Pro Deo Et Rege- The Egyptians AAR: With Part 3!

[Icefrisco]

This is an after action report using the mod "Pro Deo Et Rege".

al-Fatimiyyun Khilafah (Egypt)

The Year is 1080. It is the reign of Khalifah Al-Mustansir. At the age of 60, he is embarking to make Egypt the dominant power in the Middle East.



His first conquest would be the village of Aswan which he thought would be relatively easy. Also, defeating the Fatimid rebels in Aswan could be a first step towards re-unification of the declining empire.



After a six month siege the Fatimid Rebels decided to sally out of the village and defeat the besieging army. The Fatimid Rebels were facing a tough battle against the Egyptians. The first blood of Al-Mustansir's reconquests was about to spill.....



The Battle of Aswan

The Egyptians were at full-strength and were led by a great commander, Nasir. Meanwhile, the Fatimid Rebels were at 95% strength and were heavily outnumbered. In addition the Ruler of the Village, Ahmad ibn Luhay'ah was a brutal and poor ruler which disheartened the rebels even before the battle started.

As the battle began the Egyptians formed a double line, with archers in back and the infantry infront. The infantry consisted of Nubians and Bediouns who were very strong warriors. Meanwhile, the Rebels sallied out of the city.



The Egyptians waited long for the attack. Many were terrified of combat.



Nubian Archers soon repelled a frontal attack by Rebel calvary. The enemy horsemen consisted of Arabs riding small horses. They were destroyed by the arrow fire. Then, enemy Nubian Archers moved up to fire and the enemy infantry began to come even closer.



Then......

The Rush of Battle!



As the weight of the enemy spearmen increased on the Egyptians the battle became tough. Yet, the Bediouns held the center and the right flank.



Quickly, the enemy right flank broke and fled. Sadly, for the Egyptians the rest of the rebel army was going to fight.



As the battle continued the Egyptian right flank began to weaken. Suddently, from out of the Roman Ruins the remnants of the enemy Arab Calvary appeared. Nasir, strucken with fear began contemplating defeat. If the right flank broke the battle was lost. The Egyptians had to hold the line; At All Costs!



The Bedioun Spearmen were holding, but just barely.



However, the Bediouns received help from the Egyptian-employed Nubian Archers.



As the Arab Calvary began to weaken, Nasir, his bodyguard, and some Nubian Spearmen moved into the village. Since the entire enemy army was engaged in battle no one could stop Nasir from taking the village.



Fearing encirclement, the enemy center broke. As they retreated many fell under a continueos barrage of arrows. Yet, the battle continued because the enemy left flank was still fighting.



Death from above!



Fearing death, the enemy left flank broke. The battle was over.



The battle results:



After the battle of Aswan the Egyptians took the city and the surrounding area. This secured Egypt's volatile southern border which would allow for future expansion.

[Yoda Twin]

Great AAR, I've never heard of Pro Deo Et Rege, what does it mainly do?

[Socal_infidel]

Hey nice AAR arfrisco! Can't wait for next installment!

Great AAR, I've never heard of Pro Deo Et Rege, what does it mainly do?

Check out my Pro Deo et Rege forum to find out!

[Icefrisco]

More should be coming soon!

[Yoda Twin]

Had a look at the mod. Looks good, if you like Eygpt you should check out Broken Crescent.

[Dagoth Nerevar]

Nice! Very good pictures, writing is good too! Keep it up!

[Icefrisco]

al-Fatimiyyun Khilafah (Egypt)

Part Two

Having just Conquered Aswan and reunited Egypt, Khalifah Al-Mustansir decided to launch an immediate invasion in the north. After spending months deciding on a target he chose Byzantium. It was weak, divided, and poor. The Byzantines were the perfect target.



In 1084 the Egyptian army amassed outside of Gazzah. The army consisted of spearmen, javelinmen, archers, and most importantly, cavalry.



The Egyptian army then made its way from Gazzah to Asia Minor. The army then marched to Nikaia and quickly beseiged it. The Egyptian's plan was to lure a Byzantine army to move near the city. Then, the Egyptians would launch an attack using their missile cavalry. If the plan worked, Asia Minor might fall.



Luckily for the Egyptians everything went to plan. A Byzantine Army under Basileus Alexius arrived nearby the beseiged city. The Egyptians quickly attacked the smaller and weaker Byzantine army. Battle was about to begin!



The Battle of Bithynia

The Egyptian army was large and very powerful. Its missile cavalry made it a strong offensive force. Meanwhile, the Byzantine army constisted of a few Byzantine spearmen while the rest of the army was made up of Slavs and Turks. Neither were willing to fight for a Greek empire. However, the presence of the Emperor boosted the morale of the Byzantine army which made it a force to be reckoned with.

Before the battle began the Egyptians were in five lines. The first was made up of Archers and Javelinmen, the second and third consisted of Spearmen, the fourth of Arab Cavalry, and the fifth of General Abul-Ward al-Nawfali and his bodyguard. In addition the flanks had missile cavalry that would lead the attack.



The Egyptians struck first. Missile Cavalry was sent to attack both flanks. Once the Byzantine flanks were weakened, the Egyptian cavalry would attack the Byzantine Emperor.



The stunningly quick Egyptian attack threw back the Byzantine infantry. Many were cut down as they retreated to better positions. Many saw this as proof that victory would be easy. However, trouble was brewing for the Egyptians.....



On the Byzantine right flank the Egyptians encountered their first setback. Byzantine-employed Turkomans led a counterattack that prevented further Byzantine retreats. Slowly, the Turkomans gained an advantage over the Egyptians. However, the decisive action was occurring behind enemy lines.



The Egyptians easily threw back the Byzantine left flank and then began encircling the entire Byzantine army. However, the Byzantine emperor was in the way. Aleksios knew throwing back the Egyptian cavalry would be hard but he had to do it. Soon his bodygaurd began to fight and an intense melee ensued.



Though fighting bravely, the Emperor found himself surrounded by the huge numbers of Egyptian cavalry.



As the fight became fiercer, Aleksios and his bodyguard weakened and finally broke the Egyptian cavalry. This was a huge upset and the entire Egyptian battle plan had to be scrapped.



After failing to defeat the Emperor and his bodyguard both flank attacks weakened and eventually broke. The fleeing Egyptian cavalry found itself being attacked by Byzantine archers. Many Egyptians fell before they reached safety behind friendly lines.



Soon, the Byzantines moved their lines forward and prepared for a counterattack. The Egyptians would not allow the Byzantines the chance to launch an attack.



The Egyptian spearmen charged at the Byzantine army. As the Byzantine archers retreated, Slav Levies and the Emperor met the Egyptian forces. The fate of the battle would be decided in the engagement.



The Slav Levies were no match for the Bedioun Spearmen yet, they held their ground. Alexius knew the Slavs would not hold so he charged through the Egyptian lines and retreated. Disheartened, the Slavs began to weaken.



As the Egyptians committed more men to the battle the Slavs weakened even more. Finally, finding themselves without reinforcements, outnumbered, and lacking patriotism they fled.



As the Byzantines fled, they were ruthlessly butchered by the remnants of the Egyptian cavalry. Very few Byzantines escaped capture.



Finally, the battle ended as the entire Byzantine army broke and fled for their lives. What originally started out as an organized retreat turned into a rout.

The results:



The victory at Bithynia left the Egyptians with a few options. They could pursue Basileus Aleksios to Nikaia and beseige him there or they could move south to conquer Smyrna and some islands.

[Icefrisco]

Edit: Double Post

[Icefrisco]

Part 3 will be coming soon!

[Mechstra]

This is very good indeed.

[celtic_warlord422]

Great AAR, gotta love those Slavs and their pointy little hats, lol.

[Icefrisco]

al-Fatimiyyun Khilafah (Egypt)

Part 3

With the Byzantines defeated, Asia Minor was open to Egyptian invasion. Khalifah Al-Mustansir had Basileus Aleksios and his forces besegied at Nikaia.



However, all was not well. An Egyptian fleet under the command of Admiral A'Ishah attacked a Byzantine fleet stationed in the Straits of Mytilini. What ensued was a terrible defeat for the Egyptians, and left the Byzantines with Naval superiority in the Aegean Sea.



Meanwhile, a new army was forming in Egypt to launch a second invasion. This new army was under the command of Surahbil al-Husayn. It attacked the island of Rodos and quickly conquered it.



Another Egyptian army landed in the southern coast of Asia Minor. This force beseiged the Byzantine garrison at Myra. After his victory at Rodos, Husayn took command of the force and prepared to assault the walls.



Husayn then ordered an attack on Myra; the battle was about to begin!



The Battle of Myra

The Egyptian forces were well armed and prepared for the battle. They were an all arms force that consisting of cavalry, infantry, and archers. However, the Byzantines were heavily outnumbered, yet their Byzantine Spearmen could easily fight outnumbered against the Egyptians. Their only weakness was the lack of archers.

The Egyptians attacked in the night so their one battering ram was protected by darkness.



The Egyptians quickly broke down the gate and prepared to enter the city.



The Egyptian spear militia advanced into the city and found themselves facing the Byzantine commander, Georgios Attikos. Attikos ordered his bodyguard to hold off the Egyptians as his elite Byzantine Spearmen came to his aid.



Even though the Byzantine Spearmen attacked the Egyptians Attikos continued to fight. Sadly for the Byzantines, Attikos' bodyguard was being cut down by the well armed Egyptian Spear militia.



Georgios Attikos was brave but he was not a great soldier. In the midst of battle he was slain by an enemy spearman.



Even without their leader the Byzantines continued fighting. Their spirit was only boosted by the death of their beloved commander.



The Egyptians then deployed their archer militias and began to slowly weaken the Byzantine Spearmen.



The Egyptian spear militiamen retreated. However, the advancing Byzantines were pushed back by fresh Egyptian spear militia. Soon, many Byzantines began to flee into the city.



Soon, the Byzantines reformed and fought off the fresh Egyptians. However, the Byzantines were so bloodied by repelling the attack that they retreated into the city.



Husayn then altered his strategy. He kept his infantry away from combat and sent in his archers. For the next twenty minutes, they gradually destroyed the Byzantine army, killing them one by one.



With only a few Byzantines left standing, Husyan and his bodyguard charged into the city center. Within a few moments the remaining Byzantines were dead and the battle was over.



The Results:



After the victory all of southwestern Asia Minor was under Egyptian rule. This was hugely devastating to the Byzantine economy and military.



However, the decisive battle was only 6 months away.....

[Paul d]

take armenian killikia, because if you do, it will remind me of the Ptolematiks...

[Socal_infidel]

It's like deja vu all over again!

Seriously, now that Pro Deo et Rege v0.4 has been released, I'd love to see a Genoese or Danish AAR! Or a Sicilian one!

Thanks to your inspiration and wow that I have some time to play before I began work on next one, maybe I'll start one! :hmmm:

Cheers!

[Icefrisco]

Thank G-d I posted part 3 on the 27th!

take armenian killikia, because if you do, it will remind me of the Ptolematiks...

Sorry this one is over. I will start a new one using v0.4.

Seriously, now that Pro Deo et Rege v0.4 has been released, I'd love to see a Genoese or Danish AAR! Or a Sicilian one!

Right now I am working on a Hungarian campaign (just for fun). Soon I might do a Danish AAR since they were completely redone.