Hannibal: Strategic Operations.

By Andy Daglish

So you've set up, you've remembered the Carthaginian PC in the Balearic
Islands [dignified pause for those actually using this guide], and,
pausing only to brush the chalk-dust off your mortar-board, you are
wondering what to do next. Lets recap on what you are trying to do:

CARTHAGE:

The "easy" win is to wait nine turns and end with control of as many
provinces than Rome has under its control, or more. Africa and Spain
can, in theory, be defended against Roman invasions but these countries
represent eight out of 18 provinces and so may not afford the necessary
number. Therefore control of the three non-national provinces,
comprising Sardinia/Corsica, Sicilia and the city-state of Syracuse, may
become important. Gallia Cisalpinia may be preserved until the final
accounting since it contains two pro- Carthaginian tribes at game start.
If any Italian provinces are still under Carthaginian control at the end
of turn nine it seems likely that Carthage will have won. And remember,
last-turn card plays cannot be countered, so keeping back a three to
play as the last card of the game may prevent a loss.

Method two is successfully besieging Rome. The Carthaginians are not
technically minded and salt water and siege operations are not their
thing at all. Getting Rome requires rolling a 5 or 6 three times, unless
the Siege train is present in which case you need 4,5 or 6 three times.
It is necessary to do this rather quickly, since there are many
siege-breaking cards that your opponent may use to cancel out your
previous die-rolls, and because maintaining Hannibal on an enemy PC is
not going to be sustainable except against a very weak Rome. The only
times this is a likely strategy is after Italia has been denuded of
Roman CUs, after either a serious turn 1 defeat or later on by a
combination of legions sent abroad coupled with defeats at home. However
it is a risky business, and time is on Rome's side. It can last forever
but Hannibal and his men in Italia most certainly cannot. And elephants
really do not like the lowering damps emanating from those swamps - do
they ever try to escape from Miami Zoo?

Method three is to go after all Italian provinces except Latium, where
Rome stands. I have not seen this done yet, and it inevitably depends on
besieging Neapolis, that together with treacherous Capua entirely
represent the province of Campania. There is a certain departure from
history here, because Cap was the second city of the Republic but is the
least important Walled City in the game as it is the only one which is
not also a Port. During the Second Punic War Hannibal spent very many
years marching up and down Campania, and obviously this is just about
the only place on the map where this cannot happen, despite the Capua
card causing it to go over to the enemy once the rest of Italia has gone
the same way. A good reason why this strategy is almost an self-
contradiction is that Rome is left alone, so that consuls and five CUs a
turn can always pop up there at the start of each turn to frustrate
Hannibal's campaigning, and because before this method even looked like
ending in success, Rome would already be on the point of suing for peace
- method four.

Method four is to cause Rome to sue for peace by the removal of more
Roman PC markers than Rome has left. This happens as a result of beating
Rome in every battle and causing large retreat casualties. Consequent
control of provinces causes a snowballing loss of PC markers at the
end-of- turn reckoning. This strategy is attractive to the Carthaginian
player as he starts the game with the horribly effective double-barreled
advantage of Hannibal with elephants. Hannibal is the only general who
can happily give away the offensive initiative by playing lots of Double
Envelopments. The elephants and his tactical rating should ensure he
starts with more cards than his foe, and allows him to take the war to
the enemy on turn one, given a cooperative Roman player. Indeed, this
seems to be one of the two best starting strategies. The first move is
always to obtain control of Gallia Cisalpinia, so Hannibal should also
get one Italian ally after crossing the Alps. As Hannibal marches to
war, one CU should be left behind with Mago in Saguntum, who will
eventually move to New Carthage ready for the voyage to Carthage. Nine
CUs causes initial attrition to be rolled on the7-9 column, which seems
sensible. A lot then depends on attrition caused by Hostile Tribes and
the number of CUs that Hannibal gets into Italia. Going via Liguria
allows immediate entry to Etruria, and possible conversion of this
province with isolation of the two Roman PCs next to the mountain
passes. The downside of this route is the lack of retreat options.
However meeting Publius Scipio away from Rome on Turn one and hopefully
causing total destruction of his command is the ideal Carthaginian
opener. Should P. Scipio be taking cowering lessons from the uncertain
Titus Sempronius Longus in Rome, Hannibal can still risk an attack on
the capital. If Longus is in command, a Carthaginian victory is not out
of the question, 16-14 cards would be a likely Battle deck deal, given
no reinforcements, five CUs from Sicilia, elephant effect etc.
Eliminating all Roman CUs in this situation would definitely give the
Senate hiccups. However fighting at a card disadvantage in this game is
always very risky, as the effect of the Reserve cards is to even out
differences in card distribution between the opposing hands, leaving
Hannibal without an advantage in any category, facing an inferior enemy
general who can match his every card to win. Normally an adjacent
Carthaginian PC is entirely essential to Hannibal's battles, which are
best fought on the enemy turn after Interception, which gives the extra
card plus the chance on the following Carthaginian turn to get away
should something bad happen. It is possible for Hannibal to run out of
Italia and return with more men. Reinforcing Hannibal in-country is
possible too. Playing a Truce as the last card of a turn and then
playing a Campaign card [which does not count as an Event] as the first
card of the next turn will allow 10 CUs to sail to that Carthaginian
port in Italia without rolling for naval combat, as the Roman navy is
non-belligerent during Truces. Even during active war, Mago can move to
the southern Italian ports from either of the Carthages with some
security so long as Syracuse, Macedon or a naval victory is current. It
is not worth waiting for these to come out, however, since a
Truce/Reshuffle can occcur every turn! Moving to provincial islands is
also possible, especially the minus one ports in Sicilia, but the big
problem faced by Hannibal [and perhaps the game] then becomes apparent
in miniature - entry is easier than escape. The second Carthaginian
opening move is to do nothing, save rallying Idubeda [and Cisalpinia] to
the cause, and using a possible "Sicilia", "Syracuse" or
"Sardinia/Corsica Revolts" card at turn end. This way a lot of strength
can be built up, with which to weather the game until turn nine. Having
Syracuse revolt late in the game is a big advantage to Carthage in an
otherwise even position, simply because Rome will be distracted in the
closing turns and may not have enough time to besiege the city
successfully. If the card comes out earlier on, the siege can be
frustrated by landing in Sicilia. The Carthaginian do-nothing strategy
may lure a Roman player [controlling more legions than he knows what to
do with] into unwise foreign excursions to Africa or Spain. Destroying
these will at least remove some PCs. Isolating Roman troops in Africa
with the Cato Counsels Rome card is rather funny. Getting all four
elephants together can be psychologically discouraging -would you go up
against the whole menagerie? It is not always worthwhile rolling for the
elephants though, a little thought in this regard is worth taking.
Should the Elephant Fright [causes two CUs to be lost] card come out, or
any other bad event, remember that withdrawal is possible before any
Battle cards are played, and then battle can be re-initiated on your
turn without the offending Counter Events cards affecting proceedings.

ROME:

After the Roman player has recovered from his total knock-knee'd fear at
the disagreeable prospect of facing Hannibal in battle, he may reflect
on his advantages. He gets lots of men, five CUs each turn, two of which
can go anywhere, whereas his opponents reinforcements are dispersed. He
gets lots more men via events. Italy is an island protected by the Roman
navy by sea and the Alps by land. This same protective wall that
protects Italia will also trap Hannibal once he has traversed the
barrier. Access to two of the three non-national provinces is by land,
across the Straits of Messana. He controls the sea. Strategically Rome
enjoys the most extreme form of interior lines versus an unforgiving
version of exterior Carthaginian lines. The Roman player can [nearly]
always escape by sea if necessary and virtually all spaces are only two
moves away from the long arm of Rome. Even if Rome is losing in
mid-game, Scipio Africanus turns up to revivify Rome's fortunes. Should
a few cities need liberation, Rome has just the men to do it in the
shape of Marcellus and Africanus. Disadvantages which an nullify all
this are present in the form of the bad consuls Varro and Longus. Varro,
however, is accurately represented as being very keen to get into combat
- it is just that he is not very good once the actual fighting starts.
Longus is by no means completely useless, but a poor Consul, so he often
spends the game as "proconsul for life" or for as long as chance allows.

Rome wins by taking out Hannibal. This is so very much the easiest
method that the game for Rome can be defined as a constant endeavor to
reduce Hannibal's own army by any means possible, including losing long
battles to him that result in heavy battle attrition. If the
Carthaginian player cooperates by placing Hannibal in the "killing jar"
of Italia, his men can be seen to, in isolation from any support. A
campaign allows Hannibal to be attacked three times, with two attrition
rolls before the third attempt. Any card-based attrition is of the
greatest benefit, softening up Hannibal's army for the Big One. The only
problem is that Rome starts a little weak to resist a turn one invasion,
and that Hannibal must not be allowed to convert many provinces, as then
he does become unstoppable in combat. However even PC marker conversion
causes Hannibal to divide his army, though his ability to intercept
reduces this disadvantage. Hannibal can be attacked, or at least brought
almost to battle, in the relative safety of Spain, using the "ultracamp"
tactic. If the Roman player moves ten men on a campaign to the Baetican
port of Malaca, Hannibal will hurry back through a 100% blue Spain to
crush them. But if Proconsul Longus then brings across five more men to
Malaca on a "3" card, Hannibal will find himself facing 15 Roman CUs
which may equal his own strength. Neither side can take more than ten
men into the attack, but can defend with any number. With such a
foothold, Rome can begin conversion of Baetica, possibly taking Gades
which would be unlikely to revert to its old allegiance. However, when
the Hannibalian attack does come the Roman player cannot take chances.
Playing out the Probes is a commonly pursued tactic, denying Hannibal
his special ability. When facing Hannibal it is necessary to stick to
playing your longest card type, as the ability to play cards may not
last long. Frontal Assault is more of a sensible choice to play than in
We The People. Experience has shown what a very clever mathematician may
be able to work out, that even when Hannibal enjoys a two- or three-card
advantage, he will eventually lose if a string of such battles are
fought. And this in a system where having one more card is a bigger
advantage than in We The People. In Italia Hannibal can not afford to
lose, unless it is a very rare battle where casualties are minimal.
Fighting attritional battles against Hannibal might cause PC loss but
this can be offset by developing a pool of unimportant PCs around
Massilia and the adjacent port. This gives control of the synonymous
province should a battle be fought there. The Carthaginian player can
also take advantage of this tactic but it helps to scale the walls of
Massilia first, though this can be a secondary objective if
circumstances disallow an attempted move into Italia on turn one.

The "do-nothing" strategy can work for Rome too of course, though here
it is more a case of shoring-up the position from inside, rather than
penetrating it from outside. One big advantage is that lots of CUs are
stockpiled, which ensures that Africanus can have ten men all to
himself. This might help negate a "bad consul" turn. Even bad consuls
can Subjugate tribes, and taking out those in Cisalpinia or Bruttium is
not a bad idea when faced by a passive Carthage, and might even spur the
enemy into unwise activity. But remember, a consul with a strategy
rating of "3" is not a good candidate for this role, but I'll bend all
my pila if Fabius is not often sent to subjugate the Boii, with
presumably the simultaneous mission of stopping Hannibal's entry to
Cisalpinia. Send for Varro or Nero on this mission. Syracuse is going to
reassess its attachment to Rome sooner or later, hopefully not with
Sicilia revolting at the same time. Having excess CUs allows Rome to put
in garrisons to nullify the effects of the revolt cards. Also,
"garrisons" of two CUs or more force the enemy to stop on entry of their
space, and allows an adjacent consular army to intercept and
subsequently fight with more than ten men. When besieging Syracuse
having two CUs just outside at Enna really hangs up the poor
Carthaginians! Even if interception onto Enna fails, an attack can be
made in the next turn from Syracuse without possibility of Carthaginian
interception. Even Carthage may wish to garrison Numidian provinces
though this is a less useful tactic. Bear in mind that faraway single
Carthaginian CUs are worth overrunning, following a sea move. If Idubeda
is contested on turn one, and this is always a good idea, those
Carthaginian CUs put in to effect conversion are an interesting target
on subsequent turns. For example, if a five-strength army overruns two
single Carthaginian CUs and then is defeated is a battle that causes a
further loss to the Carthaginian side, Rome will have come out on top.
This type of attack is worth doing.

Unwise foreign expeditions I:

Carthage and Africa are tricky. Cavalry won every ancient battle and the
best came from Numidia, hence the enormous advantage that accrues from
obtaining control of these special provinces by taking them off the
enemy. A straight voyage to Carthage is all very well but it is the most
dangerous space on the board for Rome, the one place where Carthage is
able to concentrate most strength. And there is no retreat. Converting
Africa to Roman control first is preferable but you can become bogged
down in just doing this, rather than going for the capital. Gaining and
keeping control of the Numidian provinces is more difficult as the enemy
will fight harder for them. Carthaginia cannot be attempted until
Numidia is controlled and is then unimportant anyway. So everything
revolves around the Numidian provinces that only have two ports, both in
the west. Overall Africa is a needlessly risky project but many Roman
players possessing the right cards will feel they must have a go.

Unwise foreign expeditions II:

Which means Spain of course. Idubeda is a possible foothold in the sense
of providing an ally card if Turn one ends with it in Roman control. As
a landing site it is better for raiding than starting a war, as it is a
large province, boxed in by Walled cities and hostile Gallic tribes.
Early landings are best as there will be few CUs under Hasdrubal at this
stage. More than one general is required for PC conversion or for siege
purposes. The best landing site is Malaca, however. Taking Baetica
reduces Carthaginian reinforcements [in Spain] by one, which is very
welcome. This presence nearly always upsets the Carthaginian player who
hates to carry on operations with this knife in his back. Taking Gades
promotes this greatly, and the sense of Carthaginian unease. A force
march from Baetica is very useful, and can allow a number of single CUs
to be dropped off for conversion later on, as well as providing a moving
Scipio with a besieging opportunity if he ends on New Carthage. Although
isolation of PC markers is not a very common occurrence in this game, it
is worth ensuring that an opportunity is not overlooked. However the
campaign against Hannibal in Italia cannot be given full attention
whilst fighting continues in Spain.

Day Trips:

If possible, the Baleares should be taken. The Force March 3 card is
useful for the quick deposition of a CU to effect the conversion. Its
amazing how often the Slinger card comes up and these very welcome extra
men are then denied to the Carthaginian player. We rarely see fighting
in Corsica, a bad general can usually clean up what is a very foolhardy
and wasteful destination for Carthaginian forces. Syracuse and Sicilia
are going to be fought over, though at least these battles keep
Carthaginian forces away from Italian provinces.