The Trading Republic of Kart-Hadast. (AAR)

[Aenos]

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Alright, my first AAR so please don't make your critizism to harsh.. It aint near as great as the ones I read, but yet, I had fun making this first little part
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The trading republic of Kart-Hadast.

Gold was flowing through our fair city, Kart-Hadast. The people were content and peace reigned in most parts of our trading-empire. But from the town of Ippone, to the west of Kart-Hadast, reports came that the Numidian threat was growing. Those foolish men, scum of the desert, were growing bolder with each passing day! Attacking our trade routes, ambushing merchants. No, it couldn’t be tolerated and thus our council met and discussed the matter.

In the Council-halls of Kart-Hadast.

Councilor Hamalcar, main councilor of the militaristic side of the council: ‘Councilors, for many months now have we received reports from the town of Ippone. The reports say that the Numidian bandits are stalking the land, ambushing our merchants and blocking our much-needed trade routes! We cannot tolerate such insolence against our republic! Therefore I suggest we sent the young general Xanthippos with the army of Kart-Hadast to deal with the matter.’

Councilor Hasdrubal, main councilor of the economical/diplomatical side of the council: ‘I agree that they need to be stopped, but I’d hardly think it’s wise to use arms against them. Why not send a diplomat over there?’

Councilor Hamalcar: ‘Councilor Hasdrubal, have you actually read the reports from Ippone? *takes a copy of one of the reports* It clearly says: ‘A few months ago we send the able diplomat Annibas to talk to them, but he has not been seen since.. We fear he will not return anymore..’. This report was send weeks ago, it’s highly unlikely that Annibas is still alive and as such it’s clear that a diplomatic mission is not possible.’

Councilor Hasdrubal: ‘*looks startled for a moment, then replies* Then I agree, force may be the only way to be able to counter this threat. But, such a campaign would be expensive, and as we shouldn’t let our treasury be hurt by this, I suggest the disbandment of the main military fleet. The seas are safe these days and the fleet is costing us more then one would like each year.’

Councilor Hamalcar: ‘Disbanding the fleet?! And what if the Greeks decide to go to war with us? What would you do then?’

Councilor Hasdrubal: ‘The Greeks are as far as we know squabbling amongst themselves and not even near capable to strike at us at this time.’

Shophet Mago, governor of Kart-Hadast and often on the economical side: ‘*interrupts before Hamalcar can reply* That seems a fine plan, one, we stop the Numidians and two, by disbanding the military fleet we stop a major drain on our treasury. All in favour raise your hand. *raises his hand and sees that about 12 of the 20 of the councilor do the same* Then it is agreed, but whom is to lead the army to fight the Numidians?’

Councilor Hamalcar: ‘I would advise Xanthippos for this duty, he’s young and this will be a good chance for him to prove himself. All in favour? *most councilors raise their hands and the plan is passed*’

And as this was decided the council continued their discussions about the military, the economy, etc.. Underwhile though, Xanthippos mounted his horse and rode ahead of his army out of town. They marched for Ippone but then turned towards the desert and the mountains. A few weeks later one of the scouts suddenly sounds the alarm as an army of Numidian raiders quickly rides to the camp.

Campaign against the Numidians: Battle near Ippones.

Xanthippos: ‘Phalanxes line up just before those trees there, *points at a small group of trees in front of where he stood* Iberian infantry, you’ll defend the flanks should those bastards try to flank us! Cavalry.. erm.. Just go stand somewhere over there *points at a flat part of the hill*.’



And as our forces lined up, the Numidians rode up the hill at a dazzling speed. Xanthippos quickly ordered his Iberian infantry to throw their spears at the approaching cavalry.



But even as death rained upon them they rode on. They quickly got closer to the lightly-armed Iberian spearmen and Xanthippos nearly saw to late what happened.

Xanthippos: ‘*just barely in time he shouted* Cavalry, quick, charge at them!’

The Iberian Cavalry responded as quickly as the order was given. Their famous skill with the sword was shown as many of the lightly-armored Numidians went down.



It was clear who were the victors that day and as the bandits retreated our men celebrated. With this victory, the road to Kirtan, a Numidian stronghold, lay open.

Campaign against the Numidians: The Siege of Kirtan.

As they approached Kirtan they saw it didn’t even have walls. However, this combined with the previous victory made them.. well.. slightly overconfident of themselves.

Xanthippos: ‘Skirmishers in front! Iberian Infantry behind, should the Skirmishers be attacked, well.. you know what to do in that case! And the phalanxes.. Behind them, should they break through you’ll have to hold them off..’

Officer of Xanthippos: ‘*whispers* Sir.. You.. erm.. forgot the cavalry..’

Xanthippos: ‘*looks a bit startled and then says to the officer* What?! I didn’t forget them. Just let me finish what I were saying. *and as the officer ‘apologizes’ he turns to the army and shouts* Cavalry to the right.



The Numidians came pouring out of the town and convinced that his Iberian cavalry would surely stand against any number of those lightly armed Numidians, he send them to fight them.. alone.. Truly Xanthippos was the wisest of all Carthaginian generals, but perhaps with time and experience..



After a while he noticed that more and more Numidians were leaving the town and his cavalry wasn’t quite winning..

Xanthippos: ‘Iberian infantry, quickly go to the aid of our cavalry! *and as he thought it might be to little to late he decided to do something what some may have called ‘reckless’ and suddenly he shouted* Chaarge! *and he charged in with his personal cavalry quickly following*’

Sadly it didn’t last. Even though his (near-to suicidal) charge had had some effect, the morale of the Iberians broke leading to a mass route. However, something in Xanthippos’ first plan then came to work! As they retreated, the Poeni phalanxes managed to hold the line and stop the charging enemy.



Xanthippos then made a well-timed order to his Numidian Mercenaries and they charged into the open flanks of the enemies fighting the Phalanxes. As the enemy broke the remainder of our cavalry and the infantry charged into the streets.

The battle was won, but it had a high price. Over half of the precious Iberian cavalry lay dead. But Xanthippos did learn from it, never underestimate the enemy, no matter what the odds.

With this battle the Numidian campaign had ended for now, for the enemy stronghold that had brought most of the problems being conquered. The following months were more peaceful and the resources of Kart-Hadast were mainly focused on the economy.

[Aenos]

The next few years saw the construction of a few towers along the southern border to ensure no one would enter our lands that way without us knowing. Furthermore there were a few skirmishes with raiding bands of rebels and a handful of Numidians. But those battles were easily won and our people began to become richer and richer. But what to do with all this money? Spend it to improve our economy even further, or use it to upgrade our military? The matter was debated in the council.

In the Council Halls of Kart-Hadast.

Councilor Hamalcar: ‘Councilors, with our economy growing and our people being the richest in the world, I think time has come to seriously look at our military. Our military presence on the land is alright, could be better, but will do for the moment. However, our city walls are terribly under-strength. Except for Kart-Hadast all our towns have but a small wooden wall that wouldn’t keep out even the smallest of raiding parties! Also there’s the fleet matter, our scouts in southern Italy report that the Romans are on the move. This means we might once have to fight for control over Sicily. Without a navy to supply the island, this is impossible. Therefore I suggest that we build up our walls in our main towns and at the same time rebuild part of the old military fleet.’

Councilor Hasdrubal: ‘Councilor Hamalcar, you speak of war with the Romans. Why would we wish for such a thing? War is highly unprofitable and I’m sure the Romans are wise enough to agree with us on that. The Romans nearly depend economically on our trade with them, I don’t think they’d risk a war with us.’

Councilor Hamalcar: ‘*turns to Hasdrubal* How can you claim that war with the Romans is unlikely? The Greeks in southern Italy are threatened to be thrown out of Italy completely because of the Romans. Also a while ago the Romans were at war with nearly every tribe around them! I say that the chance is indeed there that there will be war with Rome.’

Shophet Mago: ‘Councilors! We are not here today to debate the possibility of war with Rome, we are here to discuss military spending. Please councilors, let’s save this discussion for another time.’

Councilor Hasdrubal: ‘Of course Shophet, I apologize. Hmm.. Well, maybe it’s a good thing to reinforce the walls and build up a little fleet.. To protect our economy. Walls will keep our wealthy cities safe and the fleet will clear the seas of those pirate bastards.’

Shophet Mago: ‘So we agree then? To protect our traders we shall rebuild part of the fleet and reinforce the walls? All in favour?’

And as the council unanimously agreed, the meeting was over. However, the discussion about the Romans did bring up thoughts about a potential future threat.. To keep Sicily safe though, we signed an alliance with the Romans. Let us hope that they will honour it..

[Justiciar]

Another! Sweet! I didn't expect to see any more AAR's until 0.8's release. Great work so far.

[Aenos]

Thank you for the compliment. Well, to be frank I was waiting for 0.8 before I was going to write this. But seeing I have a holiday now, I decided to do it early.

[Aut Nihil]

These AAR's are really enjoyable to read and help me to kill time while i'm waiting for 0.8

Nice job mate!

[Aenos]

Years past as events were slowly shaping the world. News came that the Romans had, after years of siege, broken the defenses of Rhegion and thus conquered all of southern Italy. In the fine town of Kart-Hadast the people spoke constantly about this, some saying the Romans would instantly march to Lilibeo, our city on Sicily, whilst others said they would remain loyal to the alliance. But shophet Mago, convinced that the Romans would remain loyal, decided it would not be discussed in the council. However, a few months after the Romans conquered Rhegion, the council discussed about expansion in Iberia. Seeing this would be economically profitable, the council unanimously voted in favour of such plans. An army was to be prepared and it was decided that Xanthippos, ‘hero’ of the Numidian campaign, was to lead it.

Iberia: Expansion and conquest.

As our scouts reported that the Romans had conquered Messana, the fleet, carrying the army of Kart-Hadast, set out for Ippone. There they would meet up with general Xanthippos, who governed that town, before they’d sail to Iberia.

As they landed in Iberia near the town of Mastia, they met with the Iberian part of the army. They were mainly infantry with some medium cavalry to support. A few days later they started marching north, to the independent town called Arsé.

Xanthippos quickly ordered the construction of rams so they could break through the wooden walls surrounding the town. But before they were finished, a small band of Iberians marched towards us, trying to relief the siege.

Xanthippos: ‘*is alerted by a scout* What?! An Iberian army that close, we can’t allow them to unite with the army in the town.. *thinks of a tactic he read about during his governor-time, turns to his forces* Men! Iberians are approaching, engineers, keep working on the rams, try to make it look like we’re still here.. Pherhaps then the town will not come to their aid. The others, we’ll make our stand there *points at a flat part of land a few hundred meters away, as they arrive there he orders* Skirmishers in front, phalanxes behind and the Iberian support behind the phalanxes, you shall defend the flanks. Cavalry on the right wing.’



His plan worked, Arsé didn’t notice the relief force and their warriors didn’t arrive on the battlefield at all! But Xanthippos had made one error when he chose the place to make his stand.. The Iberian relief force was coming over a hilltop, therefore they could throw their spears earlier then our skirmishers could. Many skirmishers fell as spears rained death upon them.. But then, finally, they got into range and threw their light spears.



As Iberian after Iberian fell they became disheartened, seeing an opportunity to make them rout Xanthippos ordered: 'Cavalry, charge at them now!’



The Iberians broke and the battle was won. Ba’al was surely with us that day, for as soon as the people of Arsé saw what had happened, they surrendered. For this we spared their lives and enslaved them. Pherhaps Xanthippos was slowly becoming a better commander..

A few months later the gods were surely smiling upon our republic once again. Scouts in Sicily reported that the Romans were sending their armies back to Italy, to the north. This meant that they were honouring their alliance with us. It was welcome news indeed that the trade with cities like Roma and Capua would continue.

[Aenos]

In the Council Halls of Kart-Hadast.

The council met to discuss the trade fleets, mining income etc.. When suddenly a scout entered the room.

Shophet Mago: ‘Wha.. What are you doing here scout? This hall is off-limits to commoners during council.’

Scout: ‘Councilors.. I apologize for this interruption but I bring terrible news.. The Romans.. Their fleet was reported blocking the port of Karali! And their army on Sicily is marching to Lilibeo..’

Some councilors gasped, whilst others nearly turned red from anger.

Councilor Hamalcar: ‘I knew those dogs would betray us! We should never have disbanded our fleet!’

Councilor Hasdrubal: ‘*looks shocked, regains control of himself and replies* Th.. the Roman fleet is weak, our remaining fleet can easily overcome them.’

Councilor Hamalcar: ‘But our fleet is still near Ippone! It cann..’

Shophet Mago: ‘Hamalcar! We shouldn’t be accusing others at this time! We must think of a plan to react, militarily if need be to do so!’

Councilor Hamalcar: ‘Pardon me for my mistake, shophet. About a plan..*thinks for a moment* Well, the walls of Lilibeo have been reinforced during the last few years and the garrison there is one of the strongest in our republic. I’m certain we can withstand even a strong assault their for some time, but defending may not be enough to overcome the Romans.. I suggest we build a new fleet in Mastia (the main Iberian colony) and transport part of the army stationed in Arsé to Sicily whilst our fleet at Ippone moves to destroy the Roman navy, that way we might be able to throw the Romans out of the island and regain naval supremacy.’

Councilor Hasdrubal: ‘Councilor Hamalcar, that is a fine plan, but wouldn’t that leave the Iberian colonies, and then especially the rebellious town of Arsé, vulnerable to an attack? Can we afford such a risk?’

Councilor Hamalcar: ‘We are allied with the ‘united’ Iberian tribes and the other remaining ones are hardly a risk to our garrison at Mastia. Of course it will be a risk, but I’d rather risk that then losing wealthy Sicily!’

Shophet Mago: ‘I agree with you on that point, Hamalcar. Let us vote then. *raises his hand and sees that 17 out of the 20 councilors do the same* Then it is decided, I shall instantly send a message to our fleet as well as a message to the towns of Mastia and Arsé.’

And thus the decision was taken. The Iberian army would be send to Sicily to force the Romans out of the island. But shocking it was that the Romans had declared war on us.. And yet, what else can one expect from such traitorous dogs? Soon we would see who were superior on the seas and land.

[Aenos]

The Romani War: The siege of Lilibeo.

In but two major sea-battles did admiral Abdeshmun destroy most of the Roman navy. Kart-Hadast once again controlled the seas. But whilst the Iberian army set sail for Sicily, the situation on the island had turned sour. Lilibeo was besieged by a large Roman army consisting mainly out of the fearsome heavily armored triarrii. The governor of Lilibeo was the well-known councilor, Hamalcar and it would spell disaster should he die.

Hamalcar: ‘Lybians and Numidians on the walls! Throw those spears you carry as soon as the Roman dogs get in range! Phalanxes, hold back for now, we’ll need you in case the walls are lost.!’

And soon the battle for the walls had begun. Shield bashed against spears, swords slashed through the air.. The battle was heavy and long.



In the end the walls were held, but the cowardly enemy didn’t dare coming to us, so we came to them! We sallied out of the town and deployed our forces to the best of our ability.



Hamalcar: ‘Two phalanxes follow me! We’ll take out the enemy commander! The rest will have to fend of the triarri until we are done! Goodluck and may Ba’al be with us!’

Soon did the Roman commander fall, but the triarrii divisions had split up! Now we could not rejoin as one! After a few disastrous minutes we had to retreat back through the gate. From there we sallied forth once more.



Painfully long did that final sally take, but then, we won.. But it was a close victory. Nearly all of our Sicilian army lay dead on the walls and on the fields of Lilibeo.. But with the southern Roman army annihilated Sicily was relatively safe for the moment.

In Lilibeo.

Hamalcar I: ‘My son, you’re finally old enough to lead. You’ve grown to be a son I can be proud of. I have an important task for you if you think you are capable.’

Hamalcar II: ‘*happy to finally be given a proper assignment* Of course father, what would you have me do then?’

Hamalcar I: ‘I have hired some Greek mercenaries, alongside with the remnants of our forces, you shall lead them to Messana. But it won’t be easy.. Our forces are still terribly weakened.. But I know you can do this, goodluck.’

Hamalcar II: ‘*can barely hide how proud he feels, leading an army at only 16 years of age* I won’t disappoint you father. *bows and leaves*’

Battle at Messana.

When Hamalcar II besieged Messana a small Roman army attacked him, combined with the garrison of the city, it was a fearsome force indeed that met him in battle.

Hamalcar II: ‘Soldiers, mercenaries, you’ve fought many battles before this one and I’m certain that with such fine men we can only win against such puny foes! We won’t run from this battle like they would, we shall make our stand right here. *points at the ground* Phalanxes, make your line there. *points at a position slightly in front of him* Skirmishers, stand in front of them. Libyans, at the flanks and the cavalry to the right!’



As the first Roman force approached his tactic had success. The combination of spears, thrown with deadly accuracy, and cavalry made that they soon turned and ran.



When the second force arrived his plan was to surround and isolate the Roman general whilst his other forces keep the main Roman force away. This worked perfectly and it wasn’t long until the enemy commander fell.



But then Hamalcar II saw that his right flank was crumbling and many of the Greek mercenaries were running away in terror.



In an attempt to turn the tide of the battle he ordered to the phalanx units around him: ‘Phalanxes try to breach that triarrii line at their left flank! Hurry!’
This worked for a while but the triarrii refused to break.. Seeing his right flank couldn’t hold out much longer he made a desperate move. He charged at the Romans with his guards and officers and finally, finally did they break! The battle was won, but at a terrible price, over three quarters of our army had been decimated.. All Hamalcar II could do now was to hold out the best he could until Xanthippos and the Iberian army arrived.

[Numahr]

Congratulations Aenos!

Your AAR is very pleasant to read, and your battle shots well chosen. I'll be following it!

I would only suggest you sometimes post a campaign map shot to illustrate the general situation. I would like, for example, to see how do Roman forces in Southern Italy look like...

[Aenos]

Thank you for the compliments. Hmm.. Alright, I'll include the suggestions in my next update. I've got part of it finished, but well, I'm still questioning myself on what to do. Try to fight the Romans (and then the question is, what general, Hamalcar II or Xanthippos) or try to regain the much needed trade with Rome.. Ah well..

[Numahr]

Thank you for the compliments. Hmm.. Alright, I'll include the suggestions in my next update. I've got part of it finished, but well, I'm still questioning myself on what to do. Try to fight the Romans (and then the question is, what general, Hamalcar II or Xanthippos) or try to regain the much needed trade with Rome.. Ah well..

For the choice of the general, i really think that Hamalcar should stay in charge of the Sicilian operations: that's a major one for Carthage, and Xanthippos is, after all, a foreign (brilliant) mercenary.

Now for the political decision on wether to continue the war or not... maybe you can role-play your senate by looking at the influence scores of the family members members of the "trade party" vs those supporting the "war party", in order to determine the outcome of the debate... just a suggestion...

[Aenos]

I guess you're right about Hamalcar II and Hamalcar I leading the 'Sicilian' army. About the role-play.. That went kinda wrong.. At first (the beginning) Hamalcar was aggresive in his acts and Hasdrubal was a great economical person.. Point is though.. Hasdrubal now is a 3-star general (without actually fighting though) and Hamalcar is in economical ways second only to Shophet Mago.. *sighs* The only remaining roleplayable part is that Hamalcar has the trait 'righteous anger'.. That's one of the reasons that I'm thinking of letting Hasdrubal 'resign' as chairman of economical (reason- nearly always Hamalcar has won and the fact that Hasdrubal's influence is quite low) and letting the young Himilco (or something like that name) take the lead. He's lived in Kart-Hadast for a long time and seems the logical second Shophet as he is the 'student' of Mago.

[Empedocles]

HI AENOS! I'm really enjoying your AAR! May I ask your difficulty settings?
Best regards!
Diego, from Argentina