How easily the tide of war shifts

As the Romans, I have been fighting against the Parthians for about two decades now. Well most of the fighting is me defending (I'm not ready to invade, I'm having enough trouble with the Germans). Since it is so hard to send legionaries over there (this is still 080), I decided to make native armies. After getting my Persian Archers crushed several times, I made a couple horse archer armies (fight fire with fire, if you will).

Well anyways here is my story. I had an army of 20 slightly depleted horse archers sitting on a river crossing and I was attacked by an army of cataphracts, archer-spearmen, phalanxes (yeah Parthia loves them for some reason), and 4 full groups of armored elephants. Between the cataphracts and elephant cataphracts, I thought I had the battle lost. I possitioned my guys and as soon as the battle started their whole army charged across.

That's when the great thing happened. Normally arrows seem to bounce off of elephants, but with twenty units all firing at one group of elephants in the lead, soon all but two elephants were dead. My archers then started firing at their general who was now in the lead. This is the great part! The two remaining elephants turned and charged back across the river an into their own army. The elephants managed to kill a dozen more elephants and make their groups panic. Now all the remaining elephants decimated the remaining Parthian army. With that and killing their general, they fled. I chased them down and kill most of them.

The battle I thought I was sure to win only cost me about a dozen guys.

Here is the post battle image:
https://img85.imageshack.us/img85/6496/maa061yy4.th.jpg
Everything dead on the near bank was killed by their own elephants.

Was a ford...is now a bridge

Oh man, that is awesome! I love these kinds of stories. Has the overall landscape of the Parthian war changed after this? Or was this one small victory in a sea of problems?

A balanced army I see. :yes:

MarcusAureliusAntoninus, could you send me the savegame of your campaign? I'm intrested in playing with Rome but at a later stage, and you have given me the idea that both the germans and parthians have a decent amount of power in your campaign, which is cool. My email is: elsongodinho@gmail.com

Originally Posted by Caveira:
MarcusAureliusAntoninus, could you send me the savegame of your campaign? I'm intrested in playing with Rome but at a later stage, and you have given me the idea that both the germans and parthians have a decent amount of power in your campaign, which is cool. My email is: elsongodinho@gmail.com

I've watched Marcus' game progress in the EB Beta Testing section, and it looked like he took some pains to follow the traditional Roman expansion. What's interesting though, is how the remaining factions have stepped so nicely into their true historical roles!

I've had battles like that as Rome against Carthage... with me defending my wooden wall cities. Elephants break wall, javelins break elephants, elephants break enemy by charging through the breach they made. I've seen 1200 or so men killed by a single charging beserk elephant unit before.

Originally Posted by Kull:
I've watched Marcus' game progress in the EB Beta Testing section, and it looked like he took some pains to follow the traditional Roman expansion. What's interesting though, is how the remaining factions have stepped so nicely into their true historical roles!

I have tried to follow the historical expansion of Rome in my game and I have also been very impressed with the AI faction behaviour.

My problem now is that the Gauls and the Sweboz are so powerful that I am fighting heavy defensive actions along the alps, the pyrenees and the balkans...

I tried to help the Casse get a foothold in Belgium (to ease the pressure on me) by the expedient of sending an elite army of cavalry up through the alps and along the rhine, while a fleet carrying a diplomat and a crack squad of elephants ventured round by sea. I dropped the diplomat off at Dover and rendevoused my elephants with my cavalry (who had spent a year lurking in the black forest...), and assaulted Bagacos.

All was going to plan...

...but when my diplomat offered the province to the Casse as a gift ... they turned him down:wall:

Elsewhere the Ptolomaioi are only in control of Egypt, but instead of focusing on the Seleukids, they keep shipping armies across to try and dislodge me from Crete...:juggle2:

Originally Posted by Wonderland:
Oh man, that is awesome! I love these kinds of stories. Has the overall landscape of the Parthian war changed after this? Or was this one small victory in a sea of problems?

Well, I crushed another army right after this and they asked for peace and 35000. Since I have 6 million, I took it and got traderights. There has now been peace for two turns.

Originally Posted by Thaatu:
A balanced army I see. :yes:

I fought a half-dozen to a dozen battles with Parthia with my legions, then put som natives on my border as I always do (usually 6 levies and 2 missile units - in this case 2 Nazra Gund and 6 Persian Archers). They failed, so I put 4 pezhetario mercs and 12 persian archers on the border. I found out that four groups of cataphracts can go right through spears and kill off all but 100 of those guys. So finally I decided to go with the mobility of horse archers - lots of horse archers. They still have to run away often.

Originally Posted by Caveira:
MarcusAureliusAntoninus, could you send me the savegame of your campaign? I'm intrested in playing with Rome but at a later stage, and you have given me the idea that both the germans and parthians have a decent amount of power in your campaign, which is cool. My email is: elsongodinho@gmail.com

I would but for two reasons: 1- Germany is on its knees (though I think I have earlier saves) and 2- I have altered my own version so much that I doubt it would be compatible. And if you could load it, all cities would be upgradible and many would probably be near riot status. Plus I reset all of the reform stuff. You could still try if you want...

Originally Posted by Kull:
I've watched Marcus' game progress in the EB Beta Testing section, and it looked like he took some pains to follow the traditional Roman expansion. What's interesting though, is how the remaining factions have stepped so nicely into their true historical roles!

I had to work a little to get guys to do what I want. I assisted Sweboz against Aedui (without cheating), but that's ok because they were my ally at the time. And I had to put tons of work (and cheats) into keeping Baktria down and helping Pahlav.

The war between Gaul and Germany was really beneficial for me, the numbers 2 and 3 powers of Europe kept eachother busy and weak.

Here is my current empire (Yes! It is finally an empire!)(I've taken Hungry since then actually):
https://img223.imageshack.us/img223/1786/140ws5.jpg
I decided to stop a the Elbe and Czecholslovakia so that I can Romanize those Germans before moving my legions on.

I just had another unexpected tide shifting battle. This time it was against me though. I was sure that Sweboz was on their death death bed, so I devided up my forces and left a single legion in the Sweboz home territory (they still own it but I was attacking little armies before they could group together and form a counter attack). I somehow managed to give myself a recreatation of "The Battle of Teutoburg Forest". :skull:

The father of "Germanicus" was leading a single legion on a raid in 'Sweboland'. (This guy was titled Germanicus too but he ironically got it after his son.) I waited the season in a plain (NE of Hamburg) and suddenly a 20 unit army from Scandinavia attacked me. I let foolish pride lead me to think it would be a pushover.

The battle started with the AI trying to flank me with skirmisher cavalry. Wanting to protect my missile units, I had my entire cavalry pursue. I fell for what, if I didn't know better, was a well laid out trap. The german infantry attacked my line of legionaries slightly off center so that their right flank rapped around my left flank. Several groups of light spearmen then chased off my now guardless missile units. I tried to save my missile units with my tired cavalry, but the spearmen chasing them turned and beat-up my cavarly really bad befor my cavalry inevitably won. My surrounded left flank paniced and broke. The panic spread and half of my army slowly "peeled" away starting at the left. Two of their three generals with a quarter of their army held down my brave right flank while the rest of the germans slaughtered my fleeing men. Using my exhausted cavalry, I freed up my pinned down right flank and killed one enemy general. Some of my missiles and the left flank reformed and stood their ground long enough for me to attack them with my exhausted right flank.

At this point, with the battle still in good favor for the Germans, they ordered a general retreat. Fleeing in different directions, I was able to kill a couple of groups of germans including their head general. It would have been a crushing defeat if the germans hadn't decided to run. That was the first time I've lost a whole legion (well half of it was left). I was withdrawing forces from Germania so I'm now down to two legions there.

Oh no.... I was getting so excited reading this report... until I got to the Germans retreating part... That's exactly what's wrong with RTW, damnitall. It was unfolding perfectly up 'till that point, so awesome. Textbook massacre. One general goes down and a winning army retreats? Come on. I'll just tell myself it was a hit and run............ oh who am I kidding, they would have slain every last man.

Originally Posted by Kugutsu:
All was going to plan...

...but when my diplomat offered the province to the Casse as a gift ... they turned him down:wall:

I don't know why you wouldn't accept a free province, but if you offer either 10,000 or 100,000, the AI will accept a province. Smaller sums may work, but that's what I always use.

Thanks! I offered 120 000 (I had to cheat to get it, but its for a good cause) and they took it off my hands. Now hopefully they will spice things up a bit in northern europe, and not just lose it instantly to rebellion...

I just need to get my army home again now, which will be interesting...

Originally Posted by MarcusAureliusAntoninus:
At this point, with the battle still in good favor for the Germans, they ordered a general retreat. Fleeing in different directions, I was able to kill a couple of groups of germans including their head general. It would have been a crushing defeat if the germans hadn't decided to run. That was the first time I've lost a whole legion (well half of it was left). I was withdrawing forces from Germania so I'm now down to two legions there.

There must have been a sudden thunderstorm - everybody knows since Noreia the Germans are afraid of Donar's revenge.~D

Yeah, I can't believe they fled. The field of battle was theirs.

Since then I've made that general who lost that battle a governor and his second son who just came of age took his old job of annoying the Germans.