[SS AAR] I am Skantarios! - Rebirth of the Eastern Roman Empire - **Complete**

[Skantarios]

From the Diaries of Emperor Skantarios.

January, 1482 AD
Location: Iasi

As the new year dawns, the garrison forces from Bucharest arrive and allow my forces to depart Iasi and start on the long march south. We take only cavalry with us in order to speed our march. The pace is breakneck and we waste no time but still we hold no illusions we will be able to make it to the capitol before the year is out. We will trust in the walls and the slow pace of the Muslim construction of siege equipment to hold them at bay until we arrive.

The greatest news we receive is that the Sicilians have assaulted Arta.

Second Battle of Arta - 1482 AD.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

From Battle Report filed by Captain Herclonias to Emperor Skantarios, April 1482 AD.

The first Sicilian army is large and led by two nobles.

Althought they are strong in archers and have some decent cavalry, they have very little heavy infantry. This army seems more suited to an open field battle and not direct attacks on fortresses. Archers make poor heavy infantry. At last, we have the advantage in the infantry battles.

The reinforcing army suffers the same weakness and is composed entirely of archers.


I do note with disgust that their bowmen are Muslim archers. Has Islam spread so far and so pervasively that even the Europeans not place them in their employ??

The Roman forces are a mixed bag but should be strong in the defense.

We have enough heavy infantry to hold the walls, we have spears and stakes to fend off the cavalry, archers to fire from above, and Siphonores and a Mangonel to rain fire down on them.

Captain Herclonias takes command of the heavy horse. Since the enemy has so little heavy infantry, Herclonias makes the decision to fight it out on the outer walls and not take refuge in the inner perimeter. In their haste to attack, the Sicilians have only bothered to construct a few rams, one tower, and one set of ladders. Also, Sicilians are not known for their restraint when it comes to the property and lives of others, and he thinks it best to keep them out of the fortress as much as possible.^*

Our forces take up position opposite the enemy's line of advance. We also place the Mangonel forward to put fire outside the walls and ready to launch area attacks at the gates should the fight go poorly at the entrance.

As is standard practice in Roman defense, stakes are placed at the gate to break up the charge of any cavalry.

The enemy's ram advances into a barrage of arrows and ballista fire. Still, all of the enemy's siege equipment makes it to the walls virtually unscathed.

Some of the enemy fall but still they press on.

The ram succeeds in breaching the gate as the fight for the walls is in full swing.

The Sicilians make a mad dash through the gate where our men are waiting for them.

In the enemy's blind fury to make it through the gates, they do not see either the stakes waiting for them or the Siphonores at the side of the entrance.

The Siphonores make their presence known soon enough with a tremendous roar of fire into the densely packed ranks of their infantry.

Scores of men and horses are engulfed in flames and die a very miserable death.

Both nobles are soon dead and the enemy breaks. Some units rally away from the gate and start to make their way to the tower as they see that only death awaits them at the gate.

The queue outside the tower makes an inviting target for the Siphonores and they sally out to engage.

The fire takes more of the enemy and those waiting to move into the tower are soon broken. This proves to be a bit of a mistake on our part as the reinforcing archers soon arrive and bring the Siphonores under fire. We lose a third of this invaluable asset before they can find safety back in the fortress.

The noble cavalry then sally out and make short work of the Muslim Archers. That fight is brief and soon the entirety of the assaulting armies is in flight.

The victory is ours.

We take few casualties as the enemy fought poorly on the walls and the stakes and Siphonores did the rest of the work.



The many prisoners are offered up for ransom but it is refused.

^*-blanket apologies for all non-PC comments going forward. Not like political correctness was big in those days anyway...

With the great victory at Arta, the few remaining enemy not captured or killed take refuge in the Sicilian fleet waiting offshore. Those ships soon depart but we can only wonder when they will be back to make another try...

My forces continue on the road south to Constantinople. The two Egyptian armies at the captiol have now been joined by a Mongolian one.


We can waste no more time or else the Jihad will soon become completely unmanageable.


I am Skantarios.

[Beer Money]

Also, love how you name the battles! Hope you dont mind but I might have to use this idea from you in my next AAR after my Barca and Hungarian ones.

[cisse]

Wow, those russians surely have been taught a lesson! Three battles and three large armies destroyed, and a province conquered, in one fell swoop.

Back to the Turks, then? Or better, the Jihad. What's the plan, helping out at Constantinople, or striking at Anatolia?

[Horatius Flaccus]

Excellent!

[Concrete]

Sure, you blitzed the Russians, but your success will be short lived.
Soon the Russians will recieve reinforcements from all corners of the union, and while your troops are elite, you cannoy deny the force of men and armoured fighting vehicles that makes the very earth tremble.
FOR THE MOTHERLAND.
Oh wai-
Well done against the Rus, are you going to defend the land you have already taken from them, perhaps seek a ceasefire, or will you conquer all the other territories north of the Black sea?

[Skantarios]

Sure, you blitzed the Russians, but your success will be short lived.
Soon the Russians will recieve reinforcements from all corners of the union, and while your troops are elite, you cannoy deny the force of men and armoured fighting vehicles that makes the very earth tremble.
FOR THE MOTHERLAND.
Oh wai-

Very cute. Having flashbacks to 1941, perhaps?

Well done against the Rus, are you going to defend the land you have already taken from them, perhaps seek a ceasefire, or will you conquer all the other territories north of the Black sea?

As tempting as it would be to drive all the way to the to Kiev and further, I have a lot of problems "back home" in Constantinople.

No, the next move is to make full speed back to the capitol and try to break the Jihad.

Wow, those russians surely have been taught a lesson! Three battles and three large armies destroyed, and a province conquered, in one fell swoop.

Back to the Turks, then? Or better, the Jihad. What's the plan, helping out at Constantinople, or striking at Anatolia?

I will concentrate on breaking up the Jihad. As opportunities present themselves, I will try to take some territory in Anatolia. Now that Skantarios has an adopted son, I think it may be time for the kid to earn his new title and strike out on his own a bit.

Well, now to get back to the updates...

[dezikeizer]

Great update and great job with annihilating three Rus armies. Make sure you beat the Egyptian armies around Constantinople. Nice catch on the historical reference there Beer Money. Yeah, the guy who lost the Austrians the Austro-Prussian of 1866 was also named Benedek.

[cisse]

Ouch, those Siphonores certainly can put the hurt on enemy troops.

But with all that, we're still waiting to see how it plays out at Constantinople!

[Skantarios]

Ouch, those Siphonores certainly can put the hurt on enemy troops.

But with all that, we're still waiting to see how it plays out at Constantinople!

Working on that right now. Photobucket is down for maintenance and I need some more photos to finish.

And, yes, Siphonores when used correctly can be utterly devastating. It is almost like cheating. Still, there are so few and hard to recruit. That and they are almost worthless in field battles. Best just to use them in siege defense.

[cisse]

I've never used them before (am not much of a fan of the Byzantines), so I wouldn't know. They do seem to do a lot damage yes, but are they much better compared to something as mundane as, say, a catapult parked right behind your lines to fire at the enemy pouring through the gate?

[AnthoniusII]

A letter to Skantarios...

My lord you have some obligations as an Emperor.
1: Do not loose or abandon the Capital.
The penalty of such a lose will be a coon against you and even a wide spread civil war...
2: Give some money to your own provinces (development).
3: Stop fighting in two fronts...Your army will soon colapse...

AnthoniusII member of the Roman nobility and Megas Domestikos ton Scholon.

Good story so far...
Remember that defeats are part of the game and certainly part of history...
EDIT: cisse learn about those byzantines more here.

[Concrete]

Not to be rude, but we lose battles/games/things of ours. While a door with loose hinges might fall out of the frame.

Talk about holy fire...

[AnthoniusII]

Not to be rude, but we lose battles/games/things of ours. While a door with loose hinges might fall out of the frame.

Talk about holy fire...

Yes my speling mistakes are my weak point...
So...????

[Hobbes]

Could we have a world map pic?

[Kallum]

don't take it personally Anthonius As long as you can make yourself clear it's okay


nice use of Greek fire there btw

[Concrete]

I've just seen that particular spelling mistake often.
But I mean't nothing personal, just offering a tip.
(If anyone notices that I misspelt a word, let me know.)

I agree; a world map would be nice.

[dezikeizer]

Great update. The very reason I suggested you go to the capitol was that there are two Egyptian armies, and if they both have siege equipment then it will be a very difficult fight. Better to make sure that you win.

@Beer Money: Oh, you meant that historical figure. Yeah, if you're right about that, then Skantarios better be careful.

[Skantarios]

Great update. The very reason I suggested you go to the capitol was that there are two Egyptian armies, and if they both have siege equipment then it will be a very difficult fight. Better to make sure that you win.

Thanks for the advice. When I attacked the supporting Egyptian army, it was shown to be on target. Two breaches in the wall could have spelled disaster. Look for the subtle reference to you in the write up for the first battle.

@Hobbes and @Supreme Turkey Lord - World maps added. It had been too long since I'd done that.

@AnthoniusII - Thanks for the link to the Byzantine Roster Project. Made for some interesting reading. Thinking about going back to some of the earlier posts and fleshing those out a little bit with the new information.

@cisse - I much prefer Siphonores to Mangonels for gate defense. The effects are very similiar but Siphonores are less wild and less prone to inflicting lots of friendly casualties. I still like to use Mangonels for that purpose but only out of necessity. As compared to catapults, both the Mangonel and the Siphonore are far better.

To everyone in general, it is great to see so many reading this now. My interest was starting to flag a little but now that I know so many have taken an interest, I will press on.

Thanks for reading!

[cisse]

Very nice battles! Shows again how horse archers are really superior in this game when commanded properly. They do have their disadvantages though, but I still like them as a unit type. Regarding the world map: wow the Turks seem to be doing badly, you could be fighting Egypt for Anatolia instead! Or -especially with Skantarios' wish for revenge- perhaps you could raid the big Eyptian cities of Cairo and Alexandria? Now that cannons are available, raiding gets that much easier. But you'd need a navy for that, to transport an army to Egypt...

@cisse - I much prefer Siphonores to Mangonels for gate defense. The effects are very similiar but Siphonores are less wild and less prone to inflicting lots of friendly casualties. I still like to use Mangonels for that purpose but only out of necessity. As compared to catapults, both the Mangonel and the Siphonore are far better.

Siphonores are slightly exposed though, catapults can be put right behind your infantry and fire just over their heads into the enemy. Quite effective too, and I prefer this method to using mangonels (too random and can't fire this close). But as I said, I never used Siphonores so... Right now I'm playing a SS 6.2 campaign as the Turks, after that I might play the Byzantines for a change. I'm downloading RR/RC so...

[Horatius Flaccus]

Nice update.

I support the plan of Cisse to raid the Egyptian coast, maybe by weakening their core provinces they will stop exapanding.