| Tactics in Queen of the Celts
Scenario #1: The Medway, Part 3
By Doug McNair
December 2007
War chief Caratacus tries to withdraw with his army intact after inflicting severe casualties on the Romans crossing the River Medway in the final episode of my Rome at War: Queen of the Celts Scenario #1 replay. As episode two came to a close, Caratacus had scored more than the 60 victory points he needs to win, but now he’s got to find a way to get his army off the board before the Romans can get the rest of their legions across the river and wipe him out. He will need to use his chariots and the remnants of his heavy infantry to screen the retreat of his long infantry units, and try to recover any lost infantry unit steps he can along the way to reduce the Roman victory point total.
The battle continues.
Turn 5: XX Legion under Geta arrives as reinforcements on the south edge. All Briton units and leaders are in command, but once again Sentius and Vespasian must roll against their own initiatives when they activate to put their formations in command. The Romans roll a 5 for initiative to the Britons’ 3, and then Plautius rolls a 1, which is 4 less than his initiative. That means he can activate all four of his formations before the Britons can do anything (a VERY lucky break). Geta’s XX Legion activates first, and his artillery fires and misses while the legions move forward and right to line up along the riverbank, and the Balearic slingers and Thracian light cavalry move into the gap between XX Legion and XIV Legion. The slingers fire at Segovax’s chariots on the opposite riverbank and miss. Then Plautius activates XIV Legion, and its artillery scores a hit on the last remnant of the Dumnoni infantry holding Togodumnus’ south flank on the riverbank (2 Roman VPs). Plautius’ Thracian light cavalry fails to enter the river, the light infantry in the river fails to hurt Segovax, and the first unit of XIV Legion fails to hurt the chariots holding the riverbank and stays in the river.
But then Vespasian activates, rolls a 2 to put himself and his formation in command, and orders II Legion to attack Togodumnus all along the line. The chariots that held the riverbank against XIV Legion fail morale and scatter before II Legion’s attack (1 Roman VP), and the first unit of II Legion advances. The chariot unit screening the Catuvellauni’s right-front also fails morale and takes a step loss, and then takes another step loss from the assault and is wiped out (2 Roman VPs). The archers assaulting it advance, and that puts them plus II Legion adjacent to the Catuvellauni heavy infantry, which will slow its withdrawal. The next chariot unit up the line takes no losses from archer fire, but then Vespasian wipes out the last remnant of the Durotriges screening Togodumnus’ front (2 Roman VPs), leaves an archer unit behind to screen his rear and advances to Togodumnus’ front. This is a gutsy move because it exposes Vespasian’s flank to the marshes, and the elite Trinovantes infantry are in a position to move into the marshes and assault Vespasian. On the other hand, if the Trinovantes take the bait and advance into the marshes to attack Vespasian’s flank, they’ll be in danger of getting caught by other Roman forces before they can leave the board.
Finally, Sentius rolls a 3 and successfully puts himself and his auxiliaries in command. His Illyrians sidestep to the right and hit the Trinovantes archers guarding the flank of the elite Catuvellauni infantry, while the remnant of the Batavians hit the remnant of the Dobunni infantry on the Illyrians’ flank. The Trinovantes fail morale and take a step loss, and they try to hold the line to keep the Catuvellauni from getting outflanked, but the Illyrians score one hit on three dice and wipe them out (2 Roman VPs). Sentius and the Batavians hit the Dobunni to the north and score a step loss (2 Roman VPs), but the Dobunni hit back and take the Batavians down to their last step (2 Briton VPs). Still, that puts the Illyrians on the flank of the Catuvellauni, slowing them down and cutting their retreat route. If any of Geta’s XX Legion get across the river and into the Catuvellauni’s rear, the Catuvellauni are in deep trouble.
Caratacus rolls a 3 and can activate two of his formations. He begins pulling back long infantry units from their forward positions, hampered by the fact that some are slowed by the Roman infantry adjacent to them. He also deploys troops for a simultaneous frontal and flanking attack on the Illyrians, and tells the elite Trinovantes to take the bait and move into the marshes to attack Vespasian’s flank. The Illyrians fail their morale check and take a step loss (2 Briton VPs), but that shrinks them to a remnant, which means they no longer have a flank to attack. The Britons score no hits on them in the assault, but neither do the Illyrians.
Caratacus’ Catuvellauni light infantry fails to score missile hits on the Roman light infantry in the river, but Caratacus himself leads the Catuvellauni heavy infantry in a frontal assault on the II Legion unit by the riverbank. The 9 die to 6 attack scores 2 hits but takes two in return (6 Briton VPs, 4 Roman VPs).
Then the elite Trinovantes infantry in the swamp attacks Vespasian’s flank. The attack is at 7 dice to 7, but the Britons get a +1 bonus to each die rolled for the flanking attack. Vespasian’s gamble doesn’t pay off: The Trinovantes burst out of the marshes and wreak havoc on his flank, scoring 4 hits on 7 dice and cutting the second unit of II Legion down to a remnant (12 Briton VPs)! The Romans score just one hit in return (2 Roman VPs), and then Segovax activates and deploys his chariots to protect the flanks of the withdrawing Briton heavy infantry. Then Caratacus rolls a 5 and can activate his last formation, and Togodumnus pulls the remnant of his Atrebates infantry back to join him and then assaults Vespasian’s last remnant, which can’t withdraw before combat because it’s being assaulted by light infantry and heavy infantry simultaneously. The attack scores one hit on 8 dice, enough to wipe out Vespasian’s legion unit (3 Briton VPs). But the Romans score one hit before dying and take the Briton heavy infantry attacking them down to a remnant (2 Roman VPs).
In the recovery phase, the second cohort of XIV Legion (with Plautius) recovers to full strength, reducing the Briton VP total by 3. The score is now Romans 81, Britons 86. Even after the Roman recovery, Caratacus is succeeding at a difficult task: lengthening his VP lead while withdrawing. But it remains to be seen if he can keep that up.
Turn 6: Plautius rolls a 3 to Caratacus’ 2, and the Romans can go first. Plautius then rolls a 2 (3 less than his initiative), meaning he can activate three of his four formations. Vespasian activates and rolls a 4 (equal to his Initiative) and puts himself and his formation in command. He advances his artillery and then moves his remaining troops north to engage Caratacus and Togodumnus. His archers score one hit on the elite Trinovantes in the marsh who destroyed half of II Legion (2 Roman VPs), and then Vespasian leads the remaining half of II Legion in a frontal assault on Caratacus and the Catuvellauni infantry. Vespasian scores 2 hits on 8 dice, getting some revenge (4 Roman VPs). But Caratacus scores 2 hits on 7 dice, weakening II Legion substantially (6 Briton VPs).
Plautius then activates his own formation. He sends the first unit of XIV Legion onto the north bank of the river to attack Segovax, and Plautius himself rolls a modified 1, which allows him to enter the river, cross to the other side and join the legionnaires attacking Segovax. The other half of XIV Legion does not make it into the river, and neither does the Thracian light cavalry. But the Thracian light infantry in the river rolls boxcars and wipes out the Catuvellauni light infantry holding the north bank of the river behind Segovax, and advances into Segovax’s rear (2 Roman VPs). Then Plautius attacks Segovax head-on, and the 7 die to 3 attack scores multiple hits and wipes out Segovax’s chariots (2 Roman VPs). But Segovax scores one hit on Plautius’ legion (3 Briton VPs), and Plautius declines to advance into Segovax’s area because it’s shaped so that Plautius would have to expose his flank to Caratacus. Finally, Geta activates and advances his artillery, but fails to get any of his troops into the river.
Caratacus rolls a 3 and can activate two of his formations. First he activates Togodumnus and sends him retreating toward the north edge, and Caratacus’ own troops near Vespasian’s lines form a rearguard and begin to withdraw. The rest of Caratacus’ infantry begins pulling back while still harassing Sentius’ auxiliaries. Sentius rolls more than his initiative when attacked (meaning his troops are out of command), and the Illyrians take one hit (2 Briton VPs). The elite Trinovantes infantry then attack the Roman archers near the marsh, but the archers make their morale check and withdraw before combat.
Plautius rolls a 2 and can activate Sentius, but because he’s out of command he can’t attack and just holds position. Caratacus rolls a 2 and can activate Segovax, who pulls his last chariot unit back to form a line with Caratacus’ infantry.
The score is now Romans 91, Britons 97. Caratacus keeps pulling ahead!
Turn 7: Plautius rolls a 2 to Caratacus’ 1 and goes first. He then rolls a 1 and can activate all four Roman formations (another lucky break). Geta activates and his artillery misses, and all of a sudden the legions find the way through the river. Both of XX Legion’s unit roll ones and enter the river with no losses (O Fortuna, Velut Luna, Statu Variabilis!). Then Plautius activates and sends his Thracian light infantry to attack the Trinovantes barbarian unit, while the first unit of XIV Legion attacks Segovax. The Thracian light cavalry on the south bank rolls a 1 and is able to cross to the north bank (it was Out of Command due to being on the opposite bank from Plautius, so it can’t move its full movement allowance of 4), and the second unit of XIV Legion also rolls a 1 and makes it into the river with no losses. The Trinovantes fail their morale check and take a step loss, and then the Roman light infantry scores another step loss on them in combat (4 Roman VPs).
Then Segovax makes his morale check and withdraws before being assaulted by Plautius, and Plautius declines to advance since that would expose both his flanks to assault. Then Vespasian activates, advances his artillery and takes his legion and cavalry unit to assault Caratacus while his archers advance into the swamp to fire at the elite Trinovantes. The archers perform brilliantly, scoring 2 hits on 4 dice (4 Roman VPs), but Vespasian’s 9 die to 6 attack scores just one hit (2 Roman VPs). Finally, Sentius rolls a 1 and puts himself in command, and his Batavians and Illyrians outflank the elite Catuvellauni infantry unit. The Britons make their morale check, but the auxiliaries score two hits (4 Roman VPs) while the Britons score none.
Caratacus then rolls a 6 and can activate nobody, but on his last-chance activation roll he rolls a 2 and can activate all three of his formations. The elite Catuvellauni unit that is now outflanked by auxiliaries withdraws the one zone it can, and the remnants of the Dobunni and Trinovantes deploy on the Catuvellauni flanks. Caratacus pulls the rest of his infantry back toward the north edge. The elite Trinovantes unit pulls back one area northward and then attacks the archers that slowed it down, but the archers make their morale check and withdraw before combat. Segovax then moves forward and launches arrows at Vespasian’s legion but misses, while Togodumnus sends a Cantuvellauni remnant forward to screen the retreating Trinovantes. Then in the Recovery Phase, Togodumnus successfully recovers one step of the Atrebates infantry unit he sent to the rear last turn and restores it to Long status, robbing the Romans of 2 VPs.
The score is now Romans 103, Britons 97. The retreating Briton army is starting to take damage, but the Romans are still 14 VPs away from victory.
Turn 8: Plautius rolls a 5 to Caratacus’ 3 and can go first. He then rolls a 4 (one under his initiative) so he can activate just one formation. He tells Vespasian to stop Caratacus from fleeing the board. Vespasian’s artillery scores one hit on Caratacus’ elite Trinovantes (2 Roman VPs), and then the archers move back into the marshes to fire on the Trinovantes, Vespasian attacks the remnant of the Cantuvellauni infantry screening them, and Vespasian’s cavalry fires missiles at Segovax. The cavalry misses and the Cantuvellauni remnant holds morale, but Vespasian’s die-roll bonuses for having double the Catntuvellauni’s morale lets him wipe them out (4 Roman VPs). He doesn’t advance to where they were because that would break the Roman line and let Segovax’s chariots get behind him, but the archers fire at the elite Trinovantes and score 2 more hits on 4 dice (4 Roman VPs), taking the Trinovantes down to their last step and turning them into a remnant!
Caratacus rolls a 1 and can activate all three of his formations. He tells all his infantry to run — those Roman archers in the marshes melt away whenever the Trinovantes try to attack them, and they are far too deadly for the Britons to hang around and try to recover more lost steps. Togodumnus pulls all his forces off the north edge, and Caratacus sends the last Trinovantes step off the north edge, too. He then rides east to join the Briton infantry fleeing from the Batavians and Illyrians. Segovax rides south to get directly in the path of the XIV and XX Legions, and scores one hit on Plautius’ first unit of XIV Legion with missile fire (3 Briton VPs).
Plautius rolls a 5 and can activate one formation. He sends Sentius’ auxiliaries south to harass the fleeing Briton infantry, and the Batavians make it adjacent to the Catuvellauni long infantry unit. The Catuvellauni fail their morale check and take a step loss, and then the Batavians score another step loss in combat (4 Roman VPs).
Then Plautius rolls another 5 and can activate another formation. Geta’s artillery of XX Legion fires at Segovax and scores one hit (1 Roman VP), and then XX Legion crosses to the north bank of the river and assaults Segovax (the Balearic slingers are able to make it into the river as well). Segovax makes his morale check and withdraws before combat, moving northeast toward Caratacus. XX Legion does not advance, leaving the way open for Plautius to advance with XIV Legion. Then Plautius rolls a 2 and can activate the rest of his formations, and he advances to the spot that Segovax vacated while his light infantry and cavalry move to cut Segovax’s retreat route. The second unit of XIV Legion crosses to the north bank of the Medway, and then Plautius attacks Segovax. The last Briton chariots make their morale check but have nowhere to retreat, and Plautius’ combined force wipes out Segovax, killing Segovax himself in the process (1 Roman VP).
The score is now Romans 119, Britons 100. Caratacus is just one point away from defeat.
Turn 9: Plautius rolls a 3 to Caratacus’ 4 and can go first. He then rolls another 3 and can activate two of his formations. Vespasian activates and sends his light cavalry up onto the rise behind Caratacus, cutting his retreat route off the board. The cavalry fires missiles at Caratacus but misses, and then Sentius brings in both his Auxiliary units to hit the remnant guarding Caratacus’ retreat route east. The remnant fails its morale check and scatters (2 Roman VPs), and Sentius and the Batavians advance to cut Caratacus off from the remnant of the Dobunni.
Caratacus rolls a 5 and can activate his formation. The Dobunni run for the northwest board corner, and Caratacus tries to cut his way out by attacking Vespasian’s cavalry on the rise to the north. The cavalry roll a 6, fail their morale check and scatter (1 Briton VP), and Caratacus advances to the rise.
Then Plautius rolls a 3 and can activate his other two formations. He activates his own formation, and his Thracian light cavalry ride to the north board edge and behind the rise to cut Caratacus’ retreat route. They assault him rather than launching missiles, and the 1-1 Trinovantes infantry remnant with Caratacus rolls a 5 on morale and scatters (2 Roman VPs). Then Geta activates and XX Legion advances northward, while Geta himself rolls a 1 and crosses the river to join his legion, and his light Thracian cavalry also roll a 1 and bring up the rear behind him. All Roman forces other than XIV and XX Legion artillery are now north of the river. Then in the Recovery Phase, Plautius and Vespasian recover one step each of II and XIV Legions, robbing the Britons of 6 VPs.
The score is now Romans 123, Britons 95.
Turn 10: Caratacus rolls a 6 to the Romans’ 1 and can go first. He then rolls a 2 and can activate his formation. In a last gesture of defiance, he calls back the Dobunni from the northwest board corner and joins them in an assault on the hated Batavians whose refusal to die doomed Army of Britain. The Batavians make their morale check, and Caratacus scores no hits on two dice while the Batavians score one hit on two dice and wipe out the Dobunni (2 Roman VPs).
Caratacus has no units left on the field, so the game ends with a score of Rome 125, Britain 94. Rome wins the Battle of the Medway, with high honors going to Sentius and his auxiliaries who defeated superior Barbarian forces in the east, and Vespasian, whose deadly archers mowed down the retreating Trinovantes infantry in the west. The Roman invasion of Britain marches on.
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