TRIBOLA - 147 BC

Roman vs Lusitanian

Historical Background
“…a few years later, in (circa) 148BC, the wheel of Roman treachery turned full circle. A new governor, Gaius Vetilius, had surrounded a force of ten thousand Lusitanian rebels. They were about to surrender when Viriathus, a minor guerrilla leader who had escaped the earlier Galba massacre (which happened during a supposed peace conference), rose in assembly to remind the Lusitanians of Roman promises and Roman deeds—and then to persuade them to an escape attempt….”

“During his retreat, Viriathus set up an ambush in a dense thicket. When these irregulars fell on the pursuing Romans, Viriathus doubled his main force back to the attack: (Appian says) ‘Vetilius himself was taken prisoner; and the man who captured him not knowing who he was, but seeing that he was old and fat, and considering him worthless, killed him. Of the 10,000 Romans, 6,000 with difficulty made their way to the city of Carpessus on the seashore’…..(From the two volume work: “War in the Shadows: The Guerilla in History” by Robert B. Asprey Volume I pages 23-24)

“Viriathus’s plan was simple, but effective. He had the Lusitanians line up outside the city gates, as if to give battle to the Romans. Keeping 1,000 of the best warriors in reserve, he then ordered the rest to scatter in different directions, with instructions to rendezvous in Tribola. Vetilius, unwilling to run down the fleeing raiders when Viriathus appeared to offer him an easy victory, did not give chase.”

“Viriathus and Vetilius fought a running battle for two days. The Lusitanian cavalry constantly attacked the Roman line, only to retreat before they could be effectively engaged—a strategy that Appian described as “dashing around on the (same) field”. After the second day , Viriathus and his men quit the field of battle under cover of darkness, moving quickly to join the rest of the Lusitanians at Tribola. “

“Vetilius followed, but was unable to keep up with the lightly armored Lusitanians. He tracked Viriathus deep into Lusitanian territory, walking into an ambush—nearly half the legionaries who entered the Lusitanian highlands never returned—Vetilius among them.”
“Thus began an eight-year guerilla campaign on the part of the Lusitanians, under Viriathus’s able leadership…”

(The above overview was from Ancient Warfare magazine Volume I, Issue 4 page 20 in an article called ‘Flame of Freedom’ by Ed Healy).

The stage is set. The battle lines are drawn and you are in command. The rest is history.

War Council

Roman Army
Leader: Vetilius
2 Command Cards to start with (at the end of the 1st Roman Turn 2 cards are drawn boosting the Roman hand to 3 cards—at the end of the 3rd Roman turn 2 cards are also drawn bringing the Roman hand to 4 cards—their maximum for the remainder of the game)

Lusitanian Rebels:
Leader: Viriathus
5 Command Cards      
Move First

Victory
6 banners

Special Rules
Roman Minimum Move: The Roman Player may always discard any one card from his hand and use that card to order any one of his units in lieu of taking a normal turn. At the end of this “minimum move” he draws another card as normal.

Lusitanian Rebel Force Rules:
Lusitanian Auxillia: Lusitanian Auxillia may evade if attacked by Roman Heavy or Medium infantry.

Lusitanian Medium Cavalry: Lusitanian Medium Cavalry may evade just like Light Cavalry, additionally they have the same missile capability as Light Cavalry.

Line Commands in the Scenario: No more than five units can be moved by play of a single Line Command Card in the scenario for both sides Roman and Lusitanian.

Outflanking---This is an easy way of introducing facing and flanks to the game with little fuss—it can be retrofitted to other scenarios where appropriate:
A unit is said to be “Outflanked” if it is surrounded in all six adjacent hexes by either enemy units, or hexes adjacent to an enemy unit. The presence of friendly units or impassable terrain does not negate an “Outflanked” situation in any way. Units on the board edges (and not surrounded by six adjacent hexes) cannot be “Outflanked”.
Effects of being Outflanked: “Outflanked” units when battling back roll only half the normal number of dice they would be normally entitled to rounded up—to a maximum of only two dice—“Outflanked” units when battling back never hit on helmet rolls even if supported by a leader. A unit’s “Outflanked” situation is judged at the instant it battles back.

Terrain Special Rules:
Village of Tribola: Units defending in the village ignore one Sword and one Flag hit when defending in close-combat and also battle back when attacked with one extra dice. The village blocks line of sight and may be attacked via missile fire generated only by a unit that has not moved—the not moving/missile firing unit may only roll one die when firing on a unit in the village—any Flag hits generated by missile fire directed at a unit in the village are always ignored.

Forest Hexes: Use Normal Rules, however Lusitanian light foot units entering such hexes via ordered moves may attack during the same player-turn.

All other terrain in the game uses the rules found in the rule-book.