The Battle of Staufen, 1336

[econ21]

This is a thread to resolve the PvP conflicts around Staufen in 1336. They will be umpired by econ21. Please do not post in this thread - comments and questions should be made in the out of character thread.

Background

In 1330, the bloody Battle for Bern reduced the Swabian Civil War from a three-way struggle to a two way one. The would-be usurper, Dietrich von Dassel (GeneralHankerchief), and his Lutheran Army of Light - in essence one Bavaria’s Household Armies of gifted by the Duke of Bavaria, Lothar Steffen (Tincow) - were trapped and destroyed in Bern. However, the loyalists paid a steep price, with the deaths of Duke Hans (Factionheir) and his ally Jan von Hamburg (Privateerkev). Although a full loyalist army remained in possession of Bern, some argued that the true victor of the battle was the third party in the Civil War - Wolfgang von Hummel (Ignoramus) and his rebel “Principality of Swabia”.

Hummel seemed to validate these claims in 1332 when he out maneouvred the new Duke of Swabia, Athalwolf von Salza (Warluster), and seized Staufen, capitol of Swabia and citadel of the loyalists in a bold coup de main. The defence of Staufen had been entrusted to Ehrhart Ruppel (Factionheir MkII), but Ruppel had left the Citadel undefended in order to collect the victorious loyalist army from Bern together with wealth Kaiser Elberhard (econ21) had remitted to aid his late brother, Duke Hans.

In 1334, Ruppel reacted swiftly to the fall of Staufen, returning to lay siege to the citadel with the loyalist army from Bern. Hummel calmly collected provisions and boldly prepared to resist the siege. His lieutenant, Ludwig von Bohmen (deguerra), managed to enter Staufen before it was completely locked down. Ludwig had brought some funds from Flanders and in addition, Duke Lothar had decided to play double or nothing in betting against the loyalists by sending financial support to Hummel. However, while undersiege in Staufen, Hummel would be unable to recruit more men and he had no immediate prospect of reinforcement. By contrast, Duke von Salza at Metz was in a position to reinforce Ruppel and assist in a siege assault of Staufen.

The main problem the loyalists faced was a lack of the heavy infantry that would be most useful in a siege assault. Some could be found in Bern, but Ruppel would have to travel to Bern to recruit them. If he left his army leaderless, there was a risk that Hummel would notice his absence and sally...

[econ21]

The battle of Staufen

Briefing

Fortune was not kind to Ehrhart Ruppel. Although the young general made elaborate efforts to mask his departure from Staufen, his best efforts were not enough. After having lost Staufen once by going to Bern to seek reinforcements, fate was conspiring against Ruppel to repeat this failure.

Umpire feedback to Hummel


Your scouts manning the walls have reported that there have been unusual activities in the loyalist camp. It took a few days for them to notice, but Ehrhart Ruppel is definitely gone. There is another man wearing similar clothing and acting as a general would, but there are irregularities in his behavior that make it clear that he is not Ehrhart. Obviously, Ruppel has left the army to recruit better infantry.

If you attack now, you will be able to fight the loyalist army without Ehrhart Ruppel being available to command it. Do you wish to sally?

If you answer yes, econ21 will set up a custom battle against the AI for you to fight.

Although the army arrayed against him was arguably superior to his own, Wolfgang Hummel showed the chutzpah that had marked his entire career and boldly ordered a sally from Bern. He gambled on using superior tactics to defeat the large but leaderless loyalist army facing him. However, the outcome of the sally battle alone would not decide the fate of Staufen this year.

If Hummel wins the sally, he will be able to destroy the loyalist artillery and siege engines that threaten Staufen. However, Ruppel will still return within the year with heavy infantry recruited from Bern - perhaps supported by the army of Duke Athalwolf. In such a contingency, Hummel will have to decide whether to meet the loyalists on the field or retreat to the castle.

If Hummel loses the sally but survives, he may retire to the Citadel. However, when Ruppel returns within the year, he will be able to choose whether to launch an assault or merely maintain the siege.

The second rebel general, Ludwig Bohmen, does not participate in the sally, but instead departs for Flanders. He informs Hummel that the Prinz seems to have matters at Staufen in hand, but that the death of Jan van der Pflaz (Zim) means the situation in Flanders is critical and demands his personal attention.

Mechanics

Ignoramus will fight a custom battle vs the AI on a map to be decided. The battle will use a mini-mod to reflect the composition of the two armies. The mod is available at:

http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/staufen_mod.zip

The rebel army will be:

https://img502.imageshack.us/img502/5199/rebel1sx5.jpg (https://imageshack.us)


The loyalist army will be:


https://img517.imageshack.us/img517/6545/loyalist1mn4.jpg (https://imageshack.us)


Details of the army composition and upgrades:



The Prinz of Swabia’s Army

General: General’s body guard (early) 7xp
Dismounted Chivalric Knights 5xp-w
2xFree Company MAA
3xFlemish pikes 1xp
Ballista
2xPeasant archers 2a
Pavise crossbow 5xp-a
Pavise crossbow 4xp-a
Arquebusiers
Handgunners 1xp

The loyalist army

General: Feudal Knights 8xp-w
Imperial Knights 4xp-w-a
Teutonic Knights 3xp
Teutonic Knights 4xp
Mtd Sergeants 4xp
Merchant Cavalry 2xp
Dismounted Feudal Knights 2xp-w-a
Armoured Sergeants 1xp-w-a
4x Fanatics
Peasant crossbows 3xp
Peasant archers 1xp
3x Spear militia 2a
Bombard
Grand bombard

xp = levels of experience
w = weapon upgrade
a = number of armour upgrades


Instructions for Ignoramus

1. You have 24 hours to install the mod and test out the custom battle using the Scottish Highlands map (this is not the map you will fight the battle for real on). You must upload pre-battle screenshots of the two forces to match those provided above in order to demonstrate that you have successfully installed the mod.

2. We will then arrange a further period for you to fight the battle for real. Ideally, I will supply you with the name of the map and immediately give you a short window (3 hours) to upload a post-battle screenshot of the results. Naturally, you should only fight the real battle once.

3. Before the custom battle, go to options, gameplay options and choose large unit size (you will have to do this each time you load M2TW).

4. In the custom battle, leave all options on their defaults. But choose a 20000 florin limit and set up the two sides exactly as detailed above. Take care over the upgrades - go by the text above rather than the screenshots. The rebels (Spain) should have around 7876 florins left; the loyalists (HRE) should have around 2251. Make sure that the first units you recruit are the general’s bodyguard for Spain and the Feudal knights for the HRE. (The latter will be their general). Please take screenshots of both sides forces prior to battle.

5. The battle will end when only one side remains on the field. You may withdraw your units from the battle (press the white flag) - they and any escaped routers will retreat to the castle.

6. Please write a battle report, using screenshots. But also take a screenshot of the post-battle statistics and the detailed unit by unit stats. For the loyalist army, you will have to record their losses by hand. Use the pause key to take careful note of each loyalist unit that is destroyed, routs of exiting the battle or left standing (record the strengths of the units in question).

7. Use the “record battle” button in the post-battle screen to make a video of the battle. We will organise an upload.
EDIT: Note, however, the record battle function does not seem very reliable so I think we should rely on conventional screenshots. Here's a couple of questions that this thread led me to include in the Citadel M2TW FAQ:


Q: How do I view replays of custom battles?

A: [QUOTE=Sinan]I think it's Single Player -> Load Game -> Load Battle Replay

Note - to record a custom battle, press the save replay button on the post-battle screen.


Q: Why do battle replays sometimes show different results from the battle I actually fought?

A: Apparently, replays save only the forces and your commands. The effects of those commands may differ depending on other factors. There are reports are some very large discrepancies, with player micromanagement of units not being apparent in the replays, so the replay function may not be reliable:

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=82618

[econ21]

The Sally Begins

As Hummel's army sallied out of Staufen, the loyalists did not offer resistance but attempted to march west to the bridge over the Rhine. Hummel's men caught up with the loyalists and forced them to give battle, making a stand on high ground. Hastily forming ranks, the loyalists prepared for the rebel onslaught.

As Hummel's men deployed for battle below, a rider approached with grim news. Ehrhart Ruppel was returning to Staufen with men recruited from Bern. Riding with him was Duke von Salza with men from Metz. They were mere hours away from the battlefield. Hummel had to decide whether to attempt to press his sally attack before they arrived or retreat back into the temporary safety of the castle...

[econ21]

The resolution of the battle

Conscious of the fast approaching loyalist reinforcements, Hummel hurriedly marshalled his men to attack. The battle was fierce and frenetic, with terrible losses on both sides.

At last the battle seemed to be swinging in favour of the rebels. Although small, their army was well equipped with pike and shot, driving back the more "primitive" loyalist force of cavalry and fanatics. Hummel had a dreaded reputation with his enemies, but inspired high morale in his men and through many past victories had accumulated a high skill in command. The leaderless loyalists fought doggedly, but unintelligently - alternately, throwing away fine troops in futile charges and being passively slaughtered by veteran rebel arbalests and fearful firearms.

Along side their small numbers, a key rebel weakness was their shortage of cavalry. Hummel had to be everywhere, using his escort as a fire brigade, moving left and right to respond to threats. As the loyalists began to lose heart and whole regiments rout, Hummel launched his veteran retinue into charge after charge. These fearsome attacks sparked a mass rout amongst the loyalists, but provided no respite for Hummel, whose small escort had to harry and pursue the mass of fleeing loyalists to prevent them rallying.

Quite what happened at the end of the battle remains shrouded in uncertainty. Some say it was a lucky loyalist arrow. Others, that Hummel made the mistake of blocking the retreat of a body of loyalists who had not yet thrown down their weapons and were willing to fight for their escape with a ferocity they had not shown when fighting to win. What is known is that - in the moment of his triumph - Hummel fell. His men wept and prayed that their scarred and battered leader would rally and pull through. But his wounds were too severe and Wolfgang Hummel, self-styled Prinz of Swabia, died outside the gates of the capital of the land he aspired to rule.

Duke Athalwolf and Ehrhart Ruppel arrived on the battlefield before the victorious rebels had time to retire to the Citadel. The forces of the two loyalist generals combined constituted a strong army - at least the equal to that which the rebels had just struggled to defeat. Vastly outnumbered, exhausted, out of ammunition, leaderless and caught out in the open, the surviving rebel captains quickly hoisted the white flag.

Duke Athalwolf rode among the battered ranks of the remaining rebels. He chivalrously agreed to spare the lives of the rebel captains and released the common soldiers on condition that they would never again fight against the rightful Duke of Swabia. Fast riders were sent to Ludwig von Bohmen, the last surviving rebel Swabian leader. Perhaps now Swabians had shed enough of each others blood to put an end to their Civil War?