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| Philip of Macedon |
I will be keeping a campaign diary on this blog, tracking my progress as Alexander the Great as he commences his career, focusing on nothing less than the conquest of the known world. I'll be trying to write up one turn of the campaign every day. Each blog post will likely stretch over a year, hence turn 1 really covers the events of 338 BC, while turn 3 involves only the spring of 335 BC. I may make reference to mechanics in the game in italics from time to time.
Note: the game is divided into four distinct campaigns in Alexander's career. Alexander can carry his glory and experience from one to another as you advance him, a little like a simple RPG character, over his career. He starts the game as crown prince of Macedon in 338, with his father Phillip still on the throne.
We open in 338 BC. Philip II is king of Macedon but he aims to be hegemon of all Greece. Plans are also afoot to invade the Persian Empire. But first the Macedonians have to deal with the restive Greek cities, who are largely hostile to Philip, especially Athens and Thebes (Sparta sat this one out, although whether the Spartans could really have stopped Philip is one of those open questions of history).
In Asia Minor itself, there is a Persian army with about 4000 horse and 14,000 foot soldiers, under the command of the mercenary general Memnon. He seems to have been left there as an insurance policy by the Great King Darius, but right now his army is relatively small.
In Macedonia Philip's army is composed of 4000 heavy cavalry including the elite Companions, 7000 phalanx heavy infantry, a further 7000 medium foot and 7000 light foot including archers and peltasts.
In central Greece the cities have an allied force under Chares that includes the crack Theban Sacred Band of hand-picked hoplites, backed up by around 14,000 other Greek regular hoplites and associated troops from Athens, Thebes and some smaller cities. They don't have much in the way of cavalry. They are hoping to beat Philip on the plain of Chaeronea.
From a strategic perspective, Greece looks like it has to be the first target. Philip could potentially invade Asia, and see what the Greeks do (call their bluff, essentially), but I've never played this before, and have no idea if the AI will mess with me badly if I do that. It feels reckless. The best thing to do is go with history and do that Philip did, attack Greece as a prequel to the main event.
Alexander will be involved in the campaign against the Greeks. He picks an adviser for his own council which hopefully he can add to over the coming campaign. He goes with his boyhood friend Hephaestion.
Note: Hephaestion will help with Alexander's ability in battle and also increases the options available to him on the battlefield. With two big field armies in front of him in this campaign he will need them.
338 BC. Philip moves south against the Greek army at Chaeronea. In Asia, the governor of Sardis (Sahlihli in modern Turkey) reinforces its garrsion, with 2000 elite Iranian heavy cavalry reporting for duty. A further 7000 local levies are dispatched towards Halicarnassus (Bodrum) to reinforce the local satraps on the Aegean coast, but have not arrived yet (Philip is not sure of the true extent of this army, it could be bigger). There is no further activity from the Persians. Darius is obviously reading the intelligence reports from his spies in Greece.
The Foraging roll is 2. The Macedonian army moves south towards Chaeronea. Philip spends 3 Gold to keep the army supplied as it pushes south. That's 30% of the treasury blown on this little adventure so far.
The armies meet at Chaeronea. The Greeks decide to launch a pre-emptive raid on the Macedonian camp before the battle, the sneaky curs (-1 Gold). It goes off well, but not as well as it could have done. The armies array for battle as the morning dawns over the hills before Chaeronea.
The Greeks turn out to have rallied some extra support at the last minute with more hoplites trooping in from outlying cities that Philip had expected to stay out of the fight. There are thousands more than he has forseen but he anticipates they will not be up to the quality of the Theban and Athenian troops. It is time to start taking names.
The Battle of Chaeronea
The Greek army advanced, shrugging off a shower of arrows and the Sacred Band got to grips with the Macedonian allied infantry which took some early losses. Philip unleashed his Companion cavalry, which struck the Sacred Band and the Theban hoplite formations, killing hundreds of the cream of the Greek heavy infantry. The Macedonian pike blocks now advanced and contacted the hoplite phalanx. This was the brutal shoving match that would decide the battle and it looked like the Macedonians were getting the better of the contest. Alexander was watching proceedings but had yet to commit.
Concerted archery finally routed the Greek minor city allied hoplites who abandoned the field. The main Greek army bunched up, digging in. Philip sent the Companions in for another crack. This time they broke the Sacred Band and went on to crush most of the Theban formation in dramatic fashion. Enemy soldiers were strewn across the bloody field. In the centre of the scrum the Macedonian and Greek phalanxes stayed engaged.
The Companions were looking tuckered out but the day was not over yet. The Greek line still held. Once more unto the breach. This time the Macedonian heavy cavalry took the Greek phalanx in the flank and rolled it up like a wet towel. The battle was over, the Greeks routed. Chares fled into exile in Sicily.
With the battle over, Alexander picks up 2 Glory for being there at the victory of his father. The Macedonians will pick up 3 Gold in loot. Philip decides to raze Thebes, picking up another 12 Gold in booty. Alexander will get no income from Greece.
Triumphant, Philip decides to return to Macedonia. Another 1 Gold is spent to keep the army paid. Reaching Macedonia he consults the oracle, which announces "Care for these things falls on me." To fulfil the prophecy, Alexander needs to conquer another pivotal area in the campaign before the end of fall 335 BC.
Philip decides to move the army to Sestus/Thrace in preparation for the next campaigning season, when he plans to cross the Hellespont into Asia. This proves costly as the soldiers are ambushed by Thracian tribes. Philip decides to call it a year and leaves the army in winter quarters, returning to Macedonia to celebrate his nuptials.
During the winter the army refits (2 Gold) and 5 Gold is spent on new archers and the raising of a unit of elite Hypaspist spearmen. There is still 12 Gold in the treasury. Philip is pondering whether he has enough troops to take on the Persians.
End of turn.
- Glory: 2
- Gold: 12
Excellent! More of this, please!
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