Teutonic Terror: Dawn of Victory
TEUTONIC TERROR
The rise of the Teutonic Order, a TO Thera AAR.
Prologue, act I
A holy man's agreement.
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It was cold in the vatican.
The air seemed filled with cruel wraiths hacking at the inquisitor's body. So chill was the place that even death itself would shiver. Across the room, in a heavy cloak, face concealed, a man stood alone facing the grand inquisitor's throne. He had the look of a strange outlander, and although he wore the crest of that peculiar group of knights, the pontiff half expected him to reveal himself as some twisted pagan barbarian at any moment.
"Your highness" the cloaked man spoke, "I have come under orders from the grand marshal of my order... to honour the agreement we set upon all those many years ago." The pontiff deflated. He knew it, it was always back to this... agreement, the biggest mistake of his life, and the one thing which could ensure a kink in the pope's plans... that damned order !
It was sixty-five years ago, to the day, when a battered broken order, exhausted from a recent crusade and numbering only a few hundred men laid prostate at the feet of the vatican, awaiting the reward they thought they earned in their suffering: a home. The young inquisitor smiled, and made a deal with devils, he should have just ordered them all killed right there. In a bid to remove the upright order which had grown in power and strength, and to justify his own new powers as grand inquisitor after much Vatican political intrigue on just how exactly the man gained power so young, the devious inqusitor hatched a plan. "I have for you a proposition, most holy knights" he remembered; "If you desire a home, you may have it, but it must be taken first. The pagan Livonian goths insult me, go, and destroy them, and their holdings in the north, and return to me for final confirmation of your just reward." The grand-master of the knights stared up into the inquisitor's eyes, a grim look on his face. The Livonians had armies of thousands, massive strongholds in northern Europa, and a strong culture and religion. For just a few hundred to defeat such untold hordes... it was surely a death sentence.
The Grand master said but a simple laconic "it is agreed" and then he, and his knights grimly marched towards the dockyards. Sixty five years. Three grandmasters during that time, years upon years of unending war torment and blood. The livonian wars were terrible honourless and horrifying stories of cruelty, oppression, and bitter hatred. The teutonics defeated every army sent at them, carved their way through every livonian village, spared no one, they smashed the gate of Wolfsburg with a felled tree, half dozen men, and a will of steel. Sixty-five years... of holy genocide.
The grand inquisitor, now wizened in his years, wept bitterly inwardly. He had sewn the seeds of a unending fire of hatred. He had no doubt of the orders piety, they were among the most fanatic of the Christians, but they were frenzied now, no longer quite human. He had thrown a few hundred men onto a fire pit only for them to emerge crisped and stark raving mad.
Across the room, the ambassador to the order waited, silently, shrouded in the darkness of the cathedral, he seemed unlikely to leave without official confirmation, or the inquisitor's head. The ritterbruder that flanked him were equally as intimidating, burly men covered by a ruined blood stained tabard with cruel horns rising like demons from the pits of hell. "I am... bound to honor the agreement. You have fulfilled the agreement... the lands you took are now your fiefdom. I announce, the sovereignty of the Teutonic order !" The robed man withdrew his hood and revealed a face literally ripped and scarred as if he had been mauled by some kind of feral beast, one of his eyes clearly destroyed and discoloured. From his broken mouth he calmly said "so begins our tale" and set out to the exit of the cathedral.
-End of prologue
Act I,
In the land of the wolves
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The proving ground.
It was more hallowed than the dirt of any church or cathedral, its compacted dusts more wonderful than the vatican city... yes, It was indeed a beautiful sight.
It was on this ground that every one of the orders halbrudders were changed from merely being a mercenary, militiaman, or man at arms into something more, this was where the magic happened, that spirit of the wolf ignited within them. Blood sweat and steel was all it took. A man can become many things if driven just right. Here too was where said halbrudders, after years of dedication and glory, would make there bid to become the penultimate force in all the world, the holy ritterbrudders. It was the ceremony of induction, and without it the order would have degenerated into a roving band of barbaric fanatics by now.
Hochmeister Gunther watched, with rapt attention. The ritterbruder were so few now. Reduced from there original hundreds and hundreds back in the hey-day of his order to perhaps a little over one-hundred and fifty, only about 20 of those anywhere near the original force that stormed Livonia, and many more the bastard children of those knightly brothers. Bastard children. Gunther giggled a bit at this, his hand characteristically twitching with excitement. He often forgot he was one, born to a camp woman who was the previous hochmeisters personal 'entourage' so to speak. Most of the soldiers in the order were as such, mostly impure, either converted Livonians who survived the cultural and religious genocide of their lands, or 'half-breed' knights. Not that it really mattered in any case, Gunther had learned in his many years of war and strife that any man can be any thing. He saw it in the Livonians, as they were utterly driven into total submission in the last years of the 'crusade', when all pretense of rebellion was quite literally and brutally cut out and quartered. Now they were devout christians, mostly, and served the order implicitly giving them weapons supplies men and funds, all within the space of a lifetime.
Wolfsburg was suddenly quiet, the last of the group were assembled for the holy rite, and many gathered to see. "In the time before Livonia" a battle scarred chaplain began, "Your ancestors took an oath, it was an oath of blood, of death, of debauchery, they should have died, but instead, they fought, and they won." Gunther turned away from the parapet he had occupied and suddenly thought of the Inquisitor. He hated the Inquisitor, as most teutonic knights did. To say that the order had been given a 'raw deal' would be an understatement. Only now, that there is finally some security and legitimacy in the rule of the Order over these lands, has the world breathed a sigh of relief. New 'questing knights' and other pious fools join the 'crusade' daily, only to die in some cold frigid hell for no apparent reason, fighting pagan scum which, Gunther had to admit, were worthy foes and good slaves, if nothing else. He wondered when his 'ambassador' to the vatican would return, he longed to hear what the old arse the grand inquisitor had to say for himself. If he did not honour the agreement Gunther had a small fleet prepared to sail at a moments notice, to pay the man a visit with as many men as the ships could possibly hold.
Behind Gunther, a familiar voice was heard; "Brother, why do you turn away from the sermon, the men take heart in seeing you watch over them." Without turning Gunther replied "Aldrich Barbarossa, aren't you supposed to be governing Gothsburg ?" "Gothsburg governs itself, the sight of a ritterbruder in full uniform strikes terror and awe into the hearts and minds of all there. I ordered some military exercises inside the town while i was gone, there shouldn't be much of a problem, and if there is, the men will kill it." Barbarossa's eyes twinkled a bit at that. 18, and an Ordenmarschall. He was loyal beyond all reason of course, any true Teutonic knight would be. As Ordenmarschall, he was technically the second most important man in the realm and held the power to personally appoint ritterbruders in times of war without enduring the trials, and was supposedly chief in all things military. Sadly, he could not quite handle that last bit, so as many times before he worked as an adviser for the Hochmeister, relaying important orders, joining with him in battle, and managing the 'behind the scenes' work of supporting an army with supplies, new weapons, and the recruitment and training of warriors, alongside his staff of officials who aided him. He also liked calling Gunther his brother, even though to Gunther's knowledge the lineage was in no way connected. Perhaps it was an attempt to legitimize his candidacy as heir.
To Gunther, Barbarossa was like a little brother. "So my kamerade," Gunther began, "-Brother I know what your going to ask already" Aldrich interrupted "Is that so ? Humor me." "The vatican has honoured our claim, we are now a sovereign realm, more than a knightly order." "Yes ! This is fantastic ! But how do you know this news can be trusted ?" Barbarossa laughed. "That is easy my Brother, I went there myself ! That fat old man on the throne soiled himself when i flashed him a bit of my face, hah-ah ! Coward." Gunther was not particularily shocked. Barbarossa was prone to such things, it was his way. He was an exceptional knight but a terrible Governor. "So Gothsburg has been governor-less for... months, now ? You do realize he have diplomats now, don't you Aldrich" "Pah, you're no fun, but enough of this, please, let us speak of this plague which has befallen our lands, which makes my arm lazy and my men fat and bored- Peace !" Gunther raised an eyebrow at this, and quoted "But Aldrich, "Peace is what all true warriors strive for !" " They both laughed hard at that, It was a quote from the Livonian king Gunther and Aldrich confronted, at the last gasp of the siege of Wolfsburg. It did not end well for said king. "But truthfully, where shall we strike next." Barbarossa inquired. "An army may march on its stomach but it is coin that allows that army to exist at all. I have heard rumors of Medici wealth, I was considering seeing if there was any credibility to those claims" Barbarossa was enthralled, it was true that he was something of a follower. "I think I know what your going to ask, my OrdenMarschall, and yes, you may." Aldrich's face lit up, and marched out with new purpose and a spring in his step. The man had something of a penchant for violence, probably because of the terrible wounds he suffered in the last years of the Livonian resistance.
But, now was not the time to dwell on war wounds and pain. Tonight, drink, women, and song would be had all in equal measure. "If theres one thing I liked about the good old inquisitor is that he had such fantastic vision and taste in lifting the celibacy laws." Gunther said. "BROTHERS" he roared from atop his keep. "WE HAVE TOTAL VICTORY ! AT LAST !" The assembled Ritterbruders cheered and roared, chants of glory rising to the heavens. The celebration was immediate, everyone had been waiting for the word, for sixty five years, they had been waiting. At last, finally, the order could make her own destiny. Messengers left the castle immediately on swift steeds, by three days, all the lands of the order would be in full fledged celebration. The freedom was immense. The blood of the Medici would serve as a special hallmark of the event.
...But the best thing about it all ? The inquisitor could not do a damned thing about it.
Tune in for the next chapter, when Aldrich Barbarossa crushes the Medici scum... or will he ?
Act 1, The Medici War, part one.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
This was Aldrichs time ! Finally, he had his own real command in a true full scale military operation ! Aldrich Barbarossa felt the wolf in his bones, he could do this, he WOULD do this, and he would make his Hochmeister proud. Not wanting to wait, Aldrich hailed a nearby ritterbruder across the war room. "Joachim ! Come, bring the rosters, we shall amass the mightiest force in all the world to crush the medici swine ! Joachim, being the obedient and tolerant knight he was, brought Aldrich a list of the knights of the realm. "Mi'lord, we have approximately two-hundred Christ knights, about one-hundred halbrudder, and a small corps of 50 mounted ritterbrudder, now we also ha-" "Thank you Joachim, I think, being the Orden-Marschall, I can handle the rest of this, mm ?" Joachim grimaced behind his massive helm. To this day, he thought, he did not know how one so young could attain a title so high.
...meanwhile...
Gunther was reading. Literacy was one of those fine and rare qualities in the teutonic realm. Gunther had learned it by holding an old livonian scholar at sword-point and demanding he be taught. A good memory, that. Gunther's right hand began twitching again. Damned thing, it acquired that trait when once, as a heady young ritterbruder, Gunther charged into a Livonian spear-wall. during the panoply, his helmet was lost and horse felled. That's about all he remembered of that, besides waking up hours later in the aftermath of the battle lying beside bundles of dead Livonians with a terrible headache and an odd tingling sensation in his hand. It was fortunate that he was left handed, for his right proved to be unpredictable in all things.
His mind drifted to the Medici war. It was inevitable. The Medici and Vexille were chronically weak republics, poorly lead and badly managed. If they were not conquered soon, someone else might take them. Gunther could not afford such an event. The Medici would also supply his war machine with much needed funds, and population. Besides, consolidation in the south would mean attention could be shifted to the much ignored Teutonic outpost in the north. Gunther felt a bit guilty for leaving those men out to dry for so long, but it had to be done.
Gunther put down his scripture and walked to the map of europa in his quarters. It had recently been updated by teutonic agents with exact city locations and general ideas of troop compliments. Not exactly standard decoration for a knight, but being hochmeister meant that one could not be just any knight. Smarts count for more than a steady hand in a leader, Gunther had learned. Which was why he was a little concerned with appointing Aldrich for this assault on the local Medici principality of Machiavelli. Being a principality would hopefully mean no Medici forces would move to reinforce the garrison. Aldrich was so young... but no, he was the blasted Orden Marschall for gods sake, it was time he actually began to act like it. Besides, Gunther was tired of micromanaging his entire realm just out of fear of his subordinates somehow making a mistake. His hand shuddered again.
Three weeks later, outside of the Machiavellian principality's capital...
"What did you just say ?" "Sir there appear to be reinforcem-" "It was a rhetorical question ! Fool !" roared Aldrich. The messenger, a Christ knight, galloped tactfully away.
This was bad. No, not bad, terrible. It was a disaster. How ? Gunther said nothing about reinforcements ! Aldrich only had a few hundred men and no infantry...
"Abandon the siege, we need to move out, we'll make our stand away from these damned walls !" "Aye sir, when ?" Aldrich's stare provided the answer.
"Its fine, its fine, I can do this, I'm a damned teutonic knight !" thought Aldrich. Beside him, his Aide-de-campe, Joachim, piped in: "We should retreat, milord." Aldrich Barbarossa was floored. "Damn you, Joachim ! Retreat ? That is not the teutonic way. We will fight or we will Die !" but Joachim would not silence "My lord, we are more useful alive, the Medici have an army of thousands, they have spear-men, knights clad in heavy plate and excellent heavy infantry, I am not prepared to die out here !" at that, Joachim reared around and made to leave,but was caught by Aldrich's blade, cleaving deep into Joachim's shoulder-blade through his chain-mail. The men stared, but said nothing as they made to break camp. Aldrich could not believe he just killed the man... but, he was insubordinate, a disgrace to the order... right ?
Two hours later, in the Medici controlled principality of Machiavelli
Aldrich was humbled by the size of there force. fully three times the size of his expedition. However, most of *them* were not knights, and none of them were mighty Teutonic warriors. In such a situation, Aldrich decided, only one course was necessary. In his loudest toughest voice, Aldrich bellowed: "MEN OF THE ORDER, DO YOU WANT TO LIVE FOREVER ?" their combined reply answered: "We will be forever remembered, that is our immortality." Aldrich continued; "AND WHAT OF THE FOE ?" "Dust on the pages of our triumph" "DO YOU WANT ETERNAL GLORY ?" "Always." "THEN FOLLOW ME, AND TAKE, IT, TAKE IT ! ITS YOURS !" and at that the massive army of knights stormed across the field. What followed was three hours of bitter fighting. The Teutonic knights were picked off by crossbow bolts, surrounded by mobs of "broken lance" heavy infantry or spear-men, or smashed by the far superior armor of the Medici lancers. three hundred and sixty-four died before Aldrich, bloody and alone, sounded the retreat. Man for man, the order re-payed every man of theirs lost with one of the foe, but it was not nearly enough. Aldrichs first true command was a disaster.
Gunther heard the news a day before Aldrich showed up, wounded and beaten. what had followed was a week of verbal and physical punishment for the OrdenMarshall. Rumors of Gunther and Aldrichs heated debates abounded through the realm. In all of said rumors, Gunther was the clear winner. One popular one was that as a shouting match went on into the night, Gunther hoisted Aldrich up and smashed him against a castle wall, it is said that there is still a blood stain where the defeated OrdenMarshall's face had been. The truth was not far from these mutterings, but further debate had to wait. The order was wounded badly and her knights almost depleted, furthermore, a Medici army, probably the one to reinforce the Machiavelli province, had charged north and wrought havoc upon the countryside of Livonia, passing by empty fortifications and border posts unmolested.
Gunther and Aldrich, taking a mostly infantry force, confronted this force on the frosted steppes of a forgotten range in northern Europa. It was a battle that quite simply would determine the fate of the Teutonic order.
Fortunately, it was like an orchestra of war. Gunther was a master commander, he timed his cavalry charges perfectly and pulled them out just as they began to become endangered. The Medici infantry were pinned by cavalry charges, allowing Teutonic sword-brethren and other knight brother infantry to sweep around and surround the foe. After that, not even the magnificent armor of the Medici would stop the order's blades. Gunther was overheard chastising his adopted son and Orden Marshall "You see, Aldrich ? This is a war. This is an army. Take a good look. Do you see any damn fool charges ? Any suicidal last stands ? NO. Tactics won this battle. Strategy will win this war. My strategy. My tactics. Please, you incompetent sack of wine, try to damn well emulate them if you find your mind too weak to come up with your own." Aldrich changed over those weeks. He was stuck by the enormity of his mistake. The wives (or in some cases, the closest thing to one) and families of those dead that Aldrich was responsible for were gathered, and Aldrich was made to publicly apologize to them himself. According to Gunther, he was spared a public lashing or execution only by rank and status.
Months later, with a predominantly infantry army, stripped of any decent cavalry (those being replaced by cavalry), Aldrich Barbarossa revisited the Machiavellian principality and claimed it for the order, though at the cost of 373 men.
Images of the climactic siege:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
However, despite these victories, the war was far from over. Two large armies of Medici were amassing on the borders of Teutonic territory, and before any expansion could begin, these would need to be destroyed.
Act 1- Mini Update
On the March.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The scene was of a hazy sort. It was one of those rare days where despite the fresh snow packed onto the ground the sun burned over Europa. A bad day for marching, but march they must. Fully two thousands of the Orders warriors. Not just knights, though many were present, militiamen, men at arms, sergeants and all the panoply of war accompanied the host, along with a sizeable supply train that, for the momment, moved alongside the rest of the men. Banners hung loose in the air bearing the symbol of Teutonic greatness, the black cross on silky white. The mass of troops stretched out into the distance, accompanied by a mass of camp women, blacksmiths, knetchen squires, cooks, and the usual religious madmen waving great crosses about and praising all manner of saints and holies. From his steed, his army looked a bit like those of his old Livonian foes. All rank and file, filled to the brim with dirty peasants and old scarred bitter veterans. Half of the mens faces look like they had been gnawed on, the other half were thin, taught and grim young faces of boys, like Aldrich, born into the order to serve. Most of them were the disowned or unwanted spawn of wretched Livonian wenches as living memmories of one night stands or the remnants of some unnerving 'spoils of war' on the part of the conquering order. Gunther knew very well it was not quite fair, but then, life wasn't fair. You had what you inherited, and fought for anything else. That was all he had known, and apparently he was exceptional at fighting.
They were marching to face the Medici, who were camped out on the outskirts of Teutonic territory, outside of gothsburg. The new governor of gothsburg (Aldrich had been stripped of much status after losing so many ritterbrudder and knights, and an adopted man was found among the ranks who could do the settlement justice and perhaps improve conditions instead of ignoring his duty) had called for assistance after sending an order priest to scout out the medici. While humorous and oddly appropriate that order priests did the work of spies, the sketchy reports were troubling. Many men, probably exceeding even the horde Gunther had gathered, had massed, and quite frankly Gunther put more stock in the highly trained drilled and militant Medici than his own rabble. Not the the Order didn't have its own rank and file system, of course. Most of the major points were taken from the old Livonian order of battle. Command was structured thusly:
-Hochmeister: Leader of the Order and all its enterprises both military and civilian,
-Orden Marshall: A "prince" figure charged with the execution of the Hochmeisters command, organizing campaigns, army composition, and recruitment through a sort of unofficial office of staff or retired ritterbrudder, delegating responsibility to lords when necessary.
-Lords: any man of leadership status other than the Hochmeister or Orden Marshall, divided between generals and governors, the only difference being what role they played in the grand scheme of things.
-Following them, the Ritterbruder, with all there dread and all their glory. The ritterbruder was the highest position most common soldiers could achieve in life, and even then, in the meritocracy of the Teutonic Order, that demanded almost a lifetime of war violence and great deeds, along with numerous commendations for bravery and excellence in the field of battle.
-Under them were Halbrudder, essentially the main knightly force in the order, halbrudder are composed of men from across all spectrum of the military who show merit.
Then, there are the battle-brethren of the order; more warriors of the state than of god, they still retain some contrived connection to the order either through lineage, merit, or just plain need to fill the roster. Mostly common soldiery. After them, there lay only common soldiery and militiamen who weren't worth mentioning.
...Which all meant that the second most powerful man in the Order was an incompetent bloodlusting eighteen year old. Gunther covered his face with his good hand and sighed. T'was not without good reason, of course. His thoughts drifted back to the day he first met Aldrich Barbarossa...
..."Get the damned cavalry around and slam those archers ! Come on they are pelting us !" Shouted Gunther, weary with today's festivities of blood and violence. "Milord, the Livonian rebels refuse to back down, they have our entire force of infantry pinned, and have at least six archer companies lining the woods of our flank, we suspect some spear-men are lurking there too !" "How did we not hear about this ambush ? The entire realm bows to us except for this damnable hold out between the coast and the pass to Thermopal's-burg" "Don't know sir ! Shall we call the retreat ?" Retreat ? Gunther considered it. It was the smart thing to do. But he was a lord, in a damned good position to become Orden Marshall, and from there, pry the old buffoon who called himself Hochmeister. Retreat was not an option. "I don't care if there's an entire Livonian army waiting in those bushes, get some goddamn volunteers to go !" "No ones mad enough to volunteer, mi'lord !" At that, a childish voice popped in: "Give me a horse and a blade instead of this useless pointy stick and ill lead my Knetchen to it, sir." It was a lad, passing by to bring supplies to a few impatient looking ritterbrudder who were being entirely useless. "Fine, you're now a captain, congratulations, your men consist of the knetchen and those idiot ritterbrudder, flank the archers there-" Aldrich pointed to a ridge covered by vegetation to the left "-and kill all of those bloody bastards ! Ill do the same on the other side, Go, now !" The boy nodded, and sure enough, off he went, with his frustrated looking knights and joyous knetchen, to the flank. Gunther then gathered what remained of the cavalry, and hurried around. For Aldrich, it was the moment of a lifetime. Filled with blessed holy rage, he crashed through the forest behind the Livonian archers and smashed the ranks of the foe. Many of his men fell, but Aldrich was caught up in an insatiable blood-lust. He hacked and cut and sliced his way past his comrades into the thick of the rebellious peasant rabble, sword and man becoming one, hewing and slicing through a series of trained drills programmed into his mind since his earliest years. Soon enough, the Livonians, rapt in terror, believing Aldrich to be the manifestation of an old berserker demon, went into full blown panic and broke screaming and running like women. Without thinking, Aldrich jumped into the main fray with his small force, mounting steeds and cleaving into the heart of the foe. The combination of seeing such terrible slaughter, the cold emotionless push of Teutonic knights, Aldrich's charge and Gunther's forces in combat on the right caused panic. Some men ran for it, others grimly set themselves upon the enemy, preferring death. The officers killed themselves, Livonian officers were common targets for terrible torture.
When all was said and done, the Order charged through the narrow pass and burned Thermopals-burg to the ground, to set an example and eliminate a particularly terribly named settlement from the records. But although that battle was done, the war was not. Gunther came to rely on the stalwart Aldrich, in the last years of combat especially, when so many of the orders resources were focused around city areas to better 'cleanse the unfaithful'. In one battle, Aldrich even took a crossbow bolt for Gunther, who then owed the man a life pledge. The bolt, stuck in Aldrich's helmet, stabbed and ripped apart his right eye, and scarred his face terribly and irrevocably, marring his youthful beauty. The boy made not a sound until after the battle when the Gunther met to debrief his friend.
Ultimately, a brotherhood in blood was formed. It propelled Aldrich to the status of Ritterbruder quickly, and through the victories won, propelled Gunther to Orden Marshall. Having attained the rank, Gunther challenged his former Hochmeister's command of the Teutonic Order, and emerged the victor in both a civil war (which largely saw support for Gunther) and in a short duel atop the highest tower of Wolfsburg castle, finally claiming the honorary title "-von Wolfsburg". Aldrich was a natural choice for Orden Marshall due to implicit loyalty, so that he would never attempt to usurp the rightful Teutonic ruler as Gunther had...
Aldrich and his bodyguard trailed behind Gunther. Aldrich was practicing his daily prayer under the supervision of the army chaplain; he still did not know all the words by heart. Someday, Gunther thought, Aldrich will come into his own, as he had done at that pass, and would quake the world of men. Until then, his only crime was the ignorance of youth. Gunther would change that. Aldrich would learn.
But enough thought, battle lay ahead, with all its glory, and all its horror.
SPOILER: This update contains no actual pictures due to me being a lazy arse and not actually catching up to the current point the AAR was at in campaign... use your imaginations or something,
Act 1: Rebirth
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"In the name of gott im himmel Aldrich, CALM DOWN." The sheer sound reverberated in Aldrichs ears and bounced around the war tent as if its walls were made of elastic. "Sir, I just, worry, I dont want to... repeat my-" "Aldrich," Gunther interrupted "you are a damned Orden Marshall of the teutonic order, and I expect, nay, DEMAND that you begin to act like it. Your defeat nearly cost us everything but finally, here, now, we have the advantage. Look." Gunther pointed to a large map fixed to a hastily constructed billboard of sorts. "We are here, just a league or so a pace from where our agents have the enemy pinned. In litterally a day- perhaps two if we let the men rest a tad- we can be on the primary and final Medici army-group. Its something to the tune of a mere 4500 men divided into two armies." "Mi'lord, with respect, we number 2200 warriors at arms, not counting the camp followers and guards" "Well at least that proves you do actually read the status reports given. I know, Aldrich- but numbers are deceptive. The advantage is clearly ours. See this army ?" Gunther pointed to the northernmost medici army "Those men aren't being led by anyone- just a mere captain from the common soldiery or the idiot bastard son of a merchant. No fool would risk his life on such a buffoons orders- consider that entire force you see there routed and ruined the moment our battle lines connect and pressure mounts." "I see... but sir, even if we manage to rout that force, the enemy have an entire well lead army in reserve, it would be enough to ruin us after the initial engagement, our men would not even have enough time to piss before crossbow bolts began peppering them." "Very true, my good Aldrich, but see here, this idiot is the key to victory. You know of night assault tactics briefly from the order manuals, tell me, can you recall them ?" "Honestly, grand master, I..." "Dont even start, there is no shame in not knowing, Aldrich, preparing an army of knights for a sneak attack night raid is one of the toughest military maneuvers we have... and that's exactly what im counting on. Aldrich, if you, a man of many years of combat experience, having been bred into a terrible complex guerillia war, cannot conduct a night raid and organize an army group in the night... could he ?" Aldrich looked from the map, to Gunther, and then to his gauntlet. "We could do this... couldnt we ? We could crush them and repay our losses from the last few months in full !" "Yes ! Yes my boy you have it there, I can see that wolf's gleam in your eyes again, lad. With this singular stroke, doom will befall the Medici and their Allies. Europa will open herself to us and our armies will bloom like the wildflowers of black forest around our kingdom. We neednt even wage a campaign of terror upon the Medici, when they hear of this battle, none will dare amass a fighting army again, they will wait behind feeble walls and hope to save themselves in defense- allowing us to pick them off one by one. Send word to the officers" Aldrich looked into the eyes of Gunther and said "Lord, this shall be done."
Two days later, in the no-mans land between Medici and Teutonic territory near the coasts of Europa,
"Lights out ! Hush, were on the move my brothers, walk softly !" Aldrich muttered to the troops behind him. At last, a chance to prove himself again. Under the supervision of Gunther, the night assault was prepared in earnest. Soldiers were ordered to sleep and rest at midday- the army had approached swiftly at good speeds, and Knetchen scout groups, combined with some Prussian hunters and Livonian trackers, had eliminated the sentries watching the approaches to the main enemy army. Unfortunately, Gunther explained, there would be no way to infiltrate the enemy camp and kill the foe as they slept- Gunther opted to attack the army lead by the nobleman, so as to limit his reinforcements due to his fellow generals incompetence. For that reason, Gunther expected to approach a ready enemy battle line. Still, it paid to be careful. "There they are sir, they have torches among them, they are facing us upon that hill, yonder." Ritterbruder Schnidel said. "No sense trying to keep stealth now, then. Send word to the Grand-master, and send a man to begin to organize the formation of the line. Ill remain here to supervise the operation and watch for enemy trickery. "at once" Schnidel sounded off, and ran off to organize the sub-officers. The ground was a bit hilly but neither side had a distinct advantage, and all the hills were soft enough for cavalry operations. Good. This battle would be a deciding one in the fate of the continent. Aldrich's new command counted on him. Within his own camp there were rumors that Aldrich's forces were cursed to die for him. It pained him so, Aldrich still saw Joachims pained face gazing at him through a spray of gore. "Joachim, with god as my witness, I will repay your wrongful death. I will repent in a fountain of foul medici blood, their bodies will be my repentance, I shall emerge, screaming, into the Medici lines, and all will know, Aldrich's will on the battlefield is made manifest, no matter the cost. Vengeance will be yours, friend." At that, Aldrich lowered his ceremonial war-helm and began the rites of battle. God was surely watching this field; he would know who is his own. Lights began to appear among the teuntonic host, horns blared, the standards rose, men sang songs of war and god- or both. It was time.
"Well then, this is interesting." Gunther nodded forward, "They advance. Tell the men to hold there ground- if the Medici want to have a stroll, lets let them. Move the archers forward." At that, the archers moved forward, grizzled, covered in dirt grime and gaunt from there meager rations on the march. They put up a good show none the less. Those among the medici without the fabled plate armors found the archers gifts to be most unpleasant. They held, continuing to desperately pelt the foe up until they were charged by cavalry. "THATS THE SIGNAL MEN, SPEARS, FORWARD, MAKE A WALL, GO NOW !" Aldrich bellowed- this was it, the crucible. The plate armored knights would either shatter the line or would wash away against the mountain of steel and flesh. Aldrich was among the second rank, just out of reach of the Medici knights. Through slits in helmets he saw clean powdered faces, in the individuality of their styles and swordplay. It was beautiful. But it wasnt war. Against these noble knights stood militia and professionals, men of no worth, but oh how they fought- like wolves backed against the wall ! They called out praises and jeers, brief bits of holy words (noticeably, none involving the inquisition), and though they lacked elan and looks, they made him proud. Aldrich turned, but before he walked into safe lines, called out; "Men of the order, For the glory of the grand-master, for the glory of the Teutonic Empire !!!" and raised high his sword. Gunther watched from behind the ranks, quietly. Aldrich and his retinue approached swiftly; "Milord, the Medici infantry are closing in, enemy archers have begun to pepper our lines- what is your will ?" Gunther looked at Aldrich and said: "The enemy has thrown everything at us, were looking at several hundred of our troops gone. They are fully committed to our center. Remember the day we first met, Aldrich, when we flanked the foe ?" Aldrich nodded. "Lets re-enact that, shall we ? Take half my cavalry. Ill see you among Medici scum." Aldrich secured his helmet and moved to the flank at speed.
The bloodshed was such that All Aldrich could see was crimson. The melee had unhorsed him, and now, using a retrieved greatsword, Aldrich was among the ranks of friend and foe. The teutonic infantry broke ranks and entered single combat. It was sheer insanity. The night made the fighting confused and awkward. Aldrich waded in gore, stab, slice, block, parry, stab. He felt a strange sensation, as if an old friend was at his side. He just barely heard the words "Madness... stop.... madness..." Aldrich could not stop to see, though, he was a god of war and terror, his ritterbruders moving alongside him in a retinue of grim reapers. Though the Medici had superior swords and armor, the men behind the armor were weak in spirit and heart. When they saw the faceless mass of horned knights advancing through their 'professional' counterparts, terror struck their hearts and minds. "FOR THE LOST BROTHERS, FOR GOD, AND FOR JOACHIIIIM !" Aldrich bellowed. Demons danced in the hearts of men that night, and angels wept at mankind's folly.
The combined charge shattered the Medici. There warriors were over trained and under experienced, many had not tasted true combat, their knights struggled to keep themselves clean even as they were being cut into pieces. The slaughter was immense. Fewer than six-hundred medici survived, the order sustained around eight hundred casualties, with 200 or so minor wounds and about 153 crippling wounds. The casualties were widely believed to be fewer than expected. Gunther was in a fine mood, and had a personal inspection of the ranks (the cleaner men were brought to the front, not that it helped much). Just five days later, the army of the teutonic order ravaged the remaining Medici army. In the aftermath, an escaped noble was seized, and he was brought before the army. It was discovered the man was an Atheist, and was asked to embrace Christendom. The noble, with tears of rage and sorrow declined between harrowing screams. After more torturing, he was crucified to the cheers of teutonic soldiers, using other Medici dead to fix the post of the cross. Gunther, walking among his men, later identified the noble as some high lord of the Medici, had him taken down from the crucifix and tossed into a pit already full of the naked medici dead. Aldrich spent his time sitting next to the makeshift infirmary for the teutonic wounded, dying, and dead. He was seen administering healing herbs and tying bandages. He would never be called a coward again- he had earned the respect oh his men.
The Medici were no longer united. Just a band of castles to be toppled, groups of fools to be killed, a king without knights, and a nation without an army. Though it would take years, the Medici's fate was sealed that night. It was as though another part of Europa just went dark. No trade left the medici lands, no one escaped. Those who did not submit would die, alongside the arts, technological development, and all of the new groundbreaking humanist thoughts that were just budding in Medici lands. The tumor of the Teutonic Order spread, and its neighbors took note. Among the most prominent stories that circulated, however, was that of Aldrich "The Berserker"- a single barbarous man, bent on the utter decimation of his foes.
END OF ACT 1
Huzzah ! First AAR ! Sure to be a bloodstained vainglorious good time !!
This is my new TO AAR ! Rules:
-Rushing permitted
-Do not comply with any orders from the inquisitor
-When fighting pagans- always exterminate
-When capturing pagan forces- always execute
-No peace treaties, the order does not deal in half measures or a cowards victory of a cease-fire.
-Taxes cannot be lower than "normal" unless religion is at 80 percent christian or higher
Important notes:
This is a very-hard very-hard campaign. Diplomacy will thus be somewhat stunted, which works in favor of this anyway.
I modified forts slightly. Later on you may notice that they can support an upkeep of 10 units. Yes, this DOES imbalance the game, I'm aware of it, but since this is an AAR about story more than anything else, it shouldnt really matter.
More to come, with pictures and named charachters next time !
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Really great start! 
)
Originally Posted by Massive_attack
I mean more than adding that I'm just kidding!?
