Downfall of the Empire - Byzantine AAR

[vonKrysiak]

Downfall of the Empire

Welcome to my Byzantine AAR. I hope you will all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy playing and writing it. below are the rules of my campaign:
Version: Deus Lo Vult 5
Difficulty: VH/VH
Changes: Increased costs and unit sizes, increased weight of cavalry, heavy cavalry 2HP generals 3HP (cavalry is devastating) increased size of siege units and harder walls for longer siege battles.
Also reduced recrutment pool for militia troops and peasants for more interesting armies/battles.
Full Roleplaying: (no alliances with Muslim factions for example)

Edit: Some of the rebel conquests are shortened or even omited as reading about them would bore you to death my dear readers. Some of them rebel scum don't have any spirit in them...
Edit2: Roughly every 40-50 turns I will try to do a world update - remove fog of war and have a look at the situation around my country.

[vonKrysiak]

Prologue



Dark times came upon the Byzantine Empire…









In the end of the 12th century Byzantium was a shadow of former self. Many provinces were lost to may of the empire’s enemies, few more rebelled against the Basileus who reigned in a distant Constantinople. Distant Alexandria was lost to Arabs ages ago, most of the Asia Minor was lost to Seljuk Empire, Southern Italy taken by Normans, Trebizond rebelled and signed a treaty with Turks. To make things even worse the situation wasn’t any better in the heart of the empire, corruption was at its peak, Imperial coffers empty, and nobles demanded more and more rights.



The end was near, it was certain that Byzantine “Empire” would share the fate of Western Roman Empire and fall due to corruption, pride, and inability to defend its own borders.



Emperor Aleksios gathered what was left of the Imperial army after the recent campaigns against the Turks. Troops were split into two massive armies that were to restore Byzantium to its former glory. In command of each army was one of two sons of emperor Alesksios.



Eastern Imperial army was sent to Asia Minor to restore the order and bring the Greek lands back under the rule of Aleksios. The situation was dire as only the keep of Nicaea was between the Turkish hordes and thick walls of Constantinople. Army’s leader was prince Andronikos oldest son of Emperor Aleksios, and the heir to Byzantine crown.
He knew the fact that if his army fails to reclaim the lost lands, barbarians will surely overrun the Constantinople and surely bring the end to over eight hundred years old empire.

Western army was sent to reclaim the territories west of Constantionople and create a buffer zone between the capital and foreign nations that might be interested in invading, already struggling country. In charge of that army was prince Longinios ek Amarinthou, younger son of emperor Aleksios. His army was ordered to reclaim the Sofia castle, and the town of Adrianople.


Royal Dynasty

In year AD1180 Byzantine empire was ruled by the Komnenos Dynasty.



Byzantine Emperor (Basileus) Aleksios was 45 at the time, and he was very experienced general as well as a superb administrator.



He had four kids, two sons Andronikos and Longinios(underage) as well as two charming daughters Anna(underage) and Maria.

Andronikos was 23 years old and an heir to Byzantine throne, and was raised as a skilled general in charge of the Imperial army, his skills were about to be tested soon…



His sister Maria Komnenos was 20, and already an adept diplomat ready to server her father and the empire in any way her father would want her to.

[vonKrysiak]

Eastern Campaign of prince Andronikos

Andronikos and 1000 of his troops have reached Abydus reached their destination the same year and promptly laid siege. At the same time imperial navy was ordered to block the bay in order to prevent the rebels from supplying the town by sea.



Byzantine army pushed their rams to the palisade while the remainder of Empire’s loyal Trebizond archers rained death upon the enemy. When rams opened the gate, and broke through the palisade Byzantine spearman poured inside and hacked their way through the streets. As soon as the defenders started retreating prince Andronikos ordered his heavy cavalry to charge inside and trample anyone who was foolish enough to resist his troops.



The battle was finished before it even started, without proper defenses rebels were doomed the second Andronikos laid siege to the city. In a matter of hours everything was over and not a single rebel was left alive in town.





The following day Andronikus and his army sailed over to Greece where ancient town of Athens dared to dispute the reign of his father! Before he left prince made Vartholomaios Mavrozomis a governor of Abydus, he was a capable man known for his wisdom as well as skills in battle.

When the army landed in Greece a single Dromon with small crew sailed towards them. It was a messenger from Abydus bearing grave news. Newly conquered province was already under siege! It appears that soon after the imperial army left Asia Minor rebels gathered a huge army and marched west to take back the town.

That couldn’t be! Andronikus ordered his troops back on the ships and sailed back to defend Byzantine lands.
They got there right in time, the sieging forces already prepared their equipment for a final assault, and it was obvious that with the few militiamen Vartholomaios had at his disposal the defeat was just a matter of time.




Situation was dire as prince Andronikos had only 800 man under his command, half of that were archers, the remainder a force of lightly armed spearman. He knew that with such horrible odds the rebel army would soon charge his position hoping to break the relief force and then take over the town. As soon as the rebels started marching towards main Byzantine line a messenger came from town. He brought news of Governor Vartholomaios marching with his troops towards the field of the battle. It left the town undefended, but nevertheless it was a smart decision as one unit of spearman and few horseman would not be able to defend town from such a horde of rebel scum.




Basil the rebel general had 1300 soldiers at his disposal, infantry, archers as well as a fair amount of lancers – heavy cavalry that could turn the tide of coming battle. He decided to send the archers first to soften the enemy, and only then order his cavalry to attack main Byzantine line.

Andronikos knew that with the lack of cavalry his loyal Trebizond archers could help him claim victory. As soon as rebel skirmishers moved closer he ordered his archers to open fire. With their superior composite bows and years of training their striking power was only outmatched by their huge range. Salvo upon salvo of arrows rained on the rebel army killing all of enemy archers in the matter of minutes.



The celebration was a short one as soldiers spotted large group of cavalry coming in their direction. Each spearmen braced for impact, put his spear in front and hoped to live to tell the tale of this epic battle.



Lancers charge was devastating, over half of the Byzantine spearmen was killed as a result. The remainder of them was trying to stop the cavalry from breaking through and getting to the archers – the only asset Andronikos had left.



When rebel infantry moved closer Andronikos ordered archers to fire at will and then took his loyal bodyguards into the middle of fighting. Most of them died fighting enemy cavalry but they managed to push the rebels back. Reinforcements got there just in time, Vartholomaios and his peltastai spearmen took position in front of the archers trying to hold as long as they could while spearmen from main force broke and started fleeing the battle.



Vartholomaios and Andronikos rode side by side and clashed with rebel infantry leaving only a few alive, Basil was dead and his troops started running away one by one only to end up dead with Byzantine arrows in their backs!



The battle was won and the town was saved, although at a heavy cost: most of the Byzantine infantry was incapacitated, and nearly a third part of the army dead.
With such loses there was no way Andronikos could continue his campaign straight away.



Due to heavy casualties army was ordered to garrison the town for the reminder of the year, wait for the wounded to be treated and prepare supplies for incoming conquest of Greece…

[vonKrysiak]

Western reaches of the Empire

It seemed that prince Longinions had an easier task, he moved his army west to siege Adrianople. The town have fallen without much fight in a matter of hours. Byzantines managed to kill all of the defenders more than 700 men with only a 100 dead on their side – merely 1/8 of their army.



With his army intact Longinions ordered his troops to take Sofia castle. With recent reinforcements from Constantinople his army was 1200 soldiers strong, they faced only 800 Slav militiamen.



Byzantine spearman charged in with the ladders while other lighter troops were ordered to force the gate open.



With bloody fighting on the battlements it was just a matter of time for brave Byzantine soldiers to take over the walls and pour into town to take over the keep.
When ram finally started hitting the gate all Slav soldiers in the vicinity tried supporting it, in a last dire attempt to buy their brethren more precious time.



Finally the gate has fallen and Byzantine cavalry poured inside crushing everyone on their way. Unarmored militia could not stand ground against heavy cavalry and by the end of the day Byzantine banners were stuck all over the castle.

[vonKrysiak]

The Fall of Athens

In winter of AD 1183 Andronikos sailed with his army towards Greece. It was the second time they made this journey, and it was certain that Greek rebels wont be cought unprepared. Still the Byzantines landed in a different spot this time and assaulted the town at night, hoping to surprise the defenders.



700 man Andronikos had under his command was twice as much as rebels could muster to defend their town. The odds were very favorable, yet the young prince realized that many good Greeks would die that cold winter night.



Already famous throughout empire Trebizond archers were ordered to decimate the defenders, and by the time the gate was forced open most of them were lying on the ground dead or wounded.



Rebel commander captain Thomas tried withdrawing to the town square in order to regroup his forces there. That was exactly what Andronikos was waiting for, a mass of broken, unarmored infantry jammed in the narrow streets. He ordered his cathapractoi bodyguards to charge and spare no one.



By morning the town was in Byzantine hands. All of the prisoners were released as it wasn’t a Greek way to kill their own countryman, especially when they were unarmed.




Invasion of Corfu

After setting up new governor and training local militia force Andronikos sailed further west for the island of Corfu. Their original plan was to liberate western part of Greece as well but unfortunately evil Venetians marched in with their troops and seized the province. Emperors orders were clear: do not engage foreign powers, reclaim the lost lands but under no circumstances start a fight with another country!



Prince Andronikos decided to employ the same strategy as last time, night assault on the town with preemptive strike of his archers.




This time the defenders gathered around the town square so more organized resistance was met. Byzantine soldiers attacked from two directions, and Andronikos led his cavalry from the back. The charge was devastating and most of the rebel militia was killed in a single strike.
The island was back under the rule of Byzantine, and local nobles were spared as a sign of emperor’s good will.

[vonKrysiak]

Foothold in Italy

After taking Corfu prince Adronikos decided to reclaim south of Italy. The town of Brindisi at the southern tip of Italian peninsula wasn’t claimed by Sicilians nor by the Venetians. This situation would not last long and everyone knew that it was the only chance to regain presence in Italy without starting a war with one of the kingdoms.

Byzantine army landed near Brindisi in the spring of AD 1185 and after hiring some of local mercenaries laid siege to town. 400 mercenary soldiers formed nearly half of Byzantine army exhausted after the Greek campaign. Only one unit of Peltastai spearman and three units of loyal Trebizond archers remained from the original troops that started the campaign five years earlier.



This time the battle plan was much different, with Italian opponents refusing to meet the invaders at the gates Andronikos ordered his archers to fire salvo after salvo of arrows at the town square where most of the defenders regrouped. After hours of such barrage Byzantines finally forced the gate open and heavy cavalry charged in. Prince Andronikos was surprised and amazed at the same time – there were nearly no enemies left to kill.
All of the rebel soldiers were either dead, wounded or in hiding cavalry swept through town removing last pockets of resistance and infantry started searching the houses for hiding defenders.



The results were outstanding: only one Byzantine soldier have fallen in the fight for town, proving once again why the Roman empire have fallen many centuries ago and why glorious Byzantine empire was still standing!



Conquest of Rhodes

Small Island of Rhodes have been in the hands of Byzantium for centuries. Unfortunately it was troubled by the same plague that seemed to be spreading through the empire: greed. Local governor lord Archelos tried gaining from the situation across the empire and claimed the province for himself. He didn’t have a bit army but island was away from the rest of Byzantine empire and town was well fortified enabling it to be defended by few man against an army. That was the state of things for over 10 years…

In year AD 1188 small army under the leadership of Prince Andronikos landed on the island, immediately it was joined by some of the loyalist forces and together marched towards the castle.



The siege wasn’t long, Lord Archelos was one of the first casualties on the walls, and with his death the remainder of his army surrendered the town to its rightful rulers.
Every rebel soldier was to swear allegiance to emperor Aleksios under the penalty of death, once again there was no pillaging, and no harm was done to the Greek population

[vonKrysiak]

Political Update AD 1188

With the recent conquest of Rhodes all of the Byzantine lands were reclaimed, Andronikos ordered his army to sail back to Constantinople for celebrations of their victories. He was the savior of Byzantine Empire and his men were all heroes

At the time Andronikos was away emperor Aleksios has taken care of diplomatic relations with all the neighbors. Relations with most of the nations were improved, in addition a strong alliance was established with all Orthodox nations, as well as with Poland, Hungary, And Milan. All of that was to protect the western border, and counter any invasions from the Venetian usurpers who already occupied western Greece.

Trade agreements were established with all known nations in order to bring some coin to near bankrupt country. Even the traders from Muslim factions were welcome in the empire after the peace treaty signed in AD 1182. All that would surely improve the relations with neighboring countries and bring peace and stability to Byzantium.



Prince Andronikos tried convincing his father about the urgency of another campaign, and reclaiming lost provinces in the Black Sea area. Knowing that country was already in huge debt emperor Aleksios denied the permission to raise an army and continue the conquests. Andronikos had no choice but to agree with his father and go back to his province of Nicaea, yet he never gave up plans of further conquest into Asia Minor.



World on Fire

The peace lasted four years, barely enough to restore order within the empire and rebuild newly reclaimed provinces. Horrible news have spread through empire in the spring of AD 1192: emperor Aleksios have passed away. With his sudden death at the age of 57 both of his sons were summoned back to Constantinople.



The same year prince Andronikos became the emperor of Byzantium, while his younger brother Longinios became an heir to the crown. With the recent shift in power new emperor could finally realize his plans of reclaiming Trebizond and turning Black Sea into an internal sea of Byzantium!!!

New emperor ordered two new armies to be raised, one to be sent to Crimea and second to Trebizond. When all the troops were ready, some more news reached the empire: Pope called upon all Christian leaders to pick up arms and join the holy crusade against the Cairo. The crusade didn’t pose a threat to the empire itself as it was already decided that all armies will be allowed to pass through the Byzantine lands. The problem was that crusaders used to be known as unruly crowd, mix of peasants, knights, and petty criminals looking for fame and glory in the Holy Land. It was obvious that the imperial army could not leave the provinces undefended until all of the crusaders cross the Bosporus!



Christian armies arrived in AD 1195, crossed the Bosporus straits and continued their march into the Asia Minor



With that threat gone armies were free to march towards their objectives. Eastern army in strength of 860 men under the command of Prince Longinios sailed towards Crimea, while western army in strength of 930 men under the leadership of emperor Andronikos crossed the Bosporus and marched towards Trebizond...

[vonKrysiak]

Coming soon: Foothold in Crimea.

Fell free to comment if you like it or not, and what could be improved

[vonKrysiak]

Black Sea Conquests

Two armies were dispatched from Constantinople in the year AD1196. Prince Longinios sailed for the Crimea in order to subdue the rebel towns of Caffa and Cherson and bring whole of Crimea back under Byzantine rule. Both towns were extremely important due to their location, they were required to expand Byzantine trade with Kiev as well as Tartar and Mongolian tribes. Both ports were required to create Byzantine trade monopoly in the area of Black Sea, and securing the waters from local pirates and brigands.



Prince Longinios conquered both towns without encountering much resistance by year AD1200. His army was split in half and created the backbone of local defense force in area.



Emperor Andronikos encountered more resistance in his conquest of Trebizond.
First of all the town was well fortified and Byzantine soldiers had to besiege a castle, second thing was that defenders mustered an army consisting mostly of archers – perfect army for defending a castle. Fighting against Trebizond archers had to be bloody, Andronikos knew that and respected his foes – he remembered how many times his Trebizond archers turned the tide of battle.



It was obvious that making huge but sluggish siege towers was out of the question, enemy bowmen would surely set them on fire before even one of them gets to the wall.
Andronikos ordered his troops to build many ladders as well as a battering ram to open the gate for his cavalry.



Byzantines charged in one massive wave, 600 spearmen along the southern wall of Trebizond castle. Defenders had to split their fire between many groups of invaders and in the effect most of the units got to the walls with minimal damage.
Fighting on the battlements wasn’t long, not even the best archer can hold ground against skilled swordsmen – especially if the defenders are outnumbered.



After the gate was opened Emperor Andronikos ordered his heavy cavalry to slaughter unarmored horse archers hiding in the courtyard. The fight was over, and yet another province was reclaimed by glorious Byzantine Empire.

[vonKrysiak]

World Update AD 1200

At the beginning of year AD 1200 situation in Europe seemed to be stabilized. There were no major wars and most of the countries consolidated their conquests, but not a single one of them seemed to be interested in starting a major war.
It looks like all of the rebel provinces have been conquered withing last 20 years, laving just a few in Africa.




Only Milanese and Sicilians seemed to be interested in new conquests as both countries pushed into North Africa. This fact would surely lead to confrontation with Arab rulers.

The situation was more complex in the Middle East. Kingdom of Jerusalem expanded nearly wiping the Kingdom of Armenia of the map, as well as conquering big part of Egypt including their capital Cairo!
Turkish hordes seemed to be doing fine as well with their empire stretched all across Asia Minor all the way to Baghdad. They pose a big danger to the Byzantine Empire, and the border slowly starts sparking tensions between the two empires…

[vonKrysiak]

Venetian Wars part I: Invasion of Crete

With eastern reaches of the empire secured Basileus Andronikos consider several options for further expansion. Hungarians and Kiev were both allies of the empire, Mongols were good trade partners besides their lands were distant and poor.
Kingdom of Armenia was nearly wiped by Jerusalem, and Egypt nearly ceased to exist.
There were only two directions possible: into Asia Minor against the Turks, or westwards against the Venetian Republic.

Eastern border was still fairly quiet, and trade agreement with Turks ended up being quite profitable. Venetian scenario was way easier, Byzantine merchants and nobles demanded a harsh action against the Venetians blocking our merchants, or even worse putting them out of business.

Finally the decision has been made: Venetians had to be pushed back from Greece, and western Mediterranean. If any invasion was to succeed it was obvious that Venetian navy had to be beaten, and scattered to the four winds.
Main Venetian navy in the area was small island of Crete – and that island was primary target of first major Byzantine invasion this century.

In the spring of year AD 1206 a huge army landed north of Iraklion and laid siege to the city. There was only a small fleet guarding the island which was destroyed before troops landed on the beaches.



Byzantine army was the biggest gathered in many decades – nearly 2400 men, including spearmen, professional archers, light cavalry, as well as some heavy mercenary infantry.
It was unknown what army the enemy had at his disposal besides the fact of being very similar in size.

Emperor Andronikos who led the invasion himself ordered mighty siege towers to be built, many of them. Before the work was done enemy counterattacked, they poured outside through the gate under command of lord Antonio Mastropiero, very skilled general and local governor. Antonio had an advantage in this battle: he had two of his sons on his side, both skilled in the art of warfare – each one of them commanding groups of Venetian troops. This was about to be the toughest battle fought so far…



Seeing the hordes of Venetian troops rush through the gate Andronikos ordered to abandon the siege equipment and form up in two lines with spears in front to protect lighter troops from enemy cavalry.

Venetian army was more advanced than the one of Byzantium. Each soldier had at least padded armor, many of them heavy chain or even plate – luxuries the Byzantine soldiers could only dream about.

As soon as Venetians started reforming Emperor Andronikos ordered his archers to open fire, there was no time to be wasted. With Venetian troops being superior, there was only one way to win the battle: by killing many of them before they could get to the main Byzantine battle line.



First charge was led by both sons of Antonio Mastropiero, Italian knights and havey spearmen charged in and killed hundreds of defenders. Original charge nearly broke left flank of Byzantine army and Emperor himself had to charge in to save the day. After a long struggle both Venetian sons lied dead on the battlefield and first line of their army started falling back.



At that time Andronikos ordered his cavalry to charge and spread panic through the ranks of fleeing soldiers. His idea was to buy as much precious time for his main line to reorganize and set up their defenses.

Soon afterwards Antonio Mastropiero managed to regroup his army and enraged with the death of both of his sons ordered his army to assault once again.
This time left flank of Byzantine army ceased to exist, archers were forced to fight in melee, and Emperors royal bodyguards formed the backbone of resistance there.

Luckily the situation looked little bit better on the right flank where Byzantines managed to rout the enemy and used the remainder of their troops to surround Venetian general and his troops.
Fighting lasted for at least another hour but with the death of their leader and ¾ of soldiers dead remaining Venetian troops started a full scale retreat.

Byzantines had no troops to pursue with, light cavalry routed hours ago, spearman lied dead trampled by heavy Venetian knights and most of the unarmored archers were wounded or dying.



Emperor had no chance but to gather whatever horseman he had left and charged in through the gate hacking his way through the narrow streets. This last ditch effort ensured that Byzantines would emerge victorious from this epic battle and take control over the island of Crete!




The losses were huge and to make it worst Emperor himself was lightly wounded in the battle. Even at a such high price it was worth it as the island provided control over the western Mediterranean and pushed Venetians back to their lands in Italy Istria and western Greece!

[crjs1]

Great AAR!!

[Imperator of Rome]

Downfall of the Empire

Welcome to my Byzantine AAR. I hope you will all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy playing and writing it. below are the rules of my campaign:
Version: Deus Lo Vult 5
Difficulty: VH/VH
Changes: Increased costs and unit sizes, increased weight of cavalry, heavy cavalry 2HP generals 3HP (cavalry is devastating) increased size of siege units and harder walls for longer siege battles.
Also reduced recrutment pool for militia troops and peasants for more interesting armies/battles.
Full Roleplaying: (no alliances with Muslim factions for example)

Edit: Some of the rebel conquests are shortened or even omited as reading about them would bore you to death my dear readers. Some of them rebel scum don't have any spirit in them...
Edit2: Roughly every 40-50 turns I will try to do a world update - remove fog of war and have a look at the situation around my country.

Excellent AAR friend,I wanted to do an eastern empire aar of my own....but I'am waiting for Broken Crescent to come out.

[vonKrysiak]

Venetian wars part II

After the invasion of Crete Emperor Andronikos had to reinforce his army, last battle at Iraklion has left his force severely crippled. Not interested in waiting another year to train new troops he decided to wait for wounded to heal, recruit some mercenaries and push forward before the Venetians get a chance to recover.




A spy was sent to infiltrate Venetian castle of Durazzo guarding the western Greece, the fall of that mighty keep would shift the balance of power in the area. The same summer Venetians sent a diplomat to beg for a truce, it didn’t sound right at all. Venetia had huge armies but there were not to be seen as of yet, plea for ceasefire would mean that they needed time to bring their armies closer to Byzantine territory and try to counterattack.
The diplomat was promptly sent back to Venetian lands with Byzantine answer: there shall be no peace as long as Venetian Republic occupies provinces that are rightfully Byzantine: southern Italy, western Greece, and Istria!



Ever since the start of the war three years earlier Byzantine coffers remained empty. There was no money to either train new army, or refit the existing one – a fact that Venetians didn’t know about!



In summer AD 1209 big Venetian army under the command of knight commander Benasuto has laid siege to Byzantine castle of Sofia. Invaders had several hundred knights as well as some heavy infantry. Byzantine garrison was a bit smaller but consisting mainly of lightly armored Peltastai spearman – main Byzantine unit of that time. To make things worse, local governor was in Constantinople at the time of Venetian invasion so the castle had no skilled leader to command the defense!




Sofia castle was located high on the mountain giving a good view of the surrounding area. Venetian army was spotted from afar, archers were called to the battlements and spearman prepared the barricade around the gate.



One unit of mercenary knights was well hidden outside of the castle walls, their orders were clear – to cause as much panic and disorder behind enemy lines as possible. They had to do their duties if the castle was to survive this siege; there was no other cavalry in the castle.


Battering ram got to the gate…

Many Venetian ladders were placed all along the wall

Two huge siege towers were pushed along the wall


Luckily both towers were taken care of; first one by the brave mercenary knights second by Byzantine archers who managed to put it on fire.



Fighting on the walls was fierce, and as soon as one Venetian soldier was killed two more would climb up the ladders.



After long hours of stalemate finally the morale of the invading army collapsed and few survivors have fled the battlefield.



It was a heroic victory indeed!

[vonKrysiak]

Conquest of Durazzo

Soon after the siege of Sofia Emperor Andronikos landed with his army west of Durazzo in western Greece. Timing was perfect, they landed when big Venetian army marching forward to reinforce local garrison.



Alessandro Pasqualigo knew that he had no chance at defending the castle all by himself so he moved into the field to regroup with main Venetian army.



Andronikos hoping that the enemy will attack his position decided to setup his army in standard formation…



…with over 400 fast cavalry hiding in the woods on the left flank!

What a good plan that was! Unfortunately Venetians refused to assault as they normally do and have setup a defensive position on the hill across from the Byzantine main line.



Venetian knights led by Alessandro Pasqualigo charged in and attacked Byzantine light cavalry. Andronikos knowing that his light cavalry doesn’t stand a chance ordered his bodyguards to charge in. He promised a huge land grant in Greece for person who brings him the head of Alessandro!



Venetian knights outnumbered fought to the end, not a single one left his lord. In the matter of minutes the fight was over and all Venetian knights were dead.
Andronikos ordered his infantry to charge in, and light cavalry to chase off the archers.



Main Venetian force was surrounded and slaughtered to the last soldier


With that victory Byzantine emperor Andronikos marched into the town of Durazzo and took over the mightiest castle in the area without a siege!

[vonKrysiak]

The Fall of Istria

After the capture of Durazzo Andronikos left just a small garrison force to guard the castle as the Greek population welcomed the Byzantines as liberators not as conquerors.
The Imperial army sailed in the direction of Istria and in AD 1211 laid siege to the castle.



Byzantine army mainly consisted of mercenary infantry which formed ¾ of the foot troops under the command of Emperor Andronikos. Three units of light cavalry were not suited for siege combat and without opened gate wouldn’t do much good here.



Venetian troops as usual bolstered mix of well armored spearman as well as elite Venetian archers wearing plate armor! Their general Maffeo Mastropiero, member of the royal bloodline was a very skilled tactician.




Byzantine troops were ordered to scale the southern sections of the wall, with heaviest infantry located near the gatehouse.



Treacherous Venetians used boiling oil to burn the battering ram and to immolate its crew. Now it was up to the infantry to open the gate from the inside.



After long hours Byzantines finally managed to get inside the gatehouse and open the gate for their comrades waiting outside.
Unfortunately opening the gate wasn’t enough; boiling oil stopped the first assault before it even started. Unit of Byzantine spearman was decimated by the liquid death and the remnants have fled the field.



Andronikos ordered light cavalry to charge inside and hopefully cause panic among the enemy.


Unfortunately evil Maffeo Mastropiero was underestimated, he had a unit of mailed knights waiting inside and the Byzantine cavalry was stopped and soon after decimated.



Last Byzantine reserves were ordered to charge inside and force the knights to withdraw.
After long Hours of fighting there were bodies everywhere. By the gate there were hundreds of dead horseman, on the walls there were piles of dead soldiers from both armies. It was the bloodiest siege fought to date.




Andronikos ordered last pockets of resistance to be swept and moved inside with few units of mercenary infantry – all severely reduced in size.
They met no resistance except for the courtyard in front of the keep where Maffeo and his bodyguards waited for the Byzantine army.



After a short fight Venetian lord was defeated and Byzantine banners replaced the flag of former Venetian oppressors.

[vonKrysiak]

Peace Treaty



After the fall of Istria Byzantine conquests were complete. Imperial coffers were empty and armies totally exhausted with long campaign. Venetians didn’t realize that Byzantine position was so bad, and to ensure that fact Emperor Andronikos ordered his mighty fleet to block main enemy port: Venice.
At the same time Milanese, allies of Byzantine Imperium besieged the enemy Capital.
Emperor had to make a tough decision, help in defeating Venice once and for all but face the rebellion back at home or sign a peace treaty. For once Andronikos chose peace, he sent a diplomat to Venetian Doge with the terms of peace: Istria, Greece, Crete become Byzantine provinces and Venetian armies never come back to imperial lands. There were few more points of the peace dictated by the wealthy merchants back in Constantinople, new peace shifted the wealth in southern Europe and moved the ensured that Constantinople became the center of trade and commerce as no other city in the known world!



Coming tonite: World Update and then more wars of Emperor Andronikos!

[crjs1]

Another great update!

[vonKrysiak]

World Update AD 1220



By the year AD 1220 Emperor Andronikos restored the Byzantine Empire to its former glory. New state spanned across two continents with its provinces all around the Black Sea and controlling most of the islands in the Mediterranean.
Byzantium was big, but to say more it was rich and powerful as never before!
Removing Venetians from the position where they could pose a threat to Byzantine merchants was a great move and resulted in the Imperial coffers filling with florins. Byzantine nobles were pleased, so was the merchants guild which offered to build its great hall in Constantinople. Future of Byzantium was looking good – for now…









Next move was to recover Asia Minor lost to the Turks ages ago. That wasn’t to be an easy task as new Seljuk Empire was a mighty foe indeed! Their lands stretched all across Asia Minor from Smyrna all the way east to Baghdad. No other country had armies that could match them and the conflict here was inevitable, and a bloody one for sure…

In Northern Europe Poland took over most of the German lands and expanded east into the steppes. Holy Roman Empire was split in half by Polish forces and their eastern provinces were taken by the French armies. At that point it was obvious that the rest of the empire will be picked apart by their neighbors unless they can consolidate their provinces and restore their might.
In the Iberian Peninsula situation was slowly changing as well, Christian armies of Spain and Portugal were slowly pushing Arab forces out of their lands. Spain even gained a foothold in North Africa, with both empires united and with only one goal ahead of them the Reconquista was nearly over, and the days of Arabs in Europe were numbered…
What will the future bring? Well more blood that is certain!

Next chapter coming tomorrow everyone!

[Son of Mao]

This is really good