The Antigonids : A Makedonian AAR

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Originally Posted by Teleklos Archelaou

I've enjoyed this very much MAA!

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Thanks, Teleklos.


Which reminds me... For anyone who is knowledgeable on the subjects, please bear with the historical inaccuracies, bad conjugations, and random usage of English, Latin, and Greek in my AAR. :sweatdrop:

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Originally Posted by Mordrorru

Not the same way? ;)

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I meant that I have cheated in other ways, like using the move_character or character_reset to herd the AI or roleplay things that require quick movement. Then there is the toggle_fow cheat I obviously use. Then during the time I had Ptolemai as a protectorate my money went crazy and I used add_money 40000 (followed by add_money -40000 before ending turn so as not to completely cheat).

Chapter 26 : The Romani War (Part IV)

On a warm spring day, Demetrios lands his army on the beaches of Sardon. Marching westward, Demetrios besieges the city of Karali, the administrative center of the island. After a very short rest, Demetrios attacks the unwalled city:
https://img99.imageshack.us/img99/7143/maa1140ro9.png

Kart-Hadast had long ago stopped fearing the Romani and had long since moved the garrisons of her island colonies into Iberia. Now, the city of Karali was garrisoned by only two squads of medium infantry. With such a small force defending the island, Demetrios was sure to win a quick victory and take large amounts of vital Kart-Hadast territory.

Patrolling near the edge of town, one Kart-Hadast squad makes the fateful choice of charging Demetrios' army as they move forward. Countering them, the Basilikon Agema move in:
https://img99.imageshack.us/img99/2231/maa1141bc9.png

With them pinned, Demetrios personally leads a charge at their rear, breaking them:
https://img99.imageshack.us/img99/9484/maa1142go2.png

With half the garrison wiped out, Demetrios marches his forces into the city and surrounds the remaining Kart-Hadast infantry:
https://img528.imageshack.us/img528/3760/maa1143ov1.png

As their Phoenician gods watch on from their great spired temple, the Kart-Hadast die. Demetrios secures the strangly empty town relatively peacefully:
https://img528.imageshack.us/img528/6056/maa1145xp2.jpg

Almost directly north of there, Neikolaos is attacked by a Romani force attempting to relieve Segesta:
https://img99.imageshack.us/img99/425/maa1147ts1.png

This region had held out against the Romani for decades and only relatively recently lost its autonomy. Amoung Neikolaos' mercenaries are locals who wish to see anyone other than the Romani in control of their homeland:
https://img528.imageshack.us/img528/9451/maa1149te8.png

Marching forward in three lines, the Romani engage Neikolaos' mercenary army:
https://img99.imageshack.us/img99/7563/maa1150fz8.png

As the infantry engage eachother, Neikolaos orders his cavalry to move around the flanks and counters the Romani cavalry before they can out manuveur him:
https://img99.imageshack.us/img99/6595/maa1151ps0.png

The cavalry soon break and leave their infantry defenseless. With opened flanks the Romani infantry are easy targets and fall quickly. As the cavalry chase down the routing Romani, the mercenary infantry moves to counter the city garrison who arrive too late to assist the first Romani force:
https://img145.imageshack.us/img145/353/maa1153tu2.png

After a short clash, the garrison of Segesta breaks and attempts to flee back to the city:
https://img99.imageshack.us/img99/5008/maa1154iw4.png

With the cavarly in chase, too few reach the city to secure it and it soon surrenders to Neikolaos. Due to the low amount of population and the anti-Romani sentiment, Neikolaos peacefully takes control of the city:
https://img528.imageshack.us/img528/2852/maa1155uv7.jpg

With a renewed hatred of Kart-Hadast going about the Makedonian Empire, Demetrios orders his envoys to Iberia in an attempt to find any sort of friends amoungst the locals. Not only do the envoyes ensure the Hellenic colony of Emporion rebels, but they achieve an alliance with the Lusotani, who lead an confederation of Iberians against the forces of Kart-Hadast in the region:
https://img99.imageshack.us/img99/1309/maa1156pd1.jpg

Accepting the risk, Demetrios leaves Sardon in the hands of mercenaries, and he and his army board the fleet once more as soon as a reasonable amount of control is established in Karali. This time they sail north to Kyrnos where the island has an even lighter defense than Sardon. After a short seige, Demetrios attacks the city:
https://img528.imageshack.us/img528/9927/maa1157vs7.png

After the lengthy process of taking the town, Demetrios sets up his men around the town square. Enticing the Kart-Hadast levies to throw themselves agains the Pezhetairoi spears, Demetrios circles his Basilikon Agema around their rear and surround them:
https://img206.imageshack.us/img206/6462/maa1160wh2.png

Once again, a Kart-Hadast island is taken with relative ease:
https://img528.imageshack.us/img528/5876/maa1162ic4.jpg

Demetrios sets up military control of the region as quickly as possible, and leaves the island in the hands of Hellene mercenaries, setting sail once again. This time he heads north, to the Hellenic colony of Massalia, to begin his invasion of Romani Gaul.

With so much going on in the west, it is almost easy to forget about the eastern parts of the empire. Aristotelis does not forget, though, as he rules from Antiocheia. Around this time, tragety strikes. In Memphis, local Aigyptians encouraged by Ptolemai-friendly Hellenes and Makedones riot in the streets. Seeking to end the riots, Epikrates Herakleotikos, head of the Herakleotikos family and governor of Memphis, attempts to calm the crowds. Goaded on by yells of Ptolemai supporters, the angry crowd kills the man who brought them sanitation, education, and infrastructure:
https://img528.imageshack.us/img528/1607/maa1164it4.png

The Herakleotikos family doesn't punish anyone, though. They only tighten the military grip on the town.

In Damaskos, an inland trade route is finally established to increase trade between Syria and Aigyptos:
https://img132.imageshack.us/img132/6600/maa1166gd7.jpg

But the worst problem in the east is the continuing Kart-Hadast invasions. The garrison of Kyrene and its governor, Antisthenes Gortynios, son-in-law of Demetrios, find themselves attacked by the besieging Kart-Hadast army:
https://img99.imageshack.us/img99/2617/maa1167ii5.png

This time the Kart-Hadast rush their attack. As a result, they field only one ram, one tower, and a few ladders. The ram doesn't last long, as the archers on the walls set their arrows on fire and concentrate all fire on it:
https://img528.imageshack.us/img528/5607/maa1169ig7.png

Without their only ram, the Qarthadastism forces are forced to make an attempt on the walls. With the tower and ladders coming against the walls, the Kart-Hadast infantry climb up and charge over to the waiting Makedone levy pikemen:
https://img528.imageshack.us/img528/8137/maa1170jc5.png

With the ram out of service and the infantry climbing the walls, the Qarthadastism move their elephants forward. Taking a risk, Antisthenes moves his cavlary around the enemy flank and orders his horsemen to throw their spears:
https://img528.imageshack.us/img528/1808/maa1171ah6.png
[Can elephants knock down stonewall gates?]

It takes a while, but as the great beasts begin to fall as their hides fill with spears. Under great stress, the remaining elephants panic. Seeing a good oppertunity, Antisthemenes moves his cavlary away and allows the beast to take out their anger on their own men:
https://img99.imageshack.us/img99/4467/maa1172cc7.png

Meanwhile, a great many Kart-Hadast soldiers make their way onto the walls and begin to take control, even at a great cost to themselves:
https://img528.imageshack.us/img528/9967/maa1173ux9.png

Fearing loosing the walls, the captain off the southern walls orders the slingers to open fire on the fighting. Though the attack costs Makedone lives, the skill and accuracy of the slingers ensure that many more Kart-Hadast soldiers fall there:
https://img528.imageshack.us/img528/1196/maa1175mo4.png

As the last of the Kart-Hadast soldiers climb onto the walls, Antisthenes moves his cavalry in to harrass them from behind:
https://img528.imageshack.us/img528/1551/maa1176ee7.png

And to the south, a unit of Makedones exit the gate and circle around to the unguarded base of the Kart-Hadast tower. With more than half a unit of elite Kart-Hadast pikemen on it, the Makedones weaken the structure and force to come crubbling down:
https://img528.imageshack.us/img528/7051/maa1177dj6.png

With almost two thirds of his garrison as casualties, Aristhenes manages to once again fend off a siege:
https://img255.imageshack.us/img255/359/maa1179iw8.jpg

Far from Kyrenaia, Antisthenes' father-in-law, Basileus Demetrios, confronts the Romani in southern Gaul:
https://img255.imageshack.us/img255/8238/maa1180xl4.png

Lining up his men on the elevated land near the river's mouth, Demetrios fights several small Romani forces:
https://img528.imageshack.us/img528/7259/maa1181rf1.png

The Romani slowly march forward, then charge in at the center of the Makedone line:
https://img99.imageshack.us/img99/452/maa1182ra8.png

Most Romani are halted by the of sarrisa pikes, but the elite Italian cavalry manage to break through. Seeing the line in need, the newly recruited Samnite mercenaries charge in to assist the Makedones:
https://img146.imageshack.us/img146/818/maa1183cv4.png

Meanwhile, on the flanks, Demetrios leads his cavalry in an attack against the Romani light cavalry:
https://img99.imageshack.us/img99/6536/maa1184le7.png

Once again the Romani cavarly pose no challenge to the Hetairoi, and Demetrios is able to turn his attension back to the line. Charging in from the rear, Demetrios corners the Romani general, killing him:
https://img528.imageshack.us/img528/369/maa1185xf3.png

Defeating both units of cavalry engaged on the line, Demetrios leaves the remaining Romani to the Pezhetairoi and pulls away from the fight once again. With only a short rest, Demetrios is confronted by the last Romani general, who foolishly charges his small cavalry force into Demetrios and his Hetairoi:
https://img528.imageshack.us/img528/1189/maa1186ka4.png

With both Romani generals dead, the battle line breaks and the fight turns into a couple small pockets of fighting:
https://img87.imageshack.us/img87/7492/maa1187ok7.png

The eventual result is the Romani defeat:
https://img528.imageshack.us/img528/5162/maa1188an9.jpg

Demetrios is suprised to find that the city of Massalia greets him with open arms. The city had been controlled by the Romani for decades, but the city still remains distinctively Hellenic. The Hellenes in Massalia had grown tired of the Romani and greatly welcomed an empire of similar backrounds to themselves, even if it was the Makedonian Empire. Demetrios quickly goes about setting up control of the region and establishing a military system.

As he stays in the city, Demetrios gathers information on Gaul and the Romani power there. One thing he learns is that the Aedui Confederation has managed to use the weakening of Romani power to retake great parts of Gaul. Since Demetrios had no interest in control Gaul for the Makedonian Empire, this was quite good new. As Demetrios listens to various stories, one particular story catches his ear. It is said, that to the west there was a lake, a lake of gold. It is said that the Gauls have thrown great quantities of their gold into this lake and that there now lies a fortune there. The story is interesting, but the most interesting part is where the gold came from. It was said that great hordes of Galatian raiders had come from the east, bearing the trophies of a raided Makedonia and the treasuries of Delphi. Even more recently mercenaries who had been in the service of Pyrrhos of Epieros had placed gold in the lake. These mercenaries must have been none other than the mercenaries Pyrrhos had let loot the tombs of Aigai. Demetrios realized that to the west is the gold of Aigai, the treasures of the Demetrios' ancestors...

To the east, Pyrrhos defends Ariminum from Romani counter attacks, which have finally been assembled in Italia:
https://img528.imageshack.us/img528/1039/maa1190up7.png

Pyrrhos marches his men in order from the city and confronts the Romani in the fields near the city. Pinning down the Romani with the infantry, Pyrrhos uses the superior Illyrian cavalry to finish off the foolish Romani:
https://img512.imageshack.us/img512/3291/maa1192kt3.png

Only one Romani soldier escapes the battlfield with his life:
https://img99.imageshack.us/img99/4248/maa1193vq7.jpg

Also around this time, an earthquake hits Sikilia, but does little harm:
https://img99.imageshack.us/img99/896/maa1194nr7.jpg

And in Roma, the Makedonian spy network cripples the Romani military by burning down their main armory:
https://img528.imageshack.us/img528/3750/maa1189aq8.jpg

The known world in 207BC, five years into the Romani War:
https://img512.imageshack.us/img512/...xmak207tu5.png

Next: Chapter 27 : The Romani War (Part V)

Wow!I've just read the whole AAR in one and it is just one thing: epic!
Please go on and conquer the whole world

Amazing stuff! This AAR is so good. Hopefully my campaign is so successful!

Excellent job MAA! Keep it up

Again a very enjoyable update. How did you manage to destroy the siege tower? I thought that was only possible with flaming arrows?

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As he stays in the city, Demetrios gathers information on Gaul and the Romani power there. One thing he learns is that the Aedui Confederation has managed to use the weakening of Romani power to retake great parts of Gaul. Since Demetrios had no interest in control Gaul for the Makedonian Empire, this was quite good new. As Demetrios listens to various stories, one particular story catches his ear. It is said, that to the east there was a lake, a lake of gold. It is said that the Gauls have thrown great quantities of their gold into this lake and that there now lies a fortune there. The story is interesting, but the most interesting part is where the gold came from. It was said that great hordes of Galatian raiders had come from the east, bearing the trophies of a raided Makedonia and the treasuries of Delphi. Even more recently mercenaries who had been in the service of Pyrrhos of Epieros had placed gold in the lake. These mercenaries must have been none other than the mercenaries Pyrrhos had let loot the tombs of Aigai. Demetrios realized that to the west is the gold of Aigai, the treasures of the Demetrios' ancestors...

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...................... What lake are you talking of? To the west or to the east? Stories like this add so much life to a campaign.:2thumbsup:

It seems like, with the help of the gauls, you're conquering the west alot quicker than you did the east.

Maybe because in the east war you only had 1 army conquering places, that being Demetrios's army. You didn't mobilize your other armies into the Levent until practically the end of the war.

But in the west war you've got 3 armies conquering Italy. And like I said earlier, you've got the gauls taking large amounts of Roman territory.

Also Italy is smaller.

I mean even now, with their empire in ruins, the Ptolemaioi have more territory than Rome.

Thanks for the comments everyone, and thanks for following.
I don't have enough to make another chapter so I'm going to have find time to play the game for a while now, which may take a while. Which means it will probably be a couple of days before the next update.

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Originally Posted by Centurio Nixalsverdrus

Again a very enjoyable update. How did you manage to destroy the siege tower? I thought that was only possible with flaming arrows?


...................... What lake are you talking of? To the west or to the east? Stories like this add so much life to a campaign.:2thumbsup:

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That's the first time I've ever been able to do that to a tower. You are supposed to be able to destroy siege equiptment with infantry, but they often get confused and don't do as you are told. Before, I've only been able to destroy abandoned ballistae.

This might be a bit of a spoiler, but is a minor wonder that is planned. I thought it was already in v1.0 when I wrote an eariler part of the AAR, but it turns out it didn't make it. It's a lake in Gaul where they hid gold and after the Romans took southern Gaul, they drained the lake and took the gold. I hope I didn't leak anything critical, but my story wouldn't make since without that minor wonder...

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Originally Posted by Mordrorru

It seems like, with the help of the gauls, you're conquering the west alot quicker than you did the east.

Maybe because in the east war you only had 1 army conquering places, that being Demetrios's army. You didn't mobilize your other armies into the Levent until practically the end of the war.

But in the west war you've got 3 armies conquering Italy. And like I said earlier, you've got the gauls taking large amounts of Roman territory.

Also Italy is smaller.

I mean even now, with their empire in ruins, the Ptolemaioi have more territory than Rome.

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Yeah, in the east, I had to defend against the Armenians, the Carthaginians, and worry about the Romani attacking me. With all of my defensive forces, I couldn't afford to invade with more force. But with the conquest of Aigyptos I got more money and the armies defending against the Romani easily became invading forces.

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Originally Posted by Mordrorru

I mean even now, with their empire in ruins, the Ptolemaioi have more territory than Rome.

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im not so sure about this- the romani have 4 territories in italy and another 4 in gaul, IIRC from my old romani campaign. that makes 8. the ptolies have 1 in africa and i would say about 3-4 in asia. that makes 4-5.
so now the roamni have 8 and the ptolies have 5, if they have 4 in asia.

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Originally Posted by hooahguy14

im not so sure about this-

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I disagree. Looking at that map, because Marcus has cut through Roman Cisalpina, I don't think the Roman controlled settlements on the far side of the Alps are part of the same system as the Italian cities. For role-playing purposes, I would consider the Italian cities to be Rome and the allied cites of Capua and Arpi, all under the administration of the SPQR. Conversely, the regions in Transalpine Gaul are likely under the administration of some military generals turned warlords. If Marcus defeats the Italians before he defeats the Romans in Gaul, I would no longer consider the Romans in Gaul to be the Romans.

But then if you compare that with the Ptolemaic holdings in Mesopotamia, it is a different arrangement. There we have a continuous border. Moreover, the governmental system of the Ptolemies is far more subject to being a Monarchy ruled by a King - can't really call him pharaoh at this point. The Republican government of Rome is not.

My two cents.

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I don't have enough to make another chapter so I'm going to have find time to play the game for a while now, which may take a while. Which means it will probably be a couple of days before the next update.

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Ah, so you've caught up to the present! Wait, so if you've caught up to the present and Demetrios isn't dead yet then how can you predict he'll have a peaceful death?

Unless of course the predictions you made on page 7 were complete frabrications.

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Originally Posted by Mordrorru

Ah, so you've caught up to the present! Wait, so if you've caught up to the present and Demetrios isn't dead yet then how can you predict he'll have a peaceful death?

Unless of course the predictions you made on page 7 were complete frabrications.

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That's the great thing about oracles, their meaning might not be what you originally thought. The oracle only said a great warrior dies peacefully. He may have been refering to Antigonos who died peacefully in Sardis. But most likely Demetrios will die peacefully as well. He always travels with a huge army and I'm not willing to risk his life in tough places and get him killed like I stupidly did with Alkyoneus.

As for divided Roman territories, I plan to take Gaul from the Romani next and the city of Roma very last. I hate seeing the Romani without Roma.



I tried playing the campaign just now, had some trouble. First of all, it seemed that the difficultly went up or something. A couple turns in, the Carthaginians send two full stacks of elites after Kyrene, the Romani send two stacks to Ariminum and Arretium and Ptolemai attacks Antiocheia while Aristotelis is away. Then I take a full stack of mercenaries against an army of 4 rebel units. Since it is an easy win, I autocalc. Turns out to be a "Crushing Defeat" and my general dies. I got angry and quit. Trying again, I check my save games and it turns out I hadn't saved for several turns meaning I lost about an hour and half of battles against those annoying stacks. So, I've given up for the day. [/RANT]

so the ptolies made war with you again?

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Originally Posted by hooahguy14

so the ptolies made war with you again?

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Yeah, but I lost all of that time. My last savegame was before that and they may not do the same thing next time, especially now that I know what they're going to do...

to make up for it, why dont you just use the auto_win cheat for the battles you know you already won? did you take screen shots of the battles?

EDIT: man, those ptolies are stupid..... dont know when to quit, do they?

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That's the great thing about oracles, their meaning might not be what you originally thought. The oracle only said a great warrior dies peacefully. He may have been refering to Antigonos who died peacefully in Sardis.

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Ah, so it was just babbling. Yeah...that's really all these fortune tellers are. The customers find meaning in the words to fit a situation.

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But most likely Demetrios will die peacefully as well. He always travels with a huge army and I'm not willing to risk his life in tough places and get him killed like I stupidly did with Alkyoneus.

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That, and you won't let him die. :sweatdrop: (joke)

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I tried playing the campaign just now, had some trouble. First of all, it seemed that the difficultly went up or something. A couple turns in, the Carthaginians send two full stacks of elites after Kyrene, the Romani send two stacks to Ariminum and Arretium and Ptolemai attacks Antiocheia while Aristotelis is away. Then I take a full stack of mercenaries against an army of 4 rebel units. Since it is an easy win, I autocalc. Turns out to be a "Crushing Defeat" and my general dies. I got angry and quit. Trying again, I check my save games and it turns out I hadn't saved for several turns meaning I lost about an hour and half of battles against those annoying stacks. So, I've given up for the day.

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Oh good, while I was reading that I thought you punked out because you actually lost more than 70 men in a battle. Heh.

Again, great update Marcus:2thumbsup: I want to see these romans utterly defeated! I just destroyed them in my Epeiros campaign, and now I want them to be crushed by you:laugh4:

Hey!
You all want to hear something funny?
I was playing EB and started to smell this funny smell. Kind of like the smell of vaporized carcinogens. Next thing I knew, the screen went black. A couple weeks ago the heatsink on my videocard stopped working, and today I found out it is quite necessary. My videocard overheated and melted. I can't seem to fix it. It is completely dead, and with it dies my computer and my AAR. I was thinking of buying a new computer, and I guess the decision was made for me.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! Does this mean that The Antigonids is dead?

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Originally Posted by Wolfman

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! Does this mean that The Antigonids is dead?

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Looks like it.

Wait, I never got to see Demetrios die, that long lived bastard! :furious3:

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Hey!
You all want to hear something funny?
I was playing EB and started to smell this funny smell. Kind of like the smell of vaporized carcinogens. Next thing I knew, the screen went black. A couple weeks ago the heatsink on my videocard stopped working, and today I found out it is quite necessary. My videocard overheated and melted. I can't seem to fix it. It is completely dead, and with it dies my computer and my AAR. I was thinking of buying a new computer, and I guess the decision was made for me.

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That is funny. :laugh4: (joke)

So, melted eh?

This kinda stuff always seems to happen, doesn't it? Karma's gonna get me next and fry my compu-

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MarcusAureliusAntoninus

Hey!
You all want to hear something funny?
I was playing EB and started to smell this funny smell. Kind of like the smell of vaporized carcinogens. Next thing I knew, the screen went black. A couple weeks ago the heatsink on my videocard stopped working, and today I found out it is quite necessary. My videocard overheated and melted. I can't seem to fix it. It is completely dead, and with it dies my computer and my AAR. I was thinking of buying a new computer, and I guess the decision was made for me.

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Errr... buy a new one and put it in!? Perhaps your MoBo has an onboard graphics board as well, you could activate that perhaps, just for transferring your important files (read: EB savegames) to your new computer?

whos the maker of your video card? and which one did you have anyway?

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Originally Posted by Wolfman

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! Does this mean that The Antigonids is dead?

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no, all he has to do is replace his video card- then it should be working again. unless the video card fused with the computer, which then it means yes, the AAR is over.

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Originally Posted by hooahguy14

whos the maker of your video card? and which one did you have anyway?



no, all he has to do is replace his video card- then it should be working again. unless the video card fused with the computer, which then it means yes, the AAR is over.

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My videocard overheated and melted. I can't seem to fix it. It is completely dead, and with it dies my computer...

oh, in that case, it is dead..... we should make a memorial for one of the greatest AAR's in EB 1.0's history......

Best prepare the ship for the journey to Valhalla :viking:

We'll need timber, too... and a video card sans heatsink to ignite it with.

I must salute you, MAA... one of the greatest AAR's ever. It isn't a total loss, though; at this point, the road to victory was likely a mopup operation unworthy of the rest of the story.

I've got some good news!

It turns out the rest of my computer is fine. I honestly believe this particular computer is possessed and immortal. It has nearly died at least three times now, including one time the harddrive became corrupted and I lost everything.

After spending a bunch of time trying to find out what was wrong with the graphics card, I gave up. Something must have just melted or shorted out. But I remembered that I had the graphics card that came with the computer, so I dug it out and put it in. Downgraded from a Radeon X850 to a Radeon 9550. Nothing else seems damaged. I guess I was being overly pessimistic when I thought it was completely dead.

I loaded up EB and it seemed to be running at about the same speed. I guess my 1.5GB of RAM is my limiting reactant in the EB speedup. In battles it will lag and make units into sprites a whole lot sooner than it used to. If I look at a Germania on the campaign map or a city in a battle map I get serious lag, too. I played a while and ended up getting a crash when loading a battle, though I don't know if that is related. I guess I can keep playing EB, though other games on my system (HL2, Oblivion, M2TW) are now unplayable.

With my immortal computer coming back to life, I guess I'll try and continue this AAR, unless the picture quality suffers or those crashes become common.

Hooray! long live the Antigonids!

I think your computer wants you to continue your AAR!

Just a hint - I ued to play EB on PC with 512 RAM and R 9000, 800*600 in battles though. :grin: