[RTR AAR] For the glory of Qart-Hadat!

[Mikail Mengsk]

Winter 248
Ulisaypo, Iberia

The Iberians were losing the war with Qart-Hadat, but they still keep fighting. Many tribes had defected to the invaders, and the whole southern and eastern Iberia was in Carthaginian's hands. The Iberians had lost dozens of thousands soldiers, but refused to give up. They gathered one more army and tried to rescue Ulisaypo, besieged by Ashtzaph's 7000 soldiers. Ashtzaph was feared as a tricky commander, who destroyed the Southern Iberian armies one after another everytime catching them by surprise. But now he was besieging a city, so he couldn't use his tricky tactics. So, the Iberians decided to crush him once for all.

9000 warriors (mostly Caetrati tribes' warriors) were sent to Ulisaypo and attacked Ashtzaph's army.



The battle was a bloodbath: the Iberians charged the first Chartaginian's line and started pushing it back.



Ashtzaph replied by concentrating his attack on the right Iberian's flank with cavalry charges and heavy infantry.



After hours of continuous fighting, and the death of the Iberian's general, the Iberian's right flank were routed, and the Carthaginian's left flank attacked the Iberian's centre. Ashtzaph himself charged deeply in the Iberian's lines, followed by his cavalrymen.



The enemy was defeated, but still had some units hiding in the nearby forest. Those soldiers had been ordered to kill Ashtzaph at all cost, and were waiting for him to come. When he entered the forest pursuing some routing units, the Iberian's elite ambushed him. Although being 55 years old, he fought valiantly while his herald was calling for help. But the reinforcements arrived too late: Ashtzaph's guardsmen were slain and the general himself got killed by a group of Scutarii Falcata infantrymen.



His soldiers avenged his death destroying every enemy unit in the battlefiel, and then taking Ulisaypo the following day. An hero was died, but his fame would last for centuries!

[Mikail Mengsk]

Summer 247 - Summer 244
Barcides' Palace, Qart-Hadat

Carpophorus was reading the last letters from both Bisaltes and Hasdrubales. He was tired but he didn't stop reading: there were many good news, and in those troubled years good news were always welcomed.

In Italy, Bisaltes' armies had crushed the last Romans' resistence and had conquered Rome and Ancona. The Romans had tried to rescue their besieged cities, but the Carthaginian's armies defeated them and took the cities. The Carthaginians forces now outnumbered the few Legiones, and the experienced veterans could easily beat the newly-trained Roman's troops. Also, the manoeuvering ability of the Carthaginian's generals were too much for the Romans: their armies always got divided, outflanked, surrounded and finally destroyed.




Meanwhile, General Melqart was trying to avenge his father's death and rescue the city of Ulisaypo, besieged by another Iberian army. He destroyed every enemy force in his path, he arrived to Ulisaypo, he drove the enemy away and then he chased and destroyed them!




Carpophorus himself had to face a little Lybian revolt, due to the high taxation, but he made a short work of them. More important, he focused all his efforts to empower the economy of the Republic. Sending no more reinforcements to the temporarily secured fronts, and capitalizing the recent conquers, he had enough money to invest in a huge building plan.

He first built temples everywhere it was possible, replacing the Greeks', Barbarians' and Romans' temples with the Carthaginians' ones. He ordered to destroy all the foreign buildings, razing all their valuable goods. Also, he ordered that the Carthaginian's buildings must have a sober style, reducing the building's costs. The temples, the execution squares, the sewers and many other buildings lowered the unrest in the colonies, and allowed him to raise taxation in many provinces.

Then he built schools for merchants, architects, managers, economists. Every city governor would have his own skilled ancillaries, increasing every city incomes. So, he could send the best managers in the richest cities, and the most authoritarians in the problematic cities.

He also made other agricultural's reforms, introducing the crop rotation in almost every african province, and developing the farming income everywhere.

Those reforms helped the economy to overcome the crisis, and the yearly income started to grow again. In a couple of years the treasure was the biggest in the world, and allowed him to hire mercenaries to help the Illyrians.

He gathered 2 mercenary armies and a standard army and sent them to Greece, under the protection of the whole Carthaginian's Navy.

In 246BC, the first army landed near Sparta and besieged the city. Captain Celeas spent a month to sack the countryside and to build siege weapons, then assaulted the city. The Greeks had sent almost all their forces northward, against the Illyrians, so Sparta was quite undefended. The Carthaginian's troops conquered the walls and then assaulted the city centre. The Spartans fought valiantly, but in the evening the city was conquered. The Carthaginians sacked the city, burning to the ground half of it and sending thousands of slaves toward Italy and Africa, then they boarded again onto the ships and went away.




After a few months, a second army landed nearby Athens and conquered it after a vicious assault. The city was sacked, but this time the Carthaginians decided to hold the city. Meanwhile, the third army landed in Crete and besieged Kydonia. THe Carthaginians fleets stormed the Aegean Sea, crushing the Greek's fleets everywhere and blockading their ports.




It seems that nothing could stop the Carthaginian's fury: the Greeks refuses to give up and kept attacking the Illyrians, but the Macedonians decided to sign a ceasefire. They give Antigonia back to the Illyrians and signed a trade pact with Qart-Hadat.


But in Iberia the enemy was still strong, and proved that by attacking two cities at the same time! Two Iberian armies invaded Carthaginian's domains and put Osca and Arse under siege before anyone could stop them! This war was going to be very long and hard, but Carpophorus hoped that if the economic growth would still, no one would stop Carthage's path of glory.

But in order to grant this, they should take Rhodes and his trade routes. It's the best way for the entire Eastern Mediterraneum, and probabily the best market in the Aegean sea. Qart-Hadat needed it! The problem was that the city belonged to the Ptolemaic Kingdom, a neutral superpower.

Carpophorus was not sure that declaring war to the greatest eastern power for Rhodes was a good idea. Anyway, taking away Rhodes from their hands would slower their expansion, and this would be great for the future wars...

He needed more time to think about it, so he decided to sent an army to the island but ordering them not to attack the Ptolemies. After that, he finally went sleeping; it was nightfall, and his sight was not so good as it was only two or three years earlier. He hope he would see the end of all those wars before he died...

[Mikail Mengsk]

I made HUGE modifications on the old posts, please look at the new images and post some comments: have i done a good job or i better replace the big images with the thumbnails? :hmmm:

[Fionn son of Cumhaill]

Great AAR Mikhail i look forwarf to seeing more:

P.S House of Ham you pic is nasty lol!

[Mikail Mengsk]

Sure! I have an alliance with them (they were at war with the macs, so they accepted the symmachia) but ihope i'll never share a border with them, they also have a big empire. Maybe i will give the border provinces to the Illyrians...

Ok, so first Iberia and Italy, then Greece, then the Ptolemies!

Anyway, if i notice that they are growing too fast, i could invade them and sack their coastal cities , i LOVE this strategy XD!

[Mikail Mengsk]

Summer 244
Carthago Nova, Iberia

Hasdrubales had just sent a letter to Carpophorus, telling him about the new Iberian offensive, when both Hannibales and Thero counterattacked.

The Iberian attack had been very quick: the two generals could do nothing but to retreat into the city walls, seeing the enemy devastating the farms and their summer encampments. The Iberians had sent a couple of light armies, capable to pass over the Carthaginian's lines and to catch them by surprise. The Carthaginians tought that in the bloodbath at Ulisaypo the Iberians had lost their last armies and had lowered their guard.

But the Iberians armies were made by mostly light troops, so the counterattack was inevitable and immediate. Both Hannibal and THero made a sortie and charged the enemy. Their initiative caught the Iberians by surprise: they didn't had had the time to build their encampments. THey could not hold the Carthaginians and were defeated: the two armies were destroyed. Arse and Osca had been liberated and the Iberians lost about 10000 warriors.

[Mikail Mengsk]

Summer 244
Kydonia, Crete

The Greek city of Kydonia had been built on the top of a huge hill, just in front of the sea. This strategical advantage made the city virtually iimpregnable, and Abascantus, the Carthaginian Mercenary Captain, knew it. He put the city under siege, but he knew he must take the city before the arrival of the Greek reinforcements from Hiapytna.

So, he ordered his Gauls soldiers to raze a couple of villages and to bring the prisoners in front of Kydonia's walls. The bloody barbarians did it, and took about 580 prisoners.

Then, under the terrified eyes of the Kydonian's peoples, Abascantus ordered his troops to slay the prisoners one after another. HE sent an emissary to the city garrison, saying that an hostage would die every minute until the garrison would accept battle.

The Kydonians initially refused, but Abascantus ordered his warriors to torture the prisoners before killing them. The sight was too much for the Greek genral, so he ordered to attack.



But Abascantus had prepared his battle plan: he used the Gallic troops as bait. The furious Greeks hoplites followed and attacked the barbarians units, allowing Abascantus' cavalry and the otherunits to surround them.



The Greeks were devastated by the continuous charges and attacked from all directions and got routed one after another.



Only a few escaped, but the Carthaginian's cavalry followed them through the city gates. A few minutes later the whole CArthaginian's army captured Kydonia!

[Pat89]

How about conquering Gaul?
Then your italian and iberian cities will be save and you will have time to conquer Greece...

[HouseOfHam]

Gaul doesn't seem very interesting. Unlike Greece, they have no rich trade centers with ports. Even raiding them is no fun. Plus, if you go into Gaul, you'll have to fight the Germans next. The Gauls are easy to contain by setting up some forts in the narrow mountain passes/river crossings. I wouldn't bother going any further then taking the Po river valley.

[Tony83]

I agree with HoH. Drive them out of Northern Italy, otherwise, just leave them to their own devices in Gaul. Time enough to deal with them later on, as they have no great wealth and are no real match for a professional army like the Carthaginians.

You can have some fun with them by letting your young generals earn their spurs dealing with their border raids.

[Mikail Mengsk]

I totally agree with HouseOfHam and Triarius Tones, Gauls are only annoying.

And also my House Rules don't allow me to conquer Gaul's territories (only coastal mediterranean cities).

I will build fortresses at the mountain passes and make my new generals to make experience . Since now, they made only 1 ridicolous attack

[Mikail Mengsk]

Winter 244
Rome, Italy

Bisaltes was looking angrily at the Macedonian diplomat that stood in his meeting hall. He crupled the war declaration's message that the diplomat had given him, he stood up and drew his knife. The diplomat went pale and cakled something about his role of emissary. Bisaltes went directly in front of him, took the diplomat's hand and put his knife in it.

"Tell your king that he would better suicide with this, because Qart-Hadat would never forget his treachery. He will pay for this."

He came back to his throne and sat down.

"You said that the hostilities will start tomorrow. You will have enough time to say 'goodbye' to your navy and to your colonies. We're burning Greece, you will just be the next. And let me promise that if you would be fool enough to land an army in Italy, i will give you back ALL the ears of ALL your soldiers. Understood?"

The emissary was getting more and more pale, and said nothing. He just turn back and ran away from the palace. Bisaltes immediately sent messages to General Cheiron (Greek Campaign's Strategos Autokrator) and to the Cartaginian's admiral in the area, telling them of their new enemies...



Bisaltes' knife

[Pat89]

I will build fortresses at the mountain passes and make my new generals to make experience . Since now, they made only 1 ridicolous attack

A Gallic training centre for Carthaginian Generals.

[Mikail Mengsk]

Join the Gaul's School for Generals! XD

[Mikail Mengsk]

Winter 244
Athens, Greece

Strategos Autokrator Cheiron was looking from the Acropolis at the Port. There was two columns of prisoners, just arrived from the naval battle of Aegina and the conquest of Hierapytna. When he received Bisaltes' message, he immediately ordered his fleets to attack the MAcedonian's ones before they could escape from their bases around Corinth.

The skilled Carthaginian's admirals attacked in the night, catching the Macedonians completely off-guard (they were still preparing for the battle). More than 80 ships had been destroyed or captured, and the rest of their navy was blocked in the Gulf of Corinth, blockaded by his fleets. With their threat removed, the Carthaginian navy could carry the Rhodian army from Rhodes to Chalkis, where it immediately started the siege and to build siege machines. The Macedonians didn't expected such a vicious reaction, and had no time and no forces to reply.

THis allowed the military operations in Crete to go on regularly. The Greeks were gathering a small army to take back Kydonia, had left Hierapytna and were slowly moving westward. But Captain Charidemos saw it and made a couterattack! He engaged the Greek army before its General could reach his troops.

The Greek's units, without orders and outnumbered, were quickly surrounded, routed and destroyed. Greek's general Thaulos of Olympia could do nothing, and try to flee.



But Charidemos saw him and pursued him with all his cavalry. A few moments later, the Carthaginians reached Thaulos' unit and started to take down them. Thaulos were killed by Charidemos himself, when he plunged his spear directly in Thaulos' back.



Hierapytna, with no garrison left to defend it, surrendered after a few days of siege, and another sack ruined Crete. No one seems to be able to stop the Carthaginian's path of destruction!

[Mikail Mengsk]

Winter 244
Arretium, Italy

Cheiron Carmo ordered his units to stop. The few fleeing Romans could go away: it's too risky to pursue them in the deep forest. He turned back and led his cavalrymen back to the main fight.

The Romans were about to rout, and the sight of the Carthaginian cavalry coming back to charge them was too much. The few Roman units flew, and Cheiron Carmo ordered his troops not to pursue them.

The battle was already won, and his troops were very tired: the last week they marched from Rome to Arretium despite the terrible weather, they built a fortified camp in only three days and they immediately besieged the city. Cheiron hoped they would have enough time to rest, but the Romans didn't want to. They immediately sent a small force from Ariminium, then Arretium's garrison made a sortie, trying to crush the Carthaginian's little army, already tired, between their forces.



But Cheiron didn't wait them. He asked his soldiers to a final effort, and ordered to march toward the incoming enemies, engaging them in a huge forest. The Arminium's army had been caught off-guard, so Cheiron's troops could make short work of it: while the infantry was pinning down the Romans' troops, Carhaginian's reserves and the cavalry charged Roman's second line. Soon, the Romans got routed and destroyed.



The Arretium's garrison knew nothing of it and kept marching, until they arrived directly into Carthaginian's lines, just reformed. The violent fight saw the Roman's italian auxilia fighting bravely, but they were quickly outnumbered, surrounded and routed.



Cheiron stopped thinking of it, and reformed his troops. The enemy was fleeing toward Arretium, but he could not assault the city. His men were about to fall asleep, so he led them back into the fortified camp. Arretium would fall soon, but now it was time to rest...

[Pat89]

Nice

[Mikail Mengsk]

Thanks PatricianS, but the hoplitai are very vulnerable if ouflanked, and my cavalry power was simply too much for them . This little army had even TOO MUCH cavalry! In the siege of Kydonia i had to move them VERY well, or i would have lost them all

[Mikail Mengsk]

Summer 243
Numantia, Iberia

Hannibal was looking his last prey: Numantia! The Celtiberian's once capital was now in his hands. Last winter, when a plague spreaded in Emporiae, his uncle Theodekles fleed to Osca. He was a good manager and a very influent and authoritarian governor, and also his uncle, so Hannibal had to give him the authority among the city.

But Hannibal was not upset of this: the arrival of his uncle left him free to continue his campaign agaist the Iberians. The rich city of Numantia was poorly defensed and could be a good prey.

So, he left Osca and travelled along the whole Iberia's astern coasts. He went among all the tribes that had helped him in the past, or promised to do so, and persuaded them to give him their troops.

In a few weeks, he had gathered about 5000 soldiers, and with his own Carthaginian's troops he now had about 6500 soldiers! He was ready to take Numantia.

Speed was essential: the Iberians should not have enough time to rescue their city! He led his army toward the city, resting only the strictly necessary and marching mainly by night. The Iberians troops in the area were taken by surprise and had just the time to retreat into the city walls.

But Hannibal didn't stopped: he ordered his troops to set up a non-fortificated camp and to immediately build siege machines. When the battering rams were ready, he attacked.



After the rams had broken the walls, the garrison fought desperately, but were overrun. After a whole day of fights, Numantia were taken! Hannibal's barbarian troops immediately started sacking the city, but he stopped them, allowing them only to sack the noble's houses, leaving the population unharmed.

[MasterOfThessus]

Keep them comming