MID-CAMPAIGN EVENT, 218BC
*** The Battle of West Arno, 27th of Sextilis 218 BC ***
Rome's air-tight containment of Hannibal has been broken!
Following the emergence of information on the Carthaginian's intent, Legatus Quintus “Sulpicius” Cursor abandoned his position along the Western Arno river to prevent the impending massacre of Imperator Gnaeus Fabius Pictor's legions in the east.
Without Cursor's sudden re-deployment, the Imperator would have faced an army beyond the rational skill of his men.
***
"The Roman dogs have swarmed the area," Mago spat, wiping away the heat of the Italian summer from his brow. "We'll pay dearly to cross."
Hannibal inclined his head slightly, as he stared at the map laid before him. The Carthaginian officers joining him in his make-shift war room held total silence, for they knew his mind was running a thousand furlongs a minute. Such was his way.
"We can break them," Hannibal said at last. "Rome, I mean. We can cast them all to the fire this day, so that they may never recover."
Mago was at a loss. He loved Hannibal, as all good Carthaginian men did, but the man had a way of being vague and often condescending. Still, it would be ill if a commander's right hand man did not weigh in.
"Yes, my friend, we could. But the river is too heavily defended, though it is shallow. We might break the Romans, but our losses will be irrecoverable," Mago said, hoping he'd not upset the hero's temperment.
Hannibal entered another spree of intense silence, and it seemed to Mago that his words fell on an absent mind.
"Four, five Legions oppose us," said Hannibal. "So who is left to oppose your men in the West?"
"No one," Mago shot. "But they'll soon be on us, if we try to cross. It's a day's march from here, after all. We'll be trapped, with half our army on one side of the water, and the other half left behind."
Hannibal smiled, and his eyes suddenly beamed with life. He had returned from the vast expanse of his tactical mind.
"Cross the river, Mago. Kill whoever opposes you, and show no mercy. Let the Veneti blood themselves against the Consul and his men at the Rubicon pass," he said. "In two days, I will march my army into the west, and we will join you. It's time to find out just how organised our enemy is, and how quickly they can move."
"But my friend," Mago stuttered, more than said, "they'll be on us before we can consolidate."
"Yes, they may well be," Hannibal smirked, as if Mago's foretelling of doom held no relevance. "Half the Roman army- a loss even these scoundrels can't afford to replace. Get me over that river, Mago, and Carthage will win this war before the onset of winter."
Mago of Iberia, a noble son of Carthage, has breached the minor defences left behind by the Bastards of Rome on the Western Arno. He has secured the southern banks of the river, and his men are entrenching. In the distance, Hannibal's vast horde is descending from the hills to reinforce him.
Imperator Gnaeus Fabius Pictor, with the Bastard of Rome, has arrived on the scene. The Roman army must drive Mago back across the river, and deny Hannibal the crossing - failure to do so, will allow Carthage to pour its hordes into Italy.
Roman Army
Commander: Imperator Gnaeus Fabius Pictor
Legio XII Mineruia (Comprised of three legions)
Legio VIII: Spurii Romanae (Comprised of two legions)
Legio Sexta Ferrata (Comprised of one legion)
Total Men Est: 31,000
Carthaginian Army
Commander: Mago of Iberia
Gallic Warband: 10,000
Gallic Archers: 1,000
Libyan Spearmen: 3,000
Iberian Sword Infantry: 2,000
Total: 16,000
Hannibal's Horde
Commander: Hannibal of Barca
Iberian Infantry: 10,000
Gallic Mercenary Warband (Spears, light armour): 15,000
Numidian Cavalry (Light): 2,000
Libyan Cavalry (Heavy): 500
War Elephants: 23
Gallic Mercenary Archers: 2,000
Leuce Epos (Light Cavalry): 2,000 Leuce Epos
Total: 31,500