The Bottomless Pit (Chap. 65 - Fin.)

**stackero** · April 13, 2014, 05:26 PM

I'm impressed by your style of explaining/story telling with action pictures. Skillfully done.

**Alavaria** · April 16, 2014, 09:11 PM

History 1: The Agesipolian Recruitment Reforms

Although many may think of the "Agesipolis Reforms" as a single event or turning point that transformed Spartan society, any real change was generally slow. Generally, change began in the army to deal with some military need in the field. Of course, some elements would eventually bleed over to the social structure, given how linked the two were.

The earliest took place around 536-539 AUC, and were critical in the lead-up to an aggressively expansionary-militaristic phase of the Spartan Empire. Grouped together as they were implemented in an integrated plan, they would be referred to as the Agesipolian Recruitment Reforms after their instigator, Agesipolis III.

(Founding Cities of the Peloponnesian League II, a critical element in the Agesipolian Reforms)

The main sources relevant to the Agesipolian Reforms are the writings of Pelops of Sparta, one of the famed "Spartan Trio". These were recorded many years after the actual events by a Syracusean helot, during his campaigns in Africa. Supporting evidence exists as clerical records at the time.

According to Pelops, the reforms framed as answering dual need; defensive campaign and lack of manpower (he notes the latter may have been overplayed).

Pelops mentions a series of events that allowed the reforms to take root with minimal opposition.

An Athenian-Macedonian conspiracy created a secret pact between multiple city-states neighboring Sparta. The conspirators had been probing Sparta's defenses. Spartan forces were dispatched under Agesipolis (Machanidas was supposed to be his "guardian" and actually in charge, however Agesipolis did command the battles against expectation). A lighting campaign of quick victories laid bare the conspiracy in Argos, Korinthos and Thebes. The force would sweep on, laying siege to Athenai.

However, in the battles leading up to Athenai, many of the Spartan homoioi who were in the army died as a result of the fighting. Pelops notes that they were formed up into actual units of homoioi, and were targeted by enemy troops. Some of the other homoioi who were in the Trio's bodyguard were also killed, but not many. Other elements of the Spartan army had also suffered losses; this meant that the force sieging Athenai was relatively understrength.

(Machanidas' siege of Athenai)
Note the additional reinforcements arriving to assist Athenai, these forces did not engage

Leaving Machanidas (supposedly the one in charge of the campaign) to encircle Athenai, Agesipolis returned to Sparte for reinforcements. However, these were not available. (Pelops was not present, he was at Athenai) Agesipolis then asked the homoioi present if they should turn their backs on the walls of Athenai, which resulted in some of those who had retired from war declaring they would take up arms and fight.

Agesipolis finally "settled" for a thousand or so of the helots that had been brought in by his earlier conquests. Records show that some were slingers immediately dispatched to the siege camps at Athenai.

The rest, Agesipolis would train into the first "hoplite cohorts" (the term originates later, from the time of the Roman Wars). They would not play a serious anti-skirmisher role.

(Early Agesipolian Hoplite "Cohort")

The Agesipolian Light Hoplite

Unlike the usual citizen hoplites of other city states, these helots of course did not have the means to afford the panoply. This meant that the Spartan state had to equip them with the essentials: spear, shield, helmet and a sword.

Procuring the panoply was troublesome on short notice. Spears were available, as due to the tendency to break, "extras" were kept on hand. Helmets were a mix of whatever had been previously looted, though some went without helmets. The sword was often not even a "spartan sword", but just a long knife. Most critically, the shields were not faced with bronze, but rawhide or other materials, much like the lighter shields were.

However, Agesipolis' hoplites considered themselves fully equipped, compared to a skirmisher's kit (nearly nothing).

Agesipolis noted that with the use of a heavier shield, even bronzeless, they would be able to stand against enemy infantry in a position on the line. However, they could not be expected to actually attack.

One of the critical developments was the switch away from Spartan homoioi "in the lines", and towards two roles: officers and bodyguards for the general. Both of these would of course conserve lives, instead those of others like helots would be sold for victory.

Agesipolis also used this to weed out those unreceptive to his plans. They were allowed to form into hoplite units, which naturally during combat led to casualties. Those who were willing to follow his plans generally survived many victorious battles.

Spartan officers in particular were trained to consider their men like their own shield and spear. The pride of Agesipolis' officer corps would go on to become important military figures.

A great number of "cast off" Spartans would fight as officers in units unfavored by the homoioi, like the Ekdromoi hoplites. In victory, they might find themselves allotted land, which enabled them to rise into the ranks of homoioi. Naturally, these "Agesipolis' Youth" were willing to support their general in his various political endeavors.

Since on some level, the homoioi were equals, Agesipolis continued his strategy of massing numbers even in Spartan politics. He increased his base of support, swelling the numbers of homoioi rapidly by seeking out anyone with a viable claim to Spartan lineage. Initially looking among those who had passed the agoge but were without land to support themselves, he would go further afield as the Spartan armies did.

(Story ~and pictures~ will resume in the next update)

**neofrage** · April 17, 2014, 09:25 PM

perfect job alavaria

I had 2 alternatives for this evening, watch a movie or read your story. I know i have chosen the right one. Please continue, its very good. You should write a book someday

**Alavaria** · April 19, 2014, 04:31 PM

Spoiler for Chapter 19:

Chapter 19: Take From Them Everything!

Agesipolis was playing a dangerous game. In Athenai, the biggest thing that was dismantled were some of the buildings attached to the city's barracks. Agesipolis said at the time: "There's no need for this."

Most of the city was fairly untouched. In fact, Athenai quickly began to build a credible force of citizen hoplites, while sending all the poor and unemployed to Sparte to fulfill Agesipolis' demands. In time, Athenians would be recognized for their many achievements and contributions to the Peloponnesian League II, and were known as steadfast soldiers, though never again as a great military power in its own right.

(Pictured: A no longer necessary Athenian barracks burning)

Still, Agesipolis had killed in battle many of the hoplites that could have otherwise been part of the League's forces, and had determined to make it up with a truly levied army that was loyal to Sparta, and somewhat to him personally. This meant he was somewhat short on manpower, and on time. Macedon would learn of the League and soon her pikemen would head south in order to crush Sparta with their moving forest of sarissas. This could not be allowed to happen.

Though, this was also part of Agesipolis' plan, and this new looming threat allowed him to get some rather serious reforms past the more skeptical Spartans. Which indeed would bear fruit in due time... the Retribution projects. A significant amount of resources, military materiel, new homoioi and helots would be employed in Retribution One.

But Agesipolis himself would not oversee the project, which would be carried out by trusted friends. He would be on the battlefield!

Captain: General! There are Spartans approaching!
Ziepyrus: What? And no news from the forces we sent to relieve Athenai?
Captain: Still no word, we are on our own.
Ziepyrus: Form up the hoplites, bring me my horse.
Ziepyrus: Slingers, to the walls, buy us some time to-

Agesipolis: Your slingers... are already dead.

Guard: Spartans are marching up the main road!
Agesipolis: (He's shouting from a distance) Lakedaimonioi, join the League! As free men we can throw off the stifling yoke of Macedon!
Ziepyrus: Never! Better to be a free Macedonian than live under your hand, Spartan!

Ziepyrus and his men fought well against the Ekdromoi of Agesipolis' force, but they were taken by surprise from behind by slingers. As usual, Agesipolis' elite bodyguard were also moving up in the midst of all the Ekdromoi. His Spartans engaged the enemy horse along with all the helot soldiers that he had raised not a year ago.

Ziepyrus: Men, don't give up! Give them nothing, but... take from them.... every...th--- arggg
Agesipolis: In that case, we will give you swift deaths, and take your lives.
Agesipolis: Kill anyone who resists our freedom!

Spoiler for Details:

(Even the elite Spartan General's Bodyguard can't kill anyone without losing tons of guys, wow)

Agesipolis: We need to keep a good pace. Further north!
Pelops: Wait, why? This is madness...
Agesipolis: No, this is Macedonian land.
Pelops: What?
Agesipolis: Actually, this is Spartan land, and that is Macedonian land.

Thermos was the last mainland greek city to join the League. The power of Macedon was stirring, and would soon be challenged.

Next time: What -is- Agesipolis' plan?

**neofrage** · April 19, 2014, 05:21 PM

I miss "like" button in this forum

GJ

**Alavaria** · April 19, 2014, 05:57 PM

Just Reputation, no fancy upvote, digg, retweet, karma, etc etc

**tungri_centurio** · April 19, 2014, 06:42 PM

reputation is this forums "like" button

+rep

**Alavaria** · April 20, 2014, 06:06 PM

Spoiler for Chapter 20:

**Alavaria** · April 22, 2014, 05:43 PM

Spoiler for Chapter 21:

**Alavaria** · April 26, 2014, 03:46 PM

Spoiler for Chapter 22:

**Alavaria** · April 28, 2014, 02:23 PM

Spoiler for Chapter 23:

Chapter 23: The Basics of CQC (link!)

The fight was bloody. On the walls, Sparta's elite unit of veteran hoplites, consisting only of men in the front rank...

Agesipolis: Our elite unit, composed only of hoplites in the front of the unit...
Pelops: How does that work?
Agesipolis: Beats me

Anyway... the elite Spartans were killed while securing the walls of Pella. Macedonian light horse felled many an elite front ranker with their javelins which easily pierced the heavy bronze-covered aspis and bronze-reinforced linothorax.

Such sacrifices were necessary.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Macedonian invasion-bound pikemen found themselves on very different ground than expected. Facing them were the heroic men of Agesipolis' "Naked Fanatics".

Specifically, the Ekdromoi hoplites were observed to simply abandon their large aspis shields and long thrusting spear in the gritty Close Quarter Combat that followed. Certainly their chiton kept them decent... but Macedon discovered these hardcore soldiers impossible to keep back with their pikes.

Armed with their "Spartan Knife" and small shields that they had been able to obtain from fallen enemies, the Ekdromoi beset the Macedonians like an unstoppable tide.

It was a massacre for both sides.

(Ekromoi "hoplite" during the assault of Pella)

Agesipolis' infantry would constantly attack from behind, or perhaps more unsettlingly, from around corners, from narrow alleyways or even through windows after having "cleared" the structure. Sarissa-equipped infantry had the choice of fixing themselves in place to try and defend in all directions, or switching to their swords...

Not only were pikes not suited to tight areas, but the density was frequently much lower than in an open ordered formation, due to facing in multiple directions. Additionally, Ekdromoi even tried rolling or sliding along the ground, all to get under the pikes. While this occasionally met with success, usually the pikemen would spear them on the ground. Still, this presented an opportunity, as did grabbing hold of the pikes (in one story, grabbing several of the long shafts under the arm and holding on tight). Any gap was quickly filled with by the Spartan forces.

Missiles also played a great role, especially improvised ones. First of all, the Ekdromoi had their spears which, while mentioned as thrown away, were also literally thrown as makeshift heavy javelins. From behind, or especially an elevated position like a window in a tall building, these heavy thrusting spears doubtless had an effect on those receiving them.

Also, slingers were of course in use, frequently in very close ranges that allowed them to take aimed shots at the Macedonian troops. Despite their widespread adoption of modern helmet technology, it was not proof against close-range shots. Of course, they could try to attack the slingers, but that meant weakening their formation with all the Ekdromoi infantry waiting around...

Pella would take forever to get the blood stains off the paved ways. Though there would be plenty of helots for the task...

(I should mention some of the infantry also threw their large shields at the pike formations.)

**neofrage** · May 02, 2014, 09:48 AM

very nice!

**Alavaria** · May 05, 2014, 11:19 PM

Spoiler for Chapter 24:

Chapter 24: Hegemony

The desperate fighting continued, but it was obvious that despite the staggering loss of life on both sides, Agesipolis had made sure to bring enough lives.

The Macedonians, much like earlier rigid hoplite warriors, were not prepared for the terrible street fighting. Masters of the pike were forced to resort to their much shorter sword, which meant fighting on somewhat even terms with Agesipolis' horde of "Ekdromoi" "hoplites".

We will see later how the Ekdromoi were armored in the fight for Pella and elsewhere....

At some point in the fighting, a horseman was shot off his horse and killed on the ground. No one really noticed, among the Spartan force at least... however history had taken a sharp turn in favor of the Spartans.

After this one death, the Macedonian defense efforts, while not obviously failing, were less effective than they could have been. The fighting had by now (a few days later) progressed from the streets around the initial Spartan-held areas further into the city, as well as all around the walls.

Agesipolis, tallying up the casualty numbers (lower than expected), ordered more of his forces into the walls of Pella, ordering his men to sabotage the gates shut to prevent any escape. The Perioikoi regulars began establishing strongpoints while the helots continued pressing inwards.

By about day five of the assault, civilians were spotted taking up knives, clubs and other weapons to fight. Those who refused to lay aside the weapons after being warned were... considered enemy soldiers.

The last enemy fighters had gathered in the town square. Agesipolis observed that the Macedonians withdrew rather than fight individually, and prepared his forces... A final confrontation was about to occur.

Agesipolis sent in his Ekdromoi first, as usual. His assault units beat their way through the Macedonian regulars...

But the elite royal pikemen, with their hoplite spears, were waiting...

Pikemen... hoplite spears...

The furious sword charge, their last hope!!

Nah. The last Macedonian warriors were basically herded at spearpoint into the center of the square and finished off with missile weapons ala Thermopylae.

Staggering losses, to be sure...

Next time: Phillip of Macedon. (a "history" section of some sort)

**Alavaria** · May 05, 2014, 11:31 PM

Currently, this is Turn 6, the assault of Pella is the 10th battle so far (also the tenth settlement).

Sparta's Kills:____20,272
Sparta's Losses:___2,422

Kills are strictly Spartan kills of hostile enemies (routers count) and not any friendly kills.
Losses include friendly kills, but do not include any healed soldiers.

To consider the size of these losses, Sparte can train 2,187 soldiers in a single turn.

**Alavaria** · May 11, 2014, 12:43 PM

Spoiler for History 2:

History 2: Spartan Hegemony & Pike Reforms

After the Spartan victory over Phillip V's forces, Pella burned. But it wasn't Spartans lighting the fires, it was all Macedonians. Small-scale street fighting broke out in many Macedonian settlements of note.

Agesipolis had declared himself as future hegemon of the Greek peoples. This was a rather significant event in the history of the (not at that time) Spartan Empire, as it directly brought him into a field populated by giants such as the Successor States, all the unaligned Greek city states, and even empires further away such as Rome.

The argument Agesipolis put forward was both flattering and somewhat humiliating to the Macedonians, who considered themselves as Greeks above other Greeks. It is worthwile noting that the Spartans thought as much of themselves, and Agesipolis would never attempt to compromise on the supremacy of Spartans above all other Greeks. But as to the specifics...

Agesipolis considered the first Phillip of Macedon as a nearly-perfect leader. Nearly, only because he was not a Spartan. However, some Macedonian nobility had even taken part in the Agoge, which was why Agesipolis was able to call on their help even before the conquest of Pella.

The narrative of a combination of military innovation (sarissas) and an expert leader and general (Phillip of Macedon) was inspiring to Agesipolis, who of course had thought deeply on military matters (as all good Spartans did). Although not at the level of Macedonians who revered the king as a god, Agesipolis felt that nuanced use of many different battlefield elements as well as those off the battlefield such as logistics and alliances would lead Sparta to victory.

Certainly his adoption of the helot Ekdromoi as front-line troops and close-use of missile troops and horse were not so much experimental as looking for the most expedient way to work Spartan forces into the complex, but effective, scheme laid out by Phillip of Macedon for his own armies.

Although the appearance of massed sarissas in the later Agesipolian "Line Pikemen" units was perhaps the most obvious difference he made, in fact all the fundamantal reforms had taken place well before then. The appearance of pikemen was already an inevitability, though their success was not.

Agesipolis' plans matched Phillip's quite closely. A solid front of unbreakable pikemen, with flanks carefully guarded by a mix of more flexible infantry. Then a flanking maneuver by an arm of decision - he differed here by relying on slingers rather than horse, because Sparta did not have a sufficiently large contingent of heavy horse and Agesipolis somewhat distrusted allies in such a pivotal role.

This may have been his greatest divergence from the Macedonian model, but since skirmishers were easily obtained, cheap and therefore expendable, it seemed a "safer" bet than trying to develop a shock cavalry tradition.

Unlike the pike phalanxes of the Successor States, Agesipolis developed his with an eye towards defeating non-sarissa-armed opponents. He used pikes of a length comparable to Phillip's original configuration, which meant the Spartan pikemen would be at a significant disadvantage in head-on battles against the Successors'.

Generally, Agesipolis was more concerned about "all the non-pike infantry" than "the over-specialized pike infantry". In many cases, it seemed as though Spartan forces did not employ the full "five ranks levelled" format that Phillip's original pikemen did, but only used four, suggesting that some sarissas were even shorter than the Phillip model.

To clarify: the adoption of pikes was not a response to fighting such soldiers of the Achaian League. Agesipolis noted that the losses suffered in the early battles prior to the founding of the Peloponnesian League II were more instructive in how to fight phalanxes, rather than demonstrating their strengths. In the early battles, Agesipolis' hoplites tried to form up and use their shields, however the correct response was to break into a loose formation, trying to draw pikemen out of order, or simply flank.

In fact, the later battle of Pella demonstrated that Spartan Ekdromoi were able to fight pikemen, though in situations very unlike an orderly fight in formation... most of the time, use of missile support was key to fighting pike formations. Certainly, Spartan pike formations were not used to attack enemy counterparts.

Similarly, the pikes were not an evolution of infantry. Sparta had been experimenting with them for some time, Agesipolis' main contribution was similar to that with the Ekdromoi hoplite - namely adding a great deal of mass to the formations by liberal levying of helots (a trend which was greatly reversed due to a large inflow of "allied" forces).

Oddly though, deep phalanxes were not really used because thin ones were still able to hold their own against non-pike infantry, while anything able to break them would be able to infiltrate a deeper formation in any case. However, Agesipolis did mention use of the dense phalanx, which may be what all the additional soldiers were intended for.

Tecton of Actium was one of the first commanders of a pike unit.

In later years, Spartan homioi would be used as officers, however initially Peioikoi with the necessary skills were involved with the heavy work of training the helots in use of the phalanx.

And so the fighting began, between the Macedonians willing to support Agesipolis' claim to hegemony, and those who followed the next Macedonian king.

While there was a great deal of fighting and no few casualties, the pro-Spartan group had a critical advantage...

For whatever reason, many of their forces were in the field, and unlike those in the various settlements, they avoided losing men to Spartan spears. As a result, they were both able to seize victory, as well as maintain the strength of Macedonia in the years to come.

This contrasts with the state of cities like Athens, where most of the armed forces were destroyed and had to be reconstituted.

**Alavaria** · May 19, 2014, 03:32 PM

Spoiler for Chapter 25:

**Alavaria** · May 26, 2014, 05:55 PM

Spoiler for History 3:

History 3: On Spartan Epilektoi Perioikoi

Much has been made of the famous "Spartan Hoplite," and much more was made of them in Agesipolis' day. Word spread that the Spartan homoioi of the rising empire were to a man armed in a magnificent manner, with both a full-sized bronzed aspis, beautiful bronze cuirass and other equipment that read like a royal panoply.

And indeed, in his day it was true. Partially because Agesipolis was paranoid about preserving the remaining homoioi, but also because they served almost only as officers or bodyguard units. But that has been well established...

On the opposite side of the spectrum, the levied pikemen of the empire; a small but functional shield strapped to one arm, hardly any armor besides a greave and a helmet in many cases, relying on unit discipline and their sarissas to prevail.

For all the amazement about the Spartans, these pikemen were a far greater part of the army, and indeed many enemies defeated by "Spartans" never saw an actual Spartan, instead facing an implacable wall of long spears.

Wait, this is not quite the right vase image...

Agesipolis' planned "deep and dense" phalanx formations were a terrible sight to behold, unmanning those that faced them. More unnerving still was these formations' slow march - in some cases, the entire line moving forward only a step at a time in perfect coordination.

However, this was only the solution to a problem, at least to Spartan generals. Namely the fact that they did not trust the men to stay cohesive above very slow movements directly forward. Very much in comparison to the old (and at the time non-existent) Spartan hoplite phalanxes.

Indeed, this meant that the pikemen could not be counted on to actually defeat enemy infantry, and they had little hope of doing so to enemy pike. But as we know, that wasn't a problem for Agesipolian tacticians.

Before discussing the Spartan heavy hoplites, let us first consider their ideological predecessors. Agesipolis' encounters with the Athenian epilektoi considerably shaped his planning for and use of hoplite units (leading to the composite phalanx).

While Athens was one of the first cities to begin providing the League with its own hoplites in number, Agespolis had uniformly prohibited the practice of epilektoi in cities of the League. This was in part due to his worries about rebellion that might be ignited by a city that had built up a strong force loyal to it, instead of the League.

At the same time, his desire to tap Greek veterans as well as the various riches locked up in arms and armor meant that the return of "Epilektoi" was a near inevitability. He simply needed to craft a system that ensured they would be loyal on the battlefield, and later when they returned home.

To both these ends, he came up with the idea of "League Epilektoi," frequently referred to by outsiders as "Spartan Epilektoi"; an inaccuracy as Spartans proper (homioi) were equals and were always ready for war as a matter of course...

But at least in equipment, training, and battlefield role, the League's "chosen" fighters were not unlike the elite of other factions around them.

**Alavaria** · June 01, 2014, 02:00 PM

Spoiler for History 4:

History 4: "Spartan" Epilektoi (Continued)

The Epilektoi allied hoplites would play a role much like the Macedonian Hypaspists. There was no clear reason why Sparta waited many years to begin employing Thureophoroi. Certainly, the manner in which these troops were drawn would not rule out a switch, as many member cities of the Spartan Coalition were using such infantry panoply. In fact, the thureos was commonly employed in militia and other self-defense forces, along with body armor.

The majority of hoplites in Spartan forces were ekdromoi hoplites, and in many accounts epilektoi are not referred to separately. References are simply made to "hoplites," and even if the majority were ekdromoi, clearly some of the events hinged on the action of the epilektoi. To some extent, this was primarily due to the composite phalanx.

Take the pike phalanx (or the increasingly obsolete hoplite phalanxes), usually battle lines of such were organized with the elites to the right. Sparta also had a tradition of placing the bravest in the front rank (which carried on to an entire unit of men only in the front rank).

In the composite phalanx, these were replaced with a system where the lightest and least experienced ekdromoi were placed in ranks at the front and frequently on the flanks of the unit. With the medium hoplites behind them, and the heaviest epilektoi behind those.

[As a matter of practicality, Spartan pike formations placed experienced soldiers on the front two ranks, as a safeguard to ensure the formation remained cohesive and unbroken. In fact, pikemen operated in the opposite manner to hoplite units. It should be noted that very elite soldiers would not be deployed as line pikemen, rather they were directed towards the hoplite units where their skills would be fully used.]

The deadly realities of missiles on the battlefield meant that skill at arms could be extinguished by a sharp length of wood, hurled at random, that happened to phase through a heavy shield and penetrate a cuirass. It had happened far too many times in the fast. The epilektoi were therefore kept in "reserve" in their own phalanx. In fact, a composite phalanx could almost be considered as three groups pressed up into one another.

One might be forgiven for incorrectly tracing the composite phalanx to the old Roman triple line. One would also be incorrectly tracing the composite phalanx to the old Roman triple line.

Many of the claims of the lightest hoplites engaging first to "tire" the enemy, which appear in some Roman accounts, are simply attempts to parallel the nuanced system Agesipolis had set up to tactics the Romans considered "primitive". Ever since advancements in Roman mail armor logistics technology had allowed the state to equip endless levied armies with magnificent, top-quality mail that even Celtic warlords would envy, they viewed the Greeks' lighter panoply as a throwback to days where hastatii frequently were "ekdromoi spearmen".

The Romans were very wrong, of course. But those who saw the action of the composite phalanx frequently died afterwards, so their error persisted. In fact, the various elements of a composite phalanx frequently operated in close coordination, something which perhaps was less necessary in the "all mail-wearing, all super trained" Roman levied armies, but was a reality in the Agesipolian armies.

Take fighting cavalry, for example. The ekdromoi were not well equipped to handle this, having a somewhat lighter and flatter shield (also not bronze-covered for the most part). Accounts of "hoplites" defeating even the most heavily armed horsemen by sheer numbers are rather inaccurate.

While indeed, the lighter hoplites played an important role, the real killers were the epilektoi. In fact, they were noted to use their heavy spear with two hands (having to lay aside the shield for a moment) in order to deliver staggeringly powerful thrusts to armored horsemen.

The lighter hoplites, for their part, were capable of fighting off lighter cavalry, and the skirmishing ones in particular could be caught off guard by a sudden rush of ekdromoi.

Generally speaking, while the light hoplites would try to spread out and envelop enemy formations, some of them would form a front with the backing of medium hoplites. The epilektoi would then either reinforce this line (if attacked by strong enemies), or would also attempt flanking maneuvers.

They could appear on a flank with surprising speed and were frequently willing to use their swords, charging in and destroying the enemy in a sudden attack with the help of their lighter comrades.

Their excellent training and equipment meant that they filled a role and created a dread in their enemies that the earlier (and no longer existing) Spartan hoplites had, and so successfully that Spartan generals rarely felt a tactical desire for homioi formations as far as flexibility, effectiveness and staying power were concerned.

With the much delayed adoption of the thureos (actually already used frequently by the ekdromoi, who didn't really make much use of the interlocking shields formations), the tradition simply changed to epilektoi thureophoroi. These elites of the Coalition's cities would never cease to shock and awe any enemies facing them.

**Alavaria** · June 15, 2014, 01:41 PM

Spoiler for Chapter 26:

Chapter 26: Meeting Resistance

The battle in Thessalonike was not unusual for an assault; half of the soldiers there desperately wanted to be elsewhere. These were Macedon's "allies", who had been mustered for the coming war, but not trusted enough to be trained within the capital city.

These were the men that Macedonian generals used to guard the flanks of their precious phalanx. Now they had to face the enemy head on, and were having a hard time of it.

At least they were able to fight in the shade...

It hadn't helped the Spartans in the past, and it didn't help the Macedonians any, either.

Once the walls had been cleared, and various ground-level entrances blocked, slingers were sent up. From this vantage point, they rained down a painful mix of stones and bullets whenever the enemy revealed themselves.

Sparta's soldiers had to be pretty careful, themselves. Being shot at by friendly troops was somehow not as bad as hostile, but still quite unfortunate for the ones being shot, regardless.

Sparta did not have the highly developed "throwing stick" or "rock" technology that made enemy missile troops such a danger to its forces.

Unlike Pella, fighting was a lot less of bloody melees as it was missile combat. The enemy tried several times to retake their defenses, which was exactly what Agesipolis had planned for. Many soldiers fell within sight of their defensive walls, now manned by the slingers of Sparta.

It was easy to see how their stone "protection" had become a deadly liability.

Similar to Pella, the Spartan forces began an "internal siege", using missile units to maintain their hold on the outermost streets, as well as those leading to the walls.

For their part, the enemy at some point decided on a purely defensive strategy, probably hoping for reinforcements to arrive.

Their last infantry troops began delaying tactics. Agesipolis was very displeased when he received the reports. Time was limited, and he was well aware that other forces in the east might be gathering their strength.

He needed victory quickly!

The enemy was quite aware of this.

**Cybermat47** · June 17, 2014, 12:05 AM

Great thread! Literally the only problem is that you linked a video (the Greek campaign video) which, in the comments section, I'm insulted by the uploader, some jerkoff called Narania, because I don't hate all Germans like he does

And that's not even your fault, so your thread is flawless!

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