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โ€œ The Athenians intend to force Syracuse to surrender by enclosing it within a stone wall. The Syracusans and Spartans have the perfect response: a counter-wall. โ€
—In-game summary

To the Wall! is the fourth scenario of the third act of the Battle for Greece grand campaign in Chronicles: Battle for Greece, and the nineteenth scenario overall.

Intro[]

Brasidas lived just long enough to hear that he was victorious. That, for the Greeks, is the perfect way to die: expiring at the height of one's glory. Some say that there was something in Brasidas that sought death; that yearned for it. Not for him, a quiet senescence tending his vines; he would die with Ares watching.

The Greeks are always at war with each other, but they usually resolve things quickly: they find a suitable plain, line up opposite each other, and settle their disagreement in a single, brutal clash. But this new, interminable kind of war was exhausting, and with the deaths of Brasidas and Cleon, both Sparta and Athens had lost their most energetic leaders. So they took to diplomacy, and signed a peace treaty that was to last for fifty years.

They were fighting again within a decade. And the Athenians, always quick to make terrible decisions, resolved that the surest path to victory was to open up an entirely unnecessary new front, in Sicily of all places!

The Athenians tried to enclose the Sicilian capital of Syracuse within a vast stone wall. To stop this, the Syracusans tried to intercept them with a counter-wall of their own. This is about the height of Greek siegecraft, I'm afraid. After months of this walling and counter-walling, the Syracusans' resolve began to waver โ€” but just in time, reinforcements arrived from Spartaโ€ฆ

Scenario instructions[]

Starting conditions[]

Objectives[]

Main objectives[]

  • Win the wall race: Ensure the Syracusan wall reaches the final flag first.
  • Defend the Syracusan builders; raid the Athenian builders when you can.
  • Destroy 0/4 Athenian Forts.

Secondary objectives[]

  • Destroy the Athenian stables to strengthen your cavalry.
  • Sink Athenian Supply Ships.
  • Destroy 0/5 Lumber Camps to weaken the Athenian Navy.
  • Destroy 0/3 Athenian Storehouses to weaken the Athenian Army.
  • Defeat the Athenian troops at the Olympieion.
  • Tribute 500 stone to Syracuse to help them barricade the Olympieion.

Hints[]

  1. In the first part of the scenario, you cannot train Villagers. To generate resources, use fishing ships to gather fish and oysters, and trade with Syracuse's Markets and Ports. Change the Merchant Ship ratio at the Port to adjust resources generated.
  2. The Athenians are trying to enclose Syracuse with a wall; the Syracusans are trying to build a wall up to intercept the Athenians. Ensure the Syracusans win this 'wall race' by protecting Syracuse's builders while raiding the Athenian builders when you can.
  3. Do not try to assault the Athenian base directly during the wale race; you are unlikely to succeed.
  4. Once the wall race has been won, you will gain access to Villagers and siege units so that you can go on the offensive.
  5. Lysander now wears the armor of Brasidas; if you acquired any aura effects for Brasidas they now belong to Lysander.
  6. The choice of Bodyguard in this scenario will persist in future scenarios. You can choose your Bodyguard near the Fort, and recruit more of the at the Fort.

Players[]

Player[]

  • Player (Spartans Chronicles Spartans): The player begins with a small economy of trade units and Fishing Ships, a few production and research buildings within the city of Syracuse, and a decent starting army, in the center of the map. They must defend Syracuse as they race to complete their wall before the Athenians. Once this is accomplished, the player will receive a few Villagers with which to build a base of their own. They must then go on the offensive and destroy the Athenian blockades.

Allies[]

  • Syracuse (Spartans Chronicles Spartans - Sicilians): Syracuse is a large city in the center of the map that primarily builds rams and Hoplites. In the first phase, they will help defend themselves, and in the second, they will be aggressive towards the Athenian Army for a time, but will run out of steam eventually and revert back to just defending themselves.

Enemies[]

  • Athenian Navy (Athenians Chronicles Athenians): The Athenian Navy is the more aggressive of the two enemies, with an island base in the southern corner of the map guarded by an extensive navy, and producing many more ships.
  • Athenian Army (Athenians Chronicles Athenians): The Athenian Army is based in a fortified camp, and are capable of producing a vast number of soldiers very quickly until hampered by completing side objectives. They are very aggressive in the first phase of the scenario, but rarely aggressive in the second.

Strategy[]

In the first phase, immediately move all the player's military units north, picking up the choice of bodyguard units on the way (either the same ones the player had chosen before, renamed Brasideioi, or Lysander's Raiders - this choice will persist until the end of the campaign). Research Blacksmith technologies and bolster this force when the player can. Do not attack the Athenian wall yet; just protect Syracuse. Eventually, the Syracusans must stop building the wall because an Athenian Fort is in the way. On Standard, the Fort is far weaker than normal, and Syracuse provides the player with three rams. Clear out the Fort quickly so Syracuse can resume building.

While producing a second small force to help defend the builders, send the player's initial force and rams to deal with the Athenian Stables, as this will grant the player access to Shock Cavalry, providing the player a number of them upon completion of the objective. Use these cavalry to bolster the defensive force guarding the wall, while the player can use the initial force, and rams, to begin hampering the Athenian wall. Eventually, the Syracusan builders should reach the final flag, and the Athenians stop building their wall entirely.

As the second phase begins, if the player has a decent size force left, move the player's initial troops to the map edge near the Athenian Stables, and follow the edge down. This should keep the player just outside the range of a Fort, and take the player towards a series of Athenian Navy Lumber Camps in the forest. While building a Town Center and developing a better economy with the player's new Villagers, take out these camps. The reward for doing so is that the Athenian Navy can now only build weaker ships, hampering their efforts. They can still build them in significant numbers, however, so be careful.

Proceed to capture the Olympieion, being cautious of the tight roads and Scorpions in the mountains, in the western corner. This grants it to Syracuse and gives the player's units a hit point boost. Tributing 500 stone allows Syracuse to build a tower and Gate to defend the Olympieion and keep the buff.

From here, bring the player's troops back up to the base the same way and hold them here to defend in case of attack, and focus on the Athenian Navy. If the player attacks the Athenian Army at this point, they can produce a ridiculous number of troops very fast, and any force the player sends will have to either stay and be wiped out, or risk tracking a large and aggressive force back to the simple walls of Syracuse.

Build a significant fleet. Almost a full 60 if the player can. In a smaller second force, have a few Leviathans, who will focus on eliminating Ports and Shipyards. Being careful of some Incendiary Ships, clear out the Athenian Navy forces just south of Syracuse and defend the Leviathans as they go to work. The player needs to hit the Athenian Navy hard, as they can mass Lemboi and Galley-line ships with good speed and overwhelm the player if their attack is not strong enough. Really focus on eliminating their production capacity by destroying Ports and Shipyards. They have some additional ones on the coast of the Athenian Army camp, but these seem rarely used. Additionally, Dionysius's old flagship is hidden in the corner of the map; finding it will turn it over to the player's control after it heads to the base for repairs.

Once the Athenian Navy is rendered impotent, take out their Forts to defeat them, then the three Athenian Storehouses to severely hamper the Athenian Army. Their capacity to spam high-level troops fast is now cut, but they still likely have built up a good number of units in their camp.

Clear out the coast of the Athenian Army camp with the player's navy, as well as the Athenian Supply Ships, then scuttle the player's fleet if needed for population room to build up a significant army and a good number of Palintonons. Staying outside the gates, the player can take out the first Fort near the edge of the map. This will draw out a good number of their soldiers beyond the wall, and if lucky, Syracuse will help the player if they are still trying to attack.

Once the Fort is down, break down the Gate nearest, and clear out the north of the camp so that the player's troops will not be distracted by buildings when the rest of the Athenian Army defends itself. Move down and defend the player's Palintonons as they take out the last Fort, and the scenario is over.

Gallery[]

Campaigns in Chronicles
Battle for Greece
Achaemenids Chronicles Achaemenids Prologue: Gates of the Gods ยท Greeks Bearing Gifts ยท The Ionian Revolt ยท A City Ablaze ยท Chasing Smoke ยท Death to Traitors ยท Earth and Water
Athenians Chronicles Athenians The Battle of Marathon ยท Raise the Sails ยท The Hot Gates ยท Divine Salamis ยท Across the Wine-Dark Sea ยท Wrath of the Regent ยท The Fruits of Empire ยท Within the Long Walls
Spartans Chronicles Spartans I am Brasidas ยท Pyres on the Coast ยท Speeches and Spears ยท To the Wall! ยท Blood and Gold ยท The Fall of Athens
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