The Celtic-Roman War
Siege on Rome
1110 CE - 1130 CE
Our intelligence regarding the distribution of the Roman army had most of the Roman troops located to the north of Ratae, many in Ravenna and Neapolis. This was mainly bad news, as the distance between those two cities is not great. Our generals decided on a plan to hopefully split the attention of the Roman army, rather than take on its full force. We poured all non-committed troops on the mainland into Ratae, behind the castle and city walls, and braced for a siege. However, that only amounted half of of our total army - our other division was committed to the attack force, loaded onto galley's and headed towards Rome! With much of the Roman army in the north, we were going to hit their southern capital from the sea, before they could react and refortify the city.
Celtic Ships Headed to Rome
In 1110 CE, our galley breached the Roman shore, and nearly 70,000 troops disembarked and climbed the highest hill outside Rome with no resistance. From there, we began our assault. For the first nearly 10 years, our large force of trebuchets stood atop the hill, bombarding the fortifications of Rome - not that they had much. By 1120 CE, their walls and first defense were effectively destroyed, and we were set to enter the city.
Bombardment of Rome
While the thin, southern Roman army could do little but hide behind the city's fortifications, there was one part of their military force that was free to cause havoc - their navy. Some of our ships had begun returning to Celtic shores, to collect the next wave of troops, but some remained outside Rome. Two Roman fleets approached from the southeast and engaged us in the harbor. We had some success, sinking some Roman galleys and around 2,800 seamen, but our adversaries did better - our invading troops atop the hill could only watch as their transport's back to Celtia were destroyed. It was now into Rome or death.
Battle in the Roman Harbor
So on into the city they marched, against the 52,000 Roman praetorians, macemen, long- and crossbowmen. The first wave was led by continued bombardment from the trebuchets, softening the Roman center. And the artillery did their job well - the Roman defenses were a mess. Our first wave of macemen suffered defeat, but the next three waves suffered minimal casualties, while pulverizing the 30,000 melee-trained defenses. By 1030 CE, only small, random platoons of archery units were spread throughout the city. Our final takeover was complete with the systematic destruction of these last organized resisters.
Fighting on the Streets of Rome
After we took the city, aside from the obvious civil unrest, we faced some minor retaliation from the countryside. Namely, we had to dispatch troops to the hill to the northeast of Rome, where a small group of Roman catapults still pestered the outskirts of town. We also faced a tussle with a faction of praetorians in the forest east of the city, but they were quickly quieted. We had successful military control over the Roman capital.
Unrest After Takeover of Rome
Rome - 68,400
(65,000 Army, 3,400 Navy)
Celtia - 44,875
(40,875 Army, 4,000 Navy)