Orders and reports thread

[econ21]

Chancellor’s Report for 1314

This is a year that will live in infamy! Dietrich von Dassel and his army of Lutherans has attacked Durazzo and killed the Pope in battle. The Reich is now excommunicated. In response, the Patriarch of Constantinople has severed the links between his church and the Catholic Church. Moreover, the formerly excommunicated Catholic nations are using the pretext of our excommunication to muster large armies to invade our lands and purge them of Lutheran influence. The Papal capital is now at Jerusalem, but far from welcoming us as protectors, will doubtless initiate hostilities with my army if given the chance.

The one positive development is that Imperial administration is showing signs of revival, with key offices having relocated to Innsbruck. This has helped restore order in some cities and led to a revival of tax collection. We now have a modest surplus of 25,000 florins.

Nonetheless, disorder and indiscipline continues. Desertion continues among the field regiments, although militias provided freely by our cities are now remaining true – perhaps in the realisation that they may be all that stands between the enemy and our women and children. There were riots in Genoa, Hamburg and Dijon.

Detailed reports by zone:
Swabia: After a period of silence, Count von Salza has declared for his Duke. He has marched SHA2 north out of Paris to engage usurper Count Hummel and his SHA1. Perhaps in reaction against this fratricide, the people of Paris have revolted – as have those in Hummel’s home province of Metz. Perhaps the bitterness of past Hummel’s extermination of Metz still festers in the city? Duke Hans and Ruppel are heading west to Swabia, but will be unable to intervene in the imminent battle for northern France.

Bavaria: HAO remains stalled outside Thessalonica. Its fleet has had to be disbanded. HAG is north of Marseilles, but with the disbandment of its fleet is powerless to assist Ajacco, now under siege by the Sicilians. Duke Lothar has rallied the evicted Marseilles militia.

Franconia: Duke Ansehelm and the PHA have driven another Polish army from Thorn. Fritz von Kastilien has abandoned Hamburg and instead laid siege to rebel Stettin. Peter von Kastilien is heading north to join his brother Fritz, while Dieter Bresch is heading north to take command of SHA.

Austria: Duke Arnold and a much depleted AHA2 are heading to Ragusa. They will rendezvous with the half of Dietrich’s army that chose to return to mother Austria. The other half – mainly fanatical Lutherans - have embarked for Rome. I fear for the safety of the Dowager Empress Theodora. AHA1 under Count Becker is in dire straits – besieged in Bucharest by a large Hungarian army composed mainly of knights. I have urged Karl Zirn to lead the Bran garrison and attempt to relieve Count Becker. If is not relieved or does not sally, he will remain trapped and surely slain.

Outremer: King Jan and the Army of Jerusalem has retaken Aleppo in a lightning move, and also freed Matthias Steffen. The latter has taken command of the Army of Antioch anchored off Adana in the last of our fleets. My Kaiser’s army is garrisoning Acre.

Tancred’s band of pirates and deserters still holds Constantinople. There are not reports of armies approaching from the east, but Byzantine and Hungarian armies seem to be moving in his direction from the west. His fleet has been disbanded, so if he is to leave, it will have to be by foot.

All generals are urged to be alert and to consider carefully their next moves. In action in such a hostile environment could spell disaster for them.


Kaiser Elberhard

http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/kotr1316_try.zip


Some immediate battles for 1316 (copied from OOC thread):


Fritz (Tamur):

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

You have besieged Stettin using its expelled garrison and your cavalry. Now bring up the Saxon Household Army and the Hamburg garrison to crush them in a show of force.

Ansehelm (Stig)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Poles are besieging Thorn... again.

Friedrich Karolinger (Warmaster Horus)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The walls of Thessalonica are still beckon.

In addition, we have a player vs player battle:
Hummel (Ignoramus) vs Von Salza (Warluster)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Ignoramus and Warluster - why don't you have a trial MP battle using whatever forces you like? If it works, we can set up a battle where your forces roughly correspond to what you have on the campaign map. If it does not work, we will set up a "tabletop" style encounter. Thinking about it, it might be best in three stages: deployment; plan of attack; mid-battle revisions.

Becker (Cecil) and Zirn (Northnovas) at Bucharest.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Hungarians are maintaining the seige of AHA1 within Bucharest. You have two options:
(1) Have Count Becker sally - hoping your cannons and walls will allow you to overcome a superior, but perhaps passive opponent.
(2) Bring up the Bran garrison and have Karl Zirn attempt to relieve Bucharest. Your forces would be divided, with the main component (AHA1) entering as reinforcements. The odds would be 2:3 against you, but better than if Becker sallies.

[econ21]

Chancellor's Report for 1316

Electors, I bear terrible news - the First Austrian Household Army has been destroyed in a Hungarian assault on Bucharest. The Hungarians had many knights and used multiple rams to open up the city to their horsemen. Count Becker's men fought bravely, but simply lacked the numbers to repel the assault. Karl Zirn and the Bran garrison were too late to provide reinforcements. As there was no possibility of retreat, we must assume Count Becker lies dead, along with his entire army. I mourn the loss of a brave man.

Despite all our efforts at diplomacy and reconciliation, it appears that the conflict with Byzantium is escalating into full scale war. The continued occupation of Constantinople by the pirate Tancred is no doubt one factor in this debacle. However, there can be little doubt as to the intentions of the Eastern Romans. As I write, there are reports coming in of a major battle north of Antioch between our men and the Byzantines. The Empress Dowager Theodora has revealed her true loyalties and abused the trust I placed in her out of respect to her late husband. She has fled from Rome with the Imperial Treasury - a sum of over 20,000 florins. Consequently, I have been unable to authorise any significant building, repairs or recruitment this year.

Lack of funds has meant desertion has continued to afflict our regiments, especially the militia. The former garrisons of Rheims, Paris and Marseilles have effectively ceased to exist. My poor brother Hans has been particularly afflicted - all his veteran cavalry have abandoned his cause, refusing to be sucked into a fratricidal Swabian civil war. Bavarian Household Army Otto has suffered the most, however, with virtually half its number melting away as it undertakes the long march back from Thessalonica. It appears that many soldiers were motivated only by the promise of gold from sacking the city and have now abandoned the army.

There now follow brief reports by region:

Swabia: Dijon has revolted. We await news of the first and hopefully only battle in the Swabian Civil War. Count von Salza's Swabian Defence Force is attacking the usurper Hummel's "Army of the Prinz". The forces are well matched, although praise be to God, the loyalists have a slight numerical edge.

Bavaria: the valiant garrison of Ajaccio has beaten off a Sicilian assault and is no longer under siege! Bavarian Household Army Gerhard is approaching the bridge over the river Po north of Genoa. The Pope-killer Dietrich von Dassel is sailing for Rome, but his landing has been posted by the sight of two large Byzantine armies marching north up the eastern Italian coast.

Franconia: Fritz and Peter von Kastilien have used the florins acquired from sacking Stetting to recruit more men, including many regiments of mercenaries. The Saxon Household Army now gathering near Magdeberg is the largest military formation in the Reich. Duke Ansehelm's Prussian Household Army has seen off another Polish siege of Thorn.

Austria: With the loss of AHA1, our eastern front is now open. There are reports of the pirate Tancred marching north from Constantinople to assist Count Becker, but like Count Zirn, he clearly arrived too late. Duke Arnold is moving to Ragusa to join AHA2 with those left to their fate when Dietrich von Dassel fled Durazzo by sea. Needless to say, attrition amonst those abandoned Lutherans has been high. Lorenz Zirn is heading to his home county of Budapest.

Outremer: Matthias Steffen has landed the Army of Antioch and is defending a bridge north of the titular city. King Jan is blocking the ford east of Antioch and my army is marching north to seal the city from the south. We aim to isolate and retake the capital of Outremer, leaving us with a defensible triangle of Antioch, Aleppo and Acre. The Byzantines seem alert to this plan and there are reports that Matthias is under attack by a large army, comprised in large part of mercenary Muslim heavy cavalry. He is in my prayers.

And so, Electors, while we mourn the defeat at Bucharest and the death of brave Count Becker, we must also wait for the result of two critical battles at opposite ends of the Reich. To the east, Matthias Steffen battles our erstwhile brothers, the Eastern Romans. To the west, Athalwolf von Salza confronts the would-be "Prinz of Swabia". The Reich has gone mad and, like Saturn, devours its own children.

Elberhard

[econ21]

Chancellor’s Report for 1318



Rome has fallen. As we took their capital, so the Byzantines take ours in retaliation. But what they have done is far worse than what Tancred’s pirates inflicted on them. They have put our capital to the sword. The only survivors are the few fortunate enough to escape or who the enemy were too tired to slaughter. The city is a ruined husk.

In this situation, I am declaring a State of Emergency. We will not waste time with @#$%^&!!!ing elections, edicts or charter amendments. We have time for only one thing - to fight! I put down my Chancellor’s robes, but I will hand them on to no one else until Rome is back in our hands. Nor will the Diet reconvene.

I tell you simply to fight. Fight to protect those under your charge. Fight to defend the Reich. Fight to expel the invaders. I do not tell you to obey your Dukes, for they have failed you as I have failed you. However, I do tell you to obey your consciences. Any German who chooses to fight other Germans rather than the foreign armies pouring over our frontiers will not be forgiven when this cataclysm is over.

My report for 1318 is as follows:

Swabia: The usurper “Prinz” of Swabia and Count von Salza fought an inconclusive encounter and then withdrew back to their lines of communication (Caen and Staufen respectively). Duke Hans has now arrived at Staufen. The French have taken advantage of our disarray to besiege rebel Paris.

Bavaria: The Pope-killer and adopted Bavarian, Dietrich von Dassel, relieved the besieged city of Bologna from the Byzantines. However, it was all in vain, as the city revolted against the heresies of Luther and then the expelled garrison was destroyed by a second Byzantine army. Dietrich provided some reinforcements, but was unable to sway the battle. Duke Lothar is advancing on Florence with the BHAG and Fredericus Erlach has taken command of Ajaccio after its surprise defeat of a Sicilian assault. The one glimmer of hope is that the Papacy has called for a crusade on Tunis, which may distract our enemies from their intent to devour our weakened Empire.

Austria: Karl Zirn and Friedrich Karolinger with the BHAO have been making their way from Sofia towards Budapest, but have been harried by Hungarians. The pirate Tancred is also heading west from Constantinople, although whether he will evade destruction by the Hungarians is unclear. Budapest itself has rebelled and expelled Karl Zirn’s garrison. Duke Arnold and what is left of AHA2 have reached Ragusa and been reunited with the survivors of the cursed assault on Durazzo. Reports are reaching us that a Venetian fleet has transported most of the Papal forces in Durazzo over to Jerusalem. Taking their place, two large Venetian armies have landed near the former Papal capital.

Franconia: Duke Ansehelm has seen off another Polish attempt to take Thorn. However, a Russian army has now arrived to besiege the citadel while a large Polish force besieges Krakow. There are reports of other large Polish and Russian armies approaching. I fear Thorn may soon have to be abandoned. Fritz and Peter von Kastilien have divided the Saxon Household Army. The larger part, under Peter, has secured Hamburg while the remainder, under Fritz, is at Magdeberg. Dieter Bresch has arrived at Magdeberg to assume control of the SHA but the outcome of this is as yet unclear. Command of SHA now seems as complex and fraught as the Franconian succession..

Outremer: Matthias Steffen held the bridge north of Antioch against a Byzantine attack, while King Jan secured the western ford. With the garrison isolated, Antioch fell easily to a night time attack by my army. Unfortunately, my presence up north has exposed Acre and it is now under siege by Papal forces. Young Dieter von Kassel has come of age in Acre and in my absence is rallying the beleaguered garrison. Older Electors will remember Dieter is of an unfortunate lineage - his father having betrayed the Reich for the sake of a few rubbles. However, we must judge the man and not the father, and in my book young Dieter has got off to a most promising start.

And so, Electors, my time as Chancellor ends. I hope to see you all again in better times. But if it is not to be, let us sell our lives dearly, so that when we do next meet again, we will stand together in God’s kingdom as men who fought hard and did their duty.

For God and the Reich!

Elberhard

[TinCow]

A List of Battles during the Cataclysm Events of 1320 AD to 1340 AD


FA=field battle (attacker)
FD=field battle (defender)
SA=siege assault (attacker)
SD=siege assault (defender)
YA=sally (attacker)
YD=sally (defender)
AA=ambush (attacker)
AD=ambush (defender)
PvP='tabletop' style PvP battle (victor's initials in result field)
MP=online multiplayer PvP battle (victor's initials in result field)

d=defeat, type unknown
cd=close defeat
v=victory, type unknown
lv=close victory
cv=clear victory
hv=heroic victory

[econ21]

A scribe enters a dusty room in the palace at Nuremburg. He goes to a grand mahongany desk and begins to polish it. When he has finished, he carefully places a plaque labelled "CHANCELLOR" on the desk.

[econ21]

Feudal Levies for 1340


Notes for 1340

If anyone would like different units to be in their levies, they can PM me but I would prefer to keep things as they are. I will not use the console to spawn units at this Diet (except peasants).

Players who are not lords of settlements do not have feudal levies - sorry! I have made two exceptions. Lothar is regarded as Lord of Nuremburg, as the loan to the Kaiser is only temporary. Fritz can keep some of his mercenaries on the assumption that he has squirrelled away some wealth BUT he will lose them at the next Diet unless he becomes lord of a province.

Each player's feudal levies are the topmost units in their stack in the following save:
http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/kotr1340-1b.zip

Levies cannot be upgraded at this Diet, but can be at the next one.

In allocating levies, I generally chose the best "feudal" type units in the stack. These means that veterans of the cataclysm will have better levies than new Counts who will start with 4 peasants (plus some scope for upgrades). This seems fitting although it will limit the upgrade possibilities for most veterans.

Occasionally, I transferred some units between stacks. Some units are very depleted but are high experience/quality and you may be able to persuade the Chancellor to retrain them (at no cost to yourself).

On unit types - sometimes non-knight cavalry were not available, so I have replaced them with armoured spearmen (which can be upgraded to cavalry at the next Diet). I have treated artillery as taking up a knight slot. Deguerra has the biggest deviation from the standard unit types - I thought he might like a pike and gunpowder levy.

General notes on feudal levies in spoiler (taken from post-cataclysm mechanics poll thread):

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

OOC CA14.7: Each Count or higher will have a feudal levy. These will be allocated by econ21 at each Diet and will consist of four or more units commensurate with the status and service of the player’s avatar. (Typically, a Count would have 1 mounted sergeant, 1 peasant archer or peasant crossbow, 1 sergeant spearmen and EITHER one DFK OR one feudal knight.)

Some illustrative notes on the feudal levy (these are not part of the CA and are subject to change):

At the next Diet, I will allocate feudal levies to players who are lords of a settlement. They will be commensurate with the lord's age and experience. Players will have to look after them for 10 turns (the Chancellor may retrain them) – then at the subsequent Diets, there will be scope to upgrade levies or replace existing ones.

For players who want it, I will implement a points based system. For the others, the levy can be decided informally. I will balance informal allocations to be about equal to what would arise with a points based system.

Administratively, what I will do is that – at the start of each Diet – reorder stacks so that the existing levies are top units in each player’s stack. At the end of each Diet, I will change these levies to reflect any upgrades or replacements. In the interval, players should use the Chancellor and Governors' orders thread to post any instructions about upgrading their levies - either informal requests or choices based on the points system. If players give no instructions, I will use my own judgement and the points system to adjust the levies.

Upgrade paths (costs)


Note: All lords have FOUR units. High lords have one additional knight class units; the Kaiser has two additional knight class units.

Explanatory notes

In order to be eligible for a feudal levy, you must be lord of a settlement.
Counts and Dukes are lords of the settlements they govern. The Prinz and Kaiser are always lords.

If you cease being a lord, your levy is disbanded at the next Diet. (This represents the loss of the social and economic basis of your levy).

Lords are entitled to four units in a feudal levy. High lords (Dukes, King of Outremer, Prinz) are entitled to five; the Kaiser to six.

When players first become lords, they start off with a feudal levy of four peasants. Every Diet, a lord is given 10 points they may “spend” those points to upgrade their units (high lords are given 13 points; the Kaiser 15). The cost of the upgrade is the difference in the cost of the two units. Armor or weapon upgrades cost one point per upgrade per unit.

Steps on upgrade paths may be skipped if points allow (so a Feudal knight could be upgraded straight to Gothic). But units may only be upgraded to a unit on the same path. (e.g. an archer cannot be upgraded to a knight.)

Units can be retrained at no extra cost: sacrifice will be rewarded.
But lost units are replaced by peasants - look after your men.

PLEASE POST GENERAL QUERIES/COMMENTS IN OOC THREAD. SPECIFIC REQUESTS BY PM.

[FactionHeir]

Bern Queue:
1: Repair Merchant's Bank and start construction of Armourer (same turn)
2: Start construction of Printing Press
3: Start construction of Church