Jeroen Hill
02-18-2009, 10:40
Normally I dont post these stories of my campaigns but last night something really awesome happened.
I started a new campaign as Julii. After about 50 turns, Brutii ceased to excist when both his Faction Leader and Heir went on invasion into Greece and literally got decimated. No possible heirs were available. Partly my fault, because I kept assasins going on Brutii and Scipii family members and generals. Brutii lost the provinces they captured in Greece, and a Greek invasion army captured both the Brutii provinces they had in Italy. Ofcourse, I sent my army down to capture both provinces.
I'm a slow expander, prefer to sandbox and spent time battling, not going for supreme ruling and only have 6 provinces but all very updated. After the reforms I keep 4 Legionary cohorts and 4 Auxilia archer units in every province.
My Faction Heir is always the best commander I have and he has a full stack army consisting of 8 Legionary Cohorts, 2 Urban Cohorts and 2 Preatorian Cohorts. 4 Auxilia Archer units with 2 Auto ballista units. Also attached is a unit of Legionary Cavalry. This army is always positioned on the bridge that gives entry into central Italy. So that in case of an invasion, the enemy would be forced to battle me on my terms, a highly defensive position.
After time I decided to expand my empire and go for the 2 provinces in northern Italy. This elimated the Ghauls in central Europe as well. West and North of me are the Britons, east of me is Greece. For the last 10 turns I was on cold war with Greece. Now that my empire was directly bordered with theirs...they decided to do a full scale invasion of northern Italy.
Within 2 turns they had 12 armies in Patavium including 4 family members. All together I estimated about 30.000 troops. I managed to swap a full stack army into Patavium's city and managed to upgrade to the last wall version. The town had 8 Auxilia units and the rest was all Legionary Cohort. Little but tough resistance in case Greece would lay siege on the city. It would at least buy me time to mobilize more troops.
I kepy my full stack army on the bridge. If I would loose the 2 northern provinces I could handle that, but I had to prevent an invasion on my capitol. Another decent general was offered for adoption. I placed him above and between the 3 provinces in my center and started raising another army. I figured that with a lot of ranged I could have this army defend the bridge and thus bringing my main army into battle. 6 Auxilia archer units, 4 Ballista units and 2 heavy ornager units, and I filled the rest up with Urban Cohorts which would cost me quite some time to build but I could afford that time.
The northern provinces were filled with Greek armies, siege was laid on the eastern town. And 3 Greek armies decided to attack my main army on the bridge, commanded by the Greek faction heir.
I positioned 4 of my Legionary cohorts in the center, just before the bridge. The other 4 Cohorts were split up and I put 2 on both flanks, in double line. I than position my 2 Urban Cohorts and 2 Preatorian Cohorts as a 2nd line behind the center 4 Legionary Cohorts. 4 Auxlia archer units and 2 auto ballista units behind the center. The whole army was setup that as soon as Greece would start entering the bridge, they would come under attack of my ranged forces. My general and Legionary Cavalry were positioned away from the flanks to cut off fleeing survivors.
Battle commenced and to be honoust, I quite shit my pants. Greece's first army had only 2 units of ranged infantry, generals unit and a missile cavalry unit. And...14 units of hoplites. So I was quite scared, cause dealing with Hoplites can be quite...suicidal.
As Greece was still moving from the edge of the map to the bridge I was thinking, how should I handle this, but I had an idea!
Greece put his cavalry over the bridge first, I held back fire until both the units were fully on the bridge. A couple of hoplite units followed as well. This was the time...UNLEASH HELL! The cavalry was massacred on the spot and routed but they had no place to go. Either run into my Legionairs defences, or turn around and run into his hoplites' spears. So they left the bridge and tried escaping on the edge of the river. My cavalry units awaiting for their share of fun! My faction heir killed the Greek commander.
Meanwhile my ranged kept pounding the hoplites on the bridge, slowly moving, dense packed, struggling to cross the bridge while climbing over the bodies of their fallen comrades. More and more hoplites fell, and the continous rain of flaming arrows caused the units to panick 1 by 1. Awaiting the same fate as their commander suffered.
Greek reinforcements started arriving on the field. The second wave was dealt with just like the first. But this wave brought a unit of onagers and caused casulties among my legion, as well as his own as 1 of the fireballs crashed in the middle of the bridge, slaughtering Greeks on impact. This wave eventually got beaten. My casulties were minor but my ranged was close to out of ammunition.
The 3rd Greek army arrived on the field. Slightly more cavalry uncluding the faction heir of Greece, but still a lot of armoured hoplites. And in the colours I also recognized the Spartan hoplites. Now the first 2 waves were held of because of a chokepoint and concentrated ranged attacks, but ammo was low. So decided to let the ranged units fire their last arrows. Still inflicting a lot of casulties and at least routing 3 cavalry units.
So...now what. I immidiatly called back the 8 Legionary Cohorts to fall back and form a new double line. The urban and Preatorian Cohorts were positoned into a battleline but away from the main force. Cavalry positioned on the other flank. I placed my ranged troops miles away as they werent of much use anymore.
Greece crosses the bridge and about 10 hoplite units start forming their spearwalls. And they came at my battle line. My plan to fall back my lines was to provide time and space for Greece to form its battle line and still keeping a big gap between them and my lines. Here they came, I knew my Cohorts would suffer but it would be the price to pay for victory. As the hoplites clashed into my lines my Urban and Preatorian Cohorts turned their line and I had them attack the Greek rear in an echelon attack. The cavalry did the same on their side, provinding quick charges into the hoplite rears and than rush away, and repeat again. Cause hoplites, are very weak in their rear, they take time to reform and build their spear wall on the other side again.
I suffered quite some casulties, specially the Legionary Cavalry got hit really bad. It took a lot of time but I was on the winning hand. Than came Greece's legandary unit, The Spartans hit 1 of my Preatorian Cohorts full in its flank and started rolling it up. The Greek faction heir joined the fight as well. Now was the time...my faction heir punched his unit in the spartan rear and routed the unit. I ordered to chase them down and leave no man alive while my faction heir focussed on the Greek faction heir. When the Greek faction heir fell, the complete Greek army gave up and fled the field. My cavalry worked overtime to chase them down. The outcomes was a heroic victory. Roughly 600 Romans lost against 6500 Greeks.
The aftermath of the Greek invasion was hard as well. Having lost a big portion of his army including high ranked officers, I punched of the siege on Patavium and both my armies, fielding almost 6000 men together, decimated another 8000 Greeks. The other Greek armies were small and split off from eachother, allowing me to drive them back easily.
That ended the Greek invasion, severly weakening the Greek empire. On the next turn I get offered a cease fire. I accepted because I too needed to lick my wounds. Tonight I will continue and decide what I will do next. Greece is not my interest, I want to extend west, I am considering an invasion of France and the lowlands.
This battle was the toughest and longest I played in RTW.
I started a new campaign as Julii. After about 50 turns, Brutii ceased to excist when both his Faction Leader and Heir went on invasion into Greece and literally got decimated. No possible heirs were available. Partly my fault, because I kept assasins going on Brutii and Scipii family members and generals. Brutii lost the provinces they captured in Greece, and a Greek invasion army captured both the Brutii provinces they had in Italy. Ofcourse, I sent my army down to capture both provinces.
I'm a slow expander, prefer to sandbox and spent time battling, not going for supreme ruling and only have 6 provinces but all very updated. After the reforms I keep 4 Legionary cohorts and 4 Auxilia archer units in every province.
My Faction Heir is always the best commander I have and he has a full stack army consisting of 8 Legionary Cohorts, 2 Urban Cohorts and 2 Preatorian Cohorts. 4 Auxilia Archer units with 2 Auto ballista units. Also attached is a unit of Legionary Cavalry. This army is always positioned on the bridge that gives entry into central Italy. So that in case of an invasion, the enemy would be forced to battle me on my terms, a highly defensive position.
After time I decided to expand my empire and go for the 2 provinces in northern Italy. This elimated the Ghauls in central Europe as well. West and North of me are the Britons, east of me is Greece. For the last 10 turns I was on cold war with Greece. Now that my empire was directly bordered with theirs...they decided to do a full scale invasion of northern Italy.
Within 2 turns they had 12 armies in Patavium including 4 family members. All together I estimated about 30.000 troops. I managed to swap a full stack army into Patavium's city and managed to upgrade to the last wall version. The town had 8 Auxilia units and the rest was all Legionary Cohort. Little but tough resistance in case Greece would lay siege on the city. It would at least buy me time to mobilize more troops.
I kepy my full stack army on the bridge. If I would loose the 2 northern provinces I could handle that, but I had to prevent an invasion on my capitol. Another decent general was offered for adoption. I placed him above and between the 3 provinces in my center and started raising another army. I figured that with a lot of ranged I could have this army defend the bridge and thus bringing my main army into battle. 6 Auxilia archer units, 4 Ballista units and 2 heavy ornager units, and I filled the rest up with Urban Cohorts which would cost me quite some time to build but I could afford that time.
The northern provinces were filled with Greek armies, siege was laid on the eastern town. And 3 Greek armies decided to attack my main army on the bridge, commanded by the Greek faction heir.
I positioned 4 of my Legionary cohorts in the center, just before the bridge. The other 4 Cohorts were split up and I put 2 on both flanks, in double line. I than position my 2 Urban Cohorts and 2 Preatorian Cohorts as a 2nd line behind the center 4 Legionary Cohorts. 4 Auxlia archer units and 2 auto ballista units behind the center. The whole army was setup that as soon as Greece would start entering the bridge, they would come under attack of my ranged forces. My general and Legionary Cavalry were positioned away from the flanks to cut off fleeing survivors.
Battle commenced and to be honoust, I quite shit my pants. Greece's first army had only 2 units of ranged infantry, generals unit and a missile cavalry unit. And...14 units of hoplites. So I was quite scared, cause dealing with Hoplites can be quite...suicidal.
As Greece was still moving from the edge of the map to the bridge I was thinking, how should I handle this, but I had an idea!
Greece put his cavalry over the bridge first, I held back fire until both the units were fully on the bridge. A couple of hoplite units followed as well. This was the time...UNLEASH HELL! The cavalry was massacred on the spot and routed but they had no place to go. Either run into my Legionairs defences, or turn around and run into his hoplites' spears. So they left the bridge and tried escaping on the edge of the river. My cavalry units awaiting for their share of fun! My faction heir killed the Greek commander.
Meanwhile my ranged kept pounding the hoplites on the bridge, slowly moving, dense packed, struggling to cross the bridge while climbing over the bodies of their fallen comrades. More and more hoplites fell, and the continous rain of flaming arrows caused the units to panick 1 by 1. Awaiting the same fate as their commander suffered.
Greek reinforcements started arriving on the field. The second wave was dealt with just like the first. But this wave brought a unit of onagers and caused casulties among my legion, as well as his own as 1 of the fireballs crashed in the middle of the bridge, slaughtering Greeks on impact. This wave eventually got beaten. My casulties were minor but my ranged was close to out of ammunition.
The 3rd Greek army arrived on the field. Slightly more cavalry uncluding the faction heir of Greece, but still a lot of armoured hoplites. And in the colours I also recognized the Spartan hoplites. Now the first 2 waves were held of because of a chokepoint and concentrated ranged attacks, but ammo was low. So decided to let the ranged units fire their last arrows. Still inflicting a lot of casulties and at least routing 3 cavalry units.
So...now what. I immidiatly called back the 8 Legionary Cohorts to fall back and form a new double line. The urban and Preatorian Cohorts were positoned into a battleline but away from the main force. Cavalry positioned on the other flank. I placed my ranged troops miles away as they werent of much use anymore.
Greece crosses the bridge and about 10 hoplite units start forming their spearwalls. And they came at my battle line. My plan to fall back my lines was to provide time and space for Greece to form its battle line and still keeping a big gap between them and my lines. Here they came, I knew my Cohorts would suffer but it would be the price to pay for victory. As the hoplites clashed into my lines my Urban and Preatorian Cohorts turned their line and I had them attack the Greek rear in an echelon attack. The cavalry did the same on their side, provinding quick charges into the hoplite rears and than rush away, and repeat again. Cause hoplites, are very weak in their rear, they take time to reform and build their spear wall on the other side again.
I suffered quite some casulties, specially the Legionary Cavalry got hit really bad. It took a lot of time but I was on the winning hand. Than came Greece's legandary unit, The Spartans hit 1 of my Preatorian Cohorts full in its flank and started rolling it up. The Greek faction heir joined the fight as well. Now was the time...my faction heir punched his unit in the spartan rear and routed the unit. I ordered to chase them down and leave no man alive while my faction heir focussed on the Greek faction heir. When the Greek faction heir fell, the complete Greek army gave up and fled the field. My cavalry worked overtime to chase them down. The outcomes was a heroic victory. Roughly 600 Romans lost against 6500 Greeks.
The aftermath of the Greek invasion was hard as well. Having lost a big portion of his army including high ranked officers, I punched of the siege on Patavium and both my armies, fielding almost 6000 men together, decimated another 8000 Greeks. The other Greek armies were small and split off from eachother, allowing me to drive them back easily.
That ended the Greek invasion, severly weakening the Greek empire. On the next turn I get offered a cease fire. I accepted because I too needed to lick my wounds. Tonight I will continue and decide what I will do next. Greece is not my interest, I want to extend west, I am considering an invasion of France and the lowlands.
This battle was the toughest and longest I played in RTW.