"On my command unleash hell.."

It was certainly one of those nights as we fought the second of the battles of Roman conquest of the Germanic tribes. The battlefield this time was divided by a river, with the bulk of the German tribesmen deployed waiting in a large forest area.

The Romans pushed their cavalry forward to try to cross the river and threaten the German flank. A '6', damn.. a very difficult river to cross.. a torrent after sudden summer rainstorms perhaps.

As the Romans attempted to work a crossing, the Germans pushed a line of warriors forward to defend the river bank.

The Roman cavalry pushed around the flank, having finally managed a crossing of the river. The Roman ballista poured fire into the warriors in support of their cavalry.

One unit of cavalry was caught by the German war band. A 1 to a 5, and it was 'night night nurse' for the cavalry as they were pushed off the table edge, first blood to the Germans.

The Romans then started to push auxilia across the river on the opposite flank.

Meanwhile a unit of legionaries had also managed to cross on the Roman right, probably saving the remaining unit of Roman cavalry.

The auxilia were held by the German psiloi as their general rushed up to support them.

However the Roman ballista struck twice in succession, destroying two units of war band, while the legionaries that had crossed the river accounted for another. The Roman artillery crew had taken their Emperor at his word, and had certainly unleashed hell.

The Roman subjugation of the Germanic tribes was looking much more certain, although there was something about the spirit of these tribesmen that worried the Roman commander!!!