The Die Is Cast - Caesar's Civil War (705 AUC)

[Rensslaer]

if you don't have version 1.2 yet, then get it now!
Otherwise the enemy shall have over 1m soldiers in the end... which has already happened to me...

and it is funny, I didn't remember that you were roman rebels, so I thought something odd when seeing romans fighting romans...

Anyways, if you are playing 1.1 or 1.0 or some other version... you're gonna get beaten...

I haven't even had a chance to play recently... I will, probably try to upgrade before proceeding (with appropriate safekept savegame files, just in case!).

But what does 1.2 do, in this respect, that 1.1 didn't? Is there some way of artificially keeping the auto-replicating Roman soldiers from continuing that way?

I've run enough ahead to know that the Romans just keep coming, and recruiting, and coming again...

Rensslaer

 

[Enewald]

I haven't even had a chance to play recently... I will, probably try to upgrade before proceeding (with appropriate safekept savegame files, just in case!).

But what does 1.2 do, in this respect, that 1.1 didn't? Is there some way of artificially keeping the auto-replicating Roman soldiers from continuing that way?

I've run enough ahead to know that the Romans just keep coming, and recruiting, and coming again...

Rensslaer

if the nation has already 120% of its armed force limits, the event wont fire.
And they won't be born in a sea zone.

just look the 1.2 patch thread...

 

[Rensslaer]

if the nation has already 120% of its armed force limits, the event wont fire.
And they won't be born in a sea zone.

just look the 1.2 patch thread...

Ahh, yes... That might do it!

Actually, I had scrutinized the 1.2 patchnotes, but I was looking very specifically for things related to tactics (for the tactics manual). I must have missed that one. My eyes go buggy in patchnotes!

Rensslaer

 

[Rensslaer]

The timed attack upon Umbria went off exactly as hoped! Pictor hit them first, and his skill in combat produced an immediate advantage. The Romans were hard hit, and then Cotta arrived to follow up.

As soon as Cotta’s army approached the Roman flank, the enemy fled, leaving nearly a thousand men in the field, compared to only 71 casualties for Caesar’s army.

Then, finally, Caesar’s two legions attacked Rome’s Cassius Longinus, in the north of Etruria…

The first round of combat was very hurtful to Caesar’s army. Suddenly desperate, Caesar ordered a handy priest to quickly call an omen before his reserve troops, just before they were thrown into battle. The ceremony bolstered the confidence of his troops, and the whole army was somewhat cheered.

But it was not enough to buoy their confidence in the outcome. Caesar’s legions broke, after Longinus turned a flank. Caesar was forced to admit he had bungled this first engagement. He would have to return for another go…

Gameplay note: As you saw, my first round of rolls was 0 + Caesar’s +2 for skill, versus Longinus’ roll of 7. That killed 1500 men in the first 5 days. Then, Longinus rolled a 9 (!!) in his second round, and Caesar again rolled a 0 +2. What really amazes me is that we still succeeded in killing 500 of the enemy (1/4 our own losses) after rolling only 0’s!:rofl:

Though Caesar would not know of it for some time, some success was actually occurring on the western front, in the Pyrrenes…

The bad news is the Romans keep getting enormous recruitments of legions, so that Caesar is now more overwhelmingly outnumbered than can be imagined.

We shall see what can be done about this. If naught can be done, then this may be a very short civil war!

 

[ComradeOm]

Ouch, so much for the good omen. That's what you get for placing your faith in chicken entrails! Just how important is discipline in combat anyway?

Also, it looks like the map rotation can be very useful when taking screenshots. I particularly like the first picture

 

[unmerged(53911)]

Those manpower losses are not pretty! Next time, have some hot chick blow on the dice before Caesar rolls 'em!

 

[stnylan]

The odds are indeed long. It will require some inventiveness to get through it.

 

[comagoosie]

Good to see Julius Caesar

 

[Enewald]

The civil war will not be short...
But yay, first siege won!

 

[Woody Man]

Pity about Caesar's loss, but they were light casualties, and we should be able to bounce back soon, good news on the Spanish front!

 

[unmerged(26464)]

I didn't realise Numidia controlled most of Africa at this time. Are they a vassal of Rome?

 

[Lord E]

The Senate sure keeps getting more and more and more troops it seems, I fear that if you don’t capture Rome soon they will keep getting these events and make it impossible for you to win. Also it was a little bad news to see Caesar fail in his first battle, but I guess there is always next time…

 

[Dhimmi]

damn missed out the start again, its becoming a bit of a habit

anyway i hope the patch fixes the unlimited legions Rome is currently enoying

otherwise this may be a very short read indeed ...

 

[Olaus Petrus]

You must break the Italian defences soon. It will be much easier to stop attacks from Greece and Spain once you don't have to worry about Italy anymore.

 

[Estonianzulu]

I hate this AAR... it makes me want to run out and spend all my money to get a computer capable of playing Rome

 

[Dhimmi]

I hate this AAR... it makes me want to run out and spend all my money to get a computer capable of playing Rome

Well i have a computer capable of playing Rome but it seems paradox has forgotten about the low countries and im not to found on ordering online

so until Rome is released here im stuck following a AARs ( most of them are so enjoyable they make me even more eager to play Rome )

 

[unmerged(24320)]

Rensslaer: …The bad news is the Romans keep getting enormous recruitments of legions, so that Caesar is now more overwhelmingly outnumbered than can be imagined. .. We shall see what can be done about this. If naught can be done, then this may be a very short civil war!

so, should we start making bets on how many months you last ? ?

awesome updates ! !

just not very good results ! !

 

[rhynoclemmis]

Is there also some "Holy Roman Empire - bonus" to Rome in the game as it is in EU3? Or do they simply get more divisions... er ... legions because they are wealthy?

 

[Rensslaer]

It's going to be a bloody affair.

Civil wars always are, I'm afraid.

Hmm, the Caesarian faction is scraping small victories, though I found the same thing, Pompey is powerful in Spain, I wish you good luck on the forthcoming battles!

Thank you! I will need it! Pompey seems to be strong everywhere, from my reconnaissance... We'll see.

Quite the build-up in this march(ing) toward war! It is best if you are able to engage the Loyalists in the pre0gathered phase. I fear that you allow them to coalesce then your "puny rebellion" will be destroyed! btw - be watchful for the Legion of excellent troops on the forest moon!

Indeed, your fears are well founded. But we shall blockade Endor, and we'll be the better for it!

[Nice AAR, but...

You are correct that Rome will be building up faster than Caesar, so it seems to me that Caesar must concentrate his two armies as you did and get the initiative before the Romans can put together 40K+ legions (which they will if given the chance).

So it seems to me that the legion in the East planning a holding operation is a waste of resources. Wouldn't they be better used by joining with Caesar to help beat the legions around Rome before the Greek reinforcements arrive? Indeed, a holding operation is hardly possible with this game, since a lost battle drives the loser away and the winner can keep pursuing without any appreciable delay. And make no mistake, these units are no match for what they will be facing coming up the coast. But they will take time to arrive, time which can be used to win the war (getting there "the fastest with the mostest", as whasshisname put it...

I did try this strategy with the SPQR mod, and it was working pretty well , but unfortunately Caesar died within a few months of the start, which made the civil war pointless.

It seems to me that Caesar's only chance is to keep his enemies from concentrating by keeping Rome off balance. Retreating units cannot join up effectively with reinforcements, which is good news if Caesar has the initiative. But if the rebels lose the innitiative as happened in my scenario when Caesar died and I could not replace him nor join up with arriving reinforcements because his 23 units were in an enemy province, the rebels can kiss their ass goodbye.

Henri

PSThis battle is described in the thread "the best laid plans...."

Henri, Welcome!

Your analysis is certainly correct -- I risk everything by not having been able to scatter them before they coalesce into coherent legions against me.

On the other hand, I've really done all I could. That two-round collapse of Caesar's army, which really destroyed my best laid plans, took all the wind out of my sails. I couldn't have predicted it, and I'm completely unable to restore the initiative, now that it's been taken. I'll have to back up, and give it another go. My first opportunity has been wasted, though not by any errors.

As for sending my Spanish legions to Italy... I could do that, but they would have taken some time in arriving. Remember, Caesar has only just arrived on the battlefields of northern Italy himself! I couldn't effectively move my navies to the south of Gaul to pick them up -- I would surely meet the Roman fleet before I got there. And it would still leave the Loyalist legions of Spain to rampage across southern Gaul, which would not serve my purposes at all. Certainly, I would love to have the help of those legions. But they are really set up to defend the Pyrrenes, and that's what I'm going to have to let them do... For now, anyway.

Are all those Roman legions leaderless or are they just reinforcements for existing legions? If they are indeed leaderless, maybe you can exploit that?

They seem to be leaderless reinforcements, but they will surely have a leader by the time they join together and I do battle with them.

Can you hire Heavy Infantry in the Gallic provinces? If not you're really going to strike hard at the Italian peninsula before they hire more legions from Rome.

I think your biggest problem will be Greece, all those rich provinces will provide a powerful base for the loyalists even if you do take Italy.

The way it's set up, I find it just as easy to hire my own Heavy Infantry, rather than to rely upon auxiliaries. You may well be right about Greece. There's not much I can do about that right now. Those Greek provinces, though, were almost Caesar's downfall in our own history, too!

if the nation has already 120% of its armed force limits, the event wont fire.
And they won't be born in a sea zone. just look the 1.2 patch thread...

Interesting! That would certainly be a good thing to have a check on, so I'll definitely switch to 1.2 once I have the opportunity.

Ouch, so much for the good omen. That's what you get for placing your faith in chicken entrails! Just how important is discipline in combat anyway?

Also, it looks like the map rotation can be very useful when taking screenshots. I particularly like the first picture

ComradeOm, Welcome! Great to see you over here! Discipline affects the effectiveness of units in combat. So, essentially, my guys are getting a +10% in their fights, which can be significant. I agree about the screenshots! I've been having fun with that, even in the Manual and Strategy Guide.

Those manpower losses are not pretty! Next time, have some hot chick blow on the dice before Caesar rolls 'em!

Yeah! I really got knocked down from what I'd hoped would happen. At least the Loyalists took significant losses, too.

The odds are indeed long. It will require some inventiveness to get through it.

Well, I'm hoping that's something I have... We'll see if it's enough!

Good to see Julius Caesar

This may be a completely different Julius Caesar, though... Ill starred, at least in the first go-around. Then again, the real Caesar's civil war victories were partially obscured by ill-fated strategic setbacks. It was the really tremendous comebacks he made that created the myth.

The civil war will not be short...
But yay, first siege won!

I hope I don't trade that province, soon, for something entirely better going his way!

Pity about Caesar's loss, but they were light casualties, and we should be able to bounce back soon, good news on the Spanish front!

This is what I keep telling myself... More resolution soon!

I didn't realise Numidia controlled most of Africa at this time. Are they a vassal of Rome?

Yes, this timeframe has the Mediterranean world quite changed from those early years. I believe Numidia is an ally of Rome.

The Senate sure keeps getting more and more and more troops it seems, I fear that if you don’t capture Rome soon they will keep getting these events and make it impossible for you to win. Also it was a little bad news to see Caesar fail in his first battle, but I guess there is always next time…

You're entirely right about the opportunity I see slipping away. I'd hate to get bogged down in the ancient equivalent of trench warfare!

damn missed out the start again, its becoming a bit of a habit

anyway i hope the patch fixes the unlimited legions Rome is currently enoying

otherwise this may be a very short read indeed ...

Dhimmi, Welcome! Great to see you found it so soon after start! I'm about to switch to 1.2, so we'll see...

You must break the Italian defences soon. It will be much easier to stop attacks from Greece and Spain once you don't have to worry about Italy anymore.

Certainly true. I'm hoping I can fight a holding action, at least, on those other fronts while Italy collapses.

I hate this AAR... it makes me want to run out and spend all my money to get a computer capable of playing Rome

:rofl: Welcome, Estonianzulu! I hope you can get that computer soon! I am really enjoying this game. And EU3, of course, is also very fun. You'll be glad for your "investment"!

Rensslaer: …The bad news is the Romans keep getting enormous recruitments of legions, so that Caesar is now more overwhelmingly outnumbered than can be imagined. .. We shall see what can be done about this. If naught can be done, then this may be a very short civil war!

so, should we start making bets on how many months you last ? ?

You can try! I don't know yet. I'll try to beat your odds, though!

Is there also some "Holy Roman Empire - bonus" to Rome in the game as it is in EU3? Or do they simply get more divisions... er ... legions because they are wealthy?

Not that I'm aware of. The only similar thing is that you get a bonus (economic I think, not looking at my notes) for controlling any of a few key points such as Carthage, Rome, Athens, etc. There are sound tolls, etc. I think Rome is getting these advantages because they start with well-developed cities, and I'm recruiting from glorified villages!

Thank you, Everyone, for reading and commenting!

Another update should be quick on the heels of this post! ...

Rensslaer

 

[Rensslaer]

Setbacks can never be taken as predictive of the future, else the whole cause will become demoralized, and lost. We did have an encouraging omen, which has lifted the spirits of our troops. Caesar has successfully convinced them that he merely settled for a strategic withdrawal from northern Italy. We soldier on…

Caesar’s navy has now deployed across most of the length of the Adriatic Sea, in three groups, blockading no fewer than 7 loyalist ports.

Pictor was forced to retreat from Umbria, hearing of Longinus’ army, which had just beaten Caesar, heading in his direction, along with another legion from Rome. He wasn’t sure if he could escape, but he had to try. He marched toward Cotta’s position in Picenum.

Caesar himself, undaunted from his position in Bononia, regrouped and returned his army – half the size of Longinus’ – to the offensive!

Meanwhile, battle was joined in southern Gaul. Marcus Lepidus’ small army clashed with Gaius Cornelius Verres in Aquitani at the end of August. Lepidus was skillful, in the deployment of his forces, and he achieved a significant advantage in the early rounds of combat.

In fact, enemy casualties outnumbered his by more than 4:1. And this was only meant as a faint! Quite a successful one, I’d say. Another army would arrive shortly, to pick up the battle after it was presumed Lepidus would have been defeated.

As it was, however, Lepidus’ offensive was more stunning than anyone could have expected. The enemy lost 1,500 men, to fewer than 500 of Lepidus’ soldiers. And the Loyalists had a surprise coming, within just days. Another army attacked, and by the first week of September, after suffering the loss of another 1,200 men, Verres fled.

Interestingly, however, Verres retreats to the north! And I’m inclined to let him. I can keep a screening force to prevent him from effectively moving south again, and while he occupies useless provinces full of barbarians, our armies will be moving into the rich lands of Spain! Or so we very much hope!

Also at the end of August, Gaius Caninius Rebilus (Dux of Histri) chose to sacrifice his personal fortune to raise another legion. Thus armed, Labeo chose to march against Marcus Tullius Cicero, who held down Liburni with only two cohorts.