Assault Tetreres - Makhairophoroi Epibatoi
A quadrireme is a 39 meter long oared warship with two decks of oars, each rowed by two oarsmen. It is a useful battleship developed by the Carthaginians at the end of the 4th century BCE, but it lacks the speed and agility of lighter triremes.(Massalian Marine Swordsmen)
Massalia does not follow the classical evolution of Hellenistic armies with the adoption of the pike phalanx, but instead she has developed her own tradition, influenced by Celtic and Roman influences. These marines form an elite corps, fighting in the Roman fashion to defend Massalia on land and at sea.
There is a good deal of debate as to how large ancient warships worked; the principles are understood, but the details are not always so clear. A Roman 'quadreme' or Greek 'tetreres' would seem to have four rows of oars if the name is translated literally. However, it is unclear how four sets of oars each with one rower apiece could be used without them getting in a terrible tangle even with a magnificently trained crew, or how the top set of rowers would be able to handle the extremely long oars pitched at a steep angle and still produce any power. The chances are that the term 'oar' had become synonymous with 'rower' and that the lowest bank had more than one man per oar. The other option was to go back to a double row of oars, with two men apiece. Two banks of oars would also have made for a cheaper construction task for each ship. Either way, the result was a ship that could rival the lighter trireme in speed, yet had more deck space for a large fighting contingent or artillery pieces.
(Makhairophoroi Epibatoi)
During the 4th century BC the Romans abandoned the phalanx in favour of armies consisting chiefly of hastati, principes and triarii. These were deployed in maniples: compact blocks of men, arranged in a checkerboard formation. This allowed flexibility when moving across the battlefield, particularly when compared to the sluggish movements of a solid pike phalanx. Like most sophisticated city-states of the ancient world, Rome expected its men to fight, and supply their own war gear when they did so. A cynical observer might be tempted to note that the manipular Legion also made sure that the hierarchy of Rome was preserved. The youngest and least wealthy became hastati, the first line of battle in a Roman Legion. Behind them came the second line of principes, older and richer men, and finally came the triarii, the most experienced warriors. “Going to the triarii” was a Roman saying that came to be used in all kinds of situations, implying that everything else had been tried and found wanting.
Unit Name Assault Tetreres - Makhairophoroi Epibatoi |
Main Unit Key Gre_Assault_Tetreres_Mas |
Land Unit Key Massalia_Heavy_Marines |
Naval Unit Key greek_four |
Soldiers 120 |
Category Medium Ship |
Class Melee Ship |
Custom Battle Cost 1312 |
Recruitment Cost 1312 |
Upkeep Cost 328 |
15 |
├ Missile Weapon pilum1 |
├ Projectile pilum1 |
├ Missile Damage 12 |
├ Missile Ap Damage 3 |
└ Base Reload Time 6 |
Accuracy 5 |
Range 80 |
Reload 0 |
Shots Per Minute 10 |
Ammunition 4 |
825 |
└ Ship greek_four |
Ship Speed 4 |
Melee Attack 27 |
10 |
├ Melee Weapon gsword3 |
├ Weapon Damage 10 |
├ Weapon Deadliness 0 |
├ Armour Piercing No |
├ Bonus vs. Cavalry 0 |
├ Bonus vs. Elephants 0 |
└ Bonus vs Infantry 0 |
Charge Bonus 15 |
85 |
├ Base Defence 27 |
├ Shield shield6 |
└ Shield Defence 58 |
14 |
├ Armour arm8 |
├ Armour Defence 14 |
└ Shield Armour 0 |
24 |
├ Man Entity medium_medium |
├ Man Health 20 |
└ Bonus Hit Points 4 |
Base Morale 65 |
Abilities
Assault Tetreres- Row Hard 20
Increases speed for 20 strokes.
Ship speed
- Stamina (poor)
Governs how fast the unit tires and restores fatigue, and is dependent on type of unit, weight and approach to combat.
Attributes
- Disciplined
This unit does not suffer a morale penalty when the general dies. It can also rally after routing more often. - Hide (forest)
This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Assault Tetreres- Average hull strength
- Medium crew
- Average speed
- Average ramming
- Average boarding
- Good attack
- Average defence
- Average damage but low armour penetration
- Normal morale
Faction Availability | |
---|---|
Grand Campaign | |
Caesar in Gaul | |
Hannibal at the Gates |