Samnites (Hannibal at the Gates) Melee Ship

Assault Bireme - Italian Spearmen

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.

(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.

Unit Name Assault Bireme - Italian Spearmen

Main Unit Key Ita_Spear_Two

Land Unit Key Ita_Spear

Naval Unit Key roman_two

Soldiers 60

Category Light Ship

Class Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost 360

Recruitment Cost 360

Upkeep Cost 72

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_medium_fast

├ Man Health 40

└ Bonus Hit Points 10

Base Morale 40

Abilities

• 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

• Very poor hull strength
• Very light crew
• Fast speed
• Weak ramming
• Good boarding

• Good defensive unit
• Low damage but average armour penetration
• Average attack
• Normal morale

Requires Buildings
Lv. 0	Shipwright (rome_port_patrol_2) Level 1 Docks (rome_port_patrol_3) Level 2 Coastal Patrol (rome_port_patrol_4) Level 3

Garrison Buildings
x 2	Shipwright (rome_port_patrol_2) Level 1

Faction Availability
Grand Campaign	Etruscan League Latin Rebels
Samnite Wars	Italian Rebels (Samnite Wars) Samnites (Samnite Wars)
Hannibal at the Gates	Etruscan League (Hannibal at the Gates) Latin Rebels (Hannibal at the Gates) Samnites (Hannibal at the Gates)