Rise of the Romanii

[Mamba]

Summer, 272 BCE

The State of the Empire

<- The Known World


Diplomatic Situation. Allies with Kart-Hadast, at war with the Epeirotes and Eluetheroi.

<- Romani Royal Family, Summer 272 BCE.

The Epeirote Wars -290 BCE - ?

The ongoing struggle with Pyrrhus and his ilk continued as Aurelius Cotta continued the siege of Tara. Meanwhile, a group of Triarii had finished training in Capua, and so Lucius Cornelius Scipio rode out with them to reinforce the siege.

<- Reinforcements to the siege.

The Struggle with the Freemen

By this time, the Eluetheroi had picked up on the growing threat of the expansionist republic. Many of their men all of a sudden appeared within Roman borders, much to the surprise of all. Denatus most of all was furious, but he would not withdraw Blasio from the siege of Segesta to deal with these new threats. Meanwhile, the rogue Eluetheroi halted trade from Northern Italy.


Situation in Italy. Note the two Eluetheroi armies (to the north and northeast of Rome), and the two sieges going on in the two opposing corners of the map.

Fall, 272 BCE

Word soon reached Rome of a ceasefire between two far off factions, only known to the Romans by whispers and murmurs. As such, they didn't pay it much mind.




The Epeirote Wars - 290 BCE - ?
At the beginning of the new season, Cornelius Scipio joined Aurelius Cotta at the siege of Taras. Given his experience, it was only natural that Scipio should take over the command of the army. After surveying both sides, Scipio made a fateful decision: attack.




The First Battle of Taras
The plan was simple: two units, each carrying a battering ram, would approach the gates of the city and an area of a wall, respectively. Then it would be a simple procedure to batter them down.


The troops were not at best pleased with this plan.



However, after a little while, they accomplished their mission, having taken no casulaties in the progress.

The General, Helenos Aiakides, was not worried. In fact, he was still mulling over the insult he had received at the hands of the Roman general:


The battle continued on, however, and Aiakides became more and more aware that his forces were in trouble. The Roman cavalry had continually outflanked his defenders by sneaking through the other opening, and their missile units were slaughtering his spearmen left and right. The battle eventually was taken into the city streets, where Helenos Aiakides himself fell.




With their general's death, the few remaining Epeirotes routed in fear and retreated back to the town square. There, they were slaughtered to a man. The Romans had conquered the city, but not without losses.


With the conquest of Taras came the enslavement of its people. The Roman people had had enough of free Greeks these past 18 years to abide seeing them anymore.

The Struggle with the Freemen
After surveying his enemies' troops, Cnaeus Blasio believed them to be in too beneficial a position and too well fortified for his troops to win. As such, he called for reinforcements in the form of another unit of Triarii from Arretium.
-------------
Hope you guys enjoyed that.

[Mamba]

Winter, 272 BCE

State of the Empire



<diplomacy and family tree unchanged>

The Epeirote Wars: 290 BCE - ?

Denatus was very pleased with the progress of the war against the Epeirotes. His son-in-laws had taken their final refuge on Italian soil, and now they were completely expunged from the peninsula. The Roman leader, was, in fact, prepared to end the long drawn out war with the Epeirotes, for the time being. He was no longer prepared to concern himself with exterminating them, as that would simply cause more wars with their allies, the Koinon Hellenon, and their enemies, the Makedonians. Indeed, Denatus was so intent on ending the conflict that he immediately sent a diplomat straight into the Epeirote heartland of Greece.

Struggle with the Freemen

Eluetheroi troubles continued to strangle trade in Northern Italy, and yet the economies of both the southern and northern settlements in Italy remained reasonably strong. Denatus, however, realized that these armies couldn't continue ransacking his trade, and resolved to form a 'Homeland Security' army to deal with such nuisances and keep the Empire running smoothly.

Beyond the borders of the Romani, Cnaeus Cornelius Blasio received his reinforcements and gave the order to commence assault on the free city-state of Segesta. One of the most important battles of the fledgling empire was about to unfold.



Blasio immediately knew that the battle would be a difficult one as soon as he laid eyes on his opponent. He faced Conan, an infamous name amongst the civilized people of Europe. Conan had been born a Gaul but had quickly become a mercenary, fighting for the highest bidder. It made sense. He never lost a battle, and those he won he showed no mercy to the survivors. All of this before the age of 21.



The battle proper began on a cool winter morning. The Romans faced a daunting task: a massive Eluetheroi garrison, with a superior position. However, as the Battle of Taras before it, their first task was simply to break through the meager wall surrounding the city itself.



Upon accomplishing this task, Blasio sent his Triarii into the gates to clear the way for the backup troops. As the Triarii were the heaviest infantry with the longest spears, this made sense. Blasio himself wasn't far behind. Unfortunately, neither was Conan.





The battle at the gates of Segesta was, easily, the most bloody the fledgling Empire had ever seen. The fighting dragged on for over two hours, neither side willing to give ground, neither relinquishing. Blasio kept well out of the way of the fighting, knowing full well that, even if they managed to take the gates, there was still more of this battle to come. Conan, however, had no such qualm, and frequently joined the battle himself. The great general caused large numbers of deaths amongst the valiant Romani. Then, during a charge, a Triarii spear pierced his neck. The great general was no more.



With the death of Conan came the turn of the tide. The Romani were reinvigorated, and managed to break through the gates. The few Eluetheroi that managed to escape joined the reserve forces in the square of Segesta. The true battle would be fought there.

Slaughter at the gates

This time, Blasio knew that he could not keep himself out of the battle. His forces had sustained heavy casualties, and his primary cavarly cohort simply could not go on.

If the battle at the gate had been a hard fought triumph, the battle of Segesta square could only be described as a hard fought slaughter. The Eleutheroi were a terrifying sight, and fought like men possesed. Their swords cut down Blasio's forces, while taking few casualties of their own. Indeed, the majority of casualties they sustained were from Blasio and his heroic bodyguard, who flanked and cut the marauding freemen multiple times. In fact if it hadn't been for Blasio's courage, Roma surely would have lost its entire army. However, after an afternoon of battle, Blasio realized that the battle was lost, and that to continue was to sacrifice numerous heroic Romans. With a heavy heart, Blasio ordered a full withdrawal of all his troops.

The Battle of Segesta Square
The Victorious Eluetheroi


Even unto death, Conan's perfect win record stood.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

With the defeat of its army in the North, Roma was faced with a difficult decision. It could continue to expand down south, taking the freeman city of Rhegion and adding the province of Brettia to its holdings. This would give it access to Sicily, but would bring it into conflict with its allies, the powerful Kart-Hadast, earlier than it would like. Also, it would not have any troops to defend its northern or eastern borders from possible Gaelic, Eluetheroi, or Epeirote incursions.

Its second option was to move all its armies north, finishing up the conquest of Segesta (the battle had killed its general, and severely drained its garrison), and conquering the Eluetheroi city of Bononia, as well. This, however, would put them squarely up against the Aedui Gauls, who have been hostile to the Romani ever since the sack of Roma in 387 BCE.

Its third option was to secure its eastern border by finishing off the Epeirotes. This would give it a secure naval area, land in Greece, and the liquidation of a rival faction that had long plagued Roma. However, a Roman prescence on Greece would be seen as an affront by the other Greek nations of Makedonia and Koinon Hellenon, and would surely cause major conflict with these two factions.

The final option Roma had was isolationism. By strengthening its armies and economy, Roma would be better prepared for later expansion, and would remain relatively neutral in the process (assuming a ceasefire could be obtained with the Epeirotes). Then, when she felt ready, she could lash out in one or more directions, quickly eliminating major threats as they came about.

Which path would Roma choose? Find out next time...

[Sdragon]

I'm liking this, the fighting scenes remind me of "The Waste Land" ARR.

[Mamba]

I'm liking this, the fighting scenes remind me of "The Waste Land" ARR.

My goal when making this was to have the writing style and the way it was presented to be similar to Discoskull's Casse AAR (if you read this Disco, I anxiously await the next chapter, which may never come, but I can dream), but the battle sequences and turn sequence to be more like the Wasteland.