The Ballad of Bradicles

It was all a blur of blood, sweat and death as units flung themselves into the fight. Mediocrates could be heard bellowing orders, Bradicles saw the pikemen wheel and slam into the Carthaginian formation, victorious but exhausted. The slingers seemed to be keeping the Numidians at bay. The Hypaspists had dispatched the javelin men in his flank and unnerved the Carthaginian infantry. Now they were wheeling to face them next.

“Yes, yes!  Just a few minutes more.”

Mediocrates was doing well. He’d urged the slingers forward and they’d given the Numidian cavalry pause. This bought some time for the pikemen to move forward.

Bradicles turned his attention to the center. His skirmishers had been hard pressed by their Numidian counterparts. Losing men in one detachment, stalling out another.

But his Hypaspists remained intact and they were advancing on those Numidians. He grinned. Someone was about to have an unpleasant experience.

There was very little guile with this Malchus. But it didn’t matter, his moves were effective. Bradicles could tell where the Numidian cavalry was by the clouds of dust it created even though they put a building between them and his slingers. Seeing this, Mediocrates reoriented the pikemen and urged the slingers forward. Good, Bradicles thought , he’s anticipating what’s about to happen. The Numidians then appear, trot forward and throw a few javelins before retiring. A few land but the pikemen stay in formation.

Bradicles pointed to a figure in the distance. “You see that fellow in the resplendent panoply?”  Mediocrates raised an eyebrow but said nothing. “I’ve faced him before. Seems he’s learned a few things. He’s gotten rid of his militia and brought in some Numidian cavalry. He’ll be anxious to try them out. See what you can do about them.”

Mediocrates just nodded and trotted off to the right flank. He seemed competent enough but Bradicles missed teasing his brother. Bradicles turned to the priest. The priest shrugged and smiled. Well, at least that was still the same.

Both my Pezhetairoi with javelins got wiped out to no effect. Both times they were on the receiving end of an attack instead of being the aggressors. The Roman cavalry was a tough, big and scary unit so not to surprising but I thought he’d actually go around the field rather than through it. When the slingers activated to take on the Hastati they would’ve probably been better off going after the Equites to put more fatigue on them.

The Hoplites survived but seriously underperformed versus the Principes. They’re just a tanky unit and tough to budge. The slingers were able to break up their formation but they just reformed and I couldn’t capitalize on it.

My opponent played his Samnite allies to perfection as nd capitalized on their Guerilla rule by assaulting into the woods where my Pezhetairoi were lurking. I’d have been better off initiating combat as my poor armor means I’ll take casualties but my average fight skill means I can at least inflict casualties too if I start a fight.

In general I really like the Clash rules but do wish there was an index and a terrain chart. I’ll probably make a terrain chart for myself and post it up here.

Brett Buckstaff’s version of events

As we moved towards the farm, our scouts encountered scouts of a Greek force and we moved to engage them. I positioned my Samnites on the left flank, where the small thicket of trees was located, and my Equites on the right flank nearer the fields and farmhouse. As both armies marched towards the clearing in the middle of the farm, I ordered the Equites onto the fields in the hopes of catching some of the enemy skirmishers out in the open. With some luck (and a considerable investment of command points to go first), they were indeed able to catch them but the armor on the peltasts surprised my horsemen, leading to an ongoing engagement as the rest of the men moved up. Alas, as most of my focus was on the calvalry, we had to cede the initiative to the Greeks, who readily claimed the center of the field for themselves. Cousin Titus, though, was not distracted, and ordered our Samnites to engage the other group of armored peltasts who were moving through the woods on our far left flank. Once the Samnites got into the forest, they were able to cut through the Greeks like a hot knife through butter. While they dominantly won, they did exhaust themselves from the exertion and needed to rest as the center of both armies finally engaged each other.

In the center, I could hear the sound of sling stones as they ricocheted off of the shields (and sometimes men) in front of me as their thrice damned slingers rained down upon us. As I rode the lines giving encouragement, the Hastati directly in front of me were charged by the massive unit of pikemen and I realized I had left myself incredibly vulnerable – already down two men, only four stood between me and the strongest enemy formation on the field. However, critically, those four men stood on the field. They weathered the storm of slings and the push of the phalanx and held their formation. Twice they were pressed by the phalanx and twice they held the line. After the second, the Principes were able to engage and break up the formation of the phalanx and the fighting in front of me ground to a standstill.

After a time, the Equites were able to finish off the peltasts but were stopped in their tracks by the sheer violence with which the peltasts died. Taking the brief window of opportunity, the junior enemy commander charged into them and actually forced the cavalry back, allowing those acursed slingers to strike yet again. They brought down one of the Equites but, more critically, the constant barrage of stones was sapping our strength and morale. As the Equites were teetering on the brink (4 fatigue) cousin Titus shouted across the battlefield for them to charge the exposed commander and charge they did, managing to bring him down (though not capture him) before maneuvering to the rear of the enemy lines to threaten their avenue of retreat.

With both wings now collapsed and down a commander, the Greeks made a last, desperate attempt to regain the initiative, moving their pikemen to attack the flank of my tired Principes. As they were shifting position and therefore out of formation, I yelled at the Velites to charge into them(dumping the last of my command points for the turn into the attempt). The Gods themselves intervened on both sides (both of us used a reroll) but our Gods must have been paying more attention as our Velites were able to stop the pikemen in their tracks and bring down two of them, losing one of their own in the process.

Once it was clear their last gambit failed to secure victory, the enemy commander conceded the field to our forces. As my men were in no shape to pursue, the Greeks were able to retreat in good order and get their wounded junior commander back to their camp. We tended to our wounded and I took a moment to thank the Gods for their timely intervention.

Father,

I write once again with excellent news for our family’s gravitas. Today as our armies were maneuvering I was selected to lead a small force and secure a site of import – a small farm with a thicket of trees and a pond. I quickly gathered the allies I had been cultivating these last weeks and moved out with cousin Titus to take the farm. As we approached, we discovered and engaged a force of Greeks who were attempting to claim the site for the Carthaginians. Both the Equites and the Samnites proved themselves useful in this battle and secured our flanks, driving off the armored peltasts and forcing the Greek force to quit the field entirely. I must also commend my brave Hastati, for at one point in the battle they were the only forces between myself and the might of the enemy phalanx and they held the line through multiple assaults. Once again we emerged victorious and once again I can depend on the loyalty of my forces. On a related note, I do believe cousin Titus is going to be promoted to Decanus. My Centurion has asked of him on occasion and this is the third engagement he has stood with the battle line and not faltered, emboldening the men and extolling them to stand fast.

The men I have been cultivating relationships with – the Samnites and Equites – celebrated our victory heartily and I believe I have firmly established some new clients. Time will, of course, tell, but if I keep giving them victory and the spoils that go along with it, these men will soon be as devoted as the infantry I command. With more time spent with the Samnites, I have been introduced to some of their elders, serving in a unit of Extrordinarii. I may be able to call on these men should I be ordered to deploy somewhere substantial enemy forces are expected to be. I have also been informed that the army has hired some Cretan archers and I will make an effort to see them practice sometime soon – I would see their legendary accuracy for myself if at all possible.

Titus’ upcoming promotion will mean he will on occasion be off on missions of his own as I am called upon, but I will not be without a scion of the house of Sempronius by my side as Publius has arrived at the camp. I pulled a few strings and he was assigned to our Century so he will serve as my second in command when cousin Titus is away. I’m sure he has written to you of his posting at Messana in the garrison but we are so close to the city that my request was approved with the next shipment of food.

Do not fear, father, I will keep my younger brother safe and teach him what I have learned so far in this war.

Your devoted son,
Appius

Eeyoricles settled his helmet down low, raised his shield up, huffed a few times and with a roar charged forward keeping his spear leveled at the enemy cavalryman.

Spear! Shield! Block! Thrust! Parry! Eeyoricles fought like a hero of old!

Eeyoricles never saw the blow coming. His last thought was he’d been right. Bradicles had finally managed to kill him.

Bradicles ordered the slingers to target the Velites to little effect. He pressed the pikemen forward only to see the Velites take them before they could form up. It was sword work for the pikemen instead of their long Sarissas, thus negating their biggest advantage. The Hoplites has been stalled but still held. He glanced over to his left, just in time to see Eeyoricles go down.

Bradicles opened up the tent flap and rushed up to Eeyoricles. “Brother! You live!”

“Indeed. Are you disappointed?”

“Disappointed? I’m overjoyed! How did you manage that?”

Eeyoricles shrugged, “One of those clumsy horses stepped on my ankle right as his rider was swinging at my helm. I was already going doewn before his sword connected so he must’ve thought he’d killed me. Then the damn horse had the nerve to trample me into the mud so I couldn’t get up again. When the priest came to collect my body I fear I gave him quite a start by telling him I was still alive.”

“Well, that’s one useful thing TimToo did today. How long before you’re fit to fight?”

Eeyoricles shrugged again. “Maybe a season. It’s not broken but I can’t stand.”

Bradicles clapped his brother on the shoulder, “No matter, you will have a tale to tell for ages. The man who fought and bested ten enemies at once!”

“But there were only five”

Bradicles roared with laughter, relieved his brother was alive, “I was counting the horses too!”

Eeyoricles actually smiled at that.

Bradicles watched the heavy Roman cavalry open its formation. He studied them intently, wondering what they’d do. He’d expected them to go around the field and maneuver through the hovels of the farmers. He frowned in concern. That frown turned into a look of incredulity as he saw the Roman cavalry pick up speed and leap over the low wall.  Bradicles couldn’t but help admire them. Such boldness! To risk these expensive horses and the possibility of  broken legs and tumbling riders.

Bradicles was cursing. Damn these Romans! First the cavalry pressed his left flank hard but it still held. But now those Samnite barbarians had utterly turned his right flank as the last survivors of the Pezhetairoi streamed through the woods back to the camp. And his vaunted Hypaspists had been repulsed. Still, they seemed ready to fight on and his slingers we’re scoring the occasional hit. It couldn’t be that bad, could it?