| “ | The Greek rebels prepare to make their last stand at Miletus in a combined naval and siege assault, the Persians intend to finally break their resolve. | ” |
| —In-game summary | ||
Death to Traitors is the sixth scenario of the Battle for Greece grand campaign in Chronicles: Battle for Greece.
Intro[]
Like a boxer sent reeling by an unexpected blow, who then turns on his foe with renewed fury, Artaphernes landed his first counterblow to the rebellion at Ephesus.
The Persians fully expected this uprising to shatter at the first sign of adversity — and yet the Greeks continued to resist.
Artaphernes knew what had to be done. He directed the full might of Persia against Miletus, home city of Aristagoras and epicenter of the rebellion.
This was no small undertaking: Miletus was a mighty metropolis, famed for its wealth. From its bustling harbor, Miletus had seeded the shores of the Black Sea with dozens of colonies.
Now that harbor hosted the entire Ionian navy, its triremes bristling with fierce Greek marines.
A formidable target. But Artaphernes was well-acquainted with the endless squabbles of his former subjects, and knew that with a single loose thread, he could unravel the entire Greek alliance.
Artaphernes soon found just such a thread. The Greek sailors were on the verge of mutiny, having been driven to exhaustion by the endless drills of their relentless admiral, Dionysius.
Artaphernes had found the soft underbelly of Miletus. Now he made ready to slit it open.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Classical Age - Ending Age: Imperial Age
- Starting resources: 600 food, 500 wood, 200 gold, 200 stone
- Population limit: 200
- Starting units:
- Artaphernes
- Datis
- 8 Maceman
- 1 Scout Cavalry
- 1 Fishing Ship
- 1 War Lembos
- 8 Laminated Bowman
- 12 Villagers
- One of starting bodyguard units:
Objectives[]
Main objectives[]
- Kill Aristagoras
- Destroy X/6 Ionian Fleet Shipyards
Secondary objectives[]
- Destroy X/3 Milesian Supply Bases
- Defeat the Mercenaries to get safe passage from Myous.
- Destroy X/4 Towers in Myous for the Mercenaries.
- Destroy the Temple in Didyma.
- Train a Leviathan at a Shipyard.
- Bribe the Samians: tribute the Ionian Fleet 1200 Gold.
- Research Flaming Arrows at the Academy to unlock Leviathan siege ships.
- Tribute Artemisia 500 gold to receive siege weapons.
Hints[]
- You can advance to the Imperial Age in this scenario.
- The walls of Miletus are impervious to standard siege units. Artemisia will provide sappers to undermine the walls, but you must first allow her to land by clearing out the Greek fleet.
- You have two different naval buildings. The Port trains economic and scout ships. The Shipyard trains military ships.
- The Leviathan is a long-range siege ship available in the Imperial Age. To unlock it, research Flaming Arrows at the Academy.
- Fishing Ships can gather Gold from Oysters, which you can find at sea.
Players[]
Player[]
- Player ( Achaemenids): The player starts with a small base in the north of the map with a small economy, Watch Towers, a Port, a Shipyard, and a small military force. The player must build up, and together with Artemisia first defeat the Ionian Fleet by destroying their six Shipyards on the island of Lade, then protect Artemisia's sappers (represented by Sapper Tunnels) until Miletus' walls are breached. Finally, the player must find Aristagoras and kill him to win the scenario.
Allies[]
- Artemisia ( Athenians - Achaemenids): Queen Artemisia has a base in the northwest of the map, at the tip of the Mycale peninsula. Initially, she trains a mixed force of military ships (Incendiary Rafts, Monoremes, Galleys, War Lemboi, Leviathans, and respective upgrades), and provides a source of gold via trade with her multiple Ports and her Market. After about 10 minutes pass, she initiates attacks against the Ionian Fleet, and increases their ferocity once Aristagoras' supply bases are dealt with. Once Ionian Fleet's Shipyards are destroyed, she helps the player undermine Miletus' walls with her sappers She trains Bowmen, Guardsmen, Hoplites, Lancers, Light Cavalry, Scorpions, and Swordsmen from her forward bases during the siege of Miletus, and provides siege engines when tributed once Miletus' walls are breached.
Enemies[]
- Aristagoras ( Athenians - Ionians): Aristagoras holds the formidable city of Miletus near the mouth of the Maeander River, and hides in one of its three Forts. He will regularly send attacks against the player's starting base and will relentlessly attack the player's forward base once the siege commences. Aside from Miletus, he also has three walled supply bases, and controls the only crossing of the river southeast of the player's base. The supply bases contains Laminated Bowmen, Hoplites, Lancers, Light Cavalry in the forward camps, and also has Strategoi, Mercenary Hoplites, Onagers, Battering Rams, Scorpions, and Palintonons in Miletus itself. Occasionally, he sends waves of Hoplites and Strategoi against the player. He also deploys a navy of War Lemboi, Galleys, Monoremes, Catapult Ships and their upgrades as long as any naval buildings of Miletus are standing.
- Ionian Fleet ( Spartans - Ionians): The Greek fleet is anchored off the island of Lade; they defend the city of Miletus and prevent Artemisia's landing. They control six Shipyards on Lade that must be destroyed to begin the siege of Miletus. The fleet consists of Elite Lemboi, Onager Ships, Biremes/Triremes, War Galleys/Elite Galleys, Incendiary Rafts, and Leviathans. Part of the fleet can be bribed to leave during the course of the scenario. Aside from Guard Towers, Fortified Towers and a Fort defending Lade, they also send Skirmishers, Onagers, and Priestesses against any naval incursions.
- Didyma ( Athenians - Ionians): Didyma is a small town in the far south of the map, just underneath Miletus. Once discovered, the player will have the option to burn their temple. If this is done, Pyrrha will revolt and become an enemy once more. The temple is defended by a small force of Lancers and Elite Skirmishers.
Enemies → Potential Allies[]
- Myous ( Athenians - Ionians): The city of Myous lies in the southeastern part of the map and blocks the player's advance on Miletus, controlling the two crossings on the Maeander River. Once approached, they will demand the player defeat the nearby Mercenaries in exchange for their submission. If under attack, they send Macemen against the player. Once serving the player, they provide no military aid, but tribute resources every few minutes.
- Mercenaries ( Athenians - Ionians): The Mercenary camp lies just west of Myous. Once Myous demands their destruction, they will offer their services in exchange for capturing the city of Myous for them by destroying their four Watch Towers. They train Laminated Bowmen and Guardsmen when attacked. Once serving the player, they train Cavalry Archers, Swordsmen, and War Chariots in addition to the previously-named units.
Enemy → Ally → Potential Enemy[]
- Pyrrha ( Athenians - Ionians): Pyrrha lies just south of Myous. Although initially enemies, they will immediately submit to the player when approached. However, if the player chooses to destroy the temple of Didyma, they will revolt and become enemies again. When enemies, they occasionally send Spearmen and Hoplites against the player.
Strategy[]
First, focus on building up the economy. The player will eventually need to field a decent army to defend the siege, so the better the player's resources are set up, the easier that will be. The player should also trade with Artemisia for extra gold. Merchant Ships will be safe on standard difficulty, as the enemy players do not attack by sea, they just defend.
Do not expand too far from the base at the moment to avoid nearby enemy encampments, and get ready for a quick skirmish at the center edge of the player's base, at the player's Outpost. Once the player's economy is built up, the player will find a small enemy encampment fortifying a shallows nearby. This is the only crossing on the river. Destroy this encampment and set up a Fort on the player's side, garrisoning it with Immortals. This should hold the crossing well against the occasional attacks from Aristagoras and Pyrrha.
Next, the player should clean up the two other encampments on the player's side of the river. Some Palintonons from the Fort work well for this. Alternatively, massed Lancers and their upgrades work as well, since each encampment has at least one weak spot consisting only of Fortified Palisade Walls, weak Barricades, or Palisade Gates. Once these two encampments are cleaned up, the player's side of the river should be safe to expand freely. Next, the player should move forward and take out the last encampment, eliminating all of the Milesian supply bases and some annoying obstacles. Each destroyed Market in those encampments also grants the player 500 gold.
The second river has two crossings, both into the city of Myous. Initially, Myous will not be eager to help the player, and will send the player to deal with the Mercenaries base just north of them. Reaching the Mercenaries base has them offering to aid the player if the player attack Myous for them. If the player helps Myous, they will tribute the player 500 food, 400 wood, 300 gold every 5 minutes. If the player sides with the Mercenaries, they will support the player's war effort with Cavalry Archers, Guardsmen, Laminated Bowmen, Swordsmen, and War Chariots. Whatever decision the player makes, the player moves through Myous and down to Pyrrha, who immediately stop their hostility and turn ally.
At south Pyrrha, near a Lumber Mill and some Farms, build a Fort and fully garrison it with Immortals. This funnels Aristagoras into the pass between the mountains and the map edge, and defends the entire north of the map. Keep the army here for now.
Focusing on the seas now, Artemisia will have been launching attacks on the island held by the Ionian Fleet, going all-in against the Ionian Fleet once the three supply bases of Aristagoras are destroyed. The goal here is not to conquer the island, but to eliminate the six Shipyards. All of the Shipyards are located along the western edge of the island, and produce ships to defend themselves. There are also several Guard Towers and Fortified Towers that may still be standing.
By the time the player reaches this point, there should be an optional objective to bribe some of the Ionian Fleet to leave, significantly reducing their defense. Bribing them with 1,200 gold causes the fixed-force fleet anchored south of the island to exit, leaving only units trained at their Shipyards to be fought. If the player can research Flaming Arrows at the Academy, and produce some Leviathans to focus on the Shipyards while Artemisia attacks, the player can make quick work of the island at this point.
Leviathans can also be used to deal with several towers and the Fort by the sea in the city of Miletus. However, the player will need to build a small fleet to defend them while doing so, as Artemisia does not attack Miletus by sea.
Instead, now that she can help with the siege, including giving the player some military production buildings near the coast, the player should move the army along the edge of the map down and around to the center of the siege. The player will be offered an objective to raze the Temples in Didyma, who will attack if the player gets too close, but doing so will turn Pyrrha hostile again with little benefit.
There will be several small tents from which sappers will undermine the walls of the city. Each should be defended so that there is more than one breach to avoid bottlenecking. The player can split their forces to do so after the player gets at least 40 into the flagged area. Once the walls are down, Artemisia will assault the city by land with the player. The player can tribute her 500 gold to immediately obtain two Capped Rams and two Palintonons. Focus on eliminating enemy units with the army, and leave the buildings to the siege weapons. The inner gates to the city are also still quite powerful, so to progress further in, the player will need to focus on and destroy the Forts.
(Warning: As stated in the scenario hints, DO NOT, under any circumstances, attempt to attack the walls or Gates of Miletus directly. Their 18000 hitpoints and 244 melee/pierce armor make them exceptionally sturdy, and most attacks cause 1 damage only. Onagers and Palintonons cause 8 damage per hit at most.)
Once all three Forts are destroyed, Aristagoras will appear in the city. Kill him to finish the scenario. Chasing him down will be very difficult, as many enemy units will still hold chokepoints within the city, and Aristagoras is an exceptionally powerful Hero unit with 825 hitpoints and a strong projectile "dodge" ability (similar to the Shrivamsha Rider), taking nearly 150 hits to be destroyed. One way of killing him is build a Fort (if they do not have one already) and fill it with archer units. Aristagoras will eventually charge it with some bodyguards, and the damage from the Fort will wear him down faster than he can heal. Another way is to surround him with Imperial Cavalry (or other strong melee units) supported by Heavy Cavalry Archers: while the Imperial Cavalry units tank the damage he deals, Heavy Cavalry Archers can fire arrows until his special ability is depleted, upon which he takes full damage from them, dying in seconds. The rest of the army can deal with the remaining Miletian troops.
Alternate siege strategy[]
Once the Ionian Navy is cleared out, and the flags placed, the player can simply use Transport Ships to move their army via sea to the flagged location. This will alleviate the need to deal with Myous and the Mercenaries, and can provide a more efficient resupply and reinforcement route for the player, rather than going around the walls of Miletus. If the player then sends a rider north, Pyrrha will submit and stop attacking, freeing the player to deal with Miletus. The player can also destroy the northernmost Fort from the sea before the siege even begins, making it substantially faster and easier to handle the siege itself.
Trivia[]
- The setting of this scenario has significantly changed since antiquity, as the shoreline has moved further west compared to the time of Classical Greece, mainly due to siltation of the bay Miletus was located on. The island of Lade is now a part of the main Anatolian landmass, and the ruins of Miletus lie inland, roughly eight kilometres from the present-day shoreline.
Historical comparison[]
- Unlike in the scenario, where Aristagoras makes his last stand in Miletus, in real life he escaped to Thrace after the battle at Ephesus in 498 BC, and tried to establish a colony at the site of the later Athenian town of Amphipolis, where the scenario Speeches and Spears takes place. He was killed in 497 BC or 496 BC during a campaign against the Edoni, a native Thracian tribe, thus he was not present during the Battle of Lade or the fall of Miletus, both taking place in 494 BC. Artaphernes' comment "For once you impress me, Aristagoras; my spies told me that you planned to flee to Thrace, and yet here you are, finally ready to face justice.", said after the last Miletian Fort is destroyed, may be a reference to this, as well as contrasting this situation to his escapes in the previous four scenarios (Greeks Bearing Gifts, The Ionian Revolt, A City Ablaze, Chasing Smoke).
Gallery[]
