'Haztrubel Bicca' takes the field

This past week saw two games here in GHQ utilizing my collections for the Second Punic War. Those readers with long memories may recall that these collections we born out of Lockdown during the first phase of the COVID plague. I chose the game because on the Tuesday morning of Phil's visit I was having my fifth vaccination against the bl**dy virus and I knew that for Paul's Thursday visit he had expressed a wish to see the collection in action.

In the Tuesday iteration of the battle Haztrubel Bicca was greatly aided by some classical poor dice throwing by Phil! Game over in four turns, brisk even for Hail Caesar MkII. A few annotated pictures in the usual photomontage which I hope give a feel for the unfolding drama ~

Haztrubel Bicca army of Carthage advances en masse on the Republican Romans of Coronus Cunctator.

Coronus orders an advance to meet the Carthaginian army but with ominous lack of uniform dice success. 

First clash in the centre in Turn 2 sees the light troops engage with each other and so halt the elephants in their tracks 

Italian allied Velites fall back having been beaten by the Spanish Scutari.

The victorious Scutari, supported by the first line of Haztrubal's Libyan spearmen, drive into the Allied Italian Legion.

The Hastatii are driven back by the momentum of the Carthaginian attack, which in turn smashes into the Allied Principes.

Celt-Iberian cavalry clashes with their Roman counterparts on the Carthaginian right flank.

The Romans break leaving the Celt-Iberians free to smash into the following unit.

On the left of the Carthaginian line the Light troops are having little success in holding off their Roman counterparts though the elephants have engaged the Wolf's Cubs! 

On the right, Roman and Allied cavalry have been soundly beaten and the Allied legion suffers further losses to the Scutari and supporting Libyan veterans.

The right and centre are beaten back, the cavalry fleeing for their lives...

...and the Allied Legion, already disordered, is defeated. It's all over for poor old Coronus as he falls on his sword at the end of Turn 4! Or should that be his dice?

On to Thursday's rerun of the battle next: also over in 4 Turns, but a very different game nevertheless and a markedly different outcome! As before an annotated photomontage to hopefully convey the sense of the action ~

The Carthaginian advance is patchy in Turn 1.

As is the Roman response.

On the Carthaginian right the first clashes see the Spanish cavalry beaten badly by their Numidian opponents.

A Blunder, or two! First on the left, where the light infantry surge forward for three turns, then in the centre where an entire Division retired! The Carthaginian line is coming undone in Turn 2.

Again the elephants fail to make any headway as the Light infantry clash holds them up.

Spanish cavalry are routed by the Numidians...

...as are Celt-Iberians by their Roman opponents. The Carthaginian right is creaking under these losses 

In the centre the elephants' light infantry supports are routed finally as the Wolf's Cubs Hastatii come to the support of their Velites.

On the Carthaginian right the two cavalry divisions are routed leaving the army in mortal danger!

The Allied Legion has driven back Haztrubal's veterans who, with enemy cavalry behind their flank, begin to give ground.

Finally the Wolf's Cubs beat the elephants and it's all up for Haztrubal's cause! The end of Turn 4 sees his army broken and in disarray as he flees the field. Clearly the 'Dice Gods' were swayed by sacrifice ~

Two very different games, two very different outcomes. What they had in common though was two games played in the spirit of companionship and the joy of our wonderful hobby. A bit of a break now in GHQ though, as we are off 'Oop North' again for a week's R&R, so fingers crossed for the weather or we will be dodging the rain drops in the Southern Lakes.