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Post by FieldMarshal Bismarck on Oct 4, 2021 12:14:07 GMT -5
Lepidus smiled, thanked the man, gave him a a jar of his best wine and moved him along. Before noting where the best hookers were of course.
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Later that evening the assault was called. Ships had secured the river mouth. The legions and their siege engines were in position and now the time had come.
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Post by Gandalf on Oct 4, 2021 15:56:58 GMT -5
The Gauls had ships of their own, crafts more suited than those of the Romans to the Atlantic waters. Though they have no oars, their huge sails allow them to better navigate the stronger winds of the western seas. Twenty are swiftly scrambled to defend the mouth of the river from the Roman attack.
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Post by Gandalf on Oct 4, 2021 18:15:26 GMT -5
First Day of the Siege of Burdigala
As all assaults were, the attack on Burdigala was a bloody affair. Despite the siege works of the Romans, the city was well fortified, with thick stone walls and a plentiful garrison. Lepidus led a legion against the gatehouse with a ram, and after some fierce fighting and many sorties the Romans were repulsed, forced to retreat after some severe losses. However, the legionaries had sufficiently damaged the gate enough that their next assault would be significantly easier.
Sulla's attempt on the walls was similarly defeated. Despite the ladders and siege towers, the Gauls fought for every inch, driving the Romans from the ramparts. Brute force was not enough to win the day, with hundreds dying before the Tribune was forced to pull his men back, the siege towers detached from the walls and the ladders thrown into the dirt.
Some better news came from the harbour. The desperate Gallic attempt to disperse the Roman fleet was defeated, the Romans scattering the Gallic ships at the cost of eight of their own. Though Lepidus had failed in his first attempt to assault the city, he still had a fresh legion in reserve, and supplies from the Atlantic were now cut off.
The Gauls send an offer of terms, the exact same as the previous.
Sulla sustains a permanent wound. -1 to resilience in future.
Roman tactical defeat. Strategic Roman advantage.
Casualties:
620 for Lepidus' legion.
560 for Sulla's legion.
8 Triremes
Gauls:
490 men lost.
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Post by rhapture on Oct 4, 2021 18:19:20 GMT -5
Drusus retreats to his own command tent, after the Proconsul's outburst, more convinced than ever that what ever Lepidus was planing was the wrong path.
Drusus was informed he was discharged of his duties. Two horses were provided by the pro Consul to arrange Drusus his travel back to Rome.
Drusus stays to observe what happens, he is concerned for the man who looked up to him as an officer
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Post by Gandalf on Oct 4, 2021 19:50:25 GMT -5
Publius, though a miscreant, deviant, and scoundrel of the highest order, found himself compelled by both duty and some inner bravery to stand alongside his men in what would surely be a bloodbath. Burdigala's walls of well-wrought stone belied their barbarian origins, and Sulla tried hard to keep the men's spirits up as their siege tower rolled towards the walls. As ever, he left the speeches in the hands of the Centurions, each being battle hardened men who knew those under their command better than he ever could. Still, they had taken a liking to the young and roguish long haired Tribune, and it was perhaps because he boosted their confidence that he had chosen to partake in the assault personally.
The tower stopped dead, and an audible clang rang out as the metal hooks were lodged into the parapets. Down came the hatch, and there waiting for them were hundreds of them. They were wolves, haggard and full of vengeance, and the Romans had no choice but to leap onto their swords and spears. It was carnage. With no room to get in formation, the much larger and burlier Gallic tribesmen hacked the legionaries apart one by one, the strength of Roman discipline robbed from her sons. Publius fought for his very life, pushing his way through the ranks to try and win a foothold on the wall. Time and time again, they were repulsed. Somehow, he lost his helmet in the chaos. No matter. Alongside him was the standard bearer. They had to push, or die. Sulla roared the men forward, turning back to urge those who faltered onwards.
The Tribune screamed as pain shot through the side of his skull, the ugly broadsword of a tribal champion wooshing past his face. An inch closer, and he would have been dead, but that was small consolation. Blinking through blood and tears, Sulla was pulled out of the carnage by one of his officers, and sent back down the tower to find a physician. What happened on the walls after that, he knew not. Pain caused his world to go dark.
When he awoke, to his dismay, he found he had one eye less.
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Post by FieldMarshal Bismarck on Oct 5, 2021 3:12:21 GMT -5
First Day of the Siege of BurdigalaAs all assaults were, the attack on Burdigala was a bloody affair. Despite the siege works of the Romans, the city was well fortified, with thick stone walls and a plentiful garrison. Lepidus led a legion against the gatehouse with a ram, and after some fierce fighting and many sorties the Romans were repulsed, forced to retreat after some severe losses. However, the legionaries had sufficiently damaged the gate enough that their next assault would be significantly easier.Sulla's attempt on the walls was similarly defeated. Despite the ladders and siege towers, the Gauls fought for every inch, driving the Romans from the ramparts. Brute force was not enough to win the day, with hundreds dying before the Tribune was forced to pull his men back, the siege towers detached from the walls and the ladders thrown into the dirt. Some better news came from the harbour. The desperate Gallic attempt to disperse the Roman fleet was defeated, the Romans scattering the Gallic ships at the cost of eight of their own. Though Lepidus had failed in his first attempt to assault the city, he still had a fresh legion in reserve, and supplies from the Atlantic were now cut off.The Gauls send an offer of terms, the exact same as the previous.
Sulla sustains a permanent wound. -1 to resilience in future.Roman tactical defeat. Strategic Roman advantage.
Casualties:620 for Lepidus' legion.560 for Sulla's legion.8 TriremesGauls:490 men lost. Lepidus stood on the ships as contact was made with the enemy fleet, they caught them by surprise as the Romans hadn't brought ships to battle this far. This was new for Lepidus as well who now had to give away his command in the field so he could focus on the ships. Lepidus had traveled the Mediterranean in his young years but never held command on ships. The Roman ships weren't perfect with the Atlantic Ocean at their backs the Romans proved that their ships were good on their own our turf but that the enemy waters were not so easily traversed. As the Romans enter the river leading to the city they encountered an enemy force. The captains started to rig for battle formations. The Gauls proved their foe as they took at four Roman ships in the opening stages. As the battle raged on and the Romans got in their element the battle turned. Lepidus roared the troops to push on "Forwards men, Jupiter is with us take them to Poseidon!" his screaming was met with load roaring as many a men died a horrible death. Some four other Roman ships met their doom and went down into the riverbed but the battle had decisively turned into Roman favor. The enemy ships were destroyed and Lepidus moved to blockade the harbor.. hoping that Sulla had taken the enemy walls... He was on his own with Drusus now being excused. It worried him deeply. The loss of officers rarely was a good thing and Lepidus knew it. Publius, though a miscreant, deviant, and scoundrel of the highest order, found himself compelled by both duty and some inner bravery to stand alongside his men in what would surely be a bloodbath. Burdigala's walls of well-wrought stone belied their barbarian origins, and Sulla tried hard to keep the men's spirits up as their siege tower rolled towards the walls. As ever, he left the speeches in the hands of the Centurions, each being battle hardened men who knew those under their command better than he ever could. Still, they had taken a liking to the young and roguish long haired Tribune, and it was perhaps because he boosted their confidence that he had chosen to partake in the assault personally. The tower stopped dead, and an audible clang rang out as the metal hooks were lodged into the parapets. Down came the hatch, and there waiting for them were hundreds of them. They were wolves, haggard and full of vengeance, and the Romans had no choice but to leap onto their swords and spears. It was carnage. With no room to get in formation, the much larger and burlier Gallic tribesmen hacked the legionaries apart one by one, the strength of Roman discipline robbed from her sons. Publius fought for his very life, pushing his way through the ranks to try and win a foothold on the wall. Time and time again, they were repulsed. Somehow, he lost his helmet in the chaos. No matter. Alongside him was the standard bearer. They had to push, or die. Sulla roared the men forward, turning back to urge those who faltered onwards. The Tribune screamed as pain shot through the side of his skull, the ugly broadsword of a tribal champion wooshing past his face. An inch closer, and he would have been dead, but that was small consolation. Blinking through blood and tears, Sulla was pulled out of the carnage by one of his officers, and sent back down the tower to find a physician. What happened on the walls after that, he knew not. Pain caused his world to go dark. When he awoke, to his dismay, he found he had one eye less. As the naval battle concluded, Lepidus disembarked and was escorted back to the siege lines. Where he found the legionaries in retreat. They had failed to take the walls Lepidus thought to himself. Disappointment and regret hit him. Yet again many men had laid down their life but the results were little. Lepidus wondered if staying in Gaul like he requested was a good thing to do. Wondering became serious doubt about it. Lepidus snapped out of it for now as he noted Sulla was nowhere to be seen. "Where is Sulla?!" Lepidus asked a panicking legionnaire. Who replied that the tribune had last been seen taken off the walls due to injury. Lepidus scoured the camp to find the medicus station Sulla was brought to. When he finally found him he was horrified. A sword had taken Sulla's eye clean out. The man was remarkably calm but perhaps it was the adrenaline. Lepidus put his arm on Sulla's shoulder, not sure what he could do to comfort the man at this moment of personal strife. "You fought with courage Sulla, you will be awarded for this." Lepidus said, hoping to console the man a little. Lepidus, the general that he was couldn't refrain from asking. "Should we take the city? The harbor is secured" Lepidus needed to know.. he needed to know if more men should die for this cause.
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Post by Gandalf on Oct 5, 2021 7:33:49 GMT -5
Sulla simply groaned, gesturing for a slave to bring him more strongwine. The entire right side of his face was covered in sodden bandages, and a great scar would run from his eyebrow down to his upper lip. The eyeball had not been ripped out, but torn across the surface so that it was now dull and lifeless. Fortunately, all of this was hidden from Lepidus by the copious amount of dressing, but the man still looked half a corpse.
"We did not win?"
Publius tried to leverage himself onto his elbows. He was sweating, and seemed delirious. The medicus quickly restrained him, and he cried out in pain.
"Gods!"
The Tribune began muttering things that did not make much sense. Half the time he seemed to not even know where he was.
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Post by rhapture on Oct 5, 2021 8:55:47 GMT -5
Drusus watches the attempted assault of the city from a distance. It was loud, war cries and deathly screams battled for supremacy in the air. At the end of the day, however , the Town still stood and the Romans had fallen back to their siege camps.
Drusus shook his head at the futility of it all. Then quickly dispatched notes to his old centurions letting them know he felt their pain and losses, wished them good fortune in the coming battles, and that he was returning to Rome to take up their case there.
After another night spent outside the Roman camp, Marcus Livius Drusus rides back to Narbo with his servants and slaves to find passage back to Rome, hopefully to take up his Aedileship and his political career.
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Post by FieldMarshal Bismarck on Oct 5, 2021 10:00:49 GMT -5
Sulla simply groaned, gesturing for a slave to bring him more strongwine. The entire right side of his face was covered in sodden bandages, and a great scar would run from his eyebrow down to his upper lip. The eyeball had not been ripped out, but torn across the surface so that it was now dull and lifeless. Fortunately, all of this was hidden from Lepidus by the copious amount of dressing, but the man still looked half a corpse. "We did not win?"Publius tried to leverage himself onto his elbows. He was sweating, and seemed delirious. The medicus quickly restrained him, and he cried out in pain. "Gods!" The Tribune began muttering things that did not make much sense. Half the time he seemed to not even know where he was.
Lepidus fainted a smile. "I have a Mural Crown for you Sulla, now rest while I take the city in your honor." Lepidus said. Uneasy with the wounds sustained by the young tribune. He'd be forever maimed and Lepidus would bear its shame. It did however strengthen Lepidus his resolve. The Aquitani federation was told the original terms offered before by Lepidus would stand. If not the Romans will burn the city to the ground, enslave every last aquitani tribes member and rape the women.
Drusus watches the attempted assault of the city from a distance. It was loud, war cries and deathly screams battled for supremacy in the air. At the end of the day, however , the Town still stood and the Romans had fallen back to their siege camps. Drusus shook his head at the futility of it all. Then quickly dispatched notes to his old centurions letting them know he felt their pain and losses, wished them good fortune in the coming battles, and that he was returning to Rome to take up their case there. After another night spent outside the Roman camp, Marcus Livius Drusus rides back to Narbo with his servants and slaves to find passage back to Rome, hopefully to take up his Aedileship and his political career.
The notes are seized by senior men of the other legions. The legions are then rotated. Every tenth men switches legion to keep with the good spirits.
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Post by Gandalf on Oct 5, 2021 10:58:11 GMT -5
Burdigala day 2:
Finally, Rome's full power is brought to bear. Once again, it is a bloody affair, but Lepidus' gambit on the river reaped dividends. Landing where the city defences were weakest by using the Triremes as pontoon bridges, the legionaries were able to force their way into the city from the east. While the stubborn defence of the Gauls on the walls and gates had kept the Romans at bay, the news that the enemy was in the city caused them to crumple and flee for their lives, taking whatever they could with them. The Gallic resistance was over.
649 Romans dead
24,000 denarii looted by Lepidus
17,000 denarii worth of slaves taken by Lepidus in the brutal sacking.
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With the fall of Burdigala, the Aquitani tribes that remain come and swear fealty to Rome, recognising their resistance as futile. 1000 base tax is added to Gallia Transalpina.
The horrific treatment of the Gauls by the Romans will live long in the memory, and causes many of the surrounding tribes to distance themselves from Rome. Lepidus' Gallic allies also disband and return to their homes, having taken a good share of the plunder.
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