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And it's the end. It is a minor victory, my troops did not deserve anything better. But Pyrrhus is crushed, and the logical progression of this campaign may continue onto the wars with Carthage.

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This is going to be a long war, and I am not aware of any AAR that has outlasted it (please correct me if I'm wrong). Wish me luck

My focuses in this long-range campaign would be monitoring experience levels of my legions as well as developing infrastructure all over the Roman empire. The time is adequate to make a real impact in both of those areas.

That, and to finally expand the Roman rule overseas.

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Predictably, Roman and Carthaginian forces meet right outside of Messina. No battle, but one is looming...

I will have to be careful with my troops; Romans have 4 legions and no option for a dictator. Last campaign I had 5.

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A quick reminder of Carthaginian naval supremacy: enemy troops land on Italian soil.

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A blow for a blow: Romans take Catania in Sicily and Carthage lays siege to Capua.

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As soon as my troops approach Syracusae, they surrender, asking for peace. This was is starting out quite well for Romans.

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Roman troops in Sicilia raid Tyndaris, one last attack before I lose my great general there (4-2-5, +15% movement). On the mainland I am getting ready to capture Volsinii while losing Capua. Oh and that Carthaginian unit in Canusium? Starved to death, only 240 soldiers were left to fight when my Socii allies showed up.

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My Socii troops arrive at Capua to find starving yet resolute Carthaginians. I just have one question - why haven't they eaten the elephants yet?

Two horrible consuls this year - 1-3-5 and 2-5-3 meaning that my legions probably will not move much... Unless I send both consuls to early retirement.

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Socii alae continue mopping up Carthaginian troops at Capua, and the true enemy of Rome, Hanno Senior, emerges: 6-7-3, ouch.

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My troops rally in Catania, about to face Carthaginians. In a very rare occurence both my "2" and "1" consuls are active, and I must seize this opportunity.

In other news, I am working on my infrastructure. Roads are added in Hipontum, Consentia to speed up troop movement from Neapolis to Sicilia. Roads are also added in Perusia, Faesulae, and Ariminum for the inevitable conflict with Boii. An average of 1-2 depots are built every turn, to speed up reinforcement and replacement of troops.

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Victory! Carthaginians are on the run. And again I am extremely lucky - both consuls are still active. I must continue the chase...

Carthage troops at Capua are finally destroyed. And Volsinii is hanging by a thread, too, their only defense being their walls, as no one inside seems to be alive anymore.

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Another victory, but my troops are getting really exhausted. And a rogue Carthaginian cavalry unit laid siege to Messina.

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A couple of quiet turns. Carthage lands in Italy once again; I managed to sneak some Alae and cavalry into Sicilia from the mainland in between pendulum moves of the Carthaginian fleet. Volsinii finally surrenders. There is a drought in Italy, but I do not see any visible impact on supply levels.

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I try to go after Hanno Senior once again, but I am lucky to get a stalemate; his troops were much greater in numbers than I originally thought.

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A few quiet months go by as both sides seem to be recovering from the fall campaign. Roman forces lay siege to Agrigentum while Hanno Senior sneaks out to Messina and blockades it. Messica has a level 4 depot; I am curious to see whether Carthaginians will be able to make any progress there.

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First real naval battle - and a disastrous loss. My fleet was chasing a group of 40 unguarded transports away from Neapolis... and ran into the main Carthaginian fleet.

What the screen will not show is 44(!!!) squadrons loss during retreat. Ouch!

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My 4.2K army traps a 1.6K Carthaginian army in Henna. Oh dear.

Massala joins the Roman cause, and my fleet is starting to get rebuilt. Very, very slowly.

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Empowered by the prompt surrender of Henna (170VP, 2NM... no real surprise as between chasing them on water for 3 months then across inhospitable Sicilia for 3 more, they had to be out of supply), Roman troops go for the gold, laying siege to Lylybaeum. Hanno is in there, but he escapes, and cannot be found... for now.

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A surprise to me, the city of Eryx decides to change allegiances, even though no Roman soldier has set a foot on its soil yet.

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Roman fleet, staffed with new Massalan allies, redeems itself.

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Romans are victorious both on land and on water. Sinking a Carthaginian army was particularly pleasant.

Of course, having another army land in Massalia was not. I do not intend to go rescue my allies. Not with the Mediterranean weather patterns.

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Make no mistake, Rome is still losing this war, quite badly at that too. The gap in VP is decreasing... for now.

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While three legions rest in Massana, everybody else is rallied together and sent at Hanno Senior, who flees in defeat...

My earlier gamble has paid off: there are no troops on the mainland, and that is letting me achieve strategic superiority in Sicilia. And even if there is a slave revolt, every Roman city now features level 1 or level 2 depots, which will make sieges last a while...

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Hanno Senior moves south to Agrigentum, and my attempts to chase after him fail.

Lilybaeum is besieged again, and this time Roman fleet is on the scene.

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Over 1000 Carthaginian ships attempt to lift the blockade of Lilybaeum, but it turns out that a decent leader (3-2-4) is better than 1.5:1 odds.

Hanno's army is attacked again, and it falls back in disarray (dark red dots indicating very low cohesion). They are still in supply, but they can't possibly hold out much longer: their last depot is under siege.

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Hanno retreats away from Lilybaeum, but the main Carthaginian fleet is still blockaded there.

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Lilybaeum falls (37VP, 1 NM), but Carthaginian fleet escapes from it. Hanno Senior lays siege to Messina, and there is another Carthaginian army heading to land somewhere on the Italian mainland. Still, things are looking very positive for the Romans.

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Nice update. Hanno is quite the General but is still losing the war. I don't think the Carthaginians can keep a presence in Sicily in time for Hamilcar to intervene (he is 15 years old by now...)

Your fleet being destroyed during the retreat seems to be a direct consequence of the mod. I was suspecting that naval engagements could become very dangerous because of it.

By the way that brings an observation: it is difficult to know how much of the enemy's army gets destroyed in a rout, unfortunately, as these losses are not accounted for in battle reports. So the player may score decisive victories, as a result of the mod, but not be aware of it. For this you need intelligence on the surviving army. That is a bit strange as a pursuing or enveloping army should be aware of the slaughter it performs.

Do you see the AI being capable of putting up an effective siege + naval blockade for a sustained period, as is necessary to conquer a harbor?

numahr wrote:Your fleet being destroyed during the retreat seems to be a direct consequence of the mod. I was suspecting that naval engagements could become very dangerous because of it.

Yup, it was awesome in a way... I was getting pretty tired of having to chase armies again and again. Now, can you do something about sieges? 2 impedimenta units held Volsinii against my legions for 4 months by themselves

Do you see the AI being capable of putting up an effective siege + naval blockade for a sustained period, as is necessary to conquer a harbor?

Nope. In my game Carthage has a very strong navy, but it's just bouncing back and worth. Not without gain - I just lost another 10 squadrons on a supposedly safe rearguard relocation. But they could be using them in combination with the ground forces to a much greater success.

Hanno is pinned at Lilybaeum, where he ran all the way from Messana, and half of his army is gone. And just in time, as a massive Carthaginian navy blockades Lilybaeum from the sea... that's what I get for claiming AI does not combine forces properly.

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Hanno Senior gets a new army from Africa - I did see that Carthaginian Navy was carrying a load, but I thought it was heading to the Italian mainland. Well... now I need a new army

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