This is an AAR of our ongoing PBEM campaign of AGEOD's latest game Alea Jacta Est. We play the Year of the 4 Emperors scenario, and all of the 3 available factions are played by human players experienced with AGEOD games.
Since our PBEM campaign is still ongoing, I cannot say if I will be victorious in the end, if my faction will survive until the end or how fast I can provide updates. However, the scenario is only 25 turns long, so it shouldn't take too long to complete this AAR.
###### Let's usurp an Empire in Alea Jacta Est! #######
Alea Jacta Est is AGEOD's latest game set in the turbulent times of the late Roman republic and the Roman Empire. In the year 68, the last legitimate successor of Rome's first Emperor, Augustus, had died, and the question of succession quickly turned into a full-scale war, as Emperors were assassinated by the own guards and pretenders arose in the remote areas of the Empire. At the same time, Rome's neighbors, envious of Rome's wealth, are only waiting for a sign of weakness in the defenses of the Empire. Who can triumph in these times of strife and unrest and restore the Empire to its glory?
The general information about the 68 scenario. At the start of the game, the first of the 4 Emperors during this year, Galba, had just been assassinated by his own Praetorian guardsmen. But there are others trying to fill the void left by his murder.
In the Germanias, the two provinces at the border to the barbarian lands of Germania Magna (those two provinces were Germania Superior and Germania Inferior, meaning Upper and Lower Germany), a local general with the name Aulus Vitellius is proclaimed Emperor by his legions and loyal legates. I will play his faction during this AAR.
Before I discuss my opening turn, let's briefly get an overview over the political and strategical situation of my faction and my rivals in the Empire.
The main body of my forces starts at the Rhine (called Rhenus in Roman times), on the border to the barbarian lands. In Colonia Agrippina, modern-day Cologne in Germany, Aulus Vitellius and his legate Valens command a force of 4 legions and some Germanic mercenaries.
Legate Caecina commands the forces in Moguntiacum (modern-day Mainz in Germany), another 2 legions and additional Germanic mercenaries.
A third, smaller force consisting of 1 legion is furthermore garrisoned in Argentoratum (modern-day Straßburg/Strasbourg in France).
It seems that our dear would-be Emperor has some troubles with the alcohol...
In Britannia, 3 legions are spread throughout the province.
Finally, in the south of Gallia, we have one more legion in reserve. Let's move on to the other areas of the Empire and our rivals.
In Africa, a local military commander called Macer has assumed the political and military command over the provinces there. He commands 2 legions, but is neutral towards the other factions. The other factions (Otho and Vespasian) have the option to try to assassinate him, however, to get control of the African provinces for themselves. My faction (Vitellius) can try to protect Macer from those assassination attempts, which would make Macer join our cause.
In Italy and Rome itself, Otho has usurped the Imperial throne from former Emperor Galba, with the support of the disloyal Praetorians. He has only a small number of legions available to him, and is in our way on our campaign to restore Rome's former glory with a real, legitimate Emperor. Furthermore, many of his legions start locked (meaning they cannot be moved and used for the defense of Rome) in Pannonia and the Noricum (modern-day Austria). If he cannot activate those forces in time, he should be a push-over. But he's one of the factions played by a human player, so things might get much more complicated than one would assume... we will see.
Finally, in the far east, local general Vespasian was also announced as Imperator by his legions. He controls a very vast area of land, with many legions (in fact, he has the most legions of any faction), but first has to deal with a Jewish insurrection in Palestina. He also has to make sure that enough legions stay in the east at any time to deter the powerful Parthians from declaring war against the Empire. Like Otho, quite a bit of his forces start the game in locked mode, and require activation before he can use them. This faction is the last faction played by a human player, and the faction that historically won in the end. We will see if we can change that
This concludes the brief strategic overview. Now let's go on to my opening moves.
### Turn 1 - Opening moves ###
My strategy is very simple. I need to strike as hard as possible against Otho, as fast as possible. This is because he starts weak, but will get stronger over time. So time is of the essence for me.
To make this happen, I use turn 1 to recombine my forces into two larger stacks which I will then use for the invasion of Italy.
In detail, I start by separating Vitellius from his force. He's a weak commander, and all intelligent politicians let other men command their forces, anyway
Then, I assemble my main invasion army in Lugdunum (modern-day Lyon) under the command of the much more able
Valens. Once all of his forces have arrived (he will get a total force of 4 legions), he will invade Italy over Genua and directly attack Rome.
The second force is assembled in Argentoratum, commanded by Caecina, who's also a good commander. He will take 3 legions and invade Italy from the north. From there, he will either support Valens or directly move east to harass Vespasian there.
While I build up my invasion forces, I'm not letting the German border completely unguarded. Vitellius assumes the glorious command of my northern border force in Colonia Agrippina (2 legions), while another single legion remains in Moguntiacum on border guard duty.
Meanwhile, I'm also beginning to strip Britannia of its legions. Only 1 legion will remain there, whereas the other 2 legions will be shipped to Gallia and eventually join Valens' force in Lugdunum.
In terms of diplomatic and political decisions, I offer protection to Macer in Africa. His legions would be quite welcomed, and the African resources would also be nice to have. I'm also recruiting another Roman legate into my services.
This concludes my orders for turn 1. Let's get the game started
Since our PBEM campaign is still ongoing, I cannot say if I will be victorious in the end, if my faction will survive until the end or how fast I can provide updates. However, the scenario is only 25 turns long, so it shouldn't take too long to complete this AAR.
###### Let's usurp an Empire in Alea Jacta Est! #######
Alea Jacta Est is AGEOD's latest game set in the turbulent times of the late Roman republic and the Roman Empire. In the year 68, the last legitimate successor of Rome's first Emperor, Augustus, had died, and the question of succession quickly turned into a full-scale war, as Emperors were assassinated by the own guards and pretenders arose in the remote areas of the Empire. At the same time, Rome's neighbors, envious of Rome's wealth, are only waiting for a sign of weakness in the defenses of the Empire. Who can triumph in these times of strife and unrest and restore the Empire to its glory?
The general information about the 68 scenario. At the start of the game, the first of the 4 Emperors during this year, Galba, had just been assassinated by his own Praetorian guardsmen. But there are others trying to fill the void left by his murder.
In the Germanias, the two provinces at the border to the barbarian lands of Germania Magna (those two provinces were Germania Superior and Germania Inferior, meaning Upper and Lower Germany), a local general with the name Aulus Vitellius is proclaimed Emperor by his legions and loyal legates. I will play his faction during this AAR.
Before I discuss my opening turn, let's briefly get an overview over the political and strategical situation of my faction and my rivals in the Empire.
The main body of my forces starts at the Rhine (called Rhenus in Roman times), on the border to the barbarian lands. In Colonia Agrippina, modern-day Cologne in Germany, Aulus Vitellius and his legate Valens command a force of 4 legions and some Germanic mercenaries.
Legate Caecina commands the forces in Moguntiacum (modern-day Mainz in Germany), another 2 legions and additional Germanic mercenaries.
A third, smaller force consisting of 1 legion is furthermore garrisoned in Argentoratum (modern-day Straßburg/Strasbourg in France).
It seems that our dear would-be Emperor has some troubles with the alcohol...
In Britannia, 3 legions are spread throughout the province.
Finally, in the south of Gallia, we have one more legion in reserve. Let's move on to the other areas of the Empire and our rivals.
In Africa, a local military commander called Macer has assumed the political and military command over the provinces there. He commands 2 legions, but is neutral towards the other factions. The other factions (Otho and Vespasian) have the option to try to assassinate him, however, to get control of the African provinces for themselves. My faction (Vitellius) can try to protect Macer from those assassination attempts, which would make Macer join our cause.
In Italy and Rome itself, Otho has usurped the Imperial throne from former Emperor Galba, with the support of the disloyal Praetorians. He has only a small number of legions available to him, and is in our way on our campaign to restore Rome's former glory with a real, legitimate Emperor. Furthermore, many of his legions start locked (meaning they cannot be moved and used for the defense of Rome) in Pannonia and the Noricum (modern-day Austria). If he cannot activate those forces in time, he should be a push-over. But he's one of the factions played by a human player, so things might get much more complicated than one would assume... we will see.
Finally, in the far east, local general Vespasian was also announced as Imperator by his legions. He controls a very vast area of land, with many legions (in fact, he has the most legions of any faction), but first has to deal with a Jewish insurrection in Palestina. He also has to make sure that enough legions stay in the east at any time to deter the powerful Parthians from declaring war against the Empire. Like Otho, quite a bit of his forces start the game in locked mode, and require activation before he can use them. This faction is the last faction played by a human player, and the faction that historically won in the end. We will see if we can change that
This concludes the brief strategic overview. Now let's go on to my opening moves.
### Turn 1 - Opening moves ###
My strategy is very simple. I need to strike as hard as possible against Otho, as fast as possible. This is because he starts weak, but will get stronger over time. So time is of the essence for me.
To make this happen, I use turn 1 to recombine my forces into two larger stacks which I will then use for the invasion of Italy.
In detail, I start by separating Vitellius from his force. He's a weak commander, and all intelligent politicians let other men command their forces, anyway
Then, I assemble my main invasion army in Lugdunum (modern-day Lyon) under the command of the much more able
Valens. Once all of his forces have arrived (he will get a total force of 4 legions), he will invade Italy over Genua and directly attack Rome.
The second force is assembled in Argentoratum, commanded by Caecina, who's also a good commander. He will take 3 legions and invade Italy from the north. From there, he will either support Valens or directly move east to harass Vespasian there.
While I build up my invasion forces, I'm not letting the German border completely unguarded. Vitellius assumes the glorious command of my northern border force in Colonia Agrippina (2 legions), while another single legion remains in Moguntiacum on border guard duty.
Meanwhile, I'm also beginning to strip Britannia of its legions. Only 1 legion will remain there, whereas the other 2 legions will be shipped to Gallia and eventually join Valens' force in Lugdunum.
In terms of diplomatic and political decisions, I offer protection to Macer in Africa. His legions would be quite welcomed, and the African resources would also be nice to have. I'm also recruiting another Roman legate into my services.
This concludes my orders for turn 1. Let's get the game started
