The Fall of Philadelphaea. Or: Roman human waves & how to exploit your allies!
I had this nice opportunity to assault a city together with my allies (Eastern Roman rebels). Being the lazy, ungrateful bastard that I am, I let them do all the hard work and die by the masses, while grabbing the glory and booty all for myself.
The Fall of Philadelphaea
The setup is promising indeed: those Roman dogs won't stand a chance against the might of... Roman dogs.
After my courageous mercenary ballistas have punched a hole in the wall, my faithful sla... err, allies pour in. Never mind those annoyingly inconveniently placed towers.
I must admit, those Comitatenses certainly kick ass. They hold the massive human wave for minutes (!) all by themselves.
Their fall is inevitable, though now the enemy reinforcements approach.
Fighting on two fronts, the Romans display the power and ingenuity of the "everybody's hugging" formation.
And down goes the enemy general, the appointed heir, dying at the hands of the Roman mob. Like any decent Roman emperor should.
Now that my brave allies have so mindfully cleared the entrance, my temporarily employed ballista guys are 'encouraged' to secure those nasty towers. It's a good thing that expendable men are so easy to come by these days.
More massed human wave goodness takes place on the narrow streets, as the defenders fight fiercely.
This valiant hero sacrifices himself for the good cause of bringing victory for his mast... comrades. His corpse will receive a proper burial, should we be able to recover any of it.
Finally, the valiant peasants have given their all, but fear not, my troops are well placed and ready to take on the now conveniently exhausted defenders.
Needless to say, Romans are no match for Sassanid men.
With the big bad bullies routed and proper example displayed by my troops, my allies regain their courage and rush in for the second time.
This time the defenders are unable to hold back the onslaught. It is therefore time to bring this battle to it's glorious ending.
As my great general assumes control of the plaza, he finishes off the remaining defenders with a rain of arrows. The allied troops were unfortunately loitering too close and suffered some casualties in the process.
So ends the battle! Yet another glorious victory for my empire.
Philadelphaea is brought under the guidance of a proper government, and my soldiers enjoy the fruits of their hard-earned victory. The population is directed away from decadent Roman ways and introduced to a new, productive life in galleys and salt mines. My ever-faithful allies can take joy in the knowledge that their unselfish sacrifice made this achievement possible.
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