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Great update Mett, really nice to see Remus winning the battle, but I fear the next one might be harder to win. These troops were only lousy garrison men, but the next army of about 4000 seems to be more “real” soldiers, perhaps also under a better commander than these local nobles. Still good work, and I trust Remus will do as good the next time around as well. 
Almost too good to be true. I kept waiting for some type of trickery by the attackers but they turned out to be as incompetent as they looked. 4,000 more to come? Yikes!
Joe
Joe
Outstanding! Good show with Remus and his boys showing those pathetic garrison dogs what's what. It seems this larger force will be more of a reckoning, however. This was the prologue, next the main event?
I hope to see some choice battle screenies in the next one. Mett, do you have the cinematic camera editor for Rome total war? If not, I can let you in on how to unlock it. Then you can watch your battle replays in a cinematic mode with much more detail and zome in/out/around capabilities for screenies.
I hope to see some choice battle screenies in the next one. Mett, do you have the cinematic camera editor for Rome total war? If not, I can let you in on how to unlock it. Then you can watch your battle replays in a cinematic mode with much more detail and zome in/out/around capabilities for screenies.
To answer VI's question, I'm guessing Mett split his 6000 man attack force into two armies. EU2 rebels are certainly capable of taking out 2000.
4000 will depend on if Mett's Odoacer is paying full maintenance for his troops. From the descriptions I'm guessing no.
Mett: A great, well described battle! Remus is developing quite the reputation for himself. I think the opening bout is over though, and its time for the main event!
4000 will depend on if Mett's Odoacer is paying full maintenance for his troops. From the descriptions I'm guessing no.
Mett: A great, well described battle! Remus is developing quite the reputation for himself. I think the opening bout is over though, and its time for the main event!
well,the game is picking up speed! good luck mett.
is the mod team going to create unique sprites too? it would look really cool if that was the case. then again, its not like im going to help so please dont feel that i am complaining
is the mod team going to create unique sprites too? it would look really cool if that was the case. then again, its not like im going to help so please dont feel that i am complaining
Indeed nice battle... the description did remind me of playing Med TW on the easiest level.
October 482
The Flumen Calor (the river Calore) was a deep river of unexceptional length which cut through the rolling hills of Campania on its way down from the Apennines to the Tyrrhenian Sea. A tributary of the Volturno, it descended from Mons Acerno, cutting a swath across open grasslands and alternating ridges and escarpments. Its bridges in the 5th century, still sturdy with their Roman stone construction, controlled commerce and movement along the western coast of Italia. In 482, it was the scene of a bloody battle that would been what had been a minor soldiers’ rebellion into something much more significant.
Finding himself outnumbered over four to one, the leader of this rebellion, one Praefectus Remus Macrinus, was in full retreat from the more settled regions to the north. His brief triumphal entry into Capua was now completely undone as the army of Claudius, over four thousand strong, pushed into Campania in earnest, a well-trained veteran force with an equally experienced commander. The days of fighting off inexperienced garrisons had passed. Gambling for time, Remus left a small force at Capua to hold the strategic town, hoping to pin down Claudius’ army until reinforcements could be found. However, Claudius refused to take the gambit, content to completely bypass Capua and bear down on his retreating foe. Once the main rebel force had been dealt with, any other forces were merely ripe plums to be gathered up on the return journey. Thus, it was to the valley of the Flumen Calor that both armies were racing towards, Remus’ nine hundred closely pursued.
The timing for the battle was significant for the Italian peninsula. Having suffered repeated revolts and conspiracies against his rule, Odoacer viewed this latest discontent as the last gasp of the Roman opposition, a last gambit to defy his rule. The size of Claudius’ army reflects the seriousness with which the Patrician viewed a victory over these latest rebels. His foreign policy was in shambles, Italy was continuously exposed to invading tribes from the north, and his incessant wars against the Dalmatian generals were still gripped in stalemate in the fields of Aquileia. Odoacer was counting on a decisive victory in the south to shore up his domestic position as well as to quickly bring key reinforcements to bear against Nepos’ successor commander, General Ovida.
Both armies were veteran, Remus’ perhaps more so owing to several years of hard vigorous marches and combats that always meant death if lost. Yet numbers were telling, and in an open battle, the odds heavily favored the Italian force. Thus, it was with confidence that Claudius moved his long column towards the river, hoping to force a crossing before his opponents could muster an effective defenses.
On the hazy morning of October 26th, 482, Claudius found the crossing obstructed, with scant sign of his foes save for distant cavalry down the road. There was the threat of ambush, yet Claudius had been fed optimistic intelligence from various sources, many of which confirmed his hopes that Remus was fleeing further south, towards Metapontum or Tarentum perhaps. His army was primed and was a flexible and potent fighting force, a solid mix of archers, comitatenses, tribal foederati, levies, and several hundred cavalry. Once across the Calor, surely his foe was undone.
Remus Macrinus was a veteran officer, who had served emperors and even Odoacer himself at some point. A mix of an experienced campaigner and desperate fugitive, he was a disciplined gambler. He knew his only hope of victory was to entice Claudius into a bloody bridge crossing which would negate his superior numbers. If he could beat back the leading Italian forces, perhaps the entire army could be caught and crushed, sent into route. Then he could move back into Capua and retrieve the strategic situation. For the moment, however, he had to win the battle.
Just as Claudius feared, the Praefectus was arranging a dangerous ambush for his army. With scarcely eight hundred infantry to put into the field, it was spread out in the light forests that dotted the road, enough perhaps to conceal the mix of comitatenses and limitanei. Only Remus’ own equites, vulnerable and exposed, stood in full view, doing their best to pretend to be a rear guard. Surely the rebels were on the run, and Claudius had but to cross the river in force to find his victory. Thus, the battle at the River Calor began in earnest.
It was a trial of discipline for Remus’ infantry to remain still as the Italians crossed. The first troops that reached the far side were perfect for pursuing enemy cavalry – a screen of light infantry backed by cavalry of their own. Rushing over the stout bridge, perhaps endowed with a heady optimism, the formations were loose, lacking control, and paying little attention to their flanks. As the first units of Claudius’ army began to fan out and deploy, it was time to spring Remus’ trap.
Moving rapidly, the product of hard training from the types of grizzled officers Remus seemed to attract to his army, his infantry quickly moved to attack, bearing the standard of the chi-rho, the same sign under which Constantine had conquered at another Italian bridge, merely a century and a half prior. It was an auspicious sign which harnessed the traditions of an imperial past and a religious belief that was strong if subtle in the rebel commander.
Within minutes, the Italian advance guard was under fierce attack from three sides. There was no room to maneuver, and those across the river now found themselves squeezed from behind by reinforcing soldiers, confused and wary. Packed together in dense melee, Remus’ troops, with the advantage of momentum and surprise, gave better than they received.
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Unlike most battles of this era, where cavalry was the decisive factor, Calor was an infantryman’s fight and as brutal as they came. Despite the winter season, men quickly succumbed to fatigue and heat exhaustion, dropping to the ground only to be trampled. Horses floundered and men were squeezed over the sides of the bridge, into the water. The Calor would run red for days. The Italians’ almost complete advantage in archers was also hindered by the dense fighting. Arrows hit both sides with equal furor, hurting the attackers as much as defenders.
Within an hour, the head of the Italian column had had enough. Prepared to break and flee, they found themselves with nowhere to run. Panic set in, and the rout began to spread. More casualties were inflicted by this mass rout on the bridge than the engagement itself. Helpless, Claudius could only watch from the rear as intact units fled the battlefield. Those few who had escaped the horror on the bridge fled. On the bridge itself, the dense pile of the dead hindered pursuit as much as attack.
It would take hours to mount an effective pursuit, which meant that, although the bulk of his army was trapped and destroyed against the Calor, Claudius and some of his forces would survive to fight again.
Only in the waning sun, amidst the debris of a military disaster, did Remus consider crossing in pursuit. His men had been pushed to their limits, only the threat of annihilation keeping them in the fight long enough to achieve what had been thought impossible. For Remus, it was the beginning of a military reputation. For Odoacer and his Italian forces, it was the rise of the most potent threat to his rule.
Calor perhaps receives little of the attention it is entitled to as a military victory. Against odds numbering, according to some sources, from four to one up to eight to one, it was the classic epitome of a battlefield will making Fortune for itself.
* * *
He stood only because the slightest movement would cause him to fall. How his hands still gripped the sword, he knew not. Surely every bit of him was caked with dirt and blood. His ears were filled with the moans and the screams. And the smell. He would not think of the smell. All around him, they looked back at him, each looking as frightening as he felt himself to be. Each, their eyes fierce and rich with bloodlust, gazed at him in a state of shock and reverence.
From his side, Remus felt two hands grip him fiercely and he was wrenched around, encountering Gnaeus’ mad stare. ”You did it, you son of a mad whore, you did it! Hercules’ entrails, you did it! What do you say to that, Praefectus!”
Even as he smiled, Remus could only let his eyes roll back and feel the sensations of falling backwards, collapsing to the ground, the utter exhaustion winning its own victory in the end.
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Now, with Remus ready to take over the south, Odoaecar is under attack from all directions. Remus will probably seize the opportunity to move north as soon as possible.
Very nice battle description. How did you get your armies to lose in EU2? Now that Remus has two victories against Odoacer under his belt recruitment should pick up, I would think.
Nice battle, but what about my question posted earlier (Syagrius, is he still there in northern Gaul)? I see you let the Romano-British represent Italy in the pictures of the battle.
Nice bridge battle... Now lets hope Remus's ranks swell somewhat!
BTW, I think Barbaria has made a mistake hedging her bets the way she has. Now Remus might begin thinking he doesn't need Romulus at all...
BTW, I think Barbaria has made a mistake hedging her bets the way she has. Now Remus might begin thinking he doesn't need Romulus at all...
Oh wow. I was wondering how you were going to turn this into a believable victory and you succeeded grandly. Of course, throwing in a river crossing works wonders to negate overwhelming superiority in numbers.
Odoacer's rule will get really shaky now that even 'mere' rebels are wiping out his armies. Throw in an open declaration of support by Romulus Augustulus and I think an awful lot of Senators will rethink their loyalties. Especially as they will think Romulus much easier to manipulate than Odoacer...
A wonderful battle and now there is the sense that there are nearly endless opportunities for Remus. As long as he doesn't find a dagger in his back.
Odoacer's rule will get really shaky now that even 'mere' rebels are wiping out his armies. Throw in an open declaration of support by Romulus Augustulus and I think an awful lot of Senators will rethink their loyalties. Especially as they will think Romulus much easier to manipulate than Odoacer...
A wonderful battle and now there is the sense that there are nearly endless opportunities for Remus. As long as he doesn't find a dagger in his back.