Building Queues
Vienna
1. Royal Arsenal
2. Ballista Towers
3. Farm
Taxes high
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Building Queues
Vienna
1. Royal Arsenal
2. Ballista Towers
3. Farm
Taxes high
Venice and Ragusa:
I leave both their build queue's up to the Chancellor's needs.
I shall delay my sally until the Italian Situation is resolved. If you feel it is late in the campaigning season, Chancellor Fritz, please inform me so I may sally at once.
I guess we should start the clock running on the 24 hour window for players to instigate offensive battles?
I understand that Ramses wants Dieter to do his battle first - and he will pick up the save this afternoon - but players can still give orders and fight battles that are unrelated to Bavaria.
Mini Econ is taking the save.
Yes, I suppose I should officially declare the offensive season open. I will be in touch as soon as I have assessed the situation in Bavaria Lord Becker.
:egypt:
Chancellor,
Congratulations on your election!
But my God, those Byzantines can be the devil to fight! They wrecked my army. But for the assistance of my physician and his team, I would have only a third of my men left. We were engaged in close combat from the start - no time to use the missile superiority we enjoyed and our lack of foot knights was sorely felt. Still, thanks to the bravery of our men, we prevailed and thanks to our physicians, my army is still fighting fit.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Honour dictated that I offer the enemy prisoners at least the chance of ransom. Unusually, our foe's coffers appear full so it was accepted. I fear that may complicate the advance on Bologna and Florence.
Yours
Prinz Dieter
http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/kotr1360-2.zip
Congratulations Prinz Dieter! An excellent start to the season. Lord Becker if you wish to sally now you have my blessings, simply make your wishes known.
:egypt:
Peter von Kastilien will leave Herrmann Steffen in Swabia and requests a new army be trained for him to return to Bavaria - it is in dire need.
Taking the save to situate Bologna!
My Kaiser, if you would consent to lead the siege of Metz before you depart Swabia that should free me up to train an army for you during your journey.
A German agent in the Bologna region is reporting that he has a contact among the Byzantines guards for that city, and may be able to open the gates for an immediate assault. I need to know if any of the commanders in that zone of control would be able to take on such a task.
Further by splitting Prinz Dieter's army it will be possible to drive back the men he just ransomed, away from the walls, and join the greater part of his men to the siege (I auto-calc'd against the ransom crew to test if Dieter could reach the city and had very few losses), thus it will be possible for any of three commanders (Two more if anyone is jumping on the Steffen twins) to bring the battle to the enemy immediately at Bologna.
It is not necessary to bring home victory immediately, but this chance to blood the enemy within Bologna should not be passed up.
OOC: I think TC is on active duty, and would be appropriate to lead the attack. Whichever commander wants it can hire all the local mercenaries before their attack. I'm taking the save to set up these circumstances, barring a desire on Prinz Dieter's part to actually fight that battle rather than auto it.
:egypt:
All right gentlemen, here is the current situation:
http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/kotr1360-3.zip
Bologna is under siege by Count Ehrlach, Duke Steffen and his two sons, and the majority of Prinz Dieter's army. Any of these men is eligible to attack immediately, using our spy to open the gates and rush inward. I would recommend a conservative strategy on the whole, try to capture some part of the walls and invite the enemy to try to recapture them, but even if the city cannot be taken I do believe the Byzantines can be badly harmed to light losses on our side.
Whomever wishes to attack should hire the regional mercenaries first, into whichever army they wish. Cost is no object, and every available company of men has been drafted to aid the siege.
Fritz von Kastilien
:egypt:
Of course brother.
I will examine the Chancellor's reports on the situation in Bologna. If I believe I can achieve victory with the forces available, I will certainly lead the attack.
[Edit:]I have examined the situation and it is difficult indeed. My own army is very small, and this will force me to rely a great deal on Count Erlach's force. In addition, there are a very large number of Electors involved in this battle. It would be exceedingly risky to fight it without coordinating the armies beforehand. I will not risk the lives of my Electors nor the Prinz simply to gain a brief advantage on the enemy. I will only attack if all commanders heed my exact orders to the letter (i.e. no AI control). However, this will prevent us from attacking from all sides at once. Therefore, I will need a stronger force. Under the current circumstances I will attack if, and only if, the Chancellor releases enough funds to me to allow me to hire ALL mercenary forces in the area. Otherwise, I shall wait a year and reshuffle the available regiments to reach maximum efficiency.
Duke Steffen you have my permission to use every resource you require. Hire every mercenary who will heed your call and make use of them. If you believe it would aid you the small remaining garrisons at Milan or Venice are also at your disposal, I am far less concerned with a little disorder in those places than in driving back the Byzantines.
Fritz von Kastilien
OOC: Rest assured it's never my intent that troops be placed under AI control. If people want to play that way I understand it as accepting a handicap, but as far as I'm concerned it's suicide to let the AI manage troops.
I realize I'm pushing everyone pretty hard, but, well Chancellor Fritz the Attacker can do no less. If we lose some battles then at least we've reduced the AI armies, which won't be topped up for 5 turns, while we can train our own men in the mean time and strike again.
:egypt:
I would still very much like to hear from Huge de Cervole, Hermann Steffen, and Count Ruppel regarding Dijon. Either of the first two is authorized to drive off the small army preventing their march to the relief of Dijon, and the latter will then be in the best position to lift the siege which is likley to occur in the next few seasons. Remember that the camp near Sir de Cervole is infected and should not be entered, but this does not prevent commands being issued to those men in battle if the French don't immediately retreat anyway.
It would also be desirable to have good news from Count von Bohmen and Duke Dieter or Tancred von Tyrolia.
Fritz von Kastilien
OOC: I know, weekend and all (Wife and I did a nice seafood joint for dinner) but there are some fairly critical problem areas. Bologna is discretionary; if it were my choice I'd fight that battle rather than wait to see if they sally, but the Duke and Prinz may disagree. I suspect that, given the fact that the French armies have just been topped off, if we don't relieve Dijon now we will not get a better chance.
Some of these battles, if they aren't fought, are going to see me PM'ing commanders on the ground for permission to auto-calc them. :yes:
:egypt:
All right, I'm taking the save.
Battles fought and won.
There are two less Polish armies in Bohemia now. However the sally seems to have reintroduced the plague to Prague without infecting my army. Most of my army is camped outside, but a few units have been sent inside the city to garrison it. My army now numbers slightly less than eight hundred men, and I need reinforcement if I am to take the field and continue clearing the way to Breslau.
You will have your reinforcements Lord Becker. Congratulations on your victories!
I suspect the Poles were plagued and somehow introduced their illness to the city. I cannot predict what the exact consequences will be for your men, so I will avoid tampering with the formations you have placed them in and pray for the best.
I believe there are mercenaries available in the territories just to your north. I will decide at the end of the offensive season whether to hire them this year or the next.
Fritz von Kastilien
OOC: You have the plague icon back on your avatar Cecil. :(
Is the plague really reintroduced just by fighting a battle against a plagued army? It doesn't seem like the Danes who just fought my plagued army are infected. Might be specific to sieges I guess.
:egypt:
Excellent. My hope is that I can take the field next season to attack the Pole's other field army, and then once I have received extra reinforcements to begin the siege of Breslau in the season afterwards. Our spy's report the army occupying Breslau to be of the typical elite quality, so I would be reluctant to rush in and attack. I would prefer to wait and receive additional canon from Prague while whittling down their forces in the siege.
OOC : I might be able to fight around Dijon on Monday morning GMT + 1 if noone else wants the privilege...
Welf von Luxemburg
Chancellor,
I await your orders and am ready to march into battle at your signal,
Welf
OOC: Ramses, feel free to move my stack where you like to set up the battle. You had some ideas about where to move my stack so I don't want to pre-empt them. However, there's no need to autoresolve as I can fight.
Taking the save to fight Bologna.
[Edit:] Done. That was one of the most intense battles I have ever fought. The reinforcements trickled in slowly and in irregular intervals, leaving me at a massive disadvantage in men for most of the battle. Despite the open doors, the AI defended all four gates very well. I used Lothar's army of militia and mercs to force their way into the main gate. The mass of low quality spears bought enough time for the crossbowmen to get onto the walls. It was then a brutal slug match with the spears in the streets and the crossbowmen on the walls. Eventually the entire force was killed or routed, but they took down about twice their number before they finally gave way. This bought me enough time (and drew enough Byzantines to the gate) to allow Prinz Dieter's force to come up and enter via a second gate. With the rest of Lothar's army gone, he and his two sons rode over there and joined Dieter. With Dieter's crossbows on the walls and lots of heavy cavalry in the streets, I was able to keep a foothold there and slowly whittle away at the enemy as they came at me. The entire time this was happening, Erlach's force was blocked by a huge force of Byzantine cavalry that was waiting at his gate, preventing him from entering. Eventually, Lothar and the other generals cleared their area of the city and rode into the town square. This forced the Byzantine cavalry back from the gates, which allowed Erlach to enter in full force. Eventually he was able to line the streets with crossbows and cut down most of the cavalry in the town square, though they also charged his lines and inflicted heavy losses on the few regiments of infantry he had with him.
Bologna has been recaptured and all 5 avatars are alive, but it cost us a huge number of men. I don't think I have ever micromanaged a battle more than I did just then.
http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/kotr1360-4.zip
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
In your case Welf I was actually hoping to have your men hold the bridge and let the French dash themselves apart against it. The Kaiser has nobly committed himself to aiding us by leading the siege at Metz, so I will probably take most the cavalry from your command to aid him in this. The cavalry should be less essential for a bridge battle, though it may prevent you pursuing the enemy after your victory, and next year you can reinforce the Kasier's small force and either of you can capture Metz. It would still be possible for you to strike those men across the bridge, and then send your cavalry back to Metz, but it may be easier to hold the bridge. I will leave this matter to your discretion Sir Welf, but if you fight do so with the goal of preserving enough men to hold the bridge and a siege at Metz.
So, let me update matters with the remaining desirable actions in order of priority, given that the siege of Bologna is being undertaken right now (I hope you snagged those two companies just north of you TC. Captain Dimarus, crossbowmen and foot knights. Just noticing I forgot to move them into your army!):
1. Dijon. The small French force facing Captain Gunther does not technically need to be fought in order to relieve Dijon, as I am certain they would withdraw in the face of Gunther's superior troops, however the ideal situation would be to drive them off completely so that they are not present to threaten to reinforce the army of Lancers. Sir de Cervole has volunteered a time when he can manage this, and I greatly hope that Count Ruppel can sally soon afterward, before our season closes. If Hermann Steffen can get to it sooner it is a battle of little consequence, and he would be welcome to do so, simply do not take the Kaiser with you.
2. Madgeburg. Given the uncertainty of the situation here, things are what they are. I may request permission of Duke Dieter to (autocalc) handle a sally myself as in the worst case of a failure to drive them off the enemy will at least be damaged and unlikely to proceed with their attack.
3. Vienna. A glance at the situation makes it almost inevitable that the Hungarians are prepared to attack Johann Zirn in the coming season. There's an insignificant force directly in front of him that I'd like to see driven off, but such is not very important and if it isn't done I'll pick some good looking defensive terrain for him and place him on it. As Lord Becker has requested another cannon to the north, and Count Zirn already has one, I may send the one available at Vienna north rather than train another in Prague without knowing if Prague is plagued or not.
The rest are just minor movements and touch-ups which I will do at the end of the turn.
God grant you victory Duke Steffen!
Fritz von Kastilien
OOC: Heading out for a bit now. Looking forward to good news when I get back. :yes:
:egypt:
TC
I just loaded up 1360-4. It seems to be before you took Bologna not after.
Cheers
AG
You made my heart skip for moment. I checked and the 1360-4 save I have in my save folder is indeed after I took Bologna. I have not checked the one I uploaded, but just in case I re-uploaded the save.
http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/kotr1360-4a.zip
I can get to the save later today.
Good to go now TC!!Quote:
Originally Posted by TinCow
I was having a small heart attack also. After your brief description I was like:
"Oh dear...this could be bad!" :beam:
Brilliantly done Duke Lothar! (I note that you did it even without the crossbowmen and foot knights to your north. Sorry I forgot them!) The engagements this year have been quite satisfactory thus far. The Byzantines and Poles must both be shocked by our boldness. There is still a large force of Byzantines, and of course the French, but I feel comfortable saying that the situation in Bavaria is quite good.
I'm taking the save to make some adjustments in Austria and Bavaria. I won't disturb the situation in Swabia for the moment, but I'm going to shuffle some men around at Bologna and move Count Erlach back to the bridge.
Prinz Dieter your command will be somewhat reduced, but it has accomplished great things this season, and there are many battles still to come I assure you.
Fritz von Kastilien
:egypt:
The save is frozen gentlemen, no one take it until this problem can be resolved!
OOC: Not so good. I can see why TC used the wrong name, because he was working from the save before Lord Becker's sally at Prague. We're in a position of having split continuities now.
If Bologna is taken, Prague is under siege still. I have checked, and a sally at Prague can be auto-calc'd for a victory, but Lord Becker also defeated a smaller nearby Polish army that would remain, plus his casualties wouldn't match up, etc, etc. I'm PM'ing both commanders now, but I also need to hear from Econ on the matter.
:egypt:
OOC Screenshots of the proposed adjustment for Cecil:
The armies after Cecil's actual fight:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The primary difference, the only one of consequence IMHO, is more militia spearmen (2 companies) and fewer foot knights (~ half as many) will remain for Cecil after the adjustment.
This post is mostly just so I can refer to the shots easily via pm.
:egypt: