Small Wars, 177-175BC

Anatolia

Aulus Cornelius Rufinus had finally been able to return to Italy when the navy made it through the Greek blockade, as well as delivering mercenaries to aid in the Pergamene war effort.

Left behind as leading advisors to the Pergamon king were an Italian and Greek, both Roman citizens in spite of their original extraction.

There were several battles. Fought in defense of neutral communities. Publius Sempronius Gracchus Eugertes led one of the Pergamene armies.









Eugertes struggled a little acting as commander, rather than in the subordinate role he had served in under Rufinus, and in the second battle an attempt to send flanking troops by a ford downstream of the bridge had nearly ended in disaster.

Illyria

Meanwhile the provincial governor of Illyricum acted on rumours that an agitator had risen encouraging the local tribes to rebel against Roman influence on their monarchy. Caius Aurelius Cotta gathered some local levies and marched out to deal with them, confronting them in a forest south of Dalminion.



After a brief contact, the disorganised rebels fled.




Anatolia

The Italian general Sextus Claudius Pulcher led the other Pergamene army coming to the rescue of Ipsos.



Demonstrating his confidence, he allowed the enemy reinforcements to join up with the rearguard that had been left in their wake.



He advanced to meet them, and they obliged, ignoring the space they'd been given to combine.



Contact was made all along the line.



The hardest fighting came when the Greek phalanx joined the fight.



Then the captain of the rearguard was killed.



Some time later, through the tireless efforts of the Thessalian cavalry, the strategos was slain.



His men fought grimly on, but the tide had turned, and Pulcher won the day.