Master of Rome - A Caesar vs Pompey AAR

[Nepos96]

Turn 49 - December 46 BC

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Fabius defeats Scipio’s army, only this time it is Hyrcanus who was leading the army. To surrender command of a Roman army to a non-Roman is such a shameful display. Where is Scipio? Also, Marcus Favonius, a minor representative of the Optimates met his end on the battlefield.

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We send Crassus and his men to Antioch, to rest and recover. Also, we receive news the Parthians have gone back home for the winter.

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Thanks to our negotiating skills and the right amount of money, part of the garrison of Tarsus desert their post. We also manage to convince some of the inhabitants to open the gate of their city, once the assault begins.

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Pharnaces manages to seize the city of Nicomedia. I am not proud top admit it, but that army of 50000 men scares me a bit.

[Nepos96]

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Gabinius and his Galatians ally decide to block Pharnaces’s most likely route to Ephesus. Should he decide to take the coastal (and much longer) route instead, we will simply shadow his movement.

[Nepos96]

Turn 50 - January 45 BC

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Turns out the remaining defenders of the city can still put up quite a fight.

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Crassus and his men should be more than enough to bring Cilicia under our control.

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And on our way there, Crassus manages to defeat a small band of rebels.

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A small victory, but a victory nonetheless.

[Nepos96]

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Unfortunately, our army is once again affected by some kind of epidemics. Our men, unable to fight or even march for long, are given the opportunity to rest around Damascus.

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Pharnaces manages to capture Nicaea.

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While Gabinius, on his way to rescue the city, suffers a minor defeat at the hands of the Pontic king.

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We decide to establish a new defensive line around the town of Pessinus.

[Nepos96]

Turn 51 - February 45 BC

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Cassius Longinus (not the future Caesaricide, just a relative) proving himself to be a poor governor of Hispania Ulterior.

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Southern Hispania is completely pillaged. I would not be surprised if the locals decided to welcome back the Optimates, especially if led by a son of Pompey.

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With winter almost over, Caesar decides to cross the sea.

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Meanwhile Gabinius decides to turn Pessinus into a more solid base of operation for his army. A new depot is built inside the city, to allow the Roman army to more quickly replace their losses.

[Nepos96]

Turn 52 - March 45 BC

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Caesar manages to safely land in Utica. With the army of Cato destroyed at the battle of Rome, we can afford to land right next to the enemy capital without having to worry too much about a welcome party.

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The battle for Utica sees Caesar gaining a valuable foothold in Africa. The enemy fleet, harboured inside the city, is
forced to flee to avoid capture.

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Scribonius Libo failed to intercept our fleet before we could land our army. Not that it would have mattered anyway since, after fleeing Utica, he was intercepted by Decimus’ fleet. The combined Caesarian fleet proved too much for the Pompeian admiral. Caesar was never at risk during the crossing.

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Having landed safely in Africa, it is once again time for Caesar to engage in diplomacy with local rulers seeking expand their power at the expense of the Optimates and their Numidian allies. Bocchus II, king of Mauretania is promised a portion of the Numidian kingdom.

[Nepos96]

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Publius Sittius, a roman citizen turned mercenary, decides to join the Caesarians as soon as he receives the news of their landing in Africa.

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Under his command, a few thousand auxiliaries start approaching Numidia’s western border.

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The state of the Roman army in 45 BC. With March being taxation season, we finally have the money needed to replace our losses sustained all over the Mediterranean world.

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Our newest legion is given orders to join Gabinius in Pessinus.

[Nepos96]

Turn 53 - April 45 BC

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Fabius decides to take matters into his own hands and take over the siege of Tarsus.

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While our fleet forces the enemy one to retreat.

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Decimus’ skills as an admiral are simply unmatched. I doubt the Optimates have any decent admiral left (or general for that matter).

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King Bocchus II planning to join forces with Sittius before starting the siege of Sitifis.

[Nepos96]

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More auxiliaries and legionaries are being recruited to deliver the final blow against those who are still resisting us.

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With trouble brewing in Hispania and Caesar still busy in Africa, Mark Anthony is given command over the Hispanian legions.

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Pharnaces getting really close to our army in Pessinus. So far, neither side is willing to attack the other though...

[Nepos96]

Turn 54 - May 45 BC

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Another province joins the Caesarians.

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Fabius can go back to Antioch, where he will keep an eye out for potential Parthian incursions.

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Pharnaces is thoroughly defeated at Pessinus. What happened to his 50000 men? Was he struggling to keep his army fed?

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With Pharnaces retreating back to Nicaea, Gabinius decides now is the time to take back Bythinia.

[Nepos96]

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Numidia is slowly falling into the hand of Bocchus and Sittius. King Juba II will have to decide whether it is more important to defend Roman Africa or save his kingdom.

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Our newest legion in Naples is going to join all the others in Rome. Meanwhile, an enemy fleet manages to evacuate Cato and other stranded Pompeian officers.

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Caesar moves towards Hadrumetum. Utica’s walls are strong enough I do not expect the enemy to be able to take it back so easily.

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The Optimates are on the verge of collapse: they can field barely a tenth of the soldiers fighting for Caesar, their fleet has taken quite a beating and due to their low morale, whatever army they have left is bound to fight very poorly. I also suspect my opponent is not doing so well financially speaking either, as the Optimates are now clinging to just a few cities scattered around the Mediterranean.

[Nepos96]

Turn 55 - June 45 BC

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Juba decides to stay and face Caesar, rather than go back to Numidia. It is a terrible choice, one that he will pay for with his entire army.

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On his way to Hadrumetum, the remnants of the Numidian army are crushed by Caesar’s legionaries.

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Juba manages to flee to Hadrumetum, only to be forced to face Caesar a third time. The city falls within a few days. The assault claims the life on another representative of the Optimates, Publius Ligarius (another future Caesaricide).

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Pharnaces’s dream to reclaim his father’s kingdom is now truly dead. Caesar might actually decide now to back his brother Mithridates’ claim to the Bosporan kingdom.

[Nepos96]

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The enemy National Morale has completely collapsed (25 or below) following the last few battles. Surviving members of the Optimates offer their surrender in exchange for their lives. The civil war is over.

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The civil war ends in June 45 BC (Munda historically took place in March). Guess in this scenario we will not see a second campaign for Hispania. But even though the final victory was achieved 4 years after the crossing of the Rubicon, we can safely say it was the battle of Tarentum in 48 BC that truly broke the back of the Optimates. After that battle the Pompeians could still field big armies (African army being one such example) but lacked the veterancy and leadership to match Caesar’s legions. They lost the initiative for the rest of the game and, over time, their resource advantage. Had Pompey survived and played defensively in Greece, Cato’s army (which would have fought better with National Morale still high) might have been more successful in Italia, with Caesar unable to go back to reinforce Anthony. Pompey’s gamble to invade Italia was not a bad one, it was just unfortunate for him that Caesar was able to wrap up his campaign in Hispania so quickly.

And with that, this AAR comes to an end. I wish to thank my opponent for playing Pompey in this game. In the future we might play more scenarios (II Punic wars seems a fun one)

[OldSarge]

Congratulations and well done! Kudos to your partner for sticking with it to the end!

[Nepos96]

Congratulations and well done! Kudos to your partner for sticking with it to the end!

Indeed, usually I am the kind of the player that prefers to admit a game is lost and move on to something else instead of extending the suffering, so I appreciate his decision to play till the end. That way I got to see events that I had never experienced before