organization

[MasterAdnin]

In SPQR, I have noticed, the better organization you have, the better you will do. I want to see how others organise. This is mine.

-----------------------------Pre-Marian----------------------------

---------Defence----------

Once I have enough money, I have two legions assigned to every general, and the general must have a command rating of 6 or above, and each army under the general, has a lower general in case they are attacked, this general usually is a general in training. Through this, I can create effective fronts, so while one army is fighting, the other is being replenished with fresh hastati, I use them like auxillia.

So I call two legions in the formation above, an army, which creates a front, sometimes multiple armies make up a front, depending on how big my enemy is.

Now, around two armies make up a division, and divisions are assigned to fronts and sides, such as I have taken over Gaul, two divisions are assigned to keep the peace on the eastern border with Germania, while one division is keeping Carthage at bay, or the Spanish rebels at bay.

----------Attack----------

Attacking has two phases, as I said, a division is made up of three armies, which is made up by around four legions, two high ranking generals and two lower, trainee's shall we say.

Now usually a division would make up an invasion, but for bigger areas, I use two. It would go like one division holds off all enemy reinforcements and kills all armies, while the other takes over towns and villages.

The job of the first division holds off for as long as they can, recruiting mercenaries as they loose more and more in number. They are made up of the better generals and older ones, who have betteer traits and retinue.

The job of the other division is to take settlements, and they are made up of the weaker generals, and through this, they gain better retinues and traits. Soon after they take finish off the faction, their job is to guard it while the other division gets and restores its units.

----------Town----------

Since there are not too many acadamies at this time, so the governors have to have atleast three management points. The garrisons have six hastati and three archers, if they are not able to recruit them, some are sent to them.

---------------------Post Marian------------------

----------Defence----------

The defence is made up a little different. There are still the same, legion, army, and division, just each are larger in number due to the larger amount of money, although the generals commanding armies have a higher standard now due to the buildings acadamies and so on.

The legions have the historic make up, 1 first cohort and 9 cohorts and so on, and two legions make up an army. Each general in command of an army must have atleast six command stars. On top of that, usually it takes time for that to happen at the acadamies, so they are usually 40+, but age does not matter, the younger the better right? Each legion carries an auxillia full stack to keep them in fighting condition.

So, an army is made up by two legions, and each legion is followed by a full stack of auxillia swordsman and spearmen, so a division usually has around two armies, which means 8 full stacks, which is kind of hard to maintain, so there are not as many.

----------Attack----------

Attacking is more or less the same. There are still two divisions, but the division stopping enemy reinforcements has the auxillia to worry about as well, and due to the increase of money, each auxillia stack is stationed in a fort. They are then sent to armies in need from there.

As for the armies that take the cities, the legions take settlements like usual, but the auxillia's job is to keep cities under seige, so that some may surrender and some by the time the legions come to that town, they will surely surrender.

Auxillia have another job, the other job is to keep the peace with the civilians, they are stationed in new towns as they move along, until a new garrison can be created for that town.

----------Towns----------

Towns are run by capable governors who have 3+ managment stars, the rest are run by me. They each also have a garrison of six urban cohorts and three archers, and if they can not supply them themselves, the troops are sent to them.


I have shared my campaign organization, now it's your turn . Hope it wasn't too long, it took a lot out of me to type it:sweatingb. Just kidding, but hope it isn't too long.

Peace out all,
Adnan

[Decimus Equitius]

I've just revamped my entire army composition and logistics in my newest campaign as the Brutii.( I can't be anyone else but Roman!) So here's what I got so far.

Pre marian

Army Formation:
Generally all stacks or legions have the same 5 hastati 4 prinicpes 3 Triarii core

Then there are three types that determine their auxillaries

Mounted : 4 Equites, 2 Horse auxillia, General and General in training

Skirmish Type : 3 velites, 3 slingers or archers, general and general in training.

Standard : 2 velites, 3 slingers or archers, 3 Town watch or mercs or equites or combination, ( maybe a general and general in training. )

An army of mine will consist of at least one of each type of legion

Defense:

Most of my towns are housed with as little troops as possible, mainly hastati, velites, or town watch, and I have skirmish type forces that patrol inside my borders and ambush forces that are just beyond them to take care of ( or at least slow down) rebels and invaders.

These skirmish and ambush forces only consist of 4 equites, 3 velites, and 2 Archers or slingers

Offense:

When attacking to take a town or a couple towns. I will move my army to surround it; then build a fort to cut off re-inforcements if needed, then lay seige. Each offensive strategy is different against every faction and for every campaign. But generally I'll make a projection of how many men it would take to take say patavium mediolanium, and aqueila; recruit and execute.

AFter taking a town, no legion can stay in the town for more than 1 year so I recruit whatever I can after retraining and move my legion on until they have to be retrained back at home or are annihilated.

Generaly the same for Post Marian

[jegui]

Here is my org and strategy...
Playing as Julii
---------------------Pre Marian------------------
For economic reasons and to avoid blitzing my family can only have a max of 4 legions until the advent of Marius Reforms. Generally speaking at this period of time two legions make up an army and it must be commanded by a clean bloodline General who should be a direct descendent of the Julii family founder. Two armies is the cap until MR.

I tend to use the family leader and/or his heir in order to get triumph traits and to get good positions in the senate elections. Once these traits and positions are granted I bring along other less experienced julii descendents to get the same traits and command stars… later in the game all senatorial positions will be eventually taken by my family members ;-)

----------Defence----------
Initially I build 2 legions (1army) to defend the barbarian onslaught and if possible to take neighbouring rebel settlements within the ZOR.

Army I => 2 early republic legions

Legion composition:
5 hastati,
5 principe/hastati,
3 triari/town watch,
2 velite,
2 slingers,
2 cav,
1 general

The number of principe and triari varies depending on cash flow (they are replaced by hastatii or town watch)


----------Attack----------
By the time I have built up my initial 5/6 cities and the money starts flowing I start my ZOR expansion campaign by building another army composed by two legions. One army goes northeast and the other northwest. My rule of the thumb is to hold 15/16 ZOR provinces until MR (this includes Sardinia and Corsica islands). Once I reach my campaign target I build forts in choke points/borders to keep invading armies away from my cities (garrison composed of one town watch). At this point I keep one army in the Northern provinces to keep the barbarians at bay. The other army is split… one legion goes south to help the scipii and the other east to help the brutii. I bring them home every 5/10 years to replenish.

Army II => 2 early republic legions

Legion composition:
5 hastati,
5 principe,
3 triari,
2 velite,
2 archers,
2 cav,
1 general


----------Town----------
Towns/Cities are generally governed by a family member if available. My garrisons are composed of town watch only. I increase numbers proportionally to unrest presence. My line of defence is normally away from the city in the border forts. If they fall I will certainly have an army or legion nearby to handle the enemy armies and to rebuild the collapsed fort.


---------------------Post Marian------------------

----------Defence----------
My house rules dictate that cities should be developed up to imperial palace + Great forum level before my IMPERIAL expansion starts. I normally upgrade my 4 early republic legions (2 armies) with my favourite named republican legions. I also build auxiliary legions to support my two armies and to defend my republic of 15/16 provinces)

Army I => LEGIO X + LEGIO V + 1 auxiliary legion
Army II => LEGIO XI + LEGIO VII + 1 auxiliary legion

Late republic legion composition:
9 republic cohorts,
1 first republic cohort (eagle),
3 spear auxiliary,
2 archer auxiliary,
2 skirmisher auxiliary,
2 cav auxiliary,
1 general

Auxiliary Legion composition:
5-10 sword auxiliary,
3-6 spear auxiliary,
4-6 archer/skirmisher auxiliary,
4-6 cav wing

Again each republican army will either carry out defence or support roles depending on the level of enemy aggressiveness towards the republic. My auxilia legions will never confront enemies… They act as legion fillers or as the last standing defence against massive enemy incursions.

----------Attack----------

Now this is when SPQR greatness kicks in ;-) … towards 210-200 BC my republic will have fully built cities which will be able to yield 15/16 crack imperial legions. I will gradually dismantle my 2 republic armies and replace them with 2 fresh imperial armies which together form the Prima army group. Its role is to defend and to slowly expand the imperial land core which is composed of only ZOR cities/provinces.

The remaining 12 legions are divided in two invasion army groups of 3 imperial armies each. Each invasion army group is assigned one or more campaigns e.g. Gaul and Iberian campaign, African campaign, Hellenic campaign… An invasion army group will deploy 2 armies to siege cities and to conquer lands… the third army will mop up, consolidate lands and replace weakened frontline armies. At one stage of the game, the empire will have 28 fully deployed imperial legions plus auxiliary legions. The organisation will look like:

Prima Army Group
Army I => LEGIO I + LEGIO II + auxiliary legion
Army II => LEGIO III + LEGIO IV + auxiliary legion

Army Group I
Army III => LEGIO V + LEGIO VI + auxiliary legion
Army IV => LEGIO VII + LEGIO VIII + auxiliary legion
Army V => LEGIO IX + LEGIO X + auxiliary legion

Army Group II
Army VI => LEGIO XI + LEGIO XII + auxiliary legion
Army VII => LEGIO XIII + LEGIO XIV + auxiliary legion
Army VIII => LEGIO XV + LEGIO XVI + auxiliary legion

Army Group III
Army IX => LEGIO XVII + LEGIO XVIII + auxiliary legion
Army X => LEGIO XIX + LEGIO XX + auxiliary legion
Army XI => LEGIO XXI + LEGIO XXII + auxiliary legion

Army Group IV
Army XII => LEGIO XXIII + LEGIO XXIV + auxiliary legion
Army XIII => LEGIO XXV + LEGIO XXVI + auxiliary legion
Army XIV => LEGIO XXVII + LEGIO XVIII + auxiliary legion

Imperial legion composition:
1 first imperial cohort (eagle),
9 imperial cohorts,
3 spear auxiliary,
2 archer auxiliary,
2 skirmisher auxiliary,
2 cav auxiliary,
1 general

Auxiliary Legion composition:
5-10 sword auxiliary,
3-6 spear auxiliary,
4-6 archer/skirmisher auxiliary,
4-6 cav wing

During the campaign rollout an army group may fill the gaps with imitation armies which are composed of 2 imitation legions each (Nubian, Greek, Armenian legionaries). Imitation armies are also responsible for holding the empire borders when the campaign finishes and the main army group retires to the empire core cities for replenishing and to prepare for the next campaign.

Imitation army => 2 imitation legions

Imitation legion composition:
10 imitation legionnaires (Nubian, Greek or Armenian),
3 spear auxiliary,
2 archer auxiliary,
2 skirmisher auxiliary,
2 cav auxiliary,
1 general/captain


----------Town----------
Towns/Cities are generally governed by a family member if available. My garrisons are composed of urban cohorts only. I increase numbers proportionally to unrest presence. My line of defence is normally away from the city in the border forts. If they fall I will certainly have an army or legion nearby to handle the enemy armies and to rebuild the collapsed fort. I may eventually build archers/skirmishers if the city is near the empire border and there are no support legions nearby.

[lt1956]

6.0 will be alot harder. I am surprised that with 16 provinces you can afford 16 imperial legions. Each legions 5000-6000 denarii per turn, you would have to have coming in every turn 80,000 denarii thats not including auxilia legions. thats an alwful lot of money unless you are playing against the greeks? Rhodes is removed in SPQR 6.0, you know longer get that trade bonus. ;-)

I usually wait a little more post marius as your income takes a significant dump.

In 6.0 you will be glad to have 13 provinces by 230BC, the larger map makes getting your troops to the locations you need. Logistics is a pain now, plus Trader income is nowhere near what it was in 5.0, less resources. You'll take it slow in 6.0 because you have to or risk being destroyed. The AI will actually By pass you and siege a city. You can blink and if you lose your legions you can see very soon that 3 cities are under siege. lol There are also 2 Rebel armies floating around, slave revolt going on in italy. You start with 2 legions, and Pirates are everywhere requiring you to build a strong fleet just to make is across the islands. Your populations will not last long and the AI will attack forts ALOT, so the old 1.2 trick doesnt work. lol You have 2 choices at the start of the game take the northern parts of italy and abandon sicilia or take sicilia and hold the north off for a while. There are 3 Gallic armies in the north of italy so beware.......

[Gill]

6.0 will be alot harder. I am surprised that with 16 provinces you can afford 16 imperial legions. Each legions 5000-6000 denarii per turn, you would have to have coming in every turn 80,000 denarii thats not including auxilia legions. thats an alwful lot of money unless you are playing against the greeks? Rhodes is removed in SPQR 6.0, you know longer get that trade bonus. ;-)

I usually wait a little more post marius as your income takes a significant dump.

In 6.0 you will be glad to have 13 provinces by 230BC, the larger map makes getting your troops to the locations you need. Logistics is a pain now, plus Trader income is nowhere near what it was in 5.0, less resources. You'll take it slow in 6.0 because you have to or risk being destroyed. The AI will actually By pass you and siege a city. You can blink and if you lose your legions you can see very soon that 3 cities are under siege. lol There are also 2 Rebel armies floating around, slave revolt going on in italy. You start with 2 legions, and Pirates are everywhere requiring you to build a strong fleet just to make is across the islands. Your populations will not last long and the AI will attack forts ALOT, so the old 1.2 trick doesnt work. lol You have 2 choices at the start of the game take the northern parts of italy and abandon sicilia or take sicilia and hold the north off for a while. There are 3 Gallic armies in the north of italy so beware.......

W00t, this actually really sounds like a great challenge.
Great work Lt, I can't wait to start playing..

[jegui]

6.0 will be alot harder. I am surprised that with 16 provinces you can afford 16 imperial legions. Each legions 5000-6000 denarii per turn, you would have to have coming in every turn 80,000 denarii thats not including auxilia legions. thats an alwful lot of money unless you are playing against the greeks? Rhodes is removed in SPQR 6.0, you know longer get that trade bonus. ;-)

I usually wait a little more post marius as your income takes a significant dump.

In 6.0 you will be glad to have 13 provinces by 230BC, the larger map makes getting your troops to the locations you need. Logistics is a pain now, plus Trader income is nowhere near what it was in 5.0, less resources. You'll take it slow in 6.0 because you have to or risk being destroyed. The AI will actually By pass you and siege a city. You can blink and if you lose your legions you can see very soon that 3 cities are under siege. lol There are also 2 Rebel armies floating around, slave revolt going on in italy. You start with 2 legions, and Pirates are everywhere requiring you to build a strong fleet just to make is across the islands. Your populations will not last long and the AI will attack forts ALOT, so the old 1.2 trick doesnt work. lol You have 2 choices at the start of the game take the northern parts of italy and abandon sicilia or take sicilia and hold the north off for a while. There are 3 Gallic armies in the north of italy so beware.......

Nooop!!! You didn't get it... I do have 16 ZOR cities fully upgraded to imperial level by 200-210BC, however as you mentioned I can't afford 16 legions from one day to the other... These core cities can only support my prima army group (4 legions + 2 auxilia) which can then start conquering neighbouring provinces and cash on pop extermination. Then slowly I build my first invasion army group (6 legions + auxilia) and roll out my first campaign... This is a process that takes at least 20-30 years and only than I may start a new army group... only if I can support it... I do not have Rhodes bcs that's cheating ;-)

In my current campaign I have 13 imperial legions + auxilia for a total number of 55 provinces with a cash surplus of 40k which I acquired from exterminating cities. I can know afford more auxilia/imitation legions and carry out my expansion east. I have Gaul, Iberia, Northeast Africa and Illiria.

btw lt, are we far away from version 6 I am enjoying this campaign quite a lot and would like to carry on eastwards if possible