Detach
Formation & New Group
The
swarm of Gallic Warriors poured in to the Roman second line.
Battle had been intense now for nearly an hour and still
more Gauls appeared out of the woods.
Another
blue painted warrior collapsed to the floor like a rag doll
as Lucius withdrew his sword from the dead body. A brief
lull in the fighting to his front allowed Lucius to survey
the battle. Lucius’ own Century was holding well but
other parts of the line were looking decidedly thin on the
ground. With the experience of a seasoned Centurion, Lucius
immediately recognised the danger and saw the Gauls were
about to break through and in to the rear of his unit. Looking
to signal his Tribune, Lucius heard the trumpet call to
the Triarii and knew it was too late.
The
Triarii (veterans of the Roman Army) rose from their kneeling
position, levelled their spears and began to move forward.
Under Scipio’s command three maniples of Triarii were
advancing with their Tribune to plug the gaps in the left
of the line.
P. Cornelius
Scipio soon to be called Scipio Africanus for his victories
in Africa was already developing the skills that would label
him a legendary commander. Scipio knew it unwise to commit
all his reserve Triarii and so had formed a small new group
of three maniples and it was these that he directed forward.
A player
can achieve this by depressing the toolbar button ‘Create
New Group’, left click on the first unit to form the
new group then press the ‘G’ key. Repeat for
the other units required in the same group then click again
the toolbar button to switch off the create function.**
The
situation was desperate; Lucius could see the bare torsos
of the Gallic Warriors coming through the Roman Line to
his front and on to his position.
A quick
glance to his right told Lucius that his immediate commander,
Primus Centurion Sempronius, was directing another Triarii
maniple to stop the enveloping action on their right flank.
Lucius
stood at the crumbling centre of the Legion.
One
Triarii unit remained kneeling, impassive in the heat of
battle, their shields rested against their left shoulders
to protect them from missiles. Lucius got his signifier
to call up the last reserve Triarii unit. ‘Thank Jupiter
it’s a double maniple’ Lucius muttered.
The
veteran Centurion of the last Triarii unit also saw the
Line breaking at two different points. Dividing his unit
in to two maniples, 60 men advanced to Lucius’ position
whilst the other 60 with their Centurion moved to their
right and fought the fanatical warriors in chain mail.
Left
click the unit then click the toolbar button ‘Detach
Formation’ and choose the strength of the detachment.
This will create a second unit in the same hex at the required
strength. The strength of the parent unit drops accordingly.
The
clash of arms echoed all around him, then one then another
of the Triarii arrived at his side, Lucius carried on fighting
with the knowledge this was the final throw of the dice.
Suddenly
and without warning, Gallic horns could be heard in the
distance and the enemy to his front faltered then began
to fall back. Within minutes they were running for the cover
of the woods. Scipio had successfully turned the tide on
the left flank and the Gallic chieftains had seen the signs
of defeat. To avoid a massacre they had called their remaining
forces back - to fight another day.
Exhausted
the Legionaries did not follow up their defeated foe. Drained
of energy, Lucius dropped his head and saw blood drip from
his red covered gladius. He felt perspiration run down his
cheek and saliva dribble from his mouth and down his jaw
line. War made animals of all men.
Pulling
himself together, Lucius ordered his men to form up. Livius
came to his side and spoke: "This was a battle
too close to want again". Lucius nodded for he
found his mouth was dry and no words came out to respond.
________________________________
**
In version 1.02 this is simplified to:
Depress
the toolbar button ‘Create New Group’, left
click on each unit to form the new group then click again
the toolbar button to switch off the create function.
To:
Page I | Page
II | Page III
| Page IV
Related
Links:
Al's
Armies (Al Amos' Ancient Wars Blog)
Ancient
Warfare Series
|
