Re: [Epeiros/Pergamon AAR] Philetairos' Gift
A Pyrrhic Victory in Phrygia, 211BC
In response to another Seleukid invasion, Patron Byllideus was once more put in command of the army. While not an imaginative general, he was solid and unlikely to do anything rash. He brought a young officer as his subordinate. The Syrian force was well-led and outnumbered the Pergamenes.
The Seleukids had sited themselves in a strong position on a hilltop. Byllideus gave the order to advance, determined to dislodge them.
They climbed into a hailstorm of slingshot.
The Seleukid centre appeared to ripple with nervousness.
A mass of Seleukid cavalry, backed up by infantry immediately tried to turn the Pergamene left.
Byllideus dealt with a similar, much weaker attempt on the right.
The enemy general, Phrygikou, was in amongst the heavy fighting on the left.
The Seleukid line began to march away.
The Pergamene officer commanding the left was routed.
Byllideus took the bold decision to bend his right and centre to counter the Seleukid withdrawal.
The Gallic cavalry fled the chaos of the earlier skirmish, climbing the hill where they met the Asiatic cavalry. Seleukid light cavalry came in hot pursuit.
Another brief cavalry skirmish erupted at the top of the hill. The arrival of Phrygikou forced the Pergamenes to withdraw.
Pergamene skirmishers were sent across to try and stabilise the situation on the left.
Byllideus moved to join his remaining cavalry on the hilltop.
The enveloping movement on the right continued.
A charge from the Syrian light cavalry scattered the Mysian javelineers.
Fighting in the centre was fierce, and now Byllideus and the cavalry were able to charge to the rear of the Seleukid phalanxes.
Phrygikou pulled away from the fighting front, having lost a number of his bodyguard.
Fighting in the centre continued as the Pergamene left flank was routed.
Phrygikou charged right through the Pergamene front, catching up with some Galatian slingers behind the Pergamene line.
Byllideus' repeated charged finally began to have an impact, routing a native phalanx.
A second one followed shortly after.
Phrygikou was now all alone, even though he'd routed the slingers he was far from safe. Just above him, obscured by the trees came Byllideus and his entire surviving cavalry.
The Seleukid general died on the lance of one of Byllideus' bodyguards.
The effect on those units able to see the general's death was immediate.
Then panic spread out to the others, and soon most of the army were in flight.
Byllideus had won the day, but at great cost. It had been a close-run thing, which could easily have gone to the Seleukids.
He marched his weary and battered army back towards Ipsos, where they would be resupplied and drafts of replacements fill in the losses.
Editorial Note
I have to express my continuing disappointment with the limitations of the AI in the RTW engine. This might look like it was a good battle, but it wasn't. I even set it up to make a decent fight of it.
Firstly, I grabbed an FM-led Seleukid stack that didn't have many depleted units in it. I then gave it an actual line, adding three units of native phalangites, which balanced out the two each they already had of native and kleruchoi ones. I gave them cavalry where they had none, and filled it out into a full stack.
Secondly, I reduced the quality of my own force. I switched out the veteran peltastai for some not-as-experienced akontistai. I switched the veteran sphendenotai for some newly-recruited mercenary Iaosatae. I switched a veteran unit of Asian cavalry for a freshly-raised one. I only added an inexperienced family member with one of the smaller bodyguards of those I have.
But it was only a hard fight because it was on yet another bloody hill (with added bonus forest!), they outnumbered me, and I deliberately played it offensively. Sure they tried to turn my flank, and almost did my left, but their centre just milled around in circles, two phalanx blocks doing nothing for most of the battle but marching backwards and forwards. After some initial clever use of their cavalry, then then reverted to type and frontally charged some spearmen. That's how their general ended up with no bodyguard, and their lonchophoroi got slaughtered having driven off my second family member earlier on.
What we had was a stalemate broken only by the death of their general. Early casualties were entirely because they had slingers in an elevated position raining death down on my advancing troops. Then it was a straight fight of attrition, one which in spite of their phalanxes I was better able to weather with my more experienced troops. Plus they wasted their cavalry.
Indeed, I've got no plans to change the format.Originally Posted by Swordmaster
Then that's another source of annoyance right on my border. More interesting, perhaps, but not if fighting the Aedui there results in them being easier for Pontos to pick off. I'll think about it, may be more viable than trying to stem their losing position in Gaul.
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