DBA battle report: Polybian Romans (II/33) vs Early Carthaginian (II/32)

After many DBA battles I finally attempt my first battle report. My friend Jan and I got a chance before Xmas to play a classic: Rome versus Carthage; with Jan leading the Romans and I playing the Carthaginians.

The orders of battle (see also picture below):

• Polybian Romans (II/33) - The defender: Gen Cv, Cv, Bd (x5), Sp (x2), 3Ax, Ps (x2)

• Later Carthaginians (II/32) - The attacker: Gen Cv, El (x2), Lh, Sp (x3), Wb (x2), Ax, Ps (x2)

The terrain: the Romans set for an open field, with  just a road and a gentle hill in addition to two compulsory plough (which did not turn into rough going because of rain).

The deployment: The Romans deploy the blade-spear block in the center, with psiloi and auxilia in front of them so as to create an anti-elephant shield. The cavalry on their right, on the road; on their left a blade ready to extend the line once moved past the hill.
The Carthaginians formed a wider line, avoiding facing Roman auxilia and psiloi with their elephants; spears in the centre, psiloi together with auxilia and horses on the wings ready to outflank.

The battle:

BOUND 1 (Rome)

The Roman infantry advances maintaining the initial formation, followed at close distance by its general. The cavalry on the road move forwards at full throttle, ending a bit too isolated from the rest of its army.

BOUND 2 (Carthage)

 The Carthaginians size the opportunity and charge the Roman cavalry with their general supported by the psiloi. The center of the army moves forwards, while the light horse on its right leaves the group and heads towards the hill (the plan is to circumvent the hill and threat the Roman camp).

 

The Carthaginian general doubles the Roman cavalry, which is destroyed. Carthage 1 - Rome 0. 

BOUND 3 (Rome)

The Romans promptly react to their first loss by defending their right flank with the general and side-moving psiloi and auxilia to face the Carthaginian elephants. It's going to be tough for the two pachyderms. 

BOUND 4 (Carthage)

  

 The first clash left the Carthaginians short-breathed and no other options but hold position waiting for the upcoming Romans charge. Only the light horses have energy enough to follow the original plan and get closer to the camp.

BOUND 5 (Rome)

And they shall know no fear! The Roman infantry clashes into the elephants relentlessly and.......

.....while a psiloi recoils from an elephant and the other one flees from the spears, the auxilia manages to kill a pachyderm. Carthage 1 - Rome 1.

BOUND 6 (Carthage)

The survived elephants freezes on the spot in fear, unable to move an inch (i.e. 1 PIP only for the Carthaginians). It remains for the spears, warbands and auxilia to counter-charge the Roman blades and try to push them back so to release pressure on the poor beast. Mixed results from the melee: a tie, one blade pushed back, one blade destroyed by the warbands (long live the WB quick kill on Bd!), a Carthaginian Ax destroyed by the blades. Carthage 2 - Rome 2.

BOUND 7 (Rome)

The Romans resist the Carthaginian charge and counter-attack. Psiloi charge the elephants, while the auxilia take its flank. Better for the pachyderm to score high with the die or it will be certain death.

The blades that destroyed the auxilia get in frenzy and charge the warbands not leaving them any room for recoiling in case of defeat. A 5 vs 4 in favor of the Romans.

The Carthaginian gods are merciful and almighty! The elephants resists the charge pushing back psiloi and auxilia. The warbands quick-kill the blade. Carthage 3 - Rome 2.

BOUND 8 (Carthage)

Do you remember the light horses that circumvented the gentle hill in bound 4? They get the Roman camp and deliver victory to Carthage.

Carthage 4 - Rome 2 

DBA Roman camp

After the Roman watchtower (https://flowersinyourcannons.blogspot.com/2018/05/wip-roman-watchtower.html), here comes my second camp for my DBA Roman armies. It is also intended to be a first piece of a modular Roman fort. Never used a BUA in my battles: I need one.

Below, how I built it, step by step.

9x9cm base of balsa wood, a piece of insulation foam carved 

to the purpose. The front wall made with a ball pen.

cotton candy stick for the palisade

 coffee wood stir stick used for the terrace

 oil colors used for painting the palisade, as they better penetrate
the wood. Then dry brush with acrylics (ochre first, then bone white).
Wood filler mixed with sand for the soil, also dry-brushed
with bone white.

A touch of static grass. Game over.

Now painting few Roman auxiliaries to bring a bit of action
to this mini-dio.

WIP Roman watchtower - Update #2

26 June 2018

I am now painting some sentinels to put here and there on the tower, using Roman auxiliaries from the Strelets Set M033 "Roman Auxiliaries Before Battle". It comes with interesting poses for a watchtower. A first attempt here below. Shield yet to finish

25 June 2018

Watchtower is 95% completed. I am really happy with result! Finally, may DBA Roman armies have a camp. I painted the tower with oil paints, as I read somewhere that it better penetrates the wood. It is true. I made a test with both oil and acrylic, and the oil is far better (after you find the right dilution with turpentine :-P). Only it takes long to dry up, more than two days on the shelf (maybe if I put outside, it would have taken less. Who knows?). After that a quick dry (very dry!) brush with Vallejo Game Color Bonewhite made the job.

31 May 2018

It's moving, slowly. Time for ladders.

 And then I got the idea of a modular Roman fort, which friends at the Benno's Figures Forum support. Let's see how it evolves.

16 May 2018

After so many battles with just a piece of paper 2BWx2BW to represent their camp, time came for my DBA Romans armies to have a proper camp. Considering that most of the battles were fought on the limes, I thought that a watchtower would have been a nice addition to the usual palisade.

Inspiration came from some pictures I found online of the plastic Zvezda Roman fort, now out of production and out of stock almost everywhere. Good thing is that the pictures come with the size of the tower and its components, which made easier the design of my wood replica.

I used cotton candy sticks and coffee wood stir sticks, which I looted here and there in the city at no cost.

A razor for cutting, white glue for assembling. It is shaping up pretty well.

 

Marian Roman - DBA II/49

Today victory had been with enemy, if they had had a victor in command (Plutarch, Life of Caesar, 39, 8)

Six years ago, when I lived in Beijing, I bought two boxes of Italeri republican Romans (infantry and cavalry) in a small hobby shop in Andingmen Nei Dajie. I didn't know what to do with them at that time. They slept three years on a shelf, untouched, and then travelled the whole way from China to Germany. Two years later, I started playing DBA 2.2. They have obviously been my first DBA army: II/49 Marian Roman. Strelets Roman velites and slingers joined in and complete the army. Soon (relatively soon) new figures will be added to align the army composition to DBA 3.0.

General (1x 3Cv)

General (1x 4Bd)

Cavalry (1x 3Cv)

Light cavalry (1x LH)

Legionaries (8x 4Bd)

Velites (1x 4Aux)

Slingers (2x Ps)