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| The Rebirth and Rise of the Roman Empire; A M2TW AAR | |
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| Topic Started: Mar 15 2012, 02:50 AM (367 Views) | |
| The Authority of the Grand Moff | Mar 15 2012, 02:50 AM Post #1 |
2nd Lieutenant
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It is 438 AD, and the Roman Empire is dying. Posted Image You might not think so, to look at such a map--except when you recall that once Rome ruled the entirety of the Mediterranean, and most of Western Europe, utterly unchallenged. But now Gaul and Iberia and northern Africa are breaking free from the imperial reins, and historically the last appeal from the province of Britannia for imperial aid will come in 446. How has it come to this? * The Emperor Diocletian almost certainly had the best of intentions in mind when, in 293 AD, he divided the vast Roman Empire in twain: he would rule as Emperor in the East, and appointed Maximian to rule in the West. These two augusti would then each choose a caesar as a junior colleague and future heir. The result was the Tetrarchy, or "rule by four"--but it failed almost immediately. The resulting history is convoluted, but suffice it to say that Constantine, son of Constantius (caesar to Maximian), came to solely rule the Roman Empire in 323 AD after defeating the last of his rivals, Licinius. The Empire was thus "reunited" in a sense (not that it stayed that way for long), but in truth as Constantine founded the great city of Nova Roma on the site of Byzantium (the city quickly became known as "Constantinople") for his new capital, he demonstrated that the power base of the Empire had long since been gone from Italy. The Eastern Roman Empire was rich, but the Western half was poor--and so it came to pass that as various barbarian tribes began migrating into Europe and then into Roman territory thanks to a domino effect of population pressures, the Eastern Romans could afford to defend their great cities (or simply bribe the barbarians away)... turning the attentions of the hordes to a vulnerable West. Jutes, Angles, and Saxons will invade Britannia from Denmark. Goths will stretch from the Balkans (the Ostrogoths) to Gaul (the Visigoths). The Vandals will end up, in all places, northern Africa--and all of these races driven to flight by the most terrifying of all, the Huns, who have come a long way from their original invasion of China. Rome was sacked by the Goths in 410--and historically the city will be sacked again in 455 by the Vandals. Though, by this time the capital of the Western Roman Empire was in Ravenna, with Rome herself little more than a glorified tourist attraction, a pathetic reminder of a long-lost Golden Age. In 476, the last Western Roman Emperor, a man with the curiously ironic name of "Romulus Augustus" (given that Rome's legendary founder was Romulus), will be deposed by Odoacer, who will declare himself, not Emperor, but "King of Italy". That's what's supposed to happen, anyway. Perhaps I can change things. * * * So begins my Western Roman Empire campaign in Invasio Barbarorum: Africa Vandalorum, a mod for Medieval 2: Total War. My campaign goal is to occupy 95 territories; given that I begin with 56, it might seem I'm already halfway to my goal. But it only seems that way, because in reality virtually all of my cities have threadbare garrisons and my economy is in utter shambles. What military forces I do control are widely scattered, and many of those are second-rate forces of the limitanei (border garrisons), established in a collection of forts across the Empire. While the Roman army is nowhere near where it was at its height, the main field forces, the comitatenses, are still formidable--but they are few in number and grossly overstretched. Not a good thing when you're beset on all sides by great hosts of barbarian warriors. * Winter 438 As I survey my Empire--if you can really call it that--I quickly realize that I'm in for a hell of a ride. Two huge Visigothic armies are stationed on either side of the Pyrenees, with the forces under King Theodoric very near the city of Caesaraugusta in Iberia. The Suebi are lurking somewhere in the west of Iberia, while in western Africa are Vandals and the Mauri (a Berber tribe, often called "Numidians" by the Romans; they will eventually become the Moors). The Burgundians have established a nice little kingdom for themselves just northwest of the Italian Peninsula, while to my northeast are the mighty Huns (and probably the Ostrogoths as well, though I can't see them). Unfortunately my intelligence ends there. I have absolutely no idea just how powerful the armies of any of them are; I can only infer from what I can as yet see, and what I can as yet see chills me to the bone. In terms of true field armies, I have one outside the city of Aquincum near the border with the Huns, one in Africa, some scattered forces in northern Italy, and a somewhat larger force in Gaul (the most notable army being led by Flavius Aetius; historically, he will earn the nickname of "the Last of the Romans" when he leads a combined Romano-Gothic force to bloody victory against Atilla the Hun outside Chalons in 451 AD). And... that's it, really. Sprinkled throughout the Empire near borders are forts, with small garrisons of second-rate troops--though it is to them to defend against barbarian incursions, for as mentioned earlier my cities have virtually no troops of their own to speak of. But even this has stretched the coffers of the Empire beyond its breaking point; though I tried to squeeze out every last denarius I could from tax raises in my cities, it was painfully obvious that I would very soon be very broke. Frankly, for a while I wasn't sure what to do--until I realized that there was only one thing I could, and that was to simply launch all-out offensives in hopes that I just might be to take down some of these barbarians while refurbishing my coffers with plunder. To that end, I gathered my northern Italian forces under Emperor Valentian, with an eye to moving against the Burgundians; I sent my African army, under Count Sigisvultus, west to explore (and hopefully conquer); I moved my Gallic forces to the Visigothic borders, sending the army under Prefect of Gaul Aetius to lay siege to the rebel city of Limonum; and I sent my army near Aquincum under Ricimer to lay siege to the Hunnic capital of Campus Quadi, while also marching a small force under Marcellinus in Illyria north to support Ricimer's advance. Yeah, like it would really be that simple. * Spring 438 I'm completely outmatched. Completely. With Aetius' army laying siege to Limonum, my other Gallic armies probe the Gothic borders and find that there are many, many, many Goths waiting for them. I decide that maybe attacking the Goths (who I'm at peace with) is a bad idea; at the very least, I should wait for Aetius. That's a luxury that I cannot afford anywhere else. The Emperor finds large armies waiting in Burgundy, and the only other forces even in the vicinity are limitanei in their border forts. Count Sigivultus, heading west, found only the poorly-defended Vandal city of Hippo Regius--but all that means is that the main Vandal armies remain hidden. And then, of course, there are the Huns. I'd originally marched into Hun territory and laid siege to Campus Quadi because I hoped that I might be able to starve Hunnic garrisons instead of facing them in the open field--which seemed like my best shot, since otherwise I'd have to fend off swarms of invading Huns with just one army. Too bad for me there are a lot--I mean a lot--of Huns, way more than I could have even guessed--and they seemed content to let Ricimer besiege Campus Quadi while sending their own force to lay siege to Aquincum and another force to confront the hurriedly-marching Marcellinus. If I had any hopes in beating back the Huns, they rested on his shoulders. * Summer 438 Battle of Pannonia Prima Marcellinus gathered the two limitanei forces in nearby forts under his command, bringing his force up to 2,635 men--but the most significant of these forces were the 546 comitatenses (heavy infantry along the classic Roman model, well-trained and well-armed), 380 armatura light cavalry, and 97 promoti heavy cavalry. He then marched against Emnetzur and his 1,936 Huns. Posted Image Though I was the attacker, the Huns--comprised entirely of horse archers, roughly 1/3 lightly armored and the rest more heavily-equipped--quickly moved against me. I had hoped that I might be able to use my infantry to force the Hun cavalry against some sort of obstacle, but the battlefield was wide-open with only the occasional slight hill, one of which I occupied. I put my spearmen in front, with my few archers behind them, and my heavier infantry further back in reserve, with cavalry on either flank. The Huns began attacking me on 3 sides, with the heavier Alans moving against my center. Posted Image Not inclined to simply stand and wait as the Hun arrows ripped me to shreds, I sent my flanking cavalry to close with the Huns attacking them. Though I knew they could not win against such superior numbers, I hoped to distract and delay them... Posted Image ...while I sent my infantry to charge the no-longer-freewheeling Hun cavalry. I concentrated my efforts in the center, because the heavy armor of the Alan horse archers made them slower, and thus easier to catch. Posted Image Infantry will almost always beat any cavalry in a melee brawl--and horse archers, even Huns and Alans, are particularly vulnerable to this. The Huns of course knew this and repeatedly tried to extricate their troops--but through careful maneuvering of my own cavalry and sheer stubbornness, I was able to keep my vulnerable foe at sword's length. I annihilated the Alans in the center, and then proceeded to finish off the flanking Huns. Posted Image With victory in my grasp, what's left of my promoti chase down another group of Huns. Soon after the Alans collapse, Emnetzur tries to cut his losses and calls for a retreat. I'd lost nearly 700 men, but the humiliated Emnetzur escaped with less than 700 of his own, retreating back into the Hun lands. Flushed with victory, Marcellinus exacted what little stamina his men had left and made for the Hun army laying siege to Aquincum.... First Battle of Aquincum Posted Image Marcellinus and his 1,951 men confront the Hun army of 1,836--once again, all horse archers--led by Illek, who once again decide to use the relatively open terrain to take the attack to the Romans, who are formed up as they were at Pannonia Prima. Posted Image Choking clouds of dust rise up as the Roman infantry once again attempt to close with the Huns. Though the Alans--once again attacking the center--prove--once again--susceptible to this, the other Hun cavalry is proving much more coy. My hope is that this will soon change, because... Posted Image ...the Aquincum garrison of 634 men under the command of Captain Priscianus is also on the battlefield, and is quickly moving to reinforce my left flank. Posted Image Our forces are evenly matched, and the resultant carnage is unbelievable. This isn't even halfway through the battle. Posted Image My cavalry has been all but wiped out and my infantry devastated by bowshot--but the Hun arrows run out, and even their lighter troops are forced to try and charge their way to victory. This is playing right into my hands, but the Huns didn't get to where they are because they're stupid. Illek skilfully maneuvered his cavalry to isolate and surround sections of what remained of the Roman infantry. Posted Image The stunning parity continued. The Hun cavalry could maneuver all they want, but once at close-quarters my infantry held the advantage. This continued on and on, both armies whittling each other to virtually nothing. Gradually, I gained the upper hand as Hun cavalry continued to flee the field, until the only Huns who refused to run was Illek and what was left of his bodyguard. Marcellinus and the remnants of his bodyguard, along with two dozen or so remaining Roman infantry, closed for the kill... Posted Image ...except, to my complete and utter disbelief, Illek avoided my infantry and slew Marcellinus. My few remaining exhausted soldiers were so disheartened by this they fled. I lost. I couldn't believe what had just happened. After fighting probably the closest battle I've ever fought in a Total War game (or at least the closest one I can remember), I had managed to snatch Defeat straight from the jaws of Victory. I had not only lost the battle, but ensured, due to the slaughter of Aquincum's garrison (admittedly wholly insufficient anyway), that the city of Aquincum would fall to the Huns. So much for Marcellinus supporting Ricimer's advance; I'd lost Marcellinus and his entire army, leaving Ricimer (and my only decent force that's even east of Italy) almost assuredly to his doom. Illek regathered the men that had fled from the battlefield and the prisoners I'd captured, bringing his force back up to 530 men--hardly a mighty host, but I had virtually nothing to take on even this. In a fit of frustration, I foolishly sent 182 archers and 195 promoti heavy cavalry from nearby towns (I figured that their garrisons were already no match for a Hunnic army anyway) to desperately try once more to relieve Aquincum. They somehow managed to kill Illek (oh, sure, now I get the bastard) and reduced the Hun force to under 400, but they never had any real chance at victory. Aquincum was doomed, and my entire frontier with the Huns was now virtually defenceless--and there was nothing I could do about it. Battle of Darantasia I wasn't yet at war with the Burgundians, but I needed revenge--a victory, a big victory, to give the Romans something to celebrate. I still didn't want to move against the powerful Goths, but the Emperor Valentinian's force was primed to move into Burgundy--which was isolated from any nearby allies and which was at least nominally surrounded by my limitanei in their forts. Oh, if I could just get rid of this problem in my own backyard without losing too much to the Huns.... Posted Image Unlike the Huns, the Burgundian armies were far more akin to the other barbarian armies: that is to say, mostly infantry, and of uneven quality at that. This was just the sort of opponents the Romans had crushed time and time again for centuries, and I wasn't about to stop now. The Emperor Valentinian was at the head of 2,948 men, which he deployed in a variation of the classic Roman "checkerboard" formation: the first line consisted of the sword-armed comitatenses separated by gaps, with the second line of spear-armed auxiliaries formed up in the gaps of the first. The archers are behind the second line, and behind them are the elite Palatine forces (who replaced the Praetorian Guard as the bodyguards of the Emperor), and then Valentinian himself. Heavy cavalry on the left flank, with light cavalry on the right. The 3,388 Burgundians under Gunthomad occupy a strong position in the distance. Posted Image The Burgundians were unwilling to leave their hill, so I sent my superior cavalry forward to try and provoke them into doing something stupid. Here my promoti chase down the lightly-equipped German cavalry, while you can see the Burgundian archers moving to harass my center with arrow fire. Posted Image As my promoti marauded the Burgundian right flank, I saw that Gunthomad, for whatever idiot reason, was observing the battle from the Burgundian right flank. Too late he realized the danger and I chased him down just before he could escape behind his infantry or his onrushing-in-vain cavalry from his left--which in turn freed up my light cavalry to charge in on the sorely-exposed Burgundian archers. Posted Image This one-two punch provoked the now-leaderless Burgundians into foolishly leaving their hill and charging down to meet me in the plain. Still, there were a great many of them, and they might well have carried the day... Posted Image ...even as they charged into a storm of arrows and javelins. Posted Image To give them credit, the Burgundians fought well, giving good account of themselves. But with no one to lead them and my Palatine reserves moving up to reinforce the line, they collapsed in flight. Now this was more like it. Only 142 Burgundians escaped with their lives, and the Emperor Valentinian marched straight for the Burgundian capital of Genava and laid siege, while Captain Aurelius led some of the limitanei forces to besiege the small town of Darantasia. Battle of Genava Yup, it was that kind of summer. On the AI's turn... well, I lost Aquincum to the Huns, but that was hardly a surprise. Then the Burgundian garrison of Genava sallied forth. None other than King Gunthahar of Burgundy would lead nearly 4000 men against Valentinian, Emperor of the Romans. Posted Image This pretty much sums it up right here. The battle really could have gone either way. By sheer weight of numbers the Burgundians buckled my entire line, and King Gunthahar himself led a massive cavalry attack on my right flank--but my solid comitatenses refused to break, and while the Burgundians were pressing my right, my left was pressing on the Burgundians. Just as the Burgundians on my right were poised to smash into my center, I managed to do the same thing with my outflanking forces. Once again, the Burgundians broke and fled. A Burgundian king was dead, and a Burgundian city was now mine! But no rest for the weary.... Battle of Campus Quadi Poor Ricimer. His 3,025 men laying siege to Campus Quadi were attacked by a relieving force of 1,805 Huns--who would be joined by the garrison of 1,934 men. The battlefield was yet another wide, open plain. If Ricimer was to stand a chance, it would probably come from the 270 Cataphracts which hid in a small wooded area alongside the main body of the army.... Ah, yes, another Epic Clash. :unsure: So where are the pictures? :shy: Um, well, you see... so occasionally in M2TW the AI won't actually attack you, they'll just have their forces mill about in confusion... and, yeah, that happened this battle. :dry: So, naturally, I just waited for the timer to run out (which I always leave on for just exactly these types of AI brain farts), and claimed victory--and, better yet, claimed Campus Quadi, because when a garrison sallies it must either win or die, and technically the garrison had lost, so.... :o Shut up, all of you. You would have done the same thing. ^^ * * * The loss of Aquincum was regrettable, and the frontier with the Huns is wide-open to invasion. But I took the Burgundian capital of Genava and devastated their armies, as well as capturing the small rebel village of Dertosa in southern Spain with a nearby limitanei force, and, as we've already covered, I also took Campus Quadi. This is not likely to endear me to the Huns, and the Burgundians have hardly been beaten. I'm still broke, still beset on all sides, and hell, it's still 438 AD. Click here to see the latest map because this post has too many images... although, frankly, it hasn't changed much. |
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| Sedulius | Mar 15 2012, 11:57 AM Post #2 |
Field Marshal
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I never do the timer. I stopped using it after it took too long in Rome: Total War to break down walls of Rome, so I lost the battle because of the damn timer, even though I had a sure win once the walls were down. This mod looks epic though. I'd like to try it out. Still haven't figured out how to install mods on the Steam version though. I just haven't taken the time to read how. Too tired. One nitpick. AD should always come before the year, not after. Anno Domini 1000 means In the Year of Our Lord 1000. It's a common mistake to put it after even in textbooks I've noticed. |
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| The Authority of the Grand Moff | Mar 15 2012, 12:43 PM Post #3 |
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2nd Lieutenant
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Yeah, I never used to use it either, until I had one too many "Sit around and stare at each other for eternity" battles... I've found that in practice it seems to work fairly well, because there's almost always way more than enough time for even the biggest battle. It's a good mod, with lots of detail paid to historical accuracy. There are a couple minor issues, but otherwise I like the mod so far. I imagine if you check their forums they'll have Steam instructions. Good catch with the "AD" thing, you're right--but mind you, I was posting this late and wasn't really paying attention to such things ^^ |
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| The Authority of the Grand Moff | Mar 16 2012, 09:55 PM Post #4 |
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2nd Lieutenant
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Before I go into my second post, I think it's time for some nomenclature and miscellaneous details: --Invasio Barbarorum uses Latin names for basically everything, including people, which can get impossibly cumbersome. For the sake of convenience and readability, I am generally Anglicizing and shortening many of the names: for example, "Flavius Placidus Valentinianus Augustus" becomes just "Emperor Valentinian". --Similarly, because the mod is full of way too many troop types to list, I am for the most part simplifying here as well. When I refer to comitatenses, I mean either a main field army featuring the best sort of troops or, more probably, late Roman legionnaires (excellent heavy infantry with chainmail, javelins, a sword and a helmet). When I refer to limitanei, I mean the much-more-common (and not as good) garrison forces who are for the most part comprised of various types of auxilia (spearmen, and often barbarian in origin) and milites (sword-armed medium infantry). Roman cavalry include armatura light cavalry (who depend mostly on their javelins), promoti (basic heavy cavalry, well-armoured and carrying a long thrusting spear), cataphracti (even more heavily armoured), and clibnarii (even the horse is armoured). Most barbarian infantry are spearmen comparable to auxilia, but some carry swords, and their elite warriors are formidably equipped like comitatenses. --When I name battles, I generally do so by the name of the territory, unless the battle is very near a town/city. When a besieging army attacks a city, I call it "Siege of [city name]", but when the besieging force is itself attacked (by another army or by the garrison sallying), I call it a "Battle". --It took me a while to figure out just how the turns go (especially because the game only distinguishes between "Winter" and "Summer"). As near as I can figure out, the course of a year in terms of turns goes: (Late) Winter, Spring, (Early) Summer, (Late) Summer, Fall, (Early) Winter. At least, I think that's how it goes. I will attempt to keep to this as best as I can, but note that I'm liable to screw up :shy: --Though I will occasionally make historical remarks, this AAR should in no way be considered as a "historical record", and I am not attempting to play it as such; I'm just trying to survive! --I welcome feedback, but the tone of said feedback is important. For example, "Why didn't you attack X with Y?" or "I think you should try to _____" instead of "Wow you're stupid I totally would have done ______", or "Such-and-such isn't accurate", or pretty much anything to the effect of "You're doing it wrong." * * * Early Summer, AD 438 Posted Image In my last post, I began my campaign as the Western Roman Empire in the Medieval 2: Total War mod, Invasio Barbarorum: Africa Vandalorum. Though I appear mighty, in reality my forces--especially my important comitatenses--are badly overstretched and my economy is nonexistent. After initial success, a devastating defeat at the First Battle of Aquincum has rendered virtually my entire eastern frontier vulnerable to the Huns, with my only army in the army, under Ricimer, effectively trapped in the former Hun capital of Campus Quadi. I've had better success fighting the Burgundians, though the war is far from over.... * Late Summer, AD 438 The Burgundian capital of Genava was taken, but my army under Emperor Valentinian is sorely weaker for it. I reorganized my troops in the area, reinforcing the Emperor's army with limitanei and marched out of the city--leaving behind a token garrison--towards the nearby very large Burgundian army under Vithicabius. I did not attack, however, because I realized that in this very hilly territory, I might find myself attacking a larger force uphill--which is almost always a recipe for disaster. With any luck, the Burgundian Prince would himself attack me; at the very least, I could shadow his movements and keep him in the field instead of moving on Genava. Meanwhile, I sent one of the generals, Marcus Asinius Probianus, I had accompanying the Emperor out of the army east, to take command of the scattered limitanei northeast of Italy--my only hope to relieve Ricimer. Battle of Alpes Penninae et Graiae With the Emperor pinning down the main Burgundian army near Genava, I sent one of the limitanei forces I'd moved into the region to attack a small force under the command of Prince Hortar. Posted Image Captain Vincentius and Prince Hortar's forces are both roughly 1,300 strong, but the Burgundian force is almost entirely infantry (with the exception of Prince Hortar and his cavalry bodyguard), while Captain Vincentius force is more balanced/ Posted Image I am thus able to maneuver my cavalry behind the Burgundian infantry, who soon panic. The resulting victory so impressed the Emperor--939 Romans survived, while the Prince and his men were wiped out--that Captain Vincentius was adopted into the imperial family, receiving the moniker "Gallus" in the bargain! He would have no time to celebrate, though, as he followed up his victory by laying siege to the village of Darantasia. I then turned to Africa, where I was unsurprised to find the previously-missing Vandal armies quickly moving to Hippo Regius, which Count Sigisvultus held under siege. Historically, the Vandals were far less numerous than the other barbarian tribes--it has been suggested there were only about 80,000--but this is little comfort to me because Count Sigivultus' comitatenses are literally the only Roman force on the African continent (except for token garrisons), without even limitanei border garrisons for support. In any event, the main Vandal army heading the Count's way is, like the Hun forces fought previously, a very large force of horse archers. While I had hoped to build further siege engines before assaulting Hippo Regius, I would much rather have to face the Vandal cavalry behind solid stone walls rather than in the open--so, I stormed the city. Siege of Hippo Regius [img]http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/6681/33427911.jpg[/img[ Though Count Sigisvultus outnumbers the Vandal garrison nearly 3:1 and his comitatenses are of superior quality, I am still wary, as attacking a city is never a sure bet and almost always very bloody. I only had two siege towers built, so I sent them together to assault the walls while my battering ram made its way to the gate. Posted Image My fears are unfounded, however; I easily take the city with minimal losses--and in so doing, acquire the protection of its stone walls. On the AI's turn I captured another city when Darantasia unsuccessfully sallied, but I was forced to watch with dismay as the Vandals simply bypassed Hippo Regius and made their way east to the sorely-vulnerable cities of Carthago and Hadrumentum. Fall, AD 438 The Emperor was without an heir, and, perhaps wary of the possibility of disloyalty, he appointed Marcus Asinius Probianus as "Marcus Caesar". Caesar continued his march east, while the Emperor continued to shadow the Burgundian army under now-Prince Vithicabius, neither side apparently willing to move against the other. The Burgundian capital had moved to the city of Tarantasiensis, and after he was reinforced with another limitanei force, Gallus laid siege. My poor economy, freefalling into debt, wasn't helped by plague breaking out in Roma, but there was nothing I could do about this. I also couldn't do anything about the large Vandal army of horse archers which had made its way to the outskirts of Carthago. The other Vandal force, a somewhat smaller one under Catualdo, to the south near Hadrumentum, on the other hand.... Battle of Hadrumentum Count Sigisvultus was forced to divide his force, leaving a garrison of about 600 auxilia in Hippo Regius and then marching at speed with 1,784 soldiers to face the 1,381 men under Catualdo. Captain Sabinianus joined the Count with the 476 men of the city garrison. Posted Image Unlike the larger Vandal army near Carthago, the force under Catualdo is a much more balanced force of archers, infantry, and heavy cavalry. Unfortunately for the Vandals, neither their archers nor their spearmen are a match for my own archers and comitatenses. Posted Image The Vandal cavalry, however, is more than match for my own, and the heaviest fighting took place as our cavalry engaged on my left flank. Neither could force the other off--but when the Vandal infantry collapsed after their futile attempt to force my center, their cavalry were hopelessly outnumbered and ruthlessly cut down. Catualdo was killed, as were the rest of his men, and I then sent Count Sigisvultus north to occupy a bridge near Carthago. I didn't really expect the Vandals to be stupid enough to try and attack me here, but I thought it might menace their movements near Carthago and in any rate I had no other option. Finding myself fighting Huns, Vandals, and Burgundians, I was disinclined to take on the Visigoths in western Gaul until it was absolutely necessary. With Aetius still investing the rebel city of Limonum in northwestern Gaul, I moved my army under Maioranus--which until now had been patrolling the Visigothic border--by my small fleet in the area to northeastern Spain and laid siege to another rebel city, Pompaelo. As I expected, when my turn ended the Vandals laid siege to Carthago. However, I realized that this was not such a bad thing; as the Vandal army was comprised entirely of cavalry, they would have no choice but to starve out the (paltry) garrison, which would take quite a while as the city was quite amply supplied. But this only meant a delay of the inevitable--unless I could figure out some way to stop it. Early Winter, AD 438 Marching back and forth across Burgundy wouldn't get me anywhere, so I decided to force Prince Vithicabius' hand by marching Emperor Valentinian to besiege the village of Aventicum to the northeast. The Burgundian Prince would be forced to either follow and engage the Emperor on more level terrain, or to move against either Genava or Gallus' force outside Tarantasiensis, thereby exposing his army--which I now believed to be the last major Burgundian force--to a combined counterattack. The Prince chose to move against Gallus. Battle of Tarantasiensis Posted Image The Burgundian Prince outnumbers Gallus by about 500 men, but Gallus' position atop a large hill appears extremely strong... Posted Image ...except for the arrival of the Burgundian garrison under Captain Eraric to the rear right flank of the Roman army. Now Gallus was outnumbered by almost 1,900 and his "secure position" greatly weakened--but main Burgundian army is still far off, and Gallus was not caught unawares. By quickly moving my infantry, could I defeat Captain Eraric before the Prince reached my lines? Posted Image Unfortunately, Gallus has no comitatenses to smash the barbarians, but must rely on milites and auxilia, who are no better than the Burgundians they are engaging. Posted Image Far too quickly, Prince Vithicabius and his men approach my completely-exposed archers atop the hill, despite the best efforts of my cavalry to delay them. Captain Eraric's forces are nearly beaten, but I am forced to shift my auxilia back atop the hill.... Posted Image No sooner have my exhausted milites finally driven Captain Eraric's men from the field when a host of Burgundian heavy cavalry slams into them. At the same time, the Prince's infantry crashes into my outnumbered and outmatched auxilia. Gallus' position is crumbling before his very eyes. Posted Image In desperation I order my auxilia to charge the Prince, who has become temporarily exposed in the midst of the melee. If only their spears could take him down, perhaps the Burgundians--themselves exhausted after the long march up the hill--might panic.... Posted Image Alas, it was not to be. Recognizing that the battle has been lost, I order Gallus and his remaining troops to retreat as best they can. My army managed to avoid complete annihilation, but only 751 men out of the original 2,954 escaped with their lives. Gallus' efforts were not completely in vain, though; after all, they had only been limitanei, and they had still taken down 2,555 Burgundians with them unto death. They would be avenged the following spring. * * * OK, now I realize that I have no idea how these turns are supposed to work. I just tested this again with another campaign and here's the sequence of what the game tells me: Turn 1--Winter 438 Turn 2- Summer 438 Turn 3--Summer 438 Turn 4--Summer 438 Turn 5--Summer 438 Turn 6--Winter 438 on the main screen... but when I open up my Faction Summary screen, it says the year is 439.... Turn 7--Summer 439 (both places now say 439) I'm not really sure how to interpret this. Looking at my notes as I started this post, I thought the sequence was six turns per year and seemed to be roughly Late Winter, Spring, Early Summer, Late Summer, Fall, Early Winter. Except that turn 6, or "Early Winter", appears to be simultaneously 438 and 439 (and yes I realize that this makes sense in the real world--but not in this game it doesn't), and there's only one "Winter" turn--it then goes back into "Summer"... so does that mean there's only 5 turns per year? Was the first turn being 438 just a fluke? Did I just lose a turn somewhere in my notes? I suppose I'll just have to keep playing to find out, so do bear that in mind. In any event, the next turn was Spring 439.... * * * Spring, AD 439 Marcus Caesar finally reached the eastern side of the Alps, and began collecting what forces could be spared in the area--but by far the most important of these were 546 Auxilia Palatina (much better than than other auxilia) and 546 foot archers, who would be desperately needed to counter the Hun's cavalry. Though it had led to the loss of many men, the Emperor's ruse had paid off: he lifted the siege of Aventicum and moved against the greatly-weakened Burgundian Prince.... Second Battle of Alpes Penninae et Graiae Posted Image Western Emperor of the Romans Valentinian has at his command 2,265 men, while Prince Vithicabius of the Burgundians has 2,086. Numerically, the Burgundians have a slight edge in infantry, while the Romans have a slight edge in cavalry. I deployed my comitatenses in my front and ordered them to lock shields to withstand the barbarian charge. Behind them were my auxilia to fend off the Burgundian cavalry, and behind them were my archers, with my milites in reserve to the rear by the Emperor. As the Burgundians advanced on my position, I ordered my light cavalry on my left to harass them with their javelins. Posted Image Burgundian noblemen charge my stalwart comitatenses, while the cavalry engage each other off in the distance. Posted Image Some of the Burgundian cavalry manage to elude mine and try to hit my left flank, but I quickly deployed my reserve milites to counter this threat. Posted Image These barbarian spearmen are no match for my heavy infantry--especially my Palatine cohort, seen here in the foreground. My line refuses to buckle, and the Burgundian courage wavers.... Posted Image ...until it finally breaks. The entire Burgundian force is completely destroyed, and I take 700 prisoners--who are soon executed. Valentinian promptly then marched on Tarantiensis and laid siege. The power of the Burgundians, it seems, has been broken. * * * Or has it? While my armies have been moving through Burgundy, I've yet to find their King. I suspect that he may be near a rebel city just to the north--but what forces he might have at his disposal, I can't say. Another Vandal force appeared and laid siege to Hadrumentum, but it is a very small force and I expect Count Sigisvultus will have little difficulty disposing of it. As for Carthago... well, because I am unwilling to march my only army in Africa into a hailstorm of arrows, I will likely have little choice but to sacrifice the city to the Vandal horse archers--and then, hopefully, promptly lay my own siege upon the city and starve them out. I will have to confront the Goths sooner rather than later, I fear. Goth armies are already shadowing my army besieging rebel Pompaelo, while Aetius finally captured Limonum after easily dispatching starving garrison's attempt at a sally. Are the Burgundians really on the ropes? Will my armies be able to overcome impossible odds against the Vandals and the Huns? What of the Goths, and the Suebi, and the Mauri? Can Rome survive? Can it thrive? Posted Image |
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| Quaon | Mar 17 2012, 07:28 PM Post #5 |
A Prince Amoung Men-Shoot First and Ask Questions Later
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Okay, so I understand what an AAR is, but what does it stand for? |
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| Union | Mar 17 2012, 08:10 PM Post #6 |
Pyrenees Republic
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After Action Report. |
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11:34 AM Jul 13