[IB AAR] The Anglo Saxons - Beyond Roman Glory AAR

[Jingles]

Announcing my new Saxon AAR for Rio's Beyond Roman Glory. I think this is my 3rd attempted AAR...the others failed thanks to lost save games/CTDs. So hopefully this one won't go the way of the Dodo!

General Guidelines:

-This AAR is chiefly about the Jutish Chieftain Maroboduus, so most of It will be concerned with him only.

-My conquests will only extend as far as what was Anglo Saxon England by the 9th Century AD, before the Danelaw.

-Played on Very Hard campaign difficulty with medium battle difficulty. I also altered the default unit size to suit my PC's performance.

Expect the First Update/Prologue sometime in the next few days. (sorry but I'm a tad busy )

[Riothamus]

Announcing my new Saxon AAR for Rio's Beyond Roman Glory. I think this is my 3rd attempted AAR...the others failed thanks to lost save games/CTDs. So hopefully this one won't go the way of the Dodo!

General Guidelines:

-This AAR is chiefly about the Jutish Chieftain Maroboduus, so most of It will be concerned with him only.

-My conquests will only extend as far as what was Anglo Saxon England by the 9th Century AD, before the Danelaw.

-Played on Very Hard campaign difficulty with medium battle difficulty. I also altered the default unit size to suit my PC's performance.

Expect the First Update/Prologue sometime in the next few days. (sorry but I'm a tad busy )

Looks magnificent! Looking forward to it Jingle_Bombs

[Jingles]

Prologue

It was a path much like any other, a small track, unintentionally man made. Some said that it was made centuries ago by a Roman Legion relocating to a new garrison, back when Britannia was a province of the Respublica, but most people just didn't care, and used it week after week to transport goods and wares from town to town.
At the back end of Autumn, it was a soft, muddy mess, riddled with deep sunk hoof marks. A company of soldiers was making their way down this path, into the valley that lay beyond. They were are scouting party moving ahead of the Saxon force besieging Londinium, along with its large British garrison.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The men were a mixture of ethnicities. There were three companies in all, the first, a group of levies from the Saxon territory near Ceintii accompanied by some Ceorls, armed with great round shields and long spears, chiefly designed to counter the abundance of British cavalry. In addition there was a small band of Duguth, veteran spearmen, who were all Jutes, including their leader, Maroboduus.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

They were all big, tall men, well built carrying large round shields, swathed in animal skin coats, mostly made of bear or wolfskin and many with patches in them, covering up marks of battles long passed.
Baeorn Maroboduus, the leader of this small band, marched at the head of the column. He was being unusually pensieve, though the men cared little, for the moment at least - they were busy eyeing the surrounding landscape for threats. Already today they had faced off a company of British horsemen armed with javelins, and most were expecting them to return before the day was out. Although British riders weren't the only threats in these lands, and Baeorn had already told them to expect the unexpected. The main thing that they were looking out for was men from the Kingdom of Dynfeint. This smaller British Kingdom dwelled in Cornwall and Devon, with lands also in the north of Gaul. Dynfeint was not at war with the Saxons, but then they weren't allies either...
Baeorn and his men weren't scouting for future conquests, as a much larger force was currently taking care of that, but they were on the lookout for Dynfeintian troops that might be on their way to Londinium. Not to relieve the garrison, necessarily, but (as Baeorn was of the opinion) to wait for the siege to end and pounce on the weary victors, who were set to be the Saxons, with a much larger army led by the King, Hengist. Dynfeint was too small to consider open war with the united British Kingdoms to the North, but were capable warriors nonetheless, and with territory in Gaul, they gathered much wealth through trade with the Franks and what Romans that remained in Eastern Gaul.
Baeorn stopped walking, his eye caught by something in the mud. There were footprints amongst the hoof marks. Baeorn's second in command, a huge man swathed in chainmail, and with a ragged black beard, joined the puzzled warchief.
'Why have we stopped?' He said impatiently, peering over Baeorn's shoulder at whatever he found so interesting. Baeorn rose his gaze from the floor and looked about him, squinting a little in the bright sunlight, filtered down through a thick roof of overcast clouds.
'These tracks, infantry ones,' he gestured at the floor. 'they lead away to our left, cutting across the path. Off into those trees.' He pointed. The subchief frowned thoughtfully.
'The only settlement around these parts is Caer Celemion.'
'Correct.'
'So why would infantry stray from the only path there?' His eyebrows raised suddenly in understanding.
'Exactly.' mumbled Baeorn, still staring away into the brush. 'The tracks are fresh, come on!' He motioned to the Duguths to quieten down and follow his lead. Further down the line, the Ceorls were smart enough to follow suit.
Heading left, off the track, they picked their way through the shrub strewn ground between them and the cluster of trees ahead, keeping low and picking each step carefully. There was barely a snap of a twig between the whole band, such skill gained from the hunt in the wild and untame forests of home, back across the Mare Germanicum. There was still no sign of enemies as they made their way through the trees, but the battered undergrowth suggested the passing of others before them. Coming out of the trees they found themselves on a hillside, which led down into the Calemion valley. At the bottom, small figures were making their way through the long grass of the valley floor, and to the saxons' misfortune, they had evidently taken notice of their presence, and were wheeling about to face the Saxon warriors.
'Down the hillside, quickly!' yelled Baeorn 'We need to close the gap between them and their javelins as fast as possible!'

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

As the enemy got closer, he made out that most of them carried small, square shields and large spears. Among them were some mail armoured cavalry, and he could just make out the enemy leader atop his horse.
'Pictish merceneries...' He growled. They were going to be in for quite a fight.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

'Advance loosely! he ordered the Duguths. 'On my mark, close and form the shieldwall!' He began the advance at a steady pace, ordering the Ceorls and levies to sidle out to the flanks, and cut off the enemy cavalry's degree of manoeuvrability. The enemy force then split in two, to take on the flanking troops, and Baeorn's Duguths advanced up the centre, locking shields before charging to meet the enemy commander from behind.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The mercenary captain quickly rode to safety as the Duguths charged home, but they were content to battle the Pict spearmen rather than chase skirmishers.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Siezing the opportunity, the cavalry charged the duguths, but to little effect thanks to their tightly packed formation.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Picts soon broke under the Saxon onslaught, and as Baeorn arose, his sword dripping with Pict blood he saw the remainder of them stumbling away through the grass.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The mercenary captain, and the remainder of his bodyguard were surrounded, and were soon silenced by Jutish spears.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Seeing that the shattered remnants of the enemy force were all fleeing the battle, Baeorn wiped his blade and sheathed it.
'Enough, lads! I've no mind to chase the poor whelps up that hillside, let them run for their mothers!'

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

He began making his way back up the hillside towards the trees.
'We still have work to do.'

[Deathbypepsi]

wow, i didnt even need the screens to see the action.
if i had enough posts, id +rep right there!

[Antiochos VII Sidetes]

Nice, And I do have enough posts! +rep!

[Jingles]

Thanks for your feedback, chaps , Sorry its been a bit slow, but I've almost got the next update written up. You'll meet King Hengist in this one, and I feel you're probably going to like him

[Jwb187]

great job Jingle, can't wait for your next installment

[Hesus de bodemloze]

euhm is it me ore is there a problem with the spoilers?

[Jingles]

I think its you...the spoilers work fine for me. They're there for people with a slow internet connection. The spoilers speed up the loading of pictures.

[Jingles]

mmm...I'll have the next update up tommorrow. Thats a promise. Sorry again that this has been so slow, but I've had internet problems coupled with alot of modding to do...

[Jingles]

Chapter 1

King Hengist slouched in his wooden throne, gazing across at the opposite wall of his throne room, on which a map hung. It was an old Roman one, so old in fact that the parchment it was drawn on, was almost orange with age. He found it in a deserted British camp not far from Anglii, and having a basic understanding of Latin, he decided to keep it. It was large, and covered the majority of the opposite wall, dominated by a large gnarled zig-zag that was Britannia. There was a large blob around the center, entitled L O N D I N I V M , and next to it a dagger sat wedged into the old parchment, marking the position of Hengist's farmhouse/Palace that he was dwelling in for the duration of the siege at Londinium. North East of this was V E N T A - I C E N O R V M , and further north,
E B V R A C V M , or Ebrauc, as the Britons called it. All potential targets for his armies, he thought, but first he was to rip the still beating heart of the Briton Kingdoms right from their clutches - Londinium. While the British military capital of Ebrauc to the north was a much more lucrative target, the bulk of Hengist's forces were still in the south, and Ebrauc was many marches away from here.

"Aldfrid!" He bellowed, not moving an inch from his mighty perch. Muffled cursing could be heard a couple of rooms away, echoing down the draughty stone hallway, before reluctant footsteps made their way towards the makeshift throne room. A short, weedy man clad in a leather tunic and fur trousers entered the room. He had clipped hair that came down just below his ears, and a well tended beard, accompanied by a rather large, hooked nose. He bowed low, still standing in the doorway. "M'lord?"

King Hengist took a foldered letter from his bearskin coat pocket, and waved at his servant.
"Summon my Thegns, post haste!" He ordered. Aldfrid shuffled away without a word.

A while later, He sat in his throne still, surrounded now by his warchiefs. With some unease they stared at their King, who was busy waving his large, sharp broadsword in the candlelight, watching the sheen dance across the blade with some delight. Hengist was doing this on purpose of course - he liked to intimidate his sub-ordinates, making sure they knew who their master was. 'A little like training hounds...' he thought with a smile. One of his chiefs coughed suggestively.

Hengist nodded slowly, and carefully placed his sword upon the side table.
"I've summoned you here," he began, unfolding the yellowed letter. "because of this:" He paused, awaiting a response, but it seemed that none was to be forthcoming from his somewhat gormless Thegns - so he went on.
"This is a message from one of my most loyal subjects who lives in Ceintii." He truned the letter around to take another look at it himself. He was beginning to detest the presence of these oafs, so he decided to cut to the chase.
"The population-" he corrected himself, "The Briton population of Ceintii has revolted against us. Murderous bandits wander the streets, declaring allegiance to the British King..."

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

One of the Thegn's eyes widened with obvious discomfort at the news, and like a hawk, Hengist's gaze had locked onto his prey with deathly precision.
"Coenrad! You are Thegn of Ceintii, are you not?" barked the King, with just a hint of a snarl in his voice.
"Yes..." mumbled Coenrad. Hengist raised an eyebrow inquisitively, and at this, Coenrad forcibly cleared his throat, and replied "Indeed I am, your majesty." Hengist slumped back inot his throne. "Gods, I'm glad you've remembered that at the least..." he growled. The King's lip curled as he saw the others supress a chuckle. Coenrad was beginning to sweat visibly.
"And what do you intend to do about it?" demanded the King, his right hand grasping for his sword. Coenrad, looking from King, to sword and back again, closed his eyes a moment and recollected his scattered thoughts, calmly meeting the incensed Hengist's murderous stare.
"I shall dispatch one of my Heortgeneats immediately to find Chieftain Maroboduus. He is my most loyal and skilled chief, and he will be able to sort this mess, Sire."
"Well," said the King slowly, and quietly, before grabbing his sword and thrusting it towards the door, yelling "Jump to it then!" He was quite pleased to see the facade of calm on Coenrad's face crack with surprise, before he bowed low, and scurried away. Presently, Hengist turned to his other Thegns, and other matters.

Not much action I'm afraid, but Its building up to it... I'll update it some more later.

[SeniorBatavianHorse]

This is a great AAR, Jingle_Bombs. You're setting up the scenes nicely and getting everything into place for the action. I am looking forward to more action and seeing the plight of the poor British rebels in Kent! Well done!

[Jingles]

Thanks, SBH. I've got alot of modding work at the moment, and I'm preparing for a trip to France on Saturday, so these updates have come much, much slower than I'd like. I've got the next update wirtten up in a notebook, but It takes a long time to post it up here with pictures. So bear with me...

Its been fun to write so far. I find this part of Britain's history so interesting... With the forging of Anglo Saxon England underway, with the ghostly remnants of the Romans still lingering on amongst the warring barbarians.

[SeniorBatavianHorse]

I know what you mean - my first novel was set in a realistic late Roman 'Arthurian' age full of warring tribes and fading Romans. I also lived then in Portsmouth and would visit the late Roman Saxon Shore fort of Portus Adurni for inspiration!

[Jingles]

Cool. I'm trying to write a book at the moment. I just keep getting bogged down with other stuff. When I've got the time I like to switch between this and the book, just to keep the inspiration fresh.

[SeniorBatavianHorse]

Yes , it's a challenge. I am about to finish up a play I've been writing for the last couple of months (set in Roman Alexandria during the reign of Theodosius) and must balance that with the 2 AARs here! In many ways, writing on here is a release from the more intense work of the play! I hope you add more soon as I am looking forward to seeing how this AAR develops!

[Jingles]

Well, I've written up the update, but I doubt I'll be able to post it before I go on vacation on saturday. I'll post it when I get back though. Its a long one.

[SeniorBatavianHorse]

Look forward to it - and good luck in the AAR Competition, by the way! Hope you'll be able to vote before you go on vacation . . .

[Jingles]

I hadn't thought of that! when does the voting start?

[SeniorBatavianHorse]

Tomorrow, I think. See here - http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...=175162&page=6