Things are very seldom what they seem. In my experience, they’re usually a damn sight worse.
took an arrow to the knee
spy of the council
[TE AAR] Republic of Rome
Ok, here is the beginning of my AAR for my Roman campaign. The other night I only played about 5 years worth, but this is just to get it started. Oh yeah, it is on H/H.
Republic of Rome AAR
280BC-275BC
During these early years there was of course little fighting. I built up my economy in all my cities while building the first Legion of Rome. This legion consisted of 5 Hastati, 5 Princeps, 5 Triarii, 2 Velites, 1 Roman Archer and a 16 year old 3 star General. This Legion saw some action in 276BC against a pesky half stack rebel army near Rome. They lost only 37 men to the rebels and slaughtered them all. The first Legion of Rome will be stationed in Southerne Italy for a few years while the next Legion of Rome is trained to attack Gaul. Once all is ready both Legions will strike at Epirus and Gaul simultaniously and take control of Italy.
The Siege of Tarentum
I attacked Epirus shortly after my 2nd Legion was trained to attack Gaul. First, I attacked the Epirote city of Tarentum, defended by a half stack of mainly Militia troops with some other assorted troops. This was my full legion, so there was no way that I could lose.
I sieged the city as soon as the full stack Eporite army was out of attack range for one turn. I would wait one turn then assault the settlement before the main Eporite army arrived. What was shocking to me was that on that very next turn, after the main Eporite army moved as close as they could, the garrison of Tarentum sallied forth. Half stack militiamen against my hardened Legion? Very surprising indeed.
So I fought the battle, and to my advantage it was a night battle. Since they were sallying forth, I didnt get to deploy my troops, so I acted quickly. I decided to move the 4 rams I had built into a line in front of my Hastati, to hopefully stall the Eporite advance a bit and give the Hastati time to throw their Pila. It managed to hae some effect, 3 Militia units were stopped by the rams and they got pelted by the pila from the Hastati.
My Legion was deployed in a historical fashion (Hastati in front, Princeps behiond, etc.) and the Eporites charged straight into the front line with careless regard for their flanks. I was able to outmaneuver them and flank their forces with my reserve Merc Hoplites, General and Triarii. I encircled them and slaughtered every last one. Tarentum was Roman.
Sorry, forgot to get pics in battle, but here is proof of the victory! 
The Assault on Tarentum
The full stack Epirus army attcked the Roman city of Tarentum, where my First Legion was garrisoned. The battle would be the turning point of the war with Epirus: If I lost, they took Tarentum, and my only defence against an invasion of the rest of Italy-and Roma itself- was lost. However, if I won, Epirus would be severely crippled, as this was their main army as well. Another target of opprotunity was the Eporite King, King Pyrrhus of Epirus.
The battle commenced at midday. Epirus had brought a siege ram, a siege tower, 2 sets of siege ladders and elephants to the battle. The only defense against these were the lone Roman archers and mne manning the gatehouse. Other than that, only the valour of the rest of the legion could stop the Eporite onslaught, which might not be enough.
I had deployed my best troops on the walls to defend, and the archers were placed to the right of the gatehouse to have a wider range to release their volleys. Velites were also placed on the Gatehouse wall, to protect against the horde of elephants from smashing down the gate.
So it began. Epirus sent all of its siege equipment and war elephants forward. As they approached my archers and gatehouse archers opened fire on the siege tower. It wasnt long before the deadly yet concentrated fire of the Roman archers brought down the lumbering piece of equipment. It fell burning, killing many Eporites as it collapsed.
The ladders advanced much slower than I had anticipated, so I was abble to concentrate fire on the approaching elephants. However, the Eporites best troops were still comeing closer to the wall near my archers. I had to take more out, so I ordered the archers fire at the advancing ladders to slow them down. This tactic worked , and slowed the ladders by a significant 30 seconds at least. Meanwhile, my Velites on the Gatehouse walls were pelting the War Elephants with spears, and, with the added effect of burning oil pouring down on the elephants, they were quickly frightened. They began to run amok, and left the battle.
Just as soon as the elephants were taken care of, the Eporites sent their siege ram and ladders forward as fast as they could, so I had to concentrate my fire on one or the other. I chose the ram, for I could not defend any breach against so many Eporite cavalry. My tactic worked well, and the ram was destoyed before they got too close to the gate. However, this gave the ladders time to get to the walls, and so they did. Both units bearing the ladders set them on the walls and began to scale them. Hopefully, my Triarii and Princepes could hold out.
After a long and bloody battle on the walls, the Eporites were driven back, but not beaten. They still had half of their force lying in wait just outside the walls, barely beyond reach of my archers. So, I made the decision to go and get them, to sally forth. I would not let this army live to fight another day, and I wanted their King's head. 
I sent the Legion forward, all men on the wall were taken off the walls to fight them on the ground. We deployed the legion right in front of the gate and stared them down for a moment. Then, all hell broke loose.
The legions charged at the Eporites, and they naturally went into phalanx formation. I knew they would do this, anyone knows they would, that is why i had my flanks sweep around and outflank them. I managed to surround all the phalanxmen and slaughter them all.
But, the enemy still had one final card to play. They had 5 cavalry units in reserve, including one family member and the Eporite King.They sounded one last thunderous charge into the lines my legion formed. They broke throught the center but not the flanks of my army, and were so easily engulfed in a wall of spears (Triarii) that they fell within minutes. There was only one small problem though: The Eporite King refused to die, and so did his bodyguard. They fought ferociously, killing many Romans. But, they also made the mistake of making a short withdrawal towards their collapsed siege tower and ram, which formed a barrier for their escape. As the Legions charged one last time, the Eporites began to falter. Their King tried to make a run for it, but due to his foolish comand to withdraw to the postition that they were at, he became trapped and was beheaded by a legionary.
This marked the end of the battle. The few remaning cavalry of Epirus ran for the hills after the gruesome sight of their generals death. Rome had prevailed.
Though Tarentum was defended and a great victory gained, there was another battle going on miles away in the Roman city of Capua, where
Epirus had stealthily come up on the unsuspecting town and besieged it. Now, the outnumbered men defending Capua would either face death or claim a heroic victory.
The Assault at Capua
At the same moment in time as the main Eporite army was scaling the walls of Tarentum, a smaller force attacked the smaller garrison of the Roman town of Capua. Yes, a small battle, but a very significant one. If Capua was lost, Roma would be wide open to Epirus, and with the First Legion at Tarentum fighting the Eporites and the Second Legion in Northern Italy, the only option was to stand and fight- no reinforcments were coming.
The Roman garrison at Capua was comprised of 1 Triarii, 1 Hastati, 1 Velites, 1 Rorarii and the General Vibius Octavianus. They were up against 4 units of hardened Eporite Hoplites and Phalanxmen, who are experts at Urban warfare.
This of course was a small scale batte, but more important than it was large. The Eporites deplyed a lone siege ram. I defended the gate with Triarii spearmen in front, in hopes to best counteract their Hoplites and phanlanxmen. Behind them were the Hastati, ready to lob their pila at the marching enemy. Behind them were the Velites also ready to lob their javelins. To the right of this setup were the Rorarii, ready to charge in at any sign of distress. And to the left of the setup was my general, Vibius Octavianus, also ready to charge in at any sign of distress.
So the battle began. All went as planned as they approached the gate. All javelins were spent on the rams unit, and they were severely depleted in numbers and routed soon after they broke down the gate. Then, as more Hoplites broke in, the Triarii and Hastati began to lose ground fast, though they still had strength in numbers. It was a deadlocked match with no clear winning side, that is, until the Eporite Phalanx came into play. They decimated the Triarii, Hastati, Velites and Rorarii to their last men. Though defeated these brave units fought on and caused many enemy casualties as well, but they were pushed back and forced to retreat. The general retreated to, he did not rout. He knew that his position was not good to use his cavalry bodyguard to its full advantage, so he fell back to the town square with his bodyguards- and 3 remaining footsoldiers.
THe Three Amigos!
The Romans fell back to the Town square to make a final stand, though they knew they were to die. There was only the generals cavalry to save them, and with them being the only 3 infantry left, they could only try to defend the onslaught of the remaning Eporite troops.
But then the General came up with a cunning plan. He told the 3 remaining infantry to go to the far side of the town square and stay there, while the Generals cavalry hid in a street alley to ambush the enemy as they entered the area. The soldiers obeyed the command, seeing that there really was nothing else better to do. The infantry carried out their orders and waited. Then, they saw the Eporites coming closer, angry and ready for more Roman blood. These Eporites were so cocky that they failed to notice Vibius Octavianus and his cavalry hiding just nearby. As the Eporites began to run at the 3 infantrymen, the General sounded the charge.
The Eporites had no clue wtf was happening. Many kept running but others stopped to look behind them. To their horror they saw the fresh cavalry of general Vibius charging at them like bats out of hell, wanting revenge for their fallen Roman comrades at the earlier gate battle. Though the Eporites had the advantage of their phalanx they had not the time to order themselves for the charge of the Romans. Many of them were killed in the charge, and those who werent saw Vibius Octavianus preparing another charge. They did not want to face this, so they routed, fleeing the city they were so close to claiming.
Seeing this spectacle happen before their eyes, those few remaing Roman infantrymen began to chase after the few routing Eporites as well. They were the last men left in each of their units: 1 Velite left, one Hastati left, and one Rorarii left. They wanted revenge, and they wanted it bad. They hunted down whoever they could, and eventually found the Eporite Captain trying to save his own skin. They were not about to let him escape.
Seeing this the Velite charged ferociously at the Captain and cut him down, butchering him like a pig. As he looked up he saw that the 'hunt' was over. All Eporites had been killed. Victory was in the hands of Rome once more, Rome now had 2 victories under her belt in one day.
A Quick Situation Report: For a couple years after the bloody battle of Tarentum and the heroic Defense of Capua Rome has had an economic boom. The treasurey of the great Republic began to climb from 30,000 by about 2,500 each turn, even with all of the Republics expensive expenditures. Also, the Eporits have been driven back to Croton, with only a small garrison of 8 units to defend it against the might and wrath of the First Legion. It is only a matter of time now....
QUICK UPDATE! : The Battle of Croton commenced after a year of the town being under siege. The defending Eporits sallied forth with a relief force from outside the city, and attemted to desrtoy the First Legion and save Croton. More on that battle soon to come.....
Also! From the front lines of Northern Italy, news has been recieved of a great victory over the Gauls by the second Legion. The surprise attack on the Gallic town of Mediolanium sparked a war between Gaul and Rome, one that Rome was sure to win against the ill prepared Gauls.....
More to come after I eat lunch! 
The Battle of Croton
The stage was set: it was time for the battle that would decide the Eporit future on Italian soil. If they won, they would have the chance to stike back at the undefended cities of Southern Italy, and cripple the Romans, but if they lost, they would lose their foothold in Italy and be forced off the peninsula.
The Eporits took a huge gamble with this sally battle. They were outnumbered almost 2 to 1, and their troops were weary from the Roman's siege. The Romans were ready for battle, eager to defeat the Eporits here and secure their future on Italian soil. However, the Eporits did have one advantage with this attack. Their forces were in a perfect, unstoppable position to outflank the Romans, and they just may have a chance because of this. Furthermore, one of their flanking units was a band of War Elephants, which were in a great position to come up behind the Roman troops.
The battle commenced. The Romans faced toward the closer threat of the main Eporit force (also the garrison force of Croton) which was marching closer. As the Romans prepared for the battle the Eporits small band of elephants and other gruops of soldiers began to march up behind the Romans, though they did this too late. They would soon find out that speed was of the essence, and that it could have really helped them out.
As the elephants began to march slowly at the Romans rear guard, the main Eporit army fomr Croton began a daring yet bold assault on the Roman line. In their initial charge all seemed to be going well for them. Their general second in command had led a charge into the Roman's flank and their pikemen were making good work of the Roman Hastati.
But to their dismay the Eporit general was cut down off his horse, and killed by the Roman General's bodyguard who were near him when he fell. And to make matters worse the Roman Triarii were making quick flanking maneuvers around the Hastati that were engaging the pikemen. It was only a matter of time before the Eporits were outflanked and slaughtered.
But alas! All was not lost! The Eporit Faction Heir had hung back for the slightest second, and was able to sound a charge that would hopefully crush the Triarii in their maneuvers. As the factio heir led the charge it seemed that all would be good. hey could see their elephant friends in the distance, coming closer to the Roman rear guard. However, the Eporits did not realize one important thing: the Roman general was moving his cavalry into a position to charge the rear of the Eporit pikemen, and there were no reserve troops to attack him.
Their fears came true when the Roman general sounded the charge at the undefended rear. The pikemen were surrounded now, and were falling quickly. To make things worse, the brave Eporit faction heir was being pushed back, and his bodyguard were now few in number. And still the reinforcements with the elephants were not here yet. There was no hope for these Eporits. The pikemen were all slaughtered and the faction heir ran for his life. Though they pursued him like bats out of hell the Roman general could not reach him. He fled the battlefield to live and fight another day.
Now that the Eporit army was gone, the reinforcing elephants band was unsure of what to do. They knew that without the support of the main army they would surely lose. So they withdrew to fight another day, but not before taking many casuelties from the Roman archers and javelinmen.
The battle was won for Rome, and though the garrison of Croton was still there, it was weakened to the point where it could not withstand any assault by the Romans. Roma Victa!!
The Assault on Mediolanium
Rome was on a fast string of fresh victories, and they had yet another battle to fight, only this time it was in Northern Italy against the Gauls. This battle is not considered a siege, though that was its intention. Instead it is a rapid assault, conducted after the Roman spies successfully managed to open the gates for the attackking Romans. The tiny Gallic garrison could ony fight to the death against the much more numerous and experienced Roman legion at their gates. Defeat was immenent for Gaul.
With the gates open it was only a matter of time until the Romans came into the city and claimed it for Rome. Despite all of the odds stacked against them the defending Gauls still put up the most effective defense they could. They kept their general and a unit of swordsmen at the center of town and sent their spearmen to defend the open gate. The Roman Hastati met the spearmen defenders at the gate with extreme ferocity, and quickly killed them all, capturing the gate and letting the Romans barge in.
The Romas took their time to deploy their men around the inside of the city. The would come at the remaining Gauls from all sides and slaughter them. After a short time that must have seemed like an eternity for the Gauls the Romans began their final assault. Hastati, Princepes, Triarii, everything was thrown at the Gauls. The town square crawled with Romans as they pushed onward and killed every last Gaul that resisted.
It was a great victory for Rome, not because it was a mere victory over smaller forces, but simply because it showed the military power and maneuverability of the Roman army. And as a added bonus, Rome now controlled the town of Mediolanium, which was the most prosperous town in North Italy at the time.
Fight for Croton
The Eporits have attempted one last attack on the Roman legion in hopes to releive the siege on their city of Croton. Though outnumbered more than 2-1 and spread thin across the battlefield, they still marched on, ready to fight to the death.
The battle commenced rather slowly. The larger body of the Eporit army was farther away from the rest of their forces (the smaller force included elephants). So, the Romans had the time to concentrate on taking down the elephants before they could do any serious damage. With hundreds of pila, javelins and arrows ready to be hurled at these beasts, there was minimal chance they would survive and kill some Romans.
With their force able to fully concentrate on the beasts in front of them, the Romans let loose their volley of spears and arrows. Volley upon volley the elephants resisted but were beaten back after many volleys, and were of no trouble to the Romans after that. Now with the only real threat gone, Rome turned to face the oncoming Eporit army, only have the size of the Legion.
The Eporits tried to maneuver the phalanx so they could not allow the legions to flank them, but they were spread too thin and were easily surrounded by the legions.
But as a last ditch effort to turn the tide of the battle the Eporit general and faction heir led a charge into the legions. They were successful in taking the legions by surprise, but were unable to break the lines of these bloodthirsty Romans. With the phalanx defeated though the legions were able to surround the faction heir and kill him in the midst of battle.
Now, with no one left to guide them, the few remaining Eporits made a run for the hills, never to return to their town of Croton. It was not a glorius victory for Rome in the fact that the battle was so onesided, but a sweet victory knowing they had captured Croton for Rome.
Economic and Global Politics Update #1
The year is now 265BC. Rome has nearly conquered all of Italy with the strenght of its legions. But it is not just the legions that will make Rome. Here is my first economic and political update of my campaign.
Economy- Rome could not be enjoying it anymore than this! After the successful capture of Mediolanium and Croton, more trade routs have been opened for Rome. As a result, Rome can now enjoy the splendor of being the richest faction of the known world!
Not one city is in the negatives, though Croton and Mediolanium are still recovering from their bitter and costly sieges, but they are recovering quickly!
World Politics- War in the Middle East was going to happen sooner or later, and it has just happened. The Seleucids have declared war on Pontus, and it seems inevitable that Egypt will attack the Seleucids- or vice versa. Other than the situation in the East there isnt much going on, other than the wars between Rome and Epirus, and Rome and Gaul.
Gauls on the Frontier!
After siezing Mediolanium the Gauls come back for more! In Transalpine Gaul, a half stack Gallic army has appeared, within striking distance of Genua. The Second Legion is pulled from garrison duty at Mediolanium to combat this threat before Genua is attacked.
The Gallic army was half the size and strength of the Roman legion, being made up of mostly barbarian mercs. But they could still inflice some damage....
The Romans advanced in a historical formation (Hastati, Prin., etc) towards the Gauls and began to unleash their volley of deadly pila and arrows. To combat this the Gauls sent all their men forward, charging into the front line of Hastati.
The Hastati fought bravely and were able to hold off the onslaught, but they dierly needed support. Their fellow Princepes charged in to help them out in this fight, a clash of two front lines of armies stretching far and wide. For a brief moment it seemed that the Gauls were pushing the Romans back, but Roman valorr kicked in then and there and they began to push they Gauls back. That plus the Roman Triarii executing flanking maeuvers and the Roman general readying a charge into the Gauls exposed flank gave the Gauls enough reason to abandon the fight. They baegan to flee from battle, but to no avail as they were easily cut down by the legions. As all the infantry were being hunted down the Gallic general made a run for his petty life. Though he was pursued vigouresly ny the Roman general he was not captured and killed. He escaped to fight again another day.
Now Italy is nearly secure, save one small garrison of Gauls at Patavium. It is only a matter of time now..... 
QUICK UPDATE!!!: Things are going well, for a couple of yeasrs Rome engaged in only small scale battles against Gaul and rebels, while regrouping her Legions for the Siege of Patavium and a large scale assault on the island of Sicily, carried out soley by the First Legion.
But there is bad news! Just my luck that a half stack rebel army spawns near Genua and sieges it! The garrison is not enough to hold off this one, so I had to call back my second Legion, literally about to assault Patavium, to combat this threat! Grrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last edited by Hader; June 21, 2006 at 05:46 PM.
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Pillaging and Plundering since 2006
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Ill add more later, I am tired of typing for now.
Originally Posted by Gaius Baltar
