Official Cataclysm Thread

**TinCow** · 10-30-2007, 02:25

Choices due by 10pm EST, Wednesday, October 31st.

Save Game File

1326 AD: Tragedy and turmoil are the watchwords of the year.

In Outremer, the Army of the Kaiser was dispatched south to aid Dieter von Kassel in his defense of Acre. With this strong reinforcement, the young Crusader was able to defeat the Papal army and lift the siege of his citadel. Once again, Dieter spoke to the prisoners and convinces some of them to join his cause in the defense of Christendom. Half of the prisoners agreed to join him and they have assembled as a regiment of Pavise Crossbowmen and a regiment of veteran Crusader Sergeants. In the north, the Iron Bridge and the Eastern Ford are still in Imperial hands, but Aleppo is once again cut off and fully besieged. It is looking increasingly unlikely that the citadel will be saved yet again. To make matters worse, Jan von Hamburg, the King of Outremer, has disappeared. He was seen retiring to his tent to sleep one night and in the morning he was gone, along with a small group of retainers, bodyguards, some horses, and all his wealth. No one knows where he is or why he left. In his absence, Kaiser Elberhard has assumed the position of King of Outremer and has rushed to take command of King Jan’s army at the Eastern Ford.

The fickle whims of fate have made it a dire year for Franconia. The Polish armies chasing Duke Ansehelm caught up with him in the road east of Stettin. He was attacked from two sides by mighty hosts, each larger than his own. He fought bravely and took many Poles with him, but he eventually fell along with much of his army. The Poles executed every last prisoner they took in compensation for Duke Ansehelm’s lack of mercy in his previous campaigns against them. The survivors of the army are few indeed, but they have made their way to Dieter Bresch in Magdeburg, the rock that stands at the heart of Franconia. The only good news in this tragedy is that the survivors managed to rescue a good portion of the taxes the Duke had accumulated in previous years. They will be sorely needed, as the enemy is closing in from all sides. Angry at being abandoned to their fate, Hamburg has thrown off Imperial rule and attempted to raise an army to hold their walls against the Danes. They are not likely be successful. The Danish armies themselves have pushed far to the south and now besiege Frankfurt and Hamburg, while Stettin is threatened by the Poles. Neither city will last long unless an army is sent to rescue them. Fritz von Kastilien set sail in a mercenary fleet a few weeks before Duke Ansehelm's death. The strong Danish navy prevented him from sailing directly to Stockholm, but he has crossed the Baltic Sea and made landfall in southern Sweden. He is within range of Stockholm which is lightly defended, but the Danish will surely not allow him to roam free within their lands. The new Duke of Franconia, Peter von Kastilien, is not even within Franconia. Having journeyed south to aid Duke Hans in the assault on Metz, Peter is some ways south of Frankfurt. He and his army are desperately needed back in his Duchy. As if all that was not enough, the Plague has appeared in Breslau.

Bavaria continues to be under full-scale invasion by the Byzantines. Duke Lothar moved south with a rag-tag army, reinforced with three regiments of Pavise Crossbowmen, but he was not able to reach the River Po. The Byzantines have pushed across the river, besieged Venice, and are within range of both Genoa and Milan. All of Italy is now in danger of falling. The only bright spot in all of Bavaria is Ajaccio, a wall upon which the armies of Sicily continue to break. Due to previous efforts by Fredericus Erlach, the citadel remains free of siege this year, but the Sicilians have learned from their mistakes. They have landed two large armies on the island this year and advanced some ways inland, so as not to be caught on the beach.

Swabia remains split by internal dissent as much as it has ever been. The confrontation at Rheims was not decisive. While maneuvering for position, a full regiment of Wolfgang Hummel’s veteran infantry betrayed him and crossed over to Athalwolf von Salza’s army. This left a gaping hole in Wolfgang’s left flank and the rebel Swabian was forced to retreat from Rheims in a hurry. After fleeing north, he moved back towards Caen, where he confronted the French besiegers. The size of his army and the citadel’s walls was too much for them, and they broke off the siege. However, all is not well in Hummel’s lands. Having disposed of the Scottish armies that pestered Antwerp, the Danish have moved west and besieged Bruges. The city will fall without aid. Athalwolf von Salza remains outside of Rheims, but the French have finally disposed of the fort that blocked their path and the way is open for an advance on the city. In the south, Dietrich von Dassel assaulted Bern and destroyed Hans’ loyal garrison to the last man. He remains in the city for the moment, securing his hold over the place. He has treated the people well and they are growing to trust him, but he cannot expect anything more than obedience from them for the moment. Duke Hans himself finally retook Metz from the rebels, restoring his rightful rule to the place. He then repaired the town hall, donated a small amount of wealth to the people, and left behind a small garrison to guard Metz. The city has been pacified by the Duke’s, but they remain restless rebels at heart. They are not likely to fight for Hans should one of the rebels appear nearby. Hans then immediately marched south to Staufen in preparation for an attack on Dietrich von Dassel.

After the pause of last year, Austria is again under serious threat. The Venetians refused to give battle to Duke Arnold’s force outside the walls of Ragusa and instead bypassed him, putting the mighty citadel under siege. The Duke will have to destroy the Venetians if he is to have any hope of freeing the Austrian strongpoint. Budapest is once again threatened by the Hungarians, but a strong army stands ready to face them. In previous years, Duke Arnold dispatched many regiments of knights and spearmen to the city. Karl Zirn has taken control of them and now leads a truly formidable host of infantry. Unfortunately, none of the reinforcements carried missile weapons and thus the army will have to make due with melee weaponry to defeat their enemies. The Bavarian Friedrich Karolinger is in Budapest as well and commands the city garrison, along with the battered remnants of the former combined armies. His small force is likely sufficient to hold the city against a single enemy army, but action in the field or an attack by multiple foes will overwhelm it. Lorenz Zirn is currently in Vienna, where he recruited a unit of mighty Serpentines. If these anti-personnel artillery can be rushed back to Budapest, they may make up for Karl Zirn’s lack of ranged attacking power. Edmund Becker continues to strengthen his independent County of Prague, this time at the expense of others. He issues the following order to his citizens: