(De Bello Mundi) My greece campaign!

[Ultra123]

Hey thought id come back to this forum after my start as the Greeks, and after being inspired by macraths Greek low-down on this forum, this is how it all went down for me:
VH/VH

my ideas was simple, after my Roman campaign and the mess i had against a Thracian superpower, it was in my mind to try and head shot them after swiftly taking over Macedonia and the islands of Crete and Rhodes.

In my Roman campaign, the Thracian's grew so large they had expanded all the way into Russia, destroying Macedon, bringing the Greeks and pontus to their knees and where i last left it i was heavily on the defensive in Greece with 3 legions while Egypt was doing what it can to hold the onslaught of the mighty Thracian's in the east. I did not want a repeat in this campaign.

So after unifying south Greece i moved against Macedon with 2 army's, with the intent on pushing up into pella and form a defensive line against (on turn 15 thrace had already gotten about 3 full stacks) the thracian horde. I smashed thermon open with a assault from catapults and pikes, and did the same to larisa. pushed into pella and found the 1st real threat. And it wasnt the macedonians.

I sent my spy west to see what the illyrians were up to and to check appolonia hadnt been taken by macedon. What i found nearly made me drop my coffee. It was the romans. And not just any romans. 4 FULL proper legions (legio 1 italica, three ing stacks minus the odd mamertime spearmen and milita units). What i hadnt realised in my last roman campaign after i had changed the reforms to turns 2 and 4 for the romans, i hadnt turned it off, and bloody hell lucky i didnt coz this was guna be one helll of a fight!

So i turtled up by pella after wiping the macedonians out fortifying bylazora while building my armies and leaving one full stack at all time on the bridge nearby since thrace was at it again and was happily conquering anatolia with at least 10 stacks by this time, and i knew they would hit me soon.

i made another fulll stack, so i had 2 ready to march and one up on the bridge by pella. These 2 that were to remove the roman threat from greece were commanded by my faction leader and heir. Prior to all this, i decided not to conquer illyria as they had only one settlement and were at war with rome, i figured i could use them to buffer myself later on from the romans in north italy. i allied gave and received military access and gave them 50k since my treasury was fat from the sacking of ex macedonian teritory. they managed to build up a small stack and somehow managed to get stuck betwen the legions now seiging appolonia (which was in rebel hands). Luckily i was one turn away with my 2 best stacks and what followed was one of the most meorable battles i ever had in all my years in tw.

The battle.

i attacked all 3 legions at once who were in range of reinforcing one another with both my stacks, one being under AI control with the small illyrian column helping out. This is all with unlimited men on the battlefield. i figured id sit back with my mainly phalanx armies and shoot away with my archers and catapults while the ai would encroach on his left flank and the small illyrians on the right, and with both the remaining enemy legions reinforcing him from his rear. He advanced his legion towards mine since i had the ranged advantage with catapults and many archers. i managed to hold off, and while i did the second enemy legion slammed into me, while the third thankfully went to destroy the small illyrian column breaking it up. It was looking pretty poor for me the phalanxes were starting to take nasty casualtys and my heavy hoplites were all engaged on the flanks. My second army arrived to the scene of the fight in the nick of time and smashed his right on my left with all its hoplites, with the phalanxes close behind taking huge pressure of my main army. i knew that if i didnt do something soon that third legion would finish its job and join the fight most likely spelling the end for my right flank and likely the battle. i moved my strategos and 2 greek cavalry i had and swiped his generals who were engaged on my right thankfully then i went for his javs. Time was running out the illyrians had broke now and the third was on the way double time. My phalanxes were half dead and the hoplites couldnt possibly take much more on the mess that was the left, so i reinforced it from the now clear hoplites on the right and threw all i had into the enemy now heavily engaged with my reinforcing army on the right, leaving the depleted phalanxes to form a line on my left to slow down the now free 3rd reinforcing legion.After Multiple charges into the rear of the cohorts, and they broke, their centurions all dead or unable to contain the fear now rippling through that army, one thing caught my eye, though, one cohort fought to the death (not even fighting to the death just shaken and totally surrounded) they appeared to even be rallying in a circle around the standard bearer and it almost brought a tear to my eye for such bravery. I couldnt have this drawn out though, now that the 3rd enemy legion was now engaging busted up phalanxes that i had and were too weak to join the fight on the left. i decided to bomb the out of that cohort with all i had with my 3 catapult units, and finally they were slaughtered to a man, routed after they got down to just 10 men. The rest was now a mop up, my ai general now rounded on the third and weaker legion and we wiped the floor with them, standard fighting there.

Amazing fight to be sure that was.

we booted the Romans out of Greece completely and i sued for peace next turn, the Romans gladly accepted after losing to a man the 1st italica (i toggle FOW and they had just militia army's left according to my scouts).

Right after this, the thracians attacked my army up on the bridge with 3 stacks and of course due to bridge battle plus phalanxes they were soundly beaten. 5 turns later of defending and retraining i pushed up to Constantinople. And thats where i now stand at time of writing with one last thracian city in europe and the rest in anatolia and around the antioch area. It wont be the last i see of the thracians though after i take the EU city, ill make peace and build a few more armies, then i intend to go on a voyage to Britain and kick the dirty barbarians out of there. After that, Rome. And after that?

The world.

Thanks for reading!

[Primative1]

Great read-thanks!