A Pyrrhic Victory? Ascalum Day 1

Had a cracking game on Sunday at my local club. Having decided to refight Ascalum we were lucky enough to manage to squeeze in another game before hand as it was my local club's Sunday game slot, so rather than make up another scenario I decided it would be good to take advantage of the club's terrain and fight the first day's action as well. 

At Ascalum Pyrrhus was forced initially to fight on ground which was less the suitable for his phalanx. However he was able to commit his reserves and drive the Romans back, despite setbacks. By doing so he was able to seize better ground the following day and fight another costly battle, after which he was heard to proclaim that another such victory would be his undoing.

For our Ascalum day 1 we used some existing terrain build for the club's Cruden Bay game some years ago. It featured a steady slope and some ridges which would give the Romans a clear advantage. We dotted some trees around to break things up and set a wood up on the highest point of the battle.

We used the Neil Thomas Ancient and Medieval rules adapted by John and myself to fit our single based armies. Small dice are used to track the hits, rather than base removal. 

John and Eric took the Romans and their Latin allies and Mike and myself the Epirotes and their Italian allies. 

The Advance to Contact

Both sides advanced to close with their foe, Pyrrhus's men crossing a stream and moving up the slope to engage. Treachery had already weakened their ranks, (a random event card!), and a phalanx unit had failed to deploy. This probably had a serious effect on the battle, as its presence would have meant the Romans would have been outflanked early on.

 

The Clash of Spears

The battle was in the favour of the Romans as they could draw on their supporting troops in manipulate formation and the benefit of high ground, however the Italians had surprising success on the far left, coupled with a light infantry skirmish on both flanks that lasted far into the game. However eventually the toll began to tell and the phalanx units collapsed. 

This was the signal for the reserve to appear.

The Thunder of Beasts!

The Elephants crashed into the legion inflicting heavy losses, whist the Pyrrhic heavy cavalry swept in on the flanks. Unable to move their anti elephant devices to the front line, the Romans were clearly in trouble and facing heavy losses. 

A perfect point to pause and regroup for day two.....!

So next Sunday, will Rome triumph or will the gods favour Pyrrhus? Will one more victory be his undoing......?