Roman Initial Strategy in the 2nd Punic War Dave Mylie At the opening of the 2nd Punic War scenario, the Roman player is at a distinct disadvantage. The Carthaginian is strong in troops and leaders and Hannibal is poised to strike at the heart of the Roman Republic. For the Romans to win, they must first of all weather the initial Carthaginian assault. At the start the Romans have a slight edge in areas controlled but this advantage will certainly be wiped out by the end of the first turn. If the Carthaginian player is to win he must strike hard and fast at the Roman heartland in Italy. Hannibal to hex no.2302 and from there into Northern Italy is a must on the first turn. Any delay on Hannibal's part gives the Romans time to recover. As the Carthaginian starts with the initiative he will surely try to retain it and the best way to do that is to keep the Roman off balance and on the strategic defensive. The Roman starts with four armies and one leader in Cisalpine Gaul but placing them in Placentia or Ravenna allows Hannibal to freely enter Italy. Placing them in hex 2402 forces the Carthaginian to fight or suffer attrition twice in the Alps. If Hannibal leaves one army in Tarraco and one in Emporiae in 'order to control those regions, he will have eight armies when he enters hex no.2302, he must therefore fight at 1-1 or 1-2 odds depending on his Alpine attrition.At 1-2, even the most favourable combat result for Hannibal will leave a Roman army in the hex. At 1-1, only a die roll of six will eliminate the Roman force, the important point here being that as long as there is a Roman force in hex no.2402, Hannibal will be unable to move his troops from that hex without suffering attrition. The Romans must delay Hannibal on the first turn and the best way to do this is to force him to fight. The Romans need armies to survive. If they move their fleets from Massilia to hex no. 1804 they will be out of supply but this allows for two more armies to be raised. If he also moves the Sicilian fleets out of supply, he gains another four armies. A possible alternative for these units is to move them together with two armies across to Zeugitana and from there to Hippo Regius. This would depend on the Carthaginian set up - if his fleets are in Carthage, the Rornan fleets would suffer attrition once in hex no.2815. If the Carthaginian sets up in hex no.2716, the Roman would suffer attrition twice in hexes 2815 and 2715. Even if the Romans suffer 50% attrition in both hexes, their armies would still make it to Africa. This must at best be regarded as a strategic diversion but it may prove effective how ever as Carthage cannot ignore Roman control of the Massaesylii Kingdom. The resultant campaign in North Africa will prove to be more of a drain on the Carthaginian treasury than the Roman and is therefore a valid Roman move. Every army built by Carthage in Africa is one less for Hannibal and Spain. In Italy as many towns and cities as possible should be garrisoned on the first turn to prevent Hannibal from easily gaining control of any region. As Hannibal can raise at the most two armies per turn in Italy the Roman player must try to eliminate at least two enemy armies per year in order to limit Hannibal's strength. Rome must avoid a pitched battle with Hannibal(Fabius) and slowly build up their strength in Italy. It will not be possible to defeat Hannibal early on but it may be possible to contain him and limit his gains to a minimum. The Roman armies in Massilia should be moved to Valentia during the first turn as control of Gaul is preferable to control of Massilia. The Romans will then have to contest Gaul and Spain for as long as possible to deny Carthage the treasury points. A direct strike at New Carthage should be borne in mind if the opportunity presents itself as this kind of spoiling attack will cause the Carthaginian considerable embarrassment. One thing the Roman must pray for is the early arrival of Scipio. However, should he be sent to Gaul or Italy? If he is placed in Gaul he will give the Romans an edge in leadership although he will still be heavily outnumbered in terms of armies. If he is placed in Italy he will neutralise Hannibal. If Scipio can beseige Hannibal, the Carthaginian will effectively be removed from play, for a while at least. Hannibal will not be able to leave the seige without fighting and maybe sacrificing his army. Scipio could of course move away from the seige at the start of his turn and return at the end of it. If Scipio is trapped in similar manner by Hannibal, the Carthaginian would not be able to raise any troops that turn as troops can only be raised in a friendly controlled city. The first half dozen turns of Punic Wars should see a finely balanced game, the Romans must neutralise Hannibal before the Carthaginians gain undisputed control of Spain and Gaul. If they can achieve this they should be able to take the offensive which will lead to eventual victory.