Battle reports thread - King of the Romans PBM

[OverKnight]

The Battle Southwest of Aleppo

The new King of Outremer faced his first decision. He could attack the siege army to his north, engage the Greek cavalry army attempting to flank him through English territory to the southeast, or hold at the Iron Bridge. In his estimation, his army was no match against the one to the north. They had him outclassed in all areas except cavalry. If he held at the Iron Bridge, he was likely to be the victim of a pincer move. That left attacking the army near Aleppo.

Matthias declined the offer of English assistance against the Greeks. Their army would be crushed, and he preferred to keep them out of the war with the Byzantines. They simply were not strong enough yet, and if they went to war Aleppo would soon be Greek again. Better a secure neutrality then add another front with a co-belligerent who needed to be propped up.

The Army of Outremer deployed on a hill with the Greeks in the valley below.

Despite the wishes of Matthias, the Greeks did not attack. He was forced to move closer but decided to keep the advantage of height. He would not face cavalry on level ground.

The King's cannon were now in range of the main column, they began to fire. The Greeks, in response sent a probe up the hills. It met a grisly fate.

A stalemate ensued. The Greeks would not come up the hill, and Matthias would not march down it. In order to entice the Greeks into a charge he moved some of his infantry and crossbowmen closer to them.

This brought the Imperial bowmen in range of the Greeks, but still they did not charge. Artillery and archers reaped a grim harvest of horsemen.

Unfortunately, despite inflicting massive casualties at little loss to his own men, Matthias's army ran out of ammunition. To descend into the valley to bring the fight to the Greeks would result in horrific losses. He reluctantly decided to withdraw. (OOC: The timer ran out)

It was an inauspicious beginning to his reign. King Matthias had bled the Greeks and kept his army intact to fight again, but he was now out of position south of Antioch. Only the future would tell whether this defeat was a true blunder or a necessary holding action.

[FactionHeir]

Placeholder for Pacification of Staufen

[Zim]

The Battle of Bruges

Battle Statistics Screen

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The assault of Bruges began in the summer of 1334. In a matter of hours the Imperial trebuchets had put a hole in the South wall of the city, and smashed its gate. Oddly, though, their English allies did not yet join the attack, despite the breaches made. General Jan von der Pfalz sent a messenger to find out why.

“What do you mean they’re waiting to use up their siege weapons’ ammunition? Bruges walls are 12 feet thick at the base, and all the English have are ballistas! Why don’t they just use their siege towers and rams?” Jan roared at the messenger upon his return.

“I d-don’t know, sir. The English are led by a captain Harry, and he insists that their army regulations stipulate that all siege weapon ammo must be used before committing to an assault” The messenger replied.

“Have they had any luck at all going at the walls?”

Well, sir, they did manage to destroy a statue of a local folk hero, but that’s about it.”

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

“Grrrr, well, send the trebuchets around to them to help them breach the walls.”

“Yes, sir!”
Jan sighed as the messenger rode back to the English line on the West side of the city. The English leader might be lacking a bit in flexibility, and Jan suspected also in intelligence, but he needed them. Jan’s militia and pike men were no match for the French mounted and dismounted and mounted knights, but the English heavy infantry was. The plan was for the English to attack first, then when the French finally brought their men back from the South wall to reinforce the West, Jan’s men would charge in, running them down.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Later that afternoon the English finally ran out of Ballista bolts, and the English line charged the beaches in their side of the wall (made by Imperial trebuchets rather than the English army's oversized crossbows, of course). Their single unit of mouted knights reached the breach first, and bravely fought to nearly the last man to keep it from being plugged by the French. Sadly, Captain Harry died in the process.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The English dismounted knights slowly pushed the French line towards the town center, despite taking heavy casualties. As the French finally pulled men off the wall facing Jan’s army, The Imperial troops charged, easily taking the empty wall.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Jan then moved half of his army to the town square, where the fighting was becoming especially brutal. His pike men and some armoured sergeants were the first to reach the square, and the former showed great skill in fending off a charge from the French knights. The latter fought well in their own right, bringing down the French leader, an inexperienced but brave man named Captain Thomas.

The English and Imperial troops outnumbered and outclassed their French foes, but the latter showed great determination. While the English line’s morale faltered, the French refused to flee further. They’d make their final stand in the center.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Things began to look desperate for the allies, and reinforcing arquebusiers were cut down by French knights. The English line faltered, and a deadly assault by a remaining unit of dismounted noble knights scattered those English soldiers that had reached the center of the square. Jan committed all of his reserves to shore up the English line, while he sneaked around the streets of the town, and entered the square from an unguarded side, taking out a unit of militia and the mounted Lancers that had threatened his Arquebusiers.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Seeing the effect the dismounted Noble knights were having, Jan charged his cavalry into their flank again and again. Eventually they were reduced to just a few men. Jan lined up his bodyguard for one final charge, but a mistake occurred in timing it and he and a few of his guards found themselves far in front of the others. As the rest of his guard struggled to catch up, a stray arrow hit Jan’s horse, knocking him to the ground. One of the French knights struck at his head with a pole-arm, shattering his helmet and killing him. The man was quickly cut down, but it was too late. With his dying breath Jan instructed the leader of his guard that the town was to be peacefully occupied as it was not French and had no part in his death. He was also told to guard the city with his army, holding it for its rightful count, Ludwig von Bohmen.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

As per his wishes, the town was not sacked by the Imperial army, although they almost came to blows over the issue with the English, who were not so charitably inclined. Sadly, however, it appeared that the French must have sacked it when they had first taken it, as many of its buildings were in shambles, and much of the town’s wealth already carried off. Jan had succeeded in keeping his promise to Ludwig von Bohmen of taking Bruges, but at the terrible cost of his own life.

[Ramses II CP]

The Cleansing of Hamburg County, 1336.

Thinking over his role in the troubles of the Reich and especially of Franconia in the past few years always caused a dull, mixed up ache of pride, frustration, fury, and regret to begin building inside Fritz. As always he could find no outlet for these feelings, not even now when he was surrounded by the citizens of Hamburg who feted him and thought him a mighty hero. It was a little better now that he had been able to send most of the mercenaries on their way, much enriched and with reputations enhanced, but ultimately the expectations of the people of Hamburg provided every bit as much pressure as the demands of the mercenaries had, just in a different place. Add to that the troubling feud with Dieter, his future Duke, and the incessant interference of the cursed von Hamburg wench and Fritz was in dire need of a target for his anger.

Fortunately the Danes had provided one in the form of an ill led army camped in the hinterlands between Hamburg and Frankfurt. Before any advance into Danish territory, before even Frankfurt could be fully declared clear and safe, that army must be crushed. If a significant part of it were to slip away it could make a mockery of any victory by conducting a backwoods campaign and severely damaging the harvest in the Hamburg area for potentially years to come.

This will be an excellent test of my new soldiers, thought Fritz as he strode towards his campaign headquarters, though I've no reason to doubt any of them except the merchants. If they can defeat this Danish host, which is certainly superior in infantry to my own, then I can trust them to follow me into the enemy's homelands. If we cannot defeat them, we will at least maul them badly enough that Hamburg will remain safe.

Inside the HQ Fritz was met in the hallway by his two remaining mercenary captains, Robert and Berchtold. As always it was Robert who launched the offensive.

'M'lord we cannot trust these local levies! Are you really going to take four companies of criminals to battle as your sole component of heavy infantry?'

'Don't forget the money grubbers,' muttered Berchtold, fingering the the heavy gold rings he'd been wearing since the sack of Stockholm, 'they'll be more trouble than they're worth.'

Refusing to break stride Fritz answered them angrily, betraying none of his own doubts, 'These men are Germans! They have lived long years under barbarian leadership, and they will be eager to repay the Danes for what they did when they first captured the city. I will not have their quality questioned again, particularly not to their face!'

'...but, merchant cavalry?' stuttered Berchtold.

Now Fritz turned to glare, first at Robert and then Berchtold in turn. 'They too shall serve their purpose in battle. Remember, you two, once we've done for this lot in our backfield we may have an opportunity to push on into the Danish homelands themselves. Think what riches may be found in Arhus, eh?'

As the gleam of greed began to shine again in his captain's eyes Fritz turned and continued to the hall to speak to the rest of the men. Entering he found them all sitting on the edges of their chairs, flagons of wine standing untouched on the tabletop. Before any could think to speak, Fritz began his speech.

'God's teeth men! You look like a pack of virgin striplings deciding who gets first crack at Danish whore! It's only a battle. Remember, these Danes are on German soil. They've just had their supply lines cut, they've got no contact with their command structure, and they've clearly had no orders since they encamped. They need to be worried about us, not the other way around. Let's go give them the welcome we couldn't provide when they first came knocking at the Hamburg gates!'

A brief cheer rose from the table, but Fritz's unsmiling, scarred visage broke it up fast, 'Get to your men now, we march within the hour.'

Following the west road Fritz was careful to keep a slow pace, and to let the soldiers see the peasants of the rich German countryside cheering them on. Those quick Albanian cavalrymen had been sent ahead of the army to roust the peasants for exactly this effort. Acting as scouts they'd already found the enemy camp, which was unfortunately in the middle of a heavily wooded stretch of road. As the careful march forward continued and the morale of the fresh men seemed assured Fritz rode ahead to meet with his lancebearer, Bergin, who was with the scout team.

'Aye, and well met Lord von Kastilien. The Danes have a large contingent of swordstaves, a company of Norse swordsmen, several durable companies of heavy cavalry, a trebuchet, some crossbowmen, and a company of handgunners. Their army outclasses ours slightly, but we have more crossbowmen, the bombard to bring them running, and the ribault to give them a doubt. Now the bad news, the terrain around their camp is unsuitable for cavalry and the only partially clear hill nearby has trees covering the crest and the whole downslope side towards them. If we set the crossbows up in there I can't guess what their effectiveness will be, and ordering the cavalry on the flanks will be a questionable affair.'

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Fritz didn't hesitate, 'We'll be setting up low on the near side of the slope. The Albanians are to hide in the woods to the east, forward of the clearing, until they hear the whole bloody Danish army pass them, then they'll clear away the reserves and put some doubt in their infantry. Carry the word to them. I'll see you after the battle!'

Riding back to the main group Fritz considered the area he'd glimpsed and the best way to lay out his men. There was no question of taking the crest of the hill, the fresh men wouldn't like fighting where they couldn't see the enemy coming and a single flanking force might set the lot of them to flight, but losses would be higher on the low slope. The thought came to him again, as it had so long ago, that what can't be changed must be borne.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The enemy scouts found his army, but not before they'd taken up positions where Fritz wanted them. The main line was fronted with the highly reliable mercenary crossbowmen in tight ranks backed by the spearmen militia. Two companies of Forlorn Hope anchored either side of the line, nearest the road the ribault and bombard stood behind the longbowmen's stakes. Fritz was on the right with the militia crossbowmen, instructing them on exactly how to properly enfilade an advancing line of enemy infantry without risking firing into friendly ranks.



The Merchant cavalry had managed to sneak into the woods west of the road and were creeping forward to spot the enemy advance. Contact was imminent, but the merchants had been instructed to find the enemy then fade back and let them pass.



Unfortunately the merchant militia overplayed their hand and attempted to win some glory by charging home against an apparently isolated company of crossbowmen. The crossbowmen spotted them before the cavalry could clear the trees to begin a charge, and retreated to the dismounted Chivalric knights behind them. The militia charged anyway...



...to predictable results.



Hearing the sounds of combat Fritz knew something had gone wrong, so he rode forward along to road to check what was going on. Spotting the wildly fleeing merchant cavalry he galloped into their path and, riding alongside the frontrunner, reached out to unseat the man from his horse. As the panicky fool tumbled into the dirt Fritz drew his sword and stood his ground while the rest of the company ran towards him. They stopped rather than try to ride by him, and wordlessly Fritz pointed his sword back into the west woods. As the company reformed a pair of immense burning stones hurtled overhead, and Fritz commanded them, 'Silence that trebuchet or die trying. If I catch you lot trying to skip out again before that artillery is gone I'll skin your families and hang them from the walls. GO!'

As the rest of his guardsmen arrived Fritz spotted the Danish advance guard which had pursued the fleeing militia cavalry, a short group of Huscarls. Spurring his mount forward he led a charge directly into their flank before they could turn. Their formation shattered and not one of them escaped to carry word back to their army.



As Fritz rode along the rear of his formation back to the right side the main bodies of infantry sighted each other. Fritz ordered a minor change to his line, advancing it slightly mostly to shake the raw recruits out of their shocked stillness. Soon the bolts, balls, and arrows would start to fly and there was no time for being stunned or fearful now.



Several more trebuchet shots had come towards the German line, but all had come down short or long. Before the bolt and arrow duel opened the merchant militia reached the unguarded trebuchet crew and prevented them from finding the range. Fritz guessed what had happened and thought, So, they aren't completely useless after all!



Then the time for thought came to an end. The Danish heavy cavalry, experienced War Clerics and Chivalric Knights, charged forward before his crossbowmen could withdraw behind the spear line. Break, break, BREAK! Fritz mentally commanded as the ribault raked them and crossbow bolts cut their numbers in half, but their charge struck home before they fled. Half of his crossbowmen died in moments, then the spears turned the enemy charge, broke their momentum, and sent them fleeing.



Now the faster Danish heavy infantry came forward, but with the swordstaves still struggling through the woods in tight formation far behind the excellent Danish troops were vastly outnumbered and outclassed. As soon as they engaged the spearmen Fritz sent the Forlorn Hope from the flanks, and rode down the line clearing away stragglers himself. By the time he'd reached the left side of his line and started back the whole front rank of the enemy army was in flight.



Fritz made a special effort to run down every dismounted Chivalric knight on the field, not wanting them to rally and return in better time with the swordstaves. After they fell he called his men back to reform the line.



Meanwhile Fritz's Albanian cavalry, still hiding in the woods, was discovered by the fleeing mounted Chivalric Knights just as they rallied. Bergin was caught unaware and the Albanians took significant losses before their second company managed to get behind the knights and cause them to rout again, this time to their destruction. At last the Albanians rode forward to aid in the main engagement.



At the main engagement all of Fritz's men had answered his call to reform the line and prepare for the swordstaves except one mad company of Forlorn Hope from the left flank. Desperate to secure glory they chased the fleeing Danish heavy infantry right into seven companies of Swordstaff militia and one of Obudshaer. Then it was their turn to flee.



Fritz gave the mass of advancing infantry just enough time at the crest of the hill to fully realize their situation. Cavalry was harrying the Obudshaer from behind (Though, unknown to Fritz, his merchant cavalry militia were once again in full flight), bolts, arrows, cannon balls, and ribault fire was ripping through them at the front, and Fritz was preparing to personally lead a charge of two fresh companies of Forlorn Hope against their left. The men were no fresh faced recruits like Fritz's. They knew that flight meant death or capture, so they lowered their swordstaves and began to advance, detailing companies on their left and right to try to hold the flanks. It was an impressive act of coordination and discipline. Briefly Fritz recalled the horrific losses his spearmen had taken at Hamburg. Then he ordered the attack.



To the rear of the swordstaves the wiley Danish commander, with a company of deadly mounted crossbowmen, was finally engaged and then captured by the Albanian cavalrymen. He'd run a good battle and kept himself alive to supply orders, and when surrounded he wisely surrendered his sword and roundly cursed his captors when they killed his horse.





When Fritz and the Forlorn Hope hit their left flank the advance of the swordstaves slowed and ground to a halt. Spearmen ran forward to engage them while they stood confused. As the minutes ticked by and their losses mounted those valiant men surely began to wonder what had become of their clever commander. At last, though, when the Obudshaer who were holding their rear broke under Fritz's repeated slashing flank attacks, their whole right flank collapsed and fled. The pursuit was on!



The two veteran companies of swordstaves on the right held a bit longer against the Forlorn Hope's assault, but when spearmen engaged their flanks they too collapsed, bringing an end to Danish resistance on this field. Few of the Danes would escape, few enough that there could be no possibility of further organized resistance.







All prisoners were executed, grim work that was given to the remaining Forlorn Hope and such of the mercenaries as had a taste for stripping corpses for trinkets.



Upon his return to Hamburg Fritz was greeted again as a hero. He held a victory parade through the streets to show the weary Hamburg militia, no longer mere recruits but veterans to a man now, the true rewards of defeating a foreign invader. A good day, surely only the first of many still to come!

[Ramses II CP]

West of Madgeburg, 1338

The Rescue

The Danish armies, if you're curious:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Fritz was angry. As usual. Word had reached him that the Danes were reinforcing Arhus in anticipation of his inevitable attack. Fritz strongly desired to march north from Hamburg and bring them to battle immediately, while the string of defeats they had suffered since Stettin were still fresh in their minds. While their veteran leaders were still mostly men who had already fled Fritz's armies.

Instead, though, he must march south and rescue his future Duke, Dieter Bresch. The man sat, with Tancred von Tyrolia at his side, behind the highest walls in what remained of Franconia with the largest army in the Duchy composed almost entirely of professional soldiers and had the gall to call for help. His brother Prinz Peter, in a valuable but delicate political position, had sought the burden of this battle, but the Danes had brought south powerful cannons with experienced crews. Prinz Peter was simply too important to the Reich, to Franconia, and to every cause Fritz held dear to allow him to run that risk, and, of course, what man could send his little brother into such a maelstrom without first diving in himself?

No man, thought Fritz, and yet I am still almost beside myself in fury! Why does providence so conspire against me? My proclamation has thus far gone almost ignored except by those few visionaries who can see it's value and now my Danish offensive is postponed to rescue the man who has insulted me and sworn revenge.

Smashing the door aside in disgust, Fritz strode into his HQ at Hamburg and glared at the man waiting for him, his mercenary captain, Robert, who immediately backed up and closed his mouth.

'Don't start. I know well what I said to you when we came to Hamburg, and that day will still come! Today is not that day. Today you must get the new mercenary spearmen and crossbowmen ready to march south. We've a hard job ahead of us as the rock of Franconia, Madgeburg, stands under siege by two immense Danish armies and her Count, my future Duke, does not wish to fight them alone... and tell Berchtold the enemy is reportedly bringing a sort of cannon I don't think we've seen before. If he could salvage them somehow they might be useful when we do finally march against Arhus. Now go!'

Moving deeper in the headquarters building Fritz sent aids scurrying to gather supplies, workmen, and wagons to be loaded. In the central chamber the captains of the Hamburg militia were waiting for him. Most of them were laughing and drinking, trading the same tired stories of their bravery in the Hamburg forests that they'd been passing around for months. Only the leader of the Forlorn Hope companies was grim faced and quiet. When Fritz came to the head of the table the men settled down.

'I hope you're ready to be heroes again, men. Madgeburg has been under siege for years and Dieter Bresch has finally come begging aid. Prinz Peter will be sending us some reinforcements, but most of the army will be drawn from right here in Hamburg,' Fritz's face darkened at the thought, and his captains sensed his mood and remained silent.

'Word has it the Danes are camped in two large groups across the bridge west of Madgeburg. The eastern group are veterans and elite soldiers with a battery of cannons more powerful than bombards. The group manning the actual siegeworks and holding the bridge are less experienced men, fodder for the first assault some might say, but still they will, by themselves, outnumber us. If we are forced to attack across the bridge I could not be confident of victory, not even if Dieter found the courage to sally forth to our aid,' Dim shock was setting in on the faces around the table. This was their leader's pep talk?

'That's the bad news. The good news is I believe these men will be weary of sitting around under the walls of Madgeburg and ill disciplined. If we can reach the bridgehead in good order and put some bombard shot in them before their own cannons can be mustered to answer, I am confident they will come to us rather than hunker down to dig more trenches. When they pack onto the bridge our ribault and crossbowmen will open up and scour them. Franconia hangs in the balance. If Madgeburg falls, Hamburg will be open to assault on two fronts.'

'Don't let that happen. Hamburg cannot fall again. Your homes may not be behind those walls at Madgeburg, but their fate is every bit as much at stake in this coming battle. Now, go and make your companies ready for travel. This is the last Danish army on Franconian soil. If we win, the line is redrawn north of Hamburg, and I swear we will hold it!'

Three days later Fritz's army arrived in the woods west of the bridge. From what his scouts could tell the Danes were completely unaware of their approach. These Danes had gotten sloppy, there were evidently no scouts across the river for them. Sitting on a concealed hillside near the west end of the bridge Fritz considered the terrain and drew up his plan for battle.

'Berchtold put your bombard near the bridgehead on our left, where you can fire down most of the length without endangering our own men. The ribault will be right at the western mouth of the bridge. If they can charge into a barrage from that they're sterner men than they look.'

'Robert the spearmen are to be arrayed in depth behind the ribault, ready to provide immediate support against a cavalry charge. The Danes are light on cavalry, God be praised, but what they do have is powerful. They cannot be allowed to leak through. Pick two of the militia crossbowmen and send them down to the river bank in a loose order formation. They'll have good shots into the enemy's flank if they reach our end of the bridge, and the formation should reduce losses. Put the experienced Pavise crossbowmen with your men on the right, behind your stakes just in case some cavalry do leak through. The rest of the crossbowmen should form tight ranks on the left. I expect them to fire in volleys to conserve ammo and maximize confusion during the Danish attack.'

'The militia spearmen will back your longbows on the right. Forlorn Hope companies will stand station at either side of the bridge in case the spearmen falter or are pushed back. Our light cavalry will screen to either side, and I will sit on that hill to the rear and watch for Danes attempting to ford the river or the advance of the second army. We don't have good information on the companies in the second army except that they've a veteran core and excellent cannons. Keep your heads down.'

'Now move! I want that riverbank occupied before they can crawl out of the siege holes, and shot in them as soon as they assemble into companies!'

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

(Note the 'Cannot retreat' icon on Dieter's face. If I lose, Dieter and Tancred die with their whole garrison. Holy Unexpected! Why didn't anyone warn me?)

By the time Fritz's men had assembled to his tight specifications the Danes had rallied on the east side of the bridge, and were starting to call taunts across. Fritz gave them no time to settle in, ordering the bombards fired despite a slow company of militia crossbowmen deploying right in front of them. Two of the crossbowmen were badly wounded by the near miss.





Four volleys from the bombard saw some losses on the Danish side, and their men began sorting out for a sally across the bridge. Their commander still didn't look too worried. Perhaps Fritz's narrow front and the spearmen masking the ribault crew caused the captain to underestimate the number and strength of troops he was facing. It was a mistake he would not live to regret, as the first volley from the ribault cost him his life.



The rest of his men continued with their attempted assault, but their ranks were disorganized and they were forced to pause their advance several times under murderous fire. At last a few scattered dismounted Feudal Knights mustered the will to charge between ribault volleys, and Fritz's mercenary spearmen moved forward to engage them and protect the ribaults.



The Danish attack rapidly turned into a horrific rout. Fritz told Robert to conserve his men's arrows, but let the slower crossbowmen fire at will.



The Dane's haughty Chivalric Knights now attempted a charge, but the bridge was clogged with confused infantry and corpses, and their charge broke ranks before it could really begin. The battle was going well. Fritz took a moment from his hilltop to survey the second Danish army. They had deployed in the woods, so it was impossible to see their forces in any detail, but it was clear that they were waiting for the confused morass of the first army to succeed or rout before committing themselves.



To the north Fritz could see that Dieter had sallied from Madgeburg, but he was avoiding engagement as well. Perhaps that was for the best, with no artillery he would be chewed up by the second army, and if he struck the first army he'd be caught between them and their allies. Or perhaps he was simply a coward. The man had fought well before but now declined battle and Fritz hadn't been able to sort that out yet.



On the east side of the bridge the Danes were assembling for another attempt. Fritz ordered his men to hold their fire and cleared the spearmen back from the ribault. This time the Danish mounted crossbowmen led the attack, and bore the full brunt of a combined bombard and ribault volley. Then the crossbowmen unloaded on the Danish infantry and the first Danish army broke to a man. Warily watching the second army's banners Fritz ordered Peter's Mounted Sergeants to give chase and harry the first force from the field.



Because of the limited pursuit many of the routing besiegers escaped, but Fritz knew the real test would come now. Did the veteran Danes intend to cross now that the bridge was clear, or would they wait to let Fritz cross and then bring him under fire from their cannon brigade?

As it turned out Peter's light cavalry exceeded their orders and attacked an exposed cannon team which had been turning their weapons to bear on the sergeants. While they chewed through the resolute but unsupported cannon team the second Danish army began to move forward with the two remaining cannons.



It seemed they would try the bridge rather than let Fritz's cavalry harry them. Again Fritz wondered if the narrow front he presented caused the enemy to underestimate the strength of his remaining army. His crossbowmen were all weary from constant firing, but otherwise his forces were essentially intact. Still the Danes came forward, led by dismounted Huscarls under familiar banners...



Gott im Himmel! thought Fritz, those are the banners of Prince Godfred! After we slew him at Stockholm I saw those banners at the head of the men of his house, who chased us back to our ships. Those Huscarls will not break, and if they know I am here then I now know why they will cross the bridge. I must come forward to rally the men when they make their assault. All will depend on destroying those companies.



Before he could ride forward Fritz heard an ungodly series of booms sound echo across the field. The Danish cannon were many times louder than his bombard or even the rippling roar of his ribault. Crossbowmen and spearmen died with that sound in their ears as two of the four shots fell into Fritz's tightly ranked soldiers.



The Danish advance began immediately after those first shots went over their heads. Their captain rode in behind the first company of foot Huscarls, who did not hesitate as the ribault opened up on them.



Fire arrows and bolts lanced in as soon as the ribault volley ended. The Huscarls ran headlong into the withering fire with no hesitation, preparing to charge.



Bolts fell like rain out of a clear sky. The first rank of Huscarls had been hard hit, clearing a path for the ribault to fire into Captain Karl's War Clerics. Karl, leading his men at the front, was the first to die. Still the Huscarls came on, at a run.





Now an answering volley of arrows poured across the river and into Fritz's left flank, thinning the ranks of the Forlorn Hope on that side significantly. Fritz knew this was the moment of truth, and he rode forward while shouting orders for his reserve spearmen to reinforce the bridgehead. With a crash the wall of enraged Danish steel met the braced and prepared mercenary spearmen, whose line immediately buckled. More cannon fire added to the noise by landing amidst the crossbowmen at the riverbank, but missed the spearmen. Fritz screamed for the diminished Forlorn Hope to either side of the river to charge!



Across the river there was a break. The swordstaff militia, eager to reach the battle, abandoned their cannon crews and left the rearmost one exposed. Immediately Peter's veteran sergeants charged them, preventing them from firing any further shots. Only two cannons remained operational, and they were trapped in the middle of the Danish militia's advance.



At the western end of the bridge arrows still fell like rain into the dismounted Huscarls, and still they slew the mercenary spearmen like berserkers out of legend. Prince Godfred's Honor Guard was determined to redeem themselves and despite the odds they were certain of victory. Now they were joined by the rest of the Danish heavy infantry, whose will to fight was more questionable.



Already Fritz's spearmen were at half strength or less, and slowly a gap was widening between the edge of the bridge and the spearwall. Fritz spurred his horse over to the longbowmen and shouted at Robert, 'Those Huscarls! They're the Honor Guard of Prince Godfred, whom we butchered at Stockholm. Stop wasting arrows on the back ranks and target those men at all costs. If you impale a few of our spearmen it's no matter, they're dead anyway!'



An enemy cannon shot landed again on the south riverbank, amongst the crossbow milita there, and the exhausted men routed. Fortunately the second shot flew directly over Fritz's head, into the woods on the hilltop he'd once observed from. Fritz blew his horn to rally the crossbowmen before they could cause a doubt in his hard pressed infantry.



Fritz's companies of Forlorn Hope had been all but destroyed. His mercenary spearmen were all shaken and barely holding their ground, but many of the Danish banners lay fallen in the mud and blood as well. Fritz was forced to commit his final infantry reserve, the militia spearmen from Hamburg, on the right. On the left there was no reserve, so the mercenary Pavise crossbowmen, low on ammo, were ordered into the melee as a stopgap measure. If this didn't work Fritz would risk losing control of the battle to lead his personal guard against the Huscarls.



An errant bombard shot kills a pair of Peter's sergeants across the river, but the other bombard's accurate shot starts a rout among the lesser Danish infantry. Finally the pressure relents and the spearmen stop retreating. The gaps at the sides of the line close as the non-veteran Danes flee, and Prince Godfred's Honor Guard, reduced to a few dozen men, are surrounded and gradually hacked down. Fritz had already seen Berchtold go down under a Danish axe, and now he ordered the bombard and ribault crews to fall back from the battle entirely.



The remnants of Prince Godfred's Honor Guard Huscarls, who had been the first into battle, were now the last at the front with the will to see it through. They fought to the death, abandoned by their allies, and took a host of Germans and mercenaries with them. The last Huscarl laughed as he fought, killing three of the Hamburg militiamen despite pair of bolts stuck in his chest. Robert personally drew back an arrow and obliterated the berserker's face.



Across the river the sergeants were at last able to silence the final Danish cannons. The crew fought valiantly, killing several of the cavalrymen, but fell to a man in the end. Now the Danish swordstaff militia, in their tight, orderly ranks, advanced slowly across the bridge. Fritz's infantry had all but ceased to exist. Of two whole companies of Forlorn Hope Fritz had four men left fit for battle. Of three companies of mercenary spearmen there were, at best, eighty who could still serve, and those were the men that had been butchered despite tripling the Swordstaves at Hamburg. A similar number of the Hamburg militia remained, fresher and still eager. Berchtold's cannon crew had refused to withdraw and still held their cannons ready. Half the crossbow companies were out of bolts, but Robert's men had saved a few arrows. Would it suffice?



On the far side of the river Fritz could see that Dieter's advance guard had come onto the field, but Fritz was determined to leave them no work. He ordered his cannons to open with a volley which scythed through the densely packed Danes. Then Robert ordered a series of massed volleys against the advancing militia, who were wading through pools of blood and shoving corpses into the river just to make room to walk. Before they could come to grips with Fritz's depleted spearmen a second bombard shot cut through them, and their front rank turned to flee.



It was the end. Every Dane was now dead or in flight. Fritz sent the Albanians after the fleeing Danish army, and then spurred his own guard forward. Tancred had joined Dieter on the field and after killing a few routers Fritz rode over to speak to them. Saluting Dieter, Fritz said simply, 'My duty is done.'



Holding up his hand he forstalled Dieter's attempt to speak, 'I am a soldier. After these past few years all I know is fighting. I do not wish to fight you, but if you will not put me in front of an enemy I know not where I will find one, only that one will be found. The truth of me, the heart of me, is in battle, and when I am not in battle I find there is often little good in me.'

'Use me, my Duke. Send me north to be a plague on your enemies.'

Pausing a moment to look back towards the bridge, Fritz returned his gaze to Dieter and went on, 'If you would make sure what work I am good for, ride down the the bridge and see. Now, I've some fool prisoners to see off. For the Reich!'

Turning rapidly Fritz rode back to his victorious army and had his personal guard begin the work of slaughtering the Danes who had surrendered on the bridge.

(Forgive the ugly screenshots, I had to turn my settings down when the bolt barrages began.)