My Campaign of the Casse

[part_time_player]

Casse

Setting the Scene

In 272 BC, Barae, leader of the Casse faces many problems. While he holds a strong walled town with a thriving port and surrounded by fertile farm land, much of his wealth is spent on training and equipping his warriors and ships to protect these very assets from all of those who would take them from him. Pirates infest the seas about him and although the nearby tribes remain friendly, marauding bands roam the countryside forcing the Casse to remain hidden behind their walls. Barae knows it is time to lead his people into greatness and that to do so he must make his lands safe so that they can prosper.

Barae summons Lannildot, his chief advisor, envoy, translator and map maker. Lannildot is a young man of 21 who spent his youth following his father all over their island and the lands of Gaul and has carefully constructed a map for Barae of all the lands that surround the Casse. Carefully folding out the map, Barae and his brothers, Sentata and Margorix, gather around and begin to plan their quest.

It was clear that the greatest threat came from the lands to their North and that although the Coritanes were a peaceful people, they allowed other tribes to wander through their lands and threaten the Casse, and so were a useless ally. To protect Camulosodae, Ratae must be secured and fortified.

Every man equipped to fight was made ready to march. Barae had decided to beach his small flotilla of boats as he no longer had the resources to sustain the fight against increased pirate attacks, but not before he had seen Lannildot off on his mission. Diplomacy on this island was going to be done at the point of a sword so Lannildot was being sent further afield. Barae told him “go into the world, bring me back news of all the great Kings and tell them you are of the great tribe of the Casse. When you return, We will be the most powerful of all the tribes in the land.”

[part_time_player]

The Subjugation of the Britons

Barae had summoned every man that he could and yet still the Coritanes could match him man for man. Their troops also included some of their most famous champions who were renowned as fearless warriors. Barae was not scared though, he had purpose and he knew that once he had shown these people his own prowess not only as a warrior but as a leader of men, that one day those very same champions would be fighting for him.

Ratae was taken and then peacefully occupied. Barae took their dead leaders hoard and immediately began a construction program fortifying Ratae and linking it to Camulosodae by a permanent road. Barae was pleased, he now had a base from which to protect all the lands that stretched behind him back to the sea and he decided to settle in Ratae a while and help show the people what it meant to be Casse. Before a week had gone by however, Ratae was under siege. They did not know who it was that sat outside their wall goading the besieged defenders into a fight but he could clearly see they had more men than he did. Some of his men had not even recovered from their wounds after the fight to take the town and now they must fight again to keep it. Food was running low and the attackers seemed well supplied. Barae knew it was time to take the fight to them, but with inferior numbers he needed to rely on hit and run tactics. Divide and conquer his enemy, slaughtering them piecemeal before they had time to react. So Barae led his men into battle once more, chariots raced through the enemy line and as the attackers turned to drag the riders down from their platforms, showers of javelins hit into their exposed rear. Enemy units would be led further and further from their army where men and chariots would then surround them and kill them to the last man. At the end, Barae and his men stood exhausted but not a single enemy was left alive, and it occurred to Barae, he never even found out who the enemy were.

Determined not to be taken by surprise again, spies were sent out into the surrounding country and sure enough more wandering bands of men were discovered. Over the next five years, Barae and his brothers fought tirelessly to secure their land, fighting off hundreds of Calydrae and Cymreniu invaders. Finally, as Barae suspected all along that the dishonourable leader of the Brigantes was supporting these invaders, he took Caern-Brigantae brought their tribe into the folds of the Casse.

The Casse now had the power in Midland Briton and would not be put on the back foot again. From here it was important that those who had threatened the Casse were prevented from regaining their former strength so while Barae remained in Caern-Brigantae, once again “teaching” the people to be Casse, his brothers prepared fresh forces and proceeded to conquer the Cymreniu and Dumnone tribes and then turned back North to finish the Calydrae. Attuaca was now the farthest corner of the Kingdom of the Casse and Sentata decided it was here that he would remain and supervise the development of the settlement into a thriving town of the Casse and so it was left to Margorix to turn to the Goidilic people across the sea and end their piracy once and for all.

Upon returning to Caern-Brigantae for fresh troops, Margorix found that Mowg, Barae's eldest son was now a full grown man and was to accompany him on the conquest of the island across the sea. Their army was now large and experienced and with the aid of spies, Emain Macha quickly fell. Here Margorix stayed, as his brothers had done before him to govern his corner of the Kingdom from a seat of power, entrusting the army to Mowg to finish those still resisting in the south.

[part_time_player]

Landlocked

In the years that followed the consolidation of the Kingdom, Barae and his brothers oversaw a program of construction like never before seen. Farms and granaries were built, followed by roads, markets and ports, so that before long the land prospered and the people were happy. There wealth allowed them to make better armour and weapons for their fighting men, as well as bigger temples to their gods, while the rulers of the kingdom feasted in bigger and bigger halls. Mowg's brothers came of age and were sent to govern other major towns so that all the corners of the kingdom were loyal and happy and prosperous.

Only Mowg was unhappy. He cared not for the governors life, he longed for the chariot and the sword and the rush of victory. He had been raised a warrior from a young age while his brothers had grown into a time of peace and had never even seen a battle. For some time now, sea trade with their cousins in Gaul had been hampered by more and more pirates who saw the rich boats carrying tin and wool as easy pickings. The Casse had no fleet of their own and could not respond to these attacks and Mowg felt it was time something was done. Mowg had remained in Ivernis ever since he conquered it, he liked the fierce warlike people there and knew they needed a firm hand to keep in line. Ivernis also had the best ship port in all the kingdom with skilled boat builders and sailors and so he began the construction of a small flotilla. For Four years Mowg continued to build and launch his flotillas of boats into the sea only for ever single one to be caught and sunk by marauding pirates. His men were too afraid now to leave port let alone sail the coast. Mowg needed bigger boats but to construct a port capable of building such boats would take years. The problem was that Ivernis lay so far from the narrow stretch of channel where it was easier to cross. If he could only get a fleet to Camulosodae, they could ferry armies across the sea and be back in port before any pirates could catch them. So for two more years he persevered in sending boats along the south coast, hoping just one would make it to Camulosodae and safety, in the meantime, not daring to sail himself, he marched to Camulosodae the long way around. If he couldn’t defeat the pirates at sea, he was going to march to their gates and defeat them on land instead. The kingdom was rich but Barae was old and so he granted Mowg leadership of the largest and best equipped army the Casse had ever seen with which to destroy their enemies. Finally, a flotilla of boats made it through the Pirates harrying of the seas and Mowg was ready to go to war.

[Bootsiuv]

Very good writing, but I would like to see some Screenshots. If you're unsure of how to post them (or make them, for that matter), I could help you out.

[Basileus Seleukeia]

This is great, finally a new Casse AAR! This is very promising.

[Wolfman]

very very good indeed! As for the screenshots I can take them or leave them.

[Bootsiuv]

very very good indeed! As for the screenshots I can take them or leave them.

I think they're good, if not just for adding a little color.

[Bobolicious]

I agree with the screenshots being needed, and some details of the battles would be nice as well. other than that, however, an interesting read.

[Wolfman]

I think they're good, if not just for adding a little color.

I agree completely. But what I was stating was that to me his writing was entertaining enough that he didn't need the screenshots. Kinda like reading a good book. It's so good that it doesn't need pictures. The words themselves create the pictures in your imagination. Thats why I said I could take screenshots or leave them I didn't say I hate screenshots and think they should be thrown out of AAR's entirely.

[Bootsiuv]

I agree completely. But what I was stating was that to me his writing was entertaining enough that he didn't need the screenshots. Kinda like reading a good book. It's so good that it doesn't need pictures. The words themselves create the pictures in your imagination. Thats why I said I could take screenshots or leave them I didn't say I hate screenshots and think they should be thrown out of AAR's entirely.

Right on. I just think it would make what looks to be a well-written AAR that much better. Not only that, I just like to see what's going on. I'm silly like that.

[part_time_player]

To illustrate or not to illustrate...

Thanks for the comments guys, personally i'd like to include some screenshots but I'd already played half the campaign when I decided to write up the AAR. This is my first EB campaign and was only intended to be a taster to get used to the mod but 100 or more turns later and I suddenly realised that it was going all the way and that the story in it was panning out quite nicely. I'm going to write it up to the point I have it now (230BC), then include some shots of the current map then i'll continue to write it up as I go along and will include some battle shots etc.

I haven't fought the Romans yet but I don't think it will take long so they should provide some nice pictures.

[part_time_player]

The Return of Lannildot

It was an excellent omen for the Casse the day Lannildot returned. He was a different man, older, wiser but very cheerful as he had travelled the world, seen many things and lived to return to his home and see his tribe become the most powerful in all Briton.

Lannildot related his tale to Mowg at Camulosodae beginning with a journey through Gaul and into Iberia where he had agreed an alliance with the Lusotannan people and the Qarthadastim as well as exchanging map information with them. He had then proceeded East where he spent some time with the Romanus. Mowg was eager to hear of the Romanus as he had heard many tales of their rise to power and so Lannildot related to him wondrous tales of mighty stone walls and villas and powerful armies. He assured Mowg that he had told the Romanus of the mighty Casse and that an alliance between them had been agreed.

From there, Lannildot had continued East, meeting the Getai and several Hellenic rulers who all seemed to claim they ruled all of the East and yet none seemed to actually do so. He then met the Sauromatae and was granted an audience with their leader but he seemed disinterested in the Casse and sent Lannildot away.

After travelling through the lands of the Haysadan he came across the empire of Arche Seleukia. He had traded map information with these people and when he showed Mowg the new world map he had drawn from his travels, Mowg could hardly believe the size of their empire or that such an empire even existed.

Finally Lannildot had me the people of Ptolemaioi who although friendly warned him it may not be safe to travel through their deserts and so he turned back. On his return journey he went to the North crossing vast plains and thick forests but met no Kings or tribes of any note and finished his journey through the lands of the Sweboz who were aggressively expanding East.

Mowg ordered a copy of this map made which he was to take with him to Gaul and on hearing of his quest, Lannildot agreed to come along.

[part_time_player]

Securing the Channel

Mowg wasted no time in conquering Bratosporios of the Belgae. This would be the centre of his power in Gaul and he would make it a Casse town through and through. Overawed by the power and wealth which Mowg commanded, the Belgae put up little resistance and before long were being recruited as auxiliaries into Mowg's own troops. From here, Mowg was unsure where to turn. His initial conquest had been easy but now he hesitated, unwilling to leave his new town exposed in one direction while he advanced in another. He had initially intended to secure the coastline all along the channel but the Aedui already claimed rights of homage from the leader of the Gauls to his West. Finally he decided to play to his strengths and took a great chest of silver to the men of Cenabum who immediately agreed that they would be a client tribe to the Kingdom of the Casse instead.

At this time, Sentata's oldest son had come of age and was eager to see some adventure in their new lands so Mowg sent word that he was to establish himself at Cenabum and help secure it, allowing him to move further westwards towards Darioritum, thus securing the entire Gaulish channel coast. As Sentata's son, Gorteryn Yr Dumnonae (Dumnonae) arrived at Cenabum, Mowg was already laying siege to the West and Sentata’s next son Cynfawr Moc Voteporos (Voteporos) was marching to Camulosodae in order to take ship and reinforce his brother.

As Dumnonae was inspecting his small garrison of men for the first time, a great commotion began to spread throughout the settlement. A large force of Gauls flying the banners of the Adeui had crossed the bridge into their territory. The Casse and the Aedui had been allies for a long time but then the Casse had never “bought” one of their tribes before and now it seemed they were here to take it back. Dumnonae despatched a rider to inform Mowg and called for his chariot to be made ready, though he did not know what he was going to do against so many.

Mowg had already finished the siege of Darioritum when he received the news, though the town was still in chaos and half his men were still drunk. By the time he had organised for a small force to secure the town and begun to march back towards Cenabum, Dumnonae had already been under siege for several weeks. His new conquest should be safe as it was flanked on all sides by the sea, however if the Aedui took Cenabum, he would be cut off from his base at Bratosporios, so he could not let Cenabum fall. Mowg marched hard, following the river that led back to Cenabum and when he came to the bridge that crossed South into the land of Lemorisae he stopped to take in the vast river plain before him. He went to turn away, there was no time to waste, but then he stopped and looked again. In the distance he had seen the glint of sun on metal and as he looked he saw it again and again. Emerging from the trees on the far side of the plain was a host of warriors which if the reports were correct was twice the size of the one he already thought to face to the East. If he marched to Cenabum he would become trapped between the two armies, but if he was to face this army he should face them here, at this bridge but then even if he won, how much longer could Dumnonae hold out?

The decision was made and Mowg sent over a third of his best troops under the command of his most trusted Captain to the East to relieve the siege of Cenabum and drive off the attackers. The remainder of his force, although outnumbered, would remain at the bridge, and face the advancing horde. The next day, as Mowg’s men stood at the bridge, the entire enemy army tried to run across at once but under a barrage of javelins, panic set in and then as Mowg’s army gave chase, panic turned to terror and they were cut down as they ran. With the aid of Mowg’s relief force, Dumnonae sallied out and drove the Aedui back across the bridge.

Their coastal settlements were safe for now but Mowg knew that the Aedui were a strong enemy and that he had to hurt their power somehow. The destruction of their army at the bridge had left Lemonum wide open to attack and so while Dumnonae defended Cenabum at the nearby bridge, Mowg took Lemonum for the Casse.

The further Mowg reached into the Gauls territory, the more his depleted army would struggle to maintain a grip on what they had took. To his East lay Avaricum, and Avaricum was full of stinking Aedui too many for Mowg to fight alone, and as long as they were there he could not leave Lemonum or it would be lost immediately. It was up to Dumnonae to await his brothers reinforcements from Briton, secure Cenabum and then join Mowg at Avaricum so that they could break the back of the Aedui forever and so he sent a rider detailing his plan.

Dumnonae was still holding the bridge near Cenabum and his brother Voteporos was probably a weeks march away. Mowg’s messenger had arrived and he was eager to join him. Then Dumnonae was faced with a difficult decision. A strong force of Aedui was marching North from Avaricum, probably outnumbering him by three to one. His brother would not be here in time to help him defend the bridge, however if he retreated to the town he would once again be under siege where he might find it difficult to break out. He’d already had to be rescued from a siege there once and inspired by Mowg’s victory at the bridge to the west he decided to stand firm.

As dawn broke, slingers from both sides went down to the waters edge and began exchanging volleys with neither side gaining an advantage. The enemy seemed numberless but Mowg ordered his men to crowd around the end of the bridge and brace for the charge. What followed was a long and bitter battle of attrition and although exhausted, every man of Dumnonae's fought to the last while group after group of enemy fled back across the bridge. They still kept coming though, undeterred by their comrade’s cowardice until Dumnonae was forced to send his slingers charging into the fray hoping they would hold out long enough for the tired enemy to finally turn tail and run. He watched as warrior after warrior was hacked to the ground, he was down to a hundred men, then eighty, then sixty. He was going to lose. Adjusting his helmet and with a prayer to the gods, he saluted his bodyguard and silently pointed his sword at the enemy on the bridge, the chariots lurched forward, and then at a gallop, they crashed onto the bridge to be lost in the maelstrom of death.

There was not a single warrior left alive to even recover Dumnonae’s body and the Aedui dogs hacked him limb from limb. Two days later, Voteporos with nearly four hundred men arrived at Cenabum and in the distance he could see a huge black cloud. of crows, feasting on the aftermath of the battle, he planned to destroy those who had killed his brother, but exhausted from the fight, the remaining Aedui forces melted away back to Avaricum.

At Cenabum, Mowg’s messenger passed on the original instructions that had been left, and so without delay he took his men and crossed the bridge. Voteporos had never seen a battle and as he stepped over the hundreds of mangled, rotting corpses at the bridge his stomach turned and he wondered if he would have died as well as his brother.

From Avaricum, paved roads led North to the bridge at Cenabum and West to Lemonum where Mowg now prepared his forces. To the towns North West, between the two roads and the river which currently divided the Casse from the Gauls lay a dense forest. It was here that Mowg had arranged to meet up with the reinforcements as they could gather in secret and neither army could afford to face the full might of the Aedui alone. Finally the two forces met and Mowg consoled Voteporos on the death of his brother, proclaimed him a mighty hero of the people and vowed vengeance.

On a cold spring morning, nearly a thousand men emerged from those trees, barely a minutes ride from the gates, the enemy did not even have time to close their gates as they rushed to don armour and pick up their swords. This was not the last of their settlements, but this would break their power to such an extent that they could never hope to recover. Mowg’s men rushed the gate as a hoard and poured into the town but although they were inside, this was going to be no easy fight, they had just as many men and were ready to fight to the death. “Dumnonae!!!!!!!” Voteporos shouted, and rode through the first line of defenders, Mowg sent a wave of swordsmen to attack them while they were still recovering from the chariots charge and the fight was on.

The battle lasted all day, sometimes each side stopping to regroup and catch their breath, but finally as the sun began to set, the enemy gathered around their leader in the town square and prepared to die as heroes. Mowg and Voteporos sat back as their warriors went in to finish them and once again Voteporos looked about at the dead and dying around him and felt sick. Mowg looked back at how an attempt to establish better trading links on the coast had brought him here to the heart of Gaul. He sensed his destiny had changed and with it the destiny of all the Casse, no longer would they be the quiet farmers and traders of Briton, this land of Gaul had its own heartbeat and now the Casse were a part of it as much as the Aedui and Arveni and every other tribe here. His men and his family had bled on this ground and he knew there would be more to come. He sensed his future looked dark and he cold not see clearly which way to turn next. Looking back at the fight in the square he saw his men hacking limbs from the dead leader. They were too exhausted to even cheer and there would be no pillaging tonight as most barely had the strength left to stand. They would camp in the square and in the morning take stock of their newest outpost. Mowg laid a hand on Voteporos’ shoulder and they went and joined their men.

[Sassem]

Very nice

[Chirurgeon]

I like it...keep it up :)

[Chirurgeon]

I hope this AAR isnt dead. Your writing style is very engaging.

[part_time_player]

Not dead, just haven't had time this week, busy at work, (hence the user name!)

hopefully next installment next week