[RTR AAR] [ExRM 3.3.3: Epirus-as-Pergamon] Sons of Athena

[QuintusSertorius]

This is an AAR for my migrated-Epirus-as-Pergamon game with ExRM 3.3.3. It's on M/M difficulty-wise, and I used move_character, add_money and process_cq to set up my starting base so I wasn't going to go into massive negative money before I'd done anything. I disbanded all my starting elephants, phalanxes and elites.

Houserules include things like not using phalanxes or elephants, since historically Pergamon didn't, and keeping my expansion slow and gradual. There will be no blitzing here. All my original starting provinces are now rebel, and I won't be going near Greece. Asia Minor is where my ambitions lie, along with territories just across the Hellespont. I take the old Kingdom of Thrace as the outer limit of my expansion, with the exception of various Greek colonies dotted around the place. I may eventually set up a Pan-Hellenic Empire containing these as well as what was once the Kingdom of Thrace.

My starting position is thus at 279BC:



I've just taken Abydos (again though, I pumped up it's economic buildings with the cheats), and that'll be the last time I use the cheats to aid myself. I'm settled now.

[QuintusSertorius]

A history lesson: the capture of Abydos

Pergamon was yet a young nation, a Hellenistic Successor to Alexandros and the rump of what was once the great Kingdom of Thrace. Lysimachos had been undone through treachery, leaving what was left of his empire to fend for itself. Here in Pergamon, Philetairos, a eunuch by all accounts, seized control of a Seleucid treasury and used that to fund an army. Pergamon cast off the Syrian yoke.

But this was not a sustainable state of affairs. The Seleucids would be vengeful and so Pergamon's armies acted immediately, laying siege to Abydos. It's walled citadel would prove a useful bulwark against the inevitable reprisals.

The aptly-named Alexandros took some veteran troops to sieze the town. A Seleucid army marched to relieve the garrison there, provoking a battle.



He placed his phalanx in the centre, flanking them with levy hoplites, slingers out front and archers safely behind the line. He and a Pergamene officer waited on the wings with the cavalry.



Heedless of being outnumbered, the first Seleucid force advanced, perhaps confident of holding until their comrades arrived.



They took fire from the Pergamene skirmishers, who inflicted a terrible toll. Alexandros charged after the Seleucid archers.



Down on the fighting line, the Seleucid phalangites moved to engage.



Meanwhile on the left, the other half of the Pergamene cavalry advanced to outflank the Seleucid infantry.



They charged home to the rear of the formation.



The morale of the Seleucids shattered, and they ran in all directions. The Pergamene line made to advance to meet Abydos' garrison.



Dismayed at the slaughter of their friends they had witnessed, and harried by missile fire, the skirmishers from the garrison fled.



The infantry of the garrison didn't last much longer.



Abydos was captured, and for a time Pergamon was safe.



Editorial Note



My first battle with ExRM, and some interesting observations. Slingers are extremely effective (which is entirely correct), even though they don't have the AP attribute.

My FMs are demons on horseback, although given these were captain-led armies they were never going to have great morale.

Just as a note, this was the last time I used a phalanx - I disbanded that unit on completing the battle. I now have none, and for the time being may have to rely on levy hoplites for my main battle line. I may pick up some mercenary hoplites to stiffen the resolve of my centre.

[QuintusSertorius]

Galatian Raids, 276BC

During the winter of 276, a Galatian band marched into Pergamene and demanded tribute. When the governor refused, they laid siege to Abydos.



Not about to be bullied by a swaggering bunch of Gauls, Alexandros organised the local levies and sallied out of Abydos to take the fight to their attackers. He was outnumbered, but these were men defending their homes and families.



He had something of a plan. Most of his troops he marched out and placed close to the wall.



His Kretan mercenaries, however came out of a different gate.



They attacked from the Galatian flank, drawing the attention of the warchief. The Pergamene cavalry spurred off after him, and there was a fierce fight that ended with the Galatian chief running for his life.



Enraged, the remaining Galatians charged the Pergamene line.



But the return of the Pergamene cavalry smashed into their flanks, routing them.



There was chaotic flight.



And a great victory was won by the natives of Abydos.



The Galatian chief was forced to make peace, though the Pergamenes were under no illusion that the Gauls would break it should the opportunity arise.



Editorial Note



Surprising what you can do with "mere" levies commanded right. There were some touch and go moments; like when the Kretans were attacked and routed. Fortunately the arrival of some cavalry distracted the Galatians long enough for them to rally and then start shooting them.

[QuintusSertorius]

Battle in Phrygia, 275BC

Pyrrhus (no relation to the King of Epirus) was shipped with a mercenary army to Phrygia, and invested Smyrna. There his camp was attacked by two smaller Seleucid forces.



As he marched out to meet the first, their general charged his skirmishers.



Fighting there was frantic.



Further out to the left, Pyrrhus led the cavalry to attack some Persians trying to outflank the line.



The enemy general fled.



Then the Pergemenes went to meet the second force.



Their infantry charged, followed immediately by their general.



Pyrrhus threw his own cavalry into the melee.



The Persian infantry was routed.



Leaving their general exposed. He died in the saddle.



With that, the remaining Syrians broke and ran.



And a victory was shaped.



The garrison of Smyrna surrendered, and the Seleucids were forced to sign a humiliating peace where they agreed to give up any claims to Pergamene or Phrygia.

[QuintusSertorius]

274BC:



There we have it, three settlements. I was thinking I should have stopped at Pergamon and Abydos for a while, given the natural defenses protecting me, but that would only have left me weak for either the Seleucids or Galatians to have a go.

I'll sit for a bit, then take Halicarnassos - that'll give me a solid base and it's not too hard to defend. Then perhaps I can afford two armies, one for the northern two territories, and one for the southern two.

Otherwise I'm saving up for mercenaries, who may well form the bulk of my army.

[Solaris]

Nice read, glad to see ExRM form some AARs.

[molls]

Nice read, glad to see ExRM form some AARs.

dito! And this Epiros -> Pergamum thing is very cool. Migration games and AARs are great no matter what! Opens up new styles of playing and storytelling.

As I can see, Seleucids are at war with the Ptolemies. Maybe you could take a piece from the grey cake before it's too late? Or do you intend to play more slowly?

[QuintusSertorius]

This is going to be a much slower game than that. Halicarnassos in a bit, then rest, build up my auxilia levels and economy. Once that's done another gradual bit of warring and taking territory.

[QuintusSertorius]

The Defense of Smyrna, 273BC

The ceasefire with the Seleucid Empire did not last long. It was merely a lull for the Syrians to gather their strength for another assault on Pergamon. They came at Phyrgia, laying siege to Smyrna. Pyrrhus was scornful of their army, and brought the garrison out to drive off the invaders.



He out-marched the Seleucids, cresting the hill outside the city and began to drive them back towards the walls.



Under cover of the archers and slingers, the Pergamenes advanced.



It was hot work.



Pyrrhus looped the cavalry around the fighting and charged the rear of the Seleucid phalanx.



They were broken and the army advanced to meet the remainder of the force.



The Seleucid general charged the thureophoroi, hoping to scatter them.



He wasn't prepared for Pyrrhus charging him.



With that the Seleucids collapsed.



They had failed to capitalise on their superior numbers, and the day was Pergamon's.



Editorial Note



Once again it's the missile troops and cavalry who do all the killing. Archers are surprisingly effective in ExRM, though perhaps it's because these are Kretans, not just normal toxotai.

[QuintusSertorius]

Macedonian Treachery and the Defense of Abydos, 271BC

Throughout 271, Macedonian envoys had been attempting to bring Pergamon under their umbrella of influence, assuming the small nation would meekly bow to the more powerful one. But Pergamon was made of sterner stuff than that, and the overtures were rejected. Making an opportunistic alliance with the Seleucids, Macedonia declared war and marched an army across the Hellespont. They laid siege to Abydos.



Alexandros was confident enough to leave the safety of the walls behind.



He went to meet the foe.



The javelineers moved to outflank the Macedonian line and hurled javelins into their flanks.



Then they charged, the Macedonians harassed from front and flank.



The arrival of Alexandros crushed their morale.



The jubilant Pergamenes marched on.



The battle devolved into several independent skirmishes.



But once the Macedonian commander fled, the result was never in doubt.



The Macedonians were sent packing back across the Hellespont. They'd thing twice about trying the same thing again.



Editorial Note



Some regular poor generalship from the AI as usual there, not sure why it was necessary to march one unit forwards to be destroyed at leisure.

[QuintusSertorius]

271BC:



No advancement since the last update, been concentrating on building my base. Two futile attempts to relieve my of my ill-gotten gains.

All my starting provinces are now in the hands of other factions. Southern Italy with the Romans, Apollonia with the Illyrians.

Macedonians and Seleucids seem to have a surplus of FMs they're trying to get rid of, the way they keep throwing useless little stacks at me. Seleucid garrisons in Anatolia seem to be running quite low. Been kicking the Macedonian navy around the Aegean and blockading their ports. They keep asking me to become their Protectorate, as if I'd agree to that when I'm kicking their backsides.

[QuintusSertorius]

Defense of Abydos, 271BC

It was not long before the Macedonians tried again. This time they were led by Kassandros, famous among their kind for his skill at leading cavalry. The Macedonians had numbers, but Alexandros cared little for that.



He sallied out to meet them.



The Pergamene missile troops spread chaos.



Alexandros tussled with one of their noblemen, of whom there were three with their retinues this day.



One of them was slain, and Kassandros sent fleeing for his life.



A flanking maneuver began on the right with Alexandros leading the thureophoroi. Some Macedonian light cavarly charged in response, but were beaten off.



The outflanked phalanx cracked.



The sole remaining Macedonian noblemen on the field fought to the last.





The last survivors fought on.



A series of well-executed charges from Alexandros crushed the last resistance.



Once again the defenders of Abydos had shown their mettle.



Editorial Note



When I'm outnumbered like that, I'll make no apologies for exploiting the AI's failure to hold a line. Bad enough I had to go to them when they outnumbered me by quite a bit, but worse still that they couldn't even keep everyone in place.

[QuintusSertorius]

Pergamon goes on the offensive, 267BC

With no sign of an end in sight to the war with Macedonia, and the war with the Seleucids simmering away in the background, the Pergamenes decided to take the fight to the enemy.

First however, they had to deal with another invasion of Pergamene.





A raid was launched on Maronia back in 269 with some success in hampering the Macedonian war effort, and collecting plunder and slaves. So a bolder plan was hatched - a raid on Chalkida. Pyrrhus took a largely mercenary army to do the job.



It was with some satisfaction that the invader of Abydos from earlier in the year was among the reinforcements, and was slain outside the wooden walls of Chalkida. The settlement was taken, it's garrison put to the sword and much of the town burned.



Once again plunder and slaves were taken.

[QuintusSertorius]

Seleucid invasion of Phrygia, 266BC

No doubt gathering their strength these past few years and preparing for this invasion, a large Seleucid army laid siege to Smryna. Fresh from his raid of Chalkida, and still laden down with booty, Pyrrhus marched to relieve the settlement.



He drew up in a long line, keeping it simple.



There was no real co-ordination between the Seleucid phalanxes, allowing them to be isolated and destroyed.





Ptolemeos arrived with the garrison of Smyrna.



They did their part in routing the enemy.



The Seleucid didn't stand.



The last of them were summarily dealt with.



Pergamon survived once more.



Final battle of the war with Macedonia

Perhaps trying to act in concert with their Syrian allies, the Macedonians once more crossed the Hellespont to invest Abydos.



Once again they were disabused of their ambitions.



Macedonia agreed to peace terms, and the Seleucids followed not long after.

[QuintusSertorius]

265BC:



Finally, some peace. I was getting a little bored with fighting the same battles over and over, thus the shorter reports in places. There were also some auto-calced ones I couldn't be bothered to play out. Such as the raids on Sardis and Byzantion, where as with the others I destroyed everything then abandoned it. Fortunately the AI was stupid enough to attack them straight away, so they didn't get a stack of free rebel troops. Byzantion I gave to Thrace to sow a little chaos, and Chalkida I gave to Greece.

I've also got a plague-bearing spy doing the rounds of Macedonia's cities, which should hopefully slow them down a bit and stop them trying to war with me again right away.

I took Halicarnassos, so I'm done for a bit, not sure I want to angle for Sardis just yet, since that'll expose me to Pessinus and Prusa. Don't really want to share a border with the Galatians just yet.

[QuintusSertorius]

A fragile peace shattered, 262BC

Peace with the Seleucids barely lasted a year before they were once more on the offensive. Their pride would not suffer the numerous defeats little Pergamon had handed to them without a response. New nobles and freshly-raised troops were mobilised in an attempt to make good the losses of the last war.



But the opening battles went much the same way - ignominious defeat for the Syrians.



And now Pergamon had wider ambitions - conquest of all Syrian Anatolia.

262BC:



Irritation has brought me to this; I'm getting sick of fighting the same Seleucid armies over and over again. So I'm going to move my border with them to the Prusa-Pessinus-Sardis line. Hopefully that'll cut down their avenues of attack enough for some stability - particularly if I fortify the passes in the Taurus mountains.

While that does carry the risk of having to fight the Galatians, that's going to happen sooner or later.

Pontus were just destroyed by Armenia. It's going to be that kind of game, I see.

[QuintusSertorius]

Pergamon on the March, 262-261BC

Now it was clear the Seleucids were unwilling to accept peace with Pergamon, a new policy was enacted, replacing the previously defensive strategy. The Seleucid holdings in this part of Anatolia were weak, a concerted campaign would push them out for good. And so attacks were launched on a broad front to push them back to the Taurus mountains.

The first move was in the south. Pyrrhus laid siege to poorly-defended Sardis.



After a brief fight, the garrison was overcome.



However in the fighting, Pyrrhus himself was killed which detracted from the success of the operation.



Next was Prusa in the north, Alexandros leading the campaign.



He laid siege to the town, and his camp was attacked by a relieving force. They and the garrison were soundly beaten.



Lastly, Pessinus was now dangling between the two new conquests, vulnerable on three sides. Alexandros invested the town, but his preparations were disrupted by the arrival of a Seleucid relief force with no less than six nobles and their retinues.



Alexandros took up position on a low rise.



The relief force arrived first, and launched into attack.



Fighting was fierce and chaotic.



The enemy general tarried too long near the front.





Much of the relief force was now in flight, but the garrison of Pessinus had not yet had their say.



Nor had several Syrian nobles, who attempted to turn the tide unsuccessfully.





Eventually the Seleucids broke and ran.



The day was Pergamon's.



Thoroughly beaten, the Seleucids reluctantly agreed to a ceasefire.

[QuintusSertorius]

256BC:



Been running through the turns without doing much besides queuing buildings. With those three new holdings I suddenly have a lot of money - holding five silver mines will do that.

Had to bounce Seleucid stacks away because they weren't big enough to really start a war over. Pictured is my new army of Pergamon. All it needs now is a couple of FMs as commanders and it's ready for whatever the Galatians or Seleucids throw at me next.

[QuintusSertorius]

Is anyone actually following this? Aside from a few comments at the start, seems to be little interest. If that's the case I won't carry on updating, since Photobucket hates me for use of bandwidth right now anyway.

[Saluki77]

Yes somebody is reading this. I really enjoy game play focused AARs like this one, keep up the great work!


I haven't really been on these forums for a long time, but are you the same Quintus that wrote the True Roman guide back on the other forums?