[Dowly's EU:Rome AAR Collection]

[eddie]

Hunter is probably behind your problems Dowly! You know what his motto is-"I'm taking over the world, one strategy game at a time!"

[Dowly]

Originally Posted by eddie

Hunter is probably behind your problems Dowly! You know what his motto is-"I'm taking over the world, one strategy game at a time!"

Hunter is behind world hunger, AIDS, the current Ebola outbreak and probably ISIS too.

[HunterICX]

[eddie]

[Dowly]

(First post updated)

****

Chapter I – Second Samnite War (306 BC)

Background

In her two last wars, Rome had grown substantially. The rich region of Campania was annexed in the end of the First Samnite War (343-341 BC) and after the Latin War (340-338 BC), most of Latium fell under Roman control.

Nearly twenty years after the end of the First Samnite War, Rome was looking to spark another conflict with their old enemy. Hoping to provoke a response, two Roman colonies were established on Samnite territory, one at Cales in 334 BC and one at Fregellae in 328 BC.

Understandably the Samnites didn't take this too well, but were at the time involved in a conflict with the Greek colony of Tarentum and couldn't react immediately. Once this conflict ended in 331 BC, the Samnites turned to Rome for an explanation to this intrusion on their territory. Rome responded with allegations that the Samnites were encouraging the Greek people of Neapolis (modern Naples) to expand to rest of Campania, and that Rome established her colonies in response.

The Samnites garrisoned the city of Neapolis in 327 BC, which threw the aristocracy of the city in panic. The elite called to Rome for help and the Roman Senate voted unanimously to send an army to Neapolis, setting off the Second Samnite War.

Central Italy c.330 BC

Progress

Until 321 BC, the war had been going in favor of Rome, and the Samnites were forced to sue for peace. The terms of the treaty however, were unacceptable, and the Samnites decided to fought on.

Later in 321 BC, the Samnites, now taking advantage of the mountainous terrain of their territory, managed to ambush the Roman army marching through a mountain pass. What is now known as the Battle of the Caudine Forks was battle in name only. There was no battle nor casualties as the Roman army was completely cut off and any resistance would have been futile. After negotiations, the Roman army was allowed to leave unharmed in exchange for a five year truce and Rome giving up the colonies of Cales and Fregellae.

Hostilities began again in 316 BC as the truce expired. Initially, Rome suffered number of successive defeats, notably a crushing defeat at Lautulae in 315 BC, but from 311 BC to 307 BC, Rome won a series of victories that greatly weakened the Samnite forces.

The decisive series of battles were fought in the summer and early fall of 306 BC. Quintus Rullianus, who had commanded the Roman legion during the battle of Lautulae, marched his newly formed Legio I 'Primum Pilum' towards the Samnite capital. Rather than trying to hold the capital, the Samnites met the Romans on the plains to the west of the city. The Roman forces outnumbered their enemy 3 to 1, but couldnt achieve a decisive victory. The Samnite general, Servius Cupitas, disengaged after a short battle and instead of retreating to the city, he led his forces to Campania.

For over a month, the Samnite army pillaged the countryside of Campania. The much larger Roman army had great difficulties in trying to outmaneuver the Samnites and force a confrontation. It was early fall, when Rome's ally, Apulia, laid siege to the Samnite capital. Message of this was no doubt received by Servius Cupitas for he himself decided to confront the Roman army, as if it was their last act of defiance.

The battle was over quickly. Rullianus attacked the enemy from three sides and rapidly broke their formation. The exact number of casualties is not known, but according to contemporary sources, the Samnite army was destroyed completely. What became of Servius Cupitas is also unknown.

The Roman general marched his legion back to Samnium and sieged the capital with the Apulians.
After 49 days, Bovianum, the Samnite capital surrendered, ending the Second Samnite War.


Aftermath

Rome benefited greatly from the war. Not only was Samnium now wholly part of the Roman Republic, Roman military also adapted the manipular formation from the Samnites. This formation was vastly more flexible compared to the hoplite formations Rome had used before.

The war also necessitated for a road network to be build, so armies could be quickly moved around the Republic. Two ”highways” were built during the war, Via Appia in 312 BC and Via Valeria in 306 BC.

[Dowly]

Chapter II – Expansion to northern Italy (304-303 BC)

Italy in 305 BC

After the successful Samnite Wars, Rome was now the dominant power in central Italy and her eyes turned to north. Picenti, who's independence had been guaranteed by Rome, offered a buffer zone between Rome and the uncivilized tribes to the north. To the west of Picentium, lay Umbria, inhabited by a celtic tribe known as Senones. West of Umbria, Rome's old enemy the Etruscans, whom had been in control of Rome two centuries ago.

When the Senone-Picenti War erupted in mid 305 BC, the Roman senate voted to not help the Picentis, explaining that the Roman army was in no condition to fight so soon after the Samnite War. However, some modern historians, after carefully studying contemporary sources, put forward a theory that Rome's unwillingness to help the Picenti, was due to hopes that the Senones would win and take control of the Picenum region. This would allow Rome to wage war on the Senones and conquer both Umbria and Picenum, without breaking the independence treaty. Furthermore, there is evidence that indicates the Roman army grew from 6,000 to about 10,000 strong immediately after the Samnite War with the raising of Legio II ”Ferrata”.

The Senone-Picenti War ended in draw in early spring of 304 BC. Now weakened, the Senones were an easy target for the Romans. War was declared in summer of 304 BC and the Legio I marched under Marcus Valerius Corvus on Sena Gallica, the capital of the Senones.

The Senones suffered a costly defeat against the Roman army with approximately 2,000 out of 3,000 men killed during the battle, but the remnants of the Senone army took flight towards Roma. The newly raised Legio II under Consul and veteran of the Samnite War, Quintus Rullianus was waiting them.

Rullianus couldn't achieve a decisive victory against the Senones and had to pursue them to Samnium, where, in fall of 304 BC, the Senone army was completely annihilated. The Senone capital surrendered after 7 months of sieging in December of 304 BC. While considered ”uncivilized”, the Senones were given the status of ”Latii”, a status somewhere between full citizens and non-citizens.

Marcus Valerius Corvus returned to Rome to receive a triumph for his actions in taking the Senone capital. During this triumph, the Senone tribal chief, Arvirargus, was strangled to death publicly.

In the summer of 303 BC, Rome went to war against the Etruscans. There doesn't seem to be any other reason for this than simply conquering Etruria and taking control of their iron deposits, sorely needed by Rome to further grow their army.

Legio II, commanded by the Consul Marcus Aemilius Paullus invaded Etruria from Umbria. The Etruscan army tried to flee to the north, towards the wilderness of Apuani, but the Legio II caught up with it and defeated them. Approximately 2,000 Etruscians were killed or captured. Volaterrae, the capital of Etruria would fall after 4 months.

Italy in 303 BC

[Dowly]

Chapter III – Roman–Apuli War (300-298 BC)

Italy c.302 BC

Background

Apulia's position in Italy had worsened considerably by the late 4th century BC. The military alliance
with Rome had been dissolved in 302 BC, which left them weakened and open to attack by the Tarentines,
whose wishes to expand were well known.

At first Apulia tried to strengthen it's position by forming an alliance with the neighbouring Lucania.
Once these attempts failed, Apulia saw no alternative than to go to war with the Lucani.
The war started in early spring of 301 BC and lasted until autumn, when Lucania surrendered to the Apuli.

Lucani's pleads for military intervention went unheard in the Senate. At the time, the Republic was subduing
two Celtic tribes on it's northern border, in Apuani and Bononia. The region of Apuani was subsequently pacified
and colonized in early 301 BC, followed by the annexation of Bononia roughly at the same time as Lucania surrendered in autumn of 301 BC.

Marcus Aemilius Paullus was sent to Apulia in late winter of 300 BC to negotiate the possible return of Lucani territory.
The exact details of these negotiations are not known to modern historians, but we know that Paullus was murdered while he was in the Apuli capital, Luceria.

Marcus Paullus was well liked by the common people and the news of his murder spread quickly throughout the Republic.
The Senate was not ready to go to war over his death, not until the events surrounding his demise became clear,
but the public pressure forced their hand to action.

Progress

The Romans expected a short campaign, thus only the Legio I was sent to south under Quintus Tremulus.
First battle of the war was fought in Campania (summer 300 BC), where the Apuli army had set up camp while
Legio I was marching south. The Romans managed to break through the fortifications and enter the camp
(the legion was awarded with the Corona Castrensis). The Apuli general, Mamercus Pulcherius, anticipated
this and only half of his troops were inside the camp, the rest were hiding in a nearby forest.

After losing the camp, Pulcherius withdrew towards the forest. The Romans pursued them and were soon surprised
by the other half of Pulcherius' men who emerged from the forest and attacked their left flank.
The bloody battle lasted for hours, until Tremulus sounded retreat. Roman casualties were nearly 3,000 men, while the Apuli army lost around 5,000 men.

The Battle of Campania was but first of many defeats Rome would suffer during the war. Other notable defeats were:

2nd Battle of Campania (autumn 300 BC), Legio II
Battle of Apulia (late winter 299 BC), Legio I
2nd Battle of Apulia (early spring 299 BC), Legio II
Battle of Samnium (spring 299 BC), Legio I, Quintus Tremulus killed
Battle of Lucania (autumn 299 BC), Legio I
2nd Battle of Lucania (summer 298 BC), Legio I & II

The tide began to turn when the current Consul, Lucius Cursor, took command of Legio I.
While the Apuli army was in Samnium, Legio II had marched to Apulia. Cursor deviced a plan to attack the enemy from two sides,
Legio I from Latium and Legio II from Apulia. This attack would have brought the entire force of the Roman army, some 12,000 men on the Apuli army that now numbered some 7,000 men.

This plan failed disastrously. Cursor began his march towards Samnium before the message of the plan could reach Legio II.
Realizing that Legio II had not reached Samnium already, Cursor had to retreat back to Latium.
Meanwhile, Legio II had got their orders and once arrived to Samnium, they too had to fight alone against the enemy and were forced to retreat to Rome.

The ”silver lining” of this plan, was that the Apuli army now understood they could not hold on to Samnium and retreated back to Apulia.
Learning this, Cursor ordered Legio II to Samnium and his own Legion marched to Lucania, effectively surrounding the Apuli army.
Cursor wished he could wait for the Apuli to weaken enough before launching an attack.

In early 298 BC, Legio I & II attacked Apulia from Samnium and Lucania. To Cursor's surprise, there was no resistance on the way to Luceria.
The Apuli leadership had decided to end the war in peaceful means. Cursor himself negotiated the peace, the terms were severe:
Apulia and Lucania will become part of the Republic and people of both provinces shall be given Roman citizenship.

Apulia agreed.

------------

Holy crap was that a hard war! At the height of the war, Apulia had an army of 19 units (=19,000 men)!
But that's where the AI did wrong, raising such an army eat up it's money and manpower, so I just had to kill enough of them to win.

[Catfish]

^ Right! edit: Hey, i meant Oberon's post

In all games or sims with Romans and Carthaginians, i always chose Quart'hadasht as my home. Tanith rules

[Dowly]

Chapter IV - The Syracusean Question (297 BC) - 1/2

Italy c.297 BC

As the Roman Republic was dealing with the Apuli, war was raging between Syracusae and Bruttii. Rome had so far been contend with the two Greek colonies in Tarentum and Ager Bruttius, but the possibility of having a third, more powerful Greek faction in Italy had always been a cause for concern.

The Bruttii held their own against the Syracusaen army at the Strait of Messina until the spring of 297 BC, when the Syracusaen army managed to cross the strait into Italy. The Bruttii army was in disarray and was not able to hold the enemy army from penetrating deeper, towards the Bruttii capital, Croton.

On receiving the grave news from Croton, the Senate decided to send an envoy to offer military assistance in beating back the Syracusaen army. The Bruttii were however reluctant to let the Roman army enter their territory, fearing the price for accepting Roman help would have them end like Picenum: a puppet-state.

Not long after the envoy had returned to Rome, the city of Croton surrendered. Syracusans were aware of Roman interests and the envoy's mission and decided to leave Ager Bruttius independent. Still, Syracusae was not willing to surrender their foothold on Italy, the region of Sikeloi on the eastern coast of Strait of Messina, and as such, Rome's problem of a third Greek colony in Italy remained unsolved.

[Dowly]

Chapter V - The Syracusean Question (293–291 BC) - (2/2)

The years leading up to the war against the Syracusans was marked by number of reforms in the Roman military. Legions were downsized from 10,000 to 6,000 men to allow for better mobility and tactical opportunities. Two new legions were raised in 295 BC and 294 BC, the Third and Fourth, whose core was made up of veterans of the First and Second Legions. These two new Legions received their "Baptism of Fire" in Cisalpina Gaul in 294 BC, fighting against the various barbarian tribes dotted around the area.
The Roman Navy was also strengthened to match the Syracusans' by standardizing the ship building throughout Italy. This allowed for a fast and efficient way to build ships of same type and size in all of Rome's ports.




The Bruttii agreed to join the war on Roman side, if they would get back the region of Sikeloi taken from them after their war with Syracuse. The Senate passed the proposition and even went as far as guaranteeing their independence in the future in exhange of a small monthly tribute.



Rome's first military venture outside of Italy began in early January of 293 BC, when two legions (LEG II & IV) under Appius Claudius Caecus, and a 6,000 men strong Bruttii army, attacked Sikeloi. Another Roman Army (LEG I &III), led by Gnaeus Cornelius Blasio, landed in Siculi, in northern Sicily in late February and sieged the city of Thermae. The Roman plan appears to have been to first take control of north Sicily by sea and land, before dealing with the city of Syracuse itself.

Sosistratos, the commander of the Syracusan army, immediately took measures to strengthen the regular army by drafting in every male of fighting age. In only few months, the army had grown from 7,000 men to 20,000, and was sent to Siculi to deal with Blasio's army.

The Battle of Siculi took place sometime in early June of 293 BC, resulting in a devastating defeat for the Romans. Estimates vary, but most agree that Blasio's army lost between 4,000 and 5,000 men in the battle and more during the chaotic retreat; the Third Legion alone had lost nearly 5,200 men when they reached Aetna, east of Siculi.
Upon reaching Aetna in mid-July, Blasio's army joined with Caecus' nearly full strength army, which had now crossed over to Sicily, and prepared to face the Syracusans.

The Battle of Aetna ended in late-August in Syracusan defeat and marked a decisive turning point for the war. Syracusan losses – which it could not replace – were between 6,000 and 7,000 dead or captured. Two more larger battles were fought near the end of the year, one in Aetna and one in Syracuse, both of which ended in Roman victory. Sosistratos continued to fight – mostly against the smaller Bruttii army – until August of 292 BC, when the Romans caught them trying to cross into Italy. Greatly outnumbered and facing a certain defeat, Sosistratos surrendered his army of 5,000 – 6,000 men.

The war came to an end in mid-December of 291 BC when the last pocket of resistance surrendered to Roman forces in Sicani. As a result of the war, Syracuse was reduced back to a city-state with the surrounding regions of Aetna, Siculi and Sicani falling under Roman rule, and Sikeloi given to the Bruttii as promised.

c.291 BC

[Dowly]

Chapter VI – Plebeian Revolts (280-279 BC)

Rome's military campaigns continued in Italy throughout the decade that followed the Syracusan War. The tribes of Cisalpine Gaul, who had raided Roman border settlements for years, were subjugated in 289 BC. The Bruttii were eventually annexed peacefully to the Republic in 283 BC, and the last Greek colony in Italy, Tarentum, fell in 282 BC after a short war.





The influx of new lands, especially those suitable for farming, soon proved troublesome to the Republic. Much of these areas were sold or rented to the plebeians, who would work the land themselves and pay the appropriate taxes to the State.[1] But the patricians began to purchase these smaller plots, often under persuasion and at times, by force, slowly absorbing the neighbouring small estates into huge farms owned by rich landowners, who preferred to use slaves to work their lands leaving many of Rome's poor citizenry even poorer and without jobs. There were old laws, that prevented individuals from owning more than 300 acres of land[2], but there are no indications such laws were enforced.

In early 280 BC, plebeians in Northern Italy, Sicily and Samnium revolted, attacking the larger farms and the local administration. These small, unorganized groups however were quickly put down by the legions stationed nearby. The larger threat to the Republic was Lucius Clepsina, a General in Cisalpine Gaul, who openly supported the plebeians. He vowed to march South with his Sixth Legion, to Rome herself if necessary, in support of the plebeians.



Clepsina had underestimated the support he would get from the military and so the Seventh and Fifth legion, who Clepsina had expected to join his side, now blocked his way into the rest of Italy. This setback meant that Clepsina's rebellion was a failure from the start. Facing exile or in worst case death, he headed West, to Massilia through the region known as the Maritime Alps. The Massilians were in friendly terms with the Republic, but Clepsina knew their military strength would not be enough to challenge him. In Massilia Clepsina hoped to acquire enough ships to escape with his soldiers to Spain or North Africa.

The Senate had learned of Clepsina's intentions from loyalists in Cisalpine Gaul and had dispatched the Fourth Legion under Quintus Gallus to Maritime Alps by sea. Shortly after emerging from the mountain pass, the rebels came under attack by Gallus' legion. Clepsina suffered a costly defeat and withdrew South to the coast, then turned East towards Liguria, where in the Fall of 279 BC Clepsina's army was defeated decisively. Lucius Clepsina was brought to Rome, where he was executed for treason.


c.280 BC

1: ”[..]tenth of the grain and a fifth of the fruit.” -Appian, The Civil Wars
2: e.g. Lex Licinia Sextia, 367 BC

[johan_d]

Is this game still worth it ? I saw problems with save games, crashes and so on.

[Dowly]

Originally Posted by johan_d

Is this game still worth it ? I saw problems with save games, crashes and so on.

In my opinion, it is worth it. Not much of choice, if you want this type of game.

There are crashes here and there, I think I've only had one on this game.

Just be sure to get the gold edition, if you plan to buy it.

[Dowly]

Chapter VII – The Illyrian War (276-274 BC)

The Roman Army continued to strengthen despite the domestic
disturbances, and had grown to a total of eight legions, 56,000 men. Such
a large army brought with it logistical problems, especially the need for iron
grew as armor and weaponry had to be repaired and replaced.




The closest source of iron lay across the Adriatic Sea in the lands of the
Ardiaei kingdom. A trade treaty was negotiated between Rome and the
Ardiaei in the Summer of 277 BC; Rome would get the iron she much needed
and the Ardiaei in return would receive protection against her warring
neighbors to the south and east.




Troubles soon began to brew on the Adriatic as pirates operating from the
islands off the coast of Liburni started to attack Roman merchant ships,
jeopardizing the supply of iron to Italy. Rome sent an envoy led by
Q.Gurges to Liburni with demands that King Plarid would make greater effort
of dealing with the pirates. King Plarid replied, that he could not be
expected to control the actions of the pirates, but only those of his
subjects. The Roman answer in essence was: ”If you won't, we will.”[1]

The Roman Republic took her first steps outside of Italy in the Fall of 276 BC
when the Ninth 'Sicilian' and the Fifth landed on the coast of Histri. The
Fifth, under P.Donabella, marched unopposed to the provincial capital
(Nesactium) and lay siege to it, while A.Calatinus' Ninth chased the enemy
army towards the capital of the country.

In early winter of 276 BC, the two opposing armies clashed North of Iader,
the Liburni capital. The Romans had a numerical advantage (7,000 v 4,000)
over their enemy, and as the centers engaged the Roman flanks began to
slowly envelop the enemy. Upon realizing this, the Liburni general took flight
to Pannonia with what remained of his army (~2,000), leaving the Roman
army lay siege to the capital.




Nesactium fell in February of 275 BC to the Fifth Legion, but the siege of
Iadre by the Ninth took an unexpected turn when the Ardiaei joined the war
on Liburni's side and attacked the Romans' rear during the spring. While the
Romans won the engagement, the Ninth had been weakened so that it was
decided to be replaced by the full strength Fifth.

A second attack to break the siege at Iader by the Ardiaei came in
September of the same year. By now the Fifth had been reinforced by
D.Primulus' Third 'Unyielding', but again the Romans couldn't beat the enemy
decisively on the field until later in the year when the pursuing Roman
legions caught up with the enemy in Dalmatae and destroyed the last of the Ardiaei army.





With no army to oppose them, the governing cities in Liburni, Dalmatae and
Scodra were sieged by the Roman army, now including the Seventh that had
been transported across the sea to speed up the end of the war. Dalmatae
surrendered in May, Scodra in July and Liburni finally in early winter of 274 BC.


The Roman Republic c. 274 BC

--------

1: ”Teuta received them haughtily and replied that she could not control
the private affairs of her subjects, though she was willing to control the
public sphere. The younger Coruncanius replied, in a virtual declaration of
war, that Rome would teach her the necessity of also controlling their
private affairs.”
-The Cambridge Ancient History Vol. 8, Ch. 4.2 'The Illyrian Wars'

[Dowly]

Chapter VIII - The End.

Well, since Imperator:Rome is just around the corner, it is time to put this one to sleep.
I decided to continue playing without writing a while back, but did take a screenshot of the map every year so I could make a timelapse of it later.


And here it is, complete with unnecessarely epic sounding music and all!
From the beginning of the AAR in June of 306 BC to the point where, through neglect, all my generals were just teething to start a civil war in May of 202 BC.



Bye bye then.