For Faith or Greed? A Broken Crescent AAR

**deguerra** · 03-15-2008, 06:54

Oman won't be happy with Raynald conquering Arab settlements...

Good work! I must admit I have trouble with AARs myself. I start, and get going, and then get bored and give up.

**Galain_Ironhide** · 03-15-2008, 19:22

Raynald with his small force lay siege. Being of such small number and by what his spies tell him from within the settlement, attacking now would only prove disastrous. As greedy as the Lord of Kerak is, he is no dummy. Instead he decides that starving the enemy out would be the best option for now.

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A not so great outcome.
On a roll, our emissary lands on the doorstep of the Eastern Roman Empire, in the small fishing city of Attalia. The ERE are very hapy to regain trade rights with their former allies, but on this occasion were not interested in re-commencing an alliance. Damn Fools! Perhaps next time we deal with the likes of the ERE, we might deal with someone of a little more influence, rather than the town chirugeon, who would not know of anything more than his own backyard.

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1176 -

A son of the Ibelin Family comes of age.
Balian's eldest son, John de Ibelin comes of age. Rumored to be only a shadow of his fathers ability, King Baldwin is still no less very happy to bring him on board and into service. Afterall, he is young and can still be moulded into a good general, maybe even a great one. Time will tell...

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Antioch
Furious at missing out on Hama and Baalbek, Saladin looked for another outlet north of the Kingdom to keep the screws on Baldwin's expansion. The logical choice was the Principality of Antioch. Saladin had learnt from intelligence reports that Duke Bohemund and King Baldwin had taken a disliking to each other. Wanting to capitalise on their hate and mistrust of one another, Saladin sends two forces to Antioch, gambling on the likelyhood that no support would come from the Kingdom. One Ayyubid army travels north around the kingdoms newly fromed borders of Hama. The second boldly drives through the mountain pass at Baalbek and then turns north to the south gate of the grand city. Saladin was right, Baldwin ignored the Dukes pleas for reinforcements. Unfortunately for Saladin,both armies are defeated and Antioch, although depleted and battered, remains under the rulership of Bohemund.

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Now Antioch, although still standing, was vulnerable.

Oportunity
Knowing his rival was now weakened, Baldwin seizes the oportunity left by Saladin's forces and orders Raymond de Tripoli to march on Antioch! Sending a unit of his very own Knights of Jerusalem guards to act as the main lynch pin in the siege, showed Raymond just how important this attack was. No matter the cost, Antioch must be seized, to improve the still fledgling economy and without destroying it too. The seige lasts into the following year.

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The Georgians
Lying north to the Turkish Sultanate near Iconium, our emissary manages to make contact with the Kingdom of Georgia. After long discussion of the Turkish and Ayyubid threat, the Georgian aggree to an alliance. Our position in the Levant is finally starting to look promising.

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A New Queen.
Only through an arrangement could this, unfortunately for the King, be possible. Rachel de Brienne, daughter of the Count of Brienne from Champagne back in motherland France, was less than eager to join her new husband at his side. Not knowing anything of Baldwin, other than that he was a Leper, she at first was frightened even just to look upon him. As time would go by though, she will learn to accept her new husbands physicality challenges or else she may not last long in this land.

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1177 -

An Adoption

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Still facing the possibility of not fathering an heir to the throne, more from the fact that Baldwin could not convince Queen Rachel to the bedchamber even more so than from his disability. The King is forced to look for another suitable heir. For should Prince Guy de Lusignan's life come to an untimely end before fielding a son of his own, the line would be broken. As a result Baldwin chose to adopt his second cousin, Anseu de Tiberias, as his very own. Should Prince Guy survive the next following years, Anseu would have nothing to worry about and would not have to be King. But Baldwin needed a contingecy plan and Anseu was it, the line could no longer be broken.

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The Royal Family was begining to take shape.

The Kypchak Confederacy -
Looking much less accommodating than any of the otherfactions that our emissary had made ontact with, the Kypchak's relunctantly aggree to Trading rights. Abruptly, the emissary is then told to leave.

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The Battle for Antioch
Still, by any terms of siege warfare, the Kingdom force, led by Raymond de Tripoli was quite undermanned. Raymonds force only outnumbers Duke Bohemunds by 100 men, but unfortunately, logistically and financially, Baldwin can not commit any more troops to this cause. Unhappy with he has, Raymond called the attack nonetheless.

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New Tactics

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Instead of conventional tactics, Raymond split his forces into three groups. The first, consisting of a unit of Seargent Spearmen and a unit of Militia Spears, rammed the Cities' main south entrance. The second group, just consisting of two units of Mounted Seargent Spearmen were grouped at the west gate, more so to act as a diversion and to pull troops away from the other fronts. The Third group and what will prove to the most important consisted of the Kings' Knights of Jerusalem, 2 units of Spearmen, a Mounted Seargent Spearmen unit and Raymond's Personal Bodyguard. The idea was to have these men climb the wall and get the gate open from the inside.
Climbing the wall on the East the Knights of Jerusalem stormed over and quickly took the battle to the ground level inside the gate area.

Outnumbered and with no hope of survival the Knights fought with brave discipline and skill. The 2 units of spears joined the fight and this is where the feircest fighting would take place, but still the gate remained shut leaving Raymond on the wrong side of the wall. Duke Bohemund, a true soldier to the end, joined in the fray to halt these Kingdom men. But, this was to be his undoing, with only a dozen men left to face, one of the remaining Knights of Jerusalem felled the old Duke with a single blow of his spear.

Finally, the last of the Kingdom men fell at the west wall and that gate remained closed.
On the main South gate however, the first group had finally successfully busted the gate open but were being overwhelmed by the defenders there. Realising the breach, Raymond quickly ordered his mounted troops to make a dash for the open south gate. Against spears or swords, he must take the city now or he will fail. Taking heavy losses the mounted troops busted through the opening and quickly took control of the gate area, killing and routing the spearmen and outremer knights that were defending.

With Duke Bohemund dead, the defense of Antioch faltered. Victoriously Raymond quickly mopped up the routers and marched through to the centre and took control of the city. It was a highly costly battle, with a lot of the Kings most important soldiers perishing in the conflict. But for Raymond to have not seized control of the city the consequences would have been dire. Baldwin was still impressed with his Generals victory and awarded him the new title of Duke of Antioch.

Antioch was put under the control of the King and as in the Battles that Balian de Ibelin had fought, the citizens were spared, graciously they accepted the new rule.

Lord of Kerak's Shame -
News of Raymond's victory had filtered down through to Tayma were where Raynald de Chatillon was still sieging the small Castle. Deflated, Raynald knew that the Kings next move may come with a strike against the Ayyubids. If he were to successfully take Tayma, it would be of no geographical or military advantage to hold it with a small force. And whats more that would then make his Castle at Kerak vulnerable again because he had too many troops spread out. Reportedly in a fit of rage, after destroying all of the contents within his personal tent at the siege site, Raynald ordered the immediate withdrawal of his men back to Kerak.

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But he swore this would not be the end, and he will take what he beleives is his. A better plan is needed....

**_Tristan_** · 03-15-2008, 20:25

Very nice AAR, keep going...

I particularly like the way you roleplay the different generals according to their own views rather than a centralized deus ex machina's will

**Galain_Ironhide** · 03-17-2008, 16:18

1178 -

Blessings
The beginning of the year bought joy to the courts of the Kingdom. Two holy matrimonies took place. Firstly the wedding of Prince Anseu de Tiberias to Sybil de Champagne, daughter to the Count of Champagne.

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Princess Sibylla, wife of Prince Guy, bore their first son, Bohemund. Ermengarde, wife of Raymond de Chatillon also gave birth to their second daughter Morphia.

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A Better Time
Since the acquisition of Antioch a quiet peace had rolled over the Kingdom. This was not the case however for Baldwin, who carefully planned his next moves to solidify the position of his realm in the Levant. Many of his advisors had reported back that economy was finally starting to turn around.

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His military advisors weren't quite so jolly. The Kingdom army was still too sparsely thin and attack would still be very hard to defend against. To make matters worse, news from emissaries and spies reported that Saladin had a great army camped just outside his city of Qahira. If Saladin was to mobilise his army against the Kingdom now, Baldwin would be through! Combine this with Saladin's army of Damascus, sitting precariously close to the Baalbek border, only annihilation could be in the Kingdoms future.

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Baldwin had to eliminate this threat. All he needed was time, he prayed that the almighty had heard his thoughts.

1179 -

Turkish Alliance
Two of the greater Muslim factions, The Great Seljuks and the Turkish Sultanate have joined forces. Our emissaries indicate that currently this poses as no threat, however Baldwin has still asked that more information is provided that involves their movements.

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Another Possible Heir?
After only a year of communion, Prince Anseu and Princess Sybil have given birth to their first child, Milo de Tiberias. The Royal family is finally beginning to flourish.

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The Eastern Roman Empire Speaks
Not giving up on the last meeting between the two factions, our emissary makes it to the ERE capital of Constantinople. It is here he greets the Emperor himself, Manuel Comnenus. Reluctantly recognising the re-emerging Kingdom's status in the Levant, the Emperor agrees to an alliance. Besides, if all else fails with the Muslims, the Kingdom would serve as a fine buffer to protect the ERE from the advancement of the Ayyubids and Turks.

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1180 -

Son of Raymond
Hugh de Antioch, Son of Raymond de Tripoli has come of age. Loyal unto the end like his father, Hugh will pose as a great asset. The biggest obstacle that stands in the way ever more these days is the young Generals' battle experience, of which he has none. Baldwin decides to groom him in Jerusalem for the short term.

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Merchant Turmoil
Trade has suffered a devastating blow in this one year. Five merchants have their assets seized. The biggest culprit is the Eastern Roman Empire! A bad move on their behalf, but for now not much can be done. For the sake of maintaining a good relationship with them, Baldwin bites his scarred lip and plans a new tactic for staying in control of his assets.

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1181 -

Makuria
Laying just below the Ayyubids is the Kingdom of Makuria. Labelled as one of the bigger economic powerhouses in the Middle East, Makuria has been a target of the Ayyubids for many years. Leopold de Chartres does a fine job in persuading them to ally with the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Now Saladin, just like Baldwin faces the possibility of a 2 front war should war break out. Baldwin is pleased with his diplomats progress.

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The New Duke of Tripoli
Now that Raymond had been sitting in the seat of Antioch for a period of time, looking after two counties was starting to wear the old General down. Baldwin, seeing this pronounced John de Ibelin, Duke of Tripoli. Duke John is the first Ibelin family member to be gifted which such a title.

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Another Girl
Ermengarde, wife of Raynald de Chatillon gives birth to their third daughter. Reports have been heard that Raynald was somewhat disappointed to hear that he still had no son to carry on the Chatillon name.

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1182 -

Peace is Shattered
After four years of peace and very little diplomatic confrontation with the Ayyubids, Baldwins spies had reported a lot of activity on the Kingdoms North Eastern Border with Damascus. Sensing imminent trouble, Baldwin mobilises Balian de Ibelin with his forces from Hama. Quiet so far, Prince Guy catches wind of these movements and intercepts Balian on his journey south just outside of Guys castle city of Tyre. Acting upon his own ambitions for might and power, Guy removes Balian from his post and orders him to reside at Tyre, "upon Kings orders". Guy then marches the army, plus more units obtained along the way, to the Eastern border. Finally reaching the Foothills west of the city of Damascus, Guys army faces off with the Ayyubids main Northern army. Spies reported back there was a smaller contingent also further to the south.

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Pre-emptive Assault
Sick of being camped in the foothills of Baalbek/Damascus, Guy decides on a pre-emptive attack. He catches the enemy by surprise.

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The Rape and Pillage of Damascus
With the main Northern Ayyubid Army destroyed, Prince Guy turned his immediate attention to the city of Damascus. Earlier infiltrated by a Kingdom spy, the city gate was wide open for Guy's force to penetrate through.

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Word reached Baldwin the day after the successful seige of Damascus. Whilst Guy had succeeded in eliminating the northern threat, Baldwin was enraged with the news of his Heirs cruel and ruthless doings. Not only that, he remembered somewhere, that he actually ordered Balian de Ibelin to the border, not Guy de Lusignan. The FOOL! Does he realise now in doing this, there will be no peace with Saladin in the future?! Baldwin seethed in his throne and pondered how this will overly affect his plans.

Time to Split
In just a short period of just a couple of days, Prince Guy has managed to cripple Saladins northern army. All that stands in the way is the far northern castle of Homs and the small expiditionary force sitting on the far southern border of Damascus. Guy decides to split his force and send half to Homs and the other half will attack the remaining expiditionary force.Guy sends for Hugh de Tiberias to mobilise from Hama and meet the rest of the troops and lay siege to Homs. Hugh then waits to see what tricks the enemy has to offer.

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Too easy, is the thought from Prince Guy. Bloodthirsty for more, Guy marches his army south to join in what will become a battle of survival for either the Kingdom or the Ayyubid Sultanate. If Guy thinks this will be easy, he has not yet met the likes of Saladin!

**Galain_Ironhide** · 03-17-2008, 16:34

Hope you've enjoyed the latest installment of my AAR. It will now probably a week or so until my next update as I now plan to play out the GC for a while.

A big thanks to those who have replied and given me encouragement to continue with this.

Galain

**Ramses II CP** · 03-17-2008, 22:01

I actually started my own KoJ VH/VH campaign after reading the first part of your AAR. I've been a bit more aggressive than you, immediately taking Damascus and Homs so I could slaughter their double reinforcement stacks in relative peace.

The KoJ unit roster is very powerful, even if their position is compromised. I'm quite impressed; quality spearmen, cheap crossbowmen, and loads of heavy cavalry. In particular their spears make it all the more clear how pathetic the Rajput spears are in comparison.

Keep up the good work!

**deguerra** · 03-18-2008, 07:05

Very nice AAR. The "style" you have going is something I aim for in all my SP games, just makes them more fun, but too often I find myself too caught up in defeating a faction to roleplay effectively.

It should be noted for fairness, that according to the views of most historians (or so I have read) Raynald de Chatillion was actually the ablest and most loyal commander Baldwin had, whereas Raymond of Tripoli was far more set on claiming the throne for his family.

Also, personally, I dislike the somewhat "Kingdom of Heaven"y feel that BC gives the KOJ. The colours and units, I must admit, are nice. I would prefer other pictures, and more historically proven traits and ages (Baldwin is a bit too old at the start, I assume for game reasons). Guy and Raynald, in particular, are treated a bit harshly :D

But, of course, that is only my own opinion, and I do not mean it to detract from your fun! Keep going!