The Puniceus Paludamentum

[d'Arthez]

And if every lurker left a message, you would have had 50 (at 30 messages per page) pages already for this thread. You would need to start a new thread just to make the AAR accessible.


Lovely AAR.

[Chirurgeon]

Good point d'Arthez! And thank you. Wow three pages. Never thought i would see that! Thanks all!!

[Chirurgeon]

Chapter X - Pressing North, Gains in Gaul, And The Great Vanquisher

The time frame from 188-180 BC showed more gains for the Republic but also setbacks. The promising young Consul A Cotta while in Africa travelling between cities was attacked and killed.

The Carthiginians used the ensuing chaos to team up with their allies, Arche Selucia, and undermine Roman influence in the Region. A second legion was organized but would not arrive till 180 BC. The Senate had to name a new Consul and choose Numerius Bulla to fill the role.
As one of the younger men from the African campaign and the son of a senator,N. Bulla organized the legion he commanded and sacked one of the Saharan outposts the Carthiginians were holding on to. With only one major city remaining, Roman Scouts indicated a large Selucid army approaching from the East. Using Lipki as a base of support Consul Bulla begged for help from Rome. It would be slow coming. By 180 BC the situation in Africa was becoming precarious.
Further North one particular Legatus would make a huge impact. C. Prisclianvs left the Po River valley with the instuction to secure the alps region from Germanic incursion.

The Sweboz tribe was retreating after a series of staggering losses from the Aeudi of Gaul. Rome seized the opportunity and captured territory in the Alps. The Germans resisted but the paltry resistance was shattered time and time again. Countless Germans perished and the senate seeing an expansionistic opportunity to create a buffer between Italy and the Germanic forests. The Danube River offered a natural boundary with limited crossings enabling the Romans to secure Pannonia. The capture of Pannonia and the vanquishing of the Germanic Tribes south of the Rhine, allowed the Romans to breathe a sigh of relief.



Battle Scenes from the German Campaign:




Remaining Germans had retreated to Illyria and had taken up residence in the town of Segestica. In 180 BC the young Commander was awarded the suffix Germanicvs to his name.

Debate raged as to whether the man would recieve a triumph for his actions. He had not even been named Consul. The other Consul was in Gaul fighting the Arverni Tribe. In a large battle outside of Tolose(not far from the Roman defeat) Consul Bulla organized his men and assaulted the Arvernian lines. The battle went poorly for the Arverni and any hope of the Tolose fiasco being repeated was shattered when Roman cavalry hunted down and destroyed the Gallic Slingers.

With their capital gone the survivors fled to the modern day region of Bordeaux where the survivors were trapped and sold into slavery. Some members of the tribe managed to settle in Moesia so the Arverni were not completely eliminated.
Battle Scenes from the Arvernii Campaign:




Video of Various Battles in Gaul and the Alps Region:
http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...pterXMovie.flv

The Republic was now connected between Iberia and Italia via southern Gaul. The Romans continued their support of the Aeudi allowing the war in Germania to continue and providing peace to most of the Gallic region. Having been at peace with the Aeudi for over 20 years meant that trade routes had been set up and much cultural exchange was occuring. Roman citizens and the Aeudic tribal members lived in peace side by side.
The population of the republic had exploded. Nearly a million citizens now resided within the realms of the republic.

No where was this growth more obvious than in Italy. Archeological evidence supports the time frame between 190-180 saw a huge population boom. This of course does not count the non-citizens which makes up an even greater number. Relative peace across the whole of the western Meditereanean coupled with adequate food supplies equated a large population explosion. Unfortunately in later years this population explosion would demand a huge agricultural industrial complex that would mainly utilize slave labor. Many Romans would be put out of work and a solution would have come to fruition that would deal with the huge unemployment problem.

[Wolfman]

Nice! I think you just made history as being ( correct me if I am wrong ) The first Romani AAR Who has a general near getting a triumph. Congrats! So were are you going to expand next? Greece? Egypt? Asia Minor? The Balkans?

[Redmeth]

Wolfman, that's no triumph just a conqueror of Germania trait, I had a general in my Romani who was a conqueror of germans, gauls and greeks and still didn't get a triumph.
Great AAR but the hard part is just starting, hope you like green...

[Wolfman]

Thanks Redmeth I just Relised my mistake and corrected it.

[Chirurgeon]

The men still have to name him imperator. Red meth what do you mean about the green part?

[Redmeth]

The Aedui look at that green mass, It's gonna be a lot of stabbing and naked guys running around in Gaul.

[Chirurgeon]

Oh haha im colorblind...to me Rome and the Aeudui look exactly the same. I thought they were both Red

[Owen the Mighty]

Yet another great chapter.......

[LorDBulA]

Great AAR. I hope You will continue it to the end.

[deadmeat36]

Its a good AAR

and yes the Lurkers never leave comments

[Chirurgeon]

Thanks guys for the continued support. I should have another chapter soon.
@deadmeat: I have followed your AAR too. Good story.

[Bootsiuv]

Great AAR. Keep em coming!

[Chirurgeon]

Thanks Bootsiuv. Update today!

[Chirurgeon]

As much as I would like to post the next chapter I cannot. The game is crashing during 171 BC. Since about 200 BC the CTDs are happening more often. Now its happening every 4 turns or so. But usually if i restart it does fine. Now this particular CTD happens either during the Sweboz turn or the Rebel turn. The same CTD has happened four times in a row. Very frustrating indeed. Any suggestions?

[Chirurgeon]

Just downloaded the .81aV2 patch and it worked! Thank god i was getting very concerned.

[Redmeth]

Post your savegame, maybe someone on the team can fix it, open a thread in the bug reports sections. It would be a shame if you got stopped by a CTD.
EDIT: Glad you got it working

[Chirurgeon]

Chapter XI - War With Epirus
In 180 BC a low level war with Selucia over the Eastern holdings of Africa took place. However due to quick maneuvering the legions of Africa were able to thwart any attempts of the Selucids from crossing the rivers and making any real gains. Each time the Selucids tried to cross and push back the Romans it resulted in complete disaster.

The desert battles of 180 BC would later evolve into something much more grim. Other areas of Africa were restless also. The plague was ravaging Mauretania and in the distant city of Salas the people felt they no longer wanted Roman rule and entered into blatant rebellion.


To calm the situation a legion was raised and would become a permanent feature in Western Africa. Iberia also began to rebel and a legion would be raised to be sent there as well. By 180 BC the number of legions scattered around the republic would number 10. Two of these legions would be based in Iberia, One in southern Gaul, One in Northern Italy, One in Pannonia, Two in Epirus, and three in Africa. This placed a huge strain as the citizens that served in these legions demanded more and more from the Senate. A good chunk of the land owners in Italy were being stationed elsewhere. It was clearly a situation that could not be maintained indefinetely.
Just as the 3rd punic war was winding down word reached Rome that Epirus had sealed an alliance with the Sweboz tribes in Germania.
It was inconcievable that these Greek neighbors would do such a thing. It was also unacceptable. Rome sent diplomats and asked the Epirote King to cancel the alliance and it was refused. Even a generous offer of 10 000 mnai would not sway them. Diplomacy morphed into military very quickly. Epirus had 3 large field armies each one hovering around the city of Delminion along the Dalmation coast. The hero of the Republic, Cnaeus Germanius was once again asked to gather the legions for war.
Accompanying him would be a great horsemen, Oppius Crispus Flavinius, who would act as the magister equitum( master of the horse).

Although much younger than C. Germanius he would play a pivotal role in the campaign. The first target was the capital of Ambrakia located far in the south. With a minimal garrison and an element of surprise two legions would come ashore and capture Ambrakia fairly quickly. After leaving behind a small garrison and keeping an eye to the east C. Germanius swarmed north and encountered one of the three standing armies Epirus possessed.

The training and discipline of the legions overwhelmed the enemy.

Despite being outnumbered in all three major battles the Romans prevailed because they had what the Epirotes did not.




O. Flavinius, controlling the cavalry was personally responsible for killing two of the Kings sons. So effective the Roman magister equitum was in deploying the cavalry by the end of the conflict in 171 BC many men would flee the horses before an ensuing charge could connect. Sometimes reputation it would appear could be a weapon. Time and time again the legion with its base in Ambrakia would supply fresh troops to the field and the attack on the armies of Epirus was unrelenting. After three dramatic losses the entire Epirote army would find themselves in the city of Delminion. After a long seige the last of the Epirotes died and with it a civilization.

And within 9 years since the onset of the campaign, Rome had added three more powerful provinces to its collection.
Scenes from the Campaign:






Video of the Campaign:
http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...WithEpirus.flv
The Macedonians, however, embroiled in a distant war in Anatolia did not pay much attention to its protectorate and its demise. The fall of Epirus however would get the Macedonians attention . It would not be long before the Macedonians viewed Rome as a threat to their sovereinty in the Aegean peninsula.

[Chirurgeon]

Special Feature: The Republic through time - Territorial gains from 272-171 BC

Enjoy!

[Owen the Mighty]

Hurrah! No more molossian dogs! Took care of those Epierotes nicely...

[Chirurgeon]

Thanks Owen. Its becoming more and more difficult to deal with all the territory. Having to raise armies only in Italy to deal with problems elsewhere is tedious. But I guess that how the Romans actually did it. Im hoping the Marius reforms happen soon to help me with this. Diplomatically I am in a dillema. Macedonia is Allied with the Aeudi. Do I risk open war with both powerful nations? Or do I just hope for the best? The Aeudi Are still in a major conflict with the Sweboz although the Sweboz are losing the war overall. The other option is Africa. The Selucids are firmly entrenched in Aegiptus and I see no way of easily prying them away from it. They own 60 provinces to my 46. Ive checked their progress in Libya so far. So it comes down to Macedonia or Aeudi. Im leaning Macedonia because their armies are so much more disciplined and represent the greater threat to the legions. Besides they are bigger than the Aeudi at this point. Hopefully the Senate will make the right move.

[Owen the Mighty]

Thanks Owen. Its becoming more and more difficult to deal with all the territory. Having to raise armies only in Italy to deal with problems elsewhere is tedious. But I guess that how the Romans actually did it. Im hoping the Marius reforms happen soon to help me with this. Diplomatically I am in a dillema. Macedonia is Allied with the Aeudi. Do I risk open war with both powerful nations? Or do I just hope for the best? The Aeudi Are still in a major conflict with the Sweboz although the Sweboz are losing the war overall. The other option is Africa. The Selucids are firmly entrenched in Aegiptus and I see no way of easily prying them away from it. They own 60 provinces to my 46. Ive checked their progress in Libya so far. So it comes down to Macedonia or Aeudi. Im leaning Macedonia because their armies are so much more disciplined and represent the greater threat to the legions. Besides they are bigger than the Aeudi at this point. Hopefully the Senate will make the right move.

Hm....well, what you could do is wait until the Aedui-Sweboz conflict has ended, so that the majority of the Aedui armies are a few seasons away. Then, you could strike with say 3 legions from Italy and maybe 3 legions from Iberia into Gaul, and at the same time you could send a massive naval invasion across the Adriatic with say 5 legions at Ambrakia.

Although the last time I faced the Macedonians with pre-legionary cohort infantry resulted in utter disaster......so waiting might be a good idea!

Anyways, whichever way you see fit to solve this problem should be great either way in your AAR

[Wolfman]

I completely agree with Owen the Mighty.

[Chirurgeon]

Just letting you know im still here its just been slow going. Alot of fighting and battles makes progress through the game slow. I will probably have an update here in a few days. Going to be out of town this weekend but will update when i Return.

[Chirurgeon]

Update forthcoming...

[Shifty_GMH]

Nice AAR Chirurgeon.

You could always try paying other factions to attack the maks and AS. Sort of soften them up before you launch your own invasions.

[Chirurgeon]

Well its a little late for that im afraid...im already embroiled in a war with the Macedonians. Most other nations are either destroyed or are just shadows of themselves. Only the Aeudi are close enough in strength to hurt the AS and they are a continent away. Im afraid the Burden is on me.

[Chirurgeon]

Chapter XII - Death Cry of the Arverni and Invasion Preparations
In 171 BC in the area known as Moesia south of the Danube river the last of the Arverni tribe had settled. Having these old enemies of Rome adjacent to the Dalmation coast would not be good for the republic. Already the Arverni had two great armies to protect its limited land. Clearly it was thought that the Arverni would not be satisfied to stay put. Cnaeus Germanicus in his last year as Consul took it upon himself to rid the Arverni of the world and would do so in two major engagements. Invading from the south he led the veteran army of the Germanian wars against the horde. The Arverni attacked in the dead of winter while the Romans were in winter quarters.

Causing much panic among the new recruits the consul proceeded to rally the men and form them into battle lines. The engagement was brutal and the slingers the Gauls had brought were destroyed by the Magister Eques, Oppius Crispus Flaviaunus, and the Eques Extrodinarii. The cavalry having made itself to the rear of the Arvernian lines caused panic and with the death of the Arvernii King the remainder of the barbarians attempted to flee.
Many were cut down as they ran.

Those men ran through a raging snowstorm to end up in their capital of Singletum on the Danube. Here they awaited their fate. In the Spring Cnaeus Germanicus led his men to the capital and began a long seige. The following winter the survivors stormed out of the gates in a last ditch effort to dislodge the Romans.

The Roman and Gallic cavalry engaged on the left flank with the Romans prevailing and yet another dead chieftain for the Arverni. The Roman Cavalry had free reign of the battle field and ultimately destroyed the right flank of the Arverni. Starving and cold the situation seemed hopeless and the Arverni fled back to the city where many froze to death during the rest of winter months. In the spring the city officially surrendered and the inhabitants sold into slavery.



Video of the Battles:
http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...eArevernii.flv
With the new year beginning Cnaeus Germanicus resigned as Consul and moved to Patavium to govern the city there. His Magister Eques was named consul and the Senate wished the legions to travel to Epirus. O. Flavianus was asked to come to a private meeting of the senate in which the plan to invade Macedonia was hatched. A fourth legion was being raised to be sent to Epirus to begin the invasion. The plan was to have the legions of Rome move at lightning pace capturing the lightly defended cities of Thermon, Corinth, Sparta, Athens, Demetrius, and Chaklis. Then they turn north and capture the capital of Pella. After a brief respite the Legions were to capture every city south of the Danube alll the way to the Black sea. This would cut the Macedonians of from the Rich Aegean and allow the legions of Rome to prepare an invasion of Anatolia. Diplomatically things had been arranged with the Aeudi. They would not honor the alliance of Macedonia when the time came. No doubt that when the first drops of blood are spilled between the Macedonians and the Romans the Macedonians would ask the Aeudi for assistance. The Aeudi would not honor the treaty and the Macedonians would have no allies against Rome.

[Chirurgeon]

Another update later today!