Re: The Non-History of Mauretania: A Europa Barbarorum AAR
So... Lina fans are probably pretty happy. Battle fans, not so much. Once again a chapter is much, MUCH longer than I expected it to me. I'm pretty happy with most of the writing, but I really couldn't get a bead on how I did with the beading party segment. (MisterFred, Master of Puns.) One of the reasons I write this AAR is to experiment with styles and settings.
So don't leave me in suspense guys. Was the beading party interesting, the motivations and customs understandable, the emotions intense? Or it was it a bizarre and unnecessary add-on, full of pointless harping, hard-to-follow, and uninteresting?
Re: The Non-History of Mauretania: A Europa Barbarorum AAR
I'll have to read it first. Have been out for a bit.
Re: The Non-History of Mauretania: A Europa Barbarorum AAR
just read it.
Absolute masterpiece...
Somebody needs to do some fanart for this.
Re: The Non-History of Mauretania: A Europa Barbarorum AAR
Thanks for the AAR. I do like the fiction side, but it's the tactical/strategic appreciation which especially grabbed me. I've never really gotten on with low-tech factions, but your comments about Africa being the fifth style of warfare inspired me to have a go.
I used Saba (for their Semitic culture and elephant potential) with cheat codes to takeover Mauretania. I bribed some Maure troops and one city, moved the capital there, then used disbandment/suicide/revolt to remove all the starting Saba. And I edited export_decr_unit.txt to use data from African Generals for Saba FM bodyguards, so they have javelins + AP spear like Numidian Nobles.
I see what you mean about the flexibility of the multi-role troops. Maure infantry will sprint to flank/rear, chuck a load of nasty javelins, then fight somewhat adequately with swords. Numidian Archers do OK with arrows, and their AP clubs make them a good option (or less bad than the alternatives) against Carthaginian elites -- provided somebody else fixes their attention first. And I've always been scathing of javelin cavalry after using mostly Greek and Germanic varieties, but the Africans are in a different class.
There is no top class stand-and-fight unit, no heavy infantry anvil for basic pin and flank. The Maure Infantry can sort of do it if you don't lean on them too hard and you soften the enemy up first. So I end up with constant motion, a swarm of (quasi-)skirmishers pulling enemy formations apart and wearing them down before pouncing on isolated and weakened units. It's somewhat like using horse archers, but more involved. This is pretty good fun. And then there's the prospect of elephants...
The strategic position is... tricky. Carthage keeps me busy on the main eastern front as I try to survive long enough to build mines before I go on the offensive. And they randomly wander out of the desert and attack my rear cities; maybe I should have secured that flank. Plus I'm currently staring at Xanthippus the Spartan and his 19 stack army...
Keep up the good work!
Re: The Non-History of Mauretania: A Europa Barbarorum AAR
nice AAR. Frankly I've always hated Africa conflict mostly due to the remotness of its interior regions of Tuat and Garama. Personally I think only fighting in the southern eyptian territories is worse. I have more fun in Iberia, Anatolia, and Syria. Greece conflict though is difficult or very easy due to the closeness of the cities there. In my current campaign the Greece Civil War (between Eperius, Mace and Kion) has been going on for almost 100 years and has no signs of stopping ehhe.
The Non-History of Mauretania: A Europa Barbarorum AAR
https://i788.photobucket.com/albums/...ia2/Title3.jpg
by Tarkun of Siga
[Ch. 18]
I stood with Louk on the wooden walls of Ippone, ostensibly reviewing my men but in practice hoping to intimidate the Phoenician and review the enemy army with my own eyes. As far as I could tell, Louk had taken a major personal risk by becoming the most prominent Phoenician in Ippone to collaborate with my occupation of the city. He’d quickly become invaluable in managing the population, especially during the siege we now suffered, enforcing the rationing I’d imposed on the city despite the healthy levels of grain in the granaries. The siege had gone on for some months now, and no word came from outside. It wore the men, the constant doubt about whether or not Mauretania could even send relief. The men, on campaign for so long, felt such a disconnect from their homeland many wondered if it truly still existed, if the Carthaginians hadn’t truly conquered with a great fleet long ago.
https://i788.photobucket.com/albums/...edForSiege.jpg
Louk pretended no interest in the defenses around the gate, which were the true reason he accompanied me this morning. There had been complaints when Louk had moved families out of the buildings near the gates in the city, and those buildings were torn down. It wasn’t a true hardship, as there were still empty dwellings within the walls, even with the army encamped here. The extra room had allowed me to station a few hundred cavalrymen on permanent guard near every gate, in a mini-camp much like one would find in the field. In addition to the infantry on the walls and around the gate, all Maure veterans and not mercenaries, they were more than secure.
I wanted Louk to pass on the level of precaution I’d taken, so none of the Phoenicians in the city would be foolish enough to try and betray the gates to the massive Carthaginian army waiting outside the walls. And of course, Louk himself might be one of the Phoenicians I most needed to worry about. It would not be inconceivable for the people of the city to co-operate under his ‘leadership’ if they were planning to revolt against me later. Even if his work on my behalf was a genuine attempt to become the preeminent nobleman in a new, Mauretanian Ippone, Louk might think of the besieging army and consider betraying me as the only way to avoid death as a traitor.
As the inspection continued, Louk, as always, gave me no reason to suspect betrayal. I spent more time looking out at the disorderly enemy encampment. It was a strange kind of siege. There were no attempts of circumvallation, no careful patrols or skirmishes attempting to stop supplies coming into the city. My army simply did not take the field. The enemy army made half-hearted attempts to bring rams up to undermine the walls at night, but no real effort needed to be put into the siege because the countryside naturally supported the Carthaginians and would make no effort to resupply Ippone.
Although vast, the enemy army lacked experience, armor, and even quality weaponry. Carthage, having tasted success when Bomilcar raised the Numidian tribes, was attempting to repeat their success by all the broken men, evicted peasantry, and outraged ruralfolk from around Adrumento and Atiqa. But these were not Numidians, hardened by tribal warfare and only subdued by Carthage herself a generation ago. My men were far more experienced, disciplined, and well-armed.
Yet again, I doubted myself, wondering if I should have given battle when the enemy advanced on Ippone. Stenu would have. He would have seen the approaching army as sent by the gods. He would have turned to his Maure, told them of their hardships and their valour, and pressed with all our might at the Carthaginian masses, convinced a great victory would turn the tide of the war and bring glory to all Mauretania.
I sat behind my walls and waited, spending my time intimidating an ambitious ally. It was the right decision. The Carthaginian army could not ignore Ippone, or we would be on their supply lines. So they could not take their whole force west. While we held, Mauretania was safe from invasion. Eventually, relief would arrive or Ippone would run out of food. Only then did it make sense to risk the army.
The burnt husk of one of the enemy’s rams stood by our main gate. They hadn’t truly tried to assault the city, only probing our defenses at night. The enemy had been driven off by javelin fire and the men sallied to destroy the siege weapon. I frowned. It should be removed, to ensure a clear area for slings or javelins to attack enemies approaching our walls. I was considering whether it would be safe to do so during the day or the night when I noticed muttering on the walls.
Looking up, activity surged though the enemy camp. I relaxed, thinking perhaps they were running short on food and would make a try for the city. They could be butchered with ease. I watched the movement for a minute more, making sure of their attempt, until I realized I was wrong. A substantial portion of the Carthaginian army was forming up on the side of their camp farthest from the city, preparing to march west along the road. The rest stayed in their camp, either to maintain the siege or move against us, I could not tell.
“Why on earth would they do that?” I mused aloud, forgetting Louk still stood next to me.
“Do what?”
“Send so many of their men west. Too many are leaving for simple foraging. Too many continue to watch the walls for them to be offering battle on neutral ground.”
Louk shrugged, and I again I could not know his loyalty. Did he pretend not to know, or did he truly not care, knowing he had made his decision to back me and trusting to fate? “Who can know?”
I could, if I thought about it long enough. It took me several minutes to go through all the possibilities, until finally I realized what must have happened. Reinforcements had come. Part of the Carthaginian army had detached to try and defeat them without disrupting the siege… no. Any force Mauretania sent all the way from the homelands in the west would be larger than some few thousand men. A force of less than half the Carthaginian army could only hope to harass them, slow their advance, to stick to defensible ground and lock them into maneuvers.
While the remainder of the army… yes, they were desperate. And the reinforcements were very close. There was their remaining ram, slowly being dragged through the camp. I immediately dismissed Louk, yelling for runners, wondering how best to take advantage of the inexperienced and ill-prepared Carthaginian assault. An assault attempted by less than their full force.
There was still the possibility the relief force was vulnerable. And the effects on morale when an opposing army shows unexpected confidence. This was the time for a stand. I smiled for the first time in months. It would not be the glorious open-field clash that Stenu would have fought, but I had waited, and finally found my time to strike.
The Carthaginians had stiffened their rabble with Garamantine, Balearic, and Iberian mercenaries, but the mercenaries would not last long if the rest of the army panicked. I prepared my men in formation behind the walls, allowing them to release javelins over the wooden beams on the command of their officers.
As the enemy ram is brought to bear upon a previously weakened segment of the wall, the main gates were thrown open and a small, dense phalanx of Greek mercenaries charged the startled Carthaginians. The Greeks shoved the mass of the enemy back, clearing the way for other units to exit the gate and engage as well. The Army of Mauretania sallied from the city at the same time as the Carthaginian army attempted to force their way in.
Shortly after my men charge through the gate, the Carthaginian army finds a structural weakness and brings down a segment of the wall. The enemies that surge through the breach are stiffened by well armed Iberian mercenaries.
The Garamantines finally rallied enough Carthaginians to halt the Army of Mauretania’s surge out of the main gate. For the better part of an hour, the two sides fought what appeared from the battle lines to be an even battle. But the walls prevented most of the Carthaginian force from joining the actual fighting. And the skill of the Maure and my mercenaries took a horrible toll on the untrained Carthaginians surging forward to face us.
The Carthaginian horde held for longer than I expected it to. But finally, fear took its toll. Too many friends and comrades had been mangled for the Carthaginians pressing into the city, and a few units fled back out of the breach. The Iberian mercenaries, despite losing few of their number to my own men, knew they could not stand alone. They also fled, and the trickle of men fleeing the breach in the wall became a flood. My men surged after them, and the sudden reversal combined with the sight of the toughest soldiers in the enemy army fleeing shook the morale of the enemy.
When the Ligurians turned on the men resisting the push from the main gate, the Carthaginians broke immediately. Their entire army turned to flee, heading west. My horse sallied through the gate as soon as the way was clear, and the pursuit began.
The entire army followed in pursuit, keeping some semblance of order because they had planned to attack the enemy directly, not just defend the walls. The men ran or marched west the entire day, dogging the Carthaginians. Night fell before a proper camp could be set up, but double the normal sentries were posted.
We marched west again beginning early in the morning, the men eating only what they’d carried with them from the city the day before. I pushed on despite the officers’ concerns of hunger and exhaustion. Midway through the morning, we found the other body of Carthaginians, beginning a desperate assault of another Maure army as ill-advised as the attack on Ippone.
I advanced my men at a forced march and hit them just as they engaged with the reinforcing Maure. The Carthaginians shattered immediately, few of their units even pretending to engage before ignoring their officers and turning to run. My own horse and the reinforcing army’s painted cavalry rode down thousands of fleeing men.
***
That evening, after my horsemen and I broke enemy units trying to link up and other necessary tasks were finished, I rode to the other army’s camp, as its commander, Pintamos, and I had agreed after the victory.
The tents and campfires were arranged in an orderly and neat fashion, which pleased me. I couldn’t help but notice the fine state of the gear, in marked contrast to the ratty coverings and mean conditions much of my army had grown accustomed to. The commander’s tent, a large multi-unit affair, dwarfed my own accommodations. I made a note to appropriate it when the forces were merged.
One of the two sworn men from my bodyguard that I’d brought with me announced my presence while the rest of the party handed the horses to be watched by a soldier nearby. I had also asked Gherahdi, the Ligurian captain in charge of my Ligurian and Maure mercenaries and Clearchus of Elis, captain of my Greek mercenaries to accompany me to council. Outside of Kanu, the Maure from Sala I’d left in charge of Ippone’s garrison, Gherahdi was my most important commander. Clearchus had some tactical skill, but he was present largely to maintain the fiction among his men that he had considerable influence over me.
We were escorted into the spacious tent, where I found two other men standing to greet me, with other, presumably less important officers, still seated, waiting to be introduced.
Pintamos began the introductions. “General Tarkun. Congratulations on your prompt arrival this morning, the credit for the victory is all yours.”
“Not at all.” I clasped Pintamos on the shoulder warmly, looking to start a professional relationship off on the right foot.
“Allow me to introduce General Sanion, who commanded our wing of horse today.” Surprise passed across my face. I knew that name. An Utrana boy. It took me a moment to figure out how I knew that. The memory seemed to be from before the Army of Mauretania marched east out of Siga, which made it nearly ancient history to me. Soon after declaring independence, on the recommendation of the Matriarch of the Utrana, Stenu had asked a few of his more discreet men to go to Lixus and discover just what exactly had happened in the city and whether or not Atlantic Maure would really back his declaration. Sanion, only fifteen, had lead a band of youths in attacking the Lusotann governor and his delegation in Lixus. Now here he was in the flesh, a young man with the title of general. He looked tired, and still wore his armor, much as I did, although his was stained with blood. Recently back from pursuit of the enemy, then, and not reluctant to get involved personally.
“General Tarkun, an honor,” Sanion stepped forward and greeted me by taking me by the shoulder as well. I noticed the captains in the other army watching closely for a reaction from either of us. Much more intensely than they had observed me greeting Pintamos.
“General Pintamos, General Sanion, allow me to introduce Captains Gherahdi and Clearchus. Gherahdi commanded my center today, Clearchus my right wing.” The unfamiliar Maure officers were also introduced, and there were greetings all around before we settled down to business. I did all the talking for the Army of Mauretania, although I occasionally conferred with Captain Gherahdi in Greek when necessary.
We agreed quickly to spend the next two days ensuring the Carthaginian rabble disintegrated, mapping out areas for each army to cover to ensure the enemy was unable to concentrate any men. I suggested an announcement in all the local towns declaring two weeks of safe passage and free provisions for any Phoenician or Lybian traveling unarmed, no matter what his business. It would encourage broken men who wished to try and reach home to desert from any Carthaginian officers who still lived. The other officers agreed that was a splendid idea.
Once we were sure the other army had completely disintegrated, we would combine our camps and drill the army for two days to get the officers used to working with each other and march south. Ippone would continue to be held by my veterans, who would look after the city. My elite foot guard would be posted under Louk, giving him the necessary authority to administer the civilian population. By acting as his family’s bodyguards against the citizens of Ippone, my men would effectively hold Louk and his family hostage at the same time.
Sanion then suggested that the army march east, to assault and retake Atiqa. It took me some time to convince the others this plan was foolish. We might take the city, but for no worthwhile purpose. We had already sacked Atiqa, and to hold the city would run a high risk of being bottled up within its walls with no hope of reinforcement from distant Mauretania if Carthage fielded a superior force.
Numidia made more sense. Marching south didn’t appear as bold; it wasn’t as symbolic a blow as one directed at Phoenician Africa. But, I argued, Numidia was more important to the war. Control of south Numidia would allow Carthage only two routes west: by sea or through the desert proper, with the risk of uncertain water supplies.
Pintamos supported a push south, informing me that rumor had it Carthage had recently won a costly victory over a Syracusan fleet. They captured or sunk virtually the entire fleet of their enemy, but in doing so they pursued too close to the coast where tides and an unexpected wind had beached half the Carthaginian fleet, which had to be burned lest it be captured by Syracusan land forces. Sending the remainder of their fleet too far west would leave their trade vulnerable to pirates, and possibly even Corsica and Sardina could be threatened by the Romans, who had their own small but visible squadron of galleys often engaged in attacks on suspected pirate bases.
If we controlled Numidia, we would have room to maneuver if Carthage sent a massive army at us, the ability to delay for reinforcements or possibly out-march our enemies and a reliable fortress in Ippone. Once we subdued Numidia, if Carthage and Mauretania started to launch raids instead of armies back and forth they would find their homelands devastated while on our side only a subjugated people would be vulnerable. And as the great Maure families slowly took control of the best lands in Numidia, the smaller Libyan peoples or the Garamantines might take notice and decide supporting Carthage as loyally as Numidia had wasn’t worth the effort. I knew negotiations with Gheradi and Clearchus would follow. I could probably buy them off with silver or estates near Ippone and trust their influence with the men could outweigh Numidia’s lack of easily moveable plunder.
I tired considerably as the night went on, relieved when everything important seemed settled. Until Pintamos roused me out of my torpor. “It is good, then, that we can all agree as friends on pressing south. It is better to support a strategy with enthusiasm than proceed with misgivings. But despite our agreement, armies must have their structure. How shall we decide which of us will assume command of the combined army?”
“What?” The question seemed nonsensical. I’d heard of Pintamos before the Carthaginian siege of Ippone had cut off communications, as second-in-command to lowly Melman, of no notable family or influence. Sanion had been a child only a few years past. To my ears that idea didn’t even have the ring of credibility.
“It seems to me,” Pintamos continued as I noted the lack of surprise on the faces of the other officers, “that since we have no direct order regarding who shall lead the combined army, we must come to some solution favorable to the men and to the gods. An election seems best. An election among the Maure, of course.” Pintamos nodded apologetically at Gheradi and Clearchus.
“That’s preposterous.” An election would be a sham, given the make-up of the armies. I’d have no chance of winning. “No direct order is necessary. I am the most experienced officer. I command the Army of Mauretania. You have been sent as reinforcements. For me. I will continue in command.” I emphasized ‘continue.’
The discussion paused for a few moments. I could see the Maure captains were not surprised at my statement, but neither did they voice support. Pintamos let the pause speak volumes, then spoke again. “For myself, I do not think myself suitable to command the combined army.” I noted subtle signs of agreement and relief among the Maure captains. “But there are others here I think are worthy.”
Pintamos carefully asked the opinion of the other officers, choreographing their agreement with him. I fell silent, quietly displaying my frustration and anger. If the second army supported this insane move of Pintamos’, it would be a problem. Few things are more debilitating to the discipline of an army than watching officers lose respect for rank and decorum and squabble with each other. I needed time to retreat and regroup.
After Sanion’s turn to speak, he spouted some nonsense about the gravity of his family and the tough times that needed people born to leadership, suggesting he would bring victory to Mauretania. I stood to leave. “If you plan to hold some sort of… elections,” I carefully avoided agreeing explicitly to the idea. “You must wait for two days, at least until the third morning hence. This stunt must not get in the way of completing our victory.”
Pintamos smiled, accepting the delay. “Of course, I was about to suggest the same thing.”
I stalked out of the tent without farewells. I was too tired to waste any more time on pleasantries. I explained the nuances of the discussion to Gheradi and Clearchus in Greek on the ride back to my camp.
“I do not wish to put myself or my men under the command of this boy. But if your people insist it is to be so…” Gheradi shrugged uncomfortably.
It took me awhile to consider my options. Although politics had occupied much of my time in Ippone, the politics of making people agree with you are different from convincing them to follow your orders and not try to kill you.
“I think,” I began slowly, “that you are not looking at the potential benefits of this situation, my dear friend.”
***
For two days, the Army of Mauretania and the reinforcing army observed the Carthaginian remnants disintegrate entirely. Midway through the second day, a Greek soldier signaled that the mercenaries’ offer had been rejected as he went to comb the army’s small herds for the best-looking animals.
Gheradi and Clearchus should have met with Pintamos, Sanion, and whatever officers they brought to council the previous night. I’d instructed the mercenary captains to gather their best officers and the meanest, most gruesome-looking of their men and make their way secretly to the other camp under darkness. They demanded as much money as I’d paid them to join the Army of Mauretania itself, an amount I was fairly certain Pintamos didn’t have on hand, to switch loyalties. Upon refusal, I’d asked them to make a scene. Crying about how hard it was to be loyal to such misers, declaring the intolerable conditions would make it impossible for them to keep support of their men, and other such tactics it had taken me some time to become immune to. Eventually, they should have accepted the rejection but looked very unhappy about it.
For my part, I avoided agitating against the idea of electing a leader and instead sent the Maure in my cavalry who were born into better families over to socialize with the lower-ranked officers and the men in the reinforcing army. In this way I learned that this insanity had begun well before the two armies had met. I learned that Sanion in fact held no official rank at all, and yet very nearly eclipsed Pintamos as a leader already. Many of the officers hated Pintamos. Either for complicity in putting Sanion above them, or for incompetence in letting the young Utrana run roughshod over the military hierarchy. But only a few indicated they were willing to pledge their support for me if I asked it of them.
The mercenaries abandoned my camp in the middle of the night, amid much shouting and feigned protest from my cavalry and relocated on a slight hill a few miles to the north. After waking, I was pleased to note that three Greek priests as well as the seers and diviners had remained, as per my orders.
These last remaining mercenaries and picked members of my guard started for the reinforcing army’s camp before dawn, sacrificial victims in tow. The three priests spread out went to different sections of the reinforcing army’s camp and began their work, beseeching their foreign gods and preparing the animals. As the sun rose above the horizon I stood back placidly, watching the priest just outside the command tent. A couple of officers went off and I waited for either Sanion or Pintamos. They both arrived just as a fine white goat was disemboweled. The seers and diviners sifted through the intestines, fingering knobules of flesh and finding something in the goat’s stomach. Their gibbering increased in volume. I think they were begging forgiveness of their foreign gods. The picked members of my bodyguard translated for the priests, looking somewhat worried or frustrated. They weren’t very good actors. But then, they didn’t need to be. A few of the seers were Maure, and corroborated the declarations of the foreign priests and diviners.
“Why are there goat intestines laying on the ground in front of my tent?” Sanion did not look pleased.
“It’s a curious foreign ritual.” I took a bite out of a pear. “The Greek mercenaries in particular are quite fond of it. They believe the gods will look more favorably on any important enterprise when an animal has been sacrificed to them. Not just on temple occasions, as we do. They seem to sacrifice at the drop of a hat.” I shrugged. “No harm in it, they almost always bring back favorable omens.”
“Almost always.” Pintamos pursed his lips.
Sanion shot me a disgusted look, as if he was angry with me for wasting his time. “I’m going to get rid of this foolishness.”
I nodded at the command tent and addressed Pintamos. “A private word?” We entered the tent and he evicted one of the captains figuring out where drill maneuvers would take place this afternoon. “We have a major problem. The mercenaries have left my camp. I was an idiot, telling them it was inevitable I’d lose the election. I’ve asked around your camp. No one is going to vote against a clan-member of Lina Utrana Sagun. The mercenaries may consider their contract over. Which wouldn’t be a disaster.” Just the loss of several thousand men. “Except I don’t trust them to not sack Ippone unless we’re careful. If they steal a march on us the city could become effectively worthless.”
Pintamos glared at me. “Could you have really let things get that bad?”
I spread my hands in a gesture of helplessness. “We might be able to buy their allegiance to a new commander with enough gold. Their contracts are very personal to them.”
Pintamos considered. “Do you think you could bring them back?”
“If I moved fast enough. If I assured them the terms of their service would not change.” By which I meant, if I told them I had command of the army.
“The honor of Utrana will have to be satisfied.”
I shrugged. “Sanion can declare he isn’t a candidate to lead the army. He must assume the governorship of Numidia.” I’d thought hard about that compromise last night. I didn’t want to let trained cavalry out of my grasp. But neither did I need a captain who had proven willing to challenge the chain of command.
Pintamos waited. I made him say the words, to implicitly acknowledge the whole farce was an irregular play for power. “And me?”
“I always need good officers. If they prove they are willing to follow orders. To be honest, there are no Maure currently serving under me that I trust are capable should I fall in battle.”
Sanion yelled something at one of the priests outside. Pintamos grinned, apparently not put out with the compromise. “We’ll have to discuss the finer details in a more private setting. You will have command.”
Pintamos led the way out of the tent and cleared his throat, preparing to address the nearby soldiers as loudly as he could. “The omens are unfavorable. No election can be held today.”
Re: The Non-History of Mauretania: A Europa Barbarorum AAR
Re: The Non-History of Mauretania: A Europa Barbarorum AAR
Ghaust, Gamegeek, Marcus, Morte, and everyone,
Thanks for the kind comments!
The Non-History of Mauretania: A Europa Barbarorum AAR
https://i788.photobucket.com/albums/...ia2/Title4.jpg
by Tarkun of Siga
[Ch. 19]
Sanion and Pintamos both proved easy to work with once I was fully in control of the army, which was a shock and a surprise. It made me suspicious about the motives behind their attempt at the sham election, and the more shameful episodes of insubordination and punishment that the reinforcing army had suffered on its way from Siga. For the present, Sanion commanded no more than his painted bodyguards and several hundred Utrana-paid cavalry and he seemed content with that. Pintamos immediately became invaluable, solving numerous supply problems with the resources provided by the reinforcing army and his own skill in organizing foraging and distribution.
Appeasing Gheradi and Clearchus proved surprisingly easy; placating them required legal title only to a few estates near Ippone and a promise that the mercenaries would have first pick of the loot obtained by the army over the next few months. This compensated them for the fake desertion and for keeping their men in line as we marched forward. First pick of the loot might not be all that substantial, as the Army of Mauretania marched south, back to the poor and broken land of Numidia.
According to Pintamos, captured Numidians spoke of a second Carthaginian army marching west through the south of their land. This possibility worried me greatly. If the Carthaginians expected my forces to still be bottled up in Ippone, a second army in the south sounded like one on its way to invade Mauretania, taking the route along the edge of the desert in the same fashion as Hamalcar.
The importance of the march south into Numidia was dramatically underlined by this threat, as control of the country could cut an invading army’s supply lines and draw it back to defend the few tribes in the south of Numidia still prospering.
Confident no force could oppose my army in the north of Numidia, I ordered the army to march in several distinct, wide columns. We passed though the valleys and hills of Numidia wielding fire and sword. We cut a wide swath through the countryside, burning and killing everyone and everything, excepting only a few villages that greeted us with abject surrender and provisions without our needing to ask.
I had no idea if the Numidians were capable of assembling another sizeable army, but I wanted to eliminate that possibility and draw any Carthaginians in the south away from invasion and toward the defense of their subjects.
I destroyed Kirtan, its few remaining inhabitants slaughtered. Leaving the ruins of the town, we began to construct a new outpost nearby, a center from which Sanion could gradually extend Maure control over the land, hopefully settling eastern Maure from around Siga, and possibly somehow identifying Numidians willing to subject themselves to our rule.
The army stayed in the area for a few months, as Sanion began his work and Pintamos ensured our communications with Ippone and supply routes were safe. I reviewed the news from abroad and considered larger questions of strategy, making up for the long period of isolation during the siege.
Pintamos had delivered a letter to me shortly after I squashed his attempt to remove me from command, looking completely unashamed as he handed the missive to me. It was addressed “to dear Tarkun, Commander of the Eastern Armies,” from Lina Utrana Sagun. I knew of her through her correspondence with Stenu, although I had no inkling of her true importance until the attempt to remove me from command
To my surprise, she wrote of alliance and friendship, speaking of the support she hoped to provide “our glorious armies of independence.” She also appeared most knowledgeable about internal politics, speaking at length about Ti Sagun’s success in molding Atlantic Maure into a unified force. Lina also gave me a summary of Mauretanian finances, which was something of a relief. The government coffers were light, but not empty.
Finally, Lina informed me that an officer close to Ti, one Melman, would take over as governor of Siga. She was blunt in her evaluation of Melman, more so than I would have expected given the close ties she says existed between Melman and her husband. Lina suggested that if I knew some eastern Maure notables suitable to “aid Melman with his difficulties” she could ensure they had influence, and further hinted an alliance between my own clan and the Utrana could be most profitable east of the Atlas Mountains.
Now that was an intriguing idea. My own clan, the Canta, were influential among the eastern Maure, but more so because of their numbers than their wealth. An alliance with the most prominent family in Mauretania would be highly desirable, if we could maintain equal status east of the Atlas. I would have to write the relatives whose judgment I trusted best and have them co-ordinate with Lina directly.
Diplomatic declarations and trader’s gossip brought other news from the across the sea. The political situation in the western Mediterranean had been unstable but also essentially unchanged for some years. That was no longer the case. Trying to judge everything that happened over the last year, the catalyst for the realignments seemed to be Rome’s continued expansion west, and the tremendous resources it was pouring into expanding its influence into Gaul.
The very threat of Rome had been stealing influence from the Lusotann and giving it instead to the hawkish armies and chieftains of northern Iberia, who had successfully moved the capitol to the fortress of Palantia. The conquered Phoenician cities and southern members of the confederation had to continue paying taxes to the ‘Lusotann’ confederation, but were left to their own defenses as the confederation as a whole oriented its entire defense policy to preparing for or preventing further Roman expansion from Numantia.
With the Romans seemingly content with their footholds in Iberia at Numantia and Emporion, and the transfer of most of their armies to press the Aedui to the north, the Edetani had raided central Iberia around Baikor, testing the Lusotann confederation’s defenses and the Roman response to a smaller garrison in the Edetani-allied Greek city of Arsea. This year, the crack in the delicate Iberian political framework widened into outright war, as a large Edetani army looked to force the tribes around Baikor to quit the Lusotann confederation and swear allegiance to the Edetani.
The Romans forced the second major change in the Western Mediterranean. After years of hard campaigning, a general from the Cotta family finally amassed the largest army Rome had ever assembled, half of which were Celtic levies from the lands taken from the Arverni and unaligned tribes. This army finally completed the devastating Roman push to Gergovia, the first major victory Rome had won against the Aedui since Mediolanum, on the other side of the Alps.
The most worrisome rumor came from Bocchoris. The Greeks from Arsea who had taken over from the Carthaginians there spoke excitedly about potential new trade opening up in Sicily, as Carthage negotiated with Syracuse to achieve an acceptable peace. I could only hope the negotiations failed.
Despite the changes, my own core mission remained largely unchanged. I would hold Ippone and Numidia to protect Mauretania from invasion by land, and look to raid east if Carthage showed weakness. I wrote to Ti Sagun and Lina Sagun separately, laying out the military situation here. In my letter to Lina I tried to clarify the forces present and explain the decisions involved. She seemed to have been struck by Stenu’s description of Carthage’s city defenses from when he wrote her from Atiqa.
***
Sanion had developed a fondness for maps, and had a particularly fine one of the present situation between Mauretania and Carthage made up. He showed it to me when Pintamos returned from a trip to Ippone, warning that Carthage was starting to raid along the coast with light troops. Pintamos and I complimented the quality of the map, while Sanion tried to read significance into it.
“So you see Mauretania is colored in brown, and Carthage in white. They can only approach our homelands via sea or the desert, since we stand in their way along the roads. And I hear the Gaetulians are unhappy with Carthage’s stranglehold on Tuat, which makes the desert approach too risky. I was thinking we should raid around Adrumento to isolate Carthage from her southern holdings at Lepki and Garama.”
“The problem, Sanion, is that your mapmaker has colored the whole of Numidia brown, while in truth we control only the northwest of the country, here.” I circled a small area with my finger. “Eastern Numidia is controlled by no one, the south by the Carthaginians.” Sanion looked disappointed. The war seemed easy enough when one assumed lines drawn on paper meant something on the ground.
Still, the map might have its uses. “It is time the army moved south, to see if there truly is a Carthaginian army waiting for us there. I hope the two of you will help me finish the final preparations we have to make here.”
Pintamos nodded, deep in thought. “We will have to ensure that Ippone is secure.”
“Yes. Although I want to take as many men as possible south. How many men do you think will be necessary to deal with these raids?”
Pintamos shook his head. “The raids aren’t the problem. I’m a little worried that Carthage might be using them as cover to assemble men in the area while waiting for us to be distracted. So the answer is too many men.”
I frowned. “You don’t think it is safe to move south?”
“Not if we want to be sure of Ippone.”
“What if we allowed Louk to raise a militia and some horse from rural folk he trusts?” The Phoenician had asked this of me several times, claiming he wanted to ensure his city’s defense.
Pintamos frowned. “That seems too risky. What is to prevent him from inviting the Carthaginians across the river and stealing back the city?”
I’d worried about that myself, and always turned Louk down for that reason. But I did not want to be paralyzed by the problem, and leave the southern road to the Carthaginians. “History, perhaps. Carthage has twice let the city fall, and Louk knows what we will do to the Phoenician population if they promise us their allegiance and then forsake us. He is resourceful; he might actually be able to find men among the Libyans who live around the city that dislike the Numidians and appreciate us for reducing them. They could prove loyal men.”
Pintamos looked dubious. “Perhaps.”
“How many men should we send if we assume Louk can raise a few thousand loyal Phoenicians and Libyans?”
Pintamos still didn’t like the idea, but he answered me honestly. “The light troops from the allied tribes and a few professionals to stiffen them. The Balearics, perhaps, Captain Menzukenos knows how to skirmish effectively.”
I considered, happy that Pintamos had taken the time to learn the strengths and weaknesses of the mercenary captains. “I will send word to Louk. You will see that Menzukenos and the others are prepared to march north.”
“I still don’t think entrusting Ippone to its Phoenician citizens is a good idea.”
“I’ll sleep on it, but we’ll assume that’s the plan for now.” A part of me worried about the risk inherent in the plan, but it was better to see if one could trust Louk now. An Ippone that actively supported the war effort could be a valuable resource. And, like the Carthaginians, I was forced to admit to myself a stiff defense of the city came second to more important strategic concerns.
“In the meantime, Sanion and his map-maker can finish their job so that all my concerns are settled before the army moves south.”
“Finish it?” Sanion looked at the map in confusion, wondering what had been left undone.
I pointed at the area of Numidia we controlled. “Administering these lands will be difficult. Villages must be convinced to sow crops, herdsmen must know who owns the pasture lands.
“Now we’ll need to bring in good people to ensure the land is productive as soon as possible. I should think, hmm, the Canta clan can be given the most western lands, those most easily pacified. They have people relatively close, who can take control easily.”
Sanion looked at me with distaste, probably having assumed that giving him the meaningless title of governor meant I was going to leave these matters to him.
Pintamos, though, knew how to compromise. “Certainly, certainly. Maybe a fourth of the area we can count on now.” I smiled, that was more than I’d expected. Pintamos continued, “of course, we can’t leave the Altantic notables out of it altogether. The most organized of their clans, like the Utrana, can have another fourth. Perhaps here, close to the ruins of Kirtan.”
“With the largest portion allotted for assignment by Mauretania as a whole,” I added piously, meaning Ti Sagun and the lesser nobles he needed to keep happy to ensure the unity of Mauretania.
“Oh, certainly,” Pintamos agreed. Sanion eyed the two of us, wondering how he’d been left out of the decision. He trusted to the direction of Pintamos too much. But then, Pintamos always looked after Utrana interests, so it was likely it would appear Sanion had ensured the profits of his clan.
***
The Army of Mauretania, as I thought of it, marched south, into Numidian lands we had not seen before. Pintamos and the new Maure that made up the majority of my men simply thought of it as the Eastern Army, or still the Second Army. The Army of Mauretania and the great hero Stenu were inseparable in their eyes, which frustrated me.
Prisoners and scouts confirmed the presence of a significant Carthaginian force in south Numidia. The Army of Mauretania marched more quickly than it had on its way to Kirtan, burning only those villages which refused to submit to us. The wiser Numidians kept themselves and their herds well out of our sight.
We soon learned the enemy commander was named Aegicoros of Kyrene, and it seemed he had a knack for self-promotion. He was supposed to be seven feet tall, was the greatest of all the scholars when he studied in some library owned by the Ptolemys, and sounded like he paid men to spread rumors he was a great tactician. Peace continued between Carthage and the Ptolemys, so I couldn’t imagine where Aegicoros could have obtained this great tactical experience, unless he’d served as a mercenary in the past. His legend said he wasn’t doing so now, proclaiming himself a patriot and a supporter of Carthage’s occupation of Kyrene. He’d even adopted the name Hadrumentum, apparently developing a love for that city after helping it recover from the sack.
I halted the Army of Mauretania near a large lake on the far side of the easiest pass connecting southern Numidia to the rest of the country. I waited there, unwilling to proceed further into open territory where we could be outmaneuvered, and confident a man so eager for fame could not turn down a chance to seek victory.
Scouts soon brought back reports of his approaching army, suggesting Aegicoros’ army roughly equaled us in numbers, the Army of Mauretania numbering nearly 30,000 men. I gathered as much information as I could and, when Aegicoros neared our camp, arrayed my army for battle on the shores of the great lake.
The army of Mauretania contained 5500 Ligurian and Greek mercenaries and 2000 horse under my direct command. The rest of the men were uniformly stout Maure infantry, well-armed with sword and javelin, but most were from the reinforcing army, with a brittle confidence. They had yet to see strong opposition, let alone defeat, and I worried that their dismissal of the enemy could turn quickly to dismay if part of the army encountered unexpected difficulty.
As Aegicoros approached, preparing to offer battle, I saw the scouts’ reports come alive. Three thousand of the best Greeks of Kyrene marched with him, fighting in a fashion similar to the mixed-blood professional infantry Carthage sometimes hired. A similar number of Libyans, with a lighter shield but a few javelins, also marched in a well-ordered formation. Carthage had provided Aegicoros with roughly four thousand elite infantry, organized according to heritage, some Liby-Phoencian, some of pure Phoenician descent. I frowned. The new Maure had yet to see such heavily-armored opponents in battle, and I feared how they would perform against them.
Half of Aegicoros’ men were far less impressive. Fourteen thousand light infantry of little consequence, mostly ‘Greeks,’ who were really Libyans from around Kyrene, but also conscripted rabble from around Adrumentum, made up a slight majority of the enemy’s main line. Three thousand heavy horse ensured the usual advantage the Carthaginians preferred in mounted troops. The Ligurians had been placed in reserve to support my own horse against the enemy cavalry threat.
But strangest of all were several large mechanical contraptions, which had been somehow made mobile, slowly being moved into position while the rest of Aegicoros’ army waited. The scouts had told me that the enemy general carried with him siege weaponry, but I had no idea they could be used in an open-field battle.
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The unknown variable worried me. I’d seen something similar only once. When I was a boy a Greek sea captain had shown me a machine on his huge trading ship, bragging that it could shoot javelins farther than any man could throw one, and made pirates run from him. I took one look at the leather and rope bits showing the inevitable rot caused by the sea air and assumed he’d be had. But if Aegicoros had real confidence in these things, there may be a real reason for that.
His army stopped well out of skirmishing range, and the men surrounding the strange contraptions moved about quickly, apparently preparing something. Before they could finish preparing, I turned to my flag and trumpet men and gave my orders. The Army of Mauretania retreated back to camp.
Unwilling to give battle and not wanting to give Aegicoros the opportunity to cut our supply lines, I ordered the Army of Mauretania to retreat north, taking a path somewhat west of the main road to Kirtan. I thought to hold to the hills and block the Greek general’s supply lines myself should he attempt to move west or north.
The Numidians had other ideas. Two days after we began our slow march north through the eastern hills, nomadic tribesmen began ambushing my scouts unless they moved in force. When they proved too elusive to catch, I ordered the Army of Mauretania back to the open valleys. But for over a week the Army of Mauretania slowed to a crawl, essentially blind.
I marched rapidly for Sanion’s camp when we returned to open ground, hoping for news about Aegicoros’ movements and knowing it was the only location in all Numidia I truly cared if Aegicoros assaulted.
News I got, but it was bad. The Numidian tribesmen had isolated Sanion’s camp, including his Utrana horse and two thousand Maure mercenaries posted to help his efforts at pacifying the countryside. They blinded his scouts in much the same way they had blinded mine. Aegicoros had ignored my maneuvers and advanced swiftly on Sanion, destroying his force to a man and re-occupying the ruins of Kirtan in order to present himself as the liberator of Numidia.
The only good news came from far to the north. Louk had stayed loyal, and a small force of about five thousand Carthaginian light troops advancing on Ippone had been defeated.
My men caught a few heralds proclaiming the liberation of Numidia, and calling all loyal tribesmen to rally to Aegicoros’ banner. I didn’t think he’d get many recruits, not after Bomilcar had raised the Numidians and then left them to fight alone. But it did mean Aegicoros would remain in Kirtan, possibly long enough to catch him.
The army of Numidia marched north of Kirtan, passing east of it, before swinging left to meet with several thousand new recruits arriving from Siga and the veteran Balearics, fresh from their victory outside Ippone. We turned south once more and marched on Kirtan, where Aegicoros waited confidently, assuming we would not approach a force so large that held the high ground.
Aegicoros was wrong. Kirtan was a perfect battleground to face his force. His cavalry and strange devices would have trouble with the rough ground and the cluttered streets of the ruins. His elite infantry might be feared there, but my men would try to avoid his well-armored elites and engage his mass of unreliable men. His army remained the same, but mine had grown.
The first day after camping within sight of Kirtan, I arrayed my forces in formation in the valley below the ruins, offering battle on flat ground. I was pleased when Aegicoros did not accept. My men returned to camp early, with orders to rest and eat a very late supper.
Late in the night, aided by a full moon, the Army of Mauretania advanced in three divisions up the hill. Even if we were noticed and Aegicoros decided to attack at night, I knew his strange weapons would never be able to strike us. If we were noticed, he held back. At dawn, the three divisions neared Kirtan and the assault began.
I did not attempt to coordinate my army as one force. I gave Pintamos command of half the Maure infantry, Gheradi command of all the mercenaries, and I led the other half of the Maure myself. If Aegicoros advanced in force against any one of us, we were to fall back upon one of the other divisions.
Aegicoros instead arrayed his men in the outskirts of the ruins, hoping to get some use out of his siege engines, and sent most of his men to stop our advance. A massive, machine-thrown javelin scored the first kills against my division, impaling two men through their shields before stopping. I kept to my plan, ordering the men to ignore the attacks of the contraptions. I hoped they would be too few to cause many casualties, but I could see them frighten the men.
The Carthaginian cavalry charged, hoping to take advantage of the open space between the slope and the town. My men seemed almost to relax. Many of them had fought under Pintamos outside of Sala, and they knew such a charge could turn on the horse if the infantry under attack held formation.
Aegicoros attempted the same tactics against the division under Pintamos, attempting to buy time for his stone-throwers to attack Pintamos’ men with an attack by his least valuable men. Pintamos reported that the stone-throwers generally missed completely, huge rocks sailing over his formation with some regularity, but that one boulder killed six men in a single lucky hit. In the meantime, Maure javelins proved far more deadly.
Aegicoros committed most of his best troops against Gheradi and the mercenaries. A curious double battle developed when Gheradi moved to block the assault with the Ligurians and Greeks, while ordering the mercenary Maure to circle behind the enemy and pelt them with javelins. The Balearics attacked targets of opportunity and harassed the arrow-thrower crews.
The best of Aegicoros’ Kyrenians separated from the enemy formation to engage the Maure, while the Phoenician Sacred Band hit the Ligurians, supported by the raw levies from Adrumento.
Cautious, I waited for the far right unit of my division to suppress the enemy arrow-throwers before urging my cavalry up onto the plateau and driving off the main body of enemy cavalry. I ordered the officers in my division to advance the infantry into the ruins of Kirtan. Seeing Pintamos’ division already entering the broken streets, I galloped with the full force of the Army of Mauretania’s cavalry to the support of Gheradi.
Assuming the Greek hoplites would break more easily than the Sacred Band, I ordered the men to form up for a charge into the back of the Kyrenians’ formation. They proved surprisingly stout of heart, but were eventually broken.
Knowing the valor of men who would swear the oaths required of the Sacred Band, I let the few Greeks who didn’t surrender run and ordered the mercenaries and my own men to unleash javelins against the Phoenician elite. Both units still held their full complement of missiles, and used them all. Finally, I ordered the advance.
Meanwhile, my division fought through the dust-choked streets of Kirtan, beating back Aegicoros’ reserve cavalry. Pressing forward until they linked up with Pintamos’ division, they surrounded the last remaining defenders. To my surprise, Pintamos managed to get many of Aegicoros’ best men, the mixed-blood elites, to surrender their arms.
The men who surrender are given their lives, but I take two fingers from their right hand to ensure they never raise weapons against us again. Further orders are given for the purpose of executing any Numidians suspected of aiding Aegicoros in surrounding and destroying Sanion and his few thousand men.
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After ensuring supplies and communications remained reliable, I settled the army in northern Numidia, in the fertile valley below the ruins of Kirtan. Secure for the moment against further Carthaginian assault, the Army of Mauretania spent the short winter there. I resumed Sanion’s work and attempted to reorganize the region.
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Re: The Non-History of Mauretania: A Europa Barbarorum AAR
So much fight over a worthless scrap of desert...or so it seems...
Great work!
Re: The Non-History of Mauretania: A Europa Barbarorum AAR
Just caught up. Lovely stuff as always! I love the compelling way you include details of politics, governing, military organization, supply lines, etc... It gives the story a sense of living and breathing.
