The Pan-Hellenic Empire

[desert]

Greetings to all forum members. I have been performing a certain action, the name of which I do not remember, that refers to a person frequenting a forum but never posting for almost half a year now.
At first, I couldn't post due to an activation error, and I sent a message to the administrator, but never bothered to check until now.

And so, with much fanfare, I present this Koinon Hellenon AAR!!

Some info first: This AAR starts around 210ish BC, and I will reveal absolutely no background information at all. However, there will be a special event within a few years in which I will reflect on the growth of the KH.

Also, to all looking for any kind of story, turn back now - I suck at that sort of thing, and this AAR will really be just an overdramatized summary of ingame events.

Finally, I am incredibly lazy. Expect updates to be short and infrequent. I might exert myself if I feel that that is the will of the people, though.

I need to figure out how to start this thing, so I have prepared this as a kind of promo. Contemplating the sheer awesomeness of this video should keep you busy...



http://s494.photobucket.com/albums/r...9-58-43-07.flv

PS: Zoom in/fullsize.

[penguinking]

All right! Another AAR!

I look forward to it.

[Reverend Joe]

Greetings to all forum members. I have been performing a certain action, the name of which I do not remember, that refers to a person frequenting a forum but never posting for almost half a year now.

Lurking?

Contemplating the sheer awesomeness of this video should keep you busy...

auto_win attacker?

[desert]

Yeah, that's the word.

And no cheating was involved - my ships are simply that awesome.

[desert]

It is the year 217 BC, and the Koinon Hellenon is in turmoil.



Once a firm ally in the fight against their common enemy, the Romaioi, the Karthadastim betrayed the Koinon Hellenon, retaking by force the lands they had sold them, specifically Numidia and Korsim. The city of Arse in Iberia, a willing new member of the Koinon, is now threatened by more than just barbarians.



Meanwhile, the residents of Syrakousai and their Lacedaimonian advisor prepare for yet another great Roman horde, led by the governor of Sicilia himself...



The turncoat son of the governor of Ordrysai, Antiphas Knidios, is roaming the countryside of southern Thrace, stirring up rebellion; he is hunted by an assassin hired by his own father.



Further east, the final defeat of Pontos has spurred the Seleukids into action, and mighty armies once more pour into Anatolia.



In the distant north, where few Hellenes dare to settle, the Sarmatian tribes have once again grown bold; thousands of horsemen pillage and burn city outskirts, hoping for a decisive battle. But the leaders of these cities, firm allies of the Koinon, need not bow before the barbarians any longer...




____________________________________________________________________________________
Well, first post. Apologies for the huge banner. Anyway, thought you should know that I play with Huge settings, and usually mulitply the number of men in a battle by 10. I'm going to be vague with the Romans, however, because the Roman AI spams Triarii and Akontistai...

[desert]

In 217 BC, the Seleukids were assembling a large force to attack the Koinon's Anatolian provinces. The top generals in Anatolia, Leonikos Samothraix and his son Telines, knew that their own forces needed to be prepared before they could match that army. A veteran army led by a native Karian named Prymneus besieged the city of Side, and the Seleukid army attempted to relieve the defenders. Prymneus marched his army to a wooded hillock some 50 leagues from Side and prepared for battle.



The Seleukid army had a full 8,000 man advantage, and was led by a veteran force of 2,000 thorakitai. However, Prymneus had a regiment of Tindanotae, and he planned to use them to devastating effect.



The two forces at the beginning of the battle.



Karians firing at Eastern Axemen, point blank.



Tindanotae obliterating some Klerouchoi.



Fleeing men.



The battle resulted in an astounding Koinon victory, with 3,500 losses to Prymneus's army, and over 20,000 dead in the enemy army. The Seleukid captain was killed in the battle, but so was Prymneus shortly afterward.



______________________________________

Hehe, Curoas.

[desert]

In the summer, Eugenios Rhodios, foremost politician in Rhodos and son of Agothokles, one of the authors of the Chremonidean League, dies. His grandson, Lasos, is currently studying in Athenai, and will assume some of Eugenios's duties in several years' time.

Side is once again under siege, though under no orders of Telines or Leonikos. An unknown man has taken over command for the late Prymneus, and Nikanor Aitholides Attikos is worried that he is looking to declare his own kingdom in Anatolia. The assassin sent to kill the traitor Nikesilas Knidios was captured and executed. A council of city elders in Byzantion decided to send several thousand untrained Thracian spearmen to finish him.



A sizeable rebel army has claimed sovereignty in central Getia Koile. The Western Defence Force, commanded by a Spartan named Synleketenios Kolophonios, a veteran of numerous Thracian and Skythian campaigns, is being sent north to restore order.



A sizeable Karthadastim force is only a few dozen leagues from Arse, although some informers claim that it is composed entirely of light skirmishers.



________________________

Any advice, ie. include more/less of something, etc?

[Reverend Joe]

Rock on!

[penguinking]

I like it. It has a nice balance between text and screenshots.

You are at war on a lot of fronts, but since you have a lot of money you should be fine.

Keep up the good work!

[desert]

After some trepidation no doubt caused by the exaggerations of the survivors of Arse, the reserve army surrounded the city in mid-January. When the last of the surrounding farmers and villagers were safely within the city, Triptolemos was approached by one of his local informants. He had grave news: this army was smaller than the last, but far, far stronger.

Arse had reached its darkest moment of despair...

__________________________
Do you have any idea what all those swordsmen are going to do to my light spearmen?!?!

[desert]

THE 5th(?) BATTLE OF SYRAKOUSAI

In April of 216 BC, the Roman governor of Sicilia brought up his siege equipment and began the 5th(or 4th, according to some) Battle of Syrakousai. His force was vast, twice the size of the defending force led by Koinon advisor Philiskos Orchomenios. But the city been through worse, and the Romans still did not seem to recognize that he had a secret weapon that accounted for all his victories against great odds. Over a hundred thousand Romans troops had perished under the White Gate of Syrakousai up to this point.




In the last battle of Syrakousai, the gate had been breached, and enemy troops had managed to go as far as the city center before being forced back. This time, Philiskos was prepared, and had sealed the gate shut with his own elite hoplites, in support of Syracusan hoplites. The rest of the men were on the walls; the cavalry waiting in case of the worst case scenario, that all the defenders of Syracuse had been killed and a final glorious charge for freedom or honourable death was required.



Philiskos had also learned that Triarii were no match for the Syracusan hoplites - they could slaughter hundreds of this so-called Roman elite without losing more than a few dozen men. The Principes and hastati, however, were another matter. Their "gladii" were devastating against shield walls, and so the slingers on the gatehouse had orders to only fire upon men carrying swords.



The men tasked with carrying the ram fell in droves as the slam of javelin against shield reverberated throughout the battle field.



Caius's plan of breaking open the gates went up in flames.



As did his siege tower.



Then, the Triarii were on the left wall, surrounded by hoplites. They fell in a staccato manner, complemented by the screams of the wounded and dying and the occasional thump or tap
of bodies far below.



On the right wall, more Triarii appeared above the ladders, closely followed by the dreaded Principes. Once again, the secret weapon was unleashed. Many Triarii died as ballistae and archers from firing slots in the rear of a nearby tower unleashed their missiles.



The Triarii had been cleared from the left wall, but hundreds of akontistai clogged the already blood-slicked space.




Now, the true horror began. The last of the Roman reserves were committed. The men who had been chosen to ascend the siege tower had been told by a runner to climb the ladders onto the right wall. The last of the Hastati and Principes climbed.



The peltasts and akontistai left on that part of the wall were dying fast, but the improvised arrowhead phalanx of the Syrakosioi held fast.



Clever Caius, instead of sending his Principes up the right wall, sent them up the left. Hundreds of brave Syracusan hoplites died trying to hold them back. They fought to the last man. But not even Principes could withstand attack from both sides, and Philiskos's Somatophylakes advanced.



Finally, the end was in sight. A horn was blown.



Panicked by the ceaseless torment they received at the hands of the tower, the remaining Roman infantry became frenzied, and were cut down all the more easily for it.



Heeding the signal given minutes earlier, the hippeis rode out of the city and glared at the Guard cavalry of the enemy general.



Embittered by the loss of the battle, tens of thousands of men, and his reputation in Roman politics, this presumptuousness, and from inferior soldiers no less, was the straw that broke the camel's back. He ordered the charge.



The hippeis were devastated, although it had seemed that they held the advantage in the seconds after the inital charge. Caius recklessly rode deep into the mass of enemy cavalry, killing many despite his affliction, which caused ceaseless bleeding from even a scratch. Once the victorious Syracusan infantry started to march out of the city to aid the hippeis, Caius listened to reason and ordered a retreat to Messena.

It took days to clear all the bodies from the walls. Many of these bodies were once sons of Syrakousai. To the citizens of the city, far too many.



____________________________________

Phew, big battle. Anyway, never expect me to give numbers or army composition with the Romans.

[Maion Maroneios]

Great man, keep it up!

Maion

[desert]

Sorry to disappoint, but I'm currently trying out different mods and it might be some time before I can update this again.

[desert]

Alright, I have returned from my travails; it is clear to me now that EB is primus inter pares when it comes to RTW mods.
___________________________________________________________________

In the end of March, 216 BC, Pelikles Kainepolites, the man who is the Koinon's chief diplomatic link to Carthage, attempted to bribe the army besieging Arse, but they demanded no less than 5,000 talents of gold.



Their temporary commander, Abdimilki, apparently fears Zimrida, the son of a Carthaginian senator, who is currently marching north to replace Chryses Urso for his defeat at Arse, if he happens to be alive (he isn't).



Meanwhile, the Seleukid's are once again sending forces into Anatolia.



In April, some mercenaries patrolling the mountains of Illyria encountered a large army hiding in some caves. They were massacred, and fled southwards in haste.




Aias Aitholides Attikos, a grandson of Chremonides himself, was sent from Athens to replace the ailing Methonaios patriarch residing in Dalminion. This was to be his punishment, as the Hegemon of the Koinon, residing in Athinai, was angered by his behavior while grooming him to be his successor. As Methonaios is not yet dead, Aias has decided to pass the time by destroying the rebellion in the north.



In May of 216 BC, Phronesis Samios, son of a Sarmatian turncoat named Madasakka, and his army finally catch up with a Sarmatian named Beuca, who has been terrorizing Meotis and the Bosporus for some time now. The garrison from the city, numbering 6,000, and Samios's army, numbering over 7,000 and composed mainly of mercenaries and some hoplites, engaged Beuca near the ruins of an old burned-out town that had been destroyed in the Skythian War of decades past, in which the kingdoms of the Bosporus became attached to the Koinon. The army was crushed and fled to the safety of Pantikapaion.




___________________

I was feeling lazy, so I autocalced....

It will be better tomorrow, I promise.

[Maion Maroneios]

Good to see you're back! Another good update

Maion

[desert]

The summer of 215 BC was painful for Nikanor Aitholides Attikos, hegemon of the Koinon. The corrupt old man up in Dalminion had finally passed on, and after some months of painful campaigning in which his multiple defeats caused an even greater number of Illyrians to rise up against Athinai, Aias withdrew to the regional capital to consolidate his hold on the remainder of the province. Immediately, his crackdown on supposed radical elements caused much unrest and some hundreds of young men left the city to join the rebellion.




The Ptolemies and their simmering disapproval of the Greek oligarchy, which had begun some decades earlier when both factions had attempted to annex Kyrene after the death of Magas, culminated in an attack on the small town of Augila. Their force was very small, and Augila's defenses had been boosted by the recent conscription of several thousand natives, after the city's king learned that a Ptolemaic force was within a hundred leagues of the city.



A gradual decrease in naval craft patrolling the sea trade routes allowed one man to form a navy of pirate ships, which had been raiding along the coast of the Peloponesus, at one point even occupying Nafplio, the port of Argos, and making off with several talents of silver.

The famed Admiral Dexamenos sailed with 4 dozen Lemboi craft to confront them. He succeeded in dispersing the fleet, but lost several to boarders, and subsequently lost several more to a storm.




Caius, with his influence mostly intact, somehow managed to talk the Senate into giving him the office of Praetor, and once again besieged Syrakousai, but this time with a much smaller force befitting his new rank.



Cowed by the show of force in Central Anatolia, the Seleukid armies besieged the Pontic city of Amaseia, which is administered by the former Strategos of all forces in Anatolia and father of the current Strategos Telines, Leonikos Samothraix. Neolaus Syriakou and Nikolaus Pisidikes led small forces, filled mostly with veterans of previous battles against Leonikos. The only notable units were up to 4,000 veteran spearmen and axemen, a fresh contingent of archers, some Thorakitai, and fresh forces of Pezhetaroi and TAB. While Amaseia is lightly guarded, the grand force used by Leonikos to great effect in Anatolia is very close by. And it will not take a threat to it's former general's life lightly.




Finally, the city of Arse was once again besieged, but this time by an army of the Lusotana tribe, which has achieved dominance over most of central and northern Iberia. Their war with the Carthaginans has apparently reached an impasse, as both sides seem to be sending most of their resources at Arse.

[desert]

BATTLE OF AUGILA

Krateros, king of Augila, decided to meet the Ptolemaic force as soon as possible. The enemy army had 1,600 peltastai, a full phalanx of native Egyptian Machimoi, and 1,600 Mistophoroi Hoplitai led by the mercenary captain.

Krateros had nearly 5,000 native troops armed as either spearmen or Akontistai and his own regiment of cavalry.




Once Euepes realized Krateros's intention to sally, he immediately ordered his forces to assemble. As soon as the lines were readied, he ordered a march to a nearby hill. Krateros tried to take the position and his cavalry rode hard, but in the end, they were overextended, and the enemy Peltastai came at them with the intention of trapping them.



Krateros tried to reassemble near the city walls and the protection of some towers, but the hoplitai followed him. However, the native troops had marched out of the city and were in a position to encircle them.




Krateros continued to lure them away from the rest of their force, and then the Pantodapoi charged and fixed them. Realizing their danger, they tried to retreat, but were caught up in a melee.



Krateros wheeled around into their rear and charged. The hoplitai almost routed then and there. Almost.



Falling back, he called another charge.



After some vicious hand-to-hand, the hoplitai routed and Euepes was cut down.




The Akontistai were ordered to position themselves on the slope of the hill, while the Pantodapoi lured the remaining enemy forces towards them. The phalanx advanced under cover of the Peltastai.



The Peltastai soon broke off and began to take down hundreds of spearmen with their javelins. Many raised their shields against the wave of missiles, but the javelins shattered or even bored right through the cheap slabs of wood. The Akontistai returned the favor, much to the relief of the spearmen, who had just engaged the phalanx.



The peltastai spread out to avoid missile fire, giving Krateros just the opportunity he needed. He charged straight into their thin ranks, swamping the Peltastai.



Having exhausted their javelins, the Akontistai ran to aid the horsemen and the Peltastai finally gave way.



Krateros eschewed chasing the routers for engaging the phalanx, as the Pantodapoi spearmen had buckled and routed, leading to a massive slaughter.



Morale restored after that display, the Peltastai returned.




Krateros smashed them apart.



Even though they had lost few men and could still continue fighting, or even fall back in orderly retreat, the Machimoi dropped their spears and ran for their lives. They had simply had enough. Krateros quickly joined the Akontistai in chasing after them, and in the end all of them were killed.



The Ptolemaic force had been entirely destroyed - the few survivors would be taken by the harsh desert. Although the Pantodapoi had dissipated during the battle, over a thousand appeared for role call at sunset or in the huts of the army surgeons. 300 Akontistai and a hundred of Krateros's cavlary were lost as well.




Immediately after the battle, Krateros tripled taxes in Augila, and doubled them throughout the rest of the region, but the local populace was still flushed with pride in his victory and took it in stride.

______________________

Sorry for all the mixups...

[desert]

Ok guys. There will definitely be an update tomorrow (a battle-heavy one).

Meanwhile, I've been thinking of entering the Screenshot Competition, and wanted to ask if any of you think I should use a particular screenshot from this AAR.

Personally, I prefer these two:




Because that spear is like totally going through that hoplite in the far right; f-ing awesome! It went through his f-ing face and exited through his upper back!! :O



Because of the flying hoplites, men craning their heads back in fear, and the one hoplite in the center(really far back) who is getting stabbed (he looks like he is clutching his chest).



Thoughts?

[penguinking]

Both are good, but I think the second one is better.

[Olaf Blackeyes]

id go for the second one too. it FAR mpre epic (even though both of them are epicer than anything I can come up with)