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Aedui

Averni

Getai

Carthage

Koinon Hellenon

Epeiros

Ptolemaioi

Pontos

[stabbymcstabstab]

Their in empire, but their useless for about every thing.

[Delta Foxtrot]

The Illustrated Histories of the Kingdom of Pontos

Chapter 10

man is Mazaka getting bloody.

Spoiler: 249 BC (click to show/hide)

The rope tightens. Makedonia and Hayasdan form an alliance. While we are at peace with both of them (indeed, we are allied with Hayasdan), this makes assaulting Byzantion risky at best.



Meanwhile, preparations for our Crimean invasion are in full swing.

Spoiler: 10th Battle of Mazaka (click to show/hide)

After a period of deep peace in Mazaka, the Gods deemed it was time to let sound the drums of war once again. Seleucids attacked with a mixed bunch, but they had with them the famed Silver Shield pikemen and feared wild Galatians. Luckily Pontic defenders were reinforced with a unit of Pontic heavy infantry and the famous Bronze Shields, modeled after the Silver Shields commanded by Alexander the Great himself.



Who would win, the descendants of men who marched with Alexander to the Indus, or their Pontic imitators? World was about to find out. And so The 10th Battle of Mazaka began.



Pontic phalanxes are formed into an impregnable line of pikes, with Bronze Shields holding the critical centre.





The enemy general's bodyguard slams into the waiting phalanx in an effort to dislodge it. All the while Caucasian archers are peppering the enemy infantry with arrows.



Our heavy infantry moves to our right flank to harass the enemy with their javelins.





Then... then they run?



They run through our CRITICAL CENTRE PHALANX straight to the enemy!?



Whether it's because our heavy infantry disrupts our phalanx or not, its starting to take casualties and lose cohesion necessary to hold the line. Enemy heavy cavalry and heavy infantry are pounding them tirelessly. All the while our archers have depleted their quivers, yet the enemy still pours in.



The side phalanxes are tilted to try and box the enemy in, while Thureophoroi prepare to relieve the Bronze Shields at the centre.



The fierce fighting depletes our brave elites, yet they stand their ground and fight. Truly they are our finest sons.



The enemy general is slain!



Yet the battle is not won, for the enemy fights with vigour not often witnessed. Their heavy infantry push our right flank while Silver Shields start arriving against our centre, now held by thureophoroi and the last few Bronze Shields.



The right flank holds.



To preserve what little we have left, the remaining Bronze Shields are withdrawn behind our lines as enemy Silver Shields arrive en masse.



A superior enemy pike unit breaks the will of our left flank who promptly turn to flee. Meanwhile Silver Shields are mauling the thureophoroi who valiantly try and stand their ground.



With the loss of Pontic heavy infantry and much of the Bronze Shields, crumbling of our left flank and centre, a full retreat is sounded with Archers trying to hold the enemy long enough for our heavier troops to escape with what little numbers they have left.











Damnation! Bridge to Mazaka has been lost and thus road to our capital Amaseia lies open. The Seleucids will surely pay for this.

Spoiler: 11th Battle of Mazaka (click to show/hide)

Wasting no time, idle units from Amaseia and Mazaka are gathered under the command of Helianax Kolchikos, governor of Mazaka. Helianax wastes no time in bringing swift whoopass to the Seleucid defenders holding the bridge.

Tactical considerations to take note of is enemy phalanx supremacy, who are capable fighters even when flanked. On the other hand we have superior number of heavy infantry and cavalry.



Pontic units are rushed over the bridge, while Caucasians try to suppress the enemy with their bows.



Pontic heavy infantry charges/is charged by heavy skirmishers and light cavalry.





Enemy right flank falters as their cavalry routs. Meanwhile their Silver Shields move to challenge our phalanx.



Straight up 1 on 1 fight our phalanx would have zero chances against the heirs of Alexander.







While Silver Shields are getting pounded, a unit of our heavy infantry is holding an enemy levy phalanx. Seeing an opening, Helianax charges into their rear.



Despite the charge, the levy phalanx holds its ground and infact routs Pontic infantry holding it.



Meanwhile a more quality enemy phalanx in our left flank is being held by another unit of heavy infantry, while Caucasians fire volleys into its back.



Aforementioned enemy levy phalanx moves to strike into the backs of our heavy infantry who are still pounding the Silver Shields.



Fortunately, cavalry flanks them in time to save our infantry.





By now most of the enemy army lies dead, is in rout or quickly coming to that conclusion.



Cavalry chases the stragglers.

















The bridge has been won, but a new border force must be mustered to hold this critical piece of land.

Spoiler: 249-248 BC (click to show/hide)

Once more Ptolemaioi insult us with their demands of submission. In more positive news, a new man is welcomed into Pontic Royal house, as one its daughters marries a promising young Galatian.



With its borders secure, Pontos is finally able to launch an overseas offensive. Holophernes, with an army specifically tailored to storm the grand stone walls of Chersonesos and Pantikapaion in the Crimean peninsula, sets sail in the spring of 248 BC.



Additional forces will be needed to hold those cities and expand further in the northern shores of Black Sea. But that will come later. For now, we take.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Ship is sailing towards Crimea, with more units being trained all the time for garrison duty and to face Getai/Sarmatians in the field. I'm also postponing acquisition of Byzantion for now, since I don't want to risk a war with Hayasdan just yet. Ideally I will be able to capture Crimea and move westwards along the coast and towards Getic heartlands, knocking them out. At that point I would be in a prime position to face off with the Macedonians. Pouring from the strait and from the northern mountains. We shall see what, if anything,  Hayasdan plans to do during all this time.

Anyhow, sorry about the slow week. I've been a bit busy binging with Dungeon Crawl this last week so I haven't had that much time devoted to EB. After 300+ dead characters I might be able to set it aside for a few hours of EB this weekend, I reckon.

Enjoy.

[Tarran]

The morale of that unit seems to be paper for some reason. I mean, seriously, routing from only 5 losses?

"OH MY GOD THEY KILLED BOB!"
"WE'RE DOOOOOOOOMMMMEEDD!"
"RUN AWAAAAAAY!"

[kerlc]

that happens a lot with me in Vanilla RTW. They need some lessons from DF soldiers.

[Kolbur]

This can happen when you are fighting vs a 7 star general and his elite guards without an own general.
Good generals give a moral boost and also lower enemy moral. Under normal circumstances such bridge battles are an absolute meatgrinder. I only wonder how they kept fighting after their general was killed.

[Stworca]

The morale of that unit seems to be paper for some reason. I mean, seriously, routing from only 5 losses?

It's possible to rout enemies without inflicting any losses at all. Vanilla or not.

[Zrk2]

The morale of that unit seems to be paper for some reason. I mean, seriously, routing from only 5 losses?

It's possible to rout enemies without inflicting any losses at all. Vanilla or not.

Isn't that by aborting cavalry charges right in front of them repeatedly?

[EmperorNuthulu]

The morale of that unit seems to be paper for some reason. I mean, seriously, routing from only 5 losses?

It's possible to rout enemies without inflicting any losses at all. Vanilla or not.

Isn't that by aborting cavalry charges right in front of them repeatedly?

 Isn't it obvious, just be Stworca and the game just says "Okay balls to this" and lets you win.

[Stworca]

Isn't that by aborting cavalry charges right in front of them repeatedly?

Yes. Missed (flaming) onager shots and units routing around other units also count towards this.
Elephants, flaming pigs, dogs, German women and enemy generals also reduce enemy morale, and can possibly break it with no casualties when used in abundance.

[Delta Foxtrot]

The Illustrated Histories of the Kingdom of Pontos

Chapter 11

Spoiler: 248 BC and 3rd & 4th Battle of Kilikia-Syrian border (click to show/hide)

In the summer of 248, Seleucid empire attacks the Kilikia-Syrian border.





Within the same season, another army attacked. This time a much larger one.



Relentless assault caused some casualties for our phalanxes, but the enemy was repelled.






While wave after wave of Seleucid attackers crash against the rock that is Pontic phalanxes, Holophernes and his vast army reach the coastal fortress of Pantikapaion and lay siege.

Spoiler: 5th Battle of Kilikia-Syrian border (click to show/hide)

Soon after fighting back the Seleucid horders, Ptolemaioi launched an assault on our Syrian border. Our forces still held the bridge, though phalanxes had suffered casualties in the constant attacks and were thus dangerously depleted.

To make matters worse, accompanying the enemy force were a large number of Klerouchon Agema, Ptolemaic elite pikemen on par with Silver Shields of old. Various other units include a small number of Galatian heavy swordsmen and Ptolemaic thorakitai, heavily armed spearmen.



Men to be feared.



Depleted phalangitai were deployed to the sides, while freshly hired Celto-Hellenic mercenaries held the centre. Karian warbands and thureophoroi were kept in reserve.



Enemy light troops charged first, while our archers were forced to fire their arrows at the heavily armoured elite units hanging at the back.



Joyous day! The enemy general has been slain!



Their general and half their forces dead, only ones left standing were the enemy elites who had suffered little casualties from our impotent arrow barrage. They marched forward to meet our exhausted phalangitai.



What followed was a massacre. They chewed right through our men. Even repeated charges by our fresh reserve troops failed to repel the enemy. Eventually, amidst great casualties, our forces were forced to withdraw.
We lost many good men, while enemy mainly got rid of their fodder. Still, a speedy counter-attack can KO the enemy before they can reap the rewards of this victory.

Spoiler: Battle of Pantikapaion (click to show/hide)

In the snowy edges of the steppe, Holophernes starts his conquest of the Crimea by assaulting Pantikapaion. The city-fortress is defended only by a small number of local spear militia, some Hellenic citizen troops and Scythian foot archers.



Siege towers and sappers close in on the western wall, while ladders are deployed in the south.





The sappers create an opening. While siege towers pour men on top of the defenders.





A javelin exchange takes place near the front gate, but height gives the advantage to Pontic invaders.



Pontic heavy infantry decimates the defenders wherever they are met.











Faced with wave after wave of armoured men cutting through their comrades, the remaining defenders surrender the city.





So the kingdom grows.

Spoiler: 6th & 7th Battle of Kilikia-Syria (click to show/hide)

Ptolemaioi reinforced their battered elites and launched another attack near the outskirts of Tarsos.



With the aid of friendly cavalry from Tarsos, the remaining infantry units were able to hold the line for repeated cavalry charges to break the enemy.





In the following spring Dionysios Megalopolites, a recently hired military leader, launched an attack on Ptolemaic remnants still holding the bridge.



Through the combined efforts of Karian warbands, Hellenic cavalry and Caucasian archers, the enemy were obliterated.

Spoiler: 247 BC (click to show/hide)

Reinforcements for Holophernes' army, as well as garrison troops, were shipped in from Anatolia. Casualties suffered in the attack were replaced and the army boarded the ships. Garrison & replacement troops were stationed inside the city. Holophernes would set up a few watchtowers in the eastern border before moving to secure rest of Crimea.



Our spies moving in the steppe spotted Hayasdan armies roaming the fields. It appears Hayasdan has conquered lands from the Sauromatae. They still lack a land border with us outside of Anatolia.

Spoiler: Situation in spring 246 BC (click to show/hide)

This is steppe, north-east of our Crimean holdings. As the minimap shows, Hayasdan has expanded north. Being blocked by us and Seleucids doesn't really leave them any other choice. You can spot our watchtowers in the picture below. There are at least two big Hayasdan armies roaming the steppe with various smaller Sarmatian and Getai armies in their respective territories.

Brown: Getai (Dacians+Thracians from vanilla)
Orange: Sauromatae
Blue: Hayasdan



For the time being, I mean to expand westwards in the Black Sea region. This leaves Hayasdan in control of the easternmost coastline, but I'm willing to let that one slide for now.

Our planned avenue of expansion will drive us straight through most Getic lands, possibly bringing Sauromatae in conflict with us as well.

Ptolemaioi and Seleucids are bringing more and more elites to bear, prompting me to increase my border defences. I'm trying to include more Bronze Shields and other melee units so that my kingdom's well being won't be dependent on a single levy unit fighting against Seleucid elites. I also got a recruited mercenary general to help defend the Syria-Kilikian border. With him the morale should improve, not to mention the utility of having a heavy cavalry unit at my disposal.

Not visible in this update, but I started building up barrackses in Ankyra. Right now it's still low level so I can only train Celtic levies and shortswordsmen. Few upgrades and I'll be able to train heavy swordsmen and other neat units to augment my armies with.

And a word about finances.
As of spring 246 BC our net income is 9,224.

Farming income: 4,403
Mining: 16,500
Trade: 8,676
Taxes: 14,561
Corruption/Other: 3,717

Expenditure includes:
Wages: 4,400
Army upkeep: 33,214
Diplomacy/Tributes: 200
Corruption/Other: 819

As can be seen, with current taxation (some low, some very high) and trade, mining is the single most potent source of income. If we were at peace with Egypt, or in possession of Levant, trade income would no doubt be much higher. Still, considering most of our trade income comes through sea trade in the Aegean, which itself comes mainly (though not solely) from the Macedonians. In the event of a war with Macedonia, we will take a pretty big hit to our income. By that time we'll hopefully be owners of most Getai lands along the Black Sea coast though.

All told, we're doing pretty well so far. Large army drains our coffers somewhat, but high mines and eventually Black Sea trade monopoly bring enough to compensate.

Here's a picture to end this update. Holophernes' mighty army prepares to lay siege and force yet another province into Pontic fold.

Another day, another update. Enjoy.

[hostergaard]

Awesome update! Keep them coming. 

It seems to me it would be wise to tackle the Seleucid/Ptolemaioi soon before their overwhelm you. Your southern border seems to get exhausted by their combined attacks.

If not trough military force then trough diplomacy or acts of deiced? Use your agents to ruin their army and economy?

Either way you need to figure out a way to stop them from throwing their armies at your border, even if it means peace.

Are you at war with Sauromatae? If so you should consider taking the lands between you and Hayasdan before expanding into the lands of Getai.

Lastly, I could not help but notice that Pantikapaion was held by an quite awesome general. If we are lacking in generals maybe one should try to buy out those with good stats you find while conquering?

[Delta Foxtrot]

It seems to me it would be wise to tackle the Seleucid/Ptolemaioi soon before their overwhelm you. Your southern border seems to get exhausted by their combined attacks.

If not trough military force then trough diplomacy or acts of deiced? Use your agents to ruin their army and economy?

Either way you need to figure out a way to stop them from throwing their armies at your border, even if it means peace.

Peace is definitely not an option at this point. I've been saving myself (and the Seleucids/Ptolemaioi) by keeping a token defence force at the southern border so far. I could attempt to attack Ptolemaioi along the coastline up to Sinai or beyond. There's some prime real estate in that direction so it's definitely in my long-term plans to conquer most of Middle-East. Right now though I'm concentrating mainly on the Black Sea. At the very least I could raise some troops and take Antioch. I'm going to have to think on that.

In any case I prefer to keep Ptolemaioi and Seleucids as a potential threat for the time being. And Kilikia-Syrian border force is being reinforced to be much greater than it's been to better repel attackers. A general to up the morale, Bronze Shields to hold the line and some proper heavy infantry to act as mobile reserves in case of breakthrough. It's more expensive but it should keep our border secure. Hmph, now that I think about it, I (will) have a considerable force standing within season's march of Antioch. Maybe I should take it. The AI seems to keep it fairly lightly defended most of the time as well, troops just pass through it to try and break through my border.

Are you at war with Sauromatae? If so you should consider taking the lands between you and Hayasdan before expanding into the lands of Getai.

I'm not at war with them, but neither am I trading with them so I just might do that. They only have one province between me and Hayasdan so it would be a quick affair. But that's the extent of hostilities I'm willing to have with Sauromatae for now. They have huge, poor provinces. There's little reason for me to war over them.

Lastly, I could not help but notice that Pantikapaion was held by an quite awesome general. If we are lacking in generals maybe one should try to buy out those with good stats you find while conquering?

Not happening. Bribing characters cost a bit too much for my current treasury. The ones I get in my family are good enough for the job.

[Zrk2]

Do you ever get access to units to counter the doom phalanxes you're fighting right now?

[Delta Foxtrot]

I get/have Bronze Shields. Poor man's Silver Shields. That's about it. They certainly work better than mercenary/levy phalanxes I have at Kilikia-Syria in Update #11. By next update I'll have upgraded my border defences to have more Bronze Shields to better stand up to enemy elites.

Pontos is definitely lacking in proper elite units. Our best Pikes aren't quite as kickass as Ptolemaoi/Seleucid elite pikes, and our elite infantry (Pontic heavy infantry/Thorakitai) wouldn't stand toe to toe against Roman cohorts in a straight 1v1 fight.

But yeah, we get nothing that will allow me to just plow straight through an enemy elite phalanx. All other things being equal, I'd wager that 1v1 Bronze Shield vs. Silver Shield match would end up as a pyrrhic victory for the SS.

On the other hand, our medium cavalry is pretty kickass (AP axes FTW, more of those in Update #12), our aforementioned Pontic heavy infantry is a very versatile unit and we have access to some pretty decent regional units at higher barracks levels. Gallic elites from Galatia, elite nomad heavy cavalry from north Black Sea and some awesome archers from both Caucasus and Crimea.

[Teneb]

Couldn't you get horse archers by conquering some Sauromatae land and recruit the locals? They should be quite effective against those elite phalanxes the other greek/successors use.