Heart of the Republic - A Rome: Total War AAR

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For reference: Winter 203 BC. Forgot to mention it in the PM.

Thanks, and there's 5 or 6 copies of it spread around the computer now. Plus the PM.

You feel very strongly about this don't you?

IronMan2055 said:

You feel very strongly about this don't you?

Click to expand...

Yes. Yes I do. Mostly because it's time for my charactor to shine again.

Thanks for the state memorial!

I'm just sorry you died, old chap. The Sarmatians were really throwing their armies at you, and the last battle (your 1600 vs their 2500) was a horrendous slogging match. I figured you would charge into battle personally, and in fact for some reason your cavalry unit refused to withdraw even when death was inevitable. A most noble sacrifice - end result was 235 Romans vs 889 Sarmatians remaining.

Will try to write up the final statistics of this AAR later today

Cool. I have been lurking.

Heart of the Republic - A Rome: Total War AAR

Part One of Two
The Legends of the Republic

Heroes of Rome
These few members are regarded as truly great leaders, and for achieving lasting victories for all of the Republic. They are awarded the Grass Crown, the highest military honour that can be given to a Roman.

Kan Sharuminar II 304-239 BC - Second Consular for Life. Led the Republic as it conquered all of Italy, Sicily and Gaul, and paved the way for Roman dominance in the Western Mediterranean.
Thrawnus I 323-256 BC- Defeated General Phyrrus in southern Italy, and is remembered for his great victory at Croton, where he encircled and decimated the Greek army there, thus securing Southern Italy for the Republic. His tactics and abilities were widely studied and improved upon in the early Republic military.
Tillus II 299-229 BC- Great General, renowned for his command during the ‘Raid on Carthage,’ decisively ending the Carthaginian threat in the First Punic War. Along with Clericus II, he created a military academy in Sicily, teaching young generals the tactics and doctrines they had learned.
Yurey 259-203 BC Formed the Elite Guard of Rome and assumed control of the Senate after StevieJey’s murder (through his own planning). Completed the conquest of Iberia and Gaul, as well as held back the Sarmatian hordes in the north and passed a resolution for war on Carthage.


Great Leaders of Rome
These leaders achieved immense victory on the battlefield, or in the Senate. They are awarded the Civic Crown for their actions.

Subius 304-232 BC While enjoying some influence in the Senate, is most remembered for developing standard Roman march procedures and drills. His attempt to create a ‘Ministry of Silly Walks’ was less successful, though it continues to be run from bases in Rome and Sicily by his heirs.
Captainus I 303-233 BC - Achieved victory in the north, and repelled several barbarian and Gallic invasions in his later years.
PrinceScampey I 299-250 BC - Conqueror of northern Italy and southern Gaul. Known for his brutal tactics and total disregard for non-Roman peoples. His campaign shattered Gallic resistance, but his life was cut short when his mercenaries revolted and killed him in battle.
Clericus II 286-223 BC- Conqueror of Sicily from the Greeks and Carthaginians. Largely involved in the planning of the amphibious assaults on Carthage-held islands and blockading Carthaginian ports. His tactics in assaulting Malta is still regarded as the definitive method for seaborne invasions.
StevieJey II 279-211 BC- Devised the ‘Raid on Carthage’ and assumed control of the Senate after the death of Kan Sharuminar II. Crushed the Iberians and achieved dominance on the seas.
Nodikus 260 BC - Took control of the Gallic invasion force and governed Northern Gaul for much of his life. Is most remembered for conquering the last Gallic settlement in Gaul, and ending the Gallic Wars.
Dellus 299-225 BC- Conquered the Mediterranean islands from the Carthaginians and secured the new trade routes by destroying most of Carthage’s Navy.
Killyouallus II 261-216 BC- Successfully invaded northern Iberia and crushed two enemy armies in 218 BC. He is killed in the Battle of Arse, but his brief tenure as a war commander crushes the Iberian spirit, and is among the main reasons the peninsula falls so quickly afterwards.
Ironmanus II 269-205 BC- Powerful senator in the Roman government, and took part in the plot against StevieJey. Is one of the few persons to survive the attempt, and afterwards successfully restructured Iberia after the war there.
Tbus II 228-203 BC- Held his ground to protect his men from a massive Sarmatian force. Cut down many a Sarmatian enemy before finally being killed himself. His continued attacks on the Sarmatians held back an enemy invasion of Gaul.


The Major Houses of Rome

House of StevieJey - Extant
Recently thrust into the spotlight when StevieJey II devised the Raid on Carthage and assumed control of the Senate in 239 BC. The line carried on with the leadership of Yurey and his heirs.
House of Branius - Extinct
A powerful House during the reign of the Sharuminar’s. Strongly opposed the House of StevieJey, most obvious seen on the attempt on StevieJey’s life by Raisinus Branius II. Following this, the House was disbanded by the new Consular Yurey, its remaining members absorbed into the House of Sharuminar.
House of Sharuminar - Extant
Ruled the Early Republic for over forty years, and its prestige was enough that Yurey did not force its disbanding after it’s involvement in the plot on StevieJey. Its reputation is now greatly reduced, but still retain power thanks to the union with the House of Branius.
House of Tillus - Extinct
The earliest military House in the Republic, and contains most of the Generals who were involved in Rome’s southern campaigns, such as Clericus and Thrawnus. Following the Republic’s shifting attention to the north in Gaul and Iberia, the House lost some power as the Generals split into smaller Houses, or to the House of PrinceScamp. When the leader of the latter House was given command of the upcoming Carthaginian invasion, it was clear that the House of Tillus no longer wielded much power in the south, and was disbanded
House of PrinceScampey - Extant
Formed by PrinceScampey I, and still displays the former General’s desire for ‘pure-Roman’ members only. Contains most of the Generals involved in the northern campaigns, such as Captainus and Tbus. It now has a position of the most powerful military-based Houses in the Republic.


Part Two will deal with the major events of the Early Republic, and give an updated timeline and map...

nice job..... Senator Captainus III belongs to which house?

I never really knew my standing there, I supported whoever was going to stir up the most trouble

Good question. Presumably the House of Sharuminar, as Captainus II was sympathetic to the plotters against StevieJey.

May draw up a proper family tree/timeline thingy in the interregnum between this AAR and part two

Looks like I'm the only one on that list whose still alive.
What house Do I belong to?

Which house am I in?

These are the "Major" Houses of Rome - there are still smaller ones that some folk might be part of, but as a whole don't wield much influence. Civvergus is probably in one of these, as he's only recently joined. Nodikus would probably be part of the House of PrinceScampey, or in his own one.

To be honest, the only Houses I had in my head are that of Sharuminar, StevieJey and Branius, particularly during the House of StevieJey storyline. I just thought you all would like to read about some of them, I may put some more work into developing them

House PrinceScampey FTW!

Heart of the Republic - A Rome: Total War AAR

Part Two of Two

The Great Battles

274BC - The First Battle of Tarentum
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=4539075&postcount=143
Greece vs. Rome

The Greek General Phyrrus had been tasked to invade the Republic with the task of curbing the growing power in Italy. He began with a siege on the Roman city of Corfinium, but was forced to march to Tarentum, where Roman General Tillus was threatening the city in hopes of forcing a battle with Phyrrus. It had worked.

The battle itself was expected to be a straightforward defence - engage the Greek hoplites while faster units flanked them. What was not expected was the arrival of war elephants on Phyrrus’ side, which quickly smashed into the Roman’s right flank. No matter what Tillus sent to reinforce the threatened side, the elephants continued to break through. Finally he himself led a fatal charge to give his men time to reorganise a defence.

Ultimately they failed, as the elephants continued to play havoc and Greek reinforcements finished off what strength the Romans had left. The Battle of Tarentum was a horrific blow to the Republic, this being their first clash with another major power.

The consequences were immediate. Revenge was called upon Phyrrus, and whatever reserves or spare units were available were formed into another army under Thrawnus. A year later he led an attack on Phyrrus, destroying him and his elephants, and capturing Tarentum. The Roman military was forced to reform and develop new tactics for dealing with major armies, mostly under the guidance of Thrawnus himself. From this, Rome never suffered another major defeat for over sixty years.

263 BC - The Battle of Croton
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=4550824&postcount=262
Rome vs. Greece

Continuing the war to end the Greek presence in southern Italy, General Thrawnus and Consular Kan Sharuminar besieged the settlement of Croton. Here, the last major Greek army remained on the peninsula, and in a final display of strength they assailed the Romans blockading Croton.

The initial portion of the battle took many hours, with Greek and Roman forces engaging each other one-on-one. Getting frustrated (and worried that they couldn’t directly assault the city due to lack of siege equipment) Thrawnus began a dangerous plan of totally encircling the enemy. The Roman flanks slowly pushed forward, while the cavalry force charged around and towards the main gate. Slaughtering the archer defenders there, they captured the gate and turned towards the main battle, where the encirclement was slowly succeeding. The Greek forces seemingly understood this, for they attempted a withdrawal. The cavalry charged, completing the encirclement and destroying the enemy completely.

The main aftermath of the battle was that southern Italy was finally under Republic control, and the Greeks were permanently forced off of the continent. The battle was required to be studied by all future generals, in an attempt to repeat Thrawnus’ success in encirclement.

246 BC - The Battle of Messana
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=4639183&postcount=506
Rome vs. Greece

The last battle in the Greek-Roman Wars, fought on Sicily by the Generals Tillus II and Clericus II. The invasion of Sicily had been agreed upon in the Council of Tarentum by the allied powers of Rome, Carthage and Macedon.

Outnumbered by nearly a thousand more Greeks, the Roman army split into two. Tillus’ forces engaged the main Greek force while Clericus took his cavalry units around in an attempt to encircle the enemy. It was unnecessary, the Greeks morale was broken by a mix of harsh weather, Roman spears and difficult terrain. Their army was destroyed by Clericus’ charge after them. Only a dozen Romans were killed for the entire Greek army.

The battle was the end of the Greeks as an overseas power, and from then on they were locked in a civil war in their own continent with Macedonia. A cease-fire was quickly signed with Rome, as the latter was betrayed and attacked by their former allies in Carthage. Tillus and Clericus would go on to fight the new enemy in Sicily, on the Mediterranean islands and on Carthage’s home territories.

223 BC - The Battle of Iuvavum
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=5191605&postcount=748
Rome vs. Sarmatia

The Sarmatian threat truly manifested itself near the settlement of Iuvavum, where massive armies were spotted. General PrinceScampey II held the pass to northern Italy, but it wasn’t until Captainus II arrived to assist that the Republic could begin an offensive.

At Iuvavum, the Sarmatians surprised PrinceScampey’s forces with two separate armies, though it was believed they were separate enough to allow the Roman force to destroy each of them individually. However, as the two main forces faced off one another while Captainus II harassed the enemy flanks, all were surprised when the second Sarmatian army appeared behind Captainus’ cavalry lines. There was little that could be done but charge into the fight - PrinceScampey engaging the initial force while Captainus launched a suicide charge into the second, hoping to delay them. The cavalry were almost wiped out, but Captainus survived, and the second army was delayed long enough for PrinceScampey to reorganise his troops and defeat them.

The battle meant that Sarmatia were not a threat to Rome for over a decade. This gave Consular StevieJey the incentive to send troops to western Gaul, where he would begin the conquest of Iberia.

209 BC - The Battle of Noricum
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=5770020&postcount=938
Sarmatia vs. Rome

Shortly after the Iberian campaign, the Sarmatians struck at Rome. The old commanders of the north - PrinceScampey and Captainus - were long gone, and now Tillus III was in charge. It was during a routine march near Iuvavum that a Sarmatian army struck at his forces, with dire consequences.

With the enemy utilising mostly ranged units - on foot and horseback - Tillus realised he would have to attack the Sarmatians, despite being technically on the defensive. His plan backfired - it seemed that the enemy had realised he would use this manoeuvre, and used it to their advantage. They drew out the Romans, separating the army, and slaughtered them one unit at a time. Even in withdrawing Tillus got no respite from the Sarmatians, who continued to send volley after volley into the Roman lines.

It was the worst defeat for Rome since the Battle of Tarentum, worse because it would take several years to send up reinforcements to protect Iuvavum and northern Italy. The Sarmatians did not press their advantage however, saving the regions. However they clearly learned from the battle, and continued to inflict heavy losses on Roman armies near Iuvavum or northern Gaul, most obvious in 203BC, when another Roman army was destroyed while under the charge of Tbus II.


Important Events of the Early Republic

280 BC - The First Council of Rome, and reformation of the Roman Senate. Consulars now given the position for life.
271 BC - Eruption of Mount Etna.
263 BC - Kan’ Sharuminar II gains control of the Senate.
262 BC - Rome allies with Macedon and Illyria to threaten the Greek Cities.
258 BC - The Gallic Wars begin.
255 BC - Italy united under the Republic.
247 BC - The Council of Tarentum. Rome, Macedon and Carthage sign a military alliance and agree to launch a joint attack on the Greek Cities.
245 BC - The Betrayal of Carthage and the opening of the Punic War.
243 BC - Sicily conquered by the Republic.
242 BC - Tillus II leads ‘The Raid on Carthage,’ destroying and plundering cities in Africa itself. This is followed by a mass blockading of Carthage’s ports as Tillus’ army leaves, thus ending the Punic War.
239 BC - The House of StevieJey gains control of the Senate.
232 BC - Sarmatia invades northern Italy.
225 BC - Formation of the Roman Special Forces, adept at more underhand methods of warfare.
220 BC - The Special Forces are reorganised under Yurey as the Elite Guard - essentially well trained police units and personal escorts of the Consular.
218 BC - The Republic invades Iberia.
211 BC - The plot to kill StevieJey fails, but the Consular is slain by Yurey, who seizes control of the Senate. The Second Council of Rome is held, reforming the Senate to give the Generals a louder voice in debates.
207 BC - Fall of the last Gallic settlement in Gaul, and end of the Gallic Wars.
203 BC - Death of Yurey.

Kan' Sharuminar said:

These are the "Major" Houses of Rome - there are still smaller ones that some folk might be part of, but as a whole don't wield much influence. Civvergus is probably in one of these, as he's only recently joined. Nodikus would probably be part of the House of PrinceScampey, or in his own one.

To be honest, the only Houses I had in my head are that of Sharuminar, StevieJey and Branius, particularly during the House of StevieJey storyline. I just thought you all would like to read about some of them, I may put some more work into developing them

Click to expand...

I assume Subius is in one of the minor houses?

Most definitely. I can't believe I missed an opportunity to write about that mini-empire of silly walking.

And the maps. I didn't actually start taking care of the maps until I restarted this AAR, but was lucky to find some of the Mediterranean that I didn't save over. I'll keep better care of them next time.

A note: All maps were based on information as it was known to us at the time, so some lands change ownership as we were just given new maps, rather than through war. We're still fairly lacking in the maps department, will have to send out the diplomats again.






And by comparison, this is the best map I could find of the actual Rome at 202 BC, just after it's Second Punic War.




It's fairly interesting how we've expanded so far to the west - in particular into Iberia and Gaul. Historically Rome would go on to take Greece next, then finish off the Carthaginians - they certainly didn't have any problems with Sarmatians to the north


That's the last of these statistics, except that we had 40 official updates, and a total of just over 100 pictures throughout this AAR. Will see you all in Part Two, and thank you all for reading and commenting in this once again, was most fun

Bloody great AAR Kan! Can't wait for part 2!

Also, how long until the Marius reforms? As the legionary units that can use that turtle shield thing would be very useful against the sarmations.

since my avatar resembles death I might as well make the 1000th post

oh and its better that we're going for carthage instead of greece, their spearmen are strong as hell, I've only fought them once but they beat me so badly I dont look forward to the next time