Roman Civil Wars - The Munda Campaign Roman Offense

30 turns, Fog of War on, vs. the AI

The Situation

I am Julius Caesar, and this is my time. I have waited and watched the schemers in the Senate and the liars and hypocrites who rule the real Rome from behind the scenes. Soon, I will restore Rome to her glory and place the decrepit, outdated Republic with a strong, vibrant empire the likes of which the world has never known ... led by me.

The last vestiges of the republic lie across the river from me near the walls of the Spanish town of Munda. It is an army I have chased across Europe, led by the sons of my one-time rival and former son-in-law Pompey. Pompey lies dead in Egypt, and I must now crush once and for all the last remnants of resistance to my rule as Rome's first emperor.

To battle!

Setup

Pompey's sons have a strong force arrayed across the river. First I must force the bridges and engage his legions, using my cavalry to nip at his flanks and drive deep into his unguarded rear. His center will be lightly guarded. I will try and force a crossing there with my velites (light infantry) and see if that brings his forces away from the bridges. If need be, I will amass my powerful 4th and 5th Legions to move his forces aside along the river, using my bowmen to keep the defenders pinned.

I advance towards the river; Pompey has arrayed skirmishers. I will ride them down or brush them aside.

My famed 4th Legion has the west bridge in sight; the Pompeian riffraff gather in the river and on the far bank. At the east bridge, my massed cavalry has made their move towards the near end of the bridge; a trio of tough heavy infantry units lies in wait on the far side.

The 5th Legion has arrived on the field at last, and begins its march from the mountain pass to the west bridge; it will swing around to the east while the 4th will continue to push north once the bridge is clear. Enemy bowmen have taken a toll on my cavalry; I need to clear them as soon as I can, which will happen once my velites reach the enemy center.

This is all taking far too long. Organizing my troops to prepare to take these bridges is no easy task. One of the cohorts defending the east bridge has foolishly left the safety of his far bank to overrun one of my leaders, and will now pay the price.

My siege towers have arrived on the field for the eventual siege of the city. Meanwhile, my archers pepper the far bank of the west bridge as the legions clomp ever closer. At the east bridge, my cavalry continues to whittle away at the lone cohort that has crossed the bridge.

Still no troops on the bridges: changing formations and moving these men along is wasting precious daylight.

At last my legionnaires have come into contact with the enemy on the west bridge; sadly, my slowness has meant that they are now reinforced by Numidian cavalry, and, to the center, light infantry to challenge my velites crossing there. To the east, I have routed the cohort of legionnaires that charged across the bridge, but at a high cost. Too late I realize my folly in not just simply fording the river downstream en masse.

My kingdom for a cohort of willing men to take the west bridge! I simply cannot beg, threaten or cajole more than one cohort at a time to take on the pair waiting on the island ... they are getting whittled down, however, and are now Disrupted ... I need them to rout. To the east, my Gallic cavalry, having forded the river, strikes out to the victory locations behind the bridge in an effort to dislodge the cohorts stalling my advance. Pompey trained these men well before he died!

Disaster! Heavy infantry arrives to reinforce their efforts, along with cavalry. Still my men mill about, unable to dislodge the cursed Pompeians from their island on the west bridge. The two cohorts on the island have broken and surrender, leaving their banners in our hands ... my men have but to cross and take that accursed island and then drive the Numidians from the far side. But who will step up and perform this task for their Emperor?

Alas, despite my urgings, my cohorts would not step forward and take the isle ... but the Numidian light cavalry there now won't be nearly as hard to push aside, and I still have 11 turns to grab as many victory locations as I can if I can just get across the bridge.

The island is mine, but sorely won; my legions are being tired and worn down. I must push ahead; to the east, I am rushing elements of the 5th Legion to secure our side of the river against the Republican reinforcements.

One small unit of Numidian cavalry is blocking my path, and because I can only have one unit on a bridge hex at a time and it is disrupted, the advance continues to stall. My legionaries have arrived at the east bridge, and it is safe ... but this was supposed to be an advance, not a defense. The fate of an empire hangs on a slender thread indeed.

Oh but for five more turns ... but it is not to be. The west is mine, the east is secure ... but the day draws to a close.

Disgrace on the plains of Spain. I moved my men too slowly, could not get them on the bridges effectively and thus the battle was lost. My velites were wasted on a fruitless crossing not supported by the legions on their flanks. My cavalry was wasted crossing the east bridge instead of fording it safely downriver and bypassing the bridge altogether. My strategy lacked any kind of finesse or expediency.

It will not happen again.