[EB AAR] ROMANI (A Historical Roman Campaign) [UPDATED 4/23/2013]

[EdwinMerit]

Hey guys,

Before I get started, let me just apologize for the hiatus from the last update to this one (it was not intentional, let me assure you that). Work was... well... damn man, I'm glad I got a day off...until... internet problems (oh and the game crashed on me during one of my battles, but I wouldn't worry about it since I had just saved before the battle and I don't think that it should be an issue).

Anyhow, sorry about that again... Without further ado, here is Captilvlvm III (Part II):

CAPITVLVM III (Part II): The War on Sicily


Roman Holdings on the Island of Sicily in the early part of 490 AUC

490 AUC

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Following the Roman victory at Messana and with the city being pacified, the Romani set their sights on securing the remainder of the Island of Sicily. That would mean dealing with the armies of Karthadastim in their entirety at some point or another, but first, many local cities and remaining opposing garrisons needed to be brought under the rule of the Res Pvblica:

Initially, there wasn't much opposition to the Roman expeditionary army Commander Appivs Clavdivs Cavdex as he quickly disbanded any remaining Karthadastim garrisons within the region. The Roman legions were still fairly young, and consisted of many men brought up to fight through the hierarchical system which had been in place for quite some time. They were still soldiers enough, however, to be able to deal with many of the armies that the enemies of Roma would field. Such would be the case here as well:

The early victories in favor of the Romani were very encouraging to the men of the Senate, and even more so to the man in command of the army. Appivs Clavdivs Cavdex had been one of the men who was responsible in finally convincing the Senate to allow for military action to be taken against Karthadastim and Syracvsae. With the support of many of the citizens behind him, he led the army to the city of Messana and helped lift the siege.

Cavdex, however, knew that one victory for the Romani was not enough to make a name for himself as great as his grandfather's (Appivs Clavdivs Caecvs). With this in mind, he would lead his army south of Messana and around the base of Mt. Etna:

Before marching south to the city of Syracvsae, Cavdex wanted to conquer as many low-lying cities as possible. This would be his undoing. While his early successes were encouraging, they did not make his army invincible. Not even to smaller cities with little to no support from the Karthadastim or Syracvsans.

This crushing, but not terminal, defeat came at the siege of Echetla, a town located between the Roman controlled territory and the lands belonging to the Karthadastim. Appivs Clavdivs Cavdex led his army to the city in order to secure a larger amount of lands around the Roman stronghold of Messana. However, after suffering early and often, it became clear that the battle may not be one worth fighting:

The Romani, however, determined not to be defeated and possibly show weakness to their enemies continued to push forth. This would only make matters worse for the Romani, however, as many of their men began to panic at the stalemate, and after suffering many casualties, Appivs Clavdivs Cavdex ordered his men to lift the siege and fall back to the city of Messana:

The damage had been done, however, and the losses at the failed Siege of Echetla needed to be replenished. During this time, the Romani now saw a need to replace the expeditionary force with one which could withstand the prolonged warfare on Sicily. The Senate appointed Manivs Valerivs Maximvs Corvinvs Messalla (from now on referred to as Manivs Valerius Maximvs for obvious reasons ) along with Otacilivs Crassvs to command the two Roman Consvlar Armies that were to be sent to Sicily:

After gathering the armies at Messana, Manivs Valerius Maximvs went for a decisive victory for the Romani and a massive blow to both Karthadastim and Syracvsae. With the best armies of Roma behind him, Manivs Valerivs turned south and besieged the great city of Syracvsae itself:

Replies:

Dejeyo: Thank you very much. Hope you stuck around through this week or so!