"A World in Arms"- A Carthage: The First Punic War PBF

[Navaronegun]

The Field Consul, Gaius Aurelius Cotta has been ordered to take the newly formed Legions in Conusklar Army III to Massena and continue the siege there. Cotta is an able man, and intends to use all wits and influence (his Guile Point) to see if Treachery can be used to end this stalemate in Massena.

Stylized on a coin above is Marcus Aurelius Cotta, the descendant of our Field Consul Gaius Aurelius Cotta. He was consul in 74 BC and was one of the early Roman commanders who fought in the Third Mithridatic War. He will suffice in depicting our able Field Consul.

He arrives at Rheggium, meets the Army there and crosses the Straits; Hanno Hamilcar attempts an interception of this crossing but fails. Cotta then attmpts to use treachery, but is informed that all former allies and informants in the city have been executed (it is mathematically impossible). So Cotta settles into his command.

Activation Ended

It is still very busy in Massena.

Next Up: Chicken Guts

[Navaronegun]

The Auspices again are poor for Cathargo.

53-59 Treacherous Southern Sicilian Coastal Waters: Any Fleet (or units under Naval Transport) entering any Coastal hex between Camarini (It-6222) and Heraclea Minoa (It-5825) for the remainder of the turn, subtracts 20 from any Major Naval Disaster check dieroll that may occur.

Next Up: More Siege Action, Yeah!

[Navaronegun]

The Carthaginian Fleet controlling the port again favors the defenders. The Romans have no control over the province, having lost Massena, so their forage is more difficult than last year (+3 to Carthage’s Roll, -1 to Rome’s).

Hunger and disease strikes both Armies.

Rome has 43 Attrition SP and loses 3 SP. Carthage has 12 Attrition SP and loses 1 SP.

The next Activation (ACT 7) is Consul, but there is nothingthat can be done without raising the Siege.

Next Up: Hanno’s Activation

[Juan_Raigada]

Hanno, sensing an opportunity due to some troops still disembarking from the strait crossing, decides to launch an attack.

DRMs:

Cavalry advantage -1.
Disrupted defender +1
34SP to 9SP -3DRM
Forces crossed a strait into the hex this turn +3DRM
Carthaginian army efficiency +2

The numerical disadvantage of the Carthaginian army is offset by the superior troops and timing.

Both leaders are equally capable tactically (a C) , but Hanno’s roll is better, so the final modifier to the combat roll ia a +4, which is not bad given the circumstances.

However, the Carthanigina troops are not feeling it. The roll is a 0, adjusted to 4. 15/15 loses. But the Roman army is bigger, so Hanno loses 1SP while the ROmans lose 6SP.

The leaders survive the battle with no injuries.

A grueling struggle with no clear victor. However, Hanno is unwilling to remain in the field given the Roman numerical superiority, so he retreats back into Massena, giving the Roman a Victory and becoming Disorganized in the proccess (Romans merely become disrupted).

After this activations there are a bunch of Roman activations in which the Roman player passes, since all he can do is sustain the siege and lacks the force for an assault.

Gisgo in Africa also passes, since he can’t move his army from the continent.

Finally, Carthaginian Duumvirs are pulled.

[Juan_Raigada]

Carthage’s fleets in Sicily try to raid the Roman homeland to try to keep manpower down next year.

Fleet II moves, and raids, but the raid fails and the fleet fails the continuation rool.

Fleet IV moves and fails to continue into a raid.

Fllet VI moves and raids, but can’t continue to get back home. However, mission accomplished. We can expect the Senate to be wary of taking too much manpower away from the coasts.

After this, HIero activates, who can’t really do much.

Then, it’s another siege attrition!

[Juan_Raigada]

Carthage has just 8SP in Massena and a -3DRM due to a fleet providing supply.

Rome has 37SP outside (lost of cavalry) and have flat DRM.

Rome rolls 1,Carthage rolls 6 -down to 3- .

Both forces lose just 1SP.

[Juan_Raigada]

The final activation is Hanno again, who raises the troops from disorganized into disrupted (so they can be fresh next year), but doesn’t do anything of note.

And that’s it for 262BC!!!

End turn wrap up:

F. Devastation Phase

• Devastation Recovery Segment. No province is devastated, so pass.
• Devastation Attempt Segment. No devastation possible.

G. End-Turn Phase

• Inertia Attrition Segment. 5 attrition points in Sicily. No effect. Some of your forces came this turn, so they are not subject to them and the other dettachment is small enough.
• Port Segment. Fleets need to return to port. The 3 duumviri fleets are not affected by the event and can move normally. The big fleet needs to go round Sicily to avoid the event.
  Fleet distances are:
  IV fleet - 5
  II fleet - 5
  VI fleet -16
  Big fleet - 17
  All fleets are ok.
• Legion/Crew Training. No crew or legions were training.
• Carthaginian Army Efficiency. Both Carthaginian armies increase efficiency. Gisgo to +2, Hanno to +3.
• Recovery from Battle. All armies recovered from disruption.
• Victory Determination. No Victory checks until 260BC

[Navaronegun]

Gaius Aurelius Cotta,# 324, 262 FC, is Proconsul in Sicily for 261.
So, A Visit from Pluto for:
Proconsul: Gaius Aurelius Cotta ,#324

A 7, Gaius Aurelius Cotta is fine.

Cotta falls slightly ill due to some bad vegetables, but comes through just fine. Not dying of dysentery is an accomplishment in 261 BC.

The elections of 261 BC produce the following leaders from L-R below:
RC: Marcus Atilius Regulus #319
FC: Quintius Cardicius #318
PU: Quintus Mamiius Vitulius #306

\

Mediocre Generals, but Marcus Atilius Regulus is a fantastic politician. RC and FC were actually kind of famous (Historically, Regulus succeeded after Cardicius died and was the Consul who lost to Xanthippus and was flayed alive after this failed attempt to take Carthago. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen here…though actually, it looks grimmer… ).

Consul Marcus Atilius Regulus has promised to end this war. The ablest of politicians, he vows to head south and make an all out attempt to take Massena and/or knock Syracuse out of the war.

Marcus Atilius Regulus as portrayed in Regulus returning to Carthage (1791)
by Andries Cornelis Lens.

As alluded to earlier this return to Carthage didn’t go well for Regulus. He was captured after leading an invasion of Tunis, and after capture, allowed to return to Rome (on promise of returning) to offer peace terms to the Senate. Which he advised the Senate not to take. And then he still returned to Carthage, keeping his word, where he was tortured to death. But hailed, ever after in Rome, as the model of civic virtue.

Regulus is determined that action in Sicily is the way to go, and leaves for Rheggium, leaving Cardicius to deal with the Senate.

Cardicius merely states, in front of the Senate, that all is lost unless more men and money are offered up to defeat Carthage. There is no other way. Do or do not. Perhaps, frank, honest, bluntness with no flourish will win the day.

-2 Raid
Net modifier is -2

A 4 is rolled modified to become a “2”. The Senate gives…yet again…like clockwork… 1 Legion.

The Senate has one message about this War:

The Legion is placed in in Rheggium

Next up: Carthaginian Politics, 261 BC

[Spaced_Cowboy]

It lives, yeah!

[Juan_Raigada]

The war is going as well as it can, given the circumstances and the inability to field a second army. As soon as MAssena holds, Carthage’s citizens are content, and so the Magonids remain in power.

The council keeps seeing no reason to involve themselves deeper in the conflict, hoping Hanno’s command will be enough to win the war (no need to roll for political climate, since the -6 modifier guarantees the lower result).

This year we will raise men, not build ships, so we take the chance to increase Carthage port capacity to 22. This allows Carthage to field 4 admirals.

I only have one, so I draw 3.

It’s a pity Hamilcar Barca is assigned a fleet and not an army. He’s definitely my best general by far… I put some admirals in Sicily (commanding squadrons already there) and one in Carthage.

Carthage Squadrons are divided so I can place a duumvir there too.

Finally, the manpower roll is modified to a negative number. This allows me to place up to 5 Iberian infantry, but since Hanno only lost 3 SP last turn, that’s all I can replace. Shifting loses towards Hiero will help if Syracuse flips to Rome’s side, but means my manpower loses are not replaceable…

[Juan_Raigada]

Hanno looks over Massena’s walls and sees the new Consul take command of the army. His spies tell him of the tactical ineptitude of the Roman leader, and so, despite his numerical inferiity, Hanno decides to launch an attack and take advantage of his superior tactics and the experience of his army (now at +3 efficiency) and maybe, perhaps, lift the siege.

DRMs are:
Force ratio -3
Cavaltry superiority -1
Veteran legion -1
Carthaginian efficiency +3

So -2 so far, but the tactical differential helps.
8 and 4. translates to 6 and two, so another +4 for a total of +2.

The roll is 5, adjusted to 7.

this gives us the first unpredictable result. This is a nother roll on the combat table (but one that spans the full length of it, with a modifier of +1 (for the precise unpredictable result we got).

Unpredictable results can be adjusted by guile, so Hanno uses his guile point to adjust that result to +2. The Roman Consul is inept, and has no guile point to spend…

The final roll is a 3, adjusted to 5. A very standard result (we wanted a 7 or more to see the strength of unpredictable results in the system).

10/15 loses. 4 SP for the Romans (taken as 2 cavalry, and 1 for Hanno. Hanno retreats into Massena, becoming disorganized and giving the Romans a victory.

However, the battle proves a heavy toll for the leadership on both sides.

Consul 5 (roll again) proconsul 5 (ok) Hanno 9 (roll again)
Consul dead. Hanno wounded.

The Carthaginian army is leaderless inside Massena… But Hanno will at least come back (he’s a good leader). The consul is gone for good, which given how inept a leader he was is probably good news.

[Juan_Raigada]

Next activation is admiral Adherbal, based on Carthage.

The council decides that it’s important to defend the African coastline in case the conflict extends, so Adherbal moves from Carthage to Utica. Move ok. Drops one squadron and moves to Hippo D. (continuation (-1 mod for move) ok. Scattered. Continuation OK, unscatter. Drops one squadron and tries to move again (continuation -1). Ok.

Move roll. 0, possible major disaster. Safe. Activation over.

And that was a lot of rolls and I was very lucky. This is how things stand at the end of the activation.´

All this movement is laying the groundwork for the naval automatic victory at the end of 260BC. All these cities need to have squadrons in port.

[Juan_Raigada]

And another admiral (I have plenty of those this turn).

He moves to Massena and enters port. I was mistaken in previous turns, and, as long as there’s not an enemy blockade in the hex, fleets in port in besieged cities allow for the -3 DRM on siege rolls.

Move roll is scattered. Continuation Succeeds. unscattered and in port.

[Juan_Raigada]

Another admiral!!!

Moves to Syracuse. Move OK, in port in Syracuse. (another automatic naval victory city, along with Massena).

[Juan_Raigada]

Siege attrition!!!

Well I’m glad I have a fleet in port. Hanno’s former army is disorganized, so that’s a +1 DRM on the siege roll, but the -3 DRM from naval supply leaves it at a -2.

Rome rolls 4 (adjusted to 3) and Carthage 0, adjusted to -2, but read as 0).

Rome loses 1SP, while the well provided Carthaginians (and Hiero) resist the siege with no loses.