The voting:
Option | Votes | |
|---|---|---|
| Plautius moves the Principes forward 5 hexes | 1 | |
| Plautius moves the Hastati forward 2 hexes | 3 | |
| Rebilus marches the SK around the flank of the LI on the river | 1 |
My thoughts:
We all know what to do -- clear the Epirote LI from the river -- the question is: how?
The majority opinion wants to move the front line forward. The flank units move ahead two hexes, with the center only going ahead one hex, but presumably blowing away the LI and advancing after combat back into line.
Moving the back line instead of the front line has the advantage of increasing the overall forward movement of the Roman army. First the back line clears out the obstacle, then the front line advances, squeezing an extra hex forward. It may not seem like a big difference, but the hastati in the front line are exactly 10 MPs from the Epirote phalanx, meaning they could just get into shock in two activations. The rear line will take three activations, as will the front line if it stops to clear out the river.
Using Rebilus to attack the LI from the rear is an interesting idea, saving the infantry for the heavy-duty shock. The only problem is that Rebilus can't get to all four blocking units in a single activation. For line command purposes one block is as bad as four, so it seems like this option would work better if Rebilus could guarantee clearing all the Epirote LI.
My vote is for moving the Principes, but that still leaves the majority in favor of moving the front line, so:
All units crossing the river get one TQ hit, to but I've only marked each stack with a `1' to help keep things less cluttered.
As the cohorts advance, the Epirote cavalry on the riverbank OWs out of the way taking a TQ hit in the process.
All cohorts remain double-stacked, except for the unit attacking the Epirote's rightmost LI. That stack splits up so that the cohorts will remain in line following advance after combat.
Missile Fire score a few hits on both sides. Pre-Shock TQ checks brutalize the Roman left, but the Attack Superior shock that follows is sufficient to rout all four Epirote LIs, and the cohorts advance after combat.
So now the next questions: