The (Unofficial) Great Battles of History
Translation by Jim Mehl
By Frédéric Bey, from Vae Victis #28
In the spring of 217 BC, Rome was still in shock from Hannibal's invasion of Italy and the defeats at the Ticinus and the Trebbia in 218 BC. Despite this, and from force of habit, the Roman Senate refused to abandon the less important theaters of operation. While Hannibal was achieving further success on the shores of Lake Trasimene, Gnaeus Scipio left Tarragon, the Roman base of operations in Spain, with 35 warships accompanied by marines. Scipio was aware that he could not attempt to face Hasdrubal on land, who was moving north from Carthage with a strong army.
Hasdrubal also had a fleet; he had added 10 ships to the 30 left behind by Hannibal. He moved along the coast with his 40 vessels, commanded by Himilcon, to maintain contact with his army on shore. The meeting between the Romans and the Carthaginians took place at the mouth of the Ebro River.
Hasdrubal's army had camped without apprehension and the fleet's vessels had been brought ashore in dispersed order on several beaches when two cruisers from Massilia, a Roman-allied city, spotted the Carthaginians. A general alert was given by a number of Carthaginian towers that garrisoned the coast. For Hasdrubal, surprise was total, because he believed the Roman army was still far off and he did not expect the arrival of a fleet. The Punic cavalry sounded the alarm in the entire army, which was far from being ready for combat. When the Roman fleet appeared, arranged in a line of battle, the Carthaginian ships were still being dragged into the water, in great disorder. Despite Hasdrubal's exhortations, the Carthaginian fleet arrived in battle in poor posture, worse still because of its disorder relative to the enemy.
The naval battle took place at the mouth of the Ebro River. After a brief encounter, during which the Punic navy lost 4 ships sunk and 2 captured, the Carthaginians decided to flee. Unable to maintain control in the narrow Ebro estuary (and against the current as well), the Punic vessels dispersed. Himilcon's men attempted to beach their ships and use Hasdrubal's troops for protection. But Scipio's Romans vigorously pursued their enemies and succeeded in capturing 25 more ships abandoned by their crews on the beach. The naval success was total and Hasdrubal's army was powerless to respond. Thereafter, the Romans controlled the Spanish coastline, pillaging the coast as far as Carthage, and capturing the island of Ibiza.
Rome showed that it would not abandon its affairs in Spain, even though Hannibal was crushing one consular army after another in Italy. It would take twelve more years for the Romans to finally chase the Carthaginians out of Spain (the Battle of Ilipa in 206 BC).
Use the land map.
The battle favors the Romans due to their better crews and their line formation, while the Carthaginians are surprised at anchor. The scenario is relatively simple due to the small number of ships in play. It should take two hours or less to play.
Each counter equals 5 galleys.
Note: the units marked with an asterisk are provided in this issue of VaeVictis.
Use the white leader counters
G.Scipio* (admiral) in 2422 (Scipio's values at +1-5/0-4)
Lurius in 2624
Use the red galleys for the Romans.
The Roman galleys are set up in a double column:
Trireme 1 (Massilia vessels) 2823-2723.
Quinquiremes 50-52 in 2624-2524, 2425-2325, 2226-2126
Quinquiremes 53-56 in 2621-2521, 2422-2322, 2223-2123, 2024-1924
Use the light blue leader counters
Himilcon* (admiral) in 6016 (Himilcon's values are 0-4/0-3)
Gisco in 6027
Use the green galleys for the Carthaginians
The Carthaginian galleys are set up with bow in water, stern on land:
Quinquireme 11 in 6016-5916
Quinquireme 12 in 6027-5926
Quinquireme 50 in 6028-5927
Quinquireme 51 in 6024-5923
Quinquireme 52 in 6023-5922
Quinquireme 53 in 6021-5920
Quinquireme 54 in 6018-5918
Quinquireme 55 in 6015-5915
The Carthaginian galleys begin the game beached. Their first movement (at the cost of all movement points) consists of a mandatory movement to all-water hexes (by moving a single hex forward).
Initiative: the Romans automatically have the initiative on the first turn.
Wind: The Romans begin the game with the wind to their backs (place the marker pointing from 1028 to 1128 for example).
The standard rules for determining victory points are used. In addition, players receive 3 VPs for each of his opponent's intact galleys that move off the map. A unit that moves off the map may not return. The first player to reach 30 VPs wins. If the game ends before this total is obtained, the player with the higher VP total wins.
The historical total was 53 VPs for the Romans and 0 VPs for the Carthaginians.
Livy, History of Rome XXII, 19.