I've gotten a bit bored of my Teutonic AAR so I'll be doing this inbetween "bored sessions" of the Teutonic AAR, and this time with Lands to Conquer by Lusted. I've chosen the Italian peninsula as my campaign. This will be a short one, only about 5 chapters, and it'll be finished in a few days.
Oh and by the way, by all means tell me how to improve... I'm a learning AAR student.
Settings & Cities
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Italian Domination
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Chapter I: An empire's march on glory
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It is 1280 Anno Domini. With the conquest of Northern Italy, the Holy Roman Empire has now surrounded Milan in it's capital city. Few soldiers on both sides remain, for the bloody war over the Italian northern regions has been on for over 15 years. Over the last few, Heinrich the Chivalrous became emperor, and then everything changed. Heinrich took Genoa in under 3 months and drove the Milanese scum back to their only remaining city. He is the most able general, and chivalrous as the name implies. Over the past year, Heinrich has gotten control of Pisa, Florence and Bologna. The economy is stable, and our soldiers happy over recent victories.
Heinrich needs to seize Northern Italy and be quick about it, because the provinces outside of Italy's dominance are open to the Venetians, them having the strongest navy force of all the Italian powers. If they gain control of coastal Greece, for example, they will without much doubt grow too powerful for us to control.
To the south, Sicily is a growing power and may also overwhelm us if we are not careful. They have disciplined, organized militia forces, and they are numerous. What seems plausible to Heinrich is to seize the islands to the south - Corsica and Sardinia. Since we lack military bases, the castles on the islands, Ajaccio and Caglian, will prove a valuable asset to us. With them, we can support our military ambitions once we conquer Milan and start to head south to Sicily and Rome.
The Military Council of the Empire consists of 5 major generals; the Emperor, Prince Fredericus, Leopold Steffen, Dietrich Godwinson and Maximillian von Kniprode. These 5 men are responsible for all military matters of the Empire.
Heinrich and his men prepare for the assault on Milan. He must do it quickly, if Milan is not to recover from recent defeats.
The two armies meet at the borders of both faction's capitals - Turin and Milan. The Milanese are lead by Count Francesco, a skilled general within the Milanese ranks. Although younger than Heinrich, Francesco is more experienced in warfare than Heinrich.
Battle of Milan-Turin
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The battle takes place in August, 1280 AD. It is a warm sunny afternoon. It is Heinrich's 1300 men against Francesco's 700. Although Heinrich's forces are more numerous, Heinrich is careful not to become overconfident. He knows Francesco is a clever man - he has fought him more than once.
Heinrich's army is well equipped; Pavise crossbowmen bolster the ranged ranks, and heavy Feudal foot knights on the front, with well armored spearmen on the sides. Heinrich's cavalry consists of 2 units - each on either flank. Heinrich himself is behind the Empire's lines.
The Milanese lines consist mainly of militia troops, but trained militia nontheless.
The Empire's crossbowmen have opened fire.
The Milanese cavalry militia rush towards the Empire's left flank and charges into the cavalry stationed there. The Empire's cavalry manages to counter-charge.
The cavalry on the Empire's right is now free to hammer, anvil and run down some archers.
If we only manage to kill Count Francesco, his army will be finished. His troops are surprisingly resilient, and are actually causing the Empire's troops a headache.
Every army breaks when pushed far enough. His troops begin to break, and even he himself is a little shaken.
...
No! Heaven of God help us!! The Milanese have brought more troops to the battle, twice as strong as before. Now it is they that outnumber us!
After hours of fighting, our troops are on the brink of breaking. But then God saved us, in the hour of need...
Both generals - Francesco and Virgilio di Livio, the commander of the second army, are fallen! In the midst of battle, almost at the same time! By the grace of god, we are saved.
The Milanese still do not rout. Their resilience is unbelieveable.
As mentioned before, everyone breaks when pushed far enough. The cowards break and flee.
Victory!!!
We lost only about 370 men, killed 700 and captured 1200 men! This is truly a day of great glory. The Milanese are utterly beaten.
Heinrich lays siege to Milan, and the local governor surrenders a week later. Heinrich "the Chivalrous" decides to loot and burn the city, to get revenge on the people who had been the thorn in his eyes for so long. Before being assigned emperor, Heinrich had been a general under the previous emperor.
Fortunately, the pope, Giovanni the peaceful of Milan, died of natural causes the passing week. He would undoubtedly have excommunated us for this act.
A young, promising general has been spotted by the elder council. His name is Jan von Augsburg and currently resides in Innsbruck. Heinrich has him sent to Milan, where Heinrich currently resides to ensure stability. After recruiting, Jan is sent to Turin. He is to be tested whether he can govern a large settlement. Turns out he can, and even better than the previous governor. Jan is appointed head of Military in Turin and granted permanent housing residence.
The plague has spread to Northern Italy, killing 30% of the population. Heinrich is sent to an excluded farm a little north of Milan in order to avoid being infected. What have we done do deserve such punishment? The ones who breathe the plague drop dead within a matter of days.
In order to fight the rapid decrease in Italy's population, Heinrich decides to build upper class hospitals and grow grain in every city in order to help slow the ever decreasing population.
Massive earthquakes have occured in Bologna! Buildings are damaged, and many citizens are killed. This truly is a year of misfortune.
Emperor Heinrich has sailed with his army south to the castle Ajaccio. The enemy are 500 men fewer than Heinrich's forces.
Siege of Ajaccio
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The trebuchets have begun pummeling the walls.
It is a shame to wreck a beautiful castle like this.
The walls have fallen, and the Empire's troops run inside.
A bloody battle this is... a clash between two powerful forces.
The army is becoming tired, so Heinrich rides in to inspire his troops.
The men are exhausted at this point.
They are slowly getting pushed out, when...
Heinrich rushes in once more and saves the day.
The siege was successful, with casualties but they were worth the prize.
From here on, Heinrich takes his army back to the fleet and sails even further south, to the province Sardinia. He lays siege to the castle Cagliari, which doesn't put up much of a fight. The first thing Heinrich did with the Empire's two new castles was to repair the damage he had done with his trebuchets and then build proper ports and barracks so the castles could support Heinrich when he ventured further down south... which is only a year or two from now. Heinrich thinks he has a strong enough army to take on Rome, and then on Sicily.
Chapter II: Rome and Venice begone
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It is the year 1298 AD. Plans are underway to siege Venice itself. If we capture it, Venice will be finished. The Prince of the empire has almost reached Tunis on the crusade... it won't be long until it is in the Empire's hands. Meanwhile, Jan is preparing for the siege of Venice. The Doge of Venice, Domenico, resides there. He is doomed, along with the rest of his army, which we outnumber 2 to 1.
Despite the Doge's generous offers - thousands of florins - Heinrich is determined to take Venice.
The generals round up their troops and prepare for battle.
Siege of Venetia
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The trebuchets have started firing
The walls are down, cow carcasses are being thrown and the troops march into the city
The fighting is fierce, but the Holy Roman troops drive the Venetians to the town square after the greater part of day
March on! March on towards glory!
The Venetian Doge is killed, and with him goes the last Venetian resistance! The day is ours!
We lost 500 men, killed 300 and captured 600
A new Venetian Doge has been crowned over the remaining parts of the Venetian provinces, but he will soon fall apart. Hungary will not give the new doge a minute to rest. This is very fortunate for us, especially because Heinrich needs to turn his attention to Sicily and Rome; if Hungary would decide to attack, we would have to fight on two places at once, that is never a good thing.
We sack Venice, and gain no more than 10,000 florins. Yes! One of our spies in the spy network, Sifridus Guiskard, has spotted the last territory of Venice, and it is being sieged by Hungary. It won't be long until Venice is history.
Unfortunately, Admirald Harold, the Admiral that sailed with the prince to Tunis, gets attacked by a superior Venetian fleet, and is decisively defeated. The prince will have to stay in Tunis for at least 2 or 3 years, if not more.
The prince has laid siege to Tunis. He does not have sufficient numbers to storm the city, however, so he has decided to wait and starve the local population. If he manages to capture Tunis, the Empire will have yet another castle to support it's war efforts. Here we can even sail to Sicily with ease, which will undoubtedly prove valuable later on.
Emperor Heinrich has been slain!!! The advisory council suspects the Inquisitors; servants of the Pope who execute any noble who seems unholy to the papacy. We will get revenge. Rome will burn to the ground. It's citizens will be massacred or made slaves!
A new Emperor has been crowned. It is Jan von Augsburg - the confident general that assisted Heinrich in the siege of Venetia.
In the crowning of Jan, the Papal States announced that it's relations to us hung by a very thin thread. No matter... we will make them suffer for what they did to Heinrich.
The new crowned Emperor gathers his army from Verona and Venice and marches down the peninsula. Jan triples his watch, and keeps three priests near him at all times, hoping it will protect him from the Inquisitor. One of our priests has been accused of herecy and has been burned alive! This must be stopped. Jan marches with his army as quick he is able.
Reinforcements have been recruited from the castles on the two islands, and are now on their way to the mainland by sea. This army is intended to fall to the rule of Maximillian von Kniprode, and it is to take either Rome or the Papal castle by the coast; whichever is best when the time comes.
The Emperor has ordered Bernhard Winmuth, a newly adopted noble, to march to him in middle Italy with the army garrisoned at Turin. The troops there are diseased by the plague. God forbid it spreading to the Empire's army.
The Papal military base, the coastal castle Ancona, is vulnerable. Jan orders Maximillian to travel to the castle and besiege it, while Jan blocks reinforcements from arriving.
The relationship between us and Hungary is poor, and is degrading as it seems. Might this end in an open war?
The heathens of Tunis have taken the fight to us; they open the city gates and prepare for battle.
The Siege of Tunis
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The heathens are poorly armored and with cheap spears
They quickly crumble, however, and we gain victory. Prince Fredericus has won the day, and lost very few knights. Only a 100 gave their lives, but 200 were killed and 150 captured in the heathen ranks.
Fredericus will have to wait in Tunis for at least one and a half years before he can sail back to Italy, for there is no proper port built around Tunis and building one will take a year if God is with us, and the ship takes maybe 6 months to build.
Bernhard, the governor in Turin, has been given orders by the emperor to attack a Papal army that is currently residing in the mountains east of Rome. Another army of ours has been put to the south of Ancona to block reinforcements. The Emperor himself is a little west of Ancona.
If the Papal armies win this battle, they will have enough troops to drive the Emperor off the Papal lands... and even further.
Chapter III: The Holy Roman Empire invades the Holy Roman Papacy
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We last left off where an army of the Empire and Papal States clashed. If the Papal States win, there won't be any much left of troops for the Empire to drive any further down the peninsula, let alone conquer the whole of Italy.
Battle of the hills
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The clashing armies meet at the borders of Ancona and Rome. Both sides are considerably powerful and equally numerous
The papacy has elite feudal knights at their disposal, as does the Empire
The Empire's crossbowmen have begun to draw their bows
Bernhard orders the right flank of cavalry to march to a nearby hill
The opposing cavalry clash in a fierce battle to the death
The Empire's archers aren't quick enough
The papal heavy infantry are attacked in the rear and break upon contact
The papal force is nothing but fleeing rats now
The papal general has left the scene
This is a great victory; we nearly annihilated the Papal force
Bernhard is victorious, and he now heads south east to Rome. The Papacy has no additional troops for defense... they will have to rely on Sicily to protect them. It is sad to see that the pope does not see things as we do; we are merely putting Rome in the right hands, like god had always planned. Corruption and treachery have now come to an end.
Grave news; the force Maximillian commanded that was to block reinforcements coming from Ancona, and was on the way to assist Bernhard in the siege of Rome, has been attacked by a twice stronger force than itself. Emperor Jan intended that force to be his trouble, but the enemy had other plans. Maximillian's opponent is named Iacobus de Cardinale.
The Heroic stand of Maximillian the Mighty
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Maximillian has deployed his troops on a steep hill; it is his only chance of victory
Maximillian ordered his cavalry to ride out and annihilate the Papal bowmen
They are somewhat successful
On the right side of the cliff is a marchable hill, which the Papal general exploits
The Imperial cavalry have slaughtered many bowmen
It seems that no matter how many we kill, twice as many march up the hill
As Iacobus falls off his horse; pierced by an Imperial arrow; the Papal troops panic
Even that is not enough... half the enemy army remains
After uncountable hours of bloody fighting, the Papal troops break
... Terrible the sight was; Men with missing limbs; Blood ran in creeks
As bloody the battle may be, the Imperial forces have once again proved their worth. We lost 400 men, killed 900 and took 400 captive
Bernhard is victorious, and he now heads south west to Rome. The Papacy has no additional troops for defense... they will have to rely on Sicily to protect them. It is sad to see that the pope does not see things as we do; we are merely putting Rome in the right hands, like god had always planned. Corruption and treachery have now come to an end.
Maximillian takes his troops and marches south west to Rome. Emperor Jan has besieged the fortress Ancona; the one and only Papal fortress. It is defended by Pisanus Pistoriensis and his 1,000 men. The Imperial force is twice that size.
The siege of Ancona
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It is night. It is dark. It is cold.
The Imperial forces have had a hard time preparing because of the weather. While Pisanus' men relax behind the city walls, rain, thunder and bitter cold strike the Imperial forces. Nontheless, they march forward and prepare the siege weapons.
The walls come tumbling down!
But...
It seems there is no one defending the city
Nevertheless, the Imperial troops march onward towards the broken city walls
Through fire and flames
... This is a ghost town
There must be troops inside the central fort. The Emperor brings the siege engines into the fortress and orders open fire
This be damned! One of our siege engines have caught fire; it appears there is someone in the fortress after all
When the inner wall breaks, the Imperial force floods in.
The enemy general is too cowardly to step out of his residence
Undeterred, the Imperial troops march on
This was an exhausting victory, but a victory nontheless
The Imperial forces suffered 700 losses, killed 700 and took 400 captive
A huge Sicilian army has been spotted just outside the lands of Rome. If they decide to attack us, the siege of Rome will be broken; perhaps not even the Emperor himself will be able to drive them out.
In fear of a Sicilian attack, Bernhard and Conrad von Grunungen (in charge of Maximillian's army) begin the assault on the walls of Rome; they dare not wait longer.
The Siege of Rome
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It is summer; anxiety is in the air. The papal forces know they are doomed, despite being in one of the most secure cities in Europe.
The Imperial forces begin the siege.
Papal crossbowmen begin to fire
The Holy Church will be sacked and it's priests burned
The battle on the walls has begun. Since they burnt down the Imperial battering ram, the troops will have to open the gates for Bernhard from the inside
The worthless scum rout
They will all be in the afterlife... very soon
After the walls have been taken, the troops march toward the city square
The Papal cavalry sees what is coming for them
The Papal cavalry fought like lions; we could have lost the battle
The Pope died in this battle, but these were the last to remain; you can imagine what happened to them
Rome has been exterminated! Such is the fate to he whom desecrates the might of the Imperial Army.
An Imperial cardinal has been elected for Papacy.
Sicily has declared war on us. No matter, the Emperor had been planning war with them for a long time; this was to be expected. However, this was not; a grand Sicilian army, led by Maccio Letizi, has sieged Ancona, with Emperor Jan trapped inside. If Jan falls, the empire might collapse due to unfaithful generals trying to seize their part of the empire.
To be continued
Chapter IV: Foreign invasions
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This is not good. This is very bad. Both Hungary and Sicily, the two remaining powers in Italy, have declared war on the Emperor. Sicily has layed siege to Ancona, the Papal castle, and now Hungary has invaded Italy from the north, where no Imperial force is nearby. The Hungarians mount an attack on Venice only a week after they've entered Italy, and there is not a spectacular force defending Venice. Emperor Jan should have foreseen this, though; the relations with Hungary were slowly going downhill.
The defense of Venice
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The Hungarians are tired; they had been marching with haste from their homeland, so the Emperor would have less time to react to the situation... they succeeded.
The Hungarian force consists mainly of horsemen, though there is much of heavy infantry
The elite Hungarian knights; both mounted and dismounted; march in
After a few hours of fighting, the Imperial forces give up... the city has fallen into the hands of Hungary
4 months later, they attack Verona. Seeing what happened to Venice, they surrender
Hungary has gained a considerable amount of the Imperial Empire in Italy.
After 6 months, Emperor Jan finally arrives with his army in Verona, where the Hungarian general, Tibor Szabo, resides.
The Battle over Northern Italy
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The Imperial forces are tired after the march, but have gotten a little rest before the battle begins.
As so often, the battle begins with Jan's trebuchets
The Hungarian knights attack, and the battle is both bloody and fierce
The Imperial forces surround the Hungarians
The disciplined cavalry of Hungary refuse to surrender
Elite as they may be, they break and rout
The Imperial forces lost 400 men, killed 600 and captured 400
The Hungarian forces are forced to retreat to Venice, where they will make their last stand.
Grave news; a large Sicilian army has been spotted near Florence. Emperor Jan cannot be in two places at once. If Jan marches south to deal with Sicily, the Hungarians may escape back to Hungary, and if he goes for Venice, Florence might fall to Sicily.
Emperor Jan finally decides to storm Venice. If Sicily attacks Florece, they will have to face the consequences of their actions.
The Sicilian siege on Ancona has been broken, and the Imperial force there manages to recover.
News have been reported of a full-sized Hungarian army marching on Venice. They are no doubt looking for revenge. Emperor Jan's forces are depleted after dealing with minor Sicilian attacks and defeating the Hungarian army at Verona. It is unsure whether the forces behind Venetian walls are able to defend the city.
The Emperor calls his advisors, and asks them what they think he should do. They advise him to send a messenger to Tunis, where the Prince currently resides, and order him to sail back to Italy with his force. A proper port and a fleet have finally been built, so he is able to. He then might help; that is, provided he reaches there in time. If he doesn't the Emperor must risk his own life.
Excellent news! The Hungarians have decided to return to their homeland; at least some of it, the Prince of Hungary, Prince Benedek, has not yet left the Venetian region, but according to our spies in Zagreb; the Hungarian recruitment base; they appear to be recruiting troops. For what is concealed to the Imperial spies, but the Emperor thinks he knows what this recruitment is for. A massive assault on the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in Venice.
A small Sicilian force has snuck over our lines and have captured Ancona! The Imperial troops had left Ancona a month ago in order to capture Naples; the capital city of Sicily, which is just south-east of Rome. The Emperor had commissioned General Bernhard, the general who captured Rome and defeated half the Papacy's forces. Fortunately, there is a small army near Ancona which is able to take it back in a matter of weeks.
The Imperial forces close in on the Sicilian army. The Imperial force is greatly outnumbered, but the possibility of victory is there; The Emperor has confidence in General Bernhard. The Emperor believes Bernhard will be victorious. If he indeed is and defeats the Sicilian army at the capital of Sicily (Naples) the Kingdom of Sicily will fall for good. It's generals and governors will seize their territory, and it will be far easier to conquer independent cities than a whole kingdom.
Chapter V: The Final Showdown
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The Battle over Italian Domination
General Bernhard has formed his troops up near a nearby farm and awaits the Sicilian army
The Sicilian cavalry is far superior to that of the Imperial cavalry
Their main body consists almost entirely of crossbowmen
Both sides chase down fleeing units
After an entire day of bloody conflict, the Imperial forces carry the flag of victory
The Sicilian forces are finished. A week later Bernhard reaches Naples; Naples falls...
And with it, the Sicilian kingdom.
The Holy Roman Empire now completely dominates over Italy! It is the year 1314; The Holy Roman Empire conquered the whole of Italy in 34 years!
Emperor Jan von Augsburg became very ill and died a month later; a messenger got to him and told him the news a day before he died.
The Hungarian forces would attack again, but Prince Frederick drove them back.
Hey
Nice end for your story.
I think it is cool sometimes to see some little AAR. It doesn't take so much time to read and there is a whole story with a start and a end.
As I'm still interested about your pictures, I will make a special rep for this picture.
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It is like in a comic strip, and the german helmet is quite dreadful. There is a gost and dark power feeling in that picture.
What effect did you use there?
An other thing which interested me was that you seemed to use a new special picture effect for each of your battles. It helps to make all of them unique and original. Very good idea.
Thanks la coupe, I've read your french AAR and let me just say it's the best I've read Unfortunately I lack the talent to make these written AARs like you, but this is enough for me haha
And thanks for the +rep
Edit: I forgot, the effect I used in the battle you mentioned was done with Photoshop.
Image > Adjustments > HDR Toning > Scale "Detail" to fullest
[LTC HRE AAR] Italian Domination
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Well done anyways.
pwomise
Originally Posted by gummz
