Previously: The campaign in Spain progressed with grinding difficulty, such that Sertorius started to see defections from some tribes.  Whilst Pompey was but in his twenties and not yet a member of the Senate his connections to Sulla and his support during the Civil War saw him sent to Spain with 6 Legions. The arrival of Pompey saw Sertorius elect to switch fronts and confront Sullas Pupil in person.

Opening Positions Pompey Left Sertorius on the Right

 The trap is sprung:

Pompey Attacks:

The damage however is pretty evenly spread around.

More Sertorian Forces enter!

The Medium Infantry were actually Iberians being trained in Roman maneuver and weapons. They will fight as Rec level Cohorts.

The Pompey Center closes and attempts to break thru earlier than planned.

There is a definite sense of urgency on Pompeys part now. Not only with the City watching from the walls as Sertorius fools him and the Roman army again, he is now in a situation where momentum has passed from his hands. Losses are equal on both sides but Pompey is fighting on two flanks on the right. leaving opportunities to be attacked from the rear.

Tactically here as  the player, I am seeking success for Pompey on the other side of the field. Can Pompey accumlatee some Rout Points on that side to compensate?  I also divert the XV th to assist the XII.

Sertorius on the other hand wants to break up the formations as much as possible and drive his SK’s and Roman Cav into the gaps looking for easy kills. The SK’s penetrate between I and XII. The momentum roll goes to the Galacians who force combat and advance with the VIIth. 5 poor rolls yield sub par results. Sertorius whilst feeling good about the situation overall feels nervous with such a thin line.  He needs to really accumulate RP’s twice as fast as Pompey in order to keep him on the back foot.  Taking  losses on 3 out of 5 attacks is not the way to win this battle.

Pompey seizes a turn and  activates several Legions under his leadership range. They dive into the attack. The XV and the I Legion  yield 6 attacks, 3 of which  are either 0 or 1’s. OMG a cohort from the first routs.

Sertorius responds with the III he fares better and obtains a rout and a retreat. His cavalry then attack and to just 2 Cohesion hits of damage. The Sullan forces move forward the XIV and the Cavalry jockey .

Sertorius  brings his Auxilia and Light foot and  crunches into the rear of the XII. Bad rolls on sub par attacks mean every one has a bloody nose ( 1/2/3/5 net rolls)

As added incentive and to make matters more complicated Sertorius has his Ambush cavalry ride up to threaten the rear “Triarii line”.

The next wave of attacks see the VII lead by Sertorius himself attack the I Legion. One Cohort evaporates, and another retreats in the face of Sertorius’s onslaught.

He follows up by using momentum to add more punishment. routing one unit and severely bloodying the entire I line.Thru a swirling haze of dust, Serotrius’s Spanish RC cavalry, skirmishers and Light Javelins sow despair among the XII.

 More in Part 3.