Collaborative Campaign Year 4: Part 1

 Game Year 4 (Year of the Mountain Lion): notes from the Campaign Diary

Campaign Map at the Start of Year of the Mountain Lion

The dice have rattled and the Random Events have been checked:

War continues between Picenia and Luss. A scandal among the elite of Picenia threatens internal security

In Zigura a year of peace follows the successful capture of more territory

There are no further attacks on the Cyraenian Pentapolis, however a fleet has been sent from Therissa to the Pylonian coast after attacks on merchant shipping..

The following background regarding the war between Luss and Picenia, and the latter's civil woes, has been received from Mark Cordone...

Picenia

After the Twin disasters of the previous year, the Senate had appropriated a huge sum to raise six new legions and made Multiflavus Imperetor to command the new army.  He formulated a plan whereby two frontier armies, A northern one under Caius Sulpicius and a southern one under Lucinius Stolo were to contain the Luss while Multiflavus trained the new army and launched an offensive in the fall.  The second and fourth legions were disbanded to form cadres for the new formations while the first Legion along with the new fifth legion was to form the backbone of the Southern army and the third and new sixth would do the same for the Northern army.  The bulk of these armies would be made up of Limitarri (militia) units drawn from all over the Republic.
However, the process was not to be an easy one.
In Agrina, old political rivalries came to the fore when Senator Lucus Paetus (of the Axius family) a retired general of some note, accused Senator Valarius Verres of the Calventius clan, of embezzlement and supplying sub standard equipment to the army after he had managed to win the very lucrative contract to supply the new legions.
A certain amount of graft was normal in situations like this, and Valarius didn't exceed the expected level of corruption, but in the politically charged atmosphere of the times he managed to get enough votes for a trial and subsequent conviction.  Valarius was sentenced to exile to Kartos and his family hit with crippling fines.  The verdict met with predictable levels of political violence between the supporters of both factions.  At first this fell within accepted levels but an incident at the Hippodrome would send things spiraling out of control.  Both families were prominent supporters of two of the racing teams, the Calventius backed the Greens and the Axius the Blues.  During the final race of the annual tournament held each year to commemorate the founding of the Republic Arulius Tatiannis, driving for the Blues, forced Flavius Scarpus, driving for the Greens, into the wall on the final lap.  Flavius was killed, and Arulius won the race.  The ensuing violence in the stands spilled out into the streets and bloody riots followed.  The city guard proved completely incapable of putting an end to the violence, and after the second day a delegation under Senator Galenus went to Multiflavus's camp to seek his aid in putting an end to the violence.  Multiflavus was drilling his new troops at the city of Terrarium ( with it's famous gardens and temple dedicated to the Goddess Marta).  He received the delegation cordially, but indicated that legally, he could do nothing.  He proposed that should the Senate vote him the powers of Dictator, then he could legally act.  Seeing that there was no other choice, the Senate reluctantly convened an emergency session and conferred the title and powers on Multiflavus.  He was now in complete control of the army and government and acted quickly to restore order.  His troops entered the city six days after the riots had begun and within 24 hours they put an end to the violence, but not before more than 6,000 people had lost their lives, and 20% of the city had burned to the ground.
Multiflavus, mindful of his fathers rivalry with general Paetus, then staged a trial in which general Paetus was found guilty of inciting the riots.  He was then exiled Heralion with huge fines to his clan as well, to pay for the damage done during the riots.

Luss:
Beligerans called a council of war in which he and Catacius successfully argued the only way to end the war was to utterly destroy the Picenian armies and sack and burn their cities.  Flushed with victory, the sub kings agreed.  The plan for the spring campaign was for Catacus to mount a large raid deep into Picenian lands to the north, and hopefully draw off troops before Beligerans launched the main effort in the south with the intention of taking Areligno.  At the end of the fourth month of the year of the Mountain Lion Catacius crossed the frontier, to be met by the northern army near the town of Ferentium.

The Battle of Ferentium

After nearly a month of devastating raiding, the northern Picenian army under the command of Caius Sulpicius finally managed to intercept Catacius near the town of Ferentium.  The battle was fought on the 25th day of the fifth month of the year of the Mountain Lion.
It was a fine day for a battle, cool and breezy with a mix of sun and clouds.  Caius drew his army up blocking the road to Ferentium and on the high ground alongside the road where it emerged from an extensive area of woodland.  He had at his disposal his old Legion, the veteran 3rd (disciplined) which he deployed on the road, the new 6th Legion (regulars) on the high ground and a body of Limitarri archers ( regular) to the right of the heights.  In reserve ( unreliable) Limitarri missile cavalry and his regular cavalry as well.  ( To reflect the ad hoc nature of his force I only gave him 10pts of troops)
Catacius had his own elite force, 2 ferocious melee cavalry and one ferocious melee infantry.  The cavalry were deployed in the left and center sectors, the foot in reserve.  His ranks were also swelled by large numbers of unreliable but eager younger tribesmen seeking wealth and glory with a warlord of great renown.  They consisted of A large body of slingers and javelin men posted to the far right in front of the woods and bodies of missile armed foot and hotline reserve.

The battle opened with Catacus's cavalry charging down the road only to be put to flight by the disciplined ranks of the third legion.  As this was happening the archers and slingers on the right began an exchange of missiles that would continue for some time without a decisive result.  As Catacius rallied his cavalry his seasoned foot advanced only to be crushed by the 3rd Legion who then advanced down the road.  They were met by Catacius who led his rallied cavalry in a counter charge.  The resulting bloody combat left both units utterly spent. 

As the combat on the left settled into a lull the Luss cavalry in the center charged up the hill and routed the green 6th Legion.  Having committed the last of his Limitarri to shore up the left sector and continue to block the road, Caius rode among the exhausted men of his old Legion, crying out, "Brave soldiers of the sixth, without you the day is lost!  Will you follow me to death or glory?!". With a great cheer they followed him in a charge up the hill that routed the Luss horseman who had put their comrades in the sixth legion to flight.

As this was happening Catacius led the last of his cavalry forward to plug the gap in his center and sent his green foot to hold the left.

The climax of the battle saw both sides suffer the collapse of a wing, with things finally being decided in the center.  On the left, the Picenian Limitarri advanced, and the Lussation foot men in front of them lost their nerve and fled.  On the right the Luss slingers finally won their duel with the Limitarri archers, who broke and ran.  The victorious Luss then swarmed up the hill taking the third in the flank, but the legioniers calmly formed testudo and repelled the attack.  As this was happening the Limitarri charged the Luss horseman in the center from the flank, and pinning them against the woods, destroyed them.  Brave Catacius, along with his personal guard was slain as they made a desperate last stand.  With his death his army disintegrated, only to be hunted down and slaughtered by the jubilant Picenians.

The first part of the Luss offensive had ended in disaster.  Next we will turn our attention to affairs in the south at the battle of the Anio river.

This game was played using the Dominion of the Spear rules, with the Picenian army having 10pts worth of troops and the Luss 12.  Both sides featured a number of unreliable units, most of whom performed well, except at the end, which likely cost the Luss the battle.

***

Thank you Mark! A success for Picenia, at some cost. We wait with bated breath for the next installment. There may even be a chance that I get to play a game in my creation this weekend - stay tuned...

Collaborative Campaign Year 3: Part 6

 The last action for the Year of the Pot-Bellied Pig (game year 3) follows - once again Geoff has been playing the games with 2mm figures and Dominion of the Spear Rules:

Inconnu raid - second phase

Following his victory on the Eastern plains Grodd, warlord of the Inconnu tribe, sent scouts to establish what happened with regards to those forces he had sent to make the diversionary attacks via the Northern pass and central valley. Time was most important and so Grodd ordered that those forces remaining in the North and centre should advance to threaten the flanks/rear of the main enemy group - presumably led by Antonatos - which was believed to be located fairly centrally,  protecting Sentis itself.  See map below, the Sentian field army was initially located at point X:

In the meantime, Grodd regrouped his warriors and prepared to move the bulk of his remaining directly against the enemy, albeit a few units would be sent to carry out further raids.

Inconnu raid - battle on the Northern Road

The successful diversionary attack via the Northern pass had been led by Jehan. Whilst his force had suffered some casualties they had roundly defeated the enemy forces and the road South was clear. 

Jehan left his unit of foot bowmen to guard the prisoners (valuable as slaves) and, equally importantly, to ensure the road homeward was kept open. Scouts had reported that the central valley remained under the control of the forces of Sentis - it seemed that Uluz was less of a fearless warrior than he imagined. However, reports suggested the defenders simply remainder in place, thus Jehan and his mounted conremainder in place, thus Jehan and his mounted contingent - 3 units of horse archers (Missile Mounted) - headed southwards, probing towards the enemy. The plan was to disrupt the enemy forces before eventually retiring Northwards toward home - hopefully weighed down by booty and with plenty of slaves.

Meanwhile, Antonatos of Sentis - commanding the opposing field army - was in a dilemma. He knew Grodd commanded the largest force of raiders - on the Eastern plains - and thus he decided he would (1) move to block them from attacking Sentis and (2) bring them to battle. Of course, he still needed to ensure Sentis was kept safe, as well as protect the flank/rear of his own army.

Antonatos could not spare too many soldiers to face the raiders from the North, as that would reduce the numbers he had available to confront the main enemy horde, but nevertheless he despatched 1 unit of Spearmen (Melee Infantry) & 1 unit of Militia (Melee Infantry) to hopefully keep the enemy occupied. 

Note: I treat Militia as standard Melee Infantry under the DotS rules, but regard them as having less “resolve” than regular soldiers if/when a campaign situation occurs that necessitates a dice roll decision.tingent - 3 units of horse archers (Missile Mounted) - headed southwards, probing towards the enemy. The plan was to disrupt the enemy forces before eventually retiring Northwards toward home - hopefully weighed down by booty and with plenty of slaves.

In the central valley Antigonadas continued to hold his position. He had successfully defended the valley from the enemy attack, but couriers reported the defenders of the Northern pass were much less fortunate. Antigonadas felt he could only spare his unit of foot bowmen and they were immediately sent westwards to harass the invaders and assist any defending Sentian forces. At this point the campaign map looked as above.

The advancing raiders soon located the enemy. A small number of Sentian troops were blocking the road ahead - so Jehan’s men would need to face them in battle. The respective forces were:

Inconnu = The battle line comprised 3 horse archers (Missile Mounted).

Sentis = The front line only consisted of 1 Militia Spearmen (Melee Infantry) in the left sector and 1 Spearmen (Melee Infantry) in the central sector. 

Note: I deviated from the standard DotS rules here, rationalising that scouting patrols had informed Jehan that a unit of infantry were force marching to reinforce the enemy - likely to arrive quite shortly(almost certainly worn out, but still better than nothing). Their arrival would be decided by dice roll and they would initially join the defenders Reserve and, even when they advanced to join the battle line, they would be on a -1 for the very next turn. Jehan decided to strike at once, before the enemy reinforcements would arrive and be fully deployed against him. At the start of the battle the situation looked like this:

TURN 1:

By the time Jehan had deployed his forces it was apparent that the Sentian reinforcements were rapidly approaching the enemy Reserve area. His immediate response was to order the horse archers in the left sector to attack the enemy opposite them (he believed they were militiamen, so presumably less capable than the regular troops). He was soon proven correct - as the Militia were easily pushed back into the Reserve area 

(Note: I also determined they would subsequently fight with a -1 ). 

It appeared the defenders were off to a shaky start but they then had a spot of good fortune. The foot bowmen arrived in the Reserve area (a lucky dice roll). 

At the end of this opening turn the battlefield looked like this:

TURN 2:

Cursing his bad luck at the early arrival of the enemy reinforcements Jehan quickly ordered his horse archers in the right sector to launch a flank attack against the enemy spearmen in the centre sector. Alas, the attack was ineffective and the spearmen held their position. The Sentian archers replied by moving forward to join the right sector of the battle line, but their arrows had little sting. The position now looked like this:

TURN 3:

Note: Will the Militia be able to rejoin the battle line? A dice roll showed they failed. 

The Inconnu horse archers in the left sector therefore attacked the exposed flank of the spearmen in the enemy centre - destroying them. At that point the battlefield looked like this:

However, the Sentian archers in the right sector, having gathered their breath back, stood firm to trade arrows with the enemy horse archers opposite them. Unfortunately the outcome was mutual destruction, as both units were effectively destroyed (any survivors heading to the rear at speed). The situation now looked like this:

TURN 4:

The remaining Sentian militiamen, having witnessed the destruction and/or rout of all their comrades, dropped their weapons and routed. The situation at the end of the battle looked like this:

Post-battle:

Another victory for Jehan and his valiant warriors. Booty was gathered from the battlefield and a few more prisoners captured. 

Note: I rationalised that few of the militiamen would want to be taken slave by the barbarians, but that they would try hide, hoping to return home to see what became of their families. The situation looked most certainly rather grim …

Inconnu raid - the Commanders face off

Those Sentian forces previously sent to defend the borders had only been partially successful. Antonatos of Sentis was thus obliged to lead the bulk of the field army forwards to directly confront the largest enemy horde (led by Warlord Grodd) and put an end to their depredations. A small infantry contingent was sent to defend the route to/from the Northern pass (and incidentally to protect the rear & flank of Antonatos’ main force), but the remainder of the field army would head out with Antonatos. Let us defend our homeland and colour the ground red with the blood of our enemies. 

Warlord Grodd, however, had anticipated that he would most likely face the vast majority of the Sentian forces. Grodd was content to oppose the Sentians and occupy their attention whilst small parties of his mounted warriors raided elsewhere. Two contingents of horse archers were despatched - #1 Two horse archer units sent to swing South and then West, towards Sentis itself. Grodd confided that the walls of the citadel may be tall and strong, but a swift raid will allow us to demonstrate our speed of manoeuvre and send a strong message to our enemies that we are not to be trifled with. Once Sentis had been attacked the raiders were to withdraw towards the Eastern plains - but naturally laying waste to any enemy villages or property they passed. Simultaneously raiding force #2, a further 2 units of light horsemen, were ordered to head directly West to raid the settlement at R (see campaign map below) and then sweep Southwards to threaten the flank of the Sentian army, which Grodd expected would be roughly in this area (as they searched for Grodd’s raiders).

Grodd’s remaining forces subsequently fell upon the settlement at T and left the village a smoking ruin. The next day, as Grodd’s mounted horde advanced toward village S, his scouts reported that the Sentian army was close by. The campaign map now looked like this:

The opposing armies would face each other on the battlefield. The forces were:

Inconnu = The battle line comprised 3 units of horse archers (Missile Mounted). In reserve were 1 heavy cavalry unit (Melee Mounted) and a further unit of horse archers. 

Sentis = The front line (L to R) consisted of 1 Spearmen (Melee Infantry), 2 Legion (armoured Melee Infantry). In reserve were 1 foot bowmen (Missile Infantry), 1 heavy cavalry (armoured Melee Mounted) & 1 heavy cavalry (Melee Mounted).

At the start of the battle the situation looked like this:

TURN 1:

Note: As Grodd’s force was concerned largely with keeping the Sentian forces occupied (so the Inconnu raiders elsewhere would have free rein) I decided that Grodd’s forces would “retire” from the battlefield if they were reduced to 2 units (or a 50% chance if the heavy cavalry unit led personally by Grodd was destroyed before then). 

The Inconnu horsemen in the left sector were ordered to attack the spearmen facing them - and victory was soon theirs. The spearmen suffered grievous losses from the horse bows and were effectively destroyed. Antonatos responded by sending his foot bowmen forward to plug the gap in the battle line and ordering his heavily armoured Legion forward in the centre sector. The Legion hit hard and the enemy horsemen fled - but were replaced by a further unit of horse archers from the Inconnu reserve. The situation at the end of the turn looked like this:

TURN 2:

In the left sector the Inconnu horse archers were launched forward again - this time against the enemy infantry bowmen. The Sentians were, however, made of stern stuff. A heavy exchange of arrows saw the infantrymen drive off the opposing horsemen. To plug the gap in the front line Grodd now had no option but to advance with his unit of heavy cavalry. In the centre the Legion attacked again, but the enemy horse archers pulled back slightly and the efforts of both sides was seen as ineffective. At the end of turn 2 the battlefield looked like this:

TURN 3:

Grodd then led his heavy cavalry unit in a charge against the Sentian foot archers. Arrows emptied a few saddles but the cavalrymen ignored the casualties, pressing home their charge and destroying the foot soldiers. Antonatos replied by sending a unit of heavy cavalry to oppose Grodd’s unit. 

The situation then looked like this:

Meanwhile, in the right sector the Sentian second Legion attacked the enemy light horsemen opposing them and immediately destroyed them. At that stage the battlefield looked like this:

Grodd accordingly ordered his remaining forces to withdraw from battle. At the end of the battle the situation looked like this:

Grodd reflected that 3 units of horse archers had been destroyed/fled the battlefield (admittedly in the coming days a fair number of these warriors would rally in the rear) and there was little point continuing the fight. Antonatos’ forces were doubtless equally exhausted, so the Inconnu would withdraw North-East towards the Eastern plains. Grodd suspected they would not follow …

Antonatos watched the enemy forces withdraw, but ordered his soldiers to hold their position (he had also heard of the feigned flight tactic). There were many dead and wounded. Much rebuilding would be required - not only buildings, but also the army and the treasury. Troubled times lay ahead.

Inconnu raid - summary/aftermath

Warlord Grodd proved himself a mighty warrior. Whilst he fought Antonatos’ field army his raiders not only reached the outskirts of Sentis itself, but also attacked a number of villages (R, T & U) gaining significant booty. Overall, the Inconnu suffered a fair few casualties, yet in return they inflicted many upon the enemy. Grodd decided to spend Winter on the Eastern Plains. He says he may continue his raids next year unless Antonatos can persuade him otherwise. Silver and gold may well prove persuasive.

Jehan’s contingent, having further achieved victory at the battle on the Northern road, were (relatively) content to retire Northwards across the border and back to Inconnu. They had a fair amount of battlefield booty and loot, as well as many prisoners (slaves). He considered the possibility of raiding enemy villages at P & Q, but his forces already had plenty of slaves to escort. Luckily, as the prisoners were fastened together, there was little opportunity to escape - especially when he explained that if any of a group of 10 tied together tried to escape them all those attached would also be killed.

Uluz met his fate bravely, but whether the bards ever sang about his exploits he would never know. He was dead after all… 

 

Antonatos finished the year alive - at least he wasn’t dead on some godforsaken battlefield. Being a Tyrant isn’t as simple as some might have you believe. Sentis had suffered a heavy blow and much rebuilding would be required. Numerous villages were plundered and set aflame - and tax revenues would doubtless be severely reduced. Let’s hope it’s a severe Winter and that those damned barbarians head home.

 

Only time will tell (or, at least, a dice roll will decide).

So the raid on the territory of the City-State of Sentis came to an end, with many casualties on each side and the raiders making off with slaves and loot.  Thank you Geoff for your time and reports!