The Pan-Hellenic Empire

[desert]

Greetings to all forum members. I have been performing a certain action, the name of which I do not remember, that refers to a person frequenting a forum but never posting for almost half a year now.
At first, I couldn't post due to an activation error, and I sent a message to the administrator, but never bothered to check until now.

And so, with much fanfare, I present this Koinon Hellenon AAR!!

Some info first: This AAR starts around 210ish BC, and I will reveal absolutely no background information at all. However, there will be a special event within a few years in which I will reflect on the growth of the KH.

Also, to all looking for any kind of story, turn back now - I suck at that sort of thing, and this AAR will really be just an overdramatized summary of ingame events.

Finally, I am incredibly lazy. Expect updates to be short and infrequent. I might exert myself if I feel that that is the will of the people, though.

I need to figure out how to start this thing, so I have prepared this as a kind of promo. Contemplating the sheer awesomeness of this video should keep you busy...



http://s494.photobucket.com/albums/r...9-58-43-07.flv

PS: Zoom in/fullsize.

[penguinking]

All right! Another AAR!

I look forward to it.

[Reverend Joe]

Greetings to all forum members. I have been performing a certain action, the name of which I do not remember, that refers to a person frequenting a forum but never posting for almost half a year now.

Lurking?

Contemplating the sheer awesomeness of this video should keep you busy...

auto_win attacker?

[desert]

Yeah, that's the word.

And no cheating was involved - my ships are simply that awesome.

[desert]

It is the year 217 BC, and the Koinon Hellenon is in turmoil.



Once a firm ally in the fight against their common enemy, the Romaioi, the Karthadastim betrayed the Koinon Hellenon, retaking by force the lands they had sold them, specifically Numidia and Korsim. The city of Arse in Iberia, a willing new member of the Koinon, is now threatened by more than just barbarians.



Meanwhile, the residents of Syrakousai and their Lacedaimonian advisor prepare for yet another great Roman horde, led by the governor of Sicilia himself...



The turncoat son of the governor of Ordrysai, Antiphas Knidios, is roaming the countryside of southern Thrace, stirring up rebellion; he is hunted by an assassin hired by his own father.



Further east, the final defeat of Pontos has spurred the Seleukids into action, and mighty armies once more pour into Anatolia.



In the distant north, where few Hellenes dare to settle, the Sarmatian tribes have once again grown bold; thousands of horsemen pillage and burn city outskirts, hoping for a decisive battle. But the leaders of these cities, firm allies of the Koinon, need not bow before the barbarians any longer...




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Well, first post. Apologies for the huge banner. Anyway, thought you should know that I play with Huge settings, and usually mulitply the number of men in a battle by 10. I'm going to be vague with the Romans, however, because the Roman AI spams Triarii and Akontistai...

[desert]

In 217 BC, the Seleukids were assembling a large force to attack the Koinon's Anatolian provinces. The top generals in Anatolia, Leonikos Samothraix and his son Telines, knew that their own forces needed to be prepared before they could match that army. A veteran army led by a native Karian named Prymneus besieged the city of Side, and the Seleukid army attempted to relieve the defenders. Prymneus marched his army to a wooded hillock some 50 leagues from Side and prepared for battle.



The Seleukid army had a full 8,000 man advantage, and was led by a veteran force of 2,000 thorakitai. However, Prymneus had a regiment of Tindanotae, and he planned to use them to devastating effect.



The two forces at the beginning of the battle.



Karians firing at Eastern Axemen, point blank.



Tindanotae obliterating some Klerouchoi.



Fleeing men.



The battle resulted in an astounding Koinon victory, with 3,500 losses to Prymneus's army, and over 20,000 dead in the enemy army. The Seleukid captain was killed in the battle, but so was Prymneus shortly afterward.



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Hehe, Curoas.

[desert]

In the summer, Eugenios Rhodios, foremost politician in Rhodos and son of Agothokles, one of the authors of the Chremonidean League, dies. His grandson, Lasos, is currently studying in Athenai, and will assume some of Eugenios's duties in several years' time.

Side is once again under siege, though under no orders of Telines or Leonikos. An unknown man has taken over command for the late Prymneus, and Nikanor Aitholides Attikos is worried that he is looking to declare his own kingdom in Anatolia. The assassin sent to kill the traitor Nikesilas Knidios was captured and executed. A council of city elders in Byzantion decided to send several thousand untrained Thracian spearmen to finish him.



A sizeable rebel army has claimed sovereignty in central Getia Koile. The Western Defence Force, commanded by a Spartan named Synleketenios Kolophonios, a veteran of numerous Thracian and Skythian campaigns, is being sent north to restore order.



A sizeable Karthadastim force is only a few dozen leagues from Arse, although some informers claim that it is composed entirely of light skirmishers.



________________________

Any advice, ie. include more/less of something, etc?

[Reverend Joe]

Rock on!

[penguinking]

I like it. It has a nice balance between text and screenshots.

You are at war on a lot of fronts, but since you have a lot of money you should be fine.

Keep up the good work!

[desert]

In the winter of 217 BC, the army besieging Side, led by a thureoporos named Simakos(as discovered recently), was faced by the garrison of Side and the remnants of the previous army. Trapped in Side was the Seleukid Commander of Kilikia, Androsthenes Apameas Babyloniakes. This time, 23,000 Seleukid men were up against 14,000 Koinon troops.



The Seleukid army contained a reinforced regiment of Thorakitai Agematos Basileu, the very best soldiers in the world. Androsthenes himself was guarded by a bodyguard of over a thousand Companions, some of the most highly skilled men in Asia. Considering his personality, it is unknown how he managed to assemble such a force of heroes.



Androsthenes, rumor has it, is quite insane...
but a very skilled and dangerous opponent nonetheless.

[

Remembering the lessons of Prymneus, Simakos had his line form on the slope of a coastal hill.



The veterans of the last battle attempted to outflank Simakos's line. The city garrison approached and the battle began.



Eventually Androsthenes entered the fray...only a few dozen meters from the waiting Tindanotae.




As the battle progressed, Tindanotae began to fall from incessant missile fire. The enemy peltastai are ravaged here.



Eventually, the best of both sides met face to face.



The TAB, not used to fighting such ferocious and determined opponents, fled after the death of Androsthenes.



The battle was quite bloody, with bodies forming large mounds in some areas.



In the end, another crippling defeat for the Seleukids was the result, although Simakos lost 6,000 men, not being as experienced as his predecessor. The remaining Seleukid men either fled or joined Simakos, who purged or enslaved several thousand inhabitants of Side and nearby cities.




As Nikanor had feared, Simakos declared himself king of Side. He was killed when the angry Tindanotae stormed his hall and killed Simakos and some hundreds of his Thureophoroi. It seemed Nikanor could give higher wages than Simakos could.



In other parts of the world, Nikesilas the Traitor was killed when he foolishly decided to stand and fight the Thracian spearmen. Arse was besieged by the Karthadastim, and Synlektenios attacked the Getic rebels.
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More on the Getic rebel battle later. Do you think the whole Simakos-Side thing was silly? I was probably Rping too much there.

[desert]

In November of 217 BC, Synlekteinos Kolophonios, Strategos of the Western Defense Force, met the force of the presumptuous Thraikian upstart Koryllos a league from a booming town that had been raised around the lucrative regional gold trade. The Koinon force had 24,000 men to Koryllos's 9000, outnumbering the Getic tribesmen by nearly three to one. Many were veteran warriors as well, hoplites who had participated in campaigns in Getia, Hellas, and even Skythia. The result of the battle was a foregone conclusion. Koryllos did not even try to flee, and defiantly assembled his force on flat ground, even though he could have used the slope of a nearby small mountain to his advantage.




Synlekteinos drew up his lines with the slingers on the left and the horse archers on the right. The enemy falxmen were just within range of the slings, and stones began to pour down against the shirtless warriors.



The horse archers approached the side of the enemy force and began to pound its rear with arrow fire.



Meanwhile, the Iphikratid mercenary hoplites and Synlekteinos's bodyguard approached to within a stones' throw away from the enemy lines. Infuriated, the barbarians charged with reckless abandon.



The slaughter wreaked by the horse archers was immense.



Yet again, the prodromoi ended a battle with a single charge.



Koryllos was crushed underfoot.







________________________________________
If anyone notices something slightly immature in my post...

[gamegeek2]

[desert]

In the winter of 217 BC, little of note occured in the Mesogeios. Other than the investment of Arse by the Carthaginians and Syrakousai by the Romans.

The Roman general Caius has finally moved his forces to surround Syrakousai; it is rumored that a great tactician such as him will be able to finally take the city.



Chryses Urso makes complete the Carthaginian betrayal by besieging Arse and enslaving most of the locals he comes across.



Another Carthaginian army only two weeks from the city approaches from the south.

[Maion Maroneios]

Wow man, this rocks! Keep it coming, you're doing great

Maion

[desert]

THE BATTLE OF ARSE

In January of 216 BC, Chryses Urso, who wanted to spend the rest of the winter in a city, prepared his men for the attack.



The two forces were fairly evenly matched, but Chryses had brought mostly Akontistai to the battle. Apparently, whoever was in charge of Carthaginian South Iberia had decided that the Greek psiloi were very good skirmishers, and had ordered thousands of Iberian natives to be trained and equipped in their manner. Triptolemos was confident that Nike would be in his favor.



Triptolemos had half of his men on the walls, the rest around the gate. He expected the battering ram to be stopped, forcing the Carthaginians to advance up their ladders and towers.



He did not expect the presence of Carthaginian artillery, which thoroughly destroyed the boiling-water chambers, ballistae, and archer positions in the gate guardhouse.



The Iberian levies and some Akontistai advanced with ladders. Following the tower were the Scutari. The Liby-Phonecian veterans advanced with the ram. The latter two were devastated by javelins from atop the walls.



The ram brought down the gate, and the akontistai poured through.



There were many.


The fighting became confused as men were separated from their brothers in arms. Soon their were no clear lines.




But without their leader present in the melee, the Akontistai lost heart. Hundreds fled, and the defenders tried to follow them out the gates.



However, they were scattered and confused, and only a few managed to get past the gate, notably a contingent of the Koinon advisor's bodyguard. That was when Chryses Urso appeared with his Sacred Band, their silver armor shining in the sunlight. Death came swirling down...



The rest of the men fled behind the safety of the walls, but Triptolemos reassembled his men, and prepared to meet the returning Akontistai.

Many Akontistai poured through the gates, and the men were grieved by the death of their general. They fought with a renewed fury, howling at the enemy and charging through their reduced ranks with ease. They finally managed to push out into the open, and were prepared to fight to retrieve the body of Triptolemos.



To their disbelief, a few dozen of Triptolemos's hoplites remained, fighting, surrounded by hundreds of horsemen. They charged into their midst and killed them to a man.

Disheartened, the Scutari atop the walls, who had killed thousands of men in their implacable advance toward the gatehouse, laid down their arms. They were slain even as they begged for mercy.



The battle was over.





Somehow, 40 of Triptolemos's guard had survived the slaughter, killing hundreds of the best cavalry of Carthage single-handedly. Triptolemos himself cut down a desperate Chryses as he tried to order his men back for another charge. They were not out of danger yet; the battle had cost 5,000 men, and another army marched on the city even as they celebrated the victory...


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Have any of you ever read The Prince of Nothing books?

[Subedei]

Very entertaining! Keep them coming....

[gamegeek2]

[WonkoTheSane]

Great battle! Keep it up!

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Wow, what a slaughter.

[desert]

After some trepidation no doubt caused by the exaggerations of the survivors of Arse, the reserve army surrounded the city in mid-January. When the last of the surrounding farmers and villagers were safely within the city, Triptolemos was approached by one of his local informants. He had grave news: this army was smaller than the last, but far, far stronger.

Arse had reached its darkest moment of despair...

__________________________
Do you have any idea what all those swordsmen are going to do to my light spearmen?!?!

[desert]

THE 5th(?) BATTLE OF SYRAKOUSAI

In April of 216 BC, the Roman governor of Sicilia brought up his siege equipment and began the 5th(or 4th, according to some) Battle of Syrakousai. His force was vast, twice the size of the defending force led by Koinon advisor Philiskos Orchomenios. But the city been through worse, and the Romans still did not seem to recognize that he had a secret weapon that accounted for all his victories against great odds. Over a hundred thousand Romans troops had perished under the White Gate of Syrakousai up to this point.




In the last battle of Syrakousai, the gate had been breached, and enemy troops had managed to go as far as the city center before being forced back. This time, Philiskos was prepared, and had sealed the gate shut with his own elite hoplites, in support of Syracusan hoplites. The rest of the men were on the walls; the cavalry waiting in case of the worst case scenario, that all the defenders of Syracuse had been killed and a final glorious charge for freedom or honourable death was required.



Philiskos had also learned that Triarii were no match for the Syracusan hoplites - they could slaughter hundreds of this so-called Roman elite without losing more than a few dozen men. The Principes and hastati, however, were another matter. Their "gladii" were devastating against shield walls, and so the slingers on the gatehouse had orders to only fire upon men carrying swords.



The men tasked with carrying the ram fell in droves as the slam of javelin against shield reverberated throughout the battle field.



Caius's plan of breaking open the gates went up in flames.



As did his siege tower.



Then, the Triarii were on the left wall, surrounded by hoplites. They fell in a staccato manner, complemented by the screams of the wounded and dying and the occasional thump or tap
of bodies far below.



On the right wall, more Triarii appeared above the ladders, closely followed by the dreaded Principes. Once again, the secret weapon was unleashed. Many Triarii died as ballistae and archers from firing slots in the rear of a nearby tower unleashed their missiles.



The Triarii had been cleared from the left wall, but hundreds of akontistai clogged the already blood-slicked space.




Now, the true horror began. The last of the Roman reserves were committed. The men who had been chosen to ascend the siege tower had been told by a runner to climb the ladders onto the right wall. The last of the Hastati and Principes climbed.



The peltasts and akontistai left on that part of the wall were dying fast, but the improvised arrowhead phalanx of the Syrakosioi held fast.



Clever Caius, instead of sending his Principes up the right wall, sent them up the left. Hundreds of brave Syracusan hoplites died trying to hold them back. They fought to the last man. But not even Principes could withstand attack from both sides, and Philiskos's Somatophylakes advanced.



Finally, the end was in sight. A horn was blown.



Panicked by the ceaseless torment they received at the hands of the tower, the remaining Roman infantry became frenzied, and were cut down all the more easily for it.



Heeding the signal given minutes earlier, the hippeis rode out of the city and glared at the Guard cavalry of the enemy general.



Embittered by the loss of the battle, tens of thousands of men, and his reputation in Roman politics, this presumptuousness, and from inferior soldiers no less, was the straw that broke the camel's back. He ordered the charge.



The hippeis were devastated, although it had seemed that they held the advantage in the seconds after the inital charge. Caius recklessly rode deep into the mass of enemy cavalry, killing many despite his affliction, which caused ceaseless bleeding from even a scratch. Once the victorious Syracusan infantry started to march out of the city to aid the hippeis, Caius listened to reason and ordered a retreat to Messena.

It took days to clear all the bodies from the walls. Many of these bodies were once sons of Syrakousai. To the citizens of the city, far too many.



____________________________________

Phew, big battle. Anyway, never expect me to give numbers or army composition with the Romans.

[Maion Maroneios]

Great man, keep it up!

Maion

[desert]

Sorry to disappoint, but I'm currently trying out different mods and it might be some time before I can update this again.

[desert]

Alright, I have returned from my travails; it is clear to me now that EB is primus inter pares when it comes to RTW mods.
___________________________________________________________________

In the end of March, 216 BC, Pelikles Kainepolites, the man who is the Koinon's chief diplomatic link to Carthage, attempted to bribe the army besieging Arse, but they demanded no less than 5,000 talents of gold.



Their temporary commander, Abdimilki, apparently fears Zimrida, the son of a Carthaginian senator, who is currently marching north to replace Chryses Urso for his defeat at Arse, if he happens to be alive (he isn't).



Meanwhile, the Seleukid's are once again sending forces into Anatolia.



In April, some mercenaries patrolling the mountains of Illyria encountered a large army hiding in some caves. They were massacred, and fled southwards in haste.




Aias Aitholides Attikos, a grandson of Chremonides himself, was sent from Athens to replace the ailing Methonaios patriarch residing in Dalminion. This was to be his punishment, as the Hegemon of the Koinon, residing in Athinai, was angered by his behavior while grooming him to be his successor. As Methonaios is not yet dead, Aias has decided to pass the time by destroying the rebellion in the north.



In May of 216 BC, Phronesis Samios, son of a Sarmatian turncoat named Madasakka, and his army finally catch up with a Sarmatian named Beuca, who has been terrorizing Meotis and the Bosporus for some time now. The garrison from the city, numbering 6,000, and Samios's army, numbering over 7,000 and composed mainly of mercenaries and some hoplites, engaged Beuca near the ruins of an old burned-out town that had been destroyed in the Skythian War of decades past, in which the kingdoms of the Bosporus became attached to the Koinon. The army was crushed and fled to the safety of Pantikapaion.




___________________

I was feeling lazy, so I autocalced....

It will be better tomorrow, I promise.

[Maion Maroneios]

Good to see you're back! Another good update

Maion

[Olaf Blackeyes]

WOW dude u r one the bestwriters ive seen on this forum plz PLZ make more

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Interesting stuff.
Takes a long to load, though...

[desert]

THE SECOND BATTLE OF ARSE

In late spring of 216 BC, the Carthaginian stand-in commander, Abdimilki, ordered an assault on Arse.
He had many Balearic infantry at his command, and more besides: 20,000 elite, well equipped men against the 13,000 levies under the command of Triptolemos.




Triptolemos knew he could not hold the walls of the city against so many men, and decided to fortify the town square. All the main roads into the square were guarded. The general's guard was to hold the path nearest to the South Gate, which he knew the Carthaginians would approach from.






The enemy managed to enter the city.



Several dozen Iberian cavalry armored in the manner of Skythian kataphraktoi ran into the shield wall, not even bothering to raise their spears. Such was their arrogance that they believed they could simply ride over the men in front of them. They were quickly massacred in time to meet the enemy infantry.



Meanwhile, the enemy were approaching down a road next to the residence of a noble, a prominent supporter of the Koinon Hellenon in the region.



Their skirmishers came first, and were met with javelins.



Now the Balearic mercenaries smashed into the shield wall.



The Iberian skirmishers met the famed Hoplitai Karchedonioi (is that right?).



A small group of Balearic infantry was sighted by the men guarding the other end of the square. They charged forward and showered them with javelins.




Triptolemos's shield wall began to buckle as the Loricati Scutari arrived.



Some of the reserve levies desperately tossed their javelins in hopes of slowing them down.



He ordered his hoplites to advance.



Spearmen poured into the gaps caused by the Carthaginian hoplites.



Some hundreds of spearmen, at the orders of a wily captain, had used side roads to sneak into the enemy rear.



They attacked, causing a mass rout.



Some veteran Libyan spearmen appeared. The Iberians turned away from the routers and charged.




After driving away the Loricati, Triptolemos was charged by Abdimilki's Liby-Phonecian cavalry. Abdimilki was still unaware of the dire straits his army was in.



They Libyan spearmen were causing undue suffering for the Iberians, so the last reserves came to relieve them.



The enemy general faced imminent defeat. Realizing that he was about to die, Abdimilki rode for his life.




The Libyans were defeated as well.



Some Balearic slingers who had gotten lost in the streets were quickly routed.



Thus ended the battle for Arse; as a total defeat for Carthage.



After the bodies had been gathered, Triptolemos realized that the number of enemy corpses was far fewer than the number of Carthaginian soldiers that had been besieging the city. In reality, Abdimilki's rash decision to attack the city before the arrival of the Carthaginian commander the night before the battle had resulted in a split that led to the desertion of almost half of the Balearic infantry Carthage had hired.

______________________________

I'll start putting the pictures in Spoiler tags once we get to page 2.

[desert]

The summer of 215 BC was painful for Nikanor Aitholides Attikos, hegemon of the Koinon. The corrupt old man up in Dalminion had finally passed on, and after some months of painful campaigning in which his multiple defeats caused an even greater number of Illyrians to rise up against Athinai, Aias withdrew to the regional capital to consolidate his hold on the remainder of the province. Immediately, his crackdown on supposed radical elements caused much unrest and some hundreds of young men left the city to join the rebellion.




The Ptolemies and their simmering disapproval of the Greek oligarchy, which had begun some decades earlier when both factions had attempted to annex Kyrene after the death of Magas, culminated in an attack on the small town of Augila. Their force was very small, and Augila's defenses had been boosted by the recent conscription of several thousand natives, after the city's king learned that a Ptolemaic force was within a hundred leagues of the city.



A gradual decrease in naval craft patrolling the sea trade routes allowed one man to form a navy of pirate ships, which had been raiding along the coast of the Peloponesus, at one point even occupying Nafplio, the port of Argos, and making off with several talents of silver.

The famed Admiral Dexamenos sailed with 4 dozen Lemboi craft to confront them. He succeeded in dispersing the fleet, but lost several to boarders, and subsequently lost several more to a storm.




Caius, with his influence mostly intact, somehow managed to talk the Senate into giving him the office of Praetor, and once again besieged Syrakousai, but this time with a much smaller force befitting his new rank.



Cowed by the show of force in Central Anatolia, the Seleukid armies besieged the Pontic city of Amaseia, which is administered by the former Strategos of all forces in Anatolia and father of the current Strategos Telines, Leonikos Samothraix. Neolaus Syriakou and Nikolaus Pisidikes led small forces, filled mostly with veterans of previous battles against Leonikos. The only notable units were up to 4,000 veteran spearmen and axemen, a fresh contingent of archers, some Thorakitai, and fresh forces of Pezhetaroi and TAB. While Amaseia is lightly guarded, the grand force used by Leonikos to great effect in Anatolia is very close by. And it will not take a threat to it's former general's life lightly.




Finally, the city of Arse was once again besieged, but this time by an army of the Lusotana tribe, which has achieved dominance over most of central and northern Iberia. Their war with the Carthaginans has apparently reached an impasse, as both sides seem to be sending most of their resources at Arse.

[desert]

BATTLE OF AUGILA

Krateros, king of Augila, decided to meet the Ptolemaic force as soon as possible. The enemy army had 1,600 peltastai, a full phalanx of native Egyptian Machimoi, and 1,600 Mistophoroi Hoplitai led by the mercenary captain.

Krateros had nearly 5,000 native troops armed as either spearmen or Akontistai and his own regiment of cavalry.




Once Euepes realized Krateros's intention to sally, he immediately ordered his forces to assemble. As soon as the lines were readied, he ordered a march to a nearby hill. Krateros tried to take the position and his cavalry rode hard, but in the end, they were overextended, and the enemy Peltastai came at them with the intention of trapping them.



Krateros tried to reassemble near the city walls and the protection of some towers, but the hoplitai followed him. However, the native troops had marched out of the city and were in a position to encircle them.




Krateros continued to lure them away from the rest of their force, and then the Pantodapoi charged and fixed them. Realizing their danger, they tried to retreat, but were caught up in a melee.



Krateros wheeled around into their rear and charged. The hoplitai almost routed then and there. Almost.



Falling back, he called another charge.



After some vicious hand-to-hand, the hoplitai routed and Euepes was cut down.




The Akontistai were ordered to position themselves on the slope of the hill, while the Pantodapoi lured the remaining enemy forces towards them. The phalanx advanced under cover of the Peltastai.



The Peltastai soon broke off and began to take down hundreds of spearmen with their javelins. Many raised their shields against the wave of missiles, but the javelins shattered or even bored right through the cheap slabs of wood. The Akontistai returned the favor, much to the relief of the spearmen, who had just engaged the phalanx.



The peltastai spread out to avoid missile fire, giving Krateros just the opportunity he needed. He charged straight into their thin ranks, swamping the Peltastai.



Having exhausted their javelins, the Akontistai ran to aid the horsemen and the Peltastai finally gave way.



Krateros eschewed chasing the routers for engaging the phalanx, as the Pantodapoi spearmen had buckled and routed, leading to a massive slaughter.



Morale restored after that display, the Peltastai returned.




Krateros smashed them apart.



Even though they had lost few men and could still continue fighting, or even fall back in orderly retreat, the Machimoi dropped their spears and ran for their lives. They had simply had enough. Krateros quickly joined the Akontistai in chasing after them, and in the end all of them were killed.



The Ptolemaic force had been entirely destroyed - the few survivors would be taken by the harsh desert. Although the Pantodapoi had dissipated during the battle, over a thousand appeared for role call at sunset or in the huts of the army surgeons. 300 Akontistai and a hundred of Krateros's cavlary were lost as well.




Immediately after the battle, Krateros tripled taxes in Augila, and doubled them throughout the rest of the region, but the local populace was still flushed with pride in his victory and took it in stride.

______________________

Sorry for all the mixups...