Holding Back the Hordes in Total War: Attila - Part 3

Welcome to Holding Back the Hordes, a series of articles following my journey through a new Total War: Attila campaign. At the head of the Eastern Roman Empire, I’ve made it my task to hold back the ‘barbarian’ hordes; defending my capital of Constantinople while keeping invaders out of my lands for good - all while pushing my Empire to new found glory.

The Eastern Roman Empire is groaning under the pressure of a large scale war against the Sassanid Empire and its numerous client states. The war has been a back and forth affair, but at the end of the last part things began to turn in my favour - with two huge battles and some stout defences along the northern tip of my eastern lands. Meanwhile, the ‘barbarian’ hordes begin to mass on my northern borders, with the Huns lingering in the shadows.

402AD Autumn - Turn 29

By this point, it really feels like I’m starting to win this war against the Sassanids. I spend the last few turns organising my forces, quashing the small rebellions, and trying to keep public order in line. That last part is proving to be a little tricky, but I don’t have any serious rebellion problems any more. Plus, with my agricultural buildings mostly complete, food shortages are no longer an issue. Which means my armies are now free to properly assault my enemies.

The First Legion makes its presence felt in the East.

On this turn I manage to send my First Legion (which is now officially a part of the Eastern war) into the northern reaches of enemy territory to capture the capital city of the Atropatene, one of the larger Sassanid client states. Plus, my Sixth Legion makes further gains in the south by taking the town of Hira, and completely wiping out another client state. The Sassanids must be sweating a fair bit by now - I’m only a single turn away from their capital city, which may be difficult to take, but I think I could get the job done. What’s more, my Fourth Legion, back home from taking out the North African rebels, is about to make its mark on the theatre of war.

403AD Autumn - Turn 35

The landscape of my Empire has changed a fair amount over the past year. My First Legion is pushing hard into the northern client states, meeting some tough resistance, but still going strong. Some key battles up in that region really test my ability as a battlefield commander - one fight in particular against the Atropatene leads to a stalemate of sorts, but thankfully my better position gives me the edge once the battle is over.

Down in the south my two Legions hold firm, also pushing slowly into Sassanid territory. Sadly it looks as though taking their capital won’t be an easy feat; they’ve got a huge army stationed there that’s very largely made up of cavalry. My spear-focused units should be a good match for them, but large numbers of cavalry troops are always dangerous. While all of this is going on, however, a faction located right at the bottom of the Arabian Peninsula, Himyar, declares war on me and raids one of my recently aquired towns. I’ll have to turn either my Fourth or Sixth Legion south to take them on, and maybe take control of that whole area in a few fell swoops. It would be good to know that I don’t have to worry about them anymore.

The Himyar stick a thorn in my side.

Oh, and as if I didn’t have enough to handle, the first Steppe tribes start to the descend on my northern territories. The Budinians, who I’ve been at war with for ages, randomly decide to cross the Danube and attack the town of Trimontium. I repel them, but I’m now more than a little worried that they’re just the small probing force at the vanguard of a more serious attack.

405AD Winter - Turn 41

Things are becoming a little sporadic. While my armies have recently gone through a period of great success, it’s difficult to say that everything is looking up. My Legions in the north of the Sassanids and client state lands have started to make serious gains, capturing a few key cities and eliminating some armies in the process. Not to mention causing the death of the Arran faction, who were holding a small settlement at the far northern area of Turkey. So that’s good. I’ve also raised a new Legion in Alexandria to deal with the Axum who are attacking me from the eastern edge of North Africa. In one hugely important battle I was able to take out both of the Axum armies and force them back into their home territories. I’ll be moving that new Legion into their lands soon enough.

A huge camped battle in which I hold the Axum in North Africa.

As for the desert-dwelling Himyar, they’re still causing me problems that I’m struggling to deal with. They have two full-sized armies moving in and out of the lands I took from the Sassanids, making it very difficult to pin them down. One of their armies was able to assault and completely raze my town of Aila - an act I won’t forget in a hurry. I may not be able to properly deal with them while I’m still at war with the Sassanids, so maybe it’s about time I brought that war to a close.

In classic form, the Budinians attack my northern settlements in the Balkans yet again, and more are pushed back. Although this assault was led by their faction leader who fell on the field, so hopefully that’ll be their last attack for a while. All of this is making it very difficult to properly develop my lands, and with the number of units I’m currently fielding it’s proving rather difficult to build up some serious cash.

I need to start making some peace agreements.

407AD Autumn - Turn 49

It’s all for big stakes now. I win the biggest battle of the entire eastern war by defeating four Sassanid armies of differing sizes with my First and Fifth Legions. It’s an epic encounter with both sides fielding towards 4000 troops. Thankfully for me, most of the enemy forces are cavalry, cavalry that I had specifically prepared for with a large spearman-focused army. I form a giant (almost) square and prevent the Sassanids from even denting my resolute line. It’s a pivotal fight that could completely change the rest of the war. Numerous enemy settlements are now exposed and so long as I can deal with the other exterior and interior threats, the war could soon be over.

The First and Fifth Legions move into formation.

Of course, that’s if I can deal with those threats, because they’re starting to mount up. The horrendously annoying Budinians are still messing about up in the Balkans, essentially bringing the city of Marcianopolis to its knees - but never actually taking it. Then the Axum in North Africa have taken one of my settlements while my new Seventh Legion was dealing with rebels. Oh, and the lands I’ve taken from the Sassanids and their allies are proving almost impossible to keep calm. They’re rebelling constantly and only by putting an end to this war will I be able to sort things out.

On a brighter final note, I make the somewhat bold decision of force marching my Fourth Legion, with the Emperor in tow, through the desert to attack the Himyar homelands. Despite taking a fair amount of attrition on their way, they take one of their two cities and re-equip to take their capital. Knocking Himyar out of the equation should be a move that helps the larger war come to a close. It needs to happen soon.