Ouch! Well this kind of takes the shine off my appreciation of the Roman military.
I'm sure one of these rules would have done me in.
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"If brute force doesn't work you aren't using enough brute force." - mTk
War does not determine who is right, but it does determine who is left. - B.Russell
"Turn based games don't need a pause key". - mTk
"Overkill is underrated." - Col John "Hannibal" Smith
Senatus Populusque Romanus- SPQR - The Senate and People of Rome (circa 60 BC)
https://youtube.com/shorts/I6gAXq3frmE?si=paU7Q9VahcKvj5Qm
"If brute force doesn't work you aren't using enough brute force." - mTk
War does not determine who is right, but it does determine who is left. - B.Russell
"Turn based games don't need a pause key". - mTk
"Overkill is underrated." - Col John "Hannibal" Smith
Senatus Populusque Romanus- SPQR - The Senate and People of Rome (circa 60 BC)
They kinda looked like NFL offensive linemen!
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"If brute force doesn't work you aren't using enough brute force." - mTk
War does not determine who is right, but it does determine who is left. - B.Russell
"Turn based games don't need a pause key". - mTk
"Overkill is underrated." - Col John "Hannibal" Smith
Senatus Populusque Romanus- SPQR - The Senate and People of Rome (circa 60 BC)
The Cimbrian War
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I don't think I knew about this conflict. However, one of my fav YouTubers lays it all out quite nicely.
"If brute force doesn't work you aren't using enough brute force." - mTk
War does not determine who is right, but it does determine who is left. - B.Russell
"Turn based games don't need a pause key". - mTk
"Overkill is underrated." - Col John "Hannibal" Smith
Senatus Populusque Romanus- SPQR - The Senate and People of Rome (circa 60 BC)
I've never heard of an Oxybeles, but I'm not really too keen on Greek artillery.
Looks a lot like a Roman trebuchet from that angle although that projectile would be wrong....I think.
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https://youtube.com/shorts/8wnPHnVyFJw?si=SlX3kSqFliYBCymX
"If brute force doesn't work you aren't using enough brute force." - mTk
War does not determine who is right, but it does determine who is left. - B.Russell
"Turn based games don't need a pause key". - mTk
"Overkill is underrated." - Col John "Hannibal" Smith
Senatus Populusque Romanus- SPQR - The Senate and People of Rome (circa 60 BC)
Has anyone here played Gallic Wars from HPS Sims? I’ve always wanted to give it a go. It’s an older game with a WEGO system, but I’ve never seen it discounted… and at around $50 it’s quite pricey.
@marder Oh, my. HPS? That brings back some memories, most of them not all that great. I played a lot of HPS ACW games when they first came out. They were cutting edge at the time. I played them for a while but became very frustrated, very quickly with the awful AI. Just sucked all the fun out of pretty much everything.
It's not likely this game has been supported with a lot of patches so I would expect it to have the same ol' problems. Sure looks nice though doesn't it?
"If brute force doesn't work you aren't using enough brute force." - mTk
War does not determine who is right, but it does determine who is left. - B.Russell
"Turn based games don't need a pause key". - mTk
"Overkill is underrated." - Col John "Hannibal" Smith
Senatus Populusque Romanus- SPQR - The Senate and People of Rome (circa 60 BC)
Battle of Carrhae -
Since we (FGM) are all fans of All Things Roman this battle is likely familiar to most of you.
However, I contend this is the best video representation of how it came to be and all the details
we like to see of the battle itself. Yeah, it's a bit long, but I think you'll find it time well spent, if
you haven't already seen it. Or even if you have.
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"If brute force doesn't work you aren't using enough brute force." - mTk
War does not determine who is right, but it does determine who is left. - B.Russell
"Turn based games don't need a pause key". - mTk
"Overkill is underrated." - Col John "Hannibal" Smith
Senatus Populusque Romanus- SPQR - The Senate and People of Rome (circa 60 BC)
Dude, Caesar was the first military troll in history — just watch this documentary about the Battle of Alesia:
@marder Yeah, I know this one well. When I first learned about it I didn't believe it. I'd never heard
anything like it. Still haven't. 😎
"If brute force doesn't work you aren't using enough brute force." - mTk
War does not determine who is right, but it does determine who is left. - B.Russell
"Turn based games don't need a pause key". - mTk
"Overkill is underrated." - Col John "Hannibal" Smith
Senatus Populusque Romanus- SPQR - The Senate and People of Rome (circa 60 BC)
Thought I’d share something a little different from the Roman army — the Scorpio, essentially the legion’s precision artillery piece.
While everyone remembers the legions and shield walls, these torsion-powered bolt throwers were often deployed to pick off key targets and disrupt enemy formations before the real fighting even started. Roman military engineering was on another level.
Always fascinates me how modern some of their battlefield thinking feels — accuracy, suppression, and psychological effect, all rolled into one.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here:
I knew almost nothing of this time period in Rome's history. In my defense I kinda lost interest after Agustus' civil war
so almost everything after that didn't get much of my attention. As a result I found this really interesting. Gotta say I doubt
Caesar would have been taken in as Basilicus was. That would have been epic. Well, this was "epic" too, but you know
what I mean. 🤔
"If brute force doesn't work you aren't using enough brute force." - mTk
War does not determine who is right, but it does determine who is left. - B.Russell
"Turn based games don't need a pause key". - mTk
"Overkill is underrated." - Col John "Hannibal" Smith
Senatus Populusque Romanus- SPQR - The Senate and People of Rome (circa 60 BC)
Ouch. This was painful if you are a fan of the Roman military. Graphics are really good.
"If brute force doesn't work you aren't using enough brute force." - mTk
War does not determine who is right, but it does determine who is left. - B.Russell
"Turn based games don't need a pause key". - mTk
"Overkill is underrated." - Col John "Hannibal" Smith
Senatus Populusque Romanus- SPQR - The Senate and People of Rome (circa 60 BC)
One of the most horrible features of war is that all the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting.
- George Orwell, Homage To Catalonia
The Battle of Arausio (105 BC) is one of those Roman disasters that rarely gets the attention of Cannae or Carrhae, but arguably deserves to sit alongside them.
The result was catastrophic. Defeated in detail, the Roman armies collapsed, camps overrun, and what followed was less a battle than a rout. Survivors were few, and the shock to Rome was profound—so much so that it helped pave the way for the rise of Gaius Marius and his sweeping military reforms.
In a way, Arausio is a reminder that Roman discipline and organization—so often their greatest strength—could be undone just as easily by ego and disunity at the top. Not a tactical masterclass, but a very human failure… and a costly one.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here:
Based upon light research I don't think I would have had what it took to be a Roman legionnaire.
And this fits the topic as well.
"If brute force doesn't work you aren't using enough brute force." - mTk
War does not determine who is right, but it does determine who is left. - B.Russell
"Turn based games don't need a pause key". - mTk
"Overkill is underrated." - Col John "Hannibal" Smith
Senatus Populusque Romanus- SPQR - The Senate and People of Rome (circa 60 BC)