the EB hall of shame

[seleucid empire]

I thought i would jsut start a thread where everyone posts their biggest blunders they have ever made in an Eb game.

I remember once where I (cleverly ) manoeuvred my seleucid royal army into the middle of 5 epirote fullstacks where it got trapped and obliterated, setting my conquest of greece and Macedonia back about 20 turns

Another time, I was playing with realistic movement mod with seleucia again and i forgot to scout. I got greedy and took an epirote city in Illyria. The result was about 20 Roman stacks pouring into my lands within the next 4 turns.

and possibly my biggest blunder ever was taking a fullstack of mostly light getic skirmishers out into the steppes in one of my very first EB games. Oops...

^that last one is actually quite embarrassing because before that I had been playing rtw for a year so I should have known better

[Maestro Lignarius]

Playing as Rome and slowly (about 100 years into the game) and wisely taking over Gaul the folks in Iberia decided to attack--even though we were allies for a while. It took me by surprise, but all the required forces were in route to the area anyway due to the other conflict--and future plans. The war quickly turned to Rome's favor and I advance well into Iberia. It took a few years and they looked like they were finished--only one or two towns left. So, in an effort to reduce spending I stopped the flow of new units into the area. Things still went well as the war approached its obvious end--when all of a sudden fresh Iberian forces appeared on the scene. My great and victorious army beat back one group after another--until the legions were spent. I had to beat a hasty withdrawal back to the north to await reinforcements. By the time I could advance south again the Lusitanian's were stronger than ever.

Long story short--what could have been a very sweet 5 year war turned into a bit over twenty years because I called a war over before it was over. Another lesson learned.

[Stath's]

With Sweboz, I had many battles against Karthadastim for the control of Emporion and Tolosa. Finally, after many turns I beat them and lay siege to Arse.

Spies said that there was no other army to the south so I waited to gather some more units for the assault. I decided to attack next turn, press the 'next turn' button and BANG a full stack of Balearic slingers and infantry came from the island to break the siege (with Alexander.exe, i think it played a role...)

Too many stones around, my army got destroyed and the faction leader with 10 command stars died and with him 3-4 other generals or Celtic Lesser Kings.

It was a nice move.

[Titus Marcellus Scato]

I was rather upset when the Eleutheroi destroyed my entire faction in less than two years.

Playing as Casse, right at the beginning, that stack of five Caledonian Skirmishers besieged my only city. I laughed at these puny light skirmishers as I sallied out to meet them - "Ha ha, I've got loads of heavy chariots and heavy infantry, you don't stand a chance!" Charged all my family members' chariots at them head on, quickly following up with my one unit of spearmen and two units of swordsmen - expecting an easy victory, maybe even an instaneous rout.

Unfortunately, the skirmishers stood their ground like heroes, my chariots fell apart like children's toys, all of my family members died, and my foot infantry panicked and routed. End of battle, and end of campaign!

[seleucid empire]

I was rather upset when the Eleutheroi destroyed my entire faction in less than two years.

Playing as Casse, right at the beginning, that stack of five Caledonian Skirmishers besieged my only city. I laughed at these puny light skirmishers as I sallied out to meet them - "Ha ha, I've got loads of heavy chariots and heavy infantry, you don't stand a chance!" Charged all my family members' chariots at them head on, quickly following up with my one unit of spearmen and two units of swordsmen - expecting an easy victory, maybe even an instaneous rout.

Unfortunately, the skirmishers stood their ground like heroes, my chariots fell apart like children's toys, all of my family members died, and my foot infantry panicked and routed. End of battle, and end of campaign!

Those Caledonians are tough but from what you described, I don't think you were using your chariots correctly

[Titus Marcellus Scato]

Those Caledonians are tough but from what you described, I don't think you were using your chariots correctly

You're right - I was new to EB back then then and I thought heavy chariots were like heavy cavalry that could stomp all over light infantry.

[Cyclops]

I recall a few sad general deaths by somehow catching the corner of an enemy phalanx because he decided to lag behind his bodyguards (why? to smell the flowers? idiot) but nothing as bad as in vanilla where I've shot my own general dead with a siege engine at the commencement of a siege.

...Playing as Casse, right at the beginning, that stack of five Caledonian Skirmishers besieged my only city.... End of battle, and end of campaign!

Testify. So embarrassing as four FMs die in a row. I would've rage quitted but the game did it for me. I never heard of the "no-road" Eleutheroi peace treaty until a few months ago.

[Samariten]

Mine must have been sending stacks against iberia without proper feeling for logistics and planning. Fighting the iberians is tough enough but i made it worse. I got a thin line along the coast from Italy to Iberia when suddenly the aedui attacks me and sweboz swarming down the alps. I had no legions in italy nor in cisapline gaul. Ass rape (sorry for the bad word) was a fact...

[seleucid empire]

In one of my first kh games, i assaulted Rome with my royal army. The Romans had 3/4 stack of Marion legionaries inside. I thought i would win. I didn't......

also can someone tell me why rome seems to be able to recruit Marian legionaries and vigiles at the same time? I thought the vigiles came with the last reforms. I always see vigils stacks and Marian stacks everywhere.

[Grimmy]

I'm a turtler by nature.

This one time, in Rome camp...

I turtled too long after taking the boot, Sicily, Sardine islands and the settlements up to the alps.
So, just as I was about to start building offensive armies (after having got my economy up to stellar proportions, cause I'm greedy like that), I start receiving waves of Gauls, Sweboz and Macadonians, along with a Carthaginian invasion. Turns out I waited just long enough for the Gauls to unify and the Sweboz to grow huge and Macadon to take all of the Greek lands and the former Decian AO. Carthage had all of Ibernia, North Africa including Egypt and had allied with Selucia.

My armies consisted of city garrisons, a few forts in the alps with a few units in each and a small anti-rebel force.

I was *not* ready for what came at me. Nope. Not even a little bit.

Lesson learned?

Spies. Spies everywhere. Now I use spies to carpet the threat lands and, sometimes I actually try to pay attention to what's going on in those lands.

[Petite Wolf]

In the beginning of my current Koinon Hellenon campaign - my first with Jirisys' mod pack - I forgot about the Macedonian navy. As usual I sent all my starting troops from Sparte over to Krete to help take the island, planning on sending them back afterwards to help ward off the Macedonians. Before I could put them back on the ships and send them back, the Macedonians attacked. It took two battles, but the end result was a sunken KH navy, leaving the vast majority of my forces on Krete and only a single Family Member in Sparte, along with a Family Member, Hoplitai, Hoplitai Haploi and Sphendonetai (SP) in Athenai. Thankfully during the first turn I hired some mercenary Kretan Archers to help Athenai, who actually proved quite vital in the defense of the walls in one battle, fighting right along side my Hoplites.

But anyway, the Macedonians sunk my fleet, leaving the vast majority of my army stranded on Krete, and if not for the amazingness of Greek General's Bodyguard combined with stone walls, I would have lost both Sparte and Athenai, which would have signalled the end of my campaign. As it is I did lose Sparte, which is a first for me in KH campaigns. All it had in it was a single Spartan Bodyguard unit, and as I had no fleet and Macedon had possession of Korinthos, I had no way of reinforcing it.

[Stívarðr Reynitré]

Reading these is true testament to the depth of this mod and the way in which subtleties of war can have lasting consequences.

Fanstastic!

[Skep]

Last night my Spartan general died on the walls of Syracuse, fighting akontistai (skirmishers). But he was a nut so I wasn't crying that hard. All my FM and recruited generals summers from dull right down to stunningly incompetent

[Petite Wolf]

That happened to my faction leader in a previous KH campaign of mine. He was fighting on the walls of Athenai near the beginning of the campaign after I'd taken Krete and sent my main army back, and I think 7 people of his 122 man unit died. He was one of them.

[Ddaulet]

When I was playing as Arche Seleukia I spent decades to reach and conquer all the Indian provinces far in the East to build top local barracks and to recruit elephants.So, I recruited 7 units of elephants which cost a lot(3000 mnai each) and then on the first battle i realized that elephants are useless like many other units in this mod, all of them died fighting against the cheapest unit like hellenic spearmen.I was hoping that with elephants i could defeat Saka Rauka and Pahlava, the factions that have the most irritating fighting style, they barely ever engage in close combat, and on campaign map it doesn't matter how many and what kind of troops i have, one or two of their units can always destroy my whole army when i click autoresolve, and they never travel in huge packs, there like 1 or 2 units per army and they constantly siege my cities.This is so annoying

[Nad]

Archers and slingers are what you need when you're facing the horse archer hordes

[yuezhi]

It's stated that cataphracts were created to deal with horse archers. I've never tried that myself though.

[Request a new user name]

For me:

Forgetting to keep track of the Prodromoi. They will make you regret that every time by charging into the rear of your heavy cavalry and wiping them out.

[Bladvak]

For me, it should be one of the first times I played EB:

Coming from vanilla settings, I proudly and defiantly set to VH/VH, with the faction with the most territory : AS. Long story short, I recruited a full stack of persian archers (unarmored). Guess you know where this is going...

Yes, I attacked a Pahlava army of "only" 6-8 units, 2 of which were FMs and a few other horse archers (numbers were highly in my favour). I was going straight for the FL. Battle begins, I set my archers to stand their ground and attack. The Pahlava army attacks (walking)! Thinking this must be the AI acting funny, I wait and see what happens. The FL comes into range and my archers start shooting. But lo and behold, the arrows don't do any damage. After 6 volleys, about 100 or more of my archers are dead for about 2-3 of the enemy bodyguard. By the time the rest of the Pahlava army finished their walk, there was about 10-20% of my army left.

ps: I've been reading this thread for a while, but didn't have the courage to post. Guess who learned the HA lesson on VH/VH.