[Epeiros/Pergamon AAR] Philetairos' Gift

[tapanojum]

I'm loving this AR and the way the captions tell the story perfect of your screen shots!

Awesome

[QuintusSertorius]

The Seleukid War

The Defense of Pergamon

In the winter of 229BC, while Amantieus was investing Ipsos, a Seleukid army slipped past the Pergamene army and laid siege to the capital. Once more the political and spiritual heart of the Pergamene kingdom was under threat, including the Basilieu himself. Pergamon didn't have a garrison, trusting instead to both it's stone walls and the standing army which usually protected Mysia from invasion. However that army was miles away in Phrygia and unable to come to the capital's aid.

But the king was not dismayed, for he had the resources of a vast city to draw upon. A proclaimation was issued to the people, calling for them to come to the defense of their city. The armouries were opened and many thousands of citizens given spear, helmet and shield, still others armed with javelins. There were also several hundred veterans in the city who strapped on their old armour, dusted off their weapons and mustered with the ordinary citizens.

The Seleukid commander was slow in locking down his blockade, which allowed many Pergamene nobles to slip out of the city with their friends to their country estates. There they gathered up retainers and supporters, along with as many horses as they could find from their farms, and returned to the city under the cover of darkness. They styled themselves the Patriotic Cavalry, a force composed of the cream of Pergamon's aristocratic youth. What they lacked in skill and experience they made up for in enthusiasm and patriotic zeal.

And so Pergamon's makeshift army was made ready to face the foe, mustering an almost equal number.



Ptolemaios ordered them to sally out before the Seleukids had any time to prepare siege engines. It was a chaotic affair.



Eventually, however, under the cover of archers in the towers, they were shaken into a semblance of a battle line, veterans in the centre and on the left flank. The Patriotic Cavalry rushed out to attack the first horse they could see, some Arabian light cavalry.



They they spotted the prize which every man among them desired - the enemy general Ionikou. But his bodyguard proved too skilled for the overenthusiastic youths, and they were forced to retreat.



He then stumbled into the veterans on the left, and they were not so easily dissuaded.



Rallying, the Patriotic Cavalry rushed in to attack once more.



Years later, many of the men present, and even some who weren't even in the city that day, would claim they were the one to slay Ionikou. In the generations to come, many families would maintain a tradition that it was one of their ancestors who struck the fateful blow. The truth would never be known.



The death of Ionikou was like a body blow to the Seleukid army, who broke and ran.



The Patriotic Cavalry were merciless in their pursuit of fleeing Seleukids. Let them be an object lesson to anyone who would threaten their king and capital.




Editorial Note



I wasn't going to bother with captures and the like for this battle, but then I changed my mind and I'm glad I did, because it was one of the most fun ones I've had. Also a little crazy, having so much heavy cavalry and otherwise nothing of quality at all. The idea of rationalising the garrison in Pergamon, which was otherwise useless, as a citizen levy appealed a great deal as well.

I couldn't wait to share this one, so I stopped playing to do so.

The next battle won't be fun, that's the siege of Ipsos. Unless that other army breaks off the siege of Side, it'll be a grinding, painful siege of full stack against full stack.

[hrrypttrbst]

That's going to be a hard battle

[QuintusSertorius]

That's going to be a hard battle

I know. It's not noble or glorious, but I'm tempted to wait it out a little, to see if that other stack, or reinforcements from Mazaka or Tarsos will come and turn it into a battle.

[Swordmaster]

How did you get the AI approach your walls so closely? The few times I sally, they run to a corner of the map, far from the towers' reach.

[QuintusSertorius]

How did you get the AI approach your walls so closely? The few times I sally, they run to a corner of the map, far from the towers' reach.

To be honest, I've no idea why they came as close as they did. I was expecting them to march away, but instead they lined up anchoring one flank on the walls. Which was dumb.

[QuintusSertorius]

Campaigns in Getia

Having been banished from the Pergamene court for his militaristic activities in trying to join the wars in Greece, Alexanor Messaneos travelled to Pergamon's northern borders in Thracia. There he met up with Sosistratos Atintan who was bored with drilling troops but never actually venturing beyond the mountains that marked the frontiers of Pergamon's power.

Messaneos outlined a plan that caught his imagination - a fast-marching raid on the Getic capital of Buridava, then before they had time to gather their wits they'd march out east with as much plunder as they could carry and take Kallatis by siege. Then leave some men to garrison Kallatis, turn around and deal with whatever armies the Getai could muster, and sign a peace accord before anyone in Pergamon even knew a campaign had been fought.

There would be riches, glory and honour for Pergamon as well as bringing more Greek colonies into the confederation. In the summer of 228BC they laid siege to Buridava, bringing warriors swarming to protect it like ants defending their hive.



The two armies met outside the city, one line against another. In the distance the garrison of Buridava, including one of their warchiefs rushed to join what they thought would be a slaughter.



The serried ranks of Getic warriors were a sight to behold.



As they closed, Messaneos prepared his cavalry to swing around and outflank.



Meanwhile on the left, Atintan spurred all of his cavalry towards the Getic chieftain.



Messaneos began his move.



The cavalry skirmish on the left kicked up clouds of choking dust as man and beast alike scrabbled to survive.



Some Dacian light cavalry responded to Messaneos' flanking maneuver.



On the left, the arrival of infantry to support the chief forced Atintan and his cavalry to back off.



Messaneos had won his skirmish and then routed some Gallic levies.



The Dacian chieftain gave up on chasing the elusive Atintan, and turned his attention to the Pergamene skirmishers. Leaving him unaware that the cavalry were returning.



He died as one of the Gauls, a man named Lucco, stabbed him through the spine with his lance. Atintan promised him whatever he could carry of the chieftain's personal effects. The canny Celt said he'd rather have the chieftain's horse.



The Getic line began to fragment.



As the cavalry swung round into the rear of the Getic line, it dissolved into a general rout.



The first stage of their plan was complete, a Getic army defeated and Burdiva in flames.



Editorial Note



That was actually a much harder battle than it might look from the battle report, there were some really dodgy moments. Like trying to keep Atintan alive while in constant melee contact with the Getic chief. Since his cavalry was the only one out of that little block with any chance of surviving a prolonged melee. The Illyrians and Gauls had to keep breaking off an charging again, with him playing anvil. Plus there were some really scary Drapanai with the chief, who I did my best to slay at range with the slingers before they closed.

The Thrakian peltasts and regular peltastai holding the left were champions in this battle, they single-handedly held of Drapanai, elite skirmishers and heavy phalangites, and still didn't lose that many men. Also lost a fair few men to arrows, they had lots of archers. Fortunately their cavalry was pathetic, all lights and barely-mediums who were no match for my Thrakian Prodromoi.