EB AAR - Rome v1.21

[Alwyn]

These are impressive victories for Rome (particularly the defence of Kirtan)! It's helpful to see what the other factions are doing. The Gallic Mercenary Light Cavalry inflicted an incredible number of casualties at in two battles at Mediolanum (over 500 in the the first battle and over 800 in the second) - is this simply an indication that they ran down enemy units which had broken or are they a bit more powerful than they should be?

[Nad]

Just routers, the Curepos are very quick and we have a full unit which was recently hired, so they have been filling their boots chasing routers!

[Nad]

239BC

Arvina builds siege equipment to break through the walls of Siga and take the city.

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Editorial note: the capture of Siga proved problematic with regard to a repeated crash. What actually happened is I put the city under siege and the Carthaginians had a small army outside the city, consisting of a unit of archers and slingers. When I pressed 'end turn' the small Carthaginian army attacked, with Milkpilles' army as reinforcements. I fought the battle and won easily, crushing both armies to the extent that survivors were minimal and Milkpilles himself was killed. After returning to the campaign map, Siga was empty. But the processing of the turn end continued, moving from Carthage's turn to Pahlava's. During Pahlava's turn, I was then presented with the option to occupy / expel / enslave Siga. I pressed enslave and the game immediately crashed to desktop. This happened TWICE - I loaded the game from the last save and exactly the same sequence of events occurred, with the game again crashing as soon as I selected the enslave option. I think this is a bug I have seen before in previous versions of EB - I do not know what causes it, whether it is related to Alex.exe, EB itself, the script or traits or something else. Does anybody have a view on this or a solution? I don't think selecting to occupy or expel the town makes a difference, the game will still crash because for whatever reason it cannot proceed beyond the point of capturing the settlement. In the end, I had to use "move_character" to move the small army to Lixus instead, and then capture Siga on my own turn. Annoying to say the least.

Mediolanum is besieged by a large Aedui army led by a young tribal chief named Cacumattos. With his scouts reporting that another large Aedui army is also on the march towards the city, Caesar decides to sally immediately to defeat this foe before the second force arrives.

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Cacumattos' army is large and well balanced. He has numerous slingers and archers as well as a good mix of spearmen and swordsmen. Caesar understands the danger this opponent poses, and promptly orders his skirmishers to weaken the foe as best they can.

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Cacumattos, leading his Brihentin from the front, decides to chase the allied Celtic archers, oblivious to the fact he is running straight towards the Roman line.

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Caesar's mercenary Gallic cavalry intercept the hotheaded Aedui leader.

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The tribune Cornelius Scipio (this one the youngest, and some would say most inept, son of Rome's first man) leads the Roman cavalry from the right flank to surround Cacumattos. The foolish Gaul pays with his life, leaving his army leaderless.

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The barbarians' discipline, weak to begin with, disintegrates with the fall of their chieftain. Individual clans of warriors decide to fight for their own glory, abandoning all sense of order and cohesion. A contingent of mighty swordsmen demand single combat in their guttural tongue, and when they receive no response throw themselves at the nearest Romans they can see, the accensi, chasing them until they are cornered against the walls of the city.

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The timely return of the cavalry saves the weak Roman slingers and ends the barbarians' rage-induced passion.

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Undaunted, another clan of barbarian swordsmen then decide to chase the Roman cavalry, as if their anger will give them the celerity to catch horses!

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A combination of allied spearmen and cavalry countercharges puts paid to their madness. And then, not to be outdone, some of the barbarian slingers decide to chase after the Roman skirmishers. Rather than duel at a distance, these men are so filled with bloodlust that they abandon their slings and decide they want to fight hand-to-hand instead.

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The Roman cavalry bring a swift end to those plans.

When the barbarian clans finally cease to rush out so recklessly, Caesar decides to march his infantry forward. No sooner do the Romans form a battleline than the Gallic infantry almost fall over each other in their eagerness to charge.

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Their appetite is soon sated by Roman steel.

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Panic turns a once mighty horde into a rabble of cowards.

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The hefty price of Cacumattos' folly.

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[Alwyn]

Great chapter! I like the way that you highlight turning points in the battle, such as the decision by Cacumattos to chase the allied Celtic archers - and the way that you describe the loss of discipline among the barbarians after what happens to their leader. I'm sorry to hear about the crash when capturing Siga - I hope that your report enables the EB mod team (or someone) to identify a solution.

[Nad]

238BC

The Year of 3 battles and a funeral.

Caesar faces the Aedui in 3 large battles for Mediolanum [I imagine everybody has had their fill of screenshots from Caesar fighting the Gauls, so I'll just report the results unless something interesting happens].

First against Budic.

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Second against Cintugnatus.

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Third against the minor chief Moritasgos.

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But the year ends on a sad note. Rome's great general and first man dies in the dark of winter.

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[Alwyn]

Yes, it makes sense to report some battles with less detail than others. It looks like Caesar has stopped the Aedui onslaught in its tracks, with three impressive victories despite being outnumbered each time. The death of Lucius Cornelius Scipio is a sad ending for this update, I wonder who will replace him? I imagine that it will not be easy to step into the shoes of Rome's great general.

[Nad]

237BC

After 3 battles against the Aedui in the previous year, Caesar now fights 2 battles against the Arverni. In the spring he defeats the minor chieftain Sennianos.

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And in the winter he defeats another warlord, Aneirin.

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In Africa, Arvina celebrates becoming the new first man by capturing the wealthy port city of Lixus.

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After a long march across the desert, Papirius Turdus leads his legion and allies to capture the trading outpost of Tuat. Finally Turdus can fulfill his wish for conquest rather than just defending the borders of the republic.

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236BC

After a year to recuperate, the Aedui have come back for more. Caesar sends two more warbands packing.

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[Nad]

Caesar fights his third battle of the year against the Aedui.

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Marcus Papirius Cursor is appointed imperator in Africa. Although a young man, he is politically astute and has had an exceptional career in Rome, advancing in the cursum honorum through tribune, quaestor and aedile all before the age of 30. He is also Arvina's son-in-law.

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His first appointment is to take the last Carthaginian holding in west Africa.

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235BC

Caesar engages in his usual business, first against the Aedui.

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Then the Arverni.

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But come winter Caesar faces the gravest danger yet. Two large Aedui armies and one large Arverni force all converge on the city.

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Elsewhere in the world

The Pahlava have made a remarkable recovery. From the brink of defeat against the Seleucids and Saka Rauka, the Pahlava have retaken their former cities and are now expanding into Seleucid territory.

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Pontos continues to dominate in Thrace. They are now steaming through the Getai.

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The Makedonians are still hanging onto Chalkis, although the settlement is under permanent siege and their future looks grim.

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[Alwyn]

Good updates, I like the cliffhanger as Caesar faces two large Aedui forces and a large Arverni army. His troops are experienced and he must be a confident commander after many victories, but can he avoid defeat against such odds? It's interesting to see what other factions are doing, too. I wonder if Caesar (or commanders who follow him) will end up fighting the faction who are steaming through the Getai.

[Nad]

Caesar sallies to face the first Aedui army - this is a strong force with many decent spearmen and swordsmen.

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The Roman skirmishers attempt to weaken the barbarians' resolve while the infantry get into position.

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The infantry lines clash and the Roman cavalry seek to take advantage of the barbarians' lack of horsemen by flanking their position.

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The cavalry charge into the rear of the Gallic line.

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Their strike is decisive. The battle is won and the corpses of the slain Gallic warriors litter the battlefield.

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234BC

The Arverni army, composed mainly of levy spearmen, is similarly thrashed.

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And the third barbarian army, this one led by the chieftain Moggortos, shares the same fate.

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233BC

Another two large Gallic armies are sent fleeing whence they came. First the Arverni.

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Then the Aedui.

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[Editorial note: I am now done with reporting Caesar's battles against the Gauls. There are so many of them and they are all the same. The Gauls do not seem to have made any noticeable progress in improving the quality of their forces, it's still just basic spearmen with some swordsmen and slingers/archers thrown in. I haven't seen any quality or professional infantry - where are the solduros, neitos, arjos, even gaesatae? I haven't even seen any southern Gallic swordsmen (the botroas - it's all been the northern bataroas) or brihentin either. Bogia: might be something you want to look into? Why are the Gauls not recruiting a larger mix of forces? Are their reforms not kicking in? Has anything been changed in this respect since v1.2? I will keep an eye out and report any change to their army composition, but until they start bringing better troops to the table or something else interesting happens, I will not report any further battles around Cisalpine Gaul. Just assume they are happening every turn and the Gauls are getting kicked back each time.]

[Nad]

231BC

Papirius Cursor leads a full legion with allies and mercenaries to take the eastern Carthaginian city of Lepcis.

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The Bruttian infantry are the first onto the walls. They engage the Carthaginian defenders while Cursor's Gallic mercenaries push towards the walls in another siege tower in an attempt to outflank the defenders.

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As soon as they are onto the walls the Gallic swordsmen go straight for the Libyan spearmen.

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The Carthaginians on the walls show great spirit - they are fighting for their city and their families and they will battle to the last to defend all that they love. The Bruttian and Gallic swordsmen are defeated; but the Iberian mercenaries - fierce, strong men - finally end the resistance on the walls.

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The Roman slingers are now able to use the walls to unleash a hail of death at the Carthaginian cavalry.

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The final Carthaginian defenders are surrounded by the Roman infantry.

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Papirius Cursor has taken a valuable prize and expanded Rome's border eastward.

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[Nad]

Sometimes you should be careful what you wish for

Two full Aedui armies besiege Mediolanum simultaneously

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You can see what a powerful commander Caesar has become, with 8 Command and 10 Influence (getting stats that good is very difficult with the adjustments I have made to traits and ancillaries). But sallying against two huge armies, on different sides of the battlefield, is a road to ruin. We may actually have to suffer this siege and fight a siege defence for a change (it will be the first one we have fought so it's a change at least).

Will Mediolanum finally fall?

Stay tuned for next time

[Alwyn]

It's a shame that the Gauls were not been improving the quality of their troops, I hope this can be improved in a future version of the mod. The battle is Lepcis is well done, I like your line about the spirit of the Carthaginian defenders. I look forward to finding out whether Mediolanum will hold against two armies. Hopefully Caesar's formidable leadership will enable his men to overcome the odds. I wonder if you would like to enter the MAARC.

[Nad]

230BC

The defence of Mediolanum

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Caesar's defenders are outnumbered nearly 4:1. This may be the toughest assignment the Roman hero has yet faced. However his troops are battle hardened and Caesar knows they will fight to the last rather than expect mercy from the barbarians.

The Gallic armies:

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The Aedui forces are led by the chieftains Nammeios and Celtillos and consist of large numbers of slingers, spearmen, swordsmen and noble cavalry.

The Gauls are encamped on both the north and south sides of Mediolanum and have spent 2 full seasons building siege equipment. Caesar determines that defending the walls will therefore be futile - there are too many opponents with too many points of attack. Instead, the commander decides to do battle in the centre of the city, on the main plaza. He stations his infantry to defend the entry points on all sides while the cavalry are retained as a reserve.

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The Romans wait patiently at their stations. All around they can hear the sounds of war, the horns, the towers, the shouts of the barbarians as they claim the walls and make their way through the town, slaughtering and looting as they go. Nerves are on edge and the soldiers wait in grim silence. Finally the first barbarian units approach the plaza. Now the Romans can vent their fury.

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As the unseasonal snows clear the battle is fully joined. The extraordinarii and Samnite allies attempt to hold their ground as more and more barbarian infantry join the fray.

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Unbeknownst to the Romans only one of the Gallic armies has thus far joined the battle. Celtillos' forces remain outside the south gate. Perhaps they expect they will not be needed? Perhaps barbarian honour dictates that the first aggressor takes the spoils? Perhaps these cowards just do not wish to risk injury? Whatever the reason, Caesar's prayers have been answered by the gods. He can defeat the invaders in turn rather than simultaneously.

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The infantry battle continues to rage. The hastati hold the Roman right.

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While the extraordinarii on the left are not just holding their ground, they are pushing back the barbarians.

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After a long struggle the first wave of barbarians flee, repelled by Roman defiance.

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Now Celtillos is spurred into action. His infantry scale the walls and take control of the south gate.

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And this force is more organised than Nammeios' rabble. Celtillos splits his army and attacks the plaza with large forces from two sides.

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Celtillos leads the attack himself. His noble cavalry try to break through the Samnite allies.

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On the other side the principes and Illyrians face up to huge numbers of barbarian infantry. But this also showcases Caesar's strategy - only a smaller number of Gallic warriors can engage at any time.

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Both sides have deployed all their infantry and the fighting is furious - who will break first?

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The barbarians.

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The carnage left behind, corpses of men and horses piled high on top of each other.

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This is Caesar's greatest victory to date.

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Editorial note: that battle was spoiled by the Gallic armies not attacking simultaneously and was therefore much easier than it should have been. Unfortunately Celtillos' infantry holding the ladders seemed to get stuck near the walls - they just stood there while getting shot to bits by the gatetowers. Sieges are so buggy and spoiled by the limits of the AI - that's why I normally try to sally immediately and fight a field battle rather than endure this kind of experience.

[Nad]

Papirius Cursor crosses the desert to take the minor Carthaginian outpost of Garama.

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229BC

Papirius Turdus fights some Numidian rebels with a small force of reserves.

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228BC

The Makedonians are the first faction eliminated as the Koinon Hellenon finally capture Chalkis.

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[Alwyn]

I like the way that you tell us about the moments before the fighting begins: "Nerves are on edge and the soldiers wait in grim silence. Finally the first barbarian units approach the plaza. Now the Romans can vent their fury."

Caesar's victory at Mediolanum is impressive and reminds me of the Roman victory at the Battle of Watling Street - the Romans excelled at disciplined fighting in a narrow space, where a larger barbarian force could not outflank them. That unit of Elite Heavy Infantry, Cohort XVI, seem to have played a significant role despite their heavy losses- I imagine that such a unit might have become famous in its own right, after a victory like this one. (It's a shame that some enemy got stuck near the walls because of a bug.)

I wonder whether Papirius Turdus' small force will be enough to defeat the rebels - and whether the fall of Chalkis will have consequences in future. The conquerors of Chalkis seem to be creating a small empire of their own, I wonder if they might head west and potentially threaten Roman territory?

[Nad]

The extraordinarii are an Italic unit rather than Roman, the best of the Italian allies. Their performance against the Gauls at Mediolanum was indeed heroic, at one point singlehandedly holding off a horde of invading barbarians. It's a good shout. We'll call this the 16th legion and from now on it is an honour for any Italian infantry contingent to serve in the 16th.

Turdus' reserves easily saw off the rebels, it was slingers + infantry vs skirmishers, the rebels were easily squashed. I didn't take a screenshot of the result as it was a minor battle while I was playing.

Greece and eastern Europe is now carved out between Pontos and Koinon Hellenon. Pontos are busy fighting the Epeirotes and Getai while the KH do not have an opponent other than Sauromatae (from Chersonesos rebelling). There is a chance that the KH could actually declare on Pontos, given their expansion is now constrained by their borders. We will have to see how that plays out...there is unlikely to be an immediate threat to Rome and the senate would be quite happy for these two powers to waste their strength against each other.

[Nad]

227BC

After a short siege, Papirius Cursor captures the strategically important settlement of Augila.

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The value of this town is that it enables Rome to fortify the border with Carthage. By maintaining a strong military presence in Augila with a force that can also guard the road to Lepcis, Rome can narrow the border with Carthage and bring peace to the rest of Africa.

225BC

The senate bestows a force of two legions and allies to Octavius as well as command of a large fleet of quinquiremes. His orders are to relieve Cursor in Augila. As he disembarks from the ships for the short desert march to the city, Octavius runs into a small Carthaginian force led by the Carthaginian faction leader, Germelqart. The battle takes place in the hottest part of the day, under the blazing sun. Despite several difficulties, including the weather, the terrain, Octavius' lack of command experience, and the greenness of the troops, the Roman force is far too strong for the small Carthaginian army to defeat.

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Elsewhere in the world

Rebellion is in the air and the political landscape changes by the season.

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Nabatea and Sinai have rebelled from Seleucid control and pledged allegiance to the Sabean kingdom. This has relieved some of the pressure on the Ptolemaioi. With upper Egypt firmly under control and Alexandreia recaptured, the Ptolemaioi are rebuilding their strength to strike back against Carthage and the Seleucids.

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The future of Hayasdan is not so bright. The Seleucids and Sauromatae have carved up the kingdom. The remaining nobles loyal to the Shahenshah are holed up in the capital, Armavir, surrounded by a Seleucid army that is determined to end the rebellion of the former satrapy.

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The most dramatic changes are in Greece and Asia Minor. Following a secret plot by the council of Halikarnassos to overthrow Seleucid control and join the Hellenic league, Sardis and Pergamon have also joined the cause. The Koinon Hellenon are at war with Pontos and the Seleucids and look to have the upper hand.

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More bad news for Pontos. The fiercely independent Celts in Singidunum have overthrown the tenuous Pontic rule with help from the Aedui. Pontos is therefore simultaneously at war with the Koinon Hellenon, Epeiros, Sauromatae, Getai and Aedui.

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Resurgence of Hellenic pride is evident even as far afield as Iberia. Emporion has rebelled to the Koinon Hellenon (for the fourth time). But with so many Lusotannan armies in the field, the days of resistance are surely numbered.

[Nad]

224BC

Cornelius Arvina dies of old age and Papirius Cursor is the new first man.

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The senate unanimously appoints Iulius Caesar as imperator of Rome's armies.

223BC

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The March of Time brings little benefit to Rome; however the eastern factions get upgraded general's bodyguards and some unit recruitment changes.

222BC

With Carthage vanquished in Africa, the senate has decided that Poeni influence should be removed from the western Mediterranean for good. Iulius Caesar lays siege to the merchant city of Gader.

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While Papirius Mugillanus is tasked with taking the port of Mastia.

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[Alwyn]

It was kind of you to explain the things which I was wondering about.

These are good updates, your description of the Romans advancing through the desert under the blazing sun matches the screenshot well. It's helpful to see the events around and beyond the borders of Rome's expanding empire. I wonder what effects the appointment of Iulius Caesar as imperator will have and whether we will see the effects of the March of Time event (I noticed your comment that it provides little benefit for Rome. Presumably, whether we will see its effects depends on whether Roman armies will encounter the armies of factions which do benefit.)