Defence of the Imperial Frontier
It is late summer on the frontier of the Roman Empire. Three border (limitani) garrisons stand watch over the vulnerable part of the southern bank of the River Styx. The garrisons occupy two bridges: Pontus Primus, Pontus Secundum; and a small fort, Castra Primus.
In reserve some distance away, beyond the town of Subligaria lies the winter quarters of Legio XIII Martia Victrix, led by the newly arrived Magister Militum for Upper Germania: Julius Civilis.
On the opposite bank three restless barbarian tribes, the Chatti, Marsii and Tencterii, wait to enter the Empire. Only the natural barrier of the wide, cold, swiftly flowing river prevents their crossing.
The Barbarians
At the start of the game, after setting their objective each tribal command was placed on the riverbank, opposite the Roman frontier watchtowers. Elements from different tribes could not intermingle.The Objective
The objective is selected by draw, and not revealed to the Roman players until the end of the game. The options available are:
The Crossing
The Barbarian tribes must test to see if the river God supports a crossing in force, each tribal command testing in turn. Getting a ten or more on a two D-6 dice and the Gods are with you successful crossing. Get a 5 and lose one stand (they have gone home not wishing to displease the river God).
The Romans
The Magister Militum begins the game in the legionary camp and commands the legion's cavalry (Equites Vexillatio). Until activation no Roman elements may move from their starting positions. Activation of a garrison occurs when the first Barbarian incursion is sighted, within six inches of a watchtower. Activation only effects the limitani garrison doing the sighting, however signal fires may be used to alert other limitani units located within the frontier military zone. Cohort commands of the mobile legion can be activated by messenger.
The garrison commander must send messengers to the Roman Magister Militum to activate the legionary forces. The Roman messenger system is represented by consulting a messenger success table (did he get delayed, lost or killed), and also by moving a mounted figure (considered to be at twice normal movement). The table also covers the ability of the limitani garrisons to light signal fires (they may be damp, or someone simply forgot their lighter).
[Note: We have had a player forget to do all of the above...not a smart thing to do!!!. He was taken to the side by his team the Magister Militum's briefing cannot be printed!!!! ...something to do with the insertion of a pike.]
The Magister Militum is faced with some early decisions:
The Battle (Warfare, Reading UK)
The tribes deployed on the banks of the Styx, with cavalry ready to storm across the two frontier bridges. One Roman limitani auxilia unit was deployed within the military zone, between the vallum and the frontier bridge. Another auxilia unit was positioned on the road between the town and the vallum. Julius Civilis did not deploy the third unit assigned to the frontier (OOPS!).
The Barbarian incursion started with Chrom, of the Tenterii, throwing his cavalry across the undefended bridge. The Romans were shocked by the speed of the advance, but remembered to put torch to the signal fires and alerted the frontier defences. On the other flank, the barbarians were obviously not at one with their god. Some of the Chatti went home, back to the forests. The Romans were able to take advantage of this lack of divine intervention. The Roman garrison commander ordered a unit of auxilia onto the bridge. When the river God finally decided that the Chatti were worthy to participate in the wholesale slaughter of cattle, sheep and Romans, their cavalry rampaged onto the bridge. Only to swiftly to rampage back, in the opposite direction, one melee later. The victorious Roman unit, on seeing the Chatti warbands in a flanking maneuver, fell back to the vallum.
This Roman victory was overshadowed on the other side of the battlefield, where the Tenterii, now joined by the Marsii, were pouring over the undefended frontier palisade. The Roman watchtowers and balista served as firewood. Engineers, who had been digging in the vallum, did not attempt to form up as a fighting unit, and fled towards the town. The Tenterii cavalry had made rapid progress across the military zone and through the vallum gate. The horsemen bypassed a Roman unit, forming to face the incursion. The way was open to the gate of Subligaria. The advance was so rapid that the Romans only just closed the gates before the arrival of the mounted hordes. The Tenterii cavalry were completely isolated from the barbarian warbands and open to a Roman cavalry attack. The gates of the town were pulled down just as the Roman relief force arrived. The Barbarians were in the mood to partyS The Tenterii cavalry were a worthy sacrifice for their chief, Chrom. Back at the vallum gate the Romans defended their ground vigorously. The sword of an unknown Roman infantryman felled Chrom, mighty leader of the Tenterii tribe and father of sixteen children (in wedlock). Chrom1s body was placed on a wagon for return over the river Styx to the Tenterii forests. Instead of returning with booty the warbands retired with their leaders corpse, surrounded by his personal bodyguard (where were they when he needed them?).
This small victory for the Romans was tempered as they looked to their flank. The Marsii and Chatti were across the undefended section of the vallum and were forming a battle line on the plain in front of the walls of Subligaria (remember that missing third unit, and the engineers who merely ran away instead of forming a fighting units (OOPS!). In front of them the Roman Cohorts were just arriving on the field of battle. With no time to secure one of their flanks (the cavalry had been lost fighting the Tenterii) the legion of Julius Civilis was vulnerable. Both of the tribes hit the Roman line in a single assault. The shear number of screaming tribesmen (the exposed flank did not help either) overwhelmed the Romans! The legionaries broke and ran, leaving the field and the town of Subligaria to the bloodlust of the warbands (lock up your sheep and women in that order). It was the start of the Volkerwanderung.
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Date Created: February 13, 2004
