V&V Battle Reports Thread

[Cecil XIX]

This thread is for V&V players to post their battle AARs. Please place screenshots in spoiler tags so the thread is easier to load.

[_Tristan_]

Battle of Logum Abbey, Schleswig-Holstein, 1080

Placeholder

[phonicsmonkey]

Boleslaw Herman, a minor Polish noble entrusted with tax collection, just stood there, eyes bulging and jaw almost to the floor at the shocking news that an army of the Reich had crested the hill and moved into battle formation.

He remained in a state of surprise as his squire hurriedly prepared him for battle and as his equerry helped him atop his warhorse.

He was still reeling as his small force of levy spears and archers drew up into battle lines with the hill on their left flank and with the village of Breslau at their right.

What in the name of God were they doing here and what could they possibly want? Breslau was, even a proud nationalist such as he was willing to admit, the armpit of the Polish Kingdom. Why would the Reich send a force to capture the town? Were they suddenly short of goats? Was there a desperate need for turnips?

His state of confusion continued as he watched the archers of the Reich take position on the hill overlooking the plain and as the black and gold emblems carried by the German spearmen fluttered in the breeze as they advanced.

But the most surprising thing was at this point yet to come, as he reflected later at the point of the lance which skewered him through the middle, knocked him off his horse and spilled his surprisingly coloured entrails onto the ground in front of him.

The last thing, which utterly dumbfounded him in the moments before he died, was to see what looked like the Duke of Austria thundering past in full armour, looking for all the world like he was having the time of his life...

Later, when the Polish forces had been scattered, the stragglers captured and the village plundered, Leopold eagerly summoned his captains and asked them how much loot they had found.

The answer was nothing short of surprising.

[phonicsmonkey]

King Wladyslaw of Poland was mightily pleased to hear that his quarry the whelp of Wien had deigned to return to the field to face him. As his army drew itself up into battle lines he chuckled to himself at the though of skewering the German Prinz on the point of his lance.

Arrayed in front of him was his invading army: three companies of mercenary crossbow, seven of spear (a combination of native Polish levies and mercenaries), one mob of Polish peasants native to Breslau and bent on revenge for the rape of their village by the Austrians and a group of mounted Polish nobles.

His scouts had not been able to determine precisely the makeup of Prinz Leopold's force, but given the reported poverty of the Reich and the meagre resources available to the then-Duke at their last meeting he did not expect to be challenged.

He waited, confident and eager, watching the tree line across the snowy field for any sign of movement. He did not have to wait long, for with a crash, out of the undergrowth sprang the Prinz himself and his bodyguard, in full armour and regalia, galloping across the field towards him.

His missiles readied their arms for firing as the knights of Austria approached but at the last moment, just as they were about to release their deadly load, the Prinz and his bodyguard wheeled to their right and began to dash away from the Polish army.

The front ranks, almost involuntarily, gave chase and soon the whole Polish force was dashing across the open ground in pursuit of the Prinz. Even Wladyslaw, in the heat of the moment, began to gallop in pursuit before he began to realise the trick.

As the Prinz and his mounted companions dodged and weaved in a circled around the field, the Polish King began to shout orders to his men in an attempt to stop them from wasting their energies in pursuit.

Unfortunately the noise and sheer mass of his army made communication difficult and he was forced to follow them, red faced and shouting in vain as they legged it three times around the field, trailing the cantering Austrian horses.

Finally the Prinz wheeled once more and headed back towards the treeline and up the steep slope into the forest.

The Polish army, overtaken by mob instinct and deaf to the entreaties of their general and King, gave hot pursuit, stumbling up the slope through the thick undergrowth to the crest of the hill under the dark green forest canopy.

Through the trees they could just make out the German Prinz and his company, some way off and partly silhouetted on the crest of a ridge. For some reason he and his bodyguard had halted there and the sight of their quarrey now stationary enthused the Poles still further to redouble their efforts to climb the hill.

It was at this point that Wladyslaw got the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. This was clearly a trap.

And indeed it was so, for out of the undergrowth sprang the German spear and crossbows to block the route to Leopold and confront the exhausted Poles.

The weight of numbers still favoured the Polish King by some distance, but with the advantage of the high ground, the element of surprise and his own troops having tired themselves in pursuit of the tricky Prinz, he could see that this was a battle he was most likely to lose.

He charged into the fray, hacking about him in an attempt to singlehandedly turn the tide of battle. Ahead on the ridge the German crossbows were firing repeatedly into the melee, cutting the Poles down like hay, while behind him his own crossbows were harried and driven off by the charges of two companies of German Mailed Knights.

The day was indeed lost when the Mailed Knights turned and charged into the rear of his engaged infantry line, causing the men to rout and flee for their lives down the now-bloody hillside.

The last thing King Wladyslaw saw before he died was the crossbowman who would kill him, levelling his weapon and sighting him with a single eye down the barrel.

[TheFlax]

1114 AD - The Battle of Lorsch Abbey

Vaclav struggled to wakefulness as he heard shouts all around the camp, just as an aide rushed into his tent.

“What is going on?” The old Duke grumbled.

“My Lord, the Poles are attacking!”

“What of the siege?”

“Polish flags fly on the ramparts of Frankfurt, we noticed just now as dawn arrived.” The aide hurriedly explained.

“WHAT?!” Vaclav nearly dropped the chest plate he was strapping on.

“I'm sorry my Lord, but it seems we were camped too far away from the city to realize anything was amiss...” The younger man's voice trailed off as the Duke of Bohemia waved him off and heard some grumbling about missing out on the winter game because no one else could be bothered to defend Frankfurt.

Moments later, the aide was helping the old Duke unto his horse. He was soon joined by his retinue and noticed, with some pride, that even his militia had formed into ordered ranks. Vaclav also spotted the approaching army, consisting of two spear regiments, two crossbow regiments, six mounted crossbow regiments and the Polish general. It seemed as if the Poles had taken Frankfurt with minimal losses as their army was mostly intact. Vaclav positioned his small army in a hilly forest near Lorsch Abbey, placing his regiment of mercenary crossbowmen and his regiment of archers at the front. Behind them, forming a line, he placed his regiment of mercenary spearmen on the left with his two regiments of spear militia forming the center and town militia taking up the right. Behind the mercenaries, Vaclav and his retinue observed the advance of the Polish army.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Duke of Bohemia's ranged regiments spread out and soon opened fire on an approaching Polish spear regiment. After a few volleys, they were bombarded by the eight ranged regiments of the Poles and hastily retreated behind their lines. The two Polish spear regiments marched up the hill under cover from a hail of bolts from their army and quickly found themselves in a heated battle against all of Vaclav's militia. Meanwhile, Vaclav noticed some of the mounted assailants had come to close and initiated a charge at them. When the two mounted units made contact, the crossbowmen didn't far well, but the Polish general then charged at the back of Duke of Bohemia, obviously thinking to end this battle early. As such, the Pole was quite surprised to find that he was suddenly in a pincer between Vaclav and reinforcing mercenary spearmen, held in reserve for just this eventuality.

With more luck than skill, the Polish general somehow managed to extract himself and half of his retinue from the deadly melee, leaving his mounted crossbowmen to fend for themselves. The mercenary spearmen then charged at another regiment of mounted crossbowmen, but after a short melee it got away. On the left, the battle remained a stalemate and everywhere Polish bolts where thick in the air.

Then, the Polish general, still feeling bold, lead the remainder of his bodyguard in between the two concentrations of the Duke of Bohemia's troops and began to slaughter corssbowmen and archers alike. As if this turn of events wasn't bad enough for the Reich, in the heat of the melee with the mounted crossbowmen, Vaclav was dismounted by an errant bolt. As he fell to the ground, he barely had time to recover before being trampled to death by a number of horses involved in confused melee. As his pennant went down, nearly all of his wavering troops lost all of their countenance at once and fled the field in disorder, a number of found themselves captured, the others escaped towards Madgeburg. Yet, the mercenary spearmen who had fought at the side of the Duke during the battle held their ground as other regiments collapsed. Seeing the situation was hopeless, they managed to grab the Duke of Behomia's smashed corpses as they effectuated an orderly withdrawal.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[The Celtic Viking]

In the forest northeast of Magdeburg, 1116 AD

(Engelbrekt is Theodericus’ military advisor and second-in-command.)

Theodericus: Are you sure you read the map correctly? The scouts should surely have met them and reported back by now.
Engelbrekt: Yes, of course I am. They must be hiding here somewhere. It's these bloody trees... but they are all good men, our scouts, and I'm convinced they will get their job done. No need to worry - though I still wouldn’t mind it at all if someone just cut them all down.
Theodericus: Just you wait until we reach the Poles – with their superiority in missiles and cavalry you might think differently about them before this battle is over.
Engelbrekt: Yeah, well, we’d have to find the enemy first before that becomes a problem…

As Theodericus laughs, his scouts return, and the commander rides up to him and salutes.

Scout Commander: Sir, they’re up there on the hill to your right. They were hoping to ambush us, but by the goodwill of God we caught them. Unfortunately, I’m sure they saw us as well, and they know we spotted them.
Theodericus: Don’t worry about that, soldier. You and your men have done great work just spotting them over there. We’d be lost without your effort, and I shall remember to reward you for this when this battle is over. Now return to formation!

Theodericus formed up his army thus: his archers and crossbowmen placed at the front in loose formation, behind his Seargent spearmen flanked by militia spearmen, and behind followed Theodericus and his bodyguard, together with some of the mercenaries who survived Vaclav Premyslid’s defeat.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Polish formation:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The battle itself was over very quickly. Theodericus’ crossbowmen and archers got the first shots on the Polish mounted crossbowmen, but at first their missiles had very little effect. The polish bolts and arrows, on the other hand, were a little more effective, and caused some deaths mostly to the archers, but also amongst the spearmen.

With the second volley, however, the Polish cavalry started taking higher losses, and began forming Cantabrian circles; trying to catch them off guard, Theodericus rushed up together with his spearmen, trying to instigate a melee. Unfortunately, the Poles were quicker, and retreated off the battlefield before being caught.

All in all, there was only few losses on either side, with a negligible preponderance on Theodericus’ side.