Flaminius at the Dog's Head
The Battle of Cynoscephalae 197BC
CONTENT
Introduction
Opening Phase
DOWNLOADS
Roman Army Sheets
This article reproduced from Wargames Illustrated (issue dated April 2003)
The Phalanx Advances (15mm Tin Soldier)
Once
Hannibal had been defeated at Zama in 202BC, Rome was clear to
concentrate on securing and expanding its eastern frontier beyond the
Adriatic.
The resources required for the Second Punic War had previously forced the Romans to conclude a compromise peace with Philip V of Macedon, but with the Carthaginian threat removed, it was payback time.
The
neutral states of Rhodes and Pergamum provided an excuse for war:
appealing to Rome for aid against Macedonian aggression, and the legions
marched towards Greece.
Philip
had blocked the passes onto the peninsular at Epirus, but a consul named
Titus Quinctius Flaminius managed to get a small force around the
Macedonian flank. Philip,
convinced that the whole Roman army was about to descend upon him,
pulled back into Thessaly.
The
Romans consolidated their hold on Epirus and voted Flaminius in for
another term as consul and therefore military leader.
After some intense diplomacy to establish which of the less
dominant, minor powers of the region were allied to whom, Flaminius and
Philip met at Cynoscephalae, named from the Greek for “dog’s head”
after the shape of a nearby ridge.
It
was to be an epic clash between phalanx and legion!
Cynoscephalae
began as an encounter battle: with
the scouts of either army meeting in heavy mist at the top of an uneven
ridge.
The
Macedonians enjoyed initial success, but were pushed back by Roman re-inforcements.
Philip brought up his cavalry and mercenary infantry, and the
Romans retreated in good order. Both sides then established a marching camp, one either side
of the ridge, and, next morning, emerged to do battle.
Considering that the main strike force of both sides was close order infantry, they couldn’t have chosen a worse place to fight!
The
main battle took place across a ridge of broken terrain that interfered
with the order of both sides’ main bodies.
The
tabletop should therefore be dominated by a triple peaked ridge
surrounded by open terrain (See Figure 1).
The
Macedonian camp is to the north of the ridge, the Roman camp to the
south, both in good terrain.
The
ridge, for gaming convenience, should be on two contours.
The lower contour should be Rough terrain, and two of the three
(the western and central) upper contour areas should be Difficult
terrain. Remember that
under Vis Bellica, Close Order infantry and all mounted troops who end
their movement phase in Rough or Difficult terrain are marked as
Disordered.
The
terrain forced both sides to split into their main bodies into two
halves.
Philip
formed half his phalanx and the Thracians in a line across the crest of
the central peak, and sent his lights, with the cavalry protecting their
flanks, forward to skirmish. The
rest of his troops were still emerging in column from the Macedonian
camp.
Flaminius
also sent his light troops and cavalry forward but, seeing them hard
pressed, led one legion and his allies forward on the left to relieve
them, whilst holding back the other legion and the elephants on the
right (see Figure 2).
The
Macedonians retreated their lights through their main battle line, as
did the Romans, and both sides withdrew slightly to re-organise.
Philip
now brought up his remaining troops on his left, making room for them by
doubling up his original force on top of the ridge.
These then charged down hill at Flaminius’ half of the Roman
line, pushing it back sharply. The
rest of the Romans, however, also advanced:
easily pushing back the still-deploying Macedonians opposite them
(see Figure 3).
As
the two halves of the battleline began to separate, an un-named Roman
tribune (surely Flashmaninus in a bid to escape the impending melee!)
detached a force (said to be around 20 maniples strong) from the Roman
right hand force, and slammed them into the rear and flank of the
Macedonian phalanx (see Figure 4).
The
phalanx, unable to contend with this threat, collapsed, followed by the
rest of Philip’s army. Macedonian
losses were approximately 8000 killed and 5000 captured, Roman losses
totalled around 1000.
The
“Dog’s Head” is a compact affair ideal for a four-player evening
or afternoon battle.
Army
Sheets
The Vis Bellica army sheets included give the forces and command structure of each side. If playing with four players, I would recommend that each player takes one sheet, and that each division starts the battle as a distinct and complete entity.
Initial Deployment
If gaming from the initial encounter phase, each side should write an order of march for their leader bases and, during the movement sub-phase, deploy one per turn onto the table at their respective starting points (see Figure 1).
If gaming only the main battle, both sides should start within their respective camps.
Defeat Conditions
The
Macedonians have the defeat condition “Big Man Down” on Philip,
their General.
The Romans have the defeat condition “All Gone”.