Master of Rome - A Caesar vs Pompey AAR

[Nepos96]

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More men for our Macedonian army. I would rather the veteran legions currently under Sulla to actually follow Caesar wherever he decides to go. Therefore, I might need to recruit men to replace them.

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Though yet another round of epidemics gives Caesar reason to think: a big army is quite prone to diseases, and while that is an acceptable trade off for being able to fight large armies without being at a numerical disadvantage, now that the Pompeian resistance has effectively melted away we no longer need to subject our men to this risk. I might soon detach a few legions for other duties.

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That is it, I am tired of getting this reminder. Aegyptus it is then.

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More bad news, trade from the North sucks. I am not sure, but I think throughout this game I got hit by mostly negative trade events. I wonder if my opponent got to experience the same.

[Nepos96]

Turn 26 - January 47 BC

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Aulus Gabinius arrives in Athens, quickly wresting control of the city from the Optimates.

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Without wasting time, he orders his men to march north, towards Thessaly. The journey across the sea was a very tricky one, some ships were lost at sea and for a moment I though Dolabella was one of the casualties.

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Turns out he has decided to run for the office of Tribune of the Plebs. Vatinius (a general who also has the ability to led fleets at sea though) will take over command of his fleet.

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Pharsalos falls into the hands of young Sulla.

[Nepos96]

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After that, he relinquishes command of his two veteran legions, moving north (along with Crassus as his subordinate) to take over command of the new army being raised there.

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If it wasn’t for my many victories, my national morale would probably be in the gutter by now. Starving Rome can be a decent strategy, especially in imperial scenarios.

[Nepos96]

Turn 27 - February 47 BC

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Scipio, eager to take back Syria’s most important city, bought the services of a traitor, allowing him to assault the metropolis.

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Unfortunately for him, the defenders proved stronger than expected. Usually, most cities have nothing more than mere citizens pressed into service and with very light equipment.

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However, as you can see here, some professional soldiers (and defensive siege weapons not displayed here) are also part of the garrison, helping Antioch withstand the assault. The fact that the harbour is unblockaded, gives us the opportunity to replenish our supply stockpile and even bring in small amount of reinforcement.

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Speaking of taking a city through treachery, Caesar’s magnanimity earns him the reputation of a man worth negotiating with. Caesar has the ability to assault well fortified cities anyway, but one of his subordinated might find this opportunity quite useful in the future.

[Nepos96]

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As I mentioned earlier, Caesar’s army is quite prone to disease. Detaching some legions will attenuate that issue. And while governor Sulla already has enough men with him in Macedonia, perhaps Gabinius could lead his own army in Asia, to speed up our takeover of the East. I am at a point in this scenario where I trust my officers enough to act independently of Caesar.

[Nepos96]

Turn 28 - March 47 BC

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Our fleet takes Julius Caesar and his men to Alexandria. They will be there before the end of the month (thus denying the unsuspecting Optimates/Alexandrines any chance to intercept our fleet). Small note about our little adventure: the scenario has a scripted “side-quest”, where Pompey has a chance (after suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of Caesar) to request Ptolemy’s aid against his rival. One outcome of this request is for the Ptolemaic kingdom to be unlocked and start supplying men and ships to Pompey (the Egyptians might not be as strong as actual Roman legionaries, but if supplement by roman troops/leaders they might be a formidable opponent, thanks to their numbers), the other outcome will see Pompey lose his head. Once that happens, Caesar will be “teleported” to Alexandria with only one legion (the VI legion I believe), where after some intrigues, he will have to withstand a siege against impossible numerical odds (though Alexandria strong walls and Caesar’s skills make this feasible). It will then be up to us to rush in reinforcements by land or sea (thankfully winter is over and sea navigation is safer now), rescue Caesar and crush Ptolemy and his sister Arsinoe. Unfortunately, Pompey’s death in Tarentum kinda bypassed this whole event. On the plus side, we get to invade Aegyptus with as many legions as we want.

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One more month, then the people of Rome will stop pestering me.

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Economic development in Gallia and Lutetia more specifically.

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Over 15 Province controlled, from Hispania to the Aegean, our power is uncontested.

[Nepos96]

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Scipio keeps wearing down the garrison of Antioch.

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But he fails to take the city yet again.

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Gabinius marches East, towards Amphipolis. It will be a few more month before he can set foot in Asia.

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While Sulla sends his men to the various corners of his new province. His top priority is to ensure no Pompeian stronghold is left before the end of the year.

[Nepos96]

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Expropriations in Sicilia cause the locals to rebel. Trebonius and two legions are sent to the island to deal with them. Luckily this is tax-season, therefore I can stop resorting to unpopular measures to get more money. At least for a bit!

[Nepos96]

Turn 29 - April 47 BC

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The rebels are crushed just outside Drepanum.

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With business taken care off, Trebonius takes his army to Messana, ready to return to mainland Italia.

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While the garrison of Antioch thwarts yet another attempt by Scipio to take the city.

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Less successful is the garrison of Amphipolis, overwhelmed by Gabinius’ legions.

[Nepos96]

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Massive recruitment of legionaries and auxiliaries.

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Almost entirely financed by selling prisoners off into slavery. Though, with expenses increasing, we also resort to plundering Thessalonica’s treasure.

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In Hispania, several cities see their walls repaired with the help of detached roman units. Once their job is done these men are allowed to rejoin the main army based in Carthago Nova.

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Very bad news, Caesar failed to complete the journey to Aegyptus before the end of the month (sometimes the game’s rough estimate about a sea journey duration can be off by several days). Not only that, but a storm apparently caused losses among our soldiers and sailors. I could attempt to complete the journey within the next few days, but I am sure by now the Alexandrine/Optimates fleets have been alerted and are out there, ready to intercept us. While I have no doubt I can complete the landing before that happens, it also means that my fleet is about to get crushed in battle, leaving Caesar isolated in Aegyptus (there is no way in game to order a fleet to both complete a landing and flee before the arrival of the enemy). I could abort the entire Aegyptian expedition, but that will delay my attempt to take over the Roman East by several months (and I might not get a second chance to cross the sea safely again). A landing in Cyrenaica (with the intent of reaching Alexandria by land) is discarded, since no road exist between the two, nor any chance for resupply during the march. What Caesar ended up doing instead was ordering his warships to return to Greece while he would complete the last stretch of the journey on his own. If any enemy fleet decided to show up, he would lose all his transport ships but preserve his more expensive Quinqueremes. While not ideal, replacing lost transport ships can be done more quickly while placing only a fraction of the strain on the Roman treasury.

[Nepos96]

Turn 30 - May 47 BC

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It is open war between Caesar and Ptolemy. The Optimates breath a sight of relief while Caesar eyes greedily the riches of Aegyptus.

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More and more people offer their services to him. No fortress, Roman or not, stands any chance against him.

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Caesar landed safely in Alexandria. With no friendly sources of supply there, it is now effectively a fight or die situation for him and his men. As expected, a senatorial fleet was dispatched to intercept out transport ships (which now do not have long left to live).

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Most of our warships however are safe, on their way to Athens.

[Nepos96]

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Gabinius ready to cross the Hellespontus with his 3 legions.

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Anthony crushes yet another rebel band led by Milo.

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Before marching back with his men to Rome.

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Where a triumphal procession is going to be held in 3 months. While Caesar plans to hold his own proper triumph for his many victories once the civil war is over, holding some celebrations now might be a good way to shore up morale (at the expense of some VPs).

[Nepos96]

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Heavy losses for us in Syria, but the city still holds.

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Sulla orders an assault against the city of Dodona in Epirus.

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While the newly recruited legion (made up of former Pompeian soldiers) shows up for service in Thessalonica. I am actually happy with the location chosen for this new legion.

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Legio IV Macedonica gets its own marching orders: the island of Euboia will soon be cleared of any Pompeian garrison.

[Nepos96]

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New Germanic mercenaries cross the Rhine. They will reach the Mediterranean before the end of the month.

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We sell more prisoners into slavery. It might not look like it (as we still have several hundred thousand Denarii in the treasury), but we are starved for money.

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Here is a list of all reinforcements needed/requested so far. The recent storm really drove up the number.

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Caesar’s arrival in Aegyptus makes it possible for the Master of Rome to employ his diplomatic skills to his own great advantage. Soon, Arab auxiliaries may join our Roman legionaries. Caesar’s fame precedes him, as we did not even have to defeat the Ptolemaic armies in battle to prompt the Nabateans to join us.

[Nepos96]

Turn 31 - June 47 BC

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Caesar’s latest triumph, two thirds of the Ptolemaic army, led by Achillas, lay now dead in the field.

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Here you can see the previously mentioned Gabiniani now fighting as mercenaries for Ptolemy XIII.

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As expected, our transport ships are intercept and destroyed by the enemy fleet.

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Construction of new transport ships is immediately started in Athens.

[Nepos96]

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Antioch keeps Scipio’s army at bay one more month.

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Our newest friend in the East. His cavalry force might come in handy for mop up operations.

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Gabinius conquers the city of Abydus.

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Before moving against a much more important target, Pergamon.

[Nepos96]

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A new batch of officers joins us, including one Mithridates of Pergamon. If you are thinking that that name sounds familiar, that is because this “citizen of Pergamon” is the son of the more famous Mithridates VI. History can be really funny: during the early I century BC, the father was one of Rome’s greatest enemies, yet the son played a key role when, while Caesar was besieged in Alexandria, he gathered reinforces that he personally led to Aegyptus. Caesar would then manage to link up with him before defeating Ptolemy’s army once and for all at the battle of the Nile. All of this while his brother Pharnaces was getting ready to invade Asia. Not to mention that 40 years earlier, Ptolemy IX had been wary of directly helping Sulla against Pontus because Mithridates back then was detaining two Ptolemaic princes as hostages. These two princes would go on to become Ptolemy of Cyprus (a short-lived independent kingdom) and Ptolemy XII. Therefore, one could say Mithridates’ lineage would frequently interact with and in the end help bring down the bloodline of Ptolemy at the battle of the Nile.

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Further economic development in Gallia.

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And extra income from sale of weapons.

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Dolabella is probably thinking right now that he should have stuck to leading ships in the Aegean, instead of trying to navigate the political landscape in Rome.

[Nepos96]

Turn 32 - July 47 BC

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The Alexandrine garrison, led by Ganymedes, is crushed by Caesar’s legions. Among the casualties is king Ptolemy himself.

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Speaking of sieges of great Hellenistic metropolis, Scipio yet again fails to take Antioch.

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While another great Greek city falls into the hands of Gabinius.

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This was truly the “great cities of the Hellenistic East” turn.

[Nepos96]

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Drought in Asia. Our army there is small enough I think I am going to be fine. A bigger army there might struggle though.

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With the fall of Alexandria, we get to plunder the royal treasury. Half a million Denarii, what is left of the Ptolemaic regime will dearly pay for their resistance to Caesar (ignore the fact that in this timeline the Egyptians are merely defending themselves, having done nothing to wrong the Roman general).

[Nepos96]

Turn 33 - August 47 BC

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Caesar’s army after a month of rest. Losses have been replaced, accumulated fatigue shed and we are now ready to deliver the final blow against our enemies.

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Caesar will march against Ganymedes’ army in Memphis (not the Tennessean one), while Fabius will take a few legions to Pelusium. I am sure that Arsinoe IV, the last Ptolemaic princess alive (and not on our side) is hiding in either of these two cities.

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Enemy fleet spotted off the coast of Sicilia.

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I do not know what the Optimates are planning, but I want to make sure I am prepared. The recruitment of a new legion in Rome is authorized.