First Punic War. The Long One.

[Tarfman]

Hi,

Before we delve into the next part of our story I just want to mention something that I left out of my previous post. In that my overall strategy has not changed that much. I am still aiming to hit up Corsica, Sardinia and Leptis Magna. Onwards!

So in the end it looks like I did push my luck. And I suffered the consequence. I was a victim of my own success. I suffered pretty devastating losses across the space of two battles in Camarina. From viewing the replay it looked like Stratego was in the process of attacking into Syracuse. Their field of battle was in Camarina.(In hindsight it would have been much more beneficial for me to hold tough in Syracusae and let the Carthage attack activate Hiero's army.)

Max managed to achieve a costly victory in the first battle but Stratego's far superior numbers told in the second battle. Losses were roughly equal but Stratego outnumbered max by 2.5-1. Max was forced to retreat into Syracusae taking 45 hits on the way. It will be a long time before Max's army will be in any way effective. I lost 2 NM as a result of the last battle. One of my Alea units was also completed during battle. I will rebuild it straight away in Neapolis.

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I did manage to capture a number of prisoners which I will gladly sell off to the highest bidder.

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I am lucky enough to have received a few volunteers that turn. Word must not have reached Rome of the massacre before they signed up!

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Even with the fresh recruits I still need to buy more replacements. The more I think about it the more I realise what a waste that was. Max's army was very experienced. Nearly all the units had at least 1 star of experience. Some of the elements had 2 stars. An awful waste. Anyway nearly 40 D's for the replacements.

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A few other minor events sprung (sprang) during that turn.

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Plan for July

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The Carthage fleet has finally given up the blockade of Messana and its strait. Urbi's force will attempt a forced march across while it is absent. Hopefully nothing will show while he makes his way across. Max could do with the reinforcements.

Max will join up with Hiero's force and disperse his remaining elite Legionnaires among the weaker Hellenistic units. It should be enough to hold the line if Stratego does attack. (I hope he does as it will unlock Hiero and his army).

Back soon.

T

[Tarfman]

Hi,

Strange occurrence last turn. Stratego marched into Syracusae but no battle occurred. There is an engagement message in the log though. The province is under 100% Syracusan MC. I had presumed that Stratego would not be able to enter the province without fighting when MC is that high. Maybe it's just a glitch. Or maybe both sides arrayed for battle every morning but neither side decided to strike first. I expect there to be a battle next turn. Stratego's supply situation can't be great. Particularly as he left Camarina pillaged and due to the MC he will not be able to forage for any Supply in Syracusae. Even though there was no battle Hiero's army and navy are now unlocked.

New fleet below. Pretty powerful units. Leader has decent Strategic rating.

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Max and Hiero will remain on the defensive in Syracusae. Max's units regained cohesion, supply and received several replacements for their damaged and missing elements. I still have a few replacements in the bank to replace a few other elements.

The Carthage Navy did not return so Urbi made a successful crossing. I am not going to move him anywhere until the situation is resolved in Syracusae. I may use him to Siege henna while Carthage is distracted by Max and Hiero. Or I may combine him with Max and Hiero and then split the force in two to give me two fairly effective fighting forces. We will see.

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I made a mistake last turn in that I did not take the opportunity to move my fleet to Neapolis. (Neapolis will be where I plan on constructing my Supa-Fleet) At the end of the last turn the relative pwr value of the Carthage navy was down to 67%!! At the start of this turn it was up to 137%. Last turn was the perfect opportunity to move my fleet to Neapolis. They will remain where they are and wait for another opportunity. Risk of interception is too risky.

Big surprise from last turn was seeing Lucomon and his depleted force being landed in Volsinii. Not sure what the Carthage intention is here. I am not going to commit to attacking him immediately, instead I am sending Otac's force to Rome. If nothing else occurs he will attack next turn. It should take at least two turns before Volsinii succumbs to a Siege.

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Back Soon.

T.

PS If there is anything you would like me to add into the AAR let me know.

[Tarfman]

Hi,

Stratego attacked Max and Hiero's combined army in Syracusae. Casualties were heavy on both sides but Rome emerged victorious.

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Note the trench effectiveness above. Pretty useful when on the defence.

The Carthage Navy appeared off Syracusae to commence the blockade. I am glad I opted not to move my fleet as they would have been severely beaten if they had run into it.

Plan for Sicilia is too pretty much stand my ground. We still have 95% MC of Syracusae so I predict that Stratego will be forced to come to battle. His units will hopefully be demoralised and their supply situation low. If so the odds of me achieving a greater victory will be good.

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Our best agent in Carthage reports that it is the Carthaginians intention to fight for Syracusan territory in the hope that they can swing Hiero back in their favour. (Agent = my PBEM opponent)

In the North nothing unusual happened. I half expected that Lucomon was a distraction for something else. The senate has decreed that Lucomon head is to be set on a Spike in the centre of Rome. Octa has been tasked with eliminating Lucomon. Hopefully he will prove more successful in this task. I expect the battle to be bloody and short. Lucomons soldiers will be eager for Roman blood.

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Back soon.

T

[Tarfman]

Hi,

No battle in Syracusae. I was pretty surprised as Rome has 95% MC. I thought that would force Stratego into an Offensive posture. Can't see what I'm missing here. Any help? Following is excerpt from manual.

16.1.3 Entering Hostile Territory Hostile territory is defined as being a region in which a player has less than 6%
military control. Entering such regions with friendly forces has the following effects:
_ A Force that enters a hostile region automatically assumes an Offensive Posture. (Forces consisting of
cavalry units, Irregulars, or support units ignore this rule when transiting hostile territory.)
_ A Force that conducts an Amphibious Assault or river crossing into a regions with less than 10%
control, automatically assumes an Offensive Posture. (Forces consisting of Cavalry, Irregulars or support
units ignore this rule.)
_ A Force cannot retreat from a battle into a region that is less than 6% controlled by the retreating player.
(A player that loses a battle and is surrounded by hostile territory is likely to see the total destruction of his
forces.)

If I understand above correctly Stratego should have assaulted. (Red highlight is mine) But that's War for you!

A few other interesting occurrences occurred. A small detachment of Carthaginian infantry units landed in Catania and besieged Tauromenium. A small fleet (Carthaginian small) is blockading the port. Along with the usual raising of a garrison unit a small force under the command of Strategos Artimidore was raised.

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It came with a supply wagon which means that the garrison will be able to hold out for at least 4 turns. That will take me into next January. The besieging force has no supply wagon with it so expect it to be treated fairly harshly by the winter weather. I had initially planned to send in Urbi to attack the besiegers. But I will hold off and see what happens.

I did consider putting Max on assault posture but I was afraid if my attack was successful Hanno (Not Stratego from now on) would retreat to Catania. (Anyway I hope that Hanno will be forced to assault next turn). I don't feel comfortable having that large a force between Max and Messana. If Hanno managed to get a secure footing in Messana with that Force I would be hard pressed to shift him out. That would leave southern Italy vulnerable to invasion. The force I have in Messana could withstand an extended siege. It has a size three depot and Urbi has three Supply wagons attached to his force. All speculation at the moment.

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A bit messy above. If you dont like it let me know.

In the North Octa engaged Lucomon in Volsinii. He inflicted considerable damage but took a good few hits in return. In hindsight (Don't we just love hindsight) I shouldn't have put Octa on All Out Attack. Lucomon is doomed either way.

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Lucomon retreated into Rome. (He has an awful habit of doing that). I have split up off two Alea units from Octa's force. One shall remain in Volsinii on Assault posture, the second will head North East to Umbria, the Urba Legion in Rome, along with a few garrison units, will sally from Rome and attack Lucomon. Octa will target Lucomon. If Lucomon is engaged I hope he will retreat into one of these ambushing forces.

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Back soon.

T

[Tarfman]

Hi,

No battles last turn

Lucomon managed to slip through my fingers and is now creeping around Casinum. A small Carthage fleet has appeared off the coast of Casinum which I can only imagine is an attempt to evacuate Lucomon once again. I am even more disappointing that I have no fleet on the west coast as it would have been the perfect opportunity to gain a naval victory for Rome. Octa will once again attempt to capture Lucomon.

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Not much change on Sicilia. The fleet that was blockading Tauromenium is now blockading the straits of Messana. The besieging force in Tauromenium has received a new commanding officer in Hanno Manus. Their siege is now in vain as the port is no longer blockaded. Hanno's supply situation looks to be deteriorating.

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The Neapolis shipyard is complete. It came with three Trireme units. I had enough money to purchase 2 more. I probably won't have enough money to pay more troops next turn but I have taken an option to raise more money. Hopefully the money will be raised before the wages are due.

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Back Soon.

T

[Tarfman]

Hi,

Yet again Lucomon has escaped to sea. He must be laughing at us. Octa decided that it would be best if he stayed in Rome to make sure Lucomon didnt sneek around him and attempt to capture Rome. Nothing to do with relaxing in his own home. Octa has been firmly instructed to move his army to Neapolis.

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On Sicilia there was a bit of action. Hanno Manus assaulted Tauromenium. He won the battle but did not manage to take the city. The main Carthage fleet has abandoned its siege of Syracusae and combined with the smaller blockading fleet of Messana to commence the blockade of Tauromenium. Hanno received a new supply cart from Henna. Hanno's supply situation still looks to be shaky. Max will remain on the defensive. The Carthaginians have suffered revolts in Olbia, Sardinia and in Tyndaris. Good for them

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Back Soon.

T

[Tarfman]

Hi,

Not much to report. No battles in Syracusae. The Carthage fleets re positioned their blockading fleets. Hanno looks to be in a poor state. Max will assault Hanno next turn.

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Back soon

T

[Random]

Thanks for the update. For 262, do you plan on taking the town Camarina and begin the conquest of Sicily?

-C

[Tarfman]

Thanks for the update. For 262, do you plan on taking the town Camarina and begin the conquest of Sicily?

-C

Hi Random,

Thanks for following.

I'm a few turns ahead at this stage. But my plan at the time was to attack west for Agrigentum. Camarina or Agrigentum have no ports so just need to starve em out.

C

[Tarfman]

Hi,

Hanno meet Max and Heiro on the field of battle. Hanno did not fair to well. His losses arent great but he took 25 hits during his retreat. Max managed to capture some valuable loot that Hanno left behind in his dash West to Camarina.

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Plan for January.

Hiero will take a small force and march North to Catania. Urbi will also march south with his force from messana. Hiero is set to arrive a few days before Urbi so he will remain on defensive posture. Urbi will march with attack posture. Hopefully Urbi will attack the besiegin force and Hiero will support him. Arti has been set to sortie. Max with most of his army will assault into Camarina. Probably a bit risky but worth the shot

Forgot to take a screen shot. Sorry!

I got the option to raise more money again which I shall do in a effort to continue to build up my fleet.

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Some silly priest saw a bird die and is spreading rumours of bad omens.

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Below is how the game lies stands from a spreadsheet point of view.

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The Carthage fleet pwr value is a bit misleading as I believe that they are probably just low on supply/cohesion. A turn or two in port will take that back up. Army pwr value is probably right. I'm not too worried about the VP gap.

Back Soon.

T

[Random]

Some silly priest saw a bird die and is spreading rumours of bad omens.

This is exactly what silly priests are supposed to do. Wait until Publius Claudius Pulcher tosses the sacred chickens into the sea rather than the cooking pot...

Carthaginian VP's can add up fast, beware of allowing yourself to dig a VP hole too deep to get out of. But of course it's early.

-C

[Tarfman]

Hi,

A great victory for Rome. Hanno has been defeated, yet again, in Camarina. Hanno's force nearly doubled Max's force. We also managed to destroy several Carthage elements with zero element losses in return. Hanno did not retreat out of the province.

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Hanno Messina abandoned the Siege if Tauromenium and managed to sneak past Hiero and Urbi to join up with Hanno in Camarina. The blockading fleet took station off Messina once again.

Max will remain on defensive posture. Hiero and his force will assault move into Camarina. Hopefully they will surprise Hanno and force him to abandon Camarina. Urbi and his small force will move West and lay Siege to Henna. Arti will remain in Catania for the moment. His movement penalty would apply to the whole stack, even if he wasnt in command.

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Received 100 D's from Syracusae in reparations. I also received 200 D's from raising more money. I decided to spend 250 D's on building another Shipyard in Ostia. Hopefully it will also come with three understrenght Trireme's. Spent another 50 D's on replacements.

Back Soon.

T

[Tarfman]

This is exactly what silly priests are supposed to do. Wait until Publius Claudius Pulcher tosses the sacred chickens into the sea rather than the cooking pot...

Carthaginian VP's can add up fast, beware of allowing yourself to dig a VP hole too deep to get out of. But of course it's early.

-C

I think if I can grab Agrigentum this year and maybe take some of the VP cities on Corsica and Sardinia the Carthaginians wont get too far ahead. I also plan on defeating him in battle so hopefully will get VP's for that too. Think I got ove 20 VP's for my last victory.

T

[Tarfman]

Hi,

Max and Hiero hammer into Hanno's forces in Camarina. Two victories for Rome but Hanno manages to hang on.

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My two consuls were replaced. I'm sorry to lose Max. His successor has much to live up to. They arent terrible!!

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Rome raised over 600 D's from taxes. I spent 450 D's on three more Triremes and another 80 on replacements.

Urbi will continue siege of Henna. Mega (Brilliant!!) and Hiero will combine and stay on the defence. Rome has 86% MC of Camarina.

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Back Soon.

T

[Tarfman]

Hi,

Not much Change. Made a few D's from my merchant ports. About 60 D's. I spent another 100 D's on replacements. I had neglected purchasing any for my Syracusan allies. Havent received any freebies for them either. Carthage fleet took some hits of Messana. There may have been a storm. It will prob head for shelter next turn. Arti is been sent to join Mega. If there is a battle next turn Arti will lay siege to Camarina while Mega takes after Hanno. That is if we are victorious of course.

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I made an error in my last report. I said i had moved my fleet to Neapolis. That was a lie or more of a future possibility. (Am a few turns ahead so kinda confused myself.)

I also received an option to sell more prisoners into slavery.

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My spy inside the Carthaginian OKW, or what ever they call it. Has learned that the leaders of the carthage senate are becoming quite morose due to the course of the war. Their will to fight maybe on the wain.

T

[Tarfman]

Hi,

May 263 - May 262. I have to say that it has been a unexpectedly successful year. I don't think Carthage have much chance at this rate of loss. They currently have a big VP difference but I think I can pull that back over course of the war. Pwr ratings arent too true. Fleet can rebuild quickly.

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No major army moves. Hanno swapped out supply carts. Carthage Fleet moved south around Syracusea to Lilybeaum. Hanno looks to be in a poor state, 1000 pwr at most. I will attack. I am going to move all my fleets to Merge in Messina Strait.

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I can sell more prisoners into slavery. I have purchased another Trireme squadron. I opted to spend 75 D's on a road in Italys toe. Hipontum. It will quicken my army movement aswell as giving me 3 VP's and 3 EP.

Back Soon

T

[Random]

Things are looking up and you have the entire campaigning season ahead. Maybe time to treat yourself to a Triumph!

-C

[Tarfman]

Things are looking up and you have the entire campaigning season ahead. Maybe time to treat yourself to a Triumph!

-C

Didn't think of that. Cheers. Been saving my EP's for Massilia

T

[Tarfman]

Hi,

Hanno was defeated (Forgot to take screenshot of Battle result). Got 2nm from the victory and managed to take a large number of prisoners and loot. The Carthage fleet didnt show up. My fleet merged without issue. Will send it on to Neapolis. Was also able to build another Trireme. Ill be able to carry out an amphibious assault of Aleria soon. Hanno's army looks to be in a very bad state in Agrigentum. Because I still have Camarina under siege I am unable to send my full stack into Agrigentum due to mobility issues (Camarina lies on the best road to Agrigentum). I have decided to spilt my force into a couple of mobile stacks into hopefully sneaking into Agrigentum. Because of Hiero's fast mover trait he will lead my best units into Agrigentum. They will be seriously outnumbered but we will have a really big qualitative and NM edge. Hiero will arrive in Agrigentum after 4 days. Mega will arrive about 4 days later. I have also tasked Urbi with his legion to head to Agri. He will arrive around the same time as Mega. An Alea unit is been left behind to continue Siege. Its a risky maneuver but i think it will work out. Art is going to stay in Camarina to continue siege with remainder of Army. Pwr value of fort dropped from 180 to 100.

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Back Soon.

T

[Tarfman]

Hi,

Heiro and Mega were successful. Just about. Losses were extremely high on both sides. Hanno looked to be retreating from Agrigentum anyway. Hiero engaged first and Mega 5 days later. We managed to take alot of prisoners and plunder from both victories. We also receved over 60 VP's too. VP gap is down to around 50. Hanno lost a significant amount of elements too. The elements we lost all came from the one legion! All it has left is the Legatus unit. My entire navy is now situated in Neapolis.

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That bloody priest is going to have a nasty accident.

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Plans

Mega and the majority of the Armies in Agrigentum will stay put and commence siege. Hiero will head back to Syracusae with the decimated legion to commence rebuilding it. I don't want it anywhere near any combat. Very lucky to have held onto it. Urbi will head back to Henna with a Hoplite unit to take over the siege.

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In the North I plan on landing an amphibious assault force on Aleria. I have a pretty substantial fleet at this stage. I have broken the fleet in to two fleets. The smaller one will head north to land the assault force. The second larger fleet will head north but will anchor off Volsinii outside (hopefully) of Carthage detection ranges. I have left the first fleet small with the intention of luring Carthage into sending his fleet north to attack it. I am hoping by the time it gets there my main fleet will have joined up with it and will be ready for a proper naval engagement. Probably wont happen but we will see.

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The assault force is led by Mami. He will assault the Fort as soon as I can get him too. If successful i will ship him back to neapolis or onto Olbia.

Back Soon.

T

[Tarfman]

Hi,

A interesting Month. Big news is that a new army under the Command of a, so far, unknown Carthage general has marched into Messana. It has four infantry units, an irregular and a Cart. No enemy fleet has blockaded the port yet so the siege is currently ineffective.

The assault force landed safely in Aleria. No resistance encountered or signs of any fleet in the area.

It appears that a large Carthage fleet has arrived in Lilybaeum.

The shipyard in Ostia was completed. It opened with three squadrons of under strength Quinquereme (Heavy Warships). Very nice. If I had know I was going to get heavy warships from Ostia I would have went with that option earlier. Hindsight!!

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A wee drought is giving a few senators a bit of a thirst. They will just have to drink more wine.

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I got an option to sell more prisoners and to raise more money. I will take both. I had an economic sunrise event a few turns ago so that will negate the inflation. Need the money for more SHIPS!!!!!!

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Plans

In the North Mami will assault the level 1 fort. His force is in pretty good condition after the passage from Neapolis. I have 1 further Trireme unit completed in Neapolis which i will send to Ostia. Duumvirs fleet is going to join up with the fleet led by Trierarchos off Aleria. Their combined power will come to over 3000. I am still somewhat nervous of this plan. On average a Trireme unit has a max pwr value of approximately 160. A full strenght Quinquerme is probably closer to 250. If Carthage decides to attack with his under strength (suspected!!) Quinquerme units they will prob have the same pwr value as mine. So basically if there is a scrap I think the losses on both sides will prob be pretty high. But I think because of my cohesion, supply and few if any hits I will probably lose less elements than Carthage. So I think I would come out on top. Will see I suppose.

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In the South there is a mess of movement. Roads will be clogged. Mega will stay put and continue Siege. Pwr of Agri garrision is 280. He has two carts. One is empty the other is nearly empty. The empty one is been sent to Syracusae to resupply. In Camarina Arti's force has been divided up. 3 of his four carts are been sent to Mega in Agri. Half his fighting units are been sent to back up Urbi in Henna. Arti with his 2 irregulars and cav unit will see out the Siege of Camarina. The Camarinian garrison pwr is down to 54 from a start value of 184. Hopefully they will surrender soon. Pwr in Henna is down to 40 so should surrender next turn. My surrender predictions have been so accurate to date . Hiero is been sent to join up with Urbi in Henna. I may launch a counterattack into Messana from there if necessary. The Legion in Syracusae will stay put unitil fully restored. It will take some time. I have 1 cart in Tauromenium which is also been sent to join up with Urbi. He will need it to cope with feeding the extra mouths coming his way.

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Back Soon.

T

[Tarfman]

Hi,

Well I think I have got a little cocky, overstretched myself and have suffered the consequences. Not a terrible turn for Rome but probably the worst since the war started. The Carthaginians will get a morale boost from it. It wasn't all bad!

It started off ok. Camarina surrendered to us and Mami assaulted Aleria successfully. He took a few hits but nothing drastic. I gained 1 EP as a result of the victory. He is going to stay put for moment. I will get him to build a depot with one of his carts. More on this later.

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It started to go downhill after that. Hanno surprisingly (For me anyway) assaulted into Agrigentum and managed to evict Mega (Max would never have given up so easily ). I lost plenty of elements during the battle and also lost 42 hits on the retreat. Not nice.

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The lone Triremis unit I sent to Ostia from Neapolis was intercepted and annihilated by a Carthage fleet. Not good.

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The army that had laid siege to Messana, led by Hannibal Acrigas Manus, marched into Tauromenium and assaulted the fort. Lucomon and his remaining force is by his side!! The garrison was destroyed but the Cart managed to hold on and keep the fort in Roman hands. (They must have dressed it up like a raging bull or something).

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White smoke has been seen and a new high priest has been elected. Some strange reports have come in about the old one having fallen down his stairs and managed to impale himself on his guards sword! Anyway we have finally received some good omens. Just as we have suffered the worst series of defeats. Typical!

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Plans.

In the North my plan has kinda worked. The Carthage fleet arrived off Aleria after my two fleets had combined but there was no engagement. I suspect because the Carthage fleet had intercepted the single Trireme unit on its way to Ostia so that when it got to Aleria it had reverted to a defensive or passive stance.

I am beginning to think that it might have been a bad idea to lure him in. Particularly seen how my Trireme was decimated earlier. I also had a look at the relative stats between light and heavy warships. The heavy warships offensive and defensive fire is double that of a light warship.

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Looking at the dots under the counters would lead you lead you to think that I have a significant advantage but I am not so sure. The Carthage fleet appears to be weaker but it is composed mostly of heavy warships and it is lead by a better Admiral. His units probable lack supply, cohesion and may be down a few hits from previous storms but qualitatively I think he has an edge over me. How big I can't be sure. If I was the Carthage player I would probably want to get out of there fast so that would entail putting it on defend and retreat, evade combat, and heading south. But on closer inspection you can see that the Carthage admiral has a better offensive stat than defensive one. So it might be better to fight his way out. SO MANY VARIABLES!!!!

On the balance of it I think I will go for a standard attack. I will leave intercept off. (Have yet to discuss that house rule with opponent). I think my weight of numbers will hopefully pay off. I have 182 full elements, all light warships. To 140 damaged (Hopefully!!!) Carthage elements. 60 of those are Heavy warships the rest are light warships. Both fleets have 30 transports on top of that. I was able to work this out from the battle report. I did consider going for a conservative attack but then thought that my greater numbers might not prove effective that way. (Image of Cannae flashed through my mind!!) I am not confident. But when is anything certain in war! Neptune be good.

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I have two Ala units and two Cav units in Neapolis which I am going to force march to Rhegium. It will take 25 days. From their i Hope i will be able to get them across to Messana. It is currently free of blockaders.

I hope to slip out the cart that was fooling Hannibal Acrigas in Tauromenium and have it join up with Hiero in Henna.

Hiero will see out the siege of Henna. The forts pwr value is down to 18 so should fall next month. He will then head to Messana. If I can get that small force to cross the straits next turn he will merge with them. I plan on using him to hunt Hannibal out of Catania if he still lurks there.

I am going to give up Camarina. Mega is fairly weak after the last battle. If Hanno and Hannibal (That name makes me Shudder) assault into Camarina I think I may be defeated again. The Carthage force looks to be a walking shambles but they still outnumber me two or three to one. Carthage got a big VP and NM hit from their victories last turn. And i dont want to gift them more. Anyway they will have to siege Camarina again. Roman loyalty is at 60% so it should spawn a garrison. It will take Mega 6 days to get to Syracusae. If Hannibal decides to go to Syracusae instead I fear that Hiero might flip flop on me if I don't get there before him.

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I have selected the Massilian option. I am one ep short but I hope by the end of the turn processing i will have enough and it will activate. I started buying roman heavy warship replacements and more Syracusan. At the moment I have plenty of Romans replacements.

Back soon.

T

[Tarfman]

Hi,

Well the naval battle was pretty epic. I won. But I actually really lost. Badly! I held the field at the end of battle but I suffered by far the greater casualties. I lost about over twice as many elements as Carthage. Carthage lost NO heavy warship elements. I will never again face off against the Carthage fleet without a good backbone of heavy warships.

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Henna still holds out. Only 6 pwr left!

Hannibal assaulted Catania again. Another garrison was mustered and destroyed. My wagon managed to fool the invaders with some Gandalf like magic tricks to keep them from climbing over the walls.

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Hanno has laid siege to Camarina.

Mega managed to make it back to Syracusae. He has recovered a good deal of cohesion and hits. His blood is boiling at the thought of Hanno taking back his hard earned gains.

Massalia has sided with the Romans! Their fleet will now fight for us. 3 Heavy warship squadrons!! Yipee.

Mami completed building the depot in Aleria. I decided to build it because the local supply was not enough to supply Mami's army. I was afraid that if I was defeated and driven off Mami could be stuck there for a while so I decided to go ahead and build it just in case. I will be able to rebuild the cart at some stage anyway.

The raise more money option didn't trigger last turn. Mudt have been because i had also selected the sell prisoners one. I will try it again. My replacement situation isnt great. Particularly after the last naval battle.

Plan.

In the north Mami will board my hard hit fleet and set sail for Ostia. My new Massalian fleet will also join up with it there. I have one more Trireme in Neapolis which I will also send there. I will land Mami in Olbia next spring.

[ATTACH]38873[/ATTACH]

In the south the leaderless army in Rhegium will cross the strait to Messana. Hiero will split up his force. Hiero and the majority of the force will head to Messana. Due to the terrain he has to head west before he can head east. It will take 13 days. Urbi and the Mamertines will stay put and see out the siege.

I will once again attempt to get that cart to join up with Hiero in Messana. Mega will continue to refit and rearm. Next turn if Hannibal stays put I may assault into Catania with Mega and Hiero. From there I will assault back into Camarina. We will be getting close to bad winter weather so I will have to assess as we go.

[ATTACH]38874[/ATTACH]

Back Soon.

T

[Tarfman]

Hi,

Henna finally surrendered. Gained 1 NM from the surrender. The Massalian fleet got hit by a storm on the way to Ostia. Didnt lose any elements but took a fair amount of hits Gained 1 EP from strategic decisions. I will need plenty more as the option to persuade Emporiae to join our cause costs 20 EP. I am able to sell more prisoners again. Another 200 D to spend nearly all on Replacements. Hanno retreated all the way back to Lilybaeum.

Hiero led Hannibal on a merry dance across Sicily. He must have had strict orders to engage Hiero at all costs. He finally caught up with him in Messana where he was soundly defeated and sent packing back into Catania from whence he came. He took 13 hits on the way.

[ATTACH]38875[/ATTACH]

Nothing happening up North for the moment. My fleet will lick its wounds and try and develop some new fleet tactics to defeat the Carthage Navy. Mami and his troops will celebrate in Rome. In hindsight i should have maybe left a Garrison behind in Aleria as Rome only has 48% loyalty to 52% Barbarian. When I get enough EP (5) I will use the Pax Romana option on it.
In the South Hiero has merged with the force that crossed the strait earlier. He will assault into Catania. Urbi and his mamertines have been instructed to join up with Hiero but to avoid any contact until he does so. Mega will move back into Camarina.

[ATTACH]38876[/ATTACH]

Back Soon.

T

[Tarfman]

Hi,
Apologies for delay. Updates incoming!!

Y

[Random]

Hi,
Apologies for delay. Updates incoming!!

Y

Woo Hoo!

Playing the First Punic War scenario can be a significant undertaking without all of the work involved in writing an AAR about it. So was starting to despair of seeing updates but entirely sympathetic with the idea of walking away from the magnitude of the task. So am very grateful for your efforts to date and at the same time very much looking forward to the next chapter(s). Hail Tarfman Magnus...

-C

[Tarfman]

Hi,
Back at last. RL getting in the way the last few weeks. We have played a few turns wiithout much happening so will kick off again in March 261.
Hiero moved into Catania but remained on defensive as he was inactive that turn. Rome had enough MC prevent from forcing him into assault posture. Hanno Agricas had taken shelter inside Tauromenium walls so did no show for a fight either. Hiero assaulted in January and February and managed to completely annihilate Hannos force. Lucomon was injured in the fighting. We gained NM, EP and VP's from the victories. Rome is currently ahead on VP's (560 - 475) even though Carthage are earning 15 VP's more per turn. We are doing pretty well on the morale front too. 109 - 87.
I received 100 D's as tribute from Syracusae, another 200 from slave trading and 670 from taxes. I spent 620 on two squadrons of Heavy warships (Building in Neapolis) and another 330 on replacements and a supply cart. After that spending spree I am broke again. I still have the option to raise more money so I am going to take it.
My two consuls have been replaced again. I am not impressed with the hand I've been dealt. Lucius Valerius Flaccus has taken over in the South. He is a 2-1-3 general and Titus Otacilius Crassus has taken over in the North. He is a 3-1-4. :/ They have no traits at all that make up for their lacklustre stats.
I haven't seen the Carthage navy. The seas have been fairly rough these past few months so have also kept mine sheltered between Ostia and Neapolis. I have to split my navy now because no one port is able to support it in one stack! Hanno Senior has moved forward and taken up a defensive position in Agrigentum.
My plan for the upcoming Campaigning season is pretty basic. I plan on marching my Southern army into Agrigentum, Sieging and capturing it. With the reinforcements i received from Italy late last year I should be able to take it. Hanno appears to be quiet weak. Hiero will lead the stack as Lucius's stats are terrible. I will wait until my units have recouperated before launching. Maybe May. In the North I plan on conducting an amphibious assault on Olbia in Sardinia. I am guessing that Carthage will be wary of this and may patrol the area. I will keep an eye on it. Probably Sail across in May also. I want to replace the supply cart in the Northern army before going.
For the moment Hiero will lead his army back to Syracusae where it will sit on passive for a few turns before joining up with Lucius. After reaching Syracusae I will send Hiero on ahead to Camarina in case Hanno gets brave and attempts to retake it. Lucius is going to build a depot in Camarina.
Back sooner than last time.
[ATTACH]39004[/ATTACH]
T

[Tarfman]

Woo Hoo!

Playing the First Punic War scenario can be a significant undertaking without all of the work involved in writing an AAR about it. So was starting to despair of seeing updates but entirely sympathetic with the idea of walking away from the magnitude of the task. So am very grateful for your efforts to date and at the same time very much looking forward to the next chapter(s). Hail Tarfman Magnus...

-C

Hi Random,

Cheers for the patience. I had a good bit of down time recently which allowed me to keep up a good pace. Unfortunately that as changed so won't be able to keep it up like before. Hopefully there won't be as big a break as last time though.

T

[Tarfman]

April 261 BC

Hi,
Nothing happened of note last turn. Hiero didn't activate again! Am concerned at the frequency of that lately. Maybe I was just lucky initially. Carthage spent plenty of D's on options to raise their Morale. Its back up to 90 now. Mine is now 107. Hiero's army managed to recover a substantial amount of hits and elements during its march and subsequent stay in Syracusae.
Hiero and his armies quick recovery has allowed me to send on the majority of it to merge with Lucius. This will give me a stack in Camarina of about 2500. All the units within it will nearly be at full strength. The vanguard will be made up of two legions and a unit of Syracusan Hoplites. They alone have a pwr value of are nearly 700.
[ATTACH]39018[/ATTACH]
I have reserve in Syracusae of a legion and two Alea units under Urbi. They are missing a few elements but I am hoping they will be back to strength soon.
The money I raised last turn was used to buy more replacements. My replacement situation is now relatively healthy and most of my units (Land and Naval) have all their elements.
Back soon.
T

[Tarfman]

May 261 BC
Hi not much to report from last turn. Hanno Senior got some reinforcements from Lilybaeum. Looked like an Elephant unit :/ Hiero merged with Lucius and my other units in Syracusae recruited more elements.
Lucius is a terrible field commander. He has an offensive stat of 1. I might as well send the troops in blindfolded as let him command them. When he is in command of the entire stack the pwr value is around 2200. When Hiero is the value drops to 2100. And that is with a 25% penalty!! After looking at Hanno's army in Agrigentum and decided that it is still eminently beatable even with a weaker force I have decided to proceed with the assault but in a orthodox fashion. I have split my army in two. Hiero leading one half and Lucius the other. I have placed my best and strongest units in Hieros army up to his command cap of 13 (Pwr 1865). He will lead this force into Agrigentum. Lucius will follow on with the rest (Pwr 773). Hiero will arrive after 4 days, Lucius 2 days later. Hopefully Hiero will activate this turn. I dont know if Hiero will win but he may do enough so that by the time Lucius arrives he might finish the Job and get all the credit! He was always more of a politician!
Picture is previous post was meant to go here!
In the north I am preparing my Amphibious assault group for its mission to Sardinia. Sailing next turn.
Urbi is bringing up one of the Alea units that has recovered in Syracusae. There is still another Alea unit and a Legion close to full strength there.
I am also able to sell more slaves for 200 D's.
Back Soon.
T