Following the great battles of Thapsus, the Audacity and Bravado pause to consolidate their position. The Rhodan armies in Africa were nearly destroyed in this struggle, but the two Egyptian armies have suffered badly as well. The generals reorganize the troops, and bring the Bravado back up to full strength. Nicomedes will continue the Egyptian presence and campaign here with this reconstituted army. Demonax will lead the few thousand remaining Audacity back to Libya for further recruitment.
With the widespread war facing us, we will need more armies. Fortitude is once more recommissioned, this time not as a hasty garrison force, but as a full army. Once Fortitude and Audacity are up to full complement, Egypt will deploy six superb field armies, each one of them a product of the full capacity of Antigonus I's military complex.
Formidable as this force may be...I fear it will not be enough against the breadth of our enemies. I must find a way not merely to defend the empire, but to expand it, to gain the manpower needed for additional hosts. This is a tricky proposition, as any expansion also means more territory for our already-stretched forces to cover. Nevertheless, I must find a way to do it.
Any plan of expansion must first begin with Carthago. Most of Africa's ports are now Ptolemaic, but wealthy Carthago remains outside our grasp. The port capital is held by the Masaesyli, allied with Rhodos and already at war with us. We must plan carefully: I do not believe Bravado alone is strong enough to assault the city quickly, while enemy naval power in/near the Strait of Sicily prevents us from contemplating a siege/blockade. We must first disperse the remaining Rhodan presence inland, to free an additional army for assisting Bravado against Carthago.
To that end, Nicomedes seeks to attack the Bite of the Basilisk, currently encamped at Zeugitana, on the border between Carthago and Thapsus. The Bite has been sorely weakened in the Thapsus battles, but remains the largest Rhodan force in Africa, however reduced. Once the Bite are finally defeated, the Carthago road will be opened once Egyptian reinforcements are freed.
The Bravado march north from Thapsus; it is but a short distance to the Zeugitana plain. The reconstituted Bravado, a full Egyptian army, should easily defeat the Bite, less than half Bravado's size. The Bite's field fortifications will avail them little with such numerical disparity. Nicomedes will then march back to Thapsus to await reinforcement. Once the Zeugitana encampment comes within sight, however, an unexpected development transpires. The Masaesyli defenders of Carthago, a field army plus the city garrison itself, have surged forward to assist their Rhodan allies. This will not be some perfunctory mop-up operation, but instead a great battle.
Nicomedes' first instinct is retreat...he has not sought this battle. Almost immediately, however, he sees great opportunity. Carthago's defenders are HERE on this open plain, with naught but a hasty wooden palisade instead of the port capital's great walls! The Masaesyli have rashly thrown open the door to their city. The Battle of Zeugitana will not be for an empty North African plain, but instead for the Jewel of Africa itself!
It is worth the risk. Nicomedes is outnumbered, but not overwhelmingly so. The 20,000 Bravado are faced by roughly 30,000 Rhodan and Masaesyli troops. The great bulk of the enemy, however, are the desert Masaesyli. Their forces are lightly armored desert spearmen, javelins, and slingers. The enemy have no field artillery. The Bravado prepare for battle.
Nicomedes' hope is that the Masaesyli host, already haven proven rash, will ignore the Rhodan encampment and move directly to attack. He arrays the the Bravado phalanxes defensively upon a small hillcrest, endeavoring to defeat the desert horde first before turning his attention to the few Rhodans within the palisade. Alas, the Masaesyli commander does not take the bait, but packs his warriors into the fort.
Nicomedes idly considers just waiting them out, thinking that with 30,000 men crammed into a little square fort, a dearth of food and overflowing latrines alone will soon force most of them from the stifling enclosure. The general curses Crea-Artistos, God of Game Mechanics, knowing that this particular strategy is not possible under the "rules of war" in this universe. He prepares to advance.
Nicomedes carefully prepares the assault. First ballistae destroy the fort's arrow towers, eliminating their missile fire. He then orders the artillery to expend their remaining ammunition upon the closely-packed troops within. Accuracy is not a great concern with such a large and dense target; the ballistae using flaming projectiles and wreak great slaughter.
https://i.imgur.com/r7vA5aJ.jpg
Rhodan hoplites taking artillery fire at the south gate.
Nubian bowmen then carefully advance to just within range of troops defending the south and east gates. They rain arrows upon the defenders, prioritizing the lightly-armored Masaesyli. The bowmen themselves take return fire from desert slingers, and suffer casualties. On balance, however, far more enemy are slain. The bowmen expend their ammunition and retire. They are shaken by casualties; nearly 2000 archers have perished. Yet between ballistae and arrows, over 6000 enemy are killed in this first stage of the battle.
https://i.imgur.com/G6FkChV.jpg
Zeugitana fort defenders await melee battle amidst the carnage wrought by missile fire.
Nicomedes divides his infantry into two equal-sized assault groups, each to assault one of the gates. The Bravado will attack the south and east gates. The light cavalry will be of little use in the attack itself; they ride out to the west of the fort, assuming a position in which to intercept routing enemy.
The assault groups advance slowly toward the gates, the phalanxes with pikes lowered. Nicomedes' tactic is to place phalanxes in the gate openings, providing an impregnable front to the defenders within, while other infantry break down wooden walls to make flanking attacks. The Egyptian infantry reach the gates (really, just wall gaps). A fierce combat rages at each gate, while thorax swordsmen start breaking down walls near the earlier-destroyed corner towers.
https://i.imgur.com/WsvSuNN.jpg
Nubian spearmen attack at the east gate.
https://i.imgur.com/Q7NtfYp.jpg
The general's Royal Guard at the south gate. Nicomedes himself, sword drawn, at rear left of the phalanx.
While the gate struggles rage, Thorax Swordsmen and Thureos spearmen break the walls and enter the enclosure at multiple points. The melee widens. No longer faced by an enemy focused at the gates, but now seemingly on all sides, the still-numerous Rhodan and Masaesyli defenders begin to waver. The Bravado infantry slowly advance within the compound and converge upon the center of the fort. The defenders break, and the fort is lost. The Battle of Zeugitana is won, a decisive victory for Nicomedes and the Bravado.
https://i.imgur.com/4gNgu5k.jpg
Thorax swordsmen rush into the Zeugitana enclosure.
https://i.imgur.com/XV2JUue.jpg
Bravado phalanx makes final advance within the surrendering fort.
It has been another bloody battle, second only to First Thapsus in bloodletting. 4700 Bravado have fallen...but of the 30,000 enemy, fully 23,000 are killed or captured at Zeugitana. The tattered Rhodan and Masaesyli remnants fall back upon Carthago's walls, but their strength has been broken. Carthago's walls still await, but the now-decimated condition of their defenders now makes an assault feasible by Bravado alone.
Nicomedes immediately advances at the heels of the Zeugitana defenders. He does not wait at Carthago to build siege engines, but endeavors to strike before the disorganized remnants can even begin to reconstitute. The Bravado hurl themselves forward with only a few siege ladders. It is enough. The city assault is inevitably bloody; 3000 more Bravado fall to missile fire from the towers. With only skeleton forces defending the walls, however, they are easily overcome. The Jewel of Africa is conquered, and the rich province unified under Ptolemaic rule.
Carthago is one of the richest cities in the world...perhaps
the richest, along with Seleucid Antioch. In prior Egyptian conquests, Ptolemaic Pharaohs have invariably pursued a policy of immediate, total reconstruction. Here, however, I cannot see the value in destroying such a wealthy metropolis. Much of the existing structure is already Hellenic, although not Egyptian. No cultural threat emanates from Carthago's institutions, which in any event are commercially-oriented rather than cultural or religious. I elect to leave the Jewel of Africa as it is, at least for now. Quite frankly, we need the revenue for our coffers now, and cannot wait for a lengthy reconstruction process.
Elsewhere, we continue to hunt elusive Rhodan bands operating in the interior of Africa and Phazania. I myself chase the Companions of Cerberus, but the wily Rhodan commander avoids my Discipline. Finally one of my Royal Spies wrecks the Companions' baggage train, allowing me to steal a march and draw closer. I ambush the Companions at Tripolis, in the desert hinterland beyond Lepcis. The Rhodan column makes a brief spirited attack upon my phalanx line, but the effort is futile. Already disheartened by the surprise of ambush, the Rhodans' morale soon breaks. The Companions are defeated, pursued, and then destroyed.
https://i.imgur.com/wO8zMjD.jpg
Brief combat during the ambush at Tripolis
Thus far, this great war seems to be proceeding well enough for Egypt. Carthago and Thapsus have been taken, and wealthy Africa unified. Rhodan forces within our territory have been stymied from causing mischief and are slowly being brought to heel. Macedonian, Rhodan, and Masaesyli fleets ply the seas, but to date have not endeavored to attack...although admittedly their presence has likewise curbed the activities of our own Zephyr and Typhoon. Seleucid agents have appeared in eastern Nabataea, but Seleucid armies have not moved in this area...indeed, have not even been sighted. Audacity has reached Libya and begins to reconstitute, along with Fortitude.
My hope is that our enemies have entered into war with Egypt only due to alliance obligations. Perhaps many will remain content to let a state of war exist for diplomatic reasons, while not actually acting aggressively. I cannot plan on such an assumption; Egypt will continue in readiness to defend the empire. Yet the notion is enough for me to pursue a strategy in which we refrain from attacking any "enemy" which happens to move near...already such forces have often proven to retire just as quickly without hostile action. We have already been magnaminously freeing battle captives, rather than killing or enslaving, in an effort to dampen widespread enmity towards Egypt; we will continue this practice as well. Economically, we certainly don't need or want the slaves in any case; the damned wretches are more trouble than they're worth.
I, Pharaoh Chariton I, have already passed my 80th year, and have been expecting to cross the Styx at any moment for well over a decade. I will pass very soon. My legacy must be an Egypt at war with myriad enemies throughout the Greek world; I cannot change that. Yet I also will leave my successor an Egyptian army stronger than ever before, as well as a unified wealthy Africa and one of the richest cities in the world. Onward Egypt!
