Your humble scribe offers you an account of the first three months of Alexandros’ campaign in the lands of the eastern barbarians. I hope my prose will give justice to the heroic deeds and the strange events I’ve witnessed, and will please both the Gods and the King.
This After-Action Report uses standard text for the narrative sections, and black on grey text for historical notes and rules-related comments. In this playtest session I’ve followed as much as possible the historical events, in order to test the rules against actual, documented facts. Therefore, don’t be surprised if some decisions or moves aren’t exactly smart. Also, please note that I will try to keep rules explanation to a bare minimum, in order to leave more space to the narrative.
You may find a detailed description of the upcoming “The Fate of All” at this link… And remember to reserve your spot in Perdiccas’ Phalanx by sending a Votive Tablet to info@TRLGames.com !
April, 334 BCE (Olympiad 111 Year 3)
The Persians, probably alerted by spies about the incoming invasion, have already mobilised forces from the Anatolian Satrapies: Lydia, Hellespontic Phrygia, Greater Phrygia, Paphlagonia, Karia and Kappadokia. The Great King also starts moving from Persepolis to Babylon, but he is confident that his Satraps’ army will be more than enough to stop the young, impudent Macedonian King. After all, they already defeated Parmenion’s advance guard using only a fraction of their available forces.
The Satrapal armies start assembling at Kyzikos, offering plenty of supply from foraging and from requisitions in the city. A fully loaded Baggage Train is also available for any eventuality, and a small infantry force is left at Halikarnassos, to be used both as garrison and as expeditionary force once the assembled fleet will reach the Aegean.
In the spring of 334 BCE, the Anatolian Satraps had been fighting a 10,000 men strong expeditionary force led by Parmenion for almost two years, defeating it in battle at Magnesia with a smaller army and retaking most of the territory initially seized by the Greeks. As a consequence, they were probably quite confident about their chances to stop Alexander quickly.
A donation of 4 Talents is also made to the Spartan King Agis III, to help him seeing the advantages of Persian friendship and support. The Lakedaimons are the last independent military power in Greece, and they could attempt to restore their role in the Hellenic world if they see a chance. The donation is well accepted.
In 332 – 331 BCE, after long consultations with Persian envoys, Agis III finally mobilised the Spartan army and declared war on Macedonia, while at the same time a revolt erupted in the Macedonian province of Thrake. Both were short-lived, as the Macedonian regent Antipater used money received from Alexandros to “make peace” with the Thracian rebels, reinforce his army, and decisively defeat the Spartans at the battle of Megalopolis. Despite this conclusion, the possibility of the Spartan and Thracian revolts are a powerful instrument to keep the Macedonian faction off-balance.
