Life of the youngest son (a Macedon AAR)
Hello everybody. I decided to try to do an After Action Report. I never tried an AAR before, so some criticism would be appreciated.
My AAR is on vanilla RTW (with belles map and skin pack). difficulty: M/M (just to have a relaxing campaign)
My AAR will concentrate on Damasos, the youngest son of Antigonos. The style is actually diary-ish
Chapter 1: from coward to victor
269 BC, Inside Sparta.
I am a coward. Nothing more, nothing less.
Some time ago my father asked me: You are 22 so you are a man for six years now. It is time you lead your men to victory and gain honor. I am a really well educated man, so I know every single secret of warfare.
My father said: our spies have reported that Sparta, the most important city in Greece has been left by the Greek leader of the Hellenic leage. I had to take every single man of Corinth who could hold a spear or a bow or a dagger and attack Sparta.
We knew some of their best soldiers were left behind so we decided to attack before the army outside could return. Captain Neoptolemos was a feared captain in the Peloponesos.() Because I succeeded in surprising the Spartan remainders I could just walk into the city. I used the tatics my tutor told me to. March in with your spearmen, attack them from behind with your archers and cavalry.
I used another entrance than my spearmen.() I was in command of the only cavalry we had, my bodyguards. At first everything went as planned, My hoplites attacked the front, while those Spartans were attacked in the back with my archers. When suddenly captain Neoptolemos fell (
) , I thought: “Damasos, now is your time to attack and get glory. “ Almost I attacked. Almost I would have been a true warrior. Instead my nerves were killing me and I didn’t give the order to attack. My second in command, Anaximenes, told me to charge and get my victory. I refused. It is MY fault lots of Greeks have died, it’s MY fault we almost lost the battle, and gave away an opportunity to cripple the City States.
Instead of charging in and breaking the resistance of the Spartans, I sent in my mercenary reserves to pepper the Spartans with javelins,
() and then when my other men started wavering I sent them to fight them hand to hand. (
)
Anaximenes shouted again: “By Zeus, attack them and victory will be ours.” Immediately after he added an apology for addressing a family member of the great Antigonos Cyclops without any shame. The peltasts fought better than anyone would have expected of them. It’s because of them this victory was not a major defeat. The Spartans although surrounded fought to the last man. In the region they think I had a heroic victory.() I would rather see it as my greatest failure. Afterwards, I obeyed the Basileus’ orders and enslaved everyone in Sparta. I hope when the Greek army returns I will be able to control my nerves or by Ares, Athena, Poseidon and all the Gods of the Olympos I swear, I will throw myself on my sword. I will send note to my father about my victory and about my great flaw. In the meanwhile my men will construct a wall to protect better from the enemy.
Year 267 BC late spring
I had a lot of things to do so I forgot to write in my book. A lot has changed. The oldest son of my brother Gyras, who everybody suspects to be the next Basileus, has gotten to the age where he can take up his sword and fight a battle. In fact, he is so well known the thracians fled even for only his name.
I got a letter from my father. He just ignored the fact that I have been a coward, and that I deserve nothing else than a cold grave in the rocky ground. He just told me Romans tricked him into an ambush, but he was ready and destroyed the Romans. It was a victory everybody will speak of until the end of the world. The Romans were really bad at using Cavalry he told me.
I don’t get it. Why did he just ignore me behaving like a frightened child? Is it because he despises me? Is it because he doesn’t think it worth talking about? Or is it because he expected nothing else from me? I don’t know, and I don’t think I ever will. My father’s arch nemesis, Kleomenes of Sparta came back with all of his army. But when he saw, how reinforced Sparta was now, he didn’t try to take it back from us, but he started roaming the countryside, plundering whatever he could.
Year 267 BC, early summer inside Sparta
Kleomenes is giving me a headache. He is just destroying as much as he can and I am sick of it , that’s why I’m going to confront him.
Year 267 BC, early summer In the outskirts of Sparta
I finally faced Kleomenes, and triumphed, but in the meantime I failed my father again.
Because even my father speaks with respect of Kleomenes of Sparta, I used a large force to attack him.
() My mercenary captain, Agathokles came as a reinforcement, but I told them to wait until I gave the sign, because I didn’t plan to use my veterans.
I marched towards my enemy, with my Levy pikemen in front and at the flanks, almost behind them, I put my militia hoplites. My Macedonian archers were behind my lines, and so was I, although I was determined to take my chance and prove I was not a coward. Little did I know my plan was going to fail. When finally we came onto equal ground, Kleomenes decided to withdraw. My archers did some good pickings, and I killed some peasants, who were helping him, but most of the army escaped () , and we followed them over Attica until we reached the sea, where his fleet was awaiting him.
He did not know I was expecting the remainder of his troops to retreat over the sea, so I sent the navy towards him to destroy him. Then I realized why my father speaks with respect when he mentions Kleomenes. Kleomenes succeeded by maneuvering to escape. I had Kleomenes trapped, I don’t know what I should have done different. Should I have sent my armies around to block his way to his fleet, weakening my main force? Or should I just have destroyed his ships before he was inside risking to miss him on land? Only the Gods know the answers to those questions. Kleomenes could be everywhere. The greeks had still fortresses in Rhodos, Syracuse, Pergamum and even on the Greek mainland around Thermon.
266 BC Inside Athens
I have failed my father twice. It’s nothing more than a fact. I sent the full Macedonian fleet after the Greek army, but failed to find it. Kleomenes seems to have escaped. Last time I didn’t lack courage, but I still didn’t do what I was supposed to. Now, my next step is attacking Athens. If I fail again, I will have lost all of my honour beyond repair and I will live as an exile on the isle of Delos, to never leave again.
My most important task to begin with was building siege equipment. First I gave an order to build lots of siege towers because I know from my stay as governor of Corinth that stone walls can withstand a lot of attacks, and the archers in the towers can really decimate anything that comes near.
But one Macedonian, Cleombrotos, had some experience with mining. He told me that a wall can look huge and difficult to overcome, but if you dig beneath, they come crashing down on the ground. I told him that if such a thing would work, I would reward him with nobility, and make him one of my advisors.
But because I didn’t want to put all my eggs in one basket I also built some ladders to take the walls. Captain Lykomedes, my opponent was known to be a really honorable foe, so I decided to attack in broad daylight.
Because digging is really hard work, I sent my peasants, who are accustomed to hard work to dig beneath the walls.
() Lykomedes must have known about the sapping beneath the enemy’s wall because he moved one unit of his militia to the place we were digging to. In the meanwhile, I ordered two units of levy pikemen to take the ladders to the walls and take the gate. While walking towards the wall, they sustained heavy losses, but they remained steady and got on top of the walls at both sides of the gates
(),(
), surrounding some of the peltasts on the walls. The peltasts fought to the death and died every single man. I had almost taken the gate when all of a sudden the wall collapsed. (
) My first reaction was to cheer: Cleombrotos was right! The wall was just completely destroyed so I made my men charge into the gap. But because there was a bottleneck, my men were dying. At that moment, Anaximenes suggested me to go through the gate and attack the hoplites from behind. All of a sudden my hands start shaking, and I didn’t have any courage to attack. I saw my men die. When I looked again, I saw Cleombrotos go down. Cleombrotos, an ordinary soldier I have only known for a couple of days, but who was the one who made Athens fall. Suddenly I gathered all my courage, charged through the gates into the sides of my enemies.
() My enemies routed en masse. Not long afterwards even Lykomedes turned his tail and ran. At the central plaza, there was no possibility left to run. There while I got around the men, my pikes attacked them from behind. They didn’t dare turn around, for I would charge them in the back if they did. (
) Lots of Greeks and Macedonians died in this battle. (
) I knew I would never again be afraid on a battlefield. The only thing I had to think about was the face of Cleombrotus, a not-so-ordinairy soldier. I made his family all nobles (with approval of my father of course) and I buried him in a great grave with looks over the Aegean Sea. From then on some began calling me “Damasos Victor”.
()
This is the end of chapter 1 of the life of the youngest son of Antigonos Cyclops
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) In just don’t trust captain Meleagros. He doesn’t talk, but spends a lot of time in his tent, “making notes”. In my opinion, my brother Gyras is spying on me, and he will be following me closely. Would it be out of fear? Does he think I would want to become the Basileus? I am the youngest son, so the last choice. Maybe he is just jealous because he thinks my victories were more decisive than his. Lately, even a Greek army under the command of Cleon of Sparta landed near Thermon. I think they will try to stop the Roman invasion. Ha!! The Greeks don’t know how to use cavalry just like the Romans, how do they possibly think to defeat them? 
) He just earned the right to command an army, and does not know what fear means. He will probably be a better general than I will ever be. This must be the reason why my brother sent Meleagros to write a lot of reports. He was just checking if I could teach him how to become a better general. His son does have some innovative ideas. He made me board a ship to try to surprise the Greeks from behind. I knew the tactic was risky but could work. We landed behind the Romans. Then I heard rumors. The leader of the Greek Cities has come to thermon, Kleomenes was here! This was my chance to make up for my second failure. If only I could attack Kleomenes and kill him…
) To attack, he had to leave the hilltop. That’s how he was marching towards my army.(
) Together with my nephew and the light lancers under the command of captain Meleagros, I went to the left flank, to surprise my opponent. Everybody knows the right flank is the position of honor. This time, I will use my left flank as attacking device. Once all my men were engaged, I swung my cavalry behind their lines and attacked Kleomenes.(
) Kleomenes fought hard and strong as if Herakles himself possessed him, but finally Meleagros killed him. When his men saw their leader die, almost all of the militia fled, and most of the hoplites. After cleaning the battlefield, surrounding remainders, I won the battle against the Greeks. Although I lost a lot of men, my earlier mistakes were repaid for Kleomenes was no more. I decorated captain Meleagros, for taking down the thorn in my father’s eye. From now on he will be one of my most trusted advisors. My nephew didn’t lose his temper, no, on the contrary, he wants to conquer even more, and fight more often. I retreated towards Athens to retrain my losses. (
)
) I certainly hope my father will succeed. I think the Brutii might attack in some time. Maybe I should just wait. I get also really frightening reports from my second brother in Bylazora. He thinks the Thracians are gathering troops for an immense assault on Thessalonica where Aloeus, the firstborn of Gyras is gathering an army. His brother Abreas is again by my side. I hope the Gods are willing to help me destroy all those who oppose me. Meanwhile, my eldest brother Gyras found some guy asking awkward questions about the defenses of Larissa.(
) My brother thinks it might either be a spy or just some foreigner at the wrong time at the wrong place. I am not convinced. The Greeks might very well have some surprises left. 
) For some reason all the reports of my scouts said their men called him Quaestor. As I understand it, it must be some military ranking, like commander. While we were besieging Thermon, we were allways keeping an eye on the enemy army. We did not want to get surrounded. But a small army of the Roman family of the Julii blocked our road. We had two choices when we were being attacked by Vettius. The first was to stand and try to fight them off. This was not good, because their troops were more advanced than mine, and their cavalry outnumbered mine heavily. The second choice was trying to take Thermon and afterwards defending it. This might even be worse. Even if we could take thermon in time, we would have not enough supplies to survive for half a year. The Brutii would just starve us. That’s why I decided we should confront them. Vettius’ army attacked. I made a phalanx on top of a slight elevation. The enemy was marching towards me.(
) Their timing was not perfect though, because captain Julianus of the house of Julii had not yet arrived. Vettius stormed his infantry right at mine. Before they engaged they threw some kind of Javelin. I never ever saw someone fight this way. We equip our javelinmen sometimes with shields, but we do not equip our infantry with javelins, that would be weird. They were winning at first. Then I saw again the face of Cleombrotos, and I decided to attack, and drive my lance in the flank of the Romans without any support at all. Suddenly the mass of their cavalry starts moving. Anaximenes shouted: “watch out, we should withdraw”. I couldn’t. Instead I did a gamble and sent in all of my cavalry under the command of my nephew Abreas. All of the roman cavalry suddenly started to rout, and one Macedonian Perseas, killed Quintus Vettius.(
) The Romans started to flee.
) All of the Brutii army ended up destroyed. Then my too excited nephew took his bodyguards and wanted to charge the unit of captain Julianus. I ordered him not to. He wouldn’t listen, so I sent one unit of light lancers after him.
) Before they could reach him, all of the hastati of Julianus already routed, and we captured Julianus himself. He will tell all of his secrets, willingly or not. I gave Abreas an angry speech. If he would have left his men behind and died while being the strategos, all of his campaign could have failed. He answered: “But uncle, I mean Strategos, It is cowardice to stay behind and let your infantry die instead.” At this moment I knew he had still a long way to go before becoming a good general. But then again, I think I was even worse at his age. While we were still exhausted from the battle against the Brutii, suddenly what I predicted happened. The Greeks had still a surprise army led by the notorious captain Aristocles. Because just before, we fought a large battle, we withdrew. He followed. After a week of running he was really annoying me that much that I attacked him, and destroyed him in a new technique I call the Phalanx charge. I never thought about that. You just don’t use your sarissa and charge in, and at the last moment you lower your spear, and bang, the enemy is destroyed. After a clear victory (
), I withdrew towards Athens. 
) He surely will become one of the greatest Basileis ever known.
)
) Suddenly I noticed the enemy army consisted mostly of militia and peltasts. I had to act quickly or my army would just get shot to death by those javelins. Two units of light lancers went forward and drove of two militia cavalry.
) Meanwhile, my army was getting decimated by the throwing spears.
) That’s when Doros suddenly charged into my levy pikemen. Until now, I still don’t know why he did that. Was it because he was tired of waiting? Was it out of personal glory? Whatever the answer was, he is in Hades now. As soon as he died, I used all of my remaining cavalry and charged into his missile troops.(
) Because they were still confused about the death of their leader, they all turned their tails and ran. Then Abreas and I came into action. We attacked the routers and killed a lot of them. Their pikemen died on my sarissas or with one of my swords in their backs. We almost got all of his army, but some militia cavalry returned to protect the remaining routers.(
) Still, our battle was a great victory, only 350 enemy’s survived.(
) Now the road to finally driving the independent poleis out of Hellas was open. My brother gave me some extra cavalrymen, weakening his position. I had to win because if I didn’t , nobody would have been able to stop the Greeks and the Romans at once. In the city of Thermon, only a small garrison force remained under the command of Antigonos of Sparta. Although he shared the name of my father, he did not share his genius. I started the siege of Thermon. Unfortunately, Aegisthes could not open the gates. Suddenly I was attacked, again by captain Aristocles.(
) Some say he has Tyche’s own luck. He attacked me. In the meanwhile, Antigonos gathered what soldiers he could get, and came to help him. In the beginning, Aristocles was somewhat in front of his army and both Abreas and I charged behind him.
) He tried to retreat, but he got caught. Aristocles decided to abandon his men, and flee the field.(
) He got away alive, but I think I will never face him again on the battlefield. As Antigonos was still too far to help his allies, I decided to let my men attack the enemy. Their militia cavalry tried to run, but my light lancers were faster and better equipped for a melee-fight. So all of the army, discouraged from the flight of Aristocles, routed, pursued by me in front of my cavalry.(
) While my first enemy was being defeated, Antigonos could do nothing but watch. Then he arrived.(
) My captured captain Julianus told me I used a strategy the Romans use often, called, in their weird tongue: Divide et Impera, which means Divide and Conquer. I might not have been able to defeat both armies at once, but I certainly could defeat them one at a time. When I met the second army, there was barely a fight. Antigonos of Sparta tried to do a flanking strike but got caught in my cavalry where he had been captured. After the battle he asked me to take poison, to minimize his loss of honor. I allowed it, and he died as he wanted to.(
) His army routed, and because only a small amount of troops could retreat into the city, they surrendered. Because my father was really furious with this city trying to stand a long time, he told me to enslave everyone. So I obeyed, as I had to. I found one slave in the city, called Windex, a gaul, who was already a slave before I arrived, who will be my body slave from now on. In my opinion, Abreas is ready to command an army on his own and achieve personal glory. Thermon is Macedonian for good, and the Greek rebellion is finally suppressed.(
) 
, for my father wants this to be my next target, because they are a warlike barbarian society, who never would agree, or hold on to a peace treaty. I felt like Alcibiades, who is thought to be the first Greek civilian, who entered Thrace. First I had some unfinished business to take care of. You see, captain Aristocles, who fled our last battle is roaming around the countryside with some remaining Greek troops. I finally want to either kill or capture him. At last, I succeeded to trap him between my army and the coast.
He lined his army on a summit, and I had to charge in. I used my “phalanx-charge” technique, I ran towards them,
and then deployed a phalanx.
I used some of my cavalry to charge his troops from behind.
It looked like he would turn and run,
Then I myself charged into him. He fled but got killed by one of my loyal bodyguards. His limitless luck seemed to have stalled.
He had some interesting messages on him. The Greeks and the Thracians were in secret negotiating to destroy all of Hellas, the northern part would go to Thrace, the southern part to Greece. Now I knew we had to act quickly before the Thracians would crush us as a giant hammer on a Greek anvil. I have to leave Thermon shorlty, and I will probably never see my goddess again. 
Finally, she will learn to love me as well. The daughter of my second brother Eumenes married Amathaon of Scotussa.
Amathaon might be a good commander but in my opinion, even an under-achieving oyster could handle day-to-day business better than this Amathaon. I actually don’t like him, and I hope he chokes on a stuffed olive. 
While he was plotting an attack on the Romans suddenly a strange illness fell over him. Our priest of Asklepios tried a cure using snakes and healing him that way, but he sent a note to Gyras which read: 
, we mourned his loss, and drunk until we couldn’t tell up from down in his honor. Gyras named me the new faction heir.
Even though the majority of the population was Greek, who would have tought they would rather be slaves to Rome than be a part of the Macedonian kingdom. During the period after the death of Antigonos, the citizens of Tarentum killed, with a little bribe from the Romans, all the Macedonian soldiers. But they thought they were smart by trying to make the Romans leave their city alone. They would pay taxes to the Romans but no Roman soldiers were allowed on the Tarentine area. But Abreas, with the task to get my fathers body, reconquered the city of Tarentum. He demanded the body of my father. He was shocked by the answer. The locals cut his body into pieces and spread those pieces in the seas around Italy. Furious, Abreas killed every last citizen of Tarentum, helped by some Italian mercenaries.
But at the same time even a greater disaster hit Tessalonica. Apollo, the god of music and art, was shooting his arrows to the Macedonian capital. Aloeus ordered a quarantine, and he prayed to Apollo and his son Asclepios to end this dreaded plague.
Unfortunately, Aegisthes was not able to open the gates of the city, so I ordered my men to build four battering rams. First I reassured my men, even though I knew my victory was reassured.
Because I split up my army, I ordered Meleagros to dismount and command the pikemen. The second attack would be commanded by me and all of the cavalry and some native thracians, to push the ram. My opponent, Zyles the mad made his name true. Instead of retreating his falxmen towards the plaza where they could easily hold of our troops, he ordered them to throw themselves on our pikes and attack head-on.
He was so preoccupied he didn’t even notice the second part of the attack, and my Thracians destroyed the walls.
The Macedonian cavalry flooded in trampeling some troops Zyles sent when it already was to late.
Then Zyles-the-fool stormed onto lowered Sarrissas with all of his cavalry. He managed to rout them but at the cost of three quarter of his cavalry. While he tried to flee towards the town plaza, he was stabbed in the back by an ordinary levies
, a suiting death for such a fool. Both parts of the army marched towards the plaza, to surround the remainder of the Thracian army. The cavalry was in the west, the infantry in the south. Of course the cavalry arrived first. We had to wait until the bulk of the army arrived.
When they were only twenty paces away, suddenly, the commander of my Thracian mercenaries, Yuliex told me: “screw the infantry” and he ordered his man to attack.
He stormed onto the Phalangites hoping to break them immediately. He didn’t realize though that if you don’t give the enemy a way to go you can check just how strong they can fight. Luckily, my infantry was there to save the day, and the last Thracian died surrounded by Macedonian soldiers.
Because the city was still in majority Greek I peacefully occupied it. Next I formally executed Yuliex for disobeying a direct order. Byzantium was ours!
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