Hail Caesar Battle Report - EIR vs Carthage

A month ago (I know, I'm a slacker), Jonathan and I played our first game of Hail Caesar.  We've been working up to this for about seven months, so it was much anticipated and long over due.  We each brought three units, what we had assembled and ready to go.  We did not play with any mods, or terrain on the table, aiming simply to figure out the rules.  There was a lot of flipping through the book.

The Carthaginians form a line.

Rufus Corvinus looked across the fields at the enemy.  It looked like he had finally found Hannibal, or at least part of his army.  Rufus' vexillary, three cohorts strong, had been sent out to screen the right flank of the Legions, and to find Hannibal if he could.  From what he could see, the enemy was made up of Carthaginian heavy infantry, meaning the rest of the army could not be far away.

Veterans advancing on the left.  Heavy cavalry in the distance.

As Rufus looked on he realized that there was also a cohort of heavy cavalry.  So much for slipping away to report.  Now he'd have to try and give the invaders a bloody nose to discourage pursuit.  

The veterans pull ahead of the rest of the line.

Rufus ordered his units to form a battle line with his veterans on the left.  The disciplined Roman infantry pulled the maneuver off flawlessly and began their advance towards the enemy, who had also formed a battle line, with the heavy cavalry opposite the veterans.  Rufus placed the 1st Cohort's scorpion on the  right flank and the 2nd's on the left.

The veterans face off against the Heavy cav and the Carthaginian general.

As the line advanced the left flank pulled ahead of the rest of the line.  The heavy cavalry took this opportunity to charge in and engage the veterans.  The clash was terrible but the veterans held on, striking back in fury at their enemies and breaking their spirits.  As the cavalry fell back the veterans hugged them, matching them step for step.  Unfortunately this pulled them well ahead of the rest of the line.  Even worse, the 1st and 2nd Cohorts both chose this time to stop moving forward.  

The blue shields will attempt to hold off the rest of the army while the veterans are finished off.

The veterans, holding strong despite the hard odds.

The veterans fought like lions but were flanked by one of the Carthaginian heavy infantry units.  Rufus had not been idle, however, and had finally goaded the rest of his infantry forward.  While the second enemy infantry cohort marched to block the advance of Rufus' main line the veterans fought on.

Everyone is at the same party, finally.

The bloody melee in the center.

Rufus was able to get both of his corhorts into the blue shields, pushing them back.  They withdrew to form a line with the brown shields, who had been pushed off of the veteran's flank.  Rufus's 2nd Cohort rushed the newly formed line, pinning the blue shields for a charge by the 1st Cohort on their open flank.

The blue shields have had just about enough of this.

The blue shields fought hard but were overwhelmed and destroyed, at very nearly the same time that the veterans on the other flank broke as well.  This left the brown shields to face both Roman cohorts, which proved to be too much and they also fled.

The cavalry trying to decide what to do next.

The heavy cavalry suffered a moment of indecision, should they charge or flee?  Rufus solved their question for them by charging with both of his infantry cohorts.

This ends spectacularly well for the Romans. 

Rufus' remaining infantry charged in and avenged the veterans, destroying the last of the Carthaginian invaders.  Rufus would now be able to return and report not only the location of the enemy, but also a minor victory.

We both enjoyed the game, though we were somewhat frustrated by our lack of knowledge of the rules.  The game was quick and bloody.  The rules worked well and will become transparent with more use.  I'm looking forward to getting more units painted and playing some more games.  Jonathan has been busily adding to his army, so I have some catching up to do.  I think January will see some new levies added to the army of Rome.