[EB II] Rich Land of Plenty - Baktrian AAR (updated daily)

[Beckitz]

Battle of Ipsos
301 BCE

"Majestic beasts, aren't they?"

The rough leathery skin of the elephants was glowing like marble in the hot Asian sun. For the first time Demetrios was able to have a good look at them. He was struck by their poise, that such gentle movements could come from a lumbering war animal. Even from a distance they were pungent to the ears and nose; they moaned to each other while their tails whipped the infested air around them in brisk strokes. "They're alright," he muttered before he proceeded to gulp of his flask and white wine trickled through his beard in a fruity rain.

"Alexander hated them," the king quipped from the side of his mouth, "he thought they were showy and repulsive."

Demetrios raised an eyebrow when nothing more was forthcoming. "And you?"

The king impassively exhaled through his nose and made a point to scan the battlefield. "They have their uses..."

The elephants on both sides charged each other; they locked their tusks together, and each tried with all their might to topple their opponent, while the whole while they made horrible groaning and grunting sounds. At intervals they would reel backwards, as if stunned, only to lower their necks and charge again. The sound of bone gnashing bone echoed across the plain. Demetrios watched as one beast yanked his tusk free and drilled it into the throat of his opponent in two sharp movements. Blood poured liberally from the wound and the creature's legs buckled beneath it.

The elephant duel went on for some time. Then the king seemed to tense up and he squinted his eyes. With one hand to his brow against the sun he watched clouds of dust whip into the air; amidst the detritus, bronze gleamed as bright as sunshine. "Antigonos!" the king cried, "he moves!" The elephant combat had been a ruse to disguise the Macedonian cavalry.

He whipped his horse around. "Fly Demetrios!" he called over his shoulder, "be ready!"

Demetrios hurried breathless to the left wing, where he was in command of the household cavalry. The Macedonianhetairoi - companion cavalry - were whipping in a wide arc around the elephants. Ahead a thunderous column of radiating dust and dirt the standard bearer forced their insignia into the furious wind. Gold shone from belt buckles, shoulders, scales, and metaled disks. In the corner of the scene, the terribly exposed flanks of the phalanx captured his attention.

Demetrios furrowed his brow; he thrust his sword into the air. "Soldiers!" "Ride to me!"

Like a knife they swept into the Macedonian cavalry from the side; they were wrapped up, cornered, and forced to fight from the side or behind their back by the flanking position of the Seleukid cavalry.

Demetrios hacked the lower spine of a first opponent and slit his throat on the backswing; he cut bone on the arm of a second horseman and then finished through the flesh; and he nearly put out the eyes of a third but the swing missed - by a hair's distance - the fleeing opponent. They locked eyes, for just a moment. The expression on the companion's face was so powerful, he never forgot it.

---

The Present
272 BCE

Demetrios' fingers ran once again across the coarse and dusty surface of the parchment, which held those touching words of praise Seleukos had given him - words that had made him a satrap. Even just the coat of dust on the paper was enough to take him back to that sunny day in Asia, and that brilliant battle between brothers.

With heavy footsteps a soldier entered. "Praise you master, I have news from Sogdia."

Demetrios never took his eyes off the parchment. "How fares my dear son in Marakanda?"

"The Sakae are on the move again," the soldier replied. "They have already raided several villages."

"What news from Syria?"

The soldier reached to his belt. "The King submits his orders to you by this address..." and he took out a rolled length of paper scroll.

Demetrios snorted and tossed the thing to the table. "And what help may we expect from the Arche Seleukia?" he grumbled

"My lord, you are the help from the Arche Seleukia," the soldier remarked dryly.

The lord supped some wine. "Indeed. Let us see then what we are capable of." He turned to the war room, and the map on the table.

The Baktrian satrapy was laid out before him. To the north was the land of the nomadic raiders, the Sakae, who were ruthless pillagers. It was they who were the enemy of this coming campaign.

The armies were summoned together to spend the winter in drill before advancing into Sogdia in the spring.

In the army of Demetrios there were three elements. The first was the infantry, the hoplites. They fought with shield and spear, and clustered tightly together, so wherever they went they were like one force, guarding and attacking with the strength of dozens of men.

Demetrios also made very good use of archers. His vassal, the Marspan of Marakanda, had on retainer several hundred elite archers who supposedly could strike a mosquito from several meters. They were native to the land and they had a long tradition of being warriors, even back to the days of Darius.

Cavalry was also a strength of Baktria. Their horses were nimble and spry, well-designed for the rocky terrain, which the riders knew well and exploited to their advantage. They eschewed armor and they were quick, best at striking abruptly into a flank or formation and dashing away again.

By the grace of Apollo the Baktrian Greeks were skilled in shooting as well and cultivated the art in the mountains beneath the sky. The companions of Demetrios were all expert archers, capable of firing even three arrows at once.

Demetrios took another look at the sun-bleached buildings beneath his perch on the edge of the ridge.

He was in Sogdia inspecting the defenses that had held back the nomads thus far. They were beginning to enter states of disrepair, most built by Cyrus or some successor, and not enough remained functioning to stop the movement of raiding bands back and forth. He needed a way to control the problem immediately.

At the urging of the king Antiochos, Demetrios decided to strike into nomad territory.