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Post by Royal Joker on Oct 15, 2021 13:45:30 GMT -5
Mugillanus agrees to the terms of the Athenian elders, and promises to withdraw to Thebes in the morning, on the condition that the pro-Roman cities like Corinth be untouched and that the rebel army will not try to ambush his troops. Then all parties can meet in Thebes for further negotiations. With that, he bids the elders farewell and allows them to return unharmed to Athens.
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Mugillanus pays the men under him from his personal coffers, feeds and clothes them at his own expense. Those who serve well will be rewarded with fertile land for farming up north on the frontier, or be paid handsomely to open up new businesses in whatever city or town they wish to settle in. Those among the rebel army who would be interested in joining Mugillanus' army as auxiliary troops would get the chance for the same prospects. As proconsul, he has the authority to amend Roman policy in the Greek provinces, and would be amenable for them to petition him for a redress of grievances, if they agreed to lay down their arms and return to their homes, or join his army as auxiliaries.
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Post by Gandalf on Oct 15, 2021 14:13:47 GMT -5
Surprised at the success of their bluff, the Athenians withdraw back to their city.
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The Citizens of the Greek cities have no need to join the Roman armies. They will abide by the terms of the ceasefire, however, and will withdraw to Athens.
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Post by Royal Joker on Oct 16, 2021 14:36:15 GMT -5
Mugillanus excuses himself from the senior commanders and offers them to enjoy the treats and wine on his table before returning to their camp. After leaving the tent, though, does Mugillanus order his centurions to gather up enough men to surround his tent and arrest the Greek rebels.
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Post by Gandalf on Oct 17, 2021 6:01:42 GMT -5
An armed brawl breaks out in Mugillanus’ camp as his men and the commanders begin fighting. Though the commanders are killed or captured, they go down fighting. One manages to escape on horseback to inform the Athenians as to the Roman betrayal. In response, the ceasefire is revoked and the Greeks prepare to hunker down and defend their city.
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Post by Royal Joker on Oct 17, 2021 10:45:10 GMT -5
Mugillanus has the captured commanders killed before ordering his army to mobilize and march out to meet the rebel army. With most of their senior command gone, he hopes that the rebels will be disorganized enough to put up a decent fight. {Strat}Mugillanus places 2,300 on the left, 1,400 in the center, and 2,300 on the right. 500 cavalry guards the right, while Mugillanus takes personal command of the other 700 left.
The army advances and once they've engaged the enemy, the center is ordered to hold, while the flanks push. Once the enemy has been surrounded, the cavalry circles around and attacks the rear.
No quarter. |
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Post by Gandalf on Oct 18, 2021 6:22:45 GMT -5
Battle of the Piraeus:
In the meantime, the Athenian ships attempt to breakthrough the Roman blockade. They fail, losing a significant number of ships against the Romans, and badly damage their fleet.
The Mithridatic fleet loses 40 Triremes and 20 Quinquiremes. The Romans lose 25 Triremes.
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The Romans and Greeks meet on an uneven field outside of Athens, with no side holding any particular advantage in the terrain. Both armies, exhausted, are wishing for a swift conclusion to the campaign before winter comes.
The rest of the Greek cities are horrified by Mugillanus’ killing of Greeks on neutral ground, with even staunch Roman allies being forced to condemn the action.
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Post by Gandalf on Oct 19, 2021 12:59:53 GMT -5
 The battle began as they traditionally had throughout the campaign, albeit summer had given way to winter and the cold had crept in to the bones of the soldiers. The Greek citizen soldiers, far from being demoralised by the loss of their commanders, were fired up and eager for vengeance. The Romans advanced, the battle quickly descending into a general melee. The steel of the Greek phalanx ensured that they would not give ground easily, and the Romans found it difficult to push them from their positions. They particularly would struggle against the Galatians, who were bribed handsomely to remain and fight, as they came around the flanks of the Romans and stymied their advance. Neither could Mugillanus' cavalry swing the battle, being beaten away by their Thessalian counterparts. It would have been a small Roman defeat, had their daring commander been prudent enough to leave a reserve. With all the Romans committed, there was nothing to cover the army as the time came for them to retreat. When an eagle fell into enemy hands, panic consumed the ranks, and the Romans soon fell into a mass rout as the enemy cavalry came to run them down. While Mugillanus crawled back north with his life, the rest of his troops were not so lucky, with under two thousand surviving to recount their shame. Worse still was when the gates of Thebes shut themselves to the Romans, with the Greeks there suddenly announcing their neutrality in the dead of winter. Fortunately for Mugillanus, the Greeks had substantial losses of their own, and returned to Athens for the winter. There they would disband their standing forces, let go of their mercenaries, and raise another force in the new year to continue prosecuting the war against the Romans. In the meantime, they would send a delegation to the Roman Senate, asking for a representative to be sent to come to terms. The substantial number of Roman prisoners, two thousand men in total, are returned with the Greeks to Athens, where they shall be imprisoned for further use. Roman disaster. The Romans flee north into Thessaly. The Legio Papiria has lost their standard.
Remaining forces:
900 cavalry
300 Legio Papiria
223 Legio Macedonica
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Post by Royal Joker on Oct 19, 2021 13:29:42 GMT -5
Following the disastrous defeat at the hands of the Greek rebels, Mugillanus leaves Macedonia for Rome, leaving whatever remains of the Roman bureaucracy to pick up the pieces.
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Post by Magnate Lucius on Oct 19, 2021 21:20:19 GMT -5
Upon arriving in Thessalonike, the decimation of the Roman forces in Greece became very obvious to the Proconsul. Mugillanus had been absolutely thorough in the disastrous defeat that led to the sorry state of the XVI and XVII legions. There was still some time before XIX and VIII arrived to help firm up their numbers. Word from what remained of the commander's staff also bore grim news of the relations between the Republic and the local Greek cities. Atellus had his hands tied worse than when he was in Sicilia. The Roman would have to do more than simply defeat the foe, he had to repair relations between the inhabitants and their Roman leaders.
After a discussion with the tribunes and legates, it was decided that the legions would be merged together to resemble a better unit. Legio Papiria vanished, due to the loss of its eagle, and all were reformed under Legio XVI Macedonia's legate. Papiria's former commander was made deputy so that he would be given the chance of regaining honor lost in the previous battle. The Proconsul uses what funds he had in his personal finances to pay the legion up to around half-strength. In the mean time, a message is sent to Rome to ensure they are made aware of the disastrous situation.
1,477 = 5,908 denarii
Legio XVI = 400 cavalry + 2,400 men
Thessalian Cavalry = 500 cavalry
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For now, the Proconsul has to defend for time. He orders what remains of loyal cities, in Thessaly, to close their gates in order to make the Greek struggle to advance. He had heard wind that their main army was situated to the south, keeping close to Athens. His half-strength legion moves to the main gate between Macedonia and Thessaly, known as Volustana, not far from Petra. Once his reinforcements arrived, the Roman would move further south to, hopefully, contend with the enemy.
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Post by Gandalf on Oct 20, 2021 6:13:40 GMT -5
{Theatre of War map}  The Greeks had mustered a new army in the new year, one drawn from the citizen soldiers of Athens, Thebes, Sparta, and the other Achaean cities. The Aetolians and Boeotians, formally loyal to Rome, have declared their fealty to the Free Greeks. Even Corinth, a Roman colony, had been forced to surrender and accept a Greek garrison. Unlike in Asia, the Greeks were not slaughtering Roman citizens, though the treatment of their negotiators by Mugillanus perhaps led to some giving it thought. Nonetheless, they warily send an envoy north to deliver their terms to the Romans. {Secret}Greek Army
Commander: Diogenes (2 command)
Location: Thermopylae
8000 Elite Hoplites
4000 Elite Phalangists
10,000 Heavy Hoplites
10,000 Light Hoplites
3000 Greek Cavalry
2000 Thessalian Cavalry
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Post by Gandalf on Oct 20, 2021 6:15:41 GMT -5
A message then arrives from Lepidus' forces in Illyricum:
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Post by Gandalf on Oct 20, 2021 17:04:31 GMT -5
While waiting for the terms, reports reach the Romans that the Greeks have passed through the gates of Thermopylae and have entered into the fertile plains of Thessaly. They have begun to lay siege to the towns of Pharsalus, Scottusa, and Pherae, which are only able to put up a token resistance. Larissa is thankfully more well fortified, the Greeks not yet risking a frontal attack on the well defended city.
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Post by Gandalf on Oct 21, 2021 10:44:54 GMT -5
Publius Sulla Luscus and the legions arrive in Macedonia, sending advance riders ahead to Pro-Consul Fabius to alert him of their whereabouts. Luscus immediately begins preparations to march south and relieve the Roman towns in Thessaly that have come under siege.
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Post by Magnate Lucius on Oct 21, 2021 10:48:55 GMT -5
With news of the Illyrian legions having arrived, the Proconsul sends some of his Thessalian Allied Cavalry to scout out the numbers of the Greeks operating in the area. A message is sent to Publius that further reinforcements are arriving shortly and that they should unite at Pella before marching south.
In addition, he sends an emissary to the allied Thracian chiefs and kings, requesting their aid in ending the Mithridatic backed threat to Greece and the Aegean. The Roman offers favorable trade and a share in looted wealth. If things go well, Fabius even considers building a colony further north out of veterans of this war to show good faith to the Thracians for their aid.
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Post by Gandalf on Oct 21, 2021 10:53:09 GMT -5
The scouts discover a potent Greek presence numbering between fifteen to thirty thousand men in Thessaly. Larissa still holds out but most other cities have fallen or surrendered.
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The Thracians, though suffering attacks from the tribes and cities that have sides with Mithridates, provide 2000 auxiliary cavalry to the Romans for use in the field.
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