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GeneralHankerchief
03-20-2008, 23:24
DO NOT POST IN THIS THREAD.


The Battle of Trent

Background:

The year is 1380, three centuries to the day after Kaiser Heinrich opened the Imperial Diet. Cooperation between the Kaiser and the Diet dominated that session, with compromise and mutual agreements being common. Now, on the fields outside of Trent, the two forces, having slowly grown apart over the years and generations, would finally come to a head in an all-out battle for supremacy in the Holy Roman Empire. They were past words, they were past compromises, they were past legislation. By the end of the day only one faction would remain standing, and that faction would be dominant until the day the Reich fell.

Shortly after Chancellor Fritz von Kastilien prematurely closed the offensive season in 1378, a gradual exodus took place. Every significant general in the Reich, with a few exceptions, packed up their army and departed the front, making their way to what they assumed would be the meeting point for their like-minded comrades. Nobody was certain of the exact place where these forces would clash, but everyone had a general idea.

Swabia, so torn apart by its civil war during the Cataclysm and only recently recovered, saw its commanders abandoning its fronts to join different sides. Hugo de Cervole, the renegade Frenchman, was on an excursion to the French part of Iberia when the call came out to join the Republicans. He immediately turned around, picked up some forces in his recently-conquered castles, and made his way to Northern Italy through the south of France. Ehrhart Ruppel, ruler of Swabia in all but title, was farther north when he decided to fight for the Imperials. He went east, then angled south through friendly Franconia, crossing the Alps like so many other Imperials. The Imperial forces that Ruppel did not grab went to Swabia’s Duke, Athalwolf von Salza, who departed Nuremburg, picked them up, and then backtracked. Ludwig von Bohmen, longtime Count of Bruges, abandoned his quest to reclaim the city from French hands, and, commanding a group of his soldiers and some loyal Flemish Pikemen, marched in a roundabout route to join the Republicans. Only Welf von Luxemburg remained in the area to continue the war against the French, and that was more than most Houses had.

Austria experienced a similar split, although it was slightly in favor of the Republicans much like Swabia was slightly in favor of the Imperials, no doubt due to Duke Arnold’s iron rule over his House and his association with the Illuminati. As soon as the Illuminati declaration surfaced, Arnold summoned the best of Austria’s armies to Vienna, making declared Imperialist Maximillian Zirn turn around and march towards the center of the Reich (along with the Imperialist troops in Vienna that escaped Arnold’s wrath). The Dread Duke then took the road south. The other Zirn brother, Jan, declared for the Republicans and met up with Arnold east of Zagreb, leading what forces he could scrounge up. Meanwhile, the Imperialist and would-be Duke Maximillian von Hapsburg summoned all forces that did not go with Arnold and Jan to his aid and trailed the Republicans, retreating through the Alps when he realized he was outnumbered. The final Austrian, Edmund Becker, simply jammed his hands in his ears, sang loudly to himself, pretended none of this was happening, and prepared to fight, as usual, for Prague, staying out of the war.

Franconia, housing both of the von Kastilien brothers, went almost entirely with the Imperialists. The only neutral was Prinz Dieter von Kassel, who, keeping with his policy of staying out of politics, decided to remain in the north and continue the fight against the Russians. Nobody sided with the Republicans. Duke Dieter Bresch and his longtime comrade Tancred von Tyrolia, finally having some reason to be urgent, sallied out of Magdeburg, beat off the Russians, and promptly marched south, calling all loyal Franconians to come under his banner along the way. Chancellor Fritz von Kastilien, one of the Illuminati’s two primary antagonists, had a more difficult time getting south. He sailed from Stockholm to Arhus, picking up the elite men in his army there, and marched down the Jutland. Realizing he needed more forces, Fritz once again used his power over mercenaries, promising them access to the vast treasures of Bavaria and Austria if they fought for him. Naturally, they flocked to him in droves. Finally satisfied with his army composition, Fritz continued his trek.

Having always been the polar opposite of Franconia, Bavaria sided in force with the Illuminati and Republicans, mainly because there were no dissenters. Kaiser Péter von Kastilien, the only Imperialist in the area, realized he was outnumbered and in enemy territory and fled north, taking the few loyal Bavarian soldiers with him. Duke Lothar Steffen, Voice of the Illuminati, spearheaded a massive recruitment campaign, asking war-torn Italy to assist him in this time of need, one last time. Lothar’s sons Bernhard and Wenzel raced to Innsbruck, securing the crucial citadel before Péter arrived. They began to recruit troops in mass quantities there when it became clear that Italy could not deliver, Bernhard taking some of them back to Italy. Herrmann Steffen headed south and picked up the few troops that came from Naples and Sicily. The only Bavarian not involved in the recruitment drive was Fredericus Erlach, who was on an extended vacation, enjoying the beaches of the Mediterranean. Explicitly demanding total privacy and seclusion, he did not even know that the Reich burned around him.

Far away in Outremer, Matthias Steffen finally departed the desert, assembling a massive flotilla to carry him and his best Crusaders to Europe. He had convinced them that the position of Kaiser was inherently corrupt and that a Republic would allow all men a voice, something that resonated with many of them, being former dregs of society before they had taken up the Cross. The largeness of the fleet was not necessary, but Matthias wanted each ship to be as light and fast as possible. Doing that required spreading the men out. He departed with his army, in 1378, hoping to not just match but break the time it took his former King Jan von Hamburg to return to Europe. Back in friendly territory, Péter von Kastilien used his power as Kaiser to call all Imperial Knights to assemble under his banner. A great many heeded his call, and the fact that the few who did not answer to him were sparse and spread out among the Electors greatly increased his chances of winning.

So it was at the dawn of 1380 that the two great forces assembled on opposite sides of the Alps – Imperialists north, Republicans south. Fritz von Kastilien and Matthias Steffen were still lagging behind, but both sides would wait no longer. Too much had been exchanged. Both sides were too eager to continue to delay. Thus, in the spring of that year both sides moved. The armies of the Kaiser took the Brenner Pass south, and the men of the Republic crossed the Po River.

The two forces would eventually converge outside of Trent, the town where Alexander Luther had spent his remaining years after his departure from the Diet of 1340. It was here that the fate of the Empire would be decided, whether it was to stay as an Empire or become the Holy Roman Republic.

Retreat would not be an option, which added to the desperation of the situation. If the Imperialists were to fall back, they would have to march through the Brenner Pass once again, except this time Wenzel Steffen would be waiting for them with the remainder of troops from Innsbruck. Sandwiched between two armies in a narrow area, there would be no chance of survival. The situation for the Republicans was just as grim. If they had to retreat, they would be pinned against the Po and be destroyed in detail. It was the simplest task any of these men were ever faced with: Break through or die.

And so, three hundred years to the day after Heinrich opened the 1080 Diet, the Electors of the Reich assembled once again; not to legislate, but to do battle. The Battle of Trent had begun.

GeneralHankerchief
03-20-2008, 23:24
General:

As alluded to in the above post, this battle is to be the decisive conflict between the von Kastilien-backed Imperialists and Illuminati-backed Republicans. One way or another, there will be a victor, and the victor of the battle will also win the war.

I will be umpiring this battle based on econ21’s previous handling of the Throne Room PvP battles, most notably the Battle for Rome and the Battle of Bern. That is, the respective commanders detail me their orders via PM and send me a corresponding map to aid me when simulating the battles. Once all sets of orders are received, I will perform orders tests for all divisions, with certain exceptions. This will be done by rolling a six-sided die. Yes, the dreaded die is back, and let me tell you something, it feels good to be rolling it for a change. Any units that roll a 1 will not have orders executed for that turn.

Because this battle will be on a much larger scale than the others and because I am trying to include all KotR players in the decision-making process, I am going to have to make some additions/changes to the usual system. These will be described along with the detailed mechanics of the battle.

Forces:

There are two main forces fighting in the Battle of Trent: the Imperialists and the Republicans. Each avatar brought with them a certain amount of troops, the exact makeup of which are determined by me based on that character’s location, power, and personality. The troops the character brings with him are under that character’s direct control.

Communication:

Because of this, communication and overall coordination of forces will be key to success in the battle. Because this is a standard two-line field battle, you will ordinarily be able to send messages directly to whomever you desire without having them to go through me. However, should the enemy lie between you and your target, or if your avatar gets in a particularly tight spot, you will have to send the message through me and my die. Messages generally arrive as soon as I receive them and they pass the test (roll 1, it gets intercepted; roll 2, it gets lost). I will use my discretion and tell you whether or not you must send messages through me at the start of each turn.

Since you most likely will be sending messages to multiple people, PM boxes can be clogged up rather quickly, and off-site messaging might have to occur. Naturally, this brings about the greater possibility that rules can be broken. I will tell you every turn who is off-limits as far as messaging goes. The general rule of thumb is: If you don’t think you could contact the person if you were a medieval general, you can’t contact him.

Force size and deployment:

Depending on the factors described above, I have grouped each character’s army size into four different possible classifications. The four sizes, from smallest to largest, are Special < Medium < Large < Largest. A person with a “Special” force has a special role, as described below. Here are the sizes for every character along with the rationale for why I assigned that character that size.

Imperials:

Péter von Kastilien (gibsonsg91921) – large (Kaiser, has control over Imperial Knights. Most powerful of the “large” forces; borderline “largest.”)
Dieter Bresch (Elite Ferret) – large (Duke, was in Magdeburg.)
Ehrhart Ruppel (FactionHeir) – medium (would have large, but von Salza is Duke. Most powerful of the “medium” forces)
Athalwolf von Salza (Warluster) – medium (Duke, but inactive)
Maximillian von Hapsburg (Ignoramus) – medium (commands approx. half of Austrian Imperial forces)
Maximillian Zirn (Northnovas) – medium (commands other half that either refused to go with Hapsburg or were closer to him geographically)
Tancred von Tyrolia (Dutch_guy) – special (see below)
Fritz von Kastilien (Ramses II CP) – largest (Chancellor, took extra time to hire tons of mercs)


Republicans:

Lothar Steffen (TinCow) – large (Duke, has most of Bavaria’s soldiers under control)
Arnold (AussieGiant) – large (Dread Duke)
Hugo de Cervole (Tristan de Castelreng) – medium (got the Republican Swabians and a few knight friends – slightly smaller than Ruppel’s force)
Jan Zirn (Zim) – medium (what didn’t go to Arnold, he picked up)
Ludwig von Bohmen (deguerra) – medium (some Republican Swabians, some Flemish)
Herrmann Steffen (GeneralHankerchief) – ZERO (Herrmann is overseeing logistics and supplies for this campaign and while present at the battle, will not be fighting)
Bernhard Steffen (Warmaster Horus) – special (see below)
Matthias Steffen (OverKnight) – largest (has literally all of Outremer’s resources under his control, plus Crusaders)


As you can see, the count is 2/4/1/1 – 2/3/1/1 (large/medium/largest/special) in favor of the Imperials, meaning they have an advantage of about one medium-sized force. The Republicans are going to have to work to overcome this disadvantage. However, the battle will not be set up in a way that allows the Imperialists to immediately overwhelm their enemies.

During the initial deployment stage, the Overall Commander (see below) will split his force into an advance and a rear guard. The advance guard may ONLY contain one Large army and two Medium armies. The rear guard will contain the rest of the armies, minus the two Largest armies. Due to both distance and time, Fritz von Kastilien and Matthias Steffen will be arriving as reinforcements.

Ideally, this will be set up to give every player something to do instead of just creating one large line (if this were to be the case, there’d be an extremely good chance that the players between the center and the flanks could only say “march forward and attack”). The advance guard for both sides will consist of one player commanding the center and the other two commanding both wings. The rear guard will come into play later, allowing those commanders to react to the situation and commit their armies to where they feel the most difference will be made. Matthias and Fritz, having the two largest armies, will arrive sometime over the course of the battle, providing one final reserve.

Unique roles:

The Overall Commander

As previously mentioned, both sides must appoint an Overall Commander prior to deployment. The Overall Commander is a role of moderate power and is more of an OOC tool to keep things running smoothly.

It is the Overall Commander’s duty to provide me which forces will be a part of the Advance and Rear guards. You will also inform the men under you the position they will deploy in (e.g. if you want Ehrhart Ruppel in the advance guard and holding the left flank, tell me and them explicitly), and those men will PM me to give me their detailed deployment. The Overall Commander also provides general orders for their entire side of battle every turn. This is mostly done as an OOC backup in case someone doesn’t get their orders in on time. If contradictory orders are given by the Overall Commander and the specific army leader, the army leader’s orders take precedence.

Because of the massive amount of coordination required, I strongly suggest that the Overall Commanders appointed are reliably active on the .Org and will always get their orders in on time. Anyone may be appointed as Overall Commander aside from Matthias and Fritz (they are too busy whipping their armies to the front). If the Overall Commander dies or is incapacitated in battle, another one may NOT be appointed. This is done to realistically simulate the chaos that would occur should the event occur in real life (think what happened to Joe Hooker at Chancellorsville).

Matthias and Fritz:

The characters of Matthias Steffen and Fritz von Kastilien are pivotal to the battle. They command the two largest armies present and arrive later than anyone else. Correct usage and placement (as well as a little luck, due to the variability when they might arrive) of them is critical to your side’s success in the battle. Neither men may be appointed Overall Commander.

The “Special” generals

Tancred von Tyrolia (Dutch_guy) and Bernhard Steffen (Warmaster Horus) are generals present at the battle, but are in the unique position of not having an army to command (Tyrolia arrived with his superior Dieter Bresch, and Steffen gave all of his troops from Innsbruck to his father). Thus, they have the unique role of being unbound generals, or generals-in-waiting.

Essentially, they can be dispatched to personally oversee a division that is pivotal to the overall strategy and where there is no room for misunderstanding orders. What this means is that once a general-in-waiting is assigned to oversee a division, I no longer do orders tests for that division.

Alternatively, a general-in-waiting may be tasked to oversee an entire army (should that commander be away OOC or dead IC). He may give detailed orders to his divisions, but the orders tests still apply.

The general-in-waiting may switch assignments. It will take one turn for the switch to take effect. If I hear nothing from the general-in-waiting, it is the Overall Commander’s responsibility to assign the GiW to a division or army. Contradictory assignments will go to the GiW’s preference.

The Map:

Due to the scale of the battle involved, any map I create might get too small as armies maneuver about. Thus, for now, the terrain will be flat and unbroken (think Grassy Plain from M2TW custom battle). If this changes, I will let you know in the OOC thread prior to deployment.

Divisions:

All generals give me orders by division instead of regiment (no medieval general would be able to micromanage on a regimental level). The amount of divisions available to command varies based on each general’s army size and command skill.

Imperialists

Péter von Kastilien: 5, plus escort
Dieter Bresch: 5, plus escort
Ehrhart Ruppel: 4, plus escort
Athalwolf von Salza: 4 (ESCORT NOT SEPARATE, MUST INCLUDE IT IN ONE DIVISION)
Maximillian von Hapsburg: 3 (escort not separate)
Maximillian Zirn: 3 (escort not separate)
Fritz von Kastilien: 6, plus escort


Republicans

Lothar Steffen: 5, plus escort
Arnold: 5, plus escort
Hugo de Cervole: 4, plus escort
Jan Zirn: 3 (escort not separate)
Ludwig von Bohmen: 3 (escort not separate)
Matthias Steffen: 6, plus escort


Orders and resolution:

Players are to draft concise, in-character orders every turn and send them to me along with a map diagramming their movements. If orders are too complicated they run a risk of confusing the division commander and causing inaction. All divisions, unless being one of the two nearest the commanding general or having a general-in-waiting personally overseeing it, are subject to an orders test (my rolling the die). 2-6, orders are executed, 1, they are not and the units are inactive for that turn.

Division commanders are generally experienced people and know how to execute operations such as wheeling, pivoting, and flanking. If you tell them to flank the left side of the line, they don’t need more information, such has how to do it in detail.

Should combat arise, I will resolve it via playing both sides from a custom battle in M2TW and averaging the results. All combat, unless it is a large infantry engagement, usually along the main battle line, will only take one turn to resolve. This includes operations that unbalance the line, such as throwing in reserves or a flank/rear attack. Losing units will be removed from the map, and victorious units, if necessary, will face a fractional reduction of their numbers.

Battle length:

Due to the scale of the Battle of Trent, I have revised and expanded econ21’s usual 7-turn day. The turns are listed below:

Turn 0: Deployment of Advance Guard
Turn 1: Dawn
Turn 2: Early morning
Turn 3: Mid-morning
Turn 4: Late morning
Turn 5: Noon
Turn 6: Early afternoon
Turn 7: Mid-afternoon
Turn 8: Late afternoon
Turn 9: Evening
Turn 10: Dusk

Further turns (including a night turn) will be added as necessary. This battle will not end until there is a clear victor.

The Rear Guard will be deployed on Turn 2. Any combat (missile or otherwise) between the advance guards will not be possible until that turn either. The Rear Guards may join the battle on Turn 4. The chances of Matthias and/or Fritz arriving begin on Turn 2 (one-in-six) with Turn 7 being the latest possible time in which they show up.

DEADLINE FOR DEPLOYMENTS: Let’s not worry about that until I post the exact army compositions (Tuesday). Generally, you will have 36 hours to send in orders. In the meantime, I suggest you start discussing who will be the Overall Commander as well as basic tactics.

Good luck to all players.

GeneralHankerchief
03-25-2008, 17:00
Additional mechanics:

These are additional mechanics I am adding that were either discussed in the OOC thread, the two Quicktopics, or that I thought up myself.

More on generals-in-waiting

If GiWs attach themselves to a division, they now have direct control over that division and may provide orders for it at any time. The division will still answer to its original commander, but in the case of contradictory orders, the GiW’s will take precedence.

A general-in-waiting may enter with the Advance Guard with no penalty.

Combat mechanics

Archers in the center may fire at targets on the wings, and vice-versa, but archers on one wing cannot fire at targets on the far wing.

Sometimes it may be necessary to commit one or more divisions to another part of the battle. Generals may transfer divisions under his control to an adjacent general, providing that the receiving general has a divisional slot open and the division being transferred is not presently involved in combat. Due to the nature of this, it may be worth it to consolidate divisions.

The Rear Guards may enter direct combat in Turn 3 if the corresponding Advance Guard finds itself in a battle at its point of deployment (i.e. if the enemy comes to it).

Deployment locations

The Imperialists will deploy at the north end of the battlefield. The Republicans will deploy at the south end. Please remember this when sending me your maps. Also, Imperialists, remember that your right flank is on the left side of the battlefield and vice-versa. It might be easier to use “east” and “west”.

Army compositions:

First, something to get you in the mood (http://home.comcast.net/~general_hankerchief/onlinestorage/orffcarminaburanaofortuna.mp3) (sound on).

Without further ado, what you’ve all been waiting for. Under the spoilers are screenshots of your army’s exact makeup, along with a description of why it is so.

Imperialists

Péter von Kastilien (gibsonsg91921) – large
https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/peter.jpg
Well, who else would get all those Imperial Knights? Your men have done their duty and answered your call. No matter whether you place your army in the center, on the wings, or in reserve, the Republicans are going to have to contend with your army’s presence, and they are going to have serious trouble doing so. It’s killing time!

Dieter Bresch (Elite Ferret) – large
https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/bresch.jpg
Although yours is the smallest of the large forces, it’s still nothing to sneeze at. Consider yourself lucky to get out of Magdeburg with so many men in the first place. Your force is heavy in archers, and while they will be able to cause serious damage from a distance, be careful that they do not find the Republican cavalry bearing down on them.

Tancred von Tyrolia (Dutch_guy) – special
https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/tancred.jpg
Your old mate and Duke Dieter Bresch has command of all Franconian troops, so you’re stuck without an army. However, should a commander fall, you will be in a good position to take over. There is also the possibility of personally overseeing a division and making sure that they comply 100% with orders...

Ehrhart Ruppel (FactionHeir) – medium
https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/ruppel.jpg
Sigh... why couldn’t Athalwolf von Salza just have come out and named you Duke before this erupted? His continued hold over the title surely cost you some troops. An army the size of the Kaiser’s, combined with your command skill, would have been a truly fearsome sight. Nevertheless, you have the most powerful of the medium forces on the battlefield, more than adequate support for Péter and the rest of the gang.

Athalwolf von Salza (Warluster) – medium
https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/athalwolf.jpg
As Duke of Swabia, you still hold power over the great citadel of Staufen and other various Swabian recruitment centers. You have managed to call a respectable amount of soldiers to your banner in a short amount of time, and although you command the weakest of the Ducal forces by far, your men are still very dangerous on the battlefield.

Maximillian von Hapsburg (Ignoramus) – medium
https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/hapsburg.jpg
Your claim to Austria after Duke Arnold was revealed to be Grand Master of the Illuminati won you no friends in Diet circles, but garnered you a respectable amount of troops loyal to the Kaiser. Four regiments of Armoured Sergeants aren’t the best in man-to-man combat, but there are other uses for them, oh yes...

Maximillian Zirn (Northnovas) – medium
https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/zirn-m.jpg
You should consider yourself an extremely lucky man. Not many of Duke Arnold’s enemies are able to march within five miles of the city he currently lurks in and survive without even an attempt by the Dread Duke to destroy them. During your flight from Vienna, several prisoners, no doubt having just escaped, joined your men and you promised them freedom if they fought well in the upcoming battle. They now fight for you as Forlorn Hope. A regiment of Crusader Knights has also shown up, no doubt due to your father Karl’s legacy. You definitely command the most motley band of soldiers in both armies. Good luck.

Fritz von Kastilien (Ramses II CP) – largest
https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/fritz.jpg
Your reputation as the greatest general in the Reich and a plunderer has served you well once again. Mercenaries have flocked under your banner almost as if they were on a pilgrimage and you were a holy relic, akin to the True Cross. You have amassed one of the two largest forces on the battlefield, rivaled only by Matthias Steffen’s Crusaders. Aside from the usual Spearmen and archers, you also find yourself commanding bands of mercenary Knights, both mounted and dismounted, and even arquebusiers, providing for a truly fearsome collection of men. Now, the only thing to worry about is getting them to the battlefield...

Republicans

Arnold (AussieGiant) – large
https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/arnold.jpg
Being Duke of Austria and Grand Master of the Illuminati, did you really expect to not get these soldiers? Four full regiments of DFKs are under your control, and they are more importantly joined by troops worthy of a Dread Duke: Zweihanders and Gothic Knights, both mounted and dismounted. Your army gives a whole new meaning to the expression “throw your weight around” and you are ready to punch a massive hole through the Kaiser’s battle line, enemy cavalry be damned.

Lothar Steffen (TinCow) – large
https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/lothar.jpg
Bavaria has given you all it has left to give in this final moment of need. Under your command lies a powerful Ducal army, with men ranging from the icy fortresses of the Alps to the peaceful beaches of Sicily. Your army is flexible and balanced, ready for all types of warfare. If this is the end for you, you and your men will definitely go down fighting. The extra General’s Bodyguard unit represents the escorts of Fredericus Erlach and Harold Steffen, neither of whom will be personally present at the battle.

Bernhard Steffen (Warmaster Horus) – special
https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/bernhard.jpg
You gave all of the troops you brought from Innsbruck to your father Lothar, leaving you with no personal command. However, you are ready to take over should your father or anyone else in the Republican army fall. Additionally, you can also be dispatched to make sure a division fully complies with its orders. You have no doubt you will be effective at this. After all, nobody likes to disobey a Steffen...

Hugo de Cervole (Tristan de Castelreng) – medium
https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/hugo.jpg
Unfortunately for you, all of the dismounted Knights went with Ruppel and von Salza. However, your reputation as a Templar, French renegade, and great fighter have secured you two regiments of mounted knights, who have agreed to fight for what they believe is a noble cause. For free! In addition, you command the Republic’s only gunpowder troops: arquebusiers and a regiment of mounted Reiters. Their projectiles, termed “bullets”, should be able to punch through any armor, including the Kaiser’s and his Imperial Knights’.

Jan Zirn (Zim) – medium
https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/zirn-j.jpg
You noticed that you seem to have gotten the “leftovers” of Duke Arnold’s loyal troops. Balkan archers and mounted knights don’t count for much, but after some time two regiments of Armoured Sergeants joined up, expressing their total disgust for Hapsburg. You are lucky that someone so polarizing has joined the Imperialist side. In addition, two regiments of Crusader Sergeants, no doubt inspired by your father’s legacy, have joined up, beefing up your infantry quantity to a respectable amount.

Ludwig von Bohmen (deguerra) – medium
https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/bohmen.jpg
Flanders has come through for you again, somehow outfitting you with four full regiments of Flemish Pikemen despite Bruges currently being under France’s control. The rest of your troops are “the bottom of the barrel,” a collection of the men who neither Ruppel nor von Salza wanted and couldn’t get to Cervole, but they are experienced men and will fight well. Plus, did I mention you have Flemish Pikemen? Now all you need is some way to draw the enemy cavalry over to them.

Matthias Steffen (OverKnight) – largest
https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/matthias.jpg
Ahh, Europe. It’s so... not arid all the time. You are ready to bring your men and skills learned in the desert to Trent to help swing things in the Republic’s and Illuminati’s favor. Pray that you fare better than the last ruler of Outremer to return to Europe to fight in a civil war, Jan von Hamburg. Your army will certainly help you in that regard... as will your late arrival time, perhaps.

Deployment instructions

Overall Commanders are to PM me with the names of the generals in the Advance Guard, where in the Advance Guard they will be located (center, left wing, right wing), and where the General-in-Waiting is to be placed. I also need official word (via PM) from the Republicans about who their Overall Commander is to be.

Everyone in the Advance Guard, Overall Commanders included, assuming they know where they are going to be placed, are to PM me with an image displaying exactly how they are deploying their units. Please review the divisions I have created via trent_units.zip (http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/trent_units.zip) and let me know of any changes, if necessary.

Terrain will be flat and unbroken, i.e. there will not be an advantage to either side. Imperialists will deploy from the north side of the map, Republicans south. Imperialists, when PMing me your deployment please use a blue line to show me which way your units are facing (view the Battle of Bern maps for reference). Republicans, use a red line.

DEADLINE FOR DEPLOYMENTS: March 26, 22:00 GMT-5.

GeneralHankerchief
03-27-2008, 03:46
Note: At the close of the battle I will edit this and all future posts to include orders from all parties and umpire notes. For now, you will be receiving public feedback in this thread from the viewpoint of Edmund Becker, who is watching the battle from afar. More detailed information will be sent via PM.

Imperial Quicktopic (http://www.quicktopic.com/41/H/fcwKJ3RrNNdPQ)
Imperial Quicktopic #2 (http://www.quicktopic.com/41/H/ZR2MXYPPm7Fx)
Republican Quicktopic (http://www.quicktopic.com/41/H/VYcTkpCwxjPH9)

Orders

Imperialist deployment orders


To GeneralHankerchief:

The Overall Commander to the Imperial force will be, of course, Emperor P&#233;ter von Kastilien (the Tyrant). He shall deploy his troops in the center. On the east flank, Ehrhart Ruppel shall deploy his troops. On the west flank, Duke Athalwolf von Salza shall deploy his troops. These three armies, plus Tancred von Tyrolia (deploying right next to P&#233;ter), shall comprise the Advance Guard.


https://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn48/alanwippman/trentturn0.jpg


https://img404.imageshack.us/img404/3353/ruppelym5.jpg

Note that I want to place my forces as close to the right flank of Peter's as possible rather than further away. They should be about linear to the center of his forces rather than front or rear.

No orders from Warluster, gibson filled in:


Deploy the archers in the center of Athalwolf's army (which deploys on the west side of the field). Deploy the spearmen in front of them. Deploy the cavalry on the far outside and the foot knights in line to the right of him.

Republican deployment orders


Hi GH, So here goes nothing :-)

(I will assume OC responsibilities for the Republicans)

My Lords, the time is upon us...lets not dither any longer;

Count Ludwig, Sir Hugo and myself will be in the Vanguard.

Sir Hugo on the left, myself in the centre, and Count Ludwig on the right.

We will start out very basic my lords, I want to see if the Imperials want to fight or play tactical pussyfooting;

Place your Heavy Infantry Divisions in the front ranks;

Archers and gunner division in loose order in the second ranks;

Extend your front line divisions with your respective cavalry divisions for the moment gentlemen.

Hugo please deploy with your Ritters at the second rank line;

Myself, my Cavalry division and Sir Bernard will form a third rank ready for deployment to the flanks if necessary.

Sir Hugo, Count Ludwig; one last thing. Please have your missile and gunner divisions form on my archer division to the centre. This will allow maximum effective fire to both flanks and centre. You will lose one division each but you will gain and extra division slot in return.

I will detach one regiment of "Two handers to each of you". Please add these to your heavy Infantry Divisions.

Once we have completed this maneuver we will march on my signal a quarter mile forward at a stead walk. Once there we will halt and see what the Imperial's want.

AND one last thing!! Do not break formation for any reason at this stage!!

Good luck and Long live the Republic!!

END

GH
Just a quick point because I don't know how big this map is. We are moving into the battle field enough to allow movement but not too far for fear of being attacked hard at the very beginning. As TC has says we are waiting for the Rear Guard to arrive before we have a shot.

Deployment Start:
https://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x79/aussiegiant/Trent/KotRDeployment.jpg

Deployment End:
https://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x79/aussiegiant/Trent/1KotRDeploymentEnd.jpg


Right, men, as has been detailed previously.

The infantry division will form up in a line with the infantry of Duke Arnold.

The missile division is to march left, and join up with Duke Arnold's crossbowmen, and Sir de Cervole's Arquebusiers into one division. All further orders are to be received by the Duke.

The cavalry division will remain attached to myself, and will take position just behind and to the right of the infantry, with myself in the furthest left position, so that the infantry may hear me loud and clear.

Finally, we will be joined by a regiment of Zweih&#228;nders from Duke Arnold. They are to join rank with the Flemish pike at the right end of the line, and integrate themselves into the infantry division.

Once all is complete, we will receive word from Duke Arnold to advance. Once I have given the order to advance, we will move one quarter mile at a steady walk.

Having done so we will sit tight. Anybody who breaks rank can deal with Duke Arnold.

Long live the Republic

Ludwig von B&#246;hmen

Map of the movement:
https://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x79/aussiegiant/Trent/KotRDeployment.jpg

Map of final position:
https://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x79/aussiegiant/Trent/1KotRDeploymentEnd.jpg

Note: I think we just realized we are missing the red line to show you how we are facing. I suppose its obvious, but we may update the maps.

No deployment from Tristan – went with deployment AG provided for Hugo. He was active in the Republican Quicktopic.

Public feedback for Turn 0

Becker spots two large forces emerging from their tents, both equivalent to one large army and two medium armies.

On the north side of the battlefield, Peter von Kastilien's Imperial Knights take the center of his formation. His escort seems to be a nexus of courier movement for the Imperial forces and it becomes apparent to Becker that he is the one coordinating movements for his side. He is flanked by Ehrhart Ruppel to the east and Athalwolf von Salza to the west. Tancred von Tyrolia is also up by Peter and his cavalry.

Becker turns his gaze south to the Republican part of the battlefield. The Kaiser's opposite is Duke Arnold, taking the center and appearing to be coordinating affairs for his side. Arnold's fellow generals in the Advance Guard include Ludwig von Bohmen to the east and Hugo de Cervole to the west; in addition, Bernhard Steffen is nearby Arnold and his cavalry.

Both commanders have evidently decided to front-load their forces, bringing the most powerful available to the Advance Guard. The two appear to be about equal, although the Imperialist line is slightly more extended to the west, threatening to wrap around Hugo de Cervole's flank if he is not careful.

Becker continues to watch developments. The sun is starting to rise in the sky and both Advance Guards are deployed. There will be movement soon.

Map:
https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/deploymentview_full.jpg

DEADLINE FOR TURN 1 ORDERS: Friday March 28, 12:00 GMT-5 or as soon as I receive all orders. You may advance on Turn 1 but may not engage the enemy until Turn 2.

GeneralHankerchief
03-28-2008, 19:22
Umpire notes for Turn 0

As it was the turn for initial deployments, I allowed more leeway to let the Overall Commanders direct everything. No unit was subject to orders tests this turn. In all following turns more decentralization will be represented. Individual army commanders must specifically give me orders; no more letting the Overall Commanders do everything.

Feedback

Turn 0 feedback to the Imperialists


Turn 0 feedback to Peter

As a proper Kaiser and leader would do, you stick your army front and center. You do this more specifically with your own escort. You are lucky that there won't be any artillery on the field today. You observe that Duke Arnold, Grand Master of the Illuminati and Republican Overall Commander, has taken the field directly opposite your troops. Excellent.

Your battle plan is already mapped out: A general advance, fronted by a glorious charge led by you and your old mate Tancred von Tyrolia, designed to break the Republican lines and send them running, ending the battle before it began. You will finally right the injustice that was done to your brother Siegfried all those years ago...

Siegfried. The word brings a trigger of memories. He grew distant in his later years, but the fact still remains that he was a brother to you. You still hate the Illuminati for bringing him down. Four men willfully disobeying the Divine Mandate... how dare they?!

But even deeper in your mind, something else flashes. Only four men? Sure, they were powerful, well-connected men, but Herrmann Steffen was only a child back then. You presume that he took Dietrich von Dassel's place, but Dietrich had zero influence in Diet circles back then, and Matthias Steffen was a mere Count, not Viceroy of Outremer. Four men? The Illuminati were masters of subtilty and intrigue. For all you know you could be walking into a giant Illuminati trap.

You brush the thought from your mind. You have more important things to worry about as Overall Commander. Already a minor crisis is brewing. Athalwolf von Salza, displaying the same "hands-on" approach that lost him the Battle of the Flemish Crossroads, neglected to deploy his troops. You were able to step in on time but in the heat of battle will not be able to repeat this feat. Tancred von Tyrolia is available and will be able to substitute nicely for Athalwolf, but losing him takes some punch out of your cavalry charge, and it will have been a wasted trip if Athalwolf does decide to show up. You must decide what to do with Tancred.

In addition, you have to attend to your usual duties, meaning planning the overall strategy as well as the specific strategy for your troops.

https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/deploymentview_center.jpg

In Turn 1, you may advance but may not engage.

The division closest to Peter's escort have a 100% chance of obeying his orders. Currently this is cavalry. If this changes, please notify me when diagramming your movements for Turn 1.


Turn 0 feedback to Ruppel

You line up on the eastern side of the battlefield. Directly opposite of you are the men, most notably Pikemen, of Ludwig von Bohmen. That damned Swabian is at it again. Duke von Salza should never have offered him amnesty. It is up to you to finish him.

His Pikemen, however, are a perfect countermeasure to your mastery of cavalry. You must outmaneuver them or they will give you fits. What's interesting is that Duke Arnold seems to lent him a regiment of Zweihanders. This development must also be focused on, but you are ready to do so.

https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/deploymentview_right.jpg

In Turn 1, you may advance but may not engage.

The division closest to Ruppel's escort have a 100% chance of obeying his orders. Currently this is his spearmen (horse archer division appears to be split). If this changes, please notify me when diagramming your movements for Turn 1.


Turn 0 feedback to Athalwolf

You opted to sleep in, figuring that you would need your energy later. It will be a long day, after all. However, this does not change the fact that your army needs a commander. The Kaiser cannot do everything for both his and your armies, and if you do not act then you may find yourself relieved by Tancred von Tyrolia.

You find yourself opposite the very capable Hugo de Cervole. His foot gunners are over by Arnold, but he still has spearmen, cavalry, Reiters, and a regiment of Zweihanders lent by Arnold. Your wing is longer than his and may be vulnerable to a flank attack, however, it will not be easy.

https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/deploymentview_left.jpg

The division that Athalwolf is in will obey orders 100% of the time. Currently this is his cavalry.


Turn 0 feedback to Tancred

You take your position alongside Peter in the front and center of the Imperial army. Not the best use of your command talents, but it certainly add some punch to Peter's planned charge.

You hear that Athalwolf von Salza is, once again, inactive, however. It might be wiser to play it safe and take command of his army in his absence. If Hugo de Cervole overruns the Duke's flank then it will not be good for the Imperial forces, numerical advantage or not. On the other hand, if Duke von Salza has decided to take control of things, then you will have wasted a trip and potentially a chance to take part in Peter's charge.

https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/deploymentview_full.jpg

For Turn 1, please notify me whether you want to stay with the Kaiser, take command of Athalwolf von Salza's wing, or something else entirely. If you choose to take command of another army/division, you will arrive there at the beginning of Turn 2.

Turn 0 feedback to the Republicans


Turn 0 feedback to Arnold

You line up in the center, flanked by Cervole and Bohmen. Directly ahead of you, Peter von Kastilien does the same. The two Overall Commanders have placed themselves in the exact same positions.

You are a bit perplexed about the Kaiser's placement of cavalry. General principle dictates that they go either behind the line or on the flanks, but Peter has his in front of his infantry. You will certainly have to mark its position as two full escorts' and three regiments of Imperial Knights' worth of charge is bound to be deadly.

You do not see Max Zirn in the Advance Guard. Evidently Peter is holding him back. Either that or he has discovered Max, but that is unlikely. All you know is what lies ahead of you, and that's the Kaiser. It will be a difficult fight in the early stages. Hopefully by the time Max and Fritz arrive all will not be lost.

As Overall Commander you find yourself once again busy shooing off couriers. There is a lot to coordinate. You must determine the overall strategy for the Republicans on Turn 1 and more specifically your own army.

https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/deploymentview_center.jpg

In Turn 1, you may advance but may not engage.

The division closest to Arnold's escort has a 100% chance of obeying his orders. Currently this is cavalry. If this changes, please notify me when diagramming your movements for Turn 1.


Turn 0 feedback to Bohmen

You line up on the right of Duke Arnold, in the Advance Guard. You note with pleasure that you will be facing Ehrhart Ruppel. Obviously the planners did their work well. You more than anyone else on the Republican side have the ability to counter his cavalry. You might even get the chance to slay the man whose army ended the dream of Wolfgang Hummel so long ago.

However, you will need to be careful. The Pikemen can counter cavalry, yes, but they can also be outmaneuvered. And you also need to worry about Ruppel's infantry. If they can get in close, your Pikemen are doomed, and the one regiment of Zweihanders that Duke Arnold sent over won't be enough. You definitely have to think about how to go about this.

https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/deploymentview_right.jpg

The division that Bohmen is in will obey orders 100% of the time. Currently this is his cavalry.


Turn 0 feedback to Cervole

You find yourself opposite your Duke, Athalwolf von Salza. During your time in Swabia you saw little of him; Ehrhart Ruppel did most of the ruling. He is on the field today, but you remember his performance in the Battle of the Flemish Crossroads and are not as worried as if, say, you were facing Ruppel himself.

The biggest thing to worry about is the length of von Salza's wing; it is longer and could easily wrap around and flank you should you be engaged in melee. Your Arquebusiers would certainly help in that regard but you sent them over to Arnold; in return he gave you a regiment of Zweihanders. Successful handling of this wing will require some inprovisation and all of your tricks.

https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/deploymentview_left.jpg

The division that Hugo is closest to will obey orders 100% of the time. Currently this is his regiment of Reiters. If you want this to change then notify while diagramming your movements for Turn 1.


Turn 0 feedback to Bernhard

You take your position with Duke Arnold's escort and the rest of his cavalry. The Duke insisted that you come as part of the Advance Guard, but for now, it seems to have been as a precaution more than anything else. You see little that you can do.

It might be wise to discuss with your Duke and the rest of the forces where you will be most needed.

https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/deploymentview_full.jpg

For Turn 1, please notify me if you want to stay in place or move to take command of a particular division. If you choose the latter option, you will arrive there and take command beginning Turn 2.

Orders

Imperialist orders


Tancred is to take control of Athalwolf's army.

The Imperials shall hold the line and prepare to engage with our crossbows on their pikes and cavalry.

Peter's cavalry shall withdraw behind his infantry and the crossbows will prepare to engage their advancing units.


Hi GH,

I like to reorganize my divisions from what you posted:

HQ: GB
Div 1+2: 1 FeudalK 1 MCB each
Div 3: 1 DFK 1 AS
Div 4: 1 DFK 2 AS

How far can Pavise shoot on that diagram and how far MCBs? Game ranges are 160 and 120 respectively but I'm not sure what the range on this field is.


I'm not going to bother with specific distances; if you just put in "right outside of crossbow range/MCB range" or "within range" then I will execute it like that and make sure those are the results. Remember, medieval soldiers can't really judge exact distances that well.

As for reorganization, each regiment will face an orders test (since you did it Turn 1 and not Turn 0) to join their new divisions. Do you still want to reorganize?


Right, I was just making sure that when I say "MCB fire at X" they don't walk up right to them and get themselves slaughtered instead :tongue2:

Wasn't aware of changing divisions T0, must have skipped that part. Reorganize the infantry now, but leave cavalry for the moment.

Orders for MCB T1 are to stay away from enemy fire but shoot at whatever they can get at. Preferrably pikes, second priority are cavalry. If chased, retreat back to our lines.

Cavalry stays put and will only engage if enemy cavalry approaches, retreating back if getting into clear fire of enemy missiles or in danger of being entangled by enemy infantry.

Infantry reorganizes and readies with spears before swords to absorb any charge. Infantry will
stay close to Peter's flank to react.

HQ runs around encouraging people and shouting orders.


Apologies for the late reply, I was busy communication with the rest of the 'good guys'. I will take over command of Athawolfs army, as he's inactive. If I am limited to taking command over a segment of the army, let me command the cavalry.

:balloon2:

No orders received from Warluster.

Republican orders


Turn 1:

https://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x79/aussiegiant/Trent/1KotRDawn.jpg

IC: Right you bastards I don't want this taken the wrong &#163;"$%ing way...

HALT!! We are calling a General Halt my lords.

Berhard you now have command of my Cavalry division...don't &#163;$%&#163; it up. Take yourself to the Right Flank and support Ludwig and his cavalry...I want you to scare the shiet out of that bastard Ruppel...but don't charge unless charged upon. That goes for you too Ludwig!!

Ludwig I'd like your Heavy foot Div to refuse from my front rank and provide cover and secure the right flank.

Hugo I want you to do the same. Refuse your Heavy Infantry off my DFK Division and make room for the new Gunner Division. I'm placing them between our two divisions for some target practice. If they look like being charged it's YOUR job to move YOUR division back onto mine if this happens. Make sure your don't dither or they be cut down in droves and I'll have to bloody well dive in myself and we will have a nice whole in our lines.

Otherwise I'd like you centrally located in case your spears don't close the gap because it will be your job to plug the hole if it happens!!

Keep your Cav Division on the wing and you might want to send out those Ritters for some skirmish practise if von Salza comes to close...keep them out of range of those Xbow's though...you'll lose that engagement very quickly.

Gentlemen we are waiting...let them come to us. I want Lothar to be right up our asses when he hits this field...then we'll knock the snot out of them.

------------
Arnold's Specific orders (Should this be IC next time? I'm enjoying this more and more *smile*):

Using a spare Division slot the gunners will be placed in this command formation and moved into the gap created when Hugo's Inf Div refuses between the two divisions. Orders are to shot at "in range" targets with The Kaiser, Cav then Heavy Inf as the order of preference. They are still in the central corridor so that includes the whole enemy line of advance.

If they are charged they are ordered to fall back and form back up on the Xbow divsion directly behind them.

Xbow Division...Have not moved. Orders are to shot at "in range" targets with The Kaiser, Cav then Heavy Inf as the order of preference. They are still in the central corridor so that includes the whole enemy line of advance.

DFK Division...hold and pray to god men!!

Gothic Division...be prepared to charge forward in support of the DFK Div in the event they are charge by Cav. This is also true of the Gunners...if Hugo's Spearmen don't close the gap YOU Must fill it.

If this is not the case then hold and wait on my signal.

-----------

As you mentioned at the very bottom of the previosu post, the closest division is now the Gothics which will be 100% certain...just to be sure those Gunners don't get murdered *grin*

Thanks GH!! You're doing a great job.


[QUOTE=Tristan de Castelreng]Hughes de Cervole's Orders :

https://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x79/aussiegiant/Trent/1KotRDawn.jpg (http://www.quicktopic.com/cgi-bin/link.cgi?link=http%3A%2F%2Fi184.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fx79%2Faussiegiant%2FTrent%2F1KotRDawn.jpg&x=241341843)

To all men : Halt !

Spearmen : You are to refuse flank starting on our gunners' position. Once in position, prepare to receive a cavalry charge. If none seems to be directed your way, keep a vigilant eye on the gunners and provide support should they become the target of said cavalry. Fall back on their position if that seems to happen. Plug that hole in our line as fast as possible.

Zweihanders : You are to prevent any flanking maneuver on our line of spears.

Cavalry : You are to provide support by charging the enemy units engaging our spearmen, if any. Otherwise keep a vigilant watch for any cavalry unit trying to outflank us.

Reiters : You are to provide fire support when in range, with a preference for any bodyguard or Heavy cav in range. If our spearmen should become engage and our cavalry forced to charge in the engaged enemy units, you are to march forward and skirmish taking as many of the advancing enemy heavy infantry as possible without making contact. Be sure to remain out of range of enemy Xbows, even if that means that you cannot shoot... You'll have ample time to prove your worth...

Hugo : Should our spearmen fail to close the gap left by our retreating gunners, I will ride forward to meet the enemy and close the gap.

No orders from deguerra or Warmaster Horus.

Umpire notes for Turn 1

Units failing orders test: Ruppel’s Division 4 (proposed 1 DFK, 2 AS) – new divisions are formed but will not carry orders.

Not sure how to implement Ruppel’s orders for MCB; they can’t fire at anything on Turn 1. The “if chased retreat back to our lines” bit made me decide to have them advance somewhat. They will be able to fire next turn (only division on the map that may).

Deguerra and WH did not provide orders. Followed AG’s directions for both. Since deguerra didn’t provide a map I won’t go exactly with AG’s map for his right flank, but it’ll be close (based off verbal orders).

No orders from Warluster again – Dutch_guy as Tancred will take over Imperial west flank. Since I didn’t specify how many divisions the generals-in-waiting could command, decided to make Tancred his own division (not counting) and keep Athalwolf’s old divisional structure intact (cavalry, DFKs, spearmen, archers).

Roll for Fritz (needs a six): gets a three.
Roll for Matthias (needs a six): gets a three.

Fritz and Matthias will not appear Turn 2. Next turn they will have a 1-in-3 chance at appearing (5-6 good, 1-4 bad).

Public feedback for Turn 1

The Imperial line consolidates somewhat and its Republican counterpart extends. They are now fairly equal in length, Becker observes, although there is still the danger of a flank attack on both sides.

After the aggressive opening strategy by the Kaiser's men, he cautions somewhat, pulling his cavalry back behind the lines of infantry. Tancred von Tyrolia and his escort detach from the mass and make their way west. Tancred now seems to be involved with Athalwolf von Salza's army in some way; whether he is now its commander or simply buffering up the cavalry on that particular flank remains to be seen.

The Republican spears and pikes, flanking Duke Arnold's knights, change formation somewhat, now appearing to refuse both flanks. The Arquebusiers move to the front lines. Any advance on that particular position will be met by a hail of gunfire - until they are overwhelmed. Finally, and most notably, Becker can detect a large shift behind Arnold's lines. Bernhard Steffen has taken a significant contingent of cavalry and placed it to the east, significantly buffering Ludwig von Bohmen's flank and threatening Ruppel's. Clearly, the general's reputation has preceded him.

Speaking of Ruppel, his men have made the only significant forward movement on the battlefield this turn. His two regiments of mounted crossbowmen have detached from his main body of infantry, moving foward and threatening to harass Republican lines. It will be able to fire on several targets next turn, but there is always the possibility that the Republicans will counter and respond.

Since there was no other significant movement this turn, no contact will be able to be made until Turn 3, aside from engagements that may have to do with Ruppel's mounted crossbowmen. With the Rear Guards about to deploy, Becker supposes that both armies are hunkering down and waiting for the other to make the first move. This may take a little longer than he thought. Becker feels slightly guilty for leaving his family behind, but he must see how this ends.

Map:
https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/turn1_full.jpg

DEADLINE FOR TURN 2 ORDERS: Sunday March 30th, 12:00 GMT-5. I will be out until later in the afternoon that day, but I expect all orders to be in when I get back.

The Rear Guards should PM me with their deployment and location on the battlefield this turn. Matthias and Fritz also have a chance of showing up for Turn 2; if either makes it to the field they will receive a PM shortly.

GeneralHankerchief
03-30-2008, 22:06
Turn 1 feedback

Turn 1 feedback to the Imperialists


Turn 1 feedback to Peter

Your cavalry withdraws behind the infantry. With a heavy heart, you bid goodbye to Tancred von Tyrolia. Oh, what a glorious charge it would have been, but Tancred is needed elsewhere and you could be caught out in the open.

You were expecting an advance from the Republicans but none came, leaving both of you in essentially the same position as before. If you decide to move, you will be able to engage the enemy on Turn 3. The Rear Guard, coming up this turn, will be able to hit them on Turn 4. You must decide where to place them.

Now that you have all commanders in your Advance Guard responding to orders, you can finally get a coordinated strategy going. The question is: what strategy to pursue?

https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/turn1_center.jpg

Currently Peter is closest to his cavalry.


Turn 1 feedback to Ruppel

There are some problems reorganizing your infantry. They seem to reorganize but weren't able to really respond to any orders. Luckily, any situations that you ordered them to prepare for never materialized.

Your mounted crossbowmen are in position to ravage the enemy Pikemen, but Arnold has three regiments of foot crossbows nearby that could make life difficult for your horsemen.

More worrisome is the development happening on the flank: Bernhard Steffen, commanding three powerful regiments of cavalry, has arrived, beefing up Ludwig von Bohmen's already-significant force. The sheer size of this force could threaten to sweep your flank away, master of cavalry or not.

Luckily for you, they won't be able to reach you this turn. It might be wise to lobby for some Rear Guard support in the meantime.

https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/turn1_east.jpg

Currently Ruppel is closest to his DFKs.


Turn 1 feedback to Athalwolf

You watch around you as Peter and the others give orders. Once again, you do none of this, seeing little need. There is little movement among Hugo de Cervole's men, none of it threatening.

After some time Tancred von Tyrolia's escort arrive. Tancred himself gets off his horse, explaining to you that the Kaiser has relieved you, preferring someone who takes a more active approach to commanding. Tancred says that he will take command of the army and that you are to stay put for now, part of the heavy cavalry contingent.

If you want your command back, you had better take it up with the Kaiser. For now, it's front-line duty.

(OOC: This is the last time I will give you a feedback message unless you get your command back or partake in discussions on the Imperialist Quicktopic.)


Turn 1 feedback to Tancred

You trot over to Athalwolf von Salza, informing him that the Kaiser has relieved him of command. He takes it well enough, and you place him in the frontline for now.

You analyze the situation. You are in command of a decent force, with the ability to flank Hugo de Cervole's men to the south. However, you will not be able to engage him until Turn 3, and that's only if you advance. By then, he may have Rear Guard assistance.

For now, though, Athalwolf's troops are looking to you to command them. This is a new experience for you, aside from the occasion in which you sacked Constantinople. You are eager to test your skills once again, and tested you will be.

https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/turn1_west.jpg

Currently Tancred is closest to his cavalry (100% compliance with orders, the rest of them are subject to the dice test).

Turn 1 feedback to the Republicans


Turn 1 feedback for Arnold

Preparing for the worst, you order a refusal of both flanks and demand your Arquebusiers to come up to the front lines. You tell your Gothics to be ready for anything and grit your teeth, ready for the impending collision.

Nothing comes. Evidently the Kaiser got cautious, withdrawing his cavalry behind his lines and detaching Tancred von Tyrolia to the west. You breathe a sigh of relief, but it is short-lived. Eventually something will happen.

The Rear Guards will be deploying on this turn. Something else to coordinate, you suppose, although you trust Lothar and don't doubt Jan Zirn's skills. In addition, the Imperialist Rear Guard will also be deploying. You pray that Max Zirn was able to convince the Kaiser to put him on a flank.

One last thing to worry about is Ruppel's mounted crossbowmen. They have advanced and will be able to fire at your lines this turn, the only division in both armies able to do so. You have three regiments of foot crossbowmen at your disposal; you should probably make good use of them.

https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/turn1_center.jpg

Currently Arnold is closest to his Dismounted Gothic Knights.


Turn 1 feedback to Bohmen

You shift your pikemen, ordering them to refuse Duke Arnold's flank. They do so, but there is little movement among Ruppel's men.

Two regiments of Mounted Crossbowmen advance and are threatening to rain fire upon your Pikemen this turn. With no archers under your command, you had better hope that Duke Arnold recognizes the situation and orders counterfire should Ruppel decide to attack.

In lighter news, Bernhard Steffen has arrived with quite a bit of heavy cavalry. They are under his command and his command only, but now you have seven regiments of cavalry on your flank. This could be fun.

https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/turn1_east.jpg

Currently, Bohmen is located in his cavalry division.


Turn 1 feedback to Cervole

Your spearmen shift, refusing Duke Arnold's flank. To their right are your former Arquebusiers, now under Arnold's direct command.

You somewhat regret doing this, as the threat of Athalwolf von Salza still looms. He still has the potential to flank your force into oblivion, and now Tancred von Tyrolia has arrived, adding something else to worry about.

You figure that your men can match up to Athalwolf's (or Tancred's, who knows?) pretty well except for their contingent of DFKs. You have no answer for them, as one regiment each of Zweihanders and Reiters can only do so much. Probably best to ask for some Rear Guard assistance. Wasn't this supposed to be the "attack" flank?

https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/turn1_west.jpg

Currently Hugo is closest to his spearmen.


Turn 1 feedback to Bernhard

You take Duke Arnold's cavalry and arrive on the right flank, where Ludwig von Bohmen greets you warmly. There are now seven regiments of cavalry on this flank, of varying degrees of heaviness but still, seven regiments are quite a lot.

However, the man opposite you and Bohmen is no slouch. Ehrhart Ruppel, a protege of the late Hans, is no slouch with cavalry and learned from the best. If you were facing any other commander you would no doubt be able to sweep them from the field.

You cannot reach Ruppel until Turn 3, and that's if you start advancing on Turn 2. It might be best to coordinate with Bohmen and Arnold on how to proceed. You could chase down Ruppel's mounted crossbowmen currently menacing the Pikemen but they might retreat and then you would be in a bit of a pickle. No matter what you decide, your cavalry will obey you, and that is a heartening fact indeed.

https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/turn1_west.jpg

Orders

Imperialist orders


https://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn48/alanwippman/trentturn2.jpg

All units advance until the pavise crossbows are in range.

If we can engage this turn, shoot the gunners with the crossbows.


I assume then, that the dismounted Imperial Knights will stay under your command?

(note: FH mentioned something about getting the dismounted IKs under his command, as described below. Hence the clarification)


Yeah, I copied this picture from FH's envisionment - I may not have sliced it perfectly though.


Hi GH,

Orders as per this:
https://img440.imageshack.us/img440/4316/turn1fullcw1.jpg

Note which part belongs to me :grin:

No longer try to rearrange the units' divisions, but if Peter gives me the imperials at the side as suggested, add them to the heavy infantry division.

Oh, and the rest of the orders for each division are the same as last turn. Exception is general advance as per diagram if everyone follows suit.


I'd like for my spearmen and swordsmen to switch positions, so that they can both fight their weaker counterparts - so to say. Spearmen on the flanks, to face the enemy cav. and swordsmen facing the current positions of the enemy spearmen.

In the case of an enemy attack while my forces are still in the process of moving, my crossbowmen will fire on the advancing enemy units, targeting their elite zweihander infantry.

If the enemy remains static, does not advance on my line, then my crossbowmen will fire on their cav. on their utmost left side. In an attempt to attain cav. superiority on my flank.

Hope this is clear enough.

:balloon2:


deploy in centre as follows:

https://img405.imageshack.us/img405/290/28198180fs3.th.jpg (https://img405.imageshack.us/my.php?image=28198180fs3.jpg)


I will enter behind Ruppel but moved to the east side so I will in the flank.. Will hold in that position.
.................................... Zirn
................................... *****
................... Ruppel
............... **************






................................... MAX KNIGHTS

........... SPEARMEN ......HOPE HOPE .......SPEARMEN

................................... ARCHERS ARCHERS




RUPPEL’S MEN


Hapsburg shall deploy his men behind Ruppel to bolster his defenses in a basic formation. The cavalry shall be on the flank and the archers on the inside with the foot soldiers in the middle.

Note: orders not implemented (see umpire notes)

No orders from Ignoramus. Nothing from Warluster.

Republican orders


To GH, cc'd all the guy's.

IC: All right men!! Lothar's joined the party and so has young Jan. I wish Matthias would get his arse into gear and get here faster.

We at a complete halt my lords.

Lothar take the left flank and support Hugo. We are going to attack down your flank next.

Jan support me in the middle.

I'll leave it up to you to sort your Division out.

Jan make sure your Spear Division is ready to cover those gunners if they are charge.

Sir Hugo, if you would be so kind at to move those Ritters out and skirmish anything that is appropriate. Don't get them shot up too much though.

Otherwise we are in a general hold my lords.

____________

Specific orders:

DFK Div: Hold and pray.

Xbow Div: Target anything in range. BG's, Cav then infantry are the priorities.

Gunner Div: Target anything in range. BG's, Cav then infantry are the priorities.

Gothic Div: Hold and be prepared to reinforce any breaches in the line.

End:

Map:

https://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=turn2allhl5.jpg
--------------


Sorry, GH, my internet is a bit faulty atm.

Luckily though orders this turn consist of:

Men, stay in your positions at all costs. No one is to move without orders.

Map:

https://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=turn2allhl5.jpg


Here are orders for turn 2 :

Hughes de Cervole :

https://img149.imageshack.us/img149/1701/turn2allhl5.jpg

Spearmen : line up with Duke Arnold's knights on your right and Duke Lothar's on your left. Provide cover for Lord Zirn's archers.

Mounted Knights : To the back with me, prepare to bring support to any hole in our line.

Reiters : Skirmish on von Salza and his knights (mounted and on foot) and coordinate your action with Duke Lothar's mounted Xbows, remain out of range of enemy Xbows at the utmost even if it means not being able to get a shot at the enemy knights

Zweihanders : Prepare to repel any enemy unit breaking our line if our spears fail.

(note: orders in bold were addenda to previous orders)


Deployment map here:

https://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=turn2allhl5.jpg

I will deploy on the extreme left with my men in 5 divisions.

Skirmishers: Two regiments of Mounted Crossbowmen deployed in the front rank.
Heavy Infantry: Four regiments of DFKs deployed in the second rank.
Spears: Three regiments of AS deployed in the third rank.
Cavalry: Lothar, Feudal Knights, and Recruitable General unit in fourth rank.


Divisions:

1. Both Armoured Spearmen and both Crusader Sergeants.

2. Balkan Archers.

3. Zirn's bodyguard and Mailed Knights.

Orders:

Spearmen! March forward to take a place to the left of the Republican crossbowmen. Stay in guard mode and protect the Arquebusiers and Dismounted Knights from cavalry charges, in that order. Mind that you do not get too close until melee, lest you soak up arrows or bolts that miss the units you're guarding!

Archers, take place to the left of the spearmen. Switch to loose formation if you're threatened by ranged units. Use regular arrows for any skirmishing with enemy ranged units and enemy cavalry getting in range, but fire arrows should you get a chance to fire against more heavily armored foot soldiers, or troops stuck in melee. For God's sake don't fire into a melee right in front of you unless absolutely neccessary. If there are no other targets or you think a unit is about to break, retreat a little to get a better firing arc before firing.

Mailed Knights, you're staying with me! We will take our place behind the leftmost of my spearmen. Plug any gaps you see, especially if things are so bad in the melee (i.e., a nearby unit has been almost destroyed) that you can get a nearly clear charge. If things become truly dismal, I will throw my own guard into the mix.

Everyone! Stay with the Dread Duke's forces, whether they advance or move back. Most importantly, watch yourselves, and your comrades. I want to bring as many of you back home as possible.

OOC: I wasn't sure if you wanted orders IC or not. If the orders are too complex or anything (not sure what degree of detail we can give to our division orders), tell me and I'll change them. :yes:

Here's the editted map showing facing, exact position, etc.

https://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=turn2allhl5.jpg

No orders from Warmaster Horus.

Umpire notes for Turn 2

Dutch_guy’s and gibson’s orders were way out of whack. There were implicit divisional realignments – According to gibson, Tancred’s Xbows were now under P&#233;ter’s control, as was one of his Armored Sergeants. Dutch gave pretty specific orders that they would stay with him. Ruled in favor of local superiority = units stay with Tancred.

Units failing orders test: Hugo’s spear division (nullified – closest to general), Hugo’s mounted knights, Hugo’s Reiters (sheesh!).

Orders for Hapsburg were not implemented. I had said in the OOC thread prior to this turn that ONLY Rear Guard commanders could deploy, not Overall Commanders as they could in Turn 0. Decided that, if Ignoramus had sent in the orders, I would have allowed him to deploy behind Ruppel (Max Zirn was already there) due to a comment I made in the Republican Quicktopic allowing “stacking”. In either case, I will let gibson deploy for Hapsburg if Ignoramus doesn’t show up by Turn 4.

Gibson seems to have split up his dismounted IKs. Apparently there was some miscommunication – FH wanted direct control, gibson clarified that he still held them. Ruled with gibson (they were his to begin with). Assumed that gibson was filling his spare division – all units passed the orders test.

For the mounted Xbow situation with FH, referred to previous orders. He said “stay away from enemy fire” but the Republican foot Xbows are well-placed and can hit anywhere. Decided to have his men retire after testing.

Due to some problems with Hugo’s cavalry, Lothar’s men would not exactly deploy in place.

Since the Republicans have not moved, all of their forces can attack Peter’s and Ruppel’s armies next turn. They cannot attack Tancred’s as he has not advanced. The Imperialist rear guard and Tancred can get into the action on Turn 4 if the Republicans do not move. I must make this clear to all parties; still not convinced they understand the system, judging by orders.

A cheat sheet that I will pass out in all feedback PMs:

The Republicans (all of them) can attack Peter and Ruppel Turn 3.
Peter and Ruppel can attack the Republicans Turn 3.
Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard can attack the Republicans on Turn 3 ONLY IF the Republicans attack Peter and Ruppel.
The Republicans can only attack Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard on Turn 3 ONLY IF Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard advance.


Roll for Fritz (needs 5-6): gets a six!
Roll for Matthias (needs 5-6): gets a two.

Fritz will appear on the battlefield and deploy on Turn 3. Matthias has a 50% chance of appearing on Turn 4.

Public feedback for Turn 2

Ehrhart Ruppel's mounted crossbowmen further approach the Imperial line, most notably the Flemish Pikemen of Ludwig von Bohmen. It is now clear that their intent is to soften up the Republican right. However, a volley of five arrows sails over the heads of the horsemen before they get in firing range. The Republican message is clear: "We can hit you." Rather than risk getting fired upon, they turn east, trying their hand against the cavalry. A similar volley fires overhead, and, deciding it's not worth it, the divisional commander signals his men to head back to Ruppel's line.

Becker finally spots forward movement in large numbers; the Imperialists are advancing. But it's strange - it's not a uniform advance. Almost like a set of double doors, the Dismounted Imperial Knights of the Kaiser swing open, clearing a path for Peter and his cavalry. On the western side of the line, there is movement, but it is only shuffling. The commander of that wing, be it Athalwolf von Salza or Tancred von Tyrolia, is only readjusting his knights and spearmen to better counter the Republican threat.

The Republicans simply stand and watch all of this happen. The Imperialists have taken the initiative. The only movement among their Advance Guard is a shift in Hugo de Cervole's wing; he is no longer refusing Duke Arnold's flank, instead bringing his spearmen back in line with the Arquebusiers and Arnold's DFKs...

...in order to make room for the massive force that Duke Lothar Steffen is bringing up on that flank.

Now, Becker sees the rear guards coming up, although he is fixated by the ridiculous overload on the Republican left. It is clear to everyone on the battlefield where Duke Lothar is located, but Jan Zirn also brings a sizable force to the field, backing up the Republican center.

Jan's brother Maximilian appears to the east, backing up Ehrhart Ruppel's flank. It appears that the two brothers will not have to fight each other, not yet. Dieter Bresch also brings a very strong force to the center, giving Kaiser Peter some backup infantry and archers there. Maximilian von Hapsburg and his men are conspicuously absent; perhaps the Kaiser is saving him for later?

Becker draws his attention away from Lothar for the moment to focus his attention to the center and the east. With the proximity the two forces have, it is extremely possible that there will be blood shortly. The maneuvering is just about complete. The killing is about to start.

Map:
https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/turn2_full.jpg

DEADLINE FOR TURN 3 ORDERS: April 1st, 15:00 GMT-5.

GeneralHankerchief
04-02-2008, 00:36
Turn 2 feedback

Turn 2 feedback to the Imperialists


Feedback to Peter

Your men advance, and to the east you see that Ruppel's are doing the same. But to the west... nothing.

You know that Tancred is actively commanding over there, as you see him ordering his spearmen and DFKs to switch places. But he doesn't advance, and he doesn't give you those spearmen and crossbows that you requested either. Silently, you curse that wing of the army, for no matter who is commanding it, it won't do what you ask.

Your west flank is now wide open, but there is the chance that Tancred can get to it and counter-flank should the Republicans decide to attack. Still though, with Lothar up, that's a lot of infantry on that one flank. This might not end well.

Also disconcerting is the fact that Maximilian von Hapsburg and his army have not shown up at all, despite your orders to place him behind Ehrhart Ruppel. Max Zirn is currently occupying that area, but you see no sign of jostling from Hapsburg's men. Angrily, you send a courier to Hapsburg's section of the Imperialist camp. It will arrive Turn 4 and you will be able to take limited control of his army at that time if Hapsburg does not show up before then. Until then, however... well, you had better hope he shows up.

It's time to focus on what's in front of you. You have advanced and now you must start fighting. The arquebusiers and DFKs of the Republicans lie in front of you, but now they are backed by spearmen, courtesy of Jan Zirn. To the east, Ludwig von Bohmen is still refusing Duke Arnold's flank. To the west, well... you'd rather not think about that.

This is going to be one tough nut to crack.

(OOC: Just for clarification:


The Republicans (all of them) can attack Peter and Ruppel Turn 3.
Peter and Ruppel can attack the Republicans Turn 3.
Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard can attack the Republicans on Turn 3 ONLY IF the Republicans attack Peter and Ruppel.
The Republicans can only attack Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard on Turn 3 ONLY IF Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard advance.)



Feedback to Ruppel

Your mounted crossbowmen retire without doing any damage. It appears that the Republican crossbowmen are well-placed. If you want to order them to do anything, it will have to be under fire, assuming of course they focus on you.

You have advanced and are in position to attack the Pikemen of Ludwig von Bohmen this turn. However, the fact remains that they have sustained no damage so far, and the heavy contingent of cavalry remains on the extreme east of the battlefield.

In addition, it appears that although the portion of Imperial Knights have done as you have ordered, they still do not answer directly to you. If you want them under your direct command, you might have to be more... direct... with the Kaiser. Control of them might be pivotal in cracking that flank and wrecking Arnold.

Finally, you now have backup in Max Zirn. He is positioned behind you and slightly on your flank. It would be inexcusable if you let an enemy obtain that position on you; you are lucky he is on your side.

(OOC: Just for clarification:


The Republicans (all of them) can attack Peter and Ruppel Turn 3.
Peter and Ruppel can attack the Republicans Turn 3.
Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard can attack the Republicans on Turn 3 ONLY IF the Republicans attack Peter and Ruppel.
The Republicans can only attack Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard on Turn 3 ONLY IF Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard advance.)



Feedback to Tancred

You shuffle your infantry, but as you are doing this you notice that the men to your east are all advancing. Were you supposed to do this too? You hope not. This would definitely not be a good start to your first command in years.

A few minutes pass. Couriers from the Kaiser start coming, first asking why you aren't advancing, and then why you didn't give him the crossbowmen and that one unit of Armored Sergeants as ordered.

Uh-oh.

Angrily shooing away the couriers takes ages, and when you are finally able to take a view of the situation you notice the Kaiser's men way out in front, his flank wide open. Facing you are a ridiculous amount of soldiers, courtesy of Hugo de Cervole and Lothar Steffen. Should they try and flank Peter this turn, you would be in a good position to counter-flank, but still... that's a lot of infantry.

You had first better be able to explain yourself to the Kaiser, maybe even defend yourself. You knew nothing about his requests! Secondly, you had better think of a good strategy to defend against this.

(OOC: Just for clarification:


The Republicans (all of them) can attack Peter and Ruppel Turn 3.
Peter and Ruppel can attack the Republicans Turn 3.
Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard can attack the Republicans on Turn 3 ONLY IF the Republicans attack Peter and Ruppel.
The Republicans can only attack Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard on Turn 3 ONLY IF Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard advance.)



Feedback to Dieter

You deploy in the center, behind the Kaiser, eager for a shot at Arnold. If he advances, you just might get it too, since you pretty much command the only infantry in the center now that Peter has split his dismounted Imperial Knights up.

Of course, you might be asked to assist on the flank, too. For whatever reason, Tancred von Tyrolia has not advanced, leaving it vulnerable against a large amount of infantry, courtesy of another old foe in Lothar Steffen.

No matter where you go, your intervention will be helpful at worst and decisive at best, especially since Maximilian von Hapsburg is nowhere to be found.

(OOC: Just for clarification:


The Republicans (all of them) can attack Peter and Ruppel Turn 3.
Peter and Ruppel can attack the Republicans Turn 3.
Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard can attack the Republicans on Turn 3 ONLY IF the Republicans attack Peter and Ruppel.
The Republicans can only attack Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard on Turn 3 ONLY IF Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard advance.)



Feedback to Max

You set up your men noticeably on Ruppel's flank, ready for the plan. You hope that Ruppel, a cagey general, doesn't notice.

The possibility is, if either Ruppel or Bohmen advances, the two will get into a clash this turn. You will not be able to join in unless it is Bohmen who advances on Ruppel and not the other way around. Either way, you might have to wait for the signal from Arnold. No sense in enjoying an Illuminati victory if you commit too early and don't live to see the end of the battle.

(OOC: Just for clarification:


The Republicans (all of them) can attack Peter and Ruppel Turn 3.
Peter and Ruppel can attack the Republicans Turn 3.
Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard can attack the Republicans on Turn 3 ONLY IF the Republicans attack Peter and Ruppel.
The Republicans can only attack Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard on Turn 3 ONLY IF Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard advance.)



Feedback to Hapsburg

Instead of deploying, you instead order extra breakfast for your men. You figure they will need the meat and beer - oh yes! beer! How lovely it is... - as the day slogs on.

You are probably going to get a courier from Peter demanding you to deploy and relieving you of command soon enough, so if you desire any glory for the Hapsburg name by the end of the day you had better say enough with the breakfast and get set up for the battle.

(OOC: Just for clarification:


The Republicans (all of them) can attack Peter and Ruppel Turn 3.
Peter and Ruppel can attack the Republicans Turn 3.
Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard can attack the Republicans on Turn 3 ONLY IF the Republicans attack Peter and Ruppel.
The Republicans can only attack Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard on Turn 3 ONLY IF Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard advance.)



Feedback to Fritz

Good news! Your men have arrived on the battlefield in a timely fashion and will be able to deploy on Turn 3.

You must send me a map of exactly what order your forces will be in and roughly where they will be located in conjunction with the rest of the Imperial armies. You hope that you have arrived early enough to turn the tide.

Turn 2 feedback to the Republicans


Feedback to Arnold

Well, everyone's up, and the Imperialists are probably sufficiently scared of your left, especially considering the fact that the Imperialists on that side did not move.

Your strategy of staying put has worked, as you now have much more flexibility to deal with events than Peter does. The Imperialists can now be attacked in the center and on the right. In addition, Max Zirn has arrived behind Ruppel; he is in a good position to flip.

The Kaiser's west flank is wide open, and considering the amount of volume you have on that flank you might not even need your ace in the hole. There is the possibility that the Imperialist wing that is lagging can counter-flank, however, but you still have a ton of infantry there. Any place where you choose to attack will be bloody.

You get an overall look at the situation. Maybe it's time to initiate the final stage of the plan? The decision is up to you.

(OOC: Just for clarification:


The Republicans (all of them) can attack Peter and Ruppel Turn 3.
Peter and Ruppel can attack the Republicans Turn 3.
Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard can attack the Republicans on Turn 3 ONLY IF the Republicans attack Peter and Ruppel.
The Republicans can only attack Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard on Turn 3 ONLY IF Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard advance.)



Feedback to Bohmen

As ordered, none of your men move. Ruppel doesn't make a serious incursion on your position, and to your relief his horsemen do not savage your pikemen after it has been proven that Arnold's crossbows will fire back.

However, he has ordered a general advance and *will* be in position to assault your flank on this turn. It is up to you to decide how to respond. Bernhard Steffen will most certainly have to cooperate as well.

(OOC: Just for clarification:


The Republicans (all of them) can attack Peter and Ruppel Turn 3.
Peter and Ruppel can attack the Republicans Turn 3.
Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard can attack the Republicans on Turn 3 ONLY IF the Republicans attack Peter and Ruppel.
The Republicans can only attack Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard on Turn 3 ONLY IF Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard advance.)



Feedback to Hugo

You reorganize your forces, but you notice all of your cavalry - Reiters included - not responding. Bad luck on your part? Orders simply getting lost? You certainly hope so.

Whatever the cause, your cavalry remain in the front, your Reiters not skirmishing the enemy. The only reason they moved at all is because they were jostled by Lothar Steffen's men, coming up in force.

You now co-command a massive force on the flank. To the direct north, the Kaiser's flank is open, as the western wing of his army did not advance along with Peter and Ruppel. You might have to do something about this.

There is an extremely good chance that you will be counter-flanked should you press the Kaiser, but you and Lothar do have a lot of infantry. Perhaps Athalwolf and Tancred can be checked while the Kaiser's flank is still destroyed.

One thing is for certain: As increases the number of men on your flank, so do the number of possibilities.

(OOC: Just for clarification:


The Republicans (all of them) can attack Peter and Ruppel Turn 3.
Peter and Ruppel can attack the Republicans Turn 3.
Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard can attack the Republicans on Turn 3 ONLY IF the Republicans attack Peter and Ruppel.
The Republicans can only attack Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard on Turn 3 ONLY IF Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard advance.)



Feedback to Bernhard

Your men remain inert, as do Ludwig von Bohmen's. Ehrhart Ruppel's mounted crossbowmen make an attempt on your cavalry but are quickly chased away by the three regiments of foot archers in Arnold's army.

You notice that Ruppel is advancing and might make an attempt to take Bohmen's right flank by force next turn. Your cavalry will be sorely needed if you are to be victorious in this pivotal part of the battlefield.

(OOC: Just for clarification:


The Republicans (all of them) can attack Peter and Ruppel Turn 3.
Peter and Ruppel can attack the Republicans Turn 3.
Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard can attack the Republicans on Turn 3 ONLY IF the Republicans attack Peter and Ruppel.
The Republicans can only attack Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard on Turn 3 ONLY IF Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard advance.)



Feedback to Lothar

You march your men in force to the left flank. Things do not go exactly as planned - evidently, there have been some problems with Hugo de Cervole's cavalry - but they come close enough.

With one deployment, you have pretty much taken over command of the flank, especially since Cervole gave his gunners to Arnold. In any case, your flank is now to be feared, and Peter's is wide open. You could go for it, but Hugo is technically closer and you have Athalwolf von Salza and Tancred von Tyrolia to deal with. They could easily counter-flank if unchecked, ruining your plan.

In either case, it looks pretty good for your plan overall. Max Zirn is up and ready to wreak havoc on Ehrhart Ruppel's flank. But you have to worry about you right now.

(OOC: Just for clarification:


The Republicans (all of them) can attack Peter and Ruppel Turn 3.
Peter and Ruppel can attack the Republicans Turn 3.
Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard can attack the Republicans on Turn 3 ONLY IF the Republicans attack Peter and Ruppel.
The Republicans can only attack Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard on Turn 3 ONLY IF Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard advance.)



Feedback to Jan

You deploy in the center, providing some much-needed spear support to Arnold in this critical area. If Peter and his cavalry charge, it will be up to you to hold them back.

You think about it: In your early 20s, with very little battle or political experience, you are tasked to hold to hold potentially the most important position on the battlefield in the largest battle... ever. Good luck.

(OOC: Just for clarification:


The Republicans (all of them) can attack Peter and Ruppel Turn 3.
Peter and Ruppel can attack the Republicans Turn 3.
Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard can attack the Republicans on Turn 3 ONLY IF the Republicans attack Peter and Ruppel.
The Republicans can only attack Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard on Turn 3 ONLY IF Athalwolf/Tancred and the Imperialist Rear Guard advance.)



Feedback to Matthias

It is morning, your men are marching... but there are problems getting there. Apparently two wheels at once on the Great Cross have broken, slowing and then stopping your men as they attempt to get it fixed. Sometimes you regret bringing all those Crusaders. No other reasonable soldier would worry about such a thing.

Needless to say, you will not be arriving on Turn 3 and can only hope that the battlefield is not far away so you can finally hit on Turn 4.

Orders

Imperialist Orders


Engage the gunners with the pavise crossbowmen. All troops of Peter's army stand by for defending the crossbows.

Tancred/Athalwolf's force move forward to line up with the rest of the armies.


1. Spears hold ground, if cavalry approaches, attempt to intercept. If Cavalry cannot be caught up to, fall into their rear instead at earliest convenience.

2. Heavy infantry engage enemy heavy infantry if they approach, otherwise support spearmen against enemy attacks (other than missiles)

3. HQ to stay close to cavalry ensuring orders are followed. If cavalry attacks, attempt to form a pincer and attack the enemy from the other side unless blocked.

4. Cavalry to stay out of combat until enemy ready to charge. Then either flank or hit their rear and chase down routers if not endangered unnecessarily. Priority targets are heavy infantry and enemy cavalry. Do not get too close to front of pike formations.

5. Mounted crossbows to ride further to the right of the map (the one you posted) and flank harass enemy if they approach. Priority Cavalry and spearmen. If enemy locked in combat with our forces, attempt to fall into enemy's rear by charging.


OK. I will be moving my forces a bit closer to the front, not wanting to lag even further behind. That said, I would love to still have the possibility of flanking anyone trying to flank our forces on our right[...].

Also, I'm ordering my ranged units to move in front of my spearmen, and engage any enemy unit in range. Cavalry taking preference over infantry, and ranged units taking preference over anything else - of everything in range. I will take a more centered position, trying to make the communication between my regiments somewhat more efficient ( I hope).

Any questions don't hesitate to ask.

:balloon2:


Will move up to the line taking the flank. Only movement the spearmen to the outside.


https://img261.imageshack.us/img261/9761/trentkf5.th.jpg (https://img261.imageshack.us/my.php?image=trentkf5.jpg)

It's pretty straightforward.

Thanks for letting me send them in. Hapsburg might as well have joined the Republicans than face Peter after not showing up to fight.

Ignoramus.


Deployment (Mostly to clarify the screenshots):

Divisions 2 and 3 will deploy to General Ruppel's right rear in the formation from the first screenshot, with Fritz and his HQ directly behind them as noted. Division 4 will deploy behind the Kaiser on his left rear (Assuming I'm allowed to deploy across two zones, if not put everything behind Ruppel just with the crossbows on the side the Kaiser is on). Division seven will deploy directly behind those crossbowmen. Divisions five and six will deploy on Fritz's far left, near the edge of the field, side by side.

Orders by division:

Division 1, Fritz, is to hold ground and maintain position behind the infantry screen of the main formation. He is only to be committed to battle in the event that the center of the formation is broken open entirely or the Armoured sergeants rebel.

Division 2, the infantry screen, is to remain on a defensive and reactive footing. All spearmen will be on guard against a charge. Spearmen at the front line are to hold against all comers and remain on guard until ordered otherwise. The spearmen behind the gunners have the primary task of watching for enemy flanking movements. If at any time the infantry formation is threatened with flanking by cavalry or infantry the rear spearmen should wheel 90 degrees towards their respective ends of the line and move in haste to support the flank. The line is to hold, not pursuing the enemy if they flee, and not moving to aid allied soldiers beyond the formation if they are engaged or even visibly in trouble.

If the gunners should be forced to retreat from cavalry the spearmen behind them should advance through the retreating guns to engage with the enemy. If the gunners should be forced to retreat by infantry the foot knights should move forward into the gap to engage them while the rear spearmen hold and watch the flanks.

Foot knights are further under standing orders to keep a close eye on the Armoured Sergeants. If those men show signs of reluctance to obey orders they should be gently reminded of exactly who is holding position to their rear. If a company of Armoured sergeants fails to obey orders and flees, or rebels they will be replaced, if possible, by mercenary spearmen from behind the gunners.

Division 3, the gunners, are to maintain their place in the formation with skirmish on (Which acts as 'fire at will' rather than 'fire by ranks' for guns). During deployment they should not fire unless directly fired upon or attacked. In the event of a charge against their position by cavalry or infantry they should cease skirmishing (Turn it off and order them by hand) and withdraw in haste behind the spearmen on their flank, away from the foot knights, and not directly to their rear. This will allow them, if the pressure becomes too great, to fire into the melee or even enter battle as reinforcements without having to penetrate and disrupt the spear line.

Division 4, the crossbowmen, are ordered to hold position and await assignment of a primary target. The mercenaries should be placed on skirmish while the Pavise crossbowmen remain off skirmish with guard on. Standing orders are to attack on own recognizance only in the event that the main infantry formation is under assault. The mercenary crossbowmen should understand that if the Pavisecrossbowmen show reluctance to obey orders they should be gentle reminded of who has them flanked and covered from their rear.

Division 5, the Teutons, are ordered to deploy on the far left flank and await orders as to a primary target. Standing orders are not to engage under any circumstances unless under orders.

Division 6, the unpaired Merc Knights, are ordered to deploy on the right of the Teutons, also near the far flank and await orders. Standing orders are to support the main infantry formation by flanking any enemy force which is in melee with the infantry.
Division 7, the paired Merc Knights, are ordered to deploy directly behind the crossbowmen and await orders. Standing orders are to support the mercenary crossbowmen if the Pavise crossbowmen should rebel, or to quickly flank and charge any infantry which attacks the crossbowmen.

(Note: Four in-game screenshots sent to me to clarify positions. Since it was sent to me via email, I didn’t bother uploading them to an image hoster just to put them here.)

No orders from Elite Ferret. Late orders from Ignoramus but I let them in.

Republican orders


To Republican Army Commanders and GH.

Alright you Dogs of WAR!!

We will make a general advance across the entire front. At minimum I want to be engaged across the Centre and Right flank by the end of this turn!! We will then push on our left with Hugo and Lothar!!

The LEFT FLANK: Lothar, Hugo, you can send your skirmishers forward.

If Tancred and von Salza hold their positions then have your Spear Division engage their Spears and hit them with your Cav fo maximum effect. Keep your DFK Div ready to hit the flank of the Imperial Centre if it presents itself.

RIGHT FLANK: Ludwig flatten out your Foot division once you start moving forward. Hit Ruppel and his Cavalry if he presents himself.

Bernhard, begin flanking further right...don't engage this turn unless to counter charge being attacked yourself, the only exception is to hit Ruppel and his cavalry if he is available to attack.

CENTRE:

Jan, if you would be so kind to have your Spear Division replace my DFK Div...it's a straight swap my Lord.

ALL: All missile divisions to fire at targets available in the following order; Cav, Heavy Inf; Missile

MEN!! MAKE SURE you hold the line and don't expose your divisions flanks to the Imperials staggered formation in the middle!! KEEP THE LINE STRAIGHT EVEN IF IT MEANS NOT ENGAGING!!

***As the orders go out and you read the hurried scrawl of the Dread Duke at each of your body guard regiments your respective retinue gasp as a massive RED flag is raised over the position of Arnold, as it's slowly waved from side to side in the breeze you can all clearly make out the Silver ICON of the Illuminati All Seeing Eye in it's centre.***

----------------
Arnold specific:

DFK Div: Let the front line pass you and take up position where Jan's Spear Division was. Look to reinforce in depth the Gunners if they are charged...keep them alive.

Gothic Div: Keep you eye peeled to the Right...if those Pikes or Two-Handers look like getting overwhelmed then support.

Xbow Div: Fire at targets available in the following order; Cav, Heavy Inf; Missile

Gunner Div: Fire at targets available in the following order; Cav, Heavy Inf; Missile. If you are attacked then fall back and have the DFK Div reinforce the hole in a deep formation.

Bernhard specific:

Cav Div: Flank further right. If Ruppel is available or pinned by Ludwig then hit him in the flank with your cavalry.

Map:

https://img176.imageshack.us/my.php?image=turn3allpm1.jpg


Infantry: Start moving back into a horizontal line at the level of the far left Pik regiment (so that that one only has to turn). Once all regiments are level again, start moving forwards. Should Ruppel and his cavalry present themselves, engage them. The Zweih&#228;nder regiment should stick behind the far right Pike Regiment.

Cavalry: Remain just to the right, and just behind the far right Pike regiment in order to protect the flanks.

https://img176.imageshack.us/img176/6551/turn3allpm1.jpg


Hughes de Cervole :

Knights : Charge on the west flank of the Imperial center. Aim for the foot knights. Do not begin charge if Duke Lothar's Foot Knights do not seem to follow. If such is the case you are to join me and repel any flanking maneuver on our line of spears.
If charged before engagement, you are to counter-charge.

Spearmen : March forward and engage Von Salza spearmen.

Reiters : Go for von Salza and his cavalry support and skirmish out of range of any counter-charge. If he should move out of range then targets are Heavy infantry and missile units in that order.

Zweihanders : Advance on the right of our spearmen line and prevent any flanking of that line. Keep in line with the spearmen

Hugo : I will follow in the wake of the spears, to plug any hole in our line or prevent flanking of our line left or right. I will charge any enemy charging on me.


Map:
https://img176.imageshack.us/my.php?image=turn3allpm1.jpg

Mounted Crossbows: Advance and skirmish with von Salza's cavalry. Retreat if the enemy attempts to engage, even if that means falling back behind the spears.

Spears: Advance along with Hugo's spears in a solid line. Do not engage von Salza's men unless they engage us.

Pavise Crossbowmen: Follow behind the spears and fire at whatever presents the best target.

DFK: Advance behind the spears, then swing to the right and prepare to assault the exposed Imperial center. If the Imperials withdraw from the center before we arrive, do not follow and engage. If the Imperial center remains exposed, engage in flanking melee if possible.

Retinue & Cavalry: Remain behind Lothar and Hugo's spears, in a position to be able to give orders to the DFKs plus whoever else is nearest to the left.


Unfortunately I have to keep them simple and partly OOC this time. :sweatdrop:

All units: General advance. It's time to take the fight to the Imperials!

Spearmen: Move through Duke Arnold's dismounted knights and take the lead. If enemy cavalry threaten you then countercharge. Otherwise stay in guard mode.

Archers: Move a bit to the left flank and try to stay out of the way of Lothar's and the others troops flanking the "Kaiser". Move into loose formation and follow the advance. Once in range target mounted units first, especially Peter's, with regular arrows. If there are no other targets aim for any of their infantry about to enter melee with fire arrows to reduce their morale.

Cavalry: Stay with me as I move a bit towards the center left of our army. Avoid committing yourselves to battle unless you are needed to plug a gap or see a chance to rout a wavering unit.

(note: map was included in an additional PM. It was the same as the others I was sent by the Republicans.)

No orders from Warmaster Horus.

Umpire notes for Turn 3

Units failing orders test: Peter’s crossbows, Ruppel’s DFKs, Hugo’s Zweihanders (nullified – closest to general), Lothar’s mounted Xbows. No orders from Warmaster Horus, but since AG is Overall Commander and it falls under his responsibilities, I allowed him to give minor orders for Bernhard’s cavalry (complete with orders test, of course – it passed).

I put Hapsburg’s escort closer to his cavalry, since Ignoramus only has three divisions, and Hapsburg’s escort alone would count for one.

Interpreted Dutch_guy’s orders as if he was hanging back and counter-flanking. FH’s cavalry was trickier (see below). Decided that since deguerra was getting close but decidedly not charging, FH’s cav would remain inert this turn.

Engagements taking place this turn: Peter in the center vs. Jan and Arnold. Bohmen/Bernhard vs. Ruppel. Hugo attacking Peter’s west flank, Tancred attempting to counter-flank but being checked by Lothar.

Center in-depth:
Peter’s crossbows don’t fire, infantry on both sides advance. Jan’s spears take the fight to Peter’s dismounted IKs to the east. Gunners get in a couple of shots at Peter’s cav, then are charged by dismounted IKs to the west. They fall back and Arnold’s DFKs engage. Jan’s Balkan archers and Arnold’s Xbows concentrate their fire on Peter’s cav. To the west, Hugo’s cavalry slams into Peter’s western flank. Already being pushed to the limit by Arnold’s DFKs, the Kaiser’s men can’t take the extra blow. Removed one regiment of dismounted IKs to account for this. Peter’s cavalry countercharges and win easily. Removed Hugo’s heavy cav. Removed one unit of Imperial Knights to represent losses in the charge as well as attrition due to Republican archer fire.

East in-depth:
Bohmen’s men even out and advance. However, he does not give the explicit order to attack and the only units of Ruppel’s that are given that order are the DFKs (inactive this turn). Both sides are extremely close to each other, but neither takes the initiative (most of FH’s orders are only in response to if deguerra, esp. his cavalry, makes the first move. The only actual combat this turn is Ruppel’s mounted Xbows shooting at Bernhard’s cavalry (Teutonic Knights reduced to &#189; strength to reflect this).

West in-depth:
General advance on both sides. Tancred’s archers move up past the spearmen but quickly retire as Hugo’s and Lothar’s move up. Tancred looks to counter-flank but cannot as he is engaged by Hugo’s spearmen and Lothar’s (despite TinCow’s orders of “don’t engage them unless they engage you”, I decided to make it a full line engagement due to Xbows being present and Hugo engaging to the right). Tancred’s cavalry does not attack (no express orders to). Pretty even combat, will be resolved next turn. Ranged skirmishes: Imperial Xbows target Lothar’s foot Xbows and remove them easily (removed 1 regiment from each – Imperial due to archer fire and some getting caught in the initial spear charge; Republican due to overwhelming archer fire). Republican Reiters skirmish the flank of Imperial FKs and drop &#189; of them. Lothar’s DFKs slip through a gap to the right and are in a very good position to flank Peter’s infantry next turn.

Overall losses:
Imperialists: 1 unit each of mounted and dismounted IKs, &#189; of Tancred’s FKs, 1 of Tancred’s pavise Xbows.
Republicans: Hugo’s heavy cav, Lothar’s pavise Xbows, &#189; of Bohmen’s mounted knights.

Roll for Matthias (needs 4-6): gets a two.

Matthias will have a 67% chance of arriving Turn 5.

Public feedback for Turn 3

The killing started.

Edmund Becker isn't exactly sure how it began; all he knows is that one moment the Republicans were advancing and the next, both sides were charging at each other and beginning the melee.

In the center, it is an all-out slugfest between Kaiser Peter's Imperial Knights and various Republican forces, belonging to Duke Arnold, Jan Zirn, Hugo de Cervole, and Lothar Steffen. The Kaiser's men began marching up front, appearing to protect his crossbowmen which, oddly, weren't firing. Arnold, anticipating a cavalry charge, substituted his dismounted Feudal Knights for Jan Zirn's various spearmen. However, when it became clear that it would be an infantry fight, he recalled his gunners after they had only gotten a couple of shots off and put his DFKs back in the front. The match was even for a while, but then Becker noticed events happening to the west.

Athalwolf von Salza and Tancred von Tyrolia's men were advancing, although now it definitely appeared as if Tancred was in command. Perhaps the Kaiser didn't trust von Salza, loser of the Battle of the Flemish Crossroads, over one of his oldest friends? In any case, Tancred was advancing his men, but not fast enough to catch a fierce cavalry charge done by Hugo de Cervole's knights aimed at the Kaiser's flank. As the Imperialists feared, Hugo's charge did serious damage, wrecking one regiment of dismounted Imperial Knights before Peter and the rest of his cavalry countercharged, destroying the flankers.

Further to the west, a similar melee took place between the spearmen of Lothar Steffen and Hugo de Cervole and Tancred's infantry, who attempted to counter-flank but were checked. It was an even contest and would not be decided quickly, but there was a big enough between Tancred's and Peter's men for four regiments of Lothar's dismounted Feudal Knights to slip through, offering a far more serious threat to the Kaiser's flank. Peter's cavalry, spent after their last countercharge and suffering due to what seemed like every Republican missile firing at them, could not do anything until the next turn.

To the east, Becker notes, the forces, while extremely close to each other, have not yet begun engaging. Neither commander took the initiative to begin the attack, with Ehrhart Ruppel's DFKs strangely being left behind. Instead, most of the work that was done was beefing up the extreme flanks, as Bernhard Steffen moved up to provide a serious challenge to the Imperialists, and Maximilian Zirn reinforced Ruppel.

Becker turns his head and takes note of the various missile engagements taking place. Most notable is to the east, where two regiments of Ruppel's mounted crossbowmen have begun picking off Bernhard Steffen's Teutonic Knights. To the west, a long-range duel took place between Tancred's and Lothar's pavisemen. Tancred's had the numbers and thus the advantage, eliminating Lothar's men with one regiment casualties of their own, due to counter-fire and being caught by an initial spear charge. Hugo's Reiters, much like Ruppel's men on the other side of the battlefield, began skirmishing with Tancred's cavalry, dropping about half of Athalwolf's former Feudal Knights.

With most of the infantry either locked in or about to be locked in combat, Becker realizes that the reserves will most likely decide it. And right now, that definitely looks in the Imperialists' favor, with Maximilian von Hapsburg belatedly delaying to the west, Max Zirn still not engaged to the east, and, most frighteningly for the Republicans, Fritz von Kastilien to the center-east.

Matthias Steffen is nowhere to be found for the Republicans, but there is one event behind their lines that draws Becker's notice: A member of Arnold's retinue draws a massive red flag and begins waving it for the entire battlefield to see. Even from this distance, Becker can see the silver Illuminati logo of the all-seeing eye on it, as well as an inscription in Latin. As for what the inscription or even what the flag itself signifies, that's anyone's guess. Many of the soldiers, even the generals, have bigger problems to worry about. The critical moment may be approaching.

Map:
https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/turn3_full.jpg

(note about the map: All units locked in combat do not have a colored line next to them and cannot be ordered around for Turn 4. Due to the central location of the melee, all divisions not engaged will be able to reach the fight the next turn, though Dieter, Hapsburg, and Fritz will arrive near the end of the turn.)

DEADLINE FOR TURN 4 ORDERS: April 3rd, 16:00 GMT-5.

GeneralHankerchief
04-04-2008, 03:45
Turn 3 feedback

Turn 3 feedback to the Imperialists


Feedback to Peter

The engagement has begun, although not exactly how you wanted it to. For some inexplicable reason, your crossbowmen did not fire, and you did not gain the missile advantage before the melee began. This was sorely felt, as the Republican archers targeted your cavalry throughout the turn.

Your foot knights are now locked in a death struggle with Arnold's and Jan Zirn's men, and it's not looking good for them. First, Hugo de Cervole's cavalry charged their flank and did serious damage before being countercharged by your own men, losing a regiment (due to the fight and the archers) in the process. Now, Lothar Steffen's best infantry has slipped through a hole and, if not dealt with, can make life even more miserable for your men.

To your relief, you notice that Fritz and Hapsburg have deployed and that Matthias has not. You now unquestionably hold the advantage in numbers and that can definitely make up for the fact that your own force could either be flanked and/or shot into oblivion.

Only two things bug you: Dieter Bresch did not move at all for this turn, and that giant red Illuminati flag over by Arnold. But enough about that, it's time to be Kaiser. It's time to lead your forces to victory forever.


Feedback to Ruppel

You are not pleased; your DFKs did not do as they were ordered and as a result they did not initiate the attack, thus making the entire flank stagnant.

Luckily, Ludwig von Bohmen appears to be holding back on the attack. Bad for him, no matter how many cavalry he may have. You seem to have the pleasure of being reinforced, first by Max Zirn and maybe later by Fritz. Zirn can reach your men this turn and Fritz can come up at the end and potentially do some damage.

It might be time to act... assuming your DFKs do as they're told.


Feedback to Tancred

Well, you tried to counter-flank, but Hugo and Lothar got in the way. Your infantry is now in an even duel with theirs, and the cavalry on the flanks are pretty even as well. You're a bit worried about Hugo's Reiters; they have already taken away half of Athalwolf's Feudal Knights and probably know that you are the commander of this wing by now.

You lost a regiment of crossbowmen due to them getting caught in the spears and an archery duel, but you've taken away Lothar's only foot archers as well. Perhaps your two regiments remaining will be enough to swing control of the wing in your favor? Surely you don't want a man like Hapsburg getting all the credit for victory on your wing.

Victory, however, might mean total destruction of your forces. There's one upside to that though: You'll become a general-in-waiting again. Spots are most certainly going to open up.


Feedback to Dieter

You order your forces to halt and watch as the melee begins, watch as your friend Peter countercharges Hugo de Cervole's cavalry to save his flank and your other friend Tancred take command of the western wing against Hugo and Lothar. Franconia is clearly giving its all in this battle. All of it, except for you.

The one advantage of holding back is that you will now be able to commit your force to where you believe it will be most advantageous. You had better commit it somewhere, however, otherwise Peter, no matter how much trouble he's in, will seriously be angry. Not to mention Fritz, who has shown up (timely as ever, of course) and has always despised your inaction.

Say, who's in charge of Franconia anyway?


Feedback to Max

You shift your men to the far east of the battlefield and place your spearmen on the extreme edge. They are now in position to intervene, one way or another.

To the south, you see it - the red flag. Now is the time to reveal your family's true heritage and legacy. Be careful, however, that your units do not turn on you when they hear of your plan.

Disobedience aside, you are in an excellent position to totally surprise Ehrhart Ruppel... provided he is already engaged.


Feedback to Hapsburg

You deploy your men, and not a moment too soon - a courier was coming from Peter ready to relieve you if you weren't up by the time he arrived.

You positioned yourself in the west, where Tancred von Tyrolia seems to be fighting Hugo de Cervole and Lothar Steffen to a standstill. If you hurry, your men can intervene and potentially decide the outcome of the engagement on that wing.

Perhaps this is the day that the Hapsburg name becomes widely known?

(OOC note: I put Hapsburg's escort with the other cavalry to keep divisions together.)


Feedback to Fritz

You and your massive army of mercenaries deploy to the center-east portion of the battlefield, ready to intervene pretty much wherever you choose, potentially this turn if you hurry.

However, that might not be the best option - Matthias Steffen has not arrived yet and his force is the only one large enough to singlehandedly give you trouble.

Whatever you decide, you can count on your intervention - or lack, thereof - to be decisive.

Turn 3 feedback to the Republicans


Feedback to Arnold

You wave the flag sufficiently. No doubt it now has everyone's attention on the battlefield. Let's hope that Max responds.

You start to worry about things a bit closer to home. Your knights and Jan's spearmen are locked in combat with the best infantry in the Reich, and although Peter's flank is being menaced first by Cervole and next by Lothar, it's still too early to tell who will come out ahead. Your Gothic Knights are waiting in reserve to swing things your way, but so is Dieter Bresch's entire army.

Your right flank is currently not being engaged, as it appears that neither Bohmen nor Ruppel took the initiative. Oh well, it's probably certain that you won't have to worry about that flank come next turn.

You are confident that you'll come out ahead, but it will still be a tough fight and Matthias is nowhere to be found. Prepare for a long grind before an Illuminati victory.


Feedback to Bohmen

Your men even out and advance, but do not attack. Neither do Ruppel's. You're not sure why, but nevertheless you are the only Advance Guard commander with a totally free contingent of infantry this turn.

Of course, your Pikemen must be up to the task, as they'll no doubt have to deal with Ruppel this upcoming turn, and probably Max Zirn and Fritz as well. Bernhard's cavalry will certainly help turn the tide, but he is being menaced by Ruppel's horse archers and hasn't really been much of an active commander.

You hope that fate will assist you this upcoming turn and that you will have a force to command by the end of it. There's only one way to find out.


Feedback to Hugo

Your cavalry, finally obeying orders, charges Peter's flank and ravages it, shattering one regiment of Imperial Knights before being mercilessly countercharged and destroyed by Peter's horsemen. Your Reiters, however, are still kicking, having ridded Tancred von Tyrolia (for he is commanding now, you realize) a decent portion of his cavalry.

The remainder of your forces are tied up; Your spears are locked in melee with Tancred's and both sides have a good chance of destroying each other. There is your escort and Lothar's cavalry, but there is also the threat of Maximilian von Hapsburg to deal with.

With the best of Lothar's infantry all but committed to the battle in the center, you hope that Arnold's little (large, actually) Illuminati flag will somehow turn the tide of the west flank to your favor.


Feedback to Lothar

Your spearmen get in an engagement with Tancred von Tyrolia's, but something good has come out of it. Namely, they helped savage a regiment of pavise crossbowmen that had foolishly moved to the front as you were advancing.

Your knights managed to get through the hole created and are in position to destroy Peter's infantry, but can now be attacked from a variety of directions. However, they are experienced and difficult to slay, and even if overwhelmed on all directions will still take a lot of enemy down with them.

Most disturbing is the fact that your mounted crossbowmen did nothing this turn, despite orders. You told them to target Athalwolf von Salza, although their inaction might have been for the best as it is clear he is not in command in the west.

You know you are getting some help in the east next turn, due to Arnold's flag, but your situation with Maximilian von Hapsburg coming up is not the ideal one.


Feedback to Jan

Your spearmen exhange places with Arnold's DFKs without a hitch. Just in time, too, as they are quickly dragged into an engagement with Peter's dismounted Imperial Knights.

Pretty much all you can do is watch and tell your archers to keep firing. Should Peter's men break through your lines, you are always waiting to countercharge, however. One way or another, you definitely got your share of action.

In the meantime, all you can do is wait and wonder what the heck that red Illuminati flag is for.

(note: Forgot to send feedback to Warmaster Horus. Since he hasn’t been active for a week, wasn’t too worried.)

Orders

Imperialist orders


Peter and his cavalry will countercharge the overlapping DFKs to his southwest. His pavise crossbowmen will fire deep into the Republican formation at Arnold and the Gothic Knights.

Fritz, Max Zirn, and Ehrhart Ruppel shall exploit the open eastern flank for all it's worth.

Dieter shall move up behind the center infantry to relieve them as they perish.

Max Hapsburg will advance in support of Athalwolf and Tancred.


Hi GH,

Orders as per my diagram here:
https://img382.imageshack.us/img382/3294/unbenanntde8.jpg

Let me know if anything is unclear or otherwise.

Cavalry to retreat and recharge if pikes engage them.


I will be sending von salza and what's left of the FK over to my left, to engage the enemy DFKs currently in the process of flanking Peter's forces. Von salza will be engaging the second from the left DFK regiment, and the FK will be charging in the rear of the regiment on the utmost left. My crossbows will be targeting the reiters, but in the case of a Zweihander charge on von Salza (I'm expecting the zweihanders will be used this way)the crossbows will switch targets to the latter (the enemy zweihanders).

In the event of such a charge, von Salza and the FK will make a run for my position, and await further instructions there. I'm assuming the friendly forces in my rear will have advanced far enough to provide assistance in the case of an enemy attack (mainly a potential flanking manoeuvre) and will be able to provide assistance when needed. As even a flanking manoeuvre on my left (where the enemy have sent their 4 regiments of DFK) could form a real threat when they engage Peter's troops in their backs. Or potentially come gunning for my troops currently locked in combat (for which those Zweihanders are suited perfectly).

Hope that was clear enough, if not, don't hesitate to ask.


GH,

My orders are submitted by the recommendations below they are in bold. The extra spearmen will support the other spearmen rushing into the engagement they will prepare for any counter charge.
Just realized the time of day.
NN


***REMOVED***

With that in mind I suggest that you tell Ruppel (Tell him late, close to the deadline, so there's no time for him to argue) you're ordering your Forlorn Hope to march double time past his position to aid the attack against the pikemen. Have the FH march quickly very close to him, and then try to launch a surprise charge with them from both sides. That is to be the first act that reveals your true loyalty. As soon as his guardsmen are engaged, at least one company of spearmen should rush to support that attack while your guardsmen and your Crusader Knights line up and launch repeated charges against his DFKs.

After the action starts I suggest your own foot crossbowmen attack his mounted ones at range to keep them occupied. Be sure to include orders for a secondary target (Spearmen facing the pikes?) for those men in the event that the mounted crossbowmen are engaged at close range by Republican cavalry.


Division 1, Fritz's HQ, is to maintain it's relative position with respect to the larger infantry formation. This will involve a 45 degree wheel to the right and a possible advance. He should only be committed to battle if the infantry formation's center is broken open completely.

Division 2, the infantry screen, is to immediately execute a 45 degree wheel to the right, in the direction of Duke Dieter's troops. The infantry's advance is conditional upon Duke Dieter's own advance. If during the wheel movement the Duke fails to advance, the infantry should complete the wheel and hold ground until the Duke moves forward. If the Duke moves forward the formation should also advance with the end goal of bringing the gunners into range of the main engagement at the center. In specific the advance should continue until the Republican armoured sergeants at the center of the field are in range to take fire from the gunners, though higher priority is given to keeping Duke Dieter's men from falling behind our own flank. Coordination with the gunners is essential to holding the formation. Standing orders as to the response to various attacks are unchanged.

Division 3, the gunners, are first and most importantly to maintain their relative position with respect to the infantry formation; this will involve wheeling to the right 45 degrees immediately. They should watch Duke Dieter's men closely during this movement, and if the Duke is advancing the men should advance as well. The advance should continue, dependent upon Dieter's own advance, until the gunners have the range to fire on the Republican armoured sergeants at the center of the engagement. The men are ordered to hold fire under all circumstances, however, and should not take even ranging shots. Standing orders as to the response to various forms of attack are unchanged.

Division 4, the crossbowmen, are ordered to take a position directly behind Duke Dieter's HQ. If the Duke advances, they should advance. If he fails to advance, they should remain where they are and be watchful against an attack. If attacked the mercenary crossbowmen should attempt to fall back to the right wing of the infantry formation in haste while the Pavise crossbowmen hold and await support from cavalry.

Division 5, the Teutons, are ordered to advance at a walk to the position which is currently held by Count Ruppel's Dismounted Feudal Knights. They are to avoid engagement at all costs, and are not permitted to involve themselves in any struggle along their path. If they should come under missile or melee attack they are ordered to retreat to the left wing of the main infantry formation, there to reset their lines and attempt their march again.

Division 6, the unpaired Merc Knights, are ordered to advance to the position currently held by Count Max Zirn's crossbowmen and to take up station to their immediate west. They are strictly ordered not to involve themselves in any fighting along their path or at their destination. Further orders will follow soon. Losses due to ranged fire must be borne, any attempt to engage them in close quarters fighting should see them retreat as necessary to avoid it.

Division 7, the paired Mercenary knights, are ordered to take a position on the western side of the crossbowmen they are currently behind. If Duke Dieter advances they should advance as well.

No orders from Ignoramus and Elite Ferret (gibson, in his role as Overall Commander, gave skeleton orders for both armies and those orders will be implemented in stead).

Republican orders


Overall Orders to ALL Republican Army Commanders and GH:

LEFT FLANK:

Hugo!! Exploit the gap and get those 2-Handers on the flank of your Spear Division...roll up that DFK Div as fast as possible.

Flank all your skirmishers wider and target von Salza and his Cav Division. Make sure they don't get caught by Hapsburg coming in from behind.

Keep yourself in reserve to plug and gap in the Spear line.

Lothar!! Your entire DFK Div is through. Have half hit Peter and the other half hit von Salza/Tancred.

As for your Cav division: You can either hold and pour through the gap next turn or flank left and hammer von Salza, Tancred and those Xbows. It's up to you.

CENTRE:

JAN: Hold Hold Hold. Use your Cav Division to plug any gap with a decisive charge. Have your Bow Div attack those Xbow's behind the front line.

ARNOLD: Holding the line with the DFK Div:

Gunners to target Peter's Cavalry, Xbow Div, to do the same.

Gothics to check both Centre and Right flank for support opportunities.

RIGHT FLANK: GENTLEMEN YOU MUST do this:

Luwdig, get those 2-Hander on the flank of those Spearmen:

Then I want you AND BERNHARD to mass charge Ruppel, his Cav Div and those DFK's behind him...do not concern yourself with anything else at the moment!! Kill him and his force this turn!!

***As the orders go out and you read the hurried scrawl of the Dread Duke at each of your body guard regiments your respective retinue gasp as another massive flag, BLACK this time, is raised over the position of Arnold, NOW there are two massive flags constantly being waved in long arcs from side to side in the breeze. In the centre of the black flag is the now familiar Silver Latin writing of the Illuminati All Seeing Eye and script in the centre .***

GH, the RED and BLACK flags will be waved constantly until I say otherwise.

----------------
Arnold specific:

DFK Div: Hit those DIK and Spearmen hard with Lothars supporting divisions. I want them gone.

Gothic Div: Keep you eye peeled to the Centre and Right...if there are gaps appearing then charge in for maximum effect.

Xbow Div: Fire at targets available in the following order; Cav, Heavy Inf; Missile

Gunner Div: Fire at targets available in the following order; Cav, Heavy Inf; Missile.

Bernhard specific:

Cav Div: Fan out in a line and hit Ruppel in support of Ludwigs Cav Div...I want Ruppel, his Cav Div and and DFK to feel the mass charge of our best Division. If you can withdraw and rechrage due to local superiority of numbers then do so for maxium effect.

Map:

https://img364.imageshack.us/my.php?image=turn3allwb9.jpg


Ok, am keeping it simple:

Infantry:
the pikemen are to engage the spearmen.
the zweih&#228;nders flank the the spearmen from the right as shown.

Cavalry:
the cavalry is to charge at Ruppels own cavalry division. They are to charge, then fall back and charge again and again..When one regiment is engaged the other can retreat and then swap. Ignore all else on the Right flank until Ruppel is no longer and effective fighting force.

If Ludwig dies in this, its been a blast, and thanks for letting us go out on a bang.

Map:

https://img364.imageshack.us/my.php?image=turn3allwb9.jpg


Hugo's orders for turn 4 :

https://img364.imageshack.us/my.php?image=turn3allwb9.jpg

Spears : Maintain engagement with the opposing forces. Keeping them at bay without inflicting many casualties is acceptable, if it also reduces our own casualties.

Zweihanders : Flank von Salza's DFK on their left, roll up as many as you can.

Reiters : Keep on skirmishing on the opposing cavalry.

Hugo : Behind the middle of the spear line to be able to charge in any gap created in the line. If such a thing occurs then charge and retreat as soon as contact is made, and repeat as many times as necessary.


https://img364.imageshack.us/my.php?image=turn3allwb9.jpg

DFKs: 2 southern units attack Peter's DIKs from the flank and rear. 2 northern units attack von Salza/Tyrolia's DFKs from the rear.

Spears: Hold the line against the enemy. Keeping them at bay without inflicting many casualties is acceptable, if it also reduces our own casualties.

Mounted Crossbows: Fire on the best available targets of opportunity, though give preference to cavalry. Advance if needed to achieve this, but skirmish away if the enemy closes to attack.

Retinue & Knights: Remain in place so as to be able to charge through the gap in the lines next turn. If the enemy attempts to plug the gap and are not stopped by the infantry, charge that enemy.


Sorry this came in so close to the deadline.

Spears: Hold position. Guard mode.

Archers: Loose formation, fire at Imperial crossbowmen.

Cavalry: Charge to plug any gaps in the line.

(note: same map as the rest of the Republicans was sent along)

Umpire notes for Turn 4

Naturally, the biggest event of this turn was Maximilian Zirn switching sides. I implemented an enhanced orders test for all non-mercenary, non-Forlorn Hope units that are defecting:


Roll 3-6, all non-Mercenary, non-Forlorn Hope units obey.
Roll 2, units remain inactive.
Roll 1, I roll again (you don't want a 1 to come up).

Second roll:

Roll 4-6, units remain inactive.
Roll 2-3, units desert and I remove them from the map immediately.
Roll 1, the units turn on you and attack.

Units failing orders test: Ruppel’s mounted Xbows, one of Max’s AS (second roll: 2 – deserted), Arnold’s gunners, Hugo’s Reiters.

FH tried to get one of Peter’s dismounted IKs to the east to help attack the pikemen – did not allow this as they weren’t his troops (just recommendations), gibson said nothing, and the men in question were already locked in combat!

Engagements taking place this turn: Conclusion of western battle, part I. Conclusion of central battle, part I. Eastern battle. Since neither Ferret or Ignoramus submitted orders, I made the executive decision to not directly involve them in combat this turn (in-character, they did not “push” their men enough). They will be in position to attack next turn.

Center in-depth:
Two of Lothar’s DFKs plunge into the flank and wrap around the rear of Peter’s dismounted IKs (both Peter’s and Athalwolf’s cavalry went for the two regiments of DFK that attacked Tancred). Simulated both sides: as Republicans, flank was decisive and Republicans won big. As Imperialists, pretty much the same result, albeit with a few more casualties. Removed 2 dismounted IKs and 2 AS for Imperialists, 1 of Arnold’s DFKs for Republicans. On the right, Peter’s dismounted IKs faced off against Jan Zirn’s spearmen. As Republicans and Imperialists the spearmen were easily dispatched. Removed 2 AS and 2 Crusader Sergeants for Republicans and 1 unit of dismounted IKs due to attrition. In missile combat, Peter’s Xbows targeted Arnold’s BG and his DGKs, semi-effectively. Reduced one unit of DGKs to &#189; strength. Arnold’s Xbows targeted Peter’s cav (considered in the western battle for this turn).

West in-depth:
Combat between Lothar/Hugo’s and Tancred’s infantry continue. Tancred dispatches von Salza’s cavalry to attack two northernmost of Lothar’s DFKs, which conveniently aim for the back of Tancred’s infantry. Peter’s cavalry does the same, two units of DFKs are sandwiched and destroyed before they can reach their target. Peter and cav retire back to the center, with Arnold’s missiles still fixed on his position. He loses another regiment due to missile fire and the charge. Back to infantry, the Zweihanders begin flanking the Imperial line. Dutch seemed to want Ignoramus to respond, but there was ambiguity (since Ignoramus wouldn’t intervene this turn). Decided to roll. 1-3 his cavalry does nothing, 4-6 they countercharge. Rolled a 3. In combat simulation for both sides it was essentially a draw, with the flanking Zweihanders barely allowing Lothar’s spears to not get completely overwhelmed by Tancred’s DFKs. Removed 6 Republican AS and their Zweihanders (they got wrecked, too). For the Imperialists, removed 3 AS and 3 DFKs. A bloody draw. In missile combat, Lothar’s mounted Xbows removed the remainder of the mounted FKs and Tancred’s foot Xbows decimated the unresponsive Reiters. Removed the FKs and Reiters.

East in-depth:
My God, this was a difficult one to simulate. First thing I did was remove one of Max Zirn’s AS (desertion). Pikemen begin engaging Ruppel’s AS before they can get to Bohmen’s cavalry as ordered. Despite Ruppel using a shallow formation, Bohmen has a two-regiment advantage and the one pike regiment plus the Zweihanders begin flanking. They get the advantage, but just as they’re about to finish up, Ruppel’s DFKs come in and counter-flank them. As far as cavalry goes, Ruppel and Bohmen/Bernhard charge each other (Bernhard was done under basic orders from Overall Commander AG to charge). Ruppel seems to be holding his own against superior numbers for a while. Simulated both sides. As Imperialists, managed to kill Bernhard Steffen. As Republicans, he survived. Decided to roll. 5-6 he lives, 3-4 he gets injured (not captured, read on), 1-2 he dies. Rolled a 2. Bye-bye Bernhard. Then Max Zirn comes in. His 2 FH units and 1 AS totally surround Ruppel with the rest of the Republican cavalry. Simulated both sides. Nobody got out alive in either simulation. Ruppel died. Max’s cavalry hit the counter-flanking DFKs repeatedly and destroyed them. This left the archers. Max’s Xbows hit Ruppel’s inactive mounted Xbows. Destroyed one regiment. The other one routed due to the death of their commander. Total losses: For the Republicans, all four Flemish Pikemen, the Zweihanders, Merchant Cav Militia, Bernhard Steffen, Teutonic Knights, 1 AS, 1 Forlorn Hope, Crusader Knights (1/2). For the Imperialists, 3 AS, 2 DFKs, 2 FKs, 2 mounted Xbows, Ehrhart Ruppel.

Roll for Matthias (needs 3-6): gets a five! *sees OverKnight mumble “finally” under his breath*

Matthias will be able to deploy on Turn 5.

Public feedback for Turn 4

One particular shade has dominated the battlefield: Red. It rules in the air as Duke Arnold's Illuminati standard billows mightily in the wind, easily outclassing every other flag on the battlefield. It rules on the ground, particularly on the main lines, as the field slowly becomes a puddle of blood with every death.

The initial engagements have been decided, Becker notes.

To the west, the armies of Lothar Steffen, Hugo de Cervole, and Tancred von Tyrolia have fought each other to a bloody standstill. The second half of this line was marked with Republican attempts to gain the advantage by pushing on the flanks. The first attempt was two of Duke Lothar Steffen's Dismounted Feudal Knights, having freshly made their way through a gap, try to collapse on Tancred's line from the rear. However, this attempt was doomed, as the knights were charged first by Peter von Kastilien's cavalry and then Athalwolf von Salza's. The foot soldiers were sandwiched and obliterated before they could cause any damage.

The second attempt was more subtle, and yet still saved the day for the Republicans. Hugo de Cervole ordered his Zweihanders to simply flank the eastern portion of Tancred's line, hitting through the gap. It was just enough to distract Tancred's dismounted knights from killing Hugo's spearmen, and although the end result was all armies being fought out, that one flanking maneuver prevented Tancred gaining the edge. However, the Imperialists do seem to have triumphed on this wing of the battlefield, as Maximilian von Hapsburg is up with fresh troops. Hugo is a general without an army; all of his regiments have been wiped out, whether in the infantry melee or by Tancred's crossbowmen targeting his strangely inactive Reiters. In addition, Lothar has lost most of his infantry, the remainders probably having to be committed to the central battle and his cavalry all but useless against Hapsburg's spears.

Becker shifts his attention to the central battle. Parts of that battle are shifting multiple ways. To the west, the other two of Lothar's Dismounted Feudal Knights, unchecked since Peter had decided to go for the others, wrapped around the Kaiser's infantry, annihilating it. To the east, there was no such flanking maneuver. As a result, Peter's dismounted Imperial Knights prevailed, destroying Jan Zirn's spearmen. It seems like the most elite dismounted knights in the Reich, those belonging to the oldest of enemies: Lothar, Arnold, and Peter, will fight against each other, and soon. But the Republicans have other things to worry about. Their guns did not, oddly, fire this turn, allowing the Imperial archers to ravage Arnold's Dismounted Knights, reducing one regiment to half strength. Arnold's archers got their revenge, continuing to menace Peter's cavalry and dropping the equivalent of another regiment. But, once again, things look for the Imperialists. Dieter Bresch is up, bringing with him knights, spearmen, and over 350 crossbowmen. In addition, Fritz von Kastilien could hit potentially anywhere.

However, the battle is by no means over. The truly startling series of events occurred in the east, which brought about a bloodbath even deadlier than those to the west. Ludwig von Bohmen's Pikemen finally took the initiative and attacked Ehrhart Ruppel's spearmen before they could get to Bohmen's cavalry. The numerical advantage of the Republican infantry quickly allowed them to flank Ruppel's sergeants. However, just as they were finishing up, Ruppel's dismounted Feudal Knights came charging in and counter-flanked, ensuring the fight would go on.

Even farther east of that, a desperate, frenzied cavalry battle took place as all of the horsemen loaded up on that flank finally attacked. The cavalry under Ruppel, Bohmen, and Bernhard Steffen, including each one of their personal escorts, all charged. Despite the numerical disadvantage, Ruppel's men seemed to be more than holding their own, bringing down a few regiments and Bernhard Steffen himself as complex, elegant tactics were used by all sides.

Then the blow came.

The men of Maximilian Zirn, son of Karl, brother of Jan, charged in...

...right at Ruppel.

The Swabian Count was taken completely by surprise by this trickery. In one of his last thoughts, he realized what the red Illuminati flag meant. Max Zirn was always one of them. Completely surrounded, realizing his fate, Ruppel tried to simply kill as many of Max's infantry as he could. A regiment of Forlorn Hope perished in this desperate fight, but in the end the outcome was inevitable. The Imperialists lost a great commander in the east.

Not just a commander, but an entire army. Naturally, the cavalry were utterly annihilated, but Ruppel's dismounted Knights, while still fighting, were charged and destroyed by Zirn's cavalry, and his mounted crossbowmen, inactive, simply watched and got shot by Zirn's foot archers, some dying, some routing.

Becker watched all of this in amazement. The Illuminati always had something up their sleeve. They had won a great victory in the east, but there were still a lot more enemies to kill. The Republicans were still falling, Matthias Steffen was still nowhere in sight, and the Imperialists still had two fresh armies. There is definitely still something to watch, Becker realizes.

He continues to watch the remainder of the initial fighting, but cannot as his attention is diverted to something else: Another massive flag being raised by Arnold's escort; this one even larger than the red one, and black as night, with the silver all-seeing eye present.

Map:
https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/turn4_full.jpg

DEADLINE FOR TURN 5 ORDERS: April 5th, 18:00 GMT-5. I'll be out that night and might not be able to implement orders until the morning, but I still want them all in by the above deadline.

GeneralHankerchief
04-06-2008, 16:28
Turn 4 feedback

Turn 4 feedback to the Imperialists


Feedback to Peter

You charge some of Lothar's flanking infantry and watch as Athalwolf von Salza does the same from the other side. You take pleasure in killing Lothar's men so easily. Hopefully it will be same for the man himself.

After extricating yourself from the mess, you watch your infantry fight. They came out about even with the Republicans, but will still have to face some more DFKs. In addition, Arnold's archer fire has decimated your cavalry, with you losing another regiment. Something might want to be done about them.

You take a look at the overall situation: A mixed bag. Hapsburg is up in the west, ready to overwhelm what remains of Imperial forces there, as is Dieter in the center and Fritz in the center-east. But in the east... my God, what a mess. Maximilian Zirn has turned on your men, utterly destroying that flank and ridding you of Ehrhart Ruppel. You lost a good man in that treachery.

You surmise that he was an Illuminatus the entire time, damn him. He will have to be dealt with, both for personal reasons as well as military ones. But you also notice that Arnold has flown another flag, this one back. You pray that this flag is more symbolic than anything else.

You can still win, but suddenly your fight has gotten a lot harder.


Feedback to Ruppel

Your Armoured Sergeants are charged before they can advance on Bohmen's cavalry. There's nothing you can really do but hope the DFKs arrive quickly. They do, but not before your spearmen are flanked and destroyed.

As for cavalry, well, that's what you do best, after all. You charge, charge again, and start pulling off the fancy tactics that you learned from Hans himself, killing more of Bohmen and Bernhard's cavalry than they do yours, despite the numbers. You even bring down Bernhard himself. You figure this will aggravate Lothar to no end. Good.

However, numbers do mean a lot, especially when you aren't expecting there to be as many as there really are. You pull back, ordering another fresh charge, only to find yourself slamming into one of Max Zirn's regiments of spearmen (the other one must have deserted).

Shocked, you look for an opening, but there isn't one. Max's Forlorn Hope, his spearmen, and the remaining Republican cavalry have totally surrounded your horsemen.

You figure there is nothing you can do but fight your way out. So you try, and it is a glorious attempt, but that's all it is... an attempt. After bringing down many of the traitor's infantry, you finally fall, knowing you did the best you could, and that it wasn't your fault.

(OOC: Unfortunately FH, Ruppel is dead and you will no longer be able to play a part in the battle. Sorry about that, and thanks for participating! It's just that you were placed on the wrong wing. At least it's something to be said that the only ways your characters died in KotR were both through PvP battles.)


Feedback to Tancred

It appears as if Athalwolf finally has some life in him - he takes up the charge against Lothar's DFKs with gusto and destroys them nicely. They retire back to your position and wait.

It appears as if the Zweihanders are flanking, but the men are pooped from the charge and are unsure whether to intervene or not. Eventually they decide to do nothing. It might be costly, as it was this flanking maneuver that allowed the Republicans to pull out a draw.

Your infantry is spent, but you still have some cavalry as well as a good compliment of archers. You will be of excellent support to Maximilian von Hapsburg as he will probably take the lead on the western wing.


Feedback to Bresch

You advance towards the center, where you believe you will be the reserve. This certainly looks likely, as all that is left are some of Peter's infantry, about half his original cavalry, and a good amount of Republican DFKs.

However, there is the small matter of Max Zirn, the traitor, totally overrunning Ehrhart Ruppel's position and smashing his flank. The east is now in critical danger and you might be called to assist over there.

Either way, you are finally going to have to plug your troops in somewhere this upcoming turn, or face the Kaiser's wrath, assuming he survives the battle.


Feedback to Hapsburg

You order your men forward. As you march, you cannot help but notice how the battle in front of you goes. It appears that both sides have exhausted their infantry.

This now puts you in a very good position to take control of the western wing and put you back in Peter's favor. Lothar and Hugo have no infantry to face you, with Hugo's all dead and the remainder of Lothar's all but committed to the central battle. All that's in front of you is archers and cavalry, and you happen to have plenty of spearmen.

It's time to act, Hapsburg. The west wing seems to be the only thing that's going well in the battle right now. Make sure it stays that way.


Feedback to Fritz

(apologies for the shortness, it's late.)

You wheel and advance. To the southeast, you note that Max Zirn has betrayed the Imperialists and destroyed Ruppel. To the south, Dieter Bresch has moved into position to claim the center of the battlefield to the Imperialists.

With Matthias Steffen still not up, you still own the largest army on the battlefield. Use it well.

Turn 4 feedback to the Repiblicans


Feedback to Arnold

Your DFKs perform admirably, holding their own against Peter's Imperial Knights until Lothar can come up and flank the bejeezus out of them. Mission accomplished - sort of. They'll now have to deal with the remainder of Peter's infantry.

To the west, you realize that it was the bloodiest of draws that took place over there, probably not benefitting you overall as the leftovers of Lothar and Hugo are in no position to take on Hapsburg's fresh troops. But to the east, ah, glory! Max Zirn has revealed himself, totally annihilating Ehrhart Ruppel's army as well as killing the general himself.

The only thing that bitters the victory in the east is the news that Bernhard Steffen has perished in the fighting. Lothar will not be happy. Come to think of it, Herrmann probably won't be either... neither will Matthias... dammit, you hang around way too many Steffens.

The black flag raised, you are in a position to forever cement your legacy.


Feedback to Bohmen

Thinking that your own death is approaching, you order your men to do their best. It begins with your pikemen initiating the infantry engagement. They have the numbers, temporarily, and make the most of them by flanking. However, they are quickly counterflanked by Ruppel's DFKs and the battle is on.

Your cavalry grits its teeth and charges in against the master, Ehrhart Ruppel. As expected, he comes out swinging, wrecking your Merchant Cavalry Militia, not to mention Bernhard's Teutonic Knights and killing Bernhard himself. But then...

Max Zirn comes out of nowhere, and attacks...

...RUPPEL?!?!

You know not to question blessings, and watch in awe as his men sweep down on the unsuspecting Imperial forces, destroying them.

When the dust clears, all you command is some cavalry, but it looks like you are still alive and the right flank is strong, and that's all that matters.


Feedback to Hugo

You can only watch and shout encouragement as your infantry fight to a standstill against Tancred's. In the end, both sides exhaust each other. You have no more infantry.

You can only watch as your Reiters ignore your orders - again - and get massacred by Tancred's missiles. You have no more cavalry aside from your own escort.

You can only watch as Maximilian von Hapsburg brings his fresh army up to the western front. You can only watch because you have nobody else to command. Your Arquebusiers are under Arnold's control. The rest of your men are dead.

Hapsburg is not your fight, not after you spent everything you had trying to win the day for the Republicans. You are now a general-in-waiting.


Feedback to Lothar

Your DFKs are halfway successful - some of them succeed in turning Peter's flank, but the rest of them get mauled in a cavalry sandwich. Oh, well. You have bigger things to worry about.

Immediately in front of you is Maximilian von Hapsburg. He has infantry. You have few. Hugo de Cervole has none. You're probably just going to have to fight a delaying action with him.

You are more concerned about events to the east. You see the black flag go up; excellent. A rider comes to you, saying that all went well with Maximilian Zirn. However, it appears that your son Bernhard fell in the battle as well as Ruppel.

Your thoughts flash back to Ajaccio, where you lost Markus on that horrible day. You try to concentrate. There is too much at stake now to grieve. Bernhard was a sacrifice for the greater cause. It's time to advise, to fight, to see this plan, this idea you concocted with Arnold so many years ago through, finally.


Feedback to Jan

Not even Crusaders can stand up to Imperial Knights, apparently. You watch as your spearmen get gutted by the Kaiser's elite infantry. You are out of foot soldiers, but not all is bad - the Kaiser will have to turn and face Lothar and Arnold.

What's better is that your brother was on your side all along! You react with glee as you watch and see Max Zirn turn on the Imperialists, annihilating Ruppel. That red flag was definitely a good thing, then.

Now all you have are cheap archers and some cavalry. However, everyone's losing men. Best you get good use out of the remainder of yours, especially with Dieter Bresch and Fritz coming up.


Feedback to Max

Your switch went splendidly; oh sure, a regiment of Armoured Sergeants deserted when they heard the plan, and you lost some Forlorn Hope in the fighting, but Ehrhart Ruppel has finally been destroyed.

You look up. Your father and brother are definitely smiling upon you this day.

But it's time to focus. You have turned the Imperial flank. But now they're coming for you. You killed Ruppel, after all. You're not just a Republican - you're an Illuminatus, on the same level as Lothar and Arnold.

The men remaining are loyal until the end. Time to grit your teeth and fight, this time without surprise.


Feedback to Matthias

The wheels on the Great Cross fixed, your men are finally ready to deploy. In the distance, you see the black flag raised.

Ah, well, a little late, but there's something to be said about living, after all. You grin and start colorfully ordering your Crusaders around.

Orders

Imperialist orders


Peter and the Imperial Knights shall repeatedly charge and retreat, charge and retreat the DFKS that remain exposed. The crossbowmen will continue to bombard the area of Arnold and the 2-handers. The dismounted Imperials should charge Jan, the mailed knights, and the crossbowmen at a run, with an emphasis on killing Jan.

Fritz should continue to bear down on Ludwig and Max Zirn's forces, sweeping them away with his far superior numbers. Fritz's western cavalry should assist in the charge on Lothar's DFKs. His crossbowmen should join in on the arrowfest at the two-handers and Arnold.

Peter will personally yell in Dieter's ear to get moving up to the center with his infantry to engage the remaining Republican forces and their general's headquarters. His crossbows should shoot the everloving crap out of the two-handers.

Hapsburg should shoot at the mounted crossbowmen and charge the HQs of Cervole and Lothar.

Tancred and Athalwolf should charge Cervole and Lothar as well, with their ASs and crossbowmen engaging the DFKs.

(I know my orders probably can't get this specific, but I'm posting this in the tent too.)

(there was a slight change of plans, as described below:)


Before the DIKs charge, Peter and his Imperial Knights will sweep right through the crossbowmen like a hot knife through butter and charge at Arnold himself. Also, Peter's forces are secretly warned of Peter's suspicions of Dieter.


Okay, so I only have my crossbows and general units left. Here's the plan.

The crossbows will attack Steffen and Cervole themselves, and I will follow suit with the aid of Maximilians force. I will charge the enemy's general unit on their utmost left side, right after the initial clash between Max's forces and the enemy cavalry units - as ordered by Peter

I will, in essence, use my personal bodyguard unit to flank an exposed enemy general. Right after Max's forces will have engaged the enemy cavalry. I will not recklessly charge into the enemy cav. lines without friendly suppost, but my orders should have been clear enough in that respect.

Once the cav. battle will have begun, my ranged units will cease fire (not risking any friendly fire casualties) and attack the most western DFK regiment (the regiment that will be left after von Salza disposes of the other flanking DFK regiment, that being the most northern one on their left flank).

Von Salza shall attack the regiment of DFK's attempting to flank Peter's forces. He will attack the DFK regiment closest to him ( being the most northern positioned one), and will retreat to his current position once the threat is destroyed. If he is capable after that move, however, I'd wish for him to aid me and Maximilian in the cav. battle on our right flank.

Hope that was clear enough.

:balloon2:


My entire force will charge towards Arnold engaging any men between him and them. Dieter and his bodyguard will attempt to break through the lines and take a shot at Arnold.


https://img183.imageshack.us/img183/7614/trent2rj9.th.jpg (https://img183.imageshack.us/my.php?image=trent2rj9.jpg)

Hapsburg will raise the Hapsburg standard which will be carried with his bodyguard - it is not to be lost at any cost.

The Armoured Sergeants will march quickly to engage the 4 regiments of cavalry directly opposing them.

Hapsburg and the Feudal Knights will take up positions behind them, ready to charge in should the infantry begin to falter.

The Crossbowmen will discharge a couple of volleys against the same 4 regiments of cavalry and then pepper the Dismounted Feudal Knights to their left.

(OOC: The desertion offer was a trap. I was going to try and pick off Lothar and Arnold. Understandably, the Republicans weren't fooled.)

Thanks,
Ignoramus.

P.S. The green lines represent the direction of the Pavise Crossbowmen's bolts, not movement.

...and now, the doozy.


http://lh6.google.com/RosDalton/R_eEn1nPNWI/AAAAAAAAKVI/9EHXWTBRVXs/s800/turn4_full.jpg

OOC: The image may not help much, but to clarify the red lines are the conditional orders depending on if any of my companies rebel. The text orders cover most everything important.

Orders to all divisions: This army is to strike Imperial colors immediately and will act in support of the inevitable Illuminati victory. If any of your men have a problem with that they should be dealt with before you execute your orders in the larger engagement. Specifics will follow.

Division 1, Fritz's HQ, is to move to the right flank but remain behind the spearmen there. The goal along the way is to be near enough to the gunners to ensure that they get their orders and obey them. If either or both companies of non-mercenary arqebusiers should rebel Fritz's guardsmen are to charge them immediately and remain engaged to fight them until they rout or are destroyed. Fritz's guardsmen should end the turn, assuming they complete all necessary actions against rebels, in the clear on the western edge of his formation, positioned to support his crossbowmen or charge across the field next turn.

Division 2, the infantry screen, is charged primarily with watching for and dealing with rebellion amongst the non-mercenary soldiers. In specific the mercenary knights are to watch the armoured sergeants closely and if they rebel they should be charged and engaged until destroyed or routed. If only one company of armoured sergeants rebels, both companies of mercenary knights should charge them. The Armoued sergeants should simply continue to hold their ground and be on guard against charges. The mercenary spearmen on the right flank and to the rear of the non-mercenary arqebusiers on the right should watch them for signs of rebellion and deal with that first. If they rebel, the spearmen should go off guard mode and attack until the gunners rout or flee. If the gunners rebel and the armoured sergeants do not, the nearest company of mercenary knights should join in the attack against the rebel gunners. The mercenary spearmen on the left side of the formation should watch the Teutonic Knights behind them for signs of rebellion. If those men appear to be rebelling the spearmen should turn to face them as quickly as possible while maintaining their relative position and then hold ground against a possible charge. Other than dealing with rebellion the infantry are to hold their positions. They should attempt to end this turn with the formation intact, especially the front line. If either of the non-mercenary spear companies rebels or flees the mercenary knights should end by moving forward into their place after they are dealt with.

Division 3, the gunners, are to immediately take Duke Dieter's nearest armoured sergeants under fire. If those men should all die or flee, the dismounted feudal knights next to them should be taken under fire. If those men should all die or flee, the next company of DFKs, and the next, and so forth, contained to Duke Dieter's infantry line. Gunners are to have skirmish on at all times, so that they fire at will rather than by ranks. Standing orders on how to behave in the event of retreat will hold.

Division 4, the crossbowmen, will turn off skirmish and concentrate their fire on Duke Dieter's personal guard and retinue with the intent of eliminating it wholesale. If those men should be entirely eliminated (Unlikely), the crossbowmen should take Duke Dieter's armoured sergeants from his left flank under fire. In the event of the Pavise crossbowmen rebelling or fleeing the mercenary crossbowmen are to continue to fire on Duke Dieter (Shift click them on him should work). Any rebellion will be dealt with by the cavalry nearby.

Division 5, the Teutons, are ordered to hook around the infantry formation at a run and seek charges of opportunity in the center of the field against Peter's Imperial foot Knights, pavise crossbowmen, or Dieter's DFKs. Each charge should be followed by a retreat to sufficient distance and immediate recharge. Following the second charge remain in melee until the enemy is eliminated.

Division 6, the unpaired Mercenary Knights, are ordered to hook around the infantry formation at a run and seek charges of opportunity in the center of the field against Peter's Imperial foot Knights, pavise crossbowmen, or Dieter's DFKs. Each charge should be followed by a retreat to sufficient distance and immediate recharge. Following the second charge remain in melee until the enemy is eliminated. The Teutons have target priority, so the Mercenary knights should follow them and select a target after the Tuetons have done so. In the event that the Teutons rebel the Mercenary knights should advance to the center of the field at a run and execute their orders, ignoring the Teutons.

Division 7, the paired mercenary knights, are to first observe my nearby Pavise crossbowmen for signs of rebellion. If they rebel the pair of knights are to move at a run to bracket them and charge from both sides, sweeping through to meet in the middle and eliminate or rout them. If they have rebelled and been eliminated, the knights should then reform and charge Duke Dieter's pavise crossbowmen. If they do not rebel the knights are to immediately charge Duke Dieter's pavise crossbowmen, each company selecting a different company of crossbowmen to charge. Following the impact of the charge they should attempt to 'sweep' through the crossbow formation, but priority is given to not becoming entangled in Dieter's infantry. If they are threatened with entanglement they should withdraw and consolidate for another charge, attempting to end the turn out of melee and ready to charge against any force in the center of the field.

:egypt:

Republican orders


To GH and all Republican General's;

OC orders plus Arnold specifics for his own troops;

-----------------

A rather terse and blood soaked Dread Knight approaches the Viceroy:

In a rasping cold, but yet very polite and calm voice he says;

"Viceroy Matthias, the Grand Master would be most pleased if you could array yourself on the left flank. Hugo and Lothar will be withdrawing back to your position and refusing the left flank as a whole to form up on you. Skirmishes will screen the manoeuvre."

Schepanski, the Grand Masters Sword Bearer, approaches Lothar and Hugo on the left flank:

In a rather nervous and shrill voice he says:

"My Lords the Grand Master would like you to withdraw back and place yourselves as Cav reserves between the Viceroy and himself. If you could refuse the DFK Div on the left side and move them further into the centre to plug part of the gap he would greatly appreciate it. He would also like to suggest the mounted cross bows cover your movement and skirmish any units trying to destroy our general maneuvering.

The Grand Master himself is about 500 yards behind Jan, his voice cuts through the battle like thunder:

"JAN you bloody genius!! Can you get those f#$%ing archers of yours to shoot as something?

You're free to stick your Cav Div straight into those DIK's or wait while the DFK Div, Gothic’s and Max's Foot Regiments form a new line."

You can then hear the Duke bellow at his own regiments.

Gothics!!: @#$ing charge those DIK Keep them off the Xbows!!

Gunners: F#$^#ing shoot at something before you loose line of sight!!

Xbow Div: Target something and skirmish back if you are going to be engaged.

To his own regiment he say: "We will hold unless this manoeuvre doesn't work, then we will plug a gap but only as a last resort. Withdrawing once the line is stable MUST be done to prevent getting bogged down in the melee."

The Berserker Grom approaches Ludwig and Max on the Right Flank:

In a huge voice he say:

"Ludwig get that Cav Div and charge into the right side of Peter DIK line or him as well. Then withdraw once the Inf Divs arrive. Keep your regiments intact!!

Max, the Grand Master is glad you could make it finally.

Get your Inf Div engaged on the flank of Bresch's army.

Xbows Div; shot at what you thinks best!!

Yourself...well don't get killed and hit something soft and juicy!!

---------------------

A massive BLACK and RED flags continue to fly above the Dread Duke.

Map:

https://img137.imageshack.us/my.php?image=turn5all1kt9.jpg


Ludwig is to take what remains of Berhards Cavalry Division and charge into the right side of Peter DIK line or him as well.

Then withdraw once the extra Infantry Divisions of Peters arrive. Keep the regiments intact at all costs!

Map:

https://img137.imageshack.us/my.php?image=turn5all1kt9.jpg


Much simpler this turn :laugh4:

Hugo : Join up with Lothar's cavalry along our western flank


Map:

https://img137.imageshack.us/my.php?image=turn5all1kt9.jpg

DFKs: Fall back into a refused line to the west of Arnold's DFKs, protecting the archers and other units behind.

Cavalry & Bodyguard: Fall back behind the refused flank. If the enemy attempts to turn the refuse flank, charge them.

Mounted Crossbows: Skirmish with anything attempting to advance on our left flank.


Sorry for the lack of a map, I won't be able to get one from TC this time.

With my spearmen gone I have an extra division, but I think I'll keep the Mailed Knights together with Jan.

Cavalry Division Orders: Jan and the Mailed Knights are each going to make a charge at the nearest units of Dismounted Imperial Knights ahead of them. Afterward, they should withdraw back as far as Arnold, then charge again if there is an opening to do so.

Archers:Tight formation this time. Fire at Peter and the unit of mounted Imperial Knights near him. If things get messy after Jan's charge (Peter and his knights charge, or Jan looks likely to get stuck in a melee) they should charge in to fight hand to hand and cover Jan's retreat (he does have "faltering courage" so I figure he should take more care for his safety than my normal suicidal generals. :clown:).

Almost forgot to add that Jan and the Mailed Knights are to avoid staying in melee after any charge, pulling back for another again and again if neccessary. If either units numbers drop under half their normal size and they are greatly numbered, they should stop their charges and both pull back to Arnold and wait.


GH,
I saw the quickpost map by TC that will be my orders right wheel and the formation given by TC on the map. Tks,

NN


Hey GH,

At long last, my orders.

My army will deploy due south of the imperiled western flank. The formation will look like this:

https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb88/douglaslain/mattturn5formation.jpg

Div 1: The Crossbowmen. They will be ahead of the main line in loose formation with skirmish off.

Div 2: The Cavalry. They will be in column to the left of the main line.

Div 3: Crusader Sergeants. They form the left of the infantry line.

Div 4: Unhorsed Knights. They form the center of the line.

Div 5: Dismounted Knights. They are behind the center of the line.

Div 6: Armoured Sergeants and the Great Cross. They are the right of the line. The GC is behind the spearmen.

Matthias is deployed behind the Crusader Sergeants. This way he can deploy with the cav or stay with infantry.

Here's how it should look relative to the western flank:

https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb88/douglaslain/mattrelativeposition.jpg

IC: "Form up! Form up! I'll be damned if I let my Brother do all the fighting. We'll show these soft Imperials what Crusaders, forged in God's Crucible, can do.

"Infantry, form up by division with Crusader Sergeants on the left flank, Armoured Spearmen on the right, Unhorsed Knights in the center with the Dismounted Knights behind them. The Armoured Spearmen will have the honor of escorting the Cross into battle. The spearmen will protect us from horsemen, while the knights are our hammer.

"Cavalry, deploy to the left of the infantry in column. Our line will most likely extend past the Imperial one and you'll be loosed on their flanks and rear.

"Crossbowmen, you will take your place in loose formation ahead of the infantry line. If threatened do not seek the protection of the infantry, keep firing and the infantry will march ahead of you. Your first priority is enemy cavalry including their nobles, followed by infantry and then their archers.

"Crusaders! This is a monumental battle and I expect every man to do his duty. We may be late, but our faith and courage will tell! This is the Kaiser's last day and the first of the Holy Roman Republic!

"Deus lo Vult! Forward!"

If you need anything else let me know.

OK

Umpire notes for Turn 5

Seems like everyone was gunning for the center, which made this turn an absolute horror to simulate. Tancred was going for the remaining Republican cav in the west, but they retreated to the center.

Sometime during the turn, Ignoramus sent a message to all of the Republicans offering to defect in exchange for land. This was not allowed, but considering the Republicans’ response (a hearty “NO”) I decided to let is pass without any consequences.

Units failing orders test: Peter’s Xbows, Arnold’s Gunners (again!), Jan’s archers. All of Fritz’s units passed the enhanced orders test. Also did a regiment-by-regiment orders test for Ludwig picking up the two extra cav regiments – both passed.

The initial combat seemed to be Peter’s cav charging the Imperial Xbows and Arnold. AG’s orders for his DGKs said to charge Peter’s DIKs but also said to protect the Xbows. Made the decision to have them intervene in the Peter’s cav battle, with the deciding factor being that they’d have to weave through the battlefield to reach the DIKs. Peter’s DIKs and Jan’s cav then charge each other. The other forces all begin to converge on the center, with the Republican DFKs refusing. This is Phase 1 of Turn 5.

https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/turn5_phase1.jpg

Note that I made Phase 1 the way it is because Elite Ferret’s orders were basically an all-out charge at Arnold’s position. Fritz cannot yet catch up until Dieter is engaged.

Phase 2 was the flanks converging. Hapsburg and Tyrolia charge Lothar and Cervole but with the DFKs refusing the flank, they instead run into them. The cavalry tries to flank the DFKs, but cannot with Matthias up. They hold back, hoping for a breakthrough. To the east, Bohmen’s cavalry and Max’s men charge and slam into whatever they can. Fritz moves in for the kill.

Western combat in-depth: Tancred and Athalwolf charge first but pull back when they see that Lothar and Hugo are well-shielded. Next Hapsburg’s infantry comes in and engages the DFKs. It is at this point where both Tancred’s and Hapsburg’s cav try to flank, but cannot due to Matthias. As far as missile combat goes, Lothar’s mounted Xbows skirmish with the enemy’s foot Xbows, whose fire is concentrated on the infantry melee and Lothar.

Phase 2 map:
https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/turn5_phase2.jpg

Phase 3 was the resolution. To the west, none of the battle will be decided until the next turn save for Dieter’s Teutons trying to break through the refused flank. Simulated both sides. The Teutonics broke through taking about 50% casualties and continued into the center. As per orders, Lothar’s cav countercharged and destroyed the remaining Teutons (interpreted orders to mean breaking through too, especially after he realized that neither Arnold’s gunners nor Jan’s archers were firing).

In the center, there was a desperate fight between Peter’s cavalry, his infantry, and Dieter’s men to break through. Jan’s escort and MKs did manage to defeat the three regiments of DIKs using the charge/recharge strategy, but took heavy losses. Jan survived. I guess the lesson here is that the strategy really does work, so long as you’re not facing spearmen. With Peter’s cav, he dispatched of the Xbows easily, but got caught as Arnold activated his DGKs. The charge/recharge thing worked well, but he ran out of room as Dieter’s men charged in and Max after them. The DGKs managed to hold on long enough for Dieter’s men to be flanked and Peter was without an escort. Then Arnold charged. Apparently all of those “scarred” traits have a limit. Decided to roll to determine Peter’s fate. 4-6 he gets injured/captured, 1-3 he dies. Rolled a 3. AG will be happy.

On the flank, Bohmen’s cavalry and Max’s cav/infantry slam into the flanks of Dieter’s troops that are pressing to get to the front and Arnold. The Gothic Knights are perfect at this. Used as shock troops, Dieter’s men get mauled. Only two regiments get out alive, and one is in deep trouble. Dieter himself lost &#189; his escort due to two volleys from Fritz’s Xbows (simulated and that was about how many he was able to get in before Dieter got out of range).

Missile combat: one of the (inactive) gunner units gets trapped in the charge and destroyed. Peter’s are inactive and get destroyed in Fritz’s charge. Dieter’s get a couple of volleys off and then are also destroyed in Fritz’s charge (removed one of Fritz’s cav regiments due to attrition). Had to improvise a little bit on the west flank since the flank is pretty secure with Matthias. Decided to have all of the Imperial Xbows hit whatever they could get – Hapsburg’s targeted the DFKs, Tancred’s the Republican cav. Both were semi-effective. Lothar’s targeted the Imperial Xbows in a crossfire – a little more effective (were chased around a lot, otherwise would have been more effective). Basically, Arnold’s crossbows in the center were simply a roadblock. They did their job just well enough.

Public feedback for Turn 5

The sun is at its highest point in the sky. Under the sun, the black flag waves, absorbing many of its rays. Under the black flag, all hell breaks loose.

There is no way to describe what Becker sees happening next. Despite having just fought several hard battles, neither side rests, instead, all of them barreling towards the center, as if that one point had a strange magentic attraction to everything else. Naturally, those at or near this epicenter would suffer the worst.

The western part of the battlefield is the only part that remains somewhat organized. The cavalry of Maximilian von Hapsburg and Tancred von Tyrolia made an attempt on Lothar Steffen and Hugo de Cervole, however, the two generals and their cavalry retreated behind their own lines, creating a refused line of Dismounted Feudal Knights. Hapsburg's Armoured Sergeants soon found their way fighting, trying to break through the line, but that will not be decided until the next turn. The generals turned their cavalry south, trying to flank the line, but abruptly broke off after the massive force of Matthias Steffen arrived on the battlefield, protecting the flank. The Imperial cavalry can now only watch and wait.

To the north of that line, there was a breakthrough, as Dieter Bresch in part of his all-out attack to get at Arnold, ordered his Teutonic Knights in, but they were quickly swallowed up by Lothar's and Hugo's cavalry. Nevertheless, a hole remains. As far as missile combat goes, both sides got off some shots to mixed results.

Becker now finds his eyes drawn, like everything else on the battlefield, to the center. Peter von Kastilien, betrayed and desperately trying to end the fight, ordered all of his men to charge, his cavalry aiming for Arnold and his infantry aiming for Jan Zirn. Jan and his Mailed Knights charged as well, broke off, charged again, broke off, charged, etc. For all the power of the dismounted Imperial Knights, they had no answer to this series of charges. When the dust cleared, all that was left were three members of Jan's escort, including the general himself. All of the knights, both Mailed and Imperial, had died, as did one of Arnold's frustratingly inactive Arquebusier units.

Peter, carrying his remaining regiment of Imperial Knights, charged right through Arnold's crossbowmen, aiming for the Grand Master. However, he was slowed down by the doomed archers and, eventually, Arnold's dismounted Gothic Knights. Seeing this new threat, Peter broke off and tried Jan's strategy, although to less effect as he was quickly being closed in on by Dieter Bresch's men. They, too, were in a rush to get to Arnold, but there was something else pushing them, not giving Peter any room to maneuver.

That something else would be the men of Maximilian Zirn and Ludwig von Bohmen, slamming into Dieter's unprotected flank and wrapping around their rear. Becker looked around wildly; wasn't that flank supposed to be protected? But then he saw it.

Fritz von Kastilien's cavalry had charged into Dieter's rear. His gunners were firing at whatever Imperialist troops they could hit.

So, Becker thought, that was what the black flag was for. It was over then. The Imperialists never had a chance.

Peter and Dieter's men were whittled down, having nowhere to go. Eventually the Kaiser was the only cavalryman left on the field. And that's when Becker saw it; Duke Arnold's escort charging in, ready to give the coup-de-grace. He saw the Kaiser speared mercilessly by a lance and falling off his horse.

The Republican attack on the flank was a total success. All of the units in the center, most of them Imperialist, had disintegrated in the fighting. The Imperialists had exactly one regiment of infantry left that was not committed. Dieter Bresch was still alive, although his escort was down to half strength due to several crossbow volleys in the back. In addition, he was trapped in, with a very small hole to escape. Maximilian von Hapsburg and Tancred von Tyrolia, not to mention Athalwolf von Salza, were in slightly better positions, although they had the immense threat of Matthias Steffen looming.

The Battle of Trent, for all practical purposes, is over. The only question now is to determine how crushing of a Republican victory it is and what the remaining Imperial generals will do.

To the far north, Edmund Becker sees that the Imperialist staff - the cooks, the couriers, the supply clerks, the logisticians - see the same things that he does. He watches as they begin packing up, abandoning their tents, running in all directions. It is a massive panic, and pretty soon those men will reach him.

Becker has seen enough. He mounts his horse and rides for his life.

Map:
https://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/GeneralHankerchief/KotR/Trent/turn5_full.jpg

DEADLINE FOR TURN 6 ORDERS: Monday, 18:00 GMT-5. You will be giving me slightly different sets of orders, as described in your upcoming feedback PMs.

GeneralHankerchief
04-08-2008, 01:37
Turn 5 feedback

Turn 5 feedback to the Imperialists


Feedback to Peter

You are P&#233;ter von Kastilien, son of G&#252;nther, brother of Ansehelm, Siegfried, and Fritz, Holy Roman Emperor. All your life, you have fought for what you believed was right. Sure, some of these opinions were in contrast with the majority’s belief, such as your arguments against Outremer when the land was in its heyday, or in conflict with each other at points, but you always did the best you could. More importantly, you never abandoned your main priorities: The advancement of your family, your House, and your Reich.

You watched as the country around you grew and shrank; all the while you were fighting to keep it great, against the Russians, Poles, Hungarians, and whoever else was stupid enough to invade Imperial territory. You wish it could always have been that simple. Unfortunately, it wasn’t.

The tragedy and the complexity probably began when your brother Siegfried became Kaiser through a freak accident. Everything that man ever did was controversial and contested, beginning with his very ascension to the throne. You supported him, as a good Franconian and loving brother would naturally do. Unfortunately, Siegfried did not reciprocate, as he became infatuated with the Byzantines in general and Theodora specifically.

He proposed a hare-brained reunification plan that most of the Diet, you included, saw could be catastrophic. Ansehelm and Fritz, your two older siblings, agreed with the majority opinion and did your very best to convince Siegfried to listen to reason. Instead he banned you and made Fritz apologize before he let the man back in. As reunification plans went on and the overall outcome became more and more clear, you and several people realized that they had to take things into your own hands. Deciding that a blunt, direct approach was always effective, you took a large army and drove right for Constantinople. You failed, but Tancred von Tyrolia succeeded. Reunification, however, still dragged on. And then Siegfried died, killed by the Illuminati.

You now had a new passion in life. For whatever Siegfried had done wrong, he did not deserve to die for it. You were certain that your brothers stood with you on this. Fritz did, as did Ansehelm, at least for a little while before he perished. And so, you began your slow rise to power, again killing the foreign enemies and helping restructure the Reich, but never taking that main goal out of your mind. Neither did Fritz.

It all came to a head after the new evidence surfaced that Lothar, in fact, did order Siegfried to die. Finally, you had an excuse to act. Finally, there was general outrage. You and Fritz, by this time Chancellor and pretty much second-in-command to you, despite Dieter von Kassel’s official title, declared Lothar and the rest of the Illuminati outlaws. The time had come to strike.

Instead, the Illuminati turned it all around, blaming you and Fritz for causing tyranny, blasting Fritz’s over-the-top antics as proof, declaring that the Kaisership over and proclaiming the Reich a Republic. Amazingly, it worked, with most of the defectors citing Fritz’s menacing demeanor as the chief reason why they did what they did. Still, you never told him to cool it down, to watch what he was saying. Instead, you were encouraged by his behavior and also ramped up yours. Fritz, of course, took it in stride.

You found yourself at Trent, finally ready to shape the Reich according to your beliefs, finally ready to rid the world of the evil Illuminati, after all these years. But not all went well. During the first critical moment, with the red flag waving, Max Zirn switched sides and annihilated Ehrhart Ruppel’s flank. You were surprised at this, for treachery was always in the back of your mind, but not too concerned. After all, Fritz, your brother, your last brother alive, your comrade until the end, was up and in a good position to correct the mistake. He would take up the flank and prevent the east from closing in.

With that in mind, you ordered an all-out charge for the center. It would be the glorious charge you had always hoped for, somehow righting the world. But it was different. Your horsemen were depleted, having participated in two other charges and undergoing heavy missile fire, and Tancred was off commanding in the west. Still you charged, running through Arnold’s crossbowmen whose only objective seemed to be to stand in your way. Still you charged, despite Arnold activating his dismounted Gothic Knights. Still you charged, killing quite a few of the armored terrors, because you knew that righteousness was on your side. Of course you would break through.

But what you didn’t notice is that you were the only spot where you were breaking through. To the immediate west, Jan Zirn and his horsemen were giving the same treatment to your remaining Dismounted Imperial Knights, shattering them without any thought to the cost. To the north, Dieter Bresch was closing in around you. Not betraying you, as you suspected, for the black flag was up, but trying to get a shot in at Arnold. And to the east, Ludwig von Bohmen and Max Zirn were closing in, unchecked, ready to roll over your flank.

You had put everything into the frontal attack, trusting that the flank would be safe. And it wasn’t, for here the Republicans came, the crossbowmen and Gothic Knights just holding on long enough for help to come. And then you looked north while setting up for another charge, with the handful of men left, and you realized why in an instant.

You saw Fritz’s cavalry charging at Dieter’s unsuspecting crossbowmen, killing them. You saw Fritz’s gunners getting their last shots in at Dieter’s infantry before the flank closed up. You saw Fritz’s infantry simply standing there, doing nothing as the flank closed around them.

In an instant, you realized it all. Everything. The black flag. It was all a setup, everything. Fritz had always been one of them, playing an elaborate deception game all of these years. He had dawdled getting to the battlefield, maybe not so much as to hire as many mercenaries as he could, but maybe to ensure that he was in the rear and hitting you the hardest.

How long? How long had the Illuminati been plotting this? Since Lothar revealed himself as a Brother? Since Fritz became Chancellor? Since you became Kaiser? Did they rig the Chancellor election to make it look like an Illuminati loss? Were they the ones who had brought the prisoner the new information? Was Fritz involved in the Siegfried assassination plot? Was he the one that proposed it?

In the end, it didn’t matter how they did it, only that they did do it. You realized that you had lost the war just by fighting it in the first place.

As the rest of the horsemen go down around you, you realize it’s just you left. You try to get out, but cannot. Dieter Bresch’s men are all around you, pressed by Max, Ludwig, and of course, Fritz, closing in. You have nowhere left to go.

In the distance, you see a new body of cavalry coming in, charging right for you. Their lances are drawn, ready to destroy what was left of the breakthrough. As the charge draws closer, you see that it is led by a figure, armored in black obsidian as well as the usual metal. The Grand Master has come to finish the job.

You wait for the inevitable lance blow to come, to finish the Illuminati’s plan. For while Arnold is about to end your physical life, it’s already over. Fritz von Kastilien has killed you.


Feedback to Tancred

You try to charge Lothar and Hugo, but cannot as they retreat behind a refused flank of DFKs. Before you can react, Hapsburg's spearmen charge in, engaging the Republican infantry. You have no room to break through.

You and Athalwolf try to go around the south and flank the line, but cannot. Matthias Steffen has arrived and placed himself in a perfect position. Trying to go that way would be suicidal. Instead, you retreat, spending the rest of the turn chasing away Lothar's mounted crossbowmen. Your archers do some moderate damage against Hugo de Cervole's escort.

However, to the east, you see that the battle has not gone in your favor. Peter is dead, Fritz turned traitor, much like Max Zirn. You can't believe it. You more than any other Imperial commander have held your own today, but it is for nothing. The battle is lost. You now have some options:

- Will you surrender, flee, or fight?
- If you flee, which direction will you flee in (can only pick directions such as north or southeast – nothing more complicated)?
- If you are captured while fleeing, will you surrender or fight?
- If you flee, what units will you bring with you?


Feedback to Bresch

Abandoning all organization, you order an all-out charge on Arnold's position. Along the way, you notice that half of your escort is dead - the only things that are behind you are Fritz von Kastilien's crossbows. Damn him, he's turned too.

Once you're in the fray, you realize that this order probably wasn't a good one. You mentioned nothing about guarding the flanks, and even if you did, Fritz's gunners obliterated your best anti-flank unit - your Armoured Sergeants. Your men swirl in trying to get a shot at Arnold, but all they accomplish is giving Peter nowhere to go.

You take a look to the north: nothing is good. Your crossbowmen have taken a massive cavalry charge to the back, courtesy of Fritz. Your Teutonic Knights have broken through Lothar's refused line of DFKs, but were destroyed in the countercharge.

Back in the maelstrom, the door has closed. Max Zirn and Ludwig von Bohmen have flanked, pushing in. Your men have nowhere to go and most of them are destroyed. To the south, you see the Kaiser fall at the hands of Duke Arnold himself. You try to reach him, but still cannot - things are that tight.

The Imperialists have lost the battle, and you are trapped. There are some ways to get out: You could try to flee through the gap your Teutons created, or attempt to just charge Arnold in a "if I go, you're going down with me!"-type attempt. You have two regiments of infantry remaining, one of them engaged. You have some things to decide:

- Will you surrender, flee, or fight?
- If you flee, which direction will you flee in (can only pick directions such as north or southeast – nothing more complicated)?
- If you are captured while fleeing, will you surrender or fight?
- If you flee, what units will you bring with you?


Feedback to Hapsburg

You charge Lothar, but break it off when you see he has retreated behind a line of DFKs. Your spearmen crash into them, beginning an engagement that will not be decided until next turn.

In the meantime, you try to flank the line, but again have to break it off - more bad news, as Matthias is up. Dammit, the only thing going moderately well is your crossbows are assisting in the effort against the DFKs.

And, judging by the rest of the battlefield, that's the only thing going moderately well - period. Peter is dead and Fritz has revealed his true colors. Despite your best efforts, you cannot win the battle. You instead must choose from these options. At least you are in a better position than Dieter Bresch.

- Will you surrender, flee, or fight?
- If you flee, which direction will you flee in (can only pick directions such as north or southeast – nothing more complicated)?
- If you are captured while fleeing, will you surrender or fight?
- If you flee, what units will you bring with you?

Turn 4 feedback to the Republicans


Feedback to Arnold

Peter begins an all-out charge at your position. Your crossbows stand in the way of his cavalry and Jan Zirn and Peter's infantry charge each other. Your Dismounted Gothic Knights try to get to Jan, but cannot at the moment. Instead, they try to hold back the mass of troops coming your way.

You take your eyes away from this melee for the moment and focus them to the northwest. Your Gunners aren't firing. Again. Damn them.

Eventually Dieter Bresch's men close in around Peter's cavalry, effectively denying them a way out. Man, those Imperialists really want to get to you. You pray that your infantry holds on long enough for the flankers to arrive, and luckily, they do. However, it is very close.

Then you see the moment of opportunity: Peter, alone. Dieter's infantry is behind him, but it's all swordsmen and not sergeants. Plus, they're getting creamed on the flank and in the rear. Fritz did his job, you note.

You yell your final order, to charge. Bane, Grom, the others, who have been with you through everything, do so. Poor Peter doesn't stand a chance. The Kaiser is dead at your hands. Congratulations.

When the dust clears, the Imperialist troops in the center are all but gone. You have won perhaps the greatest victory of all-time today, equivalent to the ranks of Cannae and Guagemala. You now have a few, glorious options left:

- If someone surrenders to you, what will you do?
- If someone flees, will you pursue them, and what units will you use to do so?


Feedback to Bohmen

You gather up the remainder of Bernhard's cavalry without much of a problem and begin the charge into Dieter's flank with Max Zirn. As the Republicans informed you, you do not run into a problem. Fritz von Kastilien lets you by.

As it turns out, the third time is the charm for your rebellious tendencies. You spearhead the hammer blow that ruins any chance the Imperialists have of winning this day or even eking out a draw. Some of your cavalry dies in this effort but this is inevitable as you order them to keep pushing farther and farther in. To the north, you see Fritz's cavalry closing in on Dieter's archers.

Congratulations, you have won. You now have some things to decide:

- If someone surrenders to you, what will you do?
- If someone flees, will you pursue them, and what units will you use to do so?


Feedback to Hugo

Not much to report this turn. Your and Lothar's cavalry fall back behind the refused flank. You notice a gap to the north - Dieter's Teutonic Knights have broken through! Along with Lothar, you charge and correct the error.

A few of your men drop due to archer fire. You have certainly taken the worst losses out of all the Republican forces, but it's all but over. Kaiser Peter is dead, Matthias is up, and Fritz has turned. You now have some things to decide:

- If someone surrenders to you, what will you do?
- If someone flees, will you pursue them, and what units will you use to do so?


Feedback to Lothar

Well done, Voice. The plan has gone splendidly. Peter is dead. Matthias is up. The Illuminati are victorious.

You cavalry, along with Hugo de Cervole's, retreated behind the refused line of DFKs, and watch as Maximilian von Hapsburg's spearmen start engaging them. In the one open spot, to the north, Dieter Bresch's Teutonic Knights punched a hole through, but you and Hugo quickly countercharged and destroyed them.

Far to the west, your Mounted Crossbows were limitedly effective in skirmishing the Imperial foot archers, but spent most of their time being chased around.

Now, however, you don't have to worry too much. The battle is over. While Bernhard is dead, the Republic is born. You now have several things to decide:

- If someone surrenders to you, what will you do?
- If someone flees, will you pursue them, and what units will you use to do so?


Feedback to Jan

Peter is gunning for you, sending his remaining infantry against your escort. Luckily, you've ordered to charge against him... and charge, and charge, and charge.

You know your cavalry tactics well. Against all odds, your inexperienced escort and fairly weak Mailed Knights manage to destroy the most powerful infantry in the Reich. However, not many men can say they did so - you and two other members of your escort are the only ones that survived.

You look around, and see victory. Peter is dead, Dieter mauled. Matthias is up. Your archers didn't fire again, but it doesn't matter. You are victorious, and you have played a big part in it. You now have some options:

- If someone surrenders to you, what will you do?
- If someone flees, will you pursue them, and what units will you use to do so?


Feedback to Max

Well done, Max Zirn. You've done it again, proving more valuable to the Republicans than potentially Fritz himself.

With Fritz definitely not intervening, you and Ludwig von Bohmen are free to wreak havoc on Dieter's flank. While Ludwig's cavalry charges the east, you wrap around to the north, slamming the door. To the immediate west, Fritz's cavalry is busy taking care of the Imperial archers.

The battle is over, thanks in no small part to your efforts. You now have some things to decide:

- If someone surrenders to you, what will you do?
- If someone flees, will you pursue them, and what units will you use to do so?


Feedback to Matthias

Your men deploy, are ready to kill... and find the battle over. Curse that stupid Great Cross!

Nevertheless, you did play a good part in the battle - Hapsburg's and Tancred's cavalry were discouraged from flanking Lothar's line with your men up. In addition, you are now in a very good position to catch them should they flee, if you desire. You now have some options:

- If someone surrenders to you, what will you do?
- If someone flees, will you pursue them, and what units will you use to do so?


Feedback to Fritz

Ahh, revenge.

None of your regiments defect or desert - excellent. With that done, it's time to concentrate on your task: destroying Dieter Bresch.

Your gunners get their shots in, wrecking his Armoured Sergeants and later, his crossbowmen. Your cavalry also assist in that regard, helping trap the general himself. His escort is down to half strength thanks to your crossbow volleys.

Thanks largely to your reveal, the battle is all but over. You cannot communicate with the Republicans yet, but for the meantime, enjoy the satisfaction of victory. Right now, you have some things to decide:

- If someone surrenders to you, what will you do?
- If someone flees, will you pursue them, and what units will you use to do so?

Orders

Imperialist orders


I read in the OOC thread that you had some suggestions yourself, as to the ending of this battle. Care to share ? I would't want to spoil a potentially better ending than the one I've thought out for me and my troops.

I'm heading north, and I'm taking von Salza with me. I'm heading towards Fritz (who's standing there all alone, looking just a bit too smug for my liking) in the north. I'm sure von Salza and myself should be able to kill Fritz where he stands. Making it seem like we're running away, off the battlefield, before charging in should make him feel safer than he should - and prevent him from retreating.

I'm not going to surrender, so if von Salza and I manage to take care of Fritz in the north, we'll charge into the centre to help Bresch. If Bresch has made plans of his own (IE, he retreats) I'm using my cav. force to charge into any illuminati general I can find and damage with a good degree of certainty.

This plan is under construction,as I haven't heard from Igno yet. If this is all you hear from me before the deadline, then these count as my orders.

:balloon2:


I will attempt to take Arnold down with me. Tell all my men to fight to the death.


1.) Flee
2.) North-west(north away from Fritz).
3.) Fight
4.) Hapsburg's escort and the Feudal Knights

If the Mounted Crossbowmen start shooting at Hapsburg, the Feudal Knights will attempt to drive them off before trying to follow after Hapsburg and his escort.

Ignoramus.

Republican orders

(this section seems to get longer and longer every turn)


OOC: To GH and all Republican General minus Fritz.

IC:

My Lords!!

The battle is not yet over here are the overall commands.

Ludwig, Max;

Press on the right flank there if you would and keep yourself alive gentlemen. Ludwig charge with the remainder of your cavalry.

Max send in the infantry and support with your cavalry as the situation presents itself.

Jan (and Arnold specific): Jan for the love of God! Retire with me towards the rear and stay alive. I'm not interested in giving Bresch any satisfaction. The Kaiser is down and that is enough blood for me. Send your Archers into the flank of those DFK and my gunners will follow. Then I'll hit them in the flank once for good measure and then retire to your position. I have no wish to give Bresch the satisfaction of a moral victory at my demise. (Same as TC's orders. If Arnold's life is in danger get out of the situation Pronto).

Hugo, Lothar;

Hugo you've done enough withdraw south.

Lothar if you would be so kind as to slam your Cav Div into that DFK regiment. Feel free to pursue the Imperial General's as the opportunity presents itself.

Viceroy:

A general forward advance if you would. Bring yourself to bare on the left flank and push on them for a resolution.

MY LORDS!!

A general order for you all!!

If any German noble or solider surrenders then by GOD I want you all to honour it!! If they've had enough them let them do the right thing!

BUT if any of them continue to fight or flee then go after them!! Give quarter if they ask for it...and if they don't, then you all know what to do!!


Anyone who surrenders is to be taken prisoner but treated honourably and protected from any who might seek to kill him.

Anyone who flees is to be pursued by my cavalry, and either taken prisoner or cut down.


Just wanted to add movement-specific orders:

My cavalry is to continue to charge the DFKs of Peters on the right side. Should they break, chasing down Peter is priority number one. However, if faced with overwhelming odds, Ludwig should run rather than charge suicidally.

(assumed Peter meant Dieter, as Peter is dead.)


Hughes de Cervole :

Taking profit of Viceroy Steffen's arrival, I will cross the western flank of the battlefield between (or behind Matthias' lines) and assume command of the Mounted Xbows with whom I intend to capture or kill (if he so desires) Von Hapsburg.

If Hapsburg cannot be reached then either Tyrolia or Von Salza will be prime targets with the same terms of surrender or death.


Accept any surrender that is offered and spare their life. At least for now.

If anyone flees, chase after them with all available cavalry. However, I will not take any risks with my own life to capture a fleeing Imperial. If an enemy unit cannot be circumvented or overcome with ease, I will break off the pursuit.


I will let Fritz handle the rest of the work. I will accept all surrenders and will not chase anybody fleeing.


Gh, Surrendering is the same but will follow up on AG's request from his last general orders just received. Tks,


Guess this might be the last time we do this...

Archers: Tight formation, skirmish off, full charge at the Dismounted Feudal Knights threatening Jan and Arnold. If Bresch tried to charge through and the can stop him they should. If Bresch and the Dismounted Knights get stuck in melee with other Republican forces the archers should shoot fire arrows into the rear of the Imperial units.

Jan: Jan and his mighty 2 bodyguards should pull back along with Arnold. In the event of pursuit that can't be shaken off he'll try to stick with Arnold. Should Arnold decide to charge, Jan will retreat to the nearest safe, Republican controlled section of the battlefield (possibly towards his brother, or Matthias). After being reduced this far I think the time for heroics is over. :clown:

I can ask TC to do a map for me if neccessary. :yes:


But on the off chance any Imperial makes it to Jan and surrenders to his might 3 man host, he would accept. :clown:


GH,

Matt will continue fighting until given an order to stop.

The Pavise Crossbowmen will advance until within range of the remainig BGs (if not there already) and concentrate fire on them.

The Infantry will move up behind them and will take position in front of them if they are charged. This includes the GC, though if the inf has to sprint to take up position in front, it can be left behind.

The cavalry, joined by Matthias, will move to the position close by the mounted CBs. If the Imps haven't surrendered yet, the Cav will charge in. I hope the CBs can get some shots in before the cav is in position, but the empasis is speed once, Matt wants to sweep in and finish the job before the remaining Royalists go to ground. If they flee the cav will pursue as well.

Once the cav have made contact with the Imperials, the Pavis CB are to break off fire and the infantry is to charge into the fray. If the Imps flee before the Infantry can come to grips, they are to flank and engage the remaining Imperial spearmen to the east.

I would also like to send a messenger to Arnold requesting that the mounted CBs, due to their speed, be used to chase any noblemen if they flee. If the Imps don't flee, I'd appreciate if they continue skirmishing.

Overall, the capture or death of the remaing Royalist commanders is the overarching goal here. If Tancred von Tyrolia or Athalwolf von Salza surrender, they are to be taken prisoner. If Maximillian von Hapsburg is taken alive, he is to be immediately bundled off to Arnold with Matt's compliments. Imperial soldiers are to be captured as well, if it doesn't interfere with the above.

I can doodle this on a map if needed, let me know.

Great job on the battle,

OK


(OOC: Can you tell it was hard for me to believe none of them were going to flip. I was so sure at least one of them would crack and throw chaos into my whole line. :laugh4: )

http://lh3.google.com/RosDalton/R_kc7lnPNXI/AAAAAAAAKWI/x-2-eeNSMdg/s800/turn5_full.jpg

Orders to all divisions: No Imperial troops are to be allowed to escape this field today. Not a single one if it can be helped, even if the line has to be spread very thinly indeed due to failure of orders or similar. Press your men to the max to accomplish this goal and you will be greatly rewarded. Any soldier or noble who surrenders is to be disarmed and treated with respect except for Dieter Bresch, who should be executed immediately if taken. The company which kills Dieter Bresch will have it's pay tripled.

Division 1, Fritz and HQ, are to execute a charge against the nearest end of the Pavise Crossbowmen line of Hapsburg. Fritz should sweep through the first company to reach the second and then remain in melee with them unless threatened by spearmen, in which case he is to withdraw east and await the support of his infantry. If all of the crossbowmen rout or are killed Fritz is to engage in general pursuit of Imperial nobles, with priority of targets being Dieter Bresch, Hapsburg, von Salza, and von Tyrolia. If Tancred von Tyrolia or Athawolf von Salza surrender to Fritz they are to be disarmed and held safely clear of the melee. If von Hapsburg surrenders to Fritz he and his men are to be disarmed and if a safe moment presents itself Hapsburg himself should be executed. If Dieter Bresch surrenders to Fritz he is to be disarmed and executed immediately. Fritz should not leave the field to pursue routers who are escaping and should call for support if outnumbered in a melee.

Division 2, the infantry, are to break formation, spearmen staying on guard mode, and attempt at a run to extend a wide, thing line in coordination with the gunners and crossbowmen across the entire west end of the field to capture routers and fleeing soldiers. All companies are charged to respect the surrender of any Imperial soldiers except for the personage of Dieter Bresch, who should be executed on capture. If during the extension of the line the infantry should note friendly forces engaged in a battle against strong odds the nearest single company should break off the line and move to aid them while the remainder extend the line to cover the gap. Priority of orders is thus: Prevent friendly companies, especially HQ who may call for support, from being overwhelmed, hold northern line, capture and execute Dieter Bresch if he flees north, prevent any Imperials from escaping the field. Unless there are no Imperial nobles left in the south none of the infantry should leave the field in pursuit of escaping enemies, if there are none left south all should turn to pursue as far north as necessary, choosing targets based on nearness. (Specifically the line should be 2 deep for all companies so as to stretch it as far as possible)

Division 3, the gunners, are to stow their guns, turn off skirmish, turn on loose line, and draw swords. There will be no more firing today. All men should move at a run to extend the line in the north to capture routers and prevent any Imperial flight. Gunners will take the central position extending all the way to the east spread as wide and thin as possible. Surrender is to be respected except in the case of Dieter Bresch, who should be disarmed and executed immediately if captured. Unless there are no Imperial nobles left in the south none of the gunners should leave the field in pursuit of escaping enemies, if there are none left south all should turn to pursue as far north as necessary. (Their line should be 2 deep, and with loose on they should cover quite a lot of distance. The east won't be as well covered because there are simply no Imperials left in the east.)

Division 4, the crossbowmen, will stow their crossbows, draw swords, all turn off skirmish/guard mode and move at a run to anchor the most north-westerly corner of the wide, thing line across the rear of the field. There will be no more firing today. These men must extend their lines all the way from the west edge of the field back to where they will meet the infantry in the center/west. Surrender is to be respected except in the case of Dieter Bresch, who should be disarmed and executed immediately if captured. Unless there are no Imperial nobles left in the south none of the crossbowmen should leave the field in pursuit of escaping enemies, if there are none left south all should turn to pursue as far north as necessary. (Their lines should be ~3 deep and very wide, but without loose formation on.)

Division 5, the Teutons, are ordered in the strongest possible terms to charge and kill Dieter Bresch at all costs. If he flees, they should pursue to the ends of the earth if necessary, ignoring all other enemy forces. If Duke Dieter surrenders or is otherwise taken he should be disarmed and executed at once. If Dieter surrenders to a non-noble company of Republicans not in Fritz's own force the Teutons should attempt to insist that the prisoner is theirs, even to the extent of being threatening or imposing, but under no circumstances are to resort to force to claim him. Republican nobles should obviously not be threatened, but the Teutons should request the prisoner from them in the name of Fritz von Kastilien of the Illuminati Deiter is the sole priority of the Teutons, only in the event of his death should they consider any pursuit of other Imperial soldiers.

Division 6, the middle mercenary knights, should move at a run towards the northwest, hooking around the Imperial Pavisemen and avoid entanglements to attempt to capture Max von Hapsburg. He is their sole priority, only if they can be certain of his death or capture should they attempt to pursue other routers. Pursuit beyond the boundries of the field is authorized. If somehow they should encounter Dieter Bresch he is to be executed immediately.

Division 7, the western most mercenary knights, are to charge the third Imperial pavise crossbowmen, counting from the northeast edge, sweep through them and take up pursuit of any fleeing Imperial nobles in range. Priority of targets is Hapsburg, von Salza, von Tyrolia. If the other mercenary knights or Teutons should be encoutered they should be aided in their pursuit.

:egypt:

Umpire notes for Turn 6

Didn’t bother doing the orders test for anybody except Fritz and Matthias, and the mounted Xbows due to distance. Really, I wasn’t expecting to have to work this turn, but apparently the Imperialists wanted to go out kicking and screaming.

Units failing orders test: Fritz’s gunners, Lothar’s Xbows (Lmao, Hapsburg might just get away). Two of Fritz’s cavalry off engaging to the west pass a second orders test when Fritz calls for support.

Combat resolution:

Center:
Bresch and his free unit of DFKs charge Arnold. The DFKs get bogged down by Jan’s archers and Arnold’s gunners and are destroyed in Ludwig’s charge. That leaves the two escorts. Simple math and unit experience take over (Arnold has 2 gold chevrons and the weapon/armor. Dieter has 2 silver and neither). Dieter dies.

West:
Hapsburg and his FKs make a beeline for it. With the mounted Xbows inactive, Matthias and anybody else can’t catch him. Hapsburg escapes. Ignoramus survived due to a roll of the die. It finally did something good! His spears were still fighting. Decided to just have them surrender with a Matthias assault on its way.

Northwest:
Fritz charges the Xbows. Tancred and Athalwolf countercharge, putting Fritz in danger. He calls for help and the other two merc cav units arrive after some time. The question is: soon enough? Simulated both sides one last time. As Fritz, he died shortly after Tancred/Athalwolf arrived. As Tancred/Athalwolf, Tancred died pretty early on and Fritz survived. Either way, Fritz’s men won. Flipped a coin (a real one, just for the heck of it) to determine Fritz’s fate. Heads, he lives. Tails, he dies.

Tails it is.

Public feedback for Turn 6

The Imperialist resistance, although weak after the twin treacheries, is still fierce.

In the center, Dieter Bresch continues his effort to get at Arnold, dragging his one free infantry unit and what remains of his escort south, still fighting to the very end. That one infantry regiment is quickly pinned by Jan Zirn's archers and Arnold's gunners and charged once again by Ludwig von Bohmen's cavalry, still frightfully effective.

Dieter breaks through, facing a withdrawing Arnold and Jan Zirn. Arnold turns and sees his opposition, almost sighing in disgust. He looks to the north. Fritz von Kastilien's Teutonic Knights are coming, but not quickly enough. Arnold orders his escort to charge and, outnumbering his enemy 2:1, kills another Franconian noble.

The remainder of the action is to the west. Maximilian von Hapsburg's spearmen, locked in combat with the Republican foot knights, surrender when they see their general running off and Matthias Steffen's men closing in from the rear. Hapsburg himself packs up and flees to the northwest, evading both Matthias's cavalry and Fritz's screen of men to the north.

His archers, however, remain and are mercilessly charged by Fritz and his mercenary cavalry. They pin Fritz long enough for the two remaining Imperialist generals, Tancred von Tyrolia and Athalwolf von Salza, to make their move. Abandoning the appearance of fleeing to the north and turning around, they hit Fritz's escort from the rear.

Fritz, sensing danger, quickly calls in his cavalry for assistance, but the fight is on. For a little while, Tancred and Athalwolf have both the numbers and the position. Fritz's cavalry arrives, but still the Imperialists continue their fight. Clearly, there is no surrender in the generals.

His men being hacked down all around him, Athalwolf going down a little ways off, Tancred rides directly at Fritz, surprising the Franconian traitor with his ferocity and plunging his sword into the weak point of Fritz's armor. The revenge completed, Tancred realizes and embraces his fate, but not before taking down a few more Republican cavalry.

With all remaining Imperialist men having either surrendered, fled, or died, the Republicans have triumphed in a crushing victory. However, they have paid one final price. The last von Kastilien is dead.