The Great Wolf of the North - A Casse Mini-AAR

[Discoskull]

I’ve been posting these in the “Pics and History…” thread.
Just thought I’d post my Casse mini-AAR where AARs are supposed to go instead of cluttering that one up…

VH/H

[Discoskull]

Barae the Destroyer 278 - 223 BC

The Albion Wars: 272 – 248 BC
The Tribes of the Tin Isles are conquered by Barae of the Casse and united under one banner for the first time in history – the grand Kingdom of the Casse is born.
This in and of itself would have put the Casse into the history books, but Barae’s intentions are far more imperialistic, something rarely seen in the People of the Northlands…




The First Gallic War: 246 – 212 BC

After brokering an alliance with the struggling Aedui confederacy, Barae invades mainland Europe in the year 246 BC. He begins with the quick and brutal conquest of the Amoriae of the northwest tip of Gaul. Thanks to their constant skirmishes with the Aedui confederacy, these people fall to the Casse quite easily.

The weak warriors of the Amoriae become clients to the Casse. Barae turns his eyes south, to the Lemorisae. These people, despite wars with both the Aedui and Arverni confederacies, have remained strong.
They have not yet met the war machine of the Casse Kingdom, however…



Barae, now that he had a strong presence on the mainland, planned to attack the man-worshippers of the south – the Arverni – in order to bring aid to his Aedui allies – as well as land for himself!
This plan failed, however.



On the eve of his attack on the Arverni, the Aedui did the unthinkable – betrayal! Barae’s vengeance knew no bounds.

The next two years were a bloody struggle to defend British holdings on the mainland. Barae was forced to secure an alliance with the man-worshipers.

He marched into Aedui-held territories along the northern coasts of Gaul in the year 238 BC. He camped outside one of their largest strongholds in the North – the city of Cenabum, a sacred place for the Gaelic Druids.

The Gaels, equal to the British army in numbers, marched forth to attack…

Winter, 238 BC – The Battle of Cenebum

Barae took over a peasant farming post and waited for the Gaels to attack – which they did, en force, led by one of their princes. This prince, though he had a great number of warriors under his command, was not the best strategist…

The Gaels charged uphill and into a hailstorm of spears. After a morning of bloodshed, Barae’s horde was victorious, and the Gaels were routed – and slaughtered!

Andraste be praised!!!!



The subsequent siege of the city was a shadow of the battle on the hill.



After that day it was known to all Gaels that the Britons answer betrayal with slaughter. Barae loves the taste of innocent blood…

Barae marched on the Aedui-held lands of the Belgae the following spring. The dwindling forces of the Gaels put up no real fight, and the Belgae tribes of the region welcomed the Casse with open arms.



Barae was preparing to march on the capitol of the Aedui…when the foolish man-worshipers attacked Lemonum. Apparently, they had not learned the lesson the Aedui learned at Cenabum…

[Discoskull]

An update on my simply slow-but-steady Casse campaign...

RULES:
I ONLY play battles when a general is present. Captains are on their own in the auto-calc world.

CURRENT ALLIES:
Karthadast and Arverni

CURRENT ENEMIES:
Romani

CURRENT WORRIES:
Sweboz hordes massing on the Germanic Frontier...looks like my Aedui protectorates are gonna have a fight on their hands...

CURRENT PAIN IN MY @$$:
Iberian spies. I don't like red faces.



After being betrayed by the Arverni during the First Gaelic War, Barae got pissed. Diplomacy is disgustingly overrated, he decided.

After sacking Bibracte and slaughtering its people, the Aedui were forced to submit to permanent Casse rule, becoming client tribes (protectorate), as well as nifty buffers between Germanic and Arverni frontiers.

Now that Barae was free to focus on the treacherous Arverni, Burdigala - their only port city - received a full-force whack from the Casse war machine. It wasn’t long before the Arverni dogs, already at war with the Romani of the southlands, were scrambling for a ceasefire.

A couple years passed. Barae conquered the meager tribes of Vocallra, yearning to see the fabled Mediterranean ocean that he’d dreamed of since conquering Gallic Britain in the good old days. He saw those white shores, and dreamed of peace…and then a cowardly Romani assassin attempted to kill him in his sleep. To war!

In the following five years, after a brutal tug-of-war across the coastline of Vocallra and Greceoallra (or the Greco Coast, as the Casse called it), Massalia fell to the might of the Casse. Barae happily slaughtered the boot-loving Greeks that lived there, bringing a grand and rich city into Casse hands and paying for the campaign ten times over.

This same year, the ever-so-annoying pirates of the North Sea were finally crushed, allowing the disbandment of the fleet. Quarter-annual profit shot from around 5K minai to around 15K+ minai, no small feat!

Barae was not finished with the treacherous Romani, however. In a daring incursion into Italy itself, Barae sacked Segesta and left no structure standing, bringing even more great wealth to the already wealthy Casse Empire (current treasury totals are around 200,000 minai).

Though Barae intended to leave Segesta as soon as the snows left the ground, to live out his days in Massalia, this was not to be. Barae, Conqueror of Caledonia, King of the Goldis, ravager of the Gallic coast and killer of Romans, fell to a Roman assassin’s blade that very winter at the ripe old age of 71, sending shock waves throughout the fledgling empire.

The leaderless army left Segesta to stew in its own filth the following spring, intent on carrying Barae’s remains back to Massalia for a hero's burial. After intense fighting with Romans in the mountain passes, they succeeded, though morale was extremely low, and many men were lost.

Good thing Barae’s young and influential grandson, a gifted commander and stout tactician, was just arriving in Massalia that very spring…

[Discoskull]

Another update on that Casse campaign, which as gone from slow and steady to something of a blitzkrieg...

Mowg the Just: 223 - 206 BC

(During this period, leadership of the Casse is unorganized and disjointed due to the flaccid leadership of Mowg the Just, resulting in unnecessary wars fought for personal glory in the south. Even still, this helped to broaden British influence and lands...)

CURRENT ALLIES: Karthadast and Arverni

CURRENT ENEMIES: Romani and [what's left of] Iberia

CURRENT WORRIES: The new alliance between the Romani and the Sweboz Empire. Romani dogs. I hate them. And those Sweboz are spreading like a juice stain...

CURRENT RELIEF: The Sweboz are busy fighting vicious Thracians and the Greeks in the far east, and the last thing they'd want to endanger is their western border.

214 BC


I know it may not look as if much as changed, but the map has been rather malleable of late, thanks to constant warfare with the Romani dogs.

The Romani Wars: 228 BC - ?

First Invasion

(by the way, those are famous battles, though the one near Segesta was Barae...)

Carratocuros dyn Nimmall, a promising general, superb administrator, and all around influential guy, arrived in Massalia in 223 BC just in time to learn of his grandfather's murder at the hands of a Romani assassin. Carratocuros is not so happy.

When summer came and his armies were replenished, Carratocuros invaded Italy full force, using the southern route through the coastal wilderness, rather than the guarded mountain passes.
The Romans, though their armies were many, were not prepared for Carratocuros's vicious onslaught. Medilanum falls within the year.

The following spring, Sennianos ar Carvetae arrived, newly married into the family from Caledonia.
Though Sennianos was no scholar, he was a vigorous commander - a hammer to use against the Romani.
Segesta and Bononia fell the next year, and finally, at the Battle of Medilanum in 218 BC - when the Romani attempted to take the city back with an army from Aventicos (looks like those foolish man-worshipers, the Arverni, can't even take a single isolated settlement) - Roman military might in northern Italy was crushed.

If Patavium had fallen, it would have spelled the definitive end of Roman power in the north...



This glorious victory was to be short-lived, however.

The following year, the Romani of the south (2 full legions) decided that the meek Carthegenians weren't as much of a threat as the marauding Celts.
They arrived in northern Italy led by an uber 4-star general (who suddenly gained 3 stars when he attacked ).

They bypassed Bononia and met the Casse army under Sennianos as he marched towards Patavium. For all Carratocuros's virtues, he forgot about using spies...

Summer, 215 BC - The Battle of Venetia
Though the tough and experienced army under Sennianos fought bravely and killed many Romani dogs, it was no use; they were outnumbered, outclassed, and their battle line was cut in half. Sennianos himself fell in battle. Turns out that hammer came from Wal-Mart.
The remaining warriors knew it was certain death to stand and fight...but they were slaughtered as they attempted to withdraw.
As a silver lining, the Roman general was killed in a scuffle as he attempted to ride down the last of the retreating Britons.

The shattered army joined Carratocuros's forces in Medilanum.
The leaderless Romani immediately laid siege to Medilanum, and Carratocuros found himself fighting, not for conquest, but for survival.

He and his son - newly come of age under the Roman siege - managed to break free of the Romani dogs in the winter of 215 BC, but the damage done at the Battle of Venetia had already taken hold. The Romani were regrouping, and Casse power in the region had been cut in half and was falling fast.

Seeing no other alternative but meaningless death, the (literally) battle weary Carratocuros abandoned northern Italy. He and his remaining forces returned to Massalia to regroup. The mountain passes are much easier to defend, after all...but that doesn't take away the stinging fact that he had failed to take Italy.



The Iberian War: 218 - ?
(a mere footnote compared to the happenings in Italy)

Meanwhile, another young general - Barrivendos, of the Goldis - made war with the weakened tribes of Iberia, allies of the Romani dogs. The Iberians' constant wars with Karthadastim have left them open and vulnerable.
Tyde and Numantia fell with little resistance.
The Iberians defended Lustania in a rather large battle - er, slaughter. It didn't help them...

Summer, 215 BC: Battle of Turdulia



When Barrivendos marched on Sucum-Murgi with his sizable force of mercenaries and shortswords-men, he met a vast army (1.5 stacks), the last of the Iberian forces in the south. In the epic battle that followed, the Iberians were utterly crushed.
Too bad Barrivendos died fighting in the streets of Sucum-Murgi not long after...



Barrivendos's sacrifice was not in vain. The Iberians will be subdued shortly, and the Casse can concentrate their efforts eastward with the Iberian territories pumping even more gold into their coffers.

Once Carratocuros finally takes Roma, I believe a jolly old extermination is in order...though those weak-willed, man-worshipping Arverni may have to be absorbed before that can happen...having no allies is better than having a crappy one.

[Discoskull]

Update: The whole of Iberia is ours. We can now call ourselves a true Empire.

Carratocuros the Selfless: 206 - 188 BC

PROTECTORATES: Aedui and Arverni

CURRENT ALLIES: Sweboz

CURRENT ENEMIES: Karthadastim and Romani

CURRENT WORRIES: A bloody 2-front war against Africans, Germans, and Romans has reduced my coffers from 200K to around 30K, and the Romani have just initiated a massive invasion…

CURRENT RELIEF: The African War is won. And, thanks to a war in far-off Greece, the alliance between the Sweboz and the Romani dogs was shattered. Now they’re my friends, for as long as that lasts. Eat it, Romani dogs. Eat it.

197 BC


Wars, wars, wars…

Iberian War: 218 – 212 BC

Romani Wars: 228 BC – ?

After the utter failure of the first invasion, Carratocuros, newly elected High King of the Casse, sent his son, Borrodan, southwards to subdue the last of the Iberian tribes.
Things were quiet on the northern front for a couple of years…until Ryddon, an axebitten warmonger and great general not yet in his twenties, arrived from the Gallic coast in the year 212 BC.

Second Invasion
Carratocuros, tired of leading men to their deaths, gave control of the eastern army to Ryddon, who marched into Italy in spring of 211.
Ryddon, though not as smart or influential as Carratocuros, proved to be a far more capable general in the field. He utterly defeated two Roman armies at the top of a hill overlooking Segesta, losing only sixty-eight men in the process.



(and, after a flanking job by three hidden units of cavalry…)


These Roman armies were thick with mercenaries from their northern-most city, Aventicos. Ryddon, after defeating these men, realized something…if he could control forces like this, he could defeat the dreaded Roman Triarii much easier than with swords, and ravage Italy!

Ryddon sacked Medilanum that winter…but, instead of attempting to hold lands in northern Italy, he marched across the Alps and sacked Aventicos in the year 210, intent on employing the mercenaries of Helvetis. Things were all going to plan…until a horde of Sweboz, allies of Roma, descended on Medilanum in 210 and took the city for themselves. Ryddon was not prepared for this…

Over the following two years, Ryddon drove the Sweboz out of northern Italy…



…though Medilanum fell into Roman hands yet again in the process.

Though the Sweboz lost four armies – and four generals – the cost to Ryddon’s army was too high. Well over half of them, the most experienced warriors in the Empire, lay dead on various battlefields. War with the Sweboz could not continue.

Aventicos, the prize of the Second Invasion, was given to the Arverni by Carratocuros in exchange for a secure eastern border.
A ceasefire with the Sweboz followed soon after, and much-needed trade in the North Sea commenced once more. However, Ryddon was not happy about losing Aventicos at all…

…so Carratocuros set him loose upon the Arverni. The Second Gallic war followed…

(By the way, Medilanum has been one hot potato.
Aedui-Romani-Casse-Romani-Casse-Sweboz-Casse-Romani)


Second Gallic War: 208 – 207 BC

Ryddon was very bitter over the loss of his men and the unavoidable loss of Aventicos. The Arverni had refused to help him against the Sweboz…so he showed them no mercy.

The man-worshipers were attacked without warning. Arvernitorg fell in a single year.
After the Battle of Sequallra (the only real resistance the man-worshipers put up), the Arverni were brought to heel.
This short war would have been a mere footnote, if not for it’s dire repercussions in the raw, newly conquered southlands of Celtiberia…

African War: 208 – 197 BC

Major Battles of the African War


The Africans of Karthadast, long-time allies of both Arverni and Casse, were not pleased that the Casse had betrayed the Arverni. Perhaps they were afraid of a similar betrayal, or perhaps they were simply waiting for an excuse to attack Casse holdings in Iberia…who can say?

All the armies of Africa – and that’s a LOT – were emptied onto the beaches of southern Iberia, and the Qarthadastim attacked Baikor in the year 208 BC. Their forces were overwhelming, to say the least.
Borrodan, son of Carratocuros, was not prepared for this. The southern army – largely made up of Iberians in the service of the Casse – was depleted from the Iberian War.

Hillforts were erected all along the borders of Carpetania and Turdulia. Borrodan kept the rebellious peasants of Baikor in line while his uncle, Belenos, defended Celtiberia valiantly over the next two years in a series of epic bridge battles.



One African general after another fell.




Though the African forces were mighty, they could not cross into Carpetania. Belenos’s army of mercenaries and Iberian allies managed to keep the Africans at bay while Borrodan rallied reinforcements.
With each successive battle, the humiliation of the Africans, victors of many wars against the Greeks of the Sahara, grew…until the Battle of Some Bridge in Turdetania.


Winter, 202 BC: The Battle of Some Bridge in Turdetania

The African prince, a 5-star general, led a vast army of against Belenos’s battle-wearied Britaino-Iberian forces.
The clash was epic. It was also the first time any Briton laid eyes on terrible creatures thought to be mere myth – elephants!



Thanks to newly trained skirmishers from Baikor, the elephant monsters were killed – though they massacred two battalions of scutarii, and many men fled in terror at the very sight of them. The battle raged on.

Belenos himself fell even as he put the African prince under the sword. This did not bode well for either army. The battle was fierce and incredibly bloody…and the Africans managed to win by the narrowest of margins.
Good thing Barrodan had been busy training reinforcements…

The Battle of Some Bridge in Turdetania left the African coast open for the retrained army under Barrodan. One large – and leaderless – African army remained to be dealt with.


Spring, 200 BC: The Battle of Gader

The two armies met on the fields outside the great city of Gader.

The leaderless Africans, though they had superior numbers and superior troops, foolishly and arrogantly attacked uphill.



Though the fighting was hard, the Africans routed and were slaughtered as they ran like cowards. Only a handful of Barrodan’s men were lost.

Gader was sacked soon after, bringing rich mines of Turdetania into British hands.


Meanwhile, Gwenddolau of the Gaels had conquered the ravaged lands of Lacetania. He marched on Edetania – which had recently been taken by Karthadast – and defeated the Africans at the Battle of Arse.

Only one obstacle remained before total Casse domination of Iberia – the huge, grandiose city of Mastia, garrisoned with the last major African army in Iberia – and, by far, the most dangerous, as spies informed Barrodan that the army was almost entirely made up of elite forces, including the dreaded Sacred Band, and the Africans’ new prince, an 8-star general, commanded them…


Winter, 197 BC: The Battle of Mastia

Barrodan called upon every able-bodied man in Celtiberia to march on Mastia. They met his battle-hardened Celt-Iberian army at the walls of the city, and laid siege.

Mastia did not have the huge walls of Gader (in fact, only a wooden wall stood between the Celts and the city proper), but the defenders were legion.

Gwenddolau’s army from Arse arrived in the Winter of 197 BC. The Britons outnumbered the Africans 3 to 1…however, the elite African army was indeed a monstrous force to take on with a horde of which 2/3’s were spear-armed farmers and inexperienced shortswordsmen…

The city was surrounded. The Britons attacked. In the brutal battle that followed, countless men – Briton and African alike – died fighting in the streets of Mastia.
Gwenddolau fell as he foolishly attempted to ride down a dreaded Sacred Band.
It was only the bravery of two small and very experienced bands of Calawre from the Gallic Coast, veterans of both the Iberian War and the previous battles of the African War, that inspired the Britons and Iberians to keep fighting – and to win.



The city was taken. The Africans were slaughtered, and they lost yet another prince to Celtic blades. It was a great day for all Britons…though, keeping the chaotic, riot-ridden African coast from rebelling when most of the fighting men in Iberia are dead and rotting will prove to be quite a job…


197 BC: Romani Invasion

Not long after the victories of the African War, the eastern borders of the Empire – which had been rather quiet the last couple of years – were attacked.

Ryddon, warlord of the eastern armies, is now facing a 3-pronged Romani invasion. Five armies of the Romani dogs have laid siege to Massalia, Viennos, AND Arverni-controlled Aventicos…good thing the High King has been preparing!

(by the way, I'm not embellishing any of this - EB tends to be epic without anybody helping it along... )

[Discoskull]

187 BC


CURRENT ALLIES: Ptolemaioi

CURRENT PROTECTORATES: Aedui and Arverni

CURRENT ENEMIES: Romani and Sweboz

CURRENT WORRIES: Imminent war with the Sweboz…

CURRENT RELIEF: I’m the dominant power in Western Europe! For now…



Rebellions met with swift, bloody justice:

Lacetanian Rebellion: 188 - 186 BC
Venitian Rebellion: 187 BC
Turdetanian Rebellion: 190 BC

Romani Wars: 228 BC - ?

The Romani Invasion of 197 BC

In the year 197 BC, the Romani, in their last, desperate attempt to seize power in Gaul, invaded the borderlands with a massive force, laying siege to three cities there, including Massalia. Unfortunately for them, too many of their kings had already fallen to Celtic blades, and these armies were led by lesser generals…

Ryddon, warchief of the eastern armies, was prepared for this. He defeated a Roman legion at Viennos and marched on to the aid of the Arverni, who were facing two Roman legions at the fortress of Aventicos.

Meanwhile, Brieg, supremely influential trader and Lord of Greseoallra, sallied forth to face two Roman legions at the gates of Massalia.
Though the Romans routed, the cost of lives was high – the highest being Brieg himself, who died as a hero at the base of the walls…

Ryddon arrived at Aventicos in the fall of 197. With the help of the army under the Arverni god-king, the Romans were crushed.

Ryddon wasted no time. His spies told him that north Italy had been left open and vulnerable…

The Conquest of Latium: 196 – 187 BC

Major battles of the Conquest of Latium


Northern Italy fell easily over the next two years, ravaged to the ground by Ryddon’s vengeful hordes. Briton overlords spilled in from Gaul, the most notable of these being Ryddon’s influential son, Rudd, a promising general and expert trader, who took control of Patavium, a great prize!

When Ryddon’s army laid siege to Roma herself, the Romani attempted to defend it, sending the last of the forces they could muster against the Celts…



The Romans were slaughtered, and Roma herself was taken not long after.



Roma was sacked – for the first time in over 200 years! The humiliation of the Romani knew no ends.

Romanize THAT!


Carratocuros the Selfless was very happy to hear that Roma had fallen. He died peacefully in Tolosa one year later at the age of 61, satisfied and sated with his life’s work – Barae, his grandfather, had been avenged! Andraste does indeed bring death to the wicked!


Ryddon Romaneitas: 192 BC - ?

Ryddon Romaneitas, newly elected High King of the Britons, continued to pave his bloody trail down the Italian peninsula. At the Battle of Taras, the last competent Roman general fell…




Ryddon’s army of Britons and Samnite allies now sits poised to take the vast city of Rhegion, where the last great Roman army awaits him…


The Battle of Noricae: 188 BC

Upon Carratocuros’s death, Rudd, son of Ryddon Romaneitas, marched across the Alps to take the last Romani stronghold in the north – the mountain fortress of Iuvavoaeta.

In the inevitable coming war with the Sweboz Empire, this fortress would prove quite valuable…


The Celtic allies of the Romani fled before Rudd's vast host, gathering at the walls of Iuvavoaeta for a final showdown.



On a peak overlooking the city, the armies met.

“Hold the line! We’ve trampled better men than these!”



The horde of Roman allies, though they outnumbered Rudd's troops nearly 2/1, was no match for the ferocity of the Casse. The governor of Iuvavoaeta was killed, and the city was taken, its inhabitants doomed to slavery.

In the south, at Patavium, things weren’t going so well…


Germanic Incursion: 187 BC

The captain of Patavium’s forces nearly crapped himself – a horde of the Sweboz appeared, and laid siege, led by a powerful German warchief. The city was only defended by farmers and four bands of spear soldiers! This would be bloody…

The defenders of Patavium attempted to drive off the attackers. They put up a good fight…



…but were ultimately pushed back behind the walls. Many men died, and both leaders fell. The battle was fought to a draw.



A mercenary force from the west, led by a lesser warchief from Medilanum, drove off the remnants of the marauding army, but the stage is now set for a war the Casse have long dreaded – war with the Empire of the Sweboz.

Andraste, give us strength!

[CountArach]

Bring it on! This is what I have been waiting for!

[paullus]

what are those troops in the fourth screen shot from the bottom? the ones with the thureos shields, mail, and reddish plaid pants?

Great to see this as an AAR, very good presentation. The war with the Sweboz looks like it'll be pretty danged epic.

[Discoskull]

Those are super-awesome British noble warrior heroes, called Ralcwre (????) or something like that.
I can only train them in Patavium/Bononia. They're about the same price to train as the Calawre, but have a 500+ mnai upkeep and take 3 turns to train. Still, they are my only trainable champions in the Eastern Empire...

edit: And you really only need one of them per army anyway. They rock, especially with experience...

[Reverend Joe]

Germanic Incursion: 187 BC

The captain of Patavium?s forces nearly crapped himself ? a horde of the Sweboz appeared, and laid siege, led by a powerful German warchief. The city was only defended by farmers and four bands of spear soldiers! This would be bloody...

The defenders of Patavium attempted to drive off the attackers. They put up a good fight...



...but were ultimately pushed back behind the walls. Many men died, and both leaders fell. The battle was fought to a draw.

"You cannot win, but you must fight, because you can lose."

[Discoskull]

Exactly! I need to read The Cycle of Telan (sp?)...it sounds rather interesting

[CountArach]

Exactly! I need to read The Cycle of Telan (sp?)...it sounds rather interesting

I think it is Cycle of Telam, but no such thing exists on Google :(

[Ludens]

[Foot]

I think it is Cycle of Telam, but no such thing exists on Google :(

Ranika gives us special access to books that are only know being translated. The translations haven't been published yet.

Foot

[Trithemius]

Those are super-awesome British noble warrior heroes, called Ralcwre (????) or something like that.
I can only train them in Patavium/Bononia. They're about the same price to train as the Calawre, but have a 500+ mnai upkeep and take 3 turns to train. Still, they are my only trainable champions in the Eastern Empire...

edit: And you really only need one of them per army anyway. They rock, especially with experience...

More pictures of them please! :)

[Avicenna]

Achtung! Die Englischen sind hier!

[Olaf The Great]

How is this a Mini-AAR/

[Discoskull]

I guess I was just comparing it to "The Wasteland" by Obelics (I haven't read a lot of AARs...).
I don't have time to go into massive detail, so I just describe the important battles/leaders and the progression of the campaign as a whole, as if it were some casual history book

[Epistolary Richard]

Found it great

[Musopticon?]

This is actually more reminiscent of the celtic AAR, Dreamers, also by Artaserse. It's not so minimalistic, but this one also does the same, to the point, kind of writing. Waste Land(written separately, goddammit!) is more verbose and funny.

[Discoskull]

This is actually more reminiscent of the celtic AAR, Dreamers, also by Artaserse. It's not so minimalistic, but this one also does the same, to the point, kind of writing. Waste Land(written separately, goddammit!) is more verbose and funny.

I would enjoy a link to this one

[Wardo]

Can I have my jaw back please?

[Musopticon?]

I would enjoy a link to this one

But I wouldn't enjoy giving you a link to that one.




I kid.

[Discoskull]

Can I have my jaw back please?

[ElectricEel]

An interesting, well-written AAR. Thanks for posting it.

[Discoskull]

My pleasure. First phase of the Germanic War will be done at some point this week, whenever I reach a stopping point (these Sweboz are tough cookies). So much freelance work...so little time between that and sleeping like a corpse...what I wouldn't give for a regular old 9-to-5 job...

[Discoskull]

184 BC

I'd have a world map, but not much has changed...evil Sweboz Demons...

CURRENT ALLIES: Ptolemaioi

CURRENT ENEMIES: Sweboz

CURRENT WORRIES: Sweboz...


In the winter of 187 BC, the din of battle echoed across the Eastern Empire. Rudd, son of Ryddon, a warchief not yet 30, already the victor of battles against the Romani and their allies, was facing the most daunting task of any Casse warlord since Barae himself – the monstrous Empire of the Sweboz, brother-empire of the Casse, had finally declared war.

Reports of German raids spilled in from across the borderlands. A massive confrontation was inevitable…

This catastrophic war had been foreseen, even in Barae’s time. After all, what bear could share its den with a wolf? Bears are huge, and hungry – they are greedy for space. But also stupid…


Romani Wars: 228 BC – 184 BC

Roma, Jewel of Latium


Meanwhile, in the warm lands of the Far South of Latium, Ryddon finished the work he had started nearly 25 years ago…the complete extermination of the Romani.

After the fall of Rhegion and the subsequent sack of Messana, Ryddon turned his eyes on Syrakousae, last city of the Romani.

The Romani dogs, looking down the snout of utter destruction, sent their last army against Ryddon in the shadow of Mt. Etha...

Summer, 184 BC: The Battle of Etha



Though the Romani dogs put up a good fight, the Samnites under Ryddon’s command were brutal. Not a single Roman soldier – aside from their cowardly general – survived.







The defenders of Syrakousae fell like saplings. At the end of the day, Ryddon was a very, very happy – and drunk – Bren. The elation of his forces echoed throughout the decimated city. The Britons praised the one Roman invention they adored – the vomitorium.



If only Ryddon had known the peril facing his Empire – and his son – in the north, perhaps he would not have been so jubilant…


***


Germanic War: 187 BC - ?

Major Battles, 187 – 184 BC


Rudd needed a larger base of operations north of the Alps. He didn’t enjoy being completely surrounded by the lands of the Demons…so he gathered the tribesmen of the Noricae and marched west, to Veldideno, a fortress perched atop the steep cliffs of Rhaetia, Celtic borderlands held by the vile Sweboz.

Winter, 187 BC: The Battle of Veldideno

Rudd’s forces surrounded the city. Winter had not yet passed before a vast horde appeared from across the river to the north, led by two German warlords. These Demons, confident in their vast numbers, came to relieve the already sizable garrison at Veldideno. What was more, the remnants of the armies at Iuvavoaeta, allies of the Romani, joined the Sweboz at the foot of the cliffs of Veldideno – they attacked!

What followed was, by far, the bloodiest battle in the history of the Empire.

Rudd was outnumbered, and he faced armies led by German warlords more capable than even the son of Ryddon Romaneitas.

Rudd took up his position at the mouth of the forest. He and his men, most of which had never seen a battle larger than a border skirmish, could only watch as the hordes of Sweboz spilled down the hill…





The fighting raged all morning, and well into the afternoon. The Demons were vicious, and many of the Casse fell to their axes, spears, and swords. For every Demon that died, two more fresh warriors appeared in his place.



When the killing finally ended, Rudd stood victorious atop a mound of his dead kinsmen. All three of the German warlords had either been killed or had fled like cowards. The depleted British army marched into Veldideno and occupied the fortress – there had been enough bloodshed that day, even for the warriors of the Casse…

***

Even as Rudd secured the lands of Rhaetia, two more Germanic incursions rocked the raw lands of Noricae over the next two years, supported by troops from Skandza to Scythia…







These insults cost the Sweboz two promising warchiefs…stupid Demons...




Though these incursions died at the walls of Iuvavoaeta, Rudd knew that the lands north of the Alps could not be defended forever…the Sweboz were simply too powerful, and too many. In time, the Demons would surely crush Iuvavoaeta and spill over the Alps like great waves crashing over a lone rock in the ocean…

Rudd sent messengers to the northlands of the Empire, to the Great City of Camulosadae herself, with tidings, and a plan.



Summer, 184 BC: The Battle of Rhaetia

As Rudd marched to the aid of Iuvavoaeta in the summer of 184 BC, besieged by the Sweboz yet again, he was ambushed by a horde under the command of yet another great German warchief. Rudd’s army, at half strength, outnumbered 2 to 1, and taken by surprise, knew the situation was grim…



The Casse fought valiantly and viciously, like the wolves they were. For every warrior of the Casse that fell that day, five Demons joined him!





The German warchief himself was slaughtered like a pig at the hands of Venetian champions. The battle hung in the balance for hours…



Despite the valor of the Casse, the Demons’ numbers were too great.
Rudd’s forces, exhausted and bleeding, were forced to retreat.



Only a handful of his men survived that day’s onslaught – the Demons were victorious, though they paid for the victory with rivers of their own blood.



It was one of the few defeats the Empire had ever known, and, coming this soon in the war, it was an ill, ill omen indeed…


***

Rudd’s Plan

News of the German threat reached Nimall, lord of Belgae Britannia, in the winter of 186 BC, along with Rudd's plan. Nimall immediately put it into action…

Rudd needed to divide the attention of the Sweboz, and, in effect, their power – and force the Sweboz to engage in a 2-front war. If this could not be done, the rich, newly conquered lands of the south-eastern Empire would surely fall…

Spies in the Dark Lands of the Germans reported that the shores of the German Sea were undefended – it seemed every Demon in the Empire of the Sweboz was marching on Noricae and Patavium.

With sufficient force from the Northlands, as well as swift and deadly mercenaries from the lands of the Horse Masters, perhaps the Sweboz could be made to tremble.

It was time to call upon the fleets of the Casse, the only naval power in the North Seas, for the first time in 50 years...




The war horns echoed throughout the Northlands. Hammer-men from Erain, Cwmyr from the Midlands of Albion, Dark Men from Caledryn, warriors of the Belgae, legions of tribesmen from the Gallic Coast and champions of Cassemorg itself – all answered the call.

A massive invasionary force was raised, commanded by Nimall, great-grandson of Barae himself. The ships of the Casse took to the waves, headed for the dark waters of the Germanic Sea, ready to wreck havoc and burn down the homelands of the Demons, or die trying…

Nimall knows it is unlikely that he, or any of his men, will ever return. He goes for duty, for glory…for the Empire…

[GiantMonkeyMan]

great AAR, not at all mini but still great keep on fighting!

[Justiciar]

I'm lovin' this, Discoskull. Keep at it.

Your maps are excellent too.

[Discoskull]

True, it's not so mini anymore. It just kept growing, like a tumor...