Wolves on the Border; A Getae AAR

WOLVES ON THE BORDER, A GETAI CAMPAGN.


First off: the rules. My campaign is a VH/M settings.

I’m posting this AAR about halfway through my current Getai campaign. Currently I am at war with the Makedoni and it has ground down into a real meat grinder with the withdrawal of my premier army in the field (who this AAR will follow solely)

A BREIF HISTORY:

After many years of conquest the Thrakian lands were now under the control of the Getai, only Nicomedia remained free. Now the Getic eyes turned northwards to the steppes and expansion into this untamed wilderness. New armies were recruited to expand the empire northwards, taking careful steps not to disturb the Sarmatians who we have traded with peacefully for many years.

The Empire at 251bc

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In 252bc a small Sarmatian band of raiders crossed the border and attacked a Getai settlement. The Sarmatian war had begun. Caught off guard by this treachery the High war council of the Getai were caught off guard and hurriedly assembled a mercenary army under the command of Partatua a young general who showed some promise and sent him off to fight the Sarmatians while 2 more armies were trained and placed under the command of Sluxna and Oltentia. Meanwhile in the north Partatua was having a hard time adapting to the strange tactics of the Sarmatian horsemen and they handed him defeat after defeat. Demoralized he turned back for home with hordes of Sarmatians hot in his heels chasing him all the way. While Partatua was escaping to the homelands; in the south Oltentia and Sluxna arrived in the Sarmatian wild lands. Very quickly they suffered the same defeats as Partatua, but recovered to decimate the armies that attacked, thus crippling the Sarmatian war machine. Very quickly Sarmatian cities began to fall one after another. During the siege of Ursa Oltentia was killed when a group of Sarmatian spearmen wheeled around on his cavalry charge and killed his horse throwing him and breaking his neck. His death stunned his men, but it galvanized them into an even more ferocious fighting machine and they summarily slaughtered the Sarmatian troop’s man for man and killed all the inhabitants of Ursa.

Meanwhile back in Sarmiszegethusa the Council of Nobility met in the shadow of the Kogaionon to discuss the general state of the empire and the hottest topic on everyone’s lips was the war with the Sarmatians which had revealed a startling lack in preparedness of the Getai military machine, as was evidenced by the poor quality of the troops. Comosikus, an elderly member of the nobility and the governor of Tylis put forth a radical plan to overhaul the failing old ways of the military and institute a new reform of standing armies to exist throughout the empire. The first would be raised in Sarmiszegethusa. Unknown to the council was the imminent danger building to the south. The treacherous Makedoni were massing for a strike at Sardis, Tylis and Byzantion. While large garrisons defended the cities nothing else stood between them and the Makedionian hordes to the south.

In the spring of 232bc the Makedoni attacked Tylis. Now war existed on 2 fronts! For the Sarmatians, while near defeat, were still causing problems in the north. Fortunately the first standing army of the Getae was nearing completion. All it needed was a leader.

Nearing his home in the capital of Sarmiszegethusa Partatua looked forward to seeing his wife, and perhaps fathering a child, when a messenger arrived. He was to proceed with all speed back to the capital! The Makedoni have attacked! And he was to take command of the first major army of this new era in Getic military history.

In the summer of 229bc he arrived back in Sarmiszegethusa to take up the reigns of this new army. All were green beyond belief, but they had the fire burning in their eyes and the firm belief that should they die they would sit beside Zalmoxis in the afterlife! And so they began the long march south…. And into history.

The Empire at 229bc
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THE WOLF PACK:

Partatua decided to attack the Makedoni capital of Pella, his spies reported that it was heavily guarded. But he knew that its loss would shock the vile Greeks into submission. By this time also the doubts of his own defeats to the Sarmatians in the north ate away at his sole, and it was whispered widely among the troops that he was a coward.
This caused a great deal of discontent and morale was at an all time low. Still they marched on to Pella and lay siege to the city in the summer of 228bc

As was expected the Makedoni sent wave after wave of troops to try to relieve their capital and resting place of their greatest ever kings, never should their remains be allowed to fall into the hands of dirty barbarians. However none could breach the lines of the Getae phalanx, and with a new strategy he had devised Partatua placed his archers and Komotai skirmishers in the rear lines and used their fire power in concentrated and deadly barrages on enemy units, softening them up for the main battle lines. By the end of 228 BC some 10000 Makedoni troops lay rotting in the fields surrounding Pella, among them was no less than 5 Makedoni royal family members. This was enough for the Governor of Pella; he sallied forth with his army to try to put an end to this insult. But by this time Partatua had proven his worth to his men and they loved him for all his victories. His very words inspired even the weakest of soldiers to fight for him. As the garrison sallied forth the Getae battle lines formed up in their now classic formation. The first row grouped the Getikoi Stratiotai as the main battle line, forming up behind them was the Komotai Agrainai; the third line consisted of the Komotai. The fourth line formed the beginning of the reserves, in that the Drapanai formed up, the fifth and final line contained the Komotai Thorakitai Stratiotai used to break up enemy formations or provided assistance to faltering troops these were the most elite men in the army. Forming up on the left flank Partatua placed his heavy cavalry body guards each had served with him in Sarmatia and he was brothers with all of them.

Quickly the battle was joined each side jostling for position. Half way through the battle and all of Partatua’s reserves were committed, he himself had not escaped the fighting, having driven off several flanking attempts. But by the end it was an emphatic victory for the Getae army, now known by their enemies as the Wolf Pack, for their inhuman howling before and during battle.

In the winter of 228bc the great city of Pella was taken. Near the end of that year an assassin infiltrated the city and assonated Partatua in his sleep. And with that the life of the Getae’s most promising young general was snuffed out. A single assassin took care of what 10000 of Makedonia’s finest young men could not.

The Wolf Pack was outraged at the underhanded killing of their leader; they vowed never to stop killing the Makedoni until none was left alive! But for now they would leave Pella with the body of their general, their hero and take him on the long march back to the Kogaionon where he could rest beside Zalmoxis as his favorite son.

In the year 222bc a new young general had come of age. His name was Idanthyrus; he possessed all the fire and drive of the Wolf Pack’s previous general but none of the combat experience; however his men made up for that with their own. Each now combat veteran. Learning from the death of Partatua, Idanthyrus ordered assassins and spies to provide protection for himself and his troops. With this in play they moved south again. By this time the wart in Sarmatia had been over nearly 10 years so all the Getae resources were now flowing south.

Idanthyrus knew that he must continue down the Greek coastline to the great city of Demitrias. In the winter of 220bc he laid siege to this city. And again the Makedoni demon flowed out of their holes in the ground to attack the Daoi. Every time they defeated one army another seemed to take up its place, the flow of troops seemed to be never ending, and their throats became horse from howling at their enemies allay and night. Terrified the Makedoni commanders usually ran at the first chance they had, only to be cut down by the Daoi as they gave pursuit. They were living up to their word on a single man would leave the field alive while they were on it! In the winter on 218 BC the Garrison commander was out of food in the city and had no choice but to sally forth to try to drive these invaders from their lands. But again the wolves proved too cunning and out flanked the enemy commander to take the walls and use his own towers against him! This through the army into disarray and the Daoi charged. Again the Makedoni were slaughtered to the man. Thus the city of Demitrias was captured. Not willing to settle back Idanthyrus immediately set off to Athens and by spring he was at its walls.

The garrison commander was so surprised at the site of these invaders at his walls so quickly he sallied forth to try to remove them before they had had time to dig in. So in the winter of 218bc he attacked. Again the howls of the Wolves rang out to the heavens terrifying the enemy into a mass of quivering children. After a short but heavy engagement the Makedoni were destroyed and the city of Athens was theirs. However all was not well in Athens. For in the cities darkest shadows lurked a killer. As Idanthyrus ate with his men one evening the assassin stuck poisoning him. Within moments he was dead. The treacherous Makedoni had struck again! 2 generals cut down in the prime of their lives. Morning their general the Wolf pack again made that familiar journey back to the Kogaionon.

As soon as they had left Athens however the Makedoni laid siege to the city and retook the city in 217 BC. By the year 215 BC a new general was ready to be named he was Dnestr, he showed all the promise of his predecessors and more! And with a new general came a new battle plan. He would arch on the port city of Thermon, while not in the hands of the Makedoni, he did know that if he captured this city it would become impossible for the vile Makedoni menace to out flank him in the Peloponnese. In 214bc he laid siege to the city of Thermon, and in a relatively minor skirmish took the city just one season later. The other reason he wanted this city was because here lay the Dephine oracle and temple of Apollo. In s rash decision that only could have been made by youth he ordered it burned to the ground. This infuriated the Makedoni and they sent their most elite army to deal with them. The army arrived in the spring of 213bc and immediately attacked. In a brutal battle the Makedoni pushed the Daoi right to the brink of breaking but fortunately they held on and were able to drive off the Greek devils once again. The price for this was high however. Looking to seize upon this victory Dnestr came up with a convoluted plan to cross into the very Southern tip of Greece and lay siege to Sparta her self! Already well under strength and weary from the previous battles the wolves made their way to Sparta. Spies sent ahead of the main army told of a lightly defended city with a major prize……. The Makedonian king Demetrios himself! This was too good to be true Dnestr thought as he urged his men on harder. In the spring of 212bc he was at the Spartan walls preparing to dig in.

Immediately sensing weakness the Makedonians attacked Dnestr’s much wearied troops each time they drove the Greek vermin back more of their brothers lay dead in the fields. They could not keep this up for much longer; Dnestr’s madness would kill them all.

Finally giving into pressure from his staff Dnestr agreed to withdraw from the field back to the Getae homelands for refit. He ordered back hulled ships from Pella to the coastline and in the dead of night nearing the end of 212bc the Daoi left Sparta vowing to return to finish the job they started.

Upon returning to Buridava from some much needed R&R Dnestr was relieved of command in favor of Zalmoxis a young nobleman who had shown some promise in the arts of war. So in 211bc under a new commander the Wolf pack again set off to continue the fight against the Makedoni. Only time would tell if this young general would show the strength of his name sake…………

The Empire at 211bc
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Time to meet the Wolves
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Wow, full gold chevron army, too bad that general sucks.
What's the attack/defense of those wolves?

210bc: The Second Siege of Sparta.https://img144.imageshack.us/img144/...eigeop9.th.png


Meanwhile in the city of Sparta the great Makedonian king Demetrios held court with his advisors. Suddenly a young messenger boy burst in through the palace doors. “My Lord!” He gasped, “My Lord!”
“Yes boy what is it?” Demetrios queried.
“My Lord it’s... its” The boy stammered, his fear obvious
“Come now out with it!” Demetrios barked
“My Lord it’s the Wolves! Those nasty Getai have landed and are marching here as we speak!” Demetrios visibly paled,
“Here you say? Are you sure?”
“Yes my lord they are killing all that stand in their way and razing the fields of local farmers!” The messenger boy spoke true, for right at that moment a haunting howl filled the night. Demetrios’ hands began to quiver and his skin turned ashen white. “My lord what shall we do?” one of his advisors asked.
In a weak voice the ageing man said “Double the wall guard, and bring as many people into the city. We must prepare for a long siege; they will not leave like last time.”
“It will be done my king” And with that the second siege of Sparta had begun….

In the spring of 210bc a young captain of Makdonia, tried to relieve his king’s hopeless position. The young captain bought 921 men to the fields, all he could muster on short notice. The Daoi sniggered at such a pathetic showing and turned to face the doomed souls.

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Zalmoxis formed his men up in their classic formation and waited. The wide plain around the city of Sparta made for easy maneuvering of troops and less option for an ambush. No matter he would beat these whelps with sheer numbers alone! As the lines closed he ordered his archers to open fire on the Makedonian pistoli. Hundreds of arrows blackened the sky as the rained down on the hapless troops. 3 salvos later the spineless Makedonian troops broke and ran in face of a far superior force. The Daos archers switched their targets to another band of peltasts, again raining arrows upon their heads.

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On the opposite flank the Makedonian captain and his Taxies Phalangites engaged the main line. Zalmoxis immediately ordered his reserve Komotai Thorakitai Stratiotai to encircle the hopelessly outclassed captain. Seeing this happen before his very eyes the Captain broke and ran with the raging wolves in hot pursuit. This sparked a general rout in the small army as now Zalmoxis himself spurred into action to drive all his foes from the field or into it as the case may be! An easy victory, but one worth celebrating as it was Zalmoxis’ first taste of battle and it had been a great success.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dumbass

Wow, full gold chevron army, too bad that general sucks.
What's the attack/defense of those wolves?

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Yea he sucks for now. But thats because my 2 most expeirinced generals were killed off by the Maks.:furious3: the first wasa great 4 star general and the other was a 2 star, well on his way to being 4 star or better. The last general I had in that army, Dnestr, was even worse as he nearly decimated the entire army, if I had not with drawn I would have lost large portions of my most experienced troops.

As for the stats of the army well it has never been beaten in the field, close to it in Thermon but they hung in there.(About 10 years of constant war will do that :sweatdrop: ) The exact stats according to the game I have no idea though.

Good job, Aranor....Applauses from a Gentis Daciae.

Wow, now that's some story, very nice work mate and highly enjoyable to read. I have one question though: If i see correctly you use a combination of skirmishers and archers. However trying the same tactic in my Pontos campaign i was unsuccesful with my archers due to the maks heavy armor so i had to switch to skirmishers/sphendonetai combination. Are those archers of yours better then any other type of archers or do you use them in a special tactic?

Well written, nice to see the Getai beat those wretched Makedonians.

Keep it up. :yes:

Thanks for the compliments guys! Im really enjoying writing this AAR and playing this campaign!:yes:

Aut Nihil:"I have one question though: If i see correctly you use a combination of skirmishers and archers. However trying the same tactic in my Pontos campaign i was unsuccesful with my archers due to the maks heavy armor so i had to switch to skirmishers/sphendonetai combination. Are those archers of yours better then any other type of archers or do you use them in a special tactic?"

The answer is yes I do use a combination of archers and Komotai skirmishers. Not knowing anything about the Pontos TO&E I cannot comment on their strength of their skirmish troops. However from my expeirience with the Getai i have found the Komatai Agrganai have by far the best range of any archer along with greater damage the the greek toxoktai and Gallic Archers with better mellee ability.

As for the last part of your question the only tactic I use is to place the units behind my main battle line and use them to wipe out the enemy skirmish troops and cavalry ( for some reason the Mak cavalry is really weak against archers, i have killed many mak generals with this tactic.) Hope that helps!

Thanks for the answer mate, in my pontos campaign i use basic akontistai, they're good, but quite ineffective against armour units, unless i swing them arround so they come up behind the enemy and hit them in the back.

But your answers in combination with the story of your getai campaign really makes me wanna start playing with the Getai too :beam: .

Keep it up :beam:

The Battle of Lakonike 208 BC

During the second siege of Sparta word was sent to the remaining Makedonian cities in southern Greece that the Wolves had returned. A young general named Agis Mendaios was sent from Chalkis to deal with these wolves once and for all, and relieve their beleaguered garrison and king.

In the meantime Zalmoxis spies brought word that a large army was heading towards his position. Immediately he scrapped his plans for assaulting the city in favor of wheeling his troops around to face this new threat.

In the summer of 208 BC the two armies met on the plains below Sparta. Zalmoxis new that victory here would cripple the Makedoni war effort in Southern Greece permanently. The two armies stared across the wind swept plains. Zalmoxis knew that the only way he could break this army was to kill their general, easier said than done.

The Makedoni army began their march toward the Daos lines. As their skirmish troops entered into range of his archers Zalmoxis ordered them to fire. Volley after volley of arrows rained down on the enemy army. But still they would not break. The lines closed and the Makedoni phanagites engaged the heroic Getikoi Stratiotai in the main lines. For hours they fought neither side giving any ground. The Makedoni general began a final charge with his reserves. Immediately Zalmoxis ordered his archers to open fire. Arrows again rained down on the enemy lines. Their deadly fire cut the generals body guard in half. The Makedoni general not wishing to die withdrew his cavalry out of range of the Daos archers. Quickly taking stock of his situation the Makedoni general ordered an orderly withdrawal to their encampment. Seeing this Zalmoxis and his men let up a huge cheer.

The Makedoni general Agis set up camp some 10 km away and in the next season attacked again. This time he had a plan to try to break the impenetrable Daos lines. Again his Phalangites closed in on the Getai lines. Quickly the Makedoni skirmishers closed up with the Getai main body and opened fire. Zalmoxis ordered his archers to fire. Again volley after volley rained down on their heads, quickly they were decimated. Following close behind the Makedoni phalanx engaged the Getai main body. The Makedoni General Agis ordered his reserve pealtists to open fire on the Getai Archers. The archers just stood in place as the Peltasti rained a deadly barrage of javelins down on their heads. Agis marveled at the discipline of these barbarian warriors. They must have been out of arrows he assumed, and he charged his cavalry. Zalmoxis smiled a wolfs smile. He ordered his archers to open fire on the Generals bodyguards. The enemy general Agis faltered at the sight of hundreds of arrows flying through the air. This was all Daos archers needed as they loosed two more volleys. The arrows rained down on them killing almost all of their number. As Agis tried to withdraw to a safe distance he was hit by a stray arrow in the eye. The Makedoni general was dead! Zalmoxis let up a cheer and all the Getai warriors took a heart in their triumph.

Upon seeing their general fall the Makedoni began to falter. At first only a few men broke and ran, upon seeing this Zalmoxis ordered his fresh reserves into the main battle. This caused a general rout among the Makedoni and Zalmoxis ordered his cavalry into action and chased down every single man on that field and slaughtered them to the man.

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With confidence at an all time high Zalmoxis ordered his men back to their positions around the city of Sparta……

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Aut Nihil

Thanks for the answer mate, in my pontos campaign i use basic akontistai, they're good, but quite ineffective against armour units, unless i swing them arround so they come up behind the enemy and hit them in the back.

But your answers in combination with the story of your getai campaign really makes me wanna start playing with the Getai too :beam: .

Keep it up :beam:

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Akontistai are ok if you are not facing heavy armor, cavalry or archers/ slingers. Basically any army that is not a greek successor state army. In my Getai campaign the Maks were depolying large quantities of Akontistai to my great delight as their lack of any armor ment that I had them wiped out before a single javalin hit one of my troops.:laugh4:

I do recomend you give the Getai a go though. their starting possition and cash flow are not the best, but they can become a real powerhouse if used correctly. Their units are the best in the game in my opinion. A great combination of powerful barbarian infantry and greek style spearmen make for a tough opponent. Their only weakness is their lack of heavy Cavalry and a reasonable melee unit to breach the gap between the Drapinai and the Komotai Thorakitai Stratiotai, (their heaviest unit by far!) most of these short coming will be adressed in 0.8 i believe. :beam:

The Second Siege of Sparta and the Battle of Lakonike cont.

If Zalmoxis thought that the Makedoni were finished he was sadly mistaken. Makedoni royal family members from all over the south of Greece now used their vast personal fortunes to raise mercenary armies to try to force Zalmoxis and his rampaging wolves away from the failing city of Sparta. Season after season Makedoni family members tried, and died fighting Zalmoxis forces. The plains of Lakonike were littered with burial mounds of both Getai and Makedoni warriors. But still Zalmoxis prevailed. By now he was an experienced general in his own right, and living up to the reputation of both Partatua and Idanthyrus!

Then in the spring of 207 BC the cowardly king of the Makedoni finally sallied forth to meet Zalmoxis at the walls of his ravaged city. The battle was a forgone conclusion as Zalmoxis and his forces outnumbered the Makedoni 10-1. Zalmoxis positioned his forces on the crest of a hill and waited for the pitiful Makedoni. The Makedoni Akontistai sallied forth from the main gate. Zalmoxis ordered his archers to open fire. Hundreds of arrows cut the poorly armored Makedoni skirmishers down to a handful of men. The Akontistai broke and ran back into the city. “Pitiful” Zalmoxis thought. Right at that moment the Makedoni king rounded the walls from a rear gate. Zalmoxis immediately ordered his archers to open fire of the king’s bodyguard. The Makedoni king paused for a moment, this was all that Zalmoxis needed, and he ordered his phalanx to reposition to face the kings Hetairoi. Faced with no other option and men falling all around him the Makedoni king charged straight into the Komotai Thorakitai Stratiotai. Seeing that they could not hope to hold against such a powerful charge Zalmoxis ordered his forces to charge the rear of the king’s position and encircle his position. A fierce battle ensued during which the enemy king Demetrios was slain by the proud warriors of the Getai. Seeing this and the broken enemy run Zalmoxis allowed them to run as he had won the day and he had taken the city! Victory was his.

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Remembering what happened to previous commanders upon entering Makedonian cities he stayed only long enough to retrain his archers before he left the city defended by a small band of mercenaries until new units could be recruited to defend his prize. Now he would continue his righteous crusade against the Makedoni by laying siege to the city of Korinthos and again trapped inside was the new Makedoni king! This was too much good luck, two cities and two of the Makedoni devils kings slain by his brave troops. It seemed that nothing could stop him and his men

Any chance we'll see another update? I like this AAR, hope it'll continue. Otherwise, I know what it's like to have to little time to update..

Yes you will see another update. Currently work is very busy for me, and I am finally finishing a couple of mods for Civ4 warlords that I have had going for a while. When they are done ( soon I hope) I will be returning to EB with a vengence.

Currently there have been some developments in this campaign. The wolves after being battered while taking Korinthos and laying seige to Athens decided to return to Sarmezgethusa for retraining. During this time the war with the Romans took a turn for the worse and they were called to the Roman front in the west for a deep strike on Pavatum. When I let the game the Wolves were just laying seige to Pavatum and the Romans were about to taste the fury of the Wolves!:2thumbsup: