A Land Divided- An Italian AAR

**Stuperman** · 01-07-2008, 22:11

is this going to be a M2TW AAR? and if so who are you playing as? hot seat the italian factions?

**Long lost Caesar** · 01-08-2008, 22:04

Details

This will be a Venician campaign played on VH/M on the mod Stainless Steel. Armies MUST be commanded by a general, unless they're simply a few units of men moving around ie-to another settlement or to rejoin an army after training. I won't break any alliances and ill do as little extermination as possible, putting it down to sacking or occupying instead. Well, time to get going, updates will be coming every now and then!

**Ferret** · 01-09-2008, 11:20

looking forward to them :)

**Long lost Caesar** · 01-09-2008, 20:53

We are a strong people. We are a proud people. Our leader, Doge Domenico, knows that Venice needs more land. More lands to give our people the living space they need. More lands for more riches for our glorious people. And so Doge Domenico envisaged something amazing, something beautiful: a united Italy. Even more he wishes for us to expand beyond our tiny country. He can see a new Rome, brought back from the ashes of its former glory. But Doge Domenico knows that it will take time. He knows he will not see it in his lifetime, although... when has that ever stopped a great ambition?

1-Due East

Venetian settlements in and around Italia. Alessandro Selvo can be seen advancing on the rebel town of Zagreb, reinforcements trailing behind.

The first order of the Doge was for the nearby general, Alessandro Selvo, to take his small army and conquer the nearby town of Zagreb. Not only did Domenico want this town as his own, the council offered a reward of 2500 florins if it was taken soon enough for them to profit from the trade caravans which had temporarily stopped in the town. Whilst Selvo's army marched by foot Doge Domenico had troops from Venice itself sent to them across the Adriatic, exploiting our navy to its best extent.

Whilst Selvo marched onto the town Domenico ordered our diplomat to head south and open negotiations with the other factions that held land on the Italian peninsula, particularly the Holy Roman Empire: Domenico admired the determination of the German Princes, and was more than eager to assure them of his good intentions. We managed to secure trade rights with them, and the other Italian factions quickly offered to trade with us in the following months.

Selvo's reinforced army besieges the town of Zagreb. Hungarian forces edge closer into the region.

Whilst the town of Zagreb was besieged the money collected from the trade rights was used to construct ports, roads and markets, all in order to increase economy and thereby support our growing army. Later negotiations with the Sicilians were frosty at best, and the Castle of Ancona on the East coast of Italy was reinforced with archers and Sergeant Spearmen. But the attention of our Doge was further North, on the plains surrounding Zagreb: the rebels inside had had enough of being starved, and what was left of their army was sallying at our own army.

The rebels had 4 units in the attack: 2 groups of peasant archers and 2 croatian axemen. Selvo had 2 peasant archers with him and 3 italian spear militia. The axemen charged out first, unorganized and spread thin. A unit of our spear militia met them head on, whilst the other two passed by them and smashed into their flanks. They quickly fled, leaving the weaker peasant archers to be cut down by the enraged militias, who made short work of them: before long the rebels were in full flight, and we had taken the town of Zagreb.

The aftermath of the rebel charge at Zagreb

2-The Sicilian Problem

A Sicilian army besieges the castle of Ancona

Just as Doge Domenico had feared, the Sicilians declared war with us by surrounding the castle of Ancona. The small, underdeveloped settlement was surrounded by a force of roughly the same size, but our soldiers were of better quality. Hoping that the skill of our men and the strength of their training would pay off we decided not to send help: were spread too thinly in the Balkans, and it wouldn't pay off to help the isolated castle and then lose the newly conquered Zagreb, or even the much-relied-on castle on the Illyrian coast of Ragusa.

Time passed and all was well, apart from the minor conflict with the Sicilians. The money the council had granted us after the capture of Zagreb was useful and helped filled our coffers with coin. That, added with the amount of trade flooding in from Italy and the Alps, ensured we were financially safe. But then a fleet of Sicilian ships was spotted just off the coast of Ikralion.

Sicilian ships near Ikralion

Our ships that happened to be in port there heroically fought off the invading fleet, and the sailors were greeted by a grateful governor: it turned out that the Sicilian fleet had an army on it, headed for the poorly defended island town.

Following the disgrace of their beaten fleet the Sicilians attempted to regain their military prestige by attacking Ancona. The professional spearmen were planted on the inside of the gate, ready to fight off the enemy once they broke in. A single spear militia unit was placed on the walls in anticipation of a ladder assault, and two peasant archers and a unit of peasant crossbowmen mounted the walls in solid defiance. The fighting was brutal.

The Sicilians reached the gate with their ram, whilst the ladders were scaled by eager troops.

What followed can only be described as a bloodbath: any ground painfully gained by the enemy was instantly taken back by our determined men. Arrows whistled down from the ramparts, showering the Sicilians with death. Eventually it became too much for them and, one by one, their units fled the battle, until it was a Venetian victory.

Our men earned this victory

With the Sicilians beaten back and our lands secure, our Doge gave a modest sigh and then sat back, ready for the years to come.

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**irish king** · 01-09-2008, 21:24

good start looking forward for the next update.

**Long lost Caesar** · 01-11-2008, 09:22

3-Storm at Sea

Councillor Bartolomeo, the previous governor of Ragusa, sets off with a small but strong army to capture the rebel town of Durazzo. Our finances at the moment are disgraceful: we are in debt! But the council promises that a victory at Durazzo will reward us with 2500 florins, and so Bartolomeo hastens to reach his obective on the coast of Greece.

The march to Durazzo

Meanwhile our fleet, previously ported up in Venice, sails down the Adriatic and manages to beat a small Sicilian fleet, just off the coast of Italy. We soon became the major power with the Mediterranean: we scattered the Sicilian fleet, winning two major sea battles, and claiming dominance over the sea. But even our prowess was not enough to stop the crafty Sicilians from slipping behind our navies and landing an army on Ikralion.

Despite the effort of our navies, the Sicilians manage to off-load an army

Back in Greece, Bartolomeo assaults and takes Durazzo, and not only do we gain land and money from this trophy: the council keeps true to their word and gifts us with 2500 florins, helping us stay afloat. Not satisfied with his military glory, Bartolomeo takes most of his army and sails across the Adriatic to the Italian coast and lays siege to the castle of Bari.

Back on Ikralion the Sicilians assault the city, but are defeated. The captured soldiers, including the attacking General, are ransomed back to their King and released. Once again Venice has established itself as a powerful nation, but even that could not stop the coming storm...

4-Crashing waves

1102- For the first time in military history our people suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of the Sicilians: a fleet of ours that has chased a Sicilian fleet past Sicily and up the West Coast of Italy is surrounded and sunk. The task of keeping our waters safe falls to our final, damaged fleet, which is currently in port at Ikralion. But at least some good came of this defeat: the Pope had previously warned us to cease hostilities against Sicily and had threatened us with excommunication. Clearly he had given the Sicilians the same warning, but they hadn't heeded it, and now they were alone against all of Christendom.

Our drowned sailors must have cheered from their resting places when the news reached them

Closer to home, the starved rebels inside Bari sally out and try to beat off Bartolomeo, but are surrounded and defeated. It seems evident by now that Bartolomeo has military skill, and the people of our Republic cheer him as a kind man of the people. The ransomed army on Ikralion, thought to be only a minor threat, now besieges the town again, with force: mercenaries on the isle are hired into the host of enemies before us, and they prepare to assault the city. Also, Egyptian forces land on the southern coast, making us suspicious.

Mercenaries under Sicilian command attack Ikralion; Egyptians land on the island.

The Sicilians come at us with only one of their three battering rams, something that makes no sense: they have more men, and if they use their other rams they would be able to overwhelm us. but all the same they reached our gate with their ram and begin to smash the barricade to pieces. Whilst they hammer away at our walls our unit of peasant archers decides it's time to show their worth and begins to wither the enemy with volleys of arrows, to little effect: before long the gate shatters into tiny pieces; the way is open.

Mercenaries prepare for the attack

The fighting is harsh, and many men die, but don't lose their ground. Whilst our units are dragged into the fight one by one, the governor's brave son leads his bodyguard out and around the city to try and flank the attackers. It has worked before, why not now?
With our plan taking shape the governor roars for his men to redouble their efforts: the Sicilian army must be contained so that it doesn't break out and run riot in the streets. Any idle units of spearmen are sent into the fight, and for a minute it seems as if the left flank is about to be enveloped, but a brave detachment of men push back and envelopes the attackers!

The arrival of the Sicilian general pushes his men into a wild fervor and, seeing their commander cut a swathe through our men, the other soldiers under his command begin to form a foothold in the shadow of the walls and even push us back. Seeing that only his unit of men can challenge the enemy commander our own general charges into the fight, and at one moment it seems as if the two commanders will face off and fight, but the Sicilian general is cut down by a valiant bodyguard. This time he is no prisoner.

The effect of the Sicilian general's charge

And to finally set in place the full scale rout of the enemy our brave flankers hurtle into the back of the enemy formation, scattering any men they touched or even set eyes on. Every single Sicilian and mercenary runs for his worthless life, either fighting to the end or trying to jostle his way out of the town, but it is useless: the crows do not go hungry, and once again we beat the Sicilians and secure Ikralion.

In the months that followed we hope for peace, and it seems as if our wish is granted: Barbus Selvo marries the beautiful Cristina Pisani and the noble Selvo family is gifted with another son, Benasuto Selvo, who comes of age in the fortress his father took, Bari. But maybe young Benasuto is a curse, or is cursed himself: this very year the Sicilians arrive at and besiege Bari. Our men take to the walls, ready to prepare for an assault, but are amazed by the site they see: an army composed entirely of cavalry, with not a foot soldier in sight.
At first the men are afraid when Councillor Bartolomeo tells his men that they will sally out and attack the enemy, but he assures them that they can win, and the men take comfort in the words of a war veteran such as him. The three units of foot soldiers, with Bartolomeo among them, advance onto the far side of the enemy, knowing that if they engage the centre of the horsemen they will be overrun. Meanwhile the two units of mounted sergeants and the newly come-of-age Benasuto left the city from the right, intending to flank the enemy from the right side once the fighting begins.

Possibly the largest army of horsemen ever seen in Italy

Two of the spearmen charge at the horsemen, leaving one to guard their flank. Meanwhile our cavalry smash, one by one, into any enemies they can. Amazingly the Sicilians scatter within moments. The combined power of shock cavalry and spearmen seems to terrify the Sicilians, who simply can't compete with the ferocity of our brave men. Knight after Knight falls to Venetian steel, and the enemy is soon in full flight. After the battle 69 captured Knights are ransomed back to Sicily for a fortune: the men we have defeated are clearly respected in Sicilian society, and if our brave soldiers have beaten them, why should the rest of Sicily be any different?

Following a minor battle with the Egyptians over Ikralion, we expect there to finally be peace on the small Greek island, but it seems fate has other plans: a large Byzantine army, composed of horsemen and Byzantine infantry, lands on the shores of Ikralion, obviously intending to take the town. Although the governor tries to recruit more men the Byzantines are clearly stronger, even by the time they besiege the town.

Behold the glory that is Greece

Before long the Byzantines assault the town, and the fight is a bloodbath: our men are torn to pieces, and no quarter is given. All over the Republic we mourn the loss of our brave men, both the governors as well as the soldiers there, and we have to face the gaining of another enemy. Sicilians in the West, Byzantines in the East, and to top it all off the Holy Roman Empire blockades ports along the Illyrian coast. But all is not lost: under Alessandro Selvo, the conqueror of Zagreb, another army is trained and being sent to fight the Byzantines, and Benasuto Selvo is heading north to take men from Ancona and bring war to the Reich. Even in trying times our people will not falter, so long as the mighty Doge Domenico and his heirs are alive.

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