Battle Of Pharsalus, August 9th, 48 Bc

When Caesar marched into Greece, Pompey had the strategic option of avoiding battle and transporting himself by sea to Italy, securing the peninsula in the absence of Caesar and his forces. Another strategy for Pompey would be, with his numerical superiority, to intercept supplies from Caesar s forces. But there was politics above these decisions and, under pressure from the Senate, Pompey was forced to offer battle at Pharsalus. Contemporary historians of the battle recalled that Pompey missed an opportunity to try to repeat Cannae (216 BC) with his possible cavalry superiority on both flanks – and not on just one. Even considering the Enipeus River as an obstacle, this would not prevent the possibility of distributing light cavalry and infantry on both flanks, of course limiting the extension and strength on the river side. Caesar would hardly fall into a trap like Cannae, but a Battle of Ruspina almost finished him off, and that s what we ll try in this simulation.