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Thread: Rise of Phasis: Colchis AAR

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    Default Rise of Phasis: Colchis AAR

    Rise of Phasis: Colchis AAR

    Table of Contents
    Book One
    Chapter I: Humble Beginnings - Part 1
    Chapter I: Humble Beginnings - Part 2
    Chapter I: Humble Beginnings - Part 3
    Chapter II : Conflict with Bosporus - Part 1

    --reserved for Table of Contents--

    Preface

    This AAR will follow a Colchian game, where its alternative history will be unfolded. I intend to make it a Pontic power and will role-play the campaign as much as possible. I will not steamroll neighbouring factions into a large empire in a short time. I have modded the game to restrict cultural conversion slower and AI factions to liberate or vassalise more often. And I made use of Patch 20’s new limit on maximum unit ranks. I increased these limits by 1.5 times, matching AI’s unit blocks and mine, so troop positioning is more crucial than ever.

    The narration is third-person, as an unnamed chronicler, obviously a Greek citizen form Phasis, the capital of our kingdom. I intend to divide the AAR into Books, which will hopefully follow through good long reigns of Phasian kings
    . May the gods bless this AAR. So let us begin!

    - Paladin94610


    Units of Measurement (will be expanded as necessary)
    One Mile = 9.06 Stades
    One Talent = 600 minae (an average house is worth 1000 minae of silver or 10 minae of gold)

    Unit Strengths
    Army Strength Modifier = 2.5 times the strength represented in game
    Division = 1600 men (a group of 4 units; in-game strength - 640 men if massed infantry)
    Contingent/Squadron = 400 men (a unit; in game strength - 160 men
    if massed infantry)
    Company/Ile= 100 men (a portion of a unit; in-game strength - 40 men
    if massed infantry)
    Last edited by Paladin94610; May 07, 2019 at 05:48 PM.
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    Default Re: Rise of Phasis: Colchis AAR

    [Update 1]


    Book One

    Chapter I: Humble Beginnings (Part 1)

    It was around 400BC when Xenophon, the famous Greek general led an enormous host of ten thousands Greek hoplites through Armenia and the southern coast of Euxine Sea. They were on a retreat from the disastrous expedition led by Prince Cyrus, they were closely followed and harassed by Persians armies. They reached the plains of Colchis later that year. And the Colchians attacked them on the orders of their satrap, which the Greeks defeated. For Colchian tribes it was the first contact with Greeks. Our legend went like this. When Alexander conquered Persia, he sent emissaries to mountainous tribes of Caucasia delivering a message that Alexander was now the king of Persia and they were their subjects. Colchians peacefully accepted Alexander’s rule and our beloved city was said to be founded some time in his early reign. Laid at the mouth of Phasis River which flowed directly through fertile lands of Colchis, it was a vital port and a haven of Greeks amongst an Asian countryside. The city prospered under Hellenic influence.
    When Alexander’s empire crambled, the city was continued to be ruled by its governor, who founded the current dynasty of Phasis. The kings of Phasis still claimed the satrapy of Colchis and directly ruled the tribes. During the times of Diadochi Wars, the region around Euxine Sea had been destabilized than ever before. Bosporus, Scythia, Pontus & other numerous city-states like Trepezos and Bithynia, all vied for power in this area.

    To survive Colchians understood one thing for sure, and it was expansion. It seemed her other contenders also know it too well. For a decade or so, the Colchians have been at war with the city of Trapezos. Its early battles were indecisive. Ascended to throne at 280BCE, our new king Hieronymos vowed to fulfill his father’s unfinished business, to end the war with Trapezos that had dragged on for far too long.

    His late father, King Hilarion, was a capable military commander but his army was made up of Colchian levies and tribesmen from the surrounding countryside. His core force was 1,200 men strong Colchian noble infantry, armed in the Greek hoplite fashion. His poor quality troops found it difficult to catch up with armament of Trapezos. He doubled the size of hoplite contingents by allowing any Colchian citizen, who could afford to arm themselves in hoplite fashion. Then he had these new men train alongside his noble hoplites. Meanwhile he tried to strengthen his position in the neighbourhood. He successfully stroke two trade deals with a nomadic tribe of Siraces in the north, and the Kartlians in the east.

    After a skirmish that resulted in a draw in 277BCE, he decided to invade Trapezos. The king himself led his forces. Colchians covered the ground so effectively that, Trapezuntian forces were taken by surprise. Their fleet was hastily summoned to aid in the battle. It was just 226 stades from the city itself, when the Trapezuntian king and his army were in hot pursuit of the Colchian rear. And their small fleet mirrored every movement the Colchians made. The belligerents were nearly equal in numbers, with Colchis bringing 7,000 men and the Trapezuntiansaround 8,000 if all their forces were combined.



    Battle of Trapezos, 277BCE

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    Scout reports reached the king stating that the garrison had sallied forth and were standing firmly between the city and him. The situation was tricky for Hieronymos. Enemy forces were divided at the moment which meant he could destroy them one by one. But might he take too long to deal with each army, and then he would be at risk of being outflanked. But since Trapezuntian main army had almost caught up with him, he realized he had to engage the Trapezuntian main army with his full force, while hoping that the garrison might not arrive in time. Leaving his levy contingents in reserve to guard the rear, he turned around and attacked the main enemy army. It turned out Trapezuntian army was made up hugely of thureos spears. These units were a lighter version of classical armament of hoplites. Armed with larger oval shields and a looser formation, they relied on volleys of javelins to soften up their opponents. Hieronymos’ left wing, which was the first to come into contact with the enemy, suffered significant casualties from these missiles.


    Trapezos’ phalanx was flanked by mercenary Tarantine cavalrymen who harassed the Colchians with their javelins. Hieronymos had his skirmishers focused their shots at these horsemen, driving them off in heavy casualties. The battle had already dragged on for half an hour and he was wary of the enemy garrison that was approaching behind him.


    So he had his noble hoplites and citizen hoplites engage with the entire length of Trapezos’ phalanx, while his skirmishers were ordered to go around the enemy to continue skirmishing from the rear. However on his right flank, this move was countered by Trapezos’ Tarantines, causing skirmishers on that flank to rout. This Tarantine advance was thwarted by a unit of Hieronymos’ heavy cavalry and was subsequently pushed back.




    An hour and a half had passed when the Tarantines were finally driven away, leaving their main body of hoplites and spearmen helpless. Just as dust clouds drew close and the garrison started pacing towards Colchian rear that was manned by inferior quality troops, Hieronymos and his cavalrymen smashed into the Trapezos’ phalanx.


    Fortunately for the Colchians, the garrison troops hastily engaged Colchian levies. This Trapezuntianvanguard was quickly overwhelmed by Colchis’ local numerical superiority. The amphibious assault by Trapezuntianfleet was proved to be in vain, when they were in hot pursuit by lightly armed hillmen. The garrison’s only outstanding performance was when its pike phalanx engaged Colchian levies. Once Hieronymos saw this disaster he quickly had them disengage from fight and had his skirmishers deal with that unit.


    In the aftermath of the battle, Hermokrates, King of Trapezos, was forcibly abdicated and the city was annexed. This victory marked a series of conquests the Colchians would achieve in the decades to come.
    Last edited by Paladin94610; April 21, 2019 at 09:43 PM.
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    Alwyn's Avatar Frothy Goodness
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    Default Re: Rise of Phasis: Colchis AAR

    This is an auspicious beginning! I like the sound of an alternative history, role-playing campaign and I enjoyed the way that you introduced the history and some of the legends behind Colchis. I also iike the way that you present the challenges for Hieronymos in the battle.

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    Default Re: Rise of Phasis: Colchis AAR

    I agree with Alwyn, this is a great opening chapter to your AAR! A brief history of Colchis, how they came to be the way they are now, and a first victory cements this as a great opening chapter. Also you employ a great use of some wonderful screenshots.

    I'm interested to see how the story will unfold!

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    Default Re: Rise of Phasis: Colchis AAR

    Quote Originally Posted by Alwyn View Post
    This is an auspicious beginning! I like the sound of an alternative history, role-playing campaign and I enjoyed the way that you introduced the history and some of the legends behind Colchis. I also iike the way that you present the challenges for Hieronymos in the battle.
    Thanks Alwyn for compliments! Actually I've almost finished reading Anabasis: March-up Country translation and I'd like to take inspiration from it. It has such a simple writing style and a great AAR too.


    Quote Originally Posted by Turkafinwë View Post
    I agree with Alwyn, this is a great opening chapter to your AAR! A brief history of Colchis, how they came to be the way they are now, and a first victory cements this as a great opening chapter. Also you employ a great use of some wonderful screenshots.

    I'm interested to see how the story will unfold!
    Thank you too Turkafinwë for kind compliments. I'd love to find a proscheme or a casus belli for any war that I'm going to engage. I'll work hard on that. We shall see how our little kingdom's conquests and setbacks develop over time.

    Please point me out any grammatical mistakes you find too. You guys' critics are always a motivation for me.

    btw in the past I had trouble hosting images, but i found out if I use googledoc, it automatically links up its images on here while simply doing a copy+paste. So it's such a convenience for me to update.
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    Default Re: Rise of Phasis: Colchis AAR

    [Update 2 - 23/4/2019]

    Chapter I: Humble Beginnings (Part 2)

    In the following decades, Colchis witnessed a ruthless war being waged in the south by powerful kingdoms. It all started when the Gallic tribes of Asia Minor and King of Pontus went to war with each other. In the climactic Battle of Amaseia in 264BCE, the Gauls were beaten badly but Pontus also lost its most experienced contingents especially the phalangites, whose army traditions could be traced back to Alexander's era. Pontic army could not have recover its former strength for another decade.

    Battle of Amaseia 264BCE

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    This is the battle where King Mithradates of Pontus engaged with his army of 7,400 men including royal troops. It was said that Galatians numbered around over 25,000 men but was said to be exaggerated on the side of Pontic people. Their numbers were closer to 12,000 men I believe. Mithradates famously dealt with the bulk of Galatian army but suffered heavy losses too including a good portion of his well-trained pikemen and hoplites who stood against the brunt of Galatian charge at the centre. It was told that Gauls were quite fanatical in battle, when they fought naked with only war paints on their pale bodies. Pontic soldiders had never seen such fervent warriors and were terrified, especially Asiatic troops who turned tail and fled exposing the phalangites who were at best hacked down while many others were decapitated following a Gallic 'head hunt' ritual.





    Armenians took advantage of this incident and joined war on the side of the Gauls and opened an eastern war theatre against Pontus. Sandwiched between two enemies, Pontus was hugely outnumbered and it had to give up its capital Amaseia to the Galatians but held on to Arsamosata and Tushpa for its survival. Then in 262BCE, Pontus lost Arsamasota to the Armenians.

    And at that moment, King Hieronymos feared that Armenians would become too powerful. So he decided to join on the side of Pontus. In the summer of 261 BCE he declared war on Armenia and sacked the city of Carana, then moved on to sack Arsamasota. He defeated the garrisons of both cities. Armenians were terrified of this attack and were quick to sue for peace. The King was reluctant to such an early treaty but he heard a lot of things were out of place in Trapezos, and that loyalty of his new Trapezuntian nobles wavered as his armies were campaigning. He had little choice but agree to the peace terms. However he knew how rich the lands in the east had been. So he demanded the Armenians to pay 480,000 minae which they gladly did.

    This gold was not that much a trouble for Armenians but for a small kingdom like Colchis this rather small fortune helped finance a growth of infrastructure and a firmer Colchian grip on Trapezos. Notably the King used a lot of money to organize games which were supervised by Bion, the heir of the leading political faction in Colchis. The king sought to strengthen royalty’s influence at the court, by wedding his elder sister to Damiskos, a nobleman from Trapezos, thus gaining a solid allegiance of Damiskos’ subjects.

    The condition seemed to improve for the Pontic army, but they were in severely short supply of experienced and loyal soldiers. The King of Pontus had to rely heavily on the hill tribesmen to fill his ranks. Despite these setbacks, a year later in 259BCE, Pontus won a battle over much weakened Armenians at Arsamosata, thanks to our raids in the earlier year. They also fortified their position in Tushpa. Later that year, they won a decisive victory against the Armenians and even held Armavir, the capital of Armenia for a while, crippling their military. This was supposed to be good news but our spies also informed us of Media Atropatene aligning themselves with the Armenians. Later that year, Atropatene forces pushed back Pontic forces and annexed Armavir for themselves, leaving the poor Armenians with a sacked and pillaged Carana.
    Last edited by Paladin94610; May 07, 2019 at 05:45 PM.
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    McScottish's Avatar The Scribbling Scotsman
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    Default Re: Rise of Phasis: Colchis AAR

    My poor, poor, Galatians...

    Ah well, I'm loving the story so far - and the choice of faction - and really looking forward to more.

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    Default Re: Rise of Phasis: Colchis AAR

    Update 3 [29/4/2019]


    Chapter 1: Humble Beginnings Part 3

    The King wished he could attack the Armenians right now and take their farmlands that the Colchians badly needed. But a treaty was a treaty and was meant to be respected or his reputation would have fallen. The Atropatid king had marched westwards to attack Pontus, leaving behind Armavir unprotected. So instead our king laid his eyes on the largely unprotected Armavir. Colchian army mobilized in the autumn of 258BCE and wintered in northern plains of Armavir. Once ice melted, the Colchians marched through the mountain passes and attacked the Atropatid army in surprise.

    It was either a stupid decision on the side of Atropatid leadership or a fortunate event for Colchians, since the bulk of Atropatid cavalry was stationed inside the city. When the Colchian army approached, the Atropatid were taken by surprise. Their light cavalry tried to sally forth but were pushed back. Colchians attacked from all sides, smashing their lightly armed levy spearmen and hill tribe warriors with heavily armoured hoplites. It did not even take a whole day for the garrison to yield. Their garrison commander had no choice but surrender himself.

    Atropatid forces as well, were soundly defeated by Pontic army in the mountain passes of western Armenia. The old King, Mithridates passed away but his son, Ariobarzanes, proved to be as good commander as his father. This new king even adopted a more aggressive manner as he risked marching all the way to Armasota and destroyed the remainder of Armenian garrison, but he could not hold the city since the Galatians had finally shown up from the west.

    Three years later, in late spring of 255BCE, the old enemies, Colchis and Armenia, met on the field to the east of Carana. King Ekurzakir commanded the Armenian forces. He regained some of his military strength over the years with some careful planning. And the Armenians were in high spirits to drive the Colchians off their homeland, especially when their kingdom was fighting for survival.


    Battle for Carana, 255BCE

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    Initial engagement in the early morning, was quite eventful. The whole bunch of Armenians rushed for a hill, while the tired Colchians attempted to chase them. They raced parallel to each other for that hill for some hours but then one of Armenian archer contingents went astray close enough to fire upon the Colchian column.


    The King had his brother, Agathon to drive them away. They lost few casualties as they galloped towards the enemy. But suddenly, out of the blue, from their left came a group of horse skirmishers. Agathon noticed the threat just too late. He tried to amend it by suddenly charging up against enemy horsemen. But their ponies were too light and too fast for his armoured hippeis lancers. And this only made the matter worse. The enemy rained down both javelin and arrows at their backs as they hastily run back, leaving a trail of over a hundred bodies behind.


    The king saw his mistake just as soon, and he pushed slingers forward to counter the treat. The slingers punished the horse skirmishers straight away, yielding many kills and routing them in a matter of minutes. Meanwhile the main Armenian army continued to race towards the hill. Their lighter outfit made them faster than their opponents.




    Agathon was not satisfied with what he had encountered. He pleaded the king to pursue the enemy skirmishers. The king was quite surprised, but he trusted his brother’s capability and allowed him so. Agathon led his exhausted but outraged horsemen to run down the good part of Armenian skirmishers.


    When King Ekurzakir arrived at the hill that he so much wanted to, he found his army stripped away of archers and skirmishers he brought. He soon realized his bad situation, controlling the high ground while enemy had missile superiority. Colchians marched slowly and recovered their breaths, while their own skirmishers scoured no-man’s land with their superior numbers, while no sane Armenian dare approach their enemies one-sided.

    The battle resumed in the late afternoon, as King Hieronymos formed a belief that his men had recovered. Colchians formed up battleline, with noble noplites taking up the left wing, citizen hoplites at the centre and the numerous regular Asiatic infantry on the right wing. Seeing Agathon’s valour, he had him position at the right wing to rally the Asiatic levies.

    On the Armenian side, fielding 9,000 men, they had two contingents of Royal Cataphracts, who were personal guard of the king and his son, the crown prince, Artaxais. Each 200 men strong, the pair took position at the centre. This heavy cavalry was supported by a contingent of Persian hoplites and another of armoured axe infantry.

    At the centre Armenians descended quickly to gain a small ridge between them and us. But Colchians managed to get there ahead and put up a stout defense. Persian hoplites and axemen pushed uphill, but Colchian hoplites held their positions. Ekurzakir’s men broke through a phalanx but they were later pushed back.




    On Colchian left wing, King Hieronymos led his hippeis retinue and charged at the rear of Armenian right wing. This quickly turned those Armenian contingents to a rout. On the right wing however, vicious fighting ensued as equal quality troops engaged with each other. Wicker shields, axes and spears with a few javelins flying from here and there, no one gained an advantage.




    Meanwhile the King prepared to turn our left wing against enemy centre. But there were reserves held by Armenian Crown Prince. He had two of his three noble hoplite contingents to stand on guard, while having the rest taken position behind enemy centre. As these events unfolded, our javelinmen on right wing went around the enemy and put a dreadful volley of javelins while some detachments of hill tribe warriors charged from the rear. Soon all that was left standing was the Armenian centre with its hoplites and axemen, grinding up against our hoplite contingent. This force held their ground thanks to our champion, Asterophaeus, who single handedly held the leftmost position. His valourous stance inspired the men around him, and put their faith at staying in formation would help them survive this onslaught.


    Once Armenia’s both wings were cut off, our reserves from left and right duly joined the fight at the centre from all sides. Ekurzakir was forced to break through this encirclement. He attempted to reconnect with his centre but as more and more hoplites caught up with them, his tired retinue on exhausted armoured horses, proved to be just as vulnerable as a herd of sheep being picked off by wolves.




    Then King Hieronymos appeared on the hill, shouting, “Ekurzakir! I’m here!” which prompted the frustrated Armenian king to charge up against him. He and a handful of his bodyguards galloped and either run down or pushed aside the Colchians who tried to stopped them, it was a sight to behold at the power of cataphracts, only to be a shameful one when they were on the losing side.


    King Hieronymos picked up a sarrisa from one of the lancers and charged at the enemy king. Ekurzakir’s lance missed him and king’s lance also caught up in the cataphract horse armour and was broken. The pair wrestled on the ground with swords, but the old king could not stand a chance against the younger Hieronymos who disarmed him. Ashamed, dismounted and terrified of his loss, he stepped backwards in frustration and tripped on rock, falling down the hill in many rolls which knocked him out. His son attempted another glorious charge, but that obvious was not going to save him. The father died a few days after his capture, possibly from his head injury. His son Artaxais was taken prisoner to Colchis.




    Dividing Armenia with Pontus, we gained the two northern regions, Carana and Armavir. Armavir is a mountainous region and the locals had a lot of iron mines operating there. Since war broke out, the mines were undermanned and some were abandoned. Now the King instructed these old iron mines to be manned properly and expand mine shafts even. This newfound trade resource, iron, was proved to be a good bargain in making trade pacts. Our merchants traded far and wide in the Pontic region, as far in the east as the Steppe khaganate of Ardhan on the western shores of Caspian Sea or in the west as the city-state of Sinope. The city of Sinope had a valuable resource, high quality timber. These exceptionally light softwoods found in northern Anatolia were prized for shipbuilding.
    Last edited by Paladin94610; May 06, 2019 at 08:48 PM.
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    Default Re: Rise of Phasis: Colchis AAR

    That looked like a dicey battle but through the cunning of the Colchians victory was assured. I wonder what would've happened if the Armenians had retained their skirmishing force while on the hill. Risks were taken and Colchis was rewarded with a reward, I guess that's how battles are won/lost. Risk and reward. Great screenshots as well, giving us a nice visual presentation of the battle.

    I wonder what will happen next after this great expansion.

    Two wonderful updates, well done Paladin94610!

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    Default Re: Rise of Phasis: Colchis AAR

    Update 4 [6/5/2019]

    Character Analysis:

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    King Hieronymos, aged 47 (255BCE)
    His military and political achievements were phenomenal for the Colchians. This makes him an inspirational leader both in public’s eyes and in the army. His stubborn and determined attitude in strategy gained him a reputation for being an offensive general. Recent trade agreements let him forge stronger relations in western Anatolia and Caucasia, and proved himself to be a diplomatic leader too. He never liked the foreigners though. His policies were shaped by loyalty to Colchis and even hill tribes who had supported him with manpower and taxes were considered lesser people and he despised the Gauls who were migrating further east. Despite this attitude, with an overstretched kingdom, he had to wear an impartial appearance in the public, pretending like every citizen in his kingdom was equals to the Colchians. It was such a start for a great nation and everyone started that way, isn’t it? Who could blame him?


    Agathon, aged 38
    (255BCE)
    Agathon was the younger brother of our king. He was trustworthy in managing royal treasury and was a fierce warrior on battlefield as proven at the battle earlier. Despite this, his reputation at the court was usually undermined by his wife’s arrogant blabbering.


    Eusebiids

    Current leaders of Eusebiid family were the two brothers, Dionysodoros and Bion. They were powerful landlords who held a large swath of land to the east of Phasis. Along the fertile valley of Phasis River, their lands provided enough sustenance for the local community and much of the city itself. Their immense granary was indeed the reason why Phasis could wage wars with city-states on the south like Trapezos without worrying too much of their grain supplies from Egypt being cut off by enemies. They were so rich that they could finance their own elite hoplite contingent, named, the ‘Pheasant Guard’. Two thousands men strong, and raised from some of the best warriors in the region and equipped with bronze armour from helmet to greaves; they had served as loyal guardsmen of the Eusebiid faction for a century. The Eusebiids themselves were proud Phasian citizens and they were wary of the foreigners settling in Colchis as we assimilated new territories. Nevertheless, they wanted to wage war and wanted to put the subjects in an oppressive rule.

    Dionysodoros, aged 42 (255BCE)
    Dionysodoros was a shrewd politician and preferred subversive acts than head-on engagements. His wife was even more so than him, and had him surrounded by six bodyguards at all times. The couple surely had serious concern about their own security. He was known to avoid battle at all cost, unless victory had been pretty sure, earning him a reputation of being fearful.


    Bion, aged 41
    (255BCE)
    The younger brother, Bion, however had a different ‘positive’ view about easterners. He was the softer version of his elder brother.


    Chapter II: Conflict with Bosporus (Part 1)

    Just as trouble was going to settle down in the south, a new threat appeared from the north. King Paerisades II of Bosporan Kingdom in the north, launched an inland campaign against Ardhan, quickly annexing the whole region with their superior numbers. The Khagan’s family sought refuge at our court. King Hieronymos was very displeased with the situation. He did not want to go to war with Bosporus. But the Kartvelians insisted as they would be the next target of Bosporus and Phasians could be the last of independent Caucasians. In fear of a Bosporan invasion, the court members also pleaded the king to join war. The king looked across the court at the two brothers. Their eyes too insisted him so. He was one against many and could not refuse. He promised the khagan that he would join the fight as soon as his hands were free from patrolling the recently annexed territories. The court cheered to and praised his decision.

    However things did not go as planned, we heard very disturbing news that Gauls had put a puppet Armenian king on throne at Arsamosata, the Armenians in Carana were also revolting under his support. Our army was not in the position to leave Carana at any time. Meanwhile, we had to watch sadly as the Bosporans ground Ardhan and Kartvelian armies and their cities. The Khagan could wait no longer and went on to join the fight with the Kartvelians, the battle at which he was captured and later said to be slain. But out of all these perils, a gift from the gods arrived into the royal family. A boy had been born to the king and his queen. The King named his son, Eurytos, after a character from the legend of Heracles. This legendary Eurytos, was a king and a talented bowman who even taught Heracles how to wield one. Also in the same year, a daughter was born to Agathon. She was named Tyro.

    The king was quite motivated by the birth of a son and he vowed to the gods that he would see to that his conquests are sustained. So in the year 253BCE, our forces met the Armenians again, on the battlefield.

    Battle of Carana, 253BCE

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    Armenian commander was Shamash-andulli, a local noble from Arsamosata. Financed by Galatian gold, he was able to hire a lot of quality equipment and men. His main line was composed of armoured axemen, flanked at the sides by levy spearmen and slinger. Armenian cavalry consisted of 1,600 horse archers and 400 cataphracts. The Armenians took position on a hill, presenting themselves to the advancing Colchians. King Hieronymos had his men lined up in a classic Theban oblique formation, with a very strong left wing; composed of Colchian nobles, followed on the right side by citizen hoplites, which were in turned flanked to the right by levy spearmen. The aim was to break right flank of Armenian, since enemy soldiers’ left hand sides would be exposed. To augment his right wing, the King further reinforced his left wing by moving his hillmen reserves to the far left side, where they would ascend the hills under cover of woods. This contingent was led by King’s brother, Agathon. The centre was led by our famous hero, Asterophaeus.


    As we advanced, Armenian horse archers came downhill and began to harass our noble hoplites. We countered them with slingers which we placed in front of our centre. The melee began around noon when Shamash-andulli had his axemen descend the hill in a terrifying charge. Axemen throwing their javelins first and then hacking and slashing at our men, even our noble hoplites found difficult to standing against them. The Colchian phalanx was pinned down by Armenian axemen and were further harassed by enemy skirmishers. It was axe versus spear and it was clear who would win at the end of the day. But we still had our tactical components at play there.




    Hillmen light infantry led by Agathon arrived at last when he discovered the dire situation of our left wing. First he rallied slingers to focus fire at horse archers. This retreat carved a way for his light infantry to enter the fray as quick as possible. But then he discovered a lot of enemy horse archers and skirmishers at the back of the hill, so he dispatched two of his three hillmen contingents to chase them away, while the third hillmen contingent and his own hippeus lancers pounded against the enemies who were viciously slaughtering our noble hoplites. Hillmen light infantry would not have stood a chance against these armoured axemen but, attacking from rear, they outperformed their opponents. Should they not helped out urgently, the phalanx would have crumbled.


    Once Armenian right wing was routed, Agathon wasted no time, and turned to attack enemy centre. Seeing this, captain Asterophaeus sent his reserves and javelinmen to push through a gap and form another battle line facing enemy skirmishers. Essentially this move set up a slaughtering field for our Hippeus lancers, now that the King had moved up the hill to attack enemy’s left flank.



    All of these moves were possible only because of our hillmen regiments who sacrificed themselves to the merciless volleys of slingshots and arrows by numerous Armenian skirmishers. One company about 800 men strong were completely annihilated by horse archers. Their sacrifice was not in vain however. Our centre and left wing shook off the Armenian attack.



    Once Armenians were in retreat, Agathon’s riders rode forth to fetch our remaining hillmen company and escorted them back to our new battleline that was forming up on top of the hill. Now the uphill battle was for Armenians. Raiding parties were sent to Armenian camp, leaving the Armenian horsemen no choice but to retreat to their camp leaving their retreating infantry behind who were duly slaughtered or captured. Only a few hundred Armenian cavalry escaped. We lost 2,000 men in this battle, while Armenians suffered heavy losses, estimated around 1,500 dead, 1,000 captured and another 1,000 scattered.



    Last edited by Paladin94610; May 11, 2019 at 03:14 AM.
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  11. #11
    Alwyn's Avatar Frothy Goodness
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    Default Re: Rise of Phasis: Colchis AAR

    I'm enjoying the action and drama on the battlefield. The confrontation between the two kings is a particularly good moment and the battle map where you've labelled the different units helps me to follow events. I like the character analysis, too.

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    Default Re: Rise of Phasis: Colchis AAR

    Quote Originally Posted by Turkafinwë View Post
    That looked like a dicey battle but through the cunning of the Colchians victory was assured. I wonder what would've happened if the Armenians had retained their skirmishing force while on the hill. Risks were taken and Colchis was rewarded with a reward, I guess that's how battles are won/lost. Risk and reward. Great screenshots as well, giving us a nice visual presentation of the battle.

    I wonder what will happen next after this great expansion.

    Two wonderful updates, well done Paladin94610!
    Quote Originally Posted by Alwyn View Post
    I'm enjoying the action and drama on the battlefield. The confrontation between the two kings is a particularly good moment and the battle map where you've labelled the different units helps me to follow events. I like the character analysis, too.
    Thank you for your kind compliments Turkafinwë and Alwyn. I look forward to a large and prosperous Colchian empire.

    I'm also concurrently playing an Imperator: Rome campaign of Phasis. In IR, Phasis is a Greek colony with three cities, and totally enclaved by the Colchians. It took quite an intriguing diplomacy to backstab Colchians and eventually carve out an empire of my own. (took me three campaign attempts to finally crack it, really tough one) I'm enjoying both campaigns, Rome2's battles and I:R's campaign mechanics. Here you can look at my progress in IR. I believe I might be able to expand to this extent.
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    Default Re: Rise of Phasis: Colchis AAR

    Update 5 [11/5/2019]

    Chapter II: Conflict with Bosporus (Part 2)

    The next year, we invaded Arsamosata again to defeat the Armenians once more. This time the king brought his brother-in-law Damiskos with him who recently fathered a daughter, Ptolemais. Also Dionysodoros had raised an army in Trapezos and he brought with him around 2,500 men to aid the Colchian expedition. On the Armenian side, Shamash-andulli seemed to run out of his elite troops and this time he made up his strength with numerous Asiatic forces, around 10,000 men who were supported by 400 Persian lancers, 400 cataphracts and 200 horse skirmishers.

    Battle of Arsamasota, 251BCE

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    The battle was laid out on a plain about 50 stades from Arsamasota in a misty morning. Colchians advanced in a warily tight formation since they were expecting an ambush as they passed through the mountainous terrain. They entered the plain with the intention of making it a stage in their march. Instead Colchian scouts caught wind of enemy positions on the other side of the plains.


    It seemed that the Armenians too did not expect us to arrive that quickly, although they had been monitoring our moves a week ago. It was obvious that there were two separate Armenian armies, one commanded by Shamash-andulli and the other by other two unknown commanders.

    Enemy forces were numerous. With around 10,000 men and twice the number of horse, they could easily outflank us at any time. Hieronymos realized it would be foolish to assemble his men in oblique formation as he did before. Bring them out of marching order, he conveyed messages to his division commanders to take up a formation that would best fit the situation.

    Stationing his noble hoplites to far left, it guaranteed them the best possible position for a phalanx. His Asian recruits were lightly armed and were known to be faint-hearted. And he kept them in the centre, so that citizen hoplites could take position on right wing. The intention was obvious, to make strong wings and to squeeze little courage and motivation his Asiatic contingents had.

    Armenian horse skirmishers took advantage of the mist and mounted a surprise attack on Colchian slingers. But they were repelled as soon as our hoplites caught up with them.



    Visibility was reported to be a huge problem for both sides. There were no other skirmishes because the two armies were hastily forming up a line.


    Colchians started out as a single host and as a result they maintained better cohesion than their Armenian belligerents. Therefore they closed gap with the enemy much faster. Colchians were in running distance when enemy started raining down missiles. The king had instructed every hoplite phalanx to spread out as much as possible with inevitable gaps in between. He had his division commanders assuring their fellow company commanders that the gaps would be ‘handled’ by missile support from slingers who formed up in the second line. Additionally hillmen contingents were kept in reserve just to serve that purpose.

    As the two sides closed in, the King found his army on the enemy’s right wing, opposite to Shamash-andulli’s forces. Meanwhile Shamash’s other commander was still forming up their far left. Believing his formation was intact and he could now deploy oblique formation just as well, he told the wings to halt and let the Asiatic centre advance first. The idea was to negate any missile superiority Armenians may have had. He took position on left wing along with noble hoplites with which he decided to tackle the blunt of attack by Shamash-andulli’s contingents. Such was his determination and confidence.

    Armenians had plenty of archers, among them were skilled Median archers, who were historically reputed to have rain volleys that block the sun as in Marathon and Thermopylae. But they were not as numerous as in the heydays of the Persian Empire and were not as devastating for our Colchian centre.


    Hieronymos saw this and was quick to react. He sent up a phalanx ahead to cover his advance while he charged at the archers. This very much disrupted enemy’s skirmishing capability as they withdrew behind their melee combatants.


    The other (unnamed) Persian commander counter-charged him. And Colchians quickly rode back to safety behind the phalanx.


    The advancing centre soon clashed with the right wing of the second Armenian army. Fighting wicker shield vs. wicker shield, they seemed to be on even ground but just when Persian hoplites and Axemen contingents joined up, the fight was turning south for Colchians.


    Heavily armoured axemen excelled at chopping down light infantry and our Asiatic troops were slaughtered in such numbers that they were about to cave in after only half an hour of fighting. Pacorus, the subdivision commander of Asiatic forces, was strictly instructed not to unleash his hillmen reserves until signal had been given. He watched painfully as his men were slaughtered just a few hundred yards in front of him. He sent word to the king pleading to let him attack. But all requests were dismissed.

    The king seemed to have another urgent matter to attend, since some of his riders reported of a squadron of Persian lancers wheeling around behind the Armenian lines, probably looking for a hole to exploit. And they did find that hole. Soon a messenger came reporting that a group of Persian horsemen rampaging behind Colchian lines. The king rushed his men to deal with that threat. He had his noble hoplites stand their ground til he give further order and explicitly not press on the enemy should they retreated.


    In the meantime, Damiskos himself was finding his own moment to exploit against enemy rear, which Shamash-andulli found out first. But fortunately a portion of his squadron was caught up in a close combat and he had to reorganise his men. This gave Damiskos time to form up and charge at Shamash-andulli, whose cavalrymen had not already formed up on their side, so they took flight through the same gap they passed, closely followed by Damiskos’ men. Seeing the cataphracts turning their backs, Damiskos stopped pursuing them and turned right behind the enemy line. It was such a surreal scene when the grim cavalrymen from opposite sides, rode past each other by a few yards between them, without ever clashing against each other, so were their concerns about how to effectively use their cavalry to the fullest, to strike where enemy might be weakest.


    And Damiskos’ lighter cavalry (compared to cataphracts) took the initiative by running down enemy archers who were still untouched, just yet. Shamash realised the situation and turned his men to pursue Damiskos. Damiskos saw himself being pursued and he had his men cut down enemy archers as they rode through them since there was little resistance offered against them.
    The duo played cat and mouse til they reached the end of the battle line, on Colchian right wing, which was under heavy attack from numerous Armenian contingents. Damiskos attempted to withdraw his men to safety behind the phalanx, but found it too short and too underhanded to offer him any help at all. So he had no other option aside from engaging the cataphracts on his own.


    At the centre, the Asiatic spearmen who were fighting Armenian axemen began to rout. And only in its aftermath, the king ordered Pacorus' hillmen contingents to advance. He and his men charged at the Armenians in such vigour that they chipped away a good chunk of enemy's exposed flank. But lightly armed hillmen had to pay a high price afterwards. Pacorus himself perished at one occasion when he was cut off from his men. Nonetheless hoplite company commanders assumed command of hillmen and kept them pressing on.


    The same gap that Damiskos exploited was used again by Pacorus (orders carried out before he died) who sent out a contingent of Asiatic spearmen. They went on to form up a defensive position in front of the reserved Armenian cataphracts. This move enabled our javelinmen to position at point blank range from the rear of enemy phalanx.


    On Colchis’ left wing, noble hoplites found themselves breaking enemy’s morale, who turned tail and run towards the nearest hill to regroup. They did not pursue the enemy as they were instructed earlier. It became clear that our hoplites were just as determined and our commander keen to adapt to the situation.


    Armenian commanders began to panic when their companies retreated one by one. Shamash left his catapharacts behind and tried to rally his retreating forces. But there was no turning back. Just as at Carana four years ago, all that left standing were Persian hoplites and axemen. But it was obvious even these troops were only fighting for their lives. Taking advantage of Shamash-andulli stranded on the far left wing, the unnamed Armenian commander was seen from a distance, gathering the survivors and left the battlefield.


    It was probably his plan after all, to rob off the army
    (provided by the Galatians) from his lord and offer service to someone else with a bigger pay and a better future. But who cares? We had our own worries to attend. There were two Bosporan armies led by King Paerisades II himself, loomed in the north and our former allies in Caucasia were all but defeated. For the king, there was so much to mend, and to prove his honour and to keep his promise to the late Khagan of Ardhan, who was ruthlessly murdered by the Bosporans.

    By this time, a son had been born to Agathon too, and the boy was named Antinous.

    The king restored the kingdom of Armenia to the former prince Artaxais (son of Ekurzakir, late king of Armenia) who had been held prisoner in Phasis. He was put to the throne in exchange for his brother and sister, who were held hostage in Phasis. He put Bion, son of Dionysodoros, as the garrison commander of Carana and Armavir and to overlook Artaxais’ further actions
    and more importantly to maintain loyalty of this powerful family.


    Last edited by Paladin94610; May 12, 2019 at 09:56 AM.
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  14. #14
    Alwyn's Avatar Frothy Goodness
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    Default Re: Rise of Phasis: Colchis AAR

    Poor Pacorus! I can imagine the king's situation, receiving a desperate plea to send reinforcements but needing to keep his reserve back for the crucial moment. It sounds like ordinary spearmen and javelin-men played a crucial role role towards the battle's end.

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