Bad, bad, bad. Are any other factions at war with the Sassanids? If they aren't, then Julian should try to send diplomats to negotiate about aid. But if they are indeed in war with other factions, then I must be paled at the size of the enemy army.
I have the Armenians, the Kidarites and the Guptas 'on my side' as all are at war with the Sassanids.
This was just a punitive expedition and not the invasion proper, but it just goes to show its going to be no easy feat. For a proper invasion to succeed I see at least 2-3 years preparation in the making, seeing as I can only recruit the best units from 2-3 cities, and they take 3-4 turns to recruit anyway.
I think JH has done an excellent job in showing how and why the Persians were Rome's greatest enemy.
It is rather irritating when you can build only one unit every 3 turns. It seems like ages.
True, but at least it means its more realistic in terms of an army not being composed of just elites. Although having said that, those are the armies I feel the Persians field on a regular day basis.
Anyway, its time for another update. I have to say, I've been feeling a bit uninspired lately. I would appreciate any suggestions for the direction the AAR should take, I feel I have just crossed that 'turning point' in the game where I am starting to make some money and all my enemies bar the most dangerous one, the Persians, are defeated or soon will be. That and the fact my workload has increased and I have less time in my hands, dissertation due in a some weeks and all that.
Anyways, enough whining and on for the next episode!
- Embedded Soundtrack, play while reading this AAR.
In Armenia, Heraclianus is left with little choice but to fall back with his battered army into the safety of the city of Bezabde, unable to head south to see to the defences of the Mesopotamian fortresses:
He orders a part of his army to camp outside the walls to provide a quick relief force if needed.
Meanwhile, in Antiocheia, Julian sees to the levying of troops for the oncoming offensive into Sassanid territory and his drive east.
A cohort of the Iuliani Invicti, which will form the nucleus of Julian’s own army, is levied. But their training and equipping will take almost a year.
And in Palmyra, the 5th Legion is being reformed, its cohorts also being brought up to strength for the coming offensive.
It remains to be seen which commander will take the lead of the legendary 5th Macedonica, although it will likely be Aurelianus.
The other cities are tasked with the levying of auxiliaries and skirmishing troops...
Antiocheia also becomes the staging area for troops returning from Mesopotamia to be reformed, many of them at their lowest strength in decades.
With the punitive expedition sent east stalled, and our fortresses on the verge of being besieged, the emperor himself takes action...
Levying together what cohorts remain at full strength, including a cohort of the Iuliani Invicti which will form Julian’s bodyguard, he marches east to personally oversee the defences. In the process, he hopes to gain his first taste of battle against the Persians, a much needed experience for the coming offensive.
With little left to do, the cities brace themselves for the impending assault...
Much to the contrary though, the following weeks sees the Persians retreat back into their lands, rather than continue the assault as expected. Perhaps the loss of a major city, the commanders of their cavalry, immortals and royal guards has sufficed to persuade them against aggression?
Regardless, Julian does not feel they have been sufficiently punished. Who knows, perhaps by applying further pressure, we may even be able to keep the territories we have taken, further weakening them before our main assault? Holding the cities of Bezabde and Nineveh, located only a stone’s throw away from their capital of Ctesiphon, would surely be a desirable position. Nevertheless, we have other problems to deal with:
What remains of the Greuthingi Goths still roam free in our lands, the question of their settlement still not addressed. And the Alemmani for their turn, have been running wild in Germania, causing chaos and leaving a path of destruction in their wake, now that their foes the Franks are no more.
While in Arabia, Aurelianus finally finds himself at striking distance of the rebel settlement of Petra.
There will be no half measures this time. The settlement will be incorporated into the Empire, and a garrison will most certainly be left behind. We cannot allow the rebellion to continue any further.
In Belgica, the Saxons do not currently present a threat. But they do move to keep an eye on us, perhaps hoping their meagre army and their watchtower will be enough to stop us should we attack them. Which we have no intention of doing:
And yet for all that and despite the peace, they still send ships to Britannia. For what purpose, it remains to be seen. If they even dream of attacking us we will destroy them utterly just like their cousins the Franks.
Speaking of Franks, their capital is about to fall...
It is a sad state of affairs that it has come to this. The great Frankish Confederacy destroyed in less than six months, ejected out of their own capital by their vassal tribesmen of the Cherusci. Unlike the neighbouring tribes who have made peace with Rome, this lot have not. And so, they must die.
The Siege of Campus Cherusci:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The siege was barely worth mentioning.
Our men advanced in their standard formation, under the cover of their shields and the barrage of arrows provided by our sagitarii.
The gate was soon captured...
And our men were sooner still on the city’s streets, slaughtering its pathetic defenders like lambs and ransacking any houses between them and the square. This was where the last of the enemy warriors gathered, and that too is where they died.
Especially the leader of this feeble band, a certain Cherusci by the name of Tudrus.
Yes, he met his Gods on the very spot they offered their sacrifices the night before hoping to keep the Romans at bay, a task both his Gods and his men failed miserably at. He died a quick death, decapitated he was. Other than the men parading his head in front of his bereaved family, there was nothing noteworthy about it.
There was never any realistic prospect of the siege having ended with our defeat, but Barbarians seem unaware of this law of nature, and fight anyway. For our part, we fight them back, and kill them all.
Sadly though, those that pay the dearest price for this delusion and this deception are not the warriors themselves, and it is certainly not us. No, it is always the innocent and the weak, the pure and the defenceless that must pay.
And no sooner was Tudrus’ head put on a stake in front of his family, was said family put through all manner of torments. His children slowly killed, his pretty wife taken captive by Ursus himself, his daughters raped by the lecherous men. The same fate was meted out to most of the town’s inhabitants. Those that were enslaved were the lucky ones.
Once more we have.... “peace”.
And as with any power vacuum, the hangers on of the defeated gather around the strong. Traitors as it were, but they serve our purpose well against these uncivilized barbarians. Traitors is off course not all Ursus gets with this victory:
Wealth is also part of the equation of war, and wealth follows conquest as slavery follows defeat.
In more civilized lands, the search for the traitor Verenianus continues, with the Magister Militum Praesentalis, Aetius Flavius spearheding the search.
It was heard the traitor and a large Gothic army were seen heading south into rebel held lands, and said to be amassing a huge army from the imperial city of Thessaloniki, so far the only one to fall to the rebels. Verenianus must make haste if he is to reach Constantinople in time...
Last edited by Knonfoda; July 22, 2013 at 08:08 AM.
I did, in fact, that is why the update ended a little... abruptly, it is because no matter what I did, I couldn't get it to work. Namely, I can't seem to manage to push him to my province of choice, so the only way I can give him land is by giving him the land he is on, which would be Carnutum, and then giving him more land, but trying to take Carnutum back... needless to say it took too long and got too messy and I will try again at a later date.
But I don't want him dead. Too many have died already.
- Embedded Soundtrack I, play while reading this AAR.
The hot summer did not come. Neither did the expected counter attack by Persian forces on the Mesopotamian fortresses. The months of June and July were by no means cold, but they were not as humid and scorching as the desert plains of the Oriens were accustomed to. Jupiter only must know what turmoil has engulfed the heavens if the Gods themselves are too busy to see to the seasons, perhaps keeping the Persians at bay proved too much of a distraction. Still, lukewarm summers and no Persians at the gates are nothing to scoff at:
Perhaps the lack of able commanders and the destruction of any siege equipment thwarted their attack before it began, perhaps Heraclianus didn’t do such a bad job.
Having witnessed the speed with which the enemy fell upon him however, Heraclianus was less than convinced, especially as they had not sent us any formal pledges of peace. Perhaps a little investigation was in order, he thought:
Ordering the small Armenian scout force to stay off the road and check for signs of the enemy, none were found from the road from Bezabde deeper into Sassanid territory. Peasants of the many scattered villages of the valley floor reported a large army had headed towards Bezabde a few weeks past, but none had returned or been seen since. The scouts concluded this must have been the army they *barely* defeated outside of Bezadbe itself.
And on the road between Nineveh and the Persian capital of Ctesiphon, we engage in a little subtle spying and sabotage, hoping perhaps to discover the reason for the swift Persian withdrawal.
Nothing of note is revealed to us simply by staring at their armies from afar. Our onsite agente in rebus, decides to take matters into his own hands though...
He manages to take a captive while the fool broke off from the main army to relieve himself. Knocked out from a blunt hit of a spatha’s pommel to the head, the soldier found himself bound, alone and facing a man with a myriad of scars that ran across his face...
Giving his captive a suggestively malicious grin, the imperial agent waste no time:
“Right my vicious little Persian, we can do this one of either two ways – “
“They went to Ctesiphon, the armies are leaderless and the Shah has summoned us back. We are short of supplies and lack the siege equipment to lay siege to your cities. We – “
The distressed Persian was abruptly interrupted as a beautifully inlaid pugio found its way into the man’s beautifully but sadly now bleeding guts, the dying man’s hands to his stomach the only thing preventing his bowels from falling out.
“Every time you interrupt me, life gets a little bit shorter. Sadly for you, your first interruption was also your last, as you not only gave me the information I wanted, but deprived me of a good hour or so of tormenting you. Shame, but I have what I need. I know you must be busy, you know, with blood loss and dying and all that on your mind, so we will leave you to it.”
“Macrinus, Vestus, the horses. Let’s be on our way.”
With this information passed on to the theatre generals, namely Heraclianus as he was the only one left and Julian was yet many many miles away, he decides to do what the Roman army did best.
Yes, you guessed it. Build forts. Yet another river crossing is put under guard as the Persians will be forced to assault yet another fortress if they decide to attack us again. Not only will this particular castrum serve to keep our enemies at bay and monitor the Tigris, but it will also serve as an important staging point for our incursion into their empire. We recruit a large garrison of local Arab bargemen to act as auxiliaries and man the barges for when our army must cross the Tigris. For this, we name the fort Arbeia, or ‘place of the Arabs’.
With Julian’s plans and careful preparation coming to fruition, he continues his advance east towards the new defences and staging areas.
While some remnants of the previous battles are sent west to Antiocheia for retraining.
In colder and less forgiving climates, interesting developments are afoot. The Saxons and the Picts even are once again at their silly maritime games:
Perhaps the Saxons have grown weary of the dreariness of their dying lands, or perhaps keen on adventure, they have set west once again for Britannia.
Whatever the reason, we send our newly repaired fleet to investigate:
We do not engage them, but will keep an eye on their actions and heading.
Meanwhile, in Mauretania, the time to bring the Berber people to judgement against their heinous crimes of existence and non-cooperation towards the Roman Empire is finally here. Today, they will pay for their crimes and rue the day they took arms against us! Today they will die a sandy death!
Assault the walls!
The Siege of Ghardaia:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Berber Battle Order:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The Berbers field nothing of note. A few Garamantes warriors here, a unit of mail armoured swordsmen there, a general’s elite retinue in between. Nothing special.
Battering rams ready, we order them to the walls!
And so begins the siege of Ghardaia!
The slaughter begins when our men unleash a deadly volley of lancea over the top of their feeble sun baked brick wall:
Killing a large number of their garamante warriors, who run around like headless chickens not knowing what to do.
Showing the same skill and tenacity the Berbers have shown throughout this conflict however, they refuse to break and fight like wildmen, which they are. A large number of our troops fall in the hand to hand fight.
Our advance into the square is again blocked by a second tribe of garamante warriors, which put up stout resistance.
Their single minded refusal to die and surrender even when surrounded and totally outnumbered is remarkable. They fight as if the very ghost of Dido whispered words of defiance into their ears!
And perhaps the whore is indeed present, watching in glee from the afterlife:
Our brave general loses his life while attempting to relieve the infantry column from the resistance the tribesmen put up. He in turn was charged by the enemy general, cornering him between the swords of the soldiers and the spears of the cavalry. He died with honour, like a true Roman, fighting with his men.
His death proves nothing short of catastrophic to our men:
Hundreds of miles from home, low on supplies and now leaderless, our army breaks and runs for it, their fighting spirit broken before the shields of the Garamantes and the spears of the Berber bodyguard.
Trying to hold the tide, Priscus Ventidius, second in command tries to rally his troops before the onslaught of the Berber cavalry.
But he too is run down like a dog and dealt swift death by our hated enemies. The desert has now claimed the lives of two of our Roman generals. This must not be allowed to stand.
Steadfastness and valour are definitely not today’s watchwords.
I stand corrected. Today’s watchwords are death and disgrace.
The army regroups what’s left of it, the battle not yet lost as our second army marches still towards the city square.
And in the meanwhile, we deal with the reinforcements sent by nearby tribes intent on aiding their Berber brothers.
The sheer number of our second army proves enough to swamp the defenders of the square.
And the enemy king, Philosir, is slain. Unhorsed, he finds himself a lone infantryman in a troopers battle. Our men waste no time in impaling him with their spears, skewering him like a lamb to the roast.
This ‘victory’ proves hollow however. The loss of more than half our army, first at Dimmidi, and now here at Ghardaia has had dire consequences for our entire campaign that has lasted more than a year now:
Our numbers are so small, the distance to nearest reinforcements so vast, and our governing capacity now non-existent due to the deaths of all three of our generals, that we are forced into an agreement with the Berbers.
We spare those that surrender, and bring the survivors to parley.
With both our forces exhausted, some compromise must be reached.
It is thus decided that to end the impasse, the Berbers will be made to pay tribute to Rome and provide us with troops, having proved useful warriors. On our part however, we will fully withdraw from their territory, allowing them total autonomy forward of the Mauretanian Limes, up to a small part of Libya.
The long campaign into Mauretania, the war against the Berbers, and the shocking reversals of fortune highlighted a number of issues to African Roman forces:
Firstly, our African generals were badly armoured, being used to light skirmishing duties and manning of forts, to act as a cavalry force. Their deaths were all needless, and we should see to the arming of our forces in the area.
Secondly, the limitanei troops are unsuitable for street to street fighting. A long, sustained campaign against the Berber tribes requires legionaries, with the staying power and armour not available to our limitanei and ripenses regiments.
Furthermore, the vastness and emptiness of the Berber realm demands generals with exceedingly good logistical capabilities and a large force of cavalry to scout the endless wastes. None of the above were present in the above campaign, which led to the high number of losses among our troops, the death of our generals, and the humiliating treaty we were force to sign with the Berbers. Thus concluded De Bello Berbericus.
It was not all bad though. In exchange for their independence, the Berbers now provide us with a number of their toughest warriors:
Which we could now recruit at will from among their tribes; setting the rallying point for their conscription in Carthage every six months.
And speaking of troops, our treasury now allows us to reconstitute old but not forgotten legions:
T
he Tertia Iulia Alpina will once again grace our presence in the fields of Illyria and Dacia. The lacklustre summer over, we await the coming of autumn:
- Embedded Soundtrack II, play while reading this AAR.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And the first to feel its cool breezes was our Magister Militum Praesentalis, stood before the the gorges of the Danube River:
He took some time admiring this mighty view, before marching on him and his army flanking the Danube before halting at an abandoned village by the name of Almus.
The village was now a ruin, but it was not always so. It was once bustling with activity and the humdrum of an army at the march, being the first site Trajan’s large army will have arrived at once they crossed the mighty Danube. From his position. Aetius could barely see the Imperial Memorial Plaque dedicated by Trajan after he completed his famed bridge across the Danube:
He could also see the big stone piers, many of them still erect, jutting menacingly from the waters of the river, a sad reminder to him of glorious times now gone. Trajan was a very popular emperor with the soldiers, then and now, expanding the Empire to its largest extent ever, and embodying all the martial values Aetius sadly no longer sees in the rulers of his age.
Judging by the size of the stone piers, this bridge would have been truly colossal, a mighty construction to support the mighty armed that once marched across it. He wondered whether Julianus would ever repair it after its shameful destruction by Aurelius nearly a century ago, and his cowardly retreat from the Dacian province. His attention was diverted from these thoughts however, when his scoutmaster reported a large Gothic army approaching his position from the mountains.
“Very well. Order the army to march to that slope, we are sitting ducks here in the open with the river to our backs. Go!”
And so it was that the coming of autumn brought with it now just the colder weather, but also the Goths. No doubt sent by Verenianus and his Gothic minion Witiza to stop us, yet another obstacle stood before the Magister Militum Praesentalis and the traitor he pursued.
The Battle of Almus
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Gothic Battle Order:
This warband was slightly better composed than the other ones Aetius had seen, but it was nothing special. A couple of cohorts of veteranii, heavy spearmen and armoured horsemen would not stop him from reaching Verenianus, and if it did, it meant he would have little chance of facing the latter’s mainly Roman army anyway.
The enemy make the first tactical mistake by engaging us uphill, perhaps confident in their large numbers:
Aetius wastes no time in rallying his forced forward, while his cavalry heavy flank advance down the gentle slope to assault the Gothic right.
The charge begins...
And the first to fall are their archers, which stand well behind their forces but not out of the range of our horsemen, which come crashing down upon them, causing confusion and mayhem in their ranks.
The enemy infantry, seeing this commotion in their rear ranks, fall back:
But do so at the worst of moments, as our troops have just crested the hill and now are in perfect firing range for their throwing spears. We order the entire line to let loose their missiles.
The line advances...
And meets heavy resistance by the Veteranii, our former comrades who now work for the Goths.
And yet, for all their martial valour...
Our line proves long enough for us to outflank them with our lanciarii and engage them from behind, splitting their line into two.
Under Aetius and the dreaded Rugian cavalry, menacing warriors with a habit of lobbing their fallen foes heads into the midst of the enemy line, our cavalry carries all before it.
The rear ranks of the Gothic army run, but are all run down by our troopers.
Some cavalry are detached from slaughtering duty:
And put to better use to relieve our lines. They do this brilliantly, instantly filling the hearts of our enemies with fear. Their bowels give way and they run like startled pigs in the great hunt!
The warchief responsible for this poor excuse for warriors is found:
And quickly put to death.
And just like that, yet another Gothic army is swept aside by the conquering army of Aetius:
The Goths will rue the day they sided with our traitor, as our commander in the west bleeds them dry of men and arms, one army at a time.
Meanwhile, in the Oriens, we are approached by a Persian delegation. At least, they sue for peace no doubt:
Nope, they come to usher demands.
But Rome is not without ears, or mercy for that matter, and we propose a mutually beneficial deal:
Yes, how about we *don’t* give you Bezabde, and instead, you give us Nineveh too. In exchange for peace, and some trade. Yeah, how about that, you sheep shaggers up for that?
Needless to say, the Persian response more than surprised our delegation:
It appears the information our agents in rebus had collected was indeed correct. The enemy, having been deprived of three of their most senior commanders and their incursion armies destroyed, will apparently stop at nothing to placate our retribution! They even give us the strategically vital fortress of Nineveh without a fight! (This is made more incredible by the fact I didn’t even use force diplomacy to get this deal through)
With these developments, the coming of Autumn has proven a propitious time for the Empire indeed!
Financially our empire is back on its feet.
It is a shame our far flung allies cannot keep the peace between themselves:
But their silly war and their bickering are of no importance to us, and the loss of one with no consequence.
Needless to say, the bloodless giveaway of Nineveh to our forces has not gone down well with the fortresses population:
Which seem to be indignant at the prospect of just having been abandoned like a pawn to our forces without a fight. For our turn, we regret not being able to sack the city and steal its riches. Still, a deal is a deal and we shall honour it.
Elsewhere, the engines of the empire continue to move at full speed:
Julian’s pagan policy has taken hold of the land, populations of the provinces converting en masse back towards paganism now that Christian sites no longer exist or are tolerated.
And militarily, Julian has taken note of the most worthy and reliable cohorts and legions:
Calling for them to his oncoming war with the Sassanids, rallying troops and seeing to the border provinces.
And best of all, in Dacia, a deal is finally struck between the Romans and the defeated Greuthungi Goths:
They are given a new homeland in Dacia, in the small town of Campus Iazyges, a previous holding of the Quaddi. They ‘accepted’ renouncing their former land only if returned their province of Campus Quaddi, their original homeland, which we will return to them once we are satisfied it is safe.
And in order to do so, we built forts. More forts.
As part of the treaty, we are obliged to provide protection to both the Quadi and the Greuthungi Goths. As part of this, we will build forts in their land at specific areas we think they are vulnerable to incursion.
And we man these forts firstly with tribesmen from the subjugated tribes.
And later, perhaps with Roman legionaries and auxiliaries themselves. Our defence plan now consists of an in depth approach, any potential enemy will first have to break through our fortifications on the subjugated tribal buffer states, then the vassal tribesmen themselves, before reaching our own limes forts on the major rivers. This will be done in all of Europa, from the shores of Belgica, onwards through the Rhine, past the Danube, to the very marshes of the Danube delta on the Pontus Euxinus. The Empire will be unassailable.
So decrees Julian, the Emperor of Rome. And so it shall be done.
Last edited by Knonfoda; July 22, 2013 at 08:29 AM.
Man I love your AAR. I don't know how you guys are able to forge protectorates like that. You do a great job of setting up strategic buffer states. I shall send you another +rep.
Man I love your AAR. I don't know how you guys are able to forge protectorates like that. You do a great job of setting up strategic buffer states. I shall send you another +rep.
Cheers man. Admittedly there is a lot of force_diplomacy going on at times, but that's when a faction has been so bled and destroyed that and tribe in its position in real life would have no choice, which was often the case with the defeated enemies of Rome. The Greuthungi Goths are a good example, reduced from eight thousand fighting men and six family members to 25 men and one family member with a bodyguard of three. You could demand any terms from such a foe.
As for the buffer states, I am trying to emulate the Rome of a couple of centuries past, which surrounded itself with 'amicu populis romani' or 'friends of rome' which were in reality vassal and buffer states between it and its enemies, the tribes beyond the Rhine, Armenia, Palmyra and the Lachmids come to mind, but there were many many more.
Originally Posted by scutarilegion
Great. You finally managed to get the Goth king settled.
Yeah, there was some strange swapping of a village for Carnutum involved to get it to work, but I managed in the end.
Thanks for the feedback guys!
Last edited by Knonfoda; July 29, 2011 at 02:59 AM.
The empire was at last beginning to regain its former glory. In both Gaul and Hispania, the endemic banditry was being taken care of, one group at a time:
No longer shall these peasants and slaves trouble our merchants. (EDIT: Sorry, that was meant to show me defeating some rebels. Don’t know what happened to the screenshot)
And in Gaul, our recent victories have pacified Germania once and for all, allowing us to send companies and cohorts back to the cities for replenishment:
These highly experienced cataphract units, having proven themselves, have been ordered by Julian himself to report to Antiocheia for the oncoming campaign against the Sassanids.
In Britannia, the Saxons appear to leave Roman lands alone and head north towards Caledonia.
Perhaps the large Roman armies that straddle their borders have had something to do with it.
Meanwhile, in Arabia, yet another Rebel settlement is brought to heel. Petra, your time is up. Again.
The battle was not worth recording. Aurelianus’ battle hardened legionaries dealt death from a distance to the enemy with their bows and their slings, before charging up close and finishing them off. Aurelianus and this particular army had by now distinguished themselves as a desert fighting unit, operating in all the desert regions bordering the Empire, from Arabia to Aegyptus to Libya.
Owing to the brutality dealt to the citizens of this settlement the last time Roman forces were here, and the resulting rebellion, Aurelianus has the foresight to show mercy to the one hundred and thirty six inhabitants left.
The gamble appears to pay off. The city is once again happy to be under Roman control. And Aurelianus rewards himself by taking a pretty female slave as his bodyslave. In great abundance is the virility of this man!
He also sees to the city’s temples and roads, which have been in a state of disrepair. Showing knowledge of administration as well as virtue, Aurelianus is keen to keep this city happy and on our side to avoid future problems. He has the garrison reinforced from the nearby city of Alia.
Satisfied that the city is in good hands, he marches east to deal with a large band of tribal raiders that have been laying waste to Roman lands for the past two years unmolested. It is no surprise that he destroys them utterly, leaving no survivors.
In the Oriens, our Armenian scouts finally locate a large Persian force, but are unsure of its heading or intent.
They are ordered to keep a close eye on the army should it move towards Bezabde.
And in Nineveh, the Persian abandonment of the city so shocked its inhabitants and part of its garrison that many have now sworn allegiance to Rome in order to fight their treacherous brothers.
An entire company of Savaran-I-Gripanvar and Paighan-I-Sassani has joined our cause, swearing by Mithras and Zoroaster to destroy those that betrayed them.
It is here that Heraclianus first met Qadesh, the leader of this cohort of Saravan-I-Gripanvar heavily armoured horsemen. A strangely tall and imposing figure for a Persian, Qadesh truly was a sight to behold.
He possessed a thick dark hair not unusual for someone of his breeding, and a large beard. His eyes burned with an intensity Heraclianus had scarcely seen among his own soldiers. It was however his sheer size and his imposing figure, made greater still by the heavy lamellar and mail armour he wore, that amazed Heraclianus.
- Embedded Soundtrack, play while reading this episode.
“I swer it” he said in thick but understandable Greek. “Abide dis trechary me and dose under my command cannot. De toun’s people beg me to stand to di Surenas for dis.” Surena was the Sassanid clan responsible for protecting Nineveh and Mesopotamia. It was clear to Heraclianus that the townfold held them responsible for this.
“And I am ov de same mind with dem. I will fight dem for dis treachery, I will fight for deir lies and deir deceit. My men and I will join the maity Heraclius, and make dem rue dis day!” Heraclianus once more found himself under Qadesh’s intense gaze, calmly but defiantly awaiting for a response.
“For the time being, man the defences. We know not if they mean to return or have given us the city proper. In time, I shall call for you though. See to your men. Dismissed.”
Although impressed by the Persian’s intensity, Heraclianus had no intention of allowing this Persian to join his army or his entourage, at least not yet. Who knew what treachery these dirty Persians would be capable of. Even the defences they manned were deemed the least important to the city. Still, he thought, there will be plenty of time for the proving of loyalties and the spilling of blood. And with that, he left the city, to see the fortresses being raised by the Tigris and Euphrates, the future staging points of the invasion.
And for this colossal effort, the entire Oriens was busy with the marching of armies, the felling of tress and the collection of grain.
From Mesopotamia to Palmyra, Iudaia and Aegyptus, companies and centuries of soldiers march back and forth, manning forts, collecting recruits and forging the weapons of war necessary for the incoming conflict:
In Antiocheia, Jovianus sees to the retraining of the Iuliani Invicti cohorts.
While in Palmyra, the Romans recruit a cavalry force capable of equally matching the deadly Persian clibanarii.
Yes, taste their own bitter medicine these desert dwelling minions will do!
Meanwhile, Julian proceeds east, recruiting indigenous slingers and even re-enlisting old units of artillery crews.
The slingers shall provide useful cover and missile fire against their cataphracts, while the onagers shall no doubt prove useful in assaulting the many walled cities of their kingdoms.
And although strength of arms, superior discipline and overwhelming firepower are the hallmarks of any good Roman incursion, we have mastered more than just the blunt side of war. We appreciate the more... subtle aspects too:
Yes! Yes my veiled friends! Together, we shall crush the Sassanid hordes like grain in a mortar! Join us, and together, we can rule the vast expanses of their realm like Romans and Arabs!
So came together the two realms of Rome and the Lakhmid Arabs. A marriage of convenience, it is true, for both despised the dreaded Sassanids. This having been said, it remains to be seen which side they will chose, for they too have an alliance with the Persians. This matters little, because if they lack the wisdom to decide properly, their lands and women will more than make up for any grave mistakes they could make.
Sadly, the tone is not as haughty and optimistic in Moesia. At least, not for us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Verenianus was a happy man. He had not been this happy even since he pillaged that particularly small village by the roadside on his way to Thessaloniki and laid eyes on the prettiest peasant girl he had ever seen. After forcefully taking what he thought had been his by ‘conquest’, and giving her to his men once he was finished, his eyes now rested on a sight of an entirely different order. With an imperial city having joined his cause, and the Gothic hordes providing his much needed manpower, Verenianus found himself with money, arms and an army.
It was amazing, he thought to himself, what having the senator of Constantinople in your pocket and the entire line of Danube defences could do for one’s quality of troops and the number of arms and armour available. Watching from his dais erected outside the city walls, he calls the army forth.
“Soon, my most trusted companions; we shall take what is ours by right!”
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
“No longer will we sit idly by decaying defences watching over the shores of the mighty Danube, short on pay and provisions, while the Emperor marches east on his little adventures!”
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
“No more will we take the back seat in politics, no more will we be denied our say in running this empire! Today, we will join our Gothic brothers, and today we will march on Constantinople and once and for all topple the undeserving Julianus from his high seat!”
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
“Cry Woe, Destruction, Ruin and Decay! The worst is Death, and Death shall have its day!”
Last edited by Knonfoda; January 11, 2014 at 05:59 PM.
A siege of Constantinople? Would be fun...
PS - fun taking Niniveh that way. I am waiting for the final march of Julian and conquering the Sassanids...
no wonder i can't read it during my holiday, internet geeze you got lots of pics then oh well........ nice work by the way mate
Haha, wel you know me, always heavy with the screenshots, a picture is worth a thousand words and all that. Perhaps if my writing skills were as good as my screenshot taking ones I could write a solid story, but sadly as it is I let the pictures do the talking lol.
Originally Posted by scutarilegion
Hah! We'll see who will be toppled, when Nevitta arrives!
PS. did you make the goths and rebels create an alliance?
Perhaps it will interest you to know Nevitta, being the old stubborn fool that he is, had a minor altercation with the fleet commander, and as a result the fleet has split in two, one heading for Athens, the other to Constantinople. I have a slight feeling he *may* be attacked by pirates on the way.
And yes, the alliance between the two is made.
Originally Posted by Mangromus
A siege of Constantinople? Would be fun...
PS - fun taking Niniveh that way. I am waiting for the final march of Julian and conquering the Sassanids...
Well, I didn't think they would accept, given the AI's stubborness. Plus, its only fair. When Julian was defeated in his incursion into Sassanid lands, they asked for a number of fortresses. It's only right we demand the same when we thwart one of theirs.
Great as always, and good to see most of the wars rapped up. You'll need the extra money and manpower given how much of a pain the Persians are proving to be. I would definitely have to agree that the Persians really are portrayed properly as the most dangerous enemy the empire faced. Just as someone said in a vv thread a while back, you ignore them at your own peril. Do you intend to have Aetius or Nevitta finish the rebellion, as Aetius would live long enough to do so. By the way, I had in mind using that heavy metal song for perhaps Julian himself.
You have some typos:
Our onsite agente in rebus
Shouldn't that be: Our on site agent in Rebus?
And the first to feel its cool breezes was our Magister Militum Praesentalis, stood before the the gorges of the Danube River
I think you meant: And the first to feel its cool breezes was our Magister Militum Praesentalis, as he stood before the gorges of the Danube River.
Trajan’s large army will have arrived at once they crossed the mighty Danube
Shouldn't that be in past tense?
a mighty construction to support the mighty armed
I think you meant: a mighty construction to support the mighty army.
And so it was that the coming of autumn brought with it now just the colder weather
Shouldn't that be: And so it was that the coming of autumn brought with it not just the colder weather?
Aetius wastes no time in rallying his forced forward
Did you mean: Aetius wastes no time in moving his forces forward?
Great as always, and good to see most of the wars rapped up. You'll need the extra money and manpower given how much of a pain the Persians are proving to be. I would definitely have to agree that the Persians really are portrayed properly as the most dangerous enemy the empire faced. Just as someone said in a vv thread a while back, you ignore them at your own peril. Do you intend to have Aetius or Nevitta finish the rebellion, as Aetius would live long enough to do so. By the way, I had in mind using that heavy metal song for perhaps Julian himself.
You have some typos: Shouldn't that be: Our on site agent in Rebus?
I think you meant: And the first to feel its cool breezes was our Magister Militum Praesentalis, as he stood before the gorges of the Danube River.
Shouldn't that be in past tense?
I think you meant: a mighty construction to support the mighty army.
Shouldn't that be: And so it was that the coming of autumn brought with it not just the colder weather?
Did you mean: Aetius wastes no time in moving his forces forward?
Re: [IB:SAI AAR] Julian, the savior of Rome?
Originally Posted by scutarilegion
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internet geeze you got lots of pics then oh well........ nice work by the way mate
