[Suebi] Children of The Forest: A Radious Mod AAR

[Chirurgeon]

Excellent stuff here, but from a writer/AARtist like yourself I would expect nothing less.

thank you sir I hope not to disappoint it has been a great deal of fun writing this AAR. It just sucks when real life gets in the way at times

I was just about to say the same thing. This kind of perspective has never been used before here at TWC, at least.

Your AAR can be summarised using just two words: magnificent work! Glad to see the Writer's Study hasn't run short of talented writers yet.

I was aiming for something a bit different with this AAR and so far I like the direction. It has been challenging and fun writing this and has made me think about things differently.

So you were actually fighting the Illyrian Daorsi armed with Falx' if I understand this correctly now- Or was it the Biephi or Bastarnae participating as well?

I can't remember how I set it up but the Dacians in Petrodava had rebelled so Dacian rebels controlled the city. Probably because the Basternae did not have enough culture present to mitigate unrest and did not have any military presence. 2/3 of the regions Are Hellenistic. Sorry if I didn't adequately explain things. Thanks again for your continued following of this tale

[Chirurgeon]

Chapter 16: Stonehenge

Chlodochar would have been an old man and Baldovin not much younger. However we have reason to believe that Chlodochar wanted to see all of the Tin Isles under his control. The necessary retreat had cost him the city he so desperately wanted to capture.

Within a few years he had gathered his men again and marched south to reclaim the city he had occupied the year before. Evidence is scant as to how the assault was made but it’s reasonable to assume it went differently this time. Historians argue that he must have taken the high ground and used the superior archers to rain death on the defenders below. A defaced monument commemorating the victory has been found near the old city of Iska but it seems to indicate that the men went in different directions and attacked the city in four different spots. The monument also tells the tale of his younger brother during the battle.





What little we know of Baldovin is that he was the more reserved of the two brothers. We assume he planned attacks and didn’t actually fight them. Chlodochar loved to be with his Wodanaz spears swinging his sword amongst the fray. By further dividing the defense into four locations instead of two would further spread the defenders out. However the Icenii still put up a stiff fight. Chlodochar lost his brother this day because all men were needed to breach the city completely.





We are unsure what killed Baldovin but it looks possibly like a javelin. That part of the monument was not defaced as if to preserve the one highlight of the Icenian defeat. The Suebi were having more and more trouble the further they went into Icenian territory.

Again the victory was costly and the deathtoll among the Germans was significant as the series of small mass graves on the monument indicate. It would have given time for the Icenians to rally their men again while Chlodochar mourned the loss of his brother and figured out who would replace him. We actually do not know the chieftain that replaced Baldovin. This is mainly for how short his tenure was.









During the next year or so, Cholodochar marched toward Camulundon to apparently end the war once and for all. We don’t know this is the case but it is a reasonable assumption. Two huge Suebian forces marched through the countryside and likely laid waste to it as they went.

In response the Icenians sent their own great armies on a collision course. Every available man apparently was rustled up for the effort. The Icenians were quite frankly fighting for their very existence.

To be clear the fighting in the mainland of Europe was over and the Icenians were no longer present on the European coast. This would have afforded them more manpower to direct at the Suebian threat. The best and most battle hardened of the Icenians would have been with the force traveling to face the Suebian horde.
The two armies eventually closed the gap and the Suebians took up a postion in an unlikely place. On a small hill covered with massive oaks and other trees was a Celtic holy site known as Stonehenge. Today it is not just a monument to Celtic culture, with all the mystery the great stones convey, it is also a battlefield monument. Traveling to the site enables the visitor to replay one of the most pivotal battles in ancient times.

The Suebians were outnumbered slightly and the horse contingent of the Iceni was greater than that of the Suebians. However again the greater power, range, and accuracy of the Suebian archers negated much of the advantages the horse skirmishers could bear.

Apparently the monument itself was to be the center of the battle line of the Suebians. Fighting amongst the great stones would have been cumbersome so the Suebians angled their battle lines in a slight v formation. This would make flanking a bit more difficult.

The battle begins with the skirmishers rushing forward and it is clear they are outmatched by their counterparts on the Suebian side. Many an Icenian died by arrow that day. Soon however with the skirmishers retreating or badly bloodied the main infantry of the Icenians plunged into the Suebian lines. This meant the Suebian archers would have a more challenging time finding targets.

The suebians employed their spearmen in the front ranks. Armed with a sturdy shield and metal tipped spear they could handle much that was thrown at them. According to historians and metalugical tests of the spear heads found at the site we discover that many of the spear tips are made of bronze and not steel or iron. This alone would have been a disadvantage but most would agree a bronze spear tip or a steel one could still penetrate flesh. Clearly they would have been excellent at their jobs of blocking blows and counter attacking and landing strikes with their spears onto their opponents past their shields. The crux of the problem for the Suebian spearmen would have been penetration. Many of the Icenians wore armor. Some was just studded leather or mail. However some came with plate armor on their chests and many of the Icenians may have worn metal masks as well.



An iron tipped spear is going to penetrate more than bronze and the men with iron tipped spears would have fared decently. However it assumed that up to 40 percent of the Suebians had bronze tipped spears still. Even if they had superior skill, if it took multiple strikes with a spear to kill an enemy and only one to kill you it is not hard to guess what could have happened.

The fate of the this battle did not come down to bravery or tactics. It came down to the Periodic table. To make matters worse almost all of the Suebian spearmen did not have any armor of their own. They had some leather armor but the key to their success was mobility and speed. This was largely negated if the speed of your weapon could not effectively punch through armor.

The second line of infantry behind the spearmen would have been much more equipped and would have been able to handle much of the Icenian threat. The two handed axemen and other men would have had superior weapons to the frontline spearmen. In fact these men performed admirably and bravely during the battle and took down many more men than the Icenians could take of them.

When the real fighting began the Suebians charged in with their second line to give some breathing room for the spearmen to maneuver. It worked at first but as the battle progressed the Suebian spearmen were getting cutdown before they could take anyone else with them. For every two Suebian spearmen they killed one Icenian. For the Suebians to win they would need the spearmen to hold so that the elite units could do the real killing. Without the spearmen protecting the main line or at least being whittled down to low numbers the elite infantry of the Suebians found themselves fighting multiple opponents. These opponents would have been very skilled and armored. One on one the Suebian second line infantry won the battles but when surrounded they were cut down mercilessly. Finally at some point breaks began to form in the Suebian lines on the left flank and that enabled the Icenians to go through the gaps and begin to attack the flank.











Chlodochar charged in to deal with one of these breaches when he was cut down. The right flank, on the right side of the Stonehenge structure did not know what happened to their general. In fact the right flank wound up winning their side of the fight. Apparently the Icenian elite were arrayed against the Suebian left.

At some point the Suebian right saw that things were falling apart on the left and quickly worked their way over and were met by men fleeing the battlefield into the nearby woods. The right flank of the Suebians collided with the victorious right flank of the Icenians.

In and around the stones of Stonehenge a bloody struggle to the death ensued, Each side vying for supremecy over the other. Skillful men would have slugged it out with each other and as the sun slowly trekked across the sky the ground of Stonehenge soaked up the blood of Icenian and Suebian alike. But when the few survivors of the Gothi Nobility fled the battle it was over for the Suebians.










Long into the night the Suebians were chased down and captured and systematically killed. Both sides had suffered horribly but the psychological effect sent shockwaves through the Suebian Kingdom.

[McScottish]

Excellent stuff here, but from a writer/AARtist like yourself I would expect nothing less.

[Lugotorix]

This is shaping up to be a very nice geo-political map. It will be a joy to play out I'd wager. Plenty of major factions still around and thriving.

[Chirurgeon]

This is shaping up to be a very nice geo-political map. It will be a joy to play out I'd wager. Plenty of major factions still around and thriving.

Yes I agree. Rome looks about what it did in 225 BC which is kinda neat. So we have me, the Gallo-Picto-Nervi alliance, Daorsi-Romani Alliance, and the Atheno-Sparti Alliance. it is a very cool map indeed

[Lugotorix]

Yes I agree. Rome looks about what it did in 225 BC which is kinda neat. So we have me, the Gallo-Picto-Nervi alliance, Daorsi-Romani Alliance, and the Atheno-Sparti Alliance. it is a very cool map indeed

Also Parthia and Pontus are cooking something. You can't tell what it is, but you know it has a bite to it.

[Chirurgeon]

It seems I have exceeded my monthly bandwidth for Photobucket guess we will have to wait to see the pics...sigh

[Lugotorix]

It seems I have exceeded my monthly bandwidth for Photobucket guess we will have to wait to see the pics...sigh

It disabled all of them, not just the ones over bandwidth. That's just rude on their part even though it's a free service.

[Chirurgeon]

It disabled all of them, not just the ones over bandwidth. That's just rude on their part even though it's a free service.

Damn you are right. I just checked all my other AARs in my signature. I was 10.1 Gb and their cutoff is 10.0. My reset date is the 8th of the month. so either pay 2.99 a month or just wait. I dont see how its possible I have used 10 gb of bandwidth

[Barune]

stupid photobucket

[Chirurgeon]

stupid photobucket

ugg i dont wanna pay that money!

[Barune]

ugg i dont wanna pay that money!

So don't. lol. I, for one, can wait until the 8th.

[Chirurgeon]

I know . I will think about it

[Barune]

Yep their back.

[McScottish]

Screenies as good as always, and I like the addition of politics - even though it plays a little enough part in Rome II. I must say, I'm on the side of the Britons, but hey-ho. If someone must conquer then I'm glad it's the Germans and not the damned Romans.

[Khan1281]

Screenies as good as always, and I like the addition of politics - even though it plays a little enough part in Rome II. I must say, I'm on the side of the Britons, but hey-ho. If someone must conquer then I'm glad it's the Germans and not the damned Romans.

Well it does sound like the Britons are giving the Suebi a challenge. At least more than any other nation that they have encountered.

[Chirurgeon]

Screenies as good as always, and I like the addition of politics - even though it plays a little enough part in Rome II. I must say, I'm on the side of the Britons, but hey-ho. If someone must conquer then I'm glad it's the Germans and not the damned Romans.

This is true. I like the unit variety with the Icenians though. Rome is far away from this part of the world for sure. Thank you for supporting me

Well it does sound like the Britons are giving the Suebi a challenge. At least more than any other nation that they have encountered.

Yes it is true. This island is a tough nut to crack. Thank you for your support

[Chirurgeon]

Chapter 20: The Brigantian War

Sometime around 220 BC Wulfgang and Hrodorich launched an invasion straight toward the city of Ebkoran. The first time the Suebians marched on the Brigantes they offered almost no resistance. However this time was different. The Brigantes most definitely challenged the Suebians in their determination to capture their city. We know from graves from the city that almost all of the skeletons found were not buried with any metal. Unless you look at the graves where the Suebians were buried. Here they were buried with their armor and weapons by tradition.

This must have been hard as Wulfgang had spent considerable money and effort into the armor of his men only to have them buried with it when they died. He could have been reassured a little when the metal spears and iron bosses of the shields of the enemy were stripped and melted down. However burying the armor with the dead was a steep price to pay when someone else could wear it. It is assumed that the warrior would have needed it in the afterlife.

Regardless the city fell to the forces of Wulfgang and Hrodorich. Scant evidence from this particular battle exists but the coins found in the older part of the modern city indicate inhabitation during Wulfgang’s reign.

A poem made to possibly commemorate the battle is the only collaborating evidence that supports Wulfgangs account of the battle. According to his autobiography and the poem the two chieftains had laid siege to the city only to have to fight off a relief army that was making its way to the city. Having defeated it they continued the siege and eventually assaulted the city. Despite being outnumbered by the defenders the combined armies of Hrodorich and Wulfgang was able to wipe out the defenders and eventually capture Ebkoran. Again this seemed to show the new edge that better armor and weapons provided. What is certain is that there are fewer Germanic graves compared to Brigante.











Something that is unclear about the battle and remains a mystery today is how did an army of defenders not manage to inflict greater casualties? The great historian, JD Brennen, proposed a theory of withdraw during the Brigantes conflict. Where the Brigantes knew they were out classed by the Suebians and attempted to create a war of attrition. After all they still controlled Wales and if they could delay the Suebians long enough the could muster more men or get the Icenii back into the fight.
Of course there is no evidence of this, and it is only speculation. However it is a possible explanation to the result of the battle.

Over the next year the Brigantes would be pressed hard and relentlessly. Wulfgang moved his forces south along with his brother and finally pinned down a sizeable force of Brigantians near the Demetria river in Wales. This battle would break the Brigantes to the point where they would have to withdraw to Moridunum. Here another attempt would be made to muster enough men to stop Wulfgang and his brother.

Demetria was an utter disaster for the Brigantians as they were hacked to pieces by the more heavily armed and better trained Suebians. Historical evidence seems to suggest that the two forces were evenly matched but in his autobiography Wulfgang indicates his men faced a blue sea of crazed men that were only matched by the ferocity of his own men. It is clear that Wulfgang tends to exaggerate the odds in battle. However this legend he was creating was giving other chieftains pause and they must have been thinking that they should reform their armies as well based on Wulfgang’s success.











It seems the victory here was based on Brigantian incompetence rather that supreme strategy of the Suebians. Regardless the effect was paralyzing for the Brigantians.
With winter approaching Wulfgang moved his men closer to his supply from Caledonia and would renew his campaign in the spring. During this time the Icenii were again struggling against the forces of the Gallic Confederation on the mainland. This apparently prevented them from helping the Brigantes. It should have been clear that if the Brigantes were beaten there would be nothing standing between the Icenians and the Suebians.

So the stage was set for a battle for the city of Moridunum. This was a bloody street fight for the most part. All of the Brigantians had formed lines inside the city and challenged the Suebians every step of the way. Based on archaeological evidence the number of Brigantians in the city outnumbered the Suebians and of course Wulfgang’s autobiography confirms this. The Brigantians put up a heroic and well coordinated defense. Relief forces pulled their boats in as the battle raged. It was a long and exhausting day for both sides. Eventually Wulfgang’s men broke through and began to attack the flank and rears of other defenders and it wasn’t long before the Brigantians were routed.











The city was looted and burned to the ground after the fight. This was a wakeup call for the Icenii and the final deathblow to the Brigantians who had offered a most brave resistance to the Suebians.

[McScottish]

Eeeeeexcllent. Screenies are a tad dark, in my opinion, but apart from that it is fine as always.

[Lugotorix]

Eeeeeexcllent. Screenies are a tad dark, in my opinion, but apart from that it is fine as always.

Oh yes. If I'm not mistaken that was one of his first decapitations as well. The new AAR is ready btw McScottish.