To the Senate and People of Rome,
I bring you word of the recent campaign against the Gauls in our lands. I reached the men in the fort earlier a couple of days after leaving the City. The men seemed wary, perhaps even a little nerveous, but I believe receiving a Consul to command them lessened their concerns. I sent scouts to bring information on the enemy's wherabouts, as well as more information on their numbers and composition. I received words of concern: Our initial reports, that we outnumbered them, were untrue. The enemy was more numerous than us, by a small, yet significant margin, given the rest of the news. The scouts reported not only that their men were not badly armed, but most of them were skilled warriors who carried longswords of steel. At that point I decided that a battle between our men, ligthly armed, unexperienced and poorly trained, and the fearsome Gauls, should end up in a defeat if we were to face them outnumbered
OOC: all of this info came later when the battle screen opened once I attacked them in the campaign map, and I could actually see their army's composition for the first time.
For that, I saw no other option but to ask for reinforcements. Given the proximity of Arretium, I sent word to the legate there to send some troops through the mountains, and aid us.
Hoping the news and reinforcements would arrive on time, my men and I left the fort and marched North to face our foe. Even thought spring is coming, the melting snow still covered the landscape. We spotted them near some woods not far from the fort, and, after maneuvering for a few days, attempting to gain some time and better terrain, the battle began in a plain surrounded by small woods.
Even given their numerical superiority, the Gauls showed themselves unwanting to face us in combat. Because of that, I ordered my infantry to march closer to them, velites in the first line to force them to fight with their missiles. Seeing their numerical superiority, I decided to give my men a wedge formation, so that the enemy would have a harder time outflanking us. The velites, in the frontline, threw one volley of their javelins, afterwhich the enemy decided to advance on a straight frontal assault, a prefered tactic of the barbarians. Of the 3 batallions they had devided their troops into, only 2 moved to face us. I ordered the velites to retreat in a diagonal, to place themselves on the flanks, rather than behind the infantry, and ordered the infantry to meet the charging barbarians.
As they clashed, the velites advanced, placing themselves on the flanks of the enemy, in a perfect position to strike them with missiles from behind. As for the third batallion, I remained surprised as to why they had not decided to advance, knowing their men were being pinned down by missiles, while our infrantry, while sustaining casualties, undoubtedly was going to win the battle. Later, I saw the reason. From behind the enemy line, our reinforcements, fresh troops from Arretium, had arrived, and the last batallion of Gauls, knowing it, had decided to attack them, leaving their comrades to a certain death.
They began to chase the troops, consisting entirely of velites, who naturally fled from them, running around them to try to join our many body. These troops, if only serving as a distraction, allowed the infantry in our center to effectively rout the enemy, afterwhich they moved to face the infantry that still chased the velites. Once reached, they gave a small fight, but noticing their doom, they routed the battlefield in short.
In the aftermath, our infantry took most of the casualties to the enemy, unable to quite match the skilled swordsmen they fought. However, their lack of armor makes attacks with missiles extremely effective, a tactic I would recomend to any future commander who would face them. As I write this, we march back to the fort, hopping for the best.
More than a battle, this has been a skirmish, but nevertheless it is the first victory of hopefully many that will come in this war.
CONSVL SPVIRIVS HERRENIVS PICTOR.
Re: Curia Hostilia - Consulate of Crassus/Pictor
for taking troops from a city that needs them
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