Okay, I'm just going to recount my actions in my Thebes campaign, playing on normal/normal...
In the first few years of the present chronicler's time, the fragile anti-Persian league of Greece was entirely shattered. The initial cause of the disputes was a Spartan attack on Corinthian territory. Most Greek states in the south were sufficiently cowed to follow Sparta, and Athens too chose to side against her neighbour. Corinth's only friend was the city of Thebes - and that is where the story begins.
The Theban backing of Corinth was enough of a pretext for the Athenians to seek to follow the Spartans' lead and take control of their largest neighbour. Their early attacks fared badly, with one army being chased away from a siege of Thebes itself and a naval defeat leading to a blockade of the Piraeus and a small Theban army operating on their island territories of Eritrea. Athens was still by far the larger and wealthier state, though, and a large new force was sent to attack Thebes. This army would not be so bloodlessly routed.
486 BC - Summer
Militades, the Athenian general, was defeated and cut down at the First Battle of Thebes on May 10, 486 BC. The lightly armed Athenian peltasts were crushed by more professional bodyguard hoplites guarding the Theban generals, and then Militades himself was encircled before being run down by horsemen. The Thebans had a brief breathing space, but needed to follow up on it to prevent a larger Athenian counterattack. Athens had a second field army, under a captain called Diagoras. Timoleon, the professional if bland Theban leader, and the young commander Aristoboulos, hurried to catch up with them near Plataea.
Cimon, a senior Athenian general, was strengthening the defences of Plataea at the time and hurried out to face the Thebans. However, on the battlefield Diagoras drew his men up on a hilltop instead of racing for the town, and the Thebans cut him off. The Theban cavalry drew the enemy hoplites off the hilltop and they were cut down before help could arrive. The situation was then reversed; the Athenian force under Cimon was assaulting the hilltop, and Timoleon's Thebans were drawn up to defend it. The light Athenian hoplites were swept aside by the charge, although Cimon and his bodyguards easily beat off the cavalry sent in pursuit of them and escaped the field unharmed.
The two Theban victories had set them in good stead; Plataea was besieged, primarily in an attempt to draw the remaining Athenian forces out of Athens and into the open battlefield.
-Winter, 486 BC-
Athens' attempt to break the naval blockade failed - but only just. The Theban fleet was forced to sail home to re-stock and gain new sailors. The second defeat, though, meant the Athenians had no way of rescuing the Eritrean garrison. Fearing a siege of their capital, they sat tight in Athens itself and stayed away from Plataea. The scene was thus set for two assaults on key Athenian territories - a far reversal from the initial Athenian aggression.
Eretria had been a Theban target from the start of the war; it offered a critical naval foothold and a view along the coast, as well as preventing Athens springing unexpected naval assaults. Considering its navy superior, too, Athens had failed to garrison the city effectively. The few scout riders left there were quickly overrun, giving Thebes the war's first territorial gain.
Plataea was still defended by Cimon - with his army having been cut down on the Battle of Diagoras' Mountain the year earlier, only his bodyguards remained.
Despite a brave fight, they were no match for the numbers of the Theban army.
The tables had turned - in part. Despite the victories of the Thebans, they still had fewer men and weaker defences than the Athenian strongholds of Marathon and Athens, and retribution was very much expected...
-Summer 485-
The Athenian leader, Themistocles, took to the field, but was defeated in the largest battle yet. A Theban siege of Athens began, giving the victorious Thebans hope of a resolution to the bloody war.
