The Kingdom of Outremer

[econ21]

The Kaiser glares at Maximillan, then turns to address the entire Council.

My Lords, now that the crusade is over, the formal decision-making role of this Council is at an end. I would, however, like to use this forum for two new roles:

(1) As a consultative body to discuss matters concerning Outremer.

(2) As an administrative body to post build queues for provinces in Outremer.

As before, only generals in Outremer will be able to address the Council in person, but we will welcome letters from nobles back in the homeland with any thoughts they have on Outremer.

On the first role, I would welcome any suggestions on strategy for defeating the various Egyptian armies moving against us. I will listen to what is said and Friday begin to execute a plan informed by your ideas. Please bear in mind that, as soon as is feasible, I plan to send Hans and an army from Outremer by sea to return Constantinople to our brother Romans, the Byzantines.

On the second role, I would be grateful if Maximillan would post a build queue for Adana and Hans post a build queue for Acre. I am informally assigning these settlements to them and their houses, although formally, they will remain Imperial settlements until the next Diet. This Council (OOC: thread) can be used for the posting of these build queues, to make it easy for crusaders to know the planned state of Outremer.

[FactionHeir]

*Hans bows and speaks*

I thank you for your trust in my abilities and will complete the mission you set with utmost devotion. I shall also start surveying Acre to determine what is needed to bolster its forces against heathen hordes.

[OverKnight]

Mein Kaiser, I am not sure if you have had an opportunity to consult the maps yet, but the situation around Antioch is perilous. There are four large and one midsized Egyptian armies on the march, plus the small garrisons of Antioch and Aleppo.

I have no doubt we will eventually be victorious, but it will take several years, perhaps a decade, to resolve this situation. After which, our forces will be reduced, and I'm not sure if we will have an adequate amount of men to spare for a proper assault force for Constantinople as well as to defend Jerusalem and Outremer. Our recruiting centers in Outremer do not match the capacities of those in the Reich.

Perhaps the assault force could be launched from Ragusa? The Adriatic fleet has five flotillas of Holks and can be increased. Ragusa is close to Zagreb and somewhat near to Innsbruck. These castles could recruit more men than Acre or Adana.

Perhaps we could split the difference and have men and fleets from Ragusa and Outremer meet in the Aegean and proceed in a combined operation?

Edit: The situation in the Levant:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[econ21]

Thank you for the map, Duke Otto. We face an immediate crisis in dealing with the multiple Egyptian armies moving against us - as I say, I will welcome any suggestions for cunning strategy from my generals on the ground. However, I am confident we will prevail.

In the more medium term, I wish to equip Duke Otto with a field army based at Acre that is capable of defending Jerusalem (and Outremer) from incursions from the Egyptians coming from the West[1]. I wonder, Duke Otto, what would be the minimum and the ideal composition of such a force (we might take the size of a Household Army as a benchmark)?

I would also like to ask Count Maximillan what is the minimum garrison (not field army) he believes could defend Adana? As the large Egyptian army that was to the north east has apparently been deterred by his fullsome garrison, I intend to draw some units from it for the expedition to Constantinople. I would also ask Count Ulrich the same question, as he may be called upon to take over the defence of Adana such Maximillan be called to join our Lord.

I realise that minimum army sizes depend on the strength of the enemy forces ranged against us, and so may vary over time, but I am inquiring about standing armies. I intend to lead an Imperial field army against Aleppo and Antioch but need to know that Adana, Acre and Jerusalem will not fall while my back is turned.

[1] OOC note:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I intend to leave the Egyptians with Gaza, so that there is a viable potential Islamic threat to Jerusalem. This is purely to make defending Outremer fun, it is not an in character decision.

[OverKnight]

The House Army model would serve well for the medium term. I can hold Acre with the depleted units I have at the moment, but I'm a bit light on cavalry and infantry to take effective offensive action. If this can be resolved, I will gladly take the field. As I see it, our armies in Outremer will be constantly trading units back and forth depending on which direction the latest threat is coming from.

It seems our main challenge at the moment lies in the Levant. Please take the Pavise Crossbowmen I had recruited at the castle north to join you if you wish. You will need their longe range bolts against the Mamluk horse archers.

If this means the Egyptians east of Acre try to strike at the castle, so be it. I'd like to see the infidels try to take the walls.

As for cunning strategies. . .We should use the bridge and ford, north and southeast of Antioch to our advantage. The Egyptians field a total force larger than our own, but the river divides them, if we seize bottlenecks and restrict their strategic movement they will be forced to fight us on ground we have chosen.

I would say that Maximillian should take a majority of his force and take the bridge north of Antioch. The forces under the Kaiser and Sir Hummel should run off any small armies facing them and take the ford. Let the Egyptians throw themselves on our swords. Once we have bled them in the field, we can move on Antioch.

Edit: Also, at the end of my term, I had an extensive network of watchtowers established on the borders of Acre. Any Saracen moves from Gaza, Damascus or from the desert will be well monitored. While we are at war with the Egyptians, the Papal States are not. This might not last, but we should consider the implications when we deploy our forces.

[econ21]

Thank you, Duke Otto - your contribution is helpful and insightful as always. Unfortunately, the strongest Egyptian army holds the bridge north of Antioch. If it were not so positioned, I would consider sending Maximillan and the Adana garrison to attack it. But I am not convinced Maximillan could take the bridge off them or at least do so with many men remaining.

I am interested to hear if Maximillan and Ulrich have any thoughts on our immediate predicament (and the longer term issue of the size of the Adana garrison).

[OverKnight]

Ah, the Egyptians holding the north bridge changes the dynamics, I failed to notice that.

It is a dilemma. One way to break the stale mate we find ourselves in is for the Kaiser's army to crush the Egyptians to the southeast, join up with Sir Hummel's forces, disperse the Egyptians facing Ulrich and then besiege Aleppo. We might consider placing our agent in the fortress before the siege.

This would use our local superiority in men to defeat the southern Egyptian forces before they can combine with the larger armies to the north. If the northern Egyptian armies move to relieve Aleppo, we can counter with the Adana garrison taking them from behind or assaulting Antioch itself.

While this is going on, I am confident that I can hold Acre while the men there are reinforced and retrained.

[TinCow]

The Adana garrison is capable of offensive action against the Egyptians, but it would require the use of nearly the entire force, leaving Adana defenseless. At the moment, I think it would be far better for Adana to supply reinforcements for the armies operating to the South, at least until such a time as Adana is capable of fielding a large army while still maintaining the defenses of the fortress.

I believe the fortress can be secured against any and all attacks with the following allocation of forces: 3 regiments of Armenian Archers, 2 regiments of Dismounted Feudal Knights, and 3 regiments of Sergeant Spearmen. This force can be met immediately by hiring 2 regiments of mercenary Armenian Archers.

[OverKnight]

Otto bows to Henry and nods his head to Ulrich.

A tremendous victory mein Kaiser and Sir. . .uh. . .Count. . .Prinz(?) Hummel! Over 2500 of the enemy dead and Antioch is ours! It is the greatest triumph I've ever seen. It seems you did use local superiority in numbers, just in a shorter time frame than I imagined. To be honest, when I heard of the coming battle, I was deeply concerned, but you came through using an excellent use of terrain while exploiting the Saracen weaknesses in armor and poor deployment. I salute both of you.

It seems that using Pavise Crossbowmen, if we have the advantage of terrain, the riddle of the horse archer can be solved. I am glad Acre can recruit such units.

I hate to sully such a triumph with a practical question, but can we hold down Antioch with the forces available to us? If so, how many men does this leave us for a field army? I would suggest as soon as our fleet of priests arrive, they join in converting our newest conquest to the true faith.

A glorious start to your term, mein Kaiser. May it be the first of many victories in your Chancellorship!

[OverKnight]

My lords, the Council of Crusaders is now open to all of you who have joined the new Crusade along with the nobles already in Outremer. I also invite the Chancellor to participate.

Feel free to use this area as a place to coordinate movement, consider strategy and to seek answers.

The floor is now open.

[Ituralde]

Nobles of the Reich!

It is with great joy that I partake in this second Imperial Crusade. I thank Chancellor Hans for putting the same faith in me, as Emperor Henry, giving me the position to lead our host to Outremere.

Of coures I am open to your suggestions concerning our travel route. The way I see it however is that we will board ships close to Thessalonica, where a decently sized Imperial navy should be able to take us aboard. We should bolster it with Mercenary Vessels none the less.

If we then sail straigth towards Antioch, we should be able to reach our destination of Damascus without decreasing our fighting strength. Quite to the contrary I believe we should look out for other pious Christians that are willing to take up the Cross and follow us in our divine duty!

[FactionHeir]

Fellow crusaders,

My plan is to grant the fleet that currently carries my army to the crusaders the following year and have them sail to Antioch as Duke Leopold suggested. The fleet will be more than strong enough to cope with any hostile threat in the area and thus there will not be a need to hire additional ships, allowing the hiring of additional troops once the crusaders arrive in the Levant.

[Ituralde]

Fellow Crusaders,

We are close to our goal, but although there's only a short distant to travel, this last step will be the hardest to make. Our intelligence indicates that no less than 3000 Mongol Raiders are in the vicinity of Damascus and they have already laid siege to the city. Reinforcements could arrive from Acre, but they are cut off by another two large Mongol Armies. We will have to wait how my brother, Emperor Henry is able to deal with them.

But right now we can not count on them arriving in time. We have to make our move against the Mongols. I will not stand idly by while these Barbarians seize Damascus from us.
What I propose is a frontal attack. We are outnumbered three to one, so this will not be an easy task. In fact it will be a murderous undertaking with our chances for survival slim. I am old and have little life left in me. I have led you as far as I can, but I'm afraid this is the point where our ways should part.
I can not risk a large portion of our nobility in a futile battle, that only serves to buy us time. I need you to carry on the Crusade against Damascus. If I succeed your task will become all the easier. Should I fail it will be up to you to carry this Crusade to completion.

My plan is to take most of our fighting men with me and bolster my army with willing Crusaders from the viccinity. To you I leave the pilgrims and your personal bodyguards. If necessary bolster your forces with mercenaries or wait for reinforcements. While I ride against the Mongolian threat you will lay siege to Damascus.

What do you think of this plan, gentlemen? I believe it will pay us time without needless sacrifice. It will be a difficult battle and we would be foolish if we didn't plan for defeat. If the Mongols prove too much for us we have to make sure that Crusade goes on, that Damascus will fall into our hands eventually!

[FactionHeir]

If that is your wish Duke Leopold, I will respect it. However I would still wait and see how our emperor fares against the Mongols near Jerusalem before making hasty decisions.
I should note that there are only few mercenaries available and most on foot nearby and as such the best I could offer you is a few additional knights from Aleppo. All other regiments have already moved on to Acre where King Otto and our emperor are preparing the defenses.

OOC: Also one problem will be the knight limit, so i unfortunately can't give you too much cav. I might have a few mounties sitting around though, need to check. Also, there would be unhorsed knights if it wasn't for the bug that deplenishes merc pools if you retrain/unretrain mercenary units, which I had to do because I at first ended the turn prematurely and had to reload and give the AI its turnly florins and with it reset all training queues to prevent the retraining bug...

[flyd]

Bah! I have never been afraid of anyone, and am certainly not afraid of these Mongols. They may be numerous, but I do not doubt the ability of one German to kill three of these bastards. Besides, we have God on our side. The Crusade cannot fail, and this is it: the Arabs cannot hold Damascus, the fight for the city is against these Mongols.

But there is still a significant risk involved, so I would not look down (much...) on any of our knights who chose to stay behind. I, however, demand to be in the first assault! A large army can be unwieldy for a single commander without a deputy, and this sort of battle may require extensive tactical maneuvers.

[Northnovas]

Moved by von Hamburg's speech, the Count speaks after a long silence..

Father, I been silent contemplating matters on this journey and the situation in Zagreb is only making things worse. I only hear dispatches and cannot do anything but pray that it will soon be liberated.
Since we have arrived in the Levant I have heard many things from locals about the riding army from the east. It appears intimidating this new enemy and the numbers they bring. I cannot just sit here and wait. It is time that I earned my spurs and I want to fight alongside of you.
I will accept whatever fate awaits; I did not come here to sit. We can use all the horses we can get against this Horde.
I therefore must be part of the army that is in your plan of attack. We are a Crusading Army and will fight whoever is in God's way.

The member sits feeling a little sheepish for speaking so boldly..

[econ21]

An exhausted, blood stained Teutonic knight arrives from the Kaiser's Imperial Army:

My lords, forgive my intrusion into this august body. However, the Kaiser wishes me to tell you immediately of the Reich's first encounter with the horse lords, so that it may inform your deliberations. He urges that you consider the implications carefully and do not commit to any specific course of action until it has been carefully discussed and weighed in the balance. He will come shortly to join you in this, but first needs to give prayers and to reflect.

[OverKnight]

Otto looks at the messenger with great concern. He turns to the new Crusaders.

I have no doubt of your bravery, Duke Leopold, or of the stout men who have volunteered to stand with you. It is a testament to all of you.

But bravery alone will not prevail against the Mongols. The Kaiser's encounter with just one of their armies shows this. We must bring all our might in Outremer against them. If we send our forces piecemeal against them, the Crusade will fail.

I will stand with the Kaiser in the south, if the Mongols wish to come at us an army at a time, let them, it brings them away from you. I have asked the Chancellor to let me attack the remaining Mongol army northeast of Jerusalem in the new year. If he grants me this request and I am succesful, we can bring the combined forces of Outremer and the Crusade together at Damascus, crush the Mongols and take the city.

Otto's features harden, a cold fire burns in his eyes.

If the Mongols take the city before we can, so be it. I hope the Egyptians bleed them before they die.

That might sound callous, but to defeat these Ravagers from the East we must be as hard as them. We must strike with cold calculation and burning anger, no quarter given or asked. We must break them! God wills it!

[GeneralHankerchief]

Conrad Salier:

Trapping them in a city could be more advantageous for us. From what I hear, these people have very little in the realm of heavy infantry (correct me if I'm wrong, Kaiser), instead focusing on archers and cavalry. A city would neutralize much of their maneuverabiliy.

[flyd]

What some fail to realize is that Damascus, though still paying taxes to Egypt for now, is largely a Christian city. The missionary work has been outstanding, and the city is now two thirds Christian. That's about ten thousand people. Can these eastern barbarians be trusted not to massacre the population? We have no indication that they actually plan to occupy the city. For all we know, they could loot it, and leave it, leaving us to deal with a similar number of them in the open field. This Crusade is not only for changing the administration of the city, but for liberating those within who have already seen the light.

[Northnovas]

Studying hard the strategic map and listening to the nobles..

King Otto makes a good point on strength. In fact looking at his proposal of a north and south army we may be able to distract these Mongols.
Damascus is their goal and they are besieging as we speak. However, a north army and a south army maybe enough to divert their forces. Possible too much of a distraction. If the Egyptians fall it may be to our advantage to take the city from the Mongols as Sir Salier mentioned.
I would feel better taking Damascus knowing the current Mongol armies in the area have been destroyed or subdued. I know there is a risk to the Christian population of Damascus under a Mongol control but taking the city may leave us under seige and cut off from reinforcements.
I think we are better to concentrate and coordinate our armies to defeat this Horde. Clear out the Region before taking the city.

[Ituralde]

Bah! Cowards the lot of you!

Trap them in the city? Let them have it. The young Fredericus von Hamburg is quite right. Christian lives are at the stake here and I will not let them be slaughtered by our hesitation. I have heard the report of my brother Henry concerning his battle against the heathens and I will keep it in mind when I make my advancement.

I never said this would be easy, but nor have I said that we will loose. I have no intention to feed our armies piecemeal to the enemy! Should I fail there won't be enough horselovers left to pose an obstacle to the Emperor's or King's reinforcements.

Our numbers have swollen with volunteers who are willing to give their lives for our cause. They are eager for battle and I will not hold it from them. Stalling now this close to our final objective just because of some Horse Lords would be foolish. I have my men assembled and will attack the Mongols as soon as the opportunity presents itself.

As to you Karl Zirn, I can not take you with me. I need you alive and well as Crusader Count of Austria. You will see battle soon enough.
Fredericus von Hamburg, so your tales of bravery are not exaggerated? I'll gladly take you with me to coordinate the battle.

This is our time, Nobles of the Reich, I will not sit idly by, I will act, decisively!

[OverKnight]

Otto stares at Leopold, his right index finger tracing the scar on his face as his jaw clenches.

Better to be a coward than a fool my good Duke.

Otto makes a visible effort to control his emotions. After a moment he sighs.

So be it. The Crusade is your command Duke Leopold. What you plan is audacious. But these Mongols aren't the same as so many of the Venetians and Hungarians you've sent screaming to Hell. They are born in the saddle, born to fight and plunder. They nearly shattered the Kaiser's army at better odds than you'll get if you attack them.

I salute your bravery, Sir.

May God guide and protect you and your men.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Conrad Salier:

God be with you, Duke Leopold. The Austrians have trusted you for so long and you have never let them down. I shall do the same here. It will be an honor to ride with you, Sir.

[econ21]

Henry: Gentlemen, this is not the time to talk of our brothers as cowards and fools! This is a time to talk of how we plan to bring battle to our enemies!

I have recovered from the ordeal of battle and have studied the dispositions of the enemy. Gentlemen, we have them. They are undone. We have won afterall.

Let me explain. You know the situation - three Mongol armies concentrate around Damascus, while one marches close to me. Fortunately, one of the three armies is far from a full force and consists of a mere 462 souls. Duke Leopold proposes to attack these three armies. I agree. But we should do so with cunning. I propose that the good Duke lead his crusade to strike the large army led by Aradan the Wrathful, approaching from the south of Damascus. My spies report that Aradan is the most competent of the enemy generals and if not confronted directly will surely move to aid whoever we do strike. However, if Duke Leopold strikes Aradan at night, I do believe the two remaining Mongol generals nearby will be unable to support him. The odds will then be even.

Nonetheless, I will send three regiments of pavise crossbowmen to reinforce the crusade. The Chancellor has privately suggested such a reinforcement to me and my recent experience has made clear the wisdom of his idea. The crusade should not face a full strength Mongol army with less than six regiments of crossbowmen - their horse archers are too many and we have no other effective counter to them. Furthermore, I recommend to the Chancellor that he consider replacing the pilgrims with crusader sergeants as well - I do believe our priests have converted sufficient locals in the province to enable such recruitment into the crusade.

I know the Duke towers above us all in his command ability, but nonetheless, he should expect substantial losses. We should prepare to reinforce him after the battle - with both what is left of my army and those generals he has judged cannot be exposed in his first assault on the Mongols. After he has defeated Aradan, God willing, my brother may strike again - hitting one of the two remaining armies besieging Damascus. Or alternatively, he may rest to recuperate as he sees fit.

Further, I would petition the Chancellor to reinforce my Imperial army and allow me to strike at the fourth Mongol army that is roaming nearby. There is a large force of reinforcements a little to my rear and I believe that even after taking some of my men to support the crusade, the Chancellor may be able to provide me with sufficient men to battle the Mongols once more.

Gentlemen, I believe ultimate authority over our plan of attack lies with the Chancellor. However, I am sure he would welcome our views as the commanders on the ground. What say you? While we cannot avoid hard fighting, I do believe the strategy I have proposed offers us good odds of success.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[OOC: I would recommend avoiding multi-stack battles - not just because I fear we would lose, but also because the lag can be horrible. There are so many Mongols, and so many arrows, battling them can strain even a decent computer.]

[GeneralHankerchief]

OOC: Great, you post that right after I'm done writing my story about how everyone's going to be lucky if they survive.

[FactionHeir]

My dear crusaders.

I have brought a few maps and supply details that are available for our armies in Outremer, I hope they will aid in planning your moves and what is and is not possible.

The first map shows Emperor Henry and King Otto's positions and their capabilities. For the moment, King Otto would not be able to strike out at any of the Mongol hordes this year as many of his men are brought fresh from Acre and roads in Damascus seem poorly constructed.
Emperor Henry may barely reach the Mongol warlord Jebe this year with his reinforced army.

The second map shows our northern forces, which is Duke Leopold and the other crusaders. The crusaders Duke Leopold has ordered split from the main army are currently led by my brother Elberhard, although this may still change, and have some reinforcements I brought in from Aleppo. They have also taken all fanatics from Duke Leopold. Note, these are no ordinary pilgrims are can strike even the best of our knights down in their fervor.
Duke Leopold has few missile regiments, although if he wishes, I may send him some from Emperor Henry's army and as a consequence move King Otto into a position from which he can reinforce our Emperor.
Duke Leopold also has large contingents of spearmen and mounted knights which should come in handy.

Note that Duke Leopold's army can move just about anywhere this year still but the second crusader army can barely reach Damascus if at all and could at best be used as a reinforcement this year.

Our Mongol foes' armies are well known to us as I have sent two of our best spies to gather information. This information I have attached to the sides of the map.

Oh, and if Emperor Henry or King Otto wish to join the crusade to defend Jerusalem and defeat these heathens, I believe their men may be inspired to move as far as Damascus itself, enabling us to end the Mongol threat this year still.

If you require further information or have final standing orders, let me know so I can meet the arrangements.

[OverKnight]

Otto studies the maps and speaks:

Before I die, I would like to lead men against these fearsome Horsemen. Yet, the army I have, even if we took the cross again, would only serve to provide reinforcements to an attack on the Mongol army led by Adaran (the stack directly south of the other mongol stack besieging Antioch). I am afraid that my force would be too exhausted to initiate an action themselves.

The best use of my men would be to serve as reinforcements to the Kaiser if he chooses to attack the Mongol army deployed next to him. Of course, if the Kaiser wishes to use some of my men, I insist I join them in the battle. Leading or no, I want to test my mettle against the Mongols.

I have already made my appeal for the Crusade to wait a year so the Kaiser, myself and our forces could join them around Damascus. The Kaiser has his own thoughts on how Duke Leopold should proceed. What he decides is beyond my control. I will serve where the Chancellor feels I am needed. All I ask is that I get the opportunity to strike at these invaders, either as a General or just leading my own retainers.

[FactionHeir]

Without meaning any disrespect, I would consider following move quite strategically sound:

Both Emperor Henry and King Otto could take up the cross. Emperor Henry would supply King Otto with a few men so he may attack the Mongol warlor Jebe near Jerusalem while Emperor Henry himself moves towards Damascus to reinforce an attack led by Duke Leopold and provide him with advice on how to proceed in battle. That way both King Otto would lead men into battle and Duke Leopold would have good chances of defeating the Mongols around Damascus.

However, the final decision is up to this body where everyone's voice is equal.

[OverKnight]

That would be acceptable to me. I serve at the discretion of the Chancellor and Kaiser.