With the death of the great Emperor Alexios, who in future generations would be viewed as the greatest Emperor Nova Roma had, his son ascended the throne......
Emperor John the Corrupt was what people would entitle him. Unlike his father and his younger brothers, he was no chivarlous man. Instead he was a man of few virtues. His rule would not be as long as his father's and his death not peaceful. However he was not a weak man. No, far from it. He was a mighty ruler and great commander. He was a lover of battle and would die in it.....,but thats a story to be told later. Now the story of the great rebirth of Rome's great legion must be finished.
THE LEGION REFORMATION- PART 2
Upon hearing the news of his father's death, John laughed. His great laughter stunned all spectators around him. When one's father dies, you would think one would be sad. John was not. John had always thought that his father was Emperor for too long and that he deserved the throne and the riches behind it.. John was rushed to Nova Roma where he was crowned the new Emperor of Nova Roma. However since his father was in the second capital of Rome, the imperial crown was not in Nova Roma. John was impatient and greedy. He would not wait for his crown to arrive and ordered a new better crown to be made. With the purest gold and the shinest gems, John had a crown unrivaled since King David. On the steps of the Imperial Palace he cried, " God himself couldn't have a better crown!" Just then a foul wind coming from someone's arse knocked him down 60 steps of stairs. Emperor John would be in the hospital for a year.
Due to disablement of the Emperor, the imperial family held a meeting. They had to decide who would manage the empire in place of John. The vote was unanimous towards Istvan. As the greatest general of the empire and the other brothers of the Emperor too young to lead an entire empire, it was obvious Istvan was best-suited to do the job. The Imperial Title known as the Consul was brought back and Istvan was given it. Consul Istvan asked the Governor of Rome for Emperor Alexios' government works and was given it. He was informed by the royal advisors that the late emperor had planned a legion reformation. Consul Istvan thought to himself, " New legions, remarkable! Alexios was a genius! His plans and legion military tactics are amazing." Consul Istvan declared that the legion reformation would be intiated at once! There was decree to all army training centers for them to start the legion reformation. The empire's greatest defence would be born and they would need it........
The Legion
The Nova Roma Legion is flexible and hardy. It is able to adapt to different situations and opponents. It is based on the organization of the Centuria. Unit types are standardized as components of the army in groups of Centuria. If a unit type is used in a legion then it will have 2 Centuria or more. The only exception to this rule are the Legionaries who are the most important part in the legion. They will always be in a legion and will always have 5 Centuria. Legionary Centuria will never have less than 5 Centuria, unless when the situation demands it. The standard legion consists of:
However 2 Centuria can be switched with other 2 Centuria that are better suited to doing the task the legion is setting out to do. For example, if the legion is sieging a settlement with walls, the field artillery will be replaced with heavier siege equipment or if against a heavy cavalry based army, the Varangian Guard will be replaced with Byzantine Legionary Spearmen. This allows the legion to adapt to different armies and troop types. Only 2 Centuria can be traded unless again the situation demands it.
The Emperor Alexios made 3 standard formations for his legions. Of course he made many more for different situations, but this are the main ones and are usually enough against the barbarians called AI. They are the regular battle formation, regular defense formation, and the moving fortress attack formation.
An overview of the Regular Battle Formation. The Cavalry are on the flanks and the legionaries hold the core, while the Legionary Spearmen hold the infantry flanks.
A flank of the Regular Battle Formation.
The Horse Archers are in front of the Heavy Cavalry.