Alexander Would Be Proud - a Greek AAR

[Tani Coyote]

Skewered Scipii(246 BC - 245 BC)​

Spoiler :

246 BC, Oppius Attius, a former Brutii general, was recruited into the ranks of the Greek Army thanks to a healthy bribe. Having been a bandit general with the fall of the Brutii family, he was eager to gain a steady - and incredibly healthy - wage by serving in the Greek forces. A talented commander, he was to replace Nicanor's leadership and lead the dead Greek's men to victory in the Scipii capital.

Oppius proved his worth to the King Dionysios, wiping out the Scipii homeland.

Eugenius of Sparta then launched an assault on the last major Scipii stronghold in Italy.

Victory was relatively costly, but the Scipii were defeated, being sent packing to Sicily, where the Carthaginians had armies twice their size.

A Scipii fleet carrying 20+ units and two generals was wiped out, weakening the Scipii further. In the coming months, the Scipii would somehow destroy the Carthaginian Armies and seize control of all Sicily.

In the meantime, armies were raised and equipped for an epic march on Rome, to destroy the lumbering Senatorial columns and claim the namesake of the Roman Empire for Greece.

As well, an alliance with the Pontics and Parthians was accepted, to serve as a buffer against Seleucid aggression.

 

[LightSpectra]

These Scipii seem to be the wussiest Roman house. Hopefully the Brutii will be a bit more challenging.

Also, watch out for the Senate stack. If you're rolling up Italy they actually attack you, rather than sitting in Rome.

 

[Tani Coyote]

These Scipii seem to be the wussiest Roman house. Hopefully the Brutii will be a bit more challenging.

If you mean the Julii, then yes. They certainly will be; they have several full-banner armies rolling across Gaul.

Of course the Scipii are the wussiest! Their description mentions that they have an acquired taste for higher learning.

Also, watch out for the Senate stack. If you're rolling up Italy they actually attack you, rather than sitting in Rome.

They did seem to go near the border every so often only to pull back... eventually though, they were near the border, and one full-banner army - equipped with two ballista groups - happened to be ready to strike at Rome...

...Fairly easy to predict what happened next.

 

[Tani Coyote]

The Weak Hand and Sword of Roman War ( 243 BC - 238 BC )​

Spoiler :

After years of waiting, one Roman General was murdered by a Greek assassin in Winter 239 BC. Orpheus of Agrigentum - later called "the Murderer" for his infamous slaying of Vibius Asellio and his skill (level 10) in killing - proved his worth as the Confederacy's most potent assassin, and he was kept on high pay to ensure that he would not turn against Dionysios.

Summer of 238, the main Senatorial Army went off to the East, leaving Rome relatively defenseless. Instead of 30 bands of units to protect it, it now possessed only around 10, including a group of Onagers who would be rendered useless by the city's high walls.

The Romans were easily defeated by a hellfire barrage of arrows and ballista fired, their towers put out of commission and entire columns of troops wiped out as hoplites advanced up the road to the city center. Rome was captured...

And the SPQR ceased to exist as a de facto entity. The Army to the East continued to pretend the throne of Rome, however, and so a party was sent to deal with them...

Outnumbered, the Senatorial forces merely had their aging leader to fall back on.

...They were wiped out entirely however, despite being able to sneak a force behind Greek lines and cause some damage.

With Rome occupied, the Romans lost their namesake city, as well as the source of cohesion, direction and cooperation: the Senate. Now, the Julii were free to run amock in Gaul, as were the Scipii in Sicily and Africa. The question was how long it would be before either decided to foolishly attack the Greek cities anew...

 

[Tani Coyote]

From here readers, I think I'm going to secure the Roman frontiers with large doomstacks and a naval force to keep the Scipii away/cut into Julii trade... while I go on campaign against the Seleucids.

The bastards have allied with every historical enemy of Greece; they are aligned with Pontus and Dacia, and were aligned with Thrace. They also were aligned with the SPQR JUST after I was prepared to attack. Clearly, they have an axe to grind against us, and I think it's time they pay the price.

 

[Tani Coyote]

Dionysios' Dying Ambitions(238 BC - 237 BC)​

Spoiler :

During the cold months of the winter of 238 BC, the vast assassin armies of Greece were on the move in Northern Italy, tasked with slaughtering each and every member of the Julii family, even the young should they be found.

Orpheus the Killer bludgeoned Amulius Julius to death, leaving practically no marks.

Eurydamus of Pergamum, despite being a novice, managed to kill a Julii general against all odds.

He received a promotion, and as word spread that a novice had killed one of the Julii leaders, people began to fear Dionysios, who became known as an employer of extremely skilled assassins, with even the "novices" being well-trained killers.

Having killed the Julii leadership as they began their emergency return to Northern Italy, Dionysios ordered an assault on the Julii capital of Arretium in Summer of 237 BC.

As Greece was armed with Onagers courtesy of Rome, the large Julii Army - which was mostly stationed near the walls and borders of the city - faced incredibly high casualties, with arrow fire delivering even more casualties. The intense amount of flames forced the Pro-Consul's Palace to catch ablaze.

The Greek Army hadn't even entered the city, but artillery units had made sure the streets were littered with bodies...

Naturally, when the Greek Army pressed into the city center, it had an incredible advantage, conquering the political heart of the Julii Empire.

Summer of 237 BC, a Julii captain was slain, garnering more experience for Greece's spies.

It was in Winter of 237 BC when old Dionysios' 67-year old heart finally stopped beating. As he was off on campaign against Dacia, he was eager to prove that despite his age, he was still young inside. With his demise, a new faction leader - King Isodemos - was "confirmed" by a mock session of the Confederation's Chamber of Kings.

What was more startling was who Dionysios' successor chose as his own heir - Oppius Attius, the Brutii turncoat who had rolled up the Italian peninsula. King Isodemos stated that his adopted nephew had played a key part in the successful occupation of Italy, occupying much of it himself and providing inside information about the Roman Empire's makeup to the Greek Army, enabling rapid and efficient destruction of it. As a result, Attius was more or less responsible for the Greek victory. While the Confederation's leaders shouted in a nationalistic rage at an impure Roman being the faction heir, they dared not become too outspoken, lest somebody like Orpheus the Killer make his way into their chambers at night.

With politics taken care of, King Isodemos continued to support the expansionist policy towards Dacia, and continued to steadily arm troop groups that were to push the border all the way to the Danube. In Italy, he commanded Attius to prove his worth by working with his other generals to conquer the rest of the region and harm the Julii base. As the Julii capital had already been struck down, and the largest army of the region bribed away into loyal peasants, it was believed this would be easy. Orpheus the Killer was only so talented, and thus could not kill the faction leader, who was safely locked away in his headquarters in northeastern Italy. It would have to take an army to slay the faction leader, while Orpheus would go to Gaul and steadily kill each Julii General.

Accordingly, the next city struck was Ariminium. The city faced a liberal saturation with fire before the city center was occupied and the city placed under Greek administration.

The port of Genua was seized next, cutting off the Julii navy from a mainland port. It also severed trade communications between the Julii and the outside world, as the Julii ports on the Adriatic had no effective trade due to hostile Greek navies.

After the formal battles were dealt with, one Julii agent and one general returning from Gaul were both dealt with.

 

[Tani Coyote]

Diced Dacians(Summer of 236 BC)​

Spoiler :

Summer of 236 BC, despite the image painted by many officials that war was going to be waged against the Seleucids, war was declared upon the Dacians, known for regularly allying with the Seleucids, and also straddling much of the length of the Danube. They were also at war with the Germanics, an ally of the Julii. But rather than ally with the Dacians - allies, after all, were merely enemies who had no interest in openly fighting at the moment - King Isodemos decided to crush the Dacians and flank their unstable, vast empire, to push the borders of Greece to the Danube.

From East to West, the Greek Armies all marched in unison against the Dacian settlements. Without much in the way of defenses, even ballistas would easily demolish the defenses of these humblest of cities.

The Dacian settlements along the Black Sea were among the first to go. The Dacian King was slain there, as a result of having such a small army protect him... and his own stupidity in staying near the gates.

One after another, the settlements fell like dominos. Before even a season had passed, the Dacians had lost three-quarters of all land south of the Danube.

The westermost battle, in particular, had been the most-costly, as the Dacians had managed to rally Archers... the Greek Army was caught by surprise, and deadly accuracy turned the Greeks' greatest advantage - that of arrow fire - against them.

 

[Jos Ballenbak]

very nice..

 

[Tani Coyote]

You should try to finish a few AARs.

Indeed... I suffer from the syndrome of not being able to finish any stories... How Quintillus did it, I do not know.