It was only through the cunning wit of my Egyptian diplomat that I purchased Adana with a small bribe from the rebel inhabitants. It would be the only time Adana saw a new force enter its gates without conflict.

Scouting ahead, I saw a major Byzantine army approaching the city, so I rushed as many units to the city as I could to defend my newly acquired property.

FIRST BATTLE AT ADANA

The enemy: Prince John, Faction Heir of the Byzantine Empire
His Army: 1500 strong, with a mix of melee and missile cavalry and some infantry units.
My army: Commanded by a mere captain, the defense consisted of 800 soldiers, most of them missile cavalry, and the rest a small mix of melee cavalry and a couple infantry units.

The results: With the inability to shoot fire arrows at the ram, and with few infantry to repel the siege tower and ladders, ultimately I was massacred. But I went down with a fight, and though I lost every single one of my eight hundred men, I took down at least six hundred of the enemy.

REDEMPTION AT ADANA: THE SECOND ENGAGEMENT

The enemy: Prince John
His numbers: 900
My attacking captain’s army: 800 men

The results: Feeling an edge, the Byzantine faction heir sent his army sallying forth from the city gates against my army, figuring a hundred-man advantage would dissipate if I managed to bring reinforcements. I quickly evaluated the situation, knowing that he still had some powerful missile cavalry, while I had a large number of light infantry and spearmen, with only my captain serving as the melee cavalry unit. I knew the best defense would be a good offensive, and I knew that the missile cavalry would quickly face troubles when they are surrounded by spearmen – if I could catch up to them that is. I sent every infantry unit into combat to engage whatever unit they could catch, and I let my captain hold back for a moment to see what develops. When I saw the missile cavalry approaching the flank of my infantry, I sent my captain behind the missile units and hit them. A brutal fight ensued, with the Byzantine heir watching from the security of the city walls in front of him. The entire armies before the city gates, both mine and the enemy, suffered greatly, so the faction heir decided it was time for him to turn the tides of the battle. He succeeded very well. He chose to attack the flank of my dwindling infantry, which provided an opportunity because my captain was being marched upon by enemy spearmen, so I knew it was “do or die” time. I circled my captain around the enemy lines and hit the faction heir from behind. He realized his dire situation, and either one of us could die any moment. Luckily for the Egyptians, it was not their day to lose. The Byzantine heir began to flee, but I blocked the city gate with my remaining spearmen and killed the faction heir. Redemption was mine, and Adana belonged to me again.

REVENGE CLOSES UPON ADANA: A GRIEVING FATHER SEEKS HIS OWN REDEMPTION

The enemy aggressor: A seven star commander named Emperor Alexius, apparently angry at the fact that I killed his oldest son. To reclaim his family honor, he arrived at the gates of Adana the next turn with 1800 strong units of all kinds.
The defender: Still tired from battle, the defending Egyptian captain commanded just 500 troops, half of them missile, and half infantry. Luckily, 900 reinforcements from Antioch and Aleppo were bound to arrive, sensing that Adana would become the new Thermopylae. The reinforcements were set to be under AI control.

The results: Since the enemy had 800 melee cavalry, I knew I faced the best chance of survival if I could just keep the gate secured. I focused all my fire arrows against the ram, but it proved fruitless. I shot at the incoming siege tower, knowing that if that reached the walls I will truly understand the meaning of “massacre”. The siege tower reached my walls and men began climbing up the tower. My heart sank into my abdomen, but then the weight of the world lifted off me when I saw the tower erupt in flames and crash around the nearby infantry. My 500 defenders were fighting honorably against the force of 1800, and my AI reinforcements were advancing. Ladders reached my walls, but three units of spearmen were waiting for them. I repelled all the men coming up the ladders and the city walls were secured. But the gate was not, and the ram had broken through. The enemy cavalry came rushing in, and against all efforts, I simply could not hold them off. They killed all my defending infantry, turned around, massacred the 900 reinforcements, and turned around once again to finish off my sole unit – 25 archers. Naturally 25 men could not hold off 900 men, they fought to the last man.

But not everyone fought to the last man. After the battle, the Byzantine faction leader offered me 400 captives in return for a small amount of gold. None of my archers, who truly fought to the last man, were on the last. I refused the offer although I could easily afford it. If my men had honorably died fighting to the last man, I would have paid ten times the ransom just to honor their bodies. But since my men preferred captivity over a heroic death, they deserve a death in captivity under the Byzantine executioner. My cowardice army got what they deserved, and soon I would make the Byzantine leader get what he deserves.

BATTLE FOUR – SKIRMISH OUTSIDE ADANA

The good guy: What can I say about az Zafir Abbas? I decided that the situation at Adana needed a general’s touch since I was fighting off faction heirs and faction leaders with just captains. The only remarkable thing about az Zafir was his eight rings of loyalty. If Adana would be a fight to the last man on both sides, I needed someone who would not crumble under pressure. Under him I placed 1373 men, with 9 melee cavalry units, 9 archer units (both on foot and mounted), and two infantry units.
The bad guy: Nikeforos of Salona is the one spearheading the attack on my forces preparing to retake Adana. The only unit with him is his own unit of 40 men. His reinforcements include a captain with just 229 men – two archer units, one cavalry unit, and one infantry unit. Lastly, the Byzantine leader himself, Emperor Alexius, came out to the battlefield with 830 men from Adana. If I utterly crush them here, Adana would be in my hands again.

The results: *Gulp* Okay lets see, the enemy general has the high ground so I’ll march straight for him before his reinforcements arrive, secure the hill, and defend with all my Egyptian might. That’s done! I captured him too! …….. Big deal. I have bigger fish to fry – 1059 fish to fry actually, and one of them is a whale of a target. The captain with the 229 men arrives first, and as he begins to flee I send my entire army against him, knowing that by the time I reach him I will meet the Emperor’s army of 800+. I capture the captain, and engage the emperor. Several minutes pass as I watch two thousand men fight, and then I get the message that the enemy faction leader is now a captive in the care of the Egyptian empire! In all, I lost 846 out of 1373 men, but I killed 723 and took 63 captive, but taking the enemy leader was well worth it. After the battle, I still have 527 men while the enemy has just 84. The faction leader, Emperor Alexius, and Nikeforos of Salona are executed.

BATTLE 5: A SECOND SKIRMISH OUTSIDE ADANA

The situation: After the previous battle, 81 men returned to Adana. I quickly replenished my army with whatever forces I could find, and that turn I laid siege to Adana. But before the next turn came up, a new Byzantine army came up.
The good guy: az Zafir Abbas, now a two star general, commands 1138 men, mostly horse archers.
The bad guy: Prince Voulgariotes. Apparently mad that I killed two generations of his family, he brought a massive army of 1482 men to attack my besieging army from behind. 81 pathetic men from Adana join him in the battle under the command of one Isaac Commenus.

The results: Seeing as how we both have massive armies based in missile units, I most eagerly anticipated having the high ground. However, this map is rather flat, like a Coke after two minutes, but we each have our own little hills with a small valley in between. The enemy army appears quite large although they were just two hundred more than me, but I get pessimistic really quickly. The small detachment from Adana appears behind my army, so I turn all my melee units around, all three units of them, and charge the 81 men from Adana. Within a few moments I capture Isaac Commenus. As my archers spend all their arrows, my melee cavalry and general makes a huge circle around the battle map, moves behind the enemy archers, and waits. Once my archers run out of arrows, I send every unit into melee combat. My general’s unit drops down to three men, and the fighting is bitter, the fighting is bloody, and the fighting is brutal; but the results are sweet. I kill Prince Voulgariotes – another member of the Byzantine Empire dead, and the enemy army soon folds. Ultimately I lost 731 out of 1138 men, and with what started as 1563 men, the Byzantine Empire ends up leaving with just 153 men. I was privileged enough to take 489 men captive, including Isaac Commenus, the defender of Adana. He meets the executioner, then he meets the monarch of the infernal region. Adana belonged to me again.

And here we remain. All this transpired over about 10 turns, and since then it has been about ten more turns. Adana has seen a breath of peace. But az Zafir Abbas and myself wonder just how long that peace will last. The Catholics have declared a Crusade against Jerusalem, and an army from Poland is spotted northwest of Adana. My crown prince is in the region now, so I have two fully stacked armies waiting to see what happens at Adana. Three more fully stacked Egyptian armies wait at Jerusalem. But still, my eyes are on Adana. What does the future hold for that war-torn city? Will the Byzantine Empire return? Will the Crusading armies make Adana their first target and base of operations? What of the Turks? Will my alliance with them prove to be intangible? Only time will tell, and if you see any more posts about the Adana Campaign, you will know that peace was a resource which ran out.