[SS AAR] Tales of the Levant - A Jerusalem AAR

[GenAnnoyance]

Hello all and welcome to my first AAR. For it I thought I'd try the Kingdom of Jerusalem as I have not played this faction before and I watched Kingdom of Heaven the other night and thus it has inspired me.

Rules:

Mod- SS 6.1 with no sub mods at all
Cheats- None, except maybe toggle_fow if you want to see how the rest of the world is doing.
Campaign- I set it to short campaign but I don't think I'll follow it religously, I'll just see how it pans out.
Difficulty- M/M (I'm not very experienced or very good at this game)
Alliances and War- Won't ally with the Fatimids but may have peace with them, anyone else may be ally or enemy except France or England- I won't attack them but if they attack me, I'll just fight them off.

Hope you enjoy it and if you wish I'd really appreciate feedback on the style of the AAR and advice for strategy.

Chapter 1 - The Beginning of a Holy Dynasty

Turn 1

As he mulled over the Kingdoms assets, King Jean found a few serious problems with his inventory. First of all he realised that Jerusalem was so vitally important to the Kingdom not just in name but for it's economy that the nation would collapse were it to be conquered. Jerusalem was a huge city- one of the largest in the world and it made plenty of money for the royal coffers but this whitewashed the problem.

The Kingdom controlled 5 notable settlements: Nicosia on the Isle of Cyprus, Tortosa on the northern border, Acre in the centre, Kerak to the South-East and Jerusalem itself. The problem was that Acre was a Fortress and the rest were castles thus meaning they weren't money makers but none of them seemed to be in a suitable position to convert to cities.




Jean did not trust the Fatimids who surrounded him although there was curently an uneasy peace and so he commisioned the building of a network of new watchtowers.

King Jean was the nation's greatest general which was a bad sign because although he was very chivalrous his aptitude for command was not brilliant but was adequate:



Next there is Badouin de Lorraine who resides in Kerak:



He could become a great general but his loyalty is something of concern

Then there is the young Bertrand from Tortosa:



The youngest of the Kingdom's generals could become a hero if trained well but again his loyalty is questionable although he should be okay as King Jean commands the utmost respect of his subjects.

And finally, Prince Alphonse. Much the same situation with Bertrand. Could be a hero, could be a rebel. We shall see.



The first thing that was done was to move our Cardinal from Tortosa to Acre where none of our subjects follow our God!

Farming upgrades were commisioned across the Kingdom as it became apparent that the farming infrastructure currently owned was woefully inadequate compared to the rest of the world. These upgrades would provide population growth and more wealth into the royal treasury which would be needed for future wars.

1 unit of Templar Sergeants and another of Dismounted Knights of Jerusalem were trained at Kerak, Templar Sergeants and Mounted Sergeants were trained at Tortosa and a Diplomat in Jerusalem. Almost the entire garrison in Acre was moved to Jerusalem in a military build up manoeuvre.

***

Well, thats the start. I should have plenty of time this summer so updates may come thick and fast. What do you think?

[GenAnnoyance]

Turn 2

Not much happened this year. Trade rights were agreed with the Fatimids but they refused to exchange map information.

Our only spy successfully infiltrated an army led by the Fatimid heir which had just left Gaza. I’m not sure if it poses a threat



And the king got the King of Jerusalem Ancillary. So now he is rather handy it gives +2 command!



Also, we are supposedly the second richest faction although I find it hard to believe since money seems tight.

Turn 3

Things are getting a little more exciting but more on that later.

The pope gave us our first mission which was to build a small chapel at Acre. His will will be done next year when the land clearance finishes



The faction ranking scroll does not bring much joy. We are only the 15th strongest nation and our economy has dropped us 3 places in that section.



I think the Fatimids may be gearing up for an invasion and so units are being trained in Kerak and Tortosa



Turn 4

Happenings this turn include the creation of a agency who’s sole purpose is espionage and sabotage. The RMIS (Royal Military Intelligence Service)* was founded in Jerusalem and currently has one spy in the field and another being trained. It’s first assignment was to infiltrate the Fatimid settlement of Al-Aqaba which it succeeded in doing.



There was an advance in preparations for a war with the Egyptians. However, plans are difficult to make as we cannot prise map information from them and we certainly cannot afford to pay them for it. So here are the plans for an invasion of the Fatimid Caliphate:

TOP SECRET

WARNING! The following document is classified as top secret. These are strictly eyes only and may not be taken out of the room in which they are found. Only senior military commanders and advisors of the Kingdom of Jerusalem may read them.



Send the army in Jerusalem to siege and secure Fatimid stronghold in Gaza. This currently seems straightforward as Gaza is not heavily defended

The army in Kerak led by Badouin de Lorraine will travel south towards Al Aqaba. However, the command staff is not yet sure if the army should head straight for Al Aqaba and siege and hope that the Fatimid armies on the border head south to relieve the town. Or, Lorraine can engage those armies in open field battles since if he ignores them, Kerak could be left for the taking. Doing this also carries risk as the enemy army on the border is led by the Crown Prince who is a very capable commander and commands decent quality troops. The latter plan has a good chance of travelling taking an extra year to reach Al Aqaba.



Send the army from Tortosa to siege Antioch which can be reached in a year without artillery or to Damascus which can only be reached in 2 years. There is also the enemy army protecting the bridge which could capture Tortosa if our army goes North.



This is currently optional and will only be done if the funds are found to do it. Create a sneak attack into the back door of the Fatimids and secure Alexandria by sailing from Cyprus. There are three options here:

• Send the army and siege Alexandria at the same time as the other armies march into enemy territory. This would give the chance to the Fatimids to send a relief army to Alexandria

• Send the army with suitable artillery to Alexandria and attack straight away. This would mean the invasion would have to be delayed for a year and that is just after Artillery has been built. Building Artillery may delay it longer and would mean that the army would be in a naval fleet in the middle of the sea which the enemy navy could sink.

• Send the army with artillery to Alexandria with no delay. The invasion would begin as scheduled and the army from Cyprus would arrive a year later. It would pay off if the Fatimids sent their armies to aid Gaza and Al Aqaba thus leaving only a minute force in Alexandria. It would fail if they were cautious of such a move and all we would’ve done is to give them an extra year to prepare the defense of the city.

The RMIS will be busy attempting to infiltrate key settlements and hopefully will be able to prise open gates so that a siege is not necessary and even better inspire rebellions in settlements.

Remember, this document does not exist!

***

*I’m very open to suggestions for renaming the spying service. Suggestions are very welcome and the best one gets +rep.

[Kiljaden]

Right on man, keep it coming , +rep incoming on the update (hope to see some battle )

My only suggestion is that you don't have to keep to a specific order of Turn to Turn if you don't want, and the Turn labelling isn't really necessary.

[GenAnnoyance]

Thanks for the rep and the suggestions.

Yeah, I was hoping that I'd get some battles at the start and I'm just finnishing the preparations to invade so battle screens will come in the next update I promise.

[GenAnnoyance]

Chapter 2 – Deus Lo Vult!

As the preparations for the hugely ambitious invasion of Egypt entered into the penultimate stages, the royal treasury brought misery to the royal accountants.



The kingdom was scraping by and was making a small loss per year. Military expenditure alone was 700 florins higher than income in the year 1224, it meant that any building projects the king had planned had to be cancelled out of necessity. It also meant that money had to be found and fast. Antioch to the north was a large city full of riches and was also scantly defended.

Other happenings this year were the building of a new watchtower east of Kerak and the RMIS’ newest spy was killed trying to infiltrate a Fatimid army slightly east of Gaza and our other spy located the castle at Damietta and the Fatimid capital of Cairo.

In 1225, the very last preparations were complete. 3 armies were stationed along our borders with the Caliphate. The northern army will strike Antioch, the southern will head to Al Aqaba and the western army will strike Gaza. Meanwhile, a fleet carrying another, smaller army is stationed well of the coast of Gaza, so far, that the Fatimids do not know they are there. The surprise attack should work but we don’t have any artillery. Also, our treasury will be 1500 florins in debt at the start of next year.

In 1226, we crossed the border, 4 settlements under siege and it has gone almost perfectly to plan with 2 exceptions. There is a substantial enemy army on the border with Kerak, Badouin de Lorraine did not feel comfortable attacking them, especially since they were inside a fort so instead he went straight to Al Aqaba and our 2 spies failed to open the gates of Gaza to allow an immediate strike against the settlement. This is do or die for the Kingdom of Jerusalem.







The Battle of Antioch

(I forgot to take pictures at the start of this battle so I’ll have to describe most of it instead)

So here we are before the battle:



1131 vs 661, both 4 star general although most of there force is commanded by a captain and the auto-calculator says 5:2 in my favour. Should be straightforward.

I start the battle and send only my ram at the walls as my plan is to deal with the reinforcements which for some reason are coming from directly behind.

My peasant archers stand on a hill near my fighting force and my Knights of Jerusalem go straight for 1 of there unit of Archer Militia whilst my Mounted Sergeants go for the other. They both win with ridiculous ease as would be expected but then I see my mistake, their Desert Cavalry go straight for my Peasant Archers and I manage to get most of them out of the way while I send my Knights of Jerusalem and 2 Templar Sergeants. It causes a rout quickly and then the fire arrows raining on the surrounded Halberd Militia send them into a rout.

Then I have time to line up my forces just before the gate falls. When the gate falls my Dismounted Knights of Jerusalem engage the Halberd Militia. That fight is going well and I send my Templar Sergeants at the enemy general. They get caught up in the melee with the militia as expected. The Halberd Militia are doing well for their situation



But are ultimately not going to hold so the enemy general rushes into the fray:



The boiling oil is inflicting fairly heavy casualties on my forces:



The Militia rout and all is left is the general and 2 bodyguards and he soon falls:



Victory! and the sack of Antioch puts us back in the black.

Taking Alexandria wasn’t hard. My gamble paid off and their was only a generals bodyguard to defend the settlement and so I autoresolved. The sack was okay:




The Battle of Gaza



The autocalculator gives us odds of 1:1. My king with his 8 command stars against their general with 4. Their army composition is pretty good even though they don’t have archers. 3 Dismounted Arab Cavalry, 2 Arab Cavalry and a Generals Bodyguard.

The battle begins with siege equipment way out in front, then crossbows, then spearmen with cavalry on the flanks and general behind.



The ram carriers take fire from the walls and thus adopt a loose formation



The enemy on the walls watch the ladders and siege tower approach



The ram reaches the gate



Siege equipment at the walls and the defenders brace



CHARGE! My Dismounted Knights of Jerusalem spill onto the walls



The gates have fallen!



A huge melee breaks out at the mouth of the gate



The Knights of Jerusalem arrive and tip the battle in our favour (P.S. Knights of Jerusalem = win)



The enemy spearmen find themselves in a precarious position



The ram reaches the second gate



The gates fall and err… my men get burnt



The enemy’s last stand



Victory!



The sack of Gaza



All in all a reasonable victory. Their high quality troops on the walls really inflicted casualties and maybe I should’ve marched all my troops through the gate and not have bothered with the walls?

Well, that’s it for tonight. I’ve got 1 more battle to do this turn but you’ll have to wait, it should be good.

Preview

Next time on “Tales of the Levant”, How will the Fatimid Caliphate react to the invasion? What will be gained from diplomatic talks with the Seljuk Sultanate? And last but not least, it’s the fight of the summer 1227, Badouin “Feel the pain” de Lorraine versus Nasir “The Prince” al-Fatimiyyun

[Wolfiefang]

XD Loving it! Specailly love the "Ssssh, top secret... we're gonna attack EVERYTHING" XD
Definitely will be keeping on watching.

[Friesian]

Nice start. Keep up the writing.