Toaw Scenario: The Second Punic War

Mediterranean Sea,
June 07, 0218,

Carthage army of 59 units opposed to SPQR army of 89 units
for a battle of complexity 1.08 at Company(I) level
on a 50 Km/Hex map
for 69 turns of Full Week each.

by Brian Topp submited on 02-01-2003

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Briefing
The Second Punic War 218-201 B.C. Version 2.0 This scenario This scenario simulates, at grand strategic scale, the Second Punic War. This 17-year-long war is covered in quarterly (three month) turns. It likely wouldn't survive a "grognard review", since TOAW was not designed to simulate military operations at this scale, 2200 years ago. But taken as a (in some ways) intricate chess puzzle, "The Second Punic War" models a fascinating, evenly-balanced conflict. It is playable as the Roman player against a computer-controlled Carthaginian, or by email. It is not playable as the Carthaginian against a computer-controlled Rome. New in version 2: A small news event error is corrected. The objectives of a PO-controlled Carthage are improved. Victory The Roman player wins an automatic total victory by capturing Carthage. The Carthaginian player wins an automatic total victory by capturing Rome. Either player wins an automatic decisive victory by accumulating 85 or more victory points (this requires you control most of the provinces on the board, plus accumulate a substantial victory point bonus by destroying enemy units). Otherwise, at the end of the game, calculate victory this way (ignoring loss penalties): Larger victory point total: 85 or more : Decisive victory 70 to 84: Substantive victory 60 to 69: Marginal victory 59 or less: Draw Critical house rules To make this scenario work, you need to follow some key house rules. (1) No land force can move or fight without a leader. This is tricky (because you have to keep a careful eye on variable movement rates in a stack), but critical to this simulation. No land unit can move or fight anywhere or in any circumstance unless stacked with a leader. Leaders can freely pick up and drop off land units. Both sides have two generals - thus both sides have two "controlling minds" that can move and fight. It is okay to attack simultaneously from two hexes (against the same hex or against two separate hexes) provided both of your attacking forces have leaders stacked with them. Land units can dig in without a leader present. Land units cannot load onto sea transports or conduct sea movement without being stacked with a leader. You may well be struck at how tricky this rule makes this scenario. You must commit your leaders to advances and battles to make progress. But they are vulnerable to destruction on the battlefield, and also to being cut off and isolated from their forces because of uncontrolled advances or retreats by stacks at different movement rates. A PO-controlled Carthage does not play by this rule, but you still should. As the witty designer of the boardgame Imperium Romanum II puts it, a player of true virtu and gravitas will not let this depress him, but will strive for Fortuna's hand regardless. Exception: South Italian, Gallic and Hispanic rebels (all shown on the board as "guerrilla" units) can move and fight without a leader (they cannot substitute for a leader, however - i.e., a rebel unit cannot lead a regular unit into a battle). (2) Naval units can move and fight freely. (3) All combat must be conducted at "ignore losses" setting. This gives the flavour of the sanguinary and often decisive battles of the period - and motivates you to carefully weigh your prospects before committing to battle, just like the real generals at the time did. (4) A leader must be fully committed to each land battle. In other words, a leader must participate in each land battle you initiate, at "ignore losses" setting. If the leader is killed or rendered ineffective in the battle and you don't have another in the stack, then the battle is over -- unless you can manoeuvre another leader into the stack. This simulates the leader's death or loss of nerve for the season. Calendar Ignore the running date at the lower right and at the head of news items, and watch the text of the news advisories to keep track of the calendar. The game begins in 218 B.C. and runs for 68 quarterly turns (winter, spring, summer, fall), taking you to 201 B.C. (TOAW does not know how to count down a "B.C." date). There are a lot of turns in the game but few generals to move around - the turns go by fast. Roman consular elections Every winter, the Roman Senate elects two new Consuls to assume command of its military forces. The new Consuls assume office in Rome, and you must then dispatch them to the forces you want them to command in the coming year. This imposes some tricky logistics problems on Rome (you'll have to spend at least one turn in every four moving your Consuls into position, while the waiting Legions must wait and cannot attack). On the positive side, these arrangements provide the Roman side with some often-useful command flexibility. Because your leaders regularly leave the battlefield to take part in Senate politics, and then seek to rejoin your armies from Rome, you must take great care not to permit Carthage to interpose units between Rome and her Legions. The Roman sea transport capability will help manage this problem, but not in all circumstances. Rome also fields two "Proconsuls" to permit a greater tempo of operations. This constitutional innovation - imposed by the multi-front challenge Carthage posed, was the seed of the Roman Republic's destruction. Long-service generals earned their laurels at war - and then entered Roman politics, ultimately at the head of their armies. Be careful about the size and form of your Roman garrison. If you stack too many land units on the capital, Consuls will not appear when scheduled - robbing Rome of half her generals that turn. Loss and recapture of key centres; supply centres The map is divided into provinces, and each province has a capital city. Loosing a provincial capital switches victory points. Further, the loss of a home province (i.e. a province held at the start of the game) will switch supply to the other side and erode replacements. Recapturing a provincial capital wins back the victory points and supply points, and restores most (but not all) of the damage to replacements. Larger centres (Capua, Tarentum, Nova Carthago, and Cartenna) and some other provincial capitals serve as supply centres for either side, and are key objectives when dispatching an expedition into the enemy's rear. Carthage also has potential supply centres in all Southern Italian provincial towns, although these are not assured for the whole game. A word to the wise: especially when invading enemy territory, always garrison at least the closest supply centre feeding each of your key armies. The enemy (especially when controlled by the computer, thus enjoying greater mobility) can halt an advance and tie you up for many turns by getting behind you and into your stores. The Carthaginian army The Carthaginian army was a grab-bag of units - some elite troops composed of Carthaginian nobles and other forces; allied troops; and mercenaries recruited from the Celtic tribes of Iberia and other areas. This is simulated on the board by assigning different colours to some Carthaginian units - in the result, they don't cooperate together as well as the more unified Roman legions. Intelligence Neither side has any useful intelligence about the other - you'll only find out the details of your opponent's deployments by scouting and by engaging in battle. Syracusa Syracusa, a Greek colony in the southeastern corner of Sicily, begins the game as an ally of Rome. Rome must be mindful that Syracusa is an unreliable ally, prone to defection. Syracusan units may never leave Syracuse unless they have been evicted in a siege. Illyria The province of Illyria - hostile to Rome, and a potential Carthaginian ally - is covered by an exclusion zone at the beginning of the game. Rome is at risk from this quarter. King Phillip of Macedon is an implacable enemy of the Republic, and envoys from Carthage have coordinated strategy with the Macedonians. South Italian rebels At this time, the four provinces in the south of Italy were becoming increasingly disenchanted with the Roman Republic. The privileges of Roman citizenship were largely withheld from local elites, and corrupt and ruthless Roman carpetbaggers (from Senators to imposed tax officials) were making themselves extremely unpopular -- a Roman tradition which continues to the present day. Rome's hold on Southern Italy is therefore at risk. Rebel units can move and fight without a leader. South Italian rebels can never leave the four southern Italian provinces. Gallic and Hispanic rebels Gallia and Hispania and key prizes in this war. These vast territories yield the largest haul of supplies and replacements. They are also largely autonomous, governed by unstable coalitions of Celtic tribes allied with one of the other of the contending superpowers. When either Rome or Carthage conquers one of these provinces from the other, local Celtic tribal leaderships are displaced and a new regime is installed. The "outs" take to the hills and forests - and may eventually re-emerge to try to win back their previous position. If these provinces switch back and forth between Rome and Carthage, it is possible for two sets of contending Celtic allies to be in the field, fighting each other and their opposing allies for control. Rebel units can move and fight without a leader. Gallic rebels can never leave Gallia, Massilia or Narbonensis. Hispanic rebels can never leave the various provinces in the Iberian peninsula. Carthaginian supply in Italy Hannibal can initially draw supply from a number of cities in Italy. But as the war progresses, beginning from the north and then heading south, these supply centres begin to dry up, as surpluses are exhausted and pro-Carthaginian Italians become disenchanted with the war. Thus, Hannibal's ability to operate effectively in Italy steadily degrades the longer it takes to knock Rome out of the war. At some point logistics may make extended Carthaginian operations in Italy almost impossible. Roman player notes For the Roman player, this game divides into three roughly equal phases. In the first phase (20 turns or so), the City of Rome and all of Italy are in imminent peril of being conquered by Hannibal and a large, mixed Carthaginian army. As the game begins Hannibal has crossed the Alps, bypassed a slowly forming Consular army in Gallia Cisalpina, and is thrusting into central Italy. Hannibal is just strong enough to be capable of defeating the second Consular army defending Rome. The Roman player is thus faced with an immediate and direct crisis and must scramble to avoid early defeat. Assuming that Rome and a minimum of other key centres are held, what then? The strategic issues were debated for many years in the Roman Senate, and both alternatives were attempted. You can try Fabian tactics, as advocated and practiced by the great Roman Consul and General, Quintus Fabius Maximus. This involves slipping a legion or two into as many Italian provincial capitals a possible, digging them in (denying the Carthaginians supply and keeping them busy in sieges), and waiting for Hannibal to run out of steam or make a fatal error. This strategy is attractive because it avoids the risk that key Roman leaders get killed on the battlefield at the wrong time and wrong place, leaving the City of Rome itself open to conquest. On the other hand, Fabian tactics consume time - potentially robbing Rome of enough game time to turn the tables and take the war decisively to Carthage. In the alternative, you can try to bring Hannibal to battle and seek to knock him out of Italy with a few throws of the dice. Success provides Rome with many new options. But it can also lead Rome into a Cannae-style defeat - potentially a fatal one. Whatever Rome chooses to do in Italy, you have some capacity to cause trouble on other fronts. Historically, quite early in the war Rome worked hard to kick the Carthaginians out of Gallia, and then attacked Carthage in Spain - seeking to strip the enemy of their manpower and supply reserves and to divert them from their Italian expedition. In the mid-game, if all goes well, Hannibal's threat to Italia will be dwindling, and Rome can begin to up the tempo of its operations. For example, kicking Carthage out of Hispania can set the scene for a showdown in Africa in the closing third of the game. A final note: remember your fleets! Rome enjoys a naval advantage verging on supremacy. With many key objectives and likely battlefields on coasts, your fleets can provide you with the margin of victory on both land and sea. Carthaginian player notes Carthage's single best chance to win the game is in the first two turns. A direct assault on Rome can win a total victory, right away. But Rome is a tough nut; heavily fortified and ably defended. If Hannibal's army is decimated in the attempt or Hannibal himself is disabled in battle, Carthage can lose its chance to conduct extended operations in Italy, leaving itself open to an early Roman assault on its heartland. Historically, Hannibal played an audacious but slightly more careful game; rampaging through Southern Italy, systematically conquering (and allying with) southern Italian provinces, seeking to sap Rome's logistical base, and seeking to build sufficient mass to be sure of victory in a final attack on the Roman capital. It didn't work - but it came very close. Seizing and holding Gallia and other extended Roman provinces assists in this effort, by further sapping Rome's logistics and manpower. If Hannibal fails to conquer Rome (either with an early crap-shoot or during a more careful campaign), then Rome is likely to eventually contain his campaign. At some point the strategic initiative will shift to Rome and Carthage will be working to defend its empire and (hopefully) Gallic gains. Carthage's naval transport capacity provides you with an opportunity to keep Rome off-balance in the remaining years of the war by staging raids back into its heartland. Unless Rome has foolishly left its Capital un- or under-defended, however, these expeditions must be carefully limited to avoid marooning critically-needed leaders and forces in a logistically-barren Italia, while the key fight is elsewhere. This scenario is based on the folio game The Punic Wars, included in issue number 53 of Strategy and Tactics magazine (that was waaay back in 1975). After-action reports and suggestions for improvements are gratefully received. Send 'em to briantopp@rogers.com.

Briefing

The Second Punic War
218-201 B.C.
Version 2.0

This scenario

This scenario simulates, at grand strategic scale, the Second Punic War. This 17-year-long war is covered in quarterly (three month) turns. It likely wouldn't survive a "grognard review", since TOAW was not designed to simulate military operations at this scale, 2200 years ago. But taken as a (in some ways) intricate chess puzzle, "The Second Punic War" models a fascinating, evenly-balanced conflict. It is playable as the Roman player against a computer-controlled Carthaginian, or by email. It is not playable as the Carthaginian against a computer-controlled Rome.

New in version 2: A small news event error is corrected. The objectives of a PO-controlled Carthage are improved.

Victory

The Roman player wins an automatic total victory by capturing Carthage.

The Carthaginian player wins an automatic total victory by capturing Rome.

Either player wins an automatic decisive victory by accumulating 85 or more victory points (this requires you control most of the provinces on the board, plus accumulate a substantial victory point bonus by destroying enemy units).

Otherwise, at the end of the game, calculate victory this way (ignoring loss penalties):

Larger victory point total:
85 or more : Decisive victory
70 to 84: Substantive victory
60 to 69: Marginal victory
59 or less: Draw

Critical house rules

To make this scenario work, you need to follow some key house rules.

(1) No land force can move or fight without a leader. This is tricky (because you have to keep a careful eye on variable movement rates in a stack), but critical to this simulation.

No land unit can move or fight anywhere or in any circumstance unless stacked with a leader. Leaders can freely pick up and drop off land units. Both sides have two generals - thus both sides have two "controlling minds" that can move and fight.

It is okay to attack simultaneously from two hexes (against the same hex or against two separate hexes) provided both of your attacking forces have leaders stacked with them.

Land units can dig in without a leader present.

Land units cannot load onto sea transports or conduct sea movement without being stacked with a leader.

You may well be struck at how tricky this rule makes this scenario. You must commit your leaders to advances and battles to make progress. But they are vulnerable to destruction on the battlefield, and also to being cut off and isolated from their forces because of uncontrolled advances or retreats by stacks at different movement rates.

A PO-controlled Carthage does not play by this rule, but you still should. As the witty designer of the boardgame Imperium Romanum II puts it, a player of true virtu and gravitas will not let this depress him, but will strive for Fortuna's hand regardless.

Exception: South Italian, Gallic and Hispanic rebels (all shown on the board as "guerrilla" units) can move and fight without a leader (they cannot substitute for a leader, however - i.e., a rebel unit cannot lead a regular unit into a battle).

(2) Naval units can move and fight freely.

(3) All combat must be conducted at "ignore losses" setting. This gives the flavour of the sanguinary and often decisive battles of the period - and motivates you to carefully weigh your prospects before committing to battle, just like the real generals at the time did.

(4) A leader must be fully committed to each land battle. In other words, a leader must participate in each land battle you initiate, at "ignore losses" setting. If the leader is killed or rendered ineffective in the battle and you don't have another in the stack, then the battle is over -- unless you can manoeuvre another leader into the stack. This simulates the leader's death or loss of nerve for the season.

Calendar

Ignore the running date at the lower right and at the head of news items, and watch the text of the news advisories to keep track of the calendar. The game begins in 218 B.C. and runs for 68 quarterly turns (winter, spring, summer, fall), taking you to 201 B.C. (TOAW does not know how to count down a "B.C." date). There are a lot of turns in the game but few generals to move around - the turns go by fast.

Roman consular elections

Every winter, the Roman Senate elects two new Consuls to assume command of its military forces. The new Consuls assume office in Rome, and you must then dispatch them to the forces you want them to command in the coming year. This imposes some tricky logistics problems on Rome (you'll have to spend at least one turn in every four moving your Consuls into position, while the waiting Legions must wait and cannot attack). On the positive side, these arrangements provide the Roman side with some often-useful command flexibility.

Because your leaders regularly leave the battlefield to take part in Senate politics, and then seek to rejoin your armies from Rome, you must take great care not to permit Carthage to interpose units between Rome and her Legions. The Roman sea transport capability will help manage this problem, but not in all circumstances.

Rome also fields two "Proconsuls" to permit a greater tempo of operations. This constitutional innovation - imposed by the multi-front challenge Carthage posed, was the seed of the Roman Republic's destruction. Long-service generals earned their laurels at war - and then entered Roman politics, ultimately at the head of their armies.

Be careful about the size and form of your Roman garrison. If you stack too many land units on the capital, Consuls will not appear when scheduled - robbing Rome of half her generals that turn.

Loss and recapture of key centres; supply centres

The map is divided into provinces, and each province has a capital city. Loosing a provincial capital switches victory points. Further, the loss of a home province (i.e. a province held at the start of the game) will switch supply to the other side and erode replacements. Recapturing a provincial capital wins back the victory points and supply points, and restores most (but not all) of the damage to replacements.

Larger centres (Capua, Tarentum, Nova Carthago, and Cartenna) and some other provincial capitals serve as supply centres for either side, and are key objectives when dispatching an expedition into the enemy's rear. Carthage also has potential supply centres in all Southern Italian provincial towns, although these are not assured for the whole game.

A word to the wise: especially when invading enemy territory, always garrison at least the closest supply centre feeding each of your key armies. The enemy (especially when controlled by the computer, thus enjoying greater mobility) can halt an advance and tie you up for many turns by getting behind you and into your stores.

The Carthaginian army

The Carthaginian army was a grab-bag of units - some elite troops composed of Carthaginian nobles and other forces; allied troops; and mercenaries recruited from the Celtic tribes of Iberia and other areas. This is simulated on the board by assigning different colours to some Carthaginian units - in the result, they don't cooperate together as well as the more unified Roman legions.

Intelligence

Neither side has any useful intelligence about the other - you'll only find out the details of your opponent's deployments by scouting and by engaging in battle.

Syracusa

Syracusa, a Greek colony in the southeastern corner of Sicily, begins the game as an ally of Rome. Rome must be mindful that Syracusa is an unreliable ally, prone to defection. Syracusan units may never leave Syracuse unless they have been evicted in a siege.

Illyria

The province of Illyria - hostile to Rome, and a potential Carthaginian ally - is covered by an exclusion zone at the beginning of the game. Rome is at risk from this quarter. King Phillip of Macedon is an implacable enemy of the Republic, and envoys from Carthage have coordinated strategy with the Macedonians.

South Italian rebels

At this time, the four provinces in the south of Italy were becoming increasingly disenchanted with the Roman Republic. The privileges of Roman citizenship were largely withheld from local elites, and corrupt and ruthless Roman carpetbaggers (from Senators to imposed tax officials) were making themselves extremely unpopular -- a Roman tradition which continues to the present day. Rome's hold on Southern Italy is therefore at risk.

Rebel units can move and fight without a leader.

South Italian rebels can never leave the four southern Italian provinces.

Gallic and Hispanic rebels

Gallia and Hispania and key prizes in this war. These vast territories yield the largest haul of supplies and replacements. They are also largely autonomous, governed by unstable coalitions of Celtic tribes allied with one of the other of the contending superpowers. When either Rome or Carthage conquers one of these provinces from the other, local Celtic tribal leaderships are displaced and a new regime is installed. The "outs" take to the hills and forests - and may eventually re-emerge to try to win back their previous position. If these provinces switch back and forth between Rome and Carthage, it is possible for two sets of contending Celtic allies to be in the field, fighting each other and their opposing allies for control.

Rebel units can move and fight without a leader.

Gallic rebels can never leave Gallia, Massilia or Narbonensis. Hispanic rebels can never leave the various provinces in the Iberian peninsula.

Carthaginian supply in Italy

Hannibal can initially draw supply from a number of cities in Italy. But as the war progresses, beginning from the north and then heading south, these supply centres begin to dry up, as surpluses are exhausted and pro-Carthaginian Italians become disenchanted with the war. Thus, Hannibal's ability to operate effectively in Italy steadily degrades the longer it takes to knock Rome out of the war. At some point logistics may make extended Carthaginian operations in Italy almost impossible.

Roman player notes

For the Roman player, this game divides into three roughly equal phases.

In the first phase (20 turns or so), the City of Rome and all of Italy are in imminent peril of being conquered by Hannibal and a large, mixed Carthaginian army. As the game begins Hannibal has crossed the Alps, bypassed a slowly forming Consular army in Gallia Cisalpina, and is thrusting into central Italy. Hannibal is just strong enough to be capable of defeating the second Consular army defending Rome. The Roman player is thus faced with an immediate and direct crisis and must scramble to avoid early defeat.

Assuming that Rome and a minimum of other key centres are held, what then?

The strategic issues were debated for many years in the Roman Senate, and both alternatives were attempted.

You can try Fabian tactics, as advocated and practiced by the great Roman Consul and General, Quintus Fabius Maximus. This involves slipping a legion or two into as many Italian provincial capitals a possible, digging them in (denying the Carthaginians supply and keeping them busy in sieges), and waiting for Hannibal to run out of steam or make a fatal error. This strategy is attractive because it avoids the risk that key Roman leaders get killed on the battlefield at the wrong time and wrong place, leaving the City of Rome itself open to conquest. On the other hand, Fabian tactics consume time - potentially robbing Rome of enough game time to turn the tables and take the war decisively to Carthage.

In the alternative, you can try to bring Hannibal to battle and seek to knock him out of Italy with a few throws of the dice. Success provides Rome with many new options. But it can also lead Rome into a Cannae-style defeat - potentially a fatal one.

Whatever Rome chooses to do in Italy, you have some capacity to cause trouble on other fronts. Historically, quite early in the war Rome worked hard to kick the Carthaginians out of Gallia, and then attacked Carthage in Spain - seeking to strip the enemy of their manpower and supply reserves and to divert them from their Italian expedition.

In the mid-game, if all goes well, Hannibal's threat to Italia will be dwindling, and Rome can begin to up the tempo of its operations. For example, kicking Carthage out of Hispania can set the scene for a showdown in Africa in the closing third of the game.

A final note: remember your fleets! Rome enjoys a naval advantage verging on supremacy. With many key objectives and likely battlefields on coasts, your fleets can provide you with the margin of victory on both land and sea.

Carthaginian player notes

Carthage's single best chance to win the game is in the first two turns. A direct assault on Rome can win a total victory, right away. But Rome is a tough nut; heavily fortified and ably defended. If Hannibal's army is decimated in the attempt or Hannibal himself is disabled in battle, Carthage can lose its chance to conduct extended operations in Italy, leaving itself open to an early Roman assault on its heartland.

Historically, Hannibal played an audacious but slightly more careful game; rampaging through Southern Italy, systematically conquering (and allying with) southern Italian provinces, seeking to sap Rome's logistical base, and seeking to build sufficient mass to be sure of victory in a final attack on the Roman capital. It didn't work - but it came very close.

Seizing and holding Gallia and other extended Roman provinces assists in this effort, by further sapping Rome's logistics and manpower.

If Hannibal fails to conquer Rome (either with an early crap-shoot or during a more careful campaign), then Rome is likely to eventually contain his campaign. At some point the strategic initiative will shift to Rome and Carthage will be working to defend its empire and (hopefully) Gallic gains. Carthage's naval transport capacity provides you with an opportunity to keep Rome off-balance in the remaining years of the war by staging raids back into its heartland. Unless Rome has foolishly left its Capital un- or under-defended, however, these expeditions must be carefully limited to avoid marooning critically-needed leaders and forces in a logistically-barren Italia, while the key fight is elsewhere.

This scenario is based on the folio game The Punic Wars, included in issue number 53 of Strategy and Tactics magazine (that was waaay back in 1975). After-action reports and suggestions for improvements are gratefully received. Send 'em to briantopp@rogers.com.