The Will of the Senate - Battle reports

[Mount Suribachi]

"Right then lads, this is it, no going back this time. Too many bloody armchair generals in Rome questioned my decision to withdraw last time. Said I didn't have the guts! Said the 6th didn't have what it took to beat the Macedonians!

GAH! What does some snotty nosed little teenager in the scriptorium know about fighting, eh? I've killed more Gauls than he's had hot dinners!

But still, this is your time, the time when the 6th writes its own story. Its days like today, victories like today, where a legion achieves immortality. Win the battle, and your children, and their children, in decades to come, will say with pride in their voice and a twinkle in their eye, 'yes, Paionia, my ancestors fought there!"

The plan is simple. We are vastly outnumbered, but the enemy is split in three. We must take advantage of this and defeat his armies one by one. The first engagement will be decisive. We must rout their first army before the other 2 arrive. Do this and the day is ours!


Amulius marshalls his troops for battle





The first Macedonian army is close, the other 2 are in the distance




The lines clash.




Under pressure, the Macedonian line begins to waver, but their Chalkispedes stand firm




Amulius chases away 3 units of Peltasts from the rear of Macedonian line, but he can only fight one at a time. The other 2 stand back and pepper his bodygaurd with javelins. The result is inevitable...




His surviving bodyguards try in vain to escape the waves of javelins




Over on the right flank Herennius Genucius also suffers at the hands of the Peltasts whilst charging into the rear of a Macedonian Phalanx




Despite being surrounded, and repeatedly charged by the Roman infantry and under a hail of missile fire, the Chalkispedes have managed to hold on long enough for their 2nd wave to arrive. The heavy cavalry have a dispersed and tired enemy to charge into




Legio VI breaks and runs




The result. Note the decisive effect the arrival of Argeos of Pharsalus had









The situation on the Roman - Macedon border following the defeat

[Dooz]

Galerius Vatinius hands a young boy a message.

"Yes, ride on ahead and take this to Rome. Those damned senators would perhaps rather have me dead, but I want them to get the report of my victory even before I arrive there myself."

The boy gallops ahead, full speed towards Rome.

The message reads:

Lucania, Summer 259 B.C.
"Greetings, my beloved senators. I thought perhaps you should be informed of my adventure this beautiful summer day. As I was already on my way to Rome, I was given command of two cohorts of regional infantry by Consul Aemilius to bring up as reinforcements. Along the way, we recieved news of a small rebel force having assembled near the border of Campania, threatening a little village in the area. I was given the order to attack."


"My first battle. Standing against me, the suicidal Captain Herennius had gathered up a small force of rebellious Samnites from the area and awaited our attack."


"As I rode towards the soon-to-be-dead rebel scum, Mount Vesuvius bellowed out smoke almost in anticipation for the battle ahead."


"We approached to within 10 meters of the enemy. They dared not move. I ordered the swordmen on the right flank to release their pila into the sides of the men ahead."


"Immediately after those were depleted, I ordered the spearmen in the center to charge, as I rode forward on the left flank and the swordmen advanced on the right to get behind Herrenius' force."


"I ordered a charge by the swordmen into the rear/left flank of the enemy. I watched on as the Samnites were enveloped.


"I was feeling a bit ill this day, so I waited a little while till their numbers were thinner before I lead the decisive charge into the exposed rebel rear/right flank."


"Captain Herennius was immediately killed, and the remaining Samnites fought to their bloody deaths as they were surrounded with nowhere to run. The men cheered after the destruction of the enemy under my leadership."


"I will be with you by the Autumn, senators. I see Senator Servius has been sent away to fetch the legionary standard somewhere... how fortunate, just before my arrival."

[flyd]

In the summer of 259, the Roman army camp at Pella was in a state of confusion. Troops had converged there from many different places; some were the survivors of Legion VI, some were from the I Field Army coming from Thessalonica, and yet others were from various garrisons. Some of them were combat ready, some were not. Many nations were represented; in addition to Romans and Italians, there were Greeks, Thracians, Gauls, and Illyrians. Consul Lucius Aemilius had promised to organize this mess under the I Field Army, to being operations in Autumn, but the senior commander at Pella, Tiberius Coruncanius, could not wait that long, for there was a Macedonian army, under Argeos of Pharsalus, passing nearby. Tiberius took it upon himself to mobilize the army, but this proved difficult. Some units were truly not ready for combat, while some commanders falsely claimed combat unreadiness of their units. Others refused to follow orders because they had not recieved an official order instructing them to be attached to the I Field Army. Some had to be dismissed, a few threats had to be made, but the army marched from Pella, 688 strong.



The enemy army was weak. It consisted mostly of skirmishers, peltasts and slingers, along with some Thracians, cavalry, and a few phalangites. Tiberius didn't complain much, as Argeos and peltasts were exactly the sorts of people he wanted to kill, although he did occasionally remark on how stupid the Macedonians were to actually allow this army to enter Roman territory.


The opposing armies deploy.

The Macedonian army deployed on the side of a hill, and Tiberius decided to attack the hill from the right, where a small ridge offered the shallowest approach.


Roman army stands before the hill.

Flavius Pacuvius, the army's Tribune, was a little worried.

"We will take many casualties charging up that hill at that many peltasts," he said.

"Indeed so," Tiberius responded, "better send in the Greeks, Gauls, and Thracians first."

"And the rest?"

"Yeah, they'll get up there too. No hurry, though."

The merecenaries charged up the hill as ordered and attacked. The Romans followed at a relaxed pace.


The Thracians engage on the left flank, the Gauls in the center, and the Greeks and Italians on the right, as the Romans look on.

As most of the Macedonian army committed to the battle with the first wave, the Roman troops moved around and through the gaps to attack the flanks.


The Macedonian center breaks as the Hastati enter the battle. On the right, another unit of Hastati charge from the flank.

The Macedonian center broke first, followed quickly by the left and right flanks. At this point, Argos of Pharsalus with his bodyguard and some Thracian cavalry entered the battle on the left side (bottom of hill). Tiberius, along with most of the Roman army, charged at him down the hill.


The entire Roman army charges at Argos.

This he could not take, and began to flee. Tiberius gave chase personally.


"COME BACK HERE YOU COWARD!!!"

But Argos flees better than he fights, and he could not be caught. So, Argos escaped, as did many of the peltasts. Still, Tiberius was not very upset. If this is the army the Macedonians were able to deploy, he reasoned, then no Macedonian has a very long life expectancy. Only 14 Romans died that day, and many mercenaries.

[Death the destroyer of worlds]

Seeing their way blockaded to Aquileia by the Legio I Italia Victrix, the Thracian horde moves eastward, bypassing Segestica, toward Delmatia, the nearest Roman town without walls. We catch up with them before they can reach it.

Their army has taken up position on a large hill, and is a good representation of the vastness of the Thracian Kingdom. They have Gauls, Greeks, Germans, Sarmatians and Thracians troops. It seems like a rabble, but they are powerfull warriors led by a famous warchief, Cornosikus.


We rush up the hill and manage to form a line while being worried by some Bastarnea who have gone beserk and are troubling our deployment. They will continue to harass us from inside our lines during the entire battle. The Thracian army charges fearlessly and my weakened legion is pushed back. Pushed back Hard !


Our lines begin to bend as our first line is pushed back on the second. Our troops begin to crack. Legate Lucius Aemilius and all the cavalry charge in on their flank without regard for their safety. The Thracians take heavy casualties, but do not break and resume their drive against our line in the middle of a vicous melee.


As the cavalry gets bogged down, Lucius Aemilius orders them to withdraw before they start to take heavy casualties, but he can't resist hanging back to skewer a few more Thracians before he follows them.



The Thracian warlord has broken trough our lines entirely and is attacking our skirmishers in the back. The situation is critical. My men are sensing defeat is imminent !


In the nick of time the cavalry returns. Lucius Aemilius charges the Thracian general and cuts him down, while the Gaul Noble cavalry charges the Thracian horde in the back.




The Thracians break and are pursued mercilessly.



Our losses seem light, but realize that most Thracians died in the rout. If their general had not been killed, it is very likely these figures would be the other way around.

[TinCow]

Taken? TAKEN!

First the Eagle, now an entire province. This will be the last, I swear it by the blood of my Roman fathers. So many Roman colonists in Jenuensis... so many good citizens. Some might say that Jenuensis is still a Gallic city, but they know nothing. It is a Roman city built from the ashes in the style of the Capitoline Hill itself. The Gauls that used to live here are either dead or in chains, serving those of true blood who have taken this place for their home.

Jenuensis is a place of civility and honor. The citizens here have constructed glorious gardens...



...they have built monuments to our noble fathers...


...and now the DAMNED GAULS DEFECATE IN FRONT OF THE GOVERNOR'S OWN HOME!


It was not a battle, it was a demonstration of what the future holds for all Gauls. This was holy justice inflicted with the mighty wrath of Romulus whose sword was the Roman people. Italians and other allies had no place in this battle. I left Tribune Gnaeus Hordeonius with the auxilia and took the Hastati, Principes and Triarii into the streets myself. The Gauls faced pure, unrestrained Roman fury, undiluted by less passionate souls.



The Gallic general who led this offense to humanity attempted to inspire his men with personal bravery.



We slew him in a moment, hardly breaking step. Not a word was said, not a battlecry, not a taunt, not a single whisper. The fury of the men had no expression in voice, so they expressed it in silence. The intense anger on their faces and the total quiet of the army terrified the enemy to their very souls, or would have if Gauls possessed them. The cowards, unable to match our discipline, gave a great cry and charged as one.



The front ranks took the charge in total silence. There was only the screams of the enemy and the clash of steel on wood. We held like this for a moment. Then we loosed all of the anger of the entire Republic upon this band of beasts. Such a shout of fury the world has never heard. I swear to you I saw many of them fall, mortally wounded, from the mere sound of it. The rest fell to our blades. It was not a battle; no ranks were held, no manaeuvers taken. Men of all classes, Hastati, Principes, Triarii and Praetoria moved as one to eliminate this evil. I cannot count the number of bodies that I slashed at, I only remember being unable to find any more.



When the last man fell, the silence returned. There was no cheering at the victory, for it was not a battle. A man does not cheer when he kills a diseased rat. Gergovia is ahead of us. We will lay it waste. We will slay every last Gaul in the city, burn its buildings to the ground and salt the earth it stands on. We will do it in silence.

[flyd]

Autumn 259

Having destroyed a Macedonian army outside of Pella last season, the Field Army was again ready to move, and although no order was yet recieved from Consul Lucius Aemilius, I knew that his intent was for me to capture Bylazora to the north. I instead considered marching on Philippi, where Argeos of Pharsalus had retreated to, but when I learned that another Macedonian general that was present during the defeat of Legion VI, Eumenes of Enna, was located in Bylazora, I decided to march there instead.



The Field Army arrived near Bylazora in the evening and set up an overnight camp. We deployed for battle at dawn. It was a beautiful, sunny and warm morning, just the perfect sort of morning to have a bloody battle on. We deployed on the west side of the city. The Macedonians were initially deployed toward the south and began to quickly reposition. One captain of a phalanx unit, either stupid or confused, decided to venture out of the city and march toward us. I sent the Gauls to attack them head on. The Gallic mercenaries, unlike their Thracian and Greek counterparts, actually survived the previous battle mostly intact. I was not going to repeat the same mistake twice! I'm only joking, of course, but it's still fun to send them charging at phalanxes head on. Once they were engaged, I sent other units around to flank the phalanx.


Gauls and others form a neat circle around the phalanx.

It took some time for that skirmish to end, but once it did, we continued toward the city. The enemy army concentrated on defending what appeared to be the main street of the city. I had no intention of taking this street, instead planning on taking some auxiliary streets to the left.


The Macedonian army defends the main street.

However, as we closed in, the Macedonians decided to do something very stupid, they charged out of the city. Maybe they thought that we would be unprepared, as we were marching? A silly notion. The Field Army quickly rearranged itself to form something of a semi-circle around the city exit, not unlike one would do for a bridge or ford battle, although somewhat more hastily constructed. They exited the city to find themselves partially surrounded. Some turned left, and others right. Eumenes charged out himself among his men. I immediately charged in, but was too late.


Eumenes of Enna was brought down as soon as he entered the battle.

No matter, the important thing is that he's dead. The rest of the Roman army attacked the center, isolating the two groups of phalangites.


The Macedonians become split and surrounded.

Not long after, being surrounded, and having their general just killed, the Macedonians break. Even their Chalkispides did not hold for very long. As they run back down the street, the everyone is ordered in after them, to prevent them from getting back to the center of town.


The Macedonians rout.

Tribune Flavius Pacuvius and his Praetoria chase down the Chalkispides. Only 5 of them return to the center of town.


Pacuvius ensures that the Chalkispides provide no further trouble.

Only one phalanx unit, of the weaker Pezhetairoi, remains at the town center as the army marches in. The Gauls, still surviving in large numbers, are sent in first to attack them head on.


The Gauls prepare to charge the phalanx.

The Gauls charge, and other units move in to encircle the phalanx. At this point, something strange happens. The skies suddenly darken, as if at night. It becomes very cold, and rain begins to fall. The winds become very strong, and thunder and lightining begin to strike.


As the encirclement is completed, the weather suddenly changes.

I was certain that this was an ominous sign from the gods. There had been some talk in the Senate about a curse, and although the Pontifex Maximus was certain that there wasn't one, I was still worried. Do the gods wish to prevent us from taking Bylazora? I seriously considered withdrawing at this point. I decided to consult my preists. The preist of Jupiter was certain that this was a bad sign. He was particularly concerned with the lightning, and feared that the entire army could be annihilated from above if we were to take the town center. The priest of Mars had a different view. He saw this as a sign for the Macedonians, warning them of their impending doom. I liked that explanation better. I decided to press on with the battle.

The Gauls had been almost completely destroyed at the front of the phalanx, but the phalanx could not turn around to face the attacks from its rear.


The phalanx stabs at air while being destroyed.

All that was left to do was wait. The last phalangite was eventually killed, and the army stopped and waited, looking up at the sky. But, nothing happened. The rain still fell but at a reduced rate, and the winds died down a little. I was still a bit uneasy, but Bylazora had been captured.

[econ21]

The Fall of Ratiara, Winter 259 BC

Legio V had endured a hard two-season march across the wilds east from Dalmatia, but now as the snows fell, it reached the Macedonian settlement of Ratiaria.



Tribune Aureolus studied the report of his scouts: this was not going to be easy. The army of the Macedonian King was of high quality, with 39 Somatophylakes, 80 Hypaspists, 240 Chalkispides, 240 Hoplitai and 29 Thracian infantry. Going at them bull headed would be foolish.

One phalanx was stationed outside the settlement and easily isolated, then destroyed. Two more were enticed out and similarly eliminated.


Aureolus coaxes a Macedonian phalanx out of the protection of the city streets.

Out of the narrow confines of the settlements, individual phalanxes are easily enfiladed:



and enveloped:



But the hypaspists were not so easily dealt with. One small company of 40 emerged from the east of the settlement at the run. Velites were arraigned to meet them, but the hypaspists specialised in destroying such light troops. The javelin volleys of the velites were met by a much more lethal salvo from the hypaspists, who then charged the skirmishers. The hypaspists moved faster than the velites and caught them, causing further casualties. Urgently, Aureolus ordered forward the rest of Legio V’s Roman infantry, so that soon 40 hypaspists were fighting 320 Romans. Incredibly, the hypaspists endured.



Sheer weight of numbers forced them against the sides of the city, but if anything this was to their advantage. With their backs to the wall, the hypaspists could not be flanked and the amount of Romans who could confront them in direct combat was much reduced. A vicious melee developed which lasted for most of the length of the battle. The superior number of Romans made little impression and slowly the principes, who Aureolus considered among the finest heavy infantrymen in the world, were cut down. The hastati were withdrawn from the fight. The Roman lines were so overcrowded, they could make no effective contribution to the fighting and their presence in the scrum meant they were starting to suffer the exhaustion experienced by the principes and the triarii.

To the south, the Italian Alae had at least entered the settlement but was also encountering hard fighting. The Macedonian King launched his escort at the Italians marching through the streets. It was a brutal contest and many Italians died to the lances of the Macedonians, but the mass of infantry pressed in the street denied the Macedonian cavalry the advantage of their mobility or their lethal charge. The end was inevitable - a dead King fallen among a mound of dead.



King Anesideemos of Macedon, moments before his death.

And so the battle moved towards a conclusion. Eventually, the hypaspists to the east of the settlement were all slain and Legio V could move towards the town centre. Aureolus ordered the Italian Alae to hold until the Romans arrived. The Italians had exhausted their missiles and the infantry were badly cut up. It was unlikely they could defeat the remaining Macedonians alone. Another unit of hypaspists remained in the town centre, where desperation would make them unbreakable as well as the fourth and final phalanx. Unfortunately, the principes and triarii were too exhausted by their earlier combat to be useful in the last stage of the battle.

Again, Aureolus tried to use his velites to bait the hypaspists and again, they were caught:



For a moment, it looked like it would end in disaster…

However, Aureolus had a trump card up his sleeve: a troop of mercenary Samartian cavalry, the finest heavy cavalry in the known world. These cavalry smashed into the rear of the hypaspists moments after the elite Macedonians left the town square:



At the moment of impact, the hypaspits crumbled and routed.

”Damn … why didn’t I think of that earlier?” cursed Aureolus under his breath.

The fleet footed survivors of the hypaspists soon rallied when they reached the town square and the final phalanx had to be slowly worn down. But the battle moved inexorably to its conclusion and Aureolus claimed a heroic victory over the fallen Macedonian King:

[Braden]

Lycia.

I had a good time entertaining Senator Numerious in Halicanassus but we had to leave to besiege Smyrna. However, we were there but a few weeks when word came of a relief Ptolomite force of 600 men marching upon Halicanassus.

Now, it was obvious that Numerious and his men deserved a rest so, keeping a small holding force at Smyrna we marched across the river to intercept.

Battle was done in the sight of the Mausoleam



The enemy took to the high ground, safe in the knowledge that we would have to combat them uphill. Unfortunately their commander did not know the high regard I hold my mens lives in.

I decided we needed the exercise so we marched.....marched up the far side of the hill and utterly flanked the enemy formation!

After using as much missile fire as I had available to tease the enemy out piece-meal we were able to take them apart in good order and for the cost of just 12 lives this time. More than before but when facing an enemy of some 200 more men, I felt I had done my best.

12 names is not such a large number to write in my logs.





http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/...r-manius-1.zip

[Braden]

I feel like I have failed here. Whilst I captured the city, I failed. 31 dead Italians tell me with their blank eyes that I failed.

I sent a message to the Consul requesting permission to hire local Mercenaries in which to storm the walled city but his positive response arrived too late. Had I delayed a further week, perhaps this report would sound different but I doubt it for it was not in storming the walls that my failure came.

Finally we faced a member of the successor nobility, and I took great care in the planning of the assault.



We faced one unit of archers and I feared the death that they could rain upon us whilst our brave men marched to the walls. I placed two siege towers either side of the city gates ahead of us and a third to the East of the city where it would be, hopefully, unopposed.

Immediately I could see the archers to our right of the main entrance waiting for our approach. We decided we would not give them any targets so I ordered the Principe’s to Hold with their siege tower and allow the Hastati to advance on the Left.

With the Principe’s shouting and distracting the archers in front of them but out of range, the defenders completely ignored the Hastati’s advance.



…and they set foot upon the walls completely unopposed.



Once they had taken the gates and finished off the archers in hand to hand combat, the archers didn’t get a chance to loose a SINGLE arrow!, we advanced through the city. The Eastern assault was also unopposed and they advanced also towards the city square.

There waited one Phalanx unit and the General himself. As is normal for me I sent my Peltasts in first and this is were the error occurred.

One unit centurion was too keen to see his name in the book of honour, his Peltasts marched forward and assailed the enemy generals unit from afar…..however, the general ordered a charge to them and the Centurion waited too long.

The unit was caught in the charge and slaughter ensued! I double-timed a unit of Principe’s to their aid and they swiftly despatched the General himself but not until 25 Peltasts lay dead..

The rest was a matter of encircling the enemy Phalanx and it lay with the Italian Swordsmen to finish the deed by assaulting the rear of the engaged enemy unit



The ratio of casualties compared to how many defenders we faced was higher than I wanted



Luckily though many were saved, including all casualties from the assaulting Hastati’s….I am rightly pleased with this.



….for the Republic of Rome, another Wonder of the world is captured!



The temple has much wealth for the Republic and alongside what personal monies I have gained from my two previous victories I dedicate these monies to building temples throughout the Republic.

Perhaps it is guilt for the un-necessary losses we had this day, but whatever the reason the Republic can benefit from this better than I.

(OOC Save file: http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/...r-manius-2.zip )


_________________________________________________________

[Braden]

The march was quite long but uneventful. Sardis was better defended than Symrna and we had hopes of a decent fight that would stretch me mentally and my men physically.



As normal I split my forces up. This time into three, to make full use of the narrow roads, and we advanced in good order.

Unfortunately the Ptolemites had not humus for a fight and they all cowered in the city square...all 259 of them!

Again, I had a scare with our Funditores not retreating fast enough.....I shall make a point of not using them in such tight confines again.....but the wounded were treated fast as my Principes got to their aid immediately, and no Funditores died.

Our main losses were with our mercenary contingency of Thracian Infantry, gifted us by the Consul after my request, which was more than acceptable.

The men were overjoyed at such an easy victory



The final casualty figures for Roman and Italian born troops was just 25 men.



...and gratefully I heard news that my exploits had become widely known and my men regard me in good grace.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Afrikan Coast, 253 BC

How does it feel being in the heart of enemy territory? Especially when you don't agree with your Consul's strategy? How does it feel when you don't even trust the Consul yet your life is in his hands? And worse, how does it feel when that Consul you don't trust is your nephew?

Marcellus Aemilius had these thoughts in his head the night before. He couldn't sleep a wink. After all, his force was under siege from a massive Carthaginian army.

This is Servius' doing. Somehow, some way, he gets this huge army to head straight for this fort when I land. And it just so happens to be the largest army in the area.

Marcellus had no idea what the Consul's motive was behind this, but he knew it was something. Was it retaliation for basically trying to get him impeached and disowning him in the Senate? That stupid clerk, so self-assured, had bated him into doing it. Marcellus regretted saying the things that he had said, but not enough to take them back.

And now the orders had come in from that same Consul. He was to sally out and defeat the army besieging his fort. This would not be an easy thing to do.



1,832 men. This would be the largest single army (excluding reinforcements) that any Roman had ever faced in combat. And they were all either men that could form phalanxes or skirmishers. In other words, a pain to kill.

Might as well do this before it gets too hot out, he thought, walking out of his tent. It was 5:30 in the morning.



The only other person awake and outside was his tribune and little brother, Oppius Aemilius. He went straight for Marcellus when he saw that his older brother was awake.

"Marcellus, I'm scared."

The kid was sixteen. It was his first battle, and he should have been in the Scriptorium in Roma. Instead, he was here.

"So am I, Oppius. So am I."

"Were you scared in Comata? When you were facing Segovax?"

Marcellus laughed at this. Comata. His last battle. Seemed like such a long time ago.

"Well, in short, no. I was annoyed at my legion because they had no fighting spirit. Plus, in Comata we outnumbered and outclassed the enemy. Here it's a little different."

Marcellus sent Oppius out to wake the army up. That kid had better stay alive. Otherwise Mom and Lucius will kill me.

His strategy was simple: Sally from two gates. The main force would meet the Carthaginians head-on and hold them in place. The second force, sallying from a side gate, would then flank the living snot out of the enemy and send them running.

He set the army up in this way. He would lead the main force while Oppius would be the hammer. It was Marcellus' plan to leave his brother's escort out of the battle.



However, the Carthaginians were ready for this. As soon as Marcellus' force opened the gate, they hightailed it for a spot equally between the two gates. Curses, looks like we'll just have to outfight 'em.

The Carthaginian captain, aware of his superior numbers, decided to just charge against each force, and hoped they would break against the initial crush. If that didn't work, then there were always reserves. Oppius' force was targeted first. He would show this Roman the folly of trying to flank.



Soon after, several phalanxes charged the main body of troops. The skirmishers and funditores fired away, but still the Carthaginians came. This would be an endurance fight. How many of them do we have to kill before they finally break? Instantly Appollonia came to mind, and Marcellus shuddered.

He settled in for the long haul. Primarily, his job was to chase after the skirmishers, ensuring that their javelins wouldn't take the lives of his already-pressed infantry.

Time passed. The sun got higher in the sky. The Romans were pressed. They had killed hundreds of Carthaginians but there were simply too many. This Carthaginian captain had done a good job at sending in reserves. The situation looked grim.



Worse still, the Italian cavalry had just been targeted by a unit that snuck away from the main fighting. Marcellus desperately ordered them back to the fort, but not before they were severly wounded by the enemy's spears. Aside from the funditores, the only unit that wasn't engaged was Oppius' escort. He saw that the unit that had damaged the Italian cavalry was the captain's unit, and that they were under-strength to begin with. The Italian skirmishers were currently battling them with mixed results.

If I order Oppius to do something he might die.

If you don't then it might not matter.

Finally, he took the iniative.

OPPIUS! KILL THE CAPTAIN!

Oppius Aemilius, no longer scared, headed full throttle for the small phalanx. The enemy captain, sticking out front, had no chance.



Instantly the effect showed. The Carthaginian units immediately near the captain broke. Marcellus, Oppius, and the infantry pursued.



They had been taken care of, but a body of Carthaginians were still holding strong. They were absolutely damaging the Roman infantry. Marcellus didn't care what the Senate thought about the losses at the moment.



He looked at Oppius, and the two smiled. No order needed to be given. They headed together for the Carthaginian rear. The result was inevitable.



That night, back in the fort, Marcellus rubbed the kid's hair and grinned.

"You saved us all, kid. Good job."

Oppius beamed. The losses were horrendous, but would have been a lot worse had it not been for him, and he knew it. The two Aemilii would have an interesting career ahead of them.

[Lucjan]

It is difficult to say whether I made the right choice in bringing him here. I could have left them in Rome. Until this point in time I did what was right, what was necessary. I did what I must in the name of Rome. I did what must be done to preserve the Republic for posterity. But I wonder now, if bringing Marcellus and Oppius to Afrika was the right thing to do. Perhaps, when this day is done, I should send word to them at the fort.

For now, there is battle to be done. Two Carthaginian armies of consular size have set themselves on Cartago, one immediately besieging us from the south, the other taking up camp at the site of our historic victory against Captain Ashtartyatan.

I can see those wretched worms besieging the city in their camps from the walls, but I will not play their waiting game. The citizens of Cartago will watch with their own eyes the might of Roman power as the Carthy army is driven in disarray from our city.



As I gazed out upon the land from the battlements I knew it was time. It was noon, the sun blazing in the sky, the heat sweltering and the Carthy army all wandering about outside their tents. As they noticed the gates to the city open, their was a mass scramble amongst them to form up, and as the last of our men has exited the city, they had formed a battle line.



We too were quick to form, and set ourselves up for a skirmisher heavy battle.



As the formation fell into place, I moved to the front of the army, my back defiantly towards the Carthy army, and adressed them with pride. "Look about you! Before my eyes I behold the valiant bloodlines of men from around the world. Unmatched in their prowess and courage on the field, and unmatched in their understanding of what it is to do your duty for Rome. The men I see before me have died a hundred deaths with me in this god forsaken place. You have wept tears of blood, and you have bled sand from your veins, and you have done so without a whimper or a cry. And for that I salute you! But it seems that the trials before us have only just begun. Before us lie a band of Carthaginian soldiers intent on recapturing their capital of Cartago, and another lies beyond them, at the site of our famous victory. These armies must be laid to rest, and forever set to shame. Do this in the name of Rome, and all that the gods could offer you in the afterlife will be yours!" The resounding cheers of the men were a clear indication that the speach was well received and struck a valiant chord amongst them.


Our slingers began by opening up on their javelinmen, who, in turn, had no way to defend themselves but to mount a charge. As they neared our Numidian skirmishers our spearmen were ordered through the Numidians thin formation in a charge.


Their skirmishers were put swiftly to death and their advance lines suffered heavy casualties.


Moving forward then with their spear infantry the Carthies attempted a direct charge on the front line, some overzealous gauls charged early and were surrounded, but the line as an entirety held firm while our cavalry cut out swiftly to the flanks, followed by our heavy Roman infantry.


As the Roman infantry engaged the Carthy spearmen at their flanks and rear, our cavalry went around the fray and charged straight into the ranks of their remaining skirmisher units, scattering them to the wind like ash. They could not escape, and the vast majority of them were ridden down.


As our cavalry turned and charged the rear of the Carthaginian spears, there was nothing that could be done to turn the tide away from Roman favor, and the resulting Carthaginian route turned into a coward hunt. The bleached sands outside Cartago were stained red with blood, and the Carthaginian defeat here became an example to all those within Cartago who may harbor rebellious thoughts.





The battle was a strong victory for Rome, and it left a lasting impression on the citizens of Cartago.


But there was no time to rest. There was still yet more to be done. Before our return to the city we first had to head back to the bridge we had become so familiar with, it was almost beginning to seem to us like a home on the battlefield..



(ooc - part 1 end, part 2 coming up soon)

[Lucjan]

It was a swift march down the paved road, two, maybe three hours time passed since our first battle, and the men, though a bit tired, were given significant time to rest before we finally approached the bridge. A number of mercenaries were also hired along the way from a traveling group of Gallic warriors. It wasn't long before we arrived at the river crossing, and just upon its sight their spirits were instantly lifted, any aches they had became unimportant compared to the symbolism of fighting once again at the site of their historic victory.

Making our way down the hill, the Carthaginian army must have had heard word from scouts that we were coming, and were already deployed on the opposite side of the river. This time, their army was much more flexible. This time even bringing with them members of Carthage's elite, sacred band infantry.


But it did not matter, this day, this bridge, this entire campaign, it was all meant for Rome. The men were eager and ready, their morale impetuous. Servius advanced to the bridge with only a handful of bodyguards to survey the opposing army.


Eager to make history for a second time, the Roman army rushes across the bridge on Servius's command. Almost fighting amongst themselves to get to the front first.


This time, the Carthaginian captain was wise to the mistakes of Ashtartyaton, and maintains that his force holds as Rome develops her lines, not wishing to have his troops startled on the unexpected volley of pila and javelins.


Roman funditores and Balearic slingers open fire on the enemy lines, harassing and antagonizing the enemy until finally a unit of spearmen can no longer contain its frustration and rushes forward.


The rest of the line charges after them and the Romans have a distinct advantage from the immediate start. Rushing around the line the Roman cavalry head straight for the skirmishers, Roman heavy infantry wheeling, yet again, around the left and coming down hard on the Carthaginian rear.


The Carthy skirmishers are cut down where they stand by the rush of the cavalry into their lines, and as the Romans descend on the Carthaginian rear, a rift opens in their lines. On the Roman left flank, the Carthy spears have been gravitated apart from each other, the rear contending with the Principes and Gauls while the front holds firm against the mercenary spears.
Seeing this split in their formation, Servius orders a full charge into the breach.


The result is a cavalry wedge being driven directly between the open crack in the Carthaginian line, somewhere in the confusion their captain is slain, and all morale the Carthies may have had left escapes them.

They are run down again, though not to the extent they were last time. These people may be foul and backwards, but I am no butcher and they can be taught the value of Roman ways. Sicily has proven us this. Once again a great victory is granted to us at this bridge, and the men are ready to return to Cartago with their spirits high and their pride even higher.


OOC - part 2 end.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Outside Hadrumentum, 253 BC

Marcellus Aemilius, glad to leave the fort where a huge battle and an odd meeting had taken place, was walking by his army, supervising the construction of the siegeworks. Soon, very soon, they would be used to take Hadrumentum.

Siege assault. Ah, this is more like it.

His teachers back in the Scriptorium had particularly emphasized this method of battle, for whatever reason. The teachings had stuck with him, and now he was regarded as something of an engineer.

"Good, good work Secundus. Pretty soon we'll be feasting on Afrika's finest delicacies."

They were about ready to assault. But then, he spotted a lone horseman riding hard, straight for him. The direction was from the north. This would not be good news.

Carthage's army besieging our western fort has lifted the siege in order to make an attempt at breaking your siege of Hadrumentum.

Damn.



Ok, Marcellus thought, there were still positives. The Carthaginian forces were smaller, he had more experience fighting them, and Oppius was no longer afraid. The only problem would be killing the relieving force quick enough to prevent them from combining with the garrison.

Marcellus planned to march up and send hell in the form of pila. If that still didn't break 'em, then the infantry and cavalry would do the job.



The pila worked wonderfully, killing about a hundred Carthaginians before there was any hand-to-hand combat. But it did nothing in terms of morale, and the Liby-Phoenician spearmen charged straight for his infantry.

Not again, Marcellus groaned. This time, he knew what to do though. He and Oppius went straight for the enemy captain.



It had worked, and some of the forces that were hit hardest with the pila began to rout. It had seemed like another chain rout would take place, but then a foreign horn blew. The garrison of Hadrumentum had arrived, with its excellent commander Ribaddi Clupea leading it. Marcellus was not quick enough in driving away the relief force, and now this problem would only cause more headaches.

He ordered any free units to head straight for Ribaddi, knowing that the death of yet another Carthaginian general would simply be too much for the Afrikans. Ribaddi was in serious trouble.



The Principes had made quick work of his entire escort, aside from the most important member. Ribaddi had somehow got out alive. Cursing, Marcellus wheeled his horses around. He had lost far too many men already and if Ribaddi escaped, then the battle would have served no purpose.

As he pursued, Ribaddi screamed something in Phoenician, which Marcellus had a pretty good grasp of. What he said only made Marcellus ride harder:

"Looks like I picked the right Aemilius to get in a fight against! You scoundrel, you can't even kill the most important person on the battlefield! No wonder you were only a side operation! That's all you'll ever be!"

Marcellus burned with hatred. Oh, no. The rage was taking over. He had had it under control for so long...

In a fury, he rode after Ribaddi all the way back to Hadrumentum, never quite catching him. The Carthaginian general slammed the gates shut and continued to torment him from behind high walls. Marcellus reluctantly made his way back to camp where he found that Oppius had finished things quite nicely.



~~~~~~~

"Double time, men! The sooner we finish these engines, the sooner that we sleep in actual beds!"

It was a couple of weeks later. Hadrumentum was still annoyingly in Carthaginian control. But finally, it was ready to be assaulted. It was a siege assault, Ribaddi was inside, and there was no other Carthaginian army in the area. He hadn't received the orders from Servius but this was now personal.



There were only a handful of Carthaginians who survived the last battle and made it back to Hadrumentum, but one of them had mattered more than the others. Ribaddi Clupea would be dead by the end of the day.



Marcellus only took a few troops inside. His escort, obviously, and Oppius' too. The Principes that had decimated the enemy's escort but failed to finish Ribaddi off, and then a unit of Hastati and Velites for good measure.

In the center square, Ribaddi had resumed his taunting.

"Is this all that remains of the mighty Consular Army? Are you really that incompetant that your army is that under-strength in only two battles? Oh, happy days, this should be easy!

Cursing, Marcellus abandoned all thoughts of Roman discipline and charged straight for his tormentor. When the tide of the battle took him away from his target, Marcellus reared back and flung his gladius.



It implanted itself in Ribaddi's skull, and the battle was over.



Now if I could only do that to UPS Maximus, Marcellus thought with a chuckle as he fed Ribaddi's body to the pigs.

[Braden]

The Consul ordered me to engage the enemy at night, I was unsure of this personally. Whilst I have no false sense of honour that precludes me striking at a hated enemy in the dark I was, however, concerned how this would affect the usefulness of my own ranged troops.

How would my Funditores find their targets if they could not see the enemy clearly?

How would my Skrimishers fare with a limited vision of the area in front of them?

Would this engagement cost me more dearly than if I’d sought my enemy in the light of day?



Perhaps I was being tested by the Consul?

Well, these questions would soon be answered as we lined up for battle at Ascania.



I formed the men up to present as larger front as possible whilst retaining the strength in our lines. Principes in the centre, then Hastati and finally my Italian Swordsmen. These were closely supported by the Triarii behind and on the flanks whilst he centre was given more missile power by the addition of one Velite unit. I organised my Funditores with another Velite unit into a separate flanking group. The cavalry I retained full control of so we could roam and pick off any targets of opportunity.

We could clearly see the enemy, two Phalanx units a skirmish unit and……..archers! Damnit! I had no real answer for archers, all I could hope is that we could entice them from behind their protective phalanx wall.



I sent my infantry forward strait at the enemy, the skirmish group I sent wide right towards and to the edge of the woods there. I led the cavalry very wide left and we waited.



My Funditores let loose at the Phalanx’s and it was too much to take for the archers, they moved forward and started to fire back. Unfortunately their target was the Velite unit behind them and they took a good few casualties before they withdrew into the woods. The Funditores remained in the open and seemed to be able to dodge most of the incoming arrows, as very few arrows landed in their formation. The Funditores returned death upon the archers and decimated them.

Our main line was now in position and the enemy spotted my “exposed” cavalry, wide left and ahead of the infantry – a Phalanx charged them. I saw them coming and a plan was fast in my mind. I let the cavalry slowly lead the enemy Phalanx further left then the left flank Italian Swordsmen and Hastati ran to intercept. The Phalanx re-presented itself to them but it was now that I sprung the trap!

The Principes dashed forward and let loose their pila into the flank of the Phalanx, the swordsmen and Hastati did the same from the front and the Principes charged! The Hastati held the Phalanx whilst the swordsmen flanked from the other side and swiftly the Phalanx was enveloped.

Meanwhile the other Phalanx moved forwards, again trying to seek my weak flank – this time my right with Hastati and swordsmen.

At this moment the first Phalanx utterly broke. I ordered the infantry to pursue just until they were directly behind the 2nd Phalanx, then to disengage – I sent my Italian Cavalry after the routing unit.

Swordsmen, Hastati and Principes turned about and crashed into the Phalanx rear before it engaged at the front with my main line.

This left the skirmishers and the remaining archers utterly exposed so my Praetoria and myself charged the untouched skirmish unit whilst the Equites finished the archers before turning to aid me.

I was surprised at how effectively my Praetoria fought against the skirmishers, we lost one brave man to a javelin but we managed to completely split their formation and re-charge from the rear before the Equites arrived to aid us.

I let the Equites finish them whilst I led my Praetoria to mop up any routing units and let my infantry rest.



I had to count 30 dead from this encounter, most struck down by arrows. Also, the enemy was intent on seeking my weaker flanks and engaged my Hastati with the Phalanx's, I would have preferred my Principes had received this but no plan is infalable.



The Seleucids and Ptolemites seem unable to present a significant force in Asia-Minor now, to be honest this is starting to make the men worried. There is a well known saying “men fear what they do not see, far greater than that which they can” and it holds well.

However, I am confident that we can defeat whatever comes our way and all I am concerned with is that I am starting to yearn for a major engagement in which to make my name.

http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/...m-Manius-1.zip

[Dutch_guy]

Northern Afrika – 253 Autumn

Flavius Pacuvius was staring intently at the table in front of him filled with numerous maps, each and every one containing Northern-Afrika. And each and every one of them was different.

‘’Is it really that hard to make a decent map of this bloody excuse of a land ?!’’ He barked at the nervous looking Numidian Slaves in the front of his command tent. They of course weren’t stupid enough to answer, but then again Pacuvius didn’t want one.

For He of course knew perfectly well where he was, but as every self respecting general knew ;knowing where you are is one thing, knowing the land on which you’re going to fight is a completely different thing. It was also knowledge our general didn’t have. And he didn’t like that at all. He was going to have to improvise.

Luckily the consul had been generous, and he had a lot to improvise with. A full consular army was at our general’s disposal. And the force he was assigned to attack was only a mere ¼ of that size, if not less.

The Only thing that had to be taken care of, was to minimise the amount of losses in battle. As the enemy force apparently (if our intelligence is to be trusted that is) consists predominately of skirmishers accompanied by about 150 spearmen. That's about 800 javelins, if every skirmisher has two, and quite possibly a lot of injured or dead Romans

The armies engage, the Gods favour us – so it seems


Flavius Pacuvius sends a token force to bait the Cartheginians, these Numidian mounted skirmishers claim to know the lay of the land – for their sake, let’s hope they’re right!

The Larger army is set to follow when the Cartheginians take the bait, or simply come close enough to be engaged by the large, consular sized, force

Pacuvius rode amongst his men as they marched towards the now clearly visible modes Cartheginian force. Morale was high, they outnumered and outclassed the enemy greatly. And the men knew it.

‘’Remind me to reward captain Kaeso for his excellent manouvering on the field, and of course for bringing the Punic fools in reach of Roman steel’’ Flavius said to a nearby scribe, a young Samnite, who followed Pacuvius’ every move, and wrote down every word. Who but the Gods knew if they might come in handy later! Hey, they might even make for some great quotes later on!

‘’ And of course to send a letter to the senate, I daresay those nervous old men ‘ll love to know how I did’’ He added.

The Numidian horsemen were now mere feet away from the main body, and we’re ordered to proceed to the left flank. And wait further instructions.


Roman Army on the March


The army was now about 150 yards from the Cartheginian army, the mercenary stone slinging Funditores set to work immediately. The Skirmishers were ordered to form a line in front of the Gaullic mercenaries, who were in turn backed by the Roman soldiers. The Hastati, Principes and Triarii. Flavius and his entourage were located in a central position behind the Roman Soldiers, and the other detachment of Cavalry was moving towards the Right Flank. Ready flank and engage when the time came.

The Funditores and Mercenary Slingers were ripping the lightly armoured enemy skirmishers appart, the Cartheginian force, however, held it’s ground.

Not for long however.

Charidemos was getting more and more impatitient with each volley of stones hitting his vulnerable skirmishers, and decided to order them forward. To engage the enemy, not with their ranged weapons, but with their knives.

A desperate charge and fight ensue


The slingers and funditores were able to retreat behind the Gaullic Mercenaries, a couple of Velite soldiers decided to face the charge and help repell the desperate Punic Skirmishers.

However, the Gaullic troops proved to be better in a melee, and didn’t need a lot of time to rout the skirmishers. The Gauls, as is their nature, persued their prey eagerly.

The Skirmishers break.


Charidemos, the enemy general, saw his skirmishers charge and die againt the fastly superior force, what to do ?

Die on the field ? Or live another day ?

Being an honorless Carthaginian, he proceeded to do the latter. The entire enemy force was retreating, what was left of it at least.

The Cavalry are ordered to persue the still remaining enemy force.


Seeing that this was not a trap Pacuvius ordered his two cavalry detachments to chase the tired and beaten force. Needless to say, being the brave Roman that he is, he participated in the chase himself. Alongside of captain Kaeso, to whom he partly owned his very first victory as a general. And they were both very well aware of this fact

The Chase Ends.


The Battle ended right there, it was not a total victory – the cowardly enemy general had seen to that – but it was a victory non the less. And that was all the Roman people cared for really, and he knew, and the senate knew it.


The Results


Alas, 15 soldiers had to die this day, mostly due to the bold and unexpeted charge of the enemy skirmishers. But it could have been a whole lot worse, had the enemy given battle in a more honorable way, and if captain Kaeso hadn’t done such a splendid job in baiting the enemy force.

The reward you ask ?

Well Pacuvius knew the perfect one:

A fine new General awaits command in the Afrikan Theatre.

[Braden]

Pessinus…hmmm…..I didn’t like this really, for several reasons.

Firstly, the town had a hideous name! Pessinus….what backward peoples named that? Next, it was a town assault again. These will always cost more lives than comparable open battles but it is the way of war.

Next, it was a true test of me and my men. We were finally outnumbered! Some 824 men resided in the town itself as a garrison but a further 401 hurried their way to aid them from the South! We were outnumbered but if we were swift we could defeat each component army in detail.

But lastly, the Consul had insisted on complete victory! No fighting man of the Seleucids should live through until nightfall…….a tough and unrelenting task was set my young men.



I wish us to find out where the enemy re-enforcements would come from so we deployed a short distance from the township. Sure enough those re-enforcements soon appeared over the dunes ahead of us and to our right.



I sent our Funditores forward to start to harass them whilst we deployed in force against the smaller army. I engaged with my right flank whilst sending my cavalry and Funditores to our left to ensure the defenders in the town stayed……in the town. The cowards obliged us and remained near the town and stood and watched as Roman steel cut their “saviours” to pieces. It was just a matter of advancing on the town next.



As we got closer confusion and fear reigned! The defenders knew not what to do and ran back and forth in the city streets trying their best to hide from us……and THESE men were led by a Seleucid governor and general??



Perhaps in an effort to show his men what to do or to install some valour in them the Seleucid general a certain Abantes charged forward into the flank of one of my Principes cohorts. I resolved to leave the matter at that but he was starting to do sore damage to the cohort so I decided to enter the fray……soon enough Abantes was cleaved from his horse by one of my Praetoria and I withdrew us from the Principes aid.



However, is bravery did manage to urge his men into some form of action and it was that his own slingers did fire upon us then.

However, this put them as a number one target and whilst these men had some measure of red blood in their veins the Seleucid phalanx’s did NOT and left the slingers and skirmishers to their fate at the hands of my Principes, Hastati and Italian swordsmen!



Soon enough though it was the cowards turn! Whilst a cohort of Principes supported by Hastati held the final “elite” phalanx’s attention, my Italian swordsmen finished off the last of the Seleucid skirmishers and struck at their rear.



However, finally feeling there was some bravery in their hearts they would not break or surrender. Seeing my Principe cohort taking casualties I decided to help tip the battle again and I charged with my Praetoria into the melee……we drove a wedge into the rear of the Phalanx but still they would not break.



However, I withdrew and re-charged a second time and this was too much for them. Surrounded, divided and defeated they fought near to the last….

…..there he stood. The last Seleucid warrior, spinning his sarrisia about him and fending off my soldiers. I watched him for a good time and could see the desperation in his eyes, the wounds on his body and the strength leaving him. I signalled my bodyguard.

The Praetorian horse charged forward, spear levelled but at the last moment he turned it to present the blunt end, and bringing it down upon the Seleucid’s head the last enemy fell. I galloped forward and leapt from my horse to catch the warrior as he slumped to the ground. He did not loose all sense at that moment though. He stared into my eyes and spat in my face!

I looked to my men all about me with a smile.

“I like this man, THIS is a man who would spit in the face of death! Call the Chirgeon, I would have such a man, a man with such defiance and spirit on my staff.”

Thus it was that I allowed one warrior to live, against the Consuls wishes.



This was truly a Heroic victory for my men though……



……as only 74 fell never to rise again….for the cost of 1,219 Seleucid warriors heads!!

[Braden]

I was tired, it had been a long march from Pessinus and whilst we’d chosen a route which was quite easy it was none the less mainly desert.

There were no special instructions from the Consul regarding Ancyra, merely that it be taken. My own precepts of “with as little loss of Roman life as possible” was foremost in my mind as always though.

So, we advanced on the town and her defenders.



Ancyra is to be one of the final border towns that will defend us against future Seleucid aggression. It is, actually, a shame that in order to secure as small a border as possible, in the most defensible position as possible, we had to take towns from the Ptolemites but, as blood relatives of the Seleucids I doubt they would have ceded to any diplomatic requests from us.

Ah, yes, our border. Well Ancyra will be the centre of this new border. Other than that I will leave to the Consul when he advises the Senate on his dealings but, suffice to say, that I cannot agree more with the thinking behind the overall plan.

Anyway, we prepared to advance on the town and after some scouting the previous night, I chose the most direct route to the centre of the town and thus victory.

The plan was the standard one. My Funditores would soften up the enemy and draw them out as the infantry advanced into a favourable position supported by Velites and skirmishers….well, if I still had skirmishers that is. They languish in Sardis still I believe on garrison duty with my Italian spearmen….pah! no matter.

We knew what we faced, a Hoplite cohort, some skirmishers and the enemy Governor himself.



So, the Funditores advanced into the city to try and entice the enemy out to fight. This they did well, however it was only the defending Governor and General who took the bait.

…..and ran strait into my Principes!



Surrounded and out fought, it was soon that the enemy Governor fell



I allowed the same Principes to advance on the Hoplite cohort and engage them from the front. They had little difficulty, actually making good use of their large shields to push past the Hoplite spears.



As normal I managed to get my Italian swordsmen in position at the unprotected rear of the enemy.



After a volley of missiles from them and their charge, it was very soon over.



Victory again for my brave men



…and again for little cost in lives. Only 23 lost their lives.



Luckily, we do not have long to wait here and soon we are moving South East…..thank the Gods for this! We thought Pessinus was bad……Ancyra makes that place seem luxurious!

[Braden]

The message was quite explicit "......this is an emergency. The army west of Adana must be obliterated, immediately following the army's destruction you are to take Adana, enslave the town, it is necessary for stability in the east."

To the west of Adana stood 470 Seleucid warriors, we had simply to march up to them.....kill them all and then march upon the defenders of Adana.

We had always known we'd arrive at Adana, and in truth, the men were welcoming it. Ancyra was an appauling place - sandstorms and smelly camel traders - the men wished for nothing more than to move on. What we hadn't planned upon was to leave yet more comrades behind.

Two cohorts of Italian swordsmen had to be left behind for garrison duties.....yet we loose more men as garrisons than we do to the enemy blades!

Little more than a Legion now marched towards a spot called Pisida to meet our first challenge. Perhaps though this would be my mens final "boon".....in our most recent actions we'd had explicit instructions not to harass or enslave but now, we have orders otherwise. The men were keen, a handful of slaves to the most senior in the ranks, when sent back to their families, means a great deal to them. Those without rank enough to be granted slaves have the booty they could carry and sent back.

Either way, those citizens of the Republic with family in the ranks of this army have been able to acquire quite substantial coin over the last year....perhaps 18 months is it?

Not even TWO years! It seemed to take longer to sail here than it has been to subjugate virtually all of Asia-Minor from the "mighty" Seleucids and Ptolemites. Why did we fear these people so?

Perhaps after Adana, I will have my men back to me from Garrison duty.

So, it was that we chased down the first Seleucid force



We lined up and prepared, I had to move my Triarii out to my flanks seeing as I don't have any Italians to fill the gap and I followed my cavalry out wide right.



A swift skirmish where one Phalanx is consumed by a joint action by my left flank Principes, Hastati and Triarii the rest start to run from the field!



We manage to engage and take down 271 enemy for only the loss of EIGHT men.





Fortunately, the survivors ran to Adana....so it was that we met a force of identical manpower than ours but the advantage of not only Phalax formations in the narrow city streets but vital local knowledge.



I divided my army equally to the west and south of the city intending to advance in these two formations and hopefully catch the defenders off guard.
Unfortunately, the defenders struck at us first and threw virtually all of their army at only the men I had to the South!!

I sent frantic orders and I will bless the Gods for a month that we prevailed.



This did mean though that the force I had in the West was virtually unopposed until they entered the city outskirts. They then hit formidable opposition..



However, now freed from their own engagement to the South and now having vanquished the vast bulk of the defenders my Southern formation came to the Westerns aid.

I saw that little remained of the defenders, skirmishers and the Governor General himself. Thus I took it upon myself to finish this episode and rest my infantry. Myself and my Praetoria chased down and killed the skirmishers before entering the city square and felling the Governor himself!



Victory again!

48 of my men died for this final township in the desert but the Seleucids paid very dearly indeed and 694 of their men will not breath again!

[Dutch_guy]

Battle of Hippo Regius.

Northern Afrika, winter of 253.

‘’If I spend one more year in the dessert I swear I’ll turn into sand myself ‘’Flavius thought to himself while reading the orders his Consul had just issued him. Besiege the City of Hippo Regius and eventually attack and enslave the city. Killing the enemy general, one of Carthage its finest, wasn’t specifically asked for, but was of course a nice bonus.

Hippo Regius was about a season’s march from the newly conquered city of Utica, and it could therefore, be taken two season’s after the marching order. If al went according to plan that was.

And thus in the winter of 253 Flavius Pacuvius faced the Carthaginian general Bisaltes the Mad, a worthy adversary – this battle could very well be harder than expected.

Our Consular army attacks the City.


The enemy’s 673 men are comprised mostely of Skirmishers, the general’s personal bodyguards and two units of Pikemen. Nothing our general hadn’t faced before, as a matter of Flavius had had more than enough training facing such an army. As an added bonus, he had been heavily tutored in the fighting of sieges, an art of war he had come to like quite a lot.

‘’We’ll split up our army once again, Gauls to my left and the Romans in the centre’’ Flavius told his chief centurions and legates.

‘’If we’ve learnt anything these past battles, it’s that the Carthaginians always underestimate our veteran gaulic mercenaries’’

‘’They’ll split up, and come to us piecemeal’’ Flavius spoke to his centurions, before ordering them to deploy the troops the way he told them to.

The Roman centre re-deploys.


Not surprisingly the Carthagnians split up their forces again, and decide the Gauls are easy pikkings. We all know how that worked out for them in Utica. I guess they’ll never learn...

The Spearmen march to engage, whilst taking casualties from the mercenary slingers.


The lone detachment of spearmen engage the friendly spearmen, and whilst under fire, get surrounded by even more spearmen.

Enemy speamen surrounded


Meanwhile, Flavius orders his Roman soldiers to move on towards the main city streets. The ones leading towards the Town plaza. And the enemy general.
On the other side of the battlefield, as lone unit of skirmishers decided to join the melee, they were easily repelled. The Warbands were, however, having a hard time finishing the hardy Carthaginian spearmen off.

The Phoenician spearmen fight to the death.


Bisaltes the Mad, seeing his right flank was crumbling and taking heavy casualties, marched out by himself to charge the Roman centre. He was living up to his name so it seemed.

Flavius himself meets the enemy General in battle


The sacred band get’s surrounded, but keeps on fighting. What’s Bisaltes trying to prove ?

The enemy generals bodyguard units slowly die off.


Finally, Bisaltes sees the stupidity of his actions and retreats tail between his legs, back towards the city plaza. To join and rally his beaten troops.
Flavius orders his men forward, skirmishers ahead of the main force, to take the plaza.

There the enemy general tries once again to force a breakthrough, again, un succesfully.

Bisaltes the Mad finally dies.


Only a unit of skirmishers and phoenician spearmen where left on the city plaza, both were engaged and overclassed by the Roman principes, hastati and triarii. They do, however, hold out a long time, and a charge in the back by the general’s bodyguard itself is needed to brake them..

Pacuvius himself charges the skirmishers.


On the other side of the plaza, the phoenicians fight on, to the last man, but die in vain. They were outnumbered and outfought.

The last of the Phoenicians die.


Another battle is won, and the soldiers know it.

The Romans celebrate yet another victory.


These were the results Flavius sent to his consul:

A clear victory.


Again, the Gallic soldiers suffer the most.


Another successful battle added to the growing list of Flavius Pacuvius, now, however, another interesting question came to mind. What next, what would the consul have me do now ?

We shall know soon enough...

[Tamur]

(ooc: pictures will come later, I wanted to at least get this up)

Battle of Arsinoe, 252 BC

Appius hesitantly opened the tent flap and sniffed the air. Livestock. He shook his head and went back into his tent.

"Marcus," he asked the young man sitting with a writing board, "is there some reason the quartermaster is stationing the cattle not even a stone's throw from the camp? Upwind?"

Marcus looked up at Appius. "I imagine it's to irritate you, young one."

Young one! thought Appius. Look who's talking. "Well, he's succeeded. I'm about ready to go slaughter them myself right now. Except that wouldn't help the stench..."

"Probably make it worse," interjected Marcus.

"...so I'll go review the troops," Appius finished. "Get your stylus ready. It's going to be quite the day." He grinned that grin which often made others feel as if Appius was about to go mad. He knew this, and used it to great effect at times. Or he thought so, at any rate.

Appius threw open the tent flap a little less hesitantly this time. He walked about the camp, noting the ordered areas with praise, chastising those whose tents showed signs of unrepaired tattering. He chatted casually with some of the men, the ones who did not look at him as if he were a five year old boy. Some of the men were twice his age and looked at him as if they knew it very well. Appius, however, had grown used to this and walked on past them as if he saw nothing.

His walk led him to the eastern wall of the camp. From here he could see down into the valley below, barren except for a few scraggly trees. Down there beyond a small creek lay the city of Arsinoe, his target.

The First Consul had written to him, to him! His first reaction had been to shoo everyone out of his tent and read fervently. Numerius had stepped aside to give him command of the battle, and now he was on the edge of his first command. Fear and glory coursed through him as he looked down at the city. Which would control him even he could not tell.

The next morning dawned clear and bright, but the sun found the camp dismantled and the men lined up outside the wall-less town. Appius did not believe in sleeping late.

The people of Arsinoe had managed to field perhaps four groups of phalangites, some slingers, a scattering of horse. Appius tried to quell the feeling that this was a slightly pitiful force for his men to face. He would take no chances.

As he lined the men up, two of the phalangites from the town decided they would rather fight on open ground and came out of the city. Appius sent funditores and skirmishers at them, telling his heavy troops to back away as the phalangites approached. The phalangites were all a muddle; charging the funditores only to find they had melted away and were sixty paces off, now charging the skirmishers to the same effect. All the while they lost man after man to a constant hail of javelins and stones.

Finally, down to three-quarters their original numbers, they decided they had had enough and turned to go back to the city. Appius gave the signal, and four units of horse mowed them down as they ran, slaughtering them to the last man without a single horse dropping.

Appius coughed. "Did you get that, Marcus?"

"Oh, yes, I think so, yes sir, yes," replied Marcus, scribbling like mad on his vellum.

"I think you and I can stay up here on the hillside and watch. Better view, and it's shady." Appius bit into an apple, squinted for a moment, then ordered the cavalry to position themselves at all the city exits.

Now was the time for the spearmen and principes to do their work. After positioning themselves at three of the main streets through the city, they began the march into the forum where the miserable remains of Arsinoe's army huddled.

Appius' stomach tightened as the men neared the centre. He knew the Arsinoeans would fight to the last man, and he feared a mishap. However, he had laid his plans out to his captains the night before, and there was no use turning them now.

Finally, the sound of shield smashed against shield in a mighty roar came to his ears as Appius' spearmen and triarii locked horns with the phalangites in the city centre. The forgotten apple dropped to the ground as Appius noticed the Arsinoean horsemen lining up for a charge into the back of his triarii. He closed his eyes as they began the charge, and opened them a moment later to find that his hastati had intercepted the charge and were slaughtering the horsemen as if they were wheat under the sickle.

The horsemen fell quickly to the hastati's massed attack. Now only the phalangites remained, and they proved more stubborn than a wild ass. Attacked from three sides, with cavalry blocking all the exits, and their horsemen destroyed, the phalangites fought on like dragons and took many men with them to Hades. Finally they broke and attempted to flee the city, but they were all cut down before reaching even the edge of Arsinoe's forum.

As the cheer of victory went up, Appius breathed a sigh of relief and rode down from the mountain, into the city he had now taken for the glory of Rome.

[GeneralHankerchief]

North of Thapsus, 252 BC

This is the story of Lucius Dolabella:



Born in Messana in 285 BC. One of his earlier memories was when a Roman army, under the Consul Quintus, marched in and proclaimed the city liberated. It was a glorious day, for Carthaginian rule had been brutal and harsh. Lucius at that moment knew he wanted to be a soldier.

He couldn't be a principe, his personal preference, of course. He was far removed from the heartland of the Roman Republic. But when the large Auxilia building in Messana was constructed, he immediately signed up to be a swordsman. He would be part of the alae, those loyal Italians who would fight alongside their Roman friends in order to bring glory and freedom to all of those lands.

He served with honor and glory in the Alps, and later Afrika. Well enough to be considered one of the finest soldiers in his unit. He had killed his fair share of enemies, and gave his people much honor.

But then things happened. The other two units that had came from Sicily at the same time, skirmishers and spearmen, considered him their leader of sorts. They looked to him and followed his lead when it came to all sorts of matters.

The corruption of power combined with current sentiment made a nasty sum. The generals in the Carthaginian theatre were far from conforting. The new Consul, Servius Aemilius, was very young, and rumor had it that although a fine commander, the desert was claiming his soul. Servius' uncle, Marcellus, openly distrusted the Consul. Oppius was only a teenager, and Flavius Pacuvius, although he served admirably, was seeing his first action. Ever.

Despite all the fine victories won, Lucius had believed that there was no reason that the Romans should be in Afrika. He began to doubt everything, and wondered if Quintus was right to even invade Messana in the first place.

Finally, in one autumn day in 252 BC, a Carthaginian diplomat made his way to the fort where the alae were stationed. He offered Lucius and the three units there a sum of denarii to fight for them. After some discussion, Lucius accepted. He had thrown away his Roman values, once again serving the Republic of Carthage.

~~~~~~~

This is the story of Marcellus Aemilius:



Born 279 BC into a proud Roman family, the Aemilii. He grew up with Numerius Aureolus and others in Rome, but eventually Numerius departed for Greece. Marcellus, at the age of 16, stayed in the Scriptorium to further his education.

Finally, at 20, his military career began with the dispatch of some brigands threatening Rome. From there he went to the Alps, serving with the late Augustus Verginius, and killing the last Gallic King in Comata.

After that things dampened. He got into a falling-out with his nephew and the Consul, Servius. He didn't agree with anyone's plans for Rome, believing that the Republic was abandoning its principles. He was annoyed that Servius had delayed his voyage to Afrika. But he never once entertained the thought of deserting Rome.

Things perked up. Marcellus arrived in Afrika, survived a desperate sally battle, and repaired relations with him and Servius. He conquered some cities, and was gaining respect in the Senate. The Carthage Expedition was going well.

But then some alae decided to defect. While a problem since reinforcements were tough to come by, he knew an example would have to be set.



The battle itself was relatively short. After some initial skirmishing, the Gallic Swordsmen charged, followed up by his Praetoria. The symbolism - Romans ordering Gauls to kill Italians - was not lost on the defectors.

As the charge neared him, Lucius Dolabella suddenly realized how wrong he was. Realized that Carthage was failing, and that Rome was right. All he needed to see was Roman might in action again. But the problem was, the Roman might was directed at him.

Marcellus Aemilius, eyes blazing, cut his way through the crowd until he and his horse were facing Lucius. The leader of the defectors just stared, making no attempt to defend himself.

"You have learned your lesson, traitor," Marcellus growled. He then plunged his gladius into Lucius' neck, and slashed upwards. And Lucius Dolabella's complicated life had ended.



After that display, the remaining Italians laid down their weapons and surrendered. Marcellus ordered the Gallic Swordsmen to stop, who did so reluctantly.

Once back in Thapsus, the army made their way to the town square. Marcellus put the 21 surviving Italians on display and ordered the Gauls to slay them all. They did so.

Word of the deed quickly spread through the city and Afrika. The message was clear: Treason will be dealt with harshly.

Lucius Dolabella and the other Italian defectors could attest to that.

[Dutch_guy]

Summer of 252 BC

Flavius Pacuvius was studying the newly arrived pieces of parchment intently, they contained the new marching orders. And were of course sent by the consul Servius Aemilius. The orders were easy enough; kill all the defenders and enslave the populace, Rome needs the slaves.

And thus it was that Flavius Pacuvius marched to, yet again, take a Carthaginian city, and he didn’t mind at all. There is only so much sand in ones bed a noble Roman General can take.

On to Kirtha.

During the march from Hippo Regius to Kirtha, which took about one season, the consular sized force was stripped of its Gallic soldiers – only the slingers still remained. It was to be the first time the Roman troops were to be tested. If tested was of course the right word, again the opposing forces were of such a level that none would have mistaken them to be anything other than Carthaginian. One can only kill so many Carthaginian Skirmishers....

This settlement did however differ in one fairly major aspect, this settlement had walls. Wooden walls, yes, but walls nonetheless. This wasn’t something our dear general had much experience with – as a matter of fact, it was the first settlement in which he would have to deploy actual siege equipment....

The Siege is started.

This was to be a simple assault, two battering rams would march on to the eastern section of the walls, and keep on ramming it untill the gate, and walls would come down. After that, the slingers and skirmishers would fire their load at any enemy soldier foolish enough to come too close to the fallen walls.

The General oversees the assault.


The wooden rams didn’t need a lot of time to deal with the simple wooden walls on which the Carthaginians relied. The Gate was the first section to go down, followed shortly thereafter by the other targeted section of the walls.


The Gate is breached !


The soldiers manning the rams were ordered to form a square on the Roman side of the destroyed walls, they were not to march into the city yet... First the slingers and skirmishers would have their way with the enemy, who indeed reinforced the downed sections of the wall.

The enemy captain himself comes to defend the walls, does he have a death wish ?


The gallic slingers throw volley after volley of stones into the marching Carthaginians on the far side of the walls, instead of defending the city plaza en masse – which every self respecting captain, or general, would have done – the Carthaginian captain decides to use his troops as stone catchers...The slingers inflict heavy casualties on the enemy soldiers, especially the skirmishers suffer badly.

The battle was almost won without even having to unsheath Roman steel. And it minded Flavius Pacuvius not for one bit.

The Bodies cover the dusty floor.


Now it was the time to enter the city, the troops met no resistance whatsoever when the marched through the destroyed sections of the enemy walls.

The walls were captured.


The soldiers were ordered to advance to the city plaza, where the enemy captain held what was left of his forces. The hastati led the march, followed by the principes and triarii, Flavius himself oversay it all from the back of the line.

The Romans march towards the plaza.

Whilst turning the last corner to the plaza, the hastati are attacked by what is left of the captains contignen and by a sad bunch of already worn skirmishers.
The Captain tries to motivate his soldiers one last time, but once the triari charge into the skirmishers, it’s all over.
A massive retreat to the plaza begins...

The Triarii engage the skirmishers.


The retreat was closely followed by the eager hastati and triarii, the rest of the forces also joined in, and not long after the initial rout, the soldiers slaughter what is left of the enemy on the city plaza.
The enemy captain died fighting, slain by a heavily armoured trairii soldier.

The enemy captain lies dead on the ground.



Victory was totall, the entire Carthaginian force was destroyed with only eleven losses mostly due to own fire.

A clear victory...



Another victory was added to Flavius Pacuvius’ rapidly growing list, he could now even call himself a surperior commander. Things were going well, one thing , however, bothered the General...What would the Consul have him do next ?

- Flavius Pacuvius.

[Braden]

We had faced the foe, the mighty Seleucid Empire. We had faced them and found them wanting. Now, one of their Generals had the insanity to pit his meagre force of nearly 500 against not only our fortifications but also my seasoned army.



The river of Galatia flowed freely through the place where we cornered Antaeus of Gadara. Initially, I believed he would face us at the river and try to take us as we crossed, but no such sanity prevailed here. He awaited us a fair way away from us, atop a hill on the other side. So it was that we made the river crossing unhindered.



He remained, stolid in that if he kept the high ground his army would not be defeated. Such a fool is only more reason why the Seleucids fail in war. Height is good, but it is not everything, movement and sense outweigh such factors.

Thus we moved up the hill on its most gentle of slopes to engage him on his right flank.



The results were quite predictable, I advanced my skirmish troops ahead as normal and took his phalanx’s apart piece-meal. They held for longer than I expected and losses were higher than I’d wanted on this day but we held the field and destroyed Antaeus and his army.



28 Roman lives for 449 Seleucids….perhaps a “fair” trade, but our numbers dwindle again and more friends perish.



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