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Pics and History of your Empire
So we have one of these threads in the Main hall but looking around here, I really don't see one. So I hope Martok doesn't mind If I start one for kicks. :beam: Besides, i think it's a ton of fun to read the history of some of the .orgah's empires that they've created.
I'll start the thread off on the right foot with my current campaign as England. (patch 1.3, Stainless Steel 6.0).
In the year 1154 of our lord the Kingdom of England's borders have been extended greatly by the blood of it's noble soldiers. After a long service to the holy father in Rome, England has chosen it's own path, forging it's own destiney from the fires of conflict and war.
Current state of affairs:
1080-1102.
Here reigned King William the Conqueror.
After securing South of England and proclaiming himself, King William spent his days securing his newfound kingdom and doing all that he could to ensure that his sons would inherit a strong position from which to conquer. In 1095, the first crusade is declared. The King's son Prince Henry vows to see the holy city taken from the hands of the Fatamid Caliphate that now claims the city as their own. The long journey proves to be too much for him, and though he continues onward with his men, his mental health deteriorates. He soon becomes known as Prince Henry the Mad, and often threatens to skin his own men alive if they disobey him!
1102-1154.
Here reigned King William the Profane.
1103: The following year after his coronation news reaches the King that his brother, Prince Henry, has sacked the city of Jerusalem! The Crusade is deemed a great suceess by the pope, and though saddened by the treatment of the city, sends a gift in florins to the Kingdom of England. Prince Henry seizes control of the city and names himself regent acting as William’s right hand in the Holy Land. Well, he actually named himself “Great Poobah”, but no one was really sure at the time what he was talking about. So they just went along with his madness and assumed (and hoped) he meant regent. A number of border skirmishes sees the Fatamids retreat to Acre.
1104: King William meanwhile has quietly initiated a buildup of troops, his gaze sets on Scotland where the Scots have built for themselves a sizeable trade empire with their fleets sailing as far as Novgorod! The king begins to fear what this new found wealth could do for Scotland, He resigns to strike first…
Elsewhere in 1104 the Sicilians seize control of Cairo and Alexandria, setting up a client-crusader Kingdom of their own. The Pope names Sicily and England as inspirations to all Christendom, the Fatamids howevere are quietly building their strength. Biding time.
1106: William strikes! Gathering the army based at Nottingham the king hits first as he planned, slipping around the main Scots force and taking York with little resistance! The Scots turn quickly with the news and march on York, the battle that would follow would be the bloodiest in the British isles in many decades. The forces of England are triumphant but suffer terrible casualties; William is unable to press his advantage and winters in York. It is the first taste of the new Staple of the English Army that the scots have had, the Longbow. It will not be the last.
In the Holy Land Henry is slipping further into his madness. No longer fit to command the army he resides in Jerusalem as his men lay siege to the Fatamid fortress of Acre. Without a strong leader though, they are unable to make much progress and the siege bogs down.
1107: Scotland launches a counter attack. The Second Battle of York would prove to be just as bloody as the first, but again William wins the day and is able to keep control of the city.
The siege of Acre ends when the Fatamids mass an army and crush the crusaders outside the city walls. The English crusaders are forced to retreat to Jerusalem, shadowed the whole way by the Fatamids. A siege of the city is all but inevitable now as a call for aid is sent to the Sicilians in Cairo.
1108: The pope intervenes in the Anglo-Scot war forcing a ceasefire. Coming as a direct response to the peace talks the Treaty of York is signed by the two powers, in it England agrees to withdraw from York and pay tribute to Scotland for the next three years. Unable to press further with so few men William is forced to accept the peace and returns home to Nottingham to brood and rebuild. Later that year it is his tragedy to learn that Jerusalem falls to the Fatamids and the holy city is once more in Muslim hands. His brother Henry is assumed dead.
1112: Five years pass in peace between the English and the Scots, Henry though is beginning to feel cramped. Having annexed Bruges and Rennes along the North of France he is starting to sense himself “boxed in”. He begins pondering a new war with Scotland but before he is able to even draw up plans a large Spanish force lands near Exeter and lays siege to the city! The nerve! He is unable to marshal a force in time to save the city from being occupied.
1114: Numerous skirmishes between the Spanish and English follow but no significant ground is taken until 1114 when William sends his forces against the entrenched Spanish at Exeter. The two forces meet a few miles north of the city and though the Spanish have a great deal of cavalry forces and Jinnets, they underestimate the effectiveness of the English longbow. The city is won back and William initiates peace talks yet the spanish ignore the call for peace.
1117: Sensing a deadlock William sends the vanguard of his army, lead by an upstart captain only known as Richard against the Iberian landmass itself. Quickly dispatching the local forces Richard pushes on toward Castile, determined to cut the heart out of the enemy when to his surprise the Spanish are suddenly a lot more talkative! A ceasefire is signed and with the Treaty of Exeter the Spanish forsake all claims upon the British Isles, on condition England break it's alliance with the Kingdom of Aragon and pull out of Iberia. Richard is named Man of the hour and invited to join the royal court, of which he happily accepts.
1120: Having at last secured himself from threats abroad and no client Kingdom in the Holy land to finance William once more sets his eyes on the Scots and York; he decides though if he is going to avoid the blunder of his first campaign he must wait. A decade passes, the Kingdom of England builds quietly.
1130: The Scots become embroiled in a bitter war with the Kingdom of Norway and while their main army campaigns against the Norse across the sea, William sees his chance. Moving quickly the now rebuilt English army occupies York and blitzes north, by the time the Scots realize what has transpired they are too spread among their satellite provinces to send aid home.
1134: The Second Anglo-Scot war is in full swing; William leads his men into the wilderness, navigating the highlands as the army under Richard advances on Edinburgh. Even though the siege proves particularly bloody for both sides, the Scottish King Donnald is slain in defense of his capital. The loss of their king greatly demoralizes the Scots defenders and within the year the cities near Edinburgh are rolled up without so much as a fight.
1137: William emerges from the wilderness North of the great fortress of Inverness, taking the defenders completely by surprise. As the last bastion of the Kingdom of Scotland on Great Britain, the defenders of the city fight tenaciously. Though in the end the fortress is taken, William realizes his dream of a united Island all under his banner.
1140: The Scots across the sea learn of the occupation of their Homeland and send raiders along the coast of the English territories. Their raids are vicious, but each time they are repelled. Unable to reclaim anything of value the scots are slowly dragged down with their wars against the Norse and the Danes.
1143: William sends his navy to Block all Scottish ports, and slowly, one by one, the satellite provinces and trade hubs the Scots had used for so long to finance their kingdom are seized by the English. By 1146 the Kingdom is nothing but a memory.
1147: Unwilling to sit and watch as their territories are simply taken over by new foreigners, the Kingdom of Norway launches a vicious assault on Oslo and dislodges the English who had just a year before seized it from the Scots. King William pulls his men back, setting camp in a town on the western edge of Norway to rebuild. During this period King William takes up the habit of swearing, and not just a little swearing mind you! It’s not uncommon to hear the king erupt into tirades, cursing the Norse and everything about them. Uttering words so laughable it’s hard to say what they really mean, his men love him for it, i suppose it always helps to have a laugh before a battle.
1148: Captain John leads an expedition with the finest troops England has to offer into the Emerald Isle, defeating a local Irish garrison and laying siege to Dublin.. however during the summer months of the campaign the Irish counter attack and slaughter both John and his men near the city. Ireland soon severs all ties with England as a result of the unprovoked attack
1151: The second invasion of Ireland takes place, only this time commanded by Prince Henry, son of the king and heir to the throne himself. Dublin is soon seized and Henry pushes on finding and defeating a huge Irish host on their way to recapture the city. However the Irish cavalry nearly proves too much for the infantry lines of the English, Henry is forced to hold his position in Dublin and wait for reinforcements.
1153: Dublin falls under attack by a second Irish army, this time commanded by none other than their king. The siege turns bloody, both sides lose fully three-fourths of their command but the English hold the city, barely. Henry finds himself in possession of near five hundred Irishmen captured in battle, and without another thought allows them to return home to their families. His men and the Irish take to calling him “Henry the honourable” for his actions henceforth. The following year the King passes and his son succeeds him to the throne. Long live the king!
Well? Come on! Don't be shy, let's see those empires! I'll have much more screens next time, I kinda got the idea for the thread spur of the moment.:yes:
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Nice job Monk, I love reading through the history of peoples empires - so interesting to see the way players develop their games..
I'll be honest, I think I tend to rush through so quickly I never stop to take snapshots - I think I'll slow down.
In the case of the England, always interesting to see where you focus first.
On the Britannia campaign, my rule of thumb is normally, crush the welsh, knock out the scots then knee the Irish in the ghoulies. When the Danish land, give them a poke in the eye with a sh*&$(( stick....
Henri...
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
I have a habit of saving my games every ten turns with the toggle_fow on so I can trace my empire when I'm looking back. I've down this for about a dozen campaigns now, so I'll upload some pics soon. Its nice to see how the AI does as well.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Nice AAR there, Monk! Not that you didn't already know it, but you definitely have a gift for narration. :medievalcheers:
I have to ask, though, if only out of curiosity: How come you invaded Ireland when you were still dealing with the Norwegians? I'd have thought you'd have wanted to take care of one before going after the other. :sweatdrop:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Monk
So we have one of these threads in the Main hall but looking around here, I really don't see one. So I hope Martok doesn't mind If I start one for kicks. :beam:
Not at all, buddy -- in fact, I whole-heartedly support and endorse the idea. Everyone go nuts! :2thumbsup:
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
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Originally Posted by Martok
Nice AAR there, Monk! Not that you didn't already know it, but you definitely have a gift for narration. :medievalcheers:
I have to ask, though, if only out of curiosity: How come you invaded Ireland when you were still dealing with the Norwegians? I'd have thought you'd have wanted to take care of one before going after the other. :sweatdrop:
Not at all, buddy -- in fact, I whole-heartedly support and endorse the idea. Everyone go nuts! :2thumbsup:
To be quite honest I underestimated the Irish strength. I figured they'd be an easy win hence why I didn't even send a general along on the first invasion. Boy I could not have been more wrong, in SS 6.0 the Irish have a lot of power in their cavalry forces and the AI took full advantage of them. I found myself in a two front war, and without two of my largest trade partners. It was a tough time especially since in SS the AI uses their navy to launch seaborne invasions. :dizzy2:
Glad you liked in Martok ~D, I'll have more as I play further.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
With the passing of William the profane, the kingdom falls to his son, Henry. The aggressive expansion the realm saw under his father was responsible for the fall of Scotland and the gaining of much prestige for England. However it was not without consequences. The rest of Europe views the English as nothing less than untrustworthy for their conquest of Scotland, and their campaigns against the Irish wins them no love among the other Kings and Princes of Christendom.
In 1157 the Pope sends a messenger to the new king, it is a simple warning. Return Dublin to the Irish, pull all troops from the Emerald isle, and pay tribute to the Irish for the damages the war has caused. If Henry fails to comply he faces excommunication and the kings limiting his trade. It would seem, however, that Henry not only inherited his father’s lust for conquest, but his subtly.
In 1159 Henry Leaves Ireland as a sign of goodwill, but refuses to return Dublin to the Irish; his son arrives in Ireland to take his place, Prince Edward, and quietly a slow build up of troops commences within the walls of the city. To the world, Henry is all that his father was not. A good Christian, willing to live in peace. He signs the Treaty of Oslo in 1160, effectively ending the conflict with Norway and returning the lands the Scots had originally conquered from them. His subjects, however, know better. The armies in the Norselands are quietly ferried away.
1162. It has now been five years since the pope declared hostility between the Irish and English end, on the very anniversary that the decree was issued Prince Edward leaves Dublin at the host of a mighty force, the men from Norway had simply been moved to Ireland! Edward marches toward the great fortress Galway, and clashes along the road with a huge Irish force. Whereas many of the former English armies who had faced off against the Irish had been poorly led, Edward's army is a tough and professional group who has seen many battlefields.
Edward is determined to break through and lets the Irish crash upon his spear line, He leads the cavalry on a charge around the left flank himself, and while the pinned Irish are shot to peices by the deadly longbows the lances of his mailed knights come down...
There's no coming back from that one. The entire Irish host is either slain or captured, yet to everyone's great surprise, and considering there is much more war to be fought, Edward lets the prisoners return to Galway. It would seem he is just as honorable as his father. He wastes no time and leads his host into the siege of Galway. The pope is furious when hearing that hostilities are renewed in Ireland and demands that Henry call his son back, however Henry promptly refuses. The pope responds in kind, excommunicating England from the church. He demands that all the Christian kings and princes cease all trade with the English, however no one is capable of obeying this directed.
The Pope had just a year before declared that the Danes were the Devil's agents on this Earth and demanded all of Christendom take up arms against them. Of which they were obliging.
The Frankfurt Crusade was in full swing, England had seized the trade empire the Scots had built and were profiting greatly from all the nations who were crusading, If they were to severe ties all those men would be very disappointed when the city fell if their wages could no longer be afforded!
Meanwhile Galway falls to Prince Edward; the fortress is occupied as is the honorable thing to do. He begins to be called "Edward the Honorable" as his father was before him. Henry, upon learning of his son's choices, could not be more pleased. After the fall of Galway in 1166 Henry sends envoys to the Irish King wintering in his new capital of Cork. The messenger pleads for the King to see reason, to become a vassal of the English king. But the request is flatly denied. Edward upon hearing the news decides that the end game of the war is near.
1168. Reinforcements arrive in Ireland and Edward marches from Galway south straight into the heart of the Irish defense hoping to provoke a fight. He intends to draw out the last strength of the Irish lords and smash them, leaving Cork an easy target. His plan couldn't have worked better. Issuing from Cork the Irish march out to meet the English, bringing with them great works of siege and enough men to match the English man for man. However, the greatest strength to their side, their cavalry, is absent. The long war of attrition has killed many of the Irish nobles and lords who can afford horse and armor, those who have not fallen are starting to defect to the English, preferring fealty to King Henry rather than fighting for a lost cause.
(sorry for all the battle pics, I just love this mod. ~D)
Still, the people of Cork stand proudly and fight to the last. Edward is impressed by their tenacity. The battle of Cork would prove to be the bloodiest of the war since the first siege of Dublin. Indeed, Edward's center is nearly broken through by the time he is able to lead the cavalry in a charge along the flanks! English discipline proves just enough, and the prince wins the day. The following year Cork is besieged. With only a few units of militia to guard the city, it doesn't take long before they surrender. By 1170 Edward has conquered the isle of Ireland and occupies Cork. Defeating the Irish, a feat his predecessors had severely underestimated, he is named "The Conqueror" sharing that title with his great grandfather.
Edward, after spending some years in Ireland returns home and rests in Nottingham. Minor troubles plague the Kingdom of England for the next decade, but as complete master of the British Isles King Henry commands authority that no other English king has enjoyed.
1180. A chance for redemption! The pope falls ill and dies, allowing the Kingdom of England to petition the church for reconciliation. With their wars with Scotland and Ireland now over Henry swears that the warlike ambitions of the English are through. The new pope, however, is not convinced. He decrees if England truly wishes reconciliation, she must join the crusade. The following year it is made official to the rest of the world, a Crusade has been launched with its ultimate target the Fatamid stronghold of Gaza. Henry, however, sees even greater potential. Jerusalem resides but a short march from Gaza, and if Gaza falls along with Acre and the citadel of Kerak, a new kingdom of Jerusalem could be founded!
1182. Prince Edward is named commander of the English Crusader forces sets sail for the holy land. He is determined to see his father's will done and eager to prove that England is ready to take her place among the other kings of Christendom again.
1186. After many months and years of marching through wilderness and sailing down the perilous coast of Egypt (Edward was quoted at saying "Let me face the peril!"), the English arrive in the holy land and waste little time. They besiege the stronghold of Gaza before the Fatamids even have news of their arrival. Gaza is quick to fall!
1187. Jerusalem is besieged by Edward, now known throughout Europe as a great crusader, he encircles the holy city. The Fatamids try desperately to break through and relieve the city, but the large garrison left at Gaza keeps them in check. Without aid coming from the south the city falls to the crusader forces. Nearly a full eighty years after being expelled from the city the English have returned and this time they intend to stay.
1189. Acre, too, falls! Edward presses on to Kerak as the English diplomats devise a cunning scheme to ensure the Papacy will never excommunicate England again. As a gift, King Henry presents the Pope with Jerusalem, to be ruled by the Papal States and ensure no petty rivalries would see its downfall. The Pope is, to say the least, shocked by such an offer. He happily accepts and names England an inspiration to christians everywhere.
1191. Kerak falls to England. With three outlying fortresses guarding every approach to the Holy City, the Papal States take over command of the city. A new Kingdom of Jerusalem is founded under these conditions, and though the pope is the "official" ruler of the city; all those in Outremer know that it is Prince Edward who holds the true power of the crusader forces.
Current state of Affairs:
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Nice AAR, looks like a fun campaign. :smash:
Question: what mod are you using? Or is that Kingdoms?
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
It's Stainless Steel 6.0, a mod for kingdoms. :2thumbsup:
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
ncie to see one of these threads at last, I always like seeing other people's empires :beam:
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Quote:
Originally Posted by Monk
It's Stainless Steel 6.0, a mod for kingdoms. :2thumbsup:
It looks like a good mod, I'll check it out.
Ditto Ferret.:egypt:
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Outstanding, Monk. :medievalcheers:
Out of curiosity, how many men did you bring on Crusade, anyway? It must have been a very large host to have been able to take 3 citadels plus Jerusalem itself!
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Quote:
Originally Posted by Martok
Outstanding, Monk. :medievalcheers:
Out of curiosity, how many men did you bring on Crusade, anyway? It must have been a very large host to have been able to take 3 citadels plus Jerusalem itself!
My botched initial invasions of both Scotland and Ireland taught me something I'm not gonna soon forget; two stacks are better than one. ~D
Two full stacks, around 1500 (aprox) in each, so a good 3000 between them. Add to that I was hiring every single mercenary I could find, I thought it was a bit of historical irony to have mercenary Saracen infantry fighting for a Crusade. Add to it that the wealth of Scotland and Ireland in my pockets i'm making 10k a turn even after the crusaders are back under my payroll so I can afford the endeavor unlike the first time!
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Hey guys!
SS 6.1 was released and unfortunately it's not Save game compaitble. After a lot of thought I decided to upgrade to 6.1 and leave my English campaign behind. I've well documented the storyline and I'm thinking of turning it into a Mead Hall/Throne Room story, I dunno but I do know I don't want to just let it fully die!
Anyway. I thought that maybe some of the hold outs who are gonna stick with playing 6.0 a while longer would might like to give my game a shot, maybe you can turn England into a super power! I've provided a very good base. Here is the situation:
Basically the "Kingdom of Jerusalem" is prospering, I've taken the city south of Kerak and renamed it New London (I was gonna use New York, but that just made me laugh too much!), a good deal of the Fatamid's southern provinces are under your command but Cairo stands as a bastion of their power. It's a year after I launched a failed assault on the city so things will be slow going there for some years.
The Venetians have seized Alexandria and are allied to you, they were instumental in pressuring the Fatamids into near submission, don't be afraid to use them!
Antioch and Tortosa were added to the English's Crusader empire two turns ago. They currently cannot recruit so they are still vulnerable. The Fatamids are at war with the turks to the north and you/Venice in the south, Your crusader forces are spread thin but the good news is so are theirs! Public order is tough to maintain, conversion is slow going. Most provinces though have at least 25% catholic by now.
The biggest downside is the more success I saw against the fatamids, the more the other Catholic nations seemed to resent me for it. Relations are slowly taking a nose dive at home and war could be imminent. On the home front you are allied with most of Europe (the factions who matter anyway). France is your biggest ally as you've been connected with them through marriage alliances throughout the game (it's kept them from attacking) they are also your biggest rival power wise. I do not recommend taking them on.
Well that's all you need to know. One final map screenie before I make a new campaign.
If you do decide to play, this game was done in patch 1.3, Stainless Steel 6.0. Have fun!
http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/Mnkeng1.rar
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
knew all these ancient save-games would come in useful for something. I mainly keep them just because I like to see how the AI performs. There's some interesting AI expansion throughout these as you'll see. Unfortunately I lost my Scottish, Venetian, French, and Sicilian files after I had problems with the PC. Right now I'm playing as Hungary, and the only team left to play as is Portugal, which I will be doing a long campaign as, perhaps with house rules or even an AAR just to make it more interesting, since I'll have played the same map 16 times already. :sweatdrop:
Then I'll be moving on to Kingdoms, the next stage in my backward blitz of the TW series. Summer holidays in 2 weeks after exams!!!
Byzantine Campaign:
Sorry, got the third pic wrong, should have shown things at Turn 150. You can see the WWII war of attrition is about to take place in the second pic. And then the Romans in Mexico on the last one!
Turkish Campaign:
English were strangely successful here. It was a lot of fun fighting with that army you can see in the last pic. Elephants in Mexico!
English Campaign:
Decided to build a mini crusader empire in the game. Took the screenie of the Mongols since its the first time I have seen them conquer somewhere without holding Antioch. Also probably the only time I've seen Venice eclipse Milan.
Polish Campaign:
A couple of odd things such as Spain beating Portugal to Dublin and the Danes taking Paris, but otherwise pretty standard. Strzelcy and Polish Nobles are just too easy to win with.
Egyptian Campaign:
Probably the only time I've seen Venice take Florence. Russia and the Scots also did well, with the Portuguese migrating northwards up France for some reason. Victory conditions were pretty annoying having to cross the Sahara to fight the Moors. Took Sicily by Jihad to help my men on their way.
Holy Roman Empire Campaign:
Byzantines did well and ended up north of the Black Sea somehow. It was a very fun campaign, that army in the third picture is invincible!
Spain Campaign:
Pope got stuck on the island, probably the only time I've seen a Catholic faction take Rome. Also note the Hungarian monster, well done the Magyars.
Denmark Campaign:
Felt silly having to go to Bologna just to win the game. Reviving the claims to England would have seemed more sensible and fun to me, since half the teams in the game half to beat the HRE to win their short campaigns. Really cool unit roster though. Norse War Clerics!
Moorish Campaign:
Probably the only time you will see Arguin as a Huge City there in the last pic. Also that third pic displays why I am so sick of these Mongol/Timurid wars of attrition. At least I got Camel Gunners.
Milan Campaign:
So easy to get stinking rich, with brilliant units available in the cities. The Magyars seem to have mistaken themselves for Poles and conquered the whole Russian steppes. :shrug:
Russia Campaign:
Dvor Cavalry are simply the best HA in the game. Also I don't know how the Turks ended up in Bulgar. Like the Danes, a really unique and fun unit roster to conquer with.
And my current Hungarian campaign:
Building a mini crusader empire since I'm fed up fighting the HRE as whoever I play as.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Wow, very nice Rhyfelwyr!
The third screenshot in the Moorish campaign is my favorite, that's a huge force! :dizzy2:
What difficulty to you play on out of curiosity? It can't be easy to keep order in empires that big.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
In all those campaigns I played on M/VH, since that's the 'fair' settings to use. Playing on H or VH campaign difficulty makes diplomacy really awkward, which is annoying since I find it one of the more interesting elements of the game early on.
I don't find keeping order a problem really (although that is on M to be fair). I tend to exterminate once it gets to mid game since I don't really need the long-term payback from settlements.
EDIT: Also I had a save game where the Papal states had conquered those two islands west of Italy, then launched an invasion of Spain and took Valencia!
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Some very nice screenshots, Caledonian Rhyfelwyr. :2thumbsup: Out of curiosity, how many battles had that German army won?
@Monk: So are you going to start up another English campaign now that you've got SS 6.1, or are you going to play a different faction this time around?
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Quote:
Originally Posted by Martok
Some very nice screenshots, Caledonian Rhyfelwyr. :2thumbsup: Out of curiosity, how many battles had that German army won?
I could'nt honestly tell you since it was quite a while since I did my HRE campaign. Although I do remember making a heck of a lot of kills with Gothic Knights and Reiters. The Gothics maces and Reithers secondary spear are so devastating after they use their lances/pistols for shock effect. Two of my favourite units in the game no question. Plus watching Zweihanders charge in and knowing the first line of enemies is going to drop. :drool:
I wish I could have added more narration like Monk, but I've forgotten how exactly things went in the older campaigns. I'm going to have a read at some AAR's and then do one as Portugal once I'm finished as Hungary.
EDIT: I should stop making up smilies...
Speaking of which, I wasn't even allowed any smilies in my main post here since it took me over the 50 pics limit. :sweatdop:
Took half the afternoon getting that post made. Anything for the Guild!
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Nice pics, Caledonian Rhyfelwyr.
I notice that on some of your campaigns, the AI actually seem to have done quite well at conquering each other and built some decent sized empires to fight. Am I right in thinking this is more common on easy or medium than it is on hard/very hard? I usually play on hard and the AI always seems to be strangely lethargic when it comes to attacking each other. I may have to go back to medium sometime to see if it makes things more interesting.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
All those campaigns are on Medium campaign difficulty, VH for battles.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
It is nine years after the terrible battle of Manzikert, and the court of the Emperor Alexius in Constantinople enjoys no peace. Long gone by are the days of the great legions of Rome and the Eastern Empire is in steady decline. A choking stagnation has settled upon the nobles, and it seems there is no end in sight. Western Greece has slipped from the Empire's control, and Anatolia is ripe for the Turk's conquest.
Yet the Emperor, despite his position of weakness, knows that if the glory of Rome is to be restored, simply wishing it were so is not the way to accomplish it! His eyes set to Greece; the cities of Arta, Durrazo, and Scopia must be taken and consolidated if this wayward province is to once more return to the empire. For the task of uniting the Greeks again under the banner of Constantinople, Alexius chooses Evarestos Evgenikos, an upstard general who has much to prove.
Gathering what strength the empire has left Evarestos moves quickly, striking at Arta in 1083, encircling the city and cutting off all assistance from the nearby fiefdoms. It is a short siege that ends in the surrender of the meager garrison after only a single year, Arta once more swears fealty to the empire. Not resigning to rest a single moment Evarestos rides north with the bulk of his army and lays siege to Durazzo! Without even the simplest of defensive walls, the city soon falls to the Empire.
That year the Emperor himself issues forth from Constantinople, determined to bring much of the lost Anatolian provinces back into fold and halt Turkish advances at all costs. Accompanied by his own adopted son, Dositheos, the Emperor sets his gaze now to the fortress of Canakkale. Dositheos presses on and also sieges the small city of Smyrna as well. Meanwhile back in Greece Evarestos is rebuilding his strength, preparing to siege Scopia.
The sieges drag on, Alexius and his generals allowing the defenders of each settlement to be fully weakened before storming each settlement in turn. One by one, the provinces are absorbed into the Eastern Empire once more! Meanwhile, word reaches the emperor that the Turks are campaigning in the north of the Black sea, becoming embroiled in a bitter war with the Cuman tribes on the Russian steppe.
The year: 1095. All of Greece has once again been united under a Roman athority, at least, that is what they consider themselves! Emperor Alexius and his son have been putting pressure on the Turks by seizing the provinces who saw fit to rebel when the empire was at it's weakest. Yet just when things look to be turning around...
Treachery! The Fatamids land an invasion force on Cyprus and besiege the small Roman garrison stationed there. Cut off and unable to send any reinforcements, emperor Alexius is forced to accept the loss of the satellite outpost... With no diplomat in position to negotiate a cease-fire, the Fatamids begin to raid and disrupt Byzantine trade along the Anatolian coast.
Despite the raids from the Fatamids the Byzantines begin building their strength. The Cuman-Seljuk war is heating up, and as the Turks throw more manpower toward their northern border, the Byzantines quietly build. Waiting fr the right time to strike. Alexius may be of Greek decent, but he is a cunning strategist in the spirit of the old Roman tradition. He will not enter a war he cannot win.
1099. The time to strike arrives! Gathering every last bit of strength the he has the Emperor issues forth from Nicaea at the head of a vast host, All of Greece empties as every man who can wield a spear and every mercenary who can be found is given the banner of the Eastern Empire and told to march east! Alexius strikes fast, hitting the town of Ankara like a whirlwind. The defenders never knew what hit them, and the city falls with little resistance.
Evarestos pushes south, surrounding Iconium as Dositheos boards the ships and sails around and hits Sinop from the Black sea. As the seige of Iconium drags on Evarestos makes a startling discovery. It would seem that the Sultan of the Seljuks himself had been wintering within the city when the Byzantines surrounded it, and now resides trapped within! A rare chance to cut the heart from the turkish war machine lies before the Romans, but Evarestos drags his feet, content to wait outside the walls instead of storming the settlement.
Sinop falls the following year, and as the spring time of 1101 approaches Alexius is pushing on toward Caesarea, the great fortress and power base of the Turks in Asia Minor. Wasting little time the Emperor lays siege to the city and waits for his chance to storm the walls.
1103. A massive relief force appears near Iconium. It would appear the Turks had not invested as much in their northern war as the Emperor believed! Evarestos lifts the seige and pulls back from the walls, drawing up battle lines three miles north of the city. The sultan follows, taking command of the relief forces and marches on the Roman battle lines. The Battle of Iconium would become renowned throughout the western world as a reference to a bloodbath. Despite what could be gained by both sides, each had brought with them their finest troops to do battle, fully three-fourths of each army is left to ruin.
The Sultan wins the day but is unable to press his advantage; in a rage he orders the one hundred Romans captured to be put to the sword and returns to Iconium. Evarestos retreats to Ankara, his position is perilous, but a rebuilt army is already sailing in from Greece. The Turks will not have much rest before another Roman army is upon them!
The sting of defeat the empire feels at Iconium would be remedied just single year later at Caesarea. With a pathetically small defense force, and the main Anatolian army left in shambles at Iconium, Alexius is free to launch his final assault on the great fortress. It soon falls, leaving Iconium as one of the last vestiges of Turkish power in Anatolia.
Content to rebuild his strength, Alexius winters in his newly captured stronghold; his men however do not take a single moments rest, be they mercenary or regular soldier, they hunt down and rid the land of brigands who have risen looking to capitalize on the recent change in leadership in the region.
1108. With his strength rebuild Alexius marches on Iconium again, this time the Sultan has no one to save him. After a long and drawn out siege, the signal is at last given and the city is stormed. It is said that the Sultan was made to pay for the lives of the one hundred soldiers he murdered in his rage, some five years prior.
1110. The Strength of the Eastern Empire may still be a shadow of its former glory, but the Emperor Alexius has made it very clear to his subjects. He shall not rest until the glory of Rome is restored... With the death of the Turkish Sultan and the Seljuks being driven from Anatolia no one dares to say he is incapable of such a feat.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Very nice thread! :2thumbsup:
Hmm... SS 6 tempts me so...
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Outstanding, Monk! I haven't seen a Byz AAR in a long time (either for Medieval 2 or MTW). Looking forward to reading of Alexius' further exploits. :thumbsup:
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Four years pass in uneasy peace for the Eastern Empire, though no true agreement is signed. The Turks retreat out of Anatolia though beyond the borders of the Empire the Turks are rebuilding. Alexius knows if he does not strike again, and strike decisively, he risks facing a rebuilt and vengeful Seljuk host returning to pillage and burn Constantinople's hard won conquests. Leading half of the entire eastern army north along the coast of the Black Sea, Alexius fully intends to put an end to the Turkish threat once and for all. Meanwhile leading the push further south is Dositheos, a commander who is biological son of the emperor himself, although far from heir apparent. Alexius lays seige to the coastal city of Trebizond, encircling the defense forces and preparing to strike; all the while Dositheos is pressing eastward, nearing the great fortress of Diyarbakir.
1115 arrives and news reaches the emperor that the Cumans and Turks have at last signed a peace treaty. Although doubt begins to trouble him, he is certain he can inflict heavy enough losses before the main Turkish host arrives to defend their lands. He is mistaken!
Grand Commander Sehzade, hero of the Cuman-Seljuk war, marches on Alexius' siege force at Trebizond. Knowing full well that if he is able to draw both the garrison out of the city and defeat it and the relief force, he can seize control of the city and deal a heavy blow to Turkish morale. Outnumbered, the Roman army is not the war machine that swept through the lands but four years before. Heavy loses and a prolonged campaign has taken their toll and the Emperor has been forced to turn to local mercenaries to bolster his ranks. Yet despite this, he has nothing but the greatest confidence in his soldiers that they will hold in the coming battle. The battle of Trebizond would see this confidence tested, the Turks hit the Roman line but the mercenaries and forces of the empire hold fast, Alexius himself turns and leads his battered cavalry forces along the right flank, hitting the turks. The already decimated cavalry forces take heavy casualties as they charge, repeatedly, into the enemy line. But the line holds.
Even as Turkish reinforcements arrive the tide of battle refuses to be turned, Alexius smashes the Seljuk forces, forcing an utter rout.
News of the victory spreads throughout the empire, the Turks are forced to retreat and Trebizond falls to the weight of the Roman advance. Alexius rests upon his conquest, knowing the men of this army are spent; they are assigned garrison duty in the new Imperial outpost. The following year, joyous news spreads through the ranks of the military once more, it is said that in the south Dositheos has utterly crushed Turkish resistance at the siege of Diyarbakir! The victory not only asserts Constantinople's authority in the area, it also completely cuts off the city of Edessa, which is controlled by the Turks, from reinforcements in the east. Alexius, upon hearing this, leaves Trebizond and races south determined to lay the siege of Edessa personally. Although, he has no army to do it with!
1117: Isaakios, youngest son (and thusly the one with most to prove) leaves his brother in Diyabakir and marches toward Edessa, not content to wait for his father coming in from the north. Meanwhile, the Army is slowly being rebuilt in Anatolia and with every year that passes the empire's strength only grows.
1118: News shocks the empire when Isaakios manages to take Edessa in a bloody siege! His lack of patience appears to have paid off at first glance, but attacking with so few troops ensured that the battle was hard fought. Isaakios only has enough men to keep public order within the walls of the city, and is forced to wait for reinforcements. Luckily, the fall of Edessa sees the last of the Turkish strongholds west of the Euphrates in the hands of the Eastern Empire so there is no immediate threat.
The year 1120 arrives and the Roman army is again rebuilt and ready for action, just in time, it would seem, as a massive Turkish force appears to he east of Diyarbakir. Alexius soon realizes however, that if he were to continue his campaign east the empire would not truly profit. The lands beyond do not serve his interests, roman interests, and thus he resigns to sue for peace with the Turks. Though the Turks bite their tongue to hide their insults, they eventually agree to a cease-fire.
Still, with a great army at his command and no one he was warring with.. What was Alexius to do? Why seek another enemy of course! He recognized the lands to the south, the small Christian kingdom that had been founded during the first crusade. It was controlled by a group of men calling themselves "Knights Templar", and though they had even aided the Empire in keeping the Fatamids in check, Alexius noted their lands would make the perfect springboard for an eventual invasion of the Holy Lands.
1123. Roman forces cross over into the north of the Templar kingdom and races toward the fortress of Adana, only to find the Fatamids had beaten him to it! Indeed, it would appear the war between the Templers and the Fatamids was more advanced than his spies had led the Emperor to believe. Still, the Romans camp just out of sight of the stronghold, content to watch as the Fatamids use up their strength in taking the city.
Meanwhile, Alexius marches westward from Edessa, not content to wait for Adana to fall before the war starts in earnest. His forces strike quickly and seize Aleppo, a Fatamid stronghold, before the local forces are ever able to react! With the local populace in check he pushes northward, finding the main Muslim forces. The two great commanders face off against each other, but neitehr is willing to commit to the fight.
1124: Adana falls to the Fatamids, without giving them a single moment's rest; Captain Apasios besieges the tired and battered troops of the former assaulting force. Trapped, undermanned and exhausted, the defenders of Adana are little match for the well rested Romans. The fortress is absorbed into the ever growing reach of the Empire. Apasios pushes south, his gaze on Antioch. He knows if he can seize the city he shall be considered a hero among the people of Constantinople!
Alexius meanwhile acts. He hits the Fatamid general guarding the western road to Antioch with every bit of strength he has. The battle of Lower Syria would be recounted among the empire's most bloody and terrible battles. It would have been fought to a terrible stalemate if at the zero hour Alexius himself, at the head of the lancer column, led a counter attack against the left flank of the Fatamids. The weary fatamid left crumbles and flees before the Roman onslaught, winning the day but forced to return to Aleppo. A fresh troops are already on their way to reinforce his position, but all the same, the Emperor spends the winter in frustration that his new fortress.
1125: Apasios reaches the river north of Antioch but is unable to push further. He sets up camp within a days march of the city, knowing that he'll soon be upon the city. However as he sits waiting a large Fatamid host throws themselves upon the Romans, Apasios is forced to pull his men back, but the Fatamids pursue him, forcing a battle some three miles north of the river. Whereas Alexius was ground to a halt in the east, Apasios does the emperor one better by completely decimating the enemy forces sent against him. Completely destroyed and routed, the Fatamid defense of Antioch collapses. Apasios, with his great heroic victory, is invited to join the royal court. He happily agrees!
The following year in 1126, Apasios surrounds and lays siege to Antioch. Not wanting to prolong his glory a second longer, he orders the city stormed. The defenders fight valiantly, but they fall. Antioch becomes the newest addition to the Eastern Empire's advances and Apasios is widely considered a hero for near single-handedly winning the battle... reports of his bravery were greatly exaggerated.
Upon hearing of the city's fall the Fatamids send forth a great army, intent on recapturing the city in the name of their Caliph, however first they must contend with the Knights Templer in Tortosa. They turn west and march upon the crusader's final stronghold, the empire's spies report that the Grandmaster of the order retreats to the coast as the Fatamids move in upon him...
1127: The Battle of Tortosa sees the strength of the Knight's Templer broken, the Fatamids press their advantage and lay siege to the final stronghold of the order. Emperor Alexius finds himself in an interesting position. On one hand he could watch as the knights are destroyed, but on the other he would lose the only ally against the Fatamids he could potentially have. He decides at last to send a relief force under the "Hero of Antioch" Apasios to smash the Fatamids and relieve the Grandmaster. Apasios arrives in the summer of that year and launches his attack against the fatamids; the Knights issue forth from the citadel and joining the battle alongside the Romans. Cornered between the two forces, the fatamids fight with an inhuman fury. Nearly all of them resigning to fight to the death, their would prove the death of many in both the Crusader's and the Roman forces, and the Eastern Empire's forces are reduced to a mere 40% of their strength. Even so, they prevail!
1128: Alexius uses the defeat of the Muslim forces at Tortosa as initiative to move on Damascus, which was left with hardly the defenses it required for such a city. The great city cannot long hold out and after a short siege it too finds itself brought into the Roman fold.
1131: Fresh troops begin to arrive in Antioch, brought in from Greece, Thessaly and Anatolia. It seems the war machine that Alexius has built is showing no sign of slowing down, with every city that falls it is growing stronger! The Emperor himself has been given the title "conqueror" by his subjects and his men; it is an honor he is happy to accept.
1133: Alexius the Conqueror dies on campaign in the deep desert, so far from the walls of Constantinople that he first issued from many years ago. His powerful army, though mournful at their leaders passing, press onward. With every breath he took, he sought to see the glory days of Rome restored, to once more bring honor and nobility back to a stagnant people. His great sacrifices and ambitions have been the doom of many men on both sides of the conflicts, yet his subjects know well that were it not for the drive of this man, Constantinople may have very well fallen..
My experiences (at least in SS) with the Byzantines has been a very fun one. Every last florin you have on every single turn needs to be spent, whether it be on training or on building, you really cannot save for the future since you need it now. The turks were annoying and the Fatamids are proving to be a tough lot, it seems everytime I destroy a stack two more leap into its place.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
I have also just started a Byzantine campaign on 6.0 and am finding it fun.
Here are some random pics I found in my tgas folder:
an English campaign on vanilla:
https://img211.imageshack.us/img211/...7505tn4.th.jpg
A tough battle on BC ending with a 1 on 1 duel of two generals, my guy won in the end :beam:
https://img143.imageshack.us/img143/...5291lb3.th.jpg
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elite Ferret
Love it!
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
yeah it was great fun but annoying in the great scheme of things. I thought I could easily win that battle but I didn't notice that the Kypchack bodyguards have a full sized unit of hybrid cavalry with two HP :wall:
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Reminds me when I had a go at the Agincourt historical battle ages ago. I was losing until Henry V personally slew the French General. :2thumbsup:
And I will have some very interesting pics of my 'chivalrous' Portugal campaign. They will include the Milanese in Thorn and Stettin, a Milanese army near Marrakesh, the HRE in Zagreb and Ragusa, and Italy unified by the Papacy. Speaking of which there was an anonymous Pope. :shrug:
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
@Monk: Very cool, man. Nice to see Aleksios still campaigning when he died. :2thumbsup: Are you going to continue pursuing the Fatamids then, or are you hoping to get a cease-fire in place?
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Originally Posted by Elite Ferret
Interesting! How did that happen in the first place, though? Did you both have larger armies in the beginning of the battle, only to have both sides slaughter each other until only the opposing generals were left?
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Quote:
@Monk: Very cool, man. Nice to see Aleksios still campaigning when he died. Are you going to continue pursuing the Fatamids then, or are you hoping to get a cease-fire in place?
:2thumbsup:
House rules dictate I have to reform the Roman Empire as best I can with the province boundaries. I'm gonna keep battering the Fatimids until I have what i need from them, then maybe call a cease-fire.. that is if they don't inflict heavy losses on me first and grind me to a standstill. The campaign is becoming more and more bloody the closer I get to Jerusalem.. they really want to hold onto that city! Truthfully though I am trying to keep myself warring with the Muslim factions for as long as I can. Western Europe has some powerhouses at the moment, I'd rather not invite a crusade upon me by attacking a catholic nation. (then again, i may face one anyway as I take more of the Levant) One thing I didn't report was how the Crusaders took Baghdad in 1105. There was at least three french stacks guarding the city, it took three factions united by Jihad for the Muslim world to reclaim it. I'm not looking forward to that kind of fight :no:
I'll have more to report when I get a chance to play more of the campaign! I highly reccomend trying the Byzantines out, very challenging. Though their unit skins are a bit goofy.. fortunately there's lots of mods that can fix that! :thumbsup:
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Quote:
Originally Posted by Martok
@Monk:Interesting! How did that happen in the first place, though? Did you both have larger armies in the beginning of the battle, only to have both sides slaughter each other until only the opposing generals were left?
yeah there were plenty of men in the beginning. I had a GB, some Templar cavalry and a half stack of HA mercenaries against their army of a massive GB, a selection of spearmen and foot archers and a few HA units. After a drawn out battle with massive losses on each side I repeatedly charged my mass of mercenaries at their general only to find them all dead and so I sent in my general and all the bodyguards ended up dead, leaving those two to battle it out. Closest battle I've ever had :sweatdrop:
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Four emperors have come and gone on the Eastern Empire's throne in Constantinople and much has changed since the death of Aleksios the Conqueror.
1133 - 1170.
Here reigned Emperor Ioannis the Brave.
Also called the Conqueror, and the Honorable, Emperor Ioaniss took power upon the death of his father Aleksios. None could dare despute his claim to the throne... well except perhaps the other rival princes. But any doubt as to whether this man truly deserved the crown was soon silenced in the following decade with his campaigns south against the Fatimids.
Predictions of the campaign were said to be nothing but bloody, the emperor's finest telling him that to take Jerusalem would require all the Empire's might... despite this warning Ioannis would hear of nothing else but victory. Despite initial setbecks, the Emperor gathered to him every soldier the local garrison could spare and hit the city in 1140, cutting off the defenders and sacking the city inside of the year. Acre and Kerak would soon follow in turn, needing much less force than was previously predicted. The Fatimids seemed on the verge of defeat.
The emperor pushed on, aided by the strength of the Knight's Templar at his side, he pushed into upper Egypt meeting little resistance and sacking the ancient city of Alexandria. As he pushed south toward Cairo however, he found the Fatimid strength rebuilt. Surprised by their numbers he was forced to retreat back to Alexandria and wait. Unfortunately the occupation of much of the Levant had drained his forces and forced them to turn to garrison duty to prevent local uprisings, it was not until 1146 that he was able to push on Cairo in earnest. The battle of Cairo was particularly bloody, seeing the destruction of the Fatimid forces.. Although Byzantine troops were reportedly so exhausted they were unable to push a single step forward. Cairo lay defenseless, but it was not to be.
It was not until the following year that the Emperor was able to push forward, laying siege to the already battered walls of the great city. The defenders of Cairo were few, and after a drawn out siege the city fell in 1150. The fall marked the beginning of the end for the Fatimid resistance to the Eastern Empire in Egypt. Though they would make attempts on Alexandria, they would never again hold a stronghold in the storied land. Egypt was once more a province of the Roman Empire.
While Ioannis still had to contend with the weakened Fatimids in North Africa and in Lower Egypt he decided that his empire would be better served by opening a second theatre of operations. He chose Italy. Too long had the very cradle from which Rome had grown to an empire been controlled by petty city states. Even now the Italian wars were in full swing and the peninsula was in chaos. What had started as trade disputes between the Sicilians and the Venetians had exploded into all out war. With Venice fighting not only Sicily but the Holy Father, the Pope himself! Genoa was also rumored to be aiding the conflict from the background, providing financial aid to the Papacy.
It was the perfect time to strike, while Sicilian and Papal authorities were concentrating on Venice, Ioannis was about to come knocking on the back door. Meanwhile, his armies in North Africa were hunting down the last strongholds of the Fatimids. By the time Roman troops landed in Italy, the Fatimids had been all but driven from their lands as far as Tripoli. Ioannis was now the true master of the eastern Mediterranean.
Initial skirmishes at both Naples and Bari saw both settlements exchange hands to the Romans with hardly much of a fight. Southern Italy was secured by as soon as 1160 and the gaze of the emperor set upon Sicily shortly after. The island, however, was guarded by some eight thousand men, all marching north to retake their lost provinces. It was to their misfortune then that to greet them along the narrow Italian coast was waiting the armies of the Eastern Empire. Utilizing a new tactic by their standards, the Romans presented a shield wall to the Sicilians in battle after battle. With only militias to their service to back up their powerful knights, the Sicilians found their efforts to batter down the shield wall fruitless. Indeed, upon the lines of the Byzantines the Sicilians were allowed to break, in battle after battle the shield wall prevailed. The southern Italian campaign saw a Byzantine force of almost three thousand reduced to just over eight hundred. However that was enough to press onward. In 1162 Roman forces arrived in mainland Sicily.. and in just three short years both local power bases had been capture.
Resigning to their fate, the Sicilians agreed to yield to the storm. The following year in 1167 the unthinkable happened. The Eastern Empire reclaimed Rome herself from the Papacy. Joyous celebrations erupted throughout Constantinople indeed, when Ioannis heard of his general's success he could only smile for the dream of Aleksios was becoming a reality some thirty years after his death. He expected the Christian forces to rise as one upon the capture of Rome, but it would seem due to the aggressive policies of the Pope in Italy not a single king in Europe seemed to care. One could even say they rejoiced upon t he capture of the eternal city. Three years later, even as the war for Italy progressed, the Emperor passed after spending the final 20 years of his life in the city of Cairo. May he rest well for his glorious conquests!
1170-1172
Here reigned Emperor Gennesios the Saint.
Who could seek to fill the shoes of Aleksios and Ioannis? Gennesios came to power in 1170, though his reign would be short due to his old age at the time, is impact would be profound. Already great in his piety he found the faith of many Byzantine territories lacking, and set about the building of many (and I do mean.. many) Orthodox churches. The wars in Italy came to a short standstill as the Romans both rebuilt and ferried in fresh armies from their great citadels in Anatolia and Greece.
1172-1180
Here reigned Emperor Kalliparios
While neither a battlefield commander nor a great building, Kalliparios was a man who ruled from his capital of Constantinople. Content to never leave it's walls and delve into the Arts and culture of the city while his generals continued their relentless wars in Italy. He was a man who believed in allowing the Generals have their way... although he wasn't without his intrigues.
Byzantine Politics.
Kalliparios would become known for one thing above all else. When he was crowned Emperor adopted son was named the heir, Prince Zigavinos. However.. Zigavinos had been a treacherous man since he was accepted into the royal family. Having openly defied the last two emperors in public during their reigns, he stood as a man who had few friends and as even less popular man among the masses. To allow him to sit upon the throne could have proven disastrous for the Empire even at its greatest hour. Therefore it was decided he must be forced to exit the stage..
The battle of Bologna, a city in the North of Italy and the final bastion of power for the Papal States in Italy came in 1177. Zigavinos grudgingly accepted his role in support of the left flank of the Byzantine force. What he hadn't truly noticed, however, was that his flank had intentionally been weakened with militia and mercenaries. When the two forces clashed Zigavinos found his wing was in danger of breaking! Bravely he charged into the breach intent upon sealing it. His actions that day would forever be remembered by the Royal court, for while Zigavinos succeeded in halting the Papal troops, and indeed saving the left wing; he was cut down in the attempt. A hero to the common people, his name was used as a rallying cry for further support in the Italian Wars. And with his death a new heir was named, ending whatever problems that may have arisen with the next transition phase.
1179 saw the fall of Bologna and the final city of the Papal States conquered by the Byzantines, now widely regarded as true Romans. The following year a brutal surprise attack upon the Genoese saw the Republic nearly collapse. Diplomats were dispatched and offered a single deal Become a client kingdom and have their Capital back… or die by the sword.
They accepted.
1180-Current.
Here reigns Emperor Amintas the Conqueror
Having been named heir upon the death of Zigavinos, Amintas proved his worth in the campaigns against northern Italy and Genoa. Not only sacking the city of Genoa but allowing the Genoese to return to their capital just one year later; currently the Emperor campaigns against the Venetians. In a deadly surprise attack in 1181 Roman forces cut off and besieged the only two strongholds the Venetians had left after the long wars against the Papacy. Battered from the Italian wars, Venice is about to fall...
It's good to be the king.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Nice work Monk! I'm very tempted to buy Kingdoms just so I can play SS.
Keep it up :2thumbsup:
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Can't wait to see you recreate the entire Roman Empire, at it's peak. Good luck :2thumbsup:
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
@Elite Ferret: That's nuts! I'm not sure I've ever seen a battle come down to the opposing generals before, not even in the original MTW. A pity we don't have a badge for "most unusual battle". :sweatdrop:
@Monk: Well done! I shall drink to Amintas' swift completion of the reconquest of Italy. :medievalcheers: Will the Byzantines initiate a new campaign elsewhere now, or will they stop to consolidate their gains?
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Thanks guys glad you like the updates! :2thumbsup:
Sorry about the "rushed" feel in the last post, i had 60 turns and 4 emperors to cover so I had to keep it condensed :sweatdrop: Next one i'll be sure to spend 15 min writing instead of just 10. :laugh4:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Martok
@Monk: Well done! I shall drink to Amintas' swift completion of the reconquest of Italy. Will the Byzantines initiate a new campaign elsewhere now, or will they stop to consolidate their gains?
I've hit the 48 province count in the last pic (i think) and SS's Victory condition for Long is 60 provinces. The great thing about having such a huge empire is after a while you really don't have to consolidate, drop a family member in a recently sacked city and keep on trucking. As long as you've got a few militia in the city and have sacked it, it should be fine (unless its faith is radically different or something). Plus My castles in Greece and now Italy have been replenishing my losses almost as fast as I incure them. The key is establishing a good force rotation (and making 13k a turn doesn't hurt either :thumbsup: ) The amazing thing is i've not faced a single revolt despite having 0% orthodox in some provinces for extended periods of time, Antioch being one of these! (though i've come close..)
If you'd like a sneak peak... :knight:
Currently the Byzantine Empire finds itself engaged in warfare in three seperate theatres of operation. North Africa, the Middle-East, and Lower Hungary. I broke my alliance with the hungarians so I could seize the former Roman territories they currently control. Once I establish the Danube river as my northern border I'll end the war with them, but I'm bound by my own house rules to take at least four of their southern provinces. In North Africa I opened a front with The emperor himself, the Moors are focused on Spain so rolling up their African provinces should be quite easy (i'm getting very profecient at invading through lightly defended corridors). I did a toggle_fow to see what strength the Moors posses... Not good! They are nearly as powerful militarily as I am.. it's gonna be a tough fight when I meet their forces.
Unfortunately my ally since near the start of the game the Khwarezmian Empire declared a Jihad against me in the Middle-East, and wouldn't you know it every Muslim faction (including the Turks and the Fatimids who I let live) joined... Cairo is the target (again, argh!) and now I face 5 stacks (that's right... five) coming down hard on the city. The Heir to the throne has been entrusted to the city's defense and I'm mobilizing my forces in Kerak and Acre. It's gonna be bloody. I let both the Turks and Fatimids live instead of eliminating them for the sake of adding to my Mongolian buffer zone, as well as providing "barbarians at the gate" feeling for my frontier border.
I should have wiped them out when I had the chance... :skull:
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Yikes. Good luck in your defense of Cairo, mate; I suspect you may need it. ~:eek:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Monk
I should have wiped them out when I had the chance... :skull:
You know what they say: Hindsight -- it is a [insert expletive here]. :sweatdrop:
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Here follows the accounts of the reign of Amintas the Conqueror, Emperor of the Roman empire during the years of our holy lord 1182-1199
Shortly after Amintas took rule over the Roman empire, acting as Regent for the true heir Prince Aleksios, he found that the empire's strength was great. There was no other in the entire known world who could boast the financial, cultural, productive nor military strength that the great Romans could. Indeed, it was a good time to assume control of the Empire. However due to the recent "parade" of emperors due to old age, the Throne has lost some of the authority it once had in the days of Aleksios and Ioannis, where their word was that of God's!
This small fact, however, would not slow the conquering hero Aminitas, indeed, he quickly set in motion plans to deal with the Venetians, and within the year the long and bloody siege that had been dragging on since 1181 was put to a quick and sudden end. Venice was no more. No sooner did this challenge be met and overcome then another presented itself.
Cairo. The jewel of the Nile river, stormed in 1140 by Emperor Ioannis and used as a seat of power in the middle east for decades. The preachers of Islam stated that this city groaned beneath it's Byzantine occupiers and urged all to rise up and drive the Romans back into the sea. The Muslim word obliged...
Forty-seven years after it's capture the Khwarezmian Empire set the call out to all muslims loyal to the teachings of Islam to take up arms. And be they Fatimid, turk, or Moor they accepted. This would perhaps not have been so bad had Aminitas just recently opened up a new front for the Empire to expand in. Just the year before the empire had seized Sardinia and Corsica from The Moors and was landing troops in North Africa. Aminitas was too far to send aid to Cairo.. he would have to trust that the defenses of the Holy Land could hold.
Prince Aleksios, descendant of the great visonary himself was entrusted to guard the city with his life. The rightful heir to the throne, and now old enough to fight himself, Aleksios knew that if Cairo were allowed to fall the Fatimids may take initiative off the Jihad, many lands could potentially be lost. A call was sent to both Acre and Kerak, the two most advanced citadels the Empire had in the region. Every man who could be armed within two years was to report to Cairo!
Unfortunately the Armies of Islam were fast moving and the first of many waves of the Jihad arrived outside the city walls in 1189, commanded by none other than the forces of the Khwarezmian empire.. Aleksios pulled every soldier he had into the city and waited. Determined to hold out until relief forces could arrive. What he didn't know was that the Fatimids and Turks had sent detachements as well, and they would be arriving very soon. Any relief would have to fight through them. The Khwarezmian Jihad surrounded the city and waited...
The following year they struck, having bided their time long enough they assaulted the walls in 1190; the roman armies had only just now set out from Kerak and were on the way to Cairo. Aleksios was on his own. Even so he drew up his men in a sturdy shield wall, blocking off the main road into the city and daring the holy warriors of Islam to batter it down. As the enemies of rome so love doing, they obliged. The gates grumbled beneath their mighty ram and forth came the Muslims with swords and spears high, hitting the shield wall and forcing the romans backward. The well drilled and diciplined spearmen held the line as best they could, inflicting heavy casualties upon their foe as wave after wave hit the shield wall. Yet eventually it was too much and the shield wall collapsed. For the first time since it's first use in the Italian wars, the shield wall was battered down!
Aleksios fell back to City Square, his entire cavalry detachement behind him as the Muslims advanced down main street, confident in their victory. However the shield wall had done it's work well enough, the men of the Jihad had their ranks ripped apart, and when the powerful kataphractoi cam charging down upon them they could not hope to withstand their force! The Muslim army broke and was driven back front he walls by the actions of Prince Aleksios himself, however his army was in shambles. He prayed the relief forces would arrive soon...
The Armies of Jihad regrouped outside the citywalls in disbelief they had just lost. Victory was theirs, only to be snatched away by the valiant prince! Fortunately a Jihad of this size had men to spare, and the Turks and Fatimids stepped up to the plate to try their hand at the city walls, laying siege in 1191. They would find however that in defeating the initial push for the city Aleksios had done all he needed to, buy time. The relief forces under Isaakios Komnenos arrived just in time to engage the Fatimids before they could properly establish siege lines. It was a curious thing, in that while united by their Jihad the Turks and Fatmids had no love for one another. Should the turks have wished it they could have marched to the Fatimids aid and defeated Isaakios.. instead they stood by and watched as he defeated the Fatimids in detail and then turned to them! Cairo had been saved for the moment and was reinforced. Asaakios rode on the Alexandria to raise more troops for the war as Aleksios held fast in Cairo.
1192. The Cairo Jihad was in full swing as Aminitas campaigned mercilessly in North Africa, scooping up the cities of Al-Mahdiya and Beleb el Anab essentially making the Client Kingdom of Sicily safe from further Moorish wrath. Aminitas pressed forward toward Algiers in search of the Main Moorish force in North Africa which was alluding him thus far. Elsewhere in 1192 Ktenas the Chivalrous was entrusted to lead the Hungarian campaign, a daring ploy to add the territories south of the Danube to the Empire's grip. If the surprise attack worked then the dream of reviving the Roman Empire would be ones step closer.. if it failed The main armies guarding Constantinople would be destroyed.
1193. The plan works! Sofia is quick to fall and Ktenas presses his advantage, moving north determined to advance as fast as he can before running into the main Hungarian force. The fools thought they could leave their flank unprotected against Roman interests. Hah! The following years are a period of uneasy peace in fighting. All armies are advancing in the different theaters of operation. Cairo prepares for the second wave.
The year of 1196 would forever be marked as a year in the history of this rebuilt Roman empire as a time when like no other, the generals of Constantinople were as Roman generals of old. It was a year of heroic deeds and great valor. In Cairo the second siege of the city began only this time it was supported by two stacks of the Khwarezam empire, more than enough to sack the city and still the Fatimids and Moors were on the way! Isaakios issued forth from Alexandria with a rebuilt army intent on relieving Aleksios but the march would take time..
Meanwhile Aminitas at last caught up with the main Moorish force of North Africa. After having seized Algiers the previous year he'd been itching for a real fight, it found him outside the walls of Mellila. An army led by Crown Prince Umar numbering in the thousands cornered Aminitas outside the city, forcing him to lift the siege and turn to face him The two sides clashed in the country side. The great Shield wall presented to the moors stopped their powerful troops and halted their deadly arrows allowing the cavalry to slowly pick at the flanks of the Moors. Finally the Emperor, leading the charge himself cornered and slew the crown prince, causing the Moors to break in a panic. What followed was a terrible rout for the Moors, Mellila fell that year. North Africa was now open to conquest...
During the same months a roman Captain known only as Vasilikos found himself outnumbered and besieged at the Battle of Ragusa. A Hungarian army had slipped around Ktenas and was laying siege to the city. Against all odds the captain held the line, suffering serious casualties but completely breaking the Hungarian force upon the great Citadel walls, yet the good captain would not be the only one defending against the Hungarians.. A two pronged attack had been launched against the Romans focused on Venice and Regusa by the Hungarians. Two huge armies, each numbering at 1700 marched on Venice, in it's defense stood Vartholomaios the Conqueror, hero of the Southern Italian campaigns and the man who was credited to be the true master mind of the wars against the Papacy. In defense of the city, however, all Vartholomais can conjure is a rag-tag assortment of veterans of the Northern Italian wars. Pound for pound they are vastly superior to Hungary, but The Romans are heavily outnumbered.
A stroke of luck appears however, as the Hungarian force is led by Lazzlo Hontpaznan and while a fine general is impatient. He chooses not to wait for his supporting force and attacks Varth's line outside of Venice with his men. Lazzlo's men are a diciplined and professional army, while the Roman forces are a loose collection of militias and troops left over and underpowered after the wars with Genoa and Venice. Though that may be, they are hardened veterans, ones who know how to defend a bridge and that's just where Vartholomaios chooses to draw his lines. The battle becomes as bloody as one can imagine, with nearly the entire hungarian force slain or captured, the day ends seeing Lazzlo completely humiliated by being captured (and later.. executed)
The very same year the second Hungarian force hits Varth's lines and this time the weathered general suffers heavy casualties. Losing over 60% of his men he is able to hold, barely. Perhaps the only thing that saw him and his men through were the great combat experience they had. Venice is safe nevertheless and the Hungarian power base is severely weakened as a result of their defeat outside the city's walls.
Cairo. Isaakios reaches Cairo only to find the Moors and Fatimids supporting the Khwarezmian empire outside the city. While not able to assault the main besieging force directly, Isaakios draws the Moors and fatimids into combat and is once again able to defeat the great hosts while still maintaining a good chunk of combat power. He moves in close to Cairo, intend on relieving the city should an assault come. 1196, the year of heroes (and heroic victories!) ends.
1198, the second assault on the city of Cairo comes and Isaakios uses the chance to slip into the back gate of the city while the Muslims hit the front with everything they have. The streets around the gate house become an absolute bloodbath as two full armies clash for control of the city in the streets, yet the Romans inspired by the news of victory from all over the empire (and their own success) fight with a tenacious spirit. Unwilling to give a single inch without blood and eventually even the Muslim general must yield to this fury! He falls in a failed attempt to punch through the Roman line, his troops flee soon after.
1199. The jihad.. has failed! The might of four empires and countless thousands of men against the Roman empire, and the Romans have triumphed.
:beam: 1196. Best. Turn. Ever! :2thumbsup: Didn't edit this gramatically cuz I wanna get this posted before I sleep so there's likely trip ups here and there. Hope you enjoyed!
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
That's me finished my last campaign on M2TW, played as everyone now. :sweatdrop:
And in perfect timing since my exams finished today so now I've got a summer holiday for Kingdoms and the older TW titles. :2thumbsup:
I decided to play this game with as much chivalry as possible, and I also set cities to auto-manage without governors to make it a little tougher.
As you can see I had a pretty standard start, but this turned out to be a bizarre campaign for AI expansion. The Pope went Rogue (Cavour would be proud), Milan migrated to Novgorod by the end, and I found the Aztecs much more fun to fight when I couldn't completely overwhelm them like I usually do when I own the whole map and have a bajillion florins. Plus the Timurids actually managed to conquer two places, but then mysteriosly disappeared. Keep a close eye on the mini-map in these pics:
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Crazy, the pope conquered all of Italy, I've never seen an aggressive papacy in my games. Great Pics. I never have the patience to conquer the whole map. After reading this thread I'm real tempted to try SS 6.1.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
That's some feat CR. Was that all in vanilla? That must have taken some patience!
The only time I've seen the Pope go on a rampage like that was also in my Portugal campaign, that's strange. Does being Portugal make the Pope more likely to attack Milan perhaps?
Oh, and don't forget to do all the BC campaigns as well...:whip:
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Quote:
Originally Posted by Poor Bloody Infantry
That's some feat CR. Was that all in vanilla? That must have taken some patience!
The only time I've seen the Pope go on a rampage like that was also in my Portugal campaign, that's strange. Does being Portugal make the Pope more likely to attack Milan perhaps?
Oh, and don't forget to do all the BC campaigns as well...:whip:
I'm just one man! :sweatdrop:
Tried to buy Kingdoms today but my town is a dump and all its got are cardshops, so it looks like I'll need to go into Glasgow on Saturday.
I helped the Pope in that one though. Milan kept attacking me at Dijon, so I sacked Milan and Genoa and raized every building in them. :beam:
Then the Pope seemed to step into both of them once I abandoned them. Strangely Milan was already starting to migrate north by then. I swear I did nothing to send them up to Novgorod. Normally if they lose Milan then they stay around Frankfurt and Metz, I've no idea what they were doing.
And yes it was all in vanilla, or Patch 1.2 if that still counts as vanilla.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
I was wrong. The end province limit is 70 for SS, as I hit the 60 mark at the turn of 1200 I found that the diplomacy model in the game had completely broken down, every faction was gunning for me and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. They wanted blood, so I gave them their own... The Muslim factions having all declared war upon me during the Jihad, though their Jihad had failed, continued to pound at the gates. Al Aqaba was besieged and relieved more times than I can count (or care too.) by both Fatimid and Khwarezmian interests. Caffa in the North of the Black Sea, seized in 1203, was besieged so many times by the Turks I swear they could make a map of the surrounding area by memory. Let us also not forget the Ssettlement of Fes; former capital of the moors in North Afric which had fallen to me in 1202. It was besieged by the Moors at least twice in its own right.
Yet still not a single settlement was yielded. Not a single inch of ground given before being stained red. It was a new day for the Roman Empire, a sword day. As the entire world turned against me and factions i'd never even interacted with before attacked as soon as we shared a border, i began to see that with my current infastructure taking western Europe was just not going to be an option. The Aragonese were too powerful (the current powerhouse in West Europe) to defeat while fending off invasions from five fronts (North Africa, The Levant, the Middle-east at Edessa, Caffa in the Black sea, and the Hungarians in Eastern Europe.) so I resigned to push on to the 70 province limit and call it quits.
The AI didn't make it easy. Every single turn was more costly than the last, there were times when settlements were kept from falling to enemy hands by a single and final desperate charge of the Bodyguard cavalry into the disorganized and thinned ranks of the enemy. But not once did my valiant soldiers give up, if I could I'd buy 'em a beer as they did Constantinople proud.
Somewhere in the data file graveyard Aleksios smiles; though the old roman empire may not be reforged in it's entirety a new Roman Empire has found itself. One that perhaps could very well stand the test of time.
Final game map:
There will be no final write up as quite frankly during the final 10 turns I was fighting so many battles each time I hit the "end turn" button that it's kinda all blurred together, and for the fact that by 1207 I actually found myself hating this AI for being so unreasonable (Really? Turn down a 14,000 single payment/2000 tribute for 20 turns for a ceasefire? Seriously?). I had a ton of fun though and hope you guys enjoyed the updates. Though I didn't get to revive the Roman Empire, I'm pretty happy with what i was able to accomplish. :thumbsup:
Oh and one last thing: Watching a cavalry charge from soldier eye level while listening to the intro solo on "Go into the water" off the dethalbum? Priceless.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Great stuff Monk, looking forward to your next campaign already :beam:
Why don't you try again with the other Romans?
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
That was a terrific campaign, Monk; I commend you on your successful resurrection and resurgence of the Roman Empire. Looking forward to your next AAR! ~:cheers:
@Caledonian Rhyfelwyr: So where exactly is your Portuguese campaign sitting, then? Are you getting ready to move against the Fatamids/Egyptians, or are you still working on the French?
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
If you do try another one and want a real challenge, try playing as the Shah in the late era, really tense fight for the first 10 turns or so.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Quote:
Originally Posted by Martok
@Caledonian Rhyfelwyr: So where exactly is your Portuguese campaign sitting, then? Are you getting ready to move against the Fatamids/Egyptians, or are you still working on the French?
That's it all done. It was set to short campaign conditions since I was playing chivalrously, and didn't want to do another storming of the world with 4 full stacks come turn 50.
You can see in the last pic its at Turn 211, so I was nearly out of 'official' time anyway.
I had to restrain myself from rampaging across France. As for the eastern Front, that's the Mongols you see there. I fought them a little on a Crusade to Jerusalem, but that's about it.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
I'm a little intimidated to post this following Monk and CRs' excellent posts, but here goes.
So here are a couple of screenshots from my current Kingdom of Jerusalem campaign in Broken Crescent. It's pretty fun, KoJ have absolutely lethal heavy cav and pretty tough spearmen, but their archers are pretty much worthless so the large quantities of horse archers the Ayyubids and most other Muslim factions field are a real pain.
My strategy so far has been to take the offensive immediately against the Ayyubids. So I gathered all my starting forces under King Baldwin and laid siege to Gaza on the first turn, and spent all of my starting wealth on troops. On the second turn I took Gaza from the minimal garrison, and marched my second army South under Reynald de Chatillon to lay siege to Aqaba. With the Egyptian frontier secure, I raced King Baldwin North to engage the large Egyptian army marching from Damascus.
It was a tough fight, but in the end my superior spearmen won through against the Saracens', while my heavy smashed through their light axemen without breaking step. The enemy's Northern army destroyed, the way lay open to Damascus.
This is where I discovered that infuriating feature of BC, the fact that whenever you siege a settlement of a certain size, it will automatically spawn hordes of defenders, usually of better quality than the original defenders. However, they were still no match for my armoured spearmen, and Damascus fell the next year.
I used the money from sacking Damascus to raise a second army in the south under Reynald de Chatillon. Whilst King Baldwin marched upon Homs, the last Ayyubid stronghold in the North, Reynald marched towards Qahira and the inevitable showdown with the mighty Salahuddin.
That showdown came the next turn, in the deserts west of Aqaba. The battle was long and bitter under the hot desert sun, but once again the disciplined Frankish spearmen were too much for the Ayyubids, while they could do nothing to stop my heavy cavalry from driving off their own and delivering a crushing blow to the rear. In the rout, the mighty Salahuddin himself was cut down by my spearmen.
However, my army was too weak after the battle to lay siege to Qahira itself; instead I layed siege to Bilbeis, the last Ayyubid castle, since Homs fell to my forces the same turn. Baldwin continued on towards Antioch whilst a third stack was raised with the specific aim of besieging Qahira.
In the North, I decided Antioch was too well defended to fall to a direct assault, so I dug in to starve the defenders out; in the South, Bilbeis fell before Reynald's veterans reinforced by the new reinforcements, leaving the way clear for both stacks to finally besiege the great Ayyubid capital. The next turn, the city was assaulted, the two mighty armies of Jerusalem proving too much for the hurriedly assembled defenders. The war against the Ayyubids was won; all that was left was for my men to mop up the last stronghold at Alexandria.
The eventual sally of Bohemund of Antioch was somewhat of an anticlimax; the chivalrous general led his heavy cavalry in gallant, but foolhardy charge against my spearmen, leaving his otherwise formidable army leaderless and vulnerable to be pinned by my spearmen while once again the knights templar made a crushing charge against the flanks.
Now, at last, my economy was starting to flourish, with Damascus, Antioch, Jerusalem, Qahirah and Alexandria all producing a decent income. With this I was able to at last begin to develop my cities, building many ports and roads and upgrading my castles to produce better troops. I also began planning an expedition against the rebel settlement of Famagusta on Cyprus, whilst my Southern armies marched south to besiege Luxor.
However, Baldwin arrived on Cyprus to find the Romans had beaten him to it; rather than challenge the formidable Roman garrison, he diverted his fleet North for a surprise attack on the Armenians of Cilicia. Already beset by the Turks from the north, they were unprepared for an attack from the south as well; Adana and the Armenian capital quickly fell, and the Armenians sued for peace soon after on favourable terms. With a foothold secured in Anatolia, I was ready to begin a campaign against the Turks to complete the victory conditions.
The Turkish forces, though at first intimidatingly large, proved lightweight; their skirmishers and light axemen are no match for my templars. I soon layed siege to a castle in the center of Anatolia, Sultan Arslan trapped inside.
So the current state of my campaign is this: The Turkish castle has fallen, the Turkish sultan dying in the assault, and King Baldwin stands poised to ravage Antolia with his veterans, while a second crusader army is marching north to aid him. Meanwhile, Reynald de Chatillon has taken Luxor and Aswan, and is continuing south to mount an attack on the Makurians. Another crusader army is being assembled in Palestine, ready to march southwest along the Red Sea coast towards Mecca.
I am not sure where the campaign will take me after the Turks are dealt with; at the moment I am thinking either of concentrating all my forces westwards to overcome the Romans and seize Constantinople, or else striking east towards Baghdad. Any suggestions would be welcome. :beam:
Also, could someone let me know whether my pics have displayed properly? This is the first time I've tried posting screenshots so not sure if I've done it right.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
The Khwarezm Shah after some epic horse archer victories vs the Mongols and the KoJ.
https://img183.imageshack.us/img183/6695/shahgi4.th.jpg
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
How did PoorbloodyInfantry get the characters? They look exactly like the characters in Kingdom of Heaven, do they come naturally in BC? Or is it moded?
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
I'm playing BC with the 1.05 patch, and I haven't modded it at all so I guess they come like that.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
whoah somehow missed his post. They come with BC.
Great stuff PBI, shame the AI doesn't seem to have expanded much. I think it would be more interesting if you went for Contsantinople as the road to Baghdad seems too full of rebels.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
I'm thinking along those lines also, partially because once I've defeated the Turks I'll be surrounded by the ERE and won't fancy turning my back on them, and also because Aleppo lies on the road to Baghdad and has a huge stack of armoured horse archers which I really don't fancy fighting.
Hopefully once I'm done with the ERE and maybe the Kypchaks also the Abbasids and Seljuks will be a bit stronger. Also, I am quite tempted by the route along the Red Sea and around the tip of Arabia, since this seems to be the path of least resistance at the moment.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elite Ferret
whoah somehow missed his post. They come with BC.
Great stuff PBI, shame the AI doesn't seem to have expanded much. I think it would be more interesting if you went for Contsantinople as the road to Baghdad seems too full of rebels.
Some of the factions seem to have expanded quite a bit, i think it's just the fact that BC has so many rebel territories it makes it not look that way. The Abbasids and the Great Seljuks are always slow in expansion in my games for some strange reason, wouldn't be surprised if they became powerhouses by 1200 though! :yes:
Both good posts!
Poor Bloody Infantry: Constantinople, deffinately. Though it's gonna be hard to lock down (it spawns gold cheveron pikemen for god's sake!) it's well worth the cost in digital blood as the path through Anatolia will likely net you a large portion of coastal provinces. With those in hand you can easily control trade and make a fortune to finance your push East. :2thumbsup:
Elite Ferret: Very nicely done defeating the mongols! What are your current plans for expansion? Looks like you established a client kingdom outside your borders centered around Jerusalem, gonna expand that? Doubt the Fatimids will take kindly to that!
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
That small Kingdom was a result of a very fun Jihad. I took an almost full stack of horse archers and won three heroic victories with them (it is the army outside Acre in the pic) and after the assault on Jerusalem with my main army the KoJ had no more family members, so they went kaput.
The bad news is the Turks just declared war on me so I'll likely fight a long war with them slowly edging towards Constantinople. I had hoped to fight the Fatamids and have Turkey neutral in the North but the Turkish Sultan obviously decided that fighting the Byzantines, Venetians and Kievans wasn't enough :clown:
I suppose that is what playing on VH does to the diplomacy but I still like to because the AI expands much faster, when I first got 6.0 I played E/E for a test game and by turn 40 only one AI faction had conquered a settlement :wall:
edit: and about BC expansion, I guess my viewpoint has been affected by playing too many hotseat games where everyone expands really fast :laugh4:
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
@Poor Bloody Infantry: An excellent AAR, mate! It's certainly a worthy entry -- as much as Monk's and CR's. (Your screenshots showed up just fine, by the way.) ~:cheers:
I second the recommendation that you go for Constantinople. In addition to the considerable wealth to be gained by taking the city, it appears to me that it's in a more strategically secure position when compared to Baghdad. Given Baghdad's location, it seems like it would be vulnerable to attack from multiple directions and multiple factions, whereas "Big C's" corner position would likely be much easier to hold onto.
@Elite Ferret: How big are the Turks in your Khwarezmian campaign, by the way? Are they a serious threat, or more of a speed bump?
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Quote:
Originally Posted by Poor Bloody Infantry
I'm playing BC with the 1.05 patch, and I haven't modded it at all so I guess they come like that.
I guess Balian and Raymond III of Tripoli is there as well, do you get to use the Hospitaller guy? Played by David Thewlis in the film. What about the Muslim party, is that Nasir guy avaliable?
Does King Baldwin die in his twenties in the game?
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
The Turks are currently the second strongest faction, but the majority of their armies are fighting in Turkey itself and I should be able to gobble up a lot of land before they reach me, assuming the fatamids don't attack. Handy thing is my best citadel, one I started with, is right on the border with the Turks so I can send elite troops straight at them.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
With the Ayyubids defeated, my empire is fairly secure, and my expansion has settled into three distinct fronts: The Turkish front, led by King Baldwin himself, campaigning against the Turks in central Anatolia; the Nile front, led by Reynald de Chatillon; and the Arabian front, led by Gerard of Sidon.
On the Turkish front, Baldwin immediately confronted the full Turkish stack near Karaman. Expecting a tough battle, I was amazed and delighted to see that the Turks had deployed at the bottom of a deep ravine. My archer auxilia caused heavy casualties firing down from such a great height with impunity, and when the Turks tried to counterattack with their skirmishers, they were driven back down the steep hill by the charge of my Templars. The sight of their skirmishers routing, closely pursued by my cavalry, was enough to rout the remaining Turkish infantry and I drove the mighty army from the field with minimal casualties. It was a pattern which was to be repeated many times over wherever the Turks tried to face me with a captain-led army.
With the main Turkish field army destroyed I was free to march on Kayseri and trap the Turkish crown prince within. Meanwhile my second Anatolian army marched through the mountains to the south and layed siege to Konya, once again trapping a full Turkish stack within (with the added benefit that since the town was fully garrisoned, there would be nowhere for the extra defenders to spawn.) Next turn, the Turks attempted to relieve Kayseri and the crown prince led his army out to do battle with mine.
This army proved more formidable than the one at Karaman; after quickly defeating two small reinforcement armies I turned my force to face the Turkish crown prince and his army. The ensuing battle, fought over a ridge in the center of the field, was the sternest test my armies would face in the whole war against the Turks. Their infantry force was larger than mine, and mostly spears, making any frontal charge by the Templars suicide. My infantry was forced to engage the Turkish spears and axemen at the foot of the ridge, superior in quality but at some points outnumbered two or even three times by the opposing Turks. My archer auxilia on the ridge above duelled with the Turkish horse archers; meanwhile my cavalry charges to the flanks were having little effect due to the sheer numbers of the Turks; not enough would be killed in each charge to let my infantry overwhelm them, and due to the presence of their prince they would not break and run.
However, eventually on the right flank, my cavalry superiority began to tell, as the Turkish infantry gradually withered away under the repeated charges. At last the right flank gave way, but this didn't lead to the usual chain rout; however, I could use my victorious infantry to steadily roll up the Turkish army, flanking and destroying units one by one. Finally, the Turkish prince was caught between my cavalry and spearmen and slain, effectively ending the Turkish resistance.
With victory, Kayseri lay open and was seized by my troops. However, it had come at a high price: around a third of my infantry had fallen, but more grievous still was the loss of most of my Templar knights. From now on Baldwin would have to lead the cavalry charges personally.
With his somewhat depleted force Baldwin continued the campaign northwards. Sweeping aside the meagre resistance he layed siege to the new Turkish sultan at Kirsehir. However, the defenders were too numerous for Baldwin to risk his fast-diminishing army in a reckless assault. After all, his own supply situation was perilous, with reinforcements having to make a long trek from the Levant, through Armenian territory. Meanwhile the Turks seemed able to raise new troops at will and in vast numbers. Thus the Turkish front went into a lull as Baldwin settled down to starve out the defenders at Kirsehir and Konya.
On the Nile frontier, Reynald de Chatillon was campaigning against the Makurians, having laided siege to Qasr Ibrim, the gateway to their kingdom. On the second year of the siege, the besiegers were attacked by a Makurian relief force. Coupled with the already-formidable garrison, the Makurian force outnumbered Reynald's by almost three to one. Although it was composed mostly of the light Makurian warbands, still the task facing Reynald was substantial, since he had not only to defeat this huge Makurian force, but to do so with his own army sufficiently intact to continue the campaign; it was a long trek back to the cities of the Levant, so there was no possibility of reinforcement.
The battle was tough, but in the end the heavy armour of the Franks and the Makurians' lack of cavalry was decisive; after routing the Makurian garrison, the crusaders turned and, although already tired from the previous fight, carved through the light infantry of the relief force. Chatillon's losses were heavy, but with the aid of local mercenaries, he would be able to continue the campaign.
After a quick siege of a lightly-defended castle, Chatillon continued up the Nile to besiege the Makurian capital of Dongola. Using the latest catapults recruited from Qahira, he attacked immediately.
Dongola seems to be laid out as an oasis, as seen in the picture. Although I was pleasantly surprised to discover this unique settlement layout, it seems the AI cannot cope with the pathfinding and as a result, the Makurian faction leader began the battle outside the walls, able to be easily cut down by my cavalry. As a result, assaulting the breach made by my catapult was rather easy as the enemy infantry fled before me. Additionally several Makurian units seemed unable to navigate their way to the town center, meaning I was able to win by holding the town center for the required time.
With the fall of Dongola, the way was open to capture the final Makurian settlement at Meroe. This fell to assault a few turns later, but by now the expedition was severely depleted; I resolved to march it north to retrain, and redeploy on the Anatolian front, whilst a new wave of reinforcements would deal with the remaining rebel settlements in east Africa.
Meanwhile Gerrard of Sidon was campaigning along the Arabian coast. Again, he would be hard to reinforce and minimising casualties was of the utmost importance. However, this proved easy enough against the lightly-defended rebel settlements; a quick assault by the swordsmen would clear the rebel spearmen from the walls, after which my halberdiers would be sent in to deal with the cavalry. The 2H bug seems to have been fixed somewhat and I was pleased to discover that my halberdiers can quickly chew their way through an entire unit of Bedouin camels without loss (sorry Martok!) First Medina, then Mecca and San'a fell in quick succession. Before long Gerrard will have reached the Indian ocean.
By now the long sieges in Anatolia had finally ended. At last Baldwin could proceed to seize Amasia and lay siege to the Turkish castle at Siva, while the secondary army layed siege to Ankara. Both castles had large garrisons, but consisting mostly of cavalry, meaning the walls could be taken easily by assault, leaving the archer auxilia to follow the infantry onto the walls and shoot down upon the Turkish riders with impunity.
With the two Turkish castles taken, the war is all but over. The last two Turkish settlements are under siege and will fall next turn, fulfilling the victory conditions (I am already far past the 20 province limit required - why is it, that whenever I play a short campaign I feel like carrying on to the bitter end long after winning the campaign, while whenever I choose a long campaign, I am bored after 20 regions?) Next will be a quick campaign to finish off the Armenians and secure my supply lines, then I will begin to prepare for the war against the Romans, who I suspect will provide a very different challenge to the factions I have faced so far.
Quintus, in answer to your question, Balain and Raymond of Tripoli are indeed represented. I haven't seen the film though so I don't know about the other people you mentioned. As for Baldwin, he is still going strong at 35.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
The year 1088 of the Christian calender.
Cairo, Egypt.
It has been eight years since The Fatimids began their march from the great city of the Nile, their mission to unite the holy lands under one banner and end the horrible infiting that plagues the independent rulers of the cities of Damascus, Kerak, Acre and Jerusalem. Sultan Al-Mustansir, already reaching old age in his 50s, knows that the road is going to be a long one, his people have no great military strength, but they have the wealth of the Egyptian lands to draw from. From such beginnings he marches forward and begins his conquest of the Levant.
His overall position at home is quite secure. His nearest Islamic rival, the Moors, are half a world away in North Africa. The Order of Knights Templar, backed by papal interests, are starting to grab land in the North. It is perhaps because of these men that the Sultan set upon the path of conquest, can the Holy Land truly be trusted in the hands of Westerners? It is a question the Sultan must not answer, for in 1089 he secures not only Kerak but the holy city of Jerusalem itself! The accomplishment sends shockwaves throughout the entire world, and though the city is occupied peacefully once the local forces were defeated all of Western Europe looks upon the fall of the city as a terrible transgression. Still. The Sultan pays no heed, indeed. He pushes in to Acre and defeats the local garrison quickly the following year.
Not wishing to rest he pushes his men, forcing the march on Damascus. In 1091 his determination pays off the the local militias are put down, seeing the city turned over to Fatimid interests. The sultan finds that the Templars have beat him to Allepo, and thus decides now would be a good chance to consolidate his newly grown kingdoms. It is unfortunate that no kingdom can survive without growing pains...
Western Europe had heard rumors, whispers. The Fatimids had discovered holy relics of the man they called Christ and in their greed had spirited them away to Cairo! Of course, such stories were false, but to those of conviction and half a world away, it was hard to dissuade them as such. When the Sultan did not respond to threats from the Courts of Europe, the Pope acted.
The Sultan stood in disbelief! His kingdom which barely had the strength to enact building programs and still defend itself, was now the target of a Crusade. What was worse his capital was the main focus! He knew that if Cairo fell, his entire kingdom would follow. Every man from nearby Alexandria, Damietta and Gaza was given a spear or bow and sent to Cairo, If the Latins would not see reason they would see their blood! Fortified and ready for the coming storm, the defenders of Cairo rallied under Ziyad al-Musayyab, commander of the greater Egypt armies, and thus they waited.
The Hungarians were the first to arrive in the Holy Lands in 1095, marching south and quickly besieging the city the following year. Having no funds to raise more troops, and with his norther army stuck watching the border in case the Templars took advantage of the situation, the Sultan was forced to pray that his southern defenses would hold.
Perhaps it was fate, but the Hungarian forces that besieged the great city were nothing more than light infantry forces and, primarily, mercenaries. The Hungarians had undertaken the call to arms and rose up with naught but levies, a poor man's crusade..
Pinned against the walls the bulk of the Hungarian force is shot to pieces by the great many archers raised from the populace just the year before. When at last the gate does burst open the cavalry heavy crusader force finds itself staring down the business end of a spear line..
The Fatimid defenders suffer light casualties and are able to drive back the first Crusader wave! However, Ziyad knows that more will come, despite this he allows those who are captured to leave freely once the fight has ended. The crusaders prefer exile in the Levant and disband their forces rather than return home disgraced. In response to the outright aggression shown to his people by the western Christians, he pleads to Imam Muhammad that he may embark upon a Holy War of his own, in retaliation for the Infidel wars upon Cairo. Muhammed agrees that something must be done, and calls A Jihad for the great stronghold of Tortosa powerbase of the Knights Templer. The Sultan has little trouble in raising a huge host and marches north in 1099, determined to see Allah's will done. After cornering a huge host of Templars outside the fortress, Al-Mustansir utterly defeats the defending force of the fortress and lays siege to the stronghold proper.
In the south Two huge armies arrive upon Cairo's doorstep. One led by King Alfonso, lionhearted king from the Kingdom of Leon-Castile. The other by his rival a man from the Crown of Aragon. The two men clearly do not see eye to eye and in 1102 Alfonso beats the Aragonese to the gates of the city, laying seige. That year Tortosa falls to the Sultan's forces. The Jihad has accomplished its objective but in the Sultan's mind it is far from over. He must secure his northern border of enemies if he is ever going to defend against further crusades from the West.
He issues forth from Tortosa and corners a large Templar force returning from Edessa, they were marching to relieve Tortosa and are absolutely shocked to find the Fatimids blocking their advance. The two forces clash in terrible struggle, the well balanced Fatimid army far outclasses their Christian counterparts and soon gain the upper hand. The Sultan leads the cavlary wing in a charge against the Templar's right wing, determined to punch through toward their infantry.
But disaster! As the forces collide, an aged and battle scarred ruler is not as resilient as he once was, a templar spear finds its mark in him and he falls. His greif striken soldiers cannot believe their eyes.. their Sultan dead! The day however is not lost, as Captain Abul-Asshab rallies his grief stricken soldiers and leads them in a counter attack against the templars. The fury of the Fatimid counter-charge snaps the Latin resistance and the army crumbles. The good captain after the battle is regarded as a hero for his brave rallying of the troops, for his heroism in battle he is given the ultimate honor of joining the royal family.
1103 comes, with a new sultan crowned in Al-Musta'il, the defenders of Cairo prepare for the worst. The Spanish advance upon the gates that year and as before the men of the city greet them with an arrow shower. But these are not under trained slavs and mercenaries they face, but a highly professional force commanded by a King. The gate buckles and breaks and forth they come!
The line is snapped in half with an all out melee breaking out. It becomes every man for himself and while inflicting serious casualties upon the crusaders the Fatimids are slowly thinned until finally they break. Musta'il pulls his cavalry back around the edge of the city, regrouping in city square as the Crusaders march down main street.
Somehow in the confusion of the gate battle, Alfonso finds himself separated from his men. Al-Musta'il hears like a great clap of thunder a voice shouting for the charge in his heart. This is his chance, a chance to send panic through the crusader lines, a chance to strike them down!
The good king turns... to find his death approaching. It is said he never had a chance to turn his horse about before they were upon him. His death sent shock waves through the ranks, their king's death seemed to remind the weary crusaders of all that they had lost, all they sacrificed so far from home. They broke and fled, the Fatimid calvary wing pursued them taking as many prisoners as they could before marching back into the city with the prisoners disgraced before the citizens. Knowing the crusaders may join with the Aragonese who waiting outside the walls, the Sultan nevertheless allowed them to go free. Feeling enough had died this day. In honor of the Fallen King Alfonso the Sultan saw to it he received all the burial rights a man of his station deserved.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
I've been pretty bored waiting for Kingdoms to arrive, so I had a go as the Rebels. I've heard some people like to consolidate a base as them, but I just blitzed like I have never blitzed before (normally more a turtle), and got the 80 regions Short Campaign victory by Turn 12.
If you want to try something a bit different, I recommend going the Rebels. Its great fun, you get such a diversity of units.
Turn 5:
Turn 7:
Turn 9:
Turn 10:
And at the End (Turn 12):
Oh Yeah!
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Wow, very nice CR! Victory in 12 turns, that's insane.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Indeed. That's crazy, CR! How the heck did you manage that so quickly? Do the rebels simply start with that many settlements (I've never really bothered to count)?
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
France turn 11:
Not sure where to go next. England, HRE, or Iberia. :dizzy2:
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
As France do you really thing you have a choice? With some luck you will have some time to conquer northern Italy, and after turn 40 England and HRE and the Mors will come after you. Especially the HRE. By the way wat is Sicily doing until now? As for Italy, you simply can't allow this hordes of Milanese to pump of nowere. France and HRE are total war all the way.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elite Ferret
all 3 at once! :beam:
That's just craziness. I don't have the troops to attack all three at once.
Quote:
As France do you really thing you have a choice? With some luck you will have some time to conquer northern Italy, and after turn 40 England and HRE and the Mors will come after you. Especially the HRE. By the way wat is Sicily doing until now? As for Italy, you simply can't allow this hordes of Milanese to pump of nowere. France and HRE are total war all the way.
I do at the moment. I don't know what the Sicilians are doing, probably off conquering North Africa.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elite Ferret
Ah man, 1 on 1 > WOW stuff!
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ichigo
France turn 11:
Not sure where to go next. England, HRE, or Iberia. :dizzy2:
You always have the choice, even as France... But if you want to play strategic and diplomatic, you need to have a high rep (trustworthy or very trustworthy). You achieve that by always occupying cities and releasing prisonners. And never declare war. Make them declare war on you. Take your troops out of bordering cities/castles and the AI will attack. If you leave angers with one unit, England will attack most of the time.
Look at the alliances, who is allied with who ? Who is at war ? Usually if the AI is at war with other factions and have good relations with you, it won't attack. Is HRE at war with Denmark or Poland ? Get an alliance with them and go after someone else, your eastern front is safe for now (but not forever of course! Keep a good garrison in Metz). If HRE is at peace with everyone, they get bored and will hit you because you're different. Same reasoning for other factions.
Where are your most developped castles because you will need reinforcement, bringing troops from Toulouse to Antwerp is a long walk etc....
And never, never leave a border settlement undergarrisoned (except to trap your next prey)
So, in fact, you don't decide where to go, you check where you may go and decide from there.
And of course, there's the fun factor, what kind of battle do you want to fight ? do you want to deal with longbows or would you rather make jinetes bite the dust ?
Your southern border is quite secure with Bordeaux and Toulouse as Castles, the english castle of Caen is a pain because it threatens Rennes, Angers and Paris, which means you'll waste a lot of money on Garrison... I would suggest going after England, taking Caen and ask for peace (it worked for me). If you feel a bit more risky you can try to take Caernavon before they get from the rebels, so you reverse the tables, now it's you who has a castle in their homeland...
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Trust my internet to go as soon as Kingdoms arrives! :furious3:
Once I get it back I'll post picks of my Scottish, New Spain, Jerusalem, and Teutonic Order campaigns. Also I did a quick one in normal M2TW as the Papacy, and I'm currently playing as Ireland in Britannia.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caledonian Rhyfelwyr
Once I get it back I'll post picks of my Scottish, New Spain, Jerusalem, and Teutonic Order campaigns. Also I did a quick one in normal M2TW as the Papacy, and I'm currently playing as Ireland in Britannia.
Excellent. Looking forward to seeing what you've done with them. (I wish you a speed internet recovery, btw.) :beam:
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
This thread seems to have gone awfully quiet lately, so I'll try and get the ball rolling again with an update on my BC Jerusalem campaign. Sorry for the long gap, I've been off on a Galciv II phase for the last few weeks, but went back to M2TW a few days ago.
So, things have been moving quickly on the northern front. The very next turn, the last Turkish strongholds fell, fulfilling the victory conditions for the campaign:
But I elected to play on, as so many of the factions are yet unfought. So next was a quick campaign to finish off the remnant of the Armenians, before a blitzkrieg campaign against the Romans. I was aware that Constantinople would spawn a nasty stack of troops if I were to besiege it but I had no intention of giving them that chance; I assaulted it on the first turn with my new catapults, before an effective defense could be prepared:
In the same turn I seized Cyprus, and put the castle of Dorylaeum under siege. I then ended the turn and awaited the Roman counterattack. It came in the form of two stacks besieging Constantinople, a large force from Trebizond marching out to besiege Sinop, and four stacks coming to the aid of the large garrison of Dorylaeum. However, the relief forces at Dorylaeum disappointingly didn't attack, meaning that I could force the win in the siege, and pick off each of the relief forces one by one in night battles. The forces besieging Constantinople were also crushed surprisingly easily; the forces of the Romans had looked intimidating, but proved to be mostly lightweight militias with a few medium cavalry mixed in. Whilst the victorious armies in Dorylaeum and Constantinople continued to mop up the remaining Roman settlements in Western Anatolia, the army of Cyprus moved on to Rhodes, and then Crete, before making an expedition south into Africa to take the oasis at Siwa. Meanwhile I used the proceeds of the sack of Constantinople to raise a new army in Syria, with which first to relieve Sinop and then to take the last Roman stronghold at Trebizond.
Meanwhile, in the south, my second Nile expedition succeeded in capturing the fortress of Axum and thus securing control of all the African lands on the map. I then transported it to Yemen to merge with the army on that front and take the castle at Ta'iz after a long siege. After a quick campaign to take Cholula in Somalia and the island of Suqutra (thus netting me all of the islands on the map :beam:), my army now marches up the far end of the Arabian peninsular to campaign against the Imamate of Oman.
Whilst I had been campaigning against the Romans, the Abbasid Caliphate had been steadily expanding up the Euphrates, until finally they were able to attack the mighty rebel-held stronghold of Aleppo, on my borders. The battle fell fortuitously for me: The Abbasids lost, but severely depleted the garrison, leaving it free for me to seize myself. After a brief respite while I redeployed my troops from the west of Anatolia to the eastern frontier, I launched my attack on the Caliphate to end the Abbasid threat and take the great prize of Baghdad. With almost my entire force committed, and concentrated into the narrow cross-section of the Caliphate, I was able to overpower the Abbasid forces, which were strong in archers and heavy infantry but with few spears to repel my invincible heavy cavalry. Baghdad fell without a fight when I drew out the garrison as reinforcements (I really don't like incurring those huge defensive stacks), and the Caliphate is now ready to fall: Of its last three settlements, two are under siege, while the other soon will be. And now, with all of Constantinople, Jerusalem, Baghdad, Damascus and Cairo under my control, I am finally starting to turn a profit.
So the question is, which way should I go next? As I see it, my options are:
1: Turtle for a while and build up some money. Not exactly my favourite choice.
2: Attack the Kypchaks. In principle they are my strongest rival with many strong stacks, and taking the steppes would mean my western frontier is completely secure so I can divert all my forces east. An attack on them before the Georgians would have to take place through the narrow Bulgarian frontier or by sea, though, which would take a while to move my troops into position.
3: Attack the Imamate of Oman. I will be doing this anyway from Yemen, but I could also send an overwhelming force from Mesopotamia to crush them from both sides. This would mean my Arabian frontier is secure, but is arguably overkill since Oman is pretty weak and my army in Yemen should be enough to do most of the job by itself eventually.
4: Attack the Georgians. Their empire looks small but is surprisingly strong, with large armies of good troops. Taking them out would make an attack on the Kypchaks or Seljuks much easier and remove a dangerous presence in my rear. However, the flipside is that both those empires would then only have me as an enemy. An attack on them would not be easy as their armies are tough and well armoured and their lands are mountainous, but my forces are in place to do it right away.
5: Attack the Seljuks. A potentially dangerous foe since they have the most room to expand, but they are relatively weak at present due to a few recent rebellions. Attacking them should be relatively easy despite all their annoying horse archers, but would leave me with a border against the powerful Khwarezmian empire, a strong Georgian force in my rear, and dangerously close to the coming Mongol invasion.
Any thoughts or suggestions welcome. I'm tending to favour an overwhelming attack on the Georgians at present, followed by a quick strike to destroy the main Kypchak forces ranged along the Georgian frontier.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Wow nice Empire. I say options 3 and 4, Oman should be easy enough to crush with very few troops so that most of your armies can take on Georgia.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
I pretty much second what you're already leaning towards, PBI. I'd go with options 2 & 4: Focus on taking out the Kypchaks and Georgians to secure your northwestern frontiers before anything else. The Seljuks and Khwarazmians will still be there when you're done. :yes:
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Attack the Kypchaks.
They're usually the toughest AI faction to fight, so have fun taking them out.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Very nice stuff PBI! My recent go at KoJ was very fun, it's just really surprising how expensive some of their troops are in upkeep. Those knights templar can break the bank! :help:
Keep the ball rolling everyone, we've had some great stuff posted thus far!
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
Mm yes, it is a nice balance between unit strength and upkeep I think, your units are almost unstoppable, but so expensive that you almost always have to fight heavily outnumbered. Even now when I control almost all the big trade hubs I'm only barely turning a profit since I have a full half-stack of just Hospitallers I got as rewards for missions; an almost invincible force, but costs a small fortune to maintain.
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
I've now played as three factions in each Kingdoms campaign. I will get the pics uploaded eventually, but the internet is not working on my own PC and I'm having to use my parents crappy PC for the internet when I can.
That's a nice campaign there PBI, makes me want to play a mod. But I've just started playing RTW...
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Re: Pics and History of your Empire
My first attempt at anything resembling an AAR =) Have mercy :p I hope I get the images right...
Stainless Steel 6.1, no RR, no Byg's grim reality. (It's my first SS campaign) VH/VH
Kingdom of Norway, Late Era
The year is 1220 AD when King Haakon the Mauler realizes that his people are becoming dangerously undeveloped compared to the southerners. Whispers of an explosive substance that wll make armor and walls obsolete are reaching his court, and he does not yet have the facilities to recruit knights! A simple church in Eikundarsund is the most advanced building in his kingdom!
He withdraws his son Magnus from the war effort in britain, and abandons the Isle of Man and the Orkney Islands for now. Instead, the Viking lands must be united to finance the required development of infrastructure, smithys and the like. The british isles will have to wait.
The Norwegian Hird is assembled and marches against Västergötland and the capital Skara in 1221. The Danes have the castle besieged when it arrives, however, and the king decides to push on to Södermanland instead. But the Swedish rebels in Skara are victorious, and Haakon quickly reroutes the march to Skara once more, and lays siege. The decimated garrison is no match for Haakons Carls.
Nyköping is besieged just before the Danes arrive. Tensions build between the nations as the Danes are repeatedly denied expansion into Sweden. But then disaster strikes! In the form of a scottish army at least 2000 strong landing at Eikundarsund. There is no way to raise a garrison in time to repel the attackers, and the army in Sweden is years march away from the besieged city. But only after a few months the siege is lifted! Perhaps the pope called the scots off.
Nyköping falls and our army moves on to Visby by sea. A second army is formed near Skara with men from Oslo and veterans of the previous campaigns. Once more the Danes show up, anooyed at not getting to add the baltic trading hub of Gotland to their territories. This seems to be the last drop for them, and they besiege Skara on the mainland when Visby is taken by Norwegian forces. This however leaves the Danish castle Kalmar poorly defended, and the main army can therefore quickly sail from Gotland to Småland and capture the castle before it can be reinforced, while the new army in Västergötland is also victorious.
1235 Haakon dies of old age leaving his heir Magnus Haakonson as King of Norway. A few sieges of Kalmar follow, the Danes attack mainly with militia, some nasty war clerics and a lot of mercenaries since they have only cities left. Visby is also besieged by the Novgorod swine repeatedly, but they are repelled, and we eventually sign an alliance when Magnus marries a Novgorodian princess. The scottish eventually launch more invasions against the Norwegian shore. Their fleets are sunk and the invaders are rewarded with watery graves. There are many hard fought battles in the forests of Småland and on the plains of Skåne, between Norwegian and Danish forces. The danes start fielding more sword staff militia and norse war clerics. The Norwegian forces are mainly Norse archers and hurcarls, both mounted and on foot.
Gunpowder is invented. The Norwegian cities are still quite a long way from being able to train soldiers in it's use. We do not have the knowledge yet to make sophisticated cannons either. Alliances have been fomed with France, Genoa, who have since been pushed into the sea and controls only Corsica, and Hungary. The marriage alliance with Novgorod holds.
Around 1265 Lund falls and Roskilde quickly follows when the danish forces in Skåne are routed. The danish prince is in Königsberg for some reason, along with a huge danish fleet, and they are down to their capital Århus. They offer a peace treaty which Magnus refuses. Not capturing Århus would deny Norway a land route onto the mainland and into the Empire, it is also an immensly rich trading city. After a protracted siege the danes even offer to become vassals to the Norwegian King, but Magnus refuses and takes the city in the summer of 1276, declaring himself King of all Scandinavia in the process.
The "Holy" oman Empire have been excommunicated due to their aggresive war with Venice. A crusade is called on Hamburg in 1277, and the Norwegian general Haldor the Chivalrous joins the crusade and captures Hamburg the very same years. He is severly wounded in the process, but recovers during the following year. He is now accompanied by Roger de Molin, a knight of St John. The Holy Roman Empire accepts a cease fire and resumes trade with us immediately, as their forces are busy elsewhere.
In 1279 a Jihad is called on Jerusalem, and many Muslims march on the holy city. A search for a bride for Magnus' son who will soon come of age is begun.
1283: A fatimid army assaults the walls of Jerusalem. The defenders are heavily outnumbered but manage to win a heroic Victory. But alas, the very same year, another 2000 fatimid enter the region, along with about 4000 Seljuks. The situation looks grim for the crusaders.
1284: "Prince" Kolbein, an adopted general of King Magnus who is heir presumptive, dies a noble death in battle in West Pomerania. He is struck in the chest by a crossbowbolt. His bodyguard avenges his death.
1286: "Prince" Christoffer, a man Kobein decided to adopt, dies a noble death in battle outside the walls of Edinburg. What in the world did he do there all alone with just his bodyguard? Thorkel Haakonson is heir apparent and is married to an intelligent Sicialian princess. Jerusalem is captured by the Seljuks. Roskilde is chosen as the Kingdoms centre of academia, while Lund becomes the center of the church. Hamburgs artllery school is nearly completed. Serpentines will soon be an asset to Norwegian armies. The Holy Roman Empire is becoming dangerously large, they are drawn into a war with the papacy!
1287: Another crusade is called on the not so holy empire. Franfurt is the target this time. Once more, Haldor the Chivalrous leads the Norwegian army south from Saxony. At night he assaults the city after it has been infiltrated by spies. The Germans are taken by surprise and abandon the walls! The fools! Now the Norwegians suffer neither boiling oil or ballista towers on their way to Victory! Our Mangonels can't reach the city square however, the gate is too small to let it through! While our army manouvers to encircle the numerous Imperial forces in the city center, our trebuchet knocks down the walls to allow our Mangonel into the city. Catapults and Mangonels are set up close to the square and many feudal knights burn before they decide to fight the Norwegians in the streets. The day is ours with only 99 men lost.
1290: Frankfurt is isolated from the rest of the Norwegian lands. The Germans agree to exchange it for their fortress Magdeburg, at the same time making their border with their enemies the poles smaller. This is an economical loss for us, but Magdeburg is much easier to defend. The king now looks to the Briitish Isles again, not wanting to become too involved in the wars in the south. England has fallen, Scotland and Ireland have split their lands between them.
Magnus' daughter Gunnvor is married off to Eystein Ericsson, son to Haakons youngest daughter.
The Norwegian eceonomy is now bustling, many armies can be supported at once and our borders are secure. Preparations are under way for opreation Invasion Alba. It's payback time.
(I didn't start taking screens until a wee bit late into my campaign I'm afraid, sorry for the mass of text, and so far none in battles since I don't master the techniques of geting nice clean screens.)
