Resisting the Hordes: Most Memorable Mongol Moments

[bob3645]

I thought it would be fun if everyone described their hardest fought or most interesting struggle against the Mongol invaders. I'll start with the beginning of one of mine.......

In a recent Russia game I had just solidified my borders after a brief conflict with Poland and was starting to become a dominant power, when the Mongols started pouring in. They blew through Bulgar and Ryzan before I even had a chance to get my forces away from the western front. By the time they reached Moscow I had finally managed to move two full armies in to try and protect it. The following series of battles were epic. I caught one of their army stacks by itself and using Cossacks and a few Tsar's Guard used a divide and conquer strategy. My Cossacks focused on their horse archers while my concentrated Tsar's Guard chased down and decimated their lancers and infantry.

Despite the victory, there were still too many barbarians; my troops valiantly fought for Moscow, halving the size of two of their armies, but their forces simply overwhelmed the defenders. As my battered troops made a hasty retreat, vowing to continue the fight, my fortresses were training Dvor and Tsar’s Guard as fast as they could, and my coffers were emptying by the turn. The hordes continued to burn a path through my lands; aiming for my new capital of Kiev, a vital trading center and commercial hub of my empire. I moved my best generals and faction leaders to the city and completed a new series of ballista towers. All new units would be directly deployed to Kiev and ordered to hold it at all costs; this was where Russia would make her last stand.

To be continued:

[Legionary Jezza]

Wow nice story I a had a similer conflict hoping they would attack turkey first because I have the best gunpowder only strategy which no army has ever beaten yet and im hoping for the mongols to test it, but they came to Russia before the gunpowder age so far they are being repulsed under my great walls but we will soon see.

[Leutrim]

I thought it would be fun if everyone described their hardest fought or most interesting struggle against the Mongol invaders. I'll start with the beginning of one of mine.......

In a recent Russia game I had just solidified my borders after a brief conflict with Poland and was starting to become a dominant power, when the Mongols started pouring in. They blew through Bulgar and Ryzan before I even had a chance to get my forces away from the western front. By the time they reached Moscow I had finally managed to move two full armies in to try and protect it. The following series of battles were epic. I caught one of their army stacks by itself and using Cossacks and a few Tsar's Guard used a divide and conquer strategy. My Cossacks focused on their horse archers while my concentrated Tsar's Guard chased down and decimated their lancers and infantry.

Despite the victory, there were still too many barbarians; my troops valiantly fought for Moscow, halving the size of two of their armies, but their forces simply overwhelmed the defenders. As my battered troops made a hasty retreat, vowing to continue the fight, my fortresses were training Dvor and Tsar’s Guard as fast as they could, and my coffers were emptying by the turn. The hordes continued to burn a path through my lands; aiming for my new capital of Kiev, a vital trading center and commercial hub of my empire. I moved my best generals and faction leaders to the city and completed a new series of ballista towers. All new units would be directly deployed to Kiev and ordered to hold it at all costs; this was where Russia would make her last stand.

To be continued:

Dude continue this awsome story, or better yet make a AAR as the russians, I've never read one.

[Musthavename]

My most memorable moment was in my vanilla English campaign. I had just taken constantinople with my King and my best army. Composed pretty much entirely of Retinue Longbowmen, then Dismounted English Knights & Armoured Swordsmen.

Then the mongols suddenly appeared, with three full stacks.

I formed a ring of stakes infront of the main gate then put my longbowman on the walls. Riding out from a side gate, I had about 3 units of Feudal Knights in my army. One of the mongol stacks, the first one, had two trebuchets. Fortunatly for me, they rushed forward where my knights could get them. Just before they were all killed they just managed to destroy those units, and the mongols were forced to come at my gates.

After a lot of their initial infantry were massacred by my longbows, their ram battered down my gates. In poured a few hundred cavalry and their general, who became skewered. Their general dead, my swordsmen managed to defeat their infantry with relative ease.

The second stack came and suffered much the same fate. But, I had lost about half of my heavy infantry, and my longbows were completely out of ammo.

The third stack though was a very closely fought battle. Their cavalry died but their general actually sat back and refused to charge onto my stakes (strange that only one of three 8 star generals would realise what stakes could do). The amount of infantry they had left destroyed my armoured swordsmen. As I inclined myself to defeat, thinking "well, at least I got this far", my longbows engaged them, and eventually, won. After the end I had about 200 longbows left and I had lost over 1000 men. But, the mongols had lost over 3000, including three amazing generals.

Unfortunatly for me, the next turn two more stacks appeared and took Constantinople without much of a fight... Seeing my King pretty much alone in the town centre with hordes charging him. He never stood a chance.

[bob3645]

The Story Continues:

As Kiev’s defenders made ready, my freshly trained cavalry forces merged with the elite survivors of the Moscow siege under the command of one of Russia’s premiere generals. Known both for his bravery on the battlefield and for his strict discipline among the troops, general Kuritsa the Harsh was more feared than he was respected, a man who would gain victory without regard for cost and would never take a prisoner.

Kuritsa’s men were a mix of Tsar’s Guard, Dvor Cavalry, and Cossacks, half fresh, half heavily experienced, all ready to do their duty to the very end as the first line of Kiev’s defense. The general’s mission was to harass Mongol forces as they marched towards the capitol and inflict as much damage as possible before they arrived. Essentially Kuritsa’s all cavalry force would strike an isolated Mongol army, usually at night, and attempt to kill any and all Mongol commanders while inflicting maximum casualties.

Thanks to Kuritsa’s harsh discipline, his army marched quickly towards the barbarians. It was not long before he engaged a foolish Mongol commander who had lagged slightly behind the bulk of their invasion force. Kuritsa had studied the Mongol’s tactics during the siege of Moscow and made a bold decision, he would use their own strategy against them.

The Russian attack opened with a charge of horse archers right into the center of the Mongol lines. As the main group of Mongol heavy cavalry and infantry rushed out to meet them, the horse archers retreated, with the bulk of the Mongol forces following in their wake. Meanwhile Kuritsa’s crack Tsar’s Guard cavalry had moved around the enemy’s flank; the Mongol commander realized what was happening all too late, as he called out to his men, his personal bodyguard, riding alone and exposed behind the bulk of his forces, was rushed head on by five units of elite Russian cavalry, Kuritsa himself leading the charge. The commander was dead within seconds and the Mongol forces were plunged into disarray. The Russians, still outnumbered, maneuvered a fighting retreat, peppering Mongol forces all the while.

Kuritsa continued to harass the Mongol forces as they moved towards Kiev, killing another of their generals and inflicting many casualties. While Kuritsa managed to significantly weaken Mongol forces, the bulk of them were still intact and under the command of the great Khan himself. As they approached Kiev’s surrounding countryside, Kuritsa merged with the rest of the Russian forces under the command of the grand Duke. The Khan did not hesitate, he attacked the Duke and his forces which were camped on the outskirts of the city, as Chinese rockets began to reign down upon the Russians, they knew that this coming battle would decide the fate of their nation.

Part 3 Coming Soon:

[♔The Lizard King♔]

I typed an AAR awhile back about a real campaign I had hold on, lemme get it. *shifts through old files*

Table of Contents
Author's Notes
Intro
The First Contact
The Long Trek
Off to Kiev!
Kiev Will Not Fall!
The End of a Battle, and Start of a War

Author's Notes
O.K, this is my first story I've posted on this forum.... so sorry if it sucks. This story is a true story, of my Medieval 2 HRE campaign. I have to say first off
Some of the names in this story aren't real, as in they aren't in the game, like a Sgt. of a spearmen company, or something like that. If its a made up character I'll put a * next to their name when they first pop up. They don't effect the plot that much, they just make it more dramatic. Also, I don't have any screenshots, because my brother deleted them, so I may recreate some battles, they won't be the same, but just so you get the idea. Also the dates are made up, because to be honest... I forget the turn numbers, and the turn to year conversion.
Also, when I when I say western Empire, or Western Mediterranean I mean the west of the Italian peninsula. Also the mongolian names will be made up, for I don't remember them AT ALL.

For example, when I got the message the Mongolians were attacking, I did send an army, with the same exact troops too Kiev, and Kiev was lost much in the same way.

Intro

They year was 1328, when the Holy Roman Empire (I will shorten to HRE for time purposes) first heard of the Mongolian horde. Under the leadership of the great king, Heinrich the Saint, defeated the empires of the Danes, English, French, Polish, Milanese, Venetians, Sicilians, Hungarians and beat the Byzantines into submission. Their empire stretched form Dublin to Kiev, and by the other empires, thought to be unbeatable. They were wrong. The Great Mongolian War, as it became called over the ages, was one of the bloodiest wars in history, (Not our history, this worlds history) only to be surpassed by the Timurid Invasion, and the Scottish Insurrection. The death tolls go into the hundred thousands. The Great Mongolian war depleted the Holy Roman Empires, economic and military resources to the bone, leaving the empire crippled after years after the war, only retaining the iron fist it once had on the inner most settlements. This story will highlight all major events in the war.



A political map, days before the initial contact with the Mongolians
White: Papal States
Lighter Blue: Russia
Light Green: Turkish Empire
Orange: Moorish Empire
Yellow: Egypt
Dark Green: Portugal
Brown: Spain
Dark Blue: Scotland
Purple: Byzantine Empire

The First Contact
Location: Hamburg, capital of the HRE

"Greetings Gentlemen." *Counselor Fritz's booming voice shot across the banquet hall. Fritz was the head of the government when Kaiser Heinrich was away. He was at a meeting with the head military directors of the HRE.

"Gut en Tag!" They all yelled in unison.

"So, gentlemen what are today's reports? Director *Himol your first." Fritz said tiredly.

"Ja Herr Fritz" The Western Empires director, *Himol, said
"Our 1st army in Spain under the command of *General Shnow, have captured Valencia, but our second army, has... been defeated... prisoners executed, army demolished..."

"Hmm..." Fritz said thoughtfully " Your armies can carry on, if need be move one of your French garrisons into Spain."

"Ja" Himol replied

"You next Directory *Canify......."

The reports carried on, all of them the same old same old, a Victory here, rebel movement their. A loss once in awhile, then the last one, director Otto Von Saxony, the Director of Armies in the West, took his turn.

"O.K finally you Herr Director Saxony" Fritz said tiredly, by this point the meeting has carried on for a good 2 hours.

"Ja Herr Fritz.... ummm... nothing out of the ordinary, but err... their have been reports of a group of barbarians that refer to themselves as Mongolians... They may be dangerous, for they have been sited in the Turkish European held settlements. Far out of our territory, but many fleeing peasants from other lands have been arriving in Kiev every day, speaking of these terrible barbarians. Any ideas Herr Fritz?" Otto Von Saxony replied

"Meh' take an army of veterans to Kiev, more then likely its just a army of bandits... this meeting is concluded."
***********************************************************

Von Saxony walked out of the banquet hall. The only thing on his mind was the long trek to the far reaches of the Eastern Empire, and a nice cold beer. But first off, he had to go to the barracks, to find a army, in shape, and eager for a fight. As he walked through the streets of Hamburg, it was the usual, peasants walking about, merchants, more then likely scamming a poor man, and people talking about the recent losses in Spain.

"It's nonsense!" Saxony heard someone saying, as he looked he noticed it was a higher class man, judging from the clothes he wore, he must have been a local lord.

"What in Gotts name are we doing down their?" He said, this time a little louder.

"What do we gain? What?" By this time a small crowd gathered. Saxony knew the man was going to get hung. Any where, besides maybe the outer rim of the Empire, speaking out against any war we were fighting in, was widely considered unpatriotic. Which also, under the laws of the Kaiser Heinrich, is also considered a war crime, which is punished by a hanging.

Von Saxony walked on, and as he expected he heard yelling and shouting coming from the other direction. The man had been caught. Saxony pressed on, putting the though out of his mind. As he neared the barracks he saw a gritty sign that he could barely read out to say "Tavern". He figured, knowing the Reich's soldiers, this was the best bet. As he entered the Tavern, the soldiers looked over the newcomer, and after awhile noticing who he was, stood at attention.

"Guten Tag, fellow soldiers!" Saxony yelled at the top of his lungs. The tavern was of good size, with more then enough room to seat a few units of the Reich's soldiers.

"Guten Tag Herr Director Saxony!" They all yelled back, though a little less happily. More then likely, they were more worried about getting to their drinks, then to hear what he had to say.

"I have, but a few words to leave you with" Saxony yelled again. "Counselor Fritz, has elected me, to lead an expeditionary force into Kiev, to protect from any rebel army that may attack. All I ask is for a few faithful servants to the Reich may join me on this expedition to keep the Reichs honor."

Next their was a murmur going through the crowd, "Are you kidding me?" He heard one soldier say to another "I just got back from France! I ain't going' back out!" Finally the murmur softened when a few brave souls shouted out their questions.

"Is it dangerous?" One voice yelled

"What do we get paid?" Said another

"Why protect them?" A voice from the back said "They don't matter to us! Let them protect themselves!"

Saxony though about those few questions for a short while. He had to give a good reason for them to join, as he couldn't force them... not if he wanted a good fighting force.

"Is it dangerous?" Saxony repeated the question thoughtfully, then he answered "Does it matter? Your soldiers, and thus being in a dangerous situation is part of your career."

He heard a few snorts from the crowd. He went on, ignoring them.

"What do we get paid you ask?" He continued "I will make sure you get paid, justly, and regularly."

More murmurs.

"And you ask why we fight... for them? for are own country men?" Saxony chose his next few words carefully. "We fight for them, because our forefathers, that are now old, went out into... that.... that barbarian land.... and turned it into a civilized area worthy of any of the Reich's citizens. Because our forefathers... died for that land, and I now ask you... are you going to allow their loss, go unhonored, and just give these barbarians your- our territory?

He then studied their faces. A few were shaking their heads, and saying things such as "No-" or "Your right" but a few, though considerably less, told him not-so-politely- were to go. He ignored them and continued.

"Now I ask you- not as a commanding officer- but as a fellow soldier and citizen of the Reich- to join me and bring honor to the Reich.

Silence. Saxony waited, until finally, he heard a voice say "I volunteer my unit"... then another... and another. Finally after awhile he said

"Thats good enough my friends, I, and the Reich, thanks you for you patriotism. We will leave tomorrow..... 5 o'clock in the morning exactly. Bring all you'll need. The trip should take a few months. With that, I leave you to your drinks."

And without skipping a beat the noise started again. Now that he had found an army worthy of a fight, he could focus on his second need. A nice cold beer......

The Long Trek
Location: The field outside of Hamburg/The Steppes outside of Kiev

As Von Saxony walked towards the fields outside of Hamburg, where his army awaits. As he came into view of his army, which contained 8 units of Zwei Handlers, 5 units of Imperial Knights, 2 units of the local crossbow militia, and 2 units of the prized possession of the imperial army, Gothic Knights. With a single wave of his hand, pointed east, the army moved out.
***********************************************************

The sun beat down on *Sgt. Lukas Schneiders face. It's been days since he saw a tree. It's been weeks since they left Hamburg, the last big city they've seen since they've departed, and they were only a few miles away from their final destination, Kiev.

"30 minute break!" General Von Saxony yelled.

Lukas let out a sigh of relief-

"Commanders, meet with me. Now."

but it quickly turned into a sigh of anger. He quickly left his soldiers with a jealous stare, and went up to where he saw the imposing figure of General, and also Director of Armies in the East, Otto Von Saxony.

"Greetings gentlemen. I'm sorry for disturbing you, I know many of you are tired and was looking forward to that break." He said Saxony said. Lukas noted the true sorrow in his voice. He was a good commander, also a humane one.

"But this is a very important command." Saxony said it in a grave tone. It worried Lukas a bit, but he shrugged it off and kept on listening.

"We are but 3.5 miles away from Kiev, which you may note once their, that it rivals Hamburg in size. Once their, I will give you plenty of much needed R&R. But I have but one task left for you and your men." Saxony continued "We haven't sent any scouts to Kiev, nor heard any thing from Kiev for weeks. Their-fore we don't know if it's under our control, or an enemies. If it is the later, then it may turn into an ambush, then a massacre."

The other officers grunted an acknowledgement. Saxony nodded, and continued.

"Thats why we are separating your units into groups. Lukas." Saxony went on.

"Ja Herr Saxony.... err... General..." Lukas said nervously. This is the first real time the General has talked to him directly.

"You are to command a group of 4 units of Zwei Handlers. Once in the city, send a runner back to the next group, and then so on and so fourth. Dismissed to pick your soldiers."

"Ja Herr Saxony... as you wish sir." Lukas replied saluted, and walked off. Everything was happening so fast, 3.5 miles away from Kiev, the town he's been hearing about for weeks... the town he crossed the steppes of the East for... the town he may lose his life for... and on top of that, getting put in command of 4 units of Zwei Handlers, in a possible combat situation. As far as a large portion of the army was concerned, we was green. Only seeing action in the Italian wars with Milan... if he commands well enough, the way the system works... he may become Kaiser some day. What a though. As he got back to the soldiers, he told them of the news and started deciding on what units to take. Of to Kiev finally he though.... finally...

Off to Kiev!
Location: the fields outlying Kiev/ Kiev

"Come on boys, I can see the walls now!" Lukas yelled.

The next 3 minutes were filled with heartfelt cheers of happiness. The gates were opened, and on the inside of the walls, you could hear music, shouting laughter, horses hooves on the pavement, and so much more. As his soldiers entered the town, they weren't attacked by a marauding band of rebels, as many suspected, but were greeted, by the townsfolk and the Governor of the province. The now commander Lukas sent a runner back to tell the rest of the army that the cost was clear. Next up he exchanged a few words with the Governor.

"Greeting's herr... Hans, am I correct?" Lukas said excitedly.

"Yes my friend," The Governor, clasped his hands over Lukas's in a handshake "Yes, we are so glad you are here... our militia will help your army the best they can and-"

"Excuse me governor- it's just that I'm not the army General, and this isn't the whole army... I'm just a Seargent in command of a scouting force, the rest of the army should be here... momentarily........" Lukas added quickly. At this point he noticed the mans eastern accent.

"Bye Gott!" The Governor yelled "This is wonderful news! Such a pleasant surprise. Come, Come, follow me to mine mansion, here we will discuss whats going on. Send a runner to tell your general! Please hurry!"

And without another word Governor Hans pulled on Lukas's arm, and Lukas with a single wave of his hand to the troops at the gate, another runner went out.
***********************************************************

It was a very elegant room. Their was a long table in the center, filled with the most food Lukas had ever seen, it could have fed the whole of HRE's army. (which numbered about 1 million at the time!) Along with the food, he noticed the people sitting around the table. They were all dressed in rich clothing, gold and silver. Hans directed Lukas to sit next to a man wearing a gold ring with what looked to be diamonds, and a red robe, with a blue sash, Lukas figured he was a local lord. As he sat down the giant wooden doors slammed open and General Von Saxony strode in.

"Ahhh! General Saxony!" Hans yelled as he ran over to meet him. "I've met your friend... err.... I never really caught your name..." He stared at Lukas.

"O hello their Sgt Lukas." Saxony said with a smile "Or should I say commander?" And without saying anything, Saxony came over to Lukas, and gave him the HRE's Commander chevron."

"But sir-" Lukas Started

"Well talk about it later!" Saxony said with a laugh "But now. Lets Feast!"

All the men at the table gave a yell, as the servants scurried around the table, filling up wine glasses, cutting up ham, and many other tasks. The dining room was filled with conversations, and laughter. Von Saxony was sitting next to the governor, and it seemed from all the laughing, that he was having himself a good old time. But the food was so delicious, Lukas couldn't talk, for ever second he had another piece of meat, or a mouthful of beer in his mouth. Slowly, one by one the men were done gorging themselves, and the servants took the scraps, and plates away. When every one was done, Hans banged his spoon on his glass.

"Listen to me my fellow Germans, for I have some very important words" Hans shouted across the table. Within seconds the laughter died, and the smiles went away, and out came silence, and straight faces.

"First off I'm glad we could enjoy this feast, with our new friend, Mr. Head Military Director of the Holy Roman Empires Western Armies, and General, Otto Von Saxony.

"And my newly appointed assistant, Mr. Lukas Shneidor!" Von Saxony added in.

"Yes, yes, very will. But now to other matters. The fate off Kiev" Hans smile turned into a dire face once more. " Now, as you all know we are on the very edge of the Empire. And I was but a mere baby, when your forefathers (He looked at Von Saxony) liberated us from... our barbarian rulers. But sadly, you did not go any farther in your liberation, thus the land across the Dnieper river. In the east, those lands are what we call wild lands."

Hans continued "In the wildlands, their have always been, rebel armies, or bandits blocking the trade roots, but over time various other civilizations claim to have "conquered" that land. This is not true. The lands are still over run by rebels, and little has changed but the name on the territory. You are here (He looked at Saxony again) Because of the fact another group is crossing the plains. Maybe following the steps of the Huns and Vandals of earlier days, or just another barbarian tribe. We do not know. So in case of a possible battle over Kiev, Mr. Saxony and assistant ( He looked at Lukas now) I give you full command of the local militia, which sadly enough is just a small group of spearmen, and some mailed knights, but it has kept us safe in the past."

"Governor Hans" Saxony started "I will use the militia to the best of my abilities. Me and my army, will protect Kiev under any circumstances. Kiev will not fall.

Kiev will not fall. Those last few words struck silence in the room. As the local government officials, lords, or whoever else fell into money, or power sat their silently, one by one they started cheering. They were safe Lukas thought. What about us?

Kiev Will Not Fall!
location: Kiev, fields outside of Kiev.

As Lukas walked out of the dining hall, with the words Kiev will not fall, still ringing in his ears, he decided to go for a walk. Kiev was amazing he thought. It was the most beautiful city he has ever been in, rivaling even Imperial City in beauty! This is how Lukas later described it in his diary.

Kiev is an amazing town! The people are very friendly, willing to give you any help needed. Their is very little squalor, and every were I look their seems to be a monument to the old liberating army, under the command of General Dizio. In one public square, I even found a monument to my grand father, Lt. *Heinrich Schneider! After I get out of the army, I think I may get a permanent residence here, start a new life.
Commander Lukas Schneider

After his walk, he went back to the camp right outside the city. As he stepped onto the field, he looked over and saw the camp, with what looked like thousands of tiny fires. By then it was sunset, and just behind the camp, he could make out the sun going under the seemingly endless steppe.
Beautiful he thought.
As he got in the camp, he was congratulated for his recent promotion, being to full to participate in any of the camps football matches (Not American =P) he just laid down and was quickly asleep.

The next morning he was awakened, by non-other then General Von Saxony himself.

"Guten Morgen." Saxony said with a kind smile "Get dressed, and meet me outside in 15 minutes if you will."

"Ja- err... Ja General Saxony" He stuttered,

Saxony nodded, and walked off.

Lukas quickly scrambled out of bed and put his uniform on. Afterwards he rushed out of his tent, to be greeted by Saxony.

"Hello their Lukas. Hope you slept well."
Lukas nodded
"Follow me if you will." Von Saxony soon led the away across the busy camp. Every one it seemed was making breakfast, or getting dressed. Soon they came upon a very large tent, with two armored guards outside.

With a wave of a hand, Saxony sent the guards away.

"In here if you please"
Lukas entered the tent. Inside, it looked like a mansion. Their was a bed, a table, a closet... everything a regular soldier wished they had in their tent.
"This" Saxony said with a smile. "Is your tent."

"Wha-" Lukas started to say

"I'm sure your wondering about your recent promotion. Come sit down and I'll tell you." Saxony continued saying ignoring Lukas's stutter completely.

Right away Lukas sat down across from Saxony. On the table their was a map of Kiev, and the surrounding area.

"I promoted you because you are the most capable soldier here." Saxony said looking at the map on the table.

"But-" Lukas tried to say again

"Let me finish" Saxony said with patience in his voice. "I know your record. You were a second Sgt. in a unit of Spear militia, back in the Italian wars, with Milan if I'm correct."

"Ja Herr Saxony" Lukas said also looking at the map.

"I have heard you say that was your only battle, not skirmish, you've been in." He continued "But to tell you the truth my friend, you are not giving yourself enough credit. You were in the battle of the city of Milan. When a crossbow bolt hit your commanding officer, you commanded your unit, a spear militia, into Milan, before the Imperial Knights even got their. You also defended the city square against a counter attack, with just your unit, after takig about half casualties, and a unit of Imperial Knights. You were later offered a promotion to the status of General, by Kaiser Heinrich himself, but turned it down, due to the fact you didn't feel responsible enough."

Lukas sat silent.

"Now, I am not telling you. But COMMANDING you to be my assistent. Do you understand me?" He said.

"Ja- Herr Saxony." Lukas managed to say.

"Say it like a proud soldier of the Holy Roman Empire, the greatest thing since Julius Caeser!" He yelled.

"JA HERR SAXONY!" Lukas yelled.

"Very nice. Take 5 units of Zwei Handlers, 3 Imperial Knight units, and 1 unit of Gothic Knights, and 2 units of crossbow militia, and take them in the city. If these "refugee's are right, these Mongolians are only a few miles away from the town. Set up catapaults, and get the militia ready. More then Likely it will just be a 5 minute battle, few casualties on both sides. Dismissed."

Lukas nodded, and walked away.
***********************************************************
"What?! What do you mean?!" Lukas shouted with a fury that he could have killed the messanger in front of him.

"I mean sir, that we are under siege. These gott damn Mongolians, routed the army on the outside, with general Saxony. Their in the woods hiding a few miles away." The Messenger said.

"Gott im Himmel!" Lukas yelled "How many are their? Do you know?"

The messanger shook his head "No sir... I'm so sorry" and ran off.

Lukas wished he never join the army. He soon found himself wishing that a lot in his life. Without thinking, he ordered all the crossbow militia he had to go onto the walls. The city of Kiev's militia, gave him soom peasent archer units too. Next up, he put his Zwei Handler by the front gates, in a semi-circle like position. Then, he took all of his Imperial knights, Gothic Knights (which he was leading) and the rest of the city militia, which was just some spearmen, into the main square. Then a messanger came. They were attacking.
***********************************************************

*Ochir Khan nodded to his head general *Ivaandjav to start the attack. Ivaandjav raised his hand, the siege machines rolled forward. 1 ram, and 2 towers should be more then enough to destroy this pathtic "European" city.

As the units got closer and closer to the walls, many of them fell to the european missiles. One seige tower even burst into flames, before even touching the wall.

Ochir Khan watching the fight, looked over to his most faithful general.

"They seem to be putting up enough of a fight wouldn't you say?"

Ivaandjav replied gruffly "We'll see once they meet our cavalry." Soon the tower was at the walls, and units of mongolian infintry were pilling in. The fight was soon once as tey slaughtered the militia up their, taking 5 prisoners.

Next up the ram broke through the wooden doors like a knife through butter, inside were the Europeans in the shining iron armor.

"Prepare the cavalry." Ochir said.

"Yes sir." Ivaanjav replied instinctivly. With a raise of his hand, all of his cavalry marched infront off him. Soon the rams crew moved out of the way of the door, and moved to the side.

"Here's the fun part." Ivaanjav said with a smile. And when he dropped his hand his cavalry ran forward, and with a jerk, his horse followed.
***********************************************************

"Report." Lukas asked. The messanger came out of the group of soldiers huddled around the town square.

"These... Mongolains... they err... landed a tower on the wall, and their armoured soldiers soon came out." The messenger continued "The militia put up a fight however, and burned one of thier other towers. They also killed many of their soldiers before they got to the wall. Their fighting-"

His sentence was soon blicked out by a large clank, and yelling. The door has been breached.

"Gott Damnitt!" Lukas yelled. " Messeneger, I want another report be back in 3 minutes."

"Ye- yesss sir-" He said. He was shaking now, this was his first time in a combat situation.

As Lukas watched the messenger scury away he looked behind him and saw the governors mansion. He saw governor Hans standing thier grim faced, with his wife and his servents surrounding him. Hans, seeing Lukas look at him approached him.

"I am a governor of a province in the Holy Roman Empire." He said gravely. "I want the truth. How are things going?"

"Well..." Lukas said "If you want the truth, it could be better. Their on the walls, fighting the militia, and the doors have been breached. If you wish sir, I give you permission to leave, In fact, you your whole family, and any one else you are close to may leave. If you chose this, I will send some militia units to guard you-"

"No! I under any circumstances will not leave. Emperor Heinrich appointed me directly to this position, and I will not abandon it. As for my family," He gestured torwards them "They will leave. I must not drag them to their deaths. They won't need any unit to protect them however, our armed guards will do just fine."

Hans walked away and started talknig to his wife. She soon broke into tears. While he watched he saw the guards push her and his two kids, a 5 year old girl, and an 8 year old boy, away, onto the main street, and out the other gate.
***********************************************************

The cavalry soon clashed into the European soldiers, and quickly gained the upper hand.
"Good Ivaanjav, good." Ochir Khan said to himself. It was always a treat watching his most trusted general in battle.

Within second he heard a loud war cry. They must have routed the defenders. He called over a messenger on horse.

"Tell General Ivaanjav to hold position their. Tell the infintry to stay on the walls and pull their bows out in case of a european counter attack." Ochir thought for a second longer. "Also tell him, the composite cavalry is going in, they will harass and troops within the city for the next few minutes, after words tell him to charge if thier is no movement."

The messenger took a second to memorize it then he was off.

"Composite cavalry!" Ochir yelled. The cavalry marched forward in a single line "Charge!"

And they went off. This battle was going to be a victory in a matter of seconds.
"Another Triumph for the Mongolian Empire" Ochir said with a laugh.
***********************************************************

The messenger finally got to Ivaanjavm, who at the time was waiting with his cavalry, smiling, and laughing.

"Sir, the Khan requests that you hold here, for he is sending in Composite cavalry to harass the Europeans. And to wait another 5 minutes before the final charge. He also asked for the infintry to stay on the walls, and take their bows out in case of a counter attack."

"It will be done." Ivaanjav said, and the messanger was soon off to tell the Khan.

True to his word, a whole group of composite cavalry came riding in, bows ready. All the horsemen Ivaanjav had with him pointed into the direction of the city square, and the Composite bow cavalry was soon off.

The End of a Battle, and Start of a War
Location: Kiev, unkown woods about 5 miles away from Kiev, and Hamburg Palace.
As Lukas waited for the messenger to come, a cavalry man soon appeared behind him. With shock Lukas jumped back, but noticing the familiar armor he said

"Soldier why aren't you at your post?"

"I am" The strange man soon said "General Saxony ordered me here, to tell you to retreat to the woods, about 5 miles nothwest of here."

"What?" Lukas said with disbelief "I can't... I... I am here guarding this town."

The man snorted "Guarding. Ja right. Half of your forces have been wiped out by now, and your standing alone here with some militia, and knights."

"I'm not leaving the town now!" Lukas yelled "It's my duty. Now tell saxony that I will see him once the battle is over. And by gott, I will make sure it is a Imperial victory. Dismissed."

The man started to say with a smile "Wel-

"Dismissed!" Lukas yelled.

The man soon rode off muttering under his breath. Soon after, he heard a whiny voice from behind him.

"Sir..." The messanger said " The.... the mongolains.... slaughtered our forces and-" The man fell silent, and dropped to the floor. Blood ran under the Lukas's horse's hooves, and men started yelling. As Lukas looked closer at the messanger, it was an arrow that struck him. An arrow in the neck. Soon he saw more of his men falling under the bite of these arrows, and looking around to see where they were coming from, he saw mongolian horse men, firing volleys at a time. He and all of his other soldiers soon ducked behind their shields, to protect them from the onslaught.

"Units!" Lukas yelled "Loose formation!"

Soon the knights, horsemen, and militia dispersed and were now feet from each other. That should save a few lives. It didn't.

Blood soon filled the street, as agonizing pains of terror filled the air. Soon the arrows stopped. Lukas looked up only to see heavy knights rushing towards them. This is the end he thought.

"Spearmen!" Lukas yelled once more "Up front! Tight Formation. Dismounted Knights! Behind them, Tight formation!"

And with just mili-seconds left, the units got in their positions.
***********************************************************

Ivaanjav charged the European line. The composite cavalry did thier job as he saw scores of europeans lying dead on the floor. As soon as their charge hit the european line, they broke and ran. One man, he noticed, dresed in full iron, was shouting in what sounded like gibberish, and pointing the other way. He must be the commander.

"Him! Get Him!" He said pointing towards the European horsemen. "And take prisoners!"

Soon half of the defending army was soon prisoners of war, but the Commander got away.
***********************************************************

"Retreat, retreat!" Lukas screamed "Civilians evacuate!"

Not one civilian came outside. The rest of the army however was running for their lives.

"Gott in Himmel!" Lukas screamed again "Retreat!"

Men around him were falling from the mass confusion, then either being killed, or taken as prisoner.

"Follow me!" Lukas yelled, though he doubted anyone actually heard him. He started galloping towards the exit. As he looked back at the Mongolians in pure hatred, when he noticed they were stopping.

"Damn them!" Lukas said half to himself as he galloped on. "Regroupo on the outside of the walls!"

He soon was outside of the walls. Army, militia, and whoever wants to follow, 5 miles nothwest is were the rest of the army sits. Lets go! Soon the survivors which numbered about 200 followed behind. We will get our revenge Lukas thought. We will.
***********************************************************

As Ochir sat, he saw hundred of prisoners come out of the city. Ivaanjav was leading, and soon he ran up to Ochir and nooded his respects.

"Good job Ivaanjav" Ochir said with a smile "If all Europeans fight like this we may conqour the whole of Europe in days."

Ivaanjav started laughing "Only if i'm in charge of the armies!"

"Yes yes, well, when this old Khan dies, you'll have his title." Ochir said solemnly

"Ye- yes my Lord" Ivaanjav said with a nod of his head.

"Now about these prisoners, send 5 up here. The fate of the rest is in your hands." Ochir said.

"Yes my Lord" Ivaanjav replied. He waved his hand and 5 prisoners came over. Once their Ivaanjav walked over to his cavalry, made a motion with ihs hand, and the cavalry soon slaughtered the remaining prisoners.

"You." Ochir pointed at one of the Europeans "Come here."
He then pointed to the ground in front of him. The European was shaking.

"You speak?" Ochir now gestured to his mouth

The European started blabbering something out, but Ochir could not understand. Ochir then looked back and one of his aides caome over.

"Do you know this tongue?" Ochir asked

The European started talking again, but the aide shook his head.

"No not at all my lord" The aide said.

The European was still talking, and pointing in all directions

"Roman Empire" He heard the European say.

Ochir though for a second. Roman Empire. That sounded familiar. He heard it in China... now what was it called...

"Qin!" His aide yelled "Qin! We are at war with the Qin!"

"Ro-man- Em-pi-re" Ochir sounded out.

The European was shaking his head. It was the Roman Empire.

"Aide. Take him, and his friends to the back of the camp. Have them dressed in some finer clothes. They are our new translators." Ochir gestured to the back, and the aide nodded. He pushed the Romans back to the tents and got them changed. This battle was becoming more fruitfull then he first though.
***********************************************************

Lukas walked into Saxony's camp. Saxony was sitting on a stool, in the middle.

"Greetings Herr Lukas." Saxony said with a nod. "I hear you refused my messenger. Why? All you gained was blood on your shoes, and on your hands."

"Because it was my duty, and I was to fulfill it."

"Good enough. Sit down, tell me what happened." SAxony said and nodded to a stool next to him.

Lukas told his story. Saxony was shaking his head in disgust.

"Sir, if I made any tactical errors I-" Lukas started

"No. You have done what I would have done in the same situation. But these Mongols... horrible beasts they are. You, what you fought, was just an 8th of the army, maybe even smaller. I saw the rest of their army... and we routed, no fighting, nothing, we just ran."

Saxony continued.

"If we had decided to help your army, the toll on our side would have been much larger, from the sound of the tactics they used. So you understand I had to come here ja?"

Lukas nodded his head.

"Don't worry friend, I sent a messenger to Hamburg with our story, and I asked for reinforcements, I sent him on horseback, so we shall get our reply in a matter of weeks. Untill then we sit tight."

"But what if they attack?" Lukas asked eagerly.

"If they attack, which I gurrantee they won't for it would be a foolish effort, we would win. We are encamped, in heavy brush, and as you saw, they were mostly cavalry, like those damned Byzantines, and they would be rendered effectivless. As for their infintry, we have far superior."

"Whatever you say General." Lukas said with some disbelief.
***********************************************************

"Gott Damnit!" Fritz yelled "We've lost Kiev!"

The palace doors slammed open.

"Counsler Fritz. What is the meaning of this?" Kaiser Heirich the Saint asked.

"Kasier... or armies in Kiev... the've been lost... few survivors... they are asking for a reinforcement army... their are tens of thousands of these... these... Mongolians. What should we do?"

"Mongolians? What in Himmel are they?" The Kaiser asked.

"Terribble barbarians... they wiped out a force of our best units... I don't know what is going on..." Fritz said. By now he was shaking. "Maybe you should lead any army up their... I don't know herr Kaiser...."

"Lead another army!" the Kaiser replied "I just got back from my time with the Byzantines on Cyprus!"

Ever since the Byzantine War, the Byzantines have been confined to Cyprus, and with the fact the HRE are now in an alliance, every time a rebel army some how got on the island the HRE had to help.

"What idiot general lost the battle?" the Kaiser demanded

"General von Saxony Herr Kaiser..." Fritz said.

"What!?!" the Kaiser yelled. Saxony was one of his most trusted general, thus why he was on the director panal.

"Kaiser, they mean business, I mean they sacked Kiev... they destroyed any army of veterans..." Fritz said

"Fine Fritz!" the Kaiser yelled once more "Have it your way, I'm leaving now. Send a messanger to Vienna, and make damn sure they have any army ready for me there."

"Kaiser, they can wait... they why don't you stay for a few days and rest?" Fritz pleaded

"Damnit Fritz" he yelled " I just made an empire, It will not fall a part whilst I lead it!"

And with that he was off.


Pretty crappy story, I wrote it awhile ago, I was supposed to right the whole war, but not much came of it.

[Double A]

Too long to read dude.

[Leutrim]

The Story Continues:

As Kiev’s defenders made ready, my freshly trained cavalry forces merged with the elite survivors of the Moscow siege under the command of one of Russia’s premiere generals. Known both for his bravery on the battlefield and for his strict discipline among the troops, general Kuritsa the Harsh was more feared than he was respected, a man who would gain victory without regard for cost and would never take a prisoner.

Kuritsa’s men were a mix of Tsar’s Guard, Dvor Cavalry, and Cossacks, half fresh, half heavily experienced, all ready to do their duty to the very end as the first line of Kiev’s defense. The general’s mission was to harass Mongol forces as they marched towards the capitol and inflict as much damage as possible before they arrived. Essentially Kuritsa’s all cavalry force would strike an isolated Mongol army, usually at night, and attempt to kill any and all Mongol commanders while inflicting maximum casualties.

Thanks to Kuritsa’s harsh discipline, his army marched quickly towards the barbarians. It was not long before he engaged a foolish Mongol commander who had lagged slightly behind the bulk of their invasion force. Kuritsa had studied the Mongol’s tactics during the siege of Moscow and made a bold decision, he would use their own strategy against them.

The Russian attack opened with a charge of horse archers right into the center of the Mongol lines. As the main group of Mongol heavy cavalry and infantry rushed out to meet them, the horse archers retreated, with the bulk of the Mongol forces following in their wake. Meanwhile Kuritsa’s crack Tsar’s Guard cavalry had moved around the enemy’s flank; the Mongol commander realized what was happening all too late, as he called out to his men, his personal bodyguard, riding alone and exposed behind the bulk of his forces, was rushed head on by five units of elite Russian cavalry, Kuritsa himself leading the charge. The commander was dead within seconds and the Mongol forces were plunged into disarray. The Russians, still outnumbered, maneuvered a fighting retreat, peppering Mongol forces all the while.

Kuritsa continued to harass the Mongol forces as they moved towards Kiev, killing another of their generals and inflicting many casualties. While Kuritsa managed to significantly weaken Mongol forces, the bulk of them were still intact and under the command of the great Khan himself. As they approached Kiev’s surrounding countryside, Kuritsa merged with the rest of the Russian forces under the command of the grand Duke. The Khan did not hesitate, he attacked the Duke and his forces which were camped on the outskirts of the city, as Chinese rockets began to reign down upon the Russians, they knew that this coming battle would decide the fate of their nation.

Part 3 Coming Soon:

Again, top stuff. You have a great talent for entracing readers without visual aid. I just used my imagination and it's fuel was your awsome writing skills. I await the 3rd part

[bob3645]

Great stories and/or accounts everyone. You should finish the story lizard or at least say what actually happened in game; it certainly put mine to shame and now I'm really curious.

[Dash]

Well, I just remember a few months ago, I had an English general and his 3 sons conquer the Holy land and most of the land surrounding... when the Mongols arrived, the eldest son and best general goaded them into attacking him at Edessa, where, because I was unaware of how defenses worked (towers) he and his army was slaughtered. The other 2 sons and the father also were killed trying to defeat the horde.

FYI, I had no idea how to deal with them.

[♔The Lizard King♔]

Great stories and/or accounts everyone. You should finish the story lizard or at least say what actually happened in game; it certainly put mine to shame and now I'm really curious.

No, your stories great too, I just took a really long time too right it lol. No one is really interested, so I'm not gonna finish the thing, but this is essentially what happened.

The Mongols assaulted Kiev, and I lost horribly (it was my first time ever fighting the mongols, I really didn't know what too expect)

My forces regrouped and headed North Towards Novgorod (The Russians where my allies). The Mongols also assaulted Novgorod, and we're repulsed, when the allied HRE Russian army fought.

They attacked again, and we were annihilated, no prisoners taken.

The Mongols soon sacked all of the eastern part of the Russian Empire, and the German Baltic territories (bear in mind I had only small quantities of troops, none of which even worth of the Mongols)

After a sturdy defense at Krakow, the Mongols moved south in the Balkans towards Constantinople (at the same time, a another group was moving the the Caucasus fighting the Turks and Russians).

I made an alliance with the Turks and sent a small army towards Sarkel held by the Turks. The Mongols sieged it, and for the first time in my TW life, Me, the Turks and a small army of Russians fought 2 stacks of Mongols, it was a HUGE battle. Th Mongols had their Gettysburg, and retreated south to the middle of Turkey.

A large mongol army assaulted Constantinople, a huge city, and we're repulsed but hardly. Losing on all fronts they continued south towards Antioch. I sent a few armies south too fight them, I had a few team battles with the Turks, and they we're basically annihilated. The only battle lost was the battle of the sands, where one of my armies was completely destroyed.

The remnants of the great mongol army (roughly 3/4 to 1 stack) escaped into Egypt, and we're supposedly destroyed, though remnants may rest in the desert sands.

After a the great war, the HRE had a hard time recapturing its old settlements, and so did the Russians/Turks. The war on the Iberian peninsula escalated, and heavy fighting took a toll on the HRE's military resources ( I started another story about that).

I have some other maps and whatever. I got really into lol.

I even went so far as too record every battle, the casualties etc. it was a pretty bloody war lol.

[Leutrim]

No, your stories great too, I just took a really long time too right it lol. No one is really interested, so I'm not gonna finish the thing, but this is essentially what happened.

The Mongols assaulted Kiev, and I lost horribly (it was my first time ever fighting the mongols, I really didn't know what too expect)

My forces regrouped and headed North Towards Novgorod (The Russians where my allies). The Mongols also assaulted Novgorod, and we're repulsed, when the allied HRE Russian army fought.

They attacked again, and we were annihilated, no prisoners taken.

The Mongols soon sacked all of the eastern part of the Russian Empire, and the German Baltic territories (bear in mind I had only small quantities of troops, none of which even worth of the Mongols)

After a sturdy defense at Krakow, the Mongols moved south in the Balkans towards Constantinople (at the same time, a another group was moving the the Caucasus fighting the Turks and Russians).

I made an alliance with the Turks and sent a small army towards Sarkel held by the Turks. The Mongols sieged it, and for the first time in my TW life, Me, the Turks and a small army of Russians fought 2 stacks of Mongols, it was a HUGE battle. Th Mongols had their Gettysburg, and retreated south to the middle of Turkey.

A large mongol army assaulted Constantinople, a huge city, and we're repulsed but hardly. Losing on all fronts they continued south towards Antioch. I sent a few armies south too fight them, I had a few team battles with the Turks, and they we're basically annihilated. The only battle lost was the battle of the sands, where one of my armies was completely destroyed.

The remnants of the great mongol army (roughly 3/4 to 1 stack) escaped into Egypt, and we're supposedly destroyed, though remnants may rest in the desert sands.

After a the great war, the HRE had a hard time recapturing its old settlements, and so did the Russians/Turks. The war on the Iberian peninsula escalated, and heavy fighting took a toll on the HRE's military resources ( I started another story about that).

I have some other maps and whatever. I got really into lol.

I even went so far as too record every battle, the casualties etc. it was a pretty bloody war lol.

Give me a link to this if its in another post because it sounds interesting. It would be cool if you had pictures and details of each of those epic battles

[♔The Lizard King♔]

Well post number 6 has tyhe first part of my story, thats just what happens after the story. I never reall finished the thing, as one, I had no pictures, and two no one seemed interested. I actually may have some pictures, I just need too look around lol.

[Zio Zihk]

I've never ran into the Mongols, the Turks always kill them in games. One time I picked Turkey just so I could see the Mongols. They went into Russia and were defeated by Rebels. I think my Mongols aren't as mean as everyone else's.

Never fought the Timurids either, but that's because I've normally won the campaign before then.

[Leutrim]

I've never ran into the Mongols, the Turks always kill them in games. One time I picked Turkey just so I could see the Mongols. They went into Russia and were defeated by Rebels. I think my Mongols aren't as mean as everyone else's.

Never fought the Timurids either, but that's because I've normally won the campaign before then.

What difficulty are you playing?

[Zio Zihk]

What difficulty are you playing?

M/M just recently switched to H/H.

[Leutrim]

M/M just recently switched to H/H.

Ahhh, thats pretty good skills you have then. Keep it up

[Old Geezer]

In my still ongoing Scots' campaign the dreaded Mongols were destroyed by King Roy Canmore in 5 battles. The first 4 were sieges upon Antioch. The last battle was the all time shocker for me. In a moment of silliness I decided to attack the last 2 Mongol armies with a stack of pike militia and King Roy. He spread out the pikemen in ranks of 2 as far as they would go and just had them advance across the field. He lost over 300 men but the Mongols were obliterated and the last of their generals croaked and so they quickly and ingloriously disappeared from history.

[Leutrim]

In my still ongoing Scots' campaign the dreaded Mongols were destroyed by King Roy Canmore in 5 battles. The first 4 were sieges upon Antioch. The last battle was the all time shocker for me. In a moment of silliness I decided to attack the last 2 Mongol armies with a stack of pike militia and King Roy. He spread out the pikemen in ranks of 2 as far as they would go and just had them advance across the field. He lost over 300 men but the Mongols were obliterated and the last of their generals croaked and so they quickly and ingloriously disappeared from history.

I never knew pikemen could do so much damage

[Poach]

As the mighty Byzantine Empire, I already had control of Greece, Bulgaria, the Levant and Egypt by the time the Mongolian hordes attacked from beyond my borders, having sacked Baghdad, the capital of the displaced Egyptian royalty.

I concluded it was folly to defend the Levant from the Mongolians as my forces there were thin, all available soldiers had been sailed or marched north to face the might of an HRE/Milan alliance intent on forcing my forces from Prague and the surrounding area.

All buildings that could be pulled down were, from Cairo to Antioch, cities were levelled. Nothing was left for the Mongol invader. All fortresses had their walls demolished and military administration removed: they were now towns and cities. Byzantine Navy transports set sail from ports up and down and coast, taking all soldiers to Cyprus. Armies stationed in Turkey moved south to fortify the mountain passes and await the coming storm.

The Mongolians took Egypt and the Levant quickly enough, with no garrison several towns had turned rebel and put up a minor fight: without any militia barracks or such, rebel units were mainly peasants. The plan had worked, the enemy armies were spread out, their elite units divided into small contingents with the bulk of their armies being weak militia units.

The assault began: Byzantine military had been building up in Turkey and Cyprus, armies were landed in Egypt, the Levent and forces attacked from the mountains of Anatolia. Mongolian resistance was cut into segments, in Egypt, Southern Levent, Northern Levent and the Baghdad area.

The Levant and Baghdad fell quickly, the bulk of Mongolian forces, including much of their elite heavy cavalry and infantry armies, were still in Egypt. The armies of Egypt fought valiantly, Alexandria changed hands several times, but eventually only a small area could be held, mainly by bridge defence. This served the Byzantines well, however, as while the Mongolians sought to defeat this small saliant and drive the battered Byzantines into the sea, a huge counter-attack, unprecedented in history (Seriously, about 10-15 full stacks, I zerged them.) slammed home from the East, shattering all Mongolian resistance west of the Nile. As the broken armies of the Khan fled, cities were retaken for the Empire. The last of the organised Mongolian forces fled into the African deserts after a ceasefire was asked for, and upon hearing news of a Tumurid threat, the armies of the Empire made ready to repeat their scorched earth policy.