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PershsNhpios
02-13-2008, 03:23
I have played a Getic campaign, a Swabian and a Sabaean campaign in the hope I would find time for an AAR in each.
However, I could not. Yet I still wish to contribute here an account of something related.
So this shall not be the story of an empire, but the short story of a battle from a campaign of my choosing which I remember well.
It will be a few-post AAR.
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QVAERERE.PRO.ADMIRATVM
http://img36.picoodle.com/img/img36/4/2/13/f_SSH2m_507b98e.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/4/2/13/f_SSH2m_507b98e.jpg&srv=img36)

The Getic Throne is such that the world demonstrates itself about the boundaries of her conquests.
She is a command who grew steadily from amidst the minds of the Transylvanian peoples and with time brought all of them under the same ambition.

The Getic Kingdom looks toward the setting sun and borders on that sea which is named the Adriatic by the Latin nations, and runs along it's coastline by Illyria to the countries of the Aitoloi and Peloponnessus.

Towards the rising sun, Getia crosses the Aegean and runs her influence past the Tauri into the city of Tarsos, and North into Galatia.
She grinds against the wilderness of the Pontic population and covers two thirds of that peninsula which is named Asia in the Western language.
On these perimeters, the law of Getic rule is constantly challenged by the minor kingdoms of Seludava and Toladava.

Against the upper pole, the Getic Throne holds the tribe of the Bastarnae under dominion, and annexes the Bosphoran peninsula and Sarmatian holdings as one seperate government.

At the opposite end of this, the entire Aegean is dominated by the enforcement of Dacian fleets, and Crete establishes itself as the southern-most point of the Kingdom.

For a great time, the Hellenic and Macedonian people were shares of a faithful and flourished alliance.
Yet 49 years after the annexing of Bizandava, the Macedonian King Lysias declared war upon the western Kingdom of Epirus.
The Hellenic League, which comprised of a handful of cities spread widely across the Mediterranean, (Sharing nothing other than culture), chose abruptly to support Epirus, and broke their neutrality.

At this time, Getia was the supervising military force, whose wars had not left the Balkans.
Yet, when solicitations became earnest and frequent in support of Epirus, and in disgust of the Macedonian belligerence, King Seuthes I bade his commanders, Tarsos and Seuthes of Rekidava return from the wars in Sarmatia, and lead a new levy against the Macedonian capitol, Pella.

Seuthes was at this time ordering ships of pillaging and war to be built in Olbia, a large settlement not four thousand paces from the field in which Davos of Yuridava was killed in the first war against the Bosphoran tribes.
(A war in which the Dacian commanders reformed the army - and included Skythian archers and horse for support - allies became more frequent from this battle).

It was Seuthes of Rekidava himself who persisted in the ambition of Davos - to lead an army across the Dacian Sea and into the countries of the Hai.
To bring the Caucasus under Getic control.
Later Seuthes would attempt this with a new levy, and the army - whilst waiting in view of Armavir, (The Hai capitol), for reinforcements from Olbia - would be ambushed and cut to pieces by an army led by the King of Hayasdan.

Seuthes commanded Tarsos remain at Olbia and see the ships produced, and returned via the Road of Buridava to the city of Tylis, where he sent out officers into all parts of Thrace to summon a levy.
The structure of the Getic battle line was this;

Four light phalanx, in the style of the southern people, with one or two heavily armoured phalanx on the left.
These were supported by Carpathian allies armed with falxes, the right was supported by Greek allies who fought in the traditional hoplite manner.
Close and tight behind the phalanx line were several companies of Bosphoran and Skythian Archers, the one renowned for their melee ability, the latter for the range of their bows.

And a host of Skythian horse always flew ahead of the army in order to give brilliant navigation and harrass the enemy.

An army in this order being levied from the southern province, Seuthes ordered the horse to pass through the Balkans via Serdike and fall upon the Macedonian state.
He followed himself with the army at a running march.

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I hope it will suffice for the reader without screenshots - I may add some towards the end - but this is going off my memory from a past campaign.
There was no planning, so this is all quite improvised.. Ha!
You can probably see I borrow strongly from an ancient man who I quite adore the memory of, yet I wanted to, without mocking his brilliance in literature.
Perhaps this will bring some entertainment.
I imagine it will be finished within a few posts.

underthesun
02-13-2008, 04:33
Very interesting. Went for the whole destruction of western civilization thing, eh?

PershsNhpios
02-13-2008, 13:16
QVAERERE.PRO.ADMIRATVM

At this time, 50 years after the annexing of Bizandava, the Macedonian Kingdom under Lysias had recovered so steadily, that it even began to push upon the Attic, and Gallipoli peninsulas.
This was seen as threatening by the naturally fickle, and discomforting Hellenic peoples, who suspected all things in relation to their pessimistic souls.

Lysias controlled the Eastern half of the Demicarves, (In their language, Pindos Oros), and Epirus strongly fortified the Western half.

The closest cities that involved themselves in the League were Attidava and Koridava.
(In theirs, Athenai and Korinthos), these two cities contended hand in hand against the Macedonian border in weekly assaults.
So brutal, and mindless was this Southern war, that Attidava, from a population of 210,000 at the 46th year after Bizandava, was reduced to 60,000 by the year in which Seuthes began the campaign across the Balkans.

Predictably, when Macedon broke the triple alliance, all the cities of Peloponessus sent men of embassy to Thermon, to flatter and pray for an Epirote victory, that the southern Hellenes were at the command of the Aiakid dynasty.

Though Pyrrhicos I accepted the fawning of the messengers, and thanked them heartily for their offers and encouragement, he favoured them no more so than he did his Eastern foe.

------

The Skythian Horse having passed successfully through the Balkans, they made a route to Pella on a long path through Thessalonica, provoking the Macedonians to come to an engagement - in the style of the Getic commanders - that the enemy would run themselves upon a Dacian pike.

Seuthes gave little instruction to the Horse, lead by Pytheas, and for good reason - they were most useful when simply allowed to fly amongst the country and commit damages upon the enemy with more speed and vigilance than could be ordered of a company.

Though the march through the Balkans was swift, and for the first time left unhampered by the more remote Thracian tribes, by the day Seuthes led the army out of the last pass, the horse had already engaged a small Macedonian levy that had been sent to the aid of the people of Thessalonica.
The levy had been routed, and the survivors spread throughout the country and forced into the little villages that shelve upon the coastline.

Due to the wars in Attica, and the very casualties that had resulted from it, the Macedonian nation was drawing levies from the farthest stretches and smallest valleys of the Demicarves.
This meant a great shortage of the wealthy, and willing men - and thus a great shortage of cavalry.

With this inefficiency, the levy of ten phalanx companies, though impressively large, were so incapable of dealing with the swift horse - that they found impossible to arrange their formation such that they could defend against the cascade of arrows - as they became encircled.

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(Excuse me, it is very late - I wanted to have this part finished tonight, however I must be up early tomorrow and I will not sacrifice anything for an improvisation this base.. I will return later - there is a screenshot - however mediocre for the visual people.)

Ayce
02-13-2008, 18:00
Nice, although you don't need to use -dava all the time, taking clues for the maps in this thesis (http://soltdm.com/geo/arts/categs/categs.htm#dava), you could use the following system for a Getic Empire:

*rant ON*
-dava/-daua for anything north of the Danube (Bastardava, Akidava (Ak-Ink), Lucarodaua)
-deva/-deua/-dea/-da/-para for north Thrace, Illyria and present day Serbia (Tylideva, Nessidea (Naissos), Dalmipara, Epideua (Epidamnos))
-dina for Scythia, Crimea and some Greek lands (Attidina, Korindina, Olbidina, Chersodina, Rhodina :P)
-diza/-dizo/-dizos for the Marmara region and north Asia Minor (Byzandizos, Sinopdizo, Nikadiza)
-zenis/-bria for Thrace and Macedonia (Pellabria, Serdizenis, Demetrizenis)
*rant OFF*

PershsNhpios
02-13-2008, 22:23
(Yep, but, "Dava", was simply a mock of civilisation - I don't know enough of the people to go about naming settlements.)
(Thank you however, I will note this).

PershsNhpios
02-14-2008, 11:45
Ha ha ha ha! I think one screenshot buys you 50 thread views.
Well, I'll purchase another 50 with another I quite like, but it isn't EB.


QVAERERE.PRO.ADMIRATVM
http://www.mapofukraine.net/carpathian_mountains/pics/the_hoverla.jpg

The loss of a fresh, and expensive levy created a morbid resentment for the Getic Kingdom stronger than that felt for King Pyrrhicos by Lysias.
This forced him to the decision of taking the royal army from the Attic peninsula where it kept the Hellenic Alliance on Peloponnessus, and instead march the great number through Thessalonica.
This was in the hope that the Getic incursion would be easily routed by the sheer number and strength of the pikes, and that Lysias could continue through to Byzantion - and restore heritage to that city.

Although this meant the Greeks washed in from both sides of the Pindus into Boeotia, the cities of Korinthos and Athens stalled each other by first debating the fate of their new conquests before accomplishing them.

Epirus was far greater in prudence and countenance, but faced a larger threat to manpower by the excercise of taking their army through the Pindus in winter - against many established Macedonian fortifications.

---

When Seuthes came into the lands where the Skythian Horse had ravaged, he sent ahead for them to be brought behind the army immediately - and in seeing the damage and the dishonour thrown upon his command by the crimes they had committed past the allowance of warfare - he wrote to King Seuthes I in an audacious and belittling manner, censuring his admiration and recommendation of the northern barbarians.

For they had destroyed not only every field and village, but by the strength of their number they had sacked every town and farm they encountered.
The entire land was scorched.
Thracians and Getics marched the entire day through ash, and by the pounding of their feet and the dust, a cloud of smoke and dust so heavy rose above them that it were as if they were amongst the fire that caused such havoc.

However, when on their return he could see them marching upon the horizon ahead, the messenger came before and said that they - seeing the country open and free of military control - had ridden past that place in which they destroyed the levy and entered Pella.

In the custom of their nomadic nature, they wrought nothing but pure massacre upon the entire population and Breva, the messenger, was completely helpless to put an end to it, though he arrived as it began.

Even after it was done, and the city seemed thirty years dead, and the blood seeped out from under the walls and through the passageways - the horses slipping upon the pavement made wet by it's quantity - even after the Horse would listen not to Breva until he threatened death.

Seuthes, in a great temper, came out from under his tent - ordered his horse be caparisoned and that the Carpathian falx follow him.
He rode out at the head of the allies and met the horse, who, not expecting such an occurrance - stayed at a distance and bade Pytheas enter the company of Seuthes to ask him the definition.

Seuthes, collected, warmly congratulated the officer on his initiative and forgave any insolence against command on the knowledge that the enemy were defeated and the task of this army was completed before they had assembled.
Before Pytheas could answer, he turned to the falx, and ordered them to create a path and salute the horse on their glorious return to camp.

Pytheas, an intelligent and learned man, severely distrusted Seuthes - yet the Skythian men delighted at the sight of such an honourable return, (Though they covet no honour at all), and Pytheas was forced ahead of his command by the onset from behind.

The falx, eager for the kill, came upon the horse before Pytheas had entered the guard.
The Skythians, encumbered heavily with all manner of treasure and loot, some carrying large golden Hoplons, others with great basins of silver - one - beset upon by a Thracian, threw a coveted Persian carpet down upon him and fled through the mass - only to be cleaved and dismounted shortly after.

By the mass of long, snaking falx, and the onset of Seuthes' guard, no Skythian escaped save six who fled with Pytheas into the nearby pine - to be chased and killed by the Dacian foot.

Seuthes ordered none of the treasure be taken, nor the slain be touched, and led the Thracians back to the camp.
There was, in display of the men, a large tunnel of lean, tall men - scantily dressed and buried beneath the corpses of their mounts, hooves mixed with feet and arms draped over the large necks - and scattered all about - great remnants of the nobility of Pella - and many Macedonian treasures.

Seuthes' chivalry was never doubted among the confines of the Kingdom again.

It is a shame for the death of Pytheas, a noble and ambitious man - who studied all neighbours of Getia and professed many languages.
For it is misunderstood that he would of agreed to such an entrance into Pella - but though the man was intelligent, he was by no means a leader - and so it is well agreed that by the constant bickering and forceful warlike behaviour of the barbaric allies - he had no choice but to submit to those under his command.

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Hmmm.. Well, I hope the reader likes it more than I do! Pfft! :thumbsdown:
For those who were bored with the first five paragraphs - it becomes more of a novelty further down.

Leão magno
02-17-2008, 17:32
impressive Glenn