Ex-Communication: Can anyone explain how it works?

[Didz]

Well I must admit that I did the dirty deed that started the war, by launching a completely unprovoked attack on the city of Milan at a time when I was actually allied with the Milanese.

But, I am surprised to hear that the AI is sophisticated enough to hold a grudge against the faction that it considers to be the guilty party, not that it would have made much difference to me at the time.

Anyway, I decided to see what would happen if I didn’t launch an assault on the walls of Genoa. I was curious whether the Pope would give me the Red Card just for standing around and starving the place into submission.

Unfortunately, the test didn’t work because as predicted that large Milanese army I told you about descended on my besieging force causing the garrison of the city to sally forth and join the battle.

I decided to play the battle out and see what the Pope had to say afterwards, and phew! what an epic battle it turned out to be.

I deployed my Italian militia spearmen in a two deep line along the crest of the highest hill I could find, placed my peasant archers in a line between them and told them to hold their ground and keep firing. I then deployed my three mercenary crossbow units in front of the entire formation in open order and my cavalry to the rear. This is more or less my standard formation for enemy armies that are heavy in cavalry, and in this case there were no less than four enemy generals and their bodyguards to deal with.

The battle opened with the Milanese infantry in three densely packed lines marching up the slope into a hail of arrows and crossbow blots leaving the slope behind them carpeted in their dead.

They kept coming unit they were at about half-bow shot and then stalled and just stood there and died under a hail of missile fire. Several units broke and ran and within a few minutes Milanese casualties were netting 44% compared to my 1%.

Finally, the AI decided that this was just stupid and one of the Generals who had been deployed at the rear decided to spur forward and charge my formation. As his bodyguard pushed its way forward and through its own long suffering infantry line it became the focus of every crossbow and archer on the hill and heavily armoured knights began to drop like flies.

Nevertheless it kept coming and even paused to order ranks giving me time to retire my crossbowmen through my infantry before the 10 or so survivors hurled themselves into one of my front/centre spear units burying themselves deep into it. I must have lost at least 30 men instantly in that charge but the line held and within minutes half the remaining cavalry were dead and the rest running for their lives.

The gesture by these horsemen finally seemed to kick the AI into action and the remaining 3 Generals plus the surviving infantry all rushed up the slope and threw themselves into my battle line. An epic struggle followed with the centre of my front line practically ceasing to exist. I was forced to withdraw my archers to the rear of the second line and order spearmen from that line to move forward and plug the gaps.

By now there was a steady stream of routing Milanese infantry heading for safety and my cavalry were ordered to expedite their departure. Now my uncommitted spear units from the second line and those from the first that were no longer in action swung round on the surviving Generals. Duke Cristoforo the enemy king was killed as was his son and with that the entire enemy army broke and fled being chased down and slaughtered all the way to the red line. Their last general was captured trying to escape and executed along with his men when the Milanese refused to pay the ransom of nearly 6,000 florin's.

Altogether the Milanese lost 2,097 killed and 666 captured including their last family member. I lost 797 killed.

After the Battle Pope-o-Meter Venice 5/10 Milan (No longer exists)

“The Pope is no longer concerned with the fate of Milan.”

Councillor Bartolomeo is now a 5 star general and is to be referred to as ‘Bartolomeo the Saint’.

Plus, I just walked into Genoa and collected nearly 6,000 florins in loot.

Not what I expected to happen but whose complaining.