The Battle of Apulia
473 Ab Urbe Condita, Winter, Apulania/Cannae border
In six short months Tiberius Maxentius had marched his troops to the southern front, where they sat encamped, waiting for his command. Restlessness had gripped the camp in the last days, and it only grew each day with Tiberius’ indecisiveness. They had reached a crucial moment in their campaign, and their next move would determine the future of every legionnaire. Shortly into the fourth week a senatorial herald arrived and announced that Vatinius and the senate could wait no longer, and though Tiberius wished to defy Vatinius in any way possible, the centurions found courage in the senate’s demands, and rallied against Tiberius, forcing him to convene with Vibius that night.
Tiberius moved his gaze towards his son, “I am unsure as to how we should address this matter.” Tiberius paused to take a deep breath and then continued, “If we are to march on to Tarentum now, only disaster will await. We barely have the manpower to take a city of its magnitude, and then what. With so few soldiers to maintain the order, in a city that neither shares our beliefs, nor our borders, there is no way the citizens will willingly accept our rule.”
Vibius responded softly, “I agree, our hopes are low, but what choice to we have, save outright refusal of the senates demands.”
“There is one option, the Senate being impatient wishes only for immediate results.” A smirk streamed across Tiberius’ face, “The quickest route to Tarentum is through Cannae, and as the people of Cannae do not take kindly to us, we will have to fight any forces we meet, if we wish to move on within a seasons time. If we march close enough to Cannae, we will be forced to engage with the forces there, and take the city. After taking the city we can replenish the troops, and reconnect with our supply lines, before being forced to move on to Tarentum once again.”
“Cannae is a formidable fortress Father, and though the young senators may be fooled by our victory, the wise will not.”
“Firstly, Cannae may be formidable, but it is no Tarentum. Secondly, It is not the senators we look to fool. The senators may hold control over the nation, but the plebs control Rome. No right thinking senator would ignore the mob and risk his personal safety, the mob is powerful, yet foolish and gullible, and with their support, we will be untouchable.”
“I see.”
“Now. To matters, go address and prepare the legion, we march out tomorrow morning.”
The next morning the legion hastily left their encampment. Tiberius had sent a cavalry detachment under his Tribune, Vibius, to scout out the full strength army ahead. Though Tiberius knew that the battle would be bloody, he became increasingly excited. This was the opportunity he had been waiting for, he could now strike the army, and pursue the weakened survivors back to Cannae, where he would be forced to engage in battle with the cities defenders.
By midday, the legion met up with Vibius and the cavalry detachment. Vibius informed Tiberius that the Greeks had brought with them archers of the highest caliber, an elite detachment of hoplites, and an equally strong cavalry force.
Tiberius knew that with exhausted forces in broad daylight fighting long-range missile troops, he stood no chance of victory. He knew he had to strike when their vision was cut short, when the maniples could move quietly, and strike before they were in range of the enemy archers, but the centurions did not agree. Spurred on by the Senates intervention the day before, they contested Tiberius' leadership and openly accused him of cowardice. The centurions had unsuccessfully tried to rally their subordinates to mutiny against their commanders, yet Tiberius could do nothing to silence them, as he could afford no commotion in the battles to come, he needed absolute order, or at least the illusion of it. Though Tiberius won the argument, it cost him the respect and loyalty of his centurions, something that would haunt him for many years.
As the night engulfed the countryside, Tiberius was gazing through a gap in the forest at the bleak sky above. The entire legion had gathered in the clearing, waiting eagerly, and following Tiberius’ gaze upwards. Suddenly, a pale light began to peer out from behind the trees, and the men jumped up in excitement, only to be silenced by Tiberius’ quick hand. Tiberius held the men with his steady hand for several minutes, still gazing towards the sky, when the entire moon had finally made its way into the clearing, he turned his hand and motioned forward, “Men Move!”
The legions charged into the open, instinctively setting themselves up in the formation native to Tiberius.
Velites were positioned in the front, with a long line of hastati behind. On each flank two reserves of Principes, as well as a Triarii reserve were placed to guard the flanks, and in the center lay a reserve of Velites and Principes. The Greek cavalry on the left flank were attempting to outflank Tibeirus’ men, and so in an attempt to counter, he ordered his cavalry to guard the flank.
Tiberius sent his skirmishers to engage and eliminate their approaching enemy counterparts, the men let loose a fury of javelins, which quickly dispatched of the feeble men.
After seeing their brethren fall, the Greek cavalry charged the right flank in a frenzy of bloodlust.
Though the Hastati could not fend off the horsemen for long, the oblivious Greeks held their cavalry long enough for Tibeirus’ veteran Triarii to engage and dispatch of them.
As the enemy approached, Tiberius ordered a counter-charge, however his defiant centurions ignored the order, causing a break in the lines that severed the battle into five sections.
Tiberius soon saw that the enemy had withheld a number of phalingantes and was now marching them towards the exposed flanks of his maniples.
In an attempt to route the enemy before the reserve phalingantes brought devastation to Tiberius’ lines, he charged behind the enemy line, towards the skirmishers that had slew so many of his men throughout the battle.
Once again Tiberius was met with ill fortune, the far superior Greek cavalry charged his men and he was forced to break off. However during their retreat, the enemy general pursued Tiberius’ men right into a line of triarii that massacred the bodyguard and the general himself.
Their general’s death, shot fear into the hearts of the enemy, and they fled, only to be pursued and torn down by Tiberius’ cavalry.
The battle of Apulia, though a successful endeavor for Tiberius and his men, had left his numbers devastated, and his legion demoralized. It was now late January, and the weather had halted the legions advance, causing a shortage in both provisions and reinforcements from the supply line. Furthermore he had the problem of the defiant centurions to deal with, however once again he could do nothing, as their combined numbers were far greater than that of his bodyguard and loyalists.
There were few optimists, and the ones there were held unto the deceptive belief that Cannae would be taken by the month’s end, allowing the legion to march home victoriously however, Tiberius was not among these men. And, As they had many times before, his instincts would prove right again, for when they came within sight of the city, they were horrified.The city was garrisoned with a massive force, almost equal in strength to the legion itself. From his high vantage point, Tiberius could see the hoplites and phalanx of Cannae drilling in the streets, as if to taunt the Romans. It was clear then, that the legion stood almost no chance of successfully storming the settlement at the moment. Tiberius was wrought with confusion, for if he tried to hold out against the city, he faced the same odds. The morale would soon drop to critical levels, and he, his son and the entire legion would be killed by and reinforcements conjured up by the defenders, if the centurions hadn’t already finished the job for them.
(Note: I lost the original version of the update I had written, so, sorry if it feels a bit rushed. Also, on another note, I found out what was making my screen shots such poor quality, I've fixed it and though the screenshots are still poor for this update, they'll be better for the next.)
[RS AAR] The Rise of The Republic - Roman AAR
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yet they braved forward, only to be taken down by wave upon wave of pila. After their men had finally engaged our hastati, they attempted two simultaneous cavalry charges on our flanks, 
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+rep!
