Heart of the Republic - A Rome: Total War AAR

OOO... Pretty Horsies... Awesome battle guys! I request to lead any offensives into Gaul, unless that is taken.

"Feel Every Beat" By Electronic... Bernard Sumner OWNZ

EDIT: Or, sometimes... "Evil Empire" by Joe Jackson

Emp. Killyouall said:

OOO... Pretty Horsies... Awesome battle guys! I request to lead any offensives into Gaul, unless that is taken.

Click to expand...

Since Captain is in charge of the Northern Armies, he'll be in charge, Gaul is a big place .

It's also friendly towards us, so an attack there might be some time.

Kan' Sharuminar said:

It's also friendly towards us, so an attack there might be some time.

Click to expand...

Nonsense! Everyone is a potential target!

Gaul is a big place, you would need at the very least 2 commanders to carry out a sucsussful campaign there, possible three, if so im your third General. Otherwise put me in charge on the marine section of the Roman armies . I could be in charge of all marine actions reguarding the reduction of enemy island nations.
All we need is a strong fleet.....some of the roman version of aircraft carriers.

I am glad the city has finally fallen. Although I'm worried that now we have 3 cities to defend with only a limited amount of troops the city at least prevents Carthage from trying to muscle into our affairs.

What is the state of taxes within the Roman cities? could they perhaps be raised to fund further reinforcements for the cities in the south?

Subi: True, but some nations are more potential than others
PanzerKavalier You're currently in the south, I was thinking of having you take charge of a potential Sicilian campaign in the future?
steviejayTaxes are pretty much at their highest everywhere. We're getting a lot of money each turn

Numidia ends up getting a ridiculous amount of money each turn as their armies are very very cheap. I wonder if we could build an army based around archers and the cheapest infantry to fight phalanx armies. I guess we don't need the money though.

Can the general of the southern armies give us a report on the Croton Siege?

I eagerly await the time when we are able to take the city.

I also ask the senate on their position about building a navy in the south.
I think that a navy should be slowly but surely build after the city of Croton is under our command while we rip open the nothern front.

I want to keep the Greeks and Carthagenians at bay. I don't want to spill any wine im drinking when one of our general rushes in my palace telling me they are coming to invade.

just curious, do we have much in the way of cavalry?

if we do we could try the cresent moon tactic hannibal came up with, the bludge of infantry in the center facing the enemy and the cavalry at the sides,

allow the infantry to be hammered back past the cavalry, then encircle

Bah, if the Carthaginians wish to invade they can come. What with the Greeks in the south and the rebels in the north I am of the opinion that we cannot afford to build a fleet at this time without weakening our armies growth. If war does come from Carthage any fleet we build will be wiped out by superior Punic naval tactics. Although open to debate I believe that Sicillia should be FULLY captured before we allow our admirals their precious little boats.

steviejay said:

Bah, if the Carthaginians wish to invade they can come. What with the Greeks in the south and the rebels in the north I am of the opinion that we cannot afford to build a fleet at this time without weakening our armies growth. If war does come from Carthage any fleet we build will be wiped out by superior Punic naval tactics. Although open to debate I believe that Sicillia should be FULLY captured before we allow our admirals their precious little boats.

Click to expand...

I had this impression too. This is why I asked.

Then our course of action in the south should be to finish the siege of Croton and garrison our cities with enough troops to be left alone in the south of the peninsula.

I second your Idea on Sicily.

Captain2 said:

just curious, do we have much in the way of cavalry on my front? if we do we could try a cresent moon tactic, have a the bludge of infantry in the center facing the enemy and the cavalry at the sides, allow the infantry to be hammered back past the cavalry, then encircle

Click to expand...

That is sort of my usual tactic although the infantry hold their ground and the cavalry move forward to encircle.

That is very similar to Hannibals tactic at Currahe weak units in the center. stronger units at the flanks, the cavalry moves off to engage the Roman cavalry and keep them occupied while the troops in the center fallback. The attackers, feeling they are about to route the opponents, rush forward, then the stronger flanks whip round and bottle them in on 3 sides, the cavalry then returning to complete the trap.

Against the Barbarians I would agree however against Phalanx units it's alot more dangerous, unless you've got Phalanx units of your own, going toe to toe with those spears is very dangerous, much better to have light cavalry which can ride round and attack the phalanx from the rear before they can form up in a battle line

yeah i edited it and said hannibal after i had submitted it, but it took me awhile for some reason whenever i tried to type something between the lines it would erase something i had already typed

thus why i'm not quoted saying hannibal

Raisin Bran: Croton isn't actually under siege yet, that's our next objective. It's remarkable how just a few turns can build up quite an amount of writing, especially compared with my last AAR.
StevieJay: Cities that can't build ground troops are building up a navy instead. They've been fairly effective in the initial attacks on Greece and are blockading a couple of their ports.
Captain, Dell: That's pretty much the tactics I'm using. Sometimes I have a couple of reserve infantry units to deploy as well.

Kan, your doing a good job, I'm seriously tempted to start my own AAR for ROME (no mods however, ahhh apart from that change to the inital conditions of the roman factions, that is, they start at war with one another , stunts their growth and makes roman factions a challange to play!)

Other Than that, can you get a spy into Croton to get a picture of the Units there, A guess would be a lot of hoplites and levy hoplites, and then just siege the city anyway (even with a smaller force), retreat from the first battle and (attempt to) tempt them out of the city (i.e. to chase down that smaller force), have some other force nearby to crush them on the even terrain (or rather the lack of city walls ))

I should have made on of my Pontus campaign in Terrae Expungae. I'm still fairly early into, but the fun part where I almost actually got beaten by the Armenians is pretty much over, as I'm about to move into Armenia itself now.

What difficulty are you playing on?

Very Hard.

Heart of the Republic - A Rome: Total War AAR

Part Eight


The years leading up to the siege of Croton could only be described as “a calm before the storm.” There was little in the way of fighting, save for a small rebel uprising near Rome in 266 BC. Even a diplomat sent to meet with the Macedonians could not persuade them to agree to go to war with their neighbours.

Behind the scenes however, the Republic was mobilising for war, and not just against Greece. To the north the Gauls and Illyrians were at war, as well as suffering several uprisings in the region. As such a new General - PrinceScampey - was sent to establish a fort in the region. He had entered into The Family through marriage to the young Ulpia, and was eager to prove himself. The encampment was named Fort Clericus, after the Roman General who passed away in the summer of 265 BC.


PrinceScampey’s border fort.

Croton had primary importance however, and in 267 BC Consular Kan himself led forces from Rome to join with General Thrawnus’ own troops. The latter commander had hand selected his most veteran troops, while the Consular had brought the most powerful new units Roman technology and money could muster. Together they marched south and besieged the Greek city the following year.

It was to be a long seige, as neither side wished to face the other. Forces were almost equal, though the Republic had the upper hand in that they had two commanders - both of which had seen action before - to lead them. In addition, the Greeks did not have Rome’s most feared unit type among their ranks - war elephants.


The opposing forces.

The seige was not completely inactive, as in the nearby seas multiple naval battles raged as the Republic’s new navy blockaded the city ports. For over two years both sides clashed in spectacular naval battles as Greece attempted to send ships carrying reinforcements to the besieged city.

And at the very least, the seige was not a totally dismal period of time for the troops, as in 266 BC the Consular had the pleasure of overseeing General Thrawnus’ marriage celebrations. There was much partying and wine, and to the trapped Greeks it must have seemed a very strange thing to hear cheering and music from the enemy camp. Combined to the news that a plague was ravaging their Greek homeland (a sign from the Gods indeed!), morale must have been very low indeed there.

Eventually though, the seige had to end sometime, and in the winter of 264 BC the gates to Croton suddenly flung open and Greek troops suddenly began pouring out. General Thrawnus immediately began organising his forces into formation, and with the help of Consular Kan quickly began preparing the defence. One way or another, the siege was to end this very day…