Re: Will of the Thengoz - An interactive Swêbóz AAR
*Rékiwulfáz steps up and turns towards Hadubrand*
- It is not in the place of the thengoz to question the Druhtênoz's motives of expanding the thengoz to include our eastern brothers. They are, after all, kin and will serve our armies well. And what to do with the celtae? When the aedui and sequani have been subdued, how will we govern them? My father controls the belgae through his regional gatherings, much like this thengoz but on a smaller scale. I suggest that the celtae should be represented at the thengoz on their incorporation in confederation.
*Several shouts of "Outrageous!" and "Blasphemy!" is heard through the hall as Hêruwulfáz takes the stand*
- Silence...SILENCE! I have no intentions of including celtae filth into this sacred thengoz, the Gods would not allow it. The bástarnòz, the lugôz, vendi and sembu have all been allowed to attend the thengoz because they are, as Rékiwulfáz said, kin amd related through language and worship of the Gods. The vendi and sembu are indeed savages, as deemed by some, and it comes with a rage and ferocity in battle that few non-germans can withstand, as Hadubrand can tell.
*The vendi and sembu representatives nods and are grateful for Héruwulfáz kind words. Héruwulfáz turns to Rékiwulfáz again*
"You can tell your father, that he's free to do whatever he pleases with the aedui, as long as he doesn't send them in his place to this thengoz. If he wishes to rule over them as king, he is more than welcome to do so. By the time you reach his halls, Vindelicoppidos will have fallen and Ansuhárjáz will be free to launch his invasion of the celtae. As soon as Hárjawulfáz returns from his conquest in the south, he will march for the Sequani lands and end the Arverni presence there. Thereafter, who knows what the Gods have decided? Perhaps the next thengoz will be at Bibracte. I call this session of the thengoz closed.
~~~
Thengoz closed
(After the closing of the thengoz, I ask you not to make any in-character posting
Re: Will of the Thengoz - An interactive Swêbóz AAR
~ Chapter IX ~
(254BC-252BC)
Road to Galla opened!
At the same time as Hêruwulfáz entered Bástárnôzlándám, Hêruwulfáz's oldest son Hárjáwulfáz was reached by words of new developments in the west. The Arverni had been thrown out of their homeland, and the Arverni nobility now were in exile in the land of the Sequani, Sequallra. As an effect of these dramatic events, the powerful celtae tribe known as Volcae ("wolves" in their own language) who had previously been allied to the Arverni had now left their alliance and instead sought to join the Aedui. The Aedui had however been much reluctant to trust the Volcae and the Volcae now stood alone.
The Volcae tribe were located south of the Háttôz, and north of the mountains known as the Alps. More important, the Volcae controlled the river crossings of the Rhenus (Rhine) and thus, from their capital of Vindelicoppidos, they controlled the road into Galla. Although he had fought along the great Ansuhárjáz, Hárjáwulfáz had little experience commanding an entire army, but the opportunity to secure a bridgehead into Galla were too tempting.
Hárjáwulfáz were still in the land of the Háttôz since the last thengoz, and since the háttôz made regular sorties into Volcae territory, there were no difficulties recruiting an army for marching on Vindelicoppidos. 14.000 young men of the Háttôz gathered near Arctaunon, the capital of Háttôzlándám and when the army were just about to break up, one thousand Heruskôz warriors joined and it was over 15.00 men who crossed the borders into Volcae lands and laid siege to Vindelicoppidos.
Words of the advancing germans soon spread through the land, and the Volcae prepared their army for the assault. The Volcae were used to the raids of the Háttôz, but it was ages since they had faced an army this large and back then they have had thousands of arverni soldiers in their ranks. Now, the Volcae stood alone and their 10.000 men army would have to face the fury of the germans by their own. As the germans came out of the woods, the Volcae braced themselves, for they knew that this fight would be for the survival of their tribe.
Vindelicoppidos was a typical celtic city, consisting of a hill surrounded by fenced farmhouses, which in turn was surrounded by a wooden wall. The hill did not have a oppidum, and thus the city were much more vulnerable for attacks. The háttôz had only once before set foot on the hill, only to be thrown down immediately afterwards. Hárjáwulfáz had however no intention of being thrown down, and the Swêbóz banner would fly from the top of the hill by the end of the day.
Hárjáwulfáz had the walls easily breached, and the Volcae did little to stop him. The Volcae had previously been led by a Arverni, but who now had followed his kinsmen in exile into Sequallra. Cunovindos was the man who had replaced the Arverni general, and although he had seen many battles, he was quite a dull man who didn't make the best of decisions and letting the swêbóz inside the falls would be his greatest mistake.
The háttôz spread through the entire city, breaking into houses to plunder and rape the trapped women. The háttôz took great pride in their skills as raiders, and the following year many children of mixed germanic-celtic descent would be born. Hárjáwulfáz had the hill completely surrounded, and in the lead of his men, he charged upwards from all sides.
The volcae charged downwards the hill and broke the german line at several spots, which caused a confused and crazy battle where only speaking the right language would save you from certain death, and there were surely men who slaughtered allies by mistake. Cunovindos may have been a dull man, but he was strong as an ox and even as he was dragged off his horse, he caused the death of many háttôz warriors before he finally fell under the clubs of the háttôz youths.
The swêbóz pressed their advantage even harder after the death of Cunovindos, and although the volcae fought hard, they were soon surrounded from all sides. They would however refused to surrender, for they knew what fate that waited captured prisoners of the háttôz, and thus they fought until the last man fell. Hárjáwulfáz had passed a great test, and proved himself able to command a large army, a skill that would be vital in the war soon to come...
Re: Will of the Thengoz - An interactive Swêbóz AAR
Re: Will of the Thengoz - An interactive Swêbóz AAR
~ Chapter X ~
(252BC-244BC)
The Swêbóz-Aedui War
(Part I)
He was Ansuhárjáz, lord of the Belgae and prince of the germans known as markomannôz. In the beginning [ca 260BC], he had conquered all of Belgae and made the Nervae and Bellovacii his subjects. As his kingdom grew, he found himself more and more at edge with the High King Hêruwulfáz. At the fourth Althengoz of the Swêbóz, an opportunity for Ansuhárjáz to show his quality was given. The Aedui celtae, or Wohlôzez in the Swêbóz tongue, had won a long bloody civil war against their Arverni foes and were now exhausted. At the Althengoz, the High King announced the start of the Swêbóz-Aedui War. As Vindelicoppidos, the city of the Volcae, fell to the warriors of the king's son Hárjáwulfáz, the road to Galla opened and huge armies were mustered on both sides. In Belgae and Armoriae, Ansuhárjáz mustered an vicious army of twenty thousand bloodthirsty belgae and in the east, Hêruwulfáz and his son Hárjáwulfáz joined forces and launched their assault on Sequallra, allied to the Arverni and a excellent position from where to start the final blow on Bibracte.
In a bold move, Ansuhárjáz marched on Cenabum, the spiritual capital of the Aedui. Cenabum were the site of the Aedui council, and because of it's sacredness amongst the celtae (and the exhausted Aedui armies), Ansuhárjáz completely overwhelmed the city's defenses and took the city almost without opposition. As the city fell and the celtae were massacred, a few survivors reached Avaricum with the ill news of the fall of Cenabum. The aged Dennoros, a veteran of the Aedui-Arverni civil war and a great general, gathered an enormous army of near twentythree thousand Aedui warriors from Avaricum and Bibracte to take their revenge on the Swêbóz-Belgae invaders, who after the conquest of Cenabum had about equal numbers, ranks filled with greedy celtae who did not know any other masters than gold.
Ansuhárjáz and Dennoros were both great generals and the battle would have to be decided by the swords and spears of the common soldier. Ansuhárjáz had the advantage of a larger cavalry wing, albeit lighter and not as disciplined as the Aedui Leuce Epos. The belgae cavalry were originally Myrcharns, horsemen from the islands beyond the sea in the west, which now had joined the armies of the Swêbóz by the promise of plunder and murder, so wicked was the hearts of these men. It would be these men that would prove victorious for the Swêbóz army. In Swêbóz army stood also the Batacorii, belgae warriors who had made an deep impression on Ansuhárjáz in his conquest of Belgae. The Batacorii would prove themselves once more in this battle, as they would both stand up against charge of the heavy infantry of the Aedui, and have the stamina to go on the offensive themselves.
The Aedui arranged their infantry in two long lines, with cavalry guarding the flanks. The Swêbóz, who had taken the high ground, spread their infantry in a long line, with the Batacorii in the middle and the light infantry of the Armoriae, the Bagaudas, on the left along with the Myrcharns. The right flank would be guarded by his most experienced Batacorii, men who looked simple and by the eye would seem as an easy target for the Aedui. Behind the batacorii, the belgae and celtae slingers of Ansuhárjáz would pepper the enemies with stones. By creating a strong left flank, and a seemingly weaker right, Ansuhárjáz would hope to lure the Aedui into concentrating their charges on the right, perfect for the Myrcharns to swing around and charge the celtae in their backs. As it's common in celtae warfare, the Aedui general Dennoros sent his first line in a thunderous charge against the Swêbóz, hoping to brake the germans with one mighty blow.
The Aedui crashed into the Batacorii with full force and many men on both sides fell dead on the spot, pierced by spears and swords with cloven shields and heads, and blood turning the hill into slippery mud. The Aedui fought with a unseen fury, as there were little or no difference between a glorious victory or death on the battlefield to these men and the desire for revenge for Cenabum were the greatest greatest of the all. Ansuhárjáz stood himself in the front line with his bodyguard and had several celtae killed, all the time while keeping his eyes on his flanks and the nervous Dennoros who could be seen riding back and forth behind his own lines, urging the men to fight. Despite the furious charge, the Swêbóz line held and the Batacorii repelled the attackers, who broke ranks and fled back to the safety of their own lines.
From the front, Ansuhárjáz ordered his men forward. He would charge his men into the Aedui before they could launch another assault on his men, who were getting more and more tired. The men, with Ansuhárjáz and the Batacorii in the front, charged down the hill and smashed into the Aedui. The Myrcharns rode as if on fire and by the sound of a hundred horns, charged the Leuce Epos head on. The belgae found new enemy and loud screams rose above the men, as the belgae took great pride and joy in their fighting. Dennoros realized the direness of the situation and charged his Brihentin into the fray. Ansuhárjáz had much fear for the heavy cavalry of the celtae, he had seen the Remi Mairepos cut through men like a knife through warm butter, and thus he ordered the batacorii to stand firm and not charge the Brihentin.
On the left flank, the Myrcharns wrestled with the Leuce Epos both long and hard, with neither side gaining any ground. The entire battle balanced on the fighting on the left flank, if the other side backed down, the backs would be open for attacks. The Leuce Epos were better armed, armored and disciplined, but outnumbered. The Myrcharns were just too many and as soon as the Aedui started to fall dead from their horses, the Aedui flank collapsed. The Myrcharns didn't bother to chase the routing Aedui for long, for they had strict orders to charge the center when possible. The hooves of several hundred horses scared many Aedui, even before the Myrcharns crashed into their backs and sent the battleline in complete disarray.
The rest of the battle was short, as many Aedui lost heart and ran, only to be cut down by the Myrcharns. Dennoros found himself surrounded by belgae infantry, cursing and urging his men to fight on. His words fell for deaf and dead ears, the rout was a fact and Dennoros would have escaped himself, had it not been for a belgae slingshot that knocked him of his horse where he was trampled to death of the hooves of the Myrcharns. The Myrcharns would make a notch on their spears for every man they killed, and there would be many notches after this day.
Ansuhárjáz had defeated the Aedui army. A mere four thousand of the Swêbóz had been killed or injured, while only five hundred of the Aedui had escaped death or captivity. The loss had drained both Avaricum and Bibracte on men, and although Bibracte would soon be reinforced, Avaricum would stand alone with the nearest relief army miles away. At Avaricum, Ansuhárjáz would have to put all his sieging skill into action, for it was both heavily fortified and guarded by a strong, determined garrison.
Re: Will of the Thengoz - An interactive Swêbóz AAR
Due to the coming election to the European Parliament the 7th of june 2009, I will be preoccupied with my political party's election campaign. This AAR will be poorly updated until the 7th of june.
Re: Will of the Thengoz - An interactive Swêbóz AAR
