V&V Battle Reports Thread

**The Celtic Viking** · 03-22-2011, 16:37

The Second Battle of Magdeburg, 1122 CE

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It was a foggy day near the city of Magdeburg as Theodericus der Bartige moved his army into formation to break the siege that the Poles had put his own capital Magdeburg under. Even though he felt cold and had problems seeing things properly, he still felt happy and confident about the upcoming battle, though one would hardly guess it just by looking at him. Nevertheless, these were his true feelings, as he knew that his enemy faced the very same problems, and the fog would grant him and his men much needed concealment that would lessen the effectiveness of the enemy's missiles. Conveniently enough, it also made offensive movements easier to conceal.

This time he had decided to order his Bohemian infantry to hold the center of his line while letting his own Brandenburgians take to the flanks a little hung back, almost the exact opposite to what he had done in the first battle of Magdeburg. Behind this line he had placed his newly-hired mercenaries, and in front of both were the few archers and crossbowmen that he still had at his disposal. All of them were in a loose formation, anticipating the arrowstorm they'd come under during the advance. As for Theodericus himself and his famous Brandenburgian light cavalry, he stayed a little back. He did not wish to loose any of these if he could avoid it, as they were vital to the success of this battle.

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Initially he had planned to attack already the day before, but the garrison from Brandenburg had been delayed for unknown reasons, and he did not want to begin this battle before they arrived. They were still not there, but as the weather had changed from clear to being this foggy, he felt that it was worth taking that risk. The concealment was more important than the men were, and there was still a chance that they might turn up in time to contribute something before the battle was over.

On the other side of the battlefield there was a church standing on a small hill, and Theodericus's scouts had earlier reported that the Poles had chosen to make their stand there. Indeed, even from the distance that Theodericus viewed it from, you could, despite of the fog, still see tiny silhouettes moving against the sky. In his speech before the battle, Theodericus had pointed this out to his men and derided them for being cowards, as they hid in the Church and prayed to God for mercy for as long as they could, even down to the very last minute. "But their prayers will go unanswered", he had said, "for they go up against the might of Brandenburg-Bohemia, whose Margrave is a well-known servant of the Lord; and for by their cowardice, they are forcing us to spill blood on Holy and Sacred ground, for which God will know no forgivess for our foes!"

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Just as he had ordered his men to move on towards the church, he heard is second-in-command Engelbrekt cry out: "Look! There comes captain Wenceslaus to reinforce us, and just at the right moment! God truly is on our side!" As he said this, he himself shone up, and the men who heard it had their morale gain a visible boost, as if they had completely forgotten and forgiven the cold weather. "Of course", they thought, "God made the good Captain late so we would fight under this favourable weather. There's no way we can lose now!" This turn of events made Theodericus' words echo even louder in their minds, and their confidence grew exponentially.

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As Theodericus approached the church, the Polish missile cavalry, by themselves called "Strzelcy", rode out in front of the church and welcomed Theodericus and his men with a hail of bolts from their crossbows. Despite their clear advantage in numbers and height, the first casualty of this battle was still a Pole, who was hit by a bolt from one of Theodericus' mercenary crossbowmen. Indeed, the Poles' inefficiency with their crossbows surprised even Theodericus, as it took until around their third volley to take out even a single German soldier. Thanking God for this divine protection, he still knew that it wouldn't last, so he moved to his right wing and together charged at the left flank of the Poles, who retreated. Instead of chasing after them, he swung around, reorganized and charged at the Polish cavalry who had stayed. When they tried to flee the only way they could go, they were caught by surprise as captain Wenceslaus had crept up a bit to the left of Theodericus' men, and thanks to fog and a slight hill, had managed to trap the Polish cavalry. Despite this, the Poles still fought strongly, but were eventually routed.

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Chasing after the Polish cavalry, Theodericus was immediately engaged by the remaining Polish cavalry as he passed the church, and this included the Polish general himself. They had been unable to come to aid the rest of their cavalry because they had retreated on their left side of the church, while the rest had tried to do so on their right. As this had happened and Theodericus had chased after the trapped Poles, his spearmen had moved up to prevent the first group to attack him in his back. Thus they weren't able to engage him until now, but at this point they had already lost so many of their men that Theodericus was in a clear advantage. Still many Brandenburgian cavalrymen fell to the arrows of the Polish foot archers, who were firing straight into the melee, but Theodericus remained unharmed and kept the advantage.

Even the Polish general realized the futility of his resistance, and so he turned to flee as well. However, his engagement had at least given the cavalry that was routing first to reorganize and come back, and this forced Theodericus to chase after them instead of turning around and taking care of the enemy archers. This was instead taken care of by his infantry, who had just cought up with them. By this time the battle was already decided, but they still tried to take as many Imperial soldiers with them as they could, but their courage wavered quickly. The last few Strzelcy fled from the battlefield, while the enemy that was on foot were either killed or taken as prisoners of war.

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The price for the ransom was set at 1456, but it was refused and the prisoners were executed. The Poles who got away scattered in the countryside, never to be seen again.

Because of this magnificent battle, the Poles feel humiliated and as a result our relationship with them has worsened.

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**phonicsmonkey** · 03-27-2011, 07:29

The Battle of Tyrol, 1123

In the bitter cold of the winter of 1123 Prinz Leopold von Osterreich and his mercenary army are crossing the Alps south of Nuremburg in a forced march to relieve the garrison of Castle Innsbruck, who are under siege from the Milanese.

While descending on the Tyrolian side of the range they are set upon by a small army of Venetians, apparently themselves headed for Bavaria.

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The Prinz has some time to arrange his troops on the higher ground.

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As the Venetians struggle up the slope in the heavy snow, the German archers and crossbowment find their range.

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The first Italians to crest the verge are a depleted band of Knights. Their steeds stumbling over the rocky ridge they muster a half-hearted charge, steam pouring from their nostrils in the chill morning air.

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Almost the instant their lances clash against German shields they are shaken and looking to retreat.

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In a similar demoralized state are the Italian Spear Militia who follow them into the serried ranks of the Reich's spear.

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Soon the Venetian foot are routing, falling over themselves in a vain attempt to escape as they fall head over heels down the icy slope.

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Seeing the day all but lost, Benasuto Selvo, the Venetian commander, orders his personal bodyguard into the melee.

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But it is not long before they too are put to flight, their general slain and his head atop a German spear.

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The prisoners are herded into a nearby pine wood and several freeze to death while the Prinz awaits the response to his ransom demand of 1200 florins. It is refused and the Italians are left to die on the mountain top. Hands and feet bound and mouths gagged, they thrash about in the snow until they starve or die of exposure to the elements.

The Prinz and his army continue their march.

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**phonicsmonkey** · 03-27-2011, 07:30

The Third Battle of Innsbruck, 1123

After their Venetian appetiser the Prinz and his men were eager to taste the main Milanese course. As they approached Innsbruck their scouts returned and advised that the Milanese had broken off the siege and were awaiting in a nearby forest, on the steep slope of a mountain.

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At the edge of the forest Leopold ordered his men into battle formation. Knowing that his enemy outnumbered him in terms of spear, he stretched his lines somewhat but retained the basic array that had served him so well in the recent battle.

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The outriders spotted some of the Italians lurking amid the pines.

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Before the enemy had a chance to react to his presence, the Prinz moved to seize the higher ground on the Milanese flank.

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At risk of their lines being turned there was, for the Milanese, nothing for it but to advance up the hillside to meet the Germans' lines.

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The Reich's archers began their deadly sport.

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Leopold ordered his cavalry and his own bodyguard onto the right flank.

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The Milanese commander, although only a Captain with the unfortunately feminine name of Maria, was evidently a keen student of the classics. In response to the Prinz' manouevre he declined his left flank, instead ordering his men to advance in eschelon after the Thebans at Leuctra.

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The right-most Milanese spear clashed with the hardy men of the Reich, opening the melee - but they were clearly uninspired by their captain's tactical awareness (or perhaps unsure of his manhood) and became quickly demoralised as they fought alone.

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On the left flank Captain Maria ordered a detachment of spear to screen the Prinz' cavalry.

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Never was a suicide mission so bravely conducted.

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As his plans fell apart, so did the good Captain's mail shirt and he fell under his horse, melting the Alpine snow with his final hot breath.

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Carnage ensued as the Prinz and his knights rounded the Milanese flank and drove their lances home.

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All that remained was the chase.

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Like the Venetians before them, the Milanese refused the Prinz' reasonable ransom demands and a terrible series of ice sculptures was left to grace the slopes.

**phonicsmonkey** · 04-09-2011, 05:20

The Battle of Lombardy 1125

In the Spring of 1125 when the alpine meadows were thick with wildflowers Prinz Leopold and his army marched into Lombardy and there on the border met a large Italian force led by Catelano Rossi which was determined to halt his advance.

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The Prinz knew there would be a missile duel and drew his army up around the base of a large church which was raised up on a hill overlooking the battle field, the better for his crossbows and archers to concentrate a massed fire on the approaching Italians.

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In the trees on his right flank he hid a unit of Frankish Knights.

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The enemy soon came into view.

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As they approached the German lines and the hum of bows was beginning to be heard, the hidden Franks spurred their mounts into action. They ran across the face of the approaching Italian army, causing their crossbows to scurry back into the safety of the infantry line and depriving them of the valuable ability to fire on the Reich's troops.

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The Italians sent their light cavalry ahead of the main force and it was quickly driven back and routed by troops hidden in the trees.

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With an almighty cruch the two lines met. The Italians, their numbers already whittled down my the hail of bolts and arrows, began to waver at the first contact with the hard bitten Germans.

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The Prinz, wishing to press the issue to a swift resolution, hove into view on the Italian flank and charged home into the engaged enemy's rear.

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Soon many of the Italians were routing.

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A final charge from the Prinz' bodyguard settled the day in favour of the Reich.

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A hefty ransom was set for the many captured troops.

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But the cold hearted enemy refused to pay and the Prinz dispatched their souls to heaven.

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**The Celtic Viking** · 04-09-2011, 13:42

Placeholder - Third Battle of Magdeburg 1125

**The Celtic Viking** · 05-25-2011, 08:45

The Battle of Prague, 1129

The Battle of Prague is a story that begins a couple of years before it took place. The Poles, defended only by the Catholic church's threat of excommunication if attacked, had sneaked in a small army to scavenge and pillage Bohemia under a captain by the name of Miron. This had not gone unnoticed in Magdeburg. Lord Theodericus der Bartige, margrave of Brandenburg-Bohemia, had sent a messenger to his general Harold Merode, who was then travelling through Bohemia, to take the garrison of Prague and chase out the Poles. It was thus a surprise when he instead, in the closing of the season, showed up at the gates of Magdeburg. Apparently, the message never got to him - the messenger presumably dead, either by bandits or intercepted by Poles.

As a result, the Polish captain Miron was able to get reinforcements and lay siege to Prague.

This time margrave Theodericus der Bartige went with the wisdom of "if you want something done right, you will have to do it yourself", and so leaving a small garrison for Harold Merode to command in defence of Magdeburg, he set out with the majority of his army to take care of this threat. However, realizing that he could not get his infantry to Prague quick enough to avoid any risk of an assault, he took his cavalry regiments and moved out ahead of them and forced captain Miron to battle.

The battle itself was mostly memorable to the soldiers themselves. Theodericus immediately saw that he had the ability not only to get the high ground, but by doing so also come at the Poles from two opposing sides. With superior numbers, this battle was thus over before it began. Still, it took some good and brave fighting by his cavalry to win the day.

In the end, captain Miron was dead, his men either scattered or captured (and later executed) and Prague was saved.

**phonicsmonkey** · 06-23-2011, 13:11

The Battle of Milan, 1134

In the summer of 1134, as his army laid siege to the city of Milan, Prinz Leopold received word that the Venetians, whose forces were trapped inside the city, were planning to relieve the siege with a large force which was but one days' march away.

It was clear that the small force of defenders readied themselves for battle. Clearly aware of the Prinz' martial prowess, the Venetians intended to throw everything at the army of Osterreich in a desperate attempt to break the deadlock.

The Prinz was well pleased with this outcome: the Pope had disbarred him from making an aggressive move and his father the Kaiser had not yet ruled on whether it was permissible to court excommunication by defying the Papal Bull, so in their eagerness to join in battle the Venetians were resolving a difficult decision for him.

It wasn't long before the Venetians were visible on the horizon. It was a sizable force, split into two parts, with a third expected when the garrison of the city joined the battle. Leopold could see that he was outnumbered at least three to one. He grinned at the thought of neutralising such a large part of the enemy forces in one fell swoop.

The army of the Reich drew itself up into formation and waited until the last possible minute before withdrawing up the nearby mountainside to a defensive position, the missiles placed high up on a vantage point and the Prinz and his cavalry detachments safe behind a wall of spear.

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After a few moments pause to assess the situation, the Venetian captain, clearly inexperienced in the tactics of assault on a defensive position, ordered his men to advance up the steep slope.

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The German crossbowmen and archers, given an huge advantage by their elevated position, began to wreak merry havoc on the advancing Italians, who paused short of the battle line and gave a vain attempt to return fire.

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Already Leopold had the feeling that this battle was all but won. The enemy archers were cut down and routed. As they fled, a detachment of Frankish Knights was sent behind the Italian lines to see them off. This attracted the attention of the Venetian cavalry, who attempted to charge the Knights. Too cunning to receive the full force of the Italian charge, the Franks withdrew behind the spear line and the enemy horses were impaled on the sharp points.

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Watching their comrades tricked and slain in this way seemed to enrage the Italian infantry, who dashed up the mountainside and made contact with the Austrian spear. They were tired, arrived in too few numbers and were quickly routed.

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Now, with the main Venetian army in disarray, the Prinz sought to capitalise on the confusion by engaging the exhausted enemy infantry with his own bodyguard unit.

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He left the safety of the spear line and with a thunderous crunch his charge was received in the front of the oncoming Venetians, who scattered like frightened rabbits in the face of his blade.

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All that was left was to mop up the two smaller forces including the Milanese garrison. A mighty victory was had by the army of Osterreich and the city was sacked.

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With Milan recaptured and the Venetians bruised and bloodied the Prinz considered his next move. He had intended to take the high Alpine road back to Osterreich via Innsbruck in order to assist with the defence of his realm against the Magyar. But this was not the quickest route...perhaps with the Venetians now largely defenseless he should instead march on Venice itself and in doing so capture that rich city and its treasures for the Reich?