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Post by The Lord Our God (GM) on Dec 18, 2012 14:32:30 GMT
Bezabde has been relieved, the town, defended by a scratch force of a thousand Equites, five hundred limantei and three hundred militia men managed to hold of a band of five thousand Sassanids long enough for the new Dux of Messopotamia to bring the remainder of his force to bear. The commander of the 1st Galatorum Limantei Regiment, Florian Iberianus is having his praises sung in both Antioch and Constantinople for his actions.
Other notables are Venatius Liberius who was the first to break through to the beleagured force.
For there gallantry in this military episode Florian Iberianus and Venatius Liberius are awarded the Corona Civica.
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Post by John Dukas on Dec 19, 2012 12:44:23 GMT
I am not in the military or military int services so I may be missing something but it seems to me that our heroic Dux has just marched out of the key fortress on the eastern front to save his outpost while the main Eastern Army is still 1000 km west on the other side of the Syrian Desert.
It is to be hoped that the Dux has been given accurate info on the strength and location of Persian forces and can get back to his fortress before the Persian Main force shows up. Or are our Int services more interested in acting as moral watch dogs and spying on court ladies than going their proper job keeping an eye on barbarians.
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Post by The Lord Our God (GM) on Dec 19, 2012 16:26:36 GMT
I like your thinking... All I will say is that things will be coming to a head
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Post by John Dukas on Dec 20, 2012 0:42:28 GMT
As every Roman (and Persian) officier has known for the last three hundred years water and fodder supply - or rather lack off - means that there are very few practical routes across the Syrian Desert for an Army.
These routes which are also key trade routes are all dominated by very very strongly fortified cities which an invader can not ignore and advance past since to do so would cut his line of retreat and supply.
As a result wars in the East have been seen many very long and brutally hard sieges. The Problem then is that the Victory is often in no fit state to face a hostile field army in the open and the captured fortress is so badly damaged that it is re-captured fairly easily.
This would almost certainly have been the result if the Persians had attacked the Dux in his fortress base at Amida with the main Roman field Army making its way East from the Med Coast.
Thus by attacking one of the Dux outposts with a strong but not massive force I assume its a ploy aimed at getting the Dux away from his base fortress & they plan to either attack his field force or cut it off from its fortress. Allowing them to take the Amida in fairly good condition from a weakened garrison.
The fact that the Dux and the Romans left their base to go and save the outpost must mean that the Dux scouts are blind or he thinks he can carry out relief and be back on station before Persians can respond as they hope.
Guess we will soon find out who judged their openning moves better.
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