The Battle at Cannae (216 AD) | Fanaticus

The Battle at Cannae (216 AD) Jun 23, 2017 20:39:05 GMT

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Post by timurilank on Jun 23, 2017 20:39:05 GMT

Throughout this discussion of what tweaks would best help auxilia perform as they did at Cannae there is one area completely overlooked – that of command. Firstly, a Cannae would be very difficult to represent as a standard 12 element as side game, however with the addition of extra commands the battle can develop in the form that history records.

Let us for the sake of argument assume each side deploys four commands, each of 12 elements, as sketched below.

Rome
Left Flank: Consul Varro [allied infantry, skirmishers and allied cavalry]
Centre: Proconsuls Atilius and Servilius each have [Roman infantry and skirmishers]
Right Flank: Consul Paulus (C-in-C) [allied infantry, skirmishers and Roman cavalry]

Carthage
Left Flank: Hasdrubal [Spanish and Gallic cavalry, skirmishers]
Centre: Hannibal (C-in-C) and Mago [Spanish and Gallic infantry, skirmishers, spearmen]
Right Flank: Hanno [Numidian light horse, skirmishers]

Following the account of the battle as described by our sources (Livy, Polybius) the cavalry of each flank initiate their attack. The cavalry on the Roman right are the first to suffer the loss of Consul Paulus and the Roman cavalry. In DBA terms this equates to 2g+2 which would result in that command reaching demoralization and the remainder must attempt to hold their current positions on their next bound.

Hasdrubal’s skirmishers now engage the Roman right wing forcing them to turn 90 degrees to face. Next, together with the Spanish and Gallic horse Hasdrubal crosses the Roman rear to help Hanno’s Numidians on the opposite flank. The Roman allied cavalry is crushed leaving the left wing command also to become demoralized. Consul Varro flees leaving his command to fend as best as they can.

In the centre, the proconsuls Atilius and Servilius are grinding their way forward pushing the Spanish and Gallic troops back. Again, according to the sources, here was the greatest concentration of Roman infantry with each command deployed on a narrow front thereby increasing the number of ranks (three element frontage by four ranks = principes, hastati, triarii and velites).

The situation now becomes a desperate race against the clock as the two proconsuls must inflict enough casualties to break through Hannibal and Mago’s centre before Carthage destroys the two Roman wings completely causing 50% casualties.

At this point, the African and Libyan spearmen close in to continue the slaughter of the Roman wings eventually meeting the two Roman central commands. Trapped and unable to recoil, more Roman elements would be destroyed bringing Roman casualties above the needed tally.

Next: Duplicating the battle.

The Battle at Cannae (216 AD) Jun 23, 2017 20:42:18 GMT

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Post by timurilank on Jun 23, 2017 20:42:18 GMT

Duplicating the battle.

As a club activity, four commands for each side might be cobbled together with two players for Rome and two for the Carthaginian side. However, using two commands for each army it is equally possible to duplicate a similar situation as sketched above.

The Troops
Each Roman command forms two groups; one Roman legion and the second, an ‘allied’ wing. The ‘allied’ wing would have 1 x General (Cv), 1 x ‘allied’ cavalry (Cv), 2 x auxilia (4Ax), 1 x spearmen (Sp) and 1 x velites (Ps) and the Roman legion comprises the 4 x principes/hastati (4Bd), 1 x Triarii (Sp) and 1 x velites (Ps).

The requirement of four casualties to break a command is now split evenly between the two groups, so it is possible that one group may become demoralized while the second remains a tactically viable force. Since both consuls form part of the ‘allied’ wings, their departure or loss would send his group into a state of demoralization leaving the Roman legion under their command to continue the battle paying the additional pip cost for movement.

The Carthaginian players have some flexibility in that their commands are not restricted to form sub-groups. Despite their multi-national composition these were veterans with experienced leaders. Needless to say, there were no elephants present so the Carthaginian army will have the maximum number of Spanish and Gallic cavalry and Numidian light horse.

The battlefield
The battlefield is an open plain with the Aufidus River on one flank. In August of that year, the river is classed as paltry but still remains a hazard for fleeing troops. Carthage deploys first with the river on its left and Rome second. Despite the numerical superiority of the Romans, the sources describe both sides deploying an equal frontage therefore Rome must match the Carthaginian frontage (elements and spacing).

With some thought, this can be used to an advantage by the Carthaginian side.

I posted here recently a test battle between Rome and Carthage with the intent to test the Ax vs. Bd quandary. Each side consisted of two commands and to my surprise the battle reached an inconclusive first day with all commands reaching demoralization on identical bounds. A second day’s battle proved victorious for Carthage. During both battles, the interspersing of Spanish and Gallic troops did work very well.

Map: The Battle of Cannae
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Battle_of_Cannae%2C_215_BC_-_Initial_Roman_attack.png