Assault Dieres - Athenai Epibatoi
A bireme is a 30 meter long oared warship (galley) with two decks of oars, thought to have been invented by the Phoenicians in the 8th century BCE. Often called a liburnia in later Roman fleets, these swift yet durable warships are excellent for boarding actions and coastal patrols.(Athenian Marines)
Athens once ruled an impressive maritime empire, and these soldiers are a remnant of those days. They are equipped with the finest arms and armour, and pack a considerably heavier punch than similar troops.
The waterline ram was first mounted on a vessel in around 850BC. Warships and naval tactics were transformed. Ships were no longer platforms for infantry battles on the water; the ship itself became the weapon. Galleys changed as the new reality sank in. Ramming at speed would hole and sink an enemy, therefore slimmer, faster, handier ships were required. More speed on demand obviously required more oars a fast ship with a single row of oars ended up being stupidly, impractically long. The solution, then, was to put in a second set of oars above the first, but slightly offset to allow for rowers' benches. These biremes, a Latin word meaning 'two oars', or dieres, the Greek equivalent, were no longer than previous designs but had twice the number of rowers. They were fast, manoeuvrable, and could carry a fighting contingent. Some nations also gave their bireme crews fire pots; these clay pots filled with oil and pitch were hurled at enemy ships in the entirely reasonable hope of setting them ablaze.
(Athenai Epibatoi)
The thureos, a large oval-shaped shield, became common throughout the Hellenistic world from the 3rd century BC. Made from wood covered in hide, it differed from the earlier Greek hoplon in having a central handgrip, which was protected by a vertical spine running the length of the shield. This in turn could be further reinforced by the addition of a wide metal strip that protected the grip and the user’s hand. Inspired by the sub-rectangular and oval shields of the Celts, possibly through contact with the migrating Galatians, its usage seems to have spread through the Illyrian and Thracian tribes before it was adopted by the Greeks. Although large, the thureos was light in comparison to the traditional hoplon, and was adopted by heavily-armoured peltasts. Named after their shields, 'thureophoroi' could fight as common peltasts, skirmishing with javelins, but could also form up with their larger shields and longer spears in a similar fashion to a phalanx. The versatile and useful design of the thureos meant it was used by many armies, including the auxiliaries and cavalry of the later Roman Legions.
Unit Name Assault Dieres - Athenai Epibatoi |
Main Unit Key Gre_Assault_Bireme_Ath |
Land Unit Key Ath_Marines |
Naval Unit Key greek_two |
Soldiers 60 |
Category Light Ship |
Class Melee Ship |
Custom Battle Cost 938 |
Recruitment Cost 938 |
Upkeep Cost 234 |
11 |
├ Missile Weapon prec1 |
├ Projectile prec1 |
├ Missile Damage 11 |
├ Missile Ap Damage 0 |
└ Base Reload Time 10 |
Accuracy 5 |
Range 80 |
Reload 0 |
Shots Per Minute 6 |
Ammunition 4 |
501 |
└ Ship greek_two |
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 17 |
88 |
├ Base Defence 30 |
├ Shield shield6 |
└ Shield Defence 58 |
14 |
├ Armour arm8 |
├ Armour Defence 14 |
└ Shield Armour 0 |
24 |
├ Man Entity heavy_heavy |
├ Man Health 20 |
└ Bonus Hit Points 4 |
Base Morale 65 |
Abilities
Assault Dieres- Row Hard 10
Increases speed for 10 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 Dieres- Very poor hull strength
- Very light crew
- Fast speed
- Weak ramming
- Good boarding
- Good attack
- Average defence
- Average damage but low armour penetration
- Normal morale
Faction Availability | |
---|---|
Grand Campaign | |
Macedonian Wars |