The Antigonids : A Makedonian AAR

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

The Antigonid Dynasty

Greetings! I was play-testing a campaign of the interal version and was bored, so I decided to make an AAR. I was just going to try to keep all new content out of the AAR or limit it to distant shots, but it was quite difficult to do so. So I'm going to just wait until release day to post the first chapter so as not to spoil the new stuff for everyone. Which means that this may be continued tommorrow or it may be continued in a couple months...

I wanted to make an AAR with as many pictures as writing, but since I don't want to spoil anything and since I didn't take many picture during the first couple decades, here's my long pictureless introduction:

Introduction: The Reign of Antigonos
In the year 272BC, by the Christian calender, Makedonia was in chaos. Pyrrhos of Epieros was in control of the inland cities and was ready to take complete control of Makedonia, overthrowing Antigonos. But at the last moment Pyrhhos himself, saved Makedonia. In a trademark Pyrhhos decission, Pyrhhos left one war half done and moved his armies to invade Illyria. For the moment, Makedonia was spared.

Antigonos took the opertunity to quickly consolidate power amoungst the Hellens. Every city state to the south was rebellious, even those loyal to Antigonos would inevitably revolt. But two cities stood above the rest, Athenai and Sparte, if they fell the rest of the cities would fall as well. So Antigonos took his combined forces and besieged the ancient city of Athenai. Within the year, it had fallen. Antigonos entered the city and told its people that he had come to free them. He quickly set up the politician Karpophoros as tyrant, loyal to the Makedonian throne. Antigonos insured the Athenians that they were free and showed this by moving the entire garrison out of the city. Though in truth, the garrison was needed to confront the Spartan menance to south.

[picture of years later]
Antigonos quickly moved to finish off the Spartans before they could receive reinforcements from Rhodos or Crete. Though, apon besieging the town, the Spartans sent for help from one of their armies stationed near Elis. And so, the following season three Spartan armies attacked Antigonos as he beseiged their home. The battle was tough, but in the end the field was filled with Spartan dead:

Meanwhile in the north, Epieros had failed to subdue the Illyrian tribed and had renewed its attack on Makedonia. Alkyoneus, son of Antigonos had managed to repulse several attacks, but with every attack the defenders of Makedonia grew weaker. Antigonos quickly set up a local puppet ruler in Sparte and force marched his men north. The forces of Antigonos and Makedonia joined together and Antigonos and Alkyoneus marched on Epieros, leaving Antigonos' younger brother Kalos to oversee Pella.

An alliance was made with Rome, who had made several failed attempts to keep Epieros out of Italy, and war began in Epieros. After several years of war, Epieros was conquered and Pyrrhos and one of his sons were all that was left, wandering Illyria (Taras the only city still loyal to them). Alkyoneus and the remaining Thessalian Cavalry confronted the two generals and their tiny army outside the Illyrian village of Dalminion and brought an end to the Kingdom of Epieros:

So Antigonos returned to Pella as victor and ruler of all of Greece. Several years of peace followed, as Antigonos rebuilt the shattered economy of Makedonia. During this time, Alkyoneus easily annexed Dardanoia, north of Makedonia. Peace didn't last. The Aitolian League started causing unrest in the south, so Antigonos once again marched to war. Aitolia fell quickly to Antigonos, then the troublesome city of Byzantion was next. Alkyoneus managed to make an alliance with the Celtic city of Tylis, setting up a Makedonian friendly leader. Meanwhile Byzantion fell to Antigonos.

Tired of war [he actually got Unsatisfied Supervisor from fighting ], Antigonos once again returned to Pella to rule in peace. Around this time, Demetrios returned to Pella, after completing his Agoge training with the Spartans. Ready for war, Antigonos gave him command of his own army and order him to kill the Spartan king who had been hiding in Crete, as well as conquer the island while there. Soon the island fell and Demetrios confronted the Spartan king of the eastern shores of Crete:

[I took this picture because it reminded me of Mount Suribachi]
The Rhodian fleet that they were expecting never came, as it had been sunken by the Pergamon fleet [Pirates] the year before. By the end of the day, the Spartans lay dead in the rising tide.

Puppet rulers were quickly set up in Crete and Demetrios sailed on Rhodos, who had assisted the Spartans for decades. During this time, Antigonos' elder brother, who had been governor of Epieros decided that it was time to conquer Illyria and all of its resources. So he and his sons assemble an army, mostly made up of veterans of Alkyoneus' conquests, and marched on Illyria. Before long, they had conquered all the way to the edge of the Roman Cisalpine Gallia territory. Frightened by a powerful enemy on their border, Roma attacked Illyria. The tiny Roman army was quickly repulsed and the Roman Senate pleaded for peace with Makedonia. When Rhodos fell, Demetrios returned home with his army and peace continued until around 245BC.

Around 250-140BC, the Syrian Wars made a drastic change. With the fall of Babylonia to Ptolemai, the Seleukia Empire, long time allies of Antigonos, began to crumble. Soon, all of Asia was shifting to Ptolemai control, threatening, not only the balance of power, but the future goals of Antigonos. Seeking allies, Antigonos sent diplomats to the Galatians [Arverni - Galatia kept alternating between being conqered by Pontos and rebelling to Arverni] and acquired an alliance. In Pella, an army of Pezhetairoi was assembled and Antigonos and Demetrios invaded Asia. The same year that Nikaia fell to Makedonia, Sardis and Ipsos fell to the Ptolemaioi. Before they could establish full control of their new regions, Antigonos struck at the Ptolemai. In the same year both Phrygia and Lydia fell to Makedonia and Antigonos prepared to invade Syria. But Antigonos' plans were cut short, in the winter of 242-241BC Antigonos died peacefully in the the palace of Sardis:

Makedonia was left in crisis. Demetrios was clearly the better general and ruler, but Alkyoneus had long been the heir to the throne. Who was the rightful next king of Makedonia?

The known world upon the death of Antigonos:

Next: Chapter 1: The Two Kings

[Bootsiuv]

We already know you guys are coming out with the release any day now.

Come on guy....you can tell us. :)

Anyways, great aar. I can't wait until tomorrow when I can read the rest!

:P

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

To be honest, I have no idea when EBv1.0 will be released. There have been so many different dates shooting around internally and I haven't been around enough lately to read every single debate.

[Bootsiuv]

I'll take that with a grain of salt....I don't trust team members at release time...your all masters of the propagandist arts.

*all joking aside, I just like to speculate....whenever it's released, I'm sure it will be worth the wait*

[Detlef]

Lovely AAR, will be watching this one...

[Karo]

Yes a new AAR can't wait to read you're first chapter. And kick those Hellens to hell

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Thanks!

Wrote the first chapter for whenever. I also added more pictures to the intro.

[Nikolaus]

I'm liking this aar so far, keeping it up

[paullus]

you've already shown at least 1 new unit...keep it up!!!

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

you've already shown at least 1 new unit...keep it up!!!

Is that meant sarcastically?
And if it is what I think you mean, it isn't exactly new...

[Chaotix]

I noticed something, there... They changed the color of the sea to make it look more like M2TW's. It's a lot more realistic looking now.

[Bootsiuv]

Yeah, there is a preview of those somewhere in the forums....

I like them, they're more black than blue, sort of like a satellite shot from space.

Just noticed you added the shot of the puppet rulers....f***ing awesome.

EDIT: After looking at them closer, they look a little bluer than I thought they were after recalling the previews some weeks ago...regardless, there very nice.

[paullus]

no, i wasn't being sarcastic, i'm happy to have new units previewed in screenshot format...most of the fans have only seen them in renders, so it seems like a fine idea to me, especially since you seem to take nice screenies and write a nice story. Really do keep it up!

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

There were several changes/refinements to the strat map graphics. The ones previewed may not have been the final version.

no, i wasn't being sarcastic, i'm happy to have new units previewed in screenshot format...most of the fans have only seen them in renders, so it seems like a fine idea to me, especially since you seem to take nice screenies and write a nice story. Really do keep it up!

Oh, ok. I thought you were mad I leaked something. I've written the first chapter and will release it the day of the release. It includes a battle with focus on a completely new unit.

[Karo]

Man thas this mean what I think that it means, and I love What Hayasdan is doing on the campaigne map

[Bava]

Very nice AAR, MCM. I hope it´ll be continued soon

btw, the phalanx in the battle screenie, are they the new klerouchoi (sp?) phalangitai?

[Admetos]

Great AAR Marcus, I'm sure I hope we'll be seeing the next chapter soon

Originally Posted by Bavarian Barbarian
btw, the phalanx in the battle screenie, are they the new klerouchoi (sp?) phalangitai?

They just look like standard Pezhetairoi to me.

[Bava]

Youre right, Admetos, the mak klerouchikoi have a bronze shield. Maybe im getting a bit paranoid...

[Teleklos Archelaou]

Doctoring pictures up to make it look like there is actually a new release for EB is downright cruel Marcus. You just got lazy - that's why you didn't show anything else new. *Sure* there are other new units that you are just being "trustworthy" to the team and not showing everyone about. I have right here, in my hand, the names of all the U.S. representatives and senators that belong to the communist party too!

[Spoofa]

how come when I get the faction destroyed message the image doesnt show up?

that Epiros defeat message is cool and makes me want to go destroy epiros now.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Thanks for the comments, everybody.

Very nice AAR, MCM. I hope it´ll be continued soon

btw, the phalanx in the battle screenie, are they the new klerouchoi (sp?) phalangitai?

When I was adding that picture, I made sure I didn't show any new units in my own army but forgot to think about the enemies I was showing. They are both new skinned units. Oops...

how come when I get the faction destroyed message the image doesnt show up?

that Epiros defeat message is cool and makes me want to go destroy epiros now.

Are you playing with the first cohort mod, city mod, or any other mod that adds night battles? For some reason activating night battles makes some of the event screens not work.

[Strategos Alexandros]

Nice AAR, and are they the new Ptolemaioi Thorakitai that were previewed a while ago in the first screenshot?

[Bava]

They look like the ptolemoi agema. Or thorakitai hoplitai?

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

The Ptl Thorakitai was previewed? Then I don't feel so bad about showing it, though distand, blurry, and running away...

The version I'm playing this campaign on is only about a week old, but so much new stuff has been added in the last week, such as the integration of the new Hellenistic family members. If I continue this after the release, it will be an outdated version.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

With the release, I will post the update to this when I get to my other computer with the data. Though, this was done on a version tht isn't v1.0 (it's something like v.0.97), so I don't think I'll continue this for too long. Plus people will be too busy playing EB to read it anyways.

[Bootsiuv]

I'll read it....I like the dynasty style, that's why I did mine that way...make sure you start another one....mine is dead. Maybe I'll start a new one later, but I might focus on the manual and succession game instead.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Chapter 1 : The Two Kings

In 241BC, Antigonos Gonatos died peacefully in the newly conquered town of Sardis. His dream of uniting the Hellens and building a Makedonian Empire was completed. His Empire was the second strongest in the known world, only challenged by the Egyptian Kingdom of the Ptolemaioi. In Athenai and Sparte, he had set up Makedonian loyal tyrants and established garrisons to watch of the the Hellens. Eventually even having to set up a puppet in Korinthos due to unrest.



In the west, the sons of Antigonos' elder brother guarded Illyria from the Romans, who had begun to set their eyes apon territory outside of Italia:

But now the kingdom was on the verge of being torn apart. Two of Antigonos three sons were capible of becoming king and ruling. Alkyoneus had been a politian and domestic ruler, while Demetrios was a general, a conqueror, and a hero. Demetrios had clear support and could have easily taken the throne, but he did not wish to see his father's kingdom, which he had fought so hard for, torn apart in a brotherly conflict.

In the end it was decided that they would share the throne. Alkyoneus would rule from Pella and Demetrios would be General of the Armies. With civil war avoided, both men sought to gain support and fame among the peoples they ruled. Both gathered their armies and set out to expand their father's kingdom.

Alkyoneus quickly gathered an army in Makedonia and marched north to join up with some allies in Tylis. The two great armies that had been assembled by his father were both deploid far away and Alkyoneus was forced to quickly assemble an army of mediocry skills. For years Kallatis, a Greek colony had sought assistance from anyone who would listen. Kallatis had suffered raids and seiges for over a decade from the Getic Federation to the north of Makedonia. Antigonos hadn't wanted to risk war and had not answered their request, but Alkyoneus knew saving fellow Greeks from barbarian hordes would give him the fame he needed and risked the chance of war:

In the east, Demetrios assembled his veterans and marched them east, to continue his father's war with the Ptolemaioi. The Ptolemaioi hadn't expected Antigonos to come to the assistance of the Arche Seleukia and was suprised and outnumbered in Asia. Demetrios continued with that suprise and marched on Pamphylia before reinforcements could arrive from Egypt.

The Battle of Side
After besieging the city of Side for a few months, the Ptolemaioi attacked Demetrios on some rolling hills just west of the city:

Demetrios set up his phalanx in a single row, with his Thracian skirmishers in the front and his Thurophoroi on the flanks. With the archers and slinger behind on a slope. To the front was the small army that had initiated the battle, to the left was their reinforcements from the city:

As the enemy marched forward, skirmishers, archers, and slingers fired a couple volleys at the enemy:

As soon as the enemy got in skirmishing range, the Thracians fell back to keep casualties to a minimum:

The enemy Thorikatai charged the pikes of Demetrios' Pezhetairoi but quickly fled. The enemy Kleurchi engaded the Pezhetairoi:

As the enemy army broke, the entire line reformed to face the incoming reinforcements while Demetrios and the Thessalian Cavalry chased down the routing enemies. Soon after forming up, the enemy general and his Hetairoi rammed the Pezhetairoi line, breaking through. Seeing the problem, the Thurophoroi and Thracians charged in to quickly fill the gap:

The enemy line of mostly Jews crashed into the Pezhetairoi's pikes. The Ptolemaic general quickly withdrew to aviod being surrounded and the Thurophoroi and Thracians gave chase and engadged them:

The spears and Thracian falx quickly cut through the Hetairoi and eventually the general fell:

The remaining enemies quickly broke and Demetrios and the cavalry quickly chased them down. Only the cowards charged with the protection of their general managed to escape:

And so Side fell to Demetrios:

Next Chapter 2: The Two Battles of Pergamon
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I think there is only one thing that would have been a leak in this update. I was going to include another battle, with a new unit, but I decided to include it in the next update.

PS Sorry for the slow load speeds. I was trying to post high quality pictures.

[paullus]

good writing, nice story, and great screenies...keep it up!

[Moros]

You already showed one new unit. Not in the battle though. Not that it matters anymore.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Chapter 2: The Two Battles of Pergamon

In the North, Alkyoneus arrived in the colony of Kallatis and set up his garrison. The following season, an army of the Getic Federation arrived. After surveying the new garrison, they withdrew. Kallatis held a festival for Alkyoneus, happily unaware he intended to make his garrison perminent.

In Side, Demetrios begins setting up a government and reinforcing his possition.

The First Battle of Pergamon


To the west, Kalos, the younger brother of Antigonos assembled a small army from Byzantion and allied Mytilene. Antigonos had given Kalos and his sons the job of governing the newly conquered areas of Asia, but Kalos wanted a capital. Sardis had been the Seleukia seat of power but decades of warfare had cost the area most of its granduer and depleted its population. So Kalos looked to the rising city of Pergamon as a place he could set up power. But under estimated the power of Pergamon. The city Pergamon had managed to consolidate power over all of Mysia and gained quite a lot of strength while Kalos had yet to prove himself in battle.

Even before the battle start, Kalos knows exactly what he is going to do. Kalos prepares his Peltasts and Mercenary Celtic Hoplites to punch through the wall. Once there is a hole, the Hoplites from allied cities will charge in and take the city. The rams approach the wall:


Before long, the weak walls of the city fall:


The Celtic Hoplites and Peltast quickly rush through the two holes in the walls and attempt to gain superiority inside the city. The defenders quickly go to counter the invaders. On the right flank they counter with Peltasts and Thracian Mercenaries, while on the left flank Ennomos, the King of Pergamon himself, leads the charge:



Soon, that battle begins to turn against Kalos, but not having secured the walls yet, Kalos continues to hold the Hoplites in reserve, as the Petasts and Celts die:


Before long things turn for against the Makedonian forces on the left flank and the men begin to flee. The King pursues, and even after regrouping, the entire left flank is wiped out:



Seeing his units fleeing, Kalos panics and withdraws:

[You'll notice I still have to old general. I updated and started playing this campaign about a hour before the new generals were integrated.]

Noticing their general fleeing, and not having any deep loyalty to the dying Makedonians in the city, the allied Hoplites decide to flee as well. And so, King Ennomos chasing them off the field:



Kalos falls back, in defeat, to the allied city of Mytilene. Neither ruler willing to repremand their own uncle, Kalos goes without punishment but does not attempt another attack on Pergamon.

Before too long, a garrison, recruited from amongst the Hellens, arrives in Side and fortifies the city from Ptolemai counterattack. Demetrios hands command of the city over to a cousin and moves his army of professional soldiers westwards now, to deal with those who appose Makedonian claims to Asia:


First, Demetrios marches through Lysia, making sure every local knows who is the new King of these lands. Demetrios then continues on to Karia and the city of Halicarnassos, north of Rhodos. The city of Halicarnassos had seen hardship while the Seleucids and Ptolemai ruled the area. When Antigonos had invaded Lydia, the Ptolemai became weakened and the city of Halicarnassos had managed to gain its independence once more, but it had not lasted. After about a year of seige, the city surrendered to Demetrios. The rest of south-west Asia followed soon after.

Meanwhile, Alkyoneus had not found the war he was expecting. The Getic Federation had withdrawn from the coastal Hellenic colonies and had instead begun subjugating tribes west of them. Even to the west of Makedonian territory, there was no activity. The Romans had finally accepted the Makedonian claim on Illyria and were bogged down fighting over Sicilia. The only changes in the Makedonian Kingdom lay to the east, where his brother continued to gain notoriety. With Kallatis secured, Alkyoneus returns to administer the Kingdom from Pella.

As the Makedonians expanded, they continued to encounter new things: new peoples, new soldiers, new customs. The most interesting and most profitable new thing was, however, new trade. As Asia fell to Antigonos and Demetrios, new trade possibilities began to open up with the Galatians, Cappadocians, Pontos, Armenia, the Seleucids, and Hellenic colonies. Though, with new trade came another new item: new diseases. As trade came through Ipsos in Phrygia, a new disease began to spread amongst its inhabidents, a disease that would last years:


To the east, Seleucid control in the region was about to break. As the Ptolemaioi and the Seleucids fought for control of Cappadocia, the fledgling kingdom of Pontos began to expand. For years they had been a menance to Greek colonies, but recently they had been attempting to subjugate the Galatians as well as expand into western Armenia. Demetrios made sure to watch bothe the Diadochi struggle and the rising power in Pontos:


The Second Battle of Pergamon
Soon, only Pergamon dominated Mysia remained disloyal to the Makedonian Kings. An new Makedonian fleet had been built and Demetrios was quick to use his advantage. He quickly ordered the sinking of the Pergamon fleet [pirates that hung out in the Aegean] and the blockading of the primary port in Mysia. Then Demetrios and his army of Pezhetairoi marched north from Halicarnassos and beseiged the city of Pergamon once more:


Unable to afford repairs, the Pergamon walls remained broken. Taking this weakness to his advantage, Demetrios decides to attack before the city can organize its defenses. The Thracians and Thureophoroi rush the breaches and enter the city. Though, unlike Kalos, Demetrios sends his elites to back them up:


Once again, fighting breaks out in two places just inside the city:


But this time, the Pezhetairoi make all the difference and crush the opposition:


Before long, the King lies dead in the city streets and the armies of Pergamon begin to retreat:


The Pezhetairoi retreave their sarrisas and march on the remaining forces in the city palace. A few counter attacks are attemped on the formation, but not success is gained by the defenders:


As the defenders make one last effort to counter attack, the Pezhetairoi charge the city square, surrounding the few who remain:


Before long, no defenders remain and the city falls:


For their rebelious attitudes and difficulty to conquer, as well as the difficulty it will take to subjugate them, a portion of the people of Pergamon are enslaved to be sent to Makedonia and Greece:


However, soon after, Demetrios sets up Ennomos' cousin as king and leaves the territory with its 'independence'. Demetrios and his army then boards the Makedonian navy and heads back to Makedonia to replenish his supplies, upgrade his weapons, replenish his loses, and maybe brag to his brother about his victories a little.

With the fall of Pergamon, Makedonia became one of the largest Kingdoms in the known world. And with the defeat of several Ptolemaioi armies at the hands of Makedonia's Seleucid allies, Makedonia now had the strongest military in the known world:


But, before long, the Ptolemaioi mounted their first counterattack...


The known world in 237BC:

Next: Chapter 3: Kilikia (aka what happens when you leave a battle going and leave the room)
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I wanted to play the first battle as an inept general, but it was actually hard to loose.

I know the idea of two guys sharing the throne is odd. I wish I could have had some sort of civil war, though I would amagine it would tear my kingdom apart. Alkyoneus would get Makedonia and Thrace. Demetrios would get Asia and the Aegean islands, as well as possible support from the Hellens. Though, I would amagine the Hellens would rebel and regain their independence. Illyria would probably be independant too. They are so removed and a distinct branch of the family, so I would amagine they would form their own little country.

But anyways, thanks for reading...