[EB AAR] Reuniting the Tribes- a Getai funny AAR

[hooahguy14]

ok, so im going to be reposting my aar here.....
btw, the funniness only starts in chapter 5..... but the first 4 chapters are important as well.
enjoy!

i will be updating it here in small increments, b/c my computer w/ internet is soooo slow, it can only handle one update per post at a time....

chapter 1-

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

welcome to my newest AAR..... with the Getai....
enjoy!

Chapter 1- The Fledgling Tribe

We are laughed at, but not for long. We are divided, but not for long as well. We are the Getai tribe, dwelling in the town of Buridava, our capitol city.


Our glorious leader of our tribe, Zalmodegikos per Buridava, hails from the Ordes sub-tribe, which used to dwell within our lands before they joined the Getai tribe.
They had a great tradition of war-like people, as well as traders with others, and Zalmodegikos per Buridava will, by the spirit of our gods, will prove to be a very good leader.



And not only is he from the Ordes tribe, so are his sons, the two other leaders in our tribe.

His eldest son, Oroles per Drobeta.


And his youngest son, Dizo per Rekidava.


Many wondered if it was wise to put a father in charge, and then put his two sons in charge as well, as it may bring bad things to happen, but our people wanted it, for those three are wise warriors, as well as good leaders, and that was how it should be.

Oh, forgive me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Dizion per Drobeta, a member of our leaders bodyguard cavalry unit.


I hope to serve with my leader with honor and courage. To serve him better, I am recording the history of our tribe from the spring of 272, the year according to the Makedonians, our enemy to be.

Forgive me once more! I have forgotten to tell you of our leaders’ mission in life! We are to unite the tribes of Dacia, where we dwell now, and Thraikia, where we will soon dwell. We will be also uniting with our brothers to the south, the Makedonians, but they have no honor for heritage! They parted from their Getai and Thraikioi origins and adopted more Hellenic ones! In our eyes, they are traitors, ones to be cut down with the swiftest of knives! But that isn’t the worst part: they have become numerous, and one of their ancestors is rumored to have conquered the world! They are a force to be reckoned with, and that is why we hate them and they hate us. They spread lies about us to the surrounding tribes, about how weak and how few in numbers we are. And the tribes laugh at us. But that will change. We will subdue the neighboring tribes, especially the Thraikioi, who retain their heritage and yet can fight in a terrifying way, unlike those Makedonians, who must retort to dirty Hellenic ways to fight. So we will conquer them, and make them, the Makedonians, pay for what they have done! And when we are through, the tribes will realize that, we, the Getai tribe, are the masters of all who we face.

[hooahguy14]

chapter 2-

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Chapter 2- The Semi-Reforms

As we geared up for war, our leader, Zalmodegikos per Buridava, realized to have any chance of fighting the Makedonians and their armies with long, sharp sticks that, when used properly, could defeat an enemy thrice their number, was to adopt their style of fighting. But he wanted to retain our heritage, unlike those Makedonians who completely abandoned their old ways.
So he developed a unit based on the Hellenic phalanx, called the Getikoi Stratiotai, or Dacian Light Phalanx. These soldiers would fight in the phalanx formation, but still was equipped in the traditional Getai manner.


He also helped develop a heavier version of this phalanx, with more armor, called the Komatai Thorakitai Stratiotai, or the Dacian Heavy Phalanx.


But they would just be a tool in the shed for our many victories to come. The real power in our forces lies in our ability of our skirmishers and their ability to maintain themselves as capable infantry of the line. First comes our first line of infantry- the Komatai- both capable skirmishers and decent warriors in hand-to-hand combat.


They would be the unit that would fill the ranks for our early days of conquest, for they are cheap and very usable.

The next evolution is the elite of the Dacian skirmishers, armed with a deadly sword over two meters long, which could strike down almost any enemy, and is just as handy with the javelin as he is the sword. He is more armored than the regular skirmishers, as he has a bronze studded vest for more protection, and his sword is longer than the normal skirmishers.


Then would come the elite of the elite. The much-dreaded Thraikioi Peltastai, or the Thraikian Skirmishers. These skirmishers are the descendants of the original skirmishers, and are very deadly. In addition, they, as well as the Komatai, are armed with the deadly rhompaia, a weapon that can cut through almost any kind of armor. This makes them even more vicious.


You may ask, “Why is this so important? Why are heavily armed skirmishers so important in your armies, and not the phalanxes?”
Someone asked Zalmodegikos this exact question.
He replied, “The answer is simple. The type of wood which the Makedonians use to build their long pikes with are made from very strong wood that is exclusive to their areas, areas that we do not have access to, obviously. The wood we use is inferior quality, and if our pikes are the length of theirs, ours snaps very easily, like a twig. Therefore, we have to stick to shorter pikes. Because of this we cannot rely on our phalanxes to beat the enemy at their own game. We must use the phalanxes to hold the enemy in place, and as they throw themselves against our spears, our skirmishers, being as agile as they are, will circle around and devastate the enemy from the back with their javelins, and then charge in to engage them in hand-to-hand combat, as they have been trained to do. Thus, we will dominate our foes, even if they do have armies with longer pikes.”
So you see, we of the Getai tribe are famed for our ability to adapt, but not assimilate, as those treacherous Makedonians have done.

Meanwhile, we decided on the first tribe that we would bring under our control: the Crobyzi tribe, a Dacian tribe who also assimilated to more Hellenic ways, just as the Makedonians did. Their town, Kallatis, was lightly defended, so it would be good practice for our leader for upcoming battles.


Their garrison composed of mostly Greek units, but there were some of our brothers in there, showing that that tribe still has some hope of keeping their heritage. But they will fall, whether they want to or not.


Kallatis was governed a pure Hellen, named Sinis, who was able to convince the entire Crobyzi that the Hellen way was the better way. And for that, he will die- we will make sure of it.


But we had some unfinished business to take care of.
We sent out diplomat, Tarsa per Kallatis, to deal with it.
First, we had to make an alliance with Epeiros, the Makedonians sworn enemy. It looks like we found a friend, for the time being.


Then we had to declare a cease-fire with the Makedonians, to ensure that while we were uniting the tribes, they wouldn’t show up suddenly and make a mess of our hard work. Tarsa per Kallatis was able to achieve this, miraculously.


So now, we only had to worry about any roving rebel armies, but no standing armies of either Epeiros or the armies of the Makedonians. And for a short while, there was peace in our land.

[hooahguy14]

chapter 3-

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Chapter 3- the battle for Kallatis

In the winter of 271, all our forces to take Kallatis were ready. In the following spring, Zalmodegikos per Buridava was to march out and start uniting the tribes. But he never got the chance. Two months before he was to march out, he became very ill, and died at the age of 62.


His son, Oroles per Drobeta took over the throne, and he promised to finish his fathers mission of uniting the tribes.


Selected members of the bodyguard unit of Zalmodegikos was transferred over to the bodyguard unit of Oroles. I was one of them.

So Oroles per Drobeta took his fathers army in the spring of 270 and went to besiege Kallatis.



In the summer of 270, he reached Kallatis and promptly put it under siege.


And in the early autumn of 270, he assaulted Kallatis.


Our leader waited anxiously for his troops to get organized, for this was his first real battle. I was in my leaders row, second from his right.


Two units of Komatai Epilektoi pushed the two rams to the walls.


And while that was being done, our archers and slingers opened fire, in volleys so devastating, the enemy’s entire unit of archers were completely annihilated!


Our rams started to ram the walls, and the enemy waited nervously behind their walls.



Finally, when the walls were breached, and our Komatai charged in, came our brothers, heavily depleted from the devastating volleys of arrows and stones.


And with heavy hearts, we engaged them, brother versus brother.


Meanwhile, the enemy general charged his cavalry into our right flank, and a fierce battle started.



Finally, the enemy general surfaced and started to attempt to hack our men down.


On the other flank, our brothers were the first to flee.


And were soon cut down, much to our sadness. Brothers died unnecessarily for a greedy and evil Hellen king.


But replacing our dead brothers were Hellenic levies, and they tied our men up for a long time.


On the right flank, the last few cavalry still fought on, with the help of the Hellenic skirmishers.


And the battle raged on the left flank, but the enemy levies were wavering.


On the right flank, the enemy already routed. Only the enemy general and a few cavalry were left.


And soon the enemy general was dead, among the dead of his own men.


We chased the enemy to their town square, where the last three cavalry units made a pathetic charge, along with their Hellenic skirmishers.


Our Drapanai soon arrived and began to slaughter the enemy.


As they were doing that, some Galatikoi Kluddolon came and began to deal with their last unit, a unit of Hellenic levies.


We soon pushed hem back, and methodically killed them.



While this was going on, Oroles per Drobeta rode into the town.


As I rode along with him (I'm fourth from left), I surveyed the carnage. There were bodies everywhere, mostly Greek ones. Then we passed the bodies of our brothers. Oroles paused, said a prayer, and then rode on. We did the same.

At the plaza, the enemy only had a few men left.


But soon they fell, and the town was ours! We have united our first tribe!


When the body count was in, we were very surprised at how few men we lost. This is surly a sign of the gods!


When the town was secured, we learned two things:
One, there was a port for this town,


And two, that this tribe was a tribe that was skilled at making very long, curved swords. Thus, we could now train the dreaded Thraikioi Rhomphaiaphoroi!


With these, our armies will become almost unstoppable!
Our Vasil, as we now call Oroles per Drobeta, will be commissioning several units of these to help us unite our next tribe, which is yet to be decided.

[hooahguy14]

chapter 4-

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Chapter 4- A Request and a Rebuff

In the spring of 269, our Vasil made the journey to the next tribe, along with a handful of picked bodyguards (including me), that he would try to unite: the Triballi tribe, who resides in the town of Naissos.


This settlement was ruled by a Dacian chieftain, Diales, who was a stern ruler as well as pig-headed.


In addition, the tribe was inhabited by brothers, so we were very reluctant to kill any of them.


They also had a couple units of the adept Taxeis Triballoi, which were very good at melee, and were exclusive to the Triballi tribe. Obtaining these soldiers will be very useful when it comes to assaulting walls.


Not only that, the town was a major trading port for the Amber Route, which would bring us more trade and huge financial benefits.


So as you can see, taking this town was of utmost importance. But because they were brothers, we didn't want to take the town by force. When our Vasil, along with us, his faithful bodyguards, came into the town, we could sense that were weren’t welcomed here, judging by the sneers and insults thrown our way. When we arrived at the throne room of Diales, we became very alert, for we had no idea what would happen.
Our Vasil invited him to join us and help unite the tribes- a very simple request.

However, Diales got enraged and yelled at us, “How could you ask such a thing?! We have been independent for many years! Do you think we would join a confederation and simply give up our sovereignty?! I think not! Now leave before I kill you all, you Getai dogs, unworthy of honor! We Triballi are free, and will always be free!”
Seeing as there wasn’t much we could do anymore, we quickly left the town, and our Vasil quickly decided that we would take the town by force. There was no doubt about that.

[hooahguy14]

this is where the funniness starts....

chapter 5-

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Chapter 5- The Battle for Naissos
In the spring of 268 Oroles per Drobeta’s army was completed.


Oroles entered Thraikioi Hypertera, the name of the province which Naissos was in.


While he was doing this, his son, Koson, came of age.


And in the summer of 267, Oroles besieged Naissos.


In the autumn of 267, he attacked.


The battle started on a bright, sunny day, perfect for the battle. I was privileged to be right next to my Vasil.


We soon started with another barrage of missiles, as we banged away at their wall.


Because of our missiles, all but 36 men of one enemy unit was wiped out.


We first made contact with their heavily depleted unit of Triballoi Infantry.


We soon met brothers, and with heavy hearts again, we began to kill them.


The enemy general,Diales, watched as his men were slaughtered.


And soon the enemy Drapanai joined them, and a fierce battle began on the right flank.


In the center, our Galatians charged the enemy general while under fire.


And soon a brutal fight erupted, especially when our elite Thracian infantry arrived.




And soon their general entered the fray


On the right flank, our brothers, as they did in the last battle, began to flee, but the enemy Drapanai held fast.



In the center battle, our Elite Thracian Infantry were able to go around the enemy and charge into their behind.


In the end, the enemy general didn't even have the honor of dieing with his men- he fled with his remaining men like a coward.


We encountered no resistance until we reached the enemy square, where the enemy Elite Thracian Infantry was.


They caused major problems for us.


But just until our own Thracians were able to flank them.


And as usual, that coward, Diales, watched from the sidelines as his men were slowly getting killed, giving directions that were for naught.


And finally, when there were just a few men under his command left, Diales charged alone into our Thracians, hoping to kill a few of them before he went down.


But he didn't kill any- he died quickly by our Thracians blades.



Just as he died, our forces took control of the plaza, and the town was ours, uniting yet another tribe!


But there was much carnage, mostly on the square.



With the Triballi tribe entering our nation, Oroles per Drobeta decided to take a bit of a rest before moving to the next tribe.

[hooahguy14]

chapter 6-

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Chapter 6- An Application and Some Unrest

Right after we took over Naissos, the leader of another tribe, Tauronos, of the Carduci tribe, who dwells in the town of Singidunum, asked Oroles per Drobeta if he could join us. We graciously accepted, without any doubt. He had but one request.
“We want a limited amount of autonomy. Other than that, we will serve the confederation well.” We agreed.


But soon, he was killed in battle with some dissenters who didn't agree with what he had done.


Soon Oroles per Drobeta calmed the region down and allowed the people to elect their own client ruler, with our approval. So they chose a man named Duda, who, after we looked into his background, was found to be a trustworthy and honorable man. So we accepted him, and he became the client ruler of Singidunum.


After all of this, we constructed barracks that would allow us to train the Cordinau Orca, or the Scordisci Elite Infantry.


These soldiers were the epitome of the idea of good infantry. They could handle anything that came their way, even Elite Thracians, which is very hard to do. Our Vasil was sure to utilize them well.

[hooahguy14]

if you want to read the entire thing now (ill finish adding the other chapters later/tomorrow) you can visit the main thread for this AAR over at the ORG-
http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=97218

[revan1013]

I really like this, though the area you were in was not the Bosporus, it was the Crimean Peninsula. The Bosporus is the strait at Byzantium.

[hooahguy14]

oops.... but the bosporan archers are recruited there, so i assumed that that was the bosporus....

[revan1013]

hehe all good, I always wonder how I can recruit Noricum spearmen in lower Illyria :p

[hooahguy14]

chapter 17-

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Chapter 17- A Sigh of Relief

In the winter of 248, the Makedonians launched an attack on Tylis. It failed, and they were beaten back.
(Insert picture of Maks beaten back)

Unfortunately, there was a reserve Makedonian army coming to assist him, so it is doubtful the town will last long.

So we sent our diplomat to do two things. First, he journeyed over to the camp of the Makedonian general, Karenos Argeades.


Our diplomat told him how by attacking Tylis, it was breaking our agreement, and it could cause war. Karenos laughed and rudely sent our diplomat packing. As he was leaving, he heard Karenos say to an aide, “Moronic Getai! Don’t they understand that this is all planned?!”
The aide laughed.
That Makedonian sure could keep a good secret- our diplomat ran back and told us everything.

Then our diplomat went to the Epeirote king and requested that he helps us in our fight against the Makedonians. He agreed, for the Makedonians were also their enemy for a long time. But, them being Hellenes, we don’t know how long they will commit, and when we are through with the Makedonians, if they will turn on us……


In the meantime, our Vasil was getting old. He could barely ride a horse in battle, and his end was getting closer. It was time to choose an heir.
Until then, Dizo per Rekidava, the second of Zalmodegikos’s sons was the heir, but Dizo was older than Oroles, and he was on his deathbed as well. So Dizo was unfit. Instead, he chose a new addition to the family, Zyraxes per Dokidava.


The family was in an uproar, especially Koson, Oroles’s firstborn.
“How could you choose a person who was only in this family for less than two years?!”

“Koson, my son, this is a confederation, not a monarchy. While I may be king, everyone has a chance to become king and everyone has a fair say in leadership. I feel that Zyraxes is the best choice to become our next leader. However, he has yet to prove himself in combat, which is something you are much better at."

Oroles meant every word he said. Indeed, I was there when he said that! he confided to me that he would tell Zyraxes to give command of the second army, which was soon to be raised, to Koson, but also to keep an eye on him, in case he gets any ideas….

We also talked to the leader of Tylis, Virssuccois. He said the Makedonians were in such a rabble when they busted through their walls, it was easy for his men to slaughter them, but still, the Makedonian’s overwhelming numbers wore them down.


“If we are attacked once more, we are finished. But we give you our word; we won't go down without a fight!”

“Don’t you worry, if they do it again, then we will come down upon them like a bat out of hell!”

“Thank you, noble messenger of the Getai, if we pull through this, we can assure you that we will join your confederation!

“Well, we don’t know if we can allow you too…. You see, your town and Serdike are the buffer towns in between the Getai and Makedonian. So, we’ll have to see.”

“Well, in any case, we are in your debt. Farewell!”

So in the spring of 247, our Vasil entered Buridava, where he would stay for the rest of his days, and gave command of the army over to Zyraxes, as all the border cities were fortified and defenses were prepared.


Even though Zyraxes was new to the family, he knew exactly what was going on, and he made camp in a location where he could easily respond to any crisis.
Everyone knew war was looming.

[hooahguy14]

chapter 18-

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Chapter 18- War!

In the spring of 248, another Makedonian army besieged Tylis.


And before anyone could react, they captured it.


After the battle, the few survivors of the Tylis garrison trickled into Zyraxes' camp.

They asked angrily why they got no support from our forces.

"Where were you?! Where were those promised forces?"

"You must understand. it takes a good week and a half for news to travel here. by that time, the Makedonians already occupied your town. now leave, for I will hear nothing more of the matter. if you want, you are welcome to join our army, which will take action soon."

His aides approached him.
"What's your plan of action sir?"

"We are going to wait until the second army under Koson is ready, then we invade."

"Sir, Kosons' army is already done."

"Very well. Prepare the men for war. The clouds of war are here."

[hooahguy14]

chapter 19-

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Chapter 19- The Makedonian War- Part 1

In the autumn of 244, our Vasil, Oroles per Drobeta, dies of old age. Zyraxes per Dokidava is now the leader of our great confederation.


Our armies moved in….


But first, we made an alliance with the Makedonians sworn enemy, the Koinon Hellenon.


And finally, we attacked the town of Tylis, under Makedonian control, and with it, the struggle began. Our army was composed entirely of mercenaries taken from escapees of Tylis.




The battle started with our horse archers and slingers shooting all their arrows and stones at those accursed Makedonians.


They killed many.




Soon, our mercenaries stormed in, and made contact.



Our German mercenaries also wanted to get in the fighting, so we sent our heaviest unit of German swordsmen to deal with an enemy phalanx on our left flank.


With their left flank in peril, they sent what was remaining of their Prodomoi to assist.


They were soon driven off.


Their general charged us next, and we handily cut him, along with his bodyguards, down.




The mercenaries went on and attacked the central plaza, killing all who opposed them.



Soon, there was only one unit of levy phalanx left, and everyone joined in on the slaughter, even the German skirmisher cavalry.


Soon, they were on the verge of breaking…..


And even sooner, they were all dead, and the town was taken!


We lost few.


While this battle was going on, another was going on as well…..

[hooahguy14]

chapter 20-

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Chapter 20- The Makedonian War- Part 2- The Battle for the Pellic Forest

While the battle for Tylis was going on, our new Vasil, yet to be battle tested, attacked a smaller Makedonian army in the very homeland of Makedonia herself, in the Pellic Forest.


It was under the Makedonian general who started this whole war. Accompanying Karenos was his relative, Demetrios.


So the battle began.


We were in a very heavily forested terrain, so any accuracy in archery was limited, but, being that our archers were Skythian, the original archers, they had ease with it, and soon they were slaughtering Makedonian soldiers.
While the slaughter was going on, we sent our heavy cavalry to engage their heavy cavalry and generals.



Soon we had their cavalry in retreat, while we pelted them with arrows.


At that moment, our infantry, which were hiding, burst from the woods and attacked an unsuspecting Makedonian foe.

(there is something epic about this photo- i think ill submit it for the contest next month...)

At about this time, Karenos was slain.


And Demetrios was running for his life.


Our infantry engaged the enemy soldiers and soon routed them.


It was a slaughter.




Finally, they had only one man left on the battlefield, and he was soon slain.


The battle was won, and only three Makedonians were alive to tell the story.


All in all,the year 244-243 were very successful years.


Soon, Zyraxes would march on Pella herself.

[hooahguy14]

wow. been a while since ive updated here.
on the org, im up to chapter 50.

[austinpowers]

Great AAR

[hooahguy14]

thanks man. pity im too lazy to update here. just go to the link to the .org version, where its all caught up.

[austinpowers]

ok i will, thanks