Polybian Roman

Book 2, List 33

This is, of course, the army I was actually after when I bought the Seleukid. I have always been interested in this period of Roman history, as it is the time that the Romans started to move beyond Italy proper and expand the empire around the Mediterranean basin, albeit accidentally at first. It also covers both Punic wars and shows the sheer determination of the Roman state to survive, often in the face of its own incompetence. Additionally, it also covers the period in which the Hellenistic kingdoms effectively ceased to exist as independent states bringing together the Roman and Greek worlds, which led ultimately to the Byzantine Empire of Eastern Rome. All the figures in this army are Donnington, mostly from the original army pack supplemented by later purchases, painted as a Roman legio with its attached Latin ala.

The army is, not surprisingly, built around the heavy infantry of the legiones with all other troops very much subordinated to them. The heavy infantry element is Bd(O) and Sp(S), the latter in a ratio of 1 to every 4 - 6 Bd(O). These are very powerful troops when fighting their historical enemies, but do tend to suffer when fighting out of period armies, those with Kn especially. The reason for this is quite historical as the army was developed to fight Italian states who were predominantly infantry based, quite often modelled on the Greek Hoplite; against these a Bd heavy army is very effective.

The support troops available are a limited number of Cv(O) and LH(O) to act as your mounted arm, and the Leves or Velites integral to each legio. These latter are either Ps(I) before 210BC and then Ps(S) thereafter. The rest of the support troops are mainly either Ps(O) from a variety of sources or the Italian allied infantry which is graded at a less than useful Reg Ax(I) for reasons I cannot quite fathom. Small numbers of Wb(F), Ax(S) (the latter Reg or Irr) are available but are limited in use due to the severe restrictions on which non Italians can be used together.

These in list supports are supplemented by a fair range of allies - Spanish, Numidians, Aitolians and Pergamenes - all of whom provide troops not otherwise available to the Romans and who all have their advantages and disadvantages. However, as stated above there are restrictions on non Italians in the list which effectively means only using one ally at a time or going for Numidians, Aitolians and Pergamenes together or in combination. Depending on who you are fighting careful choice of ally can make a great deal of difference.

The list also has another nasty trick up its sleeve. Until 202BC it also has only 1 sub-general. This severely limits its scope for manoeuvre. That said, this is entirely historical for this army which needed a really good general to bring out the best in it, however, I do wish this reality had been applied to more lists rather than defaulting to 2 subs. It is also worth noting that until 202BC aggression is 1 and then 4! Also apart from the Spanish the allied contingents are not available until 202BC, however, in my view the Spanish are possibly the most useful ally anyway.

My preferred option for this army is post 210BC with Ps(S) Velites and a Spanish allied contingent, possibly going for post 202BC to get the second sub-general if playing at over 400AP. The Spanish give either Ax(S) or Wb(F) in significant amounts (I usually have 18 Ax) with a few Ps(S) and LH(O) for support. The Spanish can either be deployed to use bad terrain or to fight Wb, so preserving the legionarii. The key is then to use the Roman commands to manoeuvre for advantage and deliver a killing blow with the Bd(O) and Sp(S). You do, however, need to be patient as there are no strike troops who deliver a quick kill. Also remember that the Cv will need to be supported against superior numbers, the Sp(S) are very good for this.

All in all I've very infrequently lost with this army despite its theoretical shortcomings, although most of these games have been played against roughly historical opponents. I find this a challenging army to play due to its built in limitations but rewarding for the same reason.