Syracuse - An AAR

**Thurnor** · 12-10-2006, 14:20

This AAR is from Roma Surrectum, an uppcoming mod for RTW. Syracsue being one of a number of unique factions, including The Bosporan Kindom and Pergamum.

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The City of Syracuse

I, Agothecles, the ruler of Syracuse, have undertaken the task to record the events of my kingdom; for Syracuse now stands at a cross roads in its history. I intend to record the fate of our glorious city lest it fall to utter ruin and otherwise be forgotten; so that future generations will not forget our great deeds, nor listen to the lies of Barbarians.
Yet, I also record these events so that if the city should prosper, and in the future should win an Empire for herself, our people will not forget my reign, will not forget their past, and will remember how Syracuse gained her empire.

280BC

War brews. The Carthaginians -ever our enemies- interpret my old age for weakness, attempting to gain influence over Syracuse; growing bolder and more hostile by the day. Fools!!
It was not long ago that a Syracusan army marched upon African soil, defeating them in them in their own lands – indeed it was my very own father (now 9 years dead) who commanded that force. I intend to live up to his example. But they are not alone in underestimating us, so do the other great powers of the Mediterranean, but our small kingdom is no measure of our great courage!

As for the Romans, they have of late showed no kindness towards the Greek cities of Italy. They wish for the whole of Italy to themselves. This means conflict with us, for Syracuse holds command over Croton - a position we will not give up without a fight.
We have allways protected the liberty of the Greeks of Sicily and Italy: against the might of imperial Athens, against the greed of Carthage, and soon it seems, against the arrogance of the Romans. However, I do not fear these Romans, Pyrrhus, our ally, marches to war against them with the command of a magnificent army; and with the aid of Syracuse should he need it. Soon Rome won’t even be an independent city, never mind a threat.

And so I prepare Syracuse for the wars that are to come. Syracuse’s battle lies with Carthage. Pyrrhus has offered his aid, as have I for him against the Romans. Now I wait, wait for the right time to strike, and finally cast out these barbarians from Sicily!

280BC, Winter

The Carthaginians moved part of their Sicilian forces on to a ship. Perhaps there is trouble elsewhere in their Empire. Huh, they mustn’t see us a threat, well, this is the last time they underestimate us! Now is the time to strike.
The forces of Syracuse were mustered beneath Etna where sacrifices to Hephaestus were offered. In summer we march against the foe. In Syracuse work began on a new temple to Arethusa, to thank the gods for the victory that is to come.

Meanwhile, Pyrrhus has captured Capua and the war in Italy goes against Rome. The Romans have made public knowledge a treaty of alliance with Gaul, so securing their northern borders. Idiot Gauls! Can they not see that if Rome defeated Epirus they would eventually turn upon the Gallic Tribes?!

279BC, Summer

War has come; or rather we went forward to meet it. The Romans in an attempt to prove to Carthage that Rome remains powerful, despite the success of Pyrrhus, sailed a navy around the coast of western Sicily.
Theages, the commander of Carthaginian territory in Sicily, at once gathered together the ships under his command and set out to attack the Romans. A nominal Roman victory scattered the Carthaginian force and allowed them to blockade the port of Lilybaeum. But not for long – for our navy bore down upon their weakened force, destroying them utterly. In this engagement the Romans lost all their naval power, and were no longer a threat at sea.
On the back of this victory the army, under my command, besieged Lilybaeum, beginning the war with Carthage. The enemy were taken by surprise, for the people of the city at first thought that we had come to help them against the Roman navy, and were panicked by the sight of our army on their lands. The city has only a small garrison, and it will be some time before Carthage can recoup her losses that the Romans inflicted upon her.

279BC, Winter

Lilybaeum fell. The inhabitants were all slain, including Theages, a warning to Carthage.
And so the war continues, with a series of naval engagements resulting in Syracusan victory. The Romans have allied with Macedon in an attempt to undermine Epirus, and so future conflict with them looks likely.

With the capture of Lilybaeum I have become the first Greek to rule over all of Sicily. I must now decide what action is best for Syracuse; to help Pyrrhus, to continue the war aganinst Carthage, or to seek peace.

274BC, Summer

Several years have passed since my last entry. It did not seem that the events that passed were worthy of being recording. It’s a cruel truth that in times of peace and prosperity nothing seems interesting or exciting; yet in times of war and turmoil every man rejoices in hearing the deeds of a nation. The only significant event in these past years is the armistice between Carthage and Rome, which came as no great surprise, seeing as I am their shared enemy.

Yet it is no action of (or against) an enemy that has prompted me to once again record the events of my Kingdom; nay, it is the actions of our so-called friends – the Epriots. Without warning a large force assailed Croton, laying siege to it. Pyrrhus must believe that with Rome sufficiently weakened he has time to subdue us. It is clear that he desire the whole of Italy for himself, and to make Epirus the most powerful Greek force in western Mediterranean.
Pyrrhus justifies his actions by accusing us of offering him no aid against the Romans. Did not the utter annihilation of their navy count as aid?!

And so, while I have been deciding these past few years of what actions would most well serve Syracuse; the Gods have decided for me. But I have not been idle. Our Navy is now grown strong and large; and are armies our poised to strike.

A diplomatic envoy was sent to broker peace with Carthage, it pained me to do so, but Syracuse could not survive in a war against Rome, Carthage and Epirus. They were eager to except though. It was planned that the same would be done to Rome, but they saved my pride by coming forward first, and offering a ceasefire. I demanded 5,000 Denarii for the peace deal; and Rome accepted, they were after all in a weaker position than I.

274BC, Late Summer
To relieve the pressure on Croton, which is besieged by a large Epriot army; I decided to take the war to Epirus. After some deliberation it was decided to capture Crete. Not only would it strip Epirus of land, but we would gain a strategic island to spread Syracusan influence in to the eastern Mediterranean, and open up valuable trade routes. Being an island our powerful navy should be all that is needed to defend the island once it is captured. I were to lead the expedition, while my son, Hiero, govern in my stead.

274BC, Winter
Epirus caught wind of our plan, and withdrew some men from the Italian front. Luckily for us, the Romans launched a counter attack to try and regain lost land. This ultimately proved fruitless; but Epirus withdrew their remaining men that were besieging Croton to deal with Romans. It seems that they thought that there was no risk from Syracuse, with me leading a large expedition to Crete, because nearly all their troops in Italy were moved northwards to continue the offensive; leaving them ripe for attack.

However, this passed me unnoticed, as I was in Crete, but my son and heir, Hiero, seeing the opportunity; took the initiative. He raised an army that compromised of Syracusan troops that had originally been intended to guard Sicily in-case the Carthaginians decided to break the treaty, and many mercenaries. He also sent me word of the developments, and if I was able, aid in the attack.

Crete was easily taken, many of the inhabitants supported my attack and I was able to bolster my forces via mercenaries. Only a small garrison was left behind, but part of our navy remained docked there; while I, with most of the army including the Cretan mercenaries, sailed back to support my son. One report from my son particularly drove me onwards; that Pyrrhus was within the besieged Tarentum…

273BC, Summer

I did not get to fight Pyrrhus. The battle, now known as the Battle of Tarentum, was fought in the winter gone by, not long after my previous entry. Winter storms and unfavourable winds delayed my passage home, as well as making contact with Hiero near impossible. I only found out about the battle and its outcome when I arrived home, from the reports of my son, who had written the details of the battle especially for me. Here I reproduce his account, in my his own words:

The Battle of Tarentum

From Hiero to his father; Agothecles of Syracuse
Before explaining the exact details of the battle, first I should give you an overview, of the state of the affairs, and of both mine and the enemies’ forces.

I had mustered men in Syracuse, and withdrew the greater part of the force that you had left behind for my assault against the Epriots. Though the enemy were in a weakened position, due to the renewed vigour of the Romans, I was still forced to recruit mercenaries. These were not in short supply, and many Italian people who had been conquered by Pyrrhus made willing fighters. These included some Samnites, and also young men who had been trained in the quaint roman style of warfare, and call themselves Hasatai. At the day of the battle, these mercenaries made up half of my total force. The rest of my army was comprised of mainly hoplites, with a limited archer, peltstat and cavalry support. A battalion of militia hoplites also came, these were men from Croton – all I was willing to take from the city (incase we were to lose and had to fall back on the city).

As for the enemy, the garrison of Tarentum was small: Pyrrhus, and his Royal Guards, light cavalry, and some archers drawn from the local population. I offered terms of negotiation to Pyrrhus, because of his dire situation; but he turned them down. I had planned to take the city as quickly as possible, before reinforcements could arrive. But just when the siege weapons were near completion, our scouts reported reinforcements. These were comprised of hoplites with archer and cavalry support; but also troops schooled in the Macedonian style of warfare; pike-men. Mercenaries they also had, Samnites.
You see, there was division amongst the Samnite people. Most Samnites hated the romans, and many Samnites fought against Rome to get revenge, and –they assumed- freedom. Yet others were not so naïve. They realised Pyrrhus was no liberator, and that they would only trade one master for the next; and they would much prefer an Italian master to a Greek one. And so the former joined Pyrrhus, while the latter joined with the Romans, and now me.
All told, neither side had the advantage in number.

I deployed my men in the following manner:

Our own hoplites held the left wing, while the Hasatai were placed on the right - to act as a block incase our hoplites shifted to the right looking for the shelter of there comrades shield; as men are tend to do when the fear of battle grips them.

But instead of marching to meet the enemy I decided to allow them to meet us, so that our lines maintained good order. It was they who were making the offensive after all.
The enemy did not spread their flanks to envelop ours, as you would expect from a numerically superior opponent. They were instead organised in to a small front, but with a large depth. It was clear that they intended to gain local superiority to batter their way through my thin ranks; splitting my army in two.

First I ordered some of my cavalry to disperse the enemy skirmishers, which they did with success; but they also gave chase, and were trapped by the enemies pikeman; To my anger (and sorrow), these were massacred and routed.

Then it was the enemies turn for impetuosity, the Samnites of the enemy broke rank and quite pointlessly pursued my fleeing horsemen, leaving themselves isolated and without any support, ranged or otherwise.. My own Samnites let out a terrible roar, shouting and cursing in there native tongue at those who had betrayed their country. The Samnites got increasingly violent, and my whole force of Samnites bustled forward in eagerness for battle; begging me to give them the order to attack. I really had no choice, they could not have contained their emotions much longer and were ready to burst forth at any moment; and I could not have stopped them. I ordered my Samnites to attack the opposing Samnites, a cry of ecstasy leapt up and they charged to meet their opponents.

After the Samnites, the main forces of each side engaged. The battle raged on for some time, and it seemed that for a while neither side had the clear advantage; so that some men from one part of my army would be singing victory songs; while from another all that could be heard was the shrill cries of men and screams of agony.

But eventually the enemies plan worked and my line was broken asunder. The hasatai first gave way, they were no match for the Pikemen of Epirus. The enemy’s cavalry then swarmed hither and thither, slaughtering my lightly armed missile troops in great droves. Just when it seemed that all was lost, I committed my self to the relief of many of my hoplites, who were suffering heavy casualties at the hands of Pyrrhus’ own bodyguard. My cavalry, with me leading from the front, smashed in to the flanks of Pyrrhus and his men; and it was here that the great King himself, Pyrrhus, a noble descendant of Alexander; was cut down.

The news spread quickly, the Syracusans fought all the harder for the news, while fear took grip of the minds of the Epriots and each man thought to save himself. My men pushed the advantage, and many of the enemy retreated, and it semeed that the day was ours.

Yet while the rest of their army fell in to despair, the bodyguards of the dead King fought all the harder for his body. Most of my cavalry died bravely at this point, and I was forced to withdraw from the fighting and regroup. The enemy immediately took heart at this sight of there own men prevailing against the odds, and many believed that Pyrrhus was still alive, or indeed, that I myself had been slain. The enemy continued there assault with renewed vigour, and those that had been fleeing regrouped to join their comrades at their moment of victory.
Alas, it truly was their moment of victory. The assault cost my men dearly. There was no point in fighting till the end. Too many men had died already, and so I let blast on my horn the signal for retreat; the battle was over, The Battle of Tarentum had been lost.

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And so, that was the account given to me by my son of the Battle of Tarentum. My son was sorrowful for his defeat, in the first major engagement of the war between Syracuse and Epirus. But not all was as bad as it seems, or as he thought.

We may have lost the battle, but Pyrrhus lost his life, and I had assumed it would be many battles before he was repayed for his treachery. Though casualties were high, they were born mostly by our mercenaries who were the first to flee, so that a good part of the Syracusans escaped with there lives. And the enemy had suffered heavy casualties too, and Tarentum is only lightly guarded because of the losses the enemy suffered on that day, and none will be returning to carry on the war against the Romans. I have the heard our Italian mercenaries mock the name of Pyrrhus; they say that his victory were so costly it was worse than a loss. Apparently it was the same when he defeated the Romans; and the term ‘pyrrhic victory’ is being used amongst the men to describe his victories.

Now I plan for the next step. I intend to avenge my sons loss, and take Tarentum, and to then drive them out of Italy altogether, then perhaps they will be willing to listen to our demands; and bow to the might of Syracuse.