Wars of the Republic - Ancient Pyrrhic War Skirmish.

I had started building a Roman Republic wargaming collection but had never actually played a game

with it, and I didn’t want the miniatures to languish forgotten in a box. To bring them to life on the table, I picked up a copy of Wars of the Republic from Osprey and was eager to give it a try.

I’ve always been fascinated by the interaction between the Greek and Roman worlds, especially the Pyrrhic War, which marked Rome’s transformation from a minor regional power to a rising force in the Mediterranean over just four dramatic years.

https://www.ospreypublishing.com/uk/wars-of-the-republic-9781472844910/

 

Following the destruction of the neighbouring city of Veii, the Roman Republic gradually extended its

dominance over central Italy. With successful wars in the north and south reducing the local powers of Samnium and Etruria, Rome had become the major power within the peninsula.

Almost every year, Roman armies marched north and south, subjugating more tribes and cities. As Roman suzerainty reached further south, however, the Republic came into contact with the Greek city-states of Magna Graecia, under the loose hegemony of Taras, the sole colony of Sparta and the largest city in southern Italy. 

In 282 BC, the Lucanian tribe attacked the Greek city of Thurii, which petitioned Rome for aid instead of turning to its traditional protector, Taras. Viewing this as an insult, the Tarentines attacked a Roman naval squadron, prompting the Senate to declare war on Taras.

Across the Adriatic, the wars of Alexander’s successors were drawing to a close. The Antigonids had been expelled from the Macedonian throne by an alliance of Alexander’s general Lysimachus and his cousin Pyrrhus of Epirus. Yet Lysimachus claimed the throne for himself, confining Pyrrhus to his ancestral kingdom. Lysimachus was later killed at Corupedium (281 BC), and his realm passed to Ptolemy Ceraunus. Ceraunus, insecure in his rule, was wary of Pyrrhus’ ambitions in Macedonia.

By the end of the decade, the ambitions of all three overlapped: Taras sought protection from Rome,

Pyrrhus sought prestige and resources to strengthen his hand in Greece, and Ceraunus hoped to keep Pyrrhus occupied abroad while he consolidated his power. 

An agreement was struck — Pyrrhus would sail to Magna Graecia to aid the Greek cities, while Ptolemy would provide him with additional troops and funds. With an army of roughly 20,000 sarissa-armed infantry, 3,000 cavalry, 2,000 archers, 500 slingers, and 20 war elephants, Pyrrhus seemed well placed to challenge this ambitious Roman power. 

In 280 BC, Pyrrhus landed in Italy and marched south to meet the Romans at Heraclea. The Epiroteled

army won the battle and advanced north toward Rome, but despite the setback the Republic refused peace, raising new legions in remarkable time. Pyrrhus withdrew to Taras. The following year, he marched north again, hoping to weaken Rome’s allies in southern Italy.

With this background in mind, I set up a game to explore how such a clash on the road up to Asculum might have played out. The battlefield represented a Latin colony in Samnium, Pyrrhus wanting to remove the colonists to gain favour with the local tribes while the Romans are wanting to maintain their colonies and the control they exhibited over the Apennines. 

Three clusters of building complexes were positioned across the centre of the table, and whichever side controlled the majority of them after eight hard-fought turns would claim victory. The Wars of the Republic uses a “Commander’s Gaze” system, in which units can only perform basic actions unless a token is spent. These tokens also determine initiative, allow re-rolls, and enable rallying.

The opening stages saw the Greeks and Samnites seize the initiative, surging forward to contest all

three buildings, while the Romans advanced more cautiously. Some accounts suggest the Roman

consul of the year underestimated the urgency of securing the Latin colony. 

The Romans deployed with their manipular legion holding the centre and their Italian allies positioned on the left flank. Opposing them, the Greeks placed their war elephant and light infantry on their own left, while their Samnite allies joined the phalanx infantry across the centre and right. Their formidable cavalry remained in reserve, ready to exploit any breakthrough.

After skirmishing along the lines, the first clash erupted on the Greek left, where their elephant crashed into the Roman lines, only to be met head-on by the elite Roman Triarii, and the battle was truly joined.

While the elephant clashed with the Triarii, the Samnites in the centre smashed into the Roman Principes and Hastatii, while another Samnite contingent on the far right seized defensive positions within a building. 

On the opposite flank, the renowned Thessalian cavalry eyed the Roman cavalry lingering on the far left, each side wary of committing too soon. The fighting was brutally intense: the duel between the elephant and the Triarii left both forces nearly annihilated. (Some claimed the gods made the Triarii’s armour crumple like paper proof, perhaps, that the fortunes of battle can be fickle.) 

In the centre, one cohort of Principes was lost, but not before taking down two Samnite units. The surviving Hastatii and Principes now faced the imposing wall of phalanx pikemen barring their path to the central objective. Meanwhile, the Italian allies swung wide around the remaining Samnites, cutting them off from the nearby phalangites on the left-hand objective and launching probing attacks against their defensive position.

The elephant ultimately triumphed over the ill-fated Triarii, whose armour seemed to fail them but was soon driven off by a volley from the Roman skirmishers. At this point, the Greek cavalry swept in from reserve on their left flank, securing the area and shoring up their wavering line.

Meanwhile, the Romans had found their rhythm in the centre, steadily driving the Greek infantry back toward the central objective, while the Italian allies surged forward against the remaining Samnites. 

Yet these late-stage pushes came too late to seize control of the objectives, and the Romans had lost most of their command control ability. The Greeks had won the day, but one more victory like that and they are sure to be undone.

Many thanks to our strategoi Johnathan Jones and Owen, and to our co-consuls John Roberts and

Mathew, for both a fun and enjoyable game and for their endless patience as we all tried to

learn a new ruleset. 

Opinions on the system were mixed, with a fair share of grumbles from the veteran ancient wargamers present. However, the Commander’s Gaze mechanic did seem effective in simulating the gradual attrition of the battlefield and the corresponding loss of a commander’s control as the battle wore on.