Strategy & Tactics # 336 - First Punic War

From Decision Games:

The Magazine:

The First Punic War: A Strategic Analysis: For 24 years the Carthaginian Empire engaged the Roman Republic in a conflict that became known as the First Punic War (264–41 BC). While the Second Punic War (218–01 BC) is better known, the earlier war laid the foundation for Rome’s dominance.

Articles:

• The Gallipoli Campaign, Part 1: A Strategic & Operational Analysis: The genesis of the Gallipoli campaign was the western front as it became a troop-devouring stalemate at the end of 1914. In Britain alternative approaches came from the Admiralty, led at the time by Winston Churchill. He proposed several options he believed would be better than continuing to “chew barbed wire in Flanders.”
• Taking Up the Hatchet: Pontiac’s War, 1763–1764: An indigenous religious movement spread among frontier Indian settlements in the early 1760s when Neolin, a self-declared prophet, claimed God told him there was to be a spiritual renaissance that would free all the native tribes of white influence. Pontiac, an Ottawa chief, shrewdly incorporated that message into his own speeches calling for war “to wipe out the English.”
• America’s Undeclared War with Libya: 1981–89: US President Ronald Reagan had no patience with Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi and his Soviet-supported, terrorist-sponsoring regime. Shortly after taking office, Reagan determined to take a hardline with Gaddafi. That resulted in a decade of undeclared, on-again off-again war between the two nations.

The Game:

First Punic War 264 to 241 BC is a two-player wargame of the first great military clash between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian Empire, spanning 24 years in the 3rd century BC. At this time, Rome controlled a federation of states in Italy, while Carthage was the major power of the Western Mediterranean. The war was centered around the island of Sicily, but also saw campaigns in Sardinia and North Africa, with the possibility for more operations elsewhere around the region. Each game turn (GT) represents three years. Each hex is 40 miles across. Roman combat units represent legions plus attached cavalry (4000 to 5000 men) and groupings of auxiliaries (1000 or more men). Carthaginian units represent groups of various troop types representing 1000 to 10,000 men. Naval units represent about 50 warships each. Leaders represent an inspirational to competent commander plus a guard.

Components: One 22 x 34-inch game map, 176 5/8-inch counters.