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Assault Bireme - Mercenary Italian Spearmen Mercenaries Melee Ship

Assault Bireme - Mercenary Italian Spearmen

With a ramming attack that can break an enemy hull, these ships are deadly weapons.

A battle line of spearmen can be a very comforting use of funds.

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.

(Mercenary Italian Spearmen)
Before Rome controlled the whole of Italy it shared the peninsula with others, such as the Etruscans and Samnites. These various petty kingdoms, cities and tribes often fought each other, but also united against common external threats. It was as the Etruscans waned and Greek influence fell away that the Romans began steadily accumulating land and power. After three wars against the Samnites, Rome finally became the dominant power in Italy, and extracted pledges of loyalty and military aid from the 'Socii Latini', its Latin allies. There were further rebellions against Rome’s dominance, the most significant being the Allied War of 90-88BC, when many of the Socii turned on Rome. Clearly, this gave the Romans pause, as the peace settlement after was surprisingly generous: it gave the Socii the right of full Roman citizenship, giving them a stake in Rome's continued survival and effectively uniting the whole of Italy under their rule.

Assault Bireme - Mercenary Italian Spearmen

Unit Name

Assault Bireme - Mercenary Italian Spearmen

Main Unit Key

Mer_Lib_Galley

Land Unit Key

Mer_Ita_Spear

Naval Unit Key

roman_two

Soldiers

60

Category

Light Ship

Class

Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost

370

Recruitment Cost

370

Upkeep Cost

270

Ship Health

501

└ Ship

roman_two

Ship Speed

6

Melee Attack

18

Weapon Damage

25

├ Melee Weapon

rome_spear

├ Melee Damage Base

20

├ Melee Damage Ap

5

├ Armour Piercing

No

├ Bonus vs. Large

20

├ Bonus vs Elephants

20

└ Bonus vs Infantry

0

Charge Bonus

15

Melee Defence

55

├ Base Defence

30

├ Shield

thureos

└ Shield Defence

25

Armour

65

├ Armour

chest_improved

├ Armour Defence

30

└ Shield Armour

35

Health

50

├ Man Entity

rome_infantry_heavy

├ Man Health

40

└ Bonus Hit Points

10

Base Morale

40

Abilities

Assault Bireme
  • Row Hard 10
    Increases speed for 10 strokes.
    Ship speed

Attributes

  • Disciplined
    This unit does not suffer a morale penalty when the general dies. It can also rally after routing more often.
  • Formation Attack
    The unit will try to stay in formation when in melee.
  • Hide (forest)
    This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Assault Bireme
  • Very poor hull strength
  • Very light crew
  • Fast speed
  • Weak ramming
  • Good boarding
Mercenary Italian Spearmen
  • Good defensive unit
  • Low damage but average armour penetration
  • Average attack
  • Normal morale

Samnite Wars Mercenaries Pool

Mercenaries Pool
No. Pool Province Region Initial Unit Count Chance To Replenish Max Replenish Per Turn Max Count
1 rom_faction_pool_naval_italian Magna Graecia Tarentum
Croton
Buxentum
1 0.15 1 1

Faction Mercenaries Pool

Mercenaries Pool
No. Pool Faction Initial Unit Count Chance To Replenish Max Replenish Per Turn Max Count
2 rom_faction_pool_naval_italian 1 0.15 1 1
Capua
Salernum
Roma
Velitrae
Tarentum
Croton
Buxentum
Lucera
Malventum
Bovianum
Aternum
Terra Incognita