Warmatrix

War Matrix - Akkadian army

The development of the Akkadian army was a step from a militia force to a semi-professional army. Unlike its predecessors, it campaigned for several months each year, sometimes hundreds of kilometers from home. Its rulers used it to reduce cities and conquer large, multi-ethnic empires.
Like most armies the Akkadians used a small professional core supplemented by parttime, seasonal warriors. But because the army campaigned so often, the latter gained quite some experience too. The 'standing' army, which neither fought all year round, was rumored to number 5,400 under Sargon of Akkad.
In combat, the soldiers of the Akkadian army used the same weapons as their predecessors. What was new was the use of siege equipment and troops: battering rams, earthen ramps, siege towers and sappers. Most attempts were to get over city walls, or through them, as they were thick but soft. Siegecraft developed into a craft, with engineers being able to calculate how long it would take a force of men to reduce a wall.
The improved siegecraft allowed the Akkadians to take city after city and make their empire much larger than before. But as logistics were still underdeveloped, the army had to carry its own provisions and could probably not march more than 3 days from the nearest base of operations. Also, conquered areas were not really governed, only used as a source of tribute and labor. This kept loyalty to a minimum and made conquered peoples rebel at every opportunity.