Wars of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (99 - 97 BCE)

[Pontifex Maximus]

A loose confederacy of Greek pirates operating out of Rhodes has launched a series of raids against Roman property in Asia. Recently, they have grown so bold as to seize Cilicia, driving out the Roman garrison and using the ports as a stagin point for further attacks on the Turkish coast. The pirates operate in either small, agile galleys or heavy craft capable of engaging Roman warships. The pirates lack organization and operate mostly independently. Their true strength remains a mystery, but they never seem to operate in groups larger than two.

Pirates:

10 quinquireme
5 liburna
8,000 men

[Sonke]

Publius arrives to the camp where the preparations have already begun. Immediately Publius sends out his scouts to get information concerning the numbers of the Pirate forces.

[Pontifex Maximus]

Although several ports in mainland Greece had been attacked, the pirates made a quick get away as soon as they spotted Roman soldiers entering the city. Several larger warships have regrouped and currently sail off the coast near Athens, merely waiting for the Romans to leave before continuing their plunder. It would appear that most of the pirates were not present. The pirates have no desire to land and fight the Romans on equal footing while they were scattered, or seemingly scattered.

[Sonke]

Publius gives the Roman fleet what has arrived to Athens an order to cautiously approach the Pirate fleet(1 Liburna moves infront of the fleet as a scout, while the other ships are spread out) while the archers are ordered to move near the coast.

[Shadow141]

Pirate captain gaves the order to the crews

OCC PM send to Pontifex Maximus

[Pontifex Maximus]

The Roman ships notice that the pirates are disembarking a few thousand men near the port, they seem to be hurrying to load and protect some stolen chests that lay piled up on the beach. After landing the infantry, most of the fleet disappears behind the horizon along an opposite coast. Some of the lighter enemy ships seem to be trying to provoke the Romans into battle.

[Shadow141]

From ships you could here the voices of pirate

"Romans come out and play with us"

"Romans tonight you die, tomorrow your wives will know us"

[Sonke]

The Romans yelled back
''Why don't you come here. We would kill every one of you as you all are only little babies.''

[Pontifex Maximus]

Since both sides appear not to be leaving, you can both send orders for the battle.

Conditions: Clear, fair skies. A stiff breeze rises from the south.

[Shadow141]

OCC orders have been sent via PM

[Pontifex Maximus]

The battle will be posted later today

[Shadow141]

OCC what was the outcome

[Pontifex Maximus]

Had an unexpected thing happen (project for my Roman Empire class), I have the results but I'll make it into a story today.

[Sonke]

OOC: Will that be a bad or a good thing for me?

[Pontifex Maximus]

Battle of Athens, Part I

As the Pirates worked to make a landing on the beach, The Roman legion VIII Macedonica and 500 archers under the command of Pro-Consul Lucullus advanced. Although considerably outnumbered, the pirates held their ground. Before they had time to regret ever joining up with the brigands in the first place, the Roman archers began pouring arrows into the ranks of the pirates, sending many lightly armed infantrymen to their death.

Helpless to defend themselves against the onslaught, the pirates continued to absorb the fire until the legion finally came into range with javelins. Soon the sky was speckled with poles as the legionaries threw their pila directly into the first rank of the pirates, utterly decimating them. Before the charge even began, the pirates began to waver, but now faced with the prospect of finally being able to fight the Romans on equal terms, the majority of the pirates did not flee. Suddenly, as if by design, a column of smoke rose into the air. Could this possibly be a signal of some sort?

By this time the ground was already slick with blood from the previous assault. The centre of the line locked into a ferocious deadlock, but the Roman maneuver on the flanks slowly began to turn the tide of battle. Although the left flank held, the right had utterly collapsed, sending hundreds of pirates struggling for an escape. Many were easily executed before they could flee.

Meanwhile, out at sea, several rebel ships began to tentatively approach the Roman fleet, offering battle.

With the flank collapsing the entire line began to buckle as the Romans pressed the advantage, but without cavalry to help this was slow work. Victory seemed certain, but then the seemingly impossible happened. One thousand rebel reinforcements appeared on the Roman left flank and an additional 3,000 seemed to be running to reinforce the center. Taking courage in the knowledge that reinforcements were coming, the suffering men in the midst of the Roman assault were renewed to vicious fighting to save themselves.

Results of phase 1: Decisive Roman victory. The pirates took heavy casualties trying to face the onslaught of an entire legion when they were outnumbered, but their gamble paid off and the ambush is in place.

No naval casualties yet

Romans:
500 archers
5,590 legionaries remaining

Pirates:
5,120 infantry remaining

Now I need the Roman orders in response to the pirate counterattack and orders for the naval battle (I have the pirates naval orders) the reason the pirates being sent to ambush the Romans didn't reach the battle in time to take the Romans by complete surprise is that the group taking on the center assault simply didn't hold out long enough against the main Roman attack. Lucky for the Romans that they seized the initiative, if they had waited it would have been a Roman bloodbath.

A tip for both sides: With a battle this small, you should be focusing on centuries and cohorts, or groups of 100 or 500 men instead of larger groups. greater flexibility on the battlefield will mean more options to exploit an advantage or counter a movement.

[Pontifex Maximus]

Battle of Athens, Part 2

On Land:

As reinforcements hurried to join the pirates in the center of the fray, the Roman right flank made a controlled retreat and then began to move to reinforce the left flank. The impending charge on the left meant that the Romans would have to maneuver quickly to get their men in place to counter the charge. Suddenly, an opportunity presented itself. The pirates fighting in the center broke and fled towards their comrades, so that the two groups could meet and face the Romans as a whole. The legionaries, however, gave a loud yell, and believing they had broken their enemies, rushed after them. The Legionaries cut down many of the fleeing pirates, which at first was a tactical feint, but soon turned into a complete rout.

On the left flank, in the meantime, since the Roman center had been allowed to advance, the 500 men pulled from the center and right flank now had enough room to bolster the line forming to the left. The outnumbered pirates on the left flank now joined combat with the legionaries, and a side skirmish ensued.

The fleeing pirates from the center, however, had collided with the reinforcements coming from the rear. The confusion incited a general panic. When the Romans finally caught up a massive slaughter ensued. In the mayhem the Romans absolutely decimated the pirates, leaving few alive. With the center routed it wasn't long before the whole bulk of the legion weighed heavy upon the left flank, and the pirates did not last long. The Romans had won a crushing victory on land.

Meanwhile at sea the Roman fleet approached what appeared to be half of the pirate fleet. A mere 5 liburna and 2 quinquireme approached the Roman fleet. The Roman fleet advanced at a steady pace, but the pirates stopped, attempting to stay out of bowshot. Instead of trying to turn around, the pirates simply waited, and the Romans drew near. Soon, arrows began to fly. None of the ships had marines, so casualties were light. The Romans had opted to begin ramming the pirates in an attempt to sink them.

As the Roman heavy warships approached, the smaller liburna of the brigands made a desperate attempt to escape, but they were hemmed in by the quinquireme on the flank. The Roman quinquireme, as a result, were easily able to ram the smaller vessels, putting large holes into the sides. The Liburnae sank almost immediately, rendered completely useless. The heavier pirate vessels, however, would not be so easy to take down. As the Roman ships approached, the Pirates increased their speed. Two of the ships hit straight on, which grievously damaged both ships. As the pirate vessel began to lurch onto its side, taking on water, the Roman ship plunged into the water. Muffled screams rose from the lower decks as 100 slaves were dragged to their watery death.

On the opposite flank, the Roman captain managed to avoid the charge of the other ship. Some intense repositioning ensued, btu in the end two Roman quinquireme were able to work together to bring the ship down without incident.

Eight remaining pirate Quinqueremes retreated east

RESULT: Decisive Roman victory, +2 LL to Lucullus and 569 prisoners captured

Remaining Roman forces: 4,976 legionaries, 500 archers (one quinquireme lost)

Remaining pirate forces: 8 quinquireme, 400 infantry

Reasoning: The pirate's decision to abandon the middle of the line and save lives by meeting the reinforcements half way failed miserably due to lack of communication between the fighting infantry and the reinforcements. The Romans pressed the advantage here and cut down the pirates as they fled. When the reinforcements finally did meet up with the others, they were unable to organize themselves and the Romans simply had too much advantage. With the middle absolutely decimated the fate of the left flank was all but certain as the pirates, vastly outnumbered, were hacked to pieces.

Since the pirate resistance on land fell apart so quickly, they were unable to send up the signal fires to signal the ambush. In the meantime, the bait ships sent out were engaged and easily overwhelmed by superior numbers. The cornered beast fight the fiercest, however, and in a bold suicide mission one pirate ship managed to fatally damage one of the Roman vessels.

[Sonke]

Publius comes to the inspect the Legio VIII Macedonia. Pirate bodies were everywhere. This had been a massacre for the Pirates. All the Legionaires and archers raised their weapons and screamed loudly:''Roma Victa''. 569 Prisoners are sold for 5,690 denarii.

[Pontifex Maximus]

Roman forces move into Cilicia I. It is deserted and will fall to the Republic in 24 hours if unopposed.

[Shadow141]

OCC attack from the sea or the land

[Sonke]

OOC: I am attacking already.