The Fall of Philadelphaea. Or: Roman human waves & how to exploit your allies!

[Conqueror]

I had this nice opportunity to assault a city together with my allies (Eastern Roman rebels). Being the lazy, ungrateful bastard that I am, I let them do all the hard work and die by the masses, while grabbing the glory and booty all for myself.

The Fall of Philadelphaea

The setup is promising indeed: those Roman dogs won't stand a chance against the might of... Roman dogs.
https://img384.imageshack.us/img384/1228/fallofphiladelphaea013om.th.jpg (https://img384.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fallofphiladelphaea013om.jpg)

After my courageous mercenary ballistas have punched a hole in the wall, my faithful sla... err, allies pour in. Never mind those annoyingly inconveniently placed towers.
https://img384.imageshack.us/img384/6002/fallofphiladelphaea022kk.th.jpg (https://img384.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fallofphiladelphaea022kk.jpg)

I must admit, those Comitatenses certainly kick ass. They hold the massive human wave for minutes (!) all by themselves.
https://img384.imageshack.us/img384/7159/fallofphiladelphaea037la.th.jpg (https://img384.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fallofphiladelphaea037la.jpg)

Their fall is inevitable, though now the enemy reinforcements approach.
https://img384.imageshack.us/img384/8782/fallofphiladelphaea045re.th.jpg (https://img384.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fallofphiladelphaea045re.jpg)

Fighting on two fronts, the Romans display the power and ingenuity of the "everybody's hugging" formation.
https://img384.imageshack.us/img384/203/fallofphiladelphaea050sx.th.jpg (https://img384.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fallofphiladelphaea050sx.jpg)

And down goes the enemy general, the appointed heir, dying at the hands of the Roman mob. Like any decent Roman emperor should.
https://img384.imageshack.us/img384/8127/fallofphiladelphaea064dz.th.jpg (https://img384.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fallofphiladelphaea064dz.jpg)

Now that my brave allies have so mindfully cleared the entrance, my temporarily employed ballista guys are 'encouraged' to secure those nasty towers. It's a good thing that expendable men are so easy to come by these days.
https://img384.imageshack.us/img384/9594/fallofphiladelphaea077ec.th.jpg (https://img384.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fallofphiladelphaea077ec.jpg)

More massed human wave goodness takes place on the narrow streets, as the defenders fight fiercely.
https://img384.imageshack.us/img384/9529/fallofphiladelphaea080xp.th.jpg (https://img384.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fallofphiladelphaea080xp.jpg)

This valiant hero sacrifices himself for the good cause of bringing victory for his mast... comrades. His corpse will receive a proper burial, should we be able to recover any of it.
https://img132.imageshack.us/img132/8290/fallofphiladelphaea098fo.th.jpg (https://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fallofphiladelphaea098fo.jpg)

Finally, the valiant peasants have given their all, but fear not, my troops are well placed and ready to take on the now conveniently exhausted defenders.
https://img132.imageshack.us/img132/9892/fallofphiladelphaea108rl.th.jpg (https://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fallofphiladelphaea108rl.jpg)

Needless to say, Romans are no match for Sassanid men.
https://img132.imageshack.us/img132/4343/fallofphiladelphaea112jc.th.jpg (https://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fallofphiladelphaea112jc.jpg)

With the big bad bullies routed and proper example displayed by my troops, my allies regain their courage and rush in for the second time.
https://img132.imageshack.us/img132/9421/fallofphiladelphaea127ec.th.jpg (https://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fallofphiladelphaea127ec.jpg)

This time the defenders are unable to hold back the onslaught. It is therefore time to bring this battle to it's glorious ending.
https://img132.imageshack.us/img132/5449/fallofphiladelphaea132ax.th.jpg (https://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fallofphiladelphaea132ax.jpg)


As my great general assumes control of the plaza, he finishes off the remaining defenders with a rain of arrows. The allied troops were unfortunately loitering too close and suffered some casualties in the process.
https://img132.imageshack.us/img132/7/fallofphiladelphaea141hj.th.jpg (https://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fallofphiladelphaea141hj.jpg)

So ends the battle! Yet another glorious victory for my empire.
https://img132.imageshack.us/img132/4203/fallofphiladelphaea151pg.th.jpg (https://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fallofphiladelphaea151pg.jpg)

Philadelphaea is brought under the guidance of a proper government, and my soldiers enjoy the fruits of their hard-earned victory. The population is directed away from decadent Roman ways and introduced to a new, productive life in galleys and salt mines. My ever-faithful allies can take joy in the knowledge that their unselfish sacrifice made this achievement possible.
https://img132.imageshack.us/img132/2395/fallofphiladelphaea162jc.th.jpg (https://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fallofphiladelphaea162jc.jpg)

[TB666]

Excellent story dude ~:cheers:
Nice to see that you managed to get an ally with you.
But you gotta give the romans credit, they killed twice as many men as there were romans.

[Dutch_guy]

That was a good read, nice screenies !

That was some good exploitation of your allies, to bad I've never managed to do that... though that's because no ally has ever fought a battle with me...~;)

:balloon2:

[Kraxis]

:balloon2:

I can just imagine the general yelling to the rebel troops "look they are running, you are winning. Get back in there! *snicker*"

[Monk]

I've never say bad things about peasants again... ~D

:bow: