In this thread you can post your campaigns and other gaming experiences in Rome Total History.
I start with a campaign I played still under version 1.3. Many of the experiences made during this campaign have been useful for improvements in version 1.4 and 1.5.
The latest version RTH_1.5 is ready for download here: http://dfiles.eu/files/lnua4l1zg
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THE RISE OF MACEDON chapter I
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1. Will Macedon rise from the ashes?
I play the Macedonians in the version RTH 1.3. My strategy plan is to consolidate my position in Greece and then redo the Alexander campaign until reaching India. Consolidation means that I don't want to exterminate the other Greek factions, but either make them allies or corner them until they cannot harm me anymore.
My game started with two obvious conquest: Bylazora and Thebes. Bylazora is easy, but Thebes is a bit tricky. Unfortunately (or fortunately), since I'm the designer of the game, I know all the traps and how to avoid them. This is an advantage lacking a newbie player and therefore he should be aware that Macedon is in the middle of a crisis with Gauls, Aetolians and Boiotians lurking all around in the woods.
After the conquest of Thebes the Macedonians consolidated their position in Hellas training their armies in the Acrocorinth, where they got better armour and weapons. For some time I rotated all my troops from Bylazora to Corinth and back. I also took a number of diplomatic initiatives, concluding peace treaties with all my former enemies except the Seleucids. Surprisingly even the Egyptians agreed to a ceasefire and granted trade rights.
The situation in Greece remained quiet and only the Spartans made some progress conquering Megalopolis in Arcadia. They had to bleed however and I guess they will need some time to recover before their next move. I hope the tyrant of Argos will resist them, because my own armies are too weak to take his town.
The Ionian Sea is infested with pirates and my fleet is blocked in the gulf of Corinth. There is not much I can do in the West and that's why I concentrate on purging my kingdom from Celtic invaders and Aetolian raiders.
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This is the Macedonian position in 280 BC:
Macedon starts in the middle of a civil war. This is the historic event message:
- Civil War in Macedonia -
The struggle for the throne of Macedon has thrown the country into turmoil. Three pretenders are fighting for the throne: Antigonos Gonatas of the Antigonids, Ptolemy Keraunos of the Ptolemies, and Antipater Etesias of the Antipatrids. According to the old tradition, the army wants to have a word, too, proclaiming their commander Sosthenes, who has distinguished himself against the Galatian invaders. Finally, some parts of the kingdom are trying to break away, especially the city of Cassandreia ruled by the cruel tyrant Apollodoros and his counselor Calliphon the Sicel.
At the beginning the Antigonids hold six regions/cities: Macedonia/Pella, Chalcidice/Thessalonice, Thessalia/Larissa, Euboea/Chalcis, Corinthia/Corinth and Pamphylia/Side. The old dynasts Antigonos Monophtalmos and Demetrius Poliorcetes are trapped in Pamphylia and Phrygia. First objectives are Bylazora in Paeonia and Thebes in Boeotia.
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2. Demetrius Poliorcetes in Asia
In the meantime the action was going on in Asia Minor where Demetrius Poliorcetes united with his father Antigonos the One-Eyed. Together they confronted Seleucus in the plains of Phrygia. In the battle near Ipsos Seleucus was slain, but Antigonos sacrificed himself too, while facing the Seleucid elephants. Now Demetrius was king and his son Antigonus II Gonatas became regent in Pella.
Having left his second son Alexander to guard the town of Side in Pamphylia, Demetrius Poliorcetes now headed north to the Hellespontus. On his way the king saw that Pessinus was under attack from Pergamum. Realizing that the remainders of his army would have been too weak for an assault of the Phrygian capital, Demetrius drove on to Cyzicus. From there he hoped to cross the sea and face Lysimachus in his new capital Lysimacheia on the European side of the Hellespontus. The Lysimacheian fort at Abydos was an obstacle to this plan, but Gonatas sent a fleet to the Propontis Sea which embarked the Macedonian force near Lampsacus where Demetrius crossed the strait.
In the meantime Demetrius' brother Philipos had marched through Thracia bringing reinforcements. Together the brothers attacked Lysimachus and conquered Lysimacheia. In the battle Philipos and Lysimachus were killed. Now the last companion of Alexander the Great was out of the way. Maybe Ptolemy I Soter is still around in Alexandria, but I guess he will soon die from old age in his bed.
Demetrius had now to decide where to move next. Phrygia would have been a perfect addition to the realm. So he conquered the fort at Abydos and then moved back east to Pessinus. When he arrived he saw that the town was under siege from the Galatians. So he had to wait for his chance, but as soon as the Galatians retreated from their unsuccessful assault, the Bithynian king arrived with a strong army to lay siege on the city. Demetrus should have blocked their path, but he didn't expect their sneaky night march. Since the Bithynians arrived with huge power, the outlook for Pessinus is not good and it is expected that Phrygia will fall to the Independent Kingdoms.
In the meantime a minor defeat against a rebel force led to a critical situation in Pamphylia. Demetrius was forced to face the Seleucids and the next obvious choice for his army was Sardes. But while the king laid siege on the Lydian citadel, the regent in Pella had spotted an opportunity in the Aegean Sea.
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Antigonos and Demetrius preparing to face Seleucus near Ipsus in Phrygia:
This is from the campaign, but there is also a custom battle of Ipsus (301 BC) with much bigger armies.
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3. The Battle of Mytilene
Sending his explorers from Abydos to Troy, Antigonos II Gonatas had learned that Mytilene on Lesbos was only defended by four units. Probably they were weakened by continous Pergamese attacks, but for the moment the Attalids were quiet. Making his plans Antigonos assembled an army in Chalcis on Euboea. Since the endeavour didn't seem to present particular risks, it was decided that the leader of the expedition should be the young prince Philip V. He took to the sea with five units: Pikemen, Levy Pikemen, Militia Hoplites, Lycian Hillmen, Agrianian Javelineers. Only the levy and the militia were at full ranks, the others were at about 80% of effectives.
Arriving at Lesbos Philip drove his ships into the large southern inlet which allowed to land his army right in the middle of the island. The island of Lesbos is very beautiful and the center is all covered with light forest. The town of Mytilene was defended by Polycrates of Argos, a former mercenary of the Ptolemies. He is also the father of three daughters who became famous as female athletes participating in the Panathenaic Games. Polycrates had divided his troops. The main force, consisting of 80 hoplites and his bodyguards, defended the city and a minor force consisting of 80 peltasts and 5(!) hoplites was encamped just outside the walls.
Encouraged by the news Philip V decided to spare his men the fatigue of a regulare siege and attacked the peltasts. Polycrates left the shelter of his walls and rushed to their help. All seemed to go as predicted and Philip decided to make his first move against the peltasts in his back and then face the main force. He destroyed them with his horse, 25 bodyguards against 80 peltasts and 5 hoplites, but the Lesbians took advantage of the bush and before running away they killed nine of his companions.
Reaching his infantry with the survivors Philip came just in time to witness how Polycrates rushed his hoplites at full speed against the pikemen on the right flank of the Macedonian phalanx. This appeared to be no serious threat since pikemen are superior to hoplites. The militia in the center turned to help their companions, as well as the levy pikemen to their left. Philip gave order to the Lycian hillmen to advance on the left and outflank the Lesbians.
His bodyguards had already taken position on the right together with the Agrianians. But now he learned to his big surprise that Polycrates had assembled a force of 46 (!) bodyguards, while he himself was left with 16 companions. In a classic move Polycrates led his men to outflank the Macedonian phalanx on their right flank. Seeing their superior number, Philip dared not face them and ordered his javelineers to seek shelter behind the line. In a quite unsusual move both armies now rotated clockwise.
When the Lesbian riders charged, they completely destroyed the pikemen on the Macedonian right and continued against the militia hoplites in the center. Soon both units turned to flee and only the levy pikemen on the left held their ground. At this point the Lycian hillmen had finally reached their position ready to attack the Lesbian hoplites in the open flank. But as if he had expected nothing else Polycrates retreated his companions from the battle against the levy pikemen, took a short run-up and charged the Lycians.
Realizing that his hillmen were facing annihilation too, Philip decided that the moment for his own move had arrived. He lost four more companions and very nearly faced death himself, but his intervention served to drive back the attackers and save about half of his hillmen.
Left alone against superior numbers, the Lesbian phalanx now gave way to the pressure of the levy pikemen and Polycrates started to run out of resources. After another cavalry duel he fled the field with two surviving companions.
Polycrates was not killed in the battle, but the remainders of his army dispersed and thus Mytilene was conquered the same evening. Philip V could call himself lucky that he had survived the battle and conquered his first wall. Polycrates of Argos disappeared from history, but the next winter when the lady Olympias bore her husband Demetrius the Fair a son he was named in his honour.
Rome Total History: Action Reports
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