Prague, 1350
“These Poles are too rash.”
Edmund Becker was making preparations to receive the Polish assault. He observed the Poles as they were arrayed before him. They had a tower, a ram and a set of ladders at the forefront, with another ram in reserve.
“Three points of entry are not enough to take this city.” He remarked to Karl. “Not with Prague’s towers.” He turned to Welf, his veteran warrior.
“Place the Pavise crossbowmen and the knights to the left of the gatehouse, the milita crossbowmen and a regiment of armored sergeants to the right. I’m sure the Poles will send their best to try and take the walls, make sure the crossbowmen concentrate their fire on the knights attempting to climb the ladders.”
Edmund purposely descended from the walls, and arrayed the remaining infantry before the gatehouse. The army deployed, he addressed them.
“The Poles have an army comprised primarily of horsemen and various archers. With it they intend to charge through these gates and defeat an army of spearmen. Let this battle be a reminder to them that Bohemians fight not just for our lives and the Reich, good and just reasons they may be. We fight so our families and our property will be protected from the ungodly attacks of those who would take what is not theirs by force!”
A cheer arose from the army. Edmund turned to walls and shouted “Open fire!”
And so, the walls of Prague began the battle.
Results were immediate.
“Move the Knights to defend against the ladder; have the Sergeants get down here and defend the gatehouse.” His orders given, a rider came up to Becker.
“My Lord, Count Lorenz Zirn is once again riding to your aid. He is ready to lead the Bohemian militia and your levy which you used last season.”
“Excellent. Confirm the plan with Count Zirn upon your return. The infantry will move to reinforce the gatehouse, while the artillery and Count Zirn himself shall move to flank the enemy. Have Count Zirn trap the enemy inside the city while the artillery attacks those other enemies who remain outside.
The instructions given, Edmund returned his attention to the battle only to find that the Ballista towers and destroyed the first ram. He smiled to himself.
By now, the Polish knights were beginning their assault on the walls.
“Have the crossbowmen target the infantry pushing that ram!”
Unfortunately neither the crossbows nor the towers could stop the final ram from reaching the gates. However, at that time Chwalimir decided to concentrate all his infantry on the ladders, leaving only his cavalry and the spearmen pushing the ram to take the gatehouse.
“Target the General! And send those Sergeants back up the walls! Have them attack the Poles from the opposite direction of the knights. Send the crossbow militia into the fray as well. We must hold the infantry on the walls while we crush the cavalry on the ground!”
Finally, the Gates of Prague flew upon, revealing the Bohemian host ready to receive their guests.
The Poles stormed through the gates, quickly creating a pocket large enough to allow some of their missile cavalry to begin taking shots at Becker and his guard.
Not wanting to entangle himself in such a mess Becker observed the battle, using the weight that he carried to keep the hearts of his men steadfast.
But he soon began to worry. He watched as his men struggled greatly in the fight. It was expected that the town militia would fold quickly, that’s why he placed that at the front of the line to blunt the Poles impetus. But they were being destroyed far quicker than he would have liked. He had known of this army’s elite quality, which was why he had forced them into this situation. To think that this Polish cavalry, which had not even managed to get a proper charge, could outfight his spearmen like this…
Some good news came in the form of Lorenz Zirn, who had attacked the missile cavalry from outside the walls.
Becker was glad that the shooting had stopped; he was worried his bodyguard would be reduced to below twenty. Then he noticed with shock and alarm that his bodyguard now numbered less than nine. Realizing that he was apparently in extreme danger, he was forced to order his men to fall back until they were out of range of the enemy bows.
Meanwhile the battle for control of the gate continued. It was a brutal contest; the Bohemian spears gave them a powerful advantage, but the Poles were battle-hardened veterans and the Polish general Chwalimir of Chelm was inspiring them further. Every cavalry unit had lost more than three-quarters of their men, but they refused to break. Chwalimir’s bodyguard had been reduced to about a dozen men before they even entered the city, but although a few of his guards had entered the fray and died he himself remained tantalizingly out of reach.
Unfortunately Polish fortitude won out, and to Edmund horror most of his force began to rout, and were soon cut down. Now with only four bodyguards, he raced to meet with Lorenz’s reinforcements, who were thankfully just marching around the city’s southeast corner. With the Polish cavalry in hot pursuit of him, he quickly ordered the deal with the cavalry while he got out of arrowshot. As he rounded a corner, he ran into four Polish retainers.
Taking advantage of the situation, Becker and his men fought with the Polish retainers, kill the four of them but losing three in the process. Spotting a much larger wing of Polish Knights coming up the road, Edmund quickly retreated back to the main force.
Upon his return, and as he ordered the spearmen to deal with his pursuers, he noted with mixed feelings that Chwalimir was in full retreat.
With all immediate threats taken care of, he sent a scout to the center of the city. From that Edmund learned that a few men had rallied with a unit of reinforcements, driving off the rest of the cavalry and the spearmen who had manned the ram.
Edmund ordered the army to return to the gate. The Polish infantry had was still scaling the walls, and while a regiment attempted to climb down they were quickly cut down by the large number of soldiers waiting for them.
After that the Poles were content to get the rest of their men up on the walls. It was strange; they weren’t even firing their bows and crossbows. It seemed that with the flight of their leader, the Poles were simply stalling for time until they could slip away under the cover of Darkness.
Edmund decided that it would be best for his army if he did not force the issue. Instead he had the crossbowmen fire onto the parapets while the artillery blasted the Poles who were still on the ground.
While he waited for the sun to set, Edmund surveyed the carnage.
It was with a shocking sense of dread that he realized he hadn’t seen Lorenz Zirn yet. He quickly rode out to just outside the gatehouse, where his fears were confirmed. Lorenz Zirn lay dead on the ground, along with his entire bodyguard. They had fought tooth and nail, none of them given an inch until they end. In his shock, Becker dismounted his horse, got on his knees, and lifted Zirn’s body in his arms. He began walking back into the city.
“You saved me again, Lorenz. That’s twice I would have died without your reinforcements.”
Once he was a fair distance into the city, away from the rest of corpses, he set Lorenz’s body down. By then night had fallen, and another rider had already ridden up to report to Becker.
“My Lord, the Poles are retreating. It… It seems the Polish General ordered all the prisoners his army took to be executed before he fled.”
“Damn them.”
“Sir.”
“Damn them! That’s three times they’ve shattered an army under my command! Two times they’ve killed the general under my command! By god, even victory feels like defeat when facing them!”
Edmund turned to face the direction the Poles had fled. To Breslau.
“Chwalimir of Chelm! I shall have my revenge!”
***
Later that night, Edmund was reviewing the results of the battle.
There was a knock on the door.
“Come in.” He replied, turning to face the door. It was Klem, the man who had been overseeing the city when he was away on campaigning and who had joined his retinue when he returned during the Cataclysm.
“What is it Klem?”
“My lord, I have good news. I have been able to find a Physician who is willing to serve in your retinue.”
“A physician? This is excellent news. Tell me, what is his name? Where is he from?”
“His name is Lars, and his is from Arhus. It’s taken me quite a while to find some, as all the academic buildings in the Reich are gone, destroyed in the Cataclysm or sold by the Chancellor I cannot say. Fortunately the newly acquired Denmark seems to escaped whatever attention was the cause.”
“You’ve gotten a Dane to help us.”
“Yes Lord.”
“Impressive. I can see why Duke Leopold chose your grandfather to oversee Bohemia in his stead.”
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