The siege of Alesia (main battle)

Historical Background
Scenario 2: Vercingetorix fall back on the oppidum of Alesia after losing a cavalry battle Against the Roman army. The Gallic infantry Moved around the oppidum. The cavalry is placed in an outdoor camp of the oppidum. Caesar positioned his troops around the oppidum by establishing camps on the hills surrounding Alesia, connected by fortifications. Gallic cavalry leaves Alesia by night. The besieged Gallic Army is trapped by a first line of fortifications: the contravallation. A second line of fortifications blocks the Gallic Relief Army : the circumvallation. A wide trench was dug by the Romans.
The stage is set. The battle lines are drawn and you are in command. Can you change history?

War Council

Gallic Army
• Alesia Oppidum: Commander: Vercingetorix (about 80,000 men – less perhaps 3,000 killed in the cavalry battle, and about 15,000 riders who leave Alésia at the beginning of the siege?).
• Gallic Relief Army: Commander: Vercassivellaun, Commios, Eporedorix, Viridomar. Approximately 60,000 (elite ?) soldiers of Vercassivellaun. And also 8000 riders (those returned at the beginning of the siege probably ?), and an unknown number of men - many thousands (between 0 and 32,000 ? (The statistics of Caesar concerns those who in theory should have come and not those who were there and seems very exaggerated). These men were not involved in the battle (they were located to the left of the 3 camps, to the left of Alésia). There were perhaps 100,000 men in the relief army (minimum number : 68 000 men).
• 5 Command Cards      
• Moves first (Gallic choose where to focus the attack)
1 infantry unit (or cavalry unit) = 5000 men.

Roman Army
Commander: Caesar, Labienus, Rebilus, Trebonius, Antoine.
• Commander: Caesar (about 70,000 infantrymen (12 legions), and 10 000 Roman riders and Germanic mercenaries (good level).
• 5 Command Cards      
• Special: Fortifications (2 lines) ; and also 1 large trench (and 1 small trench) = “fossé” (on the map).
1 infantry unit (or cavalry unit) = 5000 men.
The cavalry is a mixture of light troops (archers) and riders.

Victory
12 Banners

Special Rules
-The Rivers (Oze, Ozerain, Rabutin) are fordable (fordable river).

-Each player plays from his board edge (noted Roman or Gallic army). The Gallic army is in center of board (in the oppidum of Alesia represented by eight fortified camps), and the Roman army around it (in two rows of fortifications and 8 fortified camps).

-5 Trench boxes were dug by the Romans (represented by the broken ground). Trench rule : Any unit that enters it must stop and cannot fight this turn (infantry or cavalry). War machines cannot enter. A unit in a trench fights with a maximum of 2 dice (while a unit attacking someone placed in a trench fights with the normal number of dice).

- Option: There are 2 possibilities: The 1st is to play the scenario without the Gallic Relief Army (not yet arrived). The 2nd option is to play the scenario with the Gallic Relief Army (it comes into play at the top, left, by one of the three enter hexes = “entrée 1, 2, or 3” (arrival order: 6 mediums, 6 warriors and 2 cavalry units).
Vercassivellaun 
   
Viridomar
   
Eporedorix
  
Commios
    

-Entrance of reinforcements into play (Gallic): Play a card on the side where the Relief Army enters can bring it into play (we will enter as many units as the card game moves units; e.g. the "3 units to the right card” allows the Gallic player to bring three units into play, on the hexes "entrée 1", "entrée 2", "entrée 3"). The unit which comes into play can attack or move beyond the entry box (according to its movement).

-Occupy the (Roman) Camp of Mount Rea (1 hexe) gives 1 victory banner at the beginning of his turn (temporary banner) for the side that occupies it.

-Occupy the majority of hexes of the oppidum of Alesia gives 2 victory banners for the side that occupies the camp at the beginning of his turn (majority temporary banner).

-“Campaign mod”: play the 6 scenarios in succession and note the banners to see who wins the "campaign" (of the battle of Alésia). Add up all the banners for all (6) scenarios for this.

- Replace the Carthaginians by a Gallic Army (green blocks, barbarians).

-Game option (free positioning): The Roman player can either deploys his troops so defined by the script, either freely deploys his troops (obligation : within 2 fortification lines). Similarly the Gallic player may deploys his troops freely (obligation : but only the hexes of the oppidum he already occupies in the defined scenario). The Gallic Relief Army can be freely reorganized (for his arrival order ; obligation: the relieving army always starts off the board).