Battles for Anatolia and Hungarian Relief Expedition
New update is up. I edited post 200 (like to have the first post of a new page be an actual update) and that is current as of February 2.
Originally Posted by cisse
Any chance of posting a pic of Skantarios' profile btw? I notice how the game keeps altering his name ("the Merciless", "the Malevolent", ...), would be cool to see how much dread he has, which characteristics etc.
It will be in the next update as well as map shots.
I have the post almost complete and will be posting tomorrow night. It is the prelude to the raid into Egypt.
I will be breaking the posts up for the next few days.
Tomorrow is the continuation of the Anatolian campaign.
Later this week (probably Wednesday or Thursday), there will be the raid into Egypt. (shaping up to be a good one)
Then, there will be Hungarian relief expedition (most likely Saturday morning).
Once I pull those separate campaigns back together, then I will pick the story back up into one narrative.
Thanks for reading. Please let me know if there is anything that you feel is missing or other items you would like to see. I appreciate the input.
As always, thanks for reading!
Last edited by Skantarios; February 02, 2010 at 01:04 AM.
Read the review of I am Skantarios! in the Critic's Quill here.
Re: [SS AAR] I am Skantarios! - Rebirth of the Eastern Roman Empire
Originally Posted by Supreme Turkey Lord
Nice update.
The family tree is a treat.
Perhaps another look at the world map in a few updates?
Coming in next update. Working on that now and should be out by tomorrow. Also, made some edits as I left off a battle. I guess you were too quick for me.
Last edited by Skantarios; January 31, 2010 at 12:53 AM.
Read the review of I am Skantarios! in the Critic's Quill here.
Re: [SS AAR] I am Skantarios! - Rebirth of the Eastern Roman Empire
Call me a noob for asking this question, but once you send a princess to marry somebody, how do you get said person to join your faction? Whenever I do this the general she is married to shows up grayed out on my family tree.
Proudly under the patronage of The Holy Pilgrim, the holiest of pilgrims.
Re: [SS AAR] I am Skantarios! - Rebirth of the Eastern Roman Empire
Baseball guy- I think you may have some sort of a bug. Your Princess, if she marries a general, should bring the general into your family. If he's greyed out on the family tree there's something going wrong.
Re: [SS AAR] I am Skantarios! - Rebirth of the Eastern Roman Empire
Originally Posted by Deadly Rabbit
Baseball guy- I think you may have some sort of a bug. Your Princess, if she marries a general, should bring the general into your family. If he's greyed out on the family tree there's something going wrong.
This means the marrying backfired and the princess joins the character you were trying to marry faction instead of the other way round.
Re: [SS AAR] I am Skantarios! - Rebirth of the Eastern Roman Empire
Basiclly, yes. The charm is the main defining characteristic of a princess. The higher the charm, the higher the possibility that the said general will join your faction and not the other way around.
Re: [SS AAR] I am Skantarios! - Rebirth of the Eastern Roman Empire
Skantarios, I don't know if you saw my first post, but could you please post a screenshot with the minimap on it? I really want to see what the empire looks like now.
Proudly under the patronage of The Holy Pilgrim, the holiest of pilgrims.
Re: [SS AAR] I am Skantarios! - Rebirth of the Eastern Roman Empire
Originally Posted by baseballguy
Skantarios, I don't know if you saw my first post, but could you please post a screenshot with the minimap on it? I really want to see what the empire looks like now.
Still working on the next update. I had a lot of family business this weekend. I've edited my last post and put up a map at the end. I will start to do that more often for future updates.
Should have the next one up tomorrow.
Read the review of I am Skantarios! in the Critic's Quill here.
Battles for Anatolia and Hungarian Relief Expedition
From the Diaries of Emperor Skantarios.
February, 1496 AD Location: City of Ankara
The new year dawns and I find myself back in the same location as nearly ten years ago: back in Ankara. The difference this time is that I do not intend this to be a simple raid into enemy territory. This time, Roman arms and culture are here to stay.
No new Egyptian armies have presented themselves in Central Anatolia this year and the road to Iconium is clear. I turn over the city to Aleksios and the garrison troops he has brought from Nicaea and make my way south.
My spies who were so successful last year have been sent south to Iconium to see if they can open the gates for me. Since I bring with me no siege equipment (that is trailing far behind), I must use subterfuge or else await my infantry.
When my forces approach the city, my spies send the signal that they are in place.
Battle of Iconium - May, 1496 AD.
Spoiler for Battle of Iconium:
From Battle Report Filed by Emperor Skantarios to Imperial Archives - 1496 AD.
The Egyptians have, yet again, left an entirely unsuitable force to hold their city.
Apparently, they have learned nothing from their defeat at Ankara last year.
I go into battle with the same forces I had from last year.
My lack of heavy and light cavalry is starting to get troublesome. I must receive some reinforcements soon or I will be at a disadvantage in future battles. Still, for my purposes today, I have more than enough with me.
The battle is a virtual repeat from last year. My Magyars enter through the undefended gates and make straight for the city center.
The enemy realize that they have been betrayed and rush back to the city center to defend it. When they arrive, my Magyars are waiting.
The enemy infantry rush back and forth in the square trying to beat back the horse archers.
It is of little use. Occasionally, they do manage to get hold of one of my horsemen when they stray too close but for the most part, it is an exercise in target practice.
The enemy captain is the last man standing and he bravely faces his fate.
The city is sacked and yields a great bounty of gold for our treasury. My men are becoming very skilled in looting a city and have developed a great taste for it. Their mosque is torn down and their false priests are driven from the city. I am short of garrison troops to hold the city and so must stay here for the balance of the year to tamp down unrest and await more troops from Europe and my fortresses in Anatolia.
March, 1497 AD Location: City of Iconium
While I have been restoring Roman rule to Iconium, the Egyptians have been busy sending more forces into Anatolia to challenge us. They have emplaced two sizable forces to the north of us that are cutting off communication between Iconium and Ankara. Also, there is another force to our south that looks to be moving against the city. I have no wish to be caught up in a siege so I decide to move north against the enemy forces near Ankara.
I link up with some reinforcements from Europe as well as hiring some Armenian mercenaries who presented themselves to me on the march north. These added heavy cavalry are a very welcome addition to the army as this is an area of my army that is becoming critically short.
I decide to take on the larger of the two enemy forces to my north first.
Sixth Battle of Ankara - April, 1497 AD.
Spoiler for Sixth Battle of Ankara:
From Battle Report Filed by Emperor Skantarios to Imperial Archives - 1497 AD.
The enemy fields a large number of heavy infantry as well as numerous long-range archers.
They will be deadly against my horse archers so I must make use of the terrain and the speed of my horse.
My forces consist, again, of only cavalry.
I am over weighted in horse archers which will not bode well for battles against armies fielding many archers.
The battle happens just as the sun is setting. I use the terrain to get my horse archers in a position to fire at maximum distance at the enemy infantry. When the archers move out of ranks to fire on us, I personally lead a charge of almost my entire armored cavalry force against them.
They do manage to get off a few shots against us as we move but the casualties are light and we plow into the enemy at full speed.
The archers are obviously fresh recruits because they break at the first charge. My light cavalry neatly sidesteps the heavy infantry and pursue the archers vigorously off the field.
The remainder of the battle is a confused swirl as my horse archers fire through the darkness on the heavy infantry. Finally, they find their range and bring down the enemy captain.
He falls with an arrow fired straight through his helmet. With their captain dead, the rest of the infantry panic and begin to flee. Virtually none escape.
With the larger of the two armies destroyed, I turn my attention back south and attack the smaller army.
Seventh Battle of Ankara - May, 1497 AD.
Spoiler for Seventh Battle of Ankara:
From Battle Report Filed by Emperor Skantarios to Imperial Archives - 1497 AD.
The Egyptians bring up more of their heavily armored troops. Again, they are led by a mere captain. Perhaps the Egyptian nobility has given up the fight for this area?
They are strong but outnumbered and do not have enough spears to defend against heavy cavalry.
The battle is a relatively straightforward affair. At the first volley from my horse archers, their foot archers charge forward to engage and my light and heavy cavalry swoop down on them.
Their archers fall by the score under the hooves of the heavy horse.
Soon, the entire force routs and is pursued by my light cavalry.
The enemy heavy cavalry and their heavy infantry did produce more casualties amongst my men than I would have liked. Still, the battlefield belongs to us.
My severe shortage of heavy and light cavalry is becoming critical. I cannot take heavy losses amongst my horse archers due to the lack of training grounds in the area. The Magyars alone must travel all the way back to Sofia for new recruits and the Cavalarii are elites that are in short supply. Therefore, I make the difficult decision to turn back west and into the mountains of Central Anatolia so that I can bring up fresh recruits and retrained veteran units of light cavalry in order to fill out my ranks. The conquest of the rest of Anatolia must wait for now.
I order Genessios to move east with infantry, archers, and artillery to garrison our new conquest of Iconium. I pass his forces as they move through the mountains. Our reunion is brief as he must hurry east in order to beat the Egyptians lest we lose the two new, rich cities I have taken the last two campaigning seasons.
While I encamp north of Isparta, I receive news from my diplomats that is a mixed bag.
Our enemies the Kievan Rus are now at war with the Republic of Novgorod. This development may explain why they have not tried again to capture Brasov or Iasi in the past few years. Another good piece of news is that the Moors and the Egyptians are now at war. The Egyptians must be expanding their holdings in Africa. Any time the Muslims are at war with each other is good news for us.
A more troubling development is that the Turks and the Egyptians have declared a truce. I had hoped that they would continue killing each other for years to come. I can only surmise that it was the Turks who asked for this. After being driven out of Europe and losing most of their possessions in Anatolia, they are too weak to continue the fight against us and the Egyptians. Now that peace has broken out with the Egyptians, it can only be a matter of time before the Turks start to push back against us. We will be ready.
I am anxious for news from Europe and Benedek but no dispatches are forthcoming. I only hope he does not wait too long before the Hungarians are beyond saving. I send couriers north to speed any news from that front.
I finish out the year in the mountains of Anatolia while my cavalry go back for further training and I await reinforcements.
June, 1498 AD Location: Central Anatolia
The delay in my reinforcements is interminable. The waiting is driving me and my forces nearly mad with impatience! I have spent this entire campaigning season in camp drilling the troops on hand while my generals and captains dither in sending the required reinforcements to me. I am still too weak in troops to continue my drive east and must maintain my vigil here.
Troubling news comes from Iconium. A powerful Egyptian army has laid siege to that city. They are strong in horse and foot archers and my forces here are entirely unsuitable to take them on. Further, I am too far away to reach them in time. Therefore, I have given permission to Aleksios in Ankara to lead his forces south and attempt a relief of the city. This is a terrible gamble. Should Aleksios fail, then both cities will be virtually unmanned and easy prey for the Egyptians. Still, if I don't take this chance, then Iconium will certainly fall as Genessios has been slow in his movement to the city in order to garrison it.
I await word on the battle for weeks. Finally, the reports reach me.
Second Battle of Iconium, June 1498 AD.
Spoiler for Second Battle of Iconium:
From Battle Report Filed by Aleksios Chortasmenos to Emperor Skantarios - 1498 AD.
They enemy consists almost entirely of Mamaluke horse archers, some foot archers, and some heavy spearmen.
The Roman forces are scratched together from the garrison of Iconium and the forces moving from Nicaea.
For the first time, we are using mounted javelinmen (Acritae) but their range is unsuited to fighting the Mamalukes.
The battle does not open well. The Egyptians occupy the only piece of high ground in the area. To charge up this hill will decimate our forces due to their arrow fire. Also, we don't have any heavy cavalry to push them off. We must lure them off the hill and into range of our own archers. We emplace stakes in front of our position to dissuade the enemy from attempting a headlong charge against our ranks.
The garrison moves out to the west. I give orders for their one company of archers to move up the hill and attempt to get in range of their flank horse archers.
They take terrible fire but the sounds of battle are too much for the undisciplined Mamalukes. Instead of concentrating on the one company of archers engaging them, they charge off the hill and take on my archers from the main force.
My archers stand their ground and the Mangonel adds some Greek Fire to the torrent of arrows coming down on the Mamalukes.
The archer duel goes on for some time. The mercenary Armenians archers take the brunt of the Mamalukes fire but we kill many for each one we lose.
Eventually, even their foot archers come off the hill to add their weight to the ranged duel.
We score some hits with the Mangonel but the real killing is done by our foot archers. The skies are blackened with the arrows flying back and forth.
One company of Mamalukes finally charges the archers from the garrison and put them to flight.
By this time, the fight with the main army has taken on a life of its own. The enemy are too engaged to withdraw now. They bring their one company of heavy spearmen all the way down the hill and engage our infantry. We outnumber them by a large margin and soon rout their spearmen.
Eventually, even their captain begins to rout and I put our Mounted Acritae to pursue them.
My own bodyguard continues the chase and routs the last of the Mamalukes. Their captain is brought down in a hail of javelins.
His body is the prize of the battle. With their captain dead, the fight is won.
Your servant, - Aleksios
My relief at hearing the news is palpable. Had the Egyptians fielded a more balanced army, the relief would not have been possible. Our casualties were high. Aleksios lost nearly a third of his force. We will feel their loss keenly until more troops can be brought in from Europe. However, the gamble was worth it and both cities are safe for the year. Aleksios has moved back to Ankara and placed some of his troops in Iconium to better guard it for the coming year. Genessios should be there early in the new year if only the Egyptians will leave it alone for another campaigning season.
I finally receive some news for Europe. Benedek has finally completed his preparations and moved to the relief of the Hungarians. His forces have moved west from Brasov and have assaulted the fortress of Kassa!
Battle of Kassa - June, 1498 AD
Spoiler for Battle of Kassa:
From Battle Report Filed by Benedek Buzad to Emperor Skantarios - 1498 AD.
Upon my approach to the fortress, my scouts reported a small enemy force outside the fortifications. Although I had many more men at my disposal, I decided to attack with a smaller force in order to lure the garrison out to support. To my great fortune, the enemy took the bait.
The first German force was a mixed collection of pikes, halberds, spears, gunners, and archers. They show some losses from, what I assume, were previous battles with the Hungarians.
The garrison consisted of only a single company of swordsmen.
The chosen forces for this battle were three companies of Magyars, some Serb heavy cavalry, and my bodyguard.
In order for this plan to work, I had to take out their ranged troops quickly or there would not be enough Magyars left to take out their infantry. So, I ordered my Serbs out to charge their few archers and gunners.
The Magyars then drew in close to the infantry and opened up a barrage of arrows. Two companies concentrated on their first army while the third company of Magyars went after the forces from the garrison.
The enemy attempted to flee into the woods but our men pursued and poured fire into their backs.
It took many hits from the Magyars to bring down the armored infantry. Finally, their captain fell to the arrows.
The forces from the garrison were nearly wiped out by the Magyars but my horse archers ran out of arrows before the enemy ran out of soldiers. The few survivors were brought down by a charge from the Serbs.
The battle was a complete victory.
I did not wish to provoke the Germans but I could not risk ransoming the prisoners. The Germans might have paid it! Therefore, the few survivors were executed. There were not enough enemy left to bar the gates to Kassa and we took the fortress. I will transfer this city upon receiving word from you.
Your Servant,
- Benedek Buzad
Anna's faith in Benedek has been upheld! His acumen in battle was admirable and shows the mark of a true Roman commander. Also, his restraint in only occupying the fortress is to be commended. It will need to be ready and in good condition to receive the Hungarians so that they can continue their war with Germany (and guard our northern frontier).
With Benedek taking the fortress, I dispatch Likenia to the Hungarians with the good news!
As per my instructions, she offers the fortress back to the Hungarians. The only thing she asks in return is access to their lands in order to continue the fight. They accept, of course, and our relations with Hungary are at an all-time high. They also helpfully relate that the city of Esztergom was taken by the Germans this past year. Is there anything we could do to help?
The message is relayed to Benedek and he sets out with his forces west to continue the struggle. The Hungarians are obviously reeling from the German onslaught and cannot take back the city on their own anytime soon. I had hoped to get our northern front secure with only a single, quick campaign. I see now that this is not going to be possible. I can only wish Benedek well as he continues to move further and further away from our lands; at least he knows the way from his days in the Hungarian court.
The battle, of course, now puts us at war with the Germans.
This is a strange step for us as it marks the first time we have made war on anyone who did not attack us first. The ethics of it were clear. The Germans knew full well that the Hungarians were our allies. Could they expect us to do anything less?
I explain as much to an ambassador from the German court when he presents himself to me not long after I received the report from Benedek.
Our price for the ceasefire was an end to the hostilities with the Hungarians and a return of Esztergom to King Bela. The ambassador thought this was very demanding and refused our terms. Perhaps they will think better of it in the future?
One last bit of interesting news from this year is that Vitos has been approached by a princess from Poland. She came with the intent of getting Vitos to marry her and switch allegiance to the Polish. Obviously, she and her court did not have the measure of this man. There are few truer to Rome than Vitos and he refuses. However, the harlot has become so enamored of him that she has forsaken her own court in order to become Vitos's mistress!
Vitos did not even have the courtesy to marry her! He stated that he "wants to keep his options open." Going from being a princess to a "kept woman" by Vitos (one of several I am told) would seem to be quite a step down. For her, I guess the heart goes where it will regardless of the common sense involved. I can only imagine the reaction in the Polish court...
By the end of the year, my reinforcements have arrived and we will be ready to resume the struggle against the Egyptians in Anatolia in the new year.
I am Skantarios.
Last edited by Skantarios; February 02, 2010 at 12:57 PM.
Read the review of I am Skantarios! in the Critic's Quill here.
Re: [SS AAR] I am Skantarios! - Rebirth of the Eastern Roman Empire
Originally Posted by Skantarios
Battles for Anatolia and Hungarian Relief Expedition.
Sounds exciting, looking forward to it.
Any chance of posting a pic of Skantarios' profile btw? I notice how the game keeps altering his name ("the Merciless", "the Malevolent", ...), would be cool to see how much dread he has, which characteristics etc.
Re: [SS AAR] I am Skantarios! - Rebirth of the Eastern Roman Empire
Somewhat statement of the obvious; but if the update is a just a long turn, then don't bother with the map, do it every predetirmined amount of turns, or something.
Re: [SS AAR] I am Skantarios! - Rebirth of the Eastern Roman Empire
@ Baseballguy; Sorry mate, I think I misunderstood, Vampire1016 is correct I think. There is a percentage chance when you try to marry another factions general th at the brazen hussy will elope and not come back.
@ Skantarios; I reverse my advice on mounted acritae... I was playing 6.1 with the Cbur roster, but I've recently updated to the current version of 6.2 RR/RC and have found that while they are still effective at taking down armoured targets, their extreme short range and not especially good mobility sees them get smashed by anything that comes near them. I'm now going to keep my javelin armed troops for garrison work only.
Last edited by Deadly Rabbit; February 01, 2010 at 04:09 AM.
Battles for Anatolia and Hungarian Relief Expedition
Originally Posted by cisse
Reply With Quote
