War and peace

Siracusano: Alex Isabelle Cartaginese: Laura Beltrami Battle of Akragas, aka Agrigento, 406 BC. The Carthaginians have besieged the city of Magna Graecia, and have divided their troops: one part of the army holds the city, while another is somewhere else, ready to intervene if the Syracusans try to send some troops in defense of Agrigento. Which happens. The Carthaginian army is largely made up of mercenary auxiliary troops not particularly well organized. The Syracusans one are instead elite troops, which deploy a fair amount of heavy infantry right on the right side, the slightly scarcer one of the Carthaginian line, which also can count on the availability of war chariots, terrible in skirmishes. The Syracusans choose to divide the battle line in two: while the elite troops advance inexorably but slowly towards the weak side of the Carthaginians, on the left side will remain support troops. In truth, the latter turned out inferior to the Carthaginian soldiers, who put pressure on th...

Athenian: Alex Isabelle Spartan: Laura Beltrami The Archidamian War, first of the Peloponnesian wars, ends in 422 BC, after another 6 years of conflicts. This second part of the war opened with a long-prepared maneuver: Athens decided to raise taxes on the tributaries. The reaction was not long in coming: after a few seasons Cnidus, Eritre, Sesto and Cyzicus, that is all the tributary cities that during the previous three years had not been occupied by the Athenian navy, rebelled en masse, proudly proclaiming their allegiance to the cause of the Spartan rebels. Their money, however, served some purpose: Athens strengthened the army, and then sent it to occupy Thebes, which after a particularly harsh winter saw the fall of most of the troops defending it. The following spring, traitors threw open the doors of the Theban walls to the Athenian militia, a fact which did not translate into real strategic contributions, but which certainly constituted a moral support to the cause of the besi...