THE 6th BATTLE OF SYRAKOUSAI
Caius Cornelius Scipio, after the loss of his legion at Syrakousai, was publicly disgraced and stripped of his public office of propraetor of Sicilia. He was burning for vengeance, however, and managed to convince several key Senators into giving him a Praetorship in 215 BC. Perhaps they felt he could succeed, although the fresh memory of so many failed campaigns against Syrakousai made this unlikely. The other possibility was that someone in Roma wanted him dead. Either way, his force was evenly matched in numbers by Orchomenios's 14,000 men. So confident was Orchomenios that he decided to sally forth from the city and take a more proactive approach in getting rid of the Romans.
Caius had his army assemble on the slope of a hill north of Syrakousai. His force did not resemble a standard legion at all, and so he simply put his Italic heavy cavalry, almost the match of hetairoi from what Orchomenios had heard, on the left flank, the Akontistai auxiliaries in front, and his core heavy troops between his personal guard and the skirmishers.
The Syrakousioi Hippeis, to threaten the Roman flank, left through the city's east gate.
While Orchomenios drew up his lines, the hippeis and sphendonetai attempted to lure the enemy heavy cavalry closer to the walls of the city.
The ruse succeeds; some of their mounts are killed by the stones flying through the air and they make for the slingers. Meanwhile, Orchomenios creates a wall of hoplites flanked by several thousand Akontistai on both sides, and Peltastai in reserve behind.
Before the slingers can be harmed, the hippeis engage the Extraordinarii. Horses are trampled and men are thrown into the air, such is the violence of the surge. But before the combat begins in earnest, the slingers summon a devastating hailstorm that massacres hundreds of the Roman cavalry. Soon nearly half of them are dead or unhorsed, the rest thrown into panicked confusion. Despite the inferiority of their armor and weapons, the hippeis only lose a hundred men.
Caius sends a full half of his triarii to destroy the slingers before they can massacre his most expensive unit, but they arrive in time only to deflect the last of the slingers' ammo with their scutums.
Caius sends in a third of his auxiliary skirmishers behind the triarii. But Orchomenios will not allow his slingers to be slaughtered by javelins, and sends some of his own Akontistai to counter them. They pour javelins into them, but the Roman Akontistai continue to march forward, finally charging the slingers, evidently to prevent friendly fire against the much more valuable Triarii. Still, the Syrakusan Akontistai don't need to make any such distinctions, and two hundred Triarii die in the storm of javelins.
The Akontistai, their javelins depleted, charge the enemy soldiers with the elite veteran hoplitai of Syrakousai right behind them.
Confident in their ability to destroy the Triarii, a theory supported by their past experiences, they advanced implacably toward the main mass of Triarii while forcing those in their way to step back or be slain.
The Roman heavy cavalry, no longer threatened by the Sphendonetai, make mincemeat of the hippeis while taking only 50 casualties. They are, however, tired and dispirited, and make for the ROman lines.
The brave hippeis, of whom only three dozen remain, rally and charge into the oblivious Akontistai.
This causes them to rout, although they rally a short distance away after the loud peals of trumpeteers remind them of the fact that they face only 30 cavalrymen.
Momentarily the Syrakosioi cavalry contingent ceases to exist. Anxious to distract Caius, Orchomenios orders his remaining Akontistai to attack the Roman skirmishers with javelins. Amazingly, they do so for several minutes without any repercussions. The Roman Akontistai are too bewildered to respond, and they recieve no orders, and so simply run around trying to avoid the deadly missiles.
They eventually get their act together, however, and thousands of javelins begin to fly down the hill and into the Akontistai, who fall back in disarray.
The hoplitai, having defeated the Triarii, march to attack the Extraordinarii. Once they turn around, however, they see that the Extraordinarii are way ahead of them. Even though they prepare the line for a cavalry charge, HUNDREDS of hoplites are killed instantly when the charge hits. It is simply inexplicable. The front lines literally buckled and disappeared beneath the hooves of the Roman cavalry. Lesser soldiers would have run for their lives immediately, but these hoplitai were highly motivated veterans, and they held. But their relief when the Akontistai came to their aid and managed to surround the cavalry was almost palpable. Of course, the Roman cavalry were no match for hoplites in pitched combat, and they were utterly routed. But the loss of so many good men would be felt strongly in the future.
The lines begin to move for the final confrontation, and as every soldier advances to join the fight, the rest of the Roman triarii hit the battered, exhausted hoplitai. The triarii are at a huge advantage, being fresh, and their numerical advantage allows them to attack the rear of the shield wall, unlike in previous battles, in which hundreds of triarii died for only a handful of hoplitai because they couldn't get around the shield wall. In this fight, the victor is clear. That is why Orchomenios has the peltastai prove their worth by tossing their javelins into the triarii from behind.
The levy hoplites engage several hundred scattered Akontistai and the Principes. The Principes are what Orchomenios fears most. They can cut through a phalanx like a falx through manflesh.
Orchomenios's Epilektoi and the green hoplitai are in the middle of trying to surround the Principes when they are hit by the cavalry guard of Caius himself. Caius commands a very skilled cavalry force, and the peltastai are ordered into the fray to help even the balance.
Unfortunately, many javelins fall from above during the ordeal, scoring cheap kills against soldiers occupied with the enemies in front of them.
The battle continues. The levy hoplites are proving to be no match for the principes. But they must hold. The triarii and hoplitai are still at an impasse.
Orchomenios distracts the attention of the peltastai for a minute and has them throw their remaining
javelins into the triarii. This turns the tide of that fight in favor of the hoplitai.
Orchomenios knows he will be victorious in the end, but it will indeed be a Pyrrhic victory. How many dozens would be left to defend Syrakousai? And then, something happens. Vengeful Caius Cornelius Scipio is falling. His horse has just been gutted by a hoplite's shortsword. He falls to the ground; there's a pain in his legs. He opens his eyes one last time, and sees his horse falling...right on top of him. His scream turns into a gurgling groan as soon as it leaves his lips. The hoplitai pause - and raise their spears, those who still have unbroken spears that is, into the air with a mighty cheer.
The Romans falter - the auxiliaries run immediately. Within seconds, even the Triarii and Principes are routing. The battle is won.
But at what cost? 9,000 men are dead. Who will defend Syrakousai against future attack?
The incredible loss of life for Syrakousai during the battle highlighted a major fact that has become a growing concern in the past years - Syrakousai is running out of men. Most of it's able-bodied citizens have already taken up arms or are dead.
The other cities within Syrakousai's sphere of influence refuse to support it, as the Romans' continual occupation of them during the numerous campaigns they undertake in the region precludes the possibility of supporting Roma's enemy, and doing so would mean dire consequences for those cities foolish enough to do so.
Even the countryside is no longer a reliable source of men; most people no longer want anything to do with Syrakousai. The only way that the city can continue to hold out is if Athens sends aid immediately...or if the Romani are driven out of Sicilia.
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Ok, so as you might know, I entered the second screenshot into the competition. I expected the first shot to be the most popular, though. This is a sample of what you guys missed out on by scorning it.
Re: The Pan-Hellenic Empire
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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)
Originally Posted by Dayve
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