The Claws of Destiny - A Makedonian AAR

THE CLAWS OF DESTINY - A MAKEDONIAN AAR
http://images.wikia.com/europabarbar...ak_Victory.jpg

Hi everyone! This is going to be my first AAR, so don't expect something too good, as I'm not expecting something awesome either lol. It's nothing really special, I'm just going to (try to) rebuild Alexandros' Empire and have fun while I'm at it ! :D So I hope you have fun reading it!
House Rules:

-Try to be realistic on the battlefield.
-Try to make logical moves, no blitzing and stuff.
-At least 5 regional units in a full stack.(late game)

CHAPTER I - THE GREEKS - ATHENAI

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The Diadochi... Alexandros' "Successors" who thought that his empire belonged to them. Seleukidoi to the east, Ptolemaioi to the south.. . Antigonos did want to rebuild Alexandros' empire, but he knew it wouldn't be easy at all. It would take him a few generations, there would be unrest, but it was his ultimate goal, and if he managed to control Hellas as a first step, he'd rest in peace. He knew his children and grandchildren would be capable of following in his footsteps.
Hellas. It was a land of contradiction, of deception and of endless plotting. But, incidentally, it also hapenned to be home of the Macedonians, and Antigonos knew they were being plotted against too... The new Chremonidean Alliance of Sparte, Athenai and Rhodos to the south, Pyrrhos to the east... He was far from controlling Hellas.
His army was patrolling around Athenai to intimidate the Alliance, but he knew Pyrrhos was the real threat; so after a few months of besieging Athenai he decided to take his army to Pella to protect it from the Epeirotai and left his brother Krateros and a small army in Korinthos to protect it.

In the north Alkyoneus -Antigonos' son-, governor of Pella, wrecked some (100/150 ships) of his fleet to use the wood and disbanded its crew; but the real reason was that they couldn't pay all the crews anymore!

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After a 3 months' march towards Pella, one of his scouts reported a Chremonidean army coming from the east; and as you can imagine, he was quite surprised.

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He deployed his troops and prepared for battle: Phalangitai in the middle, hoplitai on the flanks, Hippeis on a wing, Psiloi in the front, and himself behind the phalangitai. He knew a general shouldn't take unnecessary risks, that's why he planned to stay behind the phalangitai during the whole battle and supervise from there.

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He looked at his army and couldn't help laughing. It was far from representing Makedonia's former glory. Makedonia wasn't rich enough now. He didn't have hypaspistai, argyraspidai or hetairoi except his bodyguards. The glorious hetairoi was replaced by the Lonchoporoi Hippeis...

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At least they were better than Hippakontistai! The Hippakontistai did have their uses tough... Meh, forget about it, he thought. But he didn't even have proper hoplitai or pezhetairoi! All he had was an army of levies, and he had to do with it. At least for now.

While thinking on his horse, he suddenly noticed the Sphendonetai starting to sling rocks and he prepared for battle.

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After a few minutes of wait, all the enemy army was here and in the beginning the Chremonidean hoplitai managed to avoid the phalanx and attack the flanks, only to be stopped by the Hoplitai Haploi.

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But one of the phalanxes managed to tie up the Athenian General and his bodyguard. The Hippeis immediately took position behind and prepared to charge the bodyguard as the Akontistai took position behind the flanking hoplitai to support the haploi.

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Then the hippeis charged the general and routed his bodyguard, the Athenian General was killed while fleeing.

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After that it all became a slaughter.Their hoplitai on both flanks routed and the hippeis killed all of the fleeing men one by one.

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After the battle Antigonos realised he couldn't simply leave the south and go to Pella. He needed to crush the Chremonidean Alliance first. So he turned back and after a few months' march besieged Athenai. Nearly all of its garrison was killed in the last battle, so Antigonos decided to assault it.

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He took the city without much fuss. Later on that day he was walking in the streets of Athenai as one of his advisors brought him a report:

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Early in the next morning he made a speech to the townsfolk on the Akropolis:
"People of Athenai!
I am Antigonos Argeades. You know me as an oppressor, a mishellene maybe. But these are all lies, know you will never be mistreated, for we are not Barbaroi and we need you if we are to rebuild Alexandros' Empire. Time has changed, we are not united anymore, as you well know. We now fight eachother, instead of the Barbaroi, and that truly makes me sad. Which is why I want to unite all the Greeks and rebuild Alexandros' empire to show truly how glorious we are. I know you may think of Alexandros as a Barbaros. But he was a hellene, just as you are and just as I am. He built the greatest empire the world ever saw. If he did, why couldn't we, we are his descendants after all! We are not pretenders like the Epeirotai, or the damned Ptolemaioi. We are his true heirs. It is our destiny to rebuild his empire, and from destiny we can't flee. I know you are not warriors, people of Athenai, but you are thinkers, philosophers and you very well know we can't achieve victory with warriors only. If we did, we would be Barbaroi and not Hellenes. And now, from Athenai, with help of Athena and Nike, and with Greek knowledge, we will conquer the pretenders and the barbaroi and bring our civilization to many continents, for knowledge is power."

It was a lot of pompous talk, but the people were satisfied. He decided to make an arrangement for a Garrisonned Allied State, because he didn't want them to be completely autonomous -and they weren't ready to the idea of a satrapy yet. He also appointed Krateros' son Alexandros as Satrap of Euboia, and sent a ship to take him to Chalkis, the local capital.

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He had to leave Pella to his son and take Sparte here to weaken the Alliance, after that he'd deal with Pyrrhos.

In the meantime, trouble was brewing in Macedonia, and Alkyoneus was levying phalangitai in preparation for a possible Epeirote attack.

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Stupid Athenians, attacking a Macedonian army twice the size of their own. Idiots. They got what they deserved, the arrogant fools.

Now for the Spartans.....give them a heroic end to their long history! They all dream of a hero's death like Leonidas at Thermopylae, grant them their desire.

Once they are gone, Rhodes will only be a minor nuisance, even though you handed them naval superiority without a fight when you disbanded most of your fleet. Personally, I would have opted for a naval battle with them, but hey, the Macedonians were never great sailors.

Yeah, the Macedonians were never great sailors and even though Antigonos says they are Greeks, they aren't %100 :D

As for the Spartiatai; don't worry, they'll get what they want. A long, bloody assault with heavy casualties to both sides...

Ah and I won't mess with the Rhodioi for a long time unless they decide to expand.

:medievalcheers: Excellent work, I always love AARs!

CHAPTER II - THE GREEKS - DECEPTION

After a few months in Athenai, Antigonos had to leave because of his planned "Spartan Campaign". He had ressuplied his army, and was ready to continue his conquests and this time to unite the Peloponessos. The arrangements for a garrisonned allied state were still being made though. Of course a government couldn't set itself up, so he was going to call Krateros there to make the arrangements instead. But it all went wrong. Again.

He received news that Korinthos was under siege... Now he had to defeat a Spartan army in open terrain, and they were on the defensive. He thought it couldn't be worse.

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But that was until a few days later. As he was finishing his preparations to relieve Korinthos, a messenger came and told him Pella itself was besieged by Alexandros Aikiades, Pyrrhos' son. Then he lost his temper. "You two now don't even have the guts to fight me on your own, now, do you! You're plotting against me secretly now!?" But he knew he wouldn't reach Pella in time, he had to trust Alkyoneus; so he had to help Korinthos.

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What if his son could not protect Pella? What we would he do? He would die attempting and so Antigonos would lose his -only- son. Alkyoneus was his only heir and one of the few people that truly mattered to him in this world. But thoughts wouldn't help. All he could do now was go relieve Korinthos. Then he would take Sparta to unite the Peloponessos.

He arrived at near Korinthos a few months later. He deployed his troops and prepared for battle; he had hired a few Galatoi Mistophoroi this time. He wondered whether or not they would be able to make up to his expectations.

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Krateros and his garrison were on the way, but it would take them a long time to reach the battlefield. That day the sunrays had drawn a reddish line around the battlefield, as if a sign of all the blood that was going to be spilled.

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He knew a general shouldn't take unnecessary risks. But the knews of the siege of Pella had shaken him and today he was ready to put his hetairoi bodyguard to use if need be. No one managed to talk him out of it. He was pushed out of his thoughts when he heard the voice of one of his hetairoi:
-Basileus, if I may?
-Of course, Philippos, what are the news?
-Basileus, our scouts report that the Spartans are gettting close and they've hired Mistophoroi Phalangitai to help them.
-Those phalangitai can be a problem. But I seriously doubt that the Spartans know how to use a Sarissa Phalangitai properly.
-Oh, and Krateros and his garrison are on their way , but as you suspected, they probably won't make it here in time.
-Thank you Philippos.(He turned to his troops) Phalangitai, get in formation! Let's show them what we Makedonians are made of!

https://img534.imageshack.us/img534/...halangitai.png Mercenary Phalanx

After 10 minutes he was in the heat of the battle. The left flank was holding and the phalangitai were doing their job; but the Galatoi were surrounded by hoplitai and they were getting slaughtered. There was nothing he could do but wait. Only when the Lonchoporoi Hippeis managed to send off the screening skirmishers he managed to surround and slaughter their mercenary phalanx. Now one of his phalagitai was freed up and he sent it to support the Galatoi. But they were flanked on their way.

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As expected, they had to leave their formation and fight them with their swords. But now no one could help them. No one of course. Except for his hetairoi. Now he had to help his phalangitai, else he knew the battle would be lost. So he didn't hesitate, he rode his horse behind the flanking hoplitai and shouted "HETAIROI, CHAAAAARGE!"

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His bodyguard totally crushed the hoplitai and routed them. Now his phalangitai were back on their way.

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The Galatoi mercenaries were taking a beating and unfortunately they routed before the phalangitai could reach them. The Hippeis were busy keeping skirmishers away, and the Akontistai only had so many javelins. So he had to help again. He was starting to like this anyway. After routing the hoplitai on the left flank thanks to a charge and a bit of "encouragement" with kopises, he decided to take care of the Spartiatai hoplitai that were tied by his phalangitai. "HETAIROI, LET'S CRUSH THOSE SPARTIATAAIIIIIII!" he shouted. He was amused to see the Spartiatai routing with more than half of their men left. "What hapenned to Termopylae, you cowards! You don't even deserve your name!"
The Spartiates General was among the hoplitai, and he was killed while fleeing, just like his Athenaios "friend". After that all the rest of the Spartiates army routed.

https://img585.imageshack.us/img585/...tantigonos.png "Keep fleeing you cowards!", a triumphant Antigonos

About five minutes later Krateros arrived with reinforcements. He was surprised to see all of the Spartiatai routing and his brothers' army in formation.

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And that's when the people started to really respect him.

After sending Krateros to deal with the government issues in Athenai, he quickly took his army to the gates of Sparta and besieged it.

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Meanwhile, up north, Alexandros Aikiades had decided to assault Pella. Alkyoneus knew he was hugely outnumbered, but he knew he had to prove himself. His father was old and he alone couldn't complete Alexandros' conquests. He had more time and if he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, he had to stay alive, and that meant winning, no matter what! He put his phalangitai in front of the western gate and of the weakest western wall. He sent his Sphendonetai to the northern gate to flank them after they were under the gate. He was encouraging his men when he heard they were coming. "They're coming! The Epeirotes are coming!" shouted the phalangitai captain.

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The gate and the wall were soon destroyed and hundreds of Illyrioi flowed only to be stopped by the sharp pikes, many couldn't cross and died trying. About two minutes later the Sphendonetai arrived to provide support.

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He knew the support was valuable, but he feared routing infantry would stop to kill them, so as soon as they fled, he sent his phalangitai running outside and form a phalanx outside the gate to prevent the Epeirotai under the gate from running.

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He rode his horse to kill the running infantry along with his hetairoi.

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That's when Alexandros Aikiades and his Molosson Agema decided to stop Alkyoneus.

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It was a glorious moment when the two generals clashed, but in the end the Sphendonetai proved to be fatal for Alexandros' bodyguards. It was awful, you could hear the sounds of breaking bones and screaming horses. They were all slaughtered, along with Alexandros.
After that, the Epeirotai on the gates decided to run like hell. But they were horrified when they saw another phalangitai waiting for them outside.

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After the battle, Alkyoneus called all his men in front of the gates and thanked them, starting with the Sphendonetai. It was a victory worthy of a heir of Megas Alexandros.

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After 2 months without news from Alkyoneus, Antigonos thought he was dead and decided to avenge him by assaulting Sparta, he was angry, yes he was, but he knew he couldn't let revenge get in the way of his commanding abilities. But he knew all of those Spartan cowards wanted to die like their ancestor Leonidas died in the Battle of Termopylae. He was disgusted at the routing Spartans at the battle near Korinthos. "How can a people abandon centuries of history of courage like that? They're really not worth their name anymore..." he thought. He called Philippos, his hetairos."Philippos, I want everyone to make preparations for an assault. We're taking Sparta tomorrow!" Next morning he made a speech to his troops:

" Today we face the Spartiatai, my dear companions. I know they have a reputation for being brave and being superb warriors. But you saw how they fled the battlefield like girls near Korinthos! I think they don't deserve the name Spartiates anymore! From now on I will call them cowards, not Spartiatai! They all dream of a heroic end like their ancestors at Termopylae! I say why not give them what they want! We take Sparte today. Give everything you have, for even cowards can be brave out of desperation! Now, take your positions, we're going in! "

https://img835.imageshack.us/img835/8932/spartah.png Sparte today...

His troops assaulted two segments of wall and the northern gate at the same time. He needed to keep the Spartiatai busy with his haploi while his phalangitai were getting into formation. After a few complications because of the narrowness of the street and heavy losses to the hoplitai, the phalangitai were in formation.

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He immediately withdrew his hoplitai and marched his phalangitai. He tied the hordes of Spartiatai up and flanked them with hoplitai haploi and akontistai.

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Unfortunately the akontistai weren't up to task and were quickly slaughtered by the Spartiatai, now all he could do was use his hetairoi, he took position behind the Spartiatai by using the broken wall and managed to charge them, as expected those Spartiatai cowards went running for the town square.

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After that he changed the places of the two phalangitai squads since the ones who fought were exhausted.

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The fighting continued in a courtyard near the town square with Antigonos and his hetairoi slaughtering them one by one.

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After an hour of fighting in the courtyard, Antigonos took the fight to the town square, there weren't many Spartiatai left, so he took care of them personally.

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After taking the town square he shouted that this would teach them to plot against him. After securing the city he learned from his favourite hetairos -Philippos of course- that all of the patrolling Hippeis had been slaughtered by roving Spartiatai peasants. He was saddened, his son first and his hippeis next. The assault of Sparta had satisfied his lust for blood after the death of his son. It was a long, bloody fight but it was a victory, and the Chremonidean threat was no more. The Rhodioi were left but alone they wouldn't be able to do much.

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He made arrangements for a garrisoned allied state after installing a temporary military government. He was shocked when he learned that there was almost no economic infrastructure in Lakonike. He immediately ordered the building of the most basic economic infrastructure and dedicated a small temple to Hermes.

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After a month in Sparta, he received news that his son had slaughtered the Epeirotai and killed Alexandros in a heroic defense. He was so surprised that he almost fainted but managed to arrange for a feast in that evening nonetheless. Everyone ate happily and they all raised their cups to the future of the Antigonid Basileon, or dare I say, future Arche?

Now it's your turn, Pyrrhos, Antigonos thought, just be stay there, I'm coming for you!

The Zeal of the Makedonians - A Side Story

Anakletos was walking in one of the main streets of Pella late that evening. One of a sudden, a nobleman appeared in front of a door with a bottle of wine in his hand. He turned towards the door and said: "How daare the Epeirodai besiesh PELLA!? They aren't worshy enouf! If they evah daaare asshault Pella, I shall arm my houshold as Akontishtai! We shall protect our homeland and show thosh Epeirotai foolsh what we Makedonikoi are made oph! AlL HAIL MAKEDONIA! ALL HAIIL MAKEDOANIOAAA! ALL HAIL M..." and he fell unconscious. Anakletos couldn't help laughing as he made his way home.

After a few minutes of walk he thought it made sense. Who would protect Makedonia if its citizens didn't? How would they live under Epeirotai rule? He decided to volunteer for the army.

As if incidentally, next morning, Alkyoneus -the governor of Pella, Kleronomos Basileos- and a few of his hetairoi came looking for volunteers. He immediately signed up of course.

A few months later he was a soldier serving in a squad of Phalangitai Deuteroi. They had received news that the Epeirotai would assault Pella in the afternoon. He made his goodbyes to his family and returned to the barracks. Alkyoneus ordered everyone to take position near the walls. He and his hetairoi looked invincible in their shiny armor. A few hours after that they were all waiting in front of the gate. "They're coming! The Epeirotai are coming!" shouted his captain.

Alkyoneus immediately turned towards his troops. "Say with me, ALL HAIL MAKEDONIA!" he shouted, and Anakletos and his companions shouted with him. "ALL HAIL MAKEDONIA!" they said... All hail Makedonia...

----------------------------------------------------------------------Personal Notes-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-I'm sorry for the screenshots, I have been a bit uncareful with my mouse, and I was so sucked in that sometimes I forgot taking screenshots as if FRAPS could read my mind when I wanted to take a screen :D
-I can't wait for your comments! Oh and I know, it's much longer than chapter I, I originally intended to write all of this in one chapter, but I realized it'd be too long.

Nice work beating the Spartans, good story too with the ordinary soldier point of view.

Great writing, excellent start!

BEAUTIFUL! A LONG TIME since I've seen a Makedonian AAR! Keep this up!
Attachment 1847
ALL HAIL MAKEDONIA!! ALL HAIL MAKEDONIA!!! ALL HAIL MAKEDONIA!!!!

Thanks for the positive support guys! It's your comments that make writing AARs so rewarding.
PS: If you see any spelling errors, don't hesitate to post it or PM me!

CHAPTER III - EPEIROS - FIRST STEPS

After his victories in the Peloponessos, Antigonos was confident he could beat Pyrrhos. He knew that with Pyrrhos gone, none would stand in the way of a united Hellas. But they had been marching for a long time and Antigonos decided his troops merited a bit of rest:
-Philippos!
-Yes, sir?
-Philippos, tell the troops we're setting up camp near Demetrias, they deserve a bit of rest.
-Yes, Basileos!

A week later they received news that the Epeirotai besieged Pella again. This time it was Pyrrhos himself. It's time for revenge, Antigonos thought. How nice of you coming here...

He called for reinforcements from Demetrias. The governor there supplied him with Hoplitai and some Hippeis Thessalikoi. The Hippeis Thessalikoi were renowned for their fierceness and skill. Antigonos knew they weren't as good as Hetairoi, but who needed Hetairoi to fight levies anyway?

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After receiving the reinforcements, he immediately marched his troops towards Pella. This time I'll make it in time, he thought.

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After two weeks' march, he reached Pella.

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He deployed his troops in a quite usual way. He was glad to have some proper Hoplitai and shock cavalry on his side this time.He liked the way all of the hoplitai had painted Makedonian stars on their shields.

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After the deployment was over, he quickly marched his troops towards Pyrrhos' last known location. Arriving there, he was surprised not to see Pyrrhos, or hell, anyone! Looking around, he caught a glimpse of some running horses. Pyrrhos had fallen back. Smart old bastard, he thought. It'll be much harder for me to beat him at his home.

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He turned to his troops:
"My friends, it looks like Pyrrhos has fallen back! We won't follow him now, I mean for now of course, we aren't strong enough to take the fight to Epeiros yet. Pella is only a few hours' march away, so we're going there. You can stay in the city barracks and enjoy a day out of a tent, for once! I wish you all a nice "holiday"!"

The people made him a hero's welcome at Pella. After entering the wooden fortress, he immediately went to the Palace. He found his son looking at some diagrams on a table.

-Alkyoneus, my son! How are you?
-I'm having one hell of a time here father! They say you managed to subjugate those Spartiatai cowards.
-I did, at least for now.But now we have something far more difficult than killing Spartiatai.
-Which would be the conquest of Epeiros, I suppose...
-Yes, you're right. But we'll have to find and kill Pyrrhos too, because that old bastard will always try to stir something up as long as he is alive.But for now let's enjoy life a bit. Ah, and one last thing.
-Yes, father?
-I want you to come with me. You'll command the cavalry wing. And you see, I'm getting old. I'll need someone to replace me soon enough.On the battlefield and on the throne.
-But, father, you aren't...
-Please, son, we both know the truth.
-As you wish father... But who will govern Pella when I'm gone?
-I think your old friend Neikomachos can take care of that. He might not be Argeades, but I'm sure he'd govern a Military Settler Colony like this one quite well.

https://img220.imageshack.us/img220/...eikomachos.png

-As you wish father.
-I want you to recruit some Hippakontistai before we go in a few months, you can take of that, right?
-Of course, father. What's easier than asking people who have if they want to throw javelins from a fat horse!
-Right...

After this discussion, Antigonos went outside to "sacrifice on the shrine of Dionysos", if you get what I mean.He thought about his life as he opened the bottle of wine on a bank near a fountain. He had had a great and successful life. Driving back the Gauls, preventing the formation of Hellenic League, subjugating the Spartans... And now there was Pyrrhos, a pretender at best who had tried to conquer Italy and Sicily, he had utterly failed but he was a great general nonetheless. And an obstacle on the way to glory for Makedonia. He thought about Pyrrhos as he swallowed the last drops of his bottle of wine. "Your time will come you old bastard... I'll kill you with my own hands, I swear it!" he whispered to himself.

After a few months of a relatively luxurious life at Pella, he gathered his troops outside of the fortress. He was surprised seeing 500 Hippakontistai next to the Thessalikoi. He slowly approached his son with his horse and whispered:
-How did you manage to convince THAT many people?
-Weren't you the one who said a leader should be convincing?
-Yes, I was... Good to see you're learning quickly...

His plan was to take Ambrakia first, then Epidamnos and hopefully kill Pyrrhos in the process. But they were intercepted on the road to Ambrakia by a HUGE patrol.

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The terrain was very...ehm...Slopy, and he didn't have time to study the battlefield extensively, so he hurriedly deployed his troops, which also had a squad of not-so-elite peltastai he had recruited at Pella. He supposed they would be enough against levies.

The Battlefieldhttps://img718.imageshack.us/img718/...peirosinti.png
https://img37.imageshack.us/img37/90...tastaiinti.pngThe Peltastai

Alkyoneus was in charge of the cavalry on the right wing.

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The Epeirotai were already in sight.

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They were strong in numbers, but without a good general, Antigonos doubted they'd be much of a problem.He had the terrain advantage and used his phalanx to encircle them. Alkyoneus would take care of the rest.And he did. The cavalry wing slaughtered all the routing units along with their useless captain. He was about to announce victory when he saw Androkles, another one of his hetairoi coming in a gallop.
-What is it, Androkles?
-Basileus! It looks like the Hoplitai Haploi unit is missing, we don't know where they are!
(He turned to his troops)-Alkyoneus!Take the Thessalikoi with you!I want you to scout the area and find our Haploi! Try to help them if they're in trouble.
Then he turned to Androkles again and said : "How could we let this happen, Androkles?.. How could we let this happen?!" and planted his xyston on the ground very hard.

The Thessalikoi managed to find the Haploi after a minute. And they were in a tight spot.

https://img268.imageshack.us/img268/...plitaiinti.png

It appeared as if they went after a unit of Akontistai only to be ambushed by the remaining Epeirotai. The Thessalikoi didn't stop riding as they lowered their xystons and crushed the ambushing Epeirotai.

https://img84.imageshack.us/img84/15...isavedinti.png

After taking the hoplitai back to the deployment zone, the Thessalikoi and Alkyoneus went back to the wing.
Antigonos was shouting to the Haploi: "Have you forgotten ALL that you have learned during training?! Never move even if the enemy summons you! You'll chase them ONLY if I give the order! UNDERSTOOD!? If you ever go chasing rabbits again I won't be the one helping you! This is not a game for Zeus' sake!"

Then at last he sounded the horn of victory.

https://img38.imageshack.us/img38/3445/intivictory.png

They were getting ready when his scouts reported that another patrol was coming... This time even bigger than the last one. "Pyrrhos must be very rich to have such 'patrols'" thought Antigonos... Maybe it was simply a measure of intimidation... A very expensive one indeed!

https://img109.imageshack.us/img109/8766/intii.png

He quickly examined the terrain and found a nice position for Alkyoneus' cavalry wing. He told Alkyoneus to stay there until he sounded the horn of victory. He knew it would cause a lot of confusion for the patrol, and that was the cherry on top. Of course he told his soldiers not to be confused when they hear the horn of victory, but with levies you never know... He hoped the ambush would be enough to rout the Epeirotai.

https://img64.imageshack.us/img64/54...mbushintii.png

He used the same tactic, encircling them from the top to force them down. After a few minutes, he sounded the horn of victory. The Epeirotai were shocked, but by the time they realised what was happening, it was already too late. Alkyoneus and his cavalry came down upon them like lightning from the sky, and they all fell one by one...

https://img713.imageshack.us/img713/...ctoryintii.png

After the 'real' horn of victory, Antigonos went to find his son:
-Good work, my son, we killed 20000 men today, and only lost 2000! If we were so successful, it's thanks to you and your cavalry wing!
-Thank you father, but the real war hasn't even started yet...
-Good, a good general should never be too cocky!
-You know father, about Pyrrhos...
-It's still far from finished son, there are still the Aitolioi and the Thraikioi, and we haven't even killed Pyrrhos yet. Maybe he'll kill us!
-Maybe, father, but it's not about...
Then they suddenly heard a thunder. They had to scramble everyone to set up the tents and stayed on the battlefield for the night.

Alkyoneus realised how different his father became since Pyrrhos. He used to be a leader without equal, and was always very warm to his troops. He was still a great leader of course... But something was amiss. Why was he so obsessed with Pyrrhos? Why?.. The way he treated the Haploi today... And all he talked about was killing Pyrrhos and... Well, he hoped this would all be over soon..

A few months later they were at the gates of Ambrakia.

It wasn't very well defended, but Pyrrhos' heir, Ptolemaios, was inside. Antigonos left his son a small contingent of hoplitai and peltastai, and took the rest of his forces to patrol Ambrakia and watch for Pyrrhos.

https://img3.imageshack.us/img3/1293...ofambrakia.png

Alkyoneus assaulted the walls with his small contingent and managed to break them after 20 minutes.
After breaking the walls, he rushed his hoplitai to the main street, and told the Peltastai to go around the square to flank them later on.

https://img855.imageshack.us/img855/...llflanksoa.png

A squad of Lonchoporoi Hippeis came charging and managed to pin the hoplitai, but as we all know, Hippeis alone can't do much against hoplitai.

https://img808.imageshack.us/img808/...edsiegeofa.png

After having taken care of the Hippeis, Alkyoneus' hoplitai reformed on the main street.

https://img571.imageshack.us/img571/...tairadysoa.png

Getting close to the square, the Hoplitai were attacked and pinned by Ptolemaios and his bodyguad this time... Those thick skulled Epeirotai wouldn't learn...

https://img7.imageshack.us/img7/3772/pinnedagainsoa.png

After the Hoplitai killed Ptolemaios and his bodyguard, Alkyoneus hoped that they would've learned. But he couldn't really know because they didn't have any cavalry left... The squad of hoplitai defending the square were quickly surrounded and destroyed thanks to the assaulting peltastai.

https://img844.imageshack.us/img844/...assaultsoa.png

https://img835.imageshack.us/img835/8191/soavictory.png

Alkyoneus sent one of his hetairoi to call his father back after this relatively easy victory on the Epeirotai. how could a general be so dumb... Really...
After about an hour of wait Antigonos finally came to the city barracks.
-Congratulions, my son! I see it was a relatively easy victory!
-Yes, I suppose it was... What kind of government should we establish here, father? Would a satrapy work?
-Well, you see, Alkyoneus, during Alexandros' time many Makedonians settled the nearby regions and Ambrakia has got a large Makedonian populace.
-So you're suggesting we establish a Military Settler Colony like the one in Pella?

https://img585.imageshack.us/img585/...ovambrakia.png

-Yes, that's what I'm suggesting, keep in mind we'll need a fortress like the one in Pella to keep order and protect Epeiros.You're going to take care of that. I'm going to Epidamnos today, and hopefully I'll come back in a year with Pyrrhos' head.
Alkyoneus was clearly shaken at his sudden decision.He couldn't hold it anymore.
-Father! Listen to me! You have never been the same since Pyrrhos! Look at yourself! What hapenned to the great general that defeated the Gauls!? Is he gone forever!? You're miserable! All you ever think about is Pyrrhos, Pyrrhos and Pyrrhos! You're going to waste your life tracking down Pyrrhos! Please, let us establish a government here, then we'll go to Epidamnos and take care of him! Leave Pyrrhos alone for a day for Ares' sake!

Antigonos didn't say anything. Instead he simply turned back and shouted: "Troops, get ready! We're going to Epidamnos today! This will all be over in a soon!" and he walked away. Alkyoneus couldn't help but look as his father went out of the gates of the barracks, and perhaps to death along with his whining loyal levies. He felt tears raise to his eyes as he went to the Governor's Villa and slowly started drawing a diagram of the fortress he would build...

Good AAR, shame the battles have become too easy.

I've found that once your economy is out of the red and you can recruit troops, it's actually more fun not to take advantage of the hilly terrain and do things historically. The only troops on steep slopes should be lightly-equipped units with little or no armour and small shields, like slingers, archers and skirmishers, also light infantry like the Galatians and light skirmisher cavalry. Heavy infantry and heavy cavalry should always be on the flattest ground available as historically, it was too tiring for them to climb hills.

Give the AI a chance and let them have the high ground sometimes, it's more enjoyable that way as the battles are no longer a walkover and become more epic and memorable as a result.

fantastic! took forever to load though

I like your AAR. Great attention to pictures and narrating. Keep it up. :thumbsup: