Teacher
09-18-2007, 15:31
This is my first attempt at an AAR so please bear with me. To start, I will playing as the Romans and have made one crucial change to the game. I have given myself the Augustan Reforms. Some of you may frown, and understandably so, but I couldn’t resist. I figure that their expense, and therefore lower numbers, will balance out their incredible effectiveness on the battlefield, thus still allowing for relatively fair game play. This coupled with the fact that I am an average battlefield commander should produce dramatic campaigns enjoyable for all to read. I have set several boundaries for the game as well that I will follow. I will fight in the legionary formation, which I will detail later, and have imposed several rules upon myself. The legionary units will have enlistments for twenty years. I will keep track of this and disband all units in the legion at the appropriate time. The cohorts will be condensed into one experienced cohort, which is retained for the next enlistment of the legion, thus representing the first cohort. Legionary commanders, tribunes, will have tenures of four years. I will then bring in a new commander for the legion. This will all take an incredible amount of organization and time. For the sake of storytelling, many of the gaps that appear in the narrative of game play, such as the countless skirmishes and politicking behind closed doors will be added into the story to fully develop the narrative. I hope that my attempt to make the game as realistic as possible rewards me, and you, with a truly unique and challenging game. So without further ado, I start our story in the year 257 BC with the enlistment of the I Legion.
Chapter I- The Legion
The early history of the Roman Republic is fragmented and lacks complete detail. It is known that after Pyrrhus of Epirus left southern Italy and the region of Kalabria, the city of Rome settled into a period of peace and relative prosperity. The Kalabrian Greeks were content with their riches, the Carthaginians were pre-occupied with their trading empire, and the incredible warfare the gripped the east was but a distant roar upon the horizon. All this would change however as the tides of war soon found there way to the very door of the Roman Republic, and in this moment, an empire was born.
The year is 257 BC and the small Roman confederation located in central Italy takes its first step towards empire. New generations of military philosophers have reformed the structure of the Roman army from the traditional fusion of Greek phalanx and Italian manipular formations to a new and truly unique military formation, the legion. With the Senate’s approval, the I Legion was raised in Etruria throughout the year 257 BC. Consisting of five legionary cohorts, an elite light infantry maniple, two formations of auxilia slingers, and an Equites Praetoria squadron, the I Legion appears to be a truly powerful and flexible formation. The legion was raised to deal with a local uprising among the Greeks in Apulia. Under the command of Lucius Cornelius Scipio the I Legion easily cleared Apulia of the rebels by the winter of 257. The legion then returned north to Rome where its performance was analyzed, suggestions made, and new training initiated. The legion had performed well-enough against an unorganized band of rebels, but should the legion have to fight against the professional armies of the Kalabrian Greeks, or more menacingly the mercenary armies of the Carthaginians, no one could tell how the legion would perform. Regardless, the Senate was satisfied and confirmed Lucius Scipio’s command and made official the enlistments of the 1,500 soldiers serving in the legion.
At this point information came to the Senate accusing the Greeks of Magna Graecia, specifically the city of Taras, of funding the local rebellion that the I Legion had suppressed in 257. Incensed, the Senate ordered the I Legion to march south and attempt to take Taras by force so as to secure the protection of the southern Roman provinces. The Greeks struck first and laid siege to the provincial capital of Arpi in the spring of 257. The I Legion arrived shortly thereafter and the Greeks retired, only to be reinforced by the main Greek force outside the town of Caelie. Lucius Scipio decided to bring the Greeks to battle, hoping for one swift victory with his powerful legion that would grant him domination over Kalabria and allow him to reduce Taras at his leisure. This would not be so. The numerically superior Greek force shattered the I Legion at Caelie in the summer of 256 just south of Arpi. The battle was a disaster from the start. Lucius Scipio allowed the powerful and experienced Greek army to envelop the smaller legion with its superior numbers. The cohorts lost cohesion and the legion was defeated in detail. Scipio himself was killed, his neck broken as he was flung from his saddle by a pike. The remnants of I Legion fled northward, eventually reorganizing at Capua during the year 256. The Senate was shocked by the disaster and ordered the legion reinforced and the attempt to take Taras resumed. A new commander was appointed, Numerius Occius Blasio, and the legion marched south again. Near Sturni, along the Adriatic coast of Kalabria, in the spring of 254 the I Legion was confronted by the same Greek army and defeated again. The legionnaires were unable to penetrate the deep phalanx and the Greek cavalry proved decisive. The I Legion was able to fall back in order to Arpi. Numerius Blasio’s command was confirmed after his skill in saving the legion was revealed. Following this second defeat rebellion’s erupted in the northern territories and the I Legion was called north. The Kalabrian Greeks remained idle, much to the good fortune of the Romans, and the Senate came to realize the need for a second legion.
The II Legion was enlisted in 253 in the province of Campania. The legion consisted of the same formations as the I Legion. Cauis Aurelis Cotta was given command of the legion and the assignment of clearing the Adriatic coast of rebellious forces as well as defending the southern provinces from any potential incursions by the Greeks. The I Legion soon returned from its expedition to the northern provinces and assisted in guarding the southern passes of the Appenines. In 252 a small force of Greeks marched northward to Bleria; just west of Arpi in the foothills of the Appenines, and were quickly routed by the II Legion. This was the first victory of the legions. Though the battle was small and strategically insignificant, the people of Rome did not hesitate in celebrating their first victory over the Kalabrian Greeks. However, the Senate was weary. The Greeks still had powerful forces to the south. Greek fleets raided the western coast of Italy and the Romans could do nothing. Lacking sufficient funds for a fleet of any sort, the people would have to endure. The Senate was content to let the status quo be and ordered the legions to remain in their forts guarding the southern passes.
The decisive moment would not arrive until four years later. The Greeks had been stationing their army in the plains below the mountain passes so as to prevent the legions from entering the plains of southern Italy unimpeded. Yet in 248 they inexplicably shifted the bulk of their forces back to Taras, clearing the passes and allowing the legions a leisurely walk to the gates of Taras. It would be understood later that the Kingdom of Epirus had called upon reinforcements from the Kalabrian Greeks to participate in the brutal war being waged against the Koinon Hellenon in mainland Greece. However, those reinforcements would never arrive. In a moment of rare swiftness, the Senate ordered both the I and the II Legion south to Taras. The Kalabrian Greeks were caught off-guard and the ensuing engagement on the plains of Taras decimated the main Greek army in the fall of 248. The engagement was decisive and the Greek forces shattered with relatively minor losses amongst the legions. The victorious commanders, Vibius Sosius Caerellius of the I Legion and Cnaeus Faustus Asina of the II Legion, pursued the survivors to the gates of Taras and laid siege to the city. The siege was short lived and the legions marched through the gates of Taras by the end of the winter season in 248. Thus, Kalabria was secured for the young Roman Empire and the two legions had their first taste of true success. So ends the Greco-Italian War.
Chapter I- The Legion
The early history of the Roman Republic is fragmented and lacks complete detail. It is known that after Pyrrhus of Epirus left southern Italy and the region of Kalabria, the city of Rome settled into a period of peace and relative prosperity. The Kalabrian Greeks were content with their riches, the Carthaginians were pre-occupied with their trading empire, and the incredible warfare the gripped the east was but a distant roar upon the horizon. All this would change however as the tides of war soon found there way to the very door of the Roman Republic, and in this moment, an empire was born.
The year is 257 BC and the small Roman confederation located in central Italy takes its first step towards empire. New generations of military philosophers have reformed the structure of the Roman army from the traditional fusion of Greek phalanx and Italian manipular formations to a new and truly unique military formation, the legion. With the Senate’s approval, the I Legion was raised in Etruria throughout the year 257 BC. Consisting of five legionary cohorts, an elite light infantry maniple, two formations of auxilia slingers, and an Equites Praetoria squadron, the I Legion appears to be a truly powerful and flexible formation. The legion was raised to deal with a local uprising among the Greeks in Apulia. Under the command of Lucius Cornelius Scipio the I Legion easily cleared Apulia of the rebels by the winter of 257. The legion then returned north to Rome where its performance was analyzed, suggestions made, and new training initiated. The legion had performed well-enough against an unorganized band of rebels, but should the legion have to fight against the professional armies of the Kalabrian Greeks, or more menacingly the mercenary armies of the Carthaginians, no one could tell how the legion would perform. Regardless, the Senate was satisfied and confirmed Lucius Scipio’s command and made official the enlistments of the 1,500 soldiers serving in the legion.
At this point information came to the Senate accusing the Greeks of Magna Graecia, specifically the city of Taras, of funding the local rebellion that the I Legion had suppressed in 257. Incensed, the Senate ordered the I Legion to march south and attempt to take Taras by force so as to secure the protection of the southern Roman provinces. The Greeks struck first and laid siege to the provincial capital of Arpi in the spring of 257. The I Legion arrived shortly thereafter and the Greeks retired, only to be reinforced by the main Greek force outside the town of Caelie. Lucius Scipio decided to bring the Greeks to battle, hoping for one swift victory with his powerful legion that would grant him domination over Kalabria and allow him to reduce Taras at his leisure. This would not be so. The numerically superior Greek force shattered the I Legion at Caelie in the summer of 256 just south of Arpi. The battle was a disaster from the start. Lucius Scipio allowed the powerful and experienced Greek army to envelop the smaller legion with its superior numbers. The cohorts lost cohesion and the legion was defeated in detail. Scipio himself was killed, his neck broken as he was flung from his saddle by a pike. The remnants of I Legion fled northward, eventually reorganizing at Capua during the year 256. The Senate was shocked by the disaster and ordered the legion reinforced and the attempt to take Taras resumed. A new commander was appointed, Numerius Occius Blasio, and the legion marched south again. Near Sturni, along the Adriatic coast of Kalabria, in the spring of 254 the I Legion was confronted by the same Greek army and defeated again. The legionnaires were unable to penetrate the deep phalanx and the Greek cavalry proved decisive. The I Legion was able to fall back in order to Arpi. Numerius Blasio’s command was confirmed after his skill in saving the legion was revealed. Following this second defeat rebellion’s erupted in the northern territories and the I Legion was called north. The Kalabrian Greeks remained idle, much to the good fortune of the Romans, and the Senate came to realize the need for a second legion.
The II Legion was enlisted in 253 in the province of Campania. The legion consisted of the same formations as the I Legion. Cauis Aurelis Cotta was given command of the legion and the assignment of clearing the Adriatic coast of rebellious forces as well as defending the southern provinces from any potential incursions by the Greeks. The I Legion soon returned from its expedition to the northern provinces and assisted in guarding the southern passes of the Appenines. In 252 a small force of Greeks marched northward to Bleria; just west of Arpi in the foothills of the Appenines, and were quickly routed by the II Legion. This was the first victory of the legions. Though the battle was small and strategically insignificant, the people of Rome did not hesitate in celebrating their first victory over the Kalabrian Greeks. However, the Senate was weary. The Greeks still had powerful forces to the south. Greek fleets raided the western coast of Italy and the Romans could do nothing. Lacking sufficient funds for a fleet of any sort, the people would have to endure. The Senate was content to let the status quo be and ordered the legions to remain in their forts guarding the southern passes.
The decisive moment would not arrive until four years later. The Greeks had been stationing their army in the plains below the mountain passes so as to prevent the legions from entering the plains of southern Italy unimpeded. Yet in 248 they inexplicably shifted the bulk of their forces back to Taras, clearing the passes and allowing the legions a leisurely walk to the gates of Taras. It would be understood later that the Kingdom of Epirus had called upon reinforcements from the Kalabrian Greeks to participate in the brutal war being waged against the Koinon Hellenon in mainland Greece. However, those reinforcements would never arrive. In a moment of rare swiftness, the Senate ordered both the I and the II Legion south to Taras. The Kalabrian Greeks were caught off-guard and the ensuing engagement on the plains of Taras decimated the main Greek army in the fall of 248. The engagement was decisive and the Greek forces shattered with relatively minor losses amongst the legions. The victorious commanders, Vibius Sosius Caerellius of the I Legion and Cnaeus Faustus Asina of the II Legion, pursued the survivors to the gates of Taras and laid siege to the city. The siege was short lived and the legions marched through the gates of Taras by the end of the winter season in 248. Thus, Kalabria was secured for the young Roman Empire and the two legions had their first taste of true success. So ends the Greco-Italian War.