StarCraft 218 BC: A Real Life Space Odyssey

 

“The emissary stood before the Carthaginian ‘senate,’ surrounded by all the great men of Carthage and said to them ‘I hold before you both peace and war.’ The leader of the senate spat back ‘Choose what you will!’ The envoy replied ‘I choose war!’”

–James Portnow, Extra Credits

.:: Hannibals Journey | (Chapter 3) ::. Rome, aware of how the first war played out, promptly reinforces Sicily. One of two consuls, who are Roman co-commanders-in-chief, accompanies that army while the other takes an army across France to attack the Barcid holdings in Iberia. This force encounters Carthaginian scouts, with Hannibal’s troops coming out on top. Despite this, a few troops escape to tell Consul Publius Cornelius Scipio.

The Scipios are the third great house to enter this conflict. Barca. Fabius. Scipio.

 

“You’re going to want to remember that name, Scipio. You know how on the Carthaginian side you have the sons of the great general Hamilcar from the last war fighting together on a blood oath they swore to their father to avenge the shame Carthage suffered at the hands of the Romans? Well, this guy is their Roman equivalent. This Scipio we just met will eventually die on the field, slain by Hannibal’s armies, but his son will later crush Hannibal and turn the tide of the war and his great-grandson will go on to sack Carthage and wipe them out forever, seventy years after the story we’re telling. See, that’s part of what makes the second Punic War so epic. Blood oaths and vengeance, rivalry from [these] great houses, a war passed down from father to son, [three] bloodlines vying for the fate of the world.”

–James Portnow, Extra Credits

Publius sends his army on towards Hispania while he rushes back to northern Italy to rally his forces. Remember, the bulk of the Roman legions are divided, part en route to Hispania and the other stationed in Sicily as a launching platform for attacks into North Africa. Only a handful of Rome’s greenest troops along with those more apt to wield canes than swords remain in Italy proper. This Scipio is in a race against Hannibal’s armies but expects Hannibal to be held up, as the Romans are, by local Gauls. Hannibal convinces these tribes, perhaps with the assistance of a few well-placed bribes, that his only target is their mutual enemy: Rome.

 

This clears the way into the Alps yet, by now, it is already September. The frigid passes, bad enough in summer, are already begun to cool in anticipation of winter’s chill. The Romans are off-guard, thinking no one can move an army undetected through those tricky mountain passes at the start of winter.

Hannibal makes it through the Alps with 26,000 of his 98,000 men and gives his troops a mild rest as he recruits reinforcements from the Gallic tribes. Publius still has not arrived and must also recruit while traveling, having left much of his original army behind. The two eventually come to blows which results in Scipio’s defeat. He is gravely wounded and would have surely died had his son not arrived near the end of the skirmish. This creates a lot of good PR for Hannibal among the Gauls, many of whom now flock to his banners. Meanwhile, the other Roman consul recalls his troops from Sicily. This man, Tiberius Sempronius Longus, wishes to charge into battle against Hannibal upon walking onto the field. He considers Scipio a coward for advising caution, thinking that the winter lull should be used for training, keenly aware that a majority of his forces are raw, non-vetted recruits. Unfortunately, when two consuls are in the same location, they alternate command with each passing day. As soon as Sempronius Longus is in command, Hannibal is able to bait his short temper, sending a small, highly-mobile raiding party into enemy lines during the early hours of the morning. The rest of Hannibal’s forces are allowed to sleep in, eat a hearty breakfast, and are eventually stationed out of sight, behind some mountain ridges. After running the Romans every which way but right, Hannibal’s scouts lead the Romans into their trap. The Romans, roused early from their beds, not having eaten, soaked from earlier crossing a river, have no chance that frigid morning against Hannibal’s well-rested force. Slaughter. Rome mounts a retreat; Sempronius Longus and 10,000 of his best troops fight their way to safety within the throng of Carthaginian mercenaries. This is the first major battle this side of the Alps and for certain the first time these raw recruits, farmers in all but name, encounter story book monsters, giant grey smelly mammoths with great sharp tusks, as likely to trample or impale friend as foe, standing roughly 2.5x as tall as the tallest legionnaire. To face these war elephants the infantry have only short sword and spear. Again Rome faces heart-wrenching defeat and the body count grows. At this point, the winter has grown too harsh and battle must be delayed until the first days of spring. This gives Rome a moment to breathe, to reposition her troops and fortify her outer defenses. Hannibal doesn’t care. As soon as it grows warmer than freezing temperature, he and his army cross a foreboding marsh where many of his troops drown while sleeping and elephants sink beneath the muck. After catching a mysterious swamp disease, Hannibal cuts out his eye to stop the spreading infection. The only item of importance: Rome’s annihilation. Hannibal emerges deep in enemy territory, a place no one thought he could be, No defenses have been prepared here, and hence soldiers must be recalled from the front lines. Hannibal’s army, now-hidden, camp in wait. Just as the Romans think they finally have caught up to the edges of his army, Hannibal’s forces encircle the narrow path from all sides. Again, Roman blood flows like an Italian river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spoilers: Highlight box below to reveal. Elevator drops Bait into controlled territory Compare to Marines retreating into Widow Mine range Elephant siege tanks Area of Effect Hurts friendly units Immobile Absorbs a lot of damage

 

 

 

 

? The Rise of Hamilcar Cunctator ?

If you like this content, please support Shaft by following him on Twitter (@TheOnlyShaft) and subscribing on YouTube.

 

StarCraft 218 BC: A Real Life Space Odyssey

 

“The emissary stood before the Carthaginian ‘senate,’ surrounded by all the great men of Carthage and said to them ‘I hold before you both peace and war.’ The leader of the senate spat back ‘Choose what you will!’ The envoy replied ‘I choose war!’”

–James Portnow, Extra Credits

.:: Hannibals Journey | (Chapter 3) ::. Rome, aware of how the first war played out, promptly reinforces Sicily. One of two consuls, who are Roman co-commanders-in-chief, accompanies that army while the other takes an army across France to attack the Barcid holdings in Iberia. This force encounters Carthaginian scouts, with Hannibal’s troops coming out on top. Despite this, a few troops escape to tell Consul Publius Cornelius Scipio.

The Scipios are the third great house to enter this conflict. Barca. Fabius. Scipio.

 

“You’re going to want to remember that name, Scipio. You know how on the Carthaginian side you have the sons of the great general Hamilcar from the last war fighting together on a blood oath they swore to their father to avenge the shame Carthage suffered at the hands of the Romans? Well, this guy is their Roman equivalent. This Scipio we just met will eventually die on the field, slain by Hannibal’s armies, but his son will later crush Hannibal and turn the tide of the war and his great-grandson will go on to sack Carthage and wipe them out forever, seventy years after the story we’re telling. See, that’s part of what makes the second Punic War so epic. Blood oaths and vengeance, rivalry from [these] great houses, a war passed down from father to son, [three] bloodlines vying for the fate of the world.”

–James Portnow, Extra Credits

Publius sends his army on towards Hispania while he rushes back to northern Italy to rally his forces. Remember, the bulk of the Roman legions are divided, part en route to Hispania and the other stationed in Sicily as a launching platform for attacks into North Africa. Only a handful of Rome’s greenest troops along with those more apt to wield canes than swords remain in Italy proper. This Scipio is in a race against Hannibal’s armies but expects Hannibal to be held up, as the Romans are, by local Gauls. Hannibal convinces these tribes, perhaps with the assistance of a few well-placed bribes, that his only target is their mutual enemy: Rome.

 

This clears the way into the Alps yet, by now, it is already September. The frigid passes, bad enough in summer, are already begun to cool in anticipation of winter’s chill. The Romans are off-guard, thinking no one can move an army undetected through those tricky mountain passes at the start of winter.

Hannibal makes it through the Alps with 26,000 of his 98,000 men and gives his troops a mild rest as he recruits reinforcements from the Gallic tribes. Publius still has not arrived and must also recruit while traveling, having left much of his original army behind. The two eventually come to blows which results in Scipio’s defeat. He is gravely wounded and would have surely died had his son not arrived near the end of the skirmish. This creates a lot of good PR for Hannibal among the Gauls, many of whom now flock to his banners. Meanwhile, the other Roman consul recalls his troops from Sicily. This man, Tiberius Sempronius Longus, wishes to charge into battle against Hannibal upon walking onto the field. He considers Scipio a coward for advising caution, thinking that the winter lull should be used for training, keenly aware that a majority of his forces are raw, non-vetted recruits. Unfortunately, when two consuls are in the same location, they alternate command with each passing day. As soon as Sempronius Longus is in command, Hannibal is able to bait his short temper, sending a small, highly-mobile raiding party into enemy lines during the early hours of the morning. The rest of Hannibal’s forces are allowed to sleep in, eat a hearty breakfast, and are eventually stationed out of sight, behind some mountain ridges. After running the Romans every which way but right, Hannibal’s scouts lead the Romans into their trap. The Romans, roused early from their beds, not having eaten, soaked from earlier crossing a river, have no chance that frigid morning against Hannibal’s well-rested force. Slaughter. Rome mounts a retreat; Sempronius Longus and 10,000 of his best troops fight their way to safety within the throng of Carthaginian mercenaries. This is the first major battle this side of the Alps and for certain the first time these raw recruits, farmers in all but name, encounter story book monsters, giant grey smelly mammoths with great sharp tusks, as likely to trample or impale friend as foe, standing roughly 2.5x as tall as the tallest legionnaire. To face these war elephants the infantry have only short sword and spear. Again Rome faces heart-wrenching defeat and the body count grows. At this point, the winter has grown too harsh and battle must be delayed until the first days of spring. This gives Rome a moment to breathe, to reposition her troops and fortify her outer defenses. Hannibal doesn’t care. As soon as it grows warmer than freezing temperature, he and his army cross a foreboding marsh where many of his troops drown while sleeping and elephants sink beneath the muck. After catching a mysterious swamp disease, Hannibal cuts out his eye to stop the spreading infection. The only item of importance: Rome’s annihilation. Hannibal emerges deep in enemy territory, a place no one thought he could be, No defenses have been prepared here, and hence soldiers must be recalled from the front lines. Hannibal’s army, now-hidden, camp in wait. Just as the Romans think they finally have caught up to the edges of his army, Hannibal’s forces encircle the narrow path from all sides. Again, Roman blood flows like an Italian river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spoilers: Highlight box below to reveal. Elevator drops Bait into controlled territory Compare to Marines retreating into Widow Mine range Elephant siege tanks Area of Effect Hurts friendly units Immobile Absorbs a lot of damage

 

 

 

 

? The Rise of Hamilcar Cunctator ?

If you like this content, please support Shaft by following him on Twitter (@TheOnlyShaft) and subscribing on YouTube.

 

StarCraft 218 BC: A Real Life Space Odyssey

 

“The emissary stood before the Carthaginian ‘senate,’ surrounded by all the great men of Carthage and said to them ‘I hold before you both peace and war.’ The leader of the senate spat back ‘Choose what you will!’ The envoy replied ‘I choose war!’”

–James Portnow, Extra Credits

.:: Hannibal's Journey | (Chapter 3) ::. Rome, aware of how the first war played out, promptly reinforces Sicily. One of two consuls, who are Roman co-commanders-in-chief, accompanies that army while the other takes an army across France to attack the Barcid holdings in Iberia. This force encounters Carthaginian scouts, with Hannibal’s troops coming out on top. Despite this, a few troops escape to tell Consul Publius Cornelius Scipio.

The Scipios are the third great house to enter this conflict. Barca. Fabius. Scipio.

 

“You’re going to want to remember that name, Scipio. You know how on the Carthaginian side you have the sons of the great general Hamilcar from the last war fighting together on a blood oath they swore to their father to avenge the shame Carthage suffered at the hands of the Romans? Well, this guy is their Roman equivalent. This Scipio we just met will eventually die on the field, slain by Hannibal’s armies, but his son will later crush Hannibal and turn the tide of the war and his great-grandson will go on to sack Carthage and wipe them out forever, seventy years after the story we’re telling. See, that’s part of what makes the second Punic War so epic. Blood oaths and vengeance, rivalry from [these] great houses, a war passed down from father to son, [three] bloodlines vying for the fate of the world.”

–James Portnow, Extra Credits

Publius sends his army on towards Hispania while he rushes back to northern Italy to rally his forces. Remember, the bulk of the Roman legions are divided, part en route to Hispania and the other stationed in Sicily as a launching platform for attacks into North Africa. Only a handful of Rome’s greenest troops along with those more apt to wield canes than swords remain in Italy proper. This Scipio is in a race against Hannibal’s armies but expects Hannibal to be held up, as the Romans are, by local Gauls. Hannibal convinces these tribes, perhaps with the assistance of a few well-placed bribes, that his only target is their mutual enemy: Rome.

 

This clears the way into the Alps yet, by now, it is already September. The frigid passes, bad enough in summer, are already begun to cool in anticipation of winter’s chill. The Romans are off-guard, thinking no one can move an army undetected through those tricky mountain passes at the start of winter.

Hannibal makes it through the Alps with 26,000 of his 98,000 men and gives his troops a mild rest as he recruits reinforcements from the Gallic tribes. Publius still has not arrived and must also recruit while traveling, having left much of his original army behind. The two eventually come to blows which results in Scipio’s defeat. He is gravely wounded and would have surely died had his son not arrived near the end of the skirmish. This creates a lot of good PR for Hannibal among the Gauls, many of whom now flock to his banners. Meanwhile, the other Roman consul recalls his troops from Sicily. This man, Tiberius Sempronius Longus, wishes to charge into battle against Hannibal upon walking onto the field. He considers Scipio a coward for advising caution, thinking that the winter lull should be used for training, keenly aware that a majority of his forces are raw, non-vetted recruits. Unfortunately, when two consuls are in the same location, they alternate command with each passing day. As soon as Sempronius Longus is in command, Hannibal is able to bait his short temper, sending a small, highly-mobile raiding party into enemy lines during the early hours of the morning. The rest of Hannibal’s forces are allowed to sleep in, eat a hearty breakfast, and are eventually stationed out of sight, behind some mountain ridges. After running the Romans every which way but right, Hannibal’s scouts lead the Romans into their trap. The Romans, roused early from their beds, not having eaten, soaked from earlier crossing a river, have no chance that frigid morning against Hannibal’s well-rested force. Slaughter. Rome mounts a retreat; Sempronius Longus and 10,000 of his best troops fight their way to safety within the throng of Carthaginian mercenaries. This is the first major battle this side of the Alps and for certain the first time these raw recruits, farmers in all but name, encounter story book monsters, giant grey smelly mammoths with great sharp tusks, as likely to trample or impale friend as foe, standing roughly 2.5x as tall as the tallest legionnaire. To face these war elephants the infantry have only short sword and spear. Again Rome faces heart-wrenching defeat and the body count grows. At this point, the winter has grown too harsh and battle must be delayed until the first days of spring. This gives Rome a moment to breathe, to reposition her troops and fortify her outer defenses. Hannibal doesn’t care. As soon as it grows warmer than freezing temperature, he and his army cross a foreboding marsh where many of his troops drown while sleeping and elephants sink beneath the muck. After catching a mysterious swamp disease, Hannibal cuts out his eye to stop the spreading infection. The only item of importance: Rome’s annihilation. Hannibal emerges deep in enemy territory, a place no one thought he could be, No defenses have been prepared here, and hence soldiers must be recalled from the front lines. Hannibal’s army, now-hidden, camp in wait. Just as the Romans think they finally have caught up to the edges of his army, Hannibal’s forces encircle the narrow path from all sides. Again, Roman blood flows like an Italian river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spoilers: Highlight box below to reveal. Elevator drops Bait into controlled territory Compare to Marines retreating into Widow Mine range Elephant siege tanks Area of Effect Hurts friendly units Immobile Absorbs a lot of damage

 

 

 

 

? The Rise of Hamilcar Cunctator ?

If you like this content, please support Shaft by following him on Twitter (@TheOnlyShaft) and subscribing on YouTube.