AAR from a beginner

[Asnus]

"Having fallen out of the favor of the Empress Placidia, in 429AD Boniface invited Gaeseric, the King of the Vandals, to migrate from Hispania into the rich Roman lands of Northern Africa. Taking 80,000 men, including Alans, Roman-Spaniards, former slaves and several Germanic tribesmen with their families, they seized lands from the local Berbers and some Romans near Tingi (Tangier). From there they overran the country and spread all over Mauritania....."

...but them, Bonifacius recovered favor and became Patricius. He sail back to Cartago with new troops, put the Comitatenses Army of Africa in march, and in 3 epic battles destroyed the Vandals to the last man.

Aetius was not happy with Bonifacius being the most powerfull man in the Empire and deserted to the Anti-emperor Maximus with the complete Army of Gaul. In Illyrium the field army was destroyed after trying to stop the huns in open battle...

But the Empire was eternal and short after the governors in Gaul were able to put a new field army on march, hitting the usurper badly and recovering even Tarraco. The Huns were stopped in Aquilea preventing their move into Italy. Commerce and taxes recovered, Bonifacius crossed the Straigts of Gibraltar and conquered Gades, sailing upstream the river Guadiana and entering triumphaly into Toletum!

Aetius realised than glory was only possible under the orders of the rightfull Emperor Valentinian, so came back but sadly without his comitatenses army. The visigoths declared war and the war was bloody as ever, but at the end they were hunted from Gaul down to Hispania, where Bonifacius and Aetius merged their forces to face the power of the Sueves.

Illyria was devastated by the huns until they were not able to recover from the sieges they started. A new Field army faced the in the Limes and this time Rome sieged!

Year 439: The capital was moved back from Ravena to Rome to celebrate this new glorius time!"



I loved this first game but:

1) Its cheaper to hire new troops than to unkeep them. I tried not to cheat and trasported troops from one point to another instead fo disbanding troops. Yet it made too easy to recover after a disastrous battle. Its a good way to keep the maximum troops you can have at one time but not realistic. If Hugh Elton was right, one possible cause of the "decline" was that after loosing troops in a battle it was too expensive to hire new ones (new chainmails, new weapons...) and therfore it was cheaper to hire barbarian mercenaries (cheap hire but expensive unkeep).

2) The limes is not at danger, so you can retreat almos all your troops from there, knowing that the IA will not attack from that direction

3) I was not able to bribe anybody, maybe I am doing something wrong...
4) too many "new family members with too many cheap troops
5) The only way to find peace with the barbarians is to kill them to the last man..
6) I was not able to damage the ememies siegtowers and rams
7) The stupid hispano-romans wont make peace with their emperor! So they were conquered by the sueves
8) Bonifacius should not be called "Augustus"

Thats all, sorry for my english. I love the MOD and will keep playing it till the end (cleaning Hispania from the sueves) and waiting for the other IB´s specially Ante Portas


Magister militium Asnus

[Riothamus]

"Having fallen out of the favor of the Empress Placidia, in 429AD Boniface invited Gaeseric, the King of the Vandals, to migrate from Hispania into the rich Roman lands of Northern Africa. Taking 80,000 men, including Alans, Roman-Spaniards, former slaves and several Germanic tribesmen with their families, they seized lands from the local Berbers and some Romans near Tingi (Tangier). From there they overran the country and spread all over Mauritania....."

...but them, Bonifacius recovered favor and became Patricius. He sail back to Cartago with new troops, put the Comitatenses Army of Africa in march, and in 3 epic battles destroyed the Vandals to the last man.

Aetius was not happy with Bonifacius being the most powerfull man in the Empire and deserted to the Anti-emperor Maximus with the complete Army of Gaul. In Illyrium the field army was destroyed after trying to stop the huns in open battle...

But the Empire was eternal and short after the governors in Gaul were able to put a new field army on march, hitting the usurper badly and recovering even Tarraco. The Huns were stopped in Aquilea preventing their move into Italy. Commerce and taxes recovered, Bonifacius crossed the Straigts of Gibraltar and conquered Gades, sailing upstream the river Guadiana and entering triumphaly into Toletum!

Aetius realised than glory was only possible under the orders of the rightfull Emperor Valentinian, so came back but sadly without his comitatenses army. The visigoths declared war and the war was bloody as ever, but at the end they were hunted from Gaul down to Hispania, where Bonifacius and Aetius merged their forces to face the power of the Sueves.

Illyria was devastated by the huns until they were not able to recover from the sieges they started. A new Field army faced the in the Limes and this time Rome sieged!

Year 439: The capital was moved back from Ravena to Rome to celebrate this new glorius time!"



I loved this first game but:

1) Its cheaper to hire new troops than to unkeep them. I tried not to cheat and trasported troops from one point to another instead fo disbanding troops. Yet it made too easy to recover after a disastrous battle. Its a good way to keep the maximum troops you can have at one time but not realistic. If Hugh Elton was right, one possible cause of the "decline" was that after loosing troops in a battle it was too expensive to hire new ones (new chainmails, new weapons...) and therfore it was cheaper to hire barbarian mercenaries (cheap hire but expensive unkeep).

2) The limes is not at danger, so you can retreat almos all your troops from there, knowing that the IA will not attack from that direction

3) I was not able to bribe anybody, maybe I am doing something wrong...
4) too many "new family members with too many cheap troops
5) The only way to find peace with the barbarians is to kill them to the last man..
6) I was not able to damage the ememies siegtowers and rams
7) The stupid hispano-romans wont make peace with their emperor! So they were conquered by the sueves
8) Bonifacius should not be called "Augustus"

Thats all, sorry for my english. I love the MOD and will keep playing it till the end (cleaning Hispania from the sueves) and waiting for the other IB´s specially Ante Portas


Magister militium Asnus

Thanks for this well thought out and well put decription and suggestions Asnus.

We are going to re invest ourselves back to the Vandals campaign and make t a better mod. I'll certainly take in consideration your input.
On the matter of upkeep I'm a firm believer its much more expensive to feed and keep(pay) soldiers in the field then recruiting and training. This is certainly displayed for the Roman factions more so.

[Asnus]

On the matter of upkeep I'm a firm believer its much more expensive to feed and keep(pay) soldiers in the field then recruiting and training

Hugh Elton "warfare in Roman Europe 350-425" writes an interesting study about "paying the army" with reasonable calculations. As resumé: "the cost of equipping and paying an infanteryman in his first year was 10 solidi, 21 for cavalryman, but in their second year of service it was 4 and 8 respectively (donatives and reinplacement of equipment not included). The sort-term expense in raising new troops made hiring allies an attractive option when resources were limited or when troops were needed for a short period only, as during usurpations"