What are you complaining about? You guys won the sea battle, didn't you? Is naval victory not enough for you Celts? Never satisfied this Gaelic lot lol
I would be happy if you won the sea battle and the Celts won the battle against your soldiers
Anyways, good update, I just wonder how will you get money when you burn all churches
Legate Aetius had barely had a couple of weeks off in nearby Aquincum before he had heard the Quadi, his dreaded enemies, had once again laid siege to Gorsium. They never learn was his first thought. So once more, he again finds himself by the walls of Gorsium, the fort by the Danube these bloody bastards seem so intent to bring down. Tired of their games, he presents battle, for the last time he hopes.
Their army is composed of the same rabble as usual, axemen, golden bands, sarmatians, archers and lancers, and their Slavic slaves.
The plan is to allow them to cross the river, and engage them before they have time to fully form, or to allow their reinforcements to well, reinforce their main army. One flank will be protected by the river, while the other will be massed with cavalry.
- Embedded Soundtrack, play while reading this Episode.
And without hesitation, they cross in their hundreds, eager for battle, their horsemen *dying* for their chance to get at our men and gut them like fish.
- Men, ADVANCE! Form battle lines by the river! Forward!
Aetius, quick to seize opportunity, orders his entire alae forward to engage the reckless enemy warlord, which he recognises through his glimmering armour and arms, as being with this apparently brave troop of cavalry that has just advanced too far into our lines. ENGULF THEM! Kill them all!
Destroy them men! Bring his head to me!
Combat is fierce. The screeches of dying horses and the cries of embattled men fills the air, as the metal clashes with metal... our sarmatians, with their long kontos, easily out range the enemy bodyguard with their spathas and rout them, but these are covered by their own sarmatian archers, which loose volley upon volley against our unshielded cataphracti, dozens dying from this cowardly form of attack.
While our troopers fight valiantly, we are unable to kill the enemy general, which despite losing all his men, has dishonourably scuttled away to safety under the cover of his sarmatian dogs. With no more purpose to this melee, we order our men to retreat.
Mirroring the retreat of the previous battle, the enemy once again concentrates all its fire on one particular cuneus of Sarmatians and brings down their numbers by almost a hundred as they retreat to the safety of our own lines. This skirmish was definitely not worth the effort.
Meanwhile, hasty warriors thinking themselves heroes charge our lines in fits of rage and madness only to be inevitably destroyed.
Taking the chance the enemy line is unorganised, we order a full advance by our infantry.
Across the advancing lines, centurions shout words of encouragement to the men as they march towards the enemy!
Eager legionaries and limitanei units crash into the enemy horse! Men, target the horse! SHOW NO RESTRAINT! Give them NO QUARTER!
Our lines quickly engulf theirs, our alae carrying all before it.
The Sarmatians, being expert at their cowardly game of skirmish, flee in haste as danger approaches them from all sides.
The entire enemy has been surrounded by our infantry and slowly cut down to size.
The bloody battle rages on. In the middle of the line, a unit of Limitanei Armatus finds itself opposed against enemy lancers, which relentlessly charge forth into their shrinking numbers.
- Reform! Optio, hold them back! Hold them back! Give no ground!
The men fight as best as they can as they are bunched together and unable to properly use their weapons.
They look to either side of them, and the same grim sight presents itself, lines of Romans fighting for their lives in lethal contest against the Quadi axemen and chosen warriors, the screams of the dying occasionally piercing the air.
Aetius, having been informed by his runner that the infantry line is in trouble, quickly turns about from pursuing a routing band of enemy horse to fall behind the enemy line and relieve his soldiers, which his deadly charge manages to accomplish.
Despite the breaking of parts of their line, an auxiliary numerous finds combat too intense in its part of the line and flees. Their dishonour shall not soon be forgotten.
- It’s YOU! Die! How do you like this you filthy Quadinculi! Aetius himself wastes no time in riding down these fleeing barbarian scum, felling dozens with his own sword, hatred seeping through his veins as he viciously strikes down on running Quadi heads.
Even so, there are still those that refuse to surrender, like this Golden Band. The combined efforts of our valiant soldiers, and our cavalry troopers seem insufficient to break their spirits, as they defiantly shout the odds and occasionally have one of their ranks jump out shrieking incomprehensibly as they lunge themselves against our frightened soldiers, brutally killing a miles or two before falling themselves.
- AARRGH! The crazed roar of the barbarian chieftain was deafening to those near him as he swung his spatha across the air, furiously lodging it deep into the rim of a miles shield. The legionary, sensing his opportunity, fiercely punched the boss of his shield deep into the face of his berserk enemy, breaking his nose and sending him flying back. Not losing momentum, he swiftly sticks his spear in an underhanded motion into the guts of his astounded foe, gutting chieftain Adawolf on the spot to cheers of encouragement from his comrades.
Elsewhere, chieftain Gunzo of the Quadi meets no such heroic death as he is simply charged from behind by a pursuing cuneus of cavalry and drops into the mud, a spear protruding from his back.
Despite fierce fighting in some parts of the line, and one particular numerous of Illyiricani being reduced to only six men, victory is ours. That unit is later commended for their valour and bravery, unlike the numerous of an some obscure tribe, which routed and forfeited glory now that we have victory.
The enemy vanquished once again, Aetius looks at his battered army at the post-battle parade he has his army perform. On close inspection, while still high spirited, many of them are grim faced and hardened, no doubt due to the high losses suffered in the previous battle, and the loss of dear comrades. He laments the fact that having just being brought up to strength, they are now at half strength after only one battle. Hearing word from a messenger that yet another Quadi army is headed for Sirmium, he ponders whether to lead his army to its relief, or leave this task to the Moesian garrisons, even as he hears Goths are once more knocking at their doors. He withdraws back into Roman territory, waiting to see what the Quadi will do with their warband, even as he knows with near certainty they will cross the river. We will wait and see he tells himself, wait and see...
EDIT: The very annoying thing is that my game crashed right after this battle. A forced auto-resolve gave me similar casualties (around 800-900) but the victory was neither heroic, and the enemy escaped with about 1600 men, which is annoying because had the game gone properly after my heroic victory, there would not be this large number of stragglers. Crashes seem to be happening more and more frequently sadly, especially after loading large battles.
Last edited by Knonfoda; April 04, 2013 at 01:04 PM.
Knonfoda i think you should like decrease your graphic quality as well as unit size from huge to large or from large to medium it is becasue after the battle the computer is too stupid to calculate its infomation during the battle and didn't finishes it if you like click continude it freezes and quits........... so lower graphics can give the computer a easier life in calculating the results from your battle and also if you stay in your current setting after you win some large battles you rest the computer by NOT clicking anything for 30 sec or a min to let the computer finish calculating stuff so frustrating that you won a heroic victory and crashes but atleast after a auto-resolve your forces had similar causaulties..............
war is peace, ignorance is strength, freedom is slavery......
(george orwell 1984)
Oh, man, you're unlucky I had no crushes in my AAR since the start of the campaign
I hope you have better luck in the future :
Nice victory, despite everything
Thanks!
Originally Posted by vampiric_canniba
SAI is buggy, but the subforum has tips on how to avoid CTDs.
I know, I've followed most of the tips there.
Originally Posted by The excited one
Knonfoda i think you should like decrease your graphic quality as well as unit size from huge to large or from large to medium it is becasue after the battle the computer is too stupid to calculate its infomation during the battle and didn't finishes it if you like click continude it freezes and quits........... so lower graphics can give the computer a easier life in calculating the results from your battle and also if you stay in your current setting after you win some large battles you rest the computer by NOT clicking anything for 30 sec or a min to let the computer finish calculating stuff so frustrating that you won a heroic victory and crashes but atleast after a auto-resolve your forces had similar causaulties..............
Yep, I'm aware of all that. I have my graphics on medium, but I am a tad reluctant to change unit size, as the crashes aren't that often to justify it. What annoyed me about this particular crash was that it was totally unexpected. Usually I can predict when a crash will happen, usually after 2-3 battles fought in succession, but this one was from a fresh game. And yes, I always wait 30 seconds as a rule.
i m amused at your millitary and congratulate your sucess against the quadi as well as rebels and the celts for they must be rooted out for the benefit of the empire after witnessing your achievements i think you are progressing well in your paganisation movement and yes asia minor will be a suitable location for your movement as well as profits if they unfortunte enough to side with a usuper who aims for your throne and empire those people must be destory by anymeans which includes extermination also isolating cities may be a excellent idea they will be isolated enough to submit paganism again if this continudes as well as not encouraging rebellions.
but imperator one thing still worries me as your "allies" the franks are getting stronger day by days by using the land that your ancestors use to hold for decades since constantine (the one who destablise the empire by accepting "christainity") and also on religious buildings i think you might have misintreperate from what i m trying to say (curse the translators for wrong translations from greek to latin i will give him a personal whipping tonight) is that temples that needs 2 turn to build had happiness bounes as well as 5% conversation rate towards paganism that is what i meant on building excessively on temples that produces conversion rate
i hope you can suceed in your fight for the survival of civilization and empire that had been build from romulus to ceasar to tarjan may the wisdom, strength and courage of these great ancestors of the romans will guide you to rebuild the empire that had been mismanaged by usupers during the last century may the transcendent one be with you
your advisor, Excitidus Onus of Constantinopolis
war is peace, ignorance is strength, freedom is slavery......
(george orwell 1984)
SAI is buggy, but the subforum has tips on how to avoid CTDs.
It's not that SAI is buggy per say it is that it is memory hungry. If you lower your graphics and use the 30 second rule I find it operates well 90% of the time.
It is a problem with pushing an old engine with better and better graphics. I noticed that RS has a whole sub-forum on pre and post battle CTDs and SAI shares most of these. Best look at the RS site for more information on dealing with CTDs.
Just to be safe, sometimes I will wait at least a few minutes before proceeding to the campaign map from the battle screen.
Lovely work as always. Just one tiny request, could you make the screenshots just a wee bit smaller? I noticed some of the battle screens are the perfect size but the campaign map is a lot bigger. Looking forward to more epic Roman adventures.
i m amused at your millitary and congratulate your sucess against the quadi as well as rebels and the celts for they must be rooted out for the benefit of the empire after witnessing your achievements i think you are progressing well in your paganisation movement and yes asia minor will be a suitable location for your movement as well as profits if they unfortunte enough to side with a usuper who aims for your throne and empire those people must be destory by anymeans which includes extermination also isolating cities may be a excellent idea they will be isolated enough to submit paganism again if this continudes as well as not encouraging rebellions.
but imperator one thing still worries me as your "allies" the franks are getting stronger day by days by using the land that your ancestors use to hold for decades since constantine (the one who destablise the empire by accepting "christainity") and also on religious buildings i think you might have misintreperate from what i m trying to say (curse the translators for wrong translations from greek to latin i will give him a personal whipping tonight) is that temples that needs 2 turn to build had happiness bounes as well as 5% conversation rate towards paganism that is what i meant on building excessively on temples that produces conversion rate
i hope you can suceed in your fight for the survival of civilization and empire that had been build from romulus to ceasar to tarjan may the wisdom, strength and courage of these great ancestors of the romans will guide you to rebuild the empire that had been mismanaged by usupers during the last century may the transcendent one be with you
your advisor, Excitidus Onus of Constantinopolis
Estemeed Advisor Excitius Onus,
I thank you for tour invaluable advice. But as you will soon see, the Franks are no longer a threat in that area.
I also seek to bridge this gap between Latin and Greek in the near future, if our beloved Empire survives that long. Are you suggesting that one turn Pagan temples do not also confer a 5% conversion bonus, and only a happiness bonus?
Signed,
Augustus Julian
Originally Posted by julianus heraclius
It's not that SAI is buggy per say it is that it is memory hungry. If you lower your graphics and use the 30 second rule I find it operates well 90% of the time.
It is a problem with pushing an old engine with better and better graphics. I noticed that RS has a whole sub-forum on pre and post battle CTDs and SAI shares most of these. Best look at the RS site for more information on dealing with CTDs.
Sorry JH, that was more of a one off crash, like I said, I can usually prevent them through careful timing, etc. I also only found out I only have 2gb of ram as opposed to the 4gb I thought I had, so I may have to bring my settings down a bit further in order to make the game smoother.
Originally Posted by Justinian Australis
Just to be safe, sometimes I will wait at least a few minutes before proceeding to the campaign map from the battle screen.
Lovely work as always. Just one tiny request, could you make the screenshots just a wee bit smaller? I noticed some of the battle screens are the perfect size but the campaign map is a lot bigger. Looking forward to more epic Roman adventures.
I tend to do that also. Yeah, I will. I don't understand why they are done differently, as I use the same program for all of them and resize all the pictures in the entire folder to the same standard. I will look into it.
The Empire is again in turmoil. Christian cities, deprived of their garrisons and hearing of a large Christian rebellion to the east, in the holy lands, rise up in revolt. Taking advantage of the situation, we order their holy sites plundered. Yes, we add oil to the fire, but we also make money and lose nothing from taking away valuables from cities the governors know will rise up sooner or later.
The problem is this particular city, like the Ghassanid cities in the Oriens, are home to a number of important troop types, thus any rebellion here would not be the disorganised and badly equipped bands we have been facing but actual soldiers for once.
In Aquincum, cohorts and alae are brought back up to strength, until the money runs out. A messenger is sent to nearby cities requesting extra financial aid to the treasury immediately.
Poetovia, ‘happily’ complies, and retraining continues.
In Moesia, we sent Aelianus Cassianus, the Comites Rei Militaris Thracias, to command the leaderless Gothic contingent, ever since its previous leader headed west to defeat another Gothic army. With preparations taken care of as best as we can for the coming months, we brace ourselves for the winter...
In the Euxinos, as predicted a pirate fleet engages our ships with a large body of Gothic foederati set to ‘liberate’ Heraclea-Chersonesus and crush the rebellion once and for all.
It has not been a good couple of months for the Roman navy. Disbanded, weakened, its sailors and marines low in morale and confidence, their equipment outdated and unrepaired, we face military defeat in all fronts on water. Our fleet retires back to the safety of Pontus Polemiacus.
Civil disorder is steadily rising in the empire, especially now that the Ghassanid rebellion is in full swing, cities like Petra, Damascus and Bostra ready to overthrow their governors and continue what was a nearly concluded civil war.
Our treasury seems to be recovering, each season the shortfall is below what was expected. We attribute this to overzealous and over-pessimistic procurators, assuming massive shortfalls in finances when this seems not to be the case.
Due to the winter, a number of our armies and generals are now facing supply problems. We should stick to the defensive this season, lest we become stranded deep in enemy territory without any supplies.
Our battered Auxilia Palatinae of Cornuti and Brachiati seniors are retrained. With even better equipment this time!
And Julian’s pagan reforms continue at full speed throughout the empire, as more and more pagan temples are built and the number of their worshipers grow. The pagans, uneasy for decades at the spread and institutionalisation of Christianity, begin to rediscover their confidence and pride, as the religion of their ancestors and the religion that made Rome great is once again worshiped under the wise leadership of Julian.
Winter has brought on us not only the snow and the cold eastern winds, but also the deadly eastern hordes too. Everywhere, we are assaulted by old and new foes, seeking refuge in the Empire, besieging its defences, testing our resolve...
In Germania, Moguntiacum is again besieged, this time by a large Alemanni warband, led by a member of the ruling tribe. It appears they have learned their lesson after the last botched raid they sent upriver.
While in Germania Superior, the Vandals have seen it fit to besiege our newly acquired Vicus Alemanni. What began as a punitive expedition across the Rhine to punish the Alemanni confederacy has now turned into a costly conflict of defence, as this new menace that has emerged from the dark German forests now threatens to destroy all we have achieved in the past months. They must be destroyed.
The Franks appear to have understood that staying in friendly Roman lands with large numbers of armed men sends all the wrong kinds of signals, and withdraw into their own lands. Either that, or they are facing some threat to the east that requires their immediate attention perhaps? Whatever the case, this is good news.
Our ‘friends’, the Goths, are back for another beating on the Danube, this time sensibly sending true warlords to lead their men to defeat. And in Pannonia, the Quadi have indeed attacked Sirmium, once again, with an under strength warband numbering a couple thousand, led by a ruling family member.
In the Oriens, we move a legio to Ghassanid territory, reinforcing our troops already there, ready to take on the rebellion when it finally erupts.
– Embedded soundtrack, play while reading this episode.
And in Caledonia, we begin the siege of the Pictish settlement from which that fateful raid into Roman territory took place. They will now pay the price for their defiance.
- Battering rams, to the walls! Archers, cover their approach! Infantry, advance!
Our archers do their job well, killing dozens of the enemy in their own streets.
While our battering rams open gaps in the enemy defences through which our soldiers pour through, eager at the easy victory and the spoils it will bring them once the days task is done.
Our mounted skirmishers, playfully competing with their sagitarii counterpats for the most kills, notch up an extra five kills to their tab. What they lack in accuracy they more than make up for in the sheer amount of projectiles they hurl.
Dal Riadas garrison, depleted and demoralised after their previous defeat, rush to their last stand defence, facing off against our experienced warriors with their axes and improvised weapons. They are no match for good Roman virtue and steel and are ruthlessly butchered like animals.
Our scary shields quickly put them to flight.
However, once the more experienced ‘true’ soldiers arrive uphill, the battle becomes more familiar as our momentum is sapped and we now face an uphill battle against well armed and armoured foes.
Our cavalry, sent through the street of the settlement to encircle the enemy, take the time to butcher the cities inhabitants and men and women alike are ridden down and killed. A particularly eager trooper is scolded by his Decurion as he picks up a running woman placing her on his horse.
- Put her down you fool! We still have a mission to complete! There will be plenty of time for that later, now go!
The enemy chieftain, Talorcan, decides it’s time to make an appearance in the defence of his settlement and rushes to the scene of battle, his insane axe yielding freaks shouting support behind him.
The fighting is fierce. The enemy bodyguard has stopped our advance in its tracks, despite charges from our exhausted cataphracts and the loosing of more and more volleys from our archers into their ranks. These Moarmaen roar defiance as their heavy battleaxes batter the shields of our troops, sinking their weight into our bosses and in unfortunate cases, into the very skulls and limbs of our brave troops, which stand their ground and fight on despite the high casualties.
Our cavalry however has finally finished travelling around the circuit of the Pictish town, and now commands the square. We quickly order them to fall on the enemy bodyguard holding our troops at bay.
The combined weight of our cataphracts and extra cavalry has the desired effect and charging downhill, shatter the ranks of the enemy bodyguard retinue. Heroes and Champions become isolated and easy prey for our masses of men, which happily put them to death.
In the ensuing confusion, a marine gets his lucky chance as the warlord Talorcan looks about in horror as his men are cruelly slaughtered before him. His distraction is his downfall as the marine rapidly spears him in the eye, dropping him like a sack of rubble as the lifeless body of Tarlorcan is decapitated, his head paraded around like a trophy.
It would be fair to say resistance crumbled after that but much more accurate to say that resistance was totally destroyed and killed to a man after Talorcan saw it fit to purchase the villa.
As promised, the men are allowed to indulge in every kind of wicked and sinful pleasures their hearts have been deprived of in the past few bitter months. The male population is put to the sword, the women would probably have benefited from such a fate, been made slaves after the brutal ordeal their lot went through, and the town, to all intents and purposes, raised to the ground. Such is the price for defying Rome.
All is not bad news, well, bad for the enemy anyway. In this settlement, we find a number of slaves of Roman origin, which had been taken during cross-wall raids and such. We free them and send them south with a contingent, to be reunited with their families. It is a good day for Rome today.
Survivors inform us that the Hibernian Atacoti, having heard of the disaster that befell their Scotii comrades as they sided with the Picts in attempting to relieve the siege of Dal Raida, decided instead to break their alliance with the Pics and return to Hibernia, apparently unconvinced of Talorcan’s assertions that the Romans would be easy prey in the winter months, being so far from home. His lifeless head carefully positioned on the gates of his settlement would seem to indicate the Atacoti were correct in their judgement. What troubles Tiberius however is why they have not left for Hibernia yet.
- Sir, forward scouts approaching.
- Yes centurion, report.
- Sir, it appears the winter storms have beached most of their transports, the rest being dashed against the rocks and destroyed. The warband has spotted us and is preparing a defence in the valley before the beach. They have nowhere to run sir.
Tiberius smiled at this news, seeing his chance to destroy these Atacoti fools who decided to aid the enemies of Rome.
- Very well. Men, forward march! We move to engage the enemy! A roar of approval sounded from the ranks as the Legio Britones Seniores marched forward.
Our legion quickly engaged the enemy band. In truth, we wonder what the Picts would have even done with such a sorry army. The condition of these ‘friends’ of the Picts makes us ponder as to what their military situation is in Hibernia itself.
As we march into the valley, we see their stranded ships, and their feeble defence, hoping against hope that the repairs to the ships progress faster than it takes us to destroy them.
Our sagitarii waste no time in putting cold roman steel to their tender naked unwashed barbarian bodies.
Our cavalry get up close and personal to a tribe that decides to test its luck and attack one of our flanks.
While our line is ordered to advance, as heavy rain impairs our vision and dampens our bowstrings.
The advancing infantry meet little resistance as they press forward into the enemy ranks.
Except for these hopelessly outnumbered fanatics, which instead wish for a glorious death at the hands of our men and fight against all odds.
Sadly for their honour, all that it takes for their line to shatter and their leader to fall is the charge of a scutarii cuneus, which divides their line and throws their chieftain, Alpin, to the ground. A praeventore sees his chance and buries his spatha into the back of the neck of the fallen chieftain, an admittedly honourless kill, but a fitting one for a barbarian nonetheless.
Victory is ours. With the entire area between the Severan and Aelian wall being pacified, the Pictish tribe brough to its knees, its stronghold destroyed and its Caledonii, Scotii and Atacoti allies scaterred, we once again heave peace in the northern frontier of Britannia. We quickly order an emissary to be sent to whatever Pictish survivors may still exist to force peace on them. While we could advance north, to take the Caledonii settlement, this is not in the interests of Rome at this time. This was a punitive expedition, not a war of conquest.
Meanwhile, the remnants of our fleet are in trouble. With winter setting in, their heavy ships, the Liburnians and Triremes, being made for the relatively calm Mediterranean seas, are not as manoeuvrable as the barbarian counterparts, and find themselves unable to extricate their ships from the deadly north sea.
As such, we split the fleet in two, hoping the barbarians will only be able to attack one, saving the other. Our ships also spot in the retreat a Caledonii settlement close to the shore. This information will come in useful should Rome decide to venture north of the wall once more.
With the achievements of our expedition being met, we bring our operations in Caledonia and north of the wall to a close.
But as we have seen, elsewhere in the empire, we are faced with threats of every nature across all our borders:
Rebels, brigands, pirates and raiders once again infest our roads, countryside and shipping lanes. Our borders are filled with groups of raiders, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Despite Julian’s best efforts and the reforms, the Empire faces a lot of trouble tackling the endemic problem of brigandage that hinders the Empire’s recovery.
The Empires progress:
And our enemies by comparison: (Orange – Goth, Blue – Alemanni, Pink – Quadi)
With winter setting in, the Empire once again prepares itself for the difficult tasks that lie ahead. While brigandage and pirates may be annoying, they are not as lethal enemies as the newly arrived Vandals, which we will have to tackle quickly lest they take the empire as weakened and moribund and ripe for the taking. Fortunately, we have two full strength field armies nearby ready for just that task...
Last edited by Knonfoda; April 04, 2013 at 12:00 PM.
I thank you for tour invaluable advice. But as you will soon see, the Franks are no longer a threat in that area.
I also seek to bridge this gap between Latin and Greek in the near future, if our beloved Empire survives that long. Are you suggesting that one turn Pagan temples do not also confer a 5% conversion bonus, and only a happiness bonus?
Signed,
Augustus Julian
i m afraid so imperator one turn pagan temples don't tend to confer a 5% conversion bouns only happiness bouns i hope you can start building 2 turn temple they give you conversion bounus as well as happiness bounes too.....
p.s yes there might be still al language gap between greek and latin but i think this is not too serious it might be the translator's fault for faulty translations i have give him a good wihpping btw and sold him at a cheaper price in forum of constantine he shall not be seen again by me....
Advisor Excitius Onus
war is peace, ignorance is strength, freedom is slavery......
(george orwell 1984)
i m afraid so imperator one turn pagan temples don't tend to confer a 5% conversion bouns only happiness bouns i hope you can start building 2 turn temple they give you conversion bounus as well as happiness bounes too.....
p.s yes there might be still al language gap between greek and latin but i think this is not too serious it might be the translator's fault for faulty translations i have give him a good wihpping btw and sold him at a cheaper price in forum of constantine he shall not be seen again by me....
Advisor Excitius Onus
Esteemed Excitidius Onus,
I see. We shall soon rectify this mistake, worry not. Many great thanks for the advice. Send my regards to Julia.
In Germania, the battered Auxilia Palatinae Victores Iuniores and Seniores arrive at Augusta-Treverorum for retraining.
For once, we have little trouble with money, as the sack of Dal Raida has filled our coffers once more.
– Embedded soundtrack, play while reading this episode.
These sneaky little vandals are very cunning. They have positioned their forces in such a way around the city that only one of our armies may engage them at any one time.
Marjorianus Cassianum could not care less, all the more glory to him really. With a full strength field army composed of detachments from Legio Constantina Victrix, legio armatus and ripeness detachments from legio Tertia III Italica and Legio IIII Armigeri Defensores and auxilia palatinae units of the Leones and Mattiaci, he felt he would have little trouble defeating these barbarian scum.
This particularly cavalry heavy warband is led by Vandal warlord Aiolfus. He leads a number of interesting units into battle, a lot of cavalry, some good infantry, but very little archers.
The field of battle could not be better suited to our heavy cavalry, which have an open plain available to them. OH HOW THE FEARSOME VANDALS SHALL SHUDDER AS THE GROUND TREMBLES BENEATH THEM! Oh how they will DIE BENEATH OUR SPEARS!
We begin this engagement like we would any other, with light showers of arrows with a good chance of DEATH!
One of their more reckless tribes, feeling lucky today, decide to make a show of it and charge our lines under their horse banner!
This is of course appropriate as it’s exactly what they get for their insolence! Fast, heavy, horse-friendly death!
Yes! Run like the barbarian savages you are! Back to your flea infested hovels deep in the woods of your forested Germania! Ja im Germania, und nicht in Venezuela!
Meanwhile, we MASS our cavalry to our left flank, ready to fall on the enemy general like the walls of Masada fell on the rebellious Jews.
- Men! Have no fear! Jupiter watches us as we drive this horde back to where they belong! Let the slaughter begin, make me proud!
Meanwhile, their infantry run towards our line, their hands gripping their sharp and pointy things and their hearts intent on murder! Luckily for us, our sharp and pointy things are sharper, AND POINTIER! And they FLY! Yes! They FLY RIGHT INTO THE HEARTS OF THE ENEMY as our men unleash volley upon volley of veruta and lancea and sagitto and god knows what other Latin delights upon these Neanderthals!
In their own little separate battle, horse bites man (it happened in your neighbourhood) as German steeds are put against good Roman mounts.
The Romans emerge victorious as Warlord Aiolfus is gutted like a fish as a trooper thrusts his spatha deep into his fellow human’s belly, slicing it from one side to the other. Pulling out the dying man’s entrails, he brings them to his face, looks at them in a mockingly amused manner, and shouts out to the astounded bodyguard:
- Hahaha! Never before have I seen such TROUBLED ENTRAILS! They have all the intricate markings of COMPLETE VICTORY! HAhahah! He manically roars as he cuts the ropey guts of his foe, throwing some of its contents into the enemy bodyguard closest to him as he stares into them with the defiance and rage of a madman!
The vandals, unnerved by such a sight and spectacle of brutality and butchery, flee the field.
As arrows fly overheard, the Vandal infantry have apparently not heard of their leader’s grim fate, and charge into our lines nevertheless.
Of course, all it takes are the shouts and screams of their comrades that all is doomed and the victorious cries of our forces to make them realise something has gone terribly wrong, and preferring to err on the side of caution, they make like lightning and bolt!
Our men eagerly pursue and cut them down in droves!
You FOOLS! Don’t you know RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!
The might of our armies fall upon you as first our Palatinae fall on you!
Accompanied by some rib-splitting arrows on the side!
All finished off with a lovely charge of cavalry to the backside to really drive the point home!
Meanwhile, in the distance, two brothers, we’ll call them Godigisel and Huneric, flee for their lives as they attempt to escape the massacre.
They think themselves too far away for capture, as enemy cavalry have only just crested the hill.
HAHA! Their confidence turns out to have been as badly misplaced as that of Crassus when he crossed into Parthia. They are cut down and destroyed.
Victory is munificently ours! Despite their initial cunning, the only thing they can now extend their cunning is to linguistics, as survivors are made slaves and sent to Rome to the delight of the Roman matrons. The enemy defeated, their wagon laagers pillaged and burnt, our men ashamed that they have had to take up arms against such women! If only all barbarian hordes were this effeminate.
Our work is not yet finished however, as there is still a Vandal warband in our lands. We send our most comical of agents in rebus, Felix Andronicus, to either die or kill the enemy chieftain.
The fool succeeds in getting himself killed. This is of course good news as he is one less agent to pay at the end of the month.
Marjorianus, his thirst for GLORY not yet quenched, marches to intercept this army who are apparently unaware of the utter disaster that befell their brothers only days before.
– Embedded Soundtrack II, play while reading this episode.
Attaces is their leader, and he apparently enjoys hunting. Good! He may well revel when our men hunt him down on the field and roast him over a fire later this night!
What could charitably be described as their ‘army’ is composed of a large number of skirmishers, archers, that sort of thing. This is most unpleasant news, as our cavalry HATE archers like barbarians hate washing!
Hmmn, this field of battle seems oddly familiar. Yes, we thought the Alemanni here once. And WON! Hopefully this field will witness a second Roman victory afresh! That is, if their large numbers of archers allow us to occupy the high ground, which I very much doubt they will be inclined to.
- Men! Make for the high ground! If anyone opposes you, KILL THEM!
Interestingly, nobody does oppose our advance. These vandals must be new to real military fighting, as they seem to ignore even the most basic tenets of tactical and strategic techniques. Luckily, Marjorianus feels generous in schooling them.
Throughout the lines, a shout. Large heavy glimmering metallic objects arch overheard. In their hundreds. The vandals, not wanting to let our men rest after their tiring climb uphill, charge immediately. We greet them with our franciscas. No, not some lovely voluptuous blonde haired Italian girl, but our deadly throwing axes. The girls we reserve for only the most feared opponents.
They scream in their incomprehensible dialects as they surge towards us! Bar Bar This and Bar Bar that and AARGGH! They all sound the same when they die though.
We order one of our lines to space out so that our cavalry may pass through and charge the enemy flanks.
Which we do, putting them to flight like birds in an Aristophaen play.
Those of the enemy which have not had their bowels voided yet decide to make a trusty schiltrom formation, as they are now stranded deep in the no man’s land between the two lines proper.
Our archers make themselves useful and thin them down.
Things are slowly getting out of control. Our cavalry, pursuing some routing troops, become engaged in a melee with the enemy cavalry, which is not exactly what I wanted.
The outcome is better than I could have asked and our cavalry succeed in routing theirs.
What’s left of the enemy schiltrom is ripe for the taking.
But our archers prove faster. Annoyed troopers look back at our sagitarii giving them looks of disgust as both playfully exchange insults.
Judging the time to be right, our infantry lines advance.
While our cavalry falls on the enemy skirmishers, routing yet another part of Attaces army.
The lines meet, blood is splashed around and the familiar din of battle makes itself present.
In the woods, our cavalry have taken to the wholesale slaughter of enemy, routing all before them, pursuing the rest, and generally having a good time of it.
We finally engage and surround the enemy bodyguard, Cedices among them.
But after putting all but the most token of resistances, he flees like a thief in the night. There’s nothing much to say about his death really. He fell from his horse and broke his back instantly. That’s really what happened, no fancy swordplay, no heroic deeds, nothing. He died a pretty generic death really.
And so it was that in this part of Germania, peace broke out. Our enemies, the Alemanni and the Vandals, have been utterly vanquished from our lands. And yay there was much rejoicing, and people far and wide paid tribute to come and bask in the glory of Marjorianus, destroyer of the Germanic peoples, sacker of their hopes and dreams, and restitutor of the Roman peace. By all accounts, the Vandals will think twice now before they attempt any further attacks on our Empire, and all is as it should be.
For now...
Last edited by Knonfoda; December 23, 2015 at 10:23 AM.
The Gods will punish you for killing inocent Celts!
TRUST ME
Innocent? They are guilty of the crimes of barbarianism, dirtiness, long hairedness, wrong-side-of-the-wallness, and many other problems associated with northern barbarian filth. Did you not see how they attacked us unprovoked?
And don't get me started on the Vandal tribes. They ahve been taught a lesson they shabn't soon forget!
Originally Posted by scutarilegion
hmm, you mean like a sudden massive wave of hordes attack him from nowhere? (franks betray->more vandals come -> Huns arrive in force)
And we shall deal with them brother! We shall destroy them like every otehr horde that dares stand against the might of rome! Roma Victor! Ave Julian! Ave Caesar!
Huns! Vandals! Alans! Greuthingi! Roxolani! Longobards! Heruli! Joviani! Persai! They are ALL invited to the festival of death and destruction that is the Roman Empire. LET THEM COME! Let them come! They shall all be made to pay like customers at an upmarket Popina!
Decanus
Re: [IB:SAI AAR] Julian, the savior of Rome?
Originally Posted by Knonfoda
What are you complaining about? You guys won the sea battle, didn't you? Is naval victory not enough for you Celts? Never satisfied this Gaelic lot lol
I came, I read, I wrote
Re: [IB:SAI AAR] Julian, the savior of Rome?
I had no crushes in my AAR since the start of the campaign
:
Tiro
Senator
The Philosopher King
Ducenarius
Re: [IB:SAI AAR] Julian, the savior of Rome?
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