The Return to Devon

[Majonga]

Over a year ago, Aeric stout-shield and a contingent of the Royal Mercenary Company mounted a punitive expedition into Devon and Cornwall. They identified several Saxon strong-points, but failed to bring solid figures of the military capability of the West Saxons. Poor scouting has cost the Normans in several battles over the last year, not least at Shepton, where Aeric himself was present. The lesson learned, Aeric had returned to Devon with two Contingents of the Company. The Duke Mortimer has tasked him with taking stock of the military strength of Devon and Cornwall.

Stage 1: Exeter

The ride to Devon had been relatively uneventful, the lands of Somerset relatively pacified by the 2nd Battle at Shepton. Aeric's column of 200 riders had picked their way across the river valleys of southern somerset. They had entered Devon through the main pass and headed east to the river Exe. Here Aeric had ordered his forces to split into three groups. The first was to approach Exeter from the East, the 2nd from the West, and the third, under Aeric, from the North. That had been three days ago and now Aeric's half Contingent sat on a hill overlooking the town of Exeter.

Surrounded by a deep ditch and fortified with a strong wooden wall, the defenses of Exeter were some of the most formidable in all of Saxon England. The river cut off any attack from the East and enabled Exeter to be supplied by sea. Aeric had a scribe note down that a squadron of ships would greatly cut down the length of a possible siege. The Danish mercenary knew that the town may have strong defenses, but as always a town's strongest tower of defense where it's manpower. The only way to have a true idea of the strength of Exeter was to get a closer look...

OOC: May i request a scouting roll for the defenders of the town of Exeter?

50 Scouts on the East Bank
50 Scouts on the West Bank
100 Scouts to the North

[PsychoticBarbarian]

East bank scouts roll 3 'Captured'

The scouts on the East bank encounter a rival Saxon patrol - after a short and vicious melee many are killed, the rest are imprisoned within Exeter...

West bank scouts roll 13

The scouts on the West bank estimate the garrison of Exeter to be between 160 men and 640 men...

Scouts to the North roll 16

The scouts to the North estimate the garrison of Exeter to be between 280 men and 520 men...

When the surviving scouts return to their camp, they unanimously report that Exeters defences are formidable and will require great numbers in a storm...

150 men remaining

[Majonga]

Stage 2: Exmoor

The loss of the East Contingent had been a blow and had reminded the rest of Aeric's men that they remained in hostile territory. With their presence discovered and at least some idea of the strength of the defenses around Exeter, Aeric regrouped his men north on the river Exe. He now detailed the second part of their scouting in Devon. While Exter itself had been scouted, Aeric knew well that it would be foolish to advance believing that was the only force active in Devon. Once again he split his forces in order to cover more ground. 50 men would ride north into the northern valley. Though this area was less settled, it was possible an army could move North around Exmoor and remain hidden in this valley, springing an attack on the rear of any force which engaged Exeter.

While one group went North, the other, a full contingent under Aeric himself, would ride south. The area here was much lower and more suited for an advancing army. The village of Torquay would be a convenient rallying point for any army coming east from Cornwall. Aeric and his contingent came upon the village on the morning of their 2nd week in Devon.

"Break the contingent into two, we advance from east and west once again, 50 men to each group." The First Captain ordered.

The men broke up, immediately moving off to scout the area around the village. Torquay itself was situated on the sea. It had almost no defenses to speak of, the majority of this land looked to be owned by peasant farmers. The rolling hills further inland looked very suitable for pitched battle, if it came to defeating an army out of Cornwall here might be the place to do it.



OOC: May I please have another scouting roll, essentially just one, to see if there are any other forces active in Devon besides the defenders in Exeter.

50 men in the North,
50 men in the East,
50 men in the West.

[Dead Sun]

OOC: I'm going to follow the idea that I don't tell you what you rolled, and just give you an estimate depending upon what you roll...

North roll: The scouts return claiming they spotted something between 200 and 360 men.

East roll: The scouts return heavy-hearted, they had not seen the enemy at all.

West roll: The scouts return happily, though they were at an argument with each other. Some claimed they had counted 140 enemies, and others claimed they had seen 220.

[Majonga]

Stage 3: The River Tamar and the Cornish Border

With Torquay and South Devon scouted, Aeric Stout-shield and his contingent continued to push through southern Devon. Nearly three weeks into their expedition, they arrived on the banks of the river Tamar, the rendezvous point with the Northern half contingent. The Two scouting forces regrouped on the river bank, and Aeric took stock of his position. He had pinned down the majority of Devon's strength, it was large but not unassailable. He had managed to prepare a rough map of Exeter's defenses and had a pretty good Idea of the forces capable of both defending it and relieving it. As his Contingent's rested for a day, he drafted a letter to the Duke Mortimer, including all the information he had gathered.

Across the river, on the opposite bank, lay Cornwall. Aeric's first expedition had told him that Devon and Cornwall were far from united but the Normans could present a common enemy. His knowledge of the terrain told him there was only one real way to move an army from Cornwall to Devon and that was through the south, across the river Tamar. Any Cornish army moving to support Exeter or Devon would have to cross somewhere near the very spot where Aeric's men lay camped.

Dawn came the next day and Aeric's forces broke camp and crossed the river. The First Captain sent back a single squadron of men to carry word to the Duke Raglan. They carried a letter filled with information and hand-drawn maps that would give the Duke a serious edge when it came to invade. The rest of his force, 140 men strong made their way into Cornwall. The next phase of Aeric's scouting would be to determine if there were any Cornish troops in the area who could quickly react to an invasion of Devon.

OOC: One more scouting roll, last time I promise This time for any troops mobalised in Eastern Cornwall. Basically if any Cornish troops could react to an invasion of Devon (like I said above)

- 140 men under Aeric Stout-shield.

[Dead Sun]

Scouting Roll: - The scouts returned with no knowledge of enemy troops, but their knowledge of the geography helped them conclude that if the Cornish Saxons were inclined to do so, they could swiftly come to the aid of the Devonshire Saxons.