Tue Sep 25, 2012 10:06 am
Turn 10 September 49 BC
Merchant fleets bring in 16 Denarii and unit upkeep costs 37 Denarii. In Neapolis the merchant and trade post decisions are cancelled, so I play a merchant decision this turn at Croton.
The new legion at Neapolis is finished this turn and Crassus assumes command of it. It then joins the two star general Aulus and takes up the defense outside the city. It’s just in time as a large invasion force is spotted just south of Neapolis.
For this turn I leave Calvinus and his two legions on defense in Rome. If a landing occurs at Neapolis, he’ll march down next turn as I don’t want to leave Rome empty of troops due to the fact it only has a fort size of 1 and can be stormed on the turn of a landing. So for now the single legion will have to defend Neapolis by itself for this turn.
At Narbo Martius, Lucius Afranius and his five Pompeian legions attack Curio and his two defending legions. The battle results in a Caesarian victory and I capture 4,000 weapons and take 2,500 Prisoners. I also gain 1 NM for the victory.
Seven days later Antonius arrives with his three legions and attacks the just defeated Pompeian force. The result is a resounding victory with 14,000 weapons and 9,000 prisoners captured. 22 hits are scored on the retreating army and I gain 10 NM as a result of the victory.
The surviving Pompeian army retreated back northeast to the region of Ambrussum. Antonius is given orders to pursue.
I made the mistake of giving my invasion fleet orders to intercept nearby passing fleets. My thinking was they would stop and fight any Numidian fleets they passed that were perhaps about to invade Sicily. Instead what happened was they reached the coast of Tunisia and started to unload Caesar’s troops. But before the unloading could finish, an enemy fleet appeared nearby and my fleet moved to intercept.
While the naval battle was a resounding success netting me 2 NM and lots of enemy ships were sunk, Caesar’s troops suffered about 30%-50% cohesion loss due to the aborted unloading. I’ve disabled the intercept command and ordered Caesar ashore, I hope it won’t affect the upcoming land battle too severely. Intel spots Cato commanding 2 Phalanx units and an auxilliary unit in the target region of Utica.
The Pompeians are reported to have raised more money this turn.
Another grain event occurs in Rome and I lose another 5 EP and 2 NM.
2 new generals a two star and a one star appear in Salonae this turn. They are ordered to Rome to join the defending stack there. For now I have no troops that need them, so they’ll be assigned units as soon as I can afford some new production.
Overall this was a tremendously successful turn for the cause and is probably the turning point for the war. NM grew by a net of 11 points getting me well above 100 for the first time all game. Given how roughly the five Pompeian legions in southeast Gaul were handled this turn, I predict the total destruction of those troops will occur over the next few turns. The only possible hope for them would be a naval evacuation, and I doubt the AI is up to a complex operation like that.
So as soon as the destruction of the Pompeian legions is complete, Hispania (I assume that’s where the legions came from) should be ripe for the picking. Antonius’ 3 legions and the 4 other legions in southern Gaul commanded by Curio and Fabius should make short work of it.
End of turn totals
VP: 726 NM: 110 EP: 46 Money: 98
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