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Let us hope the major powers are too distracted.
 
Chapter 13.2: Here We Stand!

For a while after the declarations of war from the great powers of the East, it would seemed like it might had been a phony war. The war had gone smoothly and Gallaeci seized control of the Egyptian Iberian Territories rather easily. Aside from a few scout ships, little action occurred for a few months and Gallaeci slowly built up their army in anticipation of any amphibious assault. The cries of battle slowly became a distant dream for the Gallaecians and people went about their business. Some people wondered if there had really been a war. They are, after all, a distant remote corner of the earth. Do the world powers really care for them at all?

April of 588 AUC would signal a violent change that would dispel all doubts. Earlier in the month, an uprising had occured in Cynetes in the south, rebels who had been under Egyptian rule and perhaps grew content to their dominion. Luxinius was initially ordered to take the army south and suppress this uprising, but enroute passing Lusitani, war horns and beacons sounded from their southern border.

Several large fleets had been sighted and were sailing directly for Lusitani and hearlands of Gallaeci. The fleets carried the banner of the faraway Bosporan Kingdom and Pontus. The Bosporans arrived at the shore of Lusitani and were preparing to disembark. Seeing this, Luxinius assembled and mobilized the army to meet them at the beach.

'My men, this will be the greatest battle that you or any of your forefathers have ever witnessed. Never before had enemies of this magnitude dare to soil the land of our people. If Iberia is what they wish for, then Iberia is what they will taste when their heads hit the ground. Here we stand, my men. Right here, on this beach, we shall make a statement and uphold the freedom of our people!'

Luxinius skillfully placed his men in defensive formation where the Bosporans were planning to land. His scouts tell him that they are numbered 26000, but that does not matter to Luxinius. They have the advantage of terrain and they want to strike them fast and hard before they had a chance to orient themselves after long months at sea.

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The great battle for Lusitani pitched 18000 Gallaecians against 26000 Bosporans who had sailed across the world thirst for battle. But on this day, Luxinius would emerge victorious through his military cunning and familiarity with terrain. 10000 Bosporans were slaughtered that day with the rest fleeing south. Pontus, who were following close behind, elected not to confront Luxinius' directly after witnessing the massacre on the beach and elected instead to sail north to capture Astures, where Gallaeci raise their horses for their calvary. Luxinius was conflicted, but knew they must exterminate his enemies before they grow stronger and pursued the Bosporans instead.

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On the state front, Gallaeci is starting to running low on their war chest after raising the enormous army and the senate had no choice but to raise the tax to help fund the war. The citizens, however, are still far removed from the conflict around them and a pursuit of decadence ensued in the cities.

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Meanwhile, after a few months of Cat and Mouse chase, Bosporan finally got news of their Pontus ally's whereabouts and fled north in hopes of joining them. Pontus, however, hearing the news of the fearsome Gallaeci army bearing down upon them, fled and lifted the siege at Astures before the arrival of the Bosporan and the pursuing Gallaecians and turned towards the capital instead. The Bosporans were easily caught and cut down after months of evading Luxinius, but news from the south came that a sizeable Egyptian reinforcement had arrived and is entangled with the rebel forces.

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The Egyptians defeated the rebel forces with ease and continued the siege that the rebels had started. This posed a major headache of Luxinius, as he is now forced to lift the siege in Cynetes or lose the province he had captured. In the end, he moved his army south and elected to deal with the Pontus later.

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As the army moved south, however, Luxinius saw a familiar sight as he passed Lusitani: the sight of enemy landing forces. The Seleucids have joined the fray and is planning a second invasion of Lusitani after Bosporans had failed to capture it.

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Once again, he organized the defence for the city. He is destined to be the protector of his people and Gods had willed him to be here at just the right time to intercept the invading force. The Seleucid general, Asklepiodorus Apollonid, was just as celebrated and famed in his own country as Luxinius in Gallaeci. They are both renowned military generals and both displayed a brilliant command of their armies. Luxinius was able to come out victorious on the virtue of favourable grounds and repel the Seleucid assault, but it was a costly victory. He had achieved his first goal, however, by dealing a powerful enough blow to their army as to attain numerical advantage, which would prove critical in later engagements.

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The Seleucids fled south in hopes of joining the Egyptians, with Luxinius in hot pursuit, sending his cavalry ahead with his signature move and taking the favourable ground as the bulk of his army advanced after them. The news came from Egypt that the civil war had ended with the fall of the rebels. Luxinius knew this means trouble since Egypt can now put the full weight of their army upon them.

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Desperate for help, Luxinius sent word back to the capital hoping the senate would negotiate a truce with the Egyptians to avoid a prolonged conflict that they can't win. He knew the extant of these Eastern Empire's power and the terrible wrath they are capable of unleashing. His pleas fell on deaf year as the senate, dominated by the military faction, adopted a hawkish stance and would not negotiate a peace short of decent compensation. In these old fools' mind, they are winning the war and would not settle for anything less than a grand offer of tributes.

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Luxinius marched on and scored another important victory against the Seleucids. 'What does these victories all mean in the end?' he wondered to himself. He could not see the future but he can feel that a dark shadow of dread is coming. Would all his laurels on the battlefield mount to anything in the end?
 
To have had so many victories and yet be so far from victory. Truly a herculean task.
Herculean Indeed. Let us hope the fools in the Senate haven't doomed us all.
 
So many dead, I assume that he has a throne made of his enemies skulls.

Talk about wading through rivers of blood.
 
Good luck against the Egyptians!
 
Problem being that my manpower is running low now too :(

They come in waves of tens of thousands. It's like a tower defence game.

Update to come later today.
Well, you have local superiority, which can make a massive difference. Hopefully you can win on warscore from battles.
 
Problem being that my manpower is running low now too :(

They come in waves of tens of thousands. It's like a tower defence game.

Update to come later today.
Use the super monkey wave and wipe out all of the enemies.
 
update?
 
Would like to. Recently changed computer to a new laptop. For some reason, the game doesn't run. It would say initializing but nothing ever starts. Copied over my saved file and everything. I have looked the issue up and is trying to troubleshoot it.

If anyone knows a fix, much appreciated. I would double click and nothing happens.
 
You could try going directly to the program folder and clicking the exe?
 
So did you figure it out?
 
I just caught up with this, after reading it over the course of a few days. Taking on almost all the great powers of the Mediterranean like this... I salute your bravery and your persistence!

Have you tried installing a similar or later Paradox game (not just copying it but installing it) on your new laptop? If it's a DirectX problem, that could install the missing files. I remember when I once copied Victoria 2 to a different laptop I had to find a score of dll files to copy as well, in order to get it to work.
 
Epilogue

Hi all,

It's been an year since the last update and I truly feel bad on not finishing it. Despite my efforts, I finally managed to get the game to run...but the game files were corrupted due to the added nation mods. I am now battling a personal battles of my own (got diagnosed with the big C) and will be inactive for the next foreseeable future.

I do want to put a conclusion to this story though. Given what I have seen and remember from the last time I played (I had played ahead a bit in anticipation of putting together pictures for the next update), the future looks grim for the Gallaeci.

Despite Luxinius´ many victories, he was not able to persuade the military faction dominated council to sue for peace. He fought valiantly, destroying the Seleucid army and others who dared to land. However, enroute to intercepting the Southern Egyptian army, Luxinius passed away from sickness. Perhaps pneumonia from the travels and the many sleepless nights.

With Luxinius gone, the Gallaeci army crumbled. The manpower has ran low and the once proud nation cannot afford the various cost associated in maintaining the army much longer. Meanwhile their enemies seem relentless...within an year a freshly trained Egyptian and Seleucid army had once again landed on their shores. With supplies running low and Luxinius gone, the Gallaeci was overran. The Egyptians were merciful, taking only two provinces but subjected Gallaeci to humiliation and paying tributes.

The history books never recorded what came after the Egyptian conquest. But one can only imagine that with their dream halted and a powerful overlord by their side, it was only a matter of time before Gallaeci is absorbed into the Egyptian Empire. They had shone for a hundred years but their dream of independent Iberia never came to fruition.

Only we know that the Gallaeci was once a brave little tribe that built a dream and fought giants. They lost, but they had fought the giants against all odds and almost prevailed.


Thanks everyone for being part of this short but incredible journey.

JuniorNC
 
I am now battling a personal battles of my own (got diagnosed with the big C) and will be inactive for the next foreseeable future.
Thanks for ending this. Just remember, a battle is only truly lost when you surrender. I hope you have a nice life and wish you good health.