Re: Battle Reports
Diary of Nevoulas ek Philadelphius 1156 - 1158
1156 - the rendezvous point outside Kythira - an island south of the Greek mainland.
Prince Isaakios is as happy as can be and is agreeable on attacking the large island if Crete to the south of us. We discussed little on matters of state, in truth our meeting was tense and almost hostile.
I have been asked to show patience by the Emperor on the matter, it seems more important to blood the young prince at battle rather than for me to talk politics and loyalty. I am uncomfortable with either, I am hardly a seasoned veteren but still I have an army in my possession and I am after all a mere servant of the empire.
My brother has been going over details of the upcoming invasion of Crete, I can tell his heart is not in it. In truth neither is mine there is something greater at work here - the empire is being torn apart from the inside and here we are with one of the better armies and navies of the empire invading some off shore island.
I am also bugged by my original promise to the men, to fight the moors, they are pious men they truly believed they were going off on a crusade rather than fighting fellow christians. They would follow me to the worlds end I am sure, but they would be more effective with some zeal behind them.
We shall approach the island in the next month and make a landing and immediately head towards the main settlement of Heraklion. Our scouts tell us, there is only a small force in the city, it is however one Venice's strongest commanders in charge it shall not be easy to outmaneuver such a foe but we have plenty of men to do battle with them.
1157 - The Fleet outside Heraklion
Despair. Curses to Salvo and his cunning.
The men are down, I am too. Our landing on Crete was met with suspiciously no problems at all. However the landscape was difficult to scout and we soon discovered that the cunning Venetian commander Cristiano Salvo has a well supplied hidden force awaiting in ambush near the city.
Tactically retreat was the correct thing to do, however many men have lost morale following such an order. Indeed when we returned to the ship, some were ashamed to look the young prince Isaakios in the eye.
There is a big question of what to do now. The assault of Heraklion is now a good deal more complicated than it appeared at first to be. The longer we stay here the more we learn of the Venetian legend of this Salvo that is leading them. He will prove a difficult commander to rid of. The topology of possible fields of battle are also going to be difficult to fight on, ugly hills and sporadic overgrown forests are adding to the difficulties.
The troops are weary, we have not been able to establish a camp on the ground. Even if we did, there is little foraging available for us. We are best off at sea, but the sea can be an unforgiving place with many superstitions that have been given birth here.
The portents are hazy, I am confident that we can win the day here but the cost, the price of victory may be high indeed. The is my folly to bear - i have argued the case with Isaakios and my generals we shall ride out soon with everything we have and play out this Salvo's bluff.
The time is now.
1158 - approaching the battle
Every man has emptied the boats. Alas we were better prepared months ago, the time has sapped at the mens strength. They follow me as they have before, they should be higher, more zealous than this and despite our best efforts I estimate they are only going to be fighting at 75% of their capabilities.
It is my hope, my gamble that a victory here will raise their spirits and have them believing in themselves once more.
My scouts have following information on the battle:
The enemies armies will only be split for a short while, the topography will make it impossible to split them. Our greatest obstacle will be Salvo and his bodyguard themselves. I have heard the legends, it has been hard to separate them from facts but I believe that there must be something behind these stories.
I plan to draw the general out and then attack him hard with both mine and the Prince Isaakios' bodygaurd. I will personally lead the charge - no risk no glory. Before this we shall wither away at the numerous spearmen regiments with the trebizond and horse archers. With any luck this will pick the mens spirits up.
My brother caught my eye as I solemnly passed my will to my scribes. He looked at me so sternly, he knows my plan and has objected to it in the strongest degree. He reminded me of my responsibilities in the senate, put simply he said that I cannot die. I laughed at this and told him that I was no more immortal then any man. I regret my laughs now, I know what my brother meant, he does not wish me to die and neither would many senators at home. Many have put their trust in me, but I cannot stand up in the senate with pride if I hide away from battles at the rear.
1158 - Postmortum
I, Makadonios ek Philadelphius am concluding my brothers diary here for future Romans to see.
I am travelling now to our family home with my brothers dead body. It is my sad duty to deliver a Eulogy at his funeral.
I am sorry for my short sentance structure - I do not have my brothers ability with the pen.
The fight went as Nevo predicted, with the archers gloriously cutting the opponents to shreds. However many of the men were hesitant when it came to their turn to fight. Nevo charged out to the front again and again killing the first armys leading spearman.
We moved onto Salvo himself. Or most of the bodyguard did, I was stuck fighting the damned spearmen. They proved resilient these Venetians.
Nevo shouted loudly but many of the ground troops were slow to respond they help up as Christiano Salvo gleaming armour came into view. He was I admit a giant of a man.
He slayed my brother by piercing a spear into his side, Nevo clasped the spear firmly into him snapping it clean in two as he fell. I managed to reach Salvo just as he thrust a second sword through Nevos heart. I was too late to save him - I managed at least to avenge my brother.
The cursed battle continued to rage and now it was decisively in our favour. We would go onto claim a heroic victory. My brother the true hero of the hour however lay stone dead on the floor.
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks