Greatest battles of Thera...

**The Holy Pilgrim** · June 17, 2011, 12:38 AM

Surprisingly, nobody has made a thread about this despite many posts about how awesome Thera's units are. The main idea of this thread is to post your greatest wins or losses, be it through stories or images. I'd love to see how great some of you guys' battles were, even if you lost the battle.

I guess I'll start it off...

This battle took place many moons ago, long before the great Massive_Attack graced us with his wonderful skins and even before Borissomeone's "Tales of Thera" grew in popularity. In fact it was so long ago, I can't remember if it was in version 2, A New Beginning (yes, I still remember that title

) or version 3, Legacy of the Great Torment.

This battle was a clash between some of the fiercest generals in the history of Thera since the Great Torment. Nero and his heir lead two mighty Romuli legions to finish the Uruk Dominion, once and for all.

Now, there is something you should know about these two armies. They have seen countless battles, some together, some apart. They've fought Uruks, Barka, Lao Che, and the Privateers. Their command has risen significantly, almost to the point where they were Gods. They've lost many men in Ly Kan ambushes, fended off marauding Pirates in countless sieges, and they even held off three invasion forces of the Barka on the Romuli capital. Caesar Nero himself lead the great conquest of the Greco City-States to the East, conquering the Spartans as well as the city of Troy. Nero's heir was positioned on the border of the then powerful Uruk Dominion. But times have changed by the time of this up-coming battle.

The Privateers have been removed from the land; the Barka have declared peace seeing how all attempts of invasion have failed thus far. The Greco City-States were now full-fledged cities of the Empire, providing his Emperor with much needed troops against the Uruk hordes. With this extra man-power, as well as the commanding brilliance of both the Emperor and his Heir, the Uruk Dominion has lost much of its power, facing a two-way war with the ever-expanding Romuli Empire and the mighty Lao Che Khanate.

They have lost their capital of Demos as well as one of their finest commanders (he was killed in a heroic battle protecting the Dominion's capital, slaying many Legionnaires). The only two remaining family members where the Alpha of the Uruk peoples and his son, a warrior who has proven to be a formidable adversary in battle having bested many lesser Romuli generals and captains.

The two warriors now stand with a size-able Uruk force outside of their last city, only being defended by a few survivors of the Siege of Demos. They blocked the way to the city, hoping to give their citizens the chance to escape. But alas, Caesar Nero has already set his greedy eyes upon the last haven of the Dominion. With nearly two entire legions, Nero set out to attack the valiant Uruks.

In the early part of the battle, the Uruks were gaining the upperhand. They have already routed many of the legions lead by Nero's son, with Nero himself struggling against hordes of Reptarii and Ly Kans. The heavy Uruk Gan were too much for the militia of the Romuli, killing off many brave soldiers. Ly Kan Crossbows lit the ranks of Nero's son's legions ablaze, killing and routing many before the heir to the Romuli throne, himself, fell.

After the prince's defeat, the Romuli chances of achieving victory seemed slim. Arrows have done little to the fresh Uruk Hai warriors, and even less to the Uruk Alpha's bodyguard. Over the ridge of the hill, a fresh new army led by the Dominion's heir crowned the top of the hill. Fear set into Romuli hearts as the dreaded Mahisha were sighted amongst yet even more Ly Kans and Reptarii. But Caesar was no fool.

He ordered what remained of his weakened cavalry force to skirt around the Uruk army, having one unit break off to tie-up the Mahisha so they wouldn't pester the much needed infantry. The heavy cavalry force wasted no time, rushing to reach their target; the Dominion's heir. With one mighty sound of the Horn of War, the battered, grim, experienced cavalry who have long severed under Nero's command and having witnessed countless battles, rammed the side and rear of the Uruk Guard who were protecting their leader. And with that, the heir to the Uruk Dominion was dead, just vengeance for a grieving Emperor who saw his own son burned before his very eyes by the wicked flames of Slavos Hades himself.

The prince's army was quick to run. The tables have now turned on the still furious Uruk leader. Nero then pushed his legions forward, their skill and experience overpowering the loyal and ferocious Dominion hordes. Archers continued to rain fire upon the lighter Dominion troops, added to the casualties every second. The same cavalry that were used to kill the heir of the Uruks were now targeting the next most lethal targets on the battlefield: the Mahisha and the Ly Kan Crossbows. Even the most dedicated Uruk warrior is a match for Nero's famed cavalry.

The Uruk leader was now surrounded by legionnaires, but he was far from death. He fought with bestial fury, cutting down Romuli veterans and new recruits all the same. But eventually, the Dominion's best warrior and king was weakening and tiring of constant waves of soldiers. This was what Nero had been waiting for. With revenge for his fallen son burning in his heart, he charged full-speed into the Alpha's bodyguard, lances piercing each Uruk through their hearts, including the Alpha himself. With one final breath, the Uruk Leader, who's name was unrecorded for unknown reasons, whispered "This may be the death of the Dominion, but the fires of freedom will live forever in those oppressed by your rule, Emperor."

And so ended the final conflict between the Romuli and the Uruk Dominion. The death of the last Uruk leader brought about a swift end to the Dominion, but the Uruk Alpha was right. The former Uruk Dominion was no longer held by a political entity, but a people bonded by blood and the wish of freedom from tyrannical rule. Nero would soon become the greatest Emperor of the Romuli Empire since the ending of the Great Torment, bringing about the largest expansion of the Romuli Empire under any one ruler to date. He will forever be a hero and a paragon to his people, but a tyrant and a dictator to his enemies.

Now, if you didn't read the whole thing, it was either because you think that I have no talent in writing what-so-ever (which I don't

), or it was just too long for your taste. So, in that regard, I have a short summary of what I described above:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

I hope you enjoyed the read and I hope to see others post their favorite battle experiences as well.

**Massive_attack** · June 17, 2011, 01:12 AM

Cool story bro.

Nah I jest, I jest ! That was cool. Nice post.

**CommisarCain** · June 17, 2011, 08:27 PM

OOOH! I've been wanting to share recent stories of victories!

Several years ago (irl it was a few hours before this post :p) the Reich was still at war with the Kukuclan peoples. They had started the war to gain both sacrifices for their gods, and out of fear that the Reich would soon come marching to take their homes. So they started the war, and several years later the native heathen were besieging the distant, but wonderfully rich and well developed city of Zaca Teco, which had been modernized, and its people made loyal to the Reich, with generous helpings of immigrants from the Reich's mainland of course.

The people of Zaca Teco were fiercely loyal, and hated the natives and their abominable gods. So when a large army of warriors marched on the city, many men anwsered the call. Four small companies of Arquebsiers were recruited, along with seven companies of militia pikemen who were provided with basic steel helms. Assisting the defending citizens were a company of musketeers, a band of Mesopec warriors who, despite their loyalty to the Reich, fought as their traditions dictated, some rabbit boys who had grown up around the fortress of Bolontiku, and a marvelous company of Household guard.

The city was beseiged for a whole year before the savages decided it was time to attack. They had somehow managed to scrounge enough intelligence from all their fool brains to construct two rams, as siege tower and two pairs of ladders.

The governor quickly marshaled his men, giving them orders as to their positions. The Arquebsiers and the rabbits boys were positioned on the walls, with the pikemen formed up into phalanxes on the ground. The phalanxes were positioned in key places, with a militia company standing directly in front of the gates, and the brave household guard forming a second phalanx that just barely combined with the back of the millitia. The two palanxes were strecthed thin, which meant that the halberds of the Guard could reach forward and crush any heathens that made past the pikes. Another company of pikemen was positioned along the walls to the right of the gate so as to slaughter enemies as the tried to descend from the walls, forced to drip their soldiers one by one into pointy death.

A main roadway led straight from the gate up a small but quite steep hill, all the way up to the city square. This was going to be a key position, so the governor postioned his forces carefully here. He had one company of millitia pike at just above the foot of the hill. It was in this place the hill leveled out flat for a dozen yards, making it easy for the pikes to keep their balance while slaughtering anyone who made it past the defenders at the gate. Behind these men, and at the top of the second rising section of the hill, was another company of millita, ready to repeat the same slaughter that would occur at the bottom of the hill and at the gate. Finally, there were two companies of pikemen guarding the square, with one forming a phalanx to block the main causeway, and another to block the sideroutes should the enemy try to circle around.

The battle began as expected, with the enemy bringing their siege equipment to the walls. The gunners and the Rabbit boys rained death on the enemy, but there were too many. When the siege tower reached the section of the walls the Musketeers were at, they fled immediately, retreat to stand on the second rise of the hill, giving them clear shots at the enemy for when they would eventually break through the gate, and they would still rain death if the enemy broke past the men defending the gateway. For some reason only one unit of Arquebsiers fled, retreating to try the same tactic as the musketeers by hiding behind the second company on the hill.

When Jaguar Warriors climbed up the ladders they found themselves facing mere Rabbit boys. However, the mercenaries had the advantage, and were able to kill many, many of the Jaguar warriors than the would have normally.

The siege tower suffered the same fate, albeit the Jaguars who spilled for from the tower were slaughtered by Arquebsiers.

The final group of Arquebsiers engaged the Jaguars that had climbed up the ladders from behind, killing all of them, then engaging a new group of Jaguars that climbed the ladders.

It was soon after this that rams broke through the gate, spilling heathens into the city. However, those same heathens simply charged forwards into a wall of pointy death, with the Musketeers bringing death from above. Those milia-men and that group of Guards fought valiantly, slaughtering nearly a third of the enemy army single-handedly. They would later be commemorated in a statue, erected in their honor and cast from bronze, depicting several millita-men and Guard trying to keep the militia standard aloft, with the flag in the statue tilted, and cast so as to seem it were waving in the breeze. The newly invented technology of photography captured the event, and copies circulated all across the Reich, becoming the single most inspiring image throughout the entire nation.

However, those brave, brave men could not hold the line forever, and the sheer weight of enemy numbers killed them all. But hope was certainly not lost, for the enemy still had to get past three companies of pikemen. The battle was ended soon after, with the enemy only managing to get past the phalanx at the bottom of the hill.

The battle became itself became a symbol of imperial might, of how the Reich's superior tactics and technology would always prevail over the savage heathens of Mesocala.

Long story short: Zaca Teco was besieged by a large Kukuclan army, and my militia did a DAMN fine job. Also that Guardsman and those militia men did an imitation of the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima

**The Holy Pilgrim** · June 17, 2011, 09:31 PM

Nice story CommisarCain

Nice to hear of a battle from the Faustian colonies in Mesocala. Players don't mention those dark lands often.

+rep for the story

EDIT: Oops, I apologize to TFON. I didn't think of putting this in the AAR section. My bad

**CommisarCain** · June 17, 2011, 10:08 PM

I thank you O' Manbearpig, you honor me. I liked your story as well.

I have a second story, but it's late and I'm tired. I shall post it tomorrow

**TheFirstONeill** · June 17, 2011, 10:19 PM

Originally Posted by The Holy Pilgrim

Oops, I apologize to TFON. I didn't think of putting this in the AAR section. My bad

No worries mate, you know what I'm like for trying to keep things organised.

**Massive_attack** · June 17, 2011, 10:29 PM

Here, Ill tell a story with a picture: (see attached)

20,000 man battle. Both my AI allies were bloody IDIOTS and couldnt hold the damn line. No, they insisted upon breaking ranks and open up there flanks. The enemy AI on the other hand was 10 times smarter, and marshalled its forces, killing off my allies one by one by overrunning them. I couldnt do anything without compromising my own token force of... probably 3-4000 men. So i did what any commander does when he has no options. I found a good position and dug in. Cue epic TWO HOUR LONG battle involving pikes, forlorn hope, cannon, and cuirasser. It was.. beautiful. Special mention goes out to two units of pike militia i had deployed to prevent a flanking action from destroying my main line. They held against everything. special mention also goes out to my Kaisers lancers. They single handedly killed TWO enemy generals (the other was sniped by my serpentines !), as well as a whole mess of enemy troops.

Was a custom battle though, so no real story to it. Just the Reich KICKING SOME ASS

**The Holy Pilgrim** · June 18, 2011, 12:04 AM

Wow, that battle must have been the laggiest thing you've ever done

So, your name "Massive_Attack" isn't just a random name, is it?

+rep for a battle on such a large scale.

**Massive_attack** · June 18, 2011, 12:13 AM

I specialize in large scale deployments. I mean, i chose a Commissar as an avatar, did you expect anything less ?

I had other pictures but they were ruined by the tree cover. Picture a sea of several thousands meso troops fighting a determined line of pikes and heavy infantry, and you have a general idea of the awesome that was that fight

The lag was "ehhh"

It wouldnt have been bad if i didnt disable sprites, use ENB, and put all the settings to max. Even then, I have the feeling the lag would improve if i disabled shadows.

Also, Captain Sepp deserves a fusilade to the bloody face. He deploys with THAT MANY MEN, most of them line infantry as i recall, and gets THAT many kills ? An insult to the reich and her honor. Captain Conrad is totally getting a chest-full of medals, even if they are all given posthumously (he died in battle pimp-slapping some coyote priests

Too bad.

**CommisarCain** · June 18, 2011, 02:43 PM

Wow, Sepp killed that few enemies? Turning that battle around must have taken some kind of tactical geni-CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!!!!

Also, pikes slaughter mesocala warriors, which is the subject of my next story which I'm still trying to find screenshots from

**Borissomeone** · June 20, 2011, 05:03 PM

Some truly great battles + rep for all.

**The Holy Pilgrim** · June 20, 2011, 05:19 PM

Thank you oh wise and all-powerful Boris. Your words are greatly appreciated

**Massive_attack** · June 20, 2011, 05:31 PM

Yeah, thanks boris. You should share a story or two, im sure you have made a few memories of great battles in your thera games

**Borissomeone** · June 20, 2011, 09:59 PM

Originally Posted by The Holy Pilgrim

Thank you oh wise and all-powerful Boris. Your words are greatly appreciated

Any time friend, I always have a few kind words for you

.

Originally Posted by Massive_attack

Yeah, thanks boris. You should share a story or two, im sure you have made a few memories of great battles in your thera games

Hmmm I could and have fought many grand battles, but I'm old and quite forgetful

so I might start and then distracted by something shiny...maybe once I finished my tale.

**CommisarCain** · June 21, 2011, 06:10 PM

Well, I just finished a battle to defend the beautiful city of Aachen, magnificent trade city of the Reich, from the thieving Grand Duchy of Dracule.

A couple of turns ago in my current campaign, the Grand Duke decides, OUT OF NOWHERE, that he wants to rule Aachen.

I was unable to respond since the Dracule army zerg rushed me immediatley after landing, besieging Aachen. The attack was so sudden that neither Essen, nor Barbarossa, nor Sturmburg could respond immediatley. It seemed Aachen was in dire straits.

Aachen was defended by five units of pikemen and five units of Arquebsiers. I placed the Arqy's on the walls, and I placed the pikes at choke points, with two units spread out and merged right in front of the gates, one unit each for the two causeways leading from the gate to the town square, and a final unit guarding the town square.

They never made it farther than the first line.

The Dracule had attacked with an unusually large amount of horse men. When I say large, I mean a quarter of the army was Varia Brigand Horsemen. The dracule also had a monster bombard which was used to knock down my walls, but didn't do anything else.

So the Dracule rush through two gaps in my walls, one directly on each side of the gate, EN MASSE. I mean the entire flipping army charged through those two holes, right into a wall of POINTY DEATH.

My two units of pikes slaughtered HALF THE DAMN DRACULE ARMY, I KID YOU NOT.

You see that little green oval? It's what was left after most of the pikes were dead.

THAT LITTLE OVAL HELD OFF AN ENTIRE CHARGING ARMY, AND THEN KILLED HALF OF IT.

Those two units of pikemen did what would normally have taken a full army to do. Instead, the Dracule just charged right into my pike wall. The Arqy's were no help at all, constantly getting slaughtered whenever I tried to use them in close combat.

Summary: PIKES. STUPID AI. GOD I LOVE PIKES

**Massive_attack** · June 21, 2011, 07:54 PM

Those militia troops will look significantly better before im through

Great battle, love the "300" esque against all odds last stands by pike troops. +rep.

**CommisarCain** · June 23, 2011, 01:10 PM

Thanks. I honestly thought I was going to lose before the two units of pikes performed a renactment of 300. Also, can't wait to see those militia wearing something other then... I don't even have names for the colors these guys wear.