[SS6.4AAR] A Lithuanian Short Story

**Jiub** · April 13, 2011, 01:34 PM

My first AAR.

I'll keep the introduction short.
It's a Stainless Steel 6.4 AAR.
I used Savage AI, Byg's Grim Reality IV, Probably Limited Activities and House Rules (not sure thou)
Difficulty VH/VH.

The AAR is loosely based on the game and even more loosely based on history. Excuse my inaccuracies, bad writing skills or if the plot is boring and with too many or too few details, pictures so on and so forth.

Oh, and some names may sound, or actually be Polish. Sorry for that too.

Chapter I
-Beginnings-

I was born in the village Butrym, just north-east of Elbing, near the Vistula Lagoon. The village is now a God forsaken place. It used to be a important trading outpost in the area but after years of frequent raids by the vikings and due to the coming of the monstrous Teutons, the followers of the old ways were either killed or forced to flee and leave their lands and homes behind.

My mother, Olenka, was a simple woman, my father, Andrezj, was a farmer and later a blacksmith for a short while. He began to learn the metalworking trade in the hopes that this way he could be of help in the many wars our tribesmen fought. It wasn’t to be, for he died two years later in a vicious raid. I liked to think that he died at the hands of a mighty Ritterburder, a noble death while fighting off the enemy, but the Ritterburders were reported to be too far off to have participated in that raid and it was more likely that he died at the hands of a rabble or some religious fanatic. My mother was probably raped and taken as a slave as is the costume in most raids.

A minor duke at that time, Mindaugas, held together every noble and able hand he could rally under his command, but few had the spirit to go on. Many of the people were either butchered or converted to christianity. Many a man lost their faith and will to fight. Nevertheless Mindaugas held strong and assembled under his flang along with his only son, Vaisvilkas, a handful of nobles and together they rallied the peoples of Lithuania to fight against the Godless Teutonic knights.

In Kaunas, I found bread and shelter for field work after my parents death. It was to be my second home. There the hardships of poverty weighed heavily on my sholders but I faced them as best I could in the hopes that I could rebuild one day all that I lost. But the raids were endless and the banks of the Nemunas were pilleged and sacked and my new home destroyed, yet again. Thus, I set afoot, this time towards the castle of Vilnius in the hopes that there I would serve Mindaugas, the Duke of the region, against our peoples invaders. Both my heart and my mind were filled with nothing but hatred. I knew nothing but war and dreadful acts of cruelty. On the road, I met all kinds of people from priests of the old ways to shoemakers and leatherworkers, people who were forced to leave their lands by the invaders up north.But chance smiled upon me. In my travels I met Janusz, a farmer who often served Kmicic against the Teutons in minor skirmishes. Kmicic was a small nobleman that fought for the Grand Duke, one of the few who remains loyal even now after the Duke’s misterious dissapperance. Janusz’s stories captured my imagination and enlighted me in the ways of war and even more so, in the ways of the world. In the few battles he fought he traveled the roads up north as far as Reval and as far east as Smolensk.

The months passed, the roads were harsh and dangerous. The cold winter was drawing to a close and on the eve of April we stopped for the night at a travelers inn, just a few hours away from Vilnius. I spent more time on the road and with my friend Janusz so that i could learn to forage in the wilderness, to live off the land, to know the land. We wandered here and there, maybe driven by the hopes that a loved one would be found in our travels, or maybe because we felt that it wasn’t yet our time to part. Alas, I was then 21 years of age, and ready to set for Vilnius where news was that Mindaugas was gathering an army and that by the end of July he will go to meet the Teutons on the battlefield.Time was plenty, but I needed to get involved, I felt the urge to know the situation and judge myself on how to march on the enemy. I wanted to be certain that we will prevail and that the enemy is pushed back and battered as decisivly as possible. I spent the better part of the night arguing with Janusz what the battlefield may keep in store. We were also worried that the people would be to afraid and discouraged and that they would be to busy tending to their livestock and planting their fields, rather then taking up the spear and shield. And so, hazy from the wine, weary from the long road, drowned in thoughts, I fell asleep and dreampt of a mounted knight. His horse rose on his back feet neighing and the knight with his sword risen towards the sky was poised to strike. Time almost stood in place, rendering the knight almost still, as if trapped in a painting.

The following morning I said farewell to my friend who headed east towards Mensk . We spent almost one full year together and now before his departure, I felt like loosing my father all over again. I was forever in his debt not only for the fact that he gave me a horse am some rugged pieces of leather armor, things I could never have afforded, things he “picked” up in his travels, but more, i was thankful for the knowledge he shared with me in our travels. For the things i learned from him, and even more so, for his comforting and company that kept me sane in my darkest hour. Thus I gazed at his shadow growing ever longer, almost like reaching for me, while he slowly dissappeared in the bright horizon lit by the light of the rising sun.

**Jiub** · April 13, 2011, 01:34 PM

Chapter II
- Raising an army -

As I made my way through the crowded muddy roads leading to and around Vilnius, I saw that, contrary to my fears, the people still faithful to the Lithuanian crown gathered in large numbers. Horodna, and even Mensk who is yet far from the dangers of Teutonic raids, sent armed forces of dismounted men and bands of mounted archers, all eager to do battle alongside Duke Mindaugas.

Soldiers were armed with bows, axes and spears and all that could be used against the enemy. They were followed by tens of wagons of supplies to which cows, horses and some even had pigs strapped to the side of them. Wine and other beverages were not left out either, being hauled in considerable amounts. Mostly it was used to relax the soldiers days before a fight. Some even preferring some to boost their courage right before a battle.

Thus, followed by people from all parts of the kingdom and engulfed in an array of sounds, I entered one of the camps set outside the castle of Vilnius. A small well built man quickly cut in front of my horse without hesitation and after a short exchange of words I dismounted and headed for a tent on the south side of the castle. Inside I am introduced to Kmicic, the noble Janusz talked about in his travels.

People kept coming from everywhere and by July, the army was up and ready to take field. The days grew hotter and nature blossomed around us. Each morning I got up early and together with Kmicic and his band i trained. My training consisted mainly of charges and manouvers in formation. Discipline was of the upmost importance and straying was unacceptable in the battle. Kmicic was responsible for commanding the heavy cavalry formed up by the richer nobles. He loved taking horses as spoils of war. He thought that there were no grater riches than horses. That the horses were the jewels of an army. So from the horses he took while on raids or from the camps of defeated armies, he made a light company of cavalrymen which he often used to outrun and out maneuver the heavy Teutons in battle. By his grace, it was this company that I joined and it was this company that I fought alongside in the battle that came.

In the east, Vaisvilkas, managed to settle an alliance with the two Rus’ factions. Altho’ the alliance brought little help from their part, it prevented a possible war on two fronts which could have been disastrous. Watchtowers were set and merchants dispatched to do their best to bring florints into the kingdom’s treasury for it was filled with nothing but dust and letters of loans. The money went to the raising of the army, the army that will either save the peoples of these lands or be crushed along with the hope of freedom. Poland too was engaged in diplomatic talks but they refused all but the chance to trade with us.

Time passed and mostly all the men that could do battle were present around Vilnius in camps. After several general checks of supplies and other logistical matters Mindaugas ordered a move in two days.Spirits rose, for they were all eager to fight the enemy and drive him off their lands. Men through and out of inns filled the air with the smell of ale and bragged about courgeous deeds in battles that came to past, and of the courageous acts that they intened on the battle to come. But beneaf all the threaths and words of courage there lay a feeling of dreaded fear in the souls of men.
The day before marching out many sat and tended to their armors and weapons. That day it seemed that there was nothing of greater value to a men than his fitted armor and weapons, the things he most needed to prevail in battle. I too sat and carefully binded loose parts of my leather armor and reinforced the weak parts. I hoped that it would get me through the battle, not alive, but victorious.

**Jiub** · April 13, 2011, 01:35 PM

Chapter III
- The Battlefield -

The sun was not yet on the sky when the preparation were over. We set due north to meet the now vast armies that our enemy. The enemy was reported by our spies to be spread throughout the northern lands, and not yet formed. It seemed that the sheer size of the Teutons took longer to bring together to form up a single force. Mindaugas sees this as a great oportunity, maybe the only one. Suspecting that somewhere in that area the enemies armies will form, the Duke ordered that more troops from Mensk be spared and sent to reinforce the main army.

The the low pitch of the bulls horn rang throught the surrouding vally signaling that the army was on the move. Suddenly the calm voices that were heard moments before turned into shouting and even taunting as if the enemy was close by, followed by the sound of carriages wheels screeching on the rocks which paved the main road leaving in and out of the castle.

A few days have passed since the army was on the road and our spies have reported that a Teutonic force lay but a day’s march from here. The army hadn’t any important chiefs leading it, being formed only from a handfull of rich nobles. The Teutonic nobles afforded good armor and arms, and the soldiers were trained and battle hardened men. Mindaugas saw the lack of a leader as a perfect opportunity to crush them with minimum losess and then pushed hard before they have an opportinity to form up the whole army.

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The following morning Duke Mindaugas and his soldiers left camp an set up before the enemy lines who looked shocked to see the lithuanians march so boldly towards them. The enemy formed up hastingly far form the base of the hill upon which the lithuanin Duke set up lines, and did not engage knowing that and uphill battle would be a grave mistake.

Mindaugas ordered that the mounted archers to harrass the enemy lines, and they did, showering first the enemy cavalry which found themselves useless against the continuous advance and retreat of the archers. Soon they sent their archers to fend of the harrassers and managed to inflict a good deal of casualties, but nevertheless the harrass continued.

Meanwhile troops marched into position and sought even ground.They marched around the slightly lower ground.

Their archers once again came forth to meet our advancement and Mindaugas seeing that the rest of the enemy army is more preocupied with shielding themselves from the arrows coming from the mounted archers, shouted while charging:

- Come the three pillars of faith and and we shall shock them! Take up weapons for our most glorious army, for the salvation of our people!

And thus, followed by his men and Kmicic’s heavy knights, the Duke charged the enemy spreading chaos through their lines and fear through their hearts.
The infantry waited no more to form the lines and regroup before charging and the nobles leading them gave the order to just charge en mass in the enemy. This vicious attack was supported by the hail of arrows now comming not only from the harrasing monted archers but from the foot archers. The battle didn’t last long and the Teutonic knights started routing, their lines giving in to the sheer brutality of the lithuanian attack. As part of the light cavalry I went around the enemy lines and charged ferociously the mass of dying enemy soldiers.

After the battle it didn’t seem to be the military genious that has won but the savagery of the attack, but it’s wasn’t all true. Mindaugas, while he didn’t plan on such a reckless charge towards the enemy, he saw the chance of a quick and crushing blow when the enemy did not support the archers advance. Thus after sending the archers running back in horror, they spread fear into the enemies hearts, and with cavalry and missile superiority a huge and brutal blow was enough to make their lines turn tail and run for their lives.

The cavalry spared none and ran down all the enemies and by the end of the day almost the entire enemy army was killed while the few survivors scattared and were never seen again. While the light cavalry did good by charging in their backs we sustained horendus casualties as the enemies retreated we were overrun and now but a few survive and most are heavily injured. By divine intervention I escaped barely hurt, fit to fight in the next battle.

After the battle the slodiers sights seemed to have been pinned on the horizont wondering where the next enemy force lay. That night we set camp and full of hope we prepared our weapons and armor for everyone knew there were still plenty of enemies that needed be killed or driven from our lands.

**Jiub** · April 13, 2011, 01:35 PM

Chapter IV
- Onward -

With our spirits still lifted from the previous victory we march forward into enemy lands. Not far from our first fight and we find ourselves met by a reinforcing army led by captain Willekin. After Willekin heard of the Lithuanians closing in, he hoped that he could reach and provide assistance to the previously defeated army led by Endres. Alas, he was a day short and missed the battle, and now found himself faced with Duke Mindaugas’s army. A grave situation for the minor Teutonic noble, one that pleased Mindaugas and of which he made good use of.

The Duke wasted no time and ordered the horseback archers to harrass the enemy so that he would not have respite to form up lines properly. He then ordered his lines to form up and the cavalry to follow him. I now found myself riding along side Kmicic’s heavily armoured boyars with the Duke just a few feet over in the second heavy cavalry flag. I was replacing the nobles that fell in the previous battle, wearing heavy mail that Kmicic provided.

I felt a surge of adrenaline crawling up my spine as we started at a slow pace and slowly built up momentum, heading for the enemy lines ahead. Followed by hails of arrows flying just over our heads and into the enemy, we charged the scrambed lines that lay before us spreading chaos. We took little casualties while the enemy was buchered. Nevertheless a few fought back ferociously, so that Mindaugas ordered that all men dissengage from melee and run for cover and that arrows bring down the remaining stubborn Teutonic soldiers.

Another day, another army slain. The chain of victories left the men feeling almost invincible and eager to fight some more. Thou they were indeed tired and weary from the fighting and the long road, they took little time to rest yet again for our scout reported that an important figure, a high ranking general was making his was eastwards to form up with the rest of the Teutonic forces.

Mindaugas mercilessly ordered the men to move out and cut of the path of the enemy general and hunt him down.

The army camped in the forested hills just south of the main road that traveled over the hills and far away until Riga. The ambush was set, and it was to be deadly. The general had no idea what hit him when a hail of arrows as if from the clouds up above, and killed three of his men instantly, and injuring a few others. The Lithuainian’s heavy cavalry came with lighting speed out of the woods and down the hill and quickly routed the few men that accompanied the general leaving him running first after the horse archers and then after our company. We were ready and etching to fight and kill the Teutonic Duke, but Kmicic ordered our retreat wisely.

There was no need for loss of life on our side, so when the Teuton saw that we were unwilling to engage him and that he couldn’t catch up to us, he turned to face the mounted archers who were killing his men one after another. Yet our archers couldn’t be reached by the Teutons, and one by one the enemy Duke’s men fell, leaving the him alone in the filed surrownded by tens of archers shooting, chipping at his finely decorated armor that kept him from an early grave, but which finally gave in to the hurls of arrows.

**Jiub** · April 13, 2011, 01:35 PM

Chapter V
-The Horned one-

After a few days of march and with few supplies left but with fresh men received from Horodna, we set camp just a day short of Councillor Konrad’s army. Konrad von Thüringe was a hardened warrior, an experienced soldier and leader. Althou he serves Hochmister Herrmann, he is the most influential noble in the ranks of the Teutonic Order. Hailing from german heartlands with his riches he has with him the best trained soldiers and best equiped.

Mindaugas was by this time hailed by all as the new Grand Duke since most of the other nobles fled the lands or turncoat. His men trusted him now and felt that he was the only one able to free the lands from Teutonic oppression. The Grand Duke felt that his supplies were running terribly low, after several feasts of celebration for the previous wins. He knew he had to strike fast while the morale was high and while his soldiers listened to his orders like never before. He knew the morale will fade with time and they would become restless and lack discipline. He dared not tarry too long.

Two days of rest came and went and there was no sign that the Teutons would face them in the field yet. The men were at first happy, thinking that the enemy might have fled from their path, but it took little time for the rumors to change into talks of it all being just trickery. That the enemy might have laid an ambush for them, and were waiting for them to come to their slaughter. As much as they revered their Duke, Konrad’s reputation of a merciless devil on horseback struck fear into their hearts. Mingaugas knew that Konrad was choosing his field, he knew he was a good strategist and that he wouldn’t rush into a fight, and indeed, Konrad knew the Lithuanians had high morale after the previous wins but that it will fade and the Teutonic nightmare will settle in again in time.

For a few days the army kept maneuvering trying to get the better position. It was like a waltz. When one army had the upper hand the other redeployed elsewhere. And so the two leaders tried to outmaneuver each other until Konrad finally mustered a new deceiving plan. As Mindaugas positioned himself on the top of a hill facing the Teutons, Konrad faked once again a withdrawal. He then quickly sought cover in a nearby forest and deployed an ambush.

As the Grand Duke saw the enemy dissappearing into the horizon he could not help feel that there was something about this particular withdrawal that differed from the others. This time, he split his army into two parts. One was the horseback archers led this time by Kmicic. At first I was considered for Kmicic and his men trusted my, but knowing the army would be too far to communicate with the Duke, and that good leadership would be depended upon for the coming battle to be won, Kmicic was ordered to lead the schirmishers. Nevertheless I was entrusted with the remaining heavy cavalry that was usually led by Kmicic and I was to follow Mindaugas’s personal guard closely with Kmicic’s men. And so the now two armies set of at a fair distance between each other hoping that if one army was ambushed, the other could flank the enemy soon enough to win the battle.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

The main army advanced through a clearing and was about to enter the woods in an angle that would force the enemy to redeploy if poised for an ambushed, and true enough, they did. In an effort to keep up with our movement the enemy moved and Kmicic and his men as well as Mindaugas had a pretty good idea where the ambush was.

The ambush was indeed uncovered. Soon the skirmish began and the archers started hailing arrows towards the enemies hideout slowly revealing men in the process.

Konrad held lines in the hope that if Mindaugas charged him, he would loose control of the enemy maneuvers in the forest, but it was not to be. Mindaugas ordered his men to hold ground and let the skirmishers inflict as many casualties as possible. Konrad himself ordered his archers to fire from the cover of the trees, and indeed managed to inflict casualties amongst our horse archers.

He also sent a company of Prussian Auxillia to harass and taunt our lines into charging, but allas, to no avail. They were shot down by the Lithuanian archers.

Hours passed and Konrad’s army refused to come out of the cover of the forest. Thus, without arrows and with the enemy withered, and under fire from the enemy archers, Mindaugas ordered a charge. And charge we did!
Down the hill and into the forest, towards the enemy, followed by our lines of axemen and spearmen. The wind was blowing into my face and filled by a surge of adrenaline we clashed into a group of archers. Mindaugas and his men flew past me and behind the enemy lines, threatening their right flank with collapse.

In the center our lines clashed with theirs and thou casualties were mostly on our part, on their left flank, the lightly armored Lithuanian cavalry, led by Kmicic, charged the behind of the enemy lines, only to rout Konrad’s army.

The fleeing Teutons were like a river engulphing the land ahead, running in terror, leaving behind only corpses as they were struck down by Kmicic’s men, one of which was Konrad von Thüringe’s body.