Collaborative Campaign Year 16: Part 6

 The Year of the Garrulous Ram concludes with a further battle between the Picenians and Allies of the Cyraenian Tetrapolis. (Text and Pictures kindly provided by Mark Cordone).

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Conclusion of the Ptsas River campaign (the Battle of Norpalae)

As the army of Lucius Cornelius Balbas prepared to begin it's invasion of of the Tetropolis a centurion of the 5th legion, Titus Polio, who had been charged with coming up with tactics to use vs the terrifying elphas, discovered the beasts could not abide the squealing of pigs and were averse to fire.  He hit upon the idea of combining the two and tests with captured animals proved promising.  He was ordered to prepare a special unit to use them in the next battle.  He recruited some 50 swinherds and drilled them with his century, much to the amusement of the rest of the legion.

Having learned of the victory at Lycrum, Balbas crossed the frontier and advanced towards Sentis, the plan was to have Albinus fall upon the enemy rear while he engaged them in battle.  Anaxander, tyrant of Sentis, who command the Tetropolis army took up a position at the village of Norpalae to await the invaders.  Both sides set up fortified camps and several days of skirmishes followed as Balbas awaited news of Albinus.  Upon learning he was a days march away he decided to accept battle, he wanted the glory of the victory for himself, but if things went wrong then Albinus would be close at hand and thus able to mitigate the consequences of defeat.

It was a clear, hot day as the armies formed up for battle.  Anaxander placed his two phalanx's, some 10,000 men in all, on either flank with a further 5,000 spearmen in the village in the center of his line.  He had some 6,000 horse divided into two divisions in reserve along with some 100 elphas and 2000 peltasts as support.  His plan was to repel the initial Picenian attack then counter attack with his elphas and horse.  All of his troops were regular.

Balbas deployed his 11th legion on his left and the 12th on his right with his archers in the center.  In reserve he had the veteran 5th and 6th legions (disaplined).  He sent his cavalry (unreliable) on a flank march hoping to have them fall upon the enemy left flank.  (The rest of the army were rated as regular).  All in all he had about 24,000 foot and 2,000 horse at his disposal.

The battle opened with an advance in the right hand sector which saw the 12th legion rout the phalanx in front of them, only to be routed in turn by one of Anaxander's reserve cavalry divisions.  The 6th legion then advanced on the right only to meet the same fate as the 12th before them.  As this was happening both generals succeeded in rallying their routed troops.

The triumphant Tetropolis cavalry then moved to flank the Picenian archers in the center.  At first they were rebuffed, but they reformed and charged again and put the Bowman to flight.  Then the rallied 12th rejoined the fray and routed the blown Tetropolis cavalry.  They then flanked the spearmen in the center and drove them from the village. 

Anaxander then unleashed his elphas and rallied phalanx in a well coordinated attack on the 12th and destroyed it.  The 5th legion then advanced, with their incendiary swine in he lead, and attacked the elphas.  The flaming pigs had little effect however as the peltasts shot many of the down and the rest scattered as the elphas rolled forward and crushed the 5th.  (The victors would dine on BBQ pig after the battle.... )

Just as it seemed all was lost the tardy Picenian cavalry arrived and charged the victorious elphas.  However hope was soon dashed as the cavalry, daunted by the smell of burning pigs and the fearsome beasts fled the field in turn.

With the battle now irrecoverably lost Balbas retreated. The nearby presence of another Picenian army prevented pursuit, and Anaxander prepared for another battle.  However, the cautious Albinus chose not to fight, preferring not to gamble with the Republic's only remaining army on the mainland.  He withdrew back across the frontier, followed cautiously by Anaxander.

fter the battle:

The commanders of the Tetropolis held a council of war to decide what to do.  The Kartosians absented themselves, in two battles their vaunted hoplites had suffered very heavy losses and they needed to elect a new king.  This was a time consuming process attended by ritual and the consulting of oracles which would not be complete until the autumn was well advanced.  Anaxander, well aware of the threat posed by the Republic, wanted to attack and destroy the Picenian army and force the return of Therissa and perhaps even the collapse of Picenia.  However, the Cyraenians and Heralions were fearful of a Picenian attack on their cities from the rear and voted against it, with their contingents marching home.

In the end, a temporary one year cease fire was negotiated with the Picenians preparing to renew the struggle as the Tetropolis set about rebuilding its fleet.

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Note from Mark on Flaming Pigs:

 

Flaming Pigs:  the Romans weren't the only ones to try this, but their attempts were the most noted.  I decided it would be fun to use them in a game and came up with the following rule for Dominion of the Spear.

An army may purchase a unit of flaming pigs for 1 point.  They are placed in the reserve and do not count against the maximum number of units in the army.  During the game a player may deploy them on one of his turns to support an attack by any type of infantry unit on an elephant unit . They do not attack themselves, but instead cause the elephants to become unreliable and test before the combat is resolved.  If the elephants fail they rampage through their reserve area before exiting the field and can't be rallied.  If they pass they fight normally for the rest of the battle.  The pigs are removed regardless of the result.

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Thanks to Mark for another fantastic report - It seems that Picenia's ambitions have finally been slowed, at least temporarily. A brief pause should allow the two sides to rebuild their forces to some extent - of course it's the pigs that I feel sorry for...

My City's in dust*

 It struck me recently that my hobby output has been in stark decline; this is partly due to an increase in workload, at work, with all the accompanying physical and mental tiredness that brings, but also because, I think, of a lack of focus. Fortunately, on-line accomplices (Martin Smith, Mark Cordone and Geoff Barker) have kindly propped up my blog output by taking part in my Collaborative Campaign, set in the imaginary world of Autrearth. Their reports actually helped to increase the number of postings from the P&P blog to dizzy new heights in 2025, and are keeping me royally entertained! I'm hoping that the increased daylight hours, from the  longer evenings that we are now enjoying, will also help.

Some Jonathan Freitag style Stats! 

(The point of this ramble is slowly being reached). Musing upon the fate of my gaming efforts (or lack there of) an image of a ruined city, constructed of Toy Bricks (blocks) came to mind, hence the title of this piece (*paraphrased from the song by Siouxsie and the Banshees). Now I have no artistic ability, so wishing to bring my thought to life I turned to AI for help. For a first attempt, the free AI service DeeVid AI, did a pretty good job. I don't intend to use AI a great deal for illustrations - the environmental impact of data centres is a worry - however, for occasional pieces, it certainly makes up for my lack of talent. If only it could paint figures....

"They say a city in the desert lies, the vanity of an ancient king, but the city lies in broken pieces, where the wind howls and the vultures sing.." (from Mad about You by Sting).

Collaborative Campaign Year 16: Part 5

 A further report has arrived (thanks Mark) regarding the Great War between Picenia and the Cyraenian Tetrapolis (formerly a Pentapolis). (Text and photographs are the intellectual property of Mark Cordone).

Current Map of the Known World

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After the conquest of Therissa, the fighting in the Great War shifted to the mainland with the Ptsas river campaign.  The first battle was fought in the north between the Picenian army of Lusatia minor commanded by general Decimus Janus Albinus and the Tetropolis army commanded by King Aristodemus of Kartos.

While the campaign on and around Therissa continued both sides were content to remain on the defensive and await developments.  The Picenian victory activated phase two of their plan to destroy the Tetropolis armies on the mainland and recapture the city of Sentis. The northern army was to advance and defeat the enemy before them before swinging south and falling upon the flank of the main Tetropolis army facing the Picenian southern army and destroying it.

For their part, the city states of the Tetropolis planned to defeat each attacking army in turn before combining their two armies and invading the Picenian province of Lusatia major.

The first battle of the campaign took place in the north at the village of Lycrum on a cool, windy day at the beginning of the summer campaign season.

King Aristrates took up a defensive position with his left (right sector) held by some 5000 (regular) municipal infantry in and around the the village of Lycrum.  His center was manned by a 5000 man phalanx and his right by his elite, disaplined Kartosian hoplites.  In reserve he had another 5000 man phalanx and some 3000 (regular) cavalry with another 3000 horse on the way to join the fight.

General Albinus had the (regular) 9th legion on his left, some 5000 massed (regular) archers in the center and the ( regular) 10th legion on his right.  In reserve he had the veteran (disaplined ) 7th legion, his 3000 regular cavalry and a further force of some 3000 Luss auxiliaries (mixed foot and horse, count as unreliable missile cavalry).

The battle opened with the Picenian archers loosing a hail of arrows at the Tetropolis phalanx in the center, disordering them and driving them from the field.  Aristrates responded by launching his cavalry at the archers but they too were routed.  As this was happening the 9th legion advanced against the Kartosian hoplites but were roughly handled and put to flight.  Both generals rallied routed troops, Decimus the 9th and Aristrates his horse, and after this brief pause the battle resumed.

The hoplites then flanked the Picenian archers in the center as the reserve phalanx attacked from the front and drove them from the field.  The 7th legion then came up on the left and engaged the hoplites, preventing them from rolling up the rest of the Picenian line.  But before the rallied 9th legion could move forward to plug the gap in the Picenian center, the Tetropolis phalanx attempted to flank the 7th.  The veteran legionaries deployed their second line cohorts to face the threat and held on until the 9th arrived and relieved the pressure.

The 9th then defeated the center phalanx but were badly mauled in the process (both units were eliminated but I really like the rule from other Dominion rules sets that allow the higher rolling unit to remain but become unreliable).

Aristrates then charged the battered 9th legion with his reserve cavalry and put them to flight just as his cavalry reinforcements arrived and took up position in reserve.  (I rolled a tie for initiative, 6-6 which yielded an event, reinforcements for the defender).  The Tetropolis horse did not escape unscathed however and were bloodied and battered with their horses blown after the combat.  (Again, both units destroyed but this time the Tetropolis unit rolled higher and so remained but were disordered).

Decimus then committed his cavalry in the center and routed the blown Tetropolis cavalry before slamming into the flank of the hoplites and crushing them as well.  Aristrates then sent his last remaining cavalry in a desperate charge into the flank of the Picenian horse and routing them in turn.  Decimus then committed his last reserve, the Luss auxiliaries who defeated the Tetropolis cavalry thus winning the battle.

In the aftermath the rest of the Tetropolis army was scattered and destroyed and King Aristrates fell on his sword to negate the dishonor of defeat and capture.

Decimus then turned south, to be continued....

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In the words of the popular song, there ain't no stoppin' them now. Picenia's successes continue to shock the world. Will Sentis fall (again)? I think we'll find out soon enough.

Collaborative Campaign Year 16: Part 4

 After a long delay, today's post is set in Zigura and features a character we met at the beginning of the Campaign; Prince Toshibbaz, brother of Xeroz, King of Kings. Text and photos by, and the property of, Martin Smith.

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It had been a long wait, but when it came the rebel invasion of Zigura, led by King Xeroz’ estranged brother, Prince Toshibbaz, was a major undertaking. Having lived in exile for over a decade as guest of King Skuxa of the nomadic Mazyakaata tribe of eastern Inconnu the prince had built a solid retinue of disaffected Ziguran nobility around him. Now the arrival of General Amukar with a large force of defecting Zigurans provided the trigger to launch another attempt on the King of Kings’ throne. Amukar’s dislike of the tyrant Xeroz had reached tipping point when news arrived of the death of his beloved nephew Hulipakar, sent on yet another of the High King’s fruitless incursions into Pylonia. 

Toshibbaz’ army was, he judged, now strong enough for the task, and with help in the form of heavily armoured cavalry and wild hillmen from the Mazyakaata he stormed into his homeland, striking directly at the capital, Issisha.

In that great Ziguran city Xeroz received the news of invasion with a certain amount of relief. For too many years he had expected his quarrelsome sibling to challenge his position, and now, with his enemy rapidly approaching Issisha across the steppes his chance to put an end to this threat once and for all had come at last. Gathering all his available soldiery he boldly marched forth, to meet his rebellious brother and his barbarian allies near the Bitter Lake, a few leagues northwest of the capital.

The Battle of Bitter Lake

His loyal forces Xeroz split into three commands, himself retaining control of the regular troops and Palace Guard. 

The vanguard he assigned to Commander Pentomuz, an inspirational ladder-climber a man, of mixed Ziguran and Cyraenian parentage. The fifth son in a wealthy merchant family, Pentomuz had carved a glowing career in the Ziguran military. He now found himself holding the right flank, in charge of the Issisha City Militia, the Reservist infantry and a small herd of fighting elephants, a gift from the eastern borders.

The third and rearguard command, forming the left, was assigned to Zatrab Balshezbu of the Army of the Magreeb. A mixed bag, the rearguard was comprised of noble charioteers, massed peasant archers and a few rabble peasant militia.

Deploying to either side of the Bitter Lake the loyalist army commenced an advance to engage the rebels before them. At the heart of the enemy host rode the upstart Prince, he and his noble followers now trained and equipped in the Mazyakaata fashion, clad head to toe in mail or quilted armour, wielding the lance from caparisoned horses. These were preceded by steadfast Ziguran spearmen, protected from blows by large wicker shields. 

To Toshibbaz’s right rode the cavalry of Amukar and other recent defectors, escorting deep masses of shielded archers who provided a link from the horsemen to Toshibbaz’ centre. 

Out to the left rode King Skuxa and the Mazyakaata, wild barbarous hillmen in the lead, their formidable cavalry following closely behind.

After a brief exchange of archery the lines soon engaged, Pentomuz’ Reservists to the loyalist far right striking the first blows, attacking the Mazyakaata before them. Though the nomads’ cataphracts caused a few casualties, the fierce hillmen were stopped in their tracks, many then falling when the elephant corps belatedly joined the battle in support of the City Militia. However, fighting here was inconclusive.

On the Royal left flank Zatrab Balshezbu’s noble charioteers launched a wild charge, while his peasant bowmen commenced a deadly shooting match with the rebel massed archers before them. The chariots were countered by Amukar’s horsemen, and a swirling melee ensued, dust filling the air.

With his wings committed, Xeroz in the centre ordered his heavy chariots to charge, with support on each side from the Royal Guard cavalry (but due to misread orders the Palace Guard infantry proved slow to move up). Although his cavalry supports were batted away by the rebels, the King of Kings’ chariot squadron trampled the spearmen before them before driving onwards into the bodyguard of his rebel brother. 

A fierce struggle ensued, in which the lack of support cavalry left King Xeroz’ flank exposed. This situation was rapidly exploited by rebel spearmen who lapped around the chariots in support of Toshibbaz and his heavy horse. 

Confusion led to carnage, as the Royal Chariots were surrounded and brought to a halt. In the chaotic hacking and slashing Xeroz fell to a spear thrust, his remaining charioteers abandoning his body as they fled the vengeful rebels and their Prince. 

Fall of the King (🤯Your Editor's mind is blown)

Almost at once the dispirited and leaderless loyalist centre began to falter. As news spread that Zatrab Balshezbu on the royalist left had suffered a similar fate to his master the King, the army began to flee. Only Pentomuz remained, and seeing the situation rapidly deteriorating he ordered his wing to break contact and fall back towards the city.

Meeting near the Bitter Lake at the centre of the battlefield, the rebel army’s commanders cheered, celebrated and congratulated each other on a battle well fought in the face of stiff opposition. The tyrant was dead, and Toshibbaz a prince no more, as plans were made for his forthcoming coronation. Thus, in the Year of the Garrulous Ram, much needed change would come to Zigura at last. 

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What a turn up! The King of Kings is dead, long live the new King of Kings! Thanks to Martin for this epic battle and surprise outcome.

How this will affect relations with Pylonia remains to be seen...

Collaborative Campaign Year 16: Part 3

 In the first two posts of Year 16 of the Campaign, we witnessed the destruction of Therissa's once dominant fleet at The Battle of Siren's Tower, and, with Picenian sandals now firmly on the ground, the subsequent defeat of the Therissan Army at The Battle of Potedia. The four other City States that make up the Cyraenian Pentapolis are now duty bound to send military aid to their Therissan comrades. (To any World Leaders reading this post, that's how a defensive alliance works - the allies join you when you're attacked, not when you attack someone else, especially without warning your allies first). Moving swiftly on, and with thanks to Mark Cordone for the text and pictures, here follows The Battle of Cape Ecnomus.

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The combined Pentapolis fleet gathered in Cyraeus and along with a fleet of transports carrying some 5,000 hoplites set sail for Therissa under the Heralion Navarch Euryates.  Their intent was to destroy the Picenian fleet and isolate the Picenian army while reinforcing the Therissians.  Admiral Salenator knew they would come and ordered two squadrons from Picenia, now no longer needed for coastal defense, to replace his losses at the battle of the Sirens Tower.

Euryates had five squadrons all together, (one from each city), some 100 triremes, the surviving Therissian squadron being elite (all rams).  The Picenians had four squadrons, 80 ships in all with two more squadrons totaling 40 more on the way.  (All rams, the reinforcements were unreliable).

It was a cool, breezy day as the allied fleet rounded the Cape of Ecnomus to find the Picenians waiting for them.  As the fleets formed line of battle admiral Salenator wondered if his reinforcements would arrive in time.  The Picenians had three squadrons in the front line and one in reserve.  The allies matched them with the Kartos and elite Therissian squadrons in reserve.

The battle opened with a general engagement on the right and center which saw both sides taking losses.  Both sides committed fresh ships from the reserve as in the distance the Picenian reinforcements could be seen approaching the battle.

A chaotic, swirling melee developed which saw both sides able to take advantage of the confusion and launch successful flanking attacks.  Just as it seemed the allied advantage in numbers would give them victory the first of the Picenian reinforcements arrived and stabilized the situation. As more Picenian triremes joined the fray the balance tipped decisively in their favor with only about 20 allied ships managing to escape the carnage.

The Picenians had won another victory but at great cost with half of their fleet destroyed. Most of the surviving crews were exhausted from rowing hard to join the battle rendering a pursuit impossible.  As a result the remains of the allied fleet and the transports escaped, but the fall of Therissa was now assured.

After learning of the defeat at the Cape, and now knowing their would be no relief, the Therissans sought terms.  The terms offered were generous (Considering the alternative was a thorough sack of the entire island and the sale of the entire surviving population into slavery.)

The Therissians were to disband their armed forces, with the men passing into Picenian service (and forming the new 18th legion).  They were to pay an immediate indemnity of 1000 talents of silver and an annual tribute of 10% on all income and goods produced.  They were otherwise allowed to govern themselves, but with a permanent Picenian garrison who's expenses were also to be paid. The Republic needed an immediate influx of cash to off set the cost of their huge military build up but also needed an increased revenue stream to pay the troops and maintain the fleet and army.  This agreement would accomplish both goals.  Having no real choice, they accepted, bringing the Therissan campaign to an end.

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Therissa has fallen, and the Cyraenian League has become a Tetrapolis. Given Picenia's recent success I probably shouldn't be surprised... 

In the next episode we switch locations to Zigura to see how the King of Kings, all grovel before his might, is getting on.