Samnites (Hannibal at the Gates) Melee Ship

Assault Quadrireme - Italian Spearmen

Ramming attacks from these ships inflict terrible damage.

Angry Italians with spears should never be dismissed lightly.

There is a good deal of debate as to how large ancient warships worked; the principles are understood, but the details are not always so clear. A Roman 'quadreme' or Greek 'tetreres' would seem to have four rows of oars if the name is translated literally. However, it is unclear how four sets of oars each with one rower apiece could be used without them getting in a terrible tangle even with a magnificently trained crew, or how the top set of rowers would be able to handle the extremely long oars pitched at a steep angle and still produce any power. The chances are that the term 'oar' had become synonymous with 'rower' and that the lowest bank had more than one man per oar. The other option was to go back to a double row of oars, with two men apiece. Two banks of oars would also have made for a cheaper construction task for each ship. Either way, the result was a ship that could rival the lighter trireme in speed, yet had more deck space for a large fighting contingent or artillery pieces.

(Italian Spearmen)
Before Rome controlled the whole of Italy it shared the peninsula with others, such as the Etruscans and Samnites. These various petty kingdoms, cities and tribes often fought each other, but also united against common external threats. It was as the Etruscans waned and Greek influence fell away that the Romans began steadily accumulating land and power. After three wars against the Samnites, Rome finally became the dominant power in Italy, and extracted pledges of loyalty and military aid from the 'Socii Latini', its Latin allies. There were further rebellions against Rome’s dominance, the most significant being the Allied War of 90-88BC, when many of the Socii turned on Rome. Clearly, this gave the Romans pause, as the peace settlement after was surprisingly generous: it gave the Socii the right of full Roman citizenship, giving them a stake in Rome's continued survival and effectively uniting the whole of Italy under their rule.

Abilities

Assault Quadrireme

• Row Hard 10
  Increases speed for 10 strokes.
  Ship speed

Attributes

• Disciplined
  This unit does not suffer a morale penalty when the general dies. It can also rally after routing more often.
• Formation Attack
  The unit will try to stay in formation when in melee.
• Hide (forest)
  This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Assault Quadrireme

• Average hull strength
• Medium crew
• Average speed
• Average ramming
• Average boarding

Italian Spearmen

• Good defensive unit
• Low damage but average armour penetration
• Average attack
• Normal morale

Samnites (Hannibal at the Gates) Units
General (2)
1.Italian Noble Cavalry
2.Italian Noble Infantry
Melee Infantry (3)
3.Mob
4.Italian Swordsmen
5.Samnite Warriors
Missile Infantry (2)
6.Levy Skirmishers
7.Levy Slingers
Spear Infantry (2)
8.Italian Noble Infantry
9.Italian Spearmen
Melee Cavalry (3)
10.Italian Cavalry
11.Italian Noble Cavalry
12.Campanian Cavalry
Field Artillery (3)
13.Roman Bastion Ballista
14.Roman Ballista
15.Roman Scorpion
Admiral (2)
16.Scorpion Trireme - Levy Skirmishers
17.Assault Hexareme - Italian Swordsmen
Melee Ship (5)
18.Assault Quadrireme - Italian Spearmen
19.Fire Pot Bireme - Italian Spearmen
20.Assault Bireme - Italian Spearmen
21.Harpax Hexareme - Italian Swordsmen
22.Assault Hexareme - Italian Swordsmen
Missile Ship (5)
23.Scorpion Trireme - Levy Skirmishers
24.Missile Trireme - Levy Skirmishers
25.Raiding Hemiolia - Levy Skirmishers
26.Pursuit Trihemiolia - Levy Skirmishers
27.Missile Quinquereme - Levy Slingers
Artillery Ship (1)
28.Light Artillery Quinquereme - Roman Ballista (Ship)