The Bagradas River Campaign 
(DBM Iberian Style)

This campaign provides some context to a DBM battle set in Spain (Iberia) during the Second Punic War.  The main protagonists are the Romans and Carthaginians, however, Iberian levies feature as well.   

My campaign is based on the article 

Mark Alcock (1986, Nov). The Bagradas River Campaign.   Slingshot, 128, p. 43-44.   

The Map 

The map depicts a river valley with scattering of typical Iberian terrain features (Rv, H(S), H(G), Wd, O, V, RGo, Rd, BUA, but not WW), including four towns.  The map is divided into 96 (12 x 8) squares, each of which represents a 2 foot by 2 foot section on the table top.   

Campaign Date and Season 

The date of the campaign is sometime between 216 BC and 206 BC - this affects the available troop options available for the armies and the personality each player represents.  Throw on the following table: 

Each player should choose a season: Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn.  The earlier of the two choices is the season of the campaign.  

Roman and Carthaginian Forces 

The Romans and Carthaginians each have 350 AP of troops. 

Iberian Tribes 

An Iberian tribe is located in each of the four towns located on the map.  The composition of a tribe is determined randomly during play.  Whenever a force moves into the same area as a town the player can attempt to hire the local  tribesmen.  The amount is up to the player, and there is no need to keep track of how much money has been spent.  Each player can make at most two offers to each town during the campaign.  Once a tribe has accepted an offer they roll at the start off each subsequent campaign day to see if they deserted to their homes overnight.  The rolls are fairly artificial - as is the currency - but are intended to give "intriguing and amusing" results: 

A tribe's composition can change during the campaign and is thrown for randomly each time they join an army.   This variability reflects the fact that tribal organisation is not fixed and the size of a particular levy will depend on factors outside the campaign (internal politics and factions, seasonal commitments, etc).  Most items require a die roll to determine the exact number of elements in the contingent.  Negative results for any particular item are counted as zero. 

Base contingent (worth ~80 AP) 

1 x Irr Cv (O) Ally-General 

(1d3 - 1) x Irr Cv (O) 

1d3 x Irr LH (O) 

(2d6 + 2) x Irr Ax (S) 

(1d6 + 1) x Irr Ps (S) 

Bonus selection (worth ~10 AP).  Throw 1d6 to for the bonus option: 

1 - 3: Infantry 

(1d6 - 2) x Irr Ax (S) 

(1d6 - 3) x Irr Ps (S) 

4 - 5: Mercenaries 

1d6 x Irr Wb (F) 

6: Flaming Ox Carts 

1d3 x Irr Exp (O) 

The Objectives 

Movement 

An army can move 1 square per 1/2 day.  

Players can divide their forces, but each resulting army must have at least 100 AP  (excluding the Iberian allied contingents) and must include the C-in-C or a sub-general.  

Scouting 

The Romans and Carthaginians can have up to four scouting parties each (probably more accurate to give Romans only two).  The movement of scouting parties is plotted at the same time as their army's move.  Scouts move two squares per 1/2 day and must remain within two squares of its army of origin.  

A scouting party must be given orders to "engage" or "not engage" - this determines how aggressively they will look for information.  Use the following table to determine what happens when two scouting parties meet: 

For example, if two scouting parties meet, with the Carthaginians ordered to engage and the Roman's ordered not to engage, the result is that the Carthaginians get an exact report about the enemy army, and the Romans get a vague report.  

If a scouting party meets an opposing army it gets an exact report.  

The Player who controls an army being scouted gets to choose the contents of the scouting report including data on the location, direction of movement and AP size of the opposing army.  Even an "exact" report isn't very exact.  The scouting report must be within the following bounds:   

Battle 

Battle can be offered when two armies find themselves in the same square, or when a scouting party gets an exact report and it is found that the opposing armies are within 2 squares of each other (so both baggage trains can be deployed on a single tabletop).  If battle is offered the opponent has the choice to either accept the battle or to attempt to retreat.  

Retreating is only possible at night, so determine the time of day when the encounter occurs, and check the rules for when night fall is during the campaign season:

A retreat is 2 squares directly away from the enemy. 

The composition of Romans and Carthaginian armies are selected just before battle - unrealistic but simple and intended to retain the interest of players.  Forces are selected from options that are allowed in Spain during the particular campaign year.  No Allied contingents are allowed as the campaign includes a mechanism for gaining Spanish allies.   Roman operations in Iberia were not plagued by the command/control problems of Italian armies so the Romans can take a sub-general in place of the Roman allied-general.  

If a battle is fought the normal DBM rules are used, except:

• The time of day and season are already determined. 
• There is no attacker or defender. 
• Weather is calculated by the difference between to dice and the campaign season. 
• Terrain placement and baggage deployment is as per the campaign map. 
• Both deploy ambushes like an attacker.  
• Roll randomly for who gets first initiative.   
• Either army can retreat at night.  

After a battle the victors encamp on the battlefield for a day, and the losers camp for a day two squares away.  Element loses are determined as per the DBM rules.  

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