Re: The Da Vinci Code a Templar Knights AAR
Three Armies from the Order of the Templar Knights
The Armies of the Crusade, The Army of Antioch and The Army of Jerusalem were in key battles that shaped the decade of the 1190’s.
Constantinople 1190
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:The Duke of Aleppo with his Army of Crusaders quickly besieged the former Byzantine Capital that was now under the control of the Seljuk Sultanate. They were outnumbered but were waiting for their Byzantine Allies to bring up reinforcements. The weather was cold and wet but the spirits were high in the camp. This would be good practice for the Crusaders who were on their way to Thorn.
Early morning the Duke was awaken by an alarm in the camp. The Seljuk General had sallied out of the city.
The enemy General Nazim Celebi stormed out of the city. The Knights were on their own the closes allied army led by Byzantine Captain Marianos was not in position and no reinforcements had arrived from Nicaea.
The Knights moral was high but the troops were inexperienced. The Duke was concerned for the pilgrims that made up a quarter of his army. The speed of the enemy was phenomenal. The siege equipment was dropped has each regiment tried to defend itself.
The Pilgrims were on the right flank and were quickly pressed upon. The ballista crews did not even get an effective shot off during the onslaught. The Knights light cavalry were rushed to the left flank to fiend off the enemy horse archers.
The Templar cavalry had some success and tried to sweep back to the right flank. The Duke could not engage his unit in combat because he was trying to rally the regiments of men who were starting to route. It was too late the battle was lost.
Edessa 1192
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:The Army of Antioch led by the Prince had besieged the Seljuk settlement taking advantage of the confusion amongst the enemy commanders. The Templar Knights had enough supplies for a long siege but the prince made a bold move and ordered a night attack cutting the enemy army in half.
Under the cover of darkness the Knights made it up to the city wall.
The enemy quickly caught on what was happening and the alarm was sounded. The city garrison rushed for the ramparts and the battle for the walls began.
The fighting for the city gates was fierce. The whole enemy garrison was committed to the walls.
The gate house was secured and the rest of the army was in and rushed for the city centre. The only defenders left were the General’s Bodyguards and a small regiment of spearmen.
The enemy fought valiantly waiting for reinforcements. The Crown Prince Atilla arrived with his personal escort but could not do anything to stop the Knights from entering the city and fled. Abidin Baltaci the man responsible for the garrison was finally struck down. The battle was over.
The battle was over the population was exterminated and 5100 florins added to the treasury
Cairo 1194
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:The King of Jerusalem had brought his army far into the Caliphate territory the Ancient City of Cairo was the objective. He besieged the city in the early spring well aware of a large enemy army roaming the area. Prior to his siege he debated to meet this army in the open field but decided it unwise to deplete his army before a siege battle.
The Fatimid Caliphate Army of Captain Abdul-Dunya moved in and was ordered to lift the siege.
The armies prepared themselves in the field of battle. The Caliphate would introduce a new weapon upon the Templar Knights. Large towers could be observed in the distance King d’Alvarez immediately identified what they were and ordered his cavalry to move.
The weapons were confirmed and the cavalry of the St. John’s Order were moved in position to sweep around from the right flank.
Soon the rest of the Templar Knights would know about the weapon when the fireballs began to rain down on their formations.
The cavalry commanders quicken their pace before a route ensued. The Caliphate had several catapults to go with the trebuchets. The Templar Light Cavalry was also ordered into the melee to stop the catapults. They came from the left flank causing a pincer movement on the enemy rear guard.
With the enemy artillery subdued the St. John Order of Knights turned their attention to the centre of the battlefield where their brothers of the Order were in a pitch battle.
The battle continued into the early afternoon. The Templar Knights maintained their discipline and began to wear down the enemy. The King committed the last reserve of troops and in a timely started the turning point of the battle.
The battle was over and a Heroic Victory for the King of Jerusalem. The city surrendered and the population exterminated. 11,000 florins were added to the treasury.
By the 1195 the Templar Knights had proven themselves in the field of battle with three glorious armies and their commanders defending the realm. However, the decade was not over and there was still redemption for the Duke of Aleppo and his Crusaders.
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