Middle Ages: Interactive

King of France, In your situation, I would commision privateers to sack Byzantine Caravans. And, Emperor of Byzantium, if the HRE and England are allies, why do you help the ally of your enemy? England could, just as easily, send your goods to the HRE, which the French would not attack as it would hurt your pathetic military even more. Frankly, Emperor, I view you as a pathetic old dog, clinging to the last second's of its meek life, trying with all its might, to delay the inevitable. You won't be so strong when the Turks come, will you?

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Originally Posted by IrishArmenian

King of France, In your situation, I would commision privateers to sack Byzantine Caravans. And, Emperor of Byzantium, if the HRE and England are allies, why do you help the ally of your enemy? England could, just as easily, send your goods to the HRE, which the French would not attack as it would hurt your pathetic military even more. Frankly, Emperor, I view you as a pathetic old dog, clinging to the last second's of its meek life, trying with all its might, to delay the inevitable. You won't be so strong when the Turks come, will you?

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We simply want to profit from trade with England.

We respected Sicily for their actions, now we think they are just a confused nation.

The King of England laughs at all the bickering.

Watch yourself Byzantines, my troops draw ever closer. All 1 million of them.

Really, China, I do not wish to have another enemy. We have no bad blood with you, do we?

Stop Aiding the enemies of my allies, or my troops will attack you (you will know once you read my pm). Cn you re-pm me that? I wish to make what I wrote public.

Again, I only wished to profit, and since every other nation except England has been unfriendly, they were the only ones I felt safe to trade with.

...You are safe with the natio of China. So long as you do not in any do harm to my allies. Re-route the troops going to you to the Persian Empire.

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Originally Posted by Patriarch of Constantinople

Again, I only wished to profit, and since every other nation except England has been unfriendly, they were the only ones I felt safe to trade with.

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Does that mean I'm the only trustworthy nation?:beam:

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Originally Posted by Motep dra Uha Dnia Mazzat

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Don't hate me cause I'm European. Oh and invaded France :beam:

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Originally Posted by Csar

Don't hate me cause I'm European. Oh and invaded France :beam:

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I dont hate you...I just view you as the enemy of my ally and think you are an untrustworty bakka!

So when do I get decisions to make?

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Originally Posted by Hepcat

So when do I get decisions to make?

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NEVER

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Originally Posted by Csar

NEVER

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Bwahaha?

Mongolia has finished inification.


Decisions Decisions:

Sicily: Continue in North Africa? Bring down the Moors in Spain? Bring down England?

England: Push into the French mainland? Wait for supplies? Launch a Second Front (specifically, where?)?

France: Drive the English out of the coast (will take a while)? Focus on Spain?

Moors: Drive the Sicilians out of Tunisia? Destroy the Spanish Kingdoms? Invade Egypt?

Seljuks: Push the Egyptians toward the Sinai Penninsula? Attack Persia before the Chinese conquer it? Attack Arabia?

Byzantium: Continue attacking Bulgaria? Attack the Seljuks?

Holy Roman Empire: Attack Poland? Intervene in Bulgaria? Attack France?

Leon: Attack the Moors? Wait for the French to get here (if they do)? Unite the Spanish Kingdoms

Mongolia: Advance into Siberia? Attack China?

China: Conquer Persia? Attack Korea? Attack Vietnam?

Pope: Excommunicate the Byzantines? Un Excommunicate England? Continue the "Holy War" against the Moors?

Chaos.

All was chaos.

***

"...and dost thou and all of your descendents swear fealty to the Holy Roman Kaiser Otto III, and all of his descendents, in perpetuity?"

The King of Croatia, Ivo Mesic, hesitated for just a moment before replying with a sigh:

"Yes, I do so."

*

It was over almost before it began, and before anybody expected it to be.

The Duke Josef von Speyer of Carenthia had planned to march quickly to the Croatian capital of Zagreb and thence lay siege to King Ivo Mesic and his court. The army had made good time, but Speyer was surprised when he arrived at Zagreb to find the Croatian army waiting for him outside its walls.

Ivo Mesic wanted a fight, and he would get it.

He should have stayed inside the walls; the Germans executed a swift and devastating victory against the poorly-armed Croatian militia. Speyer executed it thusly:

The German spearmen formed up in two lines on flat farmland outside the city, with woods on their left to protect their flanks. Speyer waited with his knights on the right side of the line. Half the archers were deployed after the spearmen, and the other half hid in the woods.

Mesic had only managed to gather some 50 knights, who fought with javelins and swords - which he knew were no match for the Germans and their great lances. He had, however, conscripted nearly 7500 from Zagreb and nearby villages, and armed them with spears and shields. In these he would have to count on victory - overwhelming the German force through sheer mass was the only option.

There could be little finesse to his plan, and Mesic simply began a massed charge towards the German lines while his knights swung to the left in order to distract the Germans.

What the King did not know was that von Speyer wanted all of this to come to pass. He had given his restless knights strict orders not to directly engage the Croatian cavalrymen, with promises that if they did so they would have plenty of killing to follow. So it was that the German knights began to "chase" after the Croatian knights.

Now the German infantry seemed exposed to the large mass coming towards them, and Speyer then ordered them to withdraw quickly as if in retreat; he knew that his men had the discipline to execute such an order.

At the opposite end of the spectrum were the Croatians, who lost all pretense of order and began to sprint towards the back of the Germans and their commander von Speyer, who suddenly blew a battle-horn.

At that moment, several things happened at once:

-the German infantry halted and turned around to face the Croatian charge.
-the archers on the field also halted and turned to face the Croatians, nocking their arrows.
-the German knights stopped the chase and charged right into the Croatian knights, who had been lulled into a false sense of security.
-the archers hidden in the woods marched double-quick outside the forest and set up in a line behind the Croatian infantry, also nocking their arrows as their field counterparts.

Mesic knew what was to come but could do naught but watch as disaster struck:

A sudden hail of arrows darkened the sky as the field archers let loose upon the Croatian herd. Almost as soon as that happened, the archers who had come up from the woods and formed up behind the Croatians fired straight into the backs of their enemies.

It was like a scythe cutting wheat; most of the Croatians were unarmored, and of course none had shields on their backs. Hundreds fell almost instantly; screams of war were exchanged into screams of death as everybody tried to figure out just where everybody had disappeared to.

The Croatian knights fought bravely, but were easily overwhelmed by their German counterparts and began to race towards Zagreb's walls. Then the German knights turned and galloped towards the Croatian infantry.

Mesic himself and his retinue charged towards the battle as well, hoping to take the German archers in their backs as they had taken the Croatians, but it would all be in vain.

Several more volleys from the archers streaked through the air before the Croatians figured out just what was happening - and when they did, and they saw the German knights just moments away on their left, they despaired and began to rout.

Speyer blared his horn again, and now he and the German infantry charged forward and chased after the Croatians, who were even now being utterly cut apart by the greedy German knights, filled with bloodlust. The field archers stopped firing and, though somewhat weary, began to chase as well - for even among vassal militias much plunder could be found off corpses.

Mesic was nearly upon the second group of archers when they calmly turned around and let loose a full volley at almost literally point-blank range.

It was disastrous; dozens of horses collapsed in an instant, and Mesic was thrown from his steed and then there was only darkness...

*

So it was that Duke Josef von Speyer, almost by accident, found himself with a virtually annihilated enemy army, a capitulated capital, and a captured king.

Surrender of the latter's country came quite quickly afterwards.

He allowed his force a well-deserved rest within the comfortable walls of Zagreb while he sent riders - some back to Klagenfurt with orders to ramp-up mobilization of the army intended for Hungary so they would be ready to march when Speyer returned, and some to the borders of the newly-conquered kingdom to maintain watch on the Byzantines, who surely would be able to defeat the Bulgarians rather quickly.

And so he waited...

***

To the King of France, Robert the Second

Der Kaiser is glad that you have come to him now. He believes that it shows that, despite your vile alliance with the heathens of China and Byzantium, the French Court may very well not be as possessed with heresy as previously thought, and indeed may not require trial by the Holy See.

As a test of your faith, der Kaiser will accept an alliance with France and further pressure our noble but, perhaps, misguided, ally of England to halt their campaign against you, but only if France agrees to cede the Duchies of Burgundy and Flanders in full and perpetuity to the Holy Roman Empire. By this, you will demonstrate that you are in fact not, to our mistake and embarassment possessed by evil and sin, but are indeed wise, noble, and pious souls.

If not, then der Kaiser will be even more convinced of the presence of Satan in the French court, and as a good Catholic will by necessity be forced to encourage His Holiness Silvester II to save the French citizenry from the Abomination.

Regards,
Baron Sigmund von Wilhelm of Bavaria
Deputy Commissioner of Kaiser Otto the Third of the Holy Roman Empire

***

Order.

All would be order.

Now to make things public:

China has two million soildiers. 1 million more are in training.

1, 000 ,000 men are headed to invade Persia.
250,000 are headed to invade Korea.
500,000 are protecting their homeland.
250,000 are conquering up to the western wastes and deserts.

Once my troops training is complete, those 500, 000 will head to the south to conquer lands there

Map of China

https://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l.../sungchina.jpg

striped areas represent lands I plan to take on the home front.

I am orange.
the Khitan Empire is green.
the indians are red.
everybody else is just the tannish color.

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***

It had been twenty minutes since the British emissary had been ushered into the small chamber, and he was starting to get impatient.

As he sat there waiting, he did so without ever seeing a soul - except for a single manservant named Humphrey, who stood rigid next to a small table with some bread, cheese, and a pitcher of water.

It didn't take the emissary long to figure out that Humphrey was not only deaf, but mute as well. He was nevertheless completely competent otherwise - to the extent that it somewhat angered the Briton. The silence was deafening. Well, except when Humphrey refilled the emissary's pitcher or brought an extra piece of cheese or bread, always right before the emissary was about to gesture for more of either. The utter perfection was disturbing to the point of annoyance; silently, the emissary kept hoping that Humphrey would just once trip, or forget to fill the water before he asked - but, of course, the manservant never did fail.

Then, suddenly, Humphrey moved away from the table - and towards the door. The emissary was just about to make a silent query when Humphrey opened the door and scuttled out of the way of a tall German with a short gray beard and mustache walking in looking at a map.

Once again, the perfect timing both angered and impressed the British emissary, who rose from his chair in respect.

The German who had just entered the room rolled up his map, turned to the British emissary, and bowed his head. The emissary did likewise.

"I am the Baron Sigmund von Wilhelm of Bavaria." said the man in a deep, imposing voice. "Deputy Commissioner to His Most Pious Kaiser Otto the Third of the Holy Roman Empire."

The Briton introduced himself, and von Wilhelm nodded.

"Ah, good. I am glad that your lord Ethelred - long may his reign last! - was kind and wise enough to dispatch you."

The emissary responded with his own pleasantries.

"You must forgive my keeping you - there was an urgent matter that His Majesty required counseling on."

That was a lie, of course, although the Briton would not figure that out; the Germans almost always kept foreign emissaries waiting as a test of their resolve and character. They were not inhospitable so much as they were simply ruthless.

"I hope you do not take it as an offence by any means. Did Humphrey cause you any trouble?"

No, of course not, the emissary sighed inwardly. The Germans were notorious, notoriously bureaucratic, notoriously level-headed, notoriously obsessive. No detail could be overlooked in the Holy Roman Empire. They had kept him waiting, to be sure, but they could hardly be considered inhospitable or rude - his whims had been attended to, and matters of court always took precedence. Above all, the Briton reminded himself, the Germans were perfect - notoriously so.

"No, of course not, on either count," replied the emissary.

"Excellent. Now I shall not keep you waiting any further - let us begin our discussions."

***

On his way back to the English court, the emissary continued to go over what the Baron had proposed to him. A formation of an alliance and a joint invasion of France were tempting offers indeed, especially from the strongest European power - and it was an excellent foundation upon which the destruction of France could be wrought.

But, of course, the emissary knew his place. He must accept His Highness' wishes on these matters...

***

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Here is what me and the most Holy of Roman Emperors discussed:dizzy2:

As you can see it was his idea to invade France not mine.

Do what you will with this information.

Be warned France the HRE will declare war on you it may not be now but it will be soon.

I wish to make peace with the French and the Pope.

Byzantium is appaled at the actions of the "Holy" Roman Empire. We only wish to expand our Empire, like you need anything for your greedy hands.

OOC: That shouldn't really be allowed, IMHO, seeing as that was a private thing, but I imagine I'm going to be overruled here so just in case...

IC:

To all Catholic nations and the Holy See

Der Kaiser strongly denies any claims by the English of a German proposal to invade France. This is absolutely ridiculous; the Holy Roman Empire has until recent evidence of possible heresy in the French court seen no need to bother the French at all. Der Kaiser is convinced that this is simply a facetious and false ploy made in very bad taste by the excommunicated English king Ethelred to bring the German Reich, known for its piousness and dedication to the Church, down with them. England is using this as a poor excuse indeed to continue its unprovoked invasion of France, and der Kaiser would find it absolutely astounding that anyone should seriously consider anything the English court is saying at all. Perhaps their minds, too, have been muddied by the Darkness...?

Regards,
Baron Sigmund von Wilhelm of Bavaria
Deputy Commission to Kaiser Otto the Third of the Holy Roman Empire

*

OOC: Consider our alliance cancelled England.

Oh, and Byzantium, remember that technically speaking we (HRE and BE) are not, in fact, at war - we are only making simultaneous armed marches towards each other :laugh4:

In other news, the first engagement of the war has occured.

Byzantium's own Basil II, had lead his army here. He had minor skirmishes. This would be the first Bulgur city to fall. Sophia. The militia was weak, and it was going to be easy. The army, spearmen, had begun the defense by forming in one single line. Basil was not foolish, he ordered his katafraktoi to the sides. His archers opened fired into the line, taking out a few spearmen. Basil II knew these men were armoured, so he ordered his Infantry to march toward them. The Bulgurs did the same. Eventually the Bulgurs got close, and the infantry put up their shields. When they clashed it was a pushing contest. The Byzantines shields were stronger than the Bulgur spears. When the Bulgurs realized what happened, they immediately gave up. Basil II had not ordered a charge of the katafraktoi, just for them to go in back. The Bulgurs layed down their spears. Basil II had them trapped. Basil II spared them however, and let them join the Byzantine Army. It seems the Byzantines have the Hoplites back....

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Originally Posted by Comrade Alexeo

OOC: That shouldn't really be allowed, IMHO, seeing as that was a private thing, but I imagine I'm going to be overruled here so just in case...

IC:

To all Catholic nations and the Holy See

Der Kaiser strongly denies any claims by the English of a German proposal to invade France. This is absolutely ridiculous; the Holy Roman Empire has until recent evidence of possible heresy in the French court seen no need to bother the French at all. Der Kaiser is convinced that this is simply a facetious and false ploy made in very bad taste by the excommunicated English king Ethelred to bring the German Reich, known for its piousness and dedication to the Church, down with them. England is using this as a poor excuse indeed to continue its unprovoked invasion of France, and der Kaiser would find it absolutely astounding that anyone should seriously consider anything the English court is saying at all. Perhaps their minds, too, have been muddied by the Darkness...?

Regards,
Baron Sigmund von Wilhelm of Bavaria
Deputy Commission to Kaiser Otto the Third of the Holy Roman Empire

*

OOC: Consider our alliance cancelled England.

Oh, and Byzantium, remember that technically speaking we (HRE and BE) are not, in fact, at war - we are only making simultaneous armed marches towards each other :laugh4:

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Oh I did nothing wrong. I didn't take a screenshot of your PM and post it. I just copied what you wrote. They can believe it if they want too or not.

If you would have went along with your promise then this would have never happened.

When do we get our latest decisions?

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Originally Posted by Ignoramus

When do we get our latest decisions?

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There on the page before this.

sorry to post this twice, but it has been edited.


Now to make things public:

China has two million soildiers. 1 million more are in training.

1,000,000 men are headed to invade Persia.
250,000 men are headed to invade Korea.
500,000 men are protecting their homeland.
250,000 men are conquering up through the western wastes and deserts.

Once my troops training is complete, those 500,000 protecting will head to the south to conquer lands there, and the million trained will re-inforce my empire.


Map of China

https://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l.../sungchina.jpg

striped areas represent lands I plan to take on the home front.

I am orange.
the Khitan Empire is green.
the indians are red.
everybody else is just the tannish color.

note: the Khitan Empire will recieve portions of the conquest of persia and other westward lands if, and only if, they help to conquer them.

Sicily will play the defensive role in North Africa after sending Robert and an army to France.

I accept the offer of Peace by England, I will continue my crusade in Iberia with 350,000 of mytroops, 250,000 are to defend my Homeland, and another 250,000 are to be sent to North Africa to help Sicily. The troops are to go to the Scily-African front but are to ACT INDEPENDANTLY, so they will be Grench on the Sicilian front. And do not worry Sicily, do not worry about the army because we are at peace with the English now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The meeting was all to familar. Silence went around as they all thought what had happened over the weeks.
"What of the Byzantine Threats sir?"asked one adivisor.
The king looked very tired as he looked up,
"Whta of those Warring people, cant even keep an alliance, a GOOD alliance!" he said wearily,
"Well at least Sicily see's some sense in this." said one adivisor thankfully,the rest nodded and murmed in agreement.
"yes it was nice to send troops, now it is our time to return the favour,but how?" the King wondered.
One advisor stood up.
"Easy sir, what does the world run on? Money and armies. We can give them one of that!" he suggested,
Another adsvisor stood up, as the first sat down.
"Money!! We just got out of a crisis! We need to send them armies, to Africa I say!" he yelled, the rest roared in agreement, but some looked disapproving.
"What of Leon and there struggle against those barbaric Moors?" One suggested. This time the King looked up.
"We have to follow the Pope's orders, we made apleade that we would follow him." the king said defensivly.
"But the English sir! What do they think there doing!" he yelled, the rest started roaring in rage, aying stuff about the English.
The King calmed them,
"The English offered an term of Peace, we are no longer at war, they are neutral!" he said, happy for the first time in the meeting.

Imperial court in Shangjing, the supreme capital of the Khitan Liao, in Inner Mongolia.

Emperor Liao Shengzong, born Yelü Longxu, Khagan of the Khitan and
subjugated tribes, Son of Heaven, sat on his throne, clad in the finest
yellow silk. The generals all bowed their heads to the floor before him.

"Rise!" Ordered the monarch, and his sharp command was obeyed. "You may
speak." He added.

"Your Eminence," voiced general Tabuyan as he stepped forth. "All the tribes
now flock under your banner. The Great Ordo has been formed, larger
than any to have ridden across the plains before. The Yurts of the campsites
carry on to the horizons, the very earth trembles beneath the innumerable
hooves. Such host, once created, must ride and fight. The men hunger for
victories and plunder, their sabres thirst to be wetted with blood. Direct
them, as is your right alone, and they will march to the end of the world, and
nothing between the sky and the earth can hope to withstand them."

"The Chinese are currently occupied with other foes and count us among their
allies," General Baiya chimed in. "This is a good opportunity. Lead the Ordo south
and crush them when they least expect it!"

"That would be most unwise!" Exclaimed general Yanxi. "The Chinese are are
valuable allies and such an attack would ruin our name. No one would ever
trust our word again. The Ordo should march against Khwarezm and aid the
Chinese in their fight against Persians. We will will gain lands and strenghten
the alliance."

"Look instead to the lands of the setting Sun, Illustrious Khagan." Said general
Dayan. "There dwell the Tatars, who yet refuse to ackowledge You as their
ruler. Subjugate them, defeat their leaders, and their horsemen shall ride with
the Ordo."

The generals, having voiced their suggestions, fell silent and stepped back.
The Emperor pondered the matter only briefly, then announced:

"There will be two armies that march. One will be the now assembled Ordo,
which will attack the Tatars. Let them ride to western plains and darken the
skies with their arrows, ceasing not until every Tatar Prince bows before me!
The other army will be raised in the Southern valley-lands of the Yellow
River. They will fight in their native manner* into Khwarezm and secure what
lands they can, as according to our pact with the Chinese.

I will lead the Ordo myself, while Baiya shall be the leader of the Van. To
Yanxi I trust the command of the Southern army, with Dayan leading the
Vanguard. Tabuyan will defend the homelands while we march. Such is my
will, and such will be."

The Son of Heaven had spoken. The generals bowed and left to oversee the
preparations.


OOC: I choose the option Advance into Siberia with the Great Ordo. A
second army will be raised from the Yellow River region and heads to Persia to
aid the Chinese.

*'native manner' would be Chinese tactics and equipment, as the troops are
mostly native Chinese.

The Sung Empire will need more troops. I will start a new system of recruitment, which is expected to give china 7 million more troops.

Since peace has been established, I will bring Robert back to North Africa with his army and continue my crusade against the Moors. O wise king of England, you have surely made a good decision.

Here is Europe in its current state. I will periodically post updates of maps of many different regions.

disregard this post.

Map is re-posted later

More like this.

https://img226.imageshack.us/img226/...000editns0.jpg

Purple/Pink, Byzantium
Orange, HRE
Light Green, Seljuks
Yellow, England

And Sicily would be in Tunisia.

when did the HRE invade Croatia?
Besides, what is the difference between my Byzantine empire and yours? It was fine as it was. Tell me what is different and it will be edited accordingly.

HRE invaded a while ago, about 1-2 pages ago. And Hannibals one is different in the fact that there is more Empire in Bulgaria.

okay...it has been edited.

Map of Europe

disregard post

England has more than that. They invaded the whole coast.

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https://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l..._1000edit4.jpg

What! England didn't take anything though! My fortifactions! Plus the fact we are not at war and they withdrew!

What fortifications? I hardly think Medieval France had the Atlantic Wall :inquisitive:

Anyway, I need to announce that I am going on holiday for a week to the beach (:2thumbsup:) so the Moors are probably going to have the stuffing beat out of them but thats life, I guess.

Mustering grounds
Klagenfurt
Holy Roman Empire

"The preparations are completed then?"
"Jawohl, my lord, they wait only for your command."
"And the other nobles? They have arrived?"
"Jawohl, my lord, they wait only for your command."

Duke Josef von Speyer of Carenthia nodded quietly to his aide.

"My lord? What is your command?"

"My command? My command! My command..."

He walked to the balcony of the chamber and looked down at the array below him, which looked back up at him above. The Duke drew his sword with his right hand, held it up, and bellowed:

"ASSEMBLE THE ARMY!"

And thirty thousand wolves howled their ecstasy.

***

Three lords, three iron fists, three hammerblows, one victory.

"The Marquis Klaus von Muhlbach of Carniola will advance along the Sava River until reaching the Danube, when you shall follow it north. Baron of Verona, Schmidt von Muller, you will take Bratislava and then continue following the Danube. I will advance to the northern tip of Lake Balaton and take Stuhlweissenburg. We will then converge on the twin cities of Buda and Pest and seize them together. Ja?"

The Marquis nodded, but von Muller was not entirely satisfied.

"Dividing our force thrice? In our enemy's homeland? Is that really wise, von Speyer?"

"Ah, but then they shall have to divide thrice as well! We cannot allow the Hungarians to concentrate their forces; by being on the advance, we shall dictate the terms upon which we shall meet."

"But why not a single great battle? It is how Croatia fell, is it not?" said the Marquis.

"Indeed, none saw such a quick and decisive victory in their dreams," said the Baron. "Or do you wish to keep all the glory to yourself?"

"Idiots! The Hungarians are nothing like like the Croats! This is not some half-assed enemy we go to war against! We are not fighting mere rabble equipped by a moronic king! We are fighting Magyars! We will be fighting some of the finest cavalrymen in Europe in this campaign, and I will not throw all my dice-"

"We are but dice to you?!"

"Quiet! I will not throw all my dice into a single be-all end-all battle that I am not entirely sure that we can win!"

"If you have such doubts then perhaps you should not have command!"

"If you are so naive as to not have them then it is good that you do not!"

"I do not doubt your skill," said the Baron. "Only your judgement; if you are indeed worried about the skill of the Hungarians, as well we should all be" - with a glare at the Marquis - "then would it not be better to march in such strength so as to be unassailable?"

"No, because I do not want to fight the Hungarians on their terms. We must bring the fight to the cities, where we shall easily prevail. To fight too often in the open, even if we are victorious, will only serve to slow us down-"

"But laying siege is hardly a quick action!"

"True, but we shall have an appreciable gain from a siege, whereas on the field it becames by default war by attrition which the Hungarians will be able to exploit quite handily. Der Kaiser does not wish for total war. He does not wish for a long campaign - remember why we are here! The Byzantines! We cannot show weakness! We must show only a wall of strength!"

***

And so the marches began.

The Marquis in the south, with 7000 spearmen, 1250 archers, and 300 knights.

The Baron in the north, with 8000 spearmen, 2000 archers, and 350 knights.

And finally the Duke in the center, with 8200 spearmen, 2500 archers, and 400 knights.

This was no mere expeditionary force as had been sent into Croatia; no, the spearmen and many of the archers wore strong German mail. The knights were among the finest in the Empire. Siege trains of dismantled catapults and trebuchets, rams and ladders, followed the armies like ants at a picnic, just waiting for a sweet opportunity.

Marching, blaring, shouting, cheering...

...the Holy Roman Empire was going to WAR!

***

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Warluster

What! England didn't take anything though! My fortifactions! Plus the fact we are not at war and they withdrew!

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Did you read ANYTHING? Csar's choice was to declare war on you AND invade your coast.

Roger, King of Sicily, thirsts for one bit of knowledge. What ever happened to this interactive history?

No one is giving me their decisions, except some.

Well the HRE,Mongolia,Sicily,France and CHina have sent there decisions.

The Pope is glad to hear of this peace that has been forged by France and England, however if England wishes to be brought back into the light, then she must join the Holy War against the Moors. If she does not do this, then the Papacy sees no good reason to recommunicate.



OOC - I choose to continue to Holy War against the Moors.

If people are taking weeks to send their decisions then it's probably best to just assume that their factions do nothing.

The sultan calls on the heretics to the south to surrender before the armies of the fateful, push into the egyptian heartland. It is clear that my army by advancing so far is superior to yours and all that you can do is postpone the eventual Seljuk conquest. Surrender now, cede all the territory that I have conquered to me, swear vassalage and your pitiful nation may survive and continue to practice her faith.

OCC: Mopet it is impossible for you to have an invasion force of one million. The logistic support is simply not there in this time. A more realistic number would be 20,000 for a large army.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CountArach

The Pope is glad to hear of this peace that has been forged by France and England, however if England wishes to be brought back into the light, then she must join the Holy War against the Moors. If she does not do this, then the Papacy sees no good reason to recommunicate.



OOC - I choose to continue to Holy War against the Moors.

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I refuse to attack a country that has do nothing agressive towards me or my people.

AH but this country has done wrong do against the Pope, this country occupies Half og Iberia, whichis rightfully Leon's and Castille's! And a bit of Portugal's. There is one problem I forsee. What happens when the Moors are gone, the country will be divided! Castille,Leon,Aragon and Portugal, plus some other countries may all fight for this land! The what?

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Originally Posted by Destroyer of Hope

The sultan calls on the heretics to the south to surrender before the armies of the fateful, push into the egyptian heartland. It is clear that my army by advancing so far is superior to yours and all that you can do is postpone the eventual Seljuk conquest. Surrender now, cede all the territory that I have conquered to me, swear vassalage and your pitiful nation may survive and continue to practice her faith.

OCC: Mopet it is impossible for you to have an invasion force of one million. The logistic support is simply not there in this time. A more realistic number would be 20,000 for a large army.

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I think China had a population of about 50 million in the year 1000. I do beleive that they could supply an army of 1 million people... even three. Besides, my soildiers are perfectly capable of living off of the land. And they have plenty of food to go around (china produces alot of food).

OOC-Anyway, 20 000 as a large army, come on! There was 60 000 at Agincourt! thats just the French! Then the Crusades, there was A LOT there! 20 000 is about the size of an mice! 1 million is okay FOR CHINA and big countries like that.

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Originally Posted by Warluster

OOC-Anyway, 20 000 as a large army, come on! There was 60 000 at Agincourt! thats just the French! Then the Crusades, there was A LOT there! 20 000 is about the size of an mice! 1 million is okay FOR CHINA and big countries like that.

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No DoH is right there's no way an army of 1 million could sustain itself off the land or even from the Emperor.

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Originally Posted by Warluster

OOC-Anyway, 20 000 as a large army, come on! There was 60 000 at Agincourt! thats just the French! Then the Crusades, there was A LOT there! 20 000 is about the size of an mice! 1 million is okay FOR CHINA and big countries like that.

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You only say that because China is your ally.


I think no one could raise an army of one million, change it please.

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Originally Posted by Warluster

OOC-Anyway, 20 000 as a large army, come on! There was 60 000 at Agincourt! thats just the French! Then the Crusades, there was A LOT there! 20 000 is about the size of an mice! 1 million is okay FOR CHINA and big countries like that.

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My source

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A typical field army at the beginning of the century might be 20,000 - 30,000 men, while the average was probably 50,000 - 60,000 by the end. During the Hundred Years War, 10,000 was a large army.

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Keep in mind that this is talking about the 16th century, even in the hundred years war it was smaller and that was 400 years after our timeframe. I'm not trying to nit pick but it should be fairly realistic.

A one-million-man army for this time period is EXTREMELY unrealistic and should not be allowed.


The only way it could possibly be justifiable would be if you had mobilized the entire state for war, as happened in the First World War - which would first off imply that China had as strong a central government as France and Germany and Britain, which is patently false.

Secondly, it is absolutely impossible that a force that size could ever have been maintained in this period. Besides the fact that you would have to equip and train the soldiers in some fashion, there would be no way to supply them with rations. Remember, this is long, long before canned food (which came about due to a contest by Napoleon III in the mid-1800's), so there's almost nothing that can be carried with you that won't spoil.

The American Civil War showed that an army corps of about 20,000 men could require up to 500-1,000 wagons to maintain supply, even relatively close to supply depots. It also showed that, at best, a force of 30,000 men might be able to live off the land - land that has lots of successful farms that have just harvested their crops. More realistically, only a force of 10,000 could attempt to live off the land - and by "live off the land" I mean virtually scour the countryside (a countryside filled with a high density of populated settlements). And that's not even considering horses and other pack animals...

If you had a million men, you'd have to have supermen who only need to eat every other month, enjoy earthworms, dirt, and grass, and were resistant to every disease known to man because a 1,000,000-man army is a pestilence waiting to happen.


Rome, which was far, far more bureaucratically and logistically able to supply its forces, had at best a "mere" 350,000 or so men at arms, and even this number was considered excessive (it was usually closer to 250-280,000).


I'm sorry Motep, but
NO.

There's not a chance in hell.

Ok people's, he has got the idea, stop ganging up and saying stuff to him, he knoews now after you guys posted a book on it. So lets continue with the game.

...well, with all of the new input, Id say that 500,000 will be better. We have warehouses full of food all through China...even in the Desert. Rice can take a while to go bad if properly prepared. Its not long to go after that untill we reach the Persians. I can then get some more food if supplies are low, and that should last untill I reach The Medditerranean, where I can tradede for food. Dont worry, I have plenty enough money to do so. Besides, in the year 1000, The persian empire was weak.

come on....please dont die on me!!!

NOOOOOOO! FRANKIE!! Whoops, watching to much Godfather, anyway, I am sorry to say *Sniff* I think this may be dead...

I'm busy.............


*blows dust off thread*

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Originally Posted by Warluster

NOOOOOOO! FRANKIE!! Whoops, watching to much Godfather

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Hehe, If you are kind to Sicily, Frankie will...well, he will die, regardless.

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Originally Posted by Warluster

NOOOOOOO! FRANKIE!! Whoops, watching to much Godfather

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Hehe, If you are kind to Sicily, Frankie will...well, he will die, regardless.

guys, is it too late to join?? seems like ive missed the party. can i play as the venetians??

Sorry, the games long dead, but try out the WW1 interactive, we have Britain open right now.

Noooo! Why? Will it ever be ressurected?

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Originally Posted by Warluster

Sorry, the games long dead, but try out the WW1 interactive, we have Britain open right now.

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Ok, never advertise your interactives on mine. This is not dead.

Seems to be :D

Sorry pat, its just this interactive hasn't had an update for ages, and i just assumed, sorry!