Deus Lo Vult-Conversion by the blade Teutonic AAR

[Imperator of Rome]

Ordo domus Sanctæ Mariæ Theutonicorum Ierosolimitanorum 1197-1198 A.D

Duke Conrad is made Grand Duke of Lithuania,the Hochmeister has more important things then titles to worry about,he marches once again.



All of Italy is against the emperor,what chaos there is in the south.

[Imperator of Rome]

Ordo domus Sanctæ Mariæ Theutonicorum Ierosolimitanorum 1199-1202 A.D

Hochmeister Hermann notices the Lithuanian troop buildup near the refugee castle.He also has heard that the Grand Duke,his heir and all his generals are skilled at warfare.He therefore,starts setting up watchtowers and a small castle on the road to Raseiniai.His army needs to rebuild itself in Marienburg before he can take on the Lithuanians and also the city of Riga nearby.



Throughout this period,the Hochmeister is busy trying to generate income out of his lands.Eventually he will go back to war by taking Riga,then marching to fight against the current Grand Duke.Also another character joins the scene.Gerburg Von Salza is a beautiful princess in the lands of the Order,despite her name,she is a charming catch to say.



The Kingdom of Poland decides to declare war on the City of Novgorod,the Baltics looks like it will ignite in war like Italy is now.

[Harry Lime]

Great battle screens! (One tip here is to disable arrow markers, they look so ugly).

Nice AAR though. I like the way most of the battles have taken place in the winter, seems to capture the cold, dark, forbidding nature of the region.

Looking forward to the gradual expansion of your Teutonic Empire, oh great Hochmeister!

[Imperator of Rome]

Ordo domus Sanctæ Mariæ Theutonicorum Ierosolimitanorum 1203 A.D-1205 A.D

Gerburg Von Salza left for Poland and arrived in Cracow,while there she charmed the Krol into accepting a map agreement,even dodging the Krol's demands of a alliance against the Novgorod.That would be a bad thing to the Hochmeister,who is getting old and more intent on improving the land he already has.Gerburg Von Salza finally meets her love,the Polish noble Zyroslaw Piast,related to that Polish Konrad Piast that defeated the Lithuanians a few years back,he seems to be a able general and he is eager to see the castle of Marienburg.



Hartmut,after having a reunion with the Hochmeister and telling him about the situations in the empire has been assigned to get a map agreement from the City of Novgorod.His journey,after a couple of weeks,reach the nearest town.The town is ruled by Aleksandr Novgorodskii,who awaits the diplomat's arrival,the town is full of footmen and knights,preparing for war.Hartmut walks into the keep,seeing the noble protected by 6 heavily armored men with polearms.
Hartmut:Greetings noble of the City of Novgorod,I come offering a map agreement.
Aleksandr:Why,so you can attack us with your friend Poland??!!
Hartmut:No,our order does not wish war with Novgorod,even though you follow the schismatic faith.Our caravans need to find their way there,thats all.
Aleksandr:Then it is agreed then,for a small payment.
Hartmut:Agreed lord farewell,he then bows and walks out,relieved he isn't stopped by any of the 10,000troops around the city.

[Imperator of Rome]

Ordo domus Sanctæ Mariæ Theutonicorum Ierosolimitanorum 1206-1211

Zyroslaw is granted command of the castle by Order Marshall Leopold,who retires soon afterwards.He begins to improve formations,armor,weapons and everything that could be a flaw.

Hartmut's next trip is to the Norwegian fort of Kuldiga,where King Haakon resides.The Diplomat walks up the hastily built wooden steps to the throne of the king.
Hartmut:Bows then presents himself,Iam Hartmut of the Teutonic Order,my lord would be interested in this province and perhaps a trade agreement.
King Haakon:Smiles as he is in need of income,sure,the Hochmeister can have both for 2000florins.
Hartmut:Surprised by the cheap offer,of course milord,I will tell Hochmeister Hermann immediately.He bows once again and smiles as he leaves.



The Hochmeister gives Zyroslaw the Duchy of Kuldiga,it is fitting as the noble will be conquering Riga.Soon after,Zyroslaw gets permission to mobilize the province of Marienburg and he is soon headed to Riga.The army is in the best condition then it ever has been in,with two companies of Ritterbruder and more heavily armored troops;the army can handle more then before under a good leader.



During the trip,Zyroslaw is afflicted with sickness,he marches his army to Kuldiga and rests.



He recovers and marches to Riga,he is ready to besiege the town,and he expects an easy assault.Also Duke Konrad's son,Ernst is of age to start training,he will get a military education.

[Imperator of Rome]

Assault of Riga 1211 A.D

Zyroslaw,after eating his rations is ready for the assault,the banners are arrayed in the air and he gives the order to each of his lances.Though less pious then their prevous commander,he will not accept any disobedience and he maintains the same military disicipline as the Hochmeister.He puts on his great helm and await the breaching of the walls.



The commander Zyroslaw,tells the standard holder to wave the bow banner around,the archers instantly runs within bow range,while the horse archers gallop and everyone begins to shoot a massive volley into the town.



Then as both of the breaches are made,the commander orders the archers to stop,the Riga militia,looks around,afraid of what is to come.The commander then unsheaths his sword and yells Oskarżać!The Ritterbruder know what the word means and run through the breach hacking at the hapless peasants.





The charge has it's desired effect,the militia start to rout,Zyroslaw gives the order to charge to the knights.Commander Zyroslaw Piast:Men,ahead of us is a mass of animals ready for the slaughter,let us not let fear kill these pagans charge!The knights let the feel of the charge overcome them,ready to bash,slice and maim anyone who gets in their way.The leader of the town can not even be found among the various bodies in the streets.



The troops reach the town square,where Zyroslaw is in a impetuous high as his hacks one Riga soldier,then the next.This battle is over before it even begun to be honest.



The battle is over,and Zyroslaw doesn't even think this town deserves a sack,because it didn't resist him in any way.

[Imperator of Rome]

Ordo domus Sanctæ Mariæ Theutonicorum Ierosolimitanorum 1211 A.D-

Zyroslaw is given the title of Grand Duke of Riga,also the Lithuanians penetrate the borders of the Order in a serious raid which might ignite into war.In order to stop the advance,Zyroslaw goes to Raseiniai,where the Hochmeister governs,to convince him to go to war.





The Grand Duke,Zyroslaw reaches the court of Raseiniai where Hochmeister Hermann is.Hochmeister Hermann is 71 years old,still a brave commander but the years of hearing of the decline of the Holy Roman Empire and years of paperwork intent on making the Order's economy richer has drained his energy.Thosten is also with Zyroslaw,he carries the old Hochmeister's surcoat with it's now decayed cross still sewed on to it.Grand Duke Zyroslaw:Greetings father of the Order,we come with reports of increased Lithuanian activity in Riga and Raseiniai,I think they mean to siege us and take our lands.
Hochmeister Hermann:I'am too busy here,I'am also sure that you are more then able to deal with them.
Thorsten:No old friend,he needs your help,your experience and piety will aid us in stopping the suffering of our peasants,we must all join in to push the enemy out of our lands.*Thorsten offers the Hochmeister his surcoat and Otto the Great's sword*Now take what God has given you,it is time to fight,not sit idly by!.
Hochmeister Hermann:*slowly gets up*Agreed,call my squires,we go to Marienburg tomorrow,let the 2nd Lithuanian crusades begin!.Deus Lo Vult*he grabs his old sword*I wield the sword of the emperor,and with his and God's favor I go to war!

While the Hochmeister goes to Marienburg,Zyroslaw goes to Riga where Lithuanian forces are pillaging near his town.He then mobilizes the order forces there and meets the Lithuanian army on a cold plain.It is time for the first battle of Riga to begin.

[Imperator of Rome]

Battle screens will be up this evening.

[crucify_ego]

with 4000 or so men this should be some battle. cant wait

[Imperator of Rome]

2nd Lithuanian Crusades-First battle of Riga 1211 A.D

Grand Duke Zyroslaw Piast
17,680 men
No subcommanders

Duke Karijotas,Heir apparent
21,820 men

With the battle positions assumed and the banners of the eagle flying in the air,the Grand Duke stands vigilant in on the right side of the line.He sees the enemy army,and most of the soldiers laugh at it's approach.No special formations are needed,he doubts he will need any for this rabble of angry peasants.



The Lithuanians advance first with their Polish Strzelcy,who are shooting in to the ranks of the archers.Zyroslaw sees that he must do an absolute charge while the enemy army is still marching.He tells the infantry to charge the archers and any other peasants are with them.



On the left flank,the Lithuanian duke is already engaged with the left cavalry and a unit of order spearmen.




On the right,the ritterbruder have charged...and the whole lithuanian right has fell back,the feint rout happened so fast,that the Grand Duke hasn't even ordered the order spearmen to charge.This is also due to the fog in the area.Annoyed,he orders his knights and his army to press on and catch up with the ritterbruder.




On the left,the Lithuanian Duke is fighting with all his might,slashing at the knights and cumans.He didn't noticed the sabre coming down on his back.The hack is so hard,that the Duke yells in pain and falls off his horse,the wild Cuman getting off his horse and impaling the Duke in the chest,a brave ending to another brave lithuanian.



On the right,the ritterbruder are holding off the Lithuanian ambushers,as the wildmen charge the knights with their axes,hacking and maiming and yelling in victory.The Grand Duke is too busy with ambushes of his own to help the knights,the only hope is the order spearmen will get to them in time.

The spearmen do make it in time and some of the enemy army routs,the Grand Duke also accidentally runs into the back of the enemy line and starts to charge them.Other then a few units hidden by the fog of the area,this battle will be over soon.



Too bad for the remaining lithuanians,the fog clears up and reveals their positions,time to mop up!



Even though it was a victory,the army lost some 3000 of it's men to basically to arrows and well planned ambush.The Grand Duke needs to reinforce his army before he can do any other military actions.The Lithuanians chose a good field to do battle in,they had the commander,the field but not the quality or discipline of the Order.

[Imperator of Rome]

Ordo domus Sanctæ Mariæ Theutonicorum Ierosolimitanorum 1212 A.D

The Lithuanians in this year siege both Vilnius and Riga.At Vilnius,the besieged must prepare for an assault without any aid any time soon,because the Hochmeister is preparing an army,while Riga has the Polish Crusader Zyroslaw to aid them.He marches his army once more to this troubled land and prepares for battle.

[Imperator of Rome]

Second Lithuanian Crusades-2nd Battle of Riga

Grand Duke Zyroslaw
16,820 reinforced by 5450 men under Count Jan of Riga

Captain Marshall of Lithuania,Narvydas
23,030 men under no subcommanders.

It is a raining day,as the men gather under their banners for war,The Grand Duke is thristy for pagan blood,as he orders his men to get into formation.As the lighting strikes the battleground,the Lithuanians run towards their prey,yelling and preparing to strike.





The Strzelcy of the Lithuanians are hit by a barrage of arrows as they march in to skimish the Order troops.It is apparent,that the Lithuanians must strike or fall beneath the order's might.



The Lithuanians have fell into an trap,as more and more of their men fall,they curse the Captain general's timorous nature and advance towards the Order line.The Grand Duke prepares by giving the nearby Ritterbruder a speech.
Grand Duke Zyroslaw:Behold the Lithuanians once again brought down by the power of God,men lets show them what the Order is feared for!



The Ritterbruder unsheath their blades at once and charge at the axemen charging at them while the order spearmen fight the peasants in the center,the Grand Duke meanwhile begins to make the easiest flank of his life.The Lithuanian on the right and center begin to break less then a minute after charging,the whole cavalry wing of the right Order line begin to charge.





The Lithuanians run from the impending Catholic aligned storm.This is their defeat,a defeat caused by sheer incompetence,unneeded rashfulness,and most of all,inferior troops.The Captain Marshall will soon be executed by the Lithuanian Grand Duke for his stupidity.There lies the dead,the result of this battle,and the Grand Duke Zyroslaw's valor





This is the second battle of the Second Lithuanian Crusades,will the Lithuanians revenge their fallen or will the Cuman horsmen have more loot,stay tuned in to find out!

[Imperator of Rome]

Ordo domus Sanctæ Mariæ Theutonicorum Ierosolimitanorum 1212 A.D

During Autumn,the Lithuanians assault Vilnius,the test has come for the garrison,will it fall or truimph?

2nd Lithuanian Crusades 1st Defense of Vilnius

Garrison Commander Lukas 6910 men against Marshall Rupeikis 6920

The Lithuanian army came elated with the prospect of regaining their capital.They banged their shields and marched on the town with their rams.



Eventually, the ram and the ladders of the assualting army reach the walls of Vilnius.The men confidently raise their ladders and climb up the wall,while the ram begins to batter the wall.The wall is breached finally,and the fight for control of Vilnius begins.





The Polish traitors come in to cause more chaos,but they can not break the line as the Count of Vilnius rallies his militia.



The Count is covered in blood,swaying his blade left and right as he hopes the Lithuanians will rout in fear but there is still an stalemate.



The Count tries to swing at his intended prey,but he feels the hard thunk of a shield as the axeman blocks his blow,then all the fatigue,blood and sweat hits him as he is unable to stop the yelling axeman's blow which hits him on his sword arm.His sword drops and the Count asks for passage into heaven silently as the axeman hits the Count in the neck with his axe,which makes the poor count fall down to the ground,choking on his blood.



The army fighting on the city streets rout on the spot,luckily for them the Militia on the wall are fighting bravely,holding off the onslaught which have been unleashed on them.



The arrows,axes and fiercity of the Lithuanians carry the day.What happens next is unbelievable...the Lithuanians sack their own capital,while the Order when they conquered Vilnius silently went to each house and took some loot,the Lithuanians kick their former neighbor's door and slay the occupant.The Hochmeister will not be pleased and he will show the Lithuanians what true suffering is.

[Imperator of Rome]

I'll do the siege screens sometime later tonight

[Imperator of Rome]

With school and work,it has been hard trying to do the siege,I'll have it up by tomorrow or a few days.

[Imperator of Rome]

2nd Lithuanian Crusades:The Hochmeister's wrath

With that said,Hartmut came into the Keep where he saw all matter of troop mobilization then he found the old Hochmeister,who was his usual cheerful self.
Hochmeister Hermann:What do you need old friend?
Hartmut:The Ltihuanians have took Vilnius and sacked it,the count was found mutilated,with his head stuck to a Lithuanian standard on the gates of the city lord.
Hochmeister Hermann:What ?!!!Well I need to humble those foolish savages and convert all of them,I should of ended their miserable line years ago!!
Hochmeister Hermann:Tell the Cardinal Thosten to send a request for an crusade,this time me and Zyroslaw will help God unleash judgement day!
Hartmut:Yes sir,may your conquests come.*Hartmut runs to the Ecclestial estates to find the Cardinal and inform him.The Cardinal agrees and sends the pope his letter.

To our esteemed Viceroy of God on Earth,Pope Alexander III,I request support from Christendom for the aid of taking Vilnius from the Lithuanians.These false unbelievers have taken,violated and profaned the symbols of God and the peace of that christian settlement.I hope you will agree to this request as it is dire.

The 2nd Crusade has begun.

[Imperator of Rome]

Ordo domus Sanctæ Mariæ Theutonicorum Ierosolimitanorum 1213 A.D

The kingdoms flock to the banner of the cross in preparation to destroy the Lithuanians.Zyroslaw is the first to pledge,taking the torn out cross from Thorsten's robe and putting it on his surcoat,he then prepares his immense army what is composed of around 20,000men intend on wiping out all of the Lithuanian army.





Zyroslaw hears reports of an Lithuanian army near Raseiniai,apparently raiding the farmlands there.Zyroslaw decides to surprise the army and bring the offensive to them.

[Imperator of Rome]

I will do the battle later .

[Imperator of Rome]

The Battle of the Fields of Raseiniai 1213 A.D

Grand Duke Zyroslaw 19,670 including many minor knights with their household putting the force at more the 20,000 also reinforced by Count Hugo of Raseniai by around 3640



The Polish turned Lithuanian Count Captain Lingailas with an army of disciplined Strzelcy mounted crossbowmen,irregulars and axemen at 23,510 men strong

The Lithuanian Count is surprised to see an army that was miles away a few hours ago,assembled and ready to charge.He quickly orders the ranks to form for the endeavers that will happen soon.Grand Duke Zyroslaw waste no times in forming a basically crushing right flank,since he doesnt have a left.What is also bad is the Lithuanians forgot to bring spears with them.



The Lithuanians reform while Grand Duke Zyroslaw prepares to charge the engaging Strzelcy who are skimishing the line.The charge fails and the Grand Duke falls back annoyed by the whizzing bolts.He orders the banners to shift allowing the army to advance and engage.The line march ignoring the volleys of lethal crossbow,banging their shields and chanting to God for glorious victory.





The Ritterbruder yell and sprint at their intended prey while the rest of the line follows this pattern,the massive cavalry force is on the right flank of the enemy,just waiting to charge.





The Grand Duke halts his men and gives an speech,now my brothers,our destiny is in front of us,I will not see this Polish commander and his traitors in Order lands,lets give them death and their demise will give us glory in this world and the next.Cut them all down!

As they start to trot,brothers,twirl your blades in the air,the sprint is about to come!



Running at full speed,excited and impeutious beyond all measure,the order knights plow into the ranks spewing men,friend and foe,yelling and slashing,hacking and kicking.



The carnage is so brutal that the Lithuanians try to run into the men at arms they were fighting and they get impaled on the spot.



The battle was a total victory for the Order,like Alexander before him,he used the cavalry as an hammer and hit the iron while it was hot.The army he fought instantly ran for their lives and lamented as death came upon them.That is to say,what is a poor,by any medieval army's standards force doing raiding a neighoring region allied to one of the most energetic generals at the current moment.Zyroslaws beatdown was inevitable as soon as that poor count made the choice to raid the Order.

[Marcus Tullius Cicero]

Can't wait, it has been an enthralling AAR!

+rep