[M2TW AAR]: Vignette III - HRE

[Beefeater]

WARS AND RUMOURS OF WARS

June 18, 1104

Arrived at dawn. The Venetian sentries were tired and careless. Left the captains behind and hurried to the Emperor. I needn’t have bothered. He has little time for clerks. Little time for any man whose tailor doesn’t work in iron. Brains of iron too.

Watched the battle from a distance. We won. Rejoicing &c. Kleiben had done his job well: before Heinrich’s men took the city, Kleiben’s cutthroats had visited the homes of the grander families. The wiser turned to us. The difficult or obtuse had accidents.

Taxes arrived in a rush. Occupying armies encourage this response.

The story so far…


The HRE, Turn 10

Heinrich’s rule has been good to the HRE, and the Reich now sprawls from France, through Italy, and out onto the wooded hills of Bohemia. This has been a blessing to Germany’s nobles, who have greedily fanned out to claim new lands, and an even greater blessing to Imperial cartographers, armed with an excuse to provide new maps every few years.


Kingdoms of Germany

Atop the great pyramid of squabbling nobles sit the Hohenzollerns, who have divided up the empire into their respective spheres of influence. Kaiser Heinrich rules directly over the Reich’s Italian and Alpine possessions: Staufen, Innsbruck, Bologna, Florence, and in all probability very soon Venice are his to dispose of as he pleases. Heinrich’s lands are outlined in red-pink on the Kingdoms map.

His eldest son, Prince Henry, has made the fertile Rhine Valley his power base, and sits in his fortress at Metz. His lieutenant Dietrich von Saxony, a man of unimpeachable honesty and valour, governs over Frankfurt, titular capital of Germany. Henry has also taken steps to fortify his position by sending Jan Von Tyrolia, a somewhat shady protégé, to govern the Osterreich from Vienna. Henry’s domain is outlined in gold.

Finally, the King’s other son Leopold now rules over Bohemia. His, rather smaller, holdings are outlined in blue. Leopold does not in fact control Nuremberg directly – that honour goes to the increasingly cruel Graf Mandorf – but Mandorf still acknowledges Leopold as his master, and can be assumed to be supporting his cause. The map is actually slightly misleading – the Poles do not hold Breslau, it is in fact Leopold’s fortress. There is, however, a Polish army wandering the region. Leopold is preparing for war.

Gesta Germanorum

A Polish attack would be only the second war that the Reich, for all its many borders, is involved in. At present Heinrich’s army is well advanced in its siege of Venice, and the city will fall next turn. There is thought to be at least one, perhaps two Venetian armies still active, but neither is expected to be a great threat.

True to form, the Venetians sallied forth as their supplies ran out. The battle that followed was short and utterly one-sided. Half-starved, outnumbered and demoralised, the defenders barely managed a single ragged charge before Heinrich’s professional killers trampled them in the dust.


Where Angels fear to tread

As his men plunder Venice, Kaiser Heinrich summons his lieutenants to him and makes a surprising announcement. He is to recognize one of his bastards as a third son. The man in question, Thorsten der Stoltze, was sired in Bologna during a youthful indiscretion, and thirty years of warm Italian sun have given him a pleasant and easygoing demeanour that made him a welcome playmate of Prince Henry in their childhoods, and the Prince sends his warmest congratulations on the news.


Ein Neue Mann

Leopold is less thrilled by this turn of events. As second son his position is quite precarious enough thanks to his elder brother’s installation of his own man in Leopold’s former capital of Vienna, without some parvenu Italian muscling in on the remains of Leopold’s patrimony. While the rest of the royal family winter in Alsace or Venice, Leopold is left ruling the harsh, barely Christian wildlands between Prague and Warsaw. Marauding bands of Polish nobles thunder across the steppe in open defiance of his rule, raising the question of how long peace can be maintained with the HRE’s expanding neighbour.

War and rumours of war are not worldwide, thankfully. The French have been peaceful for many years, and the Hungarians under King Lazlo have proved a strong bulwark against a resurgent Byzantium. The Normans of Sicily have made no trouble lately, and the Milanese have even gone to far as to offer an alliance! Heinrich accepted with alacrity.

Brinkmanship

Finally, it looks like war. A medium sized Polish army ends its move a few days’ march from Leopold’s fortress at Breslau. Spears are raised and helmets donned, and the flags of war are flown from the walls…

…but it was a false alarm. The Polish forces retreat back into Poland.

Back in Venice, Heinrich and Thorsten’s rule is threatened by a huge Venetian army commanded by a minor cousin of the Doge. The Venetians have terrifying siege machines and a multitude of crossbowmen, covered by several units of full mailed knights. It seems that even without his former city, the cunning Italian leader has more than enough money for war.

Heinrich marched out to meet the Venetian host knowing that he was outnumbered and seriously outmatched. However, his Knights and Mounted Sergeants gave him the crucial advantage of enough mobility to strike a crucial hammer blow against the mostly foot-bound Italian militia and mercenaries. Marching swiftly out of the city, Heinrich drew his cavalry up on the Italian flanks.


Forest of lances

This is where things got interesting for me. Shortly after taking the above picture, I selected my cavalry units as a group, and right-clicked the nearest Venetian unit. Not only did each of the cavalry execute a perfect charge, they did so by lapping around the entire Venetian formation (not just the nearest unit), riding past the poor Italians like Apaches round a wagon. It was superbly cinematic – congratulations, CA, on a first-rate graphics engine.

It hardly needs saying, but the Venetians were taken completely by surprise (they had just started moving toward the city at this point, but were shuffling around so didn’t displace the German charge.) Eventually, the Venetian cavalry made their numbers felt and the Imperial flanking force had to withdraw, but by that point Heinrich’s main force of spearmen had taken up positions around the depleted Italian forces.


Enfilade

The spearmen charged in, and all was over. Barely fifteen Venetians escaped the field of battle, and their heartless Doge refused to ransom the wounded.

Next Steps

Now that the main Venetian army was destroyed, the path to final victory in this war was over. Heinrich spent a few turns in Venice building up his forces, and prepared to march along the coast towards the Adriatic stronghold of Ragusa. Only with Venice gone could the rising power of Milan could be addressed – they had the turn before overtake the HRE as the nation with the largest army.

Before Heinrich could attend to these matters, a second Venetian army, a tiny stack of five units led by the Doge’s son and heir, laid siege again to the city. Heinrich prepared to brush them aside.

November 12, 1112

A cold morning, by Italian standards. I shall be glad to leave here and return to Germany again, where even a three-year old child knows to stopper the door up to keep the cold at bay.

Dispatched my report to Mandorf. The man grows more vicious by the month , but that is understandable. Leopold still locked in that henhouse of a castle by Breslau. Our star is hardly in the ascendant, but at least with Heinrich on the throne Prince Henry’s faction is kept in check.

The Venetian force has shrunk again. Paid a local urchin to find out why. Seems they are deserting rather than face Heinrich’s knights. Also not surprising: the bakers, grocers and apprentices that make up Italian armies would do better to stick to their trades rather than trying to fight professional warriors like Heinrich’s. The Kaiser will attack them tomorrow. With this force gone, the way to Ragusa is clear.

Thorsten came to my chambers to drink with me. Sly. What does he want I wonder? I am too old to be talked into sharing my knowledge with him like a blushing seminarian, and if he thought to make me drunk and read my papers, I fear he should learn little from them, even if he can read.

He left soon after. Followed him, but a servant nearly saw me in the East wing so I doubled back, and on my return he was gone. He had no reason to be there. I shall write of this to Mandorf.

November 13, 1112.

There is little time to write now. In an inn in the mountains, half-way to Innsbruck, and if the Lord favours me I shall be in the Castle by dawn. My fingers are numb from cold and my limbs numbed with weariness, but I have a room to myself and that for now is enough.

Heinrich rode out this morning to face the Venetian army. Knights and sergeants in gleaming array etc. He spoke briefly with me.

“Write this in your books, clerk. On..May, 14, Year of our Lord 1112, Kaiser Heinrich killed the mangy son of that Venetian hound, and the hopes of Venice died that day. Think you can manage that?”

Not waiting for my answer, he strode off. Giant man, like Gog or Magog. Something wrong, a nagging doubt. Not important. I returned to the Dovecote to report. From there, I could make out the battle faintly. There was a brief skirmish between the Doge’s son and Heinrich’s knights before the Italian was taken prisoner. True to his word, Heinrich slew the youth without asking quarter, and the Venetian army crumbled soon after. Heinrich, Thorsten and their knights charged off to pursue the stragglers.

Strolling back to my chambers I happened to pass through the East wing, past the Milanese ambassador’s quarters, and into the kitchens. Fool that I was! Remembered my doubts then, yes, remembered and swore and ran to my horse.

Found Heinrich in the woods near the road, or what was left of him. Thorsten had led the Kaiser into a Milanese ambush, not that it had stopped the Italians butchering the both of them, with their guards also. He wanted money? No, already wealthy. Power in Italy, his own little Kingdom? No. Thorsten was never independent. Henry’s doing, probably, thirsty to rule and swelling with the desire for war with France. If I survive to return to Mandorf, I shall head for Breslau. A castle in Poland would be safer than this inn.

I hear men downstairs. Maybe Henry’s. Maybe the Milanese. I’ll sleep in the barn tonight, and leave before dawn.

The nights are growing colder.


A new era.

[Shahed]

toll !

[myz]

not really sure what happened or how it happened. I think the king just died, and he wrote an interesting story about the death. Doubt there was a Milan ambush between venice and ragusa.

[Beefeater]

Myz - Perceptive. Thorsten and Heinrich died unexpectedly in a skirmish with a much smaller Venetian force besieging Venice, although it's true that Heinrich was at the time leading a large army that I was intending to use against Ragusa. Heinrich was barely in his grave before the Milanese declared war - it looks as though the death of a high authority faction leader can be enough to embolden neighbours who are unsure whether or not to attack.

On the other hand, imagine the popular reaction to these three events in sequence - Heinrich and Thorsten die in a battle they should have survived (and which they went on to win posthumously), Henry crowned Emperor, Milanese attack. You tell me the conspiracy theorists wouldn't cook something up :D

[R'as al Ghul]

We want more!!

Get your German arsch to your machine and play. We want to feel the might of the Reich....

R'as

[Lord Magus]

So you lost two generals to a small Venetian force |:?

[IrishArmenian]

Excellent work. This was probably my favorite installment yet.

[Whacker]

I vote for a muslim faction next.

[The Teacher]

excellent work! keep it coming

[Dooz]

What was that cavalry charge all about? Beefy, would you mind expanding a bit on what exactly happened there? You clicked all your cavalry onto one enemy unit, and they enveloped their whole army from both sides and charged in?

[Beefeater]

What was that cavalry charge all about? Beefy, would you mind expanding a bit on what exactly happened there? You clicked all your cavalry onto one enemy unit, and they enveloped their whole army from both sides and charged in?

The Venetian army was lined up in standard siege formation - one long line, with the General's unit behind the centre of the line.

My force of Knights and mounted sergeants was drawn up at right angles to their right flank, something like this:

K
K
K  VVVVVVV
K
K

with V representing the Venetian lines and K my cavalry.

Shortly after clicking on the nearest unit, my cavalry charged past the unit I clicked on to engage the units further down the line. The end result:

  K  K  
KVVVV
  K  K

It was entertaining to watch.

[Dooz]

Wow, that maneuver coupled with each of them pulling off a perfect charge as you mentioned means that was a hell of a thing. I wonder if that's a one time thing that happened or if it's programmed that way somehow. Awesome stuff nonetheless, loving the reports. I liked the shots of the map and the kingdom division RP's and so on. What, oh what does the future hold for Emperor Henry?

[Censor]

The group attack thing command is programmed to do such, it works beatifully when you basically have an even match up between attackers and defenders. However it runs into problems when your line has more units than your opponent's.

See the manual for more details, it's around the section where they discuss grouping units.

[Beefeater]

May 12, 1105

Mandorf is brewing something. Three days now without a summons to his chambers. Leopold is still in Poland. But for now, Nuremberg is safe. Henry’s Milanese never planned to honour their alliance. Did Kaiser Henry?

Kleiben reported that the Kaiser has been seeking the Pope’s support against the Italians. He will need it. Three powers against the Empire. France should invade from the East, Poland the West. And yet no invasion. Polish raiders retreated last month. French and Hungars now married to Imperials. Bound to peace, with chains of silk.

Rumours of unrest in the countryside. Rebels. Bandits, &c. Mandorf does not suppress them. He says he has not the troops. Maybe.

Mandorf is brewing something. But what? And while he brews, Italy burns.

Better there than here.

The HRE, Turn 20

Young Henry’s Game

Sitting in his castle at Metz and reviewing his realm, Kaiser Henry has good cause for satisfaction. Venice has been humbled and its rulers expelled; the Reich’s eastern borders are secured by a network of garrisons; the French and Danes are contained and now seek a peace that Henry has no intention of granting them.

Yet for all its strength, the Reich cannot rest easy. Sub-alpine Italy remains the soft underbelly of German power, and the Milanese have been quick to take advantage of Heinrich’s untimely death. Henry’s strategy for these next few years is therefore simple: avoid wars in the German homeland while securing German influence in Italy.

Kingdoms of Germany

The sudden death of Heinrich may have emboldened the Milanese to attack, but for Henry it has brought massive dividends. Fully eight of the eleven Imperial Laender now fall within Henry’s personal control, and thanks to Henry’s web of alliances through marriage, Leopold is growing increasingly sidelined in the Bohemian plains.

At the centre of this giant wheel sits the hub of Nuremberg, and ruling over it with a fist of iron, Maximilian Mandorf – “the Merciless”.

Chains of Silk

Jan von Tyrolia, governor of Vienna, has seen his fortunes improve still further with Henry’s inheritance of Imperial power. Now he is about to see them rise beyond the level he could ever have imagined. There were dire rumours of unnatural behaviour in the Imperial castle when Jan was adopted by Henry as next in line to the throne, and it was as much to dispel these as to secure his future that Jan was maneuvered into marriage with a young French Princess.

Whatever the reasons for the wedding, it served to calm outraged nobles and churchmen in Vienna, and to cement Jan’s claim to the throne should he survive Henry.

Formation of the League

Heinrich had been a colossal figure, and his death sent a shockwave through Italy. The first manifestation of this was an uprising in Venice itself, as partisans of the exiled Veneti princes took to the streets calling for their return. Then the Milanese marched on Bologna, overturning at the whistle of a crossbow bolt an alliance that had lasted over twenty years. Guiscard’s Sicilian Normans, ever alert to the main chance, were rumoured to have sent a small force to attack Florence.

Venice, Milan and Palermo. With Henry years away in Metz, the three great powers of Italy set aside their many differences to form a tri-partite alliance. Their stated aim was to expel the German invaders; many suspected the true goal was a unified Italy. His Holiness watched very carefully as the Lombard League was formed. The league’s emissaries spread through to the courts of Europe, but their efforts were focused on the court of the Kings of Poland and Denmark, for these were the only neighbours of the HRE not bound to alliance with the Empire.

In Metz, Henry received news of the League’s formation, and immediately prepared to march south. However, the path through the Alps was not clear. In the years leading to Heinrich’s death, Henry had consolidated his control over many of the regions of the Empire and this centralization – combined with Heinrich’s expensive Italian wars – had left the central Empire desperately short of soldiers, and bands of mercenaries and rebels devastated the countryside. To counter the Lombard threat, Henry would need to make his way to Italy fast, and he could not afford to be fighting rebels at every step. Henry therefore decided to abandon the plan to take on extra troops from Innsbruck, and to march instead through Switzerland, where the proud fortress of Bern still stood undisturbed by the great families of Europe.

Henry soon captured Dijon, which was defended only by a skeleton garrison. Not wishing to keep it, and mindful of the need to keep the Poles friendly, HRE made a gift of this border territory to the King of Poland. Lombard hopes for alliance were dashed at a stroke: there would be no invasion of Polish nobles to distract Henry’s men.

A league embattled

With no hope of an alliance, the Lombard leaders resolved to act immediately. The Duke of Milan still commanded four large armies. Two of these marched west into Burgundy, a third invested Florence, and the fourth moved around northern Italy in a defensive role. The Venetians sent their main force back to Venice, trapping the main German army in Italy within the city. Finally, the Sicilians moved north from Florence to invade Bologna with a small advance force. The main Sicilian army lagged slightly behind..

The Empire this point has only two armies in the field. Henry’s army is marching through the Swiss Alps, but there are few roads in Switzerland and progress is slow in the cruel Alpine winter.

Equites Germanorum

The second army is an all cavalry force out from Innsbruck, where the largest stable in the Empire is kept. Too weak to face the Venetian or Milanese armies, the knights fell upon the Sicilian force outside Bologna.

Face-off

The Sicilians had brought mostly cavalry to the fight, and it ended up as a straight charge which the Germans won, but barely and at the cost of both generals. Germany now had no mobile army in Italy – but the Sicilian reinforcements had been wiped out to a man. Without his reinforcements there was no longer any cause for delay, and the commander of the Sicilian army outside Bologna ordered an assault on the city, whose wooden walls protected a small garrison of militia.

Storm on the Walls

Sicilian ladders were placed against the walls and the assault commenced. A battering ram went up in flames, and then for hour after bloody hour the Sicilians poured men into the battle, the German defenders holding at great cost the wooden walls of Bologna. As the sun went down, the first unit of Militia, exhausted from the struggle finally broke and fled. The fall of Bologna would cut Florence off from any German relief if the Sicilians decided to fortify their new gain, and the expectant Italian knights moved toward the gates in readiness to charge.

Yet the Germans had been counted out too soon. The German general took personal command of the soldiers on the wall, and step by stack the Sicilian attackers were driven back, until the last Sicilian spearman had fled the walls.

Turning the tide

A stalemate ensued, but without infantry the Sicilians could do little more than ride around outside the city. Driven off, the Norman soldiers retreated the following morning.

The Langobard Crusade

News of the Sicilian defeats disheartened the remaining Lombards as they encouraged the Imperial troops, but the most significant effect of the battles was to ring from the halls of the Vatican. After years of maintaining an uneasy neutrality, Pope Gregory took a stand. In successive turns, he announced first the Venetians, then the Milanese, and finally the Sicilians, excommunicate.

This was crushing news, and the Lombards were afflicted with mass desertions and riots on the streets of their home cities. The Milanese army pulled back from Florence, and the Venetians from Venice, to take stock. The next turn the Venetians retreated toward Ragusa, and with no Sicilian forces in sight, Milan was left as the only effective opposition to Imperial pretensions in Northern Italy. Worse was yet to come.

Henry had spent nearly the Empire’s last florin buying influence with the Vatican, and now he called in his debts. At the instigation of the Empire, Pope Gregory issued a bull Ad Exstirpando against Milan. While Milanese armies marched across Lombardy, Henry’s small force was bolstered by crusading zealots as, in a show of piety, the Kaiser himself took the cross.

In Arcadian Hills

The Duke of Lombardy rushed to prepare his defences. A Milanese army was sent to continue the siege of Venice, a second to support it, and a third marched west to attack Henry’s troops, who had now crossed the Alps and threatened Milan. The remaining Milanese forces had returned to the cities of Milan and Genoa to help maintain order in the teeth of mounting unease among their populations. In the final year of the decade, Milanese hopes suffered a humiliating blow when their army besieging Venice turned Condotierri, its commander defending his brigandage by pious expressions of support for the German crusade. As Henry’s army prepared to attack Venice, the Milanese struck back in an attempt to behead the Imperial forces.

The Ducal army

The army of the Duke of Milan, composed largely of tough crossbow militia from Genoa and Italian spearmen and led by the Duke’s son and heir, drew itself up in a great line of attack among the Sub-alpine hills. They were supported by the garrison of Milan, which had marched as fast as it could to join the battle.

Henry’s forces were a rag-tag band of impoverished knights, crusading zealots, weary infantry and assorted hangers-on. They had just finished a march through some of Europe’s most inhospitable terrain. Fortunately for Henry, this had not caused casualties or made them weary, and they had escaped the dreaded camp-plague that commonly afflicted armies on the march.

Cat among the Pigeons

Henry’s light cavalry were a perfect foil to the Genovese. Before the Italian reinforcements could arrive, a massed charge by Mounted Sergeants and some Knights had scattered the greater part of the Italian army before their deadly crossbows could be employed. The remainder of the Ducal army broke and ran once their leader was killed.

The Milanese garrison arrived to find their main army scattered and the best defensive position on the battlefield now occupied by grinning Germans. In less than an hour they were routed, and their captain taken prisoner. The impoverished Duke of Milan was unable to ransom his soldiers, whom the Germans promptly executed.

No ransom for you!

The path to Milan was now clear. On a crisp November morning that year, Kaiser Henry rode into the greatest free city of Northern Italy at the head of a vagabond host, and ordered them to make free with the town. Fifteen thousand florins later, the Crusade was finished, and the Milanese in a very unfortunate situation indeed. The Emperor celebrated his victory by authorizing the creation of a new knightly order from among his soldiers, and agreed to consider at an unspecified future date the granting of lands for the preservation of that order and the suppression of heresy. Reflecting its roots in Northern Germany, the new order was to be known as the ‘Teutonic’.

[Dooz]

The Teutons are coming! The Teutons are coming! Oh boy, that was awesome. Lucky break or shrewd diplomacy, getting the Pope to back you against the Italian aggressors. Good stuff, future is looking a bit brighter for the men in black.

[Nutranurse]

Amazing as expected.

One question, just how do you make the Map at the beginning of the entries?

[Beefeater]

Nutranurse, I photoshop the map from the faction selection screen that comes up when you start a new game. I'm not the world's most skilled photoshoppist, alas - if anyone has ideas on how to improve it (or, in particular, how to improve the in-game screenshots using Photoshop), please do let me know.

[Nutranurse]

Thanks Beefeater (you are quickly becoming one of my favorite people on the forum :D) As for the screenshots they are already very good :D. I can tell that you have a pretty nifty Graphics Card. Also you seem to catch the men in the most exquisite positions during the fight. My I fond of the picture of the men fighting atop the walls.

[Dooz]

I've mentioned this at least twice so sorry to sound like a broken record, but to improve battle screenshots could you please remove the green arrow markers around the units? You can do so through the preferences text file.

[Beefeater]

Wonderland, thanks for bringing this to my attention. From about halfway through the turns I played in the most recent post I had turned off the markers - 'Face-off' should be the last pic showing them. Agree that they detract from immersion.

That said, I think that in the previous post they were quite handy. I have in mind the encirclement picture. At a significant zoom out, I'm finding it a little difficult to quickly tell which units I have selected without the markers. I'll continue without them for now though.

[AussieGiant]

Mr Beefeater!!

Excellent..simply excellent.

Now just a question. Your screen shots look amazing. What are the game settings you are playing on and what are your PC statistics?

[Lord Magus]

Excellent story!
Is there a faction named "Palermo"?

[Beefeater]

Lord Magus - Palermo is the Sicilian capital. Since Milan and Venice are cities, I went with 'Palermo' for the sake of the consistency of the sentence.

Aussie Giant - Processor's a P3 3.4, I am using 2 gig of RAM, and the Graphics card is an ATI Radeon x1900.

[The Teacher]

excellent keep it coming!

[Wizzie]

Excellent stuff!

By the way, if you'd rather keep the green circles ingame and not have to edit the preferences file, it's quite handy to just hit "Enter" before you take a screenshot to deselect all units

[Beefeater]

Ta Wizzie, that's worth knowing (and, previously, I didn't).

[AussieGiant]

Lord Magus - Palermo is the Sicilian capital. Since Milan and Venice are cities, I went with 'Palermo' for the sake of the consistency of the sentence.

Aussie Giant - Processor's a P3 3.4, I am using 2 gig of RAM, and the Graphics card is an ATI Radeon x1900.

Thanks for the details Beefeater, that is good to know.

[Naefen]

Joining the forums today

I have played Total War since the first Medieval game and think its the best strategy games out there.

Just HAD TO pop in here and say how much I enjoy Beefy`s vignettes. Great work!!

Currently playing HRE aswell. Im eagerly waiting for your next post

[Lord Magus]

I've started a campaign as the HRE, and I'm also getting attacked by Sicily, Venice and Milan.
The Milanese main army was crushed by my feudal knights, Venice is currently regrouping after a crusade on them, and Sicily is blockading my ports O_O

[Brighdaasa]

great read, keep it coming please :)