The Rise of Venice

This is my AAR from TWC:

The Rise of Venice

My Name is Buredillo Vanelli. I have served my country in the Italian
Militia for many years now. I plan on continuing my service until I die,
whether it is by Old age, or death by the sword. But I know this....I will
fight for the Venetian people, and will stop at nothing to serve my
country.

I am in an army bound for the Rebel city of Zagreb, an Ideal first target
for the Venetian army. we have hired Mercenaries to hold off the Rebels
when we attack, for we want as many Pure Italians left alive as possible.
But in case they fail, I, and 600 of my Comrades, will be sent into battle.

There are rumors in the ranks that one of our very Diplomats, who had
departed from Venice a year earlier, obtained an alliance with both the
Holy Roman Empire, AND the Papacy. Hopefully we can turn this fight
for expansion into the creation of a powerful union of Christian Countries.

I have a hunch that after we take this town, there will be a large war with
our Greek Rivals, the Byzantines, for control of the Mediterranean. May
god help us in our battle to come.

The Battle of Zagreb


Winter, The Year of Our Lord 1082.

The day has come. Our army of more than 1,500 men has finally arrived
at Zagreb. The rebels amass roughly 500 men to defend the town, some
Archers and some Axemen from the Forests of Croatia. Among our ranks,
we have Italians, Balkans, Croatian Spearmen, and our General's
bodyguard of 40 men.


With a sound of his horn, the 600 Archers/Crossbowmen of our army were
ordered forward. Immediately, the Crossbowmen were firing volleys from a
safe distance away, but our archers had to get in range, and theirs was much,
MUCH shorter. They were beginning to take casualties before they could
even open fire, so they were recalled by the General. Even so, we still had
fire superiority, and we killed all of the enemy archers.

Then, the 300 Mercenary Croat Spearmen were ordered forward. They
had to fight their own countrymen - the enemy sent their Axemen forward. WE
were the ones trying to stop THEIR advance! Both waves clashed in a gigantic
flailing of Body parts, Armor, and weapons. It was like an Orgy in the middle of
the battlefield, between opposing sides!

Eventually, though, our lines were beginning to falter, That's when WE were sent
in. All 600 of us Italian Spear militia. However, at the time, the General was getting
sneaky, He and his Bodyguardran to the side of the city, and then charged from
the City's East roadway, reaching the City Center in less than 10 seconds. Then,
he charged into the backs of the already weakened and exhausted Croat Axemen.

THAT'S where the Slaughter began.....



Summer, Year of our lord 1084:


It has been a Year and a Half since the Battle of Zagreb, and only now are my
comrades and I getting the Battle report; 445 out of 514 enemies dead, the other 79
taken prisoner. We lose only 223 men, most of them the Croat spearmen who had to
fight against - and, kill - their own people. Enemies in this life, Family in the next. I can
still hear the sobs of the weary and cries of the wounded Croats.....Wishing they could
go to the next life instead.....God heal their pain.


It also appears that my assumption was correct....The Venetian council of Nobles has
ordered swift action against the Byzantine town of Durazzo, and my unit is being sent
there. The Byzantines will be a challenge, but I know, that with the aid of God, those
non-believing Greeks will either be enlightened-or killed.

Does anyone like my AAR so far? Regardless, I will continue to post updates.

Maybe pics should illustrate more than 1000 words.

I cannot make pics, simply put.

The March to Durazzo

Winter, The Year of our Lord 1086

Much has changed in the 6&1/2 years since I enlisted in the Italian Militia....men have died,
relations have changed, countries have expanded.....we are not an exception. I found out
that roughly 800 of our men sailed to and attack the Byzantine-held Island fortress of
Rhodes, and won, although being outnumbered. This has given much Morale to our men,
as well as the General public. As a token of Gratitude, the Council of Venetian Nobles gifted
us with 2,000 Florins. We gladly accepted, and even now we are using it to increase Trade
facilities and Roads.

With some much needed Map Information and Watchtowers, we have managed to spy upon
the Byzantine settlements in Greece; Durazzo, Byzantium, Thessalonica, and Corinth. We
also were able to spy upon enemy troop movements; Greece will be a problem. Over 2,500
Greek Troops patrol or Garrison most of the Balkans. However, there is a rumor that our
Fation leader himself will personally lead a large army to kill the Byzantine emperor and his
army. If they will not choose to be enlightened by Christendom, then they will die, as all
Heretics must.

There is only a day's march from Durazzo now. We have supporting troops from Ragusa
supporting us now, however. With their Sargeant Infanry and Feudal Cavalry assisting us,
we can win this seige.

The Battle for Durazzo, Part 1


Summer, The Year of Our Lord 1088


I stand here, one of 1,000 men ready to do battle against the army of The Rebels....Yes, the Rebels.
Only Yeserday did I learn of Durazzo's Rebellion. I guess our already began war with the Greeks
will have to wait a few more years. No matter, we still gain a town, we still kill enemies, we still win.

Our army consists of 600 Infantry, half of them Militia, the other half Sargeants from nearby Ragusa.
We also have roughly 120 Cavalry, 80 of them Knights, also from Ragusa. We have 240 Archers,
and, to give us an even 1,000, we also have.....Artillery. That's right, our construction is up to date,
and we have a 40-man Crew of Ballistas, ready to pound the enemy from a large distance.

The enemy have roughly 540 men, a simple army; 300 Spear Militia, 240 Archers. A fairly good
army, if we stick to the strategy that we prefer; send in the amount of troops only needed to counter
them, and let them fight it out. If our first wave fails, we have reserves. No rush. While we send in the
2nd wave, we send our cavalry to the Right-side city Cooridoor/Street, and then flank, kill their
archers, and attack from the rear. It came through for us at Zagreb, and it can again, today.

I must go prepare now, the General is preparing to attack this un-walled city. We can take it, I know
we can. But, I also believe this; If we take it, it will not be without God's help.

The Battle for Durazzo, Part 2

"Artillery Forward, Archers, advance!" These are the words I hear when we finally are in Battle formation. I knew then that we were going to slug it out until the end.

Our army is organized in a formation to purely decimate the enemy troops. Soon, after those fateful words, we can hear the "TWING! TWING! TWING!" of arrows from our Archers, the "Cuf-Cuf-Cuf-Cuf-Cuf-Cuf-Cuf-Cuf-Cuf-Cuf....TWANG!" of our Artillery, and the "Shfff, Shfff, Shfff, Shfff" of our Infantry marching towards the enemy.

We sent our Sargeant Spearmen to hold a position about 20 Yards in front of our Artillery, and then they were ordered to guard it with their lives, Much like the 300 Spartans, those 300 Sargeants would hold the position-or die trying.

As you can guess, the Artillery and archers were providing Fire Ammunition support, killing many enemies. In fact, one of the enemy Archer units was reduced 1/3 of it's manpower before their Infantry moved forward. Their 300 matched our 300, Spear Militia met Sargeant Spearmen, and a bloody brawl ensued.

At the same time, our archers and artillery switched targets- the enemy Infantry they were now targeting, but because of concern, the artillery kept quiet.

At the same time the reason for the Target switch came into effect- our 120 Cavalry, like at Zagreb 3/12 years earlier, came charging down the coridoor to the right of where we positioned our troops, and it was like a repeat; the Archers of the Rebel Army were slaughtered, and the enemy Infantry were surrounded.

Suddenly, we went from the Spartans to the Persians, and attacked with everything we had. Me and my 300 Militia comrades were sent in, although it was the Sargeants who saw all of the action. We won, and we all prayed to god and thanked him for the victory he had granted us. I now know how many men we killed; 540 Rebels and 95 Venetians lie dead on the field of battle, much of them our Cavalry; The enemy sandwiched our cavalry between 2 archer units of theirs, and we lost 55 Cavalrymen.

I have been informed of the Byzantine emperor and 2,000 of his men being in the Mountains North-East of Thessalonica, and our army, plus reinforcements from Zagreb, are to be sent Immediately, with any mercenaries that could also be hired. Now is the time for us Venetians...now is the time to Do............or Die.

I swear, to anyone who reads this, I will, soon, begin using pictures.

Progess against the Greek
forces



Summer, The Year of Our Lord 1090

It is a quiet July day, our forces replenished, up to 2,700 men, our largest ever. We are marching down from the North-West to attack the
Byzantine emperor, whom has a force with just slightly less men; roughly 2,500 men in his army, much of them mobile, but with a strong
Infantry force and a powerful Bodyguard of 90 men, it is easy to see why he is a respected and feared adversary. We will need the
strength of all or our men to defeat him.

In the southern half of Greece, which used to be home to such great cities as Sparta and Athens, only Corinth is of Value. Roughly 400
Greek soldiers reside there. We have sent more troops from Ragusa, along with Militia from Irakllion and the Ballistas from Durazzo, to
combine with one of our younger generals. It may be a while before Corinth falls, but it will, in the name of God.

The Greek sea forces are also suffering. They are barely enough for our Galleys and War Galleys, and they will be kiled as such. It is only
a matter of time before the Greek navy is at the bottom of the sea, and our Naval dominance is recognized.

A small force from Rhodes has been ordered to land in Asia Minor and take a small town near the South-west coast, before the Turks do.
It actually HAS walls, so it may be difficult.


Our force is, as I said, our largest yet. We have:
8 150-man Spear Militia Regiments
4 150-man Slav Mercenary Regiments
2 80-man Mailed Knight units
5 120-man Archer units
1 75-man General unit

for a total of:2,635 men.


With that many soldiers, and the courage of Venice and will of God residing in each and every one, Victory is inevitable. The Byzantine Emperor had better watch himself.

YOU KNOW WHAT? SINCE THIS AAR ISN'T GETTING MORE THAN 1 VIEW PER DAY, AND SINCE MOST OF THE POSTS ARE MINE, I'M JUST GONNA SAY, :daisy: IT! IF NO-ONE APPRECIATES THE TIME THAT GOES INTO THIS AAR JUST BECAUSE IT HAS NO PICTURES, THEN I'M JUST GONNA LET IT DIE!!!!! NO MORE UPDATES, SOMEONE CLOSE THIS!

Well, I just ran onto this today. It is interesting. I do not know if one person will matter to you though. I do indeed know how much work is needed to do these things.