Dominion of Carthage

[SSJVegetaTrunks]

This is an AAR from a three-way campaign, with the factions of Carthage, Pontus, and Macedon under human control. We can play multiplayer thanks to this mod by Myrddraal. The AAR is made from the point of view of Carthage. To see the full version, by Carthage and Pontus, go here:

http://twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=122539

Otherwise, just keep reading! I hope you enjoy it!




Prologue



Hasdrubal stood atop the city gatehouse, watching his people walk throughout the city. Walking in peace. The nation of Carthage thrived in an era of peace. However, that era was about to come to an end.

In Sicily, rumors spread of Roman troop movement outside of Messana. They were marching west - on the road that led to Carthaginian Lilybaeum. War with the Romans had become increasingly probable. After solidifying their position in Italy, they had begun to spread rapidly in every direction.

Hanno, Hasdrubal's father and King of Carthage, traveled to Lilybaeum to see if the rumors were true. War with Rome may be inevitable. Carthaginian armies were being prepared across the nation.



In Corduba, Iberia, Theophanes prepares for war with the Spanish. At the moment, the nations are on seemingly good terms, but Theophanes could feel the Spanish hatred for Carthage. Local Mercenaries are being recruited to prepare for invasion.



In Thapsus, Africa, cavalry are being trained to prepare for defense from Numidia. The Numidians were becoming more vigilant every day in their conquering of neighboring nations. In the past, they have feared the might of Carthage, but a war with Rome may give them the opportunity they've been waiting for.

And finally, in Lilybaeum and Carthage, troops are being prepared for an invasion of Sicily. However, Sicily is not only occupied by Rome and Carthage. Syracuse, in the south-east, is governed by Greeks. For the glory of Carthage, they must be exterminated as well.



War coils around Carthage like a mighty serpent. An era of Total War is about to begin.

End of Prologue

[Barbarossa82]

Great work
I'm really looking forward to reading this. I've never seen a AAR with more than one human-controlled faction before. Keep up the good work and look forward to more installments!

[SSJVegetaTrunks]

Chapter One: A New Era



When Emperor Hanno arrived in Lilybaeum, the rumors had already been confirmed. A scouting party detected a Roman force, led by Quintis Scipio, following the trail westward. Their intentions were clear.

Hanno gathered the troops from the city and marched eastward to intercept the oncoming threat. Upon arrival, Hanno met Quintis face to face.

Hanno: Why are you crossing into Carthaginian territory?
Quintis: Your people have prospered long enough. It is time for Roman flags to rise above your lands.
Hanno: This is your last chance. Turn back, boy. No one needs to be hurt.
Qunitis: Your empire will fall, old man, but you won't live to see it!

Both men returned to their sides and formed up for battle.



The Carthaginian forces began marching towards the enemy.



Seeing Carthaginian elephants near the front line, Quintis ordered his Velite skirmishers forward to destroy them.



This was all working into Hanno's plan. Once the skirmishers had passed the point of no return, Hanno pulled his elephants back behind the front line, and he himself and his bodyguards charged forward to wipe them out.

However, Quintis was prepared for this. Once Hanno had hit the Roman skirmishers, Quintis and his company of cavalry slammed into the sides of Hanno and his bodyguards.



The Carthaginian king quickly signaled the rest of his cavalry to come to his aid. Before long, the outnumbered Roman cavalry broke and Quintis ran for his life.



With their general fleeing, a charge from the elephants was all the enemy needed to break and flee for their lives. The battle was a great victory, but Quintis Scipio escaped, and so did a few of his men.



That night their victory was celebrated. A feast was eaten, and stories exchanged about the men's magnificent battle experiences. However, one man stayed in his tent.

Hanno had taken a penetrating blow in his right chest from Quintis himself. He knew that telling the troops would only decimate morale, so he kept it a secret. Knowing his death was approaching, he began the march onto Messana. Hanno would not accept death until Sicily was safe from Rome. He covered his wounds, and let his horse do all the work. Messana was only a few days away.

End of Chapter One

And thanks for the comment, Barbarossa82. Unfortunately, the player playing Macedon has quit, but we should be able to continue the campaign with just me and Pontus.

[mrdun]

Oh please do, keep going Pontus.
I would join in, maybe on the start of a new one, but I would be decimated if you play on harder than Medium which I presume you do.

I do like a good AAR. I think it is a case of oh I wish could do that

[SSJVegetaTrunks]

Thanks for the comment :). I think me and Pontus decided we would just keep playing with the two of us. And we are playing on medium, but only because any other difficulty settings unbalance auto-resolve, which must be used for player vs player battles.

[SSJVegetaTrunks]

Chapter Two: You Only Live Twice



Outside of Messana...

Night was falling across the land. Quintis Scipio and his broken men made their way to the city walls.



"Who approaches the gates?" came a voice from the other side.

"Quintis Scipio." He responded. Whispers were heard behind the gates, and then a man began to speak.

"Quintis," he began, "Why have you returned so early? Is Lilybaeum already under your control?"

"No, father... we were intercepted by a large Carthaginian Army... we were defeated."

"You are a failure, Quintis."

"Father, please..."

"You do not deserve to call me father. I, Cornelius Scipio did not raise you to be a weakling. Leave, and don't return until Lilybaeum is under your control," Cornelius decided sternly.

Terror struck through Quintis's heart. "Wait, father! Don't do this! That isn't all... Emperor Hanno is dead! I killed him myself! The Carthaginian army will fall apart, all I need are a few more soldiers!"

All was silent for quite a while. "Open the gates," Cornelius ordered the gatekeeper, "But Quintis, this is your last chance. Tomorrow, you will leave with some Hastati under your command. Your brother Gaius will arrive in the morning, he will accompany you. Do not return until Roman flags rise above Lilybaeum."

The next morning

In Messana, morning had just begun. Quintis was preparing troops for the invasion.



A messenger came to the town to bring news that Gaius would arrive within the hour.

Suddenly, a cry rang throughout the settlement. "Carthaginians!" the town watch shouted.

Quintis and Cornelius climbed the watchtower to see for themselves. Quintis couldn't believe his eyes. The Carthaginians were marching towards the town, with Hanno leading them. "Impossible!" Quintis whispered, confused.

"Quintis!" Cornelius barked, "If a single enemy soldier gets inside my palace, I will kill you myself!"

Quintis began to calm down. His troops had the advantage of the town's walls, numbers, and Gaius's expected arrival. The Carthaginians would be repelled with ease. Right?



Hanno's elephants began smashing down the city gate. Within minutes, the way into the city was clear. "My lord," Captain Mytonnes, second in command of the army, began, "Shall we charge our elephants in through the gates?"

"...No," Hanno decided, "have them break another whole in the walls. We will enter the city from two points." The elephants smashed another opening to the left of the gate. Then, elephants and cavalry swarmed into the opening in the wall.



The Hastati ran for their lives, and the Round Shield Cavalry trampled them as they fled. Quintis and Cornelius fell back to the town square. Then, Gaius arrived outside the city.



His unit galloped to the town square to join his father and brother. The three of them stood at the end of a narrow roadway in the city. The Carthaginian troops took up position a few hundred feet away, on the same roadway. Both sides stood, waiting for the other to make a move.

Hanno felt the pain in his wound begin to spread. He knew he had little time. He only had once choice.

"All units," he shouted, "CHARGE!" Every Carthaginian soldier, elephants, cavalry, infantry, and slingers, charged into the three Roman generals. Seeing this, the Romans charged as well. When both sides clashed, the entire city shook. This was the end.



Hanno made his way to the front of the line, and charged straight for Quintis. "You'll need to kill me more than once!" In one bout, Quintis was decapitated. Next, Gaius, furious at the murder of his brother, charged the Carthaginian King. Hanno turned about, and within a few bouts, Gaius was slain as well. Hanno spotted Cornelius fighting Captain Mytonnes. Hanno charged towards him, crying "Roman scum! I will not die until your head lies in the dirt!" The two engaged in an epic duel, with neither taking the advantage for several bouts. Suddenly, Hanno threw his sword directly in between his opponents eyes. Cornelius fell before Hanno.

However, the sight of his enemy's death was the last thing he saw. Hanno fell from his horse moments afterward, and died from blood loss.



The Roman troops ran for their lives and headed for the town square, and Captain Mytonnes ordered the Carthaginian army to fall back. The road was paved with corpses.



Mytonnes reorganized the surviving troops just inside the city gates. Seeing the eyes of the soldiers, he knew they had no more will to fight.

"Companions," he began, "Our King Hanno has fallen. However, before his death, three Roman generals were slain by his hand. We cannot allow his sacrifice to go in vain. We cannot stop until his death is avenged! Slingers, take the south roadway and harass the surviving Roman infantry! Infantry and Cavalry, move forward to the site of the bloodbath. We will cut off the Roman retreat and destroy them!"

Aroused to fight, the soldiers quickly went into position. The Slingers fired onto the hastati.



Sure enough, the Roman troops charged the seemingly defenseless Slingers. However, as soon as the Romans reached the intersection, the rest of the Carthaginians charged into the enemy flanks. They broke, but found no where to run.



The costly victory kicked the Romans out of Sicily, but the death of their emperor was a high price to pay.



Hasdrubal, heir to the throne, reached Messana as soon as he could. He took his place in the palace, and declared that under his command, Carthage would see glory.



End of Chapter Two

[SpartanPhalanx]

Love your work!!

[SSJVegetaTrunks]

Thank you! I enjoy writing AARs. I also like to use Character Traits to help create the character's personality in the AAR. For example, Cornlelius Scipio had the trait "Stern", and in the description for it, it said "This man is unforgiving". So I incorporated that into my AAR.

[Barbarossa82]

Great going so far

[SSJVegetaTrunks]

Do any of you wish to join the campaign? We are recruiting one more person to join, so sign up quickly if you wish. I'll just copy and paste what I'm saying on other boards.

The play by email campaign is made possible by a mod created by Myrddraal. We started the game with three players. One as Carthage, another as Pontus, and the last as Macedon. However, the Macedon player was busy and had to quit. So now we are looking for one more person to join. However, realize that you wouldn't be starting from scratch, we're nine turns into the campaign. You don't need any online experience or anything, as long as you're willing to learn. You can find some more information here:

http://twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=123294

If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask. You can post either here or on the site above.

Also, if you want to join, you need to be able to play at least one turn a day. The hotseat campaigns are great, but we can't allow anyone to drag it to the ground and let it die. You just need to be able to play your turn within 24 hours that it begins. Sign up quickly, since I've posted this on other sites as well.

[ixidor]

I started a campaign as well with carthage. Is my favourite nation so

Anyway, it has been great, with only the little over 400 men i had available in the army from sicily i already destroyed over 900 romans (mostly from scipii but also some stupid brutti, who decided to attack me without cavalry ) and more then 200 greeks, with no replacements so far beside some towm watch for the towns' guard and i should have lost as few as 70 or 80 men, i even had a heroic victory of 400 vs 200 and i had 0 casualties lol. I had as much as what, 6 heroic victories? My faction leader, hanno, is already "Hanno the Mighty", due to the "legendary command" trait I think. Right now i brought some rounded shield cavalry and numidian mercenaries plus Hasdrubal for sicily (where i am concentrating my troops for assalting Italy), and I am also building long shield cavalry and soon some elephants in Carthage, for both helping against the Romans and later to take Numidia since I am planing went from Carthage, taking down all Numidia until Tingi, send some Elephants to Corduba (elephants against barbarians=massacre) and then return to the East in order to attack Egipt, passing in Carthage to reload my army, now with War Elephants and Sacred Band. In Corduba i finally got some stables so my assalt to the Peninsula will soon begining. Also, by the time my army will be marching for the Egipt all the italian lands should be mine so at this time i will attack the greeks and macedonians too.

[romanboy]

oiii!!!!!!
this is great.
ur screenshots are superb.
makes me write one like this.
keep writing.

[SSJVegetaTrunks]

Thank you!

[romanboy]

Is ther any way to see the enimy factions family tree?

[Patroclus]

Excellent work so far.

[Caius]

Good work. Keep it comin'

[Patroclus]

I love the 'paved with corpses' shot, btw. It looks like an abatoir.

[SSJVegetaTrunks]

Thank you. :)

[SSJVegetaTrunks]

Chapter Three: a New Generation



Years had passed since Hanno's heroic death at Messana. The Carthaginian front was calm. Although technically at war, Carthage and Rome had had little contact since the bloody battle of Messana.

Three new men had joined the Carthaginian Royal family.



Shortly after the war began, a small but powerful army of brigands blocked the road between Lilybaeum and Messana. The Carthaginian army was busy fighting the Romans at Messana, and couldn't spare any troops. Carthalo Arsinoe, a young middle-class man, heard of the plight. He brought his small cavalry company and wiped out the brigands, allowing Lilybaeum and Messana to trade once again.



Hasdrubal, seeing potential in the young man, adopted him into his family. He was ordered to Messana, where he would help Hasdrubal train the troops for the war.



Bomikar, brother of Hasdrubal, finally reached sixteen years of age and was allowed to join the rest of his relatives in ruling the kingdom. Bomikar was a very strange man. Despite objections from his father, Bomikar often slipped out of the palace at night to sleep outside in the cold. In addition, he would often sing songs about his love of the world and hatred for any man-made structure. Despite his positive outlook on life, Bomikar was extremely unforgiving - once, when Bomikar was twelve, a servant forgot to prepare Bomikar's morning meal. The young boy forged his father's signature on an execution document, and had the servant killed for treason before Hanno could intervene. Since then, his brothers and father were careful to keep an eye on him.



A couple years later, Bisaltes, son of Hasdrubal, came of age as well. Bisaltes was a military genius. At the age of nine, he replaced his brother Hasdrubal's plan for the elimination of a brigand army with a strategy of his own. When Hasdrubal questioned his younger brother, Bisaltes claimed "Lord Baal told me to". Bisaltes also had natural skills in agriculture and architecture. Hasdrubal knew that Bisaltes had the potential to become King of Carthage.

However, Bisaltes was not perfect. When Bisaltes was six years of age, a Roman ambassador visited the palace. For a few minutes, Bisaltes and the ambassador were alone. Immediately, Bisaltes began harassing the Roman, pointing out many inconsistencies of the Roman faith and attempting to convert him to worship Baal. The Roman, angry, smacked Bisaltes across the face. Since then, he despised the Roman ways.

For years Hasdrubal had been plotting different ways to defeat the Romans, while also being able to take control of Syracuse, the Greek stronghold in Sicily. One day, the gods seemed to smile upon him.



Carthaginian spies reported that a Roman army led by Cassius Brutus landed on Sicily and sieged Syracuse. Hasdrubal believed that the armies of Rome and Greece would destroy each other, and the Carthaginian army could sweep in and take Syracuse from the crippled survivor.

However, when he told Carthalo his plan, the young man strongly disagreed. "The Greeks are outmatched," he claimed, "The Romans will destroy the Greeks and the city of Syracuse will be defended by an even stronger army than we would have faced before. Instead, we should ally with the Greeks. We can come to their aid, and attack the Roman army, asking the Greeks for assistance. When the Greek army arrives, we can make up an excuse for being delayed, and have our scouts watch how the battle goes between the Greeks and the Romans. If the Greeks are outmatched, we can offer a small amount of assistance, but purposely lose the battle. This way, the Romans will be weakened, as you want, but we can then assault Roman-controlled Syracuse in the name of revenge. We will keep a strong ally in our fight against the Romans, and let them do all the work."

Hasdrubal was furious with Carthalo. In anger, he sent Carthalo away with a few cavalry companies to travel to Crete, many months away. Carthalos accepted his orders, but warned Hasdrubal that his plan would fail.

Carthalo was right. Soon after Carthalo's ships left for Crete, Hasdrubal's spies reported that the Roman army had crushed the Greeks with next to no casualties, and had solidified their position in the city. In addition, Roman reinforcements were on their way, being transported by a fleet twice the size of the Carthaginian navy. Hasdrubal sent a messenger to apologize to Carthalo and wished him luck in his campaign.

The Carthaginian King was in a difficult situation. He had sent away his son with a third of the army from Messana, his enemy was fortified with stone wall fortifications, and enemy reinforcements were on their way. However, Hasdrubal had a plan.

Hearing that the Roman reinforcements were bound to arrive within a day, Hasdrubal gathered up all the cavalry in the city and brought his two elephant units and headed south, undetected. When the Romans, led by Titus Brutus, landed next to Syracuse, the Carthaginian army charged towards the new arrivals. Titus sent for reinforcements, and prepared for battle.



Hasdrubal and Titus both organized their men for battle, then waited for the reinforcements from Cassius Brutus. They waited. And waited. And waited.

After two hours, no movement was seen within the walls of Syracuse. Hasdrubal's plan of luring out the Roman troops had failed, so he moved onto plan B. He would wipe out Titus Brutus's forces, then begin the siege of Syracuse.

Hasdrubal's army advanced, and Titus sent his Hastati forward.



Carthaginian elephants charged into the Roman Infantry, and Hasdrubal's abundant cavalry marched along the sides and smashed into Titus and his Velites.



Titus's army was destroyed within minutes, and Hasdrubal began the siege of Syracuse. The men began building siege equipment to prepare for the bloody assault.

End of Chapter Three

[ixidor]

lol, you really like cavalry. I would have brought at least some units of iberian infantry or towm watch as a bait, but i think a pure cavalry army is always a good plan too, especially against a slow heavy infantry based army.

[SSJVegetaTrunks]

Yep, early on as Carthage, my armies are almost pure cavalry. Once I can start mass-producing Poeni Infantry, I become more phalanx-based, with cavalry, elephants, and onagers as support. Early Carthaginian infantry just aren't worth training.

[ixidor]

To tell the true i don't use poeni infantry that much. True, they are good, but since most of my temples are from Baal, especially the ones far away from carthage and rome (the 20% law bonus is extremely good to keeping the happiness and to decrease the corruption) i prefer to train sacred band.

Keep going with the good work, i would like to see until the end

[SSJVegetaTrunks]

Thanks. And the only problem with Sacred Band is the difficulty of retraining them... What level of Baal Temple do you need to retrain them?

[ixidor]

Awesome temple of baal, the same to cast them i think. By the way, i usually like to recruit some mercenaries (spanish or barbarian) for infantry while the only think you can get is iberian infantry, since they are from good use in sieges. Or if you don't like, well, just wait until the enemy came outside.

[SSJVegetaTrunks]

Yeah, that's what I do for my sap points, recruit mercs before the assault.

[SSJVegetaTrunks]

Chapter Four: The Battle for Syracuse





Night was growing ever darker. "One more day before the assault," Hasdrubal conveyed to his messenger. "Send word to the men. When tomorrow comes, the Romans shall lay before our feet."

Three days had passed since the Carthaginian Army surrounded Roman-controlled Syracuse and had begun the tunnels towards the Stone Walls. Hasdrubal's secret tactic seemed to delude the Romans.



While building the tunnels to undermine the City Walls, a Siege Tower was being built in the distance, just close enough for some Roman troops to spot it. Everything was coming together.

Daybreak spread it's fingertips across the city. Syracuse would be overrun.



Hasdrubal's Cavalry-based army formed up their ranks, and approached the enemy walls. The Siege Tower was pulled behind them.

Seeing the siege tower approaching, Cassius Brutus sent more infantry atop the walls.



However, he knew something was amiss. I see no Carthaginian Infantry... He pondered. Do they plan to fight our massive armies of Hastati with simple Skirmishers? The Brutii general moved to the front lines to decide what action to take.



As his men approached the walls, Cassius prepared to call some of his men from the walls back to the Town Center to bolster the reserves. Suddenly, however, a shaking sound was heard throughout the walls.



Carthaginian Tunnelers had been working day and night, and finally their efforts had paid off. Two sections of the Great Wall, one on each side, had been undermined. Screams from Roman troops were heard before they splattered onto the ground.

Hasdrubal was ready to send in the whole army when he identified a large number of Velite units near the eastern gap. Knowing their spears would throw the elephants into panic, he ordered half of the elephants and a few cavalry contingents to stay in reserve.

Meanwhile, elephants and Round Shield Cavalry poured into the western gap, slaughtering any men they came across.



Surprisingly, the Roman Infantry held their lines.

Meanwhile, Hasdrubal himself took a few cavalry contingents and made a break for the Eastern Gap. Showered with arrows and spears, they managed to make it within the city walls. Hasdrubal charged Cassius.

Cassius, distracted by the attack in the west, was unprepared. Amazingly, however, he managed to regroup his men and charged Hasdrubal back.



Both sides clashed. The battle was gruesome, and for a while, seemed undecided. However, in a stroke of luck, Cassius's horse tripped over a body and the Brutii Lord came sprawling to the ground. One of Hasdrubal's guards mercilessly killed him.



With the death of their general, the Roman cavalry attempted to flee back to the Town Center to regroup. Hasdrubal's troops, began to chase them down.

On the other side of the battle, however, the Carthaginian troops weren't doing too well.



A surprise Velite unit had descended upon the elephants, and their spears threw them into panic. The crazed elephants killed many Carthaginian cavalry in the process, causing the tides of battle to turn in the west.

Realizing this, Hasdrubal redirected most of his men to reinforce the Western Attack Force. Upon sight of the reinforcements, the Roman troops began to flee, and were struck down to the last.



Hasdrubal called his reserve men forward, and approached the Town Square from different angles. The few Roman reserves were surrounded and Obliterated.





The victory at Syracuse united the island of Sicily under the Carthaginian Banner. The empire had taken a great step in solidifying their defenses.

However, Sicily wasn't the only region Hasdrubal had his eyes set on.



As you know, Carthalo Arsinoe was sent to capture Crete from a group of Greek rebels with a few cavalry contingents. His army had just arrived.

Simultaneously, Bomikar announced that Numidia was a disease spreading rapidly throughout Africa, and he would stop it before it shook the foundations of the empire.

Meanwhile, in Iberia, Governor Theophanes had finally gathered his army in Corduba. The invasion force, which Hasdrubal had nicknamed "The Iberian Army", advanced North to break the Spanish monopoly of the peninsula.

The Legions of Carthage were beginning to spread throughout the world. All who opposed The Empire of Carthage would be crushed.

End of Chapter Four

[Morgoth-NL]

great story i love it

i am playing carthage too

[SSJVegetaTrunks]

Thank you. :)

How's your campaign coming?

[mrdun]

Love your AAR's mate.

[SSJVegetaTrunks]

Thank you! I won an AAR contest on twcenter.net, but there were only about five entires for the contest. I doubt I'll win the next one (if there's going to be one).