Battle reports thread - King of the Romans PBM

[OverKnight]

The Assault on Milan

A gray twilight spilled over the foothills and plains of Lombardy. Dawn was coming, but had yet to arrive. Men moved through the failing shadows towards their goal, the city of Milan. The sleeping locals they passed would have been shocked to see the Eagle of the Reich emblazoned on the standards that were now being unfurled in the burgeoning light. Those few who had been awake to see the passage of so many men had been silenced by scouts and outriders. The city was unaware of their arrival.

The army of the Reich, 675 men strong, stopped for a moment on a wooded hill overlooking their target. A man on horseback spurred himself ahead of the force and gazed toward the city.

It's good to be out in the field again, thought Otto von Kassel, Simpler, much simpler. I do what I'm told, I attack where the Chancellor says attack, and it is he who has to worry about the consequences.

Peering towards the gatehouse closest to him, Otto saw a torch drop from an arrow slit. He chuckled darkly. I may not agree with Sigismund on his course of action, but the Chancellor is competent. Our man is there to open the gates. What would have taken years with siege, we'll do in a day. The man is fast.

Turning from the city, Otto trotted over to his captains, "No ruses this time. We run for the gate as quick as possible, our spy will open it for us and in we go! There's a Milanese lordling running the show with some retainers of his. He's got two units of Italian spear militia, two units of Genoese crossbowmen and a chewed up company of mercenary crossbowmen. The bastards will be scattered all over the city and we'll kill them piecemeal! Knights, you may pursue those who run, but don't get too far ahead of the spearmen. Infantry, try to keep up. Archers, get in shots when you can. No time for a speech, form up!"

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As his force approached the city in the dawn light, Otto was amazed that they hadn't been spotted yet. From what our agent said, this man Cataldo was supposed to be a confident defender, perhaps too confident.

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Suddenly, a scream went up from the walls in front of him. Shouts of alarm broke out up and down the defenses. In the distance a church bell began to peal. Otto swore and had his bugler signal the charge.

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This was no close order march, but a wild sprint to Milan's sabotaged gate. Otto's retainers and knights made it into the city first. Pausing briefly in the gateway he spyed a unit of crossbowmen frantically trying to redeploy off to his right and a company of spearmen pouring off the walls, some still pulling on their armor, to his left.

"Cavalry to the right! Kill those archers!"

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"Infantry to the left! Engage the spearmen!"

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Otto spurred his horse towards the crossbowmen. He expected them to be dead and trampled by the time he arrived, but they fought resolutely. Charging into the fray, Otto hacked at one of them, cutting through the man's neck and the strange shield on his back at the same time.

"They're just bowmen! Kill them now!", bellowed Otto, but they fought on for a long time until the sheer number of horsemen overwhelmed them.

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"Christ on the Cross! Why don't I just recruit an army of them and not waste time feeding horses!?", Otto swore at the knights. "Nevermind! Back! Back to help the infantry!"

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The Imperial army swarmed up the roadway after the routed spearmen. Otto, looking up after skewering a militia man, saw the Milanese lord and his retainers charging toward them. There's something oddly familiar about this, Otto thought before yelling, "Cavalry hold! Spearmen forward!"

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The Milanese commander, Cataldo, having tried to catch the Imperial horsemen disorganized and isolated instead found himself charging into a spear wall. Once the spearman had absorbed the charge, Otto screamed, "Knights, forward!", and the counter-charge broke the Milanese nobles and killed their leader.

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The routing spearmen turned to try to save their master but were repulsed. Otto's cavalry pursued but were met by the remnants of the garrison. As horsemen began to fall, speared by the militia and hacked at by more of those stubborn crossbowmen, Otto cried, "Go past them! Past them! Infantry engage!"

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Most of the cavalry were now free of the melee. Otto yelled, "Turn and flank them!"

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Finally, the spirit of the defenders broke. What was left of the garrison turned and ran or surrendered on the spot. The din of battle subsided and all Otto could hear was the moans of the wounded and the church bells ringing in the morning air.

"Take them prisoner!", Otto commanded, "I won't fight cornered men today. We need all our men to garrison this city. I doubt the merchant schwein will let their capital be occupied without another battle or two. After we secure the captives, then we can pry open their vaults and take some restitution. Milan is ours! The Reich is whole!"

The men cheered, whether for the prospect of plunder or patriotic zeal, Otto did not know.

Milan was sacked, providing 10,955 florins for the Reich. 2,981 souls who opposed reintegration into the Empire were put to the sword.

The Butcher's Bill:

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[GeneralHankerchief]

Genoa

To the Diet:

The war on Milan, as you know, is going fairly well. Their capital city has just been taken thanks to the efforts of Otto von Kassel, and now the people who once dared to attempt conquest on our lands have been reduced to two cities isolated from each other. Today, I aimed to reduce that number to one.

News had reached me of another war in the Italian Front opening up with the treachery of Venice. I, who had long warned the Diet of Venetian intentions, was somewhat distracted by this news, probably more than I should have been. This caused me to be looking ahead to the upcoming takeover of their possessions, when I should have been taking things one at a time. As a result, I did not realize how evenly matched we were with the Genoan garrison.

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The interesting thing about this battle was that Chancellor Sigismund ordered me to assault the city without any siege equipment or engines whatsoever. However, he explained in his letter to me that a spy had been placed inside the city, which would cause even more chaos for the Milanese since all gates would be simultaneously opened.

The Milanese apparently agreed, and we found the walls abandoned.

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I figured that this was a mixed blessing as the Milanese would probably be massing in the city square. The best way to defeat this would be to surround them and attack from all streets leading into the square, but in order to do this a good position must first be established so that the Milanese do not disrupt your plans. I therefore ordered all units into the city at a run. We would split up later.

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It is a good thing I did, for the spearmen found the heaviest cavalry the Milanese had to offer (their leader's bodyguard) charging their position. Luckily, our men were massed, so I can imagine that Count Catelano had a nasty shock when he rounded the corner.

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He, along with most of his bodyguard, quickly perished thanks to our spears. However, about ten horsemen survived, riding back to the safety of the city square.

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Reverse angle shot of the Milanese count's death

The next attack on our position was slightly more determined.

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It was repulsed with heavy losses, but the Milanese continued to cede ground with a fight. All in all, it threw my plan of surrounding and defeating them in the square into the fire. This would be a nasty, brutal, street-by-street fight. Their count's death apparently did nothing to break the Milanese's spirits; in fact, I think it buoyed them to fight harder. We must be careful about killing future commanders early on in the battle.

I finally followed through with a modified battle plan - a two-way attack. The infantry would continue with the main push to the city square, while the cavalry would be detached and provide the final hammer blow. It reminded me of the ancienct Alexandrian tactics of the phalanx that pinned, and the Companions that shattered. Perhaps this effect would come back into style after today's battle.

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The plan was put into good effect, and eventually our infantry hacked their way to the city square where the Milanese still fought like wildcats. Evidently the situation that played out in their capital city would not happen here.

"Oh, well," I thought, "That's why they invented cavalry."

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The infantry do their part.

But then, good Electors, something had happened that did not go to plan. Whoever was commanding the remnants of the Genoan garrison (if it was anyone) detached some units of his own to attack the cavalry's position. Mostly they were the men who had survived the initial assaults on the gate that we had just taken, back at the start of the fighting. There was a good mixture of spearmen and cavalry, deadly in compact spaces, but they were far under-strength.

Captain Ludwig, my close friend and second-in-command, seemed to notice my hesitation and chipped in with his opinion, always welcome in the past:

"Mein Kaiser, order us forward! We can break this rabble!" A few other men cheered. They were gearing for a fight, having missed out on the main bloody push by the infantry.

"Very well, charge! Smash them!"

I will never forget what happened next, for it was a mistake that ranks up there with allowing Pope Gregory to push me around all those years ago. I saw the looks on my men's faces (those that did not have visors covering their faces), grinning, ready for anything. I saw them eagerly spurring their horses forward, and I heard the thunder of hundreds of hoofbeats.

I saw the charge stop dead against a green wall. I saw a pileup of men and horses, all wearing Imperial colors. I saw the men lucky enough to be on the edges of the street (where they faced little opposition and prepared to take the spearmen from the side) get torn apart by the remaining Milanese cavalry, including the ten men of the escort that had lost their leader so long ago.

Desperate, I ordered my own escort forward hoping to break the spears. It worked to a point. For every inch of ground we made more good men fell. Finally, when we had met up with the infantry, as was our original plan, only two horsemen were still up. The men, shocked, ordered me to the back. Some routed. Once I was in a safe spot and still recovering from the shock of what happened (as well as futilely trying to rally a regiment that had routed), I glanced over at who else had survived that doomed charge. Amazingly, it was Captain Ludwig, who had proposed the move in the first place. He looked sick to his stomach, bent over in the saddle. I did not need to chastize him about what had just happened.

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Eventually, good Electors, the city was taken but I stress that it was not easy. The infantry had to make due on their own, continuing to push even after they had pused all the way to this point, since most of our cavalry littered a side street.

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It didn't make matters easier that the last Milanese still refused to give up, even in the face of tremendous odds.

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When the final man had fallen, there was no cheering. Only a collective sigh of relief. We reluctantly plundered the city, bringing over 5,000 florins into the Imperial treasury. It also made us sick to execute the prisoners after the Milanese Duke, all the way in Dijon, refused to pay the ransom. These warriors deserved a better death.

Good Electors, let this serve as a lesson to all of us. I may not admire Dietrich von Saxony's childbearing skills or his politics, but he is apparently the only one who knows how to use cavalry in a siege assault. The shattered remnants of my escort are living proof of that.

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Heinrich, Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire, reporting from Genoa.

[econ21]

Outside Dijon, 1126 AD

Prinz Henry stared at the inquisitor and the inquisitor stared back. The cheek of the man, the presumptuousness! Henry was the heir to the Holy Roman Empire, Duke of Swabia, Army Commander, Knight. And this inquisitor, in his plain white and black commoners’ garb, was what? He was nothing. And yet there he stood, in front of the Prinz, baldly staring him down.

Henry looked uneasily around him. His handpicked knights stood respectfully to attention. His best men, the men who would guard him with their lives, had ushered the inquisitor reverently into Henry’s presence, had bowed and scraped in front of the commoner. And slowly it dawned on Henry. These men owed their allegiance to Henry, yet Henry was but a man. The inquisitor was an agent of God almighty and no man took precedence over Him. The knights were good Catholics first, loyal Germans a distant second. And so Henry started to understand what Manfred had once said to him: I am not afraid of dying in a castle breach. I fear no man at arms. I fear only the Inquisition.

Only Henry’s guard dog, Verginius, showed the appropriate degree of hospitality to the Papal guest, growing lowly at the inquisitor. Henry primly admonished the beast, although inwardly, his heart was filled with satisfaction at the animal’s undiplomatic display. The inquisitor must be a Frenchman, Henry mused. He had named his dog Verginius after a Roman Republican who shared the canine’s hostility towards the French.

I trust his Holiness is well? Henry inquired blandly.

The inquisitor nodded, disinterestedly, but then barked: ”His Holiness is most displeased at your prosecution of this war”.

Henry slowly poured a glass of wine, picked it up and sipped it before deigning to reply: ”As you know, Milan started this war by an unprovoked attack on us. We can hardly be condemned for fighting back, can we?”

”You are embarked on a war of conquest! You have taken Milan, Genoa and now stand poised to strike before Dijon! Your response is most disproportionate! His Holiness is very displeased at this spilling of Christian blood! You must end this fratricidal war!”

Henry pursed his lips and then mused: ”I rather think that is what Chancellor Sigismund intends.” End this war on our terms, with the extinction of Milan, Henry meant.

The inquisitor looked at the Prince sat in front of him, and shook his head.

“Your father embarked on a long conflict with the Holy See. You would be foolish to follow in his path.”

Henry spoke coldly: “Were you an Emissary of the Holy See, Sir, I would be happy to discuss matters of diplomacy with you. I would assure you that I have only the friendliest of intentions towards his Holiness. And indeed venture to suggest that the Pontiff has no truer supporter in the Diet. But you, Sir, are no Papal Emissary and have no standing in my court. I invited you here out of respect, but I see now that it is not reciprocated. I wish you farewell, Sir, I have a battle to attend to.”

“You are a fool, young man, to treat a Papal servant with such disregard. I will leave you now to your blood letting. But know this - you have come to my attention and only the most pious regard that development with equanimity. Good day, young Prince.”

Henry waved the inquisitor off, distractedly. But inside, he felt a ripple of dread. Damn it, let’s get this assault over with and get the hell out of here, he thought uneasily.


Right, let’s see. What’s the situation? We have 602 men. We are well provided with cavalry and missiles, but sorely lacking in infantry - only one regiment of town militia and 54 spear militia. Is this a joke? How am I supposed to take a settlement with only cavalry and missiles? What siege equipment has Sigismund ordered prepared? Only one ram? And two sets of ladders? What am I supposed to do? Carry our warhorses up the ladder?

What’s the opposition? Two regiments of Italian militia and two of Italian spear militia. Great, what we lack - solid infantry - they have in number.

How to do this? Try to use one ram to break open two gates? No, the enemy towers would cut down our men before they left the first. Use our missiles to fire over the settlement walls? No, without line of sight, our missiles would be ineffective while our archers themselves would be cut down by the enemy towers. Try to barrel through with my own escort? No, against so many spears packed in the narrow streets, the only result would be Sigismund as the new faction heir.

I have to fight clever. But how? Let’s distract them. Set up two battle groups: one, at the front gates, to the south, and one at the western gates. Both should be equipped with the ladders, with cavalry and with archers. Then, let’s hide a third battle group near the east gate. Keep it small: the few spear militia carrying the battering ram, my escort and a regiment of peasant archers. With any luck, the enemy will be preoccupied with my two visible battle groups and not notice the third until it is too late.

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Henry manages to deploy the battering ram against the unguarded east gate of Dijon.

And so it was. The Milanese deployed pairs of regiments to face the south and western battle group; but no men were set to guard the east gate. Even when the battering ram smashed down the gate, no troops moved east. Even when Henry ordered his cavalry to move round the settlement to the east gate, there was no Milanese reaction. Only when Henry’s men were racing for the town square did the enemy turn away from the two battle groups of Germans with ladders.

Henry’s 54 spearmen briefly occupied the town square, but found themselves facing six times their number. Though Henry and his archers tried to provide support, it was hopeless and the Germans were driven from the square. But the spearmen had bought Henry time. Time for his mounted sergeants to get to the east gate; time for his ladders to move unopposed onto the enemy walls.

Henry’s archers fell back from the town square towards the east gate, pursued by one regiment of Milanese. Before the Milanese could reach the east gate and man the towers, Henry rallied his few spearmen and led them, and his escort, in a counterattack. The fighting was brutal and for a time Henry feared he may fall, but the toughness of his escort and the demoralising effect of the fire arrows loosed in support broke the morale of the first enemy regiment.

A second regiment of Milanese militia headed back to the south gate, as German archers scaled their ladders. Henry ordered the mounted sergeants to provide support to the archers. They bravely attacked the Milanese militia from the front, but in the narrow streets were unable to charge and soon began to suffer terribly. They withdrew towards the east gate, pursued by the enemy militia. In doing so, the pursuers exposed their backs to the German archers on the walls, suffering grievously from their arrows. Soon the enemy militia were wavering. When the German mounted sergeants realised this, they halted their horses and returned, putting the Milanese to flight.

On the west gate, the German town militia had also scaled the walls unopposed, but the third regiment of Milanese returned to the walls and hurried to intercept them. With the towers now firing in support of the Milanese, the Germans realised that contesting the walls was unsound and so they raced down the steps, off the walls, towards the town centre. The fourth Milanese regiment was also hurrying from the town centre to catch the German town militia, but the Imperial infantry were able to take another road back - evading both pursuing regiments.

Having broken the first enemy regiment, Henry now reoccupied the town centre. He ordered fire arrows be loosed at the fourth enemy regiment and then sent his regiment of knights to battle them. Cavalry versus spearmen in narrow streets was a potentially foolhardy move, but the Milanese were losing spirit - they routed without much loss to the German knights. Then the German town militia turned to face the third enemy regiment. Supported by Henry’s own escort and the other horse, the Germans slew the garrison captain, bringing a successful end to the assault.

Henry ordered the town occupied. Sacking it would yield only 4000 florins, not worth blackening the good name of a future Emperor. When Henry looked at the casualty lists, he whistled: he had lost only 122 men - most notably half the mounted sergeants who had bought time at the south gate. Given the trepidation which Henry had begun the assault, this was a good result. Still, Henry hoped not to enjoy his victory for too long. Immediately on taking up residence in the town, he wrote the Chancellor an urgent note, informing him of the conversation with the inquisitor and begging to be moved rapidly away from his orb, to Bern and perhaps in time to Innsbruck to help his father face the Viennese threat.

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