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Brian Swartz · 07-27-2014, 07:16 PM

Autumn/Winter 274 BC

The battle that almost was, but refused to be fought ...

Thus is the situation in late Autumn at Lokris Epizefiroi. Mus has arrived with a detachment of cavalry to assist him in sieging the city, the first of the latest wave of reinforcements from the north. However, the much-discussed Aiakid army landed as well to support the town, and the garrison sallied forth in a night-time attack(keeping the cavalry where they are and not allowing them to join the battle). Opposed by pretty overwhelming force(more than 22 thousand), Praetor Mus's only choice was to withdraw**.

** I tried to fight this battle three times with the idea of Mus attempting to crush the garrison, perhaps even sneak inside the walls before the larger new army got into the fight. He did have one siege tower built already. There were two maniples of solid hoplites that prevented such a quick defeat however, and more importantly the game crashed at about the same point all three times, just as the relief force was about to overwhelm his position. It was an unwinnable affair: I could have auto-resolved but that would have a high likelihood of killing Mus. I don't object to having family members die in certain situations but I'm definitely going to want the battle to play out and have it happen in a way that I can report the details! So withdrawal seemed the only reasonable option. This is the first battle I've ever had that problem with, my best guess is that it isn't a systemic game/mod problem but an issue with the terrain around Lokris Epizefiroi.**

The Aiakids chose not to pursue him, and meanwhile resistance at Messana has been broken again and the constant sieging of Rhegion resumed, this time by the Carthaginians once again. Unable to reach either province in the harsh weather, Mus found some high ground between them and was joined there by two units of equites, one of which had been at the previous siege and one new one. His men bunkered down there and awaited the coming of spring ....

** Next up, there is a lot of news in the Spring of 274 to deal with. I'll just say for now that matters appear to finally really be coming to a head ...

07-27-2014, 07:16 PM	#127
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Autumn/Winter 274 BC The battle that almost was, but refused to be fought ... Thus is the situation in late Autumn at Lokris Epizefiroi. Mus has arrived with a detachment of cavalry to assist him in sieging the city, the first of the latest wave of reinforcements from the north. However, the much-discussed Aiakid army landed as well to support the town, and the garrison sallied forth in a night-time attack(keeping the cavalry where they are and not allowing them to join the battle). Opposed by pretty overwhelming force(more than 22 thousand), Praetor Mus's only choice was to withdraw. I tried to fight this battle three times with the idea of Mus attempting to crush the garrison, perhaps even sneak inside the walls before the larger new army got into the fight. He did have one siege tower built already. There were two maniples of solid hoplites that prevented such a quick defeat however, and more importantly the game crashed at about the same point all three times, just as the relief force was about to overwhelm his position. It was an unwinnable affair: I could have auto-resolved but that would have a high likelihood of killing Mus. I don't object to having family members die in certain situations but I'm definitely going to want the battle to play out and have it happen in a way that I can report the details! So withdrawal seemed the only reasonable option. This is the first battle I've ever had that problem with, my best guess is that it isn't a systemic game/mod problem but an issue with the terrain around Lokris Epizefiroi. The Aiakids chose not to pursue him, and meanwhile resistance at Messana has been broken again and the constant sieging of Rhegion resumed, this time by the Carthaginians once again. Unable to reach either province in the harsh weather, Mus found some high ground between them and was joined there by two units of equites, one of which had been at the previous siege and one new one. His men bunkered down there and awaited the coming of spring .... Next up, there is a lot of news in the Spring of 274 to deal with. I'll just say for now that matters appear to finally really be coming to a head ...