you can't constuct 2 levels at a time? Because Dragon counted 200c for the construction. It went down to 160c.
Its only 100 for 1 level.
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you can't constuct 2 levels at a time? Because Dragon counted 200c for the construction. It went down to 160c.
Its only 100 for 1 level.
The Rules say:
Maybe I should have elaborated. With "Level" I didn`t mean per Level, but the Level you want to reach. So if you want Level 2, it costs 200. Upgrade to Level 3 would be 300 and so on.
As far as I understand it will be more and more expensive to build larger fortifications. So, building level 1 fortifications would cost 100, level 2 would cost 200 and level 3 would cost 300 denari. I think this is to prevent to quickly building very large level 9 fortifications anywhere. I could be wrong but I think my interpretation makes more sense than assuming lower prices for building fortifications. Some kind of fortification improvements are in order but building them too much will be extremely expensive.
My preliminary orders would be like this:
First, we should go to war against the Gauls. We do have a casus belli on them. Not only did they reject our offer but they also killed our emissary. That is an insult which we cannot forgive. Those Gauls are not civilized people, they are barbarians. We need to civilize them. We need to send our legions forward.
1. We need to increase happiness in all provinces except Venetia. (-275)
2. Aelianus will command two legions from Apulia to Venetia to crush a rebellion in there.
3. Lentulus will attack from Lugduensis to Central Gaul commanding 7 full legions.
4. Our spy at Central Gaul will report directly to Lentulus to provide information on Central Gaul helping the invasion.
5. We will do a sacrifice to Mars, the God of War to help both Lentulus and Aelianus against their enemies. (-75)
6. We will fortify Apulia. (-200)
7. We will reinforce weakened legion at Lugdensis. (-25)
Our budget will be 575 denari.
We are already building legions at Apulia and Bruttium. Even if we can we shouldn´t more legions on those provinces because it would drastically reduce happiness in there.
I will abstain regarding Merula´s trial. I believe he is a good commander and we have far more important issues to deal with than his trial.
Consul Gaius Draconius
Order: Hire more clients
OOC: I wonder what kind of bonus should Lentulus gain because we do have a spy in a province where is the Gauls´ main army and Lentulus is attacking against the same province and the spy will report directly to him. I think that bonus should be considerable because both spy and the enemy army are at the same province and the information that the spy provides could be crucial for the outcome of the battle. In that way, we have been lucky because that happened.
First, we should go to war against the Gauls. We do have a casus belli on them. Not only did they reject our offer but they also killed our emissary. That is an insult which we cannot forgive. Those Gauls are not civilized people, they are barbarians. We need to civilize them. We need to send our legions forward.
1. We need to increase happiness in all provinces except Venetia. (-275)
2. Aelianus will command two legions from Apulia to Venetia to crush a rebellion in there.
3. Lentulus will attack from Lugduensis to Central Gaul commanding 7 full legions.
4. Our spy at Central Gaul will report directly to Lentulus to provide information on Central Gaul helping the invasion.
5. We will do a sacrifice to Mars, the God of War to help both Lentulus and Aelianus against their enemies. (-75)
6. We will fortify Apulia. (-200)
7. We will reinforce weakened legion at Lugdensis. (-25)
Our budget will be 575 denari.
We are already building legions at Apulia and Bruttium. Even if we can we shouldn´t more legions on those provinces because it would drastically reduce happiness in there.
I will abstain regarding Merula´s trial. I believe he is a good commander and we have far more important issues to deal with than his trial.
Consul Gaius Draconius
Order: Hire more clients
OOC: I wonder what kind of bonus should Lentulus gain because we do have a spy in a province where is the Gauls´ main army and Lentulus is attacking against the same province and the spy will report directly to him. I think that bonus should be considerable because both spy and the enemy army are at the same province and the information that the spy provides could be crucial for the outcome of the battle. In that way, we have been lucky because that happened.
Senators!
It is with great disappointment that I find myself standing here in the Senate. Certainly, to stand in the Senate is a great honour and privilege for a Roman citizen. Yet in this current situation, the nature of my being here is most unpalatable. I now find that, even after all that I did for Rome, I was stripped of my command and summoned back to Rome. And now, a fool of a Censor wishes to have me prosecuted! Prosecution, for my deeds in Gaul. Prosecution, by golly, when all I have done has been for Rome. Certainly, I suspect that Censor Octavius is motivated chiefly by political rather than honourable means.
Much has been said of the Battle of Marsanus, a most terrible tragedy which saw the destruction of two legions in an ambush - in unexplored territory in Gaul. Little has been said that the territory was, to our knowledge, ununited. Little has been said that all other battles and sieges led by myself in Gaul were victorious and triumphant for Rome's glory. Even less has been said of our lack of proper preparation against the Gauls. Now, thankfully, our Consuls have implemented policies which see our networks of information stretching northward, and thus a disaster such as Marsanus may be averted.
My ill fortune at Marsanus cannot be underestimated. Yet what does appear to be underestimated is the greater picture in Gaul - one of conquered tribes, subjugated territories, a richer Roma. If doing my utmost to serve the Republic - never questioning the orders of the Senate, including to return to Rome - results in my prosecution, then my years serving Rome appear to have been spent serving themselves by certain politicians in the Senate.
To finalise this speech, I should like to wish all the best for Senator Lentulus as my replacement. I am aware he has pushed for such a position in the past, and I am further aware that he shall do his utmost for Rome and the Republic. I should like to warn him of course that - speaking from personal experience - shrewd, cowardly hawks sitting from the sidelines may try to ambush him on his return to Rome as on the battlefield!
Senator A.Manlius Merula
It is with great disappointment that I find myself standing here in the Senate. Certainly, to stand in the Senate is a great honour and privilege for a Roman citizen. Yet in this current situation, the nature of my being here is most unpalatable. I now find that, even after all that I did for Rome, I was stripped of my command and summoned back to Rome. And now, a fool of a Censor wishes to have me prosecuted! Prosecution, for my deeds in Gaul. Prosecution, by golly, when all I have done has been for Rome. Certainly, I suspect that Censor Octavius is motivated chiefly by political rather than honourable means.
Much has been said of the Battle of Marsanus, a most terrible tragedy which saw the destruction of two legions in an ambush - in unexplored territory in Gaul. Little has been said that the territory was, to our knowledge, ununited. Little has been said that all other battles and sieges led by myself in Gaul were victorious and triumphant for Rome's glory. Even less has been said of our lack of proper preparation against the Gauls. Now, thankfully, our Consuls have implemented policies which see our networks of information stretching northward, and thus a disaster such as Marsanus may be averted.
My ill fortune at Marsanus cannot be underestimated. Yet what does appear to be underestimated is the greater picture in Gaul - one of conquered tribes, subjugated territories, a richer Roma. If doing my utmost to serve the Republic - never questioning the orders of the Senate, including to return to Rome - results in my prosecution, then my years serving Rome appear to have been spent serving themselves by certain politicians in the Senate.
To finalise this speech, I should like to wish all the best for Senator Lentulus as my replacement. I am aware he has pushed for such a position in the past, and I am further aware that he shall do his utmost for Rome and the Republic. I should like to warn him of course that - speaking from personal experience - shrewd, cowardly hawks sitting from the sidelines may try to ambush him on his return to Rome as on the battlefield!
Senator A.Manlius Merula
My aides who do have considerable combat experience and who have served me a long time have studied reports from battle of Marsanus and they gave interviewed people who survived from that battle as well. They have told me that the leaders of first two legions were very aggressive commanders who were practically glory-hounds. First Gauls harrassed their forces and lured soldiers from their legions pursuit fleeing Gauls. The pursuing legionnaires got disorganized and ran into the main Gaul army. The Gauls swarmed and killed those unfortunate men. At the same time, the legion commanders of first two legions lost the control of their legions as they were soon surrounded by Gauls. Only a couple of men survived from those legions and these men were mostly from cavalry and rear-guard units.
However, these men were able to warn Merula who was able to deploy his two remaining legions before the Gaul onslaught. Still, Gauls were able to hit one legion pretty hard. Luckily for Merula it was evening and the Gauls chose not to pursue his remaining forces because they knew his reputation and were afraid of ambushes.
I would say that Merula´s skill saved two legions. Commanders of his first two legions were the men who were responsible for this defeat. They went too far and this allowed the Gauls to destroy their legions almost completely. Merula did what he could to minimize the losses. I will change my vote and I will support Merula against our censor who most likely doesn´t have much experience commanding large military forces in combat.
Consul Gaius Draconius
OOC: What would have been our losses if we would have a commander with military skill 0 or 1 at the Battle of Marsanus?
However, these men were able to warn Merula who was able to deploy his two remaining legions before the Gaul onslaught. Still, Gauls were able to hit one legion pretty hard. Luckily for Merula it was evening and the Gauls chose not to pursue his remaining forces because they knew his reputation and were afraid of ambushes.
I would say that Merula´s skill saved two legions. Commanders of his first two legions were the men who were responsible for this defeat. They went too far and this allowed the Gauls to destroy their legions almost completely. Merula did what he could to minimize the losses. I will change my vote and I will support Merula against our censor who most likely doesn´t have much experience commanding large military forces in combat.
Consul Gaius Draconius
OOC: What would have been our losses if we would have a commander with military skill 0 or 1 at the Battle of Marsanus?
That`s an interesting question. See, I have a chart for the resolution of field battles (plus two others for siege and naval combat) and the results for dice rolls from 2 to 12. But with all modifiers, the result has been 0. So when a result of 2 is decisive defeat, 0 has to be complete disaster.
In this case, his Mil-Skill saved 4 CV. If his Skill had been 0, the whole Army had been gone.
Well, too bad we can't blame it on the dice, RP-Wise. Not to mention gambling is discouraged while on duty to the roman army 
I agree with our consul, we need to win the war at home, so we can mercilessly prosecute our campaign in Gaul, without having to recall troops back. Thus I will apply his funds to spread good roman values around the Republic.
I also suggest a resolution regarding the recent diadochi war opposing the Ptolomies and the Seleucids. It is in Roma's interests that the status quo doesn't change in the Middle East, and even most importantly, in Northern Africa.
Regarding the prosecution of Aulus Manlius Merula, I wish to remind our censor and the Senate that this man claimed many lands for Roma, and that he was leading his army to aquitania without any intelligence on the area. I suggest the Legions start to employ some local auxilia, to act as guides and conduct recoinassance. From the reports of the battle that got to us, Merula could have used with more discipline towards his troops and officers, though. I recommend to have him as Quaestor for the rest of the term of Titus Caeducius, who has been utterly incapable, and perhaps even corrupt, and whose office should be impeached by the Senate.
Quintus Livius Varro
Personal orders - Recruit clients
I agree with our consul, we need to win the war at home, so we can mercilessly prosecute our campaign in Gaul, without having to recall troops back. Thus I will apply his funds to spread good roman values around the Republic.
I also suggest a resolution regarding the recent diadochi war opposing the Ptolomies and the Seleucids. It is in Roma's interests that the status quo doesn't change in the Middle East, and even most importantly, in Northern Africa.
Regarding the prosecution of Aulus Manlius Merula, I wish to remind our censor and the Senate that this man claimed many lands for Roma, and that he was leading his army to aquitania without any intelligence on the area. I suggest the Legions start to employ some local auxilia, to act as guides and conduct recoinassance. From the reports of the battle that got to us, Merula could have used with more discipline towards his troops and officers, though. I recommend to have him as Quaestor for the rest of the term of Titus Caeducius, who has been utterly incapable, and perhaps even corrupt, and whose office should be impeached by the Senate.
Quintus Livius Varro
Personal orders - Recruit clients
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Senate,
I shall not judge that in a man which I have not experienced myself. To support the Censor against Aulus Manlius Merula would be to succumb to hubris. He has led our legions with honor for many years - I have no such experience. I can only attempt to learn from him and this defeat by the gauls, not criticise it.
For starters, I will endeavour not to underestimate our enemies.
I shall not judge that in a man which I have not experienced myself. To support the Censor against Aulus Manlius Merula would be to succumb to hubris. He has led our legions with honor for many years - I have no such experience. I can only attempt to learn from him and this defeat by the gauls, not criticise it.
For starters, I will endeavour not to underestimate our enemies.
SPQR - Patch 1.08
I. Oh Gods, won`t you buy me...
This is just an elaboration of existing Rules. A successful sacrificial ritual grants a +1 modifier on all dice rolls of a turn. And to make it clear: the same turn. So if you want to order a major assault in Turn X, you`ll have to order a ritual in the same turn X to (maybe) get the bonus.
Side note: The probability of success of a ritual with a Pontifex with a Charisma of 2 is 42%. That all rituals failed so far is simply bad luck and maybe a ritual for Fortuna might help.
II. Panem et circenses
I have some problems. When I created this, I thought, we`ll have more players than Offices and that there will be some competition. But somehow you cooperate too much and accumulate too much wealth. And you know: Decadency is the ruin of Rome.
So what to do? I took a look at the Happiness-system, that seems to work out fine so far. Recruitments and some events lower it, while the Pontifex desperately tries to uplift the spirit of the people.
One factor to keep things stable is the Temple. He decreases the loss of happiness when recruiting and lowers the probability of revolts. But what, when things are already messed up? I tell you: Bread and Circuses. So there will be a new building, the Arena. It has a price of 300 Denarii. It can only be build in Provinces with Citizenship and it has to be paid via personal wealth.
And what "does" it? Easy. A Senator may host games (Price: 200 Denarii). As a result they not only increase the Senator`s prestige, but also the Happiness of the Province.
I know, that these things are horribly expensive, but let`s take a look at the data. We have 7 Senators with a base income of 30, that`s 210. And there is the additional income of 1 per aligned Senator. So when all Senators are aligned, we`ll have a total personal income of 510 Denarii per turn. That`s an Arena plus games each turn.
I guess we`ll simply have to see how it works out and I`ll balance the effects of games / events on Happiness according to the experiences of the next rounds.
Sincerely
I. Oh Gods, won`t you buy me...
This is just an elaboration of existing Rules. A successful sacrificial ritual grants a +1 modifier on all dice rolls of a turn. And to make it clear: the same turn. So if you want to order a major assault in Turn X, you`ll have to order a ritual in the same turn X to (maybe) get the bonus.
Side note: The probability of success of a ritual with a Pontifex with a Charisma of 2 is 42%. That all rituals failed so far is simply bad luck and maybe a ritual for Fortuna might help.
II. Panem et circenses
I have some problems. When I created this, I thought, we`ll have more players than Offices and that there will be some competition. But somehow you cooperate too much and accumulate too much wealth. And you know: Decadency is the ruin of Rome.
So what to do? I took a look at the Happiness-system, that seems to work out fine so far. Recruitments and some events lower it, while the Pontifex desperately tries to uplift the spirit of the people.
One factor to keep things stable is the Temple. He decreases the loss of happiness when recruiting and lowers the probability of revolts. But what, when things are already messed up? I tell you: Bread and Circuses. So there will be a new building, the Arena. It has a price of 300 Denarii. It can only be build in Provinces with Citizenship and it has to be paid via personal wealth.
And what "does" it? Easy. A Senator may host games (Price: 200 Denarii). As a result they not only increase the Senator`s prestige, but also the Happiness of the Province.
I know, that these things are horribly expensive, but let`s take a look at the data. We have 7 Senators with a base income of 30, that`s 210. And there is the additional income of 1 per aligned Senator. So when all Senators are aligned, we`ll have a total personal income of 510 Denarii per turn. That`s an Arena plus games each turn.
I guess we`ll simply have to see how it works out and I`ll balance the effects of games / events on Happiness according to the experiences of the next rounds.
Sincerely
I have some problems. When I created this, I thought, we`ll have more players than Offices and that there will be some competition. But somehow you cooperate too much and accumulate too much wealth. And you know: Decadency is the ruin of Rome.
That is true but you picked the wrong era. If you would have picked Caesar´s era then competition between players would have been much more severe. However, Rome does have number of powerful enemies who may well threaten her survival. As long as those enemies exist it can be sure that there will not be much decadency.
Competition has been weak because there's still a sizable amount of neutral senators, so no need to weaken anyone else
Patres conscripti,
The current situation leaves us no choice. The Gauls chose war, and insult. They will get war, suffering, and total defeat.
Contrary to our usual behaviour, even though we suffered one of our worst defeats in history, arguably worse than at the Allia or against Pyrrhus, we still offered the Gauls a peaceful and reasonable ending to the hostilities, and a path to coprosperity.
Any observer would've assumed we would go for total annihilation of our foe after this humiliating defeat, yet we chose try to negotiate, showing to the world we could be lenient, just as the Carthaginians were.
The way these savages refused the offer and treated our messenger - and messenger are sacred to the Gods - is revolting, insulting and blasphemous. And not only to us, but to all other civilised nations in our world. Now, Carthage, Greece and the Hellenistic powers won't be surprised that we decide to go on with the war, but they will understand our anger and fury, even if they don't like us expanding into Gaul.
As long as the war isn't over and our conquest of Gaul isn't fully achieved, we shall show no mercy to any enemy soldier. They're in for a world of pain.
I totally support our Consuls' orders, in reinforcing our homeland.
I also support the military move. It's risky to send most of our army into foreign territory, but the reports show that the whole Gallic army is in Central Gaul, which will provide us with a decisive battle and the possibility of destroying, or weakening, most of their troops.
We'll have one legion left in Lugdunensis, and since the Venetian revolt will be dealt with soon, we'll have 2 more legions as back-up to cover our own Gallic provinces.
Still, we must be aware that other powers are financing the Gauls. They couldn't fortify their whole country with their finances, someone has paid a lot of money to help them. My gut feeling is that this is Carthage's doing. But I wouldn't be surprised if the Greeks helped them as well. Most unwise from them, since we'll find who was behind this move, once we control the area.
I'm personally ready to lead my troops to Venetia and end the local revolt - my troops are already marching out of their camp as I write this message. I'll try to improve the situation of the local populations, once this is over; we need people to feel secure and prosperous, even when war rages in other parts of our Republic.
Last but not least, I will mention once again our limited recruitment abilities right now. I know that the citizens already are growing unhappy due to the war, and that giving citizenship to Liguria or Venetia will only anger them more, but we might have no choice, if this war lasts, than to expand it to at least one province, so that we can raise more legions.
May the Gods grant us revenge, and complete victory!
Valete,
SEXTVS ATILIVS AELIANVS
I notice I haven't commented on Merula's possible prosecution by our esteemed Censor.
Well, there's no denying Merula's failed invasion of Aquitania caused one of our biggest and bloodiest defeats.
Still, we shouldn't forget his past services, which were overall good and brought several new provinces to our Republic.
There's also another point that needs to be stressed: if he had to face the Aquitanian militias alone, he would've crushed them without any doubt. He lost because, according to reports, he faced a coordinated action by many Gallic tribes, which outnumbered our legions. As far as I can tell, we all assumed - based on the slow and doomed Iberian reaction to Carthage's conquest - that the Gauls would be slow to act, and no one in the Senate foresaw a united reaction in Gaul. If we prosecute Merula for careless leadership and humiliating defeat, we should probably fine most of the Senate for not having seen the threat, and the then-Consuls for not having provided correct estimates of the opposing forces.
For these reasons, I will vote against prosecution.
Yet, I also think it was wise to remove Merula from the command of the army in Gaul. After such a massive blow to our forces and our moral, we had to change the local military leadership, and for the time being, he shouldn't be given command of the surviving legion. Though even now, we might need his military skill in other parts of the Republic - be it to crush revolts, to protect Rome and Italy, or to defend our North-Western provinces from Vercingetorix' counter-attacks.
One last point: as I said, we didn't expect such massive and coordinated reaction from the Gauls. Which leads me to suspect some foreign nation has worked in the shadow to help Vercingetorix unite the Gauls against us, in the past few years. He seems to be a very good military commander, but I'm not sure he could've convinced so many tribes to unite against us, without foreign intervention, notably without money.
Sextus Atilius
Well, there's no denying Merula's failed invasion of Aquitania caused one of our biggest and bloodiest defeats.
Still, we shouldn't forget his past services, which were overall good and brought several new provinces to our Republic.
There's also another point that needs to be stressed: if he had to face the Aquitanian militias alone, he would've crushed them without any doubt. He lost because, according to reports, he faced a coordinated action by many Gallic tribes, which outnumbered our legions. As far as I can tell, we all assumed - based on the slow and doomed Iberian reaction to Carthage's conquest - that the Gauls would be slow to act, and no one in the Senate foresaw a united reaction in Gaul. If we prosecute Merula for careless leadership and humiliating defeat, we should probably fine most of the Senate for not having seen the threat, and the then-Consuls for not having provided correct estimates of the opposing forces.
For these reasons, I will vote against prosecution.
Yet, I also think it was wise to remove Merula from the command of the army in Gaul. After such a massive blow to our forces and our moral, we had to change the local military leadership, and for the time being, he shouldn't be given command of the surviving legion. Though even now, we might need his military skill in other parts of the Republic - be it to crush revolts, to protect Rome and Italy, or to defend our North-Western provinces from Vercingetorix' counter-attacks.
One last point: as I said, we didn't expect such massive and coordinated reaction from the Gauls. Which leads me to suspect some foreign nation has worked in the shadow to help Vercingetorix unite the Gauls against us, in the past few years. He seems to be a very good military commander, but I'm not sure he could've convinced so many tribes to unite against us, without foreign intervention, notably without money.
Sextus Atilius
Six hours left for orders / statements. Btw: It`s anniversary, the Republic is now 10 years old.
A speech, delivered by Gnaeus Scipio Lentulus, on the eve of his invasion of Central Gaul.
Men, this stuff that some sources sling around about Rome wanting out of this war, not wanting to fight, is a crock of bullshit. Romans love to fight, traditionally. All real Romans love the sting and clash of battle. You are here today for three reasons. First, because you are here to defend your homes and your loved ones. Second, you are here for your own self-respect, because you would not want to be anywhere else. Third, you are here because you are real men and all real men like to fight. When you, here, every one of you, were kids, you all admired the champion marble player, the fastest runner, the toughest gladiator, and the big league All-Roman charioteers.
Romans love a winner. Romans will not tolerate a loser. Romans despise cowards. Romans play to win all of the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Romans have never lost nor will ever lose a war; for the very idea of losing is hateful to a Roman soldier.
You are not all going to die. Only two percent of you right here today would die in a major battle. Death must not be feared. Death, in time, comes to all men. Yes, every man is scared in his first battle. If he says he's not, he's a liar. Some men are cowards but they fight the same as the brave men or they get the hell slammed out of them watching men fight who are just as scared as they are. The real hero is the man who fights even though he is scared. Some men get over their fright in a minute of fighting. For some, it takes an hour. For some, it takes days. But a real man will never let his fear of death overpower his honor, his sense of duty to his country, and his innate manhood.
Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best and it removes all that is base.
Romans pride themselves on being "He Men" and they ARE "He Men." Remember that the enemy is just as frightened as you are, and probably more so. Because they are not supermen!
All through your Army careers, you men have bitched about what you call "chicken shit drilling." That, like everything else in this Army, has a definite purpose. That purpose is alertness. Alertness must be bred into every soldier. I don't give a fuck for a man who's not always on his toes. You men are veterans or you wouldn't be here. You are ready for what's to come. A man must be alert at all times if he expects to stay alive. If you're not alert, sometime, a Gaulish son-of-an-asshole-bitch is going to sneak up behind you and beat you to death with a sockful of shit! There are four hundred neatly marked graves somewhere in Narbonensis, all because one man went to sleep on the job. But they are Gaulish graves, because we caught the bastard asleep before they did!
A Legion is a team. It lives, sleeps, eats, and fights as a team. This individual heroic stuff is pure horseshit. The bilious bastards who write that kind of stuff for the New Roman Post don't know any more about real fighting under fire than they know about fucking! We have the finest food, the finest equipment, the best spirit, and the best men in the world. Why, by God, I actually pity those poor sons-of-bitches we're going up against. By God, I do!
My men don't surrender, and I don't want to hear of any soldier under my command being captured unless he has been hit. Even if you are hit, you can still fight back. That's not just bullshit either. The kind of man that I want in my command is just like the lieutenant in Lugdumun, who, with a Gaulish barbarian poking a Pilum against his chest, jerked off his helmet, swept the spear aside with one hand, and busted the hell out of the enemy with his helmet. Then he jumped on the Pilum and went out and killed another Gaulish soldier before they knew what the hell was coming off. And, all of that time, this man had a hole in his chest. There was a real man!
All of the real heroes are not storybook combat fighters, either. Every single man in this Army plays a vital role. Don't ever let up. Don't ever think that your job is unimportant. Every man has a job to do and he must do it. Every man is a vital link in the great chain.
What if every cart driver suddenly decided that he didn't like the smell of smoke in the distance, turned yellow, and jumped headlong into a ditch? The cowardly bastard could say, 'Hell, they won't miss me, just one man in thousands.' But, what if every man thought that way? Where in the hell would we be now? What would our Republic, our loved ones, our homes, even the world, be like?
No, Goddamnit, Romans don't think like that. Every man does his job. Every man serves the whole. Every centuri, every maniple, is important in the vast scheme of this war. The craftsmen are needed to supply the weapons and machinery of war to keep us rolling. The Quartermaster is needed to bring up food and clothes because where we are going there isn't a hell of a lot to steal. Every last man on non-combat duty has a job to do, even the one who heats our water to keep us from getting the 'Yellow Shits.'
Each man must not think only of himself, but also of his buddy fighting beside him. We don't want yellow cowards in this Army. They should be killed off like rats! If not, they will go home after this war and breed more cowards. The brave men will breed more brave men. Kill off the Goddamned cowards and we will have a nation of brave men.
One of the bravest men that I ever saw was a fellow on top of a flagpole in the midst of a furious ballista barrage in Mediolanium. I stopped and asked what the hell he was doing up there at a time like that. He answered, 'Fixing the flag, Sir.' I asked, 'Isn't that a little unhealthy right about now?' He answered, 'Yes Sir, but the Goddamned flag has to be fixed.' I asked, 'Don't those catapults bombing the wall bother you?' And he answered, 'No, Sir, but you sure as hell do!' Now, there was a real man. A real soldier. There was a man who devoted all he had to his duty, no matter how seemingly insignificant his duty might appear at the time, no matter how great the odds.
And you should have seen those carts on the road to Mediolanium. Those drivers were magnificent. All day and all night they rolled over those son-of-a-bitching roads, never stopping, never faltering from their course, with flaming arrows falling all around them all of the time. We got through on good old Roman guts!
Many of those men drove for over forty consecutive hours. These men weren't combat men, but they were soldiers with a job to do. They did it, and in one hell of a way they did it. They were part of a team. Without team effort, without them, the fight would have been lost. All of the links in the chain pulled together and the chain became unbreakable.
Don't forget, you men don't know that I'm here. No mention of that fact is to be made in any letters. The world is not supposed to know what the hell happened to me. I'm not supposed to be commanding this Army. I'm not even supposed to be here in Lugdunensis. Let the first bastards to find out be the Goddamned Gauls! Someday I want to see them raise up on their piss-soaked hind legs and howl, 'Jesus Christ, it's the Goddamned Third Legion again and that son-of-a-fucking-bitch Lentulus.' We want to get the hell over there. The quicker we clean up this Goddamned mess, the quicker we can take a little jaunt against the purple pissing Carthagians and clean out their nest, too. Before the Goddamned Fleet gets all of the credit!
Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to go get the bastards who started it! The quicker they are whipped, the quicker we can go home. The shortest way home is through Trier and Samarobriva. And when we get to Samarobriva, I am personally going to shoot that paper hanging son-of-a-bitch Vercingetorix. Just like I'd shoot a snake!
When a man is lying in a hole, if he just stays there all day, a Gaul will get to him eventually. The hell with that idea. The hell with just sitting back and taking it! My men don't build fortifications. I don't want them to. Fortifications only slow up an offensive. Keep moving. And don't give the enemy time to build them either. We'll win this war, but we'll win it only by fighting and by showing the Gauls that we've got more guts than they have; or ever will have. We're not going to just shoot the sons-of-bitches, we're going to rip out their living Goddamned guts and use them to grease the outside of our shields. We're going to murder those lousy Gaul cocksuckers by the bushel-fucking-basket!
War is a bloody, killing business. You've got to spill their blood, or they will spill yours! Rip them up the belly. Stab them in the guts. When arrows are hitting all around you and you wipe the dirt off your face and realize that instead of dirt it's the blood and guts of what once was your best friend beside you, you'll know what to do!
I don't want to get any messages saying, 'We are holding our position." We are not holding a Goddamned thing. Let the Gauls do that! We are advancing constantly and we are not interested in holding onto anything, except the enemy's balls! We are going to twist his balls and kick the living shit out of him all of the time. Our basic plan of operation is to advance and to keep on advancing regardless of whether we have to go over, under, or through the enemy. We are going to go through him like crap through a goose; like shit through a tin horn!
From time to time there will be some complaints that we are pushing our people too hard. I don't give a good Goddamn about such complaints. I believe in the old and sound rule that an ounce of sweat will save a gallon of blood. The harder WE push, the more Gauls we will kill. The more Gauls we kill, the fewer of our men will be killed.
Pushing means fewer casualties. I want you all to remember that.
There is one great thing that you men will all be able to say after this war is over and you are home once again. You may be thankful that twenty years from now when you are sitting by the fireplace with your grandson on your knee and he asks you what you did in the great Conquest of Gaul, you WON'T have to cough, shift him to the other knee and say, 'Well, your Granddaddy shoveled shit in Umbria.'
No, Sir, you can look him straight in the eye and say, 'Son, your Granddaddy rode with the Great Third Legion and a Son-of-a-Goddamned-Bitch named Gnaeus Scipio Lentulus!'
"That is all."
(With apologies to George.)
Men, this stuff that some sources sling around about Rome wanting out of this war, not wanting to fight, is a crock of bullshit. Romans love to fight, traditionally. All real Romans love the sting and clash of battle. You are here today for three reasons. First, because you are here to defend your homes and your loved ones. Second, you are here for your own self-respect, because you would not want to be anywhere else. Third, you are here because you are real men and all real men like to fight. When you, here, every one of you, were kids, you all admired the champion marble player, the fastest runner, the toughest gladiator, and the big league All-Roman charioteers.
Romans love a winner. Romans will not tolerate a loser. Romans despise cowards. Romans play to win all of the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Romans have never lost nor will ever lose a war; for the very idea of losing is hateful to a Roman soldier.
You are not all going to die. Only two percent of you right here today would die in a major battle. Death must not be feared. Death, in time, comes to all men. Yes, every man is scared in his first battle. If he says he's not, he's a liar. Some men are cowards but they fight the same as the brave men or they get the hell slammed out of them watching men fight who are just as scared as they are. The real hero is the man who fights even though he is scared. Some men get over their fright in a minute of fighting. For some, it takes an hour. For some, it takes days. But a real man will never let his fear of death overpower his honor, his sense of duty to his country, and his innate manhood.
Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best and it removes all that is base.
Romans pride themselves on being "He Men" and they ARE "He Men." Remember that the enemy is just as frightened as you are, and probably more so. Because they are not supermen!
All through your Army careers, you men have bitched about what you call "chicken shit drilling." That, like everything else in this Army, has a definite purpose. That purpose is alertness. Alertness must be bred into every soldier. I don't give a fuck for a man who's not always on his toes. You men are veterans or you wouldn't be here. You are ready for what's to come. A man must be alert at all times if he expects to stay alive. If you're not alert, sometime, a Gaulish son-of-an-asshole-bitch is going to sneak up behind you and beat you to death with a sockful of shit! There are four hundred neatly marked graves somewhere in Narbonensis, all because one man went to sleep on the job. But they are Gaulish graves, because we caught the bastard asleep before they did!
A Legion is a team. It lives, sleeps, eats, and fights as a team. This individual heroic stuff is pure horseshit. The bilious bastards who write that kind of stuff for the New Roman Post don't know any more about real fighting under fire than they know about fucking! We have the finest food, the finest equipment, the best spirit, and the best men in the world. Why, by God, I actually pity those poor sons-of-bitches we're going up against. By God, I do!
My men don't surrender, and I don't want to hear of any soldier under my command being captured unless he has been hit. Even if you are hit, you can still fight back. That's not just bullshit either. The kind of man that I want in my command is just like the lieutenant in Lugdumun, who, with a Gaulish barbarian poking a Pilum against his chest, jerked off his helmet, swept the spear aside with one hand, and busted the hell out of the enemy with his helmet. Then he jumped on the Pilum and went out and killed another Gaulish soldier before they knew what the hell was coming off. And, all of that time, this man had a hole in his chest. There was a real man!
All of the real heroes are not storybook combat fighters, either. Every single man in this Army plays a vital role. Don't ever let up. Don't ever think that your job is unimportant. Every man has a job to do and he must do it. Every man is a vital link in the great chain.
What if every cart driver suddenly decided that he didn't like the smell of smoke in the distance, turned yellow, and jumped headlong into a ditch? The cowardly bastard could say, 'Hell, they won't miss me, just one man in thousands.' But, what if every man thought that way? Where in the hell would we be now? What would our Republic, our loved ones, our homes, even the world, be like?
No, Goddamnit, Romans don't think like that. Every man does his job. Every man serves the whole. Every centuri, every maniple, is important in the vast scheme of this war. The craftsmen are needed to supply the weapons and machinery of war to keep us rolling. The Quartermaster is needed to bring up food and clothes because where we are going there isn't a hell of a lot to steal. Every last man on non-combat duty has a job to do, even the one who heats our water to keep us from getting the 'Yellow Shits.'
Each man must not think only of himself, but also of his buddy fighting beside him. We don't want yellow cowards in this Army. They should be killed off like rats! If not, they will go home after this war and breed more cowards. The brave men will breed more brave men. Kill off the Goddamned cowards and we will have a nation of brave men.
One of the bravest men that I ever saw was a fellow on top of a flagpole in the midst of a furious ballista barrage in Mediolanium. I stopped and asked what the hell he was doing up there at a time like that. He answered, 'Fixing the flag, Sir.' I asked, 'Isn't that a little unhealthy right about now?' He answered, 'Yes Sir, but the Goddamned flag has to be fixed.' I asked, 'Don't those catapults bombing the wall bother you?' And he answered, 'No, Sir, but you sure as hell do!' Now, there was a real man. A real soldier. There was a man who devoted all he had to his duty, no matter how seemingly insignificant his duty might appear at the time, no matter how great the odds.
And you should have seen those carts on the road to Mediolanium. Those drivers were magnificent. All day and all night they rolled over those son-of-a-bitching roads, never stopping, never faltering from their course, with flaming arrows falling all around them all of the time. We got through on good old Roman guts!
Many of those men drove for over forty consecutive hours. These men weren't combat men, but they were soldiers with a job to do. They did it, and in one hell of a way they did it. They were part of a team. Without team effort, without them, the fight would have been lost. All of the links in the chain pulled together and the chain became unbreakable.
Don't forget, you men don't know that I'm here. No mention of that fact is to be made in any letters. The world is not supposed to know what the hell happened to me. I'm not supposed to be commanding this Army. I'm not even supposed to be here in Lugdunensis. Let the first bastards to find out be the Goddamned Gauls! Someday I want to see them raise up on their piss-soaked hind legs and howl, 'Jesus Christ, it's the Goddamned Third Legion again and that son-of-a-fucking-bitch Lentulus.' We want to get the hell over there. The quicker we clean up this Goddamned mess, the quicker we can take a little jaunt against the purple pissing Carthagians and clean out their nest, too. Before the Goddamned Fleet gets all of the credit!
Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to go get the bastards who started it! The quicker they are whipped, the quicker we can go home. The shortest way home is through Trier and Samarobriva. And when we get to Samarobriva, I am personally going to shoot that paper hanging son-of-a-bitch Vercingetorix. Just like I'd shoot a snake!
When a man is lying in a hole, if he just stays there all day, a Gaul will get to him eventually. The hell with that idea. The hell with just sitting back and taking it! My men don't build fortifications. I don't want them to. Fortifications only slow up an offensive. Keep moving. And don't give the enemy time to build them either. We'll win this war, but we'll win it only by fighting and by showing the Gauls that we've got more guts than they have; or ever will have. We're not going to just shoot the sons-of-bitches, we're going to rip out their living Goddamned guts and use them to grease the outside of our shields. We're going to murder those lousy Gaul cocksuckers by the bushel-fucking-basket!
War is a bloody, killing business. You've got to spill their blood, or they will spill yours! Rip them up the belly. Stab them in the guts. When arrows are hitting all around you and you wipe the dirt off your face and realize that instead of dirt it's the blood and guts of what once was your best friend beside you, you'll know what to do!
I don't want to get any messages saying, 'We are holding our position." We are not holding a Goddamned thing. Let the Gauls do that! We are advancing constantly and we are not interested in holding onto anything, except the enemy's balls! We are going to twist his balls and kick the living shit out of him all of the time. Our basic plan of operation is to advance and to keep on advancing regardless of whether we have to go over, under, or through the enemy. We are going to go through him like crap through a goose; like shit through a tin horn!
From time to time there will be some complaints that we are pushing our people too hard. I don't give a good Goddamn about such complaints. I believe in the old and sound rule that an ounce of sweat will save a gallon of blood. The harder WE push, the more Gauls we will kill. The more Gauls we kill, the fewer of our men will be killed.
Pushing means fewer casualties. I want you all to remember that.
There is one great thing that you men will all be able to say after this war is over and you are home once again. You may be thankful that twenty years from now when you are sitting by the fireplace with your grandson on your knee and he asks you what you did in the great Conquest of Gaul, you WON'T have to cough, shift him to the other knee and say, 'Well, your Granddaddy shoveled shit in Umbria.'
No, Sir, you can look him straight in the eye and say, 'Son, your Granddaddy rode with the Great Third Legion and a Son-of-a-Goddamned-Bitch named Gnaeus Scipio Lentulus!'
"That is all."
(With apologies to George.)
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Nice speech. However, Pilum were exclusive to the Roman military arsenal, and no, the Gaul soldier cannot have picked it up after it has been thrown due to it's metallic head bending on impact, making it useless.
And about always pushing forward, Cannae proved the dangers of such recklessness. You don't somehow seem too worried about maintaining command and discipline, the latter not being just not running away, but learning to fight as an unit. The strength of the roman legion isn't one guy smashing an enemy with his helmet, but knowing you can count on the legionary next to you and entrust him with your life. Your speech about cowardice has no motive behind it, the troops under your command never routed, and Merula's only did so after being ordered to retreat, without enough cover. Still, harsh words are better than decimation, I suppose.
Quintus Varro, passing through Lugdunum and blessing the troops, assuring the augurs are favorable, and Mars is with good, brave romans who are unyielding in their resolution and martial prowess, proving that each legionary is a son of Mars, as long as he fights with his best ability and courage, for the glory of Roma.
And about always pushing forward, Cannae proved the dangers of such recklessness. You don't somehow seem too worried about maintaining command and discipline, the latter not being just not running away, but learning to fight as an unit. The strength of the roman legion isn't one guy smashing an enemy with his helmet, but knowing you can count on the legionary next to you and entrust him with your life. Your speech about cowardice has no motive behind it, the troops under your command never routed, and Merula's only did so after being ordered to retreat, without enough cover. Still, harsh words are better than decimation, I suppose.
Quintus Varro, passing through Lugdunum and blessing the troops, assuring the augurs are favorable, and Mars is with good, brave romans who are unyielding in their resolution and martial prowess, proving that each legionary is a son of Mars, as long as he fights with his best ability and courage, for the glory of Roma.