Chapter 1: A Rebellion Vanquished
Venice is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Stretching across 118 islands in the Venetian Lagoon north of the Adriatic Sea, Venice is often referred to as "The City of Water" or "The Queen of the Adriatic." Proud as they are of their grand capitol, Venetians desire more. They desire to wrest control of the Italian Peninsula from the Germans, the Milanese, the Sicilians, and even from his "Holiness" the Pope.
But Doge Domenico, the leader of Venice for two decades now, has little time to admire his city's beauty, or to ponder dreams of conquest. A small town in northern Croatia, he had no desire to know it's name, had rebelled against the government and had executed both the governor and the small garrison of Venetian soldiers left to protect them.
Domenico was a humble leader, but impertinent rebels was one thing he could, and would not, stand for. Almost immediately, he had sent the heir to his throne, Councillor Bartolomeo, and a small army, to crush the rebels and regain his territory. As he pondered rebels and war, he drifted off into an uneasy sleep, calmed by the sounds of water outside his palace walls.
Meanwhile In Croatia...
Councillor Bartolomeo was a proud man. When the Doge sent him to Croatia to reconquer some small backwater village from a rabble of untrained rebels, he grumbled that he...the heir to throne of Venice, would be sent to slaughter some rebels. Did the Doge not have several other generals, who had no chance to rise to the throne, to punish a rebellious village? But, he had gone, and now he and his army of almost 400 were close. He had sent out scouting parties earlier in the morning to find the village.
As soon as he had these thoughts, several horsemen came riding over a ridge near the camp, flying the Venetian colors. Bartolomeo recognized one of the horsemen as his chief scout, and hurried to the camp outskirts to meet the party.
"Councillor, the village is just over the ridge, but there are no walls or defenses of any kind," the scout said as he dismounted the horse, "it seems they did not expect us to come. They have about 250 men, armed with hunting bows and simple axes. They have no armor, it should be no challenge for your men to take the city."
"Good news, my friend." Bartolomeo replied. "Go, take a rest, the stable boys will care to the horses." He turned to his second-in-command, a grizzled veteran of the frequent wars amongst the Italian cities. "Muster the men, we attack the city immediately."
Bartolomeo surveyed his army as they stood just outside the village limits, ready to rush in and smash the rebel horde. He had with him 370 of the finest soldiers Venice could spare, three battalions of lightly armored spear militia, raised from towns in the countryside. While these men were far from professional soldiers, their padded armor and training gave them a distinct edge over the rebel infantry they would fight today. He had also brought two groups of peasant archers, allowing him to attack the enemy from afar. The rebels also had archers but they were meant for hunting deer and boar, not for war.
The town had no defenses, and the rebels were all massed into the square to attempt to repel the invaders. As the sun began to set over the mountains, Bartolomeo ordered his men forward into the town.
His spearmen cut through the enemy quickly, slaughtering many of the peasant axemen before they had a chance to retaliate. As his archers kept the enemy busy, Bartolomeo led his own force of about 25 heavy cavalry around the city to another street, where they launched a devastating flanking attack on the rebel force.
This was simply too much for the rebel line to withhold, and they broke and began to flee. Bartolomeo and his bodyguard pursued the rebels, cutting them down as they fled, while his infantry secured the town. The battle was won, and every rebel who had taken up arms against the city of Venice was killed. Bartolomeo had lost 80 men, while all of the 241 rebels had been killed by sword, spear, or arrow.
A week later, Doge Domenico was dining with his wife when a messenger came into the room and informed him that the rebellious Croatian town, Zagreb, had been reconquered and punished. Domenico was pleased, and sent back his congratulations to Bartolomeo. Also, he sent orders for him to leave a small garrison in Zagreb, march down the coast with a small force, gather some more men at the castle of Ragusa, and assault a rebel village farther down the coast of the Adriatic. This village would give him another center of trade on the Adriatic, and a stepping stone for the eventual invasion of all of Greece.
Stay Tuned for Chapter 2
[M2TW AAR] The Queen of the Adriatic: A Venetian AAR
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