The Battle of Segovia 75 BC

Roman vs Sertorian

Another critical Sertorian War fight detailing the final defeat and death of Sertorius’ key lieutenant and the loss of his army. Metellus Pius feigned weakness before and at the start of the battle thereby causing his Sertorian opponent Hirtuleius to repeatedly and ultimately fatally miscalculate.

Historical Background:
“The (Roman) wings engaged Hirtuleius first, which was exactly what he wanted. Forward he charged for that thin center, intent upon punching a hole through which he could pull three legions in a hurry, then turn and fall upon its rear. But the moment the Spanish army inserted itself between those unruly wings, Metellus Pius sprang his trap. His best men were hidden within the wings; some suddenly moved to reinforce the center, others turned to fight on the flanks. Before he could attempt to extricate himself, Lucius Hirtuleius found himself rolled neatly into a milling mass of bewildered men, and lost the battle. He and his younger brother died on the field, and the soldiers of Metellus Pius, singing a victory paean, cut the beloved Spanish army of Quintus Sertorius into pieces. Very few of its men survived; those who did fled into Lusitania howling the awful news of defeat, and came no more to fight for Quintus Sertorius….” (From “Fortune’s Favorites” a historical novel by Colleen McCullough pages 555-556)

War Council

Roman Army
Leader: Metellus Pius
5 Cards

Sertorian Army
Leader: Hirtuleius
4 Cards
Move First

Victory
8 Banners scored in the normal way

Special Scenario Rules:
Leader Command,& Rally Special Rules:
ALL Leaders may cancel a retreat or a sword hit if present with the unit.
Units on both sides involved in close combat with the support of a Leader may only count one helmet hit amongst those rolled to inflict a hit on an opposing unit.
Units and the Rally Card: No unit can be rallied to beyond four blocks or its strength at the start of the game whichever is less. If a Player rolls “swords” when attempting to rally he may freely chose which unit gets a block back.

Roman Legionary Infantry Rules:
The following types of infantry units in the game on BOTH sides are assumed to be Roman Legionaries: Heavy Infantry, and Medium Infantry, ALL of these units are considered to be Roman Legionary Infantry. The combatants in this era of Roman civil war often recruited non-citizens from different areas of the Roman Republican Empire into their Legions and as a result the quality of such forces sometimes varied widely.

Roman Pilum:
Each Roman Legionary Infantry unit starts with a Pilum Marker. The Pilum is a one-time use weapon that is generally fired right before a Roman Legionary unit attacks in close-combat or is itself attacked by the enemy in close-combat. Once the pilum is fired (or lost see below) –the Pilum marker is removed from the Roman unit to indicate that the pilum has been expended and the unit may not throw Pilum for the rest of the battle.
Just before a Roman unit with pilum is attacked or is itself attacked by the enemy for the very first time in the battle in close-combat it throws its pilum—roll one die and apply normal hits for swords, color, or a Flag/retreat hit Afterwards remove the Pilum marker. The act of throwing the pilum is not considered to be part of the Close-Combat—so any result of the pilum throw is resolved before the Close-combat. If two Roman Legionary Infantry units that have not thrown pilum yet engage the attacker resolves his pilum throw first. An attached Leader may use his special ability to cancel a “swords” hit that was inflicted via a pilum hit (see special Command rules) on the unit he is stacked with.
Roman units, adjacent to the enemy, that have not expended their Pilum may also be ordered to throw Pilum if the card “Darken the Sky” is played by their commanding player. The Player picks one adjacent enemy unit and throws two dice –apply the results just as one would before close combat—and remove the Pilum Marker.

Roman Relief Moves & Cohort Maneuvers:
Adjacent and on the same side Roman Legionary Infantry, instead of moving, may switch places in a “Relief/Cohort Maneuver”. Relief/Cohort Maneuvers may only be conducted through the play of Section cards ONLY. Instead of ordering one unit via a section card, the controlling Player may order a pair of adjacent Legionary Infantry units to switch hexes—at least one of the units switching places must not be adjacent to an enemy unit. A unit that switched places via the Relief/Cohort Maneuver into a hex adjacent to the enemy may close combat in the same player-turn. Sertorian Auxillia units may also conduct Roman Relief/Maneuver with each other or Sertorian Legionary infantry units.

Special Unit Rules:
Roman Elite Slingers:
The sole Roman Player Slinger unit hits on swords when executing missile fire against Sertorian light foot units & also hits on swords when battling-back in close combat against any Sertorian unit.

Roman Heavy Infantry Veteran Initiative:
Up to Two Roman Legionary Heavy Infantry units per Roman Player-turn that are ordered by Line Commands, Section cards, or an “Order Heavy Troops” card may move two hexes and close combat at their option.

Sertorian Roman-Trained Auxillia Units
The Sertorian Auxillia units represent the bulk of Sertorian infantry from the tribes of Iberia. These units used a more open Iberian skirmish style combat order in battle, but also were trained by Sertorius and his rebel citizen forces at least to some extent in Roman tactics, discipline, and weapons
a) Sertorian Auxillia units may evade if attacked by Roman Player Legionary units.
b) Sertorian Auxillia units may conduct Roman Relief/Cohort Maneuver with each other or Sertorian Legionary infantry units.

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.