Life of a Roman: An AAR

**Obelics** · 12-09-2008, 14:18

wow, i just read the first post and i like it very much! it has somethink "desperate"...

edit: enjoyed the second chapter as well. this night i will read it all, it's really interesting!

**johnhughthom** · 12-09-2008, 18:31

Our glorious sailing to Africa and marching to the gates of Carthage never happened. Instead we seem to be stuck in a war of attrition, both sides watching the other ready to pounce on a single mistake. Unfortunately we made the only mistake so far. Cornelius Blasio had his legion camped deep in Carthaginian territory but wasn't happy with his position, so he left one of his tribunes with a detachment and moved the rest of the army to a position closer to Messana and more easily supplied. He believed he would be able to get back to the old camp to relieve the tribune if the Carthaginians attacked. He forgot about elephants. Little more than a decade after Pyrrhus brought them to Italy we had forgotten about them already. Only a few made it back from the camp and they told how the beasts were used as battering rams, knocking down a huge section of wall in less than an hour. The tribune was outnumbered twenty to one but fought on anyway. It didn't take long, most of our men were trampled under elephant feet and the survivors cut down by African savages.

They took our fort, obviously incapable of building their own, and now Blasio's legion sits in his and the Punic horde sit in the one they stormed. Neither army is willing to assault such a well constructed defence as taking it without huge casualties would be next to impossible. So stalemate in the north-west of Sicily, they hold the west, we hold the north-east, which leaves the south-east. Which means one thing, Syracuse. A huge city almost the rival of Rome and certainly as mighty as Athens, Carthage or any of those other "great" cities. They are no friend of Carthage, though they are no friend of Rome either. The ruler had been a general under Pyrrhus and Scipio decided that he could not be trusted, the city would have to be taken if we were to cleanse the island of Punic influence. After all they were Greek and who knows what treachery they would stoop to.

That's were I am now, looking at the walls of Syracuse. We have seiged the city as best we can, but there is a difference between cutting off supplies to a hovel in Gaul and doing so to a genuine metropolis. There are a number of bodies strung up on the walls, spies Scipio sent into the city in an effort to take it by surprise. It seems if we want to take the city assault is the only way, there are a huge number of men in the city, Syracusan Hoplites are famed the world over, and an assault will make Messana look like a training session. It doesn't look like we are going to assault any time soon though, a few men in the camp claim Scipio has messengers and spies coming from the west on an almost hourly basis, as if his mind is not here but in Lilibeo. Could this seige be a ruse to take the Carthaginians by surprise? If they lose Lilibeo the army occuying our camp will be leaderless and unable to resupply. Whatever, look what my speculation last time came to, I will wait here and go where I'm told when I'm told. Sometimes life seems to have changed very little from my time with the irregulars.

**johnhughthom** · 12-09-2008, 18:35

Originally Posted by Obelics

wow, i just read the first post and i like it very much! it has somethink "desperate"...

edit: enjoyed the second chapter as well. this night i will read it all, it's really interesting!

Nice to know a legend of AAR writing is reading

**johnhughthom** · 12-09-2008, 19:37

A year older, a year wiser and still looking at the walls of Syracuse. A ruse to take the Carthaginians by surprise! Shows how much I know, guess I'd better cut out the baseless conjecture and stick to the facts. OK then, I get up at first light, parade about a bit, repair a bit of fence, parade about a bit, patrol a bit of fence, parade about a bit, eat if I'm lucky, patrol a bit of fence, play a game of dice, have a crap, go to bed, rinse and repeat. How's that for a recruitment peice for the legions?

A familiar face is with the legion, Cotta the tribune who promoted me to lead the irregulars is here. I don't think he remembers me though, why would he? He is in charge of the allied ala. Nothing much else has changed here in Sicily, from letters from my wife it seems nothing much has changed in Italy either. The third legion is stationed in Gaul and it seems their very presence is enough to keep the savages in check. Pity this war couldn't be like that one, kill a few barbarians, install puppet ruler, move on to the next target. Proper Roman warfare, not like this sitting about waiting for the enemy to make their move. Two years we have choked off these Greeks, how much longer can they last?

**johnhughthom** · 12-09-2008, 20:30

Another year off the roll allotted to me by Jupiter and still I gaze upon the walls of Syracuse having never set foot within the city. Yet now the banner of the SPQR flies over the city and Scipio controls it from within. There was a coup a few months back and the Epirote commanding the city was overthrown, the gates were thrown open and Scipio marched in with a small contingent. The rest of the army were ordered to remain outside. I must admit I admired Scipios balls, had it been a trap he would have had no chance. Of course had it been a trap we would have assaulted the city, no matter how grievous our losses, and slaughtered every man, woman and child within, and the Syracusans knew that. Scipio is still arranging how the city will be governed when we leave, seemingly even more people call it home than Rome so it is a new problem for us. There are some in the camp who feel we must rule such a great city directly and only someone with pro-consular authority should be allowed to govern.

Still what do I care? The only reason I want to see the city is to sample their wine and women. Life for me has continued to improve, I am now signifer for our century. Our old one was invalided out after an infection meant his foot had to be amputated. I'm still amazed he managed to survive, still what use is a one footed legionary? A few days after he left , as we sat around our campfire, our centurion was talking to one of the tribunes. They were looking at us and shaking their heads, then nodding, obviously trying to agree on something. The tribune looked familiar but I couldn't quite put my finger on why. Cotta, the commander of the allied ala, rode up and dismounted before embracing the tribune. Then I got why he had looked familiar, he was obviously Cotta's son. The three of them then continued the discussion with Cotta looking over us. He looked past me, then his eyes returned to me with a hazy recognition. He scratched his chin, then pointed at me and asked the centurion something. He nodded and pointed again, smiled slightly, embraced his son, got on his horse and rode off.

A few days later the centurion called me over and told me the good news, "Cotta says you are a good man for the job, just remember you are not with the irregulars now. Any "creative book keeping" will be dealt with harshly." So now I am better paid, I actually have a say how the century is run and I don't have to sleep with my contubernium any more, I have my own tent. The one bad point is as the standard bearer I have no chance of getting out of parades now, and I will be a target when we go into battle. The best part is I get out of all the manual labour, no more road building, ditch digging, fence fixing or scavenging for me. It also seems a man of some import has his eye on me, perhaps signifer should not be the limit of my ambition.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

**Tyrfingr** · 12-09-2008, 21:31

A tesserary (Latin: tesserārius, from tessera, a small tile or block of wood on which watchwords were written), was a soldier in the Roman army who was responsible for getting the watchwords from the commander and seeing that it was kept safe. They organized and had command over the nightly guard assigned to keep watch over the fort when in garrison or on campaign.[1][2] There was one tesserarius to each centuria Wilkes, 1972. They held a position similar to that of a non-commissioned officer in modern armies and acted as seconds to the optiones.

Tesserary pay was one and a half times (sesquiplicarii) that of the standard legionary pay.

**johnhughthom** · 12-09-2008, 21:53

A letter:

Dearest husband,

Congratulations on your promotion. I was very proud to hear about it, as was father. He says I will be married to a centurion before long! Things are going well here on the farm, there is little banditry nowadays as the legion may be north in Gaul but everybody knows they could be here in a matter of days. Sicily is only a few days away too.
There are rumours here that your friend Blasio has been recalled from his command due to drunkeness. Is this true? Father heard he couldn't get through a parade without falling over or shouting at an imaginary senator! Perhaps the new commander will be more bold and actually attack the Carthaginians like you want.
The farm is doing well, the harvest was good and that new punic slave you sent from Messana really knows his stuff. We made ten percent more money last year and the rent money from our flats means we can afford to buy that plot of land to the north. Father knows the man who owns it and thinks we can get a good price, or we could buy some new tenements in town if you prefer, the town is really growing and there will always be tenants. Let me know what you want me to do, you are my husband after all.
Our boy is growing all the time and constantly asks questions about you, what you are doing, where you are, how many men you have killed. I wish you could make it home to see him sometime soon.
Please write soon and let me know how you are doing, I hope you get a chance to see Syracuse or at the very least to kill some Carthaginians

**johnhughthom** · 12-09-2008, 21:55

Originally Posted by Jaertecken

A tesserary (Latin: tesserārius, from tessera, a small tile or block of wood on which watchwords were written), was a soldier in the Roman army who was responsible for getting the watchwords from the commander and seeing that it was kept safe. They organized and had command over the nightly guard assigned to keep watch over the fort when in garrison or on campaign.[1][2] There was one tesserarius to each centuria Wilkes, 1972. They held a position similar to that of a non-commissioned officer in modern armies and acted as seconds to the optiones.

Tesserary pay was one and a half times (sesquiplicarii) that of the standard legionary pay.

Thanks, I thought that must be it but couldn't find anything that definatively said they organized guard duty, everything just mentioned the block with the nights password.

**Olaf Blackeyes** · 12-09-2008, 22:03

R u trying to outpost me????

lol jk nice pace it may be faster than mine.

EDIT:gratz on pg 2

**Obelics** · 12-10-2008, 15:58

this is making me will to give a second try to my roman campaign i interrupted on 1.0/1.1, now i hope you dont will be affected by the "post italia capta syndrome", i mean when you have conquered all italia+sardinia,corsica and sicilia, that seems that you feel safe and secure, and you dont know where to go anymore... that took me too, i say try to find a fictional or a pseudo-historical casus belli, i dont know, for example try to destroy the carthaginian wealth in Hispania, or secure the illirian border from pirates etc.

keep it going, cheers!