* * *
"You hear an enemy army is approaching from the east," Timothy said, opening the exercise for the following day. "You send out scouts and establish the army is intent on conquest and at present marching speed will enter your eastern arable land in seven days. You can reach the limits of your eastern productive land in five days. Your move."
"How big is this army?"
"Your scouts say they have about nine thousand men."
"Have I any other potential enemies?"
"For the purposes of this exercise, assume not."
"Then I march my legion towards the enemy. I maintain as many exploratores as I can afford, because I regard it as imperative that I keep track of such a force. On day five, assuming I have reached the outskirts of my territory and the enemy is still marching. . How do I know he is an enemy?" Gaius suddenly asked.
"For the purposes of this exercise, assume you are at war."
"Then where are we?" Gaius asked, as he looked at the board.
"You should know where you are," Timothy smiled. "You've been marching."
"I have been heading in the general direction required to head off my opponent," Gaius replied, then added sourly, "My scouts have apparently told me where that is, but you haven't."
"Then he is here," Timothy said, and placed a marker on the board.
Gaius stared at the board, then said, "On the following day I march slowly to here, and form a defensive line."
Timothy nodded, then left. When he returned he moved the enemy markers to oppose Gaius.
"Why are you there?" Timothy asked.
"There's a swamp on my left," Gaius said. "I shall fortify to here, leaving a narrow gap between myself and the swamp. There's also a small riverbed behind me, which I can use to move troops and reserves without being too visible."
"I see," Timothy replied. "The next morning your opponent lines up for battle. Give your order of battle."
"I order the first cohort to the centre," Gaius said, "the second and third to the left. They are ordered to make a lot of noise and look as if they're the main attack, but they're only to hold position. The fourth also goes to the left and be seen to do so, but on the commencement of battle it is to slide back to this riverbed and march to the right, unless directly countermanded. The fifth, sixth and seventh go to the right, the eighth is visibly seen as a reserve behind the centre, the ninth is a hidden reserve on the right. I deploy the archers in the riverbed, with orders to support the right. I position myself here, then when ready, assuming the enemy doesn't attack first, I order the fifth, sixth and seventh to attack, supported by archers, and assuming nothing goes wrong, once battle has commenced I order the cavalry to attempt to flank on the right. The centre and the left are ordered to hold."
"I see," Timothy nodded, and left the room. When he returned, he said, "The enemy makes a mass attack on your centre as you initiate your attack on the right. Your attack proceeds well enough, and very soon you have broken through their first line. The enemy orders reserves to plug this gap."
"Assuming my cavalry is engaging, I signal the eighth and ninth to advance as quickly as possible and to pass through the fifth and sixth, to give them a bit of a rest. If I think the centre will hold, I let the order for the fourth stand. When the fourth reaches, it joins the fifth and sixth, and tries to punch its hole."
"And now?" Timothy asked when he returned.
"Now nothing," Gaius frowned. "I have to rely on my soldiers."
"On the contrary," the old General smiled as he entered, "you should have left some sort of order as to what everyone is supposed to do assuming you punch your hole."
"I thought it was obvious! If I'm through the flank, I turn them, and by then they shall probably be fleeing. If not, we clean them out."
"Yes, and your centurions will probably assume that, but nevertheless, it doesn't hurt to let them know you've thought it through right to the end."
"I suppose not," Gaius conceded.
"Why did you attack through the right?"
"Because I'd left a small gap on my left, and I thought the enemy might find that side attractive. In any case, I noticed that your line was narrow, and given the fact that you have far more men, that sounds as if an attack through the centre was unlikely to be profitable."
"That's sound," the General nodded. "The idea of using the riverbed to move troops out of view of the enemy was also sound. However, what were you going to do if the enemy massed an attack on the left?"
"Defend as well as I can," Gaius admitted. "I send my two obvious reserve cohorts there, and keep on attacking the right."
"Perhaps," the General said, "but assuming this plan I would do one of two other things. I would either let the left, and to a lesser extent, the centre, fall back after the initial attack begins. That presents an oblique line to the enemy, and if your attack is going well on the right, the enemy soldiers are often unsure of advancing too far, knowing if their left folds, they will be cut off and slaughtered. The other option is to wheel the left flank back, to put a bend in your line, and thus concentrate your defence thus being better able to support your attack. The enemy now has a decision to make, and unless they have good discipline, good signalling and a good commander, things now start to go wrong. Suppose the enemy follow, which is what they're likely to do? They all go charging off after the retreating soldiers, thinking they're on the verge of winning, but what they then forget is that they run the risk of leaving a thin line on the point of the wedge. A concentrated attack here cuts right through them, particularly with undisciplined or unseasoned troops because as soon as they see you are making an attack that could cut them off, as likely as not they'll turn and run, and you've effectively won from a tactic that started off as nothing more than a defensive move to shorten your lines. As an aside, that is what Parmenio did at Issus. That was particularly effective because the Persian cavalry were approaching at an angle to the infantry, making it much harder to punch a hole, and when they ceased to attack, a wedge drove right through them, and with the sea on the other side, there was nowhere to go. What resulted was a bloody slaughter, simply from the initial order to have a bend in the line. Now, a few further points. ."
Chapter 16
The next operation was a surprise. His legion had advanced upon an enemy far more numerous than he, but who had retreated to a fortified position at the top of a formidable hill. It was just as Gaius was about to plan his campaign that he suddenly recognized the battle. This was exactly the layout of the battle where Julius defeated the Gauls at Alesia. The answer was easy. Julius had won the battle, so he knew how to do so too. He immediately ordered his legions to surround the hill with the massive earthworks, and to build the palisades. He also sent out scouts, and found no enemy on the outside.
As the days went by, at least in the game, the earthworks were making commendable progress. Then suddenly, bad news! A large enemy force was sighted from the south. This was not supposed to happen for weeks. Then the next day, worse! The external force attacked his eastern troops, while a concentrated mass of the enemy poured down from the hill to attack the northeast line.
Following the throw of the dice it was declared that they must punch a hole at the northeast line. Those who had broken through then wheeled south to attack the Roman force from the rear, more came down from the hill to attack these Roman forces front-on and while all this was going on, Gaius realized that too many of his forces were on the wrong side of the hill. Half his force was declared to be wiped out, supplies were gone, and he was out of communication with the remaining half.