[ETW Battle AAR] The Fall of Crimea
This is my first written work here on TWC.
I used vanilla ETW for this Battle Report.edit: Actually I used a faction unlocker to play as the Crimean Khanate in campaign mode.
The Fall of Crimea
The Last Defence of Crimea
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
General Bakahasab had spent his life serving Crimea. He had watched the slow decline of his nation. Now the general was an old man; his hair had grayed and skin was beginning to wrinkle.
Despite his age he mounted his horse to lead the remnants of the once great Crimean Khanate military. He was the only one left to lead the forces; upon news of the Russian armies advance the Khan had fled the city. When the Russians surrounded the city, the brave young general Jahasan had lead the Crimean forces to meet the enemy head on and died trying to rally their broken forces.
The only thing that stood between the Russians and the destruction of Crimea was the general and his meager forces, a handful of militia and armed citizens. Though the russians outnumbered then three-fold they would not surrender; they would fight with everything they had to defeat the invaders.
The General had chosen to make their stand in the streets; there the Russian's number advantage would be lessened.
The Russians began their march to the town in the morning, they could hear the hooves of the Russian cavalry advancing and could hear the drums of the infantry. He sighted a division of the Russians cavalry galloping towards them down the middle of the street.
They had run straight into his trap.
Musket-men in the farmhouse on the left and from all three stories of the town hall on the right opened fire from the windows as the cavalry galloped past them towards the main Crimean forces.
A handful of Cavalrymen fell in the barrage, but the Russians continued with their charge into the Crimean riflemen. Many riflemen were cut down in the charge, but they held firm and drew swords to combat the cavalry.
"Now Charge!" Boomed the General's voice at his men.
The axe-men that had been waiting, hidden from the sight of the cavalry behind a nearby building charged forward and attacked the russian cavalry from the side. The general charged his own cavalry forward to join the fray. The tides seemed to be turning in favor of the Crimean defenders, but a second unit of russian cavalry joined the fray to even the tide. In the distance the Russian infantry was now battling with the Crimean defenders occupying the farmhouse and the town hall.
As the Chaos of battle swirled around the general he shouted encouragement to his men and even slew one of the Russian cavalrymen himself. The Crimean defenders outnumbered the Russian cavalry and slowly, but surely cut the cavalrymen down to the ground.
Eventually the Russian cavalrymen broke and fled from his men. In the distance the farmhouse had been overrun by the Russian soldiers, but sporadic shots could still be heard from the Town Hall. General Bakahasab saw the enemy general now behind his forces. Now was his chance, if he killed the general his men would lose heart.
"Forward!" Cried General Bakahasab as he turned his forces to engage the enemy general.
The enemy general realizing his situation retreated away from the advancing Crimeans. General Bakahasab realized he had spread his forces. He saw now the enemy infantry having dealt with the defenders in the building engaging with his infantry. The general turned his forces back to fight back against the mob of Russian soldiers threatening to break his infantry.
"For Crimea, Charge!" Cried the general, desperately trying to save his forces from annihilation.
The general charged forward into what now seemed to be a sea of Russian troops. He felt the same thrill of battle that he had felt in his youth as he cut down the Russian Troops.
More and more Russians came forth, all around the General his men were being cut down; their screams piercing the air and their blood staining the streets. He was now surrounded by the enemy. He fought ferociously; his blood stained sword sweeping through the enemy ranks.
The general cried out in pain as he felt one of the Russian soldier drove their blade deep into his leg. He brought his sword down on the man's arm, nearly severing it and sending the soldier screaming to the ground.
Suddenly his horse reared up as a Russian drove a blade into it. he tried to hang on, but felt an agonizing pain in his stomach; he looked down to see a sword buried deep into his stomach. He seemed to lose all control of his body and was thrown to the ground alongside his horse.
His vision began to fade as he looked into the sky. As he lay on the ground he felt another blade stab into him, but he no longer felt any pain. He felt himself fading and began losing consciousness. he saw his forces running from the Russians from the edge of his mind, but he it no longer seemed to be important. The only thing he felt now was peace.
The general's eyes closed for the last time and then the life faded away, along with it faded the life of the once glorious Crimean Khanate.
The Russian Assault
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Corporal Aleksey gripped his axe tightly as he stood nervously in the line of infantry. He didn't want to be here. He had been a simple farmer, but had been conscripted, given a weapon, and sent off to fight for his country. As he looked at the town in the distance dread swelled up inside of him. He could not get the thoughts of his death out of his head. The dread swelled up in his heart as the drummers began their beats and Captain Vasily raised his sword high into the air.
The thoughts of the battle two days previously came racing to his mind. The confusion of the battle as the outnumbered Crimean troops desperately attacked their lines. There was screams, gunshots, and blood everywhere around Aleksey. The Captain screamed at them to line up and open fire on the enemy. Aleksey remembered his cowardice bitterly. he had never killed anyone before and terrified he only pretended to fire his musket at the enemy. Despite his cowardice their forces were victorious and had crushed the Crimean attackers.
The battle the day before reduced the division from one-hundred and twenty men to ninety. It was cruel irony that Aleksey was promoted to corporal to replace a man who had fallen bravely while he had cowered in fear.
Aleksey looked at the musket armed division to his right with envy. Captain Vasily had taken away there muskets and given each man a long-axe. He said it was because the sight of charging axe-men would break the morale of the Crimean defenders, but Aleksey thought it was because there wasn't enough ammunition to go around. Aleksey gripped the sturdy axe even tighter; he could not pretend to use an axe the way he had pretended to fire his musket.
The Russian general raised his sword in the air. The signal to begin the advance.
“Move forward men!” came the strong voice of Captain Vasily as he pointed his sword forward.
The entire Russian army moved forward in unison. Two divisions of cavalry lead the advance followed by Aleksey's division; behind them advanced three more infantry divisions followed by the General himself, leading from the rear.
As they reached the edge of the city Aleksey heard the sounds of muskets firing. The Crimean defenders had opened fire on their cavalry just ahead. As they advanced they saw shots being fired from a large farmhouse and further away from a three story building. Fear raced into Aleksey's heart as he heard the screams of the dying and the smell of gunpowder.
“We will take the hall, the others will take care of the farmhouse. move forward!” Shouted Captain Vasily
He was mad, thought Aleksey. They would have to run past the farmhouse and across the street; all the while fully exposed to shots being fired from the windows of both buildings.
Despite his fear Aleksey found himself charging alongside the rest of the division across the street. Bullets whizzed by Aleksey; the man alongside him fell clutching his chest as a spray of blood burst forth where the bullet impacted.
Aleksey followed the crowd of men around the building and into the doorway. Inside gunshots and the sound of fighting overwhelmed his hearing. He moved forward alongside his fellow soldiers past two bodies in the doorway, one Russian and one Crimean.
The Russians fought their ways forward across the first floor toward the stairs up. The ground was littered with bodies from both sides and the agonizing cries of the wounded and dying could be heard even over the deafening noise of battle.
Captain Vasily lead the push forward and cut down a defender at the base of the stairs.
“Move forward!” shouted the captain as he and a handful of men charged up the stairs to the second floor.
Aleksey felt a wave of adrenalin hit him as he charged up the stairs after them. The defenders on the second floor moved forward trying to push back the Russians before they could overwhelm the second floor.
A Russian corporal fell in front of Aleksey with a knife wound to his neck. Aleksey leaped forward, adrenalin and primal instincts taking over, and brought down his axe on the Crimean defender. Blood sprayed everywhere as Aleksey embedded his axe in the man's chest.
Aleksey moved forward into the gap he had created. The Crimean defender now facing him was only a boy, sixteen at most. His sword was shaking in his hand. Aleksey thrust his axe forward. The boy tried to block it, but the force of his axe knocked the blade from his hand and knocked him to the ground. The boy cried out for mercy, but Aleksey no longer felt anything but the adrenalin running through his veins; no fear, no remorse, no mercy. Aleksey brought down his axe and ended the boy's pleading.
More Russians had moved onto the second floor and the Crimean defenders were being pushed back.
Aleksey saw Captain Vasily cut down his opponent and shout an order to his men “We have them beat! Move for-” His order was cut short as a bullet fired by one of the Crimean musket-men passed through his head; sending a spray of blood into the air as his body crumpled to the floor.
Aleksey saw the Russian forces wavering and with a force that he didn't know he had in him bellowed “Forward, for the Motherland! Charge!”
Aleksey sprang forward ferociously cutting down another man and so with him did the rest of the division. The slaughter was terrible. Men on both sides were cut down as Aleksey lead the division onto the third floor of the town hall.
The defenders fought bravely, but they were cut down by the bloodied Russian division.
Now there were no Crimean defenders left alive in the building. They had taken the hall.
“Reform outside.” Ordered Corporal Aleksey.
They traveled out of the gruesome building onto the streets outside. Across the street the farmhouse had already been cleared. Ahead Aleksey saw the other Russian infantry divisions holding the town square. The remaining defenders were fleeing from their forces.
Aleksey looked at what was left of his division; of the ninety men they had at the start of the building there were now only twenty-three. He noticed all of the men now assembled seemed to be looking up to him; waiting for him to say something. He looked at the faces of the men of the division and saw only privates; he was now the commander of the division.
“You have fought hard and bravely. Your courage has brought forth a great victory!” Spoke Aleksey to the men, emotions flooding back to him as the adrenalin wore off.
Aleksey saw the Russian flag being raised in the town square. Pride swelled up inside of him and he let out a mighty cheer that was echoed across the town by the triumphant Russian soldiers.
Please tell me what you think of it.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Simon Cashmere
+ rep for it and can't wait your next story
