Alexander's World Tour

[Marathon]

Thebes, Athens and Sparta dare to revolt? I will make them pay for their insolence by destroying all resistance. First stop, the walled city of Thebes. First, I have weaken the Thebian army and then breach the city through it's gates. The main body of my army has traveled the along the road leading towards the city gates while a cavalry detachment (Calis, Demtreius and Arrabaeus), of lancers, patrols on my left. When the first Thebian soldiers are spotted, I stop the column to decide my strategy.

[Marathon]

I order the column to deploy into a line of battle with me at the center. Main aim is to follow the road up to the gates, crushing any Thebian soldies against the city walls themselves. I order Calis to ride along me left flank and to look for oppportunites to outflank my opponents. My attention is drawn to the small hills in front of me which can be used as defensive positions by the Thebians , for soldiers to charge downhill upon the Thebians or for placement of Kallias' archers.

Melanon's light foolishly approaches my army alone and he directs his charge angainst me. Fool! I and my bodyguards bloodily counter-charge him back while only losing 100 men.

Calis: Two heavy cavalry units appear before me.

[Marathon]

I now see two Thebian heavy cavalry units on that small hill to my right. My infantry can handle them but it will difficulty to dislodge them from those heights if they decide not to attack me first. I order my bodyguards to punish Melanon's shaken troops for his folly and they are driven further back with 400 more losses.

Calis: My cavalry maneuvers looking for good positions to charge the Thebians using my three to two advantage in numbers. I predict the enemy's movement and the gods have granted my boldness. My downhill charge into Sitalies' flank drives him back with no losses to my soldiers.

[Marathon]

I viciously pursue the shaken Melanon but I worry about the threats to both of my flanks. I order Craterus and Nicanor to break left to deal with the infantry of Hiccipus while Hegelochus and Coenus move forward to protect my advance. Meleager holds defends his position on my far right backed by Kallias' archers. I kill 800 more of Melanon's men and rout the dog. Hegelochus men catch Kyros' cavalry in the flank as they were preparing to charge. Eight hundred men and horses pay for his haste.

Calis: I once again slaughter more of Sitalies' men with incurring any damage. My aggressive charges have not allowed him time to recover. The two other units, under my command, continue to seek to do battle with Arsites' men. They keep him occupied and unable to help his companion.

[Marathon]

Hiccipus slips in between Craterus and Nicanor so I must end my pursuit of Melanon to halt this penetration of my line. The Thebian unit, on my far right, threatens my archers but Kallias sees this threat and gracefully retreats to a safer spot.

Calis: Unfortunately for Arsites, his unit rides right into the path of my bloodthirsty soldiers. I lose only a hundred men while Thebes loses 400 more of its best cavalry. Demetrius strikes the finishing blow against Sitalies and that threat is removed.

[Marathon]

Kyros threatens Coenus but he turns and faces the threat. His quick action and sharp spears freeze Kyros and allows Hegelochus' to hit his exposed side. In a short struggle, Kyros' cavalry is dispatched but Hegelochus is reduced to three quarters strength. My archers add 100 more to Thebian death toll.

Calis: My lances spill more Thebian blood as Arsites's men fall back with 400 more dead on the ground.

[Marathon]

Hiccipus remains a thorn in my side but Nicanor occupies his attention while my bodyguards slip behind him. In battle, Hiccipus loses 800 men to both the swords of Nicanor and to the arrows of Kallias. The enemy cavalry on my far right remains fixed due to Meleager.

Calis: Arsities last 200 men put up a desperate fight but they all are killed along with 100 of my own. I inform Alexander that his left has been cleared and gives me new orders to scout ahead.

[Marathon]

Myself and Nicanor team up to inflict heavy casualties on Hiccipus and his infantry is driven further away from the safety of Thebes. Sopolis' Thebian heavy cavalry remains inactive.

Calis: I begin to scout the ground from the battleground to the city walls. No enemy is sighted.

[Marathon]

My bodyguard and I strike down the last of Hiccipus' troops. All my attention shifts to Sopolis who remains stationary thanks to Meleager. He is surrounded by four units but I am hesitant to engage in a bloody frontal assault as I have retain strength to take the city.

Meleager: I sent an angry message to Kallias because of his archers' bad aim.

[Marathon]

It appears Sopolis realizes he is in tight situation so he orders his men to charger Meleager. Before his men could strike, the unused cavalry of Philotas hits his flank with a charge of his own. This forces Sopolis to retreat. I move to help with his destruction and order Coenus and Hegelochus to do the same. Kallias sees an opportunity to occupy the hill to the right and takes it.

[Marathon]

Philotas drives his cavalry into Sopolis. In the ensuing melee, Sopolis loses his last 600 men for only 200 of my men. To witness the bravery and ferocity of Philotas' unit was inspiring. A messenger arrives from Calis. My left flank has also been cleared. On to the gates of Thebes!

[Marathon]

I formulate some modifications to my original plan based on my scouting reports of the Thebian defense. It seems the they have formed a second line right outside the gates backed by archers lining the city walls. My infantry will march head on into the Thebians while my cavalry swings hits their flanks. Calis already knows what to do so I concentrate on issuing orders to my infantry commanders to strike the Thebian center. Kallias begins to rain arrows into the enemy line from the heights and sends 300 more Thebians to their deserved death.

Calis: Following my king's original orders, I scout for weaknesses in the right flank of our enemies and await the main assault to begin. I keep one eye on the Thebian archers and the other on their line of spear men.

[Marathon]

I see the last remnants of Melanon's troops sally forward. Coenus also see this and moves to intercept before Melanon can reach my archers. He puts Melanon's last 100 men out of their misery. My encourage my troops as they march forward.

Calis: My troops are in position and anxiously await the second part of the battle to begin.

[Marathon]

I examine the Thebian battle line from a hill and I spot a weakness in the center of it; a unit of swordsmen that do not look very steady. I inform Kallias to direct his missiles there with good results. If my infantry can penetrate the center while my cavalry hits, the Thebians will crumble. From this height, I can see Calis deploying his cavalry in preparation to charging the Thebian right. The Thebian archers make their presence felt. Forward, men! Forward to glory!

[Marathon]

Shields reverberate. Spears thrust. Arrows fly. Lances impale. Swords eviscerate. The gates of Thebes becomes a killing field. The road to Thebes is paved with stone and blood. My soldiers stagger two of the five enemy units, Perdiccas and Gelenor, in a battle that I believe could be heard in Macedon or by the gods themselves. The Thebians lose 1400 more men while only 500 of my cavalry and 200 of my infantry fall. My archers add 300 additional names to the enemy death toll. The only setback is Nicanor is forced back. This does not concern me as the ground is overcrowed enough.

[Marathon]

Nicanor smartly remains in reserve as the opposing battle lines push closer to the city walls. Hegelochus seizes on an opening in the Thebian defense and rushes towards the gates while I follow to further exploit the gap. The Thebians lose 1900 more killed while I lose almost the same number in infantry and cavalry combined. Philotas forces Gelanor to surrender as they had no where to run.

Calis: I withdrawal my own unit as their fatigue is evident and I am am running out of space to maneuver my horses. Demetrius has 300 men killed and is forced to disengage from the line.

[Marathon]

Behind me, I see Kallias moving his archers forward. They must have no targets within range. In front of me, Hegelochus gets into a tight spot but I am there to support him. To the left, Craterus' men fail to inflict any damage upon Phillip and are pushed back with 200 casualties. Not everything is going poorly. Coenus not only routs Perdiccas, but his momentum also crushes the spirit of Andromenes' men. He and his men will be greatly rewarded.

Calis: I have to finally pull Arrabaeus' men out of the line so that means all three units, under my command, are temporarily out of the fight. I have to regroup and reform.

[Marathon]

Every single Thebian archer will be personally executed by me, for their cowardice, when I take the city. I curse them for they kill 100 cavalry and 300 more infantry. I order the severely mauled Hegelochus to remove himself from the battle line. Andromenes' men find their courage just in time to be reacquainted with Coenus' heavily armored spear men. This time, they rout and surrender to Philotas. Phillip avoids a second assault by Craterus and is now on the end of dwindling line.

[Marathon]

The Thebians are near defeat as most of their lays slain and gates are now undefended. Meleager destroys what is left of Perdiccas' command. I play my one Health card on Coenus who had only three quarters of his combat effectiveness remaining. He uses this increase in vigor to eliminate the infantry of Cecrops. I choose to ignore the only threat remaining, Phillip, and charge straight into the city.

[Marathon]

My wrath is merciless as Thebes is razed and the surviving population sold into slavery. Not only has this pitiful rebellion been crushed, all thoughts of disloyalty, from my allies to my own subjects, has been ended as well.

My caution only granted me a minor victory but I now control four elite cavalry units and four elite infantry units.