Historical Battles of Thera

[The Holy Pilgrim]

This thread is kind of like the "New Faction Idea" thread, but instead of factions, it's historical battles. I thought it would be cool to start this Fan Fiction type thread in order to put some more flavor in the world of Thera (not that there isn't enough flavor already).

I'll start

The Battle of Borgia

Historical Background When Guillaume of the Bons Chevaliers lead a force of 20,000 knights towards the Medici held land of Europa for the second time in 264 ST, a man by the name of Friedrich von Franken lead an Imperial army composed of Faustian and Valiente troops against him. In 263 ST, Guillaume marched his army and successfully took the city of Borgia, Friedrich's forces had arrived. Friedrich had a very bold plan. It was to use the cover of night in order to march his army within two kilometers of the city; by dawn they were on the city. This plan had worked miraculously, as the Chevalier army was utterly confused by the mortar being shot over the city walls. Trying to keep his chivalrous ways, Guillaume donned his armor and lead a large force of his most heavily armored knights out of the city gates while under the cover of his crossbowmen. The charge was successful, but they blocked their own, captured, cannons from firing upon the enemy. Guillaume's infantry regiment were slower to respond. They marched towards the Imperial forces, but were being gunned down by Imperial Line Infantry. In the midst of combat, Guillaume was hit by a musket shot and was knocked off of his horse and captured by Friedrich's personal guards. The Chevalier army was quick to flee afterwards. Statistics Bons Chevalier forces: 20,000 Bons Chevaliers casualties: about 18,500 Imperial forces: 24,000 Imperial casualties: about 13,000

[Yuko]

Here it is.

The Battle of Yaotl.

Belligerents:
The Empire of Paynal: Army of 50,000 warriors, mostly comprised of Jaguar, Eagles and Archers with a small elite force of Aztlan Warriors
The Warriors of Kulkulcan: Army of 60,000 warriors, comprised of Dog soldiers Zaca teco raiders Priests and mesopec warriors, some carrying fire bombs

Historical Background:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

When he was Crowned Emperor, Prince Nopaltizin needed to assure the Nobles that he was a better Leader than his father, he set his sights to the lands of The Kulkulcan, knowing that destroying them would bring great favor from Huitzil and mark him as one of the greatest Emperors to have ever lived, he raised a mighty army and marched on Kulkulcan land, Kulkulcan spies managed to send this information to Cabracan the Great Kulkulcan and he also raised a mighty army to met the invaders. both armies would meet in the small village of Yaotl.

The Battle:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Nopaltizin ordered his Jaguar and Eagle Warriors to Charge the Kulkulcan Line, the Kulkulcan Dog Soldiers opened fire on the Paynal Warriors killing many of them, meanwhile Nopaltizin ordered his Aztlan Warriors to flank the enemy, the Paynal Warriors reached the Kulkulcan line Comprised mostly of Zaca Teco Warriors and Priests, The meele was Brutal and while most of the Enemy warriors were Fighting his Soldiers he ordered his archers to move closer and start firing, this was devastating on the Kulkulcan lines, but Cabracan had a secret weapon, he ordered his Bodaway warriors to start Throwing bombs on the battle line regardless of who they would hit, in seconds the battle line turned into a living hell with thousands of warriors burning and screaming, when the aztlan warriors hit the Kulkulcan flank the battle was broken as thousand of Kulkulcan warriors panicked and run, the bodaway warriors threw theur bombs on the Aztlan warriors killing many of them but were killed by the survivors, realizing that victory would be impossible Nopaltizin ordered the full retreat of his soldiers and returned to his lands.

Results:
Paynal:35,000 dead
5000 wounded
Kulkulcan: 45,000 dead
10,000 wounded

Winner:Indecisive, both armies took ridiculous casualties and there was no change in the war front after the battle.

Edit: hey, O´Neill is still here!

[The Holy Pilgrim]

very nice battle Masaky! What I'd like to know is the size of each army though.

[Yuko]

duuuhr, i knew i had forgotten something, fixed now!

[Ozzmosis]

Wow, your numbers are a bit drastic! How about something more suited to the M2TW engine, and more realistic overall? For example, even in battles of more than 100,000s of men, you would not normally get more than 10,000 casualties in total, and most of those are captured prisoners.

Here's my go!
The Warlords of the Steppe:
Background:
It was just after the Great Torment, and the steppes were barren and lifeless: only a few scattered tribes remained, and all were at each others' throats for domination of the scarce resources.
A young clan leader, Sun Lao Che, was preparing his men for battle, and taking them on a practice expedition around the steppe, when he came across two armies fighting a battle. The Mancu warriors were fighting desperately, heavily outnumbered, against a vast Sumari horde. Because of his hate of the Sumari, and the sense of an opportunity not to be lost, he intervened and attacked the Sumari from the flank, although his force was only small as well.
RESULT: the Sumari rout, and Lao Che gains great power and unites the Mancu with his tribe, gaining their allegiance.

About 500-1000 Mancu died, about 3000 Sumari died, and about 200 Lao Che warriors died "historically".
Ally Mancu forces: 1 or 2000 heavily armoured horsemen and infantry, few archers.
Enemy Sumari forces: about 6 - 8000 light horsemen and archers, some infantry.

Army setup: Mancu and sumari start close together, as battle is already joined when Lao Che arrive. Lao Che army is watching about 2 kilometres away, to the flank of the Sumari.
It should not be an easy battle, but overly difficult either.

[Daraunon]

even in battles of more than 100,000s of men, you would not normally get more than 10,000 casualties in total, and most of those are captured prisoners.

I had your same concerns about numbers,but as Masaky said we're talking about 2 horde factions with molotovs and giant warriors,hating each other,that believe that only blood could save them from the wrath of their Gods.
And talking about prisoners,IIRC battles between meso american cultures were all about getting prisoners,true,but they ended up as sacrifices anyway,so it could simply be stated that the battle ended up with "N" number of dead TOTAL.
So it might be fairly "realistic"...also,the good thing about "fantasy" battles is that you can bend some rules to make them look more appropriate and "epic". No one wants to read about how the surrounded Pale Knights decided that it was better to surrender to the Yani Ceri,right?
Of course,it doesn't have to become some hollywood-style silly movie either...

[Yuko]

i see your point but remember that they are Paynal and Kulkulcan, two horde factions that hate each other, i imagine that they would fight till the death in order to spill blood in the name of their gods.

[KngGilgamesh]

I'm making a battle between the PKs and the Yeni Ceri. The yeni ceri are up on a large flattened hill, in a strong, steep defensive position, but there are few of them and most are archers. There are many knights attacking the fortified hill from a long, winding(a little), earthen Rampart, the way is long, tiring and arrows will be rained upon you from three sides, but luckily there are more of you knights in strong armour.
I still have to make many adjustments to it.(including a story, title, balancing armies, etc.)
the music from the movie 300 was playing during the battle.

Some Screenshots

[Beggar]

The Faust uprise

Battle of Otterbach castle

242 ST. Kaiser Heinrich Faust had finally gathered enough forces to begin an offensive; arquebusiers, pikes, two companies of pioneers and some mercenary heavy cavalry had been the request of general Barbarossa. Now they were at his command, the kaiser had done his part of the deal. Barbarossa managed to surprise his enemies, and rapidly conquered all of the Otterbach-held regions except the Otterbach castle; at this point, the Otterbach had also managed to gather their forces. Elite mercenary pikes, musketeers and cuirassiers, outmatching and outnumbering the Faust army by small margin - 19000 men against 17000. Yet, they lacked cavalry. They were expecting the Faust army to remain near their last conquest, Hoth, and engage them there, but general Barbarossa had simply marched past them at night and besieged Castle Otterbach, hoping it to fall fast. The castles garrison, thinking the army they had sent must have been defeated, decided to die taking as many men with them - the Faust kaiser was a cruel man and would have not forgiven to those loyal to Otterbach. Garrison of the castle was small but filled with men of great quality - five thousand men marched at Barbarossa and his army. Barbarossa had positioned his men upon a hill, where the arquebusiers would outrange the musketeers. Despite this, as soon as the musketeers were capable of shooting at the arquebusiers, it was clear they'd win the skirmish. So the pikes were ordered down the hill, while cavalry would attack the enemy from the rear. Captain Jacob, leading the garrison, decided to concentrate the cuirassiers on the left, hoping to breach through the line of pikes and attack general Barbarossa himself. The plan seemed to be successful, as the weak pikemen gave away, but Barbarossa had kept some cavalry in reserve. The cuirassiers were completely surrounded and cut down. Then the cavalry moved on to attack the musketeers and the rest of the pikes from the rear - the battle seemed to be won. Yet, at that moment, the second Otterbach army emerged from the woods. Faust had already lost two thousand men and his army numbered only 15000 against the 19000 of general Otterbach. Thus Barbarossa quickly reformed his into a defensive position which would be hard to flank. The cavalry force, he ordered to fake their withdrawal and "flee" to the woods, so that he could use them when the enemy had engaged. General Otterbach was cautious enough to send some pikes to seek the cavalry, but rest of the forces were ordered to engage the Faust line as soon as possible. The muskets fired only once before the cuirassiers and the pikes advanced past them. Some were left to protect the musketeers. To inflict maximum casualties to the Otterbach army, Barbarossa didn't retreat his arquebusiers and instead ordered them to fight side by side with the pikemen. This day would decide the victors of this war. It helped only little. Barbarossa then sent a messenger to the cavalry and also ordered a company of pioneers into the fray, but regardless of his actions, the left flank had suffered too much casualties now and broke. Fight had been fierce, the number of survivors was closer to a couple of hundreds on both sides; everyone knew that a loss would mean death, and only a few dared to rout. Yet, the collapse of the left was a bad thing, as the men would get surrounded soon this way. The second and the last company of the pioneers was sent against victors on the left, and Barbarossa ordered his bodyguards to support them with their pistols. Meanwhile, the cavalry finally appeared. They had gone farther than Barbarossa had expected, but mayby it was for the best. They had also ambushed the pikemen, annihilating the companies totally. Now they split, one half rushing towards the Otterbach reserves and the general, the rest attacking the Otterbach left from rear. The charge of the heavy cavalry could not be stopped, and with the combined efforts of the pioneers, bodyguards and mercenary knights the left was also destroyed. The rest of the cavalry sent at general Otterbach weren't so lucky. Direct assault towards the pikes was out of the question, and the musket bullets ripped them apart from the cover. But despite suffering grave casualties, the pioneers approached from the dust, and surprised the pikes and the musketeers. Then pistol shots were heard, and bullets slammed at the Otterbach reserves. Almost as an retake of the charge on the left, the Otterbach were once again surrounded and destroyed, including general himself. But Barbarossa had made an mistake when he had hoped destroy the reserves first and only then charge the enemy line from the rear with his full force! Faust line had been destroyed; they had managed to cause horrible casualties to the Otterbach, mainly due to their good position, but had been finally overrun. The smoke on the battlefield prevented the enemy soldiers from knowing their general and reserves were dead. The cheering and praises given to Otterbach told general Barbarossa what had happened, though, and he ordered his cavalry to charge immediately, when the enemy did not expect any resistance. This plan was successful, as the men were already looting corpses and were unable to form any kind of a battleline. Most of them simply disappeared into the forest, quite possibly heading towards the nearby castle of Bon Chevaliers. Thus, the as a result, the Otterbach house had been wiped out and the Faustian uprise had been successful. Both armies had been destroyed almost completely, meaning the Reich could not wage war for years and had to focus on rebuilding once again. Regardless it was an end to a long struggle, and marked a new era for the germanic people of Ibellica.

EDIT: I just realized this was supposed to be simply a setup for battle, not a historical battle FF, right? Well, let's leave this here regardless.

[The Holy Pilgrim]

Very nice Kohvi! Don't worry, you did exactly what I wanted you to do. Very interesting battle. It reminds me of a 7 Years' War type battle.

[Beggar]

Very nice Kohvi! Don't worry, you did exactly what I wanted you to do. Very interesting battle. It reminds me of a 7 Years' War type battle.

Not really familiar with the battles of 7 years' war - though I suppose the weaponry is closer to the 30 years' since the pikes are still used. Thanks for the comment anyways.

[KngGilgamesh]

added few screenshots and a strange bug, in the first three pics.

[Offensive Bias]

The Battle for Troy

Background

During the rule of Caesar Hermonius, he decreed it necessary for the Empire to expand its constant dominion further afield. They gathered five legions, the second largest force mustered in the history of the Constant Empire. They marched many months East to the land of the Greco Nobles. Here, they laid waste to Macedonia, Sparta and eventually Troy. With victory in their grasp and loot and plunder enough to make a beggar a knight, the invaders began pacifying the region. During the Greco-Romuli war, Caesar Hermonius had ordered all Greco Noble families to be wiped out, lest there remain a rallying point for rebels and patriots. Thousands of Nobles were killed in battle, with thousands more being executed in the captured castles and cities. However, there were those Nobles who survived and fled to the countryside. Most dangerous of all was Alexander of Macedon. He fled to the Olympus mountains to the West of the city of Macedon with a large company of Spartans and cavalry. There, he put up his banner, defending the passes from attack while a steady stream of supporters flocked to him. It wasn't long before he could leave the mountains and besiege Macedonia, which he did with much morale amongst his men. He captured the city, killing hundreds of the garrison troops, and sending handfuls of mutilated and tortured men to Troy to warn the General Quintus what was to come. With his number bolsted with slaves and freedmen from Macedon, he liberated Sparta without a fight, and sent the captive Romuli back to Constantium devoid of armour and weaponry. Many died during the trek West, with hostile natives claiming many lives. Alexander surrounded Troy, and began a siege. General Quintus had the bulk of his army away to the East raiding the coast where small sparks of resistance had flared up, but now they were on their way back. Quintus must hold the fortress long enough for the reinforcements to arrive on the Greek flank.

Historically

The army of Alexander smashed the small Romuli garrison to pieces during the battle, but they sustained heavy enough losses that by the time the relief force arrived, they were no match to face the army. Alexander was killed in the ensuing fight, and his men scattered back to the valleys and hills, forever to remain hidden. The Greek lands never rose in revolt again.

Numbers

The numbers of the battle are noted by the Caesar's Royal Notary as:

Greco Noble forces - 12,000 spearmen infantry, 4,000 archers, 7,000 Spartan hoplites and 2,000 Spartan cavalry
Romuli Garrison forces - 900 Legionaries, 1,000 Auxilia infantry, 300 Auxilia cavalry and 100 archers

The Royal Notary also has loss estimates.

Greco Noble forces - 3,562 dead and 2,190 wounded (Many of the dead and wounded were Spartans)
Romuli Garrison forces - All killed in the ensuing battle (General Quintus was rescued from captivity as the Greco Nobles hoped to use him as a bargaining chip. He was commended as a hero upon return to Constantium)

[Tyrenia]

The Battle of the White Plains

Combatants:
Warleader Running Bear - Sycorax Nation
Jarl Haakon Magnusson - Men of Valhalla

Forces:
Sycorax Nation - 10,000 (incl. Mammucs)
Men of Valhalla - 3,000

Background:
After the disastrous siege of Apach Eta, the remnants of the once mighty Viking host fled back towards the safety of Odin's Gate. These remnants were lead by Haakon Magnusson, second son of Magnus Eirikson, who was the commander of failed assault. Chasing the fleeing horde was Running Bear, the Chief of a minor tribe, who wished to win the position of Great Warleader by bringing back thousands of sacrifices to Kwahu.

Magnusson's band of despondant Vikings had been travelling over the vast frozen steppes of Lenapa for weeks, when they were spotted by Running Bear's outriders, who quickly rode back to inform the rest of the Warhost. Knowing that he had little time before the Sycorax were upon him, the Jarl ordered his men to take up positions on a small rise on the otherwise barren plain. He was determined to make their final stand one that would be remembered in the Great Sagas of Valhallan history...

The Battle:
Because he desired to take prisoners, Running Bear's strategy was to use his Mammuc Riders to cause fear and panic amongst the already demoralised Men of Valhalla, causing them to break ranks and flee, ensuring that they could be captured by his fast cavalry and taken back to the Great Temple of Kwahu to be sacrificed. However, Magnusson anticipated this, and ordered his few remaining archers to fire flaming arrows towards the beasts. Upon realising what the Vikings were attempting, Running Bear ordered a direct frontal assault on the Valhallan battle line, while ordering his cavalry to hit the flanks and take out the archers. The horsemen were successful in this, but not before the Mammucs had become enraged, trampling friend and foe alike in their attempts to run from the heat and light of their own burning fur.

In the confusion, the Jarl rallied his men, calling for them to bring the fight to the "spawn of Nidhoggr (evil serpent in Norse mythology)". And bring the fight to the Sycorax they did, fighting like men posessed. Magnusson charged into the thick of it, slaying man and beast alike (it was later said that he had been posessed by the spirit of Odin himself), until he came face to face with Running Bear, whom he killed. In complete disarray at the loss of their general, the remaining Sycorax turned and fled the field. Thus it was that the Men of Valhalla had the last triumph of the campaign, in spite of the overeall failure.

Aftermath:
Sycorax Nation - 7,000 dead, Warleader Running Bear killed
Men of Valhalla - 1,900 dead

Result: Valhalla Heroic Victory

Difficulty: Very Hard (were this an Historical battle, you would not only need skill, but a fair portion of luck to win it)

[Codeman90]

Unforseen Consequences: Faustian Reich Vs. the crusading forces of the Valiente

Background:

Tensions had been mounting between the Valiente and the Reich for years. Both nations wanted to expand their Meso empire and both wanted to expand their territory closer to home. When the Valiente captured a large chunk of terrotory in the Meso land mass and refused millitary access under any circumstances the relationship was futher strained. The Reich had been reprimanded already by the Grand Inquisitor for their "failure in comparison to the likes of Avalon and the Valiente" so the recent insult to the Reich's colonial intrests were not helping.

The breaking point came in 234 when a crusade was called by the Grand Inquisitor on the city of Verstov. It was not the crusade itself that sparked the conflict (although the Grand Inquisitor's insistence on the Reich's contribution to the Crusade did not help) but rather it was the Valiente's response that sparked the conflict and the resulting war.

At the time the Valiente navy had ben sailing near the Inquisitions island, so when the Crusade was called the Valiente raised a huge army in the north of their territory and then marched to the northernmost shore of the continent and they would sail from there to the island where the city of Vestov lay. Unfortunatly this would take them right through the heart of the Reich's territory.

Without any warning or even a request for permission the Valiente marched right through the Reich's territory waving the hated banner of the Crusade. This was the final straw, the Valiente would pay for their arrogance and facing excommunication Prince Ulrich marched at the head of the Reich's most technologically advanced army against the Valiente.

The Forces:

Faustian Reich: 600 Musketeers, 500 Arquebusiers, 3,000 Pikemen, 4 Serpentines, 200 Pistoleer Cavalry, 1,000 Curiassers, 2,000 Sword and Buckler men, 1,000 Forlorn Hope

Valiente Crusaders: 400 Arquebusiers, 1,000 Conquistadores, 3,000 Dismounted Conquistadores, 2,000 Crusader Sargents, 4,000 Pikemen

The Faustian Reich was outnumbered but they had the advantage of better guns and Cannons. They would force the Crusaders to come to them. On the other hand they were up against alot of heavy cavalry and their own cavalry was not equipped to deal with the heavier cavalry of the Valiente. The Dismounted Conquistadores were also very well trained it would fall on the reich to outmanouver and out gun their opponents

The Battle:

Battle was met in a valley outside Sturmburg Fortress. The Serpentines were arrayed on a hill and let of the resounding first volley that crashed into the Valiente Pikemen. THe shock wore off quickly and the enemy infantry moved forward with dismounted Conquistadores moving on the left flank and Pikemen up the middle. The enemy Arquebusiers moved ahead and attempted to begin skirmishng when the Reich's Musketeers fired from their hiding places and cut them down in a single volley, the survivors fled in a panic. Knowing the ranged advantage to be lost the Conquistadores moved on the Heavy Serpentine guns. Ulrigch had not been expecting quite so quick of a response and the Serpentines were silenced quickly, forcing Pikemen and pistoleers to wheel around and deal with threatened flank.

The musketeers and arquebusiers were causing havoc among the Valiente but the Conquistadores charged straight through and smashed the Reich's skirmishing line. The gunners pulled back as best they could but roughly half were cut down in the initial charge the Valiente pressed the advaantage and followed with a Sweeping charge of Infantry both pikemen and dismounted Conquistador clashed with the reich. They entire battle was a swiring chaotic mess, the Reich's plan for a crushing victory against the Valiente were disappearing fast Due to the surrounding Pistoleers and the determination of the Pikemen and Curiasers against the Valiente Pikemen and Heavy Cavalry the right flank was holding and pushing back the crusaders.

The left flank was another story. the Dismounted Conquistadors slammed into the Sword and Buckler men with such ferocity that they were dropping like flies. Reserve elements were being brought up. but it was only enough to stop a full rout not turn the tide. The prince himself was foced to act, he ordered the surviving gunners to form a line behind the allied infantry and fire into the Conquistadors as best they could. the effect was immediate , Conquistador and unfortunate allied buckler men alike were cut down, the Valiente were losing heart. the right flank was crushed by the Reich and they were soon to be surrounded. Prince Ulrich himself bellowed and charged the Conquistadors forcing their withdrawl.

Further away the battered remnants of the crusaders formed up and began an orderly retreat. Ulrich did not have the forces to pursue but he knew they would not be heading further into Reich territory. The Reich had won, not the victory they hoped for, but one that would make the Valiente think before crossing the Reich again. As soon as word reached the Grand Inquisitor that a crusading army had been destroyed by the Reich they were immediatly excommunicated.

Aftermath:

Faustian Reich: 2,000 dead 1,750 wounded
Valiente Crusaders: 3,000 dead 2,000 wounded

[toluas]

Nice, I like your approach/background story.

[Codeman90]

Thank you, That was based on an actual battle I fought, not the exact numbers obviously but a good fight none the less. I'm having trouble finding my save file though. It doesn't appear to be in the "save" folder. I'd like to continue the campaign on my desktop PC but I cant find the file =(

[Daraunon]

Pretty good Codeman90,that actually reminds me of the time the Valiente crossed my Faustian territories to invade Slavia

[The Holy Pilgrim]

Very nice battle Codeman90! I had a battle sort of like that, except I was the Valiente and the Faustian won

[Torvus]

The Bloody March

Combatants:
Drachemeister Vladulf Dracule of the Grand Teutonic Order of the Dragon
High Chieftain Bearach of the Prussian Goths
Forces:
Order of the Dragon: 1000 knights and 2500 foot soldiers
Goths: 1500 Chieftains and 4500 freemen

Background:
After the creation of the Order of the Dragon and following the fall of Translavia to the Vashta, the new Order was commanded by the Grand Inquisitor to cleanse northern Europa of the pagan unbelievers. Though his true goal lay back in Translavia, the young Dracule was oathbound to follow the command of the Grand Inquisitor.

Leaving Mont Del Inquistitori on a fleet of borrowed Inquistion ships, the Brothers made landfall and began their bloody march through the pagan countryside. They burned any village they came across where the false idols of the pagan gods could be seen, killing all who dwelt there. The survivors told of white demons with the wings of dragons upon their heads. These stories swiftly made their way back to Bearach. He mustered his armies and marched out to meet the crusaders.


The Battle:
Bearach set up his army in a shallow valley wooded on either side and waited for the knights to march through. When his scouts informed him the knights were near, he ordered his archers and axemen into the trees, leaving only the other Chieftains and his Thanes in clear view. The Order’s outriders rode into the valley and saw the heathens. They quickly wheeled about just ahead of a hail of arrows.

When the scouts reported back to Vladulf, he immediately formed his army into a battle march, with his halberds to the front, swordsmen on their flanks and squadrons of knights on either side. When the two armies finally came in sight of each other, Vladulf, knowing he had not the space to use his knights effectively, ordered his halberds to advance to pry open the shieldwall. The Goths gave ground, luring the knights into their trap.

Suddenly a horn sounded and the Gothic axemen charged into the unsuspecting Order infantry. The swordsmen had mere moments to turn and face the howling pagan soldiers. Vladulf, watching this from the rear with his cavalry, ordered a charge, crushing the pagans. The Goth center broke and ran. The axemen ambushers fought on a while, but at the last their morale broke and they joined their fellows in flight.


Casualties:
Goths – 2000 freemen dead, 1200 thanes, all but two Chieftains.
Order of the Dragon – 900 foot soldiers and 30 knights killed.

Result: Order of the Dragon Clear Victory

Difficulty: Medium