The Relief of Constantinople
It was thundering, but there was not a cloud in the sky.
The King of Hungary had brought a mighty host to relieve the siege of Constantinople. Now, at long last, they had arrived within sight of the great city's walls.
As King Pozsony paused to survey the city, he had to remind himself that he was seeing it for the first time. Waiting for the infantry to catch up, he decided to confer with his old advisor, Zsigmond.
A precocious youth when Pozsony was born, Zsigmond had been given the honor of looking after the boy when the King was but a child. With his father so often busy, Zsigmond was responsible for a great deal of the Pozsony's upbringing, resulting in a strong bond. Now in old age, Zsigmond's eyes still held a gleam of idealism from his youth. Pozsony held him in great respect, which he repaid by always showing him the respect befitting his statation, regardless of their close relationship.
"Tell me your thoughts, Zsigmond."
His mentor nodded.
"We must be cautious, your highness. The garrison will have a hard time dealing with the quality and quantity of the Roman army. Of the army we are leading in relief, the bulk of our strength lies in our mounted archers. But every advantage that those have will be heavily reduced if they are forced to fight inside the city. We must move swiftly and attack the besiegers while they are still outside the walls."
"Things are not so bad as they seem." Replied the King. "Our horsemen can quickly move and strike the bulk of the enemy force while they are waiting for the gate to open. Furthermore-"
A sudden burst of commotion caught the king's attention, as a rider was moving swiftly upon them. Obviously from the garrison, in short time his message had been relayed to the king through one of his attendants.
"Reporting! The Duke of Nicaea has begun his assualt on the northern walls!"
"Furthermore," the King continued as he signaled for the cavalry to ride, "Fighting outside walls is what we do best! Tell our infantry to hold the City Square. Magyars, we ride!"
Again with a thunderous roar, the Hungarian host moved in a clockwise direction to meet the Romans. It was not long before they arrived, and soon the arrows were let loose.
An ill-disciplined unit of Stratiotae, units of which the bulk of the enemy army was composed of, moved off in an attempt to intercept them. However, they moved slowly and without deliberation, apparently thinking they had time to manuever into an ideal position.
They didn't.
As the Romans began to feel the sting of arrows, the King paused to observe the gate. By now the ram had indeed reached it, and was threatening to break through it and offer the Romans the cloistered shelter of city streets. Quickly, the company of mercenary knights that had been hired for the campaign were order to make best speed towards the ram, and destroy it. They moved quickly, and were soon there.
But it was not soon enough, as with a sickening thud the doors burst open seconds before they knights could make contact with the enemy.
They were now stuck in a bitter melee, as the Roman horse rode forth like a flood.
The King cursed silently to himself. "Right men, your orders! Advance! Let loose on the enemy, keep the pressure up! Remember, don't-"
"Your highness, look out!"
Pozsony was about to forcefully remind this bodyguard what happens when you interrupt a king in the middle of a battlefield, when suddenly he noticed an enemy soldier enter his field of vision from the right. Wheeling horse around, he realized an enemy regiment had decided to climb back down the walls in the hopes of coming to grips with him! Already they had come under fire from the mounted archers.
Fortunately they had become strung out, with some close and some far away, making it easy to block them. Unfortunately, no sooner had this issue been dealt with then another unit of Stratiotae, enduring a barrage of arrow fire, broke through to attack the King and his guard.
Although they lacked the numbers and skill to defeat Pozsony's handpicked men, by the time they had been dispatched the King realized that his counterpart for the battle, the Lord of Nicaea, had come forth and was attempting to come to grips with the cavalry archers.
However, his inexperienced showed. Pozsony expertly charged the Byzantine's flank, seperating him from half of his bodyguard.
The confusion caused by the attack allowed the King to easily maneuver himself behind the Strategos.
But just in time, the remainder of the Roman guard returned and were able to sprint the Duke away to safety. Still, King Pozsony would not relent. The two groups of horsemen danced around for a time, until the Hungarians were once again able to force a confrontation. Pozsony once gain came to grips with his foe, eyeing his armor for a spot that would be weak to the thrust.
He found it.
With their general dead, the King hoped that the Byzantines would lose the stomach for further fighting. Indeed, as he turned to regard the northern gate into the city for the first time in what felt like quite a while, he couldn't see anymore fighting. He just saw that there were Roman infantry exiting the city.
Heading directly for him, in good formation.
Without further ado, the King gave the order to charge.
But these were not horsemen. They were spearmen, trained specifically to handle the challenge that the King presented. Recognizing that the impact of the charge was insufficient, the King called on his bodyguards to move back some ways. After gaining some distance from the enemy, he rendezvoused with Zsigmond's hungarians nobles.
"I don't see the rest of the army. Where are they?" the King asked.
"They must have been lured inside the walls by the enemy. Your highness, the enemy seems to be shifting their attention away from the city towards yourself."
These words stopped Pozsony cold. If the rest of army entered through the north gate, and now Roman infantry were marching out... Looking around, there were only a few dozen men with him. It took him perhaps a bit too long to regain his composure.
"Do you think they have taken the city?" he questioned.
"Regardless, it's too dangerous to try to force our way in through here."
The king nodded.
"All right. Let's see what the situation is like at the west gate. We ride, men!"
What remained of the Hungarian host began moving back to the west gate, hoping to find more Hungarians, but it was not long before a cry arose in the back.
Another unit of Stratiotae was now in pursuit, and they were gaining on Zsigmond's nobles. Being unable to allow a threat to the rear to persist, the King gave the order to turn 'round. The Nobles, being the target, were forced to meet the charge head on while the King's guards moved to hit the enemy on their left flank.
Their advantage was not as strong this time around, but the Hungarians eventually triumphed and resumed their ride towards the west gate. But the extra time spent made it seem even less likely that they would receive good news.
Eventually they arrived at the west gate, only to be met with the smattering of arrow fire. As they began moving away from the gate to get to a safe distance, Zsigmond rode up to Pozsony.
"Your highness, the enemy may have a substantial force of cavalry remaining. We can no longer afford to linger here."
The King nodded, and Zsigmond gave the order to continue riding, as they began making their way back to Bulgaria. They could already hear the sound of the gate being opened behind them.
It was thundering, but there was not a cloud in the sky.
Re: Lords of the Danube: Story Thread
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks