Chancellor's Reports

[PrinceofTroy]

Took the save,
http://www.mizus.com/files/pbm/FranceTest-1150-Gasc.sav
And here it is! Just moved some regiments from Tolouse to....uh, defend against the Spanish Threat.

[_Tristan_]

Took the save and moved Bohemond to keep company to our Gascon "friend" Guillemot

http://www.mizus.com/files/pbm/FranceTest-1150-3.rar

[Ramses II CP]

Taking the save to... well, I'll post after I've done it and we can discuss the implications.

edit: Provisional save, you might want to wait until we've figured out if I can actually do what I did before you move forward from this one.

http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/...est-1150-4.zip

See the OOC thread for details.

[The Lemongate]

Hmm just posting here to make it clear that I'm waiting for a general OK to Ramses' move before I take the save (consider it taken if his move is legit).

http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/...est-1150-5.rar

Here it is. And I initiate battle against Guillaumont.

[TinCow]

Was able to get the battle done over coffee this morning. Did the write-up at work over my second cup of coffee.

The Battle of the Rhine - 1150 AD

After his victory at Dijon, Count Guillemot de Lyon advanced to the Rhine river, choosing to encamp at a bridge crossing which provided an excellent defensive location. The Count took with him a large force of high-quality professional soldiers, intent on destroying Anjou's opposition in a decisive battle. However, the rival House was not to be undone so easily. Count de Lyon's position left him isolated from his vassals and his enemies chose that moment to strike. In a bold move, Marquess Raoulet Poitevin marched directly to confront the First Gascony Army, his own force supplemented by elite reserves from King Philip's own Royal Army. At the same time, the loyal Count Bohemond Chanteur made a sudden march to Count de Lyon's rear, preventing his retreat and threatening a flanking attack. The Lord of Gascony could not escape without a battle, and it would be a battle in which he was outnumbered and outflanked.

Sensing that he was at a disadvantage, Count de Lyon chose to make his stand on his own terms. In an aggressive move, he went over to the attack and crossed to the east side of the bridge, held by Marquess Poitevin. The Marquess was not expecting such a move, and his army was encamped away from the actual bridgehead, on a high hill overlooking the battlefield. However, the Gasconian crossing was not to be uncontested. Count Chanteur, seeing his enemy escaping, paralleled the Gasconian crossing at a ford north of the river. The smaller Anjou force then turned south and fell upon the First Gascony Army while its deployment was only half-complete. A full third of the Gasconians were caught on the bridge, isolated from the main line which was forming up at the bottom of the hill, facing the main Anjou force. This gave Marquess Poitevin a significant advantage in numbers, but at a high price to his vassal's army.

Count Chanteur'infantry were almost entirely unarmored and even with the main body of Gasconian infantry off facing the hill, they did not outnumber the enemy. Count Chanteur's experienced knights wrecked havoc on the enemy, but his infantry began to fall quickly to their heavily armored opponents. Meanwhile, Marquess Poitevin took advantage of the situation and ordered a general cavalry charge against the Gasconian line at the bottom of the hill. The Anjou army was heavy in armored cavalry and it was time to show the upstart Lord of Gascony how chivalrous men were meant to fight. Four entire regiments of Mailed Knights charged down the hill at Count de Lyon's men... and right into a fully-formed and braced line of Armored Spearmen. The charge came to a dead halt within moments, and horses and men began to fall. Within moments, the charge had been broken, and most of the knights were routed and fleeing. Distressed by the carnage, Marquess Poitevin ordered a general charge, and the entire Anjou force began to pour down the hill.

They ran into a hail of bolts and fire arrows, further adding to the flagging morale of the Anjou soldiers who had just seen their noble 'betters' flee from the enemy in disgrace. The Gasconian infantry fell into a staggered formation, which allowed some of the Anjou units to penetrate between their lines when the rush reached them. However, this was part of a plan, not negligence, and the Gasconians quickly closed on these penetrating forces, isolating and flanking them from all sides. These salients were quickly routed to grievous loss. It was at about this time that the battle at the bridge itself finally ended, with Count Chanteur's men breaking and fleeing for their lives. The Gasconian regiments which had been tied down in this action then moved to join the rest of the army in the main battle. The added reinforcements further bolstered the morale of the First Army of Gascony, and only added to the demoralization of their foes.

A grueling melee ensued, with both sides sending regiment after regiment into combat. Men on each side routed, reformed, and resumed the battle, but the initial losses Anjou suffered were grievous. Not even the brave Knights Templar were able to achieve more than a local victory. Wherever they went, Gasconian regiments were defeated and turned to run, but when the Templar moved on, these units simply reformed and returned to the battle. Eventually even these brave men were cut down and forced to flee. Anjou fought bravely down to the end, but the result was unavoidable.

When the last organized resistance ended, Count Chanteur and Marquess Poitevin broke off and galloped for the forests. Count de Lyon ordered a pursuit of the two men, but his army was tired and the terrain was unfamiliar. The noblemen of Anjou escaped with their lives and their freedom, though at a considerable cost. Their armies had been almost completely destroyed, with only a small number of Armored Sergeants remaining with Marquess Poitevin, and a handful of Peasant Crossbowmen with Count Chanteur. Count de Lyon's army had also suffered massive losses, amounting to nearly two-thirds of its manpower, but it was still intact and capable of continuing the offensive.

Save: http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/...est-1150-6.zip
Replay: http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/Bridge.zip

Notes: A surprising result. As with before, Guillemot's mercs were represented by similar substitute units. Armored Sergeants for the merc spearmen, and Pavise Crossbowmen for the merc crossbowmen. The higher quality crossbowmen were given because Gascony was at a disadvantage and the longer range stat might have been important. This was balanced out by allowing both sides to keep all of their units on the field, even though Anjou had several depleted units. Thus, Anjou was actually numerically stronger in the custom battle than on the map.

The custom battle did not allow me to put two allied armies on opposite sides of the bridge. The setup was with the smaller force to the north of the bridge and the larger force to the south of the bridge. Not ideal, but I didn't see an alternative. Surprisingly, the Gascony army didn't wait to be attacked and charged across the bridge. Since neither Anjou army was at the bridgehead, they largely made it across intact, until the smaller force from the north fell on them. The rest of the battle proceeded according to the write-up, though the 'melee' between the two main lines were really just a chaotic jumble without any real lines that could be discerned. I'm not entirely sure why, but the Anjou side simply routed more often and thus took far higher casualties.

None of the three generals fell in the battle. So, at the end I rolled a die for both Poitevin and Chanteur. 50/50 odds to escape or be captured. Both got lucky, but they have essentially no army left to them. The following will be done to mimic their escape:

1) Poitevin and Chanteur can use any remaining movement points this turn. de Lyon cannot move this turn.
2) Count de Lyon cannot move next turn until either both Poitevin and Chanteur have been moved or the full 24 hour time period has expired. If the time expires, then PK will be given an extra 24 hours to complete his move.

[TinCow]

A situation has been brought to my attention which would result in Poitevin and/or Chanteur being attacked a second time this round. That was not my intention in writing the post-battle restrictions. Thus, the new restrictions are:

1) Poitevin and Chanteur can use any remaining movement points this turn. de Lyon cannot move this turn.
2) Poitevin and Chanteur cannot be attacked for the remainder of this turn. Any hostile armies that move adjacent to them will simply continue on about their business as if Poitevin and Chanteur were not adjacent to them.
3) Count de Lyon and Viscount Marcel cannot move next turn until either both Poitevin and Chanteur have been moved or the full 24 hour time period has expired. If the time expires, then Ig and PK will be given an extra 24 hours to complete their moves.

[The Lemongate]

I take the save.

Here it is, I just moved my army towards Frankfurt.

http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/...t-1150-6-1.rar

On a related note, what naming policy do we go by for the saves... I'm really going at it randomly.