Pics & History of your Empire

[Martok]

Bravo, King Kurt! I suspect you're right in that's the first account of an MTW naval battle we've seen -- and it's no surprise you were up to the task of telling it. That was very well done.

So I have to ask: What kind of stats did Grandmaster Karl boast? It sounded like he may have been a bit....unhinged.

By the way, how much time (in game years) passed during this last AAR? I'm just curious as to the time frame.

[Innocentius]

Err...I decided to end my Polish campaign after realising Hard is not for me...When two units of UM can't take down a unit of Spearmen, that's just beyond me

[King Kurt]

Bravo, King Kurt! I suspect you're right in that's the first account of an MTW naval battle we've seen -- and it's no surprise you were up to the task of telling it. That was very well done.

So I have to ask: What kind of stats did Grandmaster Karl boast? It sounded like he may have been a bit....unhinged.

By the way, how much time (in game years) passed during this last AAR? I'm just curious as to the time frame.

Karl did have the webbed fingers v&v and was preety average - it also coincided with a quiet period. The time scale was 1229 to 1243.
More to come - including the next expansion in the Teuton empire!!

[Martok]

Err...I decided to end my Polish campaign after realising Hard is not for me...When two units of UM can't take down a unit of Spearmen, that's just beyond me

Wuss.

Just kidding! I think if I tried playing the Polish on hard, I would quickly end up in the fetal position and cry like a little girl. I'm impressed you even made the attempt! So are you going to try the Polish again (albeit on Normal, presumably)?

Karl did have the webbed fingers v&v and was preety average - it also coincided with a quiet period. The time scale was 1229 to 1243.
More to come - including the next expansion in the Teuton empire!!

Sweet. I'm looking forward to it.

[Innocentius]

So are you going to try the Polish again (albeit on Normal, presumably)?

Yes. Though I wish I could play with the strategic AI at Hard while the battle AI remained at Normal... Also, I am running out of interesting factions to play. If only the Lithuanians or Kievans had any good cavalry units I'd love to try them out. Sadly, they don't.

[Innocentius]

I'd like to begin with an excuse, as the first few paragraphs of this post will be exactly the same as in my previous one. In all, this first episode of the AAR is very similar to my last one since the chronology is exactly the same (my king even died in the same year!). I hope you can live with this though.
Switching to Normal (Early XL, GA) changed the game dramatically, and now I feel I don't have to outnumber my enemies 3:1 to stand a chance. This means more action (i.e. battles) so hopefully that'll add some spice the story. Anyway, here you go:


The rise of Poland and the reign of Wladyslaw I: 1087 - 1107 A.D.

In the year 1087 of our Lord, Poland is but a minor kingdom in the outskirts of the catholic world. The previous 100 years have seen the kingdom being carved out from the rock that is the pagan Slav cultures, of which much still remain. It has been a defining period for the christianised Slavs and all of Christianity for that matter.
The Holy Roman Empire has earned itself a new ally to the east, a bastion between them and the pagans of the distant east. The Pope in Rome now has a new archdiocese and several new dioceses to see to, and for the Christian Kievans and the people of Novgorod, this means that their Christian brothers are no longer as far away, although the pagan peoples of the Lithuanians and the Cumans still separate them.
This new and relatively underdeveloped kingdom is ruled by King Wladyslaw I, 32 years old, who only recently ascended to the throne after the death of his father. His reign is to see the rise of Poland.

Wladyslaw I was an ambitious man who wished to continue on the path staked out by his forefathers. To the north and east of his kingdom were small and independent Slav kingdoms, still praising the pagan gods of old.
To his south were his catholic brothers the Hungarian Magyars, and the pagan tribe known as the Cumans.
To the west lay the mighty Holy Roman Empire and the not quite so mighty kingdom of Bohemia. As Wladyslaw was to prove during his reign, he was a man able to use the conflicts of both his friends and foes to his own benefit.

Wladyslaw's first action as king was to ally with his neighbours to the west, the Bohemians. Although brothers in faith, he put little trust to the Holy Roman Empire and its greedy emperor. Bohemia and king Vratislav II was a much more trustworthy ally, and one that in part shared the same ambitions as Poland. More importantly, they both feared the might of the Emperor. An alliance between the two countries would provide some help in a war against the Empire. Then, with his western borders secured, he turned his gaze northwards.
The pagan kingdom of Pomerania was his aim. The lands of Pomerania were wealthy, and should he not seize them for himself soon enough, the Holy Roman Empire would conquer them for sure. Also, spreading the words of Christianity was a deed that would surely be appreciated by the Pope (and by all Christianity really).
Thus, in 1088 a small army under personal command of King Wladyslaw marched into Pomerania. His ambition was to convince the Pomeranians to accept Christendom and submit to the Crown of Poland by displaying both his might as well as his friendly intentions. The King of the Pomeranians however refused to even see Wladyslaw, and instead prepared to drive the "invaders" out.
On June 12 a Pomeranian force - apparently larger than the Polish one - ambushed King Wladyslaw and his army as they were travelling through the country. Little is known about the battle except from what the - hardly reliable - Wladyslaw Chronicle, written shortly after the King's death, tells us:

And a great many of the Pomeranians
Foolishly ambushed the King
But they were all slain
For the strength of Wladyslaw
None could resist

The King of Pomerania - who remains unnamed in all sources - then fled to the neighbouring kingdom of Prussia, were he spent the rest of his life in exile.

After the battle, apparently all resistance in Pomerania failed and the lands submitted to both Christendom and King Wladyslaw. As a sign of his kindness, King Wladyslaw held a great feast in the celebration of his son Wladyslaw's sixteenth birthday, to which all the leading nobles (as well as a few commoners) were invited.
The conflict with the pagans and the now exiled King of Pomerania was not settled though, and King Wladyslaw dispatched emissaries to the Duke of Prussia, asking him to hand over the King of Pomerania. The Duke showed nothing but hate towards the Christians however, and sent the emissary back a head shorter. Outraged by this, Wladyslaw sent his sons Wladyslaw and his younger brother Casimir with a great army into Prussia in 1092 A.D. The Duke was indeed surprised and shocked by this, and noting the size of the force, he decided to retreat to his strongholds and outlast the enemy rather than meet him on the battlefield. Thus a long campaign of chasing the Duke of Prussia and his friend the ex-king of Pomerania across the lands began, a hunt that would last for two years.
The year 1092 also brought good news, as it was announced that Prince Wladyslaw would marry Princess Flora of Venice as soon as he returned from the campaign. Also, Pope Urban II showed his gratitude and sent a sum of 1000 Florins to King Wladyslaw in recognition of his services of God and the Holy Church.
In 1094 The Duke of Prussia and the former King of Pomerania were finally captured as their last stronghold, Königsberg Castle, fell to the Polish. They, along with all their men, were immediately executed. After this demonstration of power most inhabitants of Prussia followed the people of Pomerania and accepted Christendom and King Wladyslaw as their ruler.
The heavy work of baptizing the pagans now began, and Wladyslaw showed that he was a man who knew how to use the will of other to his own benefit. He asked Pope Urban II for another 1000 Florins to erect churches and found dioceses in Pomerania and Prussia to further the words of Christendom. His wish was of course accepted.

The Battle of Gorodok
King Wladyslaw's wars against the pagan Slavs continued in 1097 as he sent his son Prince Wladyslaw with a great army to invade the last of still pagan Slav kingdoms: Volhynia.
The Volhynians, confident in their numbers, rode out to fight the Polish in the field. They chose the fields outside the village of Gorodok not far from Lviv as the battlefield. At first, they laughed as the spotted the Polish in the distant. The Polish brought along with them mostly infantry, while they themselves fought on horseback, armed with bows. They had only brought a single unit of spearmen. The little cavalry that Wladyslaw brought was well trained and armoured however, and although not as fast as the Volhynian horse archers: much stronger.
The Volhynians began the battle by trying to encircle the Polish by riding around them on the flanks. The Polish were however protected by a small wood on their left flank, and on the Polish right flank, Wladyslaw's only unit of horse arches rode out to distract the Volhynians. The Volhynians took the bait, sending two units of their own men to chase down the isolated men, while the rest of their army approached the main body of the Polish army. The Volhynian horse archers were then lured away from the main battle, and Slav warriors, recruited by Wladyslaw in Prussia, along with some militiamen from Greater Poland then followed them, and when the horse arches had been lured into the woods, they were attacked from behind by the infantry, resulting in the death of the Volhynian general and the extinction of the horsemen.
The main battle proceeded as follows: The Volhynian horse archers rode up to Wladyslaw's men, and engaged in an archery duel. They were however beaten, as the dismounted archers were able to fire much more accurately, while a solid wall of spears and shields formed by the Polish infantry prevented the Volhynians from riding the Poles down. Then, just as the screams of their dying brothers now far off in the woods were heard, Prince Wladyslaw and his knights and many retainers fell in their flank, totally disrupting their force. The Volhynian spearmen desperately hurried to their aid, but were intercepted by the Polish spearmen. The better armed Poles soon chased the Volhynians off, and thus, the battle was over. Prince Wladyslaw ordered no prisoners to be taken.

Note that Wladyslaw has 11 in valour, even though he gained none!

Some resistance remained in Volhynia however, but the war was put to an end in early 1098 as Lviv Castle itself was stormed and fell to Wladyslaw. In recognition of his services of God, King Wladyslaw was granted yet another 1000 Florins from Pope Urban.
With all the pagan Slav kingdoms conquered, King Wladyslaw was now able to rule for the rest of his life in peace. Indeed, he looked uneasily to the south, were the pagan Cumans had begun to threaten the Kingdom of Hungary, and in Carpathia many bloody battles and sieges stood. Yet he took no action in these wars, not wishing to engage in further conflicts unless absolutely necessary.
The early 12th century saw the fall of the Holy Roman Empire. The Empire got engaged in many wars, and after its assault on the Venetians the Emperor was excommunicated by the Pope. In 1102 the Pope called for a crusade against the Germans, and many Catholic dynasties and kingdoms now turned their attention to the Empire and invaded it. Civil war soon broke out, and King Wladyslaw was not late to exploit this. In 1104 he convinced Ludwig Zirn in Brandenburg to join the Kingdom of Poland by handing him a neat sum of money. By all means this was a win-win situation for Zirn, who gladly accepted, as he would not just get the much needed Florins, he would also get the protection of the King of Poland. Without that protection he would surely had been invaded just like most of the other small, independent and weak little duchies and chiefs formed by the civil war.

In 1107, King Wladyslaw I passed away in an unknown illness. His memory would live forever with the Polish people, as he had expanded and developed the Kingdom, making it a power to be counted on in European politics. Of course, Wlatyslaw had only begun what his descendants would finish, but indeed he founded the new Kingdom of Poland. He was succeeded by his son Wladyslaw, who was crowned King Wladyslaw II of all Poland, Pomerania, Prussia and Volhynia, Duke of Brandenburg.

The Kingdom of Poland in 1107:


King Wladyslaw II:

[Bregil the Bowman]

Part Three of an Account of a VI 2.01 campaign as the Almohads

The year 1240 saw the deaths of both Umar II and Edward III of England. While Umar was able to present his heirs with a strong, united realm, Edward’s legacy collapsed into chaos as powerful baronial families like the Scropes and the Staffords established their own petty kingdoms. That was to be England’s fate for more than a generation; while the Almohads would go from strength to strength under Ismail I.

The first decade of Ismail’s reign was dominated by the wars he had inherited from Umar II, against Byzantium, the Holy Roman Empire and the Golden Horde. It was in the German states where Ismail’s policy was first felt. He reversed the strategy of creating neutral “buffer states,” instead actively developing the conquered territory and converting the populace. Indeed Ismail was noted for his extensive mosque building and his use of religious agents, both Ulama and the more shady sect of Syrian Assassins. Not surprisingly this had a tendency to sour diplomatic relations with the Christian world.

On the Syrian border, Ismail’s youngest brother, Idris, commanded several defensive battles following a similar pattern to those fought by Buluggin and others (see previous post). These sufficed to weaken the Horde’s offensive capability, though not to open the way for a counter attack into Armenia.

Against the Byzantines, forces were evenly matched across land borders and neither could launch an all out assault without suffering heavy casualties. But with the advantage of superior sea power, the Almohads could strike anywhere on the coast. A tactic of landing smaller forces in weaker provinces and then trying to draw the Byzantine armies into attacking against concentrated Almohad forces developed. By careful manoeuvre, the Qadi al Quda was able to lure an army out of Constantinople and then lay siege to the city. Meanwhile first Nicaea and then Trebizond fell to the army operating out of Anatolia. For the Byzantine emperor, disaster loomed.

Trebizond presented a strategic dilemma. On the one hand, it was imperative to deny the Byzantines a strong base from which to conduct operations in Asia Minor. On the other hand, the alliance between the Great Khan, the Sultan and the Byzantine Emperor meant that any Mongol invasions had to cross the Syrian Desert, a feat proven impossible in successive battles. The conquest of Trebizond would open a second front in terrain more suitable for the superlative Mongol Heavy Cavalry.

The defeat of an army sent from Trebizond to relieve the siege of Constantinople presented too good an opportunity to be scorned, and the Almohads forced the survivors back to the walls of Trebizond castle. The following year the besieging force was driven off by a large Mongol army, but the Mongols were obliged to withdraw to avoid breaking the alliance with Byzantium. The following year the Almohads attacked the surviving garrison, but then an extraordinary mishap occurred for both sides – the tiny garrison of defenders was killed while undertaking counter-siege measures, with the result that the war-weary citizens opened their gates to the reluctant conquerors.

The next year the Great Khan Chagatai invaded the province, only to find himself besieged the following year. Two bloody battles followed in which the Mongols failed to dislodge the Almohad expedition, the mercenary handgunners and Saharan cavalry proving themselves particularly effective. Losses were heavy on both sides, and in each battle the quivers of three or four waves of arbalesters were exhausted. These battles were to settle the war in Asia Minor for the time being – not again in Ismail’s reign were the Mongols to risk open battle against his generals.

In order to consolidate the border, Ismail decided it was time at last for the Egyptian Sultan as-Salih II to bow to the Almohad throne. As-Salih (aged 38, “Great Warrior,” “Captivating Nature”) died defending Iconium Castle in 1259 rather than submitting. With him fell the Egyptian dynasty.

In the Balkans, the Qadi’s forces were able to defend the line of the Danube, with Croatia changing hands several times before falling to a Jihad army. Operations were briefly hampered by the intervention of the Sicilian fleet, but by 1257 the Balkan coast was securely held from Croatia to Bulgaria.

In Europe, Sweyn IV of Denmark attempted to annex Saxony, which was still lightly garrisoned. His besieging army was roundly defeated within a year, his Royal Knights beaten by a force including many mercenaries – the English longbowmen and Khwarazmian horsemen performed particularly well. Further defeat in Denmark was to follow. Besieged in turn, Sweyn was to die at the hand of a Muslim fanatic within the walls of Roskilde. With his sons dead or captured, the kingdom fell into chaos. Occupation of Denmark was not Ismail’s plan. His troops withdrew and he began the diplomatic steps that would eventually place Hardeknud, Sweyn’s grandson, on the throne in 1265.

The siege of Venice, initiated and abandoned by Ismail as a general, was at last completed and the German shipyards were destroyed. A holding garrison was then itself attacked by a Sicilian force responding to a Papal call-to-arms. Venice fell to Sicily in 1256, and in the same year a Sicilian crusade set out with the intention of recapturing Valencia by an overland route. This ambitious project fell into ruin when, having by passed a small Tyrolian garrison, the Crusaders failed to dislodge a makeshift Almohad force from a steep Swiss slope. The disaster was complete - shamefully routed by peasants, faris, spearmen, archers and militia, the Crusader force found its path to safety blocked by the sallying Tyrolians. The survivors were sold into slavery.

War with Sicily and her small but wide-ranging navy interrupted trade and logistics – briefly. Within a few year, the Sicilian captains had been hunted down and defeated, just as the Byzantines and Germans had been. The dhow and the baggala had unquestioned mastery of the seas now.

The last decade of Ismail’s reign was dominated by the military exploits of his three sons. Ibrahim, the eldest, conquered Moldavia, captured the Emperor Alexius II and reduced the Byzantine presence in the Balkans to a tiny garrison in Hungary. Mohammed and his associates recaptured Venice from the Sicilians (1265) and took Swabia, Bavaria, Austria and Milan from the Holy Roman Empire, leaving Bohemia as the Emperor’s final refuge. And Abdullah, having aided (and on one occasion rescued) his eldest brother in the Balkans, then led a daring seaborne invasion of the Crimea to trap the Emperor Michael IX.

The final act of Ismail’s reign was to commence to conquest of Britain. At the time of his death in 1275, Wales had fallen and Mercia was under siege.

His legacy included an expanded empire - covering more than two-thirds of Europe - and a thoroughly modernised army. Under his leadership, gunpowder was developed so that the Almohads were no longer reliant on mercenary gunners but were able to field a formidable siege train of mortars and demi-cannons. The introduction of Armenian cavalry at last provided an effective heavy cavalry arm.

But he would chiefly be remembered for his mosque-building – including the Great Mosque of Jerusalem – and his liberal use of religious agents. In the latter half of his reign there was no country in Europe where his ulama had not penetrated, and their influence may be noted by the fact that when the Catholic King Hardeknud was restored to his grandfather’s throne in 1266, the Danish population was 84% Muslim. It is not to be wondered, then, that Ismail’s relations with the Christian world were soured to a degree that cost him all his alliances and threatened his heirs with the prospect of Total War in Europe...

[edyzmedieval]

Martok, can I borrow some horses from Mithrandir's stables? I wish to run as fast as I can to MTW, not with some stinky and lazy camel.

[caravel]

Martok, can I borrow some horses from Mithrandir's stables? I wish to run as fast as I can to MTW, not with some stinky and lazy camel.

Is M2TW that bad then??

[edyzmedieval]

To me? Yes. It's an enjoyable game, but still, it doesn't beat MTW.

[Innocentius]

The reign of King Wladyslaw II: 1107 - 1145 A.D.

When Wladyslaw ascended to the throne at the age of 34 he inherited a young and fragile kingdom from his father. On all fronts except perhaps in the west was his kingdom surrounded by potential enemies; pagans and heretics.
The Lithuanians - although powerful and fierce - were however involved in a never-ending war with the Princes of Kiev, and thus it was the nomad people known as the Cumans to the south that presented the largest threat to the young kingdom.
Despite the seemingly uneasy situation Poland and Wladyslaw enjoyed many years of peace at first and Wladyslaw took the opportunity to further develop the farmlands throughout the kingdom, and investing in the construction of copper mines i Brandenburg. He also invested in constructing fleets to finally allow Poland to trade with other kingdoms around the Baltic Sea. This trade was very lucrative indeed, and when the first Polish fleet of barques first entered the seas in 1112, this meant a welcome buffer to the Polish treasuries. It was not until 1114 - after more than 15 years of peace - that Poland again prepared for war.
The previous year, 1113, the Byzantines had invaded the Cuman lands of Moldavia, splitting the Cuman lands in two. With the Cuman main armies and their Khan trapped in Moldavia, King Wladyslaw saw an excellent opportunity to launch a raid into the relatively undefended lands of Levidia. This was to prove a mistake however.
In the early summer of 1114, Prince Casimir, Wladyslaw's brother, marched with a great army from Volhynia and into Levidia. Casimir had expected the outnumbered Cumans to flee for their lives, but they did not. Instead Prince Batu and Prince Möngke rode with their personal escorts down from the lands of Khazar to defend their lands. Even with the princes and their bodyguards, the Cumans were still heavily outnumbered and Casimir decided to fight them, hoping to capture both Batu and Möngke and then claiming a massive ransom for them.
The battle that followed was fierce, and the outnumbered Cumans fought with such a bravery that they deeply impressed Casimir who was only able to pull through a Pyrrhic victory. It was only Polish superiority in numbers that won the day.


Among the few prisoners Casimir was able to take was both Batu and Möngke however, and despite his casualties Casimir now triumphed. He immediately sent words of the captivity of his sons to the Khan in Wallachia. The Khan however did not have the money to release his sons, and thus sealed their faith. Reluctantly Prince Casimir ordered the Cuman princes to be executed. It pained him greatly to slay such mighty warriors.
The raid into Levidia ultimately failed however, as the Cumans in Wallachia reclaimed Moldavia from the Byzantines in 1115. Prince Casimir now hurried back to Volhynia to defend his own borders rather than being isolated in enemy territory.
The opportunity for a new raid soon showed itself however, as the Byzantines yet again invaded the lands of Moldavia in late 1116, this time decisively defeating the Khan in a great battle of which only rumours reached King Wladyslaw. He did however see his chance, and sent words to his brother in Volhynia.
A new raid was conducted in the same way as in 1114, and many of the soldiers participating were veterans from the last campaign. This time Casimir met complete success as the Cumans retreated without a fight. The lands of Volhynia were thoroughly plundered and Casimir ordered no building higher than three feet to be left standing. In the early autumn of 1117 Casimir and his men returned back to Volhynia, leaving a barren Levidia behind them, burdened by their great loot. It is said that the returning troops were so weighed down by gold and silver that the footprints they left in the muddy roads were two feet deep.

In 1118 Bronisad Psotka, a royal emissary, was found murdered in an inn just outside Königsberg, Prussia. Although the assassin was never caught, many suspected the guilty to be an Englishman, although there was no evidence to prove anyhting.

After the successful raid in Levidia many peaceful years followed. The Cumans were busy fighting the Hungarians and the Greeks, and had little time to avenge the raid.
In the year 1124 or our Lord, Prince Leszek celebrated his sixteenth birthday, and King Wladyslaw rejoiced as the line of kings was now secured. But Prince Leszek was a strange young man who would cause a lot of trouble and nearly spell disaster for the kingdom.
Already at a young age, Leszek showed signs of being insane and devoted much of his time talking to stones and silently watching walls or floors. In 1125 he asked his father for permission to travel to Volhynia for reasons unknown. King Wladyslaw saw no harm in this, but sent with him words for Prince Casimir to travel to Prussia instead as Leszek would now replace him as defender of Volhynia. Casimir was not at all offended by this and happily travelled to Prussia where he installed himself in Königsberg. He figured Volhynia was a much more vulnerable land, open to invasion from both Moldavia and Levidia. Prince Leszek needed not worry about these borders however, as both Moldavia and Levidia fell to the Byzantines in the same year. For good.
Placing Prince Leszek in charge of the great army in Volhynia was a big mistake however, one which would engage the kingdom in a war that would last for more than 20 years.

Leszek had long been having disturbing dreams and these dreams were constantly hinting that he should travel east, always east. Glory awaited in the east, they said, and it was his task to go there. Being transferred to Volhynia was the first step towards this, but it was only after spending a whole month in Lviv staring at the same map of Europe that he realised what exactly this glory was. It was his task to capture the golden city of Kiev!
Without sending words to anyone, Leszek marched with his entire army into Kiev in the summer of 1126, leaving Volhynia undefended. The Kievans who were already engaged in war with Sweden and the people of Novgorod were taken by complete surprise, and were forced to abandon their capital to their long-term ally and neighbour. This really did not further the Polish situation. The Kievan-Polish wars had begun, and King Wladyslaw would not live to see their end.
The war put a heavy strain on the Polish economy as massive armies were needed to keep the borders safe. At first, Wladyslaw partly relied on the Prince of Novgorod to occupy the Kievans for long enough for him to pull off a decisive victory against an inferior army while the main Kievan armies were busy in the north. Believing that all was safe, King Wladyslaw and his brother Casimir invaded Lithuania from Prussia in 1130. This was the third major mistake by Wladyslaw, as Novgorod itself fell to the Kievans the same year. The Kievans then quickly hurried south into Lithuania. Seeing that he was now dramatically outnumbered, Wladyslaw retreated.
Wladyslaw now feared that the Kievan troops would invade Prussia or Volhynia, but he worried needlessly, as the Kievans wished to reclaim their capital, where Prince Leszek resided.
In 1131 they invaded, but this was foolish and despite his insanity, Leszek proved himself to be an excellent general. He chose to meet the Russians at two small bridges crossing a river running up to the mighty Dnieper. And in The first Battle of the Two Bridges the Kievans and Prince Ysevolod II suffered a terrible defeat, despite outnumbering the enemy 3:1.
The battle as long and fierce, and the Kievans were showered in arrows as they tried to cross the narrow bridge. Even Prince Ysevolod himself tried to cross, but had his entire unit of boyars slain around him and fled like the true coward he was.
At the right moment, Leszek and his knights and retainers crossed the other, nearby, bridge, and charged into the enemy’s flank. Panic soon spread through the Kievan army, and there was much confusion. Soon, the horns called for the army to retreat, but as they did so they were mercilessly cut down and the poor reinforcements who hurried to save their friends met with the same fait.
As the day settled, Prince Leszek stood victorious and more than a third of the Kievan army was either killed or captured. Long would this defeat be mourned by countless widows from the city of Kiev itself to the distant and dark woods of Chernigov and Smolensk.


After this terrible defeat Prince Ysevolod II showed no wish to continue the war, although he foolishly rejected all offers of peace from Wladyslaw. Already in 1140 the Kievans had gathered enough strength to continue the war, and again invaded Kiev. Prince Leszek decided to meet them at the same battlefield as in 1131, but this time the enemy numbers were just too great, and he suffered a defeat, although a defeat that neither side would benefit from.
The second Battle of the Two Bridges


Despite his previous reluctance to the war, King Wladyslaw now hurried with reinforcements to Kiev. Whatever he thought of the war, he would not see his eldest son be taken prisoner!
The Kievans, badly decimated by the two battles against Prince Leszek were too weak to resist, and retreated. After this, no action apart from minor border raids were taken for the rest of the now old King Wladyslaw's life. The Kievan armies in Lithuania were too great to harm, but they in turn did not dare risk and invasion of Kiev or Poland itself.

The last few years of Wladyslaw's reign saw terrible things happen. In 1143 the mad King Sweyn II of Denmark suddenly invaded Pomerania with only his personal bodyguard! This meant that Poland would now be forced to fight war at two fronts, while the Muslim Fatamids to the south - who had grown immensely powerful and conquered all of the Balkan peninsula! - threatened to open a third front.
King Sweyn however paid with his life for his madness, and to date no one really know why this foolish, not to say suicidal, attack was committed. As a response to this, Wladyslaw ordered the weak Saxony to be invaded in 1145. Furthermore, almost the entire Danish fleet was destroyed in a series of naval battles in Skagerakk and the North Sea.
The invasion of Saxony was the last action taken by King Wladyslaw II, who died in the same year at the high age of 72. If Wladyslaw had inherited a fragile kingdom, the utterly insane King Leszek would inherit a kingdom that would best be described as and uncooked egg: a soft inside with a shell so easy to crack it would take but a finger of the hand that was Europe.

The Kingdom of Poland in 1145:


King Leszek I:



I'm really disappointed at the Byzantines, they had an excellent opportunity to smash the Eggies while they were still "young" and weak, but oh no; instead they wasted their full military potential at invading Moldavia and the completely barren lands of Levidia. Now I might be crushed by a three-front war long before I reach the High-era and all the units that make the Catholic factions good...

Also, bear with any grammar errors or wrongly spelt words for now, I'll come back and read it through and edit the post within...not too long at least.

[Martok]

@Innocentius: Bravo! Even if the Polish people are suffering, your writing abilities clearly haven't.

Looks like you're in the middle of a real roller-coaster ride right now. I hope you're able to hang on and survive! You're right about the Eggies being a potential threat, as the Fatamids will almost certainly wish to continue expanding westward. Probably your best hope right now is that they will first stop to deal with the Byzantines and the Seljuks -- this would give you precious time to shore up your defenses. I wish you luck, my friend!

Martok, can I borrow some horses from Mithrandir's stables? I wish to run as fast as I can to MTW, not with some stinky and lazy camel.

Well we do have some magnificent animals of fine Arabian stock available, deep-chested and fleet of foot. You will be required to switch back to camels once you arrive, however.

[bamff]

Wow! Some great write ups there! Well done all....

For what it is worth, here are my latest scribblings....

Bamff’s Aragonese Escapade

Chapter 3 – The Annihilation of the Almohads (1150 - 1180)

While Enrique made plans for his own war in the south, war also raged to the north of Aragonese lands. Late in 1150, the English reclaimed the province of Anjou from the French, after a bloody battle. Notwithstanding this victory, the English presence on continental Europe remained tenuous at best. Normandy and Anjou were in English hands, in was true, but these two provinces were surrounded by heavily garrisoned French lands to the East and the West, and the Aragonese province of Aquitaine to the South. The Aragonese were not an immediate threat, as King Enrique I was known to be an honourable warrior, who would stand by the terms of the ceasefire agreement of 1148. The French, however, were altogether a different kettle of fish.

Fortunately for the English, the French were beset by their own problems. After years of aggression against the English, the Genoese, and the Bohemians, Pope Anselmo I issued a proclamation in 1151, excommunicating the French Monarch and his subjects, and condemning them all to eternal damnation. This had greatly diminished the general happiness of the French populace at large, and had also served to reduce the loyalty of many French generals.

Enrique revelled in the news of the French excommunication, which arrived hot on the heels of a papal gift of 1,000 florins to Aragon for services to the Church. No doubt this blessing was in no small part due to the driving of the Almohads from the Iberian Peninsula. This series of victories had gained much recognition for Aragon all across Europe. Aragon’s premier emissary, Don Hernando d’Anghiera, adept as he was in the art of diplomacy, used both the victories over the Almohads and Enrique’s crushing defeats of the English armies in the Pyrenees War of 1144 – 1147 in his negotiations with Consul Bernado II of Genoa. The combination of potential trade advantages and obvious Aragonese military might served him well in these talks, and in late 1151, an alliance between Aragon and Genoa was formalised.

In January 1152, d’Anghiera was despatched to Rome to persuade Pope Anselmo I to give his blessing to Enrique’s latest mission, the invasion of the Almohad province of Morocco.

Don Hernando d’Anghiera’s argument in Rome was indeed persuasive.

“The Almohads are a vile and perfidious nation of non-believers. Given the chance, they will spread the word of Allah far and wide. However, the current Almohad leadership is weak. Their nation is but a poor reflection of the mighty kingdom they once were in the times of the legendary King Kurt or Bregil the Bowman of Granada. We must take advantage of this, and strike now to crush these moors and reclaim both their lands and the souls of their people for Christendom. Your Holiness will achieve greatness for the Church and for himself within the Church by offering his blessing to so holy and noble a venture.”

Pope Anselmo was a man of some vanity, and he was duly swayed by the latter part of this argument. He wished to ensure his place in history as one of the greatest of all Popes. With his blessing duly secured, the crusading army departed Navarre the following month, marching through Aragon to set sail.

As the influence of the Kingdom of Aragon grew, so too did the offers of alliances come flooding in to Enrique’s court. 1152 saw an alliance forged with Prince Yaroslav I of Novgorod, and King Samuel II of Hungary offered the hand of his daughter, Princess Katalin, to Prince Felipe of Aragon. Enrique accepted this marriage on behalf of his son and his kingdom. Whilst Hungary has indeed developed a well deserved reputation for the beauty of it’s maidens, the unfortunate Katalin was far from a traditional Hungarian beauty. Aragonese emissaries familiar with the Hungarian court advise that she is not only physically unattractive, but is also rumoured to possess a most “unpleasant demeanour”. Prince Felipe was known to be a heavy drinker, to the point of being frequently found unconscious. Enrique reasoned that this may assist the match (provided that Katalin proved to be a tolerant woman), and it was as good a use as any for his troubled son.

The very next year, offers of alliance arrived from King Sweyn III of Denmark and King Vratislaw III of Bohemia. Both were graciously accepted by the Aragonese king.

The redoubtable Don Hernando d’Anghiera had remained in Rome after petitioning the Pope for the blessing of the crusade against Morocco, and in late 1152, he succeeded in his latest mission, delivering an alliance with the Papacy.

The Crusading army arrived in Morocco in 1155, having travelled via Naples, The Papal States and Tuscany. It would be many years yet before the invention of the Compass. The Crusaders were reinforced by Don Pedro Velazquez, who had led a strong force south from Cordoba. The Almohads did not give battle, instead fleeing in complete disarray to Algeria.

Meanwhile, the lands north of Aragon also continued to be ravaged by war. In 1156, French armies invaded Northumbria, Wessex, Normandy, and Anjou. The English defence of Normandy and Wessex is successful, but Northumbria and Anjou fall to the invaders.
Through late 1155 and 1156, the Almohad Khalifah had gathered his forces in Algeria. In 1157, this great Almohad army crashes like a wave upon Morocco. Abur abu Badis leads the mighty force of some 1,400 men. Don Pedro Velazquez, the Aragonese garrison commander of Morocco, has superior numbers, with some 1,837 men under his command, but he is painfully aware that the desert conditions probably still favour the Almohad force, and that his men will tire quickly under the harsh Moroccan sun. The two armies face one another in the hilly terrain near the west Moroccan village of Debdou.

Abur abu Badis directs his Murabitin Horsemen to advance on the Aragonese flanks. They soon come under heavy fire from the Aragonese archers. The Horsemen to the Aragonese left suffer so heavily that they withdraw. Those on the right press home their attack, charging into a regiment of feudal men at arms. The men at arms hold the Almohad cavalry for long enough for a nearby troop of Jinetes to charge them from their rear. The Murabitin Horsemen are devastated by this attack, and disengage, riding as fast as they can from the field.

With the withdrawal of the Murabitin Horsemen, several units of Berber Camel warriors ride up towards the Aragonese line. Again the Aragonese arrows rain down upon their foes, and again the carnage is terrible to behold. Abur abu Badis orders his Urban Militia to advance, and plays his trump card – among the advancing militia are several regiments of the feared Almohad Urban Militia.
The Aragonese line stands firm. Despite suffering at the hands of the Almohad Urban Militia, the Aragonese feudal men at arms hold steady, and with the Almohads pinned, the javelinmen and jinetes continue their deadly work. The Almohad advance is stalled all across the field, with all units suffering heavily from a hail of Aragonese arrows and javelins. The Almohad general attempts to take matters into his own hands, leading his ghulam cavalry into the teeth of the Aragonese line. The survivors of this ill-conceived charge are met by a wall of spears as they ride headlong into a regiment of feudal sergeants. With the remainder of his army being pushed back in fierce fighting, Abur abu Badis is isolated, and is soon cut off by a unit of feudal foot knights from Cordoba. These knights hack down the few surviving ghulam cavalry, including the unfortunate Abur abu Badis. With his death, the resolve of the Almohad army also dies, and they flee the field. 413 Almohad troops lie dead on the field, together with 226 Aragonese soldiers who have died for the country and their faith. Their twisted and broken bodies are mute testimony to the ferocity of the fighting. A paltry 33 prisoners are taken, largely due to Velazquez’s orders not to pursue the fleeing enemy.

This battle has sufficiently sapped the Almohad will to fight, and consequently it ensures that a brief peace ensues. Indeed, there is no further fighting for some 7 years. During this hiatus, King Enrique focuses on the Aragonese economy. The Moroccan campaign had stretched the treasury, of that there was no doubt. It will take a considerable effort and a monumental building campaign to ensure the future prosperity of Aragon. King Enrique sets about these tasks with an almost evangelical zeal, and in the process earns a reputation as a great builder.

By 1164, the kingdom of Aragon has emerged as a trading powerhouse, with Aragonese barques plying their trade from Tripoli and Antioch in the East to Sweden and Finland in the distant wintry North. All ports in the known world are now regularly visited by the Aragonese trade fleet. With his treasury now rapidly filling with florins, King Enrique is now free to return his attention to the Almohads.
Don Pedro Velazquez is ordered to invade Algeria, and as his men march eastwards, Prince Alfonso is wading ashore with a second Aragonese army in Tunisia. Prince Abdullah is charged with the defence of Tunisia. Abdullah is not known as a great commander, and his men do not even give battle. Indeed, they retreat so swiftly that not even the advancing jinetes of Alfonso’s army can catch them, let alone the bulk of the Aragonese force, who are on foot. All that Alfonso can do is watch the rapidly retreating Almohad force in complete disbelief.


Going....


....going....


....Gone!

The Almohads in Algeria are made of sterner stuff, it would seem. They fight bravely, but are overwhelmed by Velazquez’s men. The Almohads are outnumbered, and soon find themselves surrounded. Four regiments of jinetes successfully draw the teeth of the almohad force, the dreaded Almohad Urban Militia, luring these forces to pursue them. Time and again, the jinetes draw close, hurl their javelins, and then gallop safely out of reach. Eventually the Almohads are exhausted and their numbers are greatly reduced. The jinetes move in for the kill, raining death upon the beleagured survivors. None escape. Meanwhile the main Almohad force, consisting almost entirely of urban militia and murabitin horsemen, are being slowly eroded by a rain of Aragonese arrows. The handful of Almohad archers vainly try to redress the imbalance, but they are not sufficient in number to inflict serious casualties on the Aragonese. 1,035 Almohads die in a vain defence of the province, with 166 captured. The assault has cost 477 Aragonese lives.

With the Almohads reduced to a single province, King Enrique believes that they no longer offer a credible threat, and he despatches Don Hernando d’Anghiera to negotiate a peaceful settlement. Aragon has had no more capable emissary than this faithful servant, but perhaps he no longer possesses the same energy that he had enjoyed as a younger man. Whatever the reason, he is unable to sway the Almohad Khalifah to accept a ceasefire.

After many years of negotiation, Aragonese patience is exhausted, and Prince Alfonso leads the invasion of Cyrenaica. 843 Almohads and 288 Aragonese soldiers die in the ensuing battle, with 158 Almohads taken prisoner. The Almohads are no more.
Peace is once again restored, punctuated only by the French invasion of Mercia, Northumbria, and Normandy in 1176. The ongoing war between the nations of England and France shows no signs of abating.

Aragon itself enjoys peace until 1179, when, without any warning a large Egyptian force strikes west into Cyrenaica. Prince Alfonso leads a spirited defence of the province. At the end of the battle, 1,091 Egyptians, and 398 Aragonese lie dead. 247 Egyptians are ransomed back to their homelands. Aragon is once more at war.

Previous Chapters of This Campaign
Chapter 2 - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showpo...postcount=1014
Chapter 1 - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showpo...postcount=1000


Author's Note:
A couple of questions to finish off. I have never seen the AI just run away in a battle like the Almo's did in Tunisia. Anyone else had this happen?

Also a weird one about the troops that Crusades pick up. I have noted that my Crusades have been joined by Welsh Bandits, Pictish Crossbowmen, Pictish Mounted Xbows, and Naptha Catapults in places where such units would not (I would have thought) been produced (like Naples, Papal, states, Tuscany, and earlier in Leon). How does this happen? Were these guys just strolling around those provinces as mercenaries, and suddenly got religion?

[General Dazza]

Author's Note:
[I]A couple of questions to finish off. I have never seen the AI just run away in a battle like the Almo's did in Tunisia. Anyone else had this happen?

Hi Bamff,
I've had this a couple of times. Once though it was quite weird. The enemy was towards the top of a high mountain and had forest cover below it and to the left of the only approach. Given equal troops numbers iirc, I expected it to be a touch and go affair.

But as I started to position my troops they just started to walk away! And it was an important battle too. I tried to chase and iirc I might have engaged their tail, but I'm not sure about that. Odd. Very odd.

[Innocentius]

However, the current Almohad leadership is weak. Their nation is but a poor reflection of the mighty kingdom they once were in the times of the legendary King Kurt or Bregil the Bowman of Granada.

Great writeup as always, bamff, and spiced with plenty of victories in the field I see. Jinetes are truly excellent units, and one not even AUM can beat! Seems like you too are about to have a lot of troubles with the Eggies...

The thing with the AI just walking away is actually not that uncommon (at least in XL). I have seen it happen several times (once in my Bohemian campaign earlier in this thread).

[Bregil the Bowman]

(I must say how much I am enjoying sharing these tales of MTW adventure - picking up some tactical and strategic tips too...)

Part Four of an Account of a VI 2.01 campaign as the Almohads

The Reign of Ibrahim “The Mad”

In 1275 Ismail the Magnificent ruled over an Empire that stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea, commanding the largest armies in Europe under the most capable generals. His Treasury boasted more than half a million florins, buoyed by the trade of Europe’s wealthiest cities. Europe was rapidly converting to Islam under the influence of the Almohad ulama, even in those realms where Ismail’s word was not law. The Italians of Genoa and Tuscany, along with the Papacy, lived in uneasy peace within this sphere of power, within which only the Sicilians offered any resistance. The King of the Poles and the Prince of Novgorod also maintained the uneasy truce, but the Triple Alliance of the Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich III (confined to Bohemia), the Byzantine Emperor John III and the Great Khan Khogibag still offered the threat of war in the East.

This was the kingdom inherited by Ibrahim II, or Ibrahim the Mad.

Eight years before his ascent of the throne, Ibrahim had been responsible for the defence of Cetatea Alba in Moldavia against an invading Mongol army. The main Almohad force was off to the West under the Qadi, subduing Hungary. Prince Ibrahim would have to endure a year of siege before relieving troops arrived.

The Mongol commander was impatient, and chose to assault the castle. He had overwhelming superiority of numbers, but his cavalry troops were ill-suited to the task before them. Ibrahim felt confident - until he heard the boom of the mortar and the sound of tumbling masonry.

With the wall breached, Ibrahim’s small garrison could not hope to hold out against such overwhelming odds. The Almohad prince thought quickly. The enemy mortar was placed so as be within range of both the inner and outer walls of the castle. Would they be within bowshot of the walls? He dispatched a party of Desert Archers to the outer courtyard to see. Bending their bows, the sturdy Saharan troops found they could just reach the mortar crew. Volley after volley arced across the battlefield. Mongol gunners reeled away, clutching at their wounds. Parties of horsemen rode beneath the walls, shouting challenges, but the Prince’s orders were clear – “Shoot only at the mortar! Only at the mortar!” Another shot demolished the ramparts, but one by one the gunners tumbled. The last pair abandoned their post, but even as they ran the arrows scythed them down.

Without artillery to batter the walls, the Mongol commander’s army could do no more than circle the walls under a rain of javelins and catapult stones while the defenders jeered at them. Inevitably the Mongols withdrew to lick their wounds. Ibrahim’s reputation as a great defender of castles was established. And yet something broke in his mind that day. The confident, bold young prince was gone. He would scowl for days at unseen enemies, then laugh hysterically at unknown jests. Despite his early achievements on the battlefield, the prince who eventually ascended the throne would be known forever as an unhinged loon.

Fortunately there was no shortage of capable men to lead the Empire forward, not least the Khalifah’s two brothers, Abdullah and Mohammed. Other notable servants included the ever-faithful Qadi al Quda, the Amir al-Bahr, and Amir Ibn Badis of Ireland.

In 1277 Prince Abdullah led the attack on Kiev in overwhelming force. The Mongols under Kaishan Bator offered no challenge, and the province soon surrendered. Kiev had enormous strategic value. Not only could Abdullah secure the Empire’s border along the line of the Don, but also he was able to recruit to his flag the elite warriors of the steppes – Cumans, Rus, Avars, Khazars and others with no reason to love either the haughty Byzantines or the rapacious Mongols.

The Byzantines responded with an attempt to lift the siege, but were stopped at the crossings of the Don in a particularly bloody battle. Pavise arbalesters, halberdiers and an organ gun made mincemeat of the Byzantines as they surged across the bridge – the only problem for the Almohad Prince being that the placement of the organ gun meant that the enemy had been allowed to leave the bridge before being engaged. This meant a desperate melee to hold off the elite Kataphraktoi, during which nearly half of the Prince’s bodyguard fell. But once this was done, successive waves were driven back in confusion until, as the enemy was reeling, a party of Steppe Heavy Cavalry and Faris crossed downstream to harass the enemy flank. Morale collapsed, order was lost and the Byzantine army fled. They would not risk another pitched battle for 12 years...

Meanwhile, the Qadi’s attempts to reduce the Byzantine garrison of Hungary had been frustrated. A force small enough to lure the garrison forth had been chased away by a German relieving force which then returned to Bohemia. Against a larger army, the garrison promised to hold out indefinitely. But the Qadi hatched a cunning plan. In 1277 he reduced the sieging force to a mere handful of sergeants, enough to tempt the Holy Roman Emperor into another relieving attack the following year. But the Qadi immediately reinforced the besiegers with his main army. Crossing into Hungary, Heinrich III realised he had bitten off more than he could chew. He ordered his men back into Bohemia.

Meanwhile, the Amir al-Bahr advanced dispatched a force from Austria into Bohemia, expecting to meet token resistance. In fact there was none whatsoever. Heinrich had left his capital entirely unguarded. The Amir al Bahr’s men quickly seized the passes and the Danube crossings, catching the Emperor between two armies. The Imperial army refused to fight, melting away into the night or throwing themselves on the mercy of the Almohads. Heinrich was slain by his own servants for what little treasure remained in his broken camp. It was only with difficulty that the Qadi was able to identify his stripped carcass to give it an honourable burial. Without a battle being fought, the Holy Roman Empire ceased to be.

The British Isles, meantime, were quickly falling to the armies of the Amir Ibn Badis. By 1281 Northumbria was taken and only the Staffords of Scotland offered any resistance. The Amir and his personal troops were withdrawn for a refit while his lieutenant, Ma’mun Ibn Idris, delivered the coup de grace.

This plan, however, had not foreseen the stubborn resistance of the wily and able Edgar Stafford, King of Scotland. Stafford had seen the English kingdoms crumble and was determined not to suffer the same fate. His loyal lowland regiments included a large number of handgunners, the largest such force in Europe. From the north he called down the Highland clans, stout footsoldiers whom the Almohads severly underestimated. Withdrawing to the hills, Stafford picked his spot well and offered battle with a slight numerical advantage over the invaders.

For General Ibn Idris, things did not go according to plan. The Scots quickly withdrew beyond the range of his demi-cannon, which he decided to abandon. His mounted skirmishers were then able to disrupt the Scottish right, but an attempt to sweep away the clansmen on the left with his Ghulam and Armenian cavalry quickly came to grief. The Scottish claymores proved remarkably effective against the horsemen, and a bitter clash left more men dead than alive on either side.

With his infantry centre threatened by the advancing handgunners and clansmen, Ibn Idris chose to attack, concentrating all of his forces on bringing down Stafford. In the ensuing melee, hundreds were slain and panic spread to both sides, but it was the Almohads who at last had the breakthrough. A handful of Faris were able to delvier a decisive charge into Stafford’s rear, and as his lines wavered the Scottish king fell.

Ibn Idris had still not won the battle. Though Stafford was down, and hundreds of Scots were fleeing the battle, the hills were packed with Scottish reinforcements, while Ibn Idris’s men were scattered and weary. He hastily reassembled them around a hilltop as Highland clansmen and peasants poured from the mountain passes and swirled around him. Almohad reinforcements had to run a gauntlet of enemy patrols to reach him. For a moment or two the situation seemed precarious.

Fortunately the Highland weather did not allow the Lowland handgunners to bring their weapons into play. As desperate Almohad archers loosed their last arrows, the tale of Stafford’s death began to spread among the newly arrived troops. Outnumbered many times over, the Almohad infantry launched tentative attacks to try and spread panic. At last the Scottish force wavered. As more Almohad reinforcements appeared, the men on the hill finally launched their attack in earnest. The Scots broke and fled, though here and there a particularly bold clan would stop and make a stand. Ma’mun Ibn Idris, at the moment of his victory, fell on the same field as his opponent, cut down by a chieftain’s claymore as his men finally broke the Highland spirit. Scotland had been beaten down, but at a high price.

The following year (1283) it was all over. The last Scottish fort was attacked with mortars and demi-cannon, its defences ruthlessly pounded to rubble before its garrison was overwhelmed and slaughtered. Ma’mun Ibn Idris was avenged, and all Britain was in Almohad hands.

Ibrahim’s faltering health led to much speculation as to which of his ambitious brothers would succeed him. The birth of a son, Umar, in 1285 helped to quell these rumours, though it was by no means certain that the Mad Prince would live to see his son reach manhood.

That same year, Hardeknud II of Denmark – who had been raised at the Almohad court – chose to break the peace by sending an army of Vikings to lay siege to Stockholm. The following year he led his Royal Knights across the Skaggerack to join the besieging army, but faced with a large relieving force crossing from Norway he chose to retreat back to Denmark immediately. On landing, he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by one of his closest advisers – a man secretly recruited years before by the Syrian assassins. Only the quick actions of his personal bodyguard prevented his death. Hardeknud, never the bravest of men, developed a nervous complaint. While his army was based around a core of Catholic Danes, a majority of his subjects had been converted to Islam. While this was the case he could ill afford to send a substantial number of troops overseas. Any threat to the Almohad presence in Scandinavia and Saxony was thus averted, though Hardeknud could not be persuaded to make peace again.

With Hardeknud neutralised, attention turned back to the Byzantine-Horde alliance. Armies had been built up in Morocco and Spain in preparation for a bold push from the Baltic coast to link up with Prince Abdullah’s army in Kiev. The generals chosen for this task were Idris Al-Mu’tamid, a Royal Uncle, and the Amir Ibn Badis of Ireland. He had shown his mettle subduing the English rebels – could he prove an effective commander against the disciplined Byzantines? The next few years would surely tell...

[Martok]

Another entertaining read, bamff!

As the influence of the Kingdom of Aragon grew, so too did the offers of alliances come flooding in to Enrique’s court. 1152 saw an alliance forged with Prince Yaroslav I of Novgorod, and King Samuel II of Hungary offered the hand of his daughter, Princess Katalin, to Prince Felipe of Aragon. Enrique accepted this marriage on behalf of his son and his kingdom. Whilst Hungary has indeed developed a well deserved reputation for the beauty of it’s maidens, the unfortunate Katalin was far from a traditional Hungarian beauty. Aragonese emissaries familiar with the Hungarian court advise that she is not only physically unattractive, but is also rumoured to possess a most “unpleasant demeanour”. Prince Felipe was known to be a heavy drinker, to the point of being frequently found unconscious. Enrique reasoned that this may assist the match (provided that Katalin proved to be a tolerant woman), and it was as good a use as any for his troubled son.

This part definitely got the biggest chuckle out of me. I don't know who to pity more, Princess Katalin or poor Felipe....

The Crusading army arrived in Morocco in 1155, having travelled via Naples, The Papal States and Tuscany. It would be many years yet before the invention of the Compass.

Another snicker-worthy passage.

[I]A couple of questions to finish off. I have never seen the AI just run away in a battle like the Almo's did in Tunisia. Anyone else had this happen?

Yeah, I've seen it before, even in vanilla MTW/VI. I can't claim it's something that's happened to me often, but it has occurred every once in a while. I've not noticed an increase of this phenomenon since I installed XL, but I don't think that really indicates anything one way or the other.

Also a weird one about the troops that Crusades pick up. I have noted that my Crusades have been joined by Welsh Bandits, Pictish Crossbowmen, Pictish Mounted Xbows, and Naptha Catapults in places where such units would not (I would have thought) been produced (like Naples, Papal, states, Tuscany, and earlier in Leon). How does this happen? Were these guys just strolling around those provinces as mercenaries, and suddenly got religion?

As far as I've been able to tell, yes -- it's as good an explanation as any. I've had a couple Crusades like yours where their ranks were filled out by exotic units, but I have no idea what causes this.


@Bregil the Bowman: A most excellent write-up, sir! The tale of Ibrahim the Mad will not soon be forgotten. I especially enjoyed the account of the Caliphate's invasion of Scotland -- it sounds like it was a real back-and-forth affair! It's not often I see battles where both commanders are killed, either. It must have been rather heart-stopping for a while there....

[seireikhaan]

As confusing as it is when they just walk away, I've had even more confusing occasions. Once, I faced the Spanish as the Almos and they moved all of their troops into defensable positions on a hilltops. I motioned my archers to move to the front to shower them with arrows. I do so and sorta archer duel their one archer, while shooting up a few other of their units. After losing about 120 soldiers, they calmly turn around, and march away, as though nothing happened! I consider that to be ultra bizarre, since they should have realized that I had about 4 more archers than them and could easily outduel them. Basically, they stayed there just so I could shoot them up with a ludicrous kill ratio.

[bamff]

Great write up, Bregil!

Here is my latest effort - a small 10 year slice that seems rather...er..."wordy"....sorry about that.

Innocentius, I hope you don't mind - I have borrowed a device from your writings, introducing "sub-chapters" to break it up and make it a little easier to follow what I am banging on about.


Bamff’s Aragonese Escapade

Chapter 4 – War with Egypt (1180 - 1189)

It is the year of our lord 1181. Aragon and Egypt have been at war since the Egyptian invasion of Cyrenaica two years ago. It is indeed a strange war thus far, with not a single land battle having taken place since Prince Alfonso’s stunning victory at Bardia in 1179. The respective navies of both factions have been more active, however, with 3 separate engagements fought since the Egyptian declaration of war. The sole victory of the war for Egypt thus far came in the first battle of the Nile Coast. The most recent battles have seen two dhows sent to the bottom of the Mediterranean, for the loss of not a single Aragonese barque.

Given the almost non-existent demands of this war with Egypt thus far, King Enrique has been free to continue his impressive building program, The strain of this workload is evident on the aging king. In late 1181, these stresses conspire with Enrique’s advancing years. King Enrique, the “Builder of Aragon” passes peacefully in his sleep. The crown of Aragon now rests upon the head of his son, Fernando.

The first royal decree of King Fernando II is to despatch his brother, Prince Ferdinand, to take command of the garrison of Cyrenaica. This garrison was under the control of King Fernando’s other brother, Alfonso. Alfonso had proved more than capable in this role, but years of campaigning across northern Africa had seen him contract a mysterious fever. Prince Ferdinand, in accepting the posting, notes that if he is able to prove himself as even half the commander that his brother has been, he will be pleased.

As it transpires, he has precious little time to wait to prove his mettle. In 1182, a mighty Egyptian army under the command of Amir al Hakim crosses the border into Cyrenaica. With 3,030 men at is disposal, al Hakim’s total force is slightly larger than the Aragonese army of Prince Ferdinand, which numbers some 2,879 men.

Ferdinand wastes no time, marshalling his forces and marching to El Adem to meet the Egyptians.

Prince Ferdinand positions his army in the hills overlooking the sleepy little border township to await the arrival of Amir al Hakim and the Egyptian army. As he looks out across the sun baked valley below, he notes a series of sandstorms blowing in rapidly from the East.

“What an impossible land in which to fight a war!” he muttered to himself. “If the searing heat and damnable flies were not enough, but now this?”
Orders were passed to all men to hold there positions until the storm had passed. Prince Ferdinand had explained to his captains “The conditions afflict the enemy, just as they do us. In such conditions, movement is hazardous. Troops will lose their way. We will hold our positions and let the enemy come to us.”

Just as Ferdinand was about to move from his vantage point to the comfort of his tent, he saw them. Appearing no bigger than ants at first, but growing ever larger as them approached. The Egyptians were using the sandstorm to cover their approach. The alert was raised. Battle was soon to be joined!

The Battle of El Adem
The Aragonese army had adopted a fairly standard formation upon their chosen hillside. In the centre of the line were Don Alvar Enriquez and his regiment of Order Foot. This unit had originally been formed during the Crusade on Morocco, and all were veterans of the fighting in Bardia, Ferdinand knew that these men would stand firm. They were the sheet anchor upon which his line most depended. To either side of these men were regiments of feudal sergeants, two to the left, one to the right. The flanks were held by feudal foot knights and feudal men at arms. Behind this line, four regiments of archers readied themselves for their first volley.

As the sandstorm cleared, the magnitude of the Egyptian army became clear. It was a truly impressive force in number – but Ferdinand was well aware that numbers alone could not carry the day. The Egyptians halted, and al Hakim sent his archers forward to fire upon the Aragonese.

Immediately that they came into range, the Aragonese archers fired upon their Egyptian counterparts. The weight of 240 arrows descending from the heavens in each volley devastates the Egyptian archers. Ferdinand is nonetheless impressed with the bravery of these muslim bowmen, as gamely they continue to hold their position and attempt to return fire.


The Egyptian archers are cut down

Amir al Hakim orders his Saracen infantry to advance. Two regiments move up on the Aragonese right flank. Their progress is halted when they are met by two regiments of feudal foot knights, commanded by Don Felipe Sanchez and Don Garc Mendez respectively. Mendez presents a truly horrifying visage. A deep scar runs diagonally across his weathered face, one sightless pale eye staring blindly from his left eye socket. His teeth were exposed in a never-ending maniacal smile, as parts of both his upper and lower lip were missing. He is known to use his grotesque appearance to his advantage, preferring to go into battle with his face uncovered to strike terror into the hearts of his enemies. On this day these tactics, and the ferocity of the Aragonese knights’ charge combine well, as the front ranks of Saracen infantry melt before them.

As if things could not get worse for the beleagured Egyptians, Don Felipe Nebrija’s mounted sergeants complete the rout by charging into the Saracens from the rear. The few survivors break and run, with the mounted sergeants in hot pursuit.

The Egyptian general, concerned that his other troops may also break, now involves himself. With his bedouin camel warriors and a regiment of Saharan cavalry at his side, he smashes into the exposed flank of the mounted sergeants. De Nebrija had clearly been too pre-occupied with his chase to see this danger closing upon him. How else could one explain a troop of mounted sergeants being caught by slow moving camels? The mounted sergeants flee for the safety of the Aragonese line. Now the pursuers have become the pursued, as Amir al Hakim chases down the Aragonese horsemen.

This chase also ends badly, with the Egyptian cavalry charging straight into the waiting spears of Don Alvar Enriquez and his order foot. As Don Fernando Ansuarez’ feudal foot knights move in behind them to cut off their retreat.
As his men are cut down around him, al Hakim panics. He longer has any thoughts of his men, his focus is on his own worthless hide. Like a spavined nag, he flees the field. His bedouin camel warriors, attempting to cover his withdrawal, pay the ultimate price for their loyalty. Not one survives. As they watch their general's undignified flight to safety, the Egyptian army loses all hunger for the fight, and all units break to follow al Hakim from the field. The day is won! 825 Egyptian corpses lie alongside 434 sons of Aragon. 170 Egyptian prisoners stand forlorn, awaiting their fate.


Victory at El Adem

The Battle of Limassol
Buoyed by the successful defence of El Adem, King Fernando orders the invasion of the Egyptian held province of Cyprus in 1183. The redoubtable Lord Granvelle is chosen to lead the assault. His army includes a number of “unusual” units, all of whom can trace their history back to the Crusade against Morocco. Included in his force are Welsh bandits, Pictish crossbowmen, and Pictish mounted crossbowmen. Not “standard” Aragonese units by any means!

The Egyptian commander of Cyprus is Umar al Mustanjid. He chooses the slopes of the Troodos Mountains, overlooking the coastal town of Limassol, on which to make his stand.

The impressive range of Lord Granvelle’s “unusual” archers proves decisive, with the sole unit of Egyptian archers slaughtered without ever getting within range of the Aragonese force. All that remains of the Egyptian force are spearmen and urban militia. With nary an Egyptian projectile to be had, the mounted crossbowmen are free to move in. Rather than leaving his men to be picked off one by one by the Aragonese archers, Umar al Mustanjid leads a suicidal charge of his remaining spearmen and urban militiamen. With a blood curdling cry of “Allah u Akbar!” he and his men charge headlong at the waiting Aragonese foot knights. They are duly massacred. 224 Egyptians die, 109 are captured. Some 80 Egyptians escape to the sanctuary of their fortress. Only 8 Aragonese knights are lost.


Victory in Cyprus

The third Battle of the Nile Coast is fought in 1184, with Don Rodrigo Antolinez adding a further victory laurel to his name. The crew of his barque, the “Santa Agathoclia”, had now been responsible for sinking no fewer than 3 Egyptian dhows. All of the crew refer to their vessel lovingly as "La Nina", simply to avoid dislocating their jaws when attempting to pronounce her real name. Antolinez and his crew are rumoured to supplement their income with acts of piracy in the eastern Mediterannean, but King Fernando II chooses to turn a blind eye to these activities, given the successful service of these naval heroes.

The Battle of Bir Hakeim
Having seen his armies defeated twice in Cyrenaica, and now in Cyprus, Sultan al Mustali II felt that it was time that he personally took a hand in the ongoing war with Aragon. He had gathered an enormous army of 4,293 men in Egypt, and in 1185, he swept across the border into Cyrenaica, determined to push the Aragonese back. Prince Ferdinand’s garrison had been reinforced since 1183, but his army still numbered no more than 3,187.
Fernando chose his field near the township of Bir Hakeim.

As had been the case two years previously at El Adem, a sandstorm raged as the Egyptian troops drew ever closer.

“Let us hope that this is a portent of success.” commented the Prince to Don Pero d’Antequera, captain of a unit of Jinetes.

“With your leadership, and God’s blessing upon us, we cannot fail my lord.” responded d'Antequera, who was a capable commander, but was also a renowned sycophant.

Wave upon wave of Egyptians advanced on the Aragonese line, each one in turn dashing itself on the rock of Aragonese spears. Don Alvar Enriquez’s Order Foot were again in the thick of the fight, and the slaughter that they visited upon the Egyptian bedouin camel warriors was terrible to behold.

At the height of the battle, Sultan al Mustali II met his end as a hail of arrows rained down upon his ghulam bodyguard. Two struck home on the unfortunate sultan, with a further two arrows felling his steed. Greivously wounded, the Sultan managed only to rise as far as his knees when the hideous figure of Don Garc Mendez loomed above him. Mendez’ disfigured face was frightening at the best of times, but covered as he was now with the gore of battle, one could forgive the Sultan for thinking that he had already perished and been banished to the pits of hell when faced with such a monstrous countenance. Mendez’ sword fell with such ferocity that the Sultan was cleft from his left shoulder to his right ribcage. The death of the Sultan caused the Egyptian forces to waver, but to their credit, they regrouped to launch several more attacks on the Aragonese position.

With all leaders of any ability dead or wounded, the Egyptian attacks became ever more clumsy. As a consequence, Egyptian casualties on this day were staggering. By the time that victory had been secured, 2,122 Egyptians were dead. 723 had been taken prisoner. In a testimony to the leadership of Prince Ferdinand, only 214 Aragonese soldiers perished on the field at Bir Hakeim. Of those, it is thought that only 173 died as a result of enemy action, with the remaining 41 falling victim to heat exhaustion, though these figures can not be reliably confirmed.


Scores of Egyptian corpses lie strewn across the field.


Victory at Bir Hakeim

In 1186, the garrison of the Egyptian fortress on Cyprus surrendered, relinquishing control of the island to Aragon.

The remaining years of the decade passed quietly enough, though King Fernando grew increasingly troubled by news that with each passing year the Egyptian forces in the province of Egypt became ever stronger and more numerous. It appeared only a matter of time before the now silent desert would once again ring with the clash of swords.


Previous Chapters of This Campaign
Chapter 3 - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showp...postcount=1033
Chapter 2 - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showp...postcount=1014
Chapter 1 - https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showp...postcount=1000

[Innocentius]

Excellent as always, bamff! (That is beginning to sound a bit repetitive, I know, but it's hard to find suiting words for your writing other than "excellent", "superb", "fantastic" etc). I have personally never enjoyed fighting in the desert since most good troops (i.e. the one with armour) are totally waste there, so that makes your victories even more impressive in my eyes. Bravo!

And of course I don't mind, in fact I'm only happy to be to any help

Also, I must apologize to you Bregil the Bowman, as my king share the same "title" as your recent Khalif.

With that said, here goes:

The reign of King Leszek the Mad: 1145 - 1175 A.D.

As King Leszek ascended to the throne in 1145, the doubts were many, and it has to be said that however they were eventually proven wrong, the doubts were justified.
Leszek was known for being an unhinged loon all since his childhood, and it was his disturbed dreams that engaged Poland in the nigh-catastrophic war with the Princes of Kiev. Kiev itself had been captured and its Princes had all since been trying to reclaim it. The need to keep massive armies ready at the borders nearly emptied the Polish treasuries, and the people of Poland suffered greatly under the heavy tax burdens issued by his father Wladyslaw.
At the end of his father's reign the apparently equally insane King Sweyn of Denmark had engaged Poland in a second war on the western frontier. This had cost Sweyn his life and Denmark had lost its entire naval power in a series of unsuccessful naval battles against the Polish fleets. Nonetheless, a two front war was a highly undesirable position, especially now that the mighty Fatamid Khalifah to the south threatened to open up a third front, thus crushing the Kingdom of Poland like a hammer upon the anvil that was Kiev.

Despite his insanity and odd ways, Leszek instead turned out to be a highly capable, not to say magnificent, ruler and, with a little help from his younger brothers Prince Konrad and Prince Mziezko, he actually lead Poland into its golden age, but not after spending the few first years of his reign solving the conflicts he had inherited from his father.

The third Battle of the Two Bridges

In the early summer of 1146 the former Prince of Kiev, now the Prince of Muscovy and Novgorod, Sviatopolk III invaded Kiev with a massive army from Lithuania. Prince Konrad, the commander of the Polish army, decided to lure him to fight at the same bridge crossing that had seen two bloody battles already.
He did this by exploiting the fact that Sviatopolk was a man of tradition. Sviatopolk was an old man, but had never been to Kiev in person. He had been born during one of the many campaigns towards the now eradicated Lithuanians conducted by his forefathers. He had been raised in Vilnius and Novgorod, and to him Kiev was as much a mythical golden city as it had been to King Leszek in his youth.
Prince Konrad thus sent words to Sviatopolk, inviting him to meet him at the same battlefield where his fathers had fought. Sviatopolk could not resist this offer, especially not since his grandfather, Ysevolod II, had been utterly defeated and chased off the battlefield by King Leszek - then Prince Leszek - back in 1131.
Thus the two armies met at the same crossing as in 1131 and 1140. Konrad had his men organised in the tradition way with a regiment of stout spearmen holding the bridgehead while his archers would rain death upon the crossing enemy. Sviatopolk on the other hand brought unusually many mounted archers, and it was the mobility of these man and the numerical superiority of the Kievans, especially when it came to missile troops, that nearly won them the day.

The battle itself proceeded in a very traditional manner with the Kievans desperately trying to cross the bridge, each time being driven back with many casualties.
Foolishly enough Prince Sviatopolk dared not cross himself, and instead waited with his boyars across the river while firing at the Polish spearmen from horseback. This proved to be a disastrous decision however, as the Polish archers soon noticed that the enemy commander in person had made himself visible and open to missile fire. They immediately turned their attention to him, and within moments Sviatopolk fell from his saddle, struck down by many arrows.
The Kievans now wavered at the sight of the death of their leader and many of them fled. Still, it was too early to celebrate for the Polish, as more and more reinforcements kept coming in, most of them horse archers from the steppes in the east and only a few of the famous Rus spearmen from the deep and dark woods of Smolensk.
This was unfortunate as the Polish were now out of arrows while the Kievan missile troops peppered the helpless spearmen. The situation grew worse by the minute and Prince Konrad now decided to cross with his retainers further downstream, just as Prince Leszek - his brother - had done fifteen years earlier.
Indeed this attack in the flank by the Polish disrupted the Kievans, but it was not enough to ultimately overthrow the enemy, and as more and more reinforcements arrived Konrad suddenly found himself and his men surrounded, and many of them were slain. Konrad now desperately fought his way out of the sea of enemies and finally made it to safety on the other shore. This flight earned him a reputation as a coward and a good runner, but no one who was there that day and saw Konrad's dire situation would ever agree to that.
The battle now raged on and it seemed as if the Kievans would be victorious in the end, but suddenly the incredibly brave Polish spearmen took destiny into their own hands, seeing that the battle was nearly lost, and charged across the bridge. The Kievan cavalry was surprised by this but rode up on the bridge to meet them in melee. They were quickly slain and the few survivors fled for their pity lives. This caused the Kievan army to finally break.
As some ran, more ran and soon panic spread.

The Polish mounted crossbowmen then charged forth, killing and capturing many Kievans as they fled for their lives. The battle was won, but at a high cost and only just.



The death of their prince and the many dead severely weakened the "Kievans" and a heretic people steppe people in the east, the Volga-Bulgarians, invaded and took Muscovy itself the very next year.
1147 marked the end of the People of Novgorod-Muscovy as a power to be reckoned in the north and the shores of the Baltic Sea. Not only did Sviatopolk's son, Vladimir III, lose Muscovy to the Volga-Bulgarians, King Leszek also seized the opportunity and invaded the now weakened Lithuania. A great battle stood with high casualties on both sides but in which the "Kievans" were ultimately defeated (i.e: I auto-calculated. Some 1300 dead for the Kievans and 800 for me).
This marked the end of the Kievan-Polish wars, although it would take until 1156 before a peace treaty was finally signed. The Principality of Novgorod soon fell into decline and was piece by piece conquered by the Volga-Bulgarians and the Catholic Kings of Sweden.

On the western front, a Danish force from Friesland marched into Saxony in September 1146 to relieve the province. Sir Konrad Grycki, the Polish commander, realised his hopeless situation and retreated back into Silesia. He invaded again the next year however, this time with a larger force. The Danes were performing terribly in their wars against the Kings of England, and their other borders urgently needed to be seen to. Thus, the better part of the Danish army retreated, leaving only small, scattered garrisons throughout Saxony.
Sir Grycki now campaigned for long through Saxony, castle by castle, fort by fort, driving the Danish out. On June 10 1149 Dresden itself was stormed and taken. Saxony was in Polish hands. For his efforts, Grycki was awarded with the title Elector of Saxony.
The next year the reputedly silver tongued Svyatopolk Turek, royal emissary of King Leszek I of Poland, signed a peace treaty with Christoffer I of Denmark in Scania. This marked the end of the Polish-Danish wars.
A short war in Denmark itself followed however, as a civil war had broken out in the Danish Kingdom following the death of Sweyn II in 1143. Christoffer had been his legitimate heir, being the oldest son, but his brother Erik would not accept this and claimed himself King of Denmark.
Roskilde and Copenhagen had quickly sided with Erik, and Denmark itself was in the hands of an usurper. The weakness of the Danish Kingdom and the wars with England prevented Christoffer from teaching his younger brother a well-deserved lesson and could do nothing to reclaim his own homelands.
King Leszek quickly seized the opportunity and sent Sir Grycki with a small army into Jylland.
When it came down to actual fighting, "King" Erik suddenly found himself abandoned by his people however, and was forced to meet the Polish army with no other troops than his personal bodyguard! Not surprisingly, he was defeated and taken prisoner along with all his men...not that there were many of them. He was sent to Christoffer I in Scania who had him executed immediately, but Denmark fell to the Polish.

The Golden Age: 1152 - 1175 A.D.

After the short campaign into Denmark, Poland experienced peace for the entire remain of King Leszek's reign. In 1152 Leszek met in person with Muhammad abu Inan, general and high-commander of Fatamid troops in Hungary.
Muhammad was an impressive man with many victories on his account and he spoke with great authority, knowing that the Khalif relied completely in him. Although he could have overwhelmed the Polish with his vast armies he decided not to, perhaps since his position was so risky. All Catholic Kingdoms had amassed great armies and the Bohemians in particular was a potential threat. His Caliphate was at war with the Sicilians and now even the Seljuk Turks back in his homeland, and the Fatamid armies in the Balkans were isolated from their homelands since the Seljuk and Sicilian fleets had co-operated to achieve just this. Preferring the Polish as an ally rather than another enemy, he allied with King Leszek, thus securing the Polish southern border...more or less.

In 1161 Prince Kazimierz, Leszek's oldest son, celebrated his sixteenth birthday, and Prince Wladyslaw did the same the very next year. They both married within short: Kazimierz with Ulfhild of Denmark and Wladyslaw with Margherita of Sicily.
The Crown of Castille and Léon had grown into a naval superpower recently, and after defeating the Kings of England in a long war, they inherited their conflict with Denmark, and soon the Kingdom of Denmark was no more. It all happened very fast, and King Leszek hardly realised what was going on before King Christoffer was captured and executed, and his Kingdom forfeit. Some say Leszek never realised this since he was too busy discussing which wine was the finest with his pet bear that had been caught in Lithuania.
Even though it pained Princess Ulfhild, the Kingdom of Poland allied with the Castille-Leonese, and thus gained a powerful trading partner. Bishop Leszek Buczak of Königsberg was the one responsible for the negotiations.

During these golden years the Polish treasuries flourished. The trading with the Spaniards brought in massive amounts of gold and silver and the absence of war allowed Leszek to invest more money in developing agricultural matters and establishing merchant guilds in Pomerania and Prussia. These German-speaking merchants soon became known as the Hanseatic League, and it was they who ensured the Polish wealth and their ships travelled far across the oceans.

Sadly, all good things have an end. King Leszek the Mad - yet loved - died out of age, still of great physical health in 1175. He was succeeded by his son Kazimierz who was crowned King Kazimierz II of all Poland, Denmark and Lithuania, Lord of Kiev in early 1176. What his cruel, not to say wicked, mind would hold in store for the Polish Kingdom few dared to guess.

The Kingdom of Poland in 1175:


King Kazimierz II:

[Bregil the Bowman]

[QUOTE=Innocentius]

Also, I must apologize to you Bregil the Bowman, as my king share the same "title" as your recent Khalif.


No worries Innocentius - it's a common enough complaint among world leaders!

[Bregil the Bowman]

[QUOTE=bamff] The crew of his barque, the “Santa Agathoclia”, had now been responsible for sinking no fewer than 3 Egyptian dhows. All of the crew refer to their vessel lovingly as "La Nina", simply to avoid dislocating their jaws when attempting to pronounce her real name.

Quality, bamff, as they say in my part of the world.

Some great, sly wit throughout but that one really tickled me.

[Bregil the Bowman]

Part Five of an Account of a VI 2.01 campaign as the Almohads

Ibrahim II’s Baltic Campaign

The Baltic campaign of 1287 was conceived as a chevauchee, to damage the economic stability of the Byzantine empire and the Golden Horde in Eastern Europe rather than to seize territory. “Our task is to set a flame to the North,” the ageing Idris Al-Mu’tamid told his subordinate, Amir Ibn Badis of Ireland.

The army landed in Livonia and drove out the Byzantine garrison with ease. Occupying the fortress, they destroyed most of its facilities, leaving a port and a trading post since these had been the preserve of the country’s Muslim minority. One can only imagine this force of Moroccan spearmen and Spanish militia wintering on the Baltic coast, huddled beneath their cloaks and wondering as the sea itself became choked with ice.

Though the Byzantines did not retaliate, Livonia was attacked by an army from Novgorod – whether this was a response to a call to allies or an opportunistic attempt to seize the territory is not clear, but the invaders had no stomach for a fight and retreated before a sword was drawn or an arrow fired. This did mean, however, that Novgorod and Finland were now closed to Almohad trade.

The invaders moved south into Lithuania, leaving a token garrison in Livonia, while at the same time Prince Abdullah moved troop north from Kiev to join them. The Byzantines again retreated, leaving Lithuania under siege. In 1289 Amir Ibn Badis pushed them out of Smolensk and in 1290 a small expeditionary force attacked Muscovy.

The bulk of the Byzantine army had been cornered in Peryslavl, and it was from here that they launched their counter attack in 1290. The Emperor John III personally led an army of more than 3000 against the besiegers of Smolensk under Ibn Badis, a force less than half the size.

Ibn Badis drew up his lines of spearmen with a thick wood on his right. He deployed two demi-cannon and a line of Desert Archers to protect the spearmen, and as a skirmish line he had three units of Steppe Heavy Cavalry. More cavalry and infantry waited, concealed, in the wood.

The first Byzantine wave consisted of spearmen and Byzantine infantry supported by javelin throwers, arbalesters and two units of Kataphraktoi. A catapult and ballista were also deployed, although these were of little use to the attacking force.

The battle began with a volley of cannon fire that rattled the nerves of the Byzantines. As the infantry lines prepared to advance, half of the Kataphraktoi moved forward to counter any challenge from the Almohad skirmish line. The Steppe horsemen replied with volley after volley of arrows – despite their armour the Kataphraktoi sustained severe losses and were unable to get to grips with their faster moving opponents. As they drew back to await the infantry advance, they were quickly reduced to half strength.

The Emperor John moved forward with his infantry under a hail of cannon balls. Once his arbalesters moved into range he would have the advantage in missile exchanges. His javelin-men and Byzantine infantry would also give him an advantage over the ranked Almohad spearmen. Then disaster struck as a cannonball tore through the ranks of Kataphraktoi, killing the Emperor instantly. As the advancing Byzantine line wavered, Armenian and Saharan cavalry poured out from the wood, while the retreating Steppe Cavalry suddenly turned and attacked their right flank. Unit after unit broke and fled, even the elite Kataphraktoi, and the Almohad cavalry chased them from the field. One bold unit of javelin men rallied and advanced toward the wood, where it was met with a hail of fire from concealed arquebusiers. Soon they were running too. Any unit that did make a stand was quickly surrounded and massacred. The Byzantine first wave was utterly destroyed.

But the battle was not yet done. The Almohad horsemen drew back as a second wave arrived. Though this force consisted largely of undisciplined Slavs, they were many and they were supported by steppe cavalry and horse archers. Even so, they were unable to get as far as the Almohad lines. One unit of Slavs broke under another devastating volley from the hidden arquebusiers. Another group tried to outflank the Almohads by penetrating the far side of the wood – only to find Almohad militiamen and more cavalry waiting for them. The second wave dissolved as the first had done.

A third, fourth and fifth wave followed. Many of the Almohad horsemen were exhausted, and their quivers were empty. The dashing cavalry chases became dull slugging matches, and there were casualties on both sides. With the introduction of a band of high valour Pronoiai Allagion and a handful of Kataphrakoi, it seemed at one point as though the balance of the battle might turn in the Byzantines favour. But it was not to be – fragile morale cracked and each wave was broken in turn. Almohad losses amounted to around 150, mostly from the steppe heavy cavalry. Byzantine losses were nearly 2000 and included their Emperor.

The Byzantines survived, replacing the hapless John III with Nicephorus I, but all that remained of their once professional army was a scattered collection of Slavs, peasants and half-strength survivors. For the next five years the Almohad generals ran wild, bringing fire and sword to Muscovy, Chernigov and Volga-Bulgaria in turn. A loyalist uprising in Livonia was thwarted when the Muslim population rose up against them, only to be hunted down and destroyed in turn by the tiny but determined Almohad garrison. Indeed rebellions sprang up wherever the destroying army passed, much as had been planned.

Not everything went quite as planned. Confident in the ability of their Steppe and Armenian heavy cavalry, the Almohads challenged the Golden Horde to a cavalry duel in Volga-Bulgaria. Despite outnumbering the defenders by two to one, the Almohad General Ibn Yaqub soon found himself hard-pressed as the Mongol nobility ignored the arrows bouncing off their armour and charged home. What a contrast with the lumbering Kataphraktoi of the Byzantines! With his body guard falling around him, the Almohad commander was only able to escape the final melee with his life by rallying every surviving Almohad unit to his defence. In the end numbers told, but when the enemy broke the pursuit was minimal. Despite winning the battle, Ibn Yaqub was unable to mount an effective siege of the Mongol citadel, so he withdrew with a valuable lesson learned – Almohad horsemen were not equal to the cavalry arm of the Golden Horde.

For the Byzantines, though, the situation was dire. Cornered in Peryslavl in 1295, Emperor Nicephorus gathered the best of his army for one make or break battle against the invaders. He mustered more than 2000 troops - many were Slav levies rather than the professional army against which the Almohads had struggled in the early years. Abu Omar, Prince of Kiev, led an army that was only a little larger but comprised some of the best troops in Europe – Nubian spearmen from Morocco; Almohad militia from Spain; Livonian arquebusiers; heavy cavalry from Kiev and Armenia; and even two mercenary regiments of English longbowmen. Prepared for siege operations, Abu Omar also brought a selection of artillery pieces, and for the battle he deployed three demi-cannon, mainly for the terror they produced among the Byzantines.

This point was not lost upon Nicephorus, who was mindful of his predecessor’s fate. He deployed his personal troops well beyond the range of the enemy guns, gathering his Slavic warriors in a wood on his left flank where they prepared an ambush for the Almohad army.

Though oblivious to the waiting army, Abu Omar had no intention of rushing matters. With a mix of troops so well suited to defence, his plan was to try and draw the Byzantines in on his centre while using his cavalry to rush their flanks. The Emperor’s stand-offish approach therefore caused some concern at first.

As at Smolensk five years earlier, the steppe heavy cavalry provided a skirmishing screen as the Almohad infantry deployed in alternate blocks of spears and swords with missile troops in the front rank. Whether the steppe horsemen would have spotted the ambush or not, Nicephorus began to lose his nerve and drew the ambush party back to where his main force awaited the attackers. Though outnumbered and isolated, the steppe horsemen rode up to the enemy lines and peppered the retreating Slavs with arrows, shouting taunts and insults at the Byzantines. No love was lost between the Muslim and Christian folk of the steppes, despite or even because of their close kinship.

Slav javelin throwers moved up to drive off their tormentors, but the horsemen merely rode back out of range, turned, loosed another volley and retreated again. The Slavs followed. Rather than lose touch with his skirmishers against an enemy more than capable of fighting them hand-to-hand, Nicephorus moved up the rest of his men – spearmen, Byzantine infantry, archers and his last intact regiments of Kataphraktoi. The steppe horsemen retreated again, and the first cannonballs thudded against the turf as the Slavs came within their range. Nicephorus had two choices – retreat, accepting unequal losses in the long-range skirmishing battle – or advance, risking all in an attempt to catch the Almohads off balance. Being no coward, he took the latter option.

The steppe cavalry melted away before his advance. A party of Almohad militia, sent forward to clear any remaining ambushers from the wood, quickly ran back to the main force. The way was clear for the two armies to meet in a fatal clash of arms.

But as Nicephorus ordered his line of battle, waiting for his archers and arbalesters to catch up, a deadly rain of shot came from the Almohad lines. Two regiments of longbows and one of arquebusiers let fly, reloaded calmly and let fly again. Tbe Byzantine lines reeled. Troops fanned out into open order to reduce their losses, only to see the steppe horsemen bearing down on their exposed flanks. Even the elite Kataphraktoi wavered, uncertain whether to face the threat to their front or to turn back to the rescue of their colleagues on foot. At that point Nicephorus must surely have thought again of the fate that had befallen John III – and at that point he was struck himself by a cannon ball. Once he had fallen all semblance of order was lost. Those who broke were hunted down by the Almohad cavalry breaking through their flanks. Those who held their discipline met volley after volley from the Almohad ranks before the advancing militia fell upon them with their scimitars. The arrival of a wave of Byzantine reinforcements – mostly troops of dubious quality – only added to the slaughter as each regiment was broken and driven into the arms of the waiting horsemen.

The Almohads lost a mere 67 men, some of them killed in the crossfire as they pursued their opponents, almost all of the rest killed by arrows and javelins rather than in hand to hand combat. The Byzantines lost 506 killed and 1007 captured. With their last Emperor among the slain, it was the end of an Empire. A number of armies vowed to fight on against the Muslim invaders, but as independent Orthodox kingdoms. Of the great Triple Alliance, only the Khanate of the Golden Horde remained.

Two years after Peryslavl, Prince Abdullah crossed into Khazar without opposition, driving the Golden Horde forces south into Georgia. The Baltic campaign had achieved its objective of breaking the Alliance’s economic base in Eastern Europe. The brutal and destructive nature of the campaign left provinces in chaos, rebellions springing up on every hand. The People of Novgorod, seeking to exploit the situation, had seized Lithuania, but in return they had lost Finland to a party of Finnish rebels, and now their situation looked precarious.

As the century came to a close, Khan Khobibag must have looked enviously at the empires his brethren ruled in Persia, in India and in China. The European empire of the Mongols was now restricted to Georgia and Armenia, with a small garrison holding out in Volga-Bulgaria. His allies had been destroyed, and it could only be a matter of time before his turn came.

But that was not to come during the Khalifah Ibrahim’s reign, for as the century passed so did he. Of the reign of Umar III, more shall be told in time...

[CountMRVHS]

Wow, two Emperors in a row lost to cannonball fire... yikes! That'll teach those eastern-Europe-conquering Byz.

[ULC]

This is my first try, so excuse any inaccuracies or at least tell them.

Faction: Bohemians
Difficulty: Hard
Era: Early
Mode: GA

Chapter One: Reign of King Vratislav (1087 - 1125)

A man, who would forge an empire, be remembered as a hero, a diplomat, a warrior, a protector of the faith, and for his honesty and virtue, sat lonely upon his throne contemplating his defeat. The year was 1087, and King Vratislav II was a troubled man. His kingdom was in decline, had been since the abominable Poles refused to sell their goods to the lowly "Czech". Income had steadily dwindled since 1079, and without the precious goods to fill the coffers of Bohemia and to trade to the Holy Roman Empire, Vratislav was becoming desperate.

"Damn them to the abyss! Are coin is just as good as theirs! But ever since Wladyslaw came to the throne, things have deteriorated. I can no longer hold back. My people demand action, and they shall have it!"

Vratislav gazes across the fields of Lesser Poland. "Yes, these lands are rich, ripe for the taking. And with the capture of Krakow, I will control the flow of trade." He smiles to himself as his aid, Lord Adlyn, rushes to his side.

"My lord, the enemy has retreated across the border! Even now they race towards Poznan castle."
"Hmmm...What is Wladyslaw planning...?”
"My lord, the troops request that we march on the castle. If we continue to leave Bohemia as undefended as it is now..."
"I know the consequences Adlyn; you need not speak of them. Send forth our mounted crossbowmen to give me a tally of Polish defenses."
"Yes my lord."
"Tell the men to setup camp; I have need to speak to my brother."

Vratislav contemplates the possibilities of Wdalysaws’ retreat. He knows that the armies were with equal number, but the Polish regiments were inferior in training. Still, to draw north to Poznan and leave men to man Krakow castle wouldn't give him the numerical superiority he needed. As he walked back to the command tent, a plan formed in his mind.

"Messenger, come here" Vratislav directs one of his aids, “Send this message to Lord Adlyn; tell him to reduce the overall garrison in Bohemia"
"Yes my lord" is his reply as he hurries to finish his task.

As Vratislav enters his tent, he is accosted by a dark shadow from his left. He quickly draws his sword, and it slices through the air towards the stranger. But the stranger is quick, and he deftly blocks the blow with a dagger hidden within his sleeve.

"Hail! What now, would kinsman fight kinsman in these troubled times? I would expect better of you, brother.” challenges the Shadow.
"Coming from you Jindrich, that sounds rather hollow." Vratislav replies.
"Whatever for brother?"
"In YOUR line of business, I thought it didn't matter if the times were dark, let alone whether or not it was kin."
"Dear brother, how could you say such things?! I have all ways kept an honest trade." Jindrich smiles at this, a smile that sends shivers through Vratislavs’ body. It was not that the man had an "unnatural" talent for his job, it was that he enjoyed every moment of it. How one could possible enjoy the games of deception, intrigue, and murder this man played, Vratislav could not imagine. What could possible twist an individual like this? Vratislav shook the dark thought from his mind and concentrated on the present.
"I have need of you to secure our western and southern border"
"Is that all? You would waste my talents on such things? If you have need of a mere messenger, send one of your pathetic sycophantic courtiers."
"I don't need arguments Jindrich! I am your Liege and Lord, and so be it, your Executioner! Do what I say for a change. Afterwards, I have an assignment for you in Rome."
"Do not threaten me, Brother... I know our relationship has never been "friendly", but their is no need to get violent." Again, Jindrich smiles with his incisors, and disappears through the opening of the tent.

"What am I supposed to do with that man? I cannot make do without his abilities, yet to keep such company..."
Suddenly, Lord Adlyn bursts through the tent's opening, sending attendants and all tumbling to the ground about him, as they all attempt to squeeze through at the same time. Adlyn is clearly out of breath, and his face is flushed the most deep crimson Vratislav has ever seen.
"My Lord! News from the scouts!"
"Speak."
"Kr, Krak, Krakow Castle has been abandoned!"
"What! A most disturbing report you bring me. Hmmm... Send word to Captain Rybar to garrison Krakow and begin using the facilities to fullest advantage."
"Yes my Lord." Adlyn motions to one of the attendants, who duly races off.
"As for you and me, we shall march to Poznan and lay siege there."
"But they outnumber us 2-1! My Lord, I think it would be best if attempt to reinforce Bohemia first, then when the time is ripe, strike Warsaw. If we continue to pull men from Bohemia, then their will no one to defend it!"
"I understand your concerns, Adlyn, but I have thought of a better plan. Bohemia is lost, so we must work with what we have here.”
“But my Lord, what makes you think so?”
“As you said, Krakow has been abandoned. King Wladyslaw has taken all his forces to Warsaw. But we hold their forges and armories, and without those, the Polish King knows he cannot win.”
“But why not take back Krakow?”
“What better way to defeat an enemy then to tear his heart out? He will deal a morale blow to us if he takes Bohemia and a mortal one if we do not secure both supply lines to Bohemia and invade Poznan.”
“As you will it.”


Battle of Warsaw
Borijov Adlyn eyed the Captain. Reports were sketchy, but it appears the Polish would wait no longer. Having laid siege to Prague for two years, the Polish ended the siege in a bloody, pyrrhic victory. With the loss of Prague came the loss of his title, and he had taken to drinking into the long hours of the knight. King Vratislav II prediction had come true. Somehow, they had managed to avoid excommunication, but the Polish had not been so lucky. Vratslavs’ machinations saw to that. And now Adlyn was tasked with reclaiming Bohemia for the crown. In either case, reminiscing in front of the Captain of the Guard was not on his schedule, and may start rumors about his supposed state of mental affairs.

“Begin the sounding for the march.”
“Yes General.”
The Captain continued to stand their, looking pleadingly at Adlyn.
“What is it, Captain?”
“My men wish to inquire why King Vratislav II is not accompanying us.”
Adlyn leaned back in his chair, sucked in a deep breath, and spoke in tones that only the Captain could hear. “It is a matter of honor. I have lost my title, and the King has saw fit to send me to battle to reclaim it. If I am worthy, then I shall take it. If not, the title will go to someone else more fitting.”
The Captain reflects solemnly for a moment, then salutes Adlyn, and turns on his heels and leaves.

A few hours later, Adlyn and his men, which are composed of 2 regiments of Feudal Men-at-Arms and Mounted Sergeants, 1 regiment each of Archers and Armored Spearmen, plus his own escort of Militia Sergeants, begins there long March to Prague.
The first two days pass uneventfully, but on the third day, just as they are crossing the border, The Polish appear upon the horizon.

“Send word to the King! The Polish have met us upon field!” Adlyn shouts to his messenger. Adlyn steadies himself for the coming battle. He surveys the terrain and spies a knot of trees upon a small hill. Orders are given, and the army marches duly forward. The Polish take position on the other end, with Horse Archers flanking three units of Slav Warriors. The Polish rear is covered by Slav Javelinmen and 2 units of Archers, with the Polish crown prince Casmir in tow. “This is a fateful day; to die here, to never regain my title, to lose my men who trust and believe in me. I cannot let that happen. Victory will be mine today”, Adlyn mutters to himself. The Polish have finally reached the Bohemian line, but instead of attempting a flanking maneuver, they charge straight into the forest at the Armored Spearmen, pouring all their forces into breaking them as their archers’ rain death from the sky. Adlyn cannot believe his luck, and orders his Feudal Men-at-arms to flank the main body of Polish forces to the left as Adlyn moves to the right. Out of the corner of his eye, he spies Prince Casmir moving towards the Bohemian archers’ rear. Before he can shout to his men a warning, a horn blows in the distance, the same horn he uses to sound a cavalry charge. His Mounted Sergeants respond to the suddenly confused Royal Knights and charge home. Prince Casmir’s men are surprised, but not defeated, as they begin to fight of both units. But luck and life are not with the prince, as none other then King Vratislav II and his guard charge home, and slaughter every man in the princes’ unit. The Prince attempts to flee, but is cut down by Vratislav, and most of his upper body falls to the ground. The Polish lose heart, and rout from the field.

Vratislav rides up to Adlyn, and looks down on the former duke.
“Are your men in good condition? Are you unharmed?” Vratislav asks.
“Yes my lord, only 75 men to report dead. My Lord, what of the prisoners?”
“Ask them of their loyalty only this; Do they are do they not have homes, wives, and children? If they do release them. If their loyalty runs deeper, slay them.”
“As you command.”
“Oh, Adlyn, in the morning we march on Prague, reclaim your title, and remove the heretical Poles from our beloved country. To long have our people suffered.”
Adlyn stares in awe at his king, but suddenly a thought flashes across his mind.
“My Lord, if you will, may I inquire as to how you knew of the Poles? You were three day’s ride to my march and yet my messenger barley had time to depart when you arrived.”
“I have my sources, Lord Adlyn, and you need not know of them.”
The reference to his title fills Adlyn with pride and humility at the same time. He stared in wonder and reverence at his King and spoke only “Yes, my Lord, your will be done.”

(I'm still writing up the story from my notes, so I'll post the second half of this chapter in my next post)

[bamff]

Hats off, YLaC, that was great stuff! I'm looking forward to the next instalment. Bohemians are a faction that intrigues me - what is your unit roster like? similar to Poland/Hungary?

Bregil - loving the ongoing Almo campaign. It never ceases to amaze and amuse me how peculiarly accurate the artillery can be when it comes to leaders!

Innocentius, I am looking forward to reading of what Chaos Kazimierz has planned for the Poles. Don't keep us in suspense for too long!

[ULC]

Thanks for the encouragment Bamff. I orefer your style, but my notes generally are specific or as detailed. Oh and I prefer you'd call me YLC, as YLaC is disturbingly close to YMCA.

[Martok]

Bravo, guys! Bregil, that was a pretty epic campaign to destroy the Byz. Was that your goal from the outset, or did it just end up working out that way?

As for YLC and Innocentius, I find it interesting that you guys are playing neighboring factions (and that you're at war with each other in YLC's). I don't know that I've really seen that before.

@bamff: Assuming YLC is playing the XL Mod, then I can tell you the Bohemian unit roster is actually somewhat simliar to the HRE. (They have access to mounted X-bows and whatnot.) At least it's similar earlier on, anyway -- I've not survivied as the Bohemians long enough to make a long-term comparison.

[bamff]

Thanks for the encouragment Bamff. I orefer your style, but my notes generally are specific or as detailed. Oh and I prefer you'd call me YLC, as YLaC is disturbingly close to YMCA.

Hahahaha! Good point YLC! If the peasants and other Village People make too many references to the YMCA, we may see the return of Martok's Pink tuniced Cheerleader Camel Warriors, and then we are all doomed!

[The Unknown Guy]

Interesting. Did you deliberatedly bring about artillery to blow up the enemy ruler? I´ve often found it an useful strategy.

One thing I do sometimes is, against enemies that I´ve pushed back to a few provinces with huge stacks is, instead of waging long, annoying battles against waves and waves of reinforcements (which can be awful hard when they´re defending) is launching assasination taskforces into the battlefield, using fast, long-range projectile units (such as unpavised arbalesters or, preferibly, in the Pocket Mod, compound bowmen), gun down the ruler and as many of the enemy troops as I can safely do, and then fall back and retreat (so that hopefully you both destroy the faction, and keep your army intact so that you can tackle with the rebel remnants)