Asculum-ish

After a bit of a lull, we return to the exploits of King Pyrrhus.

The Campaign So Far

Forced to retreat to his base at Tarentum, Pyrrhus turns and confronts the Roman host. In the ensuing battle, the king and his cavalry go on a rampage, routing the Romans single-handedly.

Now Pyrrhus pursues the Romans deep into Italy. A Roman force makes a stand near Asculum.

The Set Up

The Roman general Decius sets up his force blocking the road to Capua (top).

Wow, you can't see the hill in the pictures. I think I need a darker hue.

His forces consist of 2 units of Roman infantry and 2 units each of light infantry and cavalry.

Pyrrhus enters the battlefield from the south with 2 units of cavalry, 1 unit of elephants, 2 phalanxes, and a unit of allied infantry (green marker).

Pyrrhus's objective is to break through the Roman line and continue on the road to Capua.

Game Note: I randomly rolled breakthrough as the objective. Pyrrhus needs to get 2 units off the Roman side of the battlefield.

The Battle

Pyrrhus aggressively attacks. He leads the cavalry on the left while the elephants attack the center and the phalanxes vainly try to drive light infantry from the woods.

Pyrrhus orders his phalanx to ignore the lights and advance in the center. Meanwhile, his cavalry and elephant attacks get repulsed. But the allied infantry drive the lights out of the woods.

A near disaster! Pyrrhus's cavalry gets repulsed and the king falls! But wait, that was his bodyguard wearing Pyrrhus's armor. The king finds shelter with his second cavalry unit. Meanwhile, a phalanx breaks through in the center.

And it helps the allies drive the lights further back. Unfortunately, the Romans destroy Pyrrhus's elephants.

Pyrrhus retaliates by routing some Roman cavalry.

The phalanx breaks through and exits the battlefield.

Then the allied infantry break wipe out the lights. 

I just noticed that the woods moved. Shades of Tolkien and Lewis!

At this point, the Roman army falters and retires from the field.

Aftermath

Pyrrhus brings his forces to the gates of Roman Capua. But he is reluctant to engage in a protracted siege. When the Romans offer a truce, he accepts. This will give him time to consolidate southern Italy as part of his personal kingdom.

My plan was to run a short 3-game campaign. Well, Pyrrhus wins 2-1. However, I just can't imagine the Romans surrendering so we'll call it a truce. I may return to Italy in the future.

But next up will be Sicily. Pyrrhus will fight the Carthaginians.

MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES

• Initially, I wanted to test my new consolidated counters but I haven't printed any up yet.
• This was my first test of my consolidated boxes. There were pros and cons.
• The boxes took up more space on the table while I was setting up.
• But I like the bigger (6x8 vs 5x7) battle map better.
• I can live with the con because it does use less space in storage.