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Jacque Schtrapp
10-22-2003, 18:53
The Empire of Italy flourished and grew as trade florins abounded and alliances were strictly adhererd to. Small but growing quickly, Italy encompassed the entire Italian peninsula, with the exception of Rome, as well as occupying the great cities of Constantinople and Athens. Respect for the honest hardworking people of Italy grew and so the influence of the Doge increased.

To the north of Italy lay the domain of the Holy Roman Emperor. Long had he admired the rich Italian provinces, placing an especially high value on Milan with it vast fields of grain. From Burgundy he continually looked south and fumed over the alliance his father had signed with the previous Italian ruler. But an alliance signed in the presence of the Pope is a powerful deterrent indeed. Thus he determined to lay low biding his time waiting for the perfect opportunity to exploit in vacating the alliance.

In the spring of 1274 the Emperor got his wish when the forces of France invaded Italian held Tunisia from Morocco. This petty squabble afforded him the long desired opportunity to realign his country by choosing to side with the French and void the compact signed by his predecessor.

Elated, the Holy Roman Emperor immediately began making preparations and marshalling his forces for the assault on Milan. He called together forces from the nearby provinces of Tyrolia and Swabia. Upon their arrival, he ordered his forces to march south.

The Italian Doge, being a wary fellow, had set about reinforcing his border garrisons from the day his for ally declared their alliance null and void. Thus he was not caught off guard and the superior valor and tactics of the Italian infantry bled the field red with the blood of fallen Germans.

With his invasion force smashed, the Emperor was filled chagrin. Never the less, his malice outweighed his concern and he began assembling another army in Burgundy.

So it came to pass that Doge Enrico IV of Italy ordered his finest commander, Lord Machiavelli, to make a punitive expedition against the forces of the Holy Roman Emperor before they again chanced to enter Italian lands.

Lord Machiavelli assembled an army of 1000 with a vanguard of gallant Italian Nobles flanking the rank and file foot troops consisting of Popolo Infantry, Italian Light Infantry, and the elite Carracio Guards. Together they marched north into Burgundy.

So great was the consternation of the German forces that they initially retreated leaving only a small garrison to hold their massive fortress, choosing to abandon the province to the conquering Italians.

Now Lord Machiavelli was a crafty veteran and knew full well that the Germans would return with a vengeance. To this end, bent upon holding the province for his liege lord, he requested and received a contingent of 200 Italian Pavise Sailors to reinforce his defensive position.

The following spring disaster manifested itself before the Italian forces. From the north came fully five thousand German troops led by the infamous Holy Roman Emperor. As if that was not enough, six thousand French soldiers under command of the French King rode in from the east in support of the German allies. The Italians found themselves facing 10 to 1 odds with only a river and two bridges separating them from near certain doom.

Under Lord Machiavelli the Italian stalwarts refused to budge, instead taking up defensive positions around the eastern most span. Placing his Italian Pavise Sailors on a small bluff overlooking the bridge and moving his Italian Light Infantry into prime defensive positions, he settled in to wait the advance of his foes.

The wait was not long as the Saxon Armored Huscarles and Swabian Swordsmen of the German forces charged. Not to be outdone the French Destriders charged followed closely by their Feudal Men at Arms.

The Italian Pavise Sailors opened up on the Destriders trying to sap the strength from the French Cavalry as the Italians Light Infantry advance to the middle of the bridge to meet the charging infantry. The vast experience and knowledge of Lord Machiavelli gave his forces the edge and slowly they began pushing the combined forces of the enemy back towards the opposite side of the river.

To counter this the French Monarch ordered the Chevaliers, the pride of France, to charge the bridge. The Holy Roman Emperor added his personal retainers to the second wave. This new onslaught slowly drove the Italians back towards their side of the bridge.

In response Lord Machiavelli committed the Popolo Infantry to the defensive efforts in order to counter the plentiful French Knights. Now faced with a stand still and possible battle of attrition, Lord Machiavelli devised a method to counter attack the growing pressure from the Germans and French.

On the sly he manuevered his Italian Nobles through the tree lines to the far western span. Once there they crossed the river and circled behind a hill coming up behind the French resrves and the German Trebuchets. Ignoring these forces, the Italian Nobles followed orders and charged fully into the rear of the assembled forces pressing onto the bridge to battle the Italian Infantry.

So great was the surprise of the Italian counter offensive, that the Italian Nobles crushed the combined Chevaliers and Destriders forcing them to flee the field. Instead of pursuing the fleeing French cavalry, the Nobles pressed forward effectively trapping the Huscarles and Swabians between a rock and a hard place. A virtual slaughter ensued as the Italian forces killed the Holy Roman Emperor and chased the enemy from the bridge.

Lord Machiavelli refused to allow his troops to pursue the enemy from the field, electing instead to rest his forces in preparation for the enemies next assault. Their rest was short lived as fresh companies from both enemy camps crested the rise and headed straight for the waiting defenders.

As the sun rose towards it's zenith in the early afternoon the weary defenders continued to hack and slash at each fresh face the enemy threw at them. Breathing became an exercise in pain and treacherous footing on the blood slickened cobblestones betrayed many brave souls to their death.

Eventually the toll in dead and wounded drew Lord Machiavelli to commit himself to the fray. Re-invigorated the Italians drove the fifth wave of French and German forces from the field. Down to under a hundred men and staring at a field littered with thousands of enemy corpses, Lord Machiavelli resigned himself to facing one more wave before orchestrating a retreat for the remaining Italian forces.

To his dismay, fresh contigents of knights from both enemy camps charged the bridge. These were followed closely by more Saxon Armored Huscarles and Feudal Men at Arms. The charging knights forced the Italians back to the near side of the bridge nearly breaking the line in more than one place. Again it was Lord Machiavelli reinforcing the line at just the right moment that prevented a total disaster.

Slowly, inch by bloody inch, the Italians forced the enemy knights to retreat towards their own side of the bridge. The indomitable Italians redoubled their efforts wielding their weapons in a gory dance of death. Unable to stand up to the vicious onslaught the knights again broke and fled the field.

Lord Machiavelli took advantage of this reprieve to survey the field. Horse carcasses and the bodies of enemy soldiers lay nearly hip deep from one end of the bridge to the other and across the field one could easily follow the path of the retreating French and German forces by studying the fallen corpses strewn by the wayside.

With a deep sigh he watched as a fresh wave of enemies assembled and began to swarm towards the bridge. This was it, this time there would be no stopping their advance, they were simply too many and his remaining men too few. He marveled briefly at the stoic calm his men exhibited as they leaned on their weapons while awaiting his command. Releasing another sigh he determined to save as many of his exhausted men as possible.

Giving the order to retreat, he set his personal unit of Carricio Guards to fight a rear action in defense of his retiring men. The enemy arrived and boiled across the bridge to take the far shore for the first time. There they stood until all of their number remaining on the field were assembled and they began a slow steady advance.

Almost within striking distance of Machiavelli and his men, they abruptly halted. Machiavelli waited for the inevitable charge which never materialized. Suddenly it dawned on him that the enemy was giving him, a most respected and feared foe, the opportunity to make a dignified exit from the field of battle. Raising his sword in salute, Lord Machiavelli turned and led his men from the field.

The battle was lost, but so great was the price paid by the French and Germans that when the Italian Doge came in person the following year he easily crushed the German resistance and moved into the lands held by France in order to teach them a lesson also.

The extreme effort and sacrifice by Lord Machiavelli and his men was commemorated by order of the Doge with the raising of a statue over the battlefield on which they bled and died. Lord Machiavelli was appointed to govern over the new Italian province of Burgundy.

One by one the survivors healed from their wounds and reported for duty. So great was the loss of life that most units that had participated in the battle were disbanded and consequently their few remaining souls were assigned to new companies. Regardless of where they went or what they did, they always had a kinship with those who had faced a mighty host in battle and left the field on their own terms.

http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/story/zzbridgedef1.jpg

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http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/story/zzbridgedef3.jpg

http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/story/zzbridgedef4.jpg

Somehow this felt appropriate:


Quote[/b] ]This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd,

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:

And gentlemen now a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here
And hold their manhoods cheap while any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

King Henry V, Act. IV, Sc. III

Thanks to the MedMod3.12 for allowing me to renew my passion for MTW and give me such fond memories as this one.

The Wizard
10-22-2003, 19:27
Nice story... descriptive and nicely written.

Is this MM for MTW vanilla or VI? Well, let's try the Italians then and hope it won't crash as soon as I try to view the GA...

Once again kudos http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Monk
10-22-2003, 21:09
Nice story, entertaining and well written.

Well done http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif

Quote[/b] ]
This day is called the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.'
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names.
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.


I'm sure those few who survived the battle, journeyed home and showed their scars of that day till they died. It is these battles and these stories of glory that make MTW and VI all the more enjoyable.

ShadesWolf
10-29-2003, 20:28
As requested by Jacque Schtrapp moved to Mead Hall