Well, Roman infantry doesn't seem to be doing anything else than running as fast as they can when against Gauls, on VH. Seems that they removed those diff bonii from AI in custom battles but didn't touch campaings.

Tested this against brigands, they had 1 hastati, 1 velites and 1 peasants. I had 5-6 hastati, some archers, velites and a 1* general (forgot him in the stack). So I tried to pit one of my hastati against theirs, trying to get it as fair as possible. Results:

Closed on enemy hastati with mine, waiting for pila exchange. Enemy closes in to firing distance. My pila fly, enemy sits there. My hastati charge, enemy runs 30 metres backwards, tries to face my charging hastati, got caught half-way the turn in one big lump. At this point the odds were 135 to 160 for me. Then a short melee ensues, my hastati rout with ~100 men left. At the same time my 3 other hastati, who were keeping their peasants and velites from joining the melee slugfest, rout. End of battle with my general charging right through them all. Battle resolves in a clear victory for me, with them killing ~240 of my men.


Another battle report, but not as "scientific" as the above one.

I had another "quick rout"-battle against the Gauls the turn before. Numbers were quite equal but my general had a few stars versus enemys 0. Gauls were defending in some woods near Patavium.

First the Gauls close quite conveniently just inside my archers firing range, a few warbands, 1 barb cav and their general. They were still partly in woods, and at this point I can confirm that keeping units in woods protects them almost completely from missile fire. Not having caused ANY significant casualties (1 killed bodyguard, 1 barb cav, ~30 spearmen, which were just outside of the woods, and 1000 of my soldiers with me killing only ~200. I'd be pleased if they'd won me with an ambush or some other *tactic*, but them charging frontally through hastati and triarii isn't something that I'd like to see.

It's bizarre, as previously stated.

Conclusions: VH AI bonii apply still in campaings, or a morale penalty is applied to your units. Unless, of course, these battles had something in them that I didn't notice.