Mini AAR : The heroic sacrifice of the Black Sea Greeks

[Numahr]

I had started a Pontic campaign. I stopped it because of the devs stating Pontus was not complete enough for a good game experience. Sad to abandon my game, I decided to share the last battle I played with this wonderful little faction…

Context

In 260 BC, a new power was rising in Anatolia: the Pontic kingdom.

In a couple of years, the tiny kingdom based in the remote Pontic montains had conquered the major Greek harbours of Samsun and Trabzon, thus gaining a lucrative maritime façade. So wanted Mithridates I Ktistes, the founder of the Pontic dynasty. He died a few years after having witnessed this success.

His successor was ambitious too. The Seleucid dynasty, already at war with all its neighbours, friends of Pontus, could not deserve much attention to the defense of Mazaka, just a few hundred kilometers south of the Pontic capital. In 262, Mazaka’s weakened garrison was raided and the city added to Pontic possessions.

In 260, the powerful Seleucid Empire stroke back and sent a powerful army to retaliate against Pontus.


The Pontic General in Chief, a Hellene

https://img311.imageshack.us/img311/3600/0161zm5gx7.jpg
https://img311.imageshack.us/img311/5399/0160tv2bu6.jpg

The Seleucid Empire claims to be the sole legitimate heir of Alexander the Greek in Asia Minor… Yet Greeks have massively rallied to the Pontic cause. The Pontic General, Ariarathes Herakleotes, is one of these Hellenes with a mixed Greek/Persian culture. He conquered Samsun 10 years ago and then on ruled the city, preserving Greek culture and customs. Being a good and serious administrator, he supported the city architectural and commercial development. But lacking charisma, unable to appeal to the masses, he eventually left his position to a local politician, less skilled in pure administration but a good speaker and beloved by the locals. Ariarathes then came back to Amasia, advising the King in military matters.

The new Pontic army

The Pontic kings had conquered the Greek costal cities with an army composed of Persian infantrymen trained to form phalanx à la Macedonian. But the Empire has grown and now encompasses multiple ethnicities.The army evolved too and reflects this diversity.

In the last few years, Ariarathes Herakleotes has trained a unit of Persian hellenized phalanx, the traditional core of the Pontic army. But his real contribution is the enrolment of numerous poorly equipped, but fanatical, Greek militia who admire him and are ready to die for him. In addition, Pontic nobles, hastily levied peasants and mercenary Galatian celtic infantry complete this very multi-ethnic army. The Seleucid counter-attack will be its first test…

The Battle for the Mazaka plateau

The Seleucid army was spotted in the vicinities of Mazaka at the end of the winter of 260. It comprised mostly superiorly trained and equiped phalanx soldiers, supported by skilled Judean light infantrymen. Ariarathes Herakleotes decided to meet the invaders immediately, fully confident in his new battle system. The two armies clashed on the snowy Anatolian plateau…

Ariarathes let the Seleucid heavy infantry make contact with his relatively weaker infantry line, giving orders and encouraging them from just a few meters behind.
https://img311.imageshack.us/img311/4423/0004qg2.jpg

On the right flank, the Pontic levies holding their line, for how long? They stand no chance against the well-organized Seleucid phalanx...
https://img168.imageshack.us/img168/9224/0003hc7.jpg

On the left flank, the Pontic phalanx resists easily the light Judean soldiers
https://img310.imageshack.us/img310/464/0005dj5.jpg

On the centre, the heroic Greek militia are furiously engaged by their cousins serving the Seleucid tyranny…
https://img310.imageshack.us/img310/2707/0006cg5.jpg

They have weaker equipment and are less numerous but hold the line!
https://img310.imageshack.us/img310/1329/0007vp3.jpg
https://img310.imageshack.us/img310/1452/0010cl4.jpg

This buys time for the Pontic skirmishers to exploit gaps in the contact line
https://img311.imageshack.us/img311/738/0008qc0.jpg
https://img310.imageshack.us/img310/18/0011jn1.jpg


However the powerful Seleucid army holds despite heavy losses. This Seleucid officer has destroyed the levy spearmen and commands his men to press their advantage
https://img311.imageshack.us/img311/7798/0014dl6.jpg

The Gallic reserves are now on the first line. They are still fresh and impetuous: they progessively break the Seleucid phalanx line and the battle becomes confused. The Seleucid General is isolated from his soldiers and killed by the Galatians...
https://img311.imageshack.us/img311/5150/0016cg9.jpg
https://img310.imageshack.us/img310/3388/0019jb6.jpg
https://img311.imageshack.us/img311/8403/0022ad6.jpg

The Greeks understand that they must hold, may they pay it by their lives, for the sake of the honour, liberty and prosperity brought to them by the Pontic Kings!
https://img310.imageshack.us/img310/9691/0013dn3.jpg

Thanks to this heroic defense, Ariarathes can repeatedly charge Seleucid phalanxes’ flanks
https://img310.imageshack.us/img310/6877/0017la9.jpg https://img311.imageshack.us/img311/590/0012os2.jpg
https://img311.imageshack.us/img311/4095/0018lu0.jpg

Victory at last! Almost all Greeks have been slain but they have hold the line, demonstrating the profound attachment the Pontic kings can expect from their subjects of all cultures…
https://img311.imageshack.us/img311/4830/0023ui6.jpg

Thanks for reading, comments welcome :)

[scourgeofrome]

Sounded like a good campiagn.Should have kept going.And its amazing how powerful the lower level troops can be (I should know.In BI I used a persian army heavy on levy spearmen and beat the Eastern Roman Empire).

[Numahr]

Sounded like a good campiagn.Should have kept going.And its amazing how powerful the lower level troops can be (I should know.In BI I used a persian army heavy on levy spearmen and beat the Eastern Roman Empire).
Yeah I really like these cheap Greek militia, really worth their low cost! I was impressed by their ability to hold their lines during all the battle against the Seleucid heavier spearmen. And their simple clothes give them a special appeal... something "Spartan" somehow... come on, look at the screenshot with the volcano in the background, aren't they heroes, resisting this wall of pikes with no hope of victory? :sweatdrop: :yes:
https://img310.imageshack.us/img310/9691/0013dn3.jpg

Now they really cannot win a battle on their own, you really need to use them with the appropriate support. But I seriously consider recuiting them in mass as the bulk of my early Pontic army... It may just be expansive in human terms if 2+ units get heroically wiped out at each battle...

[scourgeofrome]

People should really give more credit.They may get destroyed easier but they sure can fight.And like you said with the right support they can win battles.Going to my BI Persian army ,it had 1 General,6-7 Levy Spearmen,4 Archers,2 Camels (not archer but fighting),2-3 units of Clibinarri, and maybe 1 Elephant with two empty spots for mercs or siege equipment.This army alone conquerd the ERE (with retraining of course).Not sure I could do that in EB though.

[Dooz]

Very nice, enjoyed the report and pictures greatly. It's funny you mention how the greek levies have a special appeal because I too have always found it to be that way. This even goes back to vanilla RTW where they didn't have a shirt on and were simple in that way too. It's just a man with his shield and spear (and sword). What more could be more awesome? Great stuff.

[Barnabas]

Very nice pictures and comments. I am in the middle of a Pontos campaign (a little farther along than where you were-- at 245bc) and am at a point of similar despair as Pontos really lacks elite troops and has only the shabby dirt roads. I'll have to keep my eyes open for some greek levies, as I am forced to resort to mercenaries and conscripts from type IV MICs as the core of my armies. My best troops, at this point, come from Ankyra and Ani Kamah. :dizzy2:

Thanks for sharing.

[Bava]

Great pics, nice story!

I think i´ll crush some seleukeia phalanxes (what the h*** is the plural of phalanx?) with my mac Agyraspidai and Hetairoi for you. ~D

Really like the Greek levies, they´ve been the backbone of my army when i defeated KH. I´m still using them from time to time.*nostalgia*

[paullus]

i really like some of those shots, especially the two with the seleukid officer. nice story.