The Trading Republic of Kart-Hadast. (AAR)

[Aenos]

---
Alright, my first AAR so please don't make your critizism to harsh.. It aint near as great as the ones I read, but yet, I had fun making this first little part
---

The trading republic of Kart-Hadast.

Gold was flowing through our fair city, Kart-Hadast. The people were content and peace reigned in most parts of our trading-empire. But from the town of Ippone, to the west of Kart-Hadast, reports came that the Numidian threat was growing. Those foolish men, scum of the desert, were growing bolder with each passing day! Attacking our trade routes, ambushing merchants. No, it couldn’t be tolerated and thus our council met and discussed the matter.

In the Council-halls of Kart-Hadast.

Councilor Hamalcar, main councilor of the militaristic side of the council: ‘Councilors, for many months now have we received reports from the town of Ippone. The reports say that the Numidian bandits are stalking the land, ambushing our merchants and blocking our much-needed trade routes! We cannot tolerate such insolence against our republic! Therefore I suggest we sent the young general Xanthippos with the army of Kart-Hadast to deal with the matter.’

Councilor Hasdrubal, main councilor of the economical/diplomatical side of the council: ‘I agree that they need to be stopped, but I’d hardly think it’s wise to use arms against them. Why not send a diplomat over there?’

Councilor Hamalcar: ‘Councilor Hasdrubal, have you actually read the reports from Ippone? *takes a copy of one of the reports* It clearly says: ‘A few months ago we send the able diplomat Annibas to talk to them, but he has not been seen since.. We fear he will not return anymore..’. This report was send weeks ago, it’s highly unlikely that Annibas is still alive and as such it’s clear that a diplomatic mission is not possible.’

Councilor Hasdrubal: ‘*looks startled for a moment, then replies* Then I agree, force may be the only way to be able to counter this threat. But, such a campaign would be expensive, and as we shouldn’t let our treasury be hurt by this, I suggest the disbandment of the main military fleet. The seas are safe these days and the fleet is costing us more then one would like each year.’

Councilor Hamalcar: ‘Disbanding the fleet?! And what if the Greeks decide to go to war with us? What would you do then?’

Councilor Hasdrubal: ‘The Greeks are as far as we know squabbling amongst themselves and not even near capable to strike at us at this time.’

Shophet Mago, governor of Kart-Hadast and often on the economical side: ‘*interrupts before Hamalcar can reply* That seems a fine plan, one, we stop the Numidians and two, by disbanding the military fleet we stop a major drain on our treasury. All in favour raise your hand. *raises his hand and sees that about 12 of the 20 of the councilor do the same* Then it is agreed, but whom is to lead the army to fight the Numidians?’

Councilor Hamalcar: ‘I would advise Xanthippos for this duty, he’s young and this will be a good chance for him to prove himself. All in favour? *most councilors raise their hands and the plan is passed*’

And as this was decided the council continued their discussions about the military, the economy, etc.. Underwhile though, Xanthippos mounted his horse and rode ahead of his army out of town. They marched for Ippone but then turned towards the desert and the mountains. A few weeks later one of the scouts suddenly sounds the alarm as an army of Numidian raiders quickly rides to the camp.

Campaign against the Numidians: Battle near Ippones.

Xanthippos: ‘Phalanxes line up just before those trees there, *points at a small group of trees in front of where he stood* Iberian infantry, you’ll defend the flanks should those bastards try to flank us! Cavalry.. erm.. Just go stand somewhere over there *points at a flat part of the hill*.’



And as our forces lined up, the Numidians rode up the hill at a dazzling speed. Xanthippos quickly ordered his Iberian infantry to throw their spears at the approaching cavalry.



But even as death rained upon them they rode on. They quickly got closer to the lightly-armed Iberian spearmen and Xanthippos nearly saw to late what happened.

Xanthippos: ‘*just barely in time he shouted* Cavalry, quick, charge at them!’

The Iberian Cavalry responded as quickly as the order was given. Their famous skill with the sword was shown as many of the lightly-armored Numidians went down.



It was clear who were the victors that day and as the bandits retreated our men celebrated. With this victory, the road to Kirtan, a Numidian stronghold, lay open.

Campaign against the Numidians: The Siege of Kirtan.

As they approached Kirtan they saw it didn’t even have walls. However, this combined with the previous victory made them.. well.. slightly overconfident of themselves.

Xanthippos: ‘Skirmishers in front! Iberian Infantry behind, should the Skirmishers be attacked, well.. you know what to do in that case! And the phalanxes.. Behind them, should they break through you’ll have to hold them off..’

Officer of Xanthippos: ‘*whispers* Sir.. You.. erm.. forgot the cavalry..’

Xanthippos: ‘*looks a bit startled and then says to the officer* What?! I didn’t forget them. Just let me finish what I were saying. *and as the officer ‘apologizes’ he turns to the army and shouts* Cavalry to the right.



The Numidians came pouring out of the town and convinced that his Iberian cavalry would surely stand against any number of those lightly armed Numidians, he send them to fight them.. alone.. Truly Xanthippos was the wisest of all Carthaginian generals, but perhaps with time and experience..



After a while he noticed that more and more Numidians were leaving the town and his cavalry wasn’t quite winning..

Xanthippos: ‘Iberian infantry, quickly go to the aid of our cavalry! *and as he thought it might be to little to late he decided to do something what some may have called ‘reckless’ and suddenly he shouted* Chaarge! *and he charged in with his personal cavalry quickly following*’

Sadly it didn’t last. Even though his (near-to suicidal) charge had had some effect, the morale of the Iberians broke leading to a mass route. However, something in Xanthippos’ first plan then came to work! As they retreated, the Poeni phalanxes managed to hold the line and stop the charging enemy.



Xanthippos then made a well-timed order to his Numidian Mercenaries and they charged into the open flanks of the enemies fighting the Phalanxes. As the enemy broke the remainder of our cavalry and the infantry charged into the streets.

The battle was won, but it had a high price. Over half of the precious Iberian cavalry lay dead. But Xanthippos did learn from it, never underestimate the enemy, no matter what the odds.

With this battle the Numidian campaign had ended for now, for the enemy stronghold that had brought most of the problems being conquered. The following months were more peaceful and the resources of Kart-Hadast were mainly focused on the economy.

[Aenos]

The next few years saw the construction of a few towers along the southern border to ensure no one would enter our lands that way without us knowing. Furthermore there were a few skirmishes with raiding bands of rebels and a handful of Numidians. But those battles were easily won and our people began to become richer and richer. But what to do with all this money? Spend it to improve our economy even further, or use it to upgrade our military? The matter was debated in the council.

In the Council Halls of Kart-Hadast.

Councilor Hamalcar: ‘Councilors, with our economy growing and our people being the richest in the world, I think time has come to seriously look at our military. Our military presence on the land is alright, could be better, but will do for the moment. However, our city walls are terribly under-strength. Except for Kart-Hadast all our towns have but a small wooden wall that wouldn’t keep out even the smallest of raiding parties! Also there’s the fleet matter, our scouts in southern Italy report that the Romans are on the move. This means we might once have to fight for control over Sicily. Without a navy to supply the island, this is impossible. Therefore I suggest that we build up our walls in our main towns and at the same time rebuild part of the old military fleet.’

Councilor Hasdrubal: ‘Councilor Hamalcar, you speak of war with the Romans. Why would we wish for such a thing? War is highly unprofitable and I’m sure the Romans are wise enough to agree with us on that. The Romans nearly depend economically on our trade with them, I don’t think they’d risk a war with us.’

Councilor Hamalcar: ‘*turns to Hasdrubal* How can you claim that war with the Romans is unlikely? The Greeks in southern Italy are threatened to be thrown out of Italy completely because of the Romans. Also a while ago the Romans were at war with nearly every tribe around them! I say that the chance is indeed there that there will be war with Rome.’

Shophet Mago: ‘Councilors! We are not here today to debate the possibility of war with Rome, we are here to discuss military spending. Please councilors, let’s save this discussion for another time.’

Councilor Hasdrubal: ‘Of course Shophet, I apologize. Hmm.. Well, maybe it’s a good thing to reinforce the walls and build up a little fleet.. To protect our economy. Walls will keep our wealthy cities safe and the fleet will clear the seas of those pirate bastards.’

Shophet Mago: ‘So we agree then? To protect our traders we shall rebuild part of the fleet and reinforce the walls? All in favour?’

And as the council unanimously agreed, the meeting was over. However, the discussion about the Romans did bring up thoughts about a potential future threat.. To keep Sicily safe though, we signed an alliance with the Romans. Let us hope that they will honour it..

[Justiciar]

Another! Sweet! I didn't expect to see any more AAR's until 0.8's release. Great work so far.

[Aenos]

Thank you for the compliment. Well, to be frank I was waiting for 0.8 before I was going to write this. But seeing I have a holiday now, I decided to do it early.

[Aut Nihil]

These AAR's are really enjoyable to read and help me to kill time while i'm waiting for 0.8

Nice job mate!

[Aenos]

Years past as events were slowly shaping the world. News came that the Romans had, after years of siege, broken the defenses of Rhegion and thus conquered all of southern Italy. In the fine town of Kart-Hadast the people spoke constantly about this, some saying the Romans would instantly march to Lilibeo, our city on Sicily, whilst others said they would remain loyal to the alliance. But shophet Mago, convinced that the Romans would remain loyal, decided it would not be discussed in the council. However, a few months after the Romans conquered Rhegion, the council discussed about expansion in Iberia. Seeing this would be economically profitable, the council unanimously voted in favour of such plans. An army was to be prepared and it was decided that Xanthippos, ‘hero’ of the Numidian campaign, was to lead it.

Iberia: Expansion and conquest.

As our scouts reported that the Romans had conquered Messana, the fleet, carrying the army of Kart-Hadast, set out for Ippone. There they would meet up with general Xanthippos, who governed that town, before they’d sail to Iberia.

As they landed in Iberia near the town of Mastia, they met with the Iberian part of the army. They were mainly infantry with some medium cavalry to support. A few days later they started marching north, to the independent town called Arsé.

Xanthippos quickly ordered the construction of rams so they could break through the wooden walls surrounding the town. But before they were finished, a small band of Iberians marched towards us, trying to relief the siege.

Xanthippos: ‘*is alerted by a scout* What?! An Iberian army that close, we can’t allow them to unite with the army in the town.. *thinks of a tactic he read about during his governor-time, turns to his forces* Men! Iberians are approaching, engineers, keep working on the rams, try to make it look like we’re still here.. Pherhaps then the town will not come to their aid. The others, we’ll make our stand there *points at a flat part of land a few hundred meters away, as they arrive there he orders* Skirmishers in front, phalanxes behind and the Iberian support behind the phalanxes, you shall defend the flanks. Cavalry on the right wing.’



His plan worked, Arsé didn’t notice the relief force and their warriors didn’t arrive on the battlefield at all! But Xanthippos had made one error when he chose the place to make his stand.. The Iberian relief force was coming over a hilltop, therefore they could throw their spears earlier then our skirmishers could. Many skirmishers fell as spears rained death upon them.. But then, finally, they got into range and threw their light spears.



As Iberian after Iberian fell they became disheartened, seeing an opportunity to make them rout Xanthippos ordered: 'Cavalry, charge at them now!’



The Iberians broke and the battle was won. Ba’al was surely with us that day, for as soon as the people of Arsé saw what had happened, they surrendered. For this we spared their lives and enslaved them. Pherhaps Xanthippos was slowly becoming a better commander..

A few months later the gods were surely smiling upon our republic once again. Scouts in Sicily reported that the Romans were sending their armies back to Italy, to the north. This meant that they were honouring their alliance with us. It was welcome news indeed that the trade with cities like Roma and Capua would continue.

[Aenos]

In the Council Halls of Kart-Hadast.

The council met to discuss the trade fleets, mining income etc.. When suddenly a scout entered the room.

Shophet Mago: ‘Wha.. What are you doing here scout? This hall is off-limits to commoners during council.’

Scout: ‘Councilors.. I apologize for this interruption but I bring terrible news.. The Romans.. Their fleet was reported blocking the port of Karali! And their army on Sicily is marching to Lilibeo..’

Some councilors gasped, whilst others nearly turned red from anger.

Councilor Hamalcar: ‘I knew those dogs would betray us! We should never have disbanded our fleet!’

Councilor Hasdrubal: ‘*looks shocked, regains control of himself and replies* Th.. the Roman fleet is weak, our remaining fleet can easily overcome them.’

Councilor Hamalcar: ‘But our fleet is still near Ippone! It cann..’

Shophet Mago: ‘Hamalcar! We shouldn’t be accusing others at this time! We must think of a plan to react, militarily if need be to do so!’

Councilor Hamalcar: ‘Pardon me for my mistake, shophet. About a plan..*thinks for a moment* Well, the walls of Lilibeo have been reinforced during the last few years and the garrison there is one of the strongest in our republic. I’m certain we can withstand even a strong assault their for some time, but defending may not be enough to overcome the Romans.. I suggest we build a new fleet in Mastia (the main Iberian colony) and transport part of the army stationed in Arsé to Sicily whilst our fleet at Ippone moves to destroy the Roman navy, that way we might be able to throw the Romans out of the island and regain naval supremacy.’

Councilor Hasdrubal: ‘Councilor Hamalcar, that is a fine plan, but wouldn’t that leave the Iberian colonies, and then especially the rebellious town of Arsé, vulnerable to an attack? Can we afford such a risk?’

Councilor Hamalcar: ‘We are allied with the ‘united’ Iberian tribes and the other remaining ones are hardly a risk to our garrison at Mastia. Of course it will be a risk, but I’d rather risk that then losing wealthy Sicily!’

Shophet Mago: ‘I agree with you on that point, Hamalcar. Let us vote then. *raises his hand and sees that 17 out of the 20 councilors do the same* Then it is decided, I shall instantly send a message to our fleet as well as a message to the towns of Mastia and Arsé.’

And thus the decision was taken. The Iberian army would be send to Sicily to force the Romans out of the island. But shocking it was that the Romans had declared war on us.. And yet, what else can one expect from such traitorous dogs? Soon we would see who were superior on the seas and land.

[Aenos]

The Romani War: The siege of Lilibeo.

In but two major sea-battles did admiral Abdeshmun destroy most of the Roman navy. Kart-Hadast once again controlled the seas. But whilst the Iberian army set sail for Sicily, the situation on the island had turned sour. Lilibeo was besieged by a large Roman army consisting mainly out of the fearsome heavily armored triarrii. The governor of Lilibeo was the well-known councilor, Hamalcar and it would spell disaster should he die.

Hamalcar: ‘Lybians and Numidians on the walls! Throw those spears you carry as soon as the Roman dogs get in range! Phalanxes, hold back for now, we’ll need you in case the walls are lost.!’

And soon the battle for the walls had begun. Shield bashed against spears, swords slashed through the air.. The battle was heavy and long.



In the end the walls were held, but the cowardly enemy didn’t dare coming to us, so we came to them! We sallied out of the town and deployed our forces to the best of our ability.



Hamalcar: ‘Two phalanxes follow me! We’ll take out the enemy commander! The rest will have to fend of the triarri until we are done! Goodluck and may Ba’al be with us!’

Soon did the Roman commander fall, but the triarrii divisions had split up! Now we could not rejoin as one! After a few disastrous minutes we had to retreat back through the gate. From there we sallied forth once more.



Painfully long did that final sally take, but then, we won.. But it was a close victory. Nearly all of our Sicilian army lay dead on the walls and on the fields of Lilibeo.. But with the southern Roman army annihilated Sicily was relatively safe for the moment.

In Lilibeo.

Hamalcar I: ‘My son, you’re finally old enough to lead. You’ve grown to be a son I can be proud of. I have an important task for you if you think you are capable.’

Hamalcar II: ‘*happy to finally be given a proper assignment* Of course father, what would you have me do then?’

Hamalcar I: ‘I have hired some Greek mercenaries, alongside with the remnants of our forces, you shall lead them to Messana. But it won’t be easy.. Our forces are still terribly weakened.. But I know you can do this, goodluck.’

Hamalcar II: ‘*can barely hide how proud he feels, leading an army at only 16 years of age* I won’t disappoint you father. *bows and leaves*’

Battle at Messana.

When Hamalcar II besieged Messana a small Roman army attacked him, combined with the garrison of the city, it was a fearsome force indeed that met him in battle.

Hamalcar II: ‘Soldiers, mercenaries, you’ve fought many battles before this one and I’m certain that with such fine men we can only win against such puny foes! We won’t run from this battle like they would, we shall make our stand right here. *points at the ground* Phalanxes, make your line there. *points at a position slightly in front of him* Skirmishers, stand in front of them. Libyans, at the flanks and the cavalry to the right!’



As the first Roman force approached his tactic had success. The combination of spears, thrown with deadly accuracy, and cavalry made that they soon turned and ran.



When the second force arrived his plan was to surround and isolate the Roman general whilst his other forces keep the main Roman force away. This worked perfectly and it wasn’t long until the enemy commander fell.



But then Hamalcar II saw that his right flank was crumbling and many of the Greek mercenaries were running away in terror.



In an attempt to turn the tide of the battle he ordered to the phalanx units around him: ‘Phalanxes try to breach that triarrii line at their left flank! Hurry!’
This worked for a while but the triarrii refused to break.. Seeing his right flank couldn’t hold out much longer he made a desperate move. He charged at the Romans with his guards and officers and finally, finally did they break! The battle was won, but at a terrible price, over three quarters of our army had been decimated.. All Hamalcar II could do now was to hold out the best he could until Xanthippos and the Iberian army arrived.

[Numahr]

Congratulations Aenos!

Your AAR is very pleasant to read, and your battle shots well chosen. I'll be following it!

I would only suggest you sometimes post a campaign map shot to illustrate the general situation. I would like, for example, to see how do Roman forces in Southern Italy look like...

[Aenos]

Thank you for the compliments. Hmm.. Alright, I'll include the suggestions in my next update. I've got part of it finished, but well, I'm still questioning myself on what to do. Try to fight the Romans (and then the question is, what general, Hamalcar II or Xanthippos) or try to regain the much needed trade with Rome.. Ah well..

[Numahr]

Thank you for the compliments. Hmm.. Alright, I'll include the suggestions in my next update. I've got part of it finished, but well, I'm still questioning myself on what to do. Try to fight the Romans (and then the question is, what general, Hamalcar II or Xanthippos) or try to regain the much needed trade with Rome.. Ah well..

For the choice of the general, i really think that Hamalcar should stay in charge of the Sicilian operations: that's a major one for Carthage, and Xanthippos is, after all, a foreign (brilliant) mercenary.

Now for the political decision on wether to continue the war or not... maybe you can role-play your senate by looking at the influence scores of the family members members of the "trade party" vs those supporting the "war party", in order to determine the outcome of the debate... just a suggestion...

[Aenos]

I guess you're right about Hamalcar II and Hamalcar I leading the 'Sicilian' army. About the role-play.. That went kinda wrong.. At first (the beginning) Hamalcar was aggresive in his acts and Hasdrubal was a great economical person.. Point is though.. Hasdrubal now is a 3-star general (without actually fighting though) and Hamalcar is in economical ways second only to Shophet Mago.. *sighs* The only remaining roleplayable part is that Hamalcar has the trait 'righteous anger'.. That's one of the reasons that I'm thinking of letting Hasdrubal 'resign' as chairman of economical (reason- nearly always Hamalcar has won and the fact that Hasdrubal's influence is quite low) and letting the young Himilco (or something like that name) take the lead. He's lived in Kart-Hadast for a long time and seems the logical second Shophet as he is the 'student' of Mago.

[Empedocles]

HI AENOS! I'm really enjoying your AAR! May I ask your difficulty settings?
Best regards!
Diego, from Argentina

[Aenos]

In the Council Halls of Kart-Hadast.

Councilor Hamalcar: ‘Seeing the recent successes in Sicily, I think it is time that we push forward into Italy. The nearby town of Rhegion would be a fine asset to our empire.’

Councilor Hasdrubal: ‘The war has cost us a lot even in these few years, our treasury has already been emptied of one third of all that was there. And yet you want for even more war? How can this be I ask, for can’t you see that our armies and our fleets are drawing us closer and closer to bankruptcy?’

Councilor Hamalcar: ‘Indeed, we have lost a lot of our ancient wealth, but look at the Romans! Their ports are blockaded and in their desperation they are gathering all of their remaining soldiers to safe themselves. Only a few more years and they’re done for, beaten, crushed! Why would one of us wish to stop this war?’

Councilor Hasdrubal: ‘*sees that the favour of the council once again is shifting to Hamalcar’s side* *sighs and then replies* Iberia is weakened, the town of Mastia is under siege and if what you say is true, that the Romans gather their remaining armies, then our chances of winning the Roman War are shrinking..’

Councilor Hamalcar: ‘Mastia is soon to be relieved by a force from Arsé. Iberia is in no true danger. *grins *’

Hasdrubal sighed and knew he had lost, again. Ever since he had taken over had the economy been at a side-track. Perhaps it had been coincidences, but Hasdrubal didn’t think that was the case. As votes once again showed that Hamalcar had won, Hasdrubal retreated. A few days after this a letter reached the young governor of Arsé, Bisaltes, it read:

Bisaltes,

I’ve heard positive news about the way you’ve
governed the town of Arsé in Iberia. The people
say you’re a kind and promising leader. There-
fore I order you to sail to Kart-Hadast, where
you are to study under the wise guidance of
shophet Mago. When you’ve finished those
studies, it is likely that you are to be the chair-
man of the economical side of the council.
May your journey be swift and safe.

Signed,

Hasdrubal.

And thus it was that the inexperienced Bisaltes suddenly became a bit more influential, but only time would show if Hasdrubal’s trust had been well placed, or not.

---
Just a short update this time, might make another one later today, but we'll see. Making Bisaltes this important was a bit of a reckless gamble, but seeing he's the only one who is young and has 'sharp' as intellegence (yes my aristocracy are nearly all dumb..), I didn't have much of a choice sadly.. (well there was one other intellegent leader, but he only has 1 on influence and he's already 30+ so not likely to change much )

About the difficulty settings, they are VH/VH.

And about a map, well if you request one, you'll get one. *grins*




Those Roman armies mainly consist of some useless Akonstitai and a frightening amount of the well-armored Triarrii.

[Aenos]

The Roman War: Defending Sicily.

A few months after the debate in the council, Hamalcar II was preparing to move his army to Italy, when he heard of the coming of a Roman legion. An large Roman army was moving towards the island.

Hamalcar II: ‘A few months ago we threw the Romans out of Sicily, we did that to secure the island, to make a strong base from where we could strike all the way to Italy! But now an army of Romans marches towards us. We’ve held the line against Rome’s finest more then once and we shall do so again!’

After saying this he ordered his men to make their stand at a flat piece of land about a mile from the coast. He set his phalanxes on front, ready to counter the triarrii, then came the Iberian soldiers, followed by a band of Samnites that had sworn to fight the Romans. Then he came to the matter of his cavalry.. He knew the Romans had some cavalry to counter his own and as such he decided to split his cavalry in two divisions, one on the left and one on the right. He did this to ensure that should one side be attacked, the other could continue fighting.

Then the battle begun, the overly-proud Romans foolishly charged their cavalry ahead of their main army giving our more experienced cavalry a chance to destroy them.

Hamalcar II: ‘Cavalry! Show those inexperience Roman bastards what a cavalry force is supposed to do! *laughs*’



With the Roman cavalry destroyed, the battle focused mainly on the infantry. Even though the battle had already been decided, the Romans fought on for a long time, taking over a thousand of us with them.



But in the end even the bravest of the triarrii fled. The message to Rome was clear, no one would pass into Sicily without approval from Kart-Hadast.



And whilst the Romans mourned their defeat, Kart-Hadast celebrated, but still, it had only been one legion.. How long could Hamalcar II hold out against the other legions that our scouts reported to be coming?

[Aenos]

I'll be off till sunday so it will be a few days until I'll be able to do another update.

[Aenos]

I'm back. Anyway, whilst I was away, I was able to take a look at what I had written till now and I erm.. changed quite some things whilst rewritting it. I'll post what I have for by now and then ask you, the readers, to tell me which way you prefer. The style of the rewritten way or the old style. The idea of the 'new style' is to give more depth to the story by adding more details. However, I know myself to not be very good in writing detailed stories.. Therefore I ask your opinions.
---

The Trading Republic of Kart-Hadast.
Introduction.



As traders sailed closer to their destination, Kart-Hadast, the first thing they noticed were the great walls. Impressive, even from many miles at sea, it was a clear sign that no one could oppose them and hope to win. Stone after stone, carefully placed with masterful craftsmanship, meters thick. A few hours from the moment that they first saw the magnificent walls, the traders would start hearing the sounds of a bustling city. Traders pricing their goods, the whip as it clashed on the backs of the slaves, the sound of a jar as it burst into pieces on the ground. When they finally reached the port and docked, they became part of the live of this gigantic city. A city that ruled the world, through trade.

However, though it was certain that anyone foolish enough to attack Kart-Hadast itself would perish, there were raids on other towns of this great empire. Small bands of bandits and raiders, mainly Numidians, that rampaged across the countryside. Ambushing merchants as they traveled from town to town. Emptying their pockets before murdering them. A few hours, or days depending on the place where it occurred, later another merchant would find the corpses laying on the road. Rumours spread quickly through the many towns of the Qarthadastim and eventually reached the capital. Of course such a clear opposition of their power could not be tolerated and as such the council met to discuss a means of stopping this scum.

The Council meets.

As the councilors entered the hall in which they had their meetings, many conversations between the various colleagues were taking place. If one listened carefully one could pick up parts of what was said before the meeting officially started. Councilor Hasdrubal: 'It is outrageous! More then ten merchants dead in but two weeks time, if we cannot protect the traders then what is to become of Kart-Hadast.. I say…’ Somewhere else in the hall, Councilor Hamalcar: ‘If this riffraff wants to meet us in battle, then we shall meet them! It’ll be like crushing a bug! What do you…’ Slowly the councilors began to take their places in the hall, with the economical side on the left and the warlike side on the right. Then, as shophet Mago arrived, all the conversations died down and silence fell.

Shophet Mago walked to the slightly heightened stand at the far side of the hall. As he reached it, he took a scroll, bearing the sign of the town of Ippone, and said: ‘Councilors, I assume you have all read the reports from Ippone?’ Most councilors nodded and then Mago continued: ‘Of course we cannot tolerate such an insult to Qarthadastim law! We are a trading nation and yet we allowed our traders to be murdered by these dogs.’ He opened a scroll and said: ‘The governor of Ippone writes: ‘‘I’m sorry to report the loss of twelve merchants in these last two weeks. My soldiers, whom investigated the matter, tell me that these vile acts were done by raiders from Numidia. I fear they will not stop at this and matters will only become worse as time passes.’’ Therefore we meet today to discuss on how to handle these Numidians.’

Councilor Hamalcar, the most influential councilor of the militaristic side, rose from his seat and took the word: ‘It seems clear that the best way to deal with these bastards is to destroy them in battle. My scouts have reported that they are but a few in number and their equipment isn’t even near to the quality of what Kart-Hadast can field. Therefore I think we should send the army of our great capital to put an end to this soon.’

Councilor Hasdrubal, the most influential councilor of the economical side, rose quickly to reply: ‘I agree that we need to stop these raids quickly for the sake of our merchants and our economy. However, as Hamalcar just noted, they are but a minor threat to any military forces from Kart-Hadast. For this reason I’d hardly think we need to send our entire garrison to deal with this rabble. Such an act would not only leave us in a vulnerable position, but it would also put an unnecessary strain on our economy if we were to send such a large force. It would seem more appropriate to send but a few hundred soldiers to reinforce the small band of our Spartan general Xanthippos. This would make him more then able to deal with the matter.’

Shophet Mago saw that most of the councilors seemed share his opinion to agree with Hasdrubal’s plan and said: ‘Hmm.. That seems a sound plan Hasdrubal. All in favour?’ Nearly all councilors nodded and Mago continued: ‘Then it is agreed, Xanthippos will be send part of our garrison before he is to march on the Numidians.’

With this matter decided the councilors rose and walked out of the hall. At the same time a messenger arrived in the military camp of Xanthippos, which was a few miles from Kart-Hadast. Upon his arrival, the guards escorted him to the tent where their commander was. There the messenger said with a bow: ‘Hail Xanthippos, commander of the Qarthadastim. I bring orders from the council.’ Then the messenger opened his bag, took a scroll out of it and gave it to Xanthippos.

Xanthippos carefully opened the scroll and read:

Xanthippos of Sparte,

By noon part of the garrison of Kart-Hadast
will arrive in your encampment. You are to
take them and the forces currently under
your command to the lands of the Numi-
dians. Make an end to their pathetic
raids and you’ll be well paid.

Signed,

Shophet Mago.

After he had read it he said to his men: ‘So the council wishes us to march to that piece of empty desert and destroy an army of simple spear-throwers?’ He laughed and continued: ‘Well, then we shall.’ Then he turned to the messenger and ordered him to go. A few hours later the army from Kart-Hadast arrived and they started their march to the well known Numidian stronghold, Kirtan.

---

Edit: Removed the Numidian campaign part and added it in the next update.

[Spendios]

Very nice AAR Aenos !

[Aenos]

Come on people! I want to know if you prefer this new style over the old one or not! Otherwise I'll be wasting my time to rewrite it! Come on!

Oh and thank you for the compliment Spendios, but which style do you prefer?

[Tellos Athenaios]

Well, here you are, then. This is all just my opinion, and as I'm not an expert writer myself you may want not to value it really much. Anyway here it is...

The Trading Republic of Kart-Hadast.
Introduction.



As traders sailed closer to their destination, Kart-Hadast, the first thing they noticed were the great walls. Impressive, even from many miles at sea, it was a clear sign that no one could oppose them and hope to win. Stone after stone, carefully placed with masterful craftsmanship, meters thick. A few hours from the moment that they first saw the magnificent walls, the traders would start hearing the sounds of a bustling city. Traders pricing their goods, the whip as it clashed on the backs of the slaves, the sound of a jar as it burst into pieces on the ground. When they finally reached the port and docked, they became part of the live of this gigantic city. A city that ruled the world, through trade.

First paragraph is a bit too much details, without really saying anything. Also, it doesn't fit within the broader structure of the AAR, due to the posts prior to this one.

However, though it was certain that anyone foolish enough to attack Kart-Hadast itself would perish, there were raids on other towns of this great empire. Small bands of bandits and raiders, mainly Numidians, that rampaged across the countryside. Ambushing merchants as they traveled from town to town. Emptying their pockets before murdering them. A few hours, or days depending on the place where it occurred, later another merchant would find the corpses laying on the road. Rumours spread quickly through the many towns of the Qarthadastim and eventually reached the capital. Of course such a clear opposition of their power could not be tolerated and as such the council met to discuss a means of stopping this scum.

Second paragraph is fine. It has lots of detail, but that's clearly part of the story, and not just a story within a story.

The Council meets.

As the councilors entered the hall in which they had their meetings, many conversations between the various colleagues were taking place. If one listened carefully one could pick up parts of what was said before the meeting officially started. Councilor Hasdrubal: 'It is outrageous! More then ten merchants dead in but two weeks time, if we cannot protect the traders then what is to become of Kart-Hadast.. I say…’ Somewhere else in the hall, Councilor Hamalcar: ‘If this riffraff wants to meet us in battle, then we shall meet them! It’ll be like crushing a bug! What do you…’ Slowly the councilors began to take their places in the hall, with the economical side on the left and the warlike side on the right. Then, as shophet Mago arrived, all the conversations died down and silence fell.

This is again too much detail to really add to the broader story line.

Shophet Mago walked to the slightly heightened stand at the far side of the hall. As he reached it, he took a scroll, bearing the sign of the town of Ippone, and said: ‘Councilors, I assume you have all read the reports from Ippone?’ Most councilors nodded and then Mago continued: ‘Of course we cannot tolerate such an insult to Qarthadastim law! We are a trading nation and yet we allowed our traders to be murdered by these dogs.’ He opened a scroll and said: ‘The governor of Ippone writes: ‘‘I’m sorry to report the loss of twelve merchants in these last two weeks. My soldiers, whom investigated the matter, tell me that these vile acts were done by raiders from Numidia. I fear they will not stop at this and matters will only become worse as time passes.’’ Therefore we meet today to discuss on how to handle these Numidians.’

Councilor Hamalcar, the most influential councilor of the militaristic side, rose from his seat and took the word: ‘It seems clear that the best way to deal with these bastards is to destroy them in battle. My scouts have reported that they are but a few in number and their equipment isn’t even near to the quality of what Kart-Hadast can field. Therefore I think we should send the army of our great capital to put an end to this soon.’

Councilor Hasdrubal, the most influential councilor of the economical side, rose quickly to reply: ‘I agree that we need to stop these raids quickly for the sake of our merchants and our economy. However, as Hamalcar just noted, they are but a minor threat to any military forces from Kart-Hadast. For this reason I’d hardly think we need to send our entire garrison to deal with this rabble. Such an act would not only leave us in a vulnerable position, but it would also put an unnecessary strain on our economy if we were to send such a large force. It would seem more appropriate to send but a few hundred soldiers to reinforce the small band of our Spartan general Xanthippos. This would make him more then able to deal with the matter.’

Shophet Mago saw that most of the councilors seemed share his opinion to agree with Hasdrubal’s plan and said: ‘Hmm.. That seems a sound plan Hasdrubal. All in favour?’ Nearly all councilors nodded and Mago continued: ‘Then it is agreed, Xanthippos will be send part of our garrison before he is to march on the Numidians.’

With this matter decided the councilors rose and walked out of the hall. At the same time a messenger arrived in the military camp of Xanthippos, which was a few miles from Kart-Hadast. Upon his arrival, the guards escorted him to the tent where their commander was. There the messenger said with a bow: ‘Hail Xanthippos, commander of the Qarthadastim. I bring orders from the council.’ Then the messenger opened his bag, took a scroll out of it and gave it to Xanthippos.

Xanthippos carefully opened the scroll and read:

Xanthippos of Sparte,

By noon part of the garrison of Kart-Hadast
will arrive in your encampment. You are to
take them and the forces currently under
your command to the lands of the Numi-
dians. Make an end to their pathetic
raids and you’ll be well paid.

Signed,

Shophet Mago.

After he had read it he said to his men: ‘So the council wishes us to march to that piece of empty desert and destroy an army of simple spear-throwers?’ He laughed and continued: ‘Well, then we shall.’ Then he turned to the messenger and ordered him to go. A few hours later the army from Kart-Hadast arrived and they started their march to the well known Numidian stronghold, Kirtan.

The Numidian campaign, On to Kirtan!

Slowly the army marched across the seemingly empty lands of northern Africa. It was nearly noon and the hot African sun burned the skin of the Iberian and Greek mercenaries. Then, as they reached a small forest in the shade of a hill, Xanthippos ordered the men to make camp, they’d rest for a while during the hottest hours of the day. The men drank water, sat in the shade and tried to make the heat as bearable as they could. Xanthippos and a few of his officers decided to walk to the hill-top and take a look at the surrounding land.

(screenie.. but imageshack isn't helping..)

Suddenly one of his captains noticed something on the mountain to the northeast. He pointed at it and said: ‘Mylord, what can that be?’ All of them looked and after a while the youngest of them said: ‘It looks like the rapid movement of a large band of horses, but what would such a large group be doing all the way out here?’ Xanthippos’s face became grim as he replied: ‘Whom else can it be then the Numidians?’ Turning to the captain who first saw them he said: ‘Captain, go and warn the men! Tell them to line up quickly at the top of this hill, hah! Finally do we meet them in battle!’

The rest is just fine to me.

My opinion therefore is that adding more detail to the story certainly works out well, especially since you already took your very own approach of 'adressing' the strategical decisions you made during your campaign, but you tend to overdo it sometimes as well.

It may be a good thing to reduce the details in those parts of your story intended as an introduction, painting only the overall picture there. For example: leave out the jar, the whip and especially the stone after stone of magnificent craftmanship parts, and replace them with a more global description. Something like this.

"As traders sailed closer to their destination, Kart-Hadast, the first thing they noticed were the impressive great walls. Even from many miles at sea, they were a clear sign that no one could oppose them and hope to win. A few hours from the moment that they first saw the magnificent walls, the traders would start hearing the sounds of a bustling city. A city that ruled the world, through trade."

This way you leave just a bit more to our (the readers') imagination, and it still paints the picture pretty much 'your way'. In my opinion it's always a good sign if detailed and brief descriptions are mixed together, so as to create a more dynamic story. Like you start reading a brief overview of the city, you encounter a problem (the numidian raids) - nice to see the way introduced the issue with that climax - , you zoom in for a closer look on the issue, you're taken back to the 'here and now' of the council - that should be presented in a bit more brief style -, you zoom in on the meeting as the Sophet enters, and continue to read with that level of detail until the (future?) battle is over.

Then there is still my feeling that the first paragraph doesn't really fit within the broader story line. Maybe you needed to add a clearer connection between your post prior to this one. First of all, you would then have to deal with the question you posed about the Roman stacks. And second, you would need to add a paragraph that transfers the reader from Sicily/southern Italy to Carthage. Maybe some 'first trading vessels from southern Italy that reach Cartage since a long time' would do?

But besides that there may be room for improvement, I really enjoyed reading your AAR, and I'm eagerly awaiting the upcoming battle report. Keep it up!

[Tuuvi]

I really liked the second way better, it felt as if I were reading a book.
Also, it would be nice if you could make the pics bigger, but other than that, great AAR!

[Warlord 11]

Then there is still my feeling that the first paragraph doesn't really fit within the broader story line. Maybe you needed to add a clearer connection between your post prior to this one. First of all, you would then have to deal with the question you posed about the Roman stacks. And second, you would need to add a paragraph that transfers the reader from Sicily/southern Italy to Carthage. Maybe some 'first trading vessels from southern Italy that reach Cartage since a long time' would do?

But besides that there may be room for improvement, I really enjoyed reading your AAR, and I'm eagerly awaiting the upcoming battle report. Keep it up!

I think that this is a rewrite, not a continuation of the story...

Edit: Oh, and I like the new way better. Very good!

[Aenos]

Thank you for the replies. I think I'll stick with the rewritten way then (I'll try to rewrite the rest as soon as possible as well then so you can return to see what happens in Sicily). Anyway, Tellos Athenaios, thank you for the advice. That's what I was afraid of doing, adding way too much details at some places. Thank you for correcting it. And aye, Warlord 11 was right, it's a rewrite. I'll explain. I was away for a few days and had no way to play the game, but I did have a chance to re-read what I had written (and change that). So this last part was again the introduction, the first meeting and the beginning of the first battle in the Numidian campaign. It was never the follow-up of the Roman War, in that case it would be a very odd update indeed. *laughs*

[Aenos]

Whilst busy rewriting, I decided to play the campaign a little further. And I was quite shocked.. Yes, I'm talking about the war over Sicily now.. I fought a battle were the Romans were so desperate their army consisted mainly of Celtic mercenaries. However, I lost terribly! How could this be?! My four units of cavalry, three of them at half-strength and one of full strength, were destroyed by one tiny band of celts and then routed?! And within moments half of my army routed! AARGH! Then in the battle were they followed and re-attacked my half-destroyed army.. Hamalcar II died and the Sicilian army lay decimated.. At the moment Hamalcar I has hired as many mercenaries as he could and thinks of attacking the Romans besieging Messana. And aye.. In Messana, Xanthippos of Sparte is trapped.. The war for Sicily may be well lost to the Romans, however, such a defeat does make an AAR much more interesting, can't wait to finish the rewriting. Anyway, should Hamalcar I die, it should prove interesting if Hasdrubal will be able to convince the council of peace with Rome even if it means the loss of Sicily.

[scourgeofrome]

Good luck with the romans.Oh,and great AAR.I enjoyed playing as Carthage in vanilla RTW.

[Aenos]

*sighs* I'm terribly sorry for the lack of updates. I hardly have time to either play the game or continue rewriting.. And seeing my school-schedule for next week is even more busy then this week's one, I'm afraid a new update is very far from now and it might be over forever..

[Aenos]

Alright readers (if there are any remaining after my last reply that is..),

I have some good news! I'm currently writing a bit more on the rewrite as I've managed to finish my homework early. With a little luck I'll be able to do an update later this evening. And I also have some bad news.. Until I finish rewriting, there won't be many screenshots if any at all for when I was cleaning that map I accidently deleted most of the Kart-Hadast screenies..

[Tellos Athenaios]

Alright readers (if there are any remaining after my last reply that is..),

I have some good news! I'm currently writing a bit more on the rewrite as I've managed to finish my homework early. With a little luck I'll be able to do an update later this evening. And I also have some bad news.. Until I finish rewriting, there won't be many screenshots if any at all for when I was cleaning that map I accidently deleted most of the Kart-Hadast screenies..

[Aenos]

The Numidian Campaign: On to Kirtan!

Slowly the army marched across the seemingly empty lands of northern Africa. It was nearly noon and the hot African sun burned the skin of the Iberian and Greek mercenaries. Then, as they reached a small forest in the shade of a hill, Xanthippos ordered the men to make camp, they’d rest for a while during the hottest hours of the day. The men drank water, sat in the shade and tried to make the heat as bearable as they could. Xanthippos and a few of his officers decided to walk to the hill-top and take a look at the surrounding land.

Suddenly one of his captains noticed something on the mountain to the northeast. He pointed at it and said: ‘Mylord, what can that be?’ All of them looked and after a while the youngest of them said: ‘It looks like the rapid movement of a large band of horses, but what would such a large group be doing all the way out here?’ Xanthippos’s face became grim as he replied: ‘Whom else can it be then the Numidians?’ Turning to the captain who first saw them he said: ‘Captain, go and warn the men! Tell them to line up quickly at the top of this hill, today we fight!’

Within ten minutes the men stood ready, Iberians, Numidians, Lybians and Greeks, all ready to fight for Kart-Hadast. Xanthippos spoke to them in Punic, the language of the Qarthadastim: ‘Soldiers, for weeks now have we marched through these empty lands, trying to find the Numidians and do what we were send here to do. Today, after all this time, they finally show themselves. They seek to fight us, but they will not find us an easy target. Unlike the merchants, Ba’al judge them kindly, we shall succeed or die fighting to avenge them!’ And with that said, the soldiers marched to their positions. Slowly the Numidians approached and tension rose.

‘From what I’ve heard those dogs are adept in throwing their spears. Iberian mercenaries, you know what to do.’, Xanthippos said. A loud shout of confirmation was given by his men and he smiled. Rapidly, tiring their horses, the Numidians rode up the hill. But moments later the sky blackened with the shafts of hundreds Iberian javelins and death rained down upon the horsemen. Knowing his forces couldn’t stand long in a skirmish against the superior armed Iberians the Numidian captain made his decision. A sign of desperation could be seen his face as he ordered his men to charge at the Iberian infantry. Xanthippos looked a bit startled at this unexpected action and turning to his infantry he ordered: ‘Hold the line! Don’t give an inch!’ Then to his cavalry: ‘Swing around and hit their flanks, hurry!’ Quickly the orders were followed and though the courage of the Numidians was admirable, they were heavily outnumbered and were easily defeated. Suddenly though, danger stroke at the Qarthadastim yet again. Xanthippos’ face turned grim as he heard the sounds of sudden screams coming from his western flank. Turning around he saw that about one hundred enemy horsemen had managed to sneak past the hill and flank them. Regaining control over the situation he ordered his personal contingent of heavy cavalry into the fray.

As the moon rose peace had returned to the hilly land, but price had been high. Hundreds of Numidian and Iberian corpses lay scattered over the hill and here and there a spear lay. The road to Kirtan lay open for Xanthippos’ army but what dangers would this land present to them in the coming weeks?

---

Alright, I know it's not a lot, but it's something.

[scourgeofrome]

Random: Last night I was watching something on the History Channel about Carthage.Interesting things:
1.Some histotians believed Carthage reached the Americas
2.Saw what I think was the RTW vanilla being used to show Hannibal's first battle in Roman lands.