Pics & History of your Empire

[bamff]

Gee a TRIPLE post - I really must be crack brained!

[r johnson]

I started a new campaign with the Teutonic order in High on expert, GAs, and so far it has been fun and a good challenge, as all my neighbors seem to hate me, and the Horde will be making its way towards my lands very soon. I will try to play this campaign with a self-imposed rule of attacking only non-Catholics (and this will include rebels) and try to win on GA points. The Pope approves, and I also have the Holy Father's word that in this case backstabbing an ally is OK, because a word gived to a heretic or a heathen is not the same as one given to one's Catholic brethern, and therefore a sneak-attack on any enemy of the faith does not really constitute a betrayal.

I like it. The Teutons ae a fun factions to play, good luck.

[Innocentius]

A shortish update on

The Kingdom of Bohemia: 1112 - 1120 A.D.

Before King Vratislav could settle with his army in Brandenburg, and even before news of the conquest had reached all corners of the now vast kingdom, the Holy Roman Empire sought to take revenge on the Bohemians by attacking Bohemia itself. Prince Spytihnev, the provincial ruler of Bohemia at the time, was so shocked by the news that he spat his entire moithful of beer all over his keyb...dining table.
King Vratislav had lately been so busy with his conquest to the north that he had foolishly disregarded the defences of his own homeland, thus an outnumbered force under the comman of Prince Spytihev marched to meet the Imperial invaders in the summer of 1112. The situation looked grim at start, the Bohemians were outnumbered by 2:1 and were unable to find a fully suitable spot to defend. However, as the day revealed, the German army lacked any real substance, and its cowardly troops were no match for the Bohemians.
The Germans first advanced their archers in three groups, on in the centre and one on each flank. Their right flank was completely wiped-out by Prince Spytihev and his knights, stationed on the Bohemian left flank, while the rest of the German archers were beaten by the superior Bohemian bowmen.
After this failure, the German commander ordered a head on charge and the Bohemians, now out of arrows, chose to attack them and bravely meet them on the field. It wasn't long before the Germans broke ranks and fled, and their general, a prince of the Empire, was captured and executed along with his entire bodyguard.

All the prisoners were quickly ransomed by the Holy Roman Emperor for a decent amount of money.

After this disastrous defeat, the Holy Roman Empire did not have the power, funds or will needed to continue fighting the Bohemians, but nonetheless it remained at war with them, in its traditional, stubborn manner.

Shortly after this, in the year of 1114, Bohemian troops under Prince Vratislav attacked the rebel province of Friesland, and duly slaughtered the undisciplined rebels:

This time, not a single prisoner was spared.

Another important event of this year was an alliance with the neighbouring Poles. However, this alliance was probably only caused by several disastrous defeats suffered by the Poles against the pagan Lithuanians lately.

In Friesland, the fighting raged on. The backbone of the rebels had been crushed in the battle of 1114, but many rebels still remained and hid themselves in a great many forts all across the province. The last one wasn't to fall untill 1120. King Vratislav II however, never lived to see this day. He died out of old age in 1119, and was mourned by all the kingdom. He had been a great man indeed, and had lead his people to greatness, success and prospering.
His oldest son, Vratislav ascended the throne at the age of 45, becoming king under the name King Vratislav III of Bohemia. King Vratislav III was already a seasoned warrior and a great man indeed. He was known for his hot-heatedness and sometimes cruelty, not hesitating to execute all the prisoners he took, yet he was also know for being a great builder and a man who cared a lot for agricultural issues. He was also said to be very honest, thus earning the respect of his subjects.

The success of the Bohemians and the greatness of King Vratislav III became obvious in 1120. Not only did Friesland finally succumb totally, but the King also recieved a 1000 florins from the Pope. An indication to that the awareness of the increasingly powerful Bohemians had finally reached even the Pope.

Forgot to take a pic of the minimap, sorry, but it's the same as last time really, just with Friesland added.

[bamff]

Back again....apologies in advance to Rowan Atkinson fans, but I couldn't resist paying homage when I found out that my new king was Prince Edmund...I just hope he proves moew worthy of the crown than his "series 1" namesake!

You may recall also, my query about inquisition "fry up" numbers...check out what happened in sicily late in the pice on this one - with only 1 GI and 2 I's in attendance! What governs these numbers?

The Chronicles of Bamff’s English

Chapter 8 –King Edward III is dead, All Hail King Edmund III! (1237 – 1262)

The next matter of note to be recorded in Bamff’s Chronicles takes place in the year 1239. Word from our emissary in Rome brings great rejoicing at Wessex, and throughout the kingdom at large. Pope Giovanni II has accepted our offer of an alliance. King Edward is indeed pleased with himself – with Spain destroyed, and the Vatican now supporting him, he felt himself unstoppable.
Further news arrives at court. In Tyrolia, the local populace have tired of their Italian overlords, and have rebelled. A truly massive rebel army has seized control of the province from Italy.
Lord Scrope grows tired of waiting for his enemies to surrender in Cyrenaica. Tripoli castle is too well supplied to fall quickly, and Scrope is forced to take matters into his own hands. He commences the assault on the castle. It is a bloody battle indeed, with heavy casualties on both sides. Superior numbers carry the day however, and as the final trumpets sound across the field it is Scrope’s men that are raising their national flag over the smouldering remains of the castle.



In 1243, Prince John leads the attack on Tunis castle. He is successful, and thereby brings all of Tunisia to heel.
A period of peace ensues for the next 3 years. Well, peace for the English, at any rate – The Golden Horde and Byzantium continue their now long-running war. The Byzantines are coming off decidedly the worse for wear throughout these exchanges, with the provinces of Pereslavyl, Chernigov, and Lithuania all falling to the invading Golden Horde.
Whilst it is true that at this time we are many years away from facing the scourge of “political correctness”, the Horde are quite happy to demonstrate that they are an “equal opportunity invader” – prepared to take lands from any nation or ethnic group, and in 1245 they complete the conquest of Prussia.
The following year, the also take Poland from the Poles, with the young Polish king, Konrad I forced to relocate his throne to Silesia. To his great credit, the young Polish king refuses to accept the loss of such a key part of his homelands, and raises an enormous army, which reclaims the province in 1248.
Our spy in Milan, John Bolingbroke, sends word in 1250 that our allies the Italians are mobilising their forces in preparation for an invasion of the German held province of Austria. The invasion is apparently scheduled for 1252.
King Edward receives the news with some scepticism. “The Doge has long been our good friend and ally,” muses the English monarch, “I wonder that he should consider such a move without first discussing his intent.”
1252 arrives, with no sign of any move from the Italians. The Golden Horde are not so inactive, however. They continue their drive westward, taking Pomerania. This is a bitter blow indeed for Poland. King Konrad now finds himself with no access to seaborne trade. The impact on his treasury could be devastating. King Edward, still encamped in Granada following his successful invasion, has fallen ill with fever. Court physicians are most concerned with his condition.
King Konrad strikes back at the Horde in 1253, recapturing Pomerania. Poland is one of few kingdoms with anything to rejoice in 1253. The kings of both Sicily and Hungary succumb to old age and illness respectively. Our own sweet king, Edward III breathes his last. Whilst able to hold his own on the battlefield, he cannot fight a foe that he cannot see, and the mysterious fever claims victory. If this were not enough of a blow to the kingdom, Tripoli is wracked by famine, and Lorraine deluged by floodwaters.
England desperately needed good news at this dark hour, and this came in the shape of the coronation of the new king. Young Prince Edmund, who had previously been known by the sobriquet of “The Black Adder” claims the throne at the tender age of 20 years. The young king is popular throughout the kingdom, and all rejoice as he takes the title King Edmund III.



Edmund is acutely aware that the recent conquests made by his father have placed a strain on the treasury, and have somewhat depleted the English military strength. He sets about rebuilding and restructuring during the first phase of his rule.
In 1259, John Bolingbroke again reports from Milan that the Italian army is mobilising in preparation for an invasion of Austria. Edmund believes that the time is right to support his Italian ally, and orders the invasion of Bavaria by Lord Howard in 1260. The German forces offer no resistance, with the bulk of their number retiring with indecent haste to Munich Castle. Howard wastes no time in laying siege to this fortification. By 1261 it has fallen. An appalling 269 English troops have paid the ultimate price during this attack, but a famous victory is secured.
At the same time as Munich Castle falls, Sir Richard Plantagenet leads his army into the rebel province of Tyrolia. King Edmund is of the opinion that his allies the Italians have now had many years in which to launch a counter-attack on the rebels. Clearly they do not want these lands, so he has no hesitation in ordering this invasion.
The rebel forces occupy a commanding position high atop a steep mountain. Plantagenet is a wily tactician. He is well aware that if the enemy possess any archers, his men will suffer horrendous casualties if they attempt to march straight up the steep slope. Instead, he orders one force comprising a regiment of arbalests, one of billmen, and one of royal knights to wheel around to the enemy’s right flank. The movement of this force will be masked to some degree by the forest in which most of the enemy units are positioned. At the same time another force of knights rides to the enemy’s left flank.
The former of these two diversionary forces is able to position itself on the mountain top by the time the enemy force realise it’s presence. A force of rebel feudal men at arms charge from the forest. A dozen fall to the first volley from the English arbalests. The charge wavers as the second volley strikes home, and they melt back into the forest. The enemy commander has taken Plantagenet’s bait – unbelievably, the rebel force splits in two to meet the “threat” on both flanks. Plantagenet is able to move his main force up the slope to take position between two hilltop forests, where the enemy once stood.
The enemy general now commits a second grave error. He has decided (belatedly) to move all of his forces to the higher peak on his left. The majority of his force now march across the English front to reach their new positions. The English arbalests and longbowmen have a field day. The surviving rebels take position, but find themselves attacked in the rear by Plantagent’s second “diversionary force” at the same time as the main force smashes into their front. They are routed. 526 perish, and 173 surrender. English casualties on the day are a mere 62. The English are but a siege away from securing another valuable province for the realm.
Our inquisitors in Sicily send news that heresy is indeed rife in that province – 17,000 have burned so far in their attempts to “cleanse” the souls of the populace.
It is noted at Wessex that Bolingbroke appears to have again cried wolf as far as Italian invaion plans are concerned....King Edmund will regard the next piece of "intelligence" from Milan far more warily....

[Martok]

Wow; some truly excellent campaigns, guys!

My apologies that I haven't been able to post anything myself, by the way. Real life issues have been conspiring to keep me away from MTW as of late, and I doubt I'll get a chance to really get back into my Fatamid campaign until after Christmas weekend. The good news is that I have the entire week off between Christmas and New Year's, so I should be able to at least some playing time in (finally!).

[Innocentius]

Real nice campaign you've got going there bamff Could you post a pic of the map at present? Despite thorough reading I find myself a bit confused, just how big is the English Empire by now?

[Innocentius]

The Bohemians: 1120 - 1150 A.D.

At the beginning of King Vartislav III's rule, the Kingdom of Bohemia was stabile, yet dark clouds were gathering at the horizon. The Poles were fighting their unsuccesful wars against the pagan Lithuanians and Cumans from the east. Yet, the Bohemians really lacked the money and manpower to help their allies. Some good news for Christianity was the alliance betweeen the Bohemians and the Pope in 1122 though.

In 1126, all Christianty mourned, as the last king of Poland was slain in battle, and his kingdom was ended. Now, the Bohemians had become the leading Christian kingdom in the wars against the pagans of the east along with the weakened Hungarians. Bohemia and King Vratislav III would, however, prove to be only a little too much for the pathetic Lithuanians to handle.

In the year 1129 of our Lord, Bohemian troops invaded the pagan province of Silesia. The Lithuanians dared not fight and fled back to Greater Poland. This was a great success, and an easily achieved one as well, but a severe lack of funds prevented the Bohemians from advancing further east. The desperate state of the royal treasury was somewhat helped by a donation of a 1000 Florins from the Pope in 1131, the same year in which the last fort in Silesia fell.

The money from the Pope could not entirely help the Bohemians however, and in 1132, it was the Lithuanians who invaded Brandenburg. King Vratislav, who recided in the region at the time, decided that his force was too small, and retreated to the fort. The success for the Lithuanians was short-lived anyway, as massive reinforcements arrived the very next year, causing the invaders to withdraw without putting up a fight.

A few years of relative peace now followed, and no further actions other than small border raids were taken.
King Vratislav was now worried about the situation. He lacked the forces to attack the Lithuanians, and the pagan tribe called the Cumans were expanding at the expence of the Hungarians. An attack eastwards would be difficult to pull off successfully, and every month that went by, the Lithuanian s grew stronger in Greater Poland. Eventually, they would become so great that their lands could not feed them, and then they would come pouring eastwards, like the Huns ages before them.
Exactly the same thing happened in 1137, but this proved to be a fatal mistake for the Lithuanians that ultimately led to their downfall.

A massive Lithuanian army invaded Bohemia itself in 1137, and the Bohemians took their stand despite being outnumbered by 2:1 as usual. The day was long and bloody, but in the end, it was the Lithuanians who fled like dogs. And although casualties were high on both sides, the Bohemians had reserves in other provinces, something that the Lithuanians lacked. The few prisoners taken were ransomed by the Duke of Lithuania himself under humiliating circumstances.


King Vratislav III was not satisfied with merely this though, and while the battered troops in Bohemia recovered and recruited new men to fill the gaps, he himself led his massive army in Brandenburg and invaded Greater Poland in 1138. A small force of Orthodox allies from Russia also joined the battle. For once, the Bohemians experienced numerical superiority. That day, the few remnants of the Lithuanian army were slaughtered, the Duke himself only barely escaping to the "safety" of his fort.


However, almost directly after the battle, King Vratislav III died of a fever caused by a minor wound that had become infected. The commander of the Bohemian army didn't want his now demoralized troops to commence a long siege against the Duke of Lithuania, and thus stormed the little wooden fort. It fell easily, and although there are no exact sources regarding the amount of casualties, it's reasonable to assume they were low on both sides. In any case; the Duke of Lithuania was captured and executed, and his kingdom forfeit. The Lithuanians were no more.

Back in Bohemia, the deceased king's only son, Jaromir was crowned King of Bohemia as King Jaromir I. Jaromir was but 19 years of age, and was in all honesty a weak ruler when compared to his father and grandfather. Nonetheless, the kingdom of Bohemia was now powerful and he had many talented generals that he could rely on. He still had many years to live, and he would not likely end his days as a weak king.

Victory against the pagans finally started to seem achievable, and in 1143, a Spanish crusade on its way to Lesser Poland entered Franconia. It quickly passed through Bohemia and took Lesser Poland without a fight in 1145. The Lithuanians were now eliminated, and the Cumans were on the decline.

But just as the situation was again looking bright for Christianity, war broke out between the Christians themselves. England and France recommenced their disputes, and ther Germans of the Holy Roman Empire invaded Bohemia in 1147. Although cowardly and unfairly done, it must be said about the Germans that they chose the perfect time to attack. Bohemia lacked a talented general at the moment, and the king was occupied in Franconia. Adding to that, the army in Bohemia had still not fully recovered from the Lithuanian attack in 1137 and the Crusade just a few years ago. The outnumbered Bohemians thus retreated. Cowardly, yes, but it was their only choice.
Also Friesland was invaded, but here it was the Germans who fled, as they had clearly underestimated the strenght of the Bohemian army.

King Jaromir reacted quickly, and himself led an army to retake Bohemia in 1148. This was done with ease, and the Germans fled, seeing that they were outnumbered. A diversion was launched against Swabia at the same time. A minor force invaded, and a small German army took its stand, but was quickly outmanouvered by the Bohemians, and retreated to their keep instead. This provided the Bohemians with a nice loot, without having to do anything for it.


Ther Germans were swift in their vengeance though, and a massive German army entered Swabia in 1149 to break the siege. The Bohemians, happy with their loot, and being outnumbered by more than 7:1 decided to withdraw, in a most irritable fashion.
The Holy Roman Emperor's war against the Bohemians had this far been a great failure, and on top of that, he was excommunicated by the Pope for his agressive acts against his fellow Christians in 1149.

Here we leave the Bohemians for now. The Kingdom of Bohemia has now become a power to be accounted for, and has now incorporated much of what was once Polish lands. The Kingdom of Bohemia in 1150:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I quit the game at a very busy time. I think that my war with the Germans will not be over so quickly, but I'm positive about it. They're both excommunicated and at war with the successful Venetians, so I think their end might be near, even though they have massive stacks in some provinces. Another good thing is the conquest of Greater Poland, this means that I finally have at least ONE non-border province: Silesia, and this saves me a huge amount of money.
Anyway, we'll see what happens next, I still have Pomerania to conquer, but my units are not yet teched up enough to fight like 5 units or Royal Knights and 11 units of Viking Carls.

[bamff]

Real nice campaign you've got going there bamff Could you post a pic of the map at present? Despite thorough reading I find myself a bit confused, just how big is the English Empire by now?

Apologies Innocentius, keep forgetting to upload pics....

Hope this helps - it is the state of play at the time of the coronation of King Edmund III in 1253...I have now managed to have an emissary or bishop in almost all provinces that are not visible from my own provinces, the two "unknown" areas down in the South East corner are in Byzantine hands.

[naut]

Nice work there bamff.

[Kavhan Isbul]

I like the talent of bamff, and any energy to attempt any write-up, so here is a summary of my Teutonic Order campaign - I will let the screenshots paint the picture.



Initially I raced to take Prussia, then took advantage of a war between the Lithuanians and the Polish (the Polish were getting badly beaten), allied myself with the Polish (historically accurate, my order was invited by the Polish king and this is still early) and took Lithuania, while relieving a siege in Greater Poland. The Lithuanians abandoned province and never fought back. A few years later I took Volhynia (simply to hurt the Lithuanians) - they abandoned the province again. Had some money problems as my ports have not been built up, only had 2 caravels in the Baltic (more expensive than barques but cheaper upkeep and better ships), and ended up relying on cheap (in terms of upkeep) units such as arbalests and militia sergeants, plus any plunder I could get. Then the Novgorodians finally invaded Lithuania, a withdrew to the castle, and then forfeited Volhynia to the Cumans - I judged correcgtly that the latter will not go any further. Then took Novogorod and defended it successfully thanks to the excellent teutonic knights and allied myself to the Kievans (also fighting the Novgorodians).



In the next stage, I finally had the income to get crusades going - one at a time and none being built before the current one is over. Retook Volhynia, and then decided to take advantage of a new alliance with the Horde. The Mongols were way overstretched and I was more worried about the Russians. Invading Kiev was a bit tough and I lost the first battle (I actually won the battle but two boyars managed to hide and I ran out of time before I discovered and destroyed them - a minute or so more and I would have won). It worked out well however because I killed everyone in the second battle and avoided the siege on the fortress. I wanted Kiev as it provides a nice defensive position against anyone coming from the East.



It started to become obvious that the Horde needed to be eliminated if the Order was to prosper (and the same is I guess what the Mongols thought aboyt my faction - an obstacle to their expansion). I first had a successful crusade to Moldova, which pretty much finished off the Cumans, and then blitzed the Mongols out of Moscow, Chernigov and Levidia. They only counter-attacked in Moscow (where I sent a crusade) only to be repeatedly beaten a few times in a row. The good thing was that they weren't coming from Volga-Bulgaria, so there was no bridge battle, which made things almost interesting (but not quite). Soon they lost too many troops, and I took the rest of their holdings easily. Now they are gone for all practical purposes, with some rebels about to be dealt with in the Crimea. In the meantime, the Danes destroyed the Swedish and I bribed some rebels in Norway - I do not know why really.

Throughout the campaign I never attacked catholics, even rebels. I considered briberies fair though - they decided to join the Order and were rewarded for it. I only have one Grand Inquisitor and had two inquisitors, but one was assassinated. I will not replace him - I hame my 4 star GI. I am not sure what I want to do next - turtle down and win by GA points (burning a few royal lines in the process) or wage a war against the Heretic Armenians and take Asia Minor to connect my order to my brothers in arms in the Middle East (who are doing well themselves). I am afraid that other then the Byzantines and the Armenians none other muslims or pagans remain. The Pope should be pleased.

[bamff]

Great work Innocentius and Kavhan Isbul!

Looking forward to reading more of the both the Bohemians and the Teutonic Order.

You are both right - the illustrations certainly add to the narrative. I will endeavour to ensure that I include some on future instalments. I have actually gone back and added a couple of relevant ones to recent chapters (who says you can't rewrite history? Hahaha!)

Thanks also Rythmic - I appreciate your kind words, and will endeavour to keep you entertained with the next instalment.

[naut]

Its been glorious times for the Vikings, pillaging and ravaging the Britain. Preperations for the invasion of Connachta were well under way. When Wessex decided to conquer the buffer of Northumbria. A vast array of Saxons stand ready to push the Vikings out of the Isles; all effort is placed in the crushing of Wessex.


Wessex: 13 Stacks - Vikings: 6 Stacks

So I was playing (more like testing my new icons and units), and I discovered a few things. I need to increase unit support costs and cut revenues. Pillaging is amazing, I had close to 200,000 Florins from pillaging everything. It helped me capture the North, but it made Wessex unequalled as I couldn't pillage their central provinces.

[King Kurt]

Before the next episode of King Kurt's Almo adventure - Rythmic - how do you get such high valour units at full strength?? That 9 star Huscarl with gold armour, weapon up grade and 7 valour could probably conquer the map by himself!!!
Anyway - back to the Story:
JIHAD - THE STRUGGLE FOR FRANCE

The Caliph decided for a short period of regrouping. He gathered more forces in Flanders, his jewel of the north - these were good Muslim stock, proud urban militia. Standing by thier side were many mercanaries - men whose only god was money. Soon the storm broke on our bastion of the north - the French King had raised a Crusade for the taking of Flanders - repeatedly they crossed the Channel only to cower at the serried ranks of the Caliph's army. Even now they cower in the fields of Kent, attempting to pluck up courage to face their God and destiny.
Elsewhere, the front line is Ile de France and Burgandy - no sign of French aggression here, so after a regrouping of forces, the Caliph's men take Switzerland, Champagne and Lorriane. The occasional revolt needs putting down, but slowly the will of the Caliph is impossed. Small revolts in Normandy and Brittany need to feel the wrath of the Caliph. Currently the wayward province of Normandy is in French hands, but a Jihad is on its way to crush these upstarts. In it's ranks are the new secret weapons of the Caliph, 5 massive mortars which will render any castle wall into dust - all will quail in its path.
In Italy, our troops can take the pinpricks of the Pope no more. Our troops smash his army in the Papal States, leaving the Pontiff cowering in his palace in Rome. Our troops pour over the mountains to take Tuscany from the Italians - a conquest made more sweeter by the sight of the Doge running and screaming into Genoa - where he now stands trapped between our German allies and us. Our troops sense our big ransom pay day in the near future.

Reflection
This current campaign is developing very nicely. It has the feel of a titanic struggle between Islam and Christianity. In the last 10 - 15 years both the Almos and the French have had the "You are the biggest army" announcement, so it really is the 2 big guys slugging it out. The Spanish Peninsula is the arsenal of Islam with all those nice provinces with the iron pumping out troops to journey north to the holy war waging across France. In the past, often a faction has dissolved after a few years of sustained pressure. In this instance, the French have suffered, but have not wilted. The AI has been quite aggressive and has shown some quite nice touches - using their naval superority to attack me where I am weak. That coupled with the use of the Crusade against Flanders makes it feel like playing another human rather than the PC. The other nice touch was the Jihad currently heading to Normandy - getting 5 mortars, with silver shields, was a nice bonus - especially as I can't build them anywhere else currently!!

Postscript

The Caliph pondered his maps and manuscripts. The Holy war against the French and Italians went well. There was still much to be done, but he felt confident with his achievments to date. His chief Alim entered the room. "Sire, the Christmas celebrations are about to begin, will you be joining us?"
"Of course - and send word to all my troops - we do not fight for the period of the festivities. Come the New Year, we will take up arms against the Christians, but for the next few days, let peace reign"
The Alim nodded in agrement and left to spread the good word.
Outside he bumped into Grand Visier Martok - "Looks like no posts until January now, sire"
The Grand Visier smiled - " I am sure it will be worth the wait" he replied

[Martok]

Great stories, guys! Innocentius, your AAR almost makes me want to abandon my Fatamid campaign and try my hand at the Bohemians again....almost.

Outside he bumped into Grand Visier Martok - "Looks like no posts until January now, sire"
The Grand Visier smiled - " I am sure it will be worth the wait" he replied

Glad you're enjoying your Almo campaign, Kurt! They're a pretty fun faction to play, especially (as you've discovered) when going up against the French/English, who often end up as the Catholic bulwark(s) of the West. Nothing like a good religious/ideology war to make the game interesting! I hope the Caliph has fun on his holiday break, and we look forward to reading more of his exploits come next month.

[bamff]

Great work Rythmic & King Kurt!

Rythmic - I'll echo King Kurt's query about that uber-Huscarl - that unit would be truly terrifying to face! I note another stack with a similar number of *'s - so even though you are way outnumbered by the Saxons to the north, things may not be as bad as they might first seem....

King Kurt - the Almo's are a faction I had never really considered trying on....but as the Grand Visier Martok (I wonder if he is any relative of "Lord Martok of the Duchy of Theguild"?!) says, it does have one thinking about giving it a go...you do seem to be having some fun there!

[naut]

Rythmic - how do you get such high valour units at full strength?? That 9 star Huscarl with gold armour, weapon up grade and 7 valour could probably conquer the map by himself!!!

I made an effort to retrain all my under-strength units before trying to take Ireland, because Connachta have about 7 Stacks roaming around. High valour due to King's Hearth +2 Valour and the General adds valour. Oh, and that's copper armour and weapon upgrades, I've removed gold and silver upgrades.

bamff, the other General has 7 stars, and because I am adding units in the alphabetical order of Factions, so the Vikings still do have uber units.



I didn't have the time or commitment to fight this so...



King Kurt, nice Almohad campaign, I could never get very far with them as I tend to turtle along.

[bamff]

Way to go Rythmic!

Surely the Saxons will be dead ducks after sustaining such heavy losses - onwards to victory!

[Martok]

Wow, Rythmic, that's a lot of dead men....

So was that the bulk of Wessex's army then? Or do you still have a ways to go to beat them down?

[bamff]

A further point worth noting (well I thought so anyway...) - check the valor on the Saxon Huscarles of the losing side (3,6, and 5) - one would have expected those guys to put up a fight....I'm guessing that these guys may have been a major contributor to the relatively few losses suffered by the viking invaders....

[Kavhan Isbul]

I guess after playing MTW a while, and trying out all possible factions in all possible periods in all possible mods, one tends to lose interest in a campaign once it seems victory is pretty much secured. This is what happened to me at least, after trying two campaigns, one with the Bohemians and another one with the Teutonic Order, both in the XL mod. In the first one victory is inevitable (the AI did not really put up a fight), and in the second one I ran out of non-Christians to fight (which was not a problem for the Order in real history, but ruined my game for me).
I decided to start a campaign with the Bulgarians, hoping that playing with my ancestors will keep my interest in the campaign long enough for a completion. I started a campaign in the XL mod, high, expert, Glorious Achievements with the following self-imposed rules - no arbalesters until late (I am debating if I should apply the same rule to the crossbowmen, as the crossbow, while known and existant, was not extremely popular in Medieval Bulgaria); homelands limited to Bulgaria, Thrace, Greece, Serbia, Wallachia, Moldova, Carpathia, Hungary and Croatia; only regional troops in other provinces - Slav Warriors and Javelinmen in Poland and Bohemia for example (if I ever get there), horse archers and Bulgarian Cavalry in Asia Minor and the steppes, Dejma on the islands of the Mediterranean, etc., but nothing else; no merceneraies from far away lands, such as Vikings, Jinettes, Longbowmen, etc. So far so good, and here is Part I of my Bulgarian campaign, "The Rule of Kaloyan I".

In 1204, Tsar Kaloyan was facing a difficult situation - for the first seven years of his rule he had been able to gain the support of the Boyars, and once the Bulgarian Tsardom was unified, he managed to renew the war with the Roman Empire, started by his brothers' successfull rebellion in 1185, but things were changing in the Balkans and now a new, stronger enemy was present. The Latin Crusaders did the unthinkable and captured Constantine's city in April and crushed the Romans, splitting their Empire in a few Greek kingdoms, the most notable of which now existed in Nicaea. These newcomers were looking to expand their Empire and were setting their sights on Bulgaria from the South, and their Catholic allies, the mighty Hungarian Kingdom was looming from the North-West.
Faced with a possible war on two fronts against stronger enemies, Kaloyan allied himself with his Serb neighbors, who had just as much reason as him to fear the Hungarians and the Latins. The same year, an emissary from the Nicaean Emperor arrived at Turnovo to offer an alliance. Kaloyan had spent his youth in Constantinople, and this perhaps influenced his decision to accept the proposal from the old enemy, especially since the Latins seemed the greater danger at the time.
Not only did the Greeks seek an alliance with Kaloyan, but some of them sought his defense against the Latins and agreed to become vassal to Bulgaria in exchange for protection. The Despot Sgouros, who controlled most of Greece, was among them, and Kaloyan accepted him with open arms, granting him gifts and land worth over 3000 florints, and promised him to make him the Governor of Constantinople and even Patriarch of Turnovo once the heretic menace was purged.
Accomplishing this, and believing that his Northern border was secure due to his marriage with a Cuman princess long time ago, Kaloyan gathered his army and marched against those, carrying the false crosses. The Bulgarian ruler sent Lord Sgouros in Turnovo to protect the capital, and apart from leaving small garrisons to watch out for bandits, he gathered all his forces and marched in the direction of Constantinople. He had used the few years after the Crusaders arrived to prepare well - his armies included his retinue of Boyars, trained from childhood in the art of fighting and shooting a composite bow, and equipped with the best available armor, some spearmen also clad in armor, peasant archers and javelnimen, a unit of Bulgarian Brigands, hardy men from the mountains expert with both bow and sword, and some Greek infantrymen Lord Sgouros had provided under his obligation to his new sovereign.
The battle was quick and bloody. Emperor Boduen and his knights recklessly charged at the Bulgarian lines, without waiting for the support of their crossbowmen and Genoese Sailors, only to meat with a shield and spear wall and be cut down by the Bulgarian archers and javelinmen. Kaloyan himself with his cavalry outflanked the enemy, appearing in their rear, which caused a great confusion among the Latins and seeing the knights being slaughtered, the rest of their men simply broke and ran for their lives. However, none escaped on that day. The captured prisoners Kaloyan decided to release - he did not desire the blood of ordinary soldiers, and he feared that executing the nobles will infuriate the Catholic World, and the last thing he wanted was another Crusade. This deed earned him the respect of both enemies and friends alike. The people of Constantinople opened the gates of their city, and welcomed him as a liberator, and the Patriarch crowned him as the new Emperor (Tsar) - God's deputy on Earth. Lord Sgouros was made governor of the great city as promised, and festivities were held in honor of the Tsar, the greatest ruler on the Balkans.

Many foreign kings sent their emissaries to Kaloyan asking for alliance. The Tsar accepted almost all, as he wanted to encourage trade with far away lands. His plans were to build a large fleet with which to protect the seas and purge them from pirates. Unfortunately, his former allies, the pagan Cumans were looking upon the fledgling Bulgarian Empire with envy and distrust. Kaloyan tried to solve this problem with diplomacy, and made an attempt to secure the loyalty of the Cuman tarkhan in Wallachia. Despite the lavish gifts offered, no agreement could be reached, and suspecting a meddling into his inner affairs, the Cuman Khan ordered an invasion on Bulgaria. The Cuman hordes outnumbered the Bulgarian army at least 2 to 1, but Kaloyan showed once again that his time spent in Constantinople had taught him valuable lessons in the art of war. He rushed to the Danube to meet the invaders before they had even crossed, and the heathens were caught unprepared, in the act of crossing the river. None of them was able to set foot on Bulgarian soil, most of them falling to the arrows or javelin of the Bulgarians, and those who made it to the shallows were cut down with poleaxes and stabbed with spears (I used 1 unit ot mercenary pavise arbalesters - using mercenary arbalesters is OK from a historical point of view). It was a famous victory for the Bulgarian Tsar, after which he became renowned all accross Europe as a skilled defender.

With the Cuman army suffering a himiliating defeat, Kaloyan could cross the Danube and reclaim Wallachia from the pagans, who afraid of his strength and reputation of an excellent military commander fled to their wooden fort instead of meeting him on the field of battle. They were besieged and soon ran out of supplies, and had to surrender to the Tsar, who once again emerged victorious. A champion of Orthodox Christianty, Kaloyan did not stop there, but regroupped his tired men, reinforced them with some mercenaries, who were flocking to his Empire attracted by its wealth and his glory of winning all battles he fought, and then marched on Moldova. The Cumans once again preferred to flee to Iasi. Rumors of a large force of fierce horsemen from the East made the Bulgarian ruler anxious to end the siege as quickly as possible, and Iasi was stormed and taken without a siege.
Unfortunately, some Black Sea pirates managed to sink the Bulgarian dromons in the Black Sea and after being well paid by the Cumans, transported their khan and plenty of Cuman cavalry - light abnd heavy, to Thrace, wehere they embarked and besieged Constantinople. The city was defended by the heir, prince Kaloyan. Seeing his plight, Lord Sgouros gathered his forces of armoured spearmen in Greece, met with some reinforcements from Turnovo and attacked the Cumans in an attempt to lift the siege. A long and hard battle was fought, in which many Bulgarians fell against the Cuman cavalrymen, who were feeling at home in the Thracian valleys and hills where there are few forests. At the end however, the Bulgarians held victory and the Cuman khan attempted to flee but was captured.
Meanshile, in Levidia, Kaloyan sent an invasion force entirely consisting of mercenaries in an attemot to seize the Cumans capital and force a peace treaty on the enemy. A certain Mongke, a heir to the Cuman throne emerged, however, and managed to defeat the Bulgarian army and usurp the throne, taking advantage of the absence of his khan, who was campaigning in Thrace. The new Cuman ruler denied ransom for his own father, and the old khan was blinded and thrown into the Turnovo dungeon, where he perished soon after. The Cuman invasion in Constantinople had another major consequence - the Cathedral in the city along with some palaces was destroyed on the siege, and Kaloyan ordered a new one to be built, but in Turnovo instead, and thus the Turnovo Patriarchy was reinstalled, and it was now the Turnovo patriarch who lead the Orthodox Christians all over the world.
Kaloyan then pleaded to the Nicaean Emperor, his ally, to come to his help with his fleet. This he did, only to lose it to the same pirates that were responsible for the sinking of the Bulgarian Black Sea fleet. The Poles, who also suffered from Cuman raids, accepted Kaloyan's alliance. facing a war against multiple enemies, on all fronts, Mongke realised the difficulty of his position, and had no choice but to accept Kaloyan's peace offer. It is possible that stories of a Great Khan, coming from the East with many thousands of men, might have also influenced his decision to agree to an end to the war.
The war with the Cumans had only finished, when another one started. The Sicilians and the Serbs, long-term Bulgarian allies, hoping that the Bulgarian troops will stay in the East to fight the Cumans and the newly emergent Mongol threat, betrayed Kaloyan and invaded Greece. The Serbs came by land the Sicilians by sea. Being vastly outnumbered by the enemy, Lord Sgouros retreated to Thrace, and the Sicilian Normans took most of Greece. However, they were unaware that a large Bulagrian army with prince Ivan, known as a great commander, was being raised in Bulgaria. Tsar Kaloyan wanted to be prepared for the Mongols, should they be able to defeat the Cumans and invade the Balkans. This army and Lord Sgouros's forces in Constantinople were reinforced with some newly trained troops and some mercenaries - a Bulgarian princess was married to the Armenian heir and impressed by the abilities of Armenian infantrymen, she helped her father and brothers recruit some of them. The Normans offered cease-fire, but Kaloyan could not accept it - he had not driven the Latins away from the Balkans only to lose land to the Sicilians at an old age. The Orhodox population was relying on his help, and it came. Prince Ivan remained with s significant force in Bulgaria ready to repel any Serbian attack, while Lord Sgouros led the rest of the army into Greece and dealt them a crushing defeat, while the new Bulagrian dromons sank a Sicilian galley fleet in the Aegean. The Sicilians had to pay a ransom to save the prisoners the Bulgarians took, and agreed to a cease-fire. Then Lord Sgouros and Prince Ivan marched on Serbia to punish the unloyal ally. The Serbs fought bravely, but where overwhelmed and forced to retreat behind the walls of Belgrade.
Tsar Kaloyan had made his dream a reality- he had finally managed to unite all Orthodox Christians on the Balkans under the Bulgarian crown. He had forged a new, vigorous Bulgarian Empire, and had defended it from all sorts of foreign invaders - Latin Crusaders, Normans, Serbs and Pagan Cumans. He had also reinstated the Turnovo Patriarchy (the magnificent Turnovo cathedral would not be completed during his lifetime), started the building of a fleet, earned allies and influence, and greatly increased Bulgaria's coffers and tax revenue. Satisfied with his life and accomplishments, Kaloyan who had always been known as a good and charitable Christian stepped down from the throne in favor of his odlest son, and spent the rest of his life in a small monastery somwhere in the mountains of his Balkan Empire.


Screenshots to follow.

[bamff]

Oh Kavhan - you have indeed raised the bar....

Wonderfully managed campaign and incredible write up!

Well done indeed sir!

[Kavhan Isbul]

Oh Kavhan - you have indeed raised the bar....

Wonderfully managed campaign and incredible write up!

Well done indeed sir!

Thanks bamff, but I have a long way to go until I reach your level. But you know what they say - imitation is the highest degee of flattery.

[caravel]

Having never written a battle write up, let alone a campaign one, tell me, how do you memorise all of the events, names and dates? I could never hope to produce such a report, because I would have to sit there taking notes along the way, which would be almost impossible for me do.

[naut]

Kavhan Isbul, whoa! I had other plans, but they got pushed aside to read that.



Bulgaria is a faction I've had the most fun with.

[Innocentius]

That's one nice campaign, Kavhan Isbul I always enjoyed the Bulgarian roster, although I've never played them in expert (nor GA). That's some interesting personal rules you put up.

Caravel: I personally take notes. Lots of them. I tend to note every heir born/matured, every battle/invasion/conflict, and every significant event (famines etc). Doesn't really take a lot of time if you just keep it short, for example:
'11(giving that you know which century it is): F. in IdF, Inv. of Nav (V, pr exe), Pr. Louis.

That's what my notes look like (except that they're written in Swedish). All of that simply means that I had a flood in Ile de France, I invaded Navarre and won and executed the prisoners, and that Prince Louis became of age in the year of (for example) 1111. If you only take screenies of the battles it's quite easy to recall how they were fought once you're writing.

I'll be off for christmas (unfortuneately) so I won't be able to play on my Bohemian campaign for a few days, but then I'll have plenty of (or too much) time.

[Kavhan Isbul]

Having never written a battle write up, let alone a campaign one, tell me, how do you memorise all of the events, names and dates? I could never hope to produce such a report, because I would have to sit there taking notes along the way, which would be almost impossible for me do.

Well, I personally do not take notes, although I can see how they can be very helpful, but I take a screenshot every now and then. Therefore I most certainly do not remember any single event, such as when a flood occured in Moldova, when the Scottish king died of old age, or when a border fort was built. I only remember the most important events, such as battles, invasions, key alliances and marriages, plus the names of my heirs, one or two best generals and any noteworthy enemy general or ruler. For some reason I tend to remembers battles I fought myself extremely well, including the armies' composition. Overall, it is much easier to remember a campaign you really enjoy than to remember events from a campaign that you do not have a lot of fun with.

[Martok]

Excellent write-up Kavhan; that's a great way to kick off your campaign! Are you intending to fortify your borders now, or do you have plans for further expansion in the near future?

[Kavhan Isbul]

Excellent write-up Kavhan; that's a great way to kick off your campaign! Are you intending to fortify your borders now, or do you have plans for further expansion in the near future?

I'd rather leave this for the next installment of the campaign. But until then here is a hint of what to expect:
In the last year of Kaloyan's rule refugees from Bolgar, the Volga Bulgar capital came to the Bulgarian border seeking shelter from what they described as the most horrible horde to ever appear on the face of the Earth. The Mongols knew no mercy and burnt whole cities down, slaughtering the population, knowing no limit to cruelty. Their numbers seemed endless, and their heavy horsemen invincible. These refugees were among the few that managed to escape before the Volga Bulgar Khan was trapped in his last fortress together with all of his heirs and most of the aristocracy, except for a few nobles, who managed to escape. They assumed leadership over the fleeing Bulgars, and wanted to get as far away as possible from the Mongols. They had been hearing stories of the strong Bulgarian Empire in the Balkans and its great ruler. It was many centuries ago when the Bulgars split in several different directions under the pressure of the Khazars, but having nowhere else to go, these people placed on their hopes on their brothers on the river Danube.
Kaloyan was impressed by the equestrian skills of these survivors, and he decided to give them lands in newly conquered Serbia, as he knew that if they settle there, they would make a loyal population and act as a precaution against any Serbian rebellion. He only insisted that they convert to Christianity, and the grateful Volga Bulgars crowned him khan of Volga Bulgaria. A Lithuanian emissary was present at the Turnovo Palace at this time, trying in vain to make the Bulgarian ruler betray his Polish allies. His next mission - to obtain an alliance with the Mongols, had much greater success. It remains a mysteey what caused the Mongol Khan to accept an alliance with a small power as the Lithuanians, but it is believed that the Lithuanian emissary impressed Khogadai with some very interesting and disturbing information about events in Turnovo and an old but powerful ruler, whose sons may have claims to the Volga Bulgarian throne and lands...

[Laconic]

Short campaign. English, Early period. Started war-like; bribed the Longbowmen and within a few turns was blitzing France (getting excommunicated in the process). Set-piece battle opened the war, I stupidly took an army of spears, bows, and merc ligh cavalry commanded by William II and his two of-age heirs as heavy cav into battle against a similar army commanded by Jean and his heirs for control of Flanders.

I crushed him, but I lost both (!) heirs flanking his engaged royal units (one of my princeling units had something like three casualties, and one was the prince). He counter-attacked a relatively lightly-held Aquitaine, won a Phyrric victory. I destroyed the rest of that army before the garrison fell. The rest was mopping up. Several new heirs were on the way and I was developing the farms of the provinces I held to regroup the economy. I finished off France in 1103, killing Jean in Brittany. Things looked good, I had marriage alliances with HRE and Spain, enough capital to begin developing an economy (had captured Jean earlier and ransomed him back for a pretty penny), but then stupid William Rufus goes and gets himself killed in a hunting "accident" in 1105 before any of his new heirs matured.

Game over, lesson learned: Play as the Byzantines with a gabillion heirs.

[Martok]

Game over, lesson learned: Play as the Byzantines with a gabillion heirs.

LOL! Yeah, this game really teaches you to be careful with your family members, especially in the beginning. The Spanish are a good choice as well--Alfonso usually gets a decent number of sons who come of age before he dies, and the majority of them have around 4 stars or better (which definitely helps their survivability). Still, it's a pity your game ended like that; I feel for you.

Oh, and welcome to the Org, Laconic!