Failed assault, dead army

Playing as the Brutii the senate asks me to take Pergamum, which was a bit out of my strategic plans but I decide to give it a go. So I shipped over a full stack of troops, 2 ballista teams and a pretty good 4 star general. Upon arrival i find that the garrison is pitiful (2 hoplite units) and the only advantage they have is their basic stone walls. I decide to assault without delay trusting my ballistas instead of laying siege and build rams and towers.

when I get into the battle map, my ballistas deploy to take out the nearest gate but they ran out oof ammo before the gate had 40% damage because you have to destroy the gateway first in order to blast the gate.

So, I decided to withdraw everybody and give it a try again during winter time. But to my horrorized surprise I got the 'heroic death' icon saying my general was kaput and the rest of his forces were nowhere to be seen!!! ~:confused:

After I searched the map to no avail I had to accept my troops were gone for good. They were'nt in any of my settlements or any other place. I had no lands in Asia minor and the fleet I used to take them there was busy elsewhere at the time.

I supose this unfortuate event has occured to someone else but being used to MTW where even your beaten, disbanded crusades/jihads returned home, I was expecting to find them someplace. I can only guess the general took his own life at his failure, too samurai to me, and his army disbanded urged by their shame.

Anyway, new lesson to be learned. Hope it helps. ~:cheers: