421 Pavia (271 AD)

Details: Written by: GMT Games; Category: Roman-Alamannic Wars; Published: 29 October 2009; Last Updated: 05 April 2023; Hits: 8783

Victory Results:

71 %

29 %

Total plays 21 - Last reported by Riclev on 2023-06-29 12:16:00

Historical Background
After the victory at Fano, Emperor Aurelian sent his troops in pursuit of the defeated Alemanni horde, which was racing back to its homeland. Aurelian had the mountain passes blocked and then proceeded to destroy almost the entire Alemanni army. Little is known about the tactical makeup of the battle, other than that the Alemmanni were trying to get away and were almost completely wiped out. The victory ended the invasion and the Roman people granted Aurelian the title Germanicus Maxiumus. But the near success of the Alemanni made Aurelian realize that Rome needed better defenses. This new, much larger set of walls encompassed all of the seven hills and became known as the “Aurelian Walls,” some of which can still be seen today.
The stage is set. The battle lines are drawn and you are in command. Can you change history?


2	2	4		2			6	3

1	2	4	3		2	2	2	3

War Council

Alemanni
Leader: Not kown
4 Command Cards

Roman Army
Leader: Emperor Aurelian
6 Command Cards
Move First

Victory
6 Banners

Special Rules
The Alemanni player will gain one Victory banner for each full strength unit that escapes (exits) off the Alemanni side of the battlefield.

Imperial Legions rule is in effect for the Romans.

All the hills are impassable.

Posts in discussion: 421 Pavia (271 AD)

Riclev replied the topic:

#17271

1 year 2 months ago

The return battle went more like one would expect. Roman missile cards resulted in retreats, enabling 4 Alemanni cavalry units to exit in short order. The Roman card draws were sufficient to allow them to close with the enemy, but indifferent die-rolling meant they lost 2 units to destroy 3, resulting in a 6-3 Alemanni victory. I agree with GF1954 below - unless they are extraordinarily lucky, the Romans will lose most times.

Riclev replied the topic:

#16184

1 year 2 months ago

The armies here are identical to the previous battle, Fano, but the set ups make a huge difference - the Romans are compact and the Alemanni are all over the place. Despite this, they got off to a flying start, counter-attacking a Roman cavalry charge to go 2-0 up. However, successive Roman cards of order light troops, darken the skies, line command and double time finished them off for a 6-3 Roman victory.

GF1954 replied the topic:

#4144

2 years 7 months ago

Messed up posting about Pavia revisited.
Anyway, 2 more solitaire games, with the Alemanni winning both, 6 - 1, and 6 - 4. The second was a little closer, but it was too much cavalry once again. There is no way the Romans can catch them from escaping.

GF1954 replied the topic:

#4143

2 years 7 months ago

Pavia revisited

Warboard replied the topic:

#3874

3 years 4 months ago

Maybe a house rule removing the exit points and forcing the Allemanni to fight (Since the mountain passes are blocked as the scenario says) would make things both more historical and more entertaining. I think I'll try that.

Lastall replied the topic:

#3619

3 years 11 months ago

I get the fact that not all battles are even but this was not fun from a gaming perspective. Might have been better if the Alemanni army didn't have mounted units.

Mark-McG replied the topic:

#3256

4 years 5 months ago

I never much like Exit VC scenarios

g1ul10 replied the topic:

#3252

4 years 5 months ago

A 6-3 victory for the Alemanni. In the second turn, they exit three units. Then an unlucky attack by the Romans ends with two Roman cavalries destroyed by one barbarian warrior unit. On the third turn the Alemanni exit another cavalry for the victory. The entire game lasted 10 minutes. Not a great scenario.

GF1954 replied the topic:

#2600

6 years 2 months ago

I don't see how it is possible for the Romans to win this one.

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