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EPIC Asculum (279 BC)

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Title
EPIC Asculum (279 BC)
Description
Pyrrhus of Epirus nearly doubled the size of his army after his victory at Heraclea with allied Greeks, Samnites and Lucanians flocking to his standard. After absorbing the new recruits, Pyrrhus set off towards Rome. His advance was stopped at …
Publisher
Date
-279
Scenario#
C3i16
Scenario Description
Pyrrhus of Epirus nearly doubled the size of his army after his victory at Heraclea with allied Greeks, Samnites and Lucanians flocking to his standard. After absorbing the new recruits, Pyrrhus set off towards Rome. His advance was stopped at Asculum by the two Roman Consuls Decius and Sulpicius, with four legions and allies. Both sides had around 40,000 men, but Pyrrhus had the advantage in cavalry and, of course, his elephants. After a day of skirmishing in rough terrain, the two armies lined up at daybreak on level ground. What followed was a straightforward Legion versus Phalanx battle. During the battle Pyrrhus failed to envelope the flanks. After a hard fight in the center, the Romans were driven back once again by his elephants. Pyrrhus was at the forefront of the fighting and was wounded, preventing him from exploiting his victory as the Romans fell back to their camp. At this point in history it would seem that the legion was no match for a well-led Macedonian phalanx style force. Over 6,000 Romans had been slain, but Pyrrhus had lost 3,500 of his men, mostly irreplaceable veterans and many of his officers. Pyrrhus reportedly exclaimed after the battle “One more such victory and I shall be lost!” giving rise to the term, a “Pyrrhic Victory.” The path to Rome was still guarded by other armies, and the Romans refused to negotiate a peace treaty as long as the Epirote army remained in Italy. Discouraged, Pyrrhus accepted an offer from Syracuse to lead the Sicilian Greeks in their war with Carthage in 278 BC.
Location
Asculum, Italy
Battle Name
Battle Narrative
The Battle of Asculum took place in 279 BC between the Roman Republic under the command of the consuls Publius Decius Mus and Publius Sulpicius Saverrio, and the forces of King Pyrrhus of Epirus. The battle took place during the Pyrrhic War, after the Battle of Heraclea of 280 BC, which was the first battle of the war. There exist accounts of this battle by three ancient historians: Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Plutarch, and Cassius Dio. Asculum was in Lucanian territory, in southern Italy.
Narrative Source
Combatants
Epirote
Roman
Additional Information
Pyrrhic War

Geolocation