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Thread: Legacy Of Numenor (yet another Gondor AAR)

  1. #21

    Default Re: Legacy Of Numenor (yet another Gondor AAR)

    Stay tuned for Boromirs assault on Cair Andros.

  2. #22

    Default Re: Legacy Of Numenor (yet another Gondor AAR)

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    After a hard march up the Anduin, the detachment led by Boromir finally reached the place where they intended to launch the assault on Cair Andros. Arriving at dusk, Boromir allowed his men to rest, concealed in a wooded area along the rivers western bank. His force consisted of his own retinue of Citadel Guard, 2 companies of Gondor Infantry and 3 companies of Pelagir marines. It was known that the band of rebels in the fortress was at least 500 in number and although the men of gondor outnumbered their foe, some of the men had expressed their doubts that such a small force could successfully capture the fortress and that an attacker would require thousands of men to take the former mighty fortress of Gondor. Boromir spoke to his men as they sat at their campfires, telling his men that the rebels were known to have filled the citadel with wine and booty, the fruits of their years of banditry along the Anduin. Boromir promised his men that those who followed him into fortress would have a share in this prize.

    As the sun rose Boromir dispatched men to cut down some trees to construct barges and siege equipment. After a hard day of work a ram and the equipment needed to ferry it across the Anduin had been completed. The Pelagir marines had spent the day hollowing out trees to use as canoes and as the sun began to fall, Boromir rewarded his tired men with a cask of ale to quench their thirst. As darkness fell, the Pelagir Marines prepared themselves to make the assault across the river while the men not required for the initial crossing got what rest they could. At midnight the assault commenced with the Pelagir Marines steathily crossing the river in there makeshift canoes, laying a cable as they went. They reached a part of the shore that was not visible from the fortress and quietly dispatched several rebel sentries, while engineers rigged the cable used to haul the barge that would carry the ram across the river. As the sun began to rise a rebel patrol spotted the men of Gondor and raced back to warn the fortress. The assault party came under sporadic fire from a small force of enemy archers but the rebels were unwilling launch a serious attack, instead waiting atop and behind their high walls for the eventual assault.

    When the ram had successfully crossed the river, the assault on the fortress commenced. Boromir lead his men forward to death or glory.



    Having successfully crossing the Anduin with the siege equipment, Boromir and his men advance towards the fortress.



    Ill disciplined rebels crowd the walls, eager to shoot down the attackers in a hail of arrows. In their rush to man the walls they have left the whole eastern section unguarded.



    As it starts to rain, Boromir commands the Pelagir Marines to advance and demonstrate before the walls with the intention of deceiving the defenders.



    The defenders open fire on the advancing Marines, who advance within bow shot of the walls before quickly withdrawing out of range as they come under fire. This process is repeated several times to keep the defenders unsure of our intentions.



    Meanwhile Boromir leads the other half of his force around to the eastern shore, using the terrain to conceal his move.



    Upon reaching the eastern shore, Boromir surveys the defences there.



    The defenders have noticed the move and shift their forces to meet the new threat from the east. Due to poor discipline and coordination, no men are left in place on the western wall.



    Sensing an opportunity, Boromir sends a runner to the Marine commander, instructing him to assault the western gate with the ram. The Pelagir Marines must get the ram to the gates before the defenders realise their mistake.



    They are successful and they begin to batter down the gate.



    Boromir's men prepare to assault the east wall with their ladders.



    The gate is smashed open and the Marines storm through the breach.



    Panicked by the sight of enemies behind them, the rebels abandon the walls and attempt to flee to the citadel.



    Boromir's men scale the now abandoned east wall.



    As the Marines attack the retreating rebels, Boromir's men rush to hit them from behind.



    Unable to escape to the citadel, the rebels are surrounded and cut down. The Marines come under fire from archers on the citadel hill.



    Boromir attempts to form his men into a proper battleline before advancing uphill, but with casualties mounting from the enemy archers, Boromir leads his men in a hasty charge uphill to the citadel.



    Leading from the front, Boromir throws himself at the enemy. Although possesing the high ground, the rebels are no match for his retinue of elite Citadel Guard.



    The Marines form up behind the Infantry and discharge their javelins into the packed enemy ranks...



    ...and then maneuver to strike the enemy flanks.



    The rebels are compressed into a tight ring and are butchered by the men of Gondor. The rebel commander is cut down alongside his men and the battle is won.



    The citadel is captured and the men burst through the doors, eager to claim the treasure therein. Prisoners are placed in chains and are sent under guard to Minas Tirith for punishment.
    Boromir expresses regret that men must fight one another when they should unite against Saurons growing threat, however a great fortress has been returned to Gondor and Boromir has won a great victory for his father. A messenger arrives, bringing word that another Orc assault on Osgiliath has been repulsed with heavy casualties.



    The white tree flies once again over Cair Andros. Now to deal with the trouble in the south.


  3. #23

    Default Re: Legacy Of Numenor (yet another Gondor AAR)

    Stay tuned for more. Please excuse any spelling mistakes and poor punctuation as i often never notice them until i have posted. It seems that low ranking members such as myself are not allowed to edit posts which is proving to be dammned annoying.

  4. #24
    Bowmaster's Avatar Biarchus
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    Default Re: Legacy Of Numenor (yet another Gondor AAR)

    How do you take the pictures used to the AAR? I might just want to do an own one, but I don't want to make one of no pictures.
    (yeah, yeah, I'm fin player of TATW 3.2...

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  5. #25

    Default Re: Legacy Of Numenor (yet another Gondor AAR)

    I press print screen to take a screenshot which gets saved to the tgas folder in the medieval 2 total war folder. I then use Irfan View to convert the images(which are in TGA format) to JPEG which i then upload to imageshack. The images uploaded on imageshack are the inserted into the forum post by means of copying and pasting the URL into the text box that appears when one clicks the insert image button.

  6. #26

    Default Re: Legacy Of Numenor (yet another Gondor AAR)

    PART 4 concluded
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    A brief update on the various happenings in the realm of Gondor.


    While Boromir is recapturing Cair Andros, the column commanded by Prince Imrahil arrives at Annulond, the largest settlement region of Andrast. Imrahil has been commanded to return this region to the light of Gondor, and to punish the sinful men who reside within these lands.



    As the town is invested(meaning it is surrounded to prevent escape), Imrahil must swiftly capture the town so that he can return to eastern Gondor and assist in the defence against Mordor, and therefore elects to make an assault as soon as possible. Imrahil consults his subordinates and deduces that the south gate is most vulnerable and prepares to make his assault there.



    As the gate is battered down, the defenders abandon their positions behind the walls and retreat to the town square.



    Imrahil leads his Swan Knights forward, hoping to run down the fleeing enemy. The defenders rally and the Swan Knights disengage and try to find another way into the town square.



    The Infantry advance into the town square and a fierce melee ensues.



    Imrahil lead his Knights through the streets and hits the defenders from behind.



    The Militia Cavalry, who were previously kept in reserve, charge forward into the fray.



    The defenders, compressed into a dense ring, fight to the last.



    The town is captured. The fallen defenders, who bravely fought to the death in the defense of their homes are given a proper burial. Imrahil immediately prepares to depart and join the war in the east.

  7. #27

    Default Re: Legacy Of Numenor (yet another Gondor AAR)

    PART 5
    The Fight Continues
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    With Mordors assault on Osgiliath repulsed, the recapture of Cair Andros and the acquisition of Andrast, a brief respite would have been most welcome. However it seems that there will be no rest for Gondor.

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    A raiding sizeable force from Harad has besieged Linhir. Forlong the Fat has been placed in command of a relief force which has now arrived at Linhir and has attacked the Haradrim in conjunction with a sally by Linhirs garrison.



    The Haradrim advance upon their attackers, who have formed a battleline on the slopes of a small hill.



    The garrison emerges from Linhir and moves to support Forlongs men.



    As the Haradrim close with the Gondorian line, Forlong leads his retinue of Knights forward in an attempt to even the odds. They charge a group of Umbar Corsairs who have separated from the main Haradrim force and cut most of them down, forcing the survivors to flee.



    Ignoring what is happening on their right flank, the Haradrim charge the Gondorian line.



    The Haradrim cavalry charge.



    A fierce melee develops all along the line. The men of Gondor are outnumbered but have the advantage of superior discipline and armour over their foes.



    The Linhir garrison arrives to support their comrades.



    The situation on the left flank is dire as the men of Gondor are pushed back by superior numbers and desperately need reinforcements.



    As reinforcements arrive, the Haradrim decide that they have had enough and attempt to flee the field.



    Most of the Haradrim are run down as they flee and over 400 hundred prisoners are taken. Unfortunately Durven Lord of Linhir was killed by a Corsair of Umbar in a melee on the far right flank. The villain was last spotted fleeing the field with a bloodied sabre and a smug grin on his face.



    A ransom is sent to the Serpent Lord who accepts. The Haradrim prisoners are released and Forlong returns to Lossarnach. The loss of Durven was most unfortunate but there is little time for mourning as Saurons forces are once again on the move.

    A question for Glorious Gandalf: What is the name of this bodyguard changer submod you speak of?
    Is it savegame compatible?
    I have done a brief search for it but was unable to find anything.

    As always comments, criticism and discussion are welcome.

  8. #28

    Default Re: Legacy Of Numenor (yet another Gondor AAR)

    Not sure why there are two separate spoilers?
    Sizeable raiding force not Raiding sizable force. Not being able to edit my posts is very annoying.

    Stay tuned for more.

  9. #29

    Default Re: Legacy Of Numenor (yet another Gondor AAR)

    PART 5 Continued
    I thought that for this entry i should update my dear readers on the progress being made on the border defences.
    I also have another question.
    Is it possible to construct forts on the campaign map like you can in vanilla total war?
    I cant seem to be able to do so and the construction of forts is a vital to my defensive strategy.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 



    Several watchtowers have been constructed along the borders to provide early warning against enemy incursions. These two watch the northern Anorien and the Mouths of the Entwash.



    Another watchtower in the northwestern Anorien.



    More towers have been established in northern Anfalas to watch the passes through the White Mountains.



    Another one watches the eastern pass.

  10. #30
    Basileos Predator's Avatar Campidoctor
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    Default Re: Legacy Of Numenor (yet another Gondor AAR)

    It is a good AAR so far, but it seems Mordor gives you some hard time and some costly victories.
    Rep for you for the work so far and i am hoping for more in the future(more updates).
    Cheers Predator!

  11. #31

    Default Re: Legacy Of Numenor (yet another Gondor AAR)

    PART 5 continued
    In this post i will discuss my planned strategy for the defense of Gondors borders. I have always seen Gondor as the Late Roman or Byzantine Empire of Middle Earth so i turn to these civilizations for inspiration.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    http://www.romanarmy.net/Latearmy.htm This site gives a basic rundown of the strategy that i am trying to emulate. During the 4th century AD, there were many changes made in the Roman military. One of these changes was the restructure of the army into Comitatenses and Limitanei.

    Limitanei were the troops assigned to guard the border fortifications. Compared to the Comitatenses, Limitanei were of a lower quality in terms of training, motivation and equipment(although they were still superior to many of their foes). They formed the garrisons of the border defences.

    Comitatenses were the field armies that were kept in reserve behind the borders, they were made up of the elite legions and cavalry units.The Comitatenses were highly mobile, well motivated, equipped and trained. Originally the Emperors personal retinue(hence the name comitatenses, meaning companions), eventually every region of the empire had its own Comitatus, with each being commanded by a Comes(Which evolved into the aristocratic title of count).

    The Limitanei were intended to delay enemy penetrations, harrasing their flanks and rear as they advanced but not attempting to completely stop a determined assault. The Comitatenses would then move to eliminate this enemy force who would ideally be cut off and assailed from behind by the Limitanei. This strategy allowed the romans to overcome many invasions of their Empire.

    I want to emulate this strategy in the game.



    This image shows the southeastern border, where there are several crossing points(dark red lines) over the Anduin.
    The green hexagons represent where i plan to station Limitanei forces(Militia infantry, Ranged troops, light cavalry).

    The red diamonds show where i plan to place Comitatenses(Gondor Infantry,Better ranged troops, Knights commanded by a faction character)

    The light blue diamond shows the most ideal place for a Comitatus garrison(a fort). However i am unsure if you can build forts in this game, if forts cannot be built then i will have to use cities for Comitatus garrisons.

    The Limitanei border troops will delay enemy incursions and buy time for the Comitatenses field armies to maneuver and destroy the enemy force. The reason for this is that i wont have enough money to get enough high quality soldiers to guard every entry point into Gondor, and so i must place those few that i have in strategic points where they can move to destroy invaders.

    Say i was to place all my better quality units in a forward defensive position. If the enemy concerntrated on one point(say Cair Andros), i would then have to take troops away from Osgiliath to reinforce them(which would leave osgiliath vulnerable). Therefore i plan to always have a dedicated reserve in place to prevent the enemy from moving deep into Gondor in the event that they do breach the first line of defences.



    My plan for the northeastern Anduin. Symbols same as previous image. An alternative location for a Comitatus garrison is shown(will be used if forts can be built).

    Id like to know your thoughts on this.


  12. #32
    FC Groningen's Avatar Senator
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    Default Re: Legacy Of Numenor (yet another Gondor AAR)

    I could comment on a few things regarding your strategy. Some crossings are better defended by blocking the path which means you have less crossings to defend and you can concentrate your troops better. The one near Pelargir is very easily blocked by boat or placing 2 loose units. In case possible, I'd say try to defend the bridge near Henneth Annun instead of Cair Andros, but only if you can cut off Mordor from Minas Morgul and Harad from the south. I would also recommend to have your front troops in settlements for as long as possible to avoid upkeep costs, but make sure they can't get locked into a settlement. For Osgiliath, you should take heed that any besieging army, unless coming from the land side which isn't logical in most cases, has a huge advantage as it can't be touched or attacked. Above all, make sure that both your "vanguard" troops and "central" troops have the possibility to join forces and march together. If you get your forces isolated, they can become useless or easy targets.

    In this game, knowledge is power. Invest in watch towers were able and relevant and rely on spies to warn you for incoming attacks in time. That way you can keep your troops in the cheapest way possible while you can centralise them before the enemy reaches your defences. Also the way you play it, your vanguard troops will need retraining a lot which means you need to build facilities close to the front which is expensive or have to move your troops back which will leave your borders weak. Hope that was helpful.

  13. #33
    Eönwë's Avatar Semisalis
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    Default Re: Legacy Of Numenor (yet another Gondor AAR)

    Quote Originally Posted by FC Groningen View Post
    I could comment on a few things regarding your strategy. Some crossings are better defended by blocking the path which means you have less crossings to defend and you can concentrate your troops better. The one near Pelargir is very easily blocked by boat or placing 2 loose units. In case possible, I'd say try to defend the bridge near Henneth Annun instead of Cair Andros, but only if you can cut off Mordor from Minas Morgul and Harad from the south. I would also recommend to have your front troops in settlements for as long as possible to avoid upkeep costs, but make sure they can't get locked into a settlement. For Osgiliath, you should take heed that any besieging army, unless coming from the land side which isn't logical in most cases, has a huge advantage as it can't be touched or attacked. Above all, make sure that both your "vanguard" troops and "central" troops have the possibility to join forces and march together. If you get your forces isolated, they can become useless or easy targets.

    In this game, knowledge is power. Invest in watch towers were able and relevant and rely on spies to warn you for incoming attacks in time. That way you can keep your troops in the cheapest way possible while you can centralise them before the enemy reaches your defences. Also the way you play it, your vanguard troops will need retraining a lot which means you need to build facilities close to the front which is expensive or have to move your troops back which will leave your borders weak. Hope that was helpful.
    I'm in a Gondor campaign right now and having a real hard time with Harad...you cannot build forts if I recall?
    How do you block landbridges with boats? I tried to block the landbridge to Linhir, have about 7 boats in a line there right now and Harad still gets over...

  14. #34
    FC Groningen's Avatar Senator
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    Default Re: Legacy Of Numenor (yet another Gondor AAR)

    No you cannot build forts in this game. I believe for the line in Pelargir you need to have a land unit show you the water passage and put a boat on it. For Pelargir, I believe it was more efficient to have single units stand on 1 island and taking up the room there. Can't remember the details as my last Gondor campaign was when 3.0 just got out.

  15. #35

    Default Re: Legacy Of Numenor (yet another Gondor AAR)

    Thank you for your input FC Groningen. I will have a go at blocking the crossing points with ships next time i play.
    Two images which show the Anduin crossing points in the south.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 



    The crossing point near Pelagir.



    The southernmost crossing point and the scum who were defeated in the previous battle.

    I may eventually try to reclaim the Ithilien and form a new line along the river near Henneth Annun, although Minas Morgal will be a problem.

    For the time being my main objectives are to secure the borders and consolidate what i have before switching over to the offensive. I currently have no plans to storm into Mordor and raise the white tree banner over Mount Doom. I would first rather send an expedition up north to reclaim Arnor and restore Gondor to the way it was during reign of Elendil, and then punish Sauron for his crimes.

    One mistake i made when i first started the campaign was the disbanding several Militia units, which has left me dangerously undermanned. I first thought that they were not worth their upkeep costs and i decided to concerntrate on recruiting regular Gondor Infantry units. Then i noticed that when garrisoned, Militia units have free upkeep , and they have proven that they can hold their own against most enemy units. Yet another .

    Oh well, happens. Stay tuned for yet another costly victory.

  16. #36
    Bowmaster's Avatar Biarchus
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    Default Re: Legacy Of Numenor (yet another Gondor AAR)

    @Ovarion, you cannot stop crossings from landbridges with ships, Groningen means the crossing point near Pelargir, that can be easily blocked with a single boat, unless Haradrim boats come and destroy it.
    (yeah, yeah, I'm fin player of TATW 3.2...

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  17. #37
    Bowmaster's Avatar Biarchus
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    Default Re: Legacy Of Numenor (yet another Gondor AAR)

    Quote Originally Posted by Dinnerdog2zero View Post
    And yes Mr Bowmaster i will try to finish it.
    (yeah, yeah, I'm fin player of TATW 3.2...

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  18. #38

    Default Re: Legacy Of Numenor (yet another Gondor AAR)

    great fighting there in osgiliath

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