light infantry led the advance on the left, and both flanks were supported by the Auxilia. 

Note that by support, I don't add to dice roll of the leading unit, merely that if the leading unit falls back, the second unit remains to oppose the enemy's further advance. The XII Legion classed as veteran gets +1 on its combat dice - in addition to the +1 on account of Julius Caesar's august presence.

Battle of Narbo - from behind Pompeian lines

Pompeian Army:

• V Legion = 3SP with Afranius himself commanding
• VII Legion = 3SP
• VIII Legion = 3SP
• Auxilia = 2SP
• Velites light infantry = 2SP
• Equites heavy cavalry = 2SP

Totals: 15SP + Afranius.

Action in the centre - Caesar leads from the front!

Caesar at once seized the initiative and took the fight to the enemy. Enjoying immediate success along the whole front, the Caesarians threw back the Pompeian velites out of the woods (a 6-2 roll will do that), and drove off the enemy horse in the plain. In the centre Caesar compelled V Legion to retreat with loss.  

Caesar attacks all long the front line, and drives 
in the Pompeian centre

Following up, the Caesarians suffered their first check. Caesar found himself face to face with Afranius. Failing to make further progress, XII Legion fell back.

Caesarian success on the right.

Pompeian rear areas filling up with stragglers and fugitives
from the battle

The Caesarians were not to be denied. Their check proved momentary. The Pompeian reserve area overcrowded with fugitives, the remaining formed units attempted to restore the already crumbling line. VIII Legion were at least holding that line, and eventually repulsed IX Legion's attack.

Pompeians holding on to the flank

But the battle was decided in the centre. 

Afranius forces Caesar to retreat!

Although Caesar's renewed attack against Afranius failed - fortunately without serious loss...

... But here is XI Legion to exact a condign vengeance

... XI Legion, taking over the battle,  at last drove Afranius's command from their line and into the milling crowd in the rear. Unable to recapture the woods, and holding the line only on the left, the Pompeians retreated in rout.

For the Pompeians, this was a complete disaster: 7 Strength points lost, 2 units (VII Legion and the Cavalry) destroyed. This made a serious dent in their overall strength. At most, they could recover a SP for V Legion or the light infantry, which implied a 6SP total loss.

The Caesarians, of course, had plenty to celebrate. Although checked a couple of times, their losses were negligible - so insignificant withal, that they amounted to zero strength points.  Altogether, right now the portents looked good for a successful outcome of the war.

****

Battle off Thapsus

Sailing from Syracuse, Gaius Curio's fleet was barely enough to accommodate his whole army, and that only by placing his auxilia units aboard the fighting galleys. The addition of these fighting men he hoped, however, would afford some advantage to his battered fleet.  


For their part, the Pompeians sought to stop the Caesarian fleet whilst still well out to sea (result of a die roll). The respective galley fleets comprised:

Caesarian: 

• Left wing: 1 Septireme heavy galley = 3SP + Curio commanding
• Centre: 2 Quinquireme medium galleys @2SP = 4SP
• Right: 1 Quinquireme = 2SP

Totals: 9SP + 4 infantry SPs.

Note that all four vessels carried 1SP of auxilia aboard. This gave them each +1 on their combat dice, but did not add to the strength points. If a ship was lost, it took the infantry SP with it - for good: no post-battle 'half returns' here!

Pompeian:

• Right wing: 1 Quinquireme medium galley = 2SP
• Centre: 1 Quinquireme = 2SP
• Left: 2 Septireme heavy galleys @3SP = 6 SP 

Totals: 10SP

Clearly, there has to be at least one vessel in each of the 3 battle sectors. Who went where was decided by dice rolls. The two heavy Pompeian ships fetching up on the left wing, of course the other two ships had to fill the other sectors. The two transport ships in the Caesarian rear merely signifies the leading transport vessels.

The heavier ships on the wings push back their 
lighter opponents. 

It seemed from their deployment that the Pompeians hoped to smash through Curio's fragile right wing, thence to turn in upon the centre. Curio himself thought his best chances lay in quickly breaking through the middle of the enemy fleet.

First contact was made by Curio's command wing, and at once began forcing the Pompeians to back water. Outnumbered in the centre, the Pompeians were holding, but the fighting was a deal fiercer on their left. Though taking damage and forced back, the Caesarians took a heavy toll among the enemy ships, and even repulsed with loss the enemy following up. Losing 1SP themselves on this wing the Caesarians inflicted 2SP on their heavier opponents.  

Pompeians counter-attack...

Added to that was the SP lost on the Pompeian right. To these losses was added a fourth as their centre also began to give way. In an effort to restore that battle, the weighty left wing renewed their drive to sink or disperse the Caesarian right. To no avail.

Heavy losses on the Caesarian right - the 
outnumbered Caesarians more than holding their own!

Their right and centre driven out of the battle, and unable to recover the initiative, the Pompeians were forced to concede defeat, and to retreat. The battle over, Curio was free to put his troops ashore at Thapsus.

The Pompeian centre and right unable to fight their 
way back into the action (the 5-2 initiative roll 
won by the Caesarians), the battle is lost.

This was an undoubted Caesarian victory. The Caesarian fleet took just 1SP of damage; the Pompeians 4. But as no ships were sunk or destroyed, all SP damage is recoverable.  So, despite their defeat, the Pompeians still have a fleet in being that can match the Caesarian.

Although the damage toll is 4-1 against the 
Pompeians, they have lost no ships destroyed.

It now remains for the Pompeians to make their move. But having rolled a 1 for their campaign activations, there isn't much they can do. Afranius's army will retreat to Tarraco or Ilerda; the Africa fleet will retire to Utica; and the Pompeian fleet is hovering around the Narbonnensis coast. There is likely to be a land battle at Thapsus as Attius Varus seeks to throw Curio's army into the sea...

To be continued...

Disasters in the Narbonnensis

 

Caesarian assault along the river line

After the defeat of L. Trebonius in operations around Massilia, the leader of the Populares, C. Julius Caesar, led his main army to settle matters in the Gallia Narbonnensis. Trebonius's army remained in being, less its commander, slain in the late battle. This army Caesar ordered withdrawn to Luca, whilst he took over the lead in the campaign. Accompanying the march, as it were, the fleet kept pace along the Genovese coast. 

The Optimates, or Pompeian, army led by Ahenobarbus had not come off the recent battles unscathed. Conscious of the depletion of his army, he lined up his force along the line of a small river. His right wing screened by a hill with a tract of woodland beyond, he hoped the slight obstacle of the stream might supply his deficiency in numbers.

Map of the action

The Armies:

Populares (Caesarian):

IX Legion = 3SP
X Legion (commanded by Caesar in person) = 3SP
XI Legion = 3SP
XII Legion = 3SP
Auxilia = 2SP
Equites = 2SP
Total: 16SP 

Optimates (Pompeian):

I Legion (commanded by Ahenobarbus) = 2SP
III Legion = 2SP
IV Legion = 2SP
VI Legion = 2SP
I Auxilia = 1SP
II Auxilia = 2SP
Total: 11SP 
Note that all units except II Auxilia had accumulated losses in the course of the previous two battles.

Terrific battle on the Optimates' right wing

The Pompeian army drew up in two lines. The first comprised III, IV and VI Legions; in the second stood Ahenobarbus with I Legion, flanked by the Auxilia units. The weak I Auxilia stood behind the marginally less vulnerable right wing.

Caesar also placed his legionaries in the front line, keeping his own X Legion in support in the centre.
The auxilia followed XII Legion into the woods; the cavalry supported the open wing.

Pompeian left driven in and IX Legion across 
the stream. Losses not great, but Pompeian situation
looks dire already

The battle took some time to develop, as, with an early initiative, Ahenobarbus declined to cross the stream to take the fight to the enemy, but preferred to rely on the protection of the obstacle. It did him little good.

Caesarians win again...

Once his forces were lined up along the riverbank, Caesar ordered a general advance. The attacks were immediately successful. IX and XI Legions easily forced their way across the stream, though with minimal loss to both sides. XII Legion had a much tougher fight: both sides taking heavy losses (both rolled 5s) with the issue remaining in doubt. 

Pompeian VI Legion crumbles, but XII Legion 
knows it has been in a fight!

The riverbank defenders driven in, the attackers pushed on. Though inflicting considerable hurt upon the Caesarians emerging from the stream, the Pompeian III Legion was destroyed where it stood (both sides rolled 6s this time). A  quick counter-attack in the centre, led by Ahenobarbus in person, drove XI Legion back across the river. The situation on the flanks remained critical.

Caesarian right wing establishes itself firmly on the 
Pompeian side of the river

The hard-fighting XII Legion finally routed what remained of the Pompeian right, the weak unit of auxiliaries being quickly destroyed. The attempt by the I Auxilia to recover the riverbank on the left met with an equally summary demise. Almost surrounded, Ahenobarbus sounded the retreat. 

XII Legion victorious! The under-strength 
Pompeian auxiliaries routed and destroyed.

This was a strikingly easy victory for the Caesarians, despite the slight advantage to their opponents whilst defending the riverbank. The plus on the combat dice did not, it seems, compensate for being driven into the Reserve Zone, especially when the Caesarians scored the same results following up into the second line. 

The Caesarians lost just 3SP from this battle, two of them from XII Legion (I'm very tempted on their performance to give XII Legion permanent 'veteran' status: +1 on the combat dice rolls). For the Pompeians, this battle was a disaster. Their losses totalled 6SP out of 11 - but both auxilia formations and III Legion were destroyed. After returns, Caesarian net loss was just 1SP; the Pompeians, 5SP. 

The end of the action: both Pompeian wings 
driven back, and the caesarians have the initiative.

Caesarian fleet ...

******
The fleet accompanying Caesar's march encountered the Pompeian galley fleet outside Massilia. The fleets were exactly equal: 1 heavy and 5 medium units. Both sides placed their heavy units in the centre, but, as it transpired, they were not directly facing each other. As the fleets met close under the Narbonnensis shore, one unit on each side was placed in reserve. The Pompeians placed their reserve unit behind the shoreward wing; Decimus Brutus kept his reserve on the seaward side.

Pompeian fleet

The fleets approaching each other

Seizing the early initiative, the Pompeians drove forward along the centre and right. The left wing proved more laggard. In his usual headlong fashion, Decimus Brutus flung his centre squadrons hoping for a quick result in the middle of the enemy line. In this, he rather forgot his original plan: a species of 'Periplous' against the seaward wing for which the extra unit was placed behind the right. However, it remained possible for that unit to reinforce the centre when required. 

The centre squadrons engage...

Brutus got his quick result, and it did not augur well for the Caesarians. The centre driven in, both Caesarian units taking big losses - unrequited at that - the Pompeians hesitated not to follow up. Three Strength Points the Caesarians had lost already, two from his heavy unit, and no material damage to the Pompeians.

At once, matters go badly for the Caesarians.

Some hope remained of turning the tables. Owing to the dilatoriness of the Pompeian shoreward units, the Caesarian vessels on this wing drove in upon the flank of the Pompeian centre. They were faced, however, by the Pompeian heavy unit, which, though taking losses themselves and getting slightly the worse of it, managed to inflict some damage in return (the 6-5 dice roll). 

A Caesarian counter-attack does some damage...

But the Pompeians reassert their ascendancy, as the Caesarians 
start to lose ships.

Seizing the initiative themselves, the Caesarians pushed forward, but events were not going their way. One of the central units was sunk, and they were unable to make head against the rest of the line. By this time, the shoreward Pompeian units, though straggling, were beginning to come into line. 

The Pompeian shore units still distant from
the action...

Fierce fighting on the seaward wing saw the Caesarians pushing back their opponents, but overall the battle was going badly. His splintered centre heavily outnumbered, Decius Brutus went down with his ship. The shoreward unit was caught before they could reorganise betimes to meet the late-coming enemy, and the reserve squadron failed to intervene. Only on the seaward wing did the Caesarians enjoy any success, sinking one unit, but at the cost of one of their own.

The seaward units giving and taking fearful 
punishment...

The fleet badly mauled, the battle lost, the Caesarian remnants drew off. 

Utter disaster for the Caesarian fleet: two-thirds 
of the fleet lost, against just one in six of the 
Pompeian!

It was a disaster for the Populares. Caesar had lost an able admiral, and the fleet had lost 4 units sunk, and overall, 10SPs. Nine SPs were a total loss.The Optimates fleet had not come off unscathed, but, of the 5SP worth of damage, only 2SP might be written off. 

******

This gave Julius Caesar considerable food for thought. But the momentum lay with him (the subsequent Campaign Initiative Roll went 3-1 in favour of the Populares), and he resolved to march upon Narbo and Hispania to try conclusions with Afranius's army. Replacing Trebonius with Marcus Antonius, he instructed the new commander to occupy with Trebonius's former command the area around Massilia. The fleet would remain in the offing.   

Meanwhile, far to the south, Curio loaded up his fleet and set forth for Africa...


******

Before continuing, a couple of issues have presented themselves. 

1. In the kind of battle that led off this post, placing the defended river line along the square boundaries as I have done seems to make the defence problematic owing to the lack of depth to which the defenders might be able to withdraw without disaster. The first four combats in the centre and Caesarian right all went the Caesarian way without inflicting losses.  The lead units were driven into the reserve Zone, then the second line went the same way as the caesarians followed up. At least one, possibly two, units destroyed simply for exceeding the reserve zone capacity.

The battle might have been over right then and there, but I did allow some chance of a comeback.

The thought occurred that the river line might be better placed along the centre of the middle row of squares. For quite a while, this seemed like a good idea, but I'll take it 'under advisement' for the moment. That battle I think took maybe 10 minutes to play out. So, by the way, did the fleet action.

2. Curio has laden his whole fleet - 4 galleys and 6 transports - with his infantry for the African expedition. No doubt the Pompeian fleet will oppose the landing. 
Now, the transports can carry whole units apiece; and the galleys each 1SP (to be allocated). It seems to me that the extra infantry about the galleys will add something to their 'fightability'.  What I propose is this:

A galley with a land unit SP aboard adds +1 to any combat dice roll. However, if the ship is lost, the land unit SP goes with it.
A transport with a land unit aboard adds +1 to the dice roll, but transports have just 1SP only, and, if lost, the infantry goes with it.

Meanwhile, as the Caesarians have the initiative, the African fleet will not have had time to embark any infantry units. I'm not 100% sure I would allow it anyway. The purpose of putting land units aboard is to effect a landing somewhere, not to resist one.

******

Finally, my apologies to readers. I played these actions out a week ago, and have found the motivation to write them up pretty threadbare. I have no idea why it has been so hard to put 'finger to keyboard'. But really there is no excuse.  

To be continued...

Optimates Seize the Initiative!

 After an energetic beginning by the Populares, hereinafter Caesarians as often as not, the Optimates - Pompeians - began to take the fight to their political adversaries. Their first move was to intercept the Caesarian expedition to Africa by bringing the fleet to battle off the southeast Sicilian coast. Meanwhile, Ahenobarbus's army, defeated near Massilia, fell back to Narbo. The remaining activation, Afranius's Army moved to Ilerda.

This seemed to place the Optimates on their mettle. Rather than passively to await Caesar's drive into the Iberian Peninsula, over the following weeks they determined upon taking the initiative themselves on this front. Meanwhile, what was left of the Optimates galley fleet left Sicily and returned to Thapsus, where they were to meet Varus's land force.

Optimates' first moves

From a campaign mechanics point of view events went like this. For each turn, the initiative was determined by a die roll, Red (Populares) versus White (Optimates). The first roll went 6-3 in Red's favour. Now, that same roll determined how much could be activated. All the Caesarian armies and fleets could do something, and did, leading to the battle near Massilia. In their turn, the Optimates could activate three formations only: the retreat from Massilia, the fleet attack at Syracuse, and the move north to Ilerda by Afranius's army.

Then the next roll was exactly reversed 3-6. In Africa, the Pompeians concentrated their army and fleet at Thapsus, to await what the Caesarians would do. In Spain, Ahenobarbus returned to the attack at Massilia, with the galley fleet also leaving Narbo, to arrive off Massilia. The transports having no reason to go to Massilia, they were left behind at Narbo. Of course, Trebonius's army was awaiting them, but the Pompeians having 'stolen a march', they arrived whilst Caesar's army and the fleet were still at the other end of the gulf of Genoa, at Luca. 

Before resuming the narrative - a further action at Massilia - I have a few comments to make on the game mechanics. I have already described how the initiative and activation rolls work. Instead of separate rolls, I have conflated them into a single roll. I believe someone else came up with this idea. I thought I'd give it a try.

A question was raised concerning replacement of losses. Now, as I want this to be a fairly brisk campaign, attrition will have to be fairly brutal. For the armies, defeat is treated pretty punitively: the victorious army recovers half the SPs lost, allocated according to troop type; the defeated loses the lot. There may be a difficulty when losses are shared among disparate troops types, leaving odd numbers to be divided. In halving, the returned troops are rounded up overall, and may also be among the types, provided the overall count is not exceeded.

Suppose an army loses 1SP from each of a legionary, an auxilia and a mounted unit: 3SP overall. Halving the three, rounded, allows 2SP to be returned. Who gets them? The player decides. 

Some points on battle game mechanics.

Land Battles:

All combats are competitive, high roll 'winning' and forcing the enemy back. 
Rolls are modified by SP value, presence of general with the unit, and/or direct support (given by velites only).

A roll of 5 or 6 scores a hit upon the opponent. In the battles so far I have allowed 'modified' 5s and 6s to score hits, but that seems too punitive. So henceforth, only 'natural' 5s and 6s reduce SP values.

Only velites (light infantry) can offer direct support, and that to a legionary unit. If giving direct support, it can not 'shoot before contact'. Direct support adds +1 to the legionary combat roll.

Except for velites, the rear unit of two in the same square offers 'indirect' support. It contributes nothing to the combat, but if the lead unit is forced back, it retreats, as it were through the rear unit to the space behind. A following up enemy will engage the second unit in the same square in which the primary combat took place. 

The 'Reserve' zone behind the 3x3 battlefield may accommodate 2 units only. If a third unit is forced back into a Reserve Zone, it is automatically destroyed, and all its SPs lost. The battle is automatically lost at the end of the player turn in which this occurs.

If at the end of a player turn, one side finds at least one of its rear sectors occupied by the enemy, with nothing in front of them, that side must in the next player turn bring one of its own units in front of the enemy, that is to say, between the enemy and the side's Reserve zone. Failure to do so means the army is defeated. Note that that assumes the next player turn will be that of the imperiled side. If the enemy happens, owing to winning the initiative dice roll, to get two moves in a row, then they win and the battle is over. 

Naval battles:

I have just been reading Thucydides's (The Peloponnesian War) account of the Athenian campaign against Syracuse, which featured a number of naval battles. It seems that ships so damaged as to be put out of action were (a) able (potentially) to be withdrawn out of the fight, and (b) recoverable for service fairly shortly.

Roman warships were a deal more heavily built, so, when damaged may not have been so easily repaired. To keep things simple in this campaign, all vessels sunk in action are totally lost; all other SP damage is automatically recovered. In the last Syracuse battle, both sides lost half their galley fleets.

Mark Cordone's galley rules disregard facing. As the ships represent squadrons of possibly dozens of vessels, this makes a deal of sense. However, I'm inclined to see a flanking attack as the 'periplous manoeuvre', much favoured by the Athenians. I daresay the Romans were not averse to taking their chances on such an attack as well. 

So I have added the rule that a galley stand moving into contact upon the flank of an enemy galley stand adds +1 to its combat roll. It also counts a 4, as well as a 5 or 6, for reducing the target's SP by 1. 
Enemy still afloat and forced back after such a strike may retreat towards their own rear, or in the direction whence the attack came, provided they don't exceed the 2-stand limit in each square or Reserve Zone.
Enemy still afloat may also turn to face, after the initial combat has been resolved. That attacker following up adds the +1 for the flank attack only if it strikes a new opponent in the flank. 

Further Operations around Massilia.

Following his defeat in the first month of the Civil War, the Pompeian commander L. Domitius Ahenobarbus fell back upon the sea port of Narbo. There he discovered that Afranius had determined upon seizing the initiative from the Caesarians, to recover Massilia and, Fortuna willing, push on to Rome itself. The fleet also departed Narbo to arrive off Massilia.

At once Ahenobarbus turned his battered army around to try conclusions once more with the Caesarians. For his part, G. Trebonius had been rather resting upon his laurels, and had made no move from Massilia (that is to say, by winning the initiative roll - with a big score, too - the Pompeians got two moves in a row). Nevertheless, news of Ahenobarbus's approach was enough for Trebonius to lead his army out to meet him.

The Armies: 

Populares (Caesarian) - Red:
I  Legionary unit = 2SP
II Auxiliary unit = 2SP
III Legionary unit with Trebonius commanding = 3SP +1SP= 3SP

IV Legionary unit = 2SP 

V Velites (Light infantry unit) in direct support of I Legion = 2SP

VI Equites heavy horse = 2SP

Totals: 14SP plus commander



Optimates (Pompeian) - White:
I  Legionary unit with Ahenobarbus commanding = 3SP +1SP
II  Velites unit in direct support = 2SP
IV and VI  Legionary units @2SP = 4SP
III  Auxiliary unit = 1SP
V Equites light horse = 1SP
Totals: 11SP plus commander

Already the consequences of defeat have been made apparent, by the depleted units among the Pompeian array.



The armies chose a battlefield in somewhat hilly country, with both sides lined up with their left wings standing upon rising ground. Both sides also placed their legionaries in the front line. Behind the Caesarian right stood their sole mounted contingent; their weakest Legion prepared to defend from their hill. The Pompeians were inclined, rather riskily, to keep their light troops in reserve.
 
Winning an early initiative, the Pompeians advanced, but were at once engaged all along the front. The Caesarian I Legion came hurtling down from its hilltop into the enemy IV Legion, and drove it back with loss almost upon its reserves. Although IV Legion damaged Pompeian VI, the latter managed to hold. 

In the centre, III Legion, with Trebonius in direct command, began promisingly by pushing back Ahenobarbus in I Legion. But losses heavy on both sides - heavier still among the Caesarians, when their opponents refused to be hustled into their reserve area.



The tide very soon began to ebb for the Caesarians in the centre, as Ahenobarbus stopped their advance, held, and then began pushing them back, losses mounting all the while. Trebonius himself fell as III Legion disintegrated. Although the Caesarians were holding comfortably on the flanks, they were unable make that final push. The Caesarians might yet have recovered to win the day, but the initiative remained firmly in the Pompeian grasp. The Caesarians fell back in defeat.



Now, that was an extraordinary victory, against the odds, by the Pompeians.  Losses were heavy on both sides: 4SP apiece, apart from the loss of Caesar's general. All the Caesarian losses came out of the centre; III Legion annihilated, and the velites also taking a loss. As might have been expected, all 4 SP Pompeian SP lost came out of their legionaries. 

As the victorious Pompeians recover half their losses from this battle, their net loss so far has been 2 + 5 = 7 SP from the two battles. The Caesarians lose all four from this, but just 2 from the previous for a net loss of 6SP. But now Caesar has to find a commander for Trebonius's command...

In response to the Pompeian offensive in the Gallia Narbonensis, Caesar has just 3 activations available. Does he concentrate his efforts there, or allow Curio to go ahead at once with the African expedition?

To be continued...

The Civil War Begins...

The battle lines drawn upon a battle plain
not far from Massilia. Optimates -
Pompeians - in the foreground

The growing hostility between the rival claimants for power in Rome finally led to the gathering of forces, to an ultimatum, and at last open warfare. Deciding that, as the dice were already cast he would abide the outcome, the leader of the Populares - the Commons, so to speak - Julius Caesar, defied the prohibition, crossed the 'Red Line' of the Rubicon river, and marched on Rome with his veterans.

Swiftly overrunning northern provinces, his rapid advance induced the leaders of the Optimates ('Upper crust', 'Creme-de-la-creme', 'Toffs', take your pick) faction - Pompeius Maximus and the Consuls to quit Rome in a hurry, and to hie themselves down to Brindisi where they were putting together a fleet to transport an army across the Ionian Sea. Caesar was just too late to catch them. 

Rome lay at Caesar's feet. Unable for the moment to come at Pompey's forces, Caesar decided upon a campaign to bring the whole of the Western provinces under his sway. Sending Gaius Trebonius ahead to take massilia in the Gallia Narbonensis, he followed on with his main  army...

...

The Leader of the Populares,
about to cross the Red Line... Sorry: Rubicon

The Optimates Party had a considerable presence in the west: L. Domitius Ahenobarbus (Red Beard) guarding the Narbonensis approaches to Iberia; Lucius Afranius with an army at Tarraco and Lucius Nasidius with a fleet at Narbo. North Africa was held for Pompey by M. Tarantius Varus, with a fleet under - well, let's call him Q. Querilus Querus.

Against these forces Caesar had ready to march:
Gaius Trebonius with an army at Luca, C. Scribonius Curio at Capua, together with a fleet of galleys and transports under C. Caninius Rebillus, and his own army at Rome, with a fleet under Decimus Brutus ready to sail. 

Strategic situation in the Western Mediterranean Sea 
at the outset of the campaign.

So, both sides had three armies and two fleets.

The armies comprised:

4 x Legionary units @ 3SP = 12SP
2 x Auxiliary units @ 2SP = 4SP

1 x Velites light infantry = 2SP

1 x Equites heavy cavalry = 2SP

uniquely, the Optimates also had 1 = Equites light horse = 2SP

For each land battle, both sides could field 6 units, selected at random from (and bearing in mind the limits of) the available list. The army commanders are not separate figures, but remains attached to one Legionary unit, which is classed as 'elite', or 'veteran'. It is very tempting to give at least the Caesarian legionary units a combat edge, as being a deal more battle-hardened than their opponents. After one battle, though, I haven't made up my mind about this.

The fleets each comprised 8 galleys: 
2 x Heavy Galleys - call them septiremes @ 3SP
6 x Medium Galleys - quinquiremes @ 2SP
The fleet commander may be in any vessel, add +1 to any combat roll. 
Attached to each fleet, optionally, is a fleet of 6 transports @1SP 
Transport and galleys can all transport troops:

• Transports: 1 unit
• Galleys: 1 Strength Point
  

Note that which vessels are carrying which units have to be identified, so that their loss means the loss of their passengers. 

Battles are fought between just 6 vessels a side. How many of the heavy galleys are present is determined by a die roll: 

• 1-2 = no septiremes present; 
• 3-4 = 1 septireme present;
• 5-6 = 2 septiremes present.
  

All the battles, sea and land, are fought under the Fast Play 3x3 Portable Game system pioneered by Mark Cordone. I have made some small tweaks specifically for this campaign.

Land battles. 

For these I have begun using a convention similar to Martin Rapier's as briefly outlined in the original Wargames Compendium. 
All combats are competitive, except when shooting at a target that can't shoot back. Only the velites and light horse can shoot. Although the Legionaries are armed with a heavy throwing weapon, this is really a close combat weapon, of very limited range, designed as much to hamper the enemy as to hurt him.

Higher roll forces enemy back.
Score of 5 or 6 scores a hit that reduces enemy by 1SP. This can be combined with a force-back. 
Examples:

• White 3 - Red 4 = White is forced back
• White 5 - Red 2 = Red takes an SP loss and is forced back.
• White 6 - Red 6 = Both sides take an SP loss.
• White 6 - Red 5 = Both sides take an SP loss, and Red is forced back

The only troops that can give direct support to a lead unit in the same square, are the velites. With velites in support, legionaries or auxilia add +1 to the combat score. However, velites so placed do not shoot. If the lead unit is forced back, when the velites are offering direct rear support, the velites are also forced back (but do not take any SP loss).
The rear unit in the same square remains in place if the lead unit follows up a victorious combat, or retires after a defeat. It may be engaged by a following up enemy. 

The army reserve area may hold just two units. If a third joins them having been forced back there, the incoming unit is at once destroyed, its SPs lost.

If the army has no units in one (or more) of the left, centre, right sectors, it must at once attempt to restore restore some presence there. This assumes that they army has the initiative, and the troops available. If the enemy has the initiative, the battle is lost.

Sea battles.

All combats, shooting and close (ramming, raking, grappling, boarding) are competitive: both sides roll, per ship, 1D6.
The die score is added to the current SP value, plus +1 for the commander's ship when in close combat. 
The higher score forces back the enemy ship, whatever its value.
A 5 or 6 scores a damaging hit upon the enemy.
A tied score results in the ships remaining locked together, except if one (or both) sink. 
If the combat result is 6-5, both ships take a hit, but the lower score, if still afloat, gets driven back. 

Caesar's opening moves...

Battle of Massilia.

The army of C. Trebonius was met outside Massilia by a similar sized force under L. Domitius Ahenobarbus. The 'random' selection resulted in the following forces available:

Trebonius:
3 average Legionary units @3SP = 9SP - first line
1 average Velites unit = 2SP - second line right flank direct support
1 elite Legionary unit with army commander: 3SP (+6SP for the army commander) - second line centre
1 average Auxiliary units = 2SP - second line left

Total: 22SP

Ahenobarbus:
1 average Equites light horse = 2SP First line - right flank
2 average Legionary units @3SP = 6SP - first line centre and left
1 average Equites heavy horse = 2SP - second line right flank
1 elite Legionary unit with army commander: 3SP (+6SP for the army commander) - second line, centre
1 average Auxiliary unit = 2SP - second line, left flank.

Battle lines: Pompeian POV.

This action was brief and to the point. Winning the initiative from the start and maintaining it throughout the battle, the Populares - let's call them Caesarians - were at first successful on the right, forcing back the opposing legionaries with loss, but were then forced back in turn by the Pompeian auxiliaries. In the centre, the caesarians got rather the worse of the fighting, losing 2SP to none, and being driven back to their original deployment area. 

Hard fought Caesarian victory, but losses have been heavy. 

The decisive action was on the left. The Pompeian cavalry found themselves driven all the way back, between them 3SP the poorer, into their reserve zone. A beaten legionary unit already being there, the cavalry were destroyed, and the army unable to restore the situation when the Caesarians again won the initiative. Losses were 4SP on the Caesarian side; 6SP on the Pompeian.

The Sea battle.

Loading his troops upon his galleys and transport, Gaius Curio set off to Syracuse, where he decanted his passengers ashore for a little carouse before taking the second leg to the African shore at Thapsus.
In response,  Terentius Varus ordered the fleet, commanded, apparently, by one Q. Querulus Querus to intercept and attack the Roman fleet before it left Syracuse. Seeing the Pompeian approach, Caninus Rebillus brought out most of his fleet to face the enemy.


 
Caesarian Fleet:
1 Elite Heavy galleys = 3SP with commander aboard, +1SP
1 Average heavy galley = 3SP
4 Average medium galleys @2SP = 8SP
Total: 15SP

Pompeian Fleet:
1 Elite Heavy galley = 3SP with commander aboard, +1SP
5 Average medium galleys @2SP = 10SP 
Total: 14SP

The fleets lined up. Caesarians on the right. The ships are differenced
by white markings on the Pompeian stem and fishtail stern posts;
red markings on the Caesarian. The latter being indistinct here, 
I have re-done them since this battle.

The action close to the shore line, both sides advances with 5 out of 6 vessels in line, the remainder forming a reserve. The Caesarians placed the heavy units at the seaward end of the line, with the reserve unit behind them. The plan was to smash through the Pompeian right, then to turn in upon the enemy centre. For their part, the Pompeian commander placed his 'flagship' in the left-centre of his line, with the hope of punching through the Caesarian centre.

Heavy losses already: 4 Pompeian SP, 5 Caesarian
and a central unit sunk besides!

The fighting was fierce from the outset, and, far from having it all their way, things were not going well for the Caesarians. At the seaward end, the lighter Pompeian galleys were giving as good as they were getting - with heavy losses on both sides. In the centre, the matching medium galleys were mauling each other as much. But Querus's septiremes smashed through the Caesarian line, forcing the commitment of the latter's reserve.



On the other hand, at the shore end of the line, the Caesarians were getting somewhat the better of the action. Which would succeed: the Caesarian 'periplous' or the Pompeian 'diekplous'?

Caesarian centre sunk, the reserve sweeps 
into action to save the day.

Momentarily it seemed the Pompeians would prevail. Completely destroying the Caesarian centre squadron, they set about dealing to the flanks. At this point, the ratio of ships lost were 3 to 1 against the Caesarians. Possibly I ought to have called the battle here, with a decisive Pompeian victory. But as the combatants were still locked in battle. I allowed it to continue.



This rather turned in favour of the Caesarians. As their reserves engaged the victorious Pompeian centre, the Caesarians turned the encouraging situation on both flanks more decisively in their favour. Although the Caesarian reserve was summarily despatched, the wings sank their adversaries altogether.


Both sides ready for a fight to the finish, the 4 - 4 loss ratio was enough to persuade both sides that enough damage had been done for the day. They drew off, caesarians back to the safe harbout of Syracuse; the Pompeians along the coast, before the survivors returned to Thapsus the following day or two. The losses marginally favoured the Pompeians: losing 4 medium galleys, they had sent to the bottom one of the Caesarian heavies, along with the 3 mediums.

End of the action: both sides too battered to continue...

Tactical draw as the battle was, it seemed strategically inconclusive as well. The Caesarian expedition was not stopped outright, and had retained enough shipping to carry their entire force across the Sea of Sicily into Africa. But the Pompeians still had a fleet in being - and maybe a whisker of a superiority among the fighting ships. Perhaps the rump of their galley fleet might yet achieve something...

To be continued: The remainder of the Pompeian 'first moves'.