My 8-star Roman general was recently humiliated by a 3-star Egyptian upstart.

The Egyptians attacked with a small force of 500, with a much larger reinforcement army arriving immediately behind my lines. I easily swatted aside the 500, then pursued with my cav. This left my Hastati to fend for themselves. They endured multiple chariot charges, and broke several chariot units, even killing the enemy general. Some Hastati broke as well. Then the Libyan phalanxes showed up, and my beat-up troops were fresh out of javelins. I used flanking maneuvers, but those stupid phalanxes wouldn't break even when surrounded on all sides, and with no general to lead them. The Egyptians threw in their chariot reserves. My Hastati started melting away. Now my winded cav arrived, charging the rear of the phalanxes. As if on queue, my remaining Hastati broke from battle, abandoning my cav to be slaughtered.

Shocked, I withdrew my general from battle. Back on the strategy map, he fled a year's march in a split second.