Collaborative Campaign Year 19: Part 4

 Today's post (text/photos being the intellectual property of Mark Cordone) sees the conclusion of the fighting in the Northwest for the Year of the Hyena. Mark used the Two Hit variant for Dominion of the Spear that I discussed in the previous post.

Please note: There were more photos provided by Mark than are featured below - for some inexplicable reason I have had a lot of problems downloading them. Hopefully normal service will be resumed in future.

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The Battle of Lycaeum

Following the battle of Aricia, the leaders of the Tetrapolis met to decide what to do.  Anaxander lobbied hard for an invasion of Lusatia, but in the end, it was decided to take advantage of the destruction of the Picenian fleet and mount an expedition to liberate Therissa.  Cleomenes, Strategos of Cyraeus was chosen to command the army and at the end of the summer they set sail landing on the northern coast of the island on the 16th day of the 9th month of the year of the Hyena.

Cleomenes consolidated his position then marched east and then south to attack the capitol city that gave the island its name.

Gaeius Epidus Marullus was governor of the island and faced a difficult situation.  The landing of the Tetrapolis army had stirred up considerable unrest, and he also knew there would be no chance of a relief force until at least the middle of the next year.  He did have a tough, unbeaten veteran army however, so he decided his best chance of success was to offer battle.  This he did on the last day of the 9th month of the year of the Hyena.

The day dawned cool and bright as the armies deployed on the open plain north of the city. Marullus placed the 4th Legion in the left sector, his archers in the center and the (veteran, disciplined) 3rd Legion to the right.  The equally tough 2nd Legion and his cavalry were in reserve.  All in all he had 20,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry under his command for the battle.

Cleomenes had some 10,000 armored phlangites which he divided into two phalanx's and deployed them on his left and center.  On the right were a further 5,000 spearmen. In reserve he had another 5,000 Marines from his fleet, his 3,000 cavalry and a further corps of (unreliable) peltasts, natives of the island who had joined his army on the march.

The battle opened with an advance on the left, but the phalanx was unable to make any headway and the combat ground on without result for the rest of the day.

In the center the Tetrapolis phalanx also advanced but was met with a deadly hail of arrows and was put to flight.  Cleomenes ordered his marines to fill the gap but was unable to rally his broken phalanx.  The Marines were able to best the archers, but the second Legion moved forward and filled the gap, then cut up and dispersed the Tetrapolis sailors.  As this was happening the 3rd Legion defeated the spearmen in front of them, then shrugged off the hail of javelins launched at the by the peltasts who moved up to hold the line.

Cleomenes committed his last reserve, his cavalry to the center but they were unable to make any impression on the 3rd.  The second quickly put the peltasts to flight then outflanked the horseman in the center.  Together the two legions made short work of the Tetrapolis horseman and the battle was lost.

The pursuit was merciless with some 5,000 Tetrapolis soldiers along with their general taken prisoner.  Of the rest barely 2,000 made it to the fleet and managed to escape.

The crushing victory at Lycaeum went a long way towards mitigating the two defeats earlier in the year, but would the fighting continue next spring?

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A disaster for the Cyraenian Tetrapolis when it appeared that things were looking up. Thanks to Mark for another splendid report (apologies again for my problems with the photos that are all visible in Outlook btw).