[SS6.4] Knights of Rhodes

[Deepstrike101]

Hey everybody! Welcome to the Knights of Rhodes AAR. This AAR is based on a rather unique campaign I am playing as Genoa (sort of like Milan) in the Stainless Steel mod for Medieval 2 Total War. In this campaign, I am transplanting my entire faction to the islands of Rhodes and Crete in the Aegean Sea.

I got this idea from two places: The Chronicles of Edessa, an old but amazingly funny m2tw campaign by another player, and the real Knights Hospitaller who used Rhodes as their base of operations in the later half of the middle ages, until it was taken by the Ottoman Turks, forcing them to relocate to Malta.

Playing unmodded M2TW in my campaign, Chronicles of Antioch, I fell in love with the Knights Hospitaller and wanted to do a campaign entirely about them. This campaign begins well before the Knights Hospitaller occupied Rhodes, but that is the ultimate goal.
I am playing this campaign on medium with battles set on hard. Both the campaign and battle AI are tougher in Stainless Steel than vanilla, so it is sort of like playing H/VH.

Additionally, I am restricting myself with several rules:
1. My faction (Genoa) may not control settlements other than Rhodes and Iraklion (Crete) for long periods of time. Settlements may be captured and promptly given away. Naturally, this means I am not going for the victory objectives.
2. I will only use toggle_fow on a rare occasions, and then only to view the world map, not scout for enemy armies.
3. I will attempt to keep the royal family's bloodline strong.
4. No matter what, Genoa is loyal to the Crusader States and will always aid them in war.

I will be posting one chapter every Friday. So there it is, guys. Here is the campaign, and I really hope you enjoy!

Knights of Rhodes Index
Chapter One: The Expatriate King
Chapter Two: Holy War
Chapter Three: The West in the East
Chapter Four: Jihad

[m_1512]

Nice, like the action packed start. However, you might want to leave the first post for basic information and index of chapters. Simply cut and paste the first chapter as a new post and link that post to the index.

[Deepstrike101]

Thank you for the advice. Is there any way to edit the post? I can't find it. D:

[m_1512]

Yeah, you need to have at least 25 posts and need to be a member for more than a week to be able to edit posts and participate in polls. I would have done it for you but I don't have the access. I suggest asking one of them Study staff for help. Just ask any one of the below members:
- f0ma
- Scottish King
- Citizen Soldier of Athens

[Me, Myself and I]

I've always had a soft spot for migration campaigns, as well as the crusader states. Why did you choose Genoa though?

[Deepstrike101]

I've always had a soft spot for migration campaigns, as well as the crusader states. Why did you choose Genoa though?

Well, several reasons. Although the campaign becomes increasingly non-historic as it goes on, I wanted the beginning to seem somewhat realistic.

-Genoa was a very powerful maritime power. If I had to choose a nation which could become a great island state, it would be either Venice or Genoa. But Venice- Bah, Venice!- they trade with the Saracens of all people! Which brings me to the next point.

-While Venice was happy to trade with Muslim powers and historically even went so far as to sabotage Christian states which endangered their spice monopoly (see Portugal and after Vaasco da Gama's first voyage), Genoa was always a stern supporter of the crusades. They helped finance crusades, acted as the crusader navy, and provided their famed Genoese crossbowmen for the crusader armies. Until Genoa's decline in power, it was one of the most important contributors to the crusaders' success.

-The Genoese were allies of the Knights Hospitaller in particular. Sometime during the crusaders, the Hospitallers and Templars had a fight over quarters in Jerusalem and the orders were supported by Genoa and Venice, respectively. Since the AAR is meant to be about the Hospitallers on Rhodes, it would make sense that the faction I play would be a close ally of their order historically.

-I didn't want to play as the Crusader States themselves, because I wanted to retain that small city state feel, and focus on the Hospitallers. The Crusader States are too broad for this, and I wouldn't be able to get that city-state feel from them. Plus then it wouldn't be a migration campaign!

-Genoa is nearby-ish. Sicily or Venice are closer, but Genoa makes more sense due to the above reasons. It remains geographically closer to Rhodes than most of Europe, and I didn't want to spend the first 10 turns sailing.

-Their roster is nice. Their men-at-arms with the gold armor upgrade are, imo, the coolest looking units in the game. I love the Genoese crossbowmen, too, for the history associated with them. (note, I slightly changed missile attack for all ranged units 1.5x for crossbows, 1.25x for bows, as they are underpowered in SS6.4. I also installed a realistic range mod)

-I like Italy.

That's basically my reasoning.

I'll post chapter 2 soon. Going to go make some posts, I guess...

[Me, Myself and I]

-The Genoese were allies of the Knights Hospitaller in particular. Sometime during the crusaders, the Hospitallers and Templars had a fight over quarters in Jerusalem and the orders were supported by Genoa and Venice, respectively. Since the AAR is meant to be about the Hospitallers on Rhodes, it would make sense that the faction I play would be a close ally of their order historically.

Ah yes, I remember reading about that. I'd completely forgotten about it. Genoa does make sense now tbh

[Deepstrike101]

The Serene Republic of Genoa had been a highly prosperous Italian state for the last century. As Europe emerged from the Dark Ages, nations like Venice and Genoa became great trade centers. Though they were city states, by the 12th century AD, they were more powerful than some kingdoms.

Genoa was a prime maritime state, de facto ruled by the Oria family. Duke Martino was a religious man, who had done many things to further the Christians’ plight against Islam. He had built churches, and sponsored crusades. At age sixty seven, however, he feared this was not enough. In 1100 AD, he sent his royal ambassador, Tommaso Cattaneo towards Rome to speak with the Pope on his behalf. He knew he had done terrible things, and taken too many lives, becoming ruler of Genoa, and he would need the Pope’s intervention to save his soul.

Tommaso, an energetic individual, reached Rome the following year, and was greeted with a royal feast. The Pope though well of Genoa, and to Tommaso’s great surprise, securing an alliance from the Papal States proved a breeze. While in Rome, Tommaso was told of a diplomat from the Crusader States somewhere near Naples, so Tommaso decided to pursue this individual as well. As to Duke Martino, he relayed a message from the Pope:

“His Holiness, the Pope, understands the suffering of your soul, but there need not be suffering. God is forgiving, if forgiveness is sought after. Of course, some sins are not easily overlooked. There is only one sure way of being pardoned of all Earthly sin: to take up holy arms in the name of Christ. Genoa has long been a supporter to our cause, but let its leader show his devotion to the crusades, and his soul too, will be spared.”
After receiving the letter, Martino locked himself in his room and bitterly meditated upon it. He was too old for such an adventure, and would likely not live to see the enemies of Christendom on the field of battle. But perhaps, there were other ways…

The same year of 1100 AD, Councilor Ansaldo, Martino’s only son, came to Genoa, from Pisa. After a splendid Italian dinner, Martino pulled Ansaldo aside into his private study.

“Ansaldo, son, I have told you of my talks with the Pope. I would set out on a crusade, but I am old and tired. I fear I will not live to see my sins forgiven should I go on a crusade. However, I think I know what I can do. The Romans are Christian, but they are not crusaders. They are not Catholics. Perhaps to God, it will be enough for me to take Rhodes and Crete for the Church. From there, Genoa will be able to give aid to the Crusaders, even if I am not to see those days. God knows my plan, and I am sure he will forgive me of my wrong doings should I capture Rhodes and Crete.”

Ansaldo was hesitant; the Roman Empire was still supportive of the Crusaders. He was not sure how beneficial fighting the Romans would be to the Crusades. Out of fear for his fathers’ soul, he nonetheless relented and accepted this plan.

In the year ahead, Martino prepared an army and raised taxes to finance it. The purpose of the army remained secret, to avoid a Roman force in Rhodes and Crete. He made a fuss against Milan, and threatened to use his navy against Venice. So it was, that slowly his forces grew, and the Romans remained unaware of their true purpose.

In 1102 Simone di Oria, Ansaldo’s son, turned 14. His father judged that he was old enough to come on their expedition. He would need to learn the art of war sooner or later. His daughter Martinella, however, was sent westwards, towards Spain. She was to find a suitable husband, and establish an alliance with one of the three main kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula.

So it was that the same year, almost the entire royal court of Genoa, as well as a disgustingly filthy army of spear armed peasants from the cities, set sail for Rhodes. Half the army would land here, and the other half at Crete. Both settlements would be taken simultaneously, to prevent retribution from the Romans.

In 1104, Martinella reached a city of Aragon, and was offered the prince’s hand in marriage. However, she passed it up so she could negotiate alliances with the other Iberian kingdoms first.

Duke Martino’s fleet finally reached Rhodes and Crete in the summer of 1107. Ansaldo took his son and over a thousand men to siege Iraklion on Crete. Meanwhile, Martino and his best general, Oberto Spinnola, besieged Rhodes with another thousand. Both sieges would last one year, but Martino would not live to see the end of either. He passed away from pneumonia during the winter of 1108. Ansaldo and Simone were saddened by the news, but were not able to leave the siege of Iraklion to attend the funeral.

Siege of Rhodes, Winter 1108 AD (Click to Read)

Rhodes was the first of the islands to fall to Genoa’s forces. General Oberto led the forces against the wooden ramparts. After a battering ram breached the gates, a column of urban spear militia made its way into the city. Four hundred men were sent to fight the archers on the walls, and suffered surprisingly heavy casualties. In the center of the city, the rest of the spear militia confronted a unit of scoutatoi- heavy Byzantine spearmen. Despite staggering casualties, the Genoese continued to press up the hill, eventually defeating the enemy soldiers. During this period, Oberto lead his personal knights, as well as a sixty strong force of cavalry militia, against the enemy’s general. The opposing cavalry forces met at the city square, and for a minute the forces seemed matched, but the Genoese horsemen were quickly cut down, their swords ineffective against the cataphracts of the enemy. Oberto retreated, and charged again several times, evening the odds. In the end he was forced to retreat, with only five other knights remaining. He made his way over to the spear militia, and stayed there until they managed to push into the city square. There, they confronted the cataphracts which had destroyed Oberto’s cavalry. However, the spearmen fared even worse. The situation was so desperate that Oberto was forced to send his remaining knights and himself into the fray on several occasions. Eventually, with only about a hundred militia remaining, and Oberto being the last remaining Genoese knight, the Byzantine general and one cataphract tried to escape towards the keep. The battle could have ended there, but Oberto would not stand for his foe to retreat from a fair fight. Already heavily wounded himself, Oberto charged towards the enemy general, and cut down his final body guard. What ensued was a long duel between the two generals. After about a minute of on and off fighting, the two generals fell within a second of each other. Oberto had been pierced by Byzantine swords, and the enemy general had laid the final, lethal, blow. But there was no victory for the enemy. Furious at Oberto’s death, the remaining militia dragged the general from his saddle and killed him. It was a pyrrhic victory. Just under two hundred men out of the thousand remained. Command passed on to Captain Antonio, one of the seven surviving members of the cavalry militia.

Siege of Iraklion, Winter 1108 AD (Click to Read)

The siege of Iraklion was an easier affair. The garrison was just 200 heavy spearmen, although half a hundred reinforcements entered the field just as the battle began. Alsando gave command of the battle to his son, to test his merit. As the battle began, Simone remained with the main assault force as they made their way into the city and surrounded the enemy spearmen in the town square. Ansaldo, however, took his knights to meet the enemy reinforcements. The battle was far shorter than the siege of Rhodes. The enemy reinforcements were annihilated with virtually no losses, while the surrounded enemy spearmen were cut down quickly as well.

Rhodes was temporarily renamed the capital of the Republic, which immediately caused a wave of discontent back in Italy. Ansaldo did not have the troops to reinforce his new possessions, so making his new subjects feel autonomous, or somehow important, was the most he could do to prevent a rebellion on Rhodes and Crete. He journeyed to Rhodes, leaving Simone to control Iraklion. Immediately, churches were ordered to convert the populous and limit unrest. Tommaso was ordered to reach the Byzantines and negotiate a ceasefire, if possible.
Two years after transferring his capital to Rhodes, Ansaldo received a letter which resulted in a nervous breakdown. Genoa had revolted, and Pisa refused to accept his rule as well. The island of Corsica remained loyal, but he knew not for how long. Oberto had been Corsica’s ruler, and it was far from certain how long the island would remain within Ansaldo’s rule. The people of Genoa simply refused to be ruled by a distant king on a small island.



Back in Spain, Martinella had little luck. The crowns of Leon and Portugal desired nothing to do with her, and refused even to sign a trade agreement. She decided to return to Aragon and attempt to salvage her mission by at least securing a marriage with Aragon’s prince. Unfortunately, she discovered he had already married, and she was too late. Depressed, she headed towards Genoa, still not aware it had revolted.
In 1113 AD, Tommaso reached northern Greece, and secured a peace and trade treaty with the Romans, also acquiring a map of their domain. With a new Catholic presence in the eastern Mediterranean, the Pope deemed it time to declare a holy crusade against Gaza. This, he knew, would prompt the new Duchy of Rhodes to give aid to the Crusader States, which were at war with the Fatimids. The crusade was declared the same year. In response, the Kingdoms of France, the Empire, and Leon immediately joined. The Duchy of Rhodes and Crete, however, was not in any shape to raise an army. Barracks were ordered to be constructed in Rhodes, but it would be some time until the Duchy was able to field a crusading army.

On the way back from Iberia, Martinella found a suitable suitor. She had almost completely failed at her intended mission, so finding a worthy prince for Rhodes was the least she could do. His name was Cristoforo Ribsi. He was thirty four- three years older than Martinella. They had met on the road to Marseille, and he brought her news of Genoa’s revolt and the success of the mission to Rhodes. He was an educated man, and understood something about command, although he was still unable to exert any influence on anybody- even peasant girls giggled and ignored him when he tried to command them. Nonetheless, it was necessary to add a prince to the family line, which was dwindling.
Since Oberto Spinnola had died without an heir, and had no family to inherit the title of Lord of Corsica, Ansaldo decided to grant this title to Cristoforo Ribsi. Ribsi was to set sail to Corsica, and carry out the will of Ansaldo there. The Duchy of Rhodes, although composed of only three islands, had a great income. The army was small (though attempts at recruitment were underway) and there were several sources of income. Along with income from tariffs and taxes, a merchant by the name of Lorenzo di Medici was sending over a hundred gold pieces per year. While for him this was perhaps only a small share of his income, it was welcome in Rhodes.

Unfortunately, 1116 AD brought some unfortunate news for Ansaldo. The people of Corsica refused to accept Cristoforo Ribsi as their ruler, and demanded greater autonomy. The wealthy of the island had long become corrupt, pocketing well over half of the island’s income. Eventually, the commander of the crossbow militia which had long policed the island decided to become a ruler himself. He disbanded his company, lying it had been ordered by Ansaldo. When crime and corruption became intolerable in Ajaccio, he offered the people a way out: He would defy the Duke of Rhodes, and regroup his company, thus curing the island of crime and corruption. Ansaldo had no time to react to the news. The following year, Corsica had several riots… and then no more messages arrived from the island. Ansaldo was now only lord over two islands, with small settlements, close to the hostile Muslims and the not exactly forgiving Romans. Recruitment was slow, but money was plenty. Many Romans could be bought with coin, and Cristoforo was sent to recruit from the Byzantine mainland. He returned with more mercenaries than anybody could have hoped. Armenians, Turkopoles, Alani… it was a diverse army, but it would do for what Ansaldo had in mind.

[Deepstrike101]

An interesting breath of fresh air came for the Di Orias amongst all the political turmoil. Ansaldo had another son- Amadeo di Oria. This would, in the coming years, represent a higher stability in the ruling family, ensuring the bloodline of the Di Orias would continue.

In 1117, Ribsi finally assembled what he considered a large enough army to march against Egypt. It consisted of 200 heavy cavalry, 120 horse archers, 800 urban spear militia, almost 300 crusading heavy infantry including knights and sergeants, and 700 mercenary infantry including archers and light infantry. It was a sizeable army, and it was shocking that Rhodes- a nation less than 10 years old, and with a tiny population, could raise such a force.



Initially, Ribsi landed to the west of Gaza, and spent the rest of the year preparing to siege. The galley which had brought them to Gaza sailed west to blockade Alexandria. The following year, Cristoforo laid siege to Gaza, and ordered the construction of siege engines.

To Ansaldo’s great joy, Simone finally acquired a bride. Although he had no offspring as of the same year, Simone was confident his line would continue. Surprisingly enough, Ansaldo had another child before Simone, the following year. His name was Albertino.

Siege of Gaza, Summer 1110 AD (Click to Read)

The siege of Gaza was not a terribly long affair. The garrison was small- just several hundred men, mostly militia. A company of mercenary Slavs rolled the battering ram to the gate while mercenary Sudanese Tribesmen assaulted the left walls to engage archers and spearmen stationed there. The Slav mercenaries were attacked by light cavalry before they could reach the gates, but managed to kill the enemy. A unit of enemy spearmen approached from the south, but where first harassed by Turkopoles, then cut down by Alani. The enemy were beaten back. The Rhodian mercenaries which had taken the gate and walls then regrouped and marched to the city center. Upon reaching the square, they ran upon 60 or so enemy horsemen. Mistaking them to be the same cavalry they had routed earlier, the Slav mercenaries charged the cavalry, and the Sudanese followed suit. It was a disaster. This was no light cavalry. This was the royal guard of the Caliph of Egypt himself. Thrice, the mercenaries charged, and thrice they were repelled with ease. After the third attack, the Slavs were the only mercenaries which regrouped. The Sudanese were fleeing the city. As it turned out, the fleeing Sudanese, though considered cowards by the Slavs, were what saved the mercenaries who remained. The Sudanese were caught by Cristoforo, who demanded to know what had caused their cowardly selves to flee. Though he knew not what the horsemen were, the Sudanese leader did the best to describe them. Their great steeds, clad in lamellar, and the riders, clad in iron… This was enough for Cristoforo. He immediately sent the Alani mercenaries into the town to engage the enemy and buy the Slavic spearmen some time. While the Alani galloped in, a slower column of crusaders followed as well. The enemy Caliph was in that town, and God would truly bless the man that slayed him. Still uncertain this would be enough against the great amount of enemy knights, Cristoforo prepared his bodyguard and a company of Armenian cavalry to charge. He had not committed them earlier, because he understood that on the field of battle, a company of men with a lance far surpasses three companies of men with spears. Now, however, he assembled his heavy horse, and charged into the city. The crusaders had already engaged. The Alani had been killed off to a man, and less than half the sergeants remained. Most of the crusader knights still stood strong, however, and the Caliph’s bodyguard were beginning to dwindle in number. To the sound of trumpets, Cristoforo rode into the square. The Caliph of Egypt had fought alongside his men, and his armor had spared him many blows. As he came to face the crusaders, this changed. Though he laid several crusaders to rest, he himself took many blows. Blood flowed from his chest and legs as he vigorously fought the crusaders. He sliced at another crusaders shoulder, thinking he was close to victory. The sound of trumpets shattered his delusion. From behind, rode over a hundred heavy cavalry. Though he avoided the lance, he witnessed several royal guards to the right of him fall, a lance through their backs. He gave a few more swings at the knights, and turned to face his enemy. They were Armenians. Middle Eastern, yet Christian, they were known for the heft of their cavalry. They were almost like cataphracts. He fought several at once, though without success. Through the melee, he saw a rider approaching, pushing aside the other Rhodians. He was dressed in partial steel plate, with a decorated great helm. Cristoforo saw the Caliph as he made his way through the Armenians into the fray. It was on the left flank, and the Caliph had nowhere to go. He approached, shoving his Armenian mercenaries out of the way to reach the enemy. Reaching the Caliph, Cristoforo swung at his head, but the Caliph managed to block the incoming attack. Cristoforo made several more slashes in quick succession, some drawing blood. Just as he was about to strike the Caliph down, they were again separated by the Armenian cavalry. The Caliph held on for a little longer, but there was no escaping Cristofo. They met once again. The fight lasted a short eight seconds. Cristoforo laid down several heavy blows, with the last breaking the Caliph’s guard. At last, he brought his arming sword down, slashing into the Caliph’s throat, and knocking him from his horse. The Caliph of Egypt himself laid slain, by Cristoforo Ribsi, Prince of Rhodes.

For his feats on the battlefield, Cristoforo was awarded the title, Duke of Gaza. Of course, this was ceremonial only. Duke Ansaldo ordered that the region be transferred over to the dominion of the Crusader States. Cristoforo sneered when he learned of Ansaldo’s decision, saying, “The old man is too insecure on his thrown, that he fears a man who would be duke across a sea.” This became a source of conflict between the di Oria family, which believed that Rhodes and Crete were the only areas men of their families can rule, and Cristoforo Ribsi, who believed in the conquest of new territory and the expansion of Rhodian power.

In either case, though stripped of any benefits of being Duke of Gaza, Cristoforo became well known for his bravery and chivalry, for he allowed five dozen of the enemy to leave Gaza unharmed without ransom, and spared the city, even from looting.

Unfortunately, his own fame would have to wait. There was more war to be had. To the east of Gaza lay Kerak. This was a strategic location. If the Crusader States could keep it, then Jerusalem would be far more secure. If the Fatimid armies controlled it, they could use it as a base of operations for attacks on Jerusalem. Cristoforo needed to take Kerak to ensure the safety of the Holy City. Siege was laid to Kerak in 1121.

Siege of Kerak, Winter 1122 AD (Click to Read)

The largely mercenary army under Cristofo Ribsi attacked the castle during the winter of 1122. The battle began shortly after the sunset, and lasted throughout the early night. During the opening moments, both Sudanese and Bedouin mercenaries used ladders to scale the walls under the cover of dark. Meanwhile, Slav mercenaries broke through the gates with a ram, and engaged some spear militia at the gate. The Fatimids turned out to have more reserves than Cristoforo had anticipated. The Sudanese mercenaries on the wall were attacked by spear militia, but the nearby Bedouins managed to reach them and attack the spearmen from the other side, thus trapping them on the wall. Under the gates was a bloodbath. Crusaders had arrived to break through the enemy militias, but even the knights and sergeants were having trouble. For every Muslim slain, two more showed up. After many minutes of fighting, a company of Fatimid spear militia was routed by crusader sergeants, who then moved further into the city to attack some desert archers. This opened a corridor for some heavy cavalry. Armenian cavalry was sent into the city, and chased down the routing enemy militia. The battle, however, was far from won. The Rhodian mercenaries were tired and outnumbered, so Cristoforo made the decision to send in his urban spear militia. During the siege of Gaza, he had managed to avoid any casualties to Rhodians, relying solely on the mercenaries. Now, however, he relented and sent in eight fresh companies of urban spearmen. These swarmed the enemy and forced them to route, taking only light casualties. The battle was won, though many mercenaries had died.

Cristoforo would have been happy to end his conquests here and return to Martinella on Rhodes, but the Fatimids refused an offer for a ceasefire. They wanted to retake Kerak and Gaza, it seemed. This meant they needed to be shown that should they enter total war, Egypt would lose a lot more than just Kerak or Gaza. Cristoforo decided the next logical step, then, would be to attack Al Aqaba, a large town to the southwest. Control of Al Aqaba would mean Egypt would be unable to launch attacks on Jerusalem from the south, and it would keep Egypt separated from Saudi Arabia.

Cristoforo sieged Al Aqaba. He handed command of Kerak over to the Crusader States, freeing over two companies of mercenary archers. These cleaned up one of the several wandering Fatimid companies, and then rejoined Cristoforo at the siege of Al Aqaba. To Cristoforo’s surprise and satisfaction, they had laid siege while the Fatimid heir, Taj Amir Ya’la was in the town. Perhaps it would provide him with another chance to slay an enemy of royal blood. On those cold desert nights, Cristoforo imagined the royal procession he would receive upon his return to Rhodes. He would be the slayer of not only the Caliph, but also his son. It was not the most pious thought, but he figured killing a Muslim prince would more than make up for any selfish desires.

Siege of Al Aqaba, Winter 1123 AD (Click to Read)

The morning of the siege, Cristoforo was energetic- inspired, almost. He gave a powerful speech, concluding the forces of Rhodes would send the Egyptians screaming into the afterlife. Egyptian reinforcements were approaching, so Cristoforo sent 3 groups of Turkopole horse archers to kill them and, knowing this would be done, focused his attention on the siege itself. This time, the enemy general had chosen to stay at the gates rather than the town square. Urban spear militia attacked both flanks of the wall, but the left flank was withdrawn after a repositioning of enemy forces. In the center, the gates had been battered down. Eager to reach the enemy heir, but wary of the concentration of enemy forces at the gates, Cristoforo first sent in a company of Armenian cavalry. After a long melee and heavy losses, they managed to overpower the defenders. Unfortunately for Cristoforo, however, the enemy heir was killed as well. He had been fighting in the melee, and had killed several Armenians himself. Cristoforo had been keeping an eye on this melee to make sure he could land the final blow, but he lost sight of the enemy prince, and never saw him again. The remaining enemy spearmen were easily routed and Cristoforo took the city center. It was an easy victory, but Cristoforo secretly seethed with anger that some lowly Armenian mercenary had killed the enemy heir. At least he, calmed himself, whatever Armenian did this was likely dead- only five out of the hundred or so survived.

After three Rhodian victories in a row, and two royal deaths, Cristoforo expected Egypt to agree to peace terms. He was wrong. Instead of agreeing to a peace settlement, the new Caliph raised an army- Cristoforo suspected it was almost 3,000 strong- and marched to Al Aqaba in 1124, laying siege. Hearing of Cristoforo’s difficulties and the depleted state of his army, Ansaldo ordered the recruitment of 800 spearmen from both Rhodes and Crete to reinforce him. Of course, it would need several years to be readied- and would certainly not arrive in time to help Cristoforo. The enemy maintained siege for two years, further decreasing Cristoforo’s army. Worse yet, riots by the local Muslims caused many casualties to soldiers.

During this time of crisis, the council (in all its infinite wisdom) proposed that a galley be sent to blockade Rhodes. Enraged, Ansaldo scorned his nobles for wanting to get revenge on the Genoese, while his son in law was trapped in a siege.

Finally, in the winter of 1126 AD, the besieging army decided to attack. The Fatimid army consisted of 2,700 men, not counting some minor reinforcements- still more than twice the size of Cristoforo’s force. Hunger and disease had run rampant, and the Rhodian army’s life hung in the balance.

Heroic Defense of Al Aqaba, Winter 1126 AD (Click to Read)

The siege of Al Aqaba on 1126 was an unusually rainy day for the desert. Before the battle, Cristoforo suggested it was God weeping out of pity for the Saracens. The siege began with the massive army of the Fatimids assembled outside the northern gate. Archers and spearmen were positioned on the walls, and missile cavalry at the east and west gates, to harass the enemy army. As the enemy made their way towards the walls, the Turkopoles and desert cavalry sallied from the flanks and attempted to attack the enemy infantry, but were intercepted by the enemy’s desert cavalry. What ensued were two cavalry skirmishes, one on either flank, as the two sides fought for cavalry superiority. Cristoforo knew it would be crucial to victory on that day. On the right flank, the Egyptians won by a small margin, but their surviving cavalry from this flank was not enough to tip the scales in their favor. On the left flank, the Rhodian Turkopoles managed (despite heavy losses) to defeat the enemy desert cavalry. Seeing the left flank gain cavalry superiority, Cristoforo made his way to the western gate. By this time, the northern gate had been breached, and the enemy army had gushed through like a flood. Nonetheless, despite the hundreds of enemy soldiers, the small contingent of Rhodians at the northern gate stood firm. They gave ground, but did not break. Like Hannibal at Cannae, they formed a crescent and enveloped the enemy. They were stretched to the breaking point, yet held by some kind of crazed faith in Cristoforo’s leadership, and by raw religious fervor. As the bodies piled up, the remaining archer mercenaries were ordered to fire flaming arrows into the enemies coming through the gate. Though many arrows probably found their mark in the back of a Rhodian, far more hit the Muslims. The screaming, death, gore, and smell of burning flesh was too much for one of the Saracens. He threw down his spear, and ran to the gate, pushing and shoving. His unit followed suit. Seeing their men fleeing, the other Fatimids felt their heart drop into their heels. Where there Rhodian reinforcements? Was the slaughter that bad? What were their friends running from? It was better not to find out. Cristoforo and his knights had made it behind the northern gate. Turkopoles had attempted to attack the back of the Fatimids fighting in the gates, but had been intercepted by light Arab cavalry. Cristoforo’s guard crushed the Arabs and rode at the gate. Now, many of the Fatimids realized they were about to be trapped, and ran. The entire remaining force which had been fighting at the gates- likely a thousand men- bolted north, and out of the city. As they ran, many of them were cut down or captured by Cristoforo’s men, and those who tried to regroup were crushed by a devastating charge. A couple hundred Fatimids stayed on the walls, but these were quickly wrapped up as well. Cristoforo led from the front as they chased down the routers, preventing any regrouping. Cristoforo had been right about God weeping for the dead. Almost two thousand men lay dead that day, most in the northern gate. Blood had stained the walls, the ground, and even the fields in front of the city. The carnage was so terrible and bloody that it would be years before any Muslim would use the northern gate again.

But despite their own losses, the Rhodians celebrated the day. It was a victory which could only be described as heroic. Cristoforo awarded many men from his own pocket for their bravery. They had killed or captured nearly 2,400 men- four times their own losses, and it was all against an army twice as large as theirs.

Battle of East Nabataea, Summer 1127 AD (Click to Read)

Despite the disaster the Egyptian army suffered at Al Aqaba, the Caliph believed he could still retake the region, and refused to negotiate for peace. He had around five hundred troops still left to the southeast of Al Aqaba, and these, while not threatening to Cristoforo, provided the Caliph with a false sense of confidence. It was something Cristoforo had to clear up. He engaged the army in 1127 with remaining army, although only his missile units participated. The enemy was located in a valley to the east of the battlefield. Cristoforo ordered his Turkopoles and desert cavalry to pepper the enemy javelin men with missiles, and also brought up the remaining foot archer mercenaries and his own knights. The enemy was afraid to move during this arrow storm, and attempted to wait it out. Seeing this, Cristoforo and his personal guard made their way east and flanked the enemy. By the time this was realized and a small party of Afghan javelin men was sent to intercept him, he was in position to charge. A charge into the enemy’s Nubian Spearmen broke their morale, and the Turkopoles joined the melee, breaking the rest of the enemy as well. The battle was won, with a mere 2 casualties for the Rhodians.

With the reinforcements incoming, Cristoforo knew he would end this war sooner or later. The Fatimids only had so many men and settlements to lose… and even less princes. Tommaso Catteano had made his way down to Al Aqaba over the years. When Taj Amir Sabih, the new Egyptian Heir, appeared at the site of the battle of East Nabataea of the previous year, Tommaso talked to him, hoping to reach some kind of ceasefire. It was useless. The Egyptians, Cristoforo concluded, were fanatics. There was an insanity about them. They were ready to lose men and cities, all for nothing. Perhaps the death of another Taj would finally convince them otherwise…

Battle of Sabih, Summer 1128 AD (Click to Read)

Cristoforo went into this battle hopeful. One way or another, the enemy prince would lay dead at the end of the day. It would be a bonus if it would be by his own hand, of course… But Cristoforo had grown somewhat beyond that. He had been in the desert for many years, and he ached to see his wife again. That meant the Fatimid had to die. Cristoforo’s army made its way east, to confront the enemy. He was able to take the high ground, which would prove to be a decisive advantage. The Fatimids began by sending three groups of desert cavalry to harass the Rhodian lines. Although the caused some casualties, they were repelled and routed. Seeing his cavalry routed, Taj cursed the insolence of his subordinates, and charged into the enemy ranks with his own guards. Charging uphill, he was slow, and little damage was done to the Rhodian militia. Seeing the enemy general, Cristoforo tried to reach him though his lines, but could not. Realizing that some desert archers were shooting at his knights from the valley, Cristoforo chased them down before returning to kill the prince. The enemy, however, proved to be a coward. The Taj and six of his bodyguards attempted to flee the field, but Cristoforo had other plans for him. He chased him down and one of his guards dragged the Taj from the saddle. The Taj offered a fit ransom for his life- almost 6,000 gold. But Cristoforo had not fought to earn money. He had come to fight the Taj. Though the cowardice of the latter prevented a fair fight like he would have preferred, Cristoforo resolved to kill the *******. Unceremoniously, he beheaded the Taj and any other survivors. He was done playing games and showing charity. The enemy would agree to a ceasefire, or die… He sent the body to Cairo, with that note.

The following year, Ansaldo managed to convince the Pope to launch a crusade against Cairo. This, he hoped, would force the Fatimids to realize they could make do with one less enemy, and agree to a ceasefire.

On the way to Cairo, Cristoforo had a close encounter. Two Fatimid armies attacked him, and were too numerous to fight. Though he calculated he could win the battle, he had no heavy cavalry, and saw little reason in risking so many men. The following year, 1130, a ceasefire was finally signed. It seems Ansaldo’s call for a crusade changed the Egyptian’s priorities. Tommaso even managed to secure 20,000 gold pieces as reparations for the war from the Caliph. For Cristoforo, it was time to leave the Holy Lands… and he was glad. He disbanded the mercenaries, paying them one last time for the many years of loyalty, and then headed north, to a galley which awaited him. He took the militias with him. Those who had survived the long wars would be grateful to at last return home, and those who had just arrived would be happy to avoid the dangers of battle. Cristoforo was jealous of the latter, but it didn’t matter. He was on his way back to Rhodes.

In 1132 AD, a weary, fifty or so year old Cristoforo Ribsi disembarked in the harbor of Rhodes. There was no royal procession per se, but his family was on the beach, waiting for him. Coming back, he finally realized what he had missed all these years while on crusade. His father in law had two children, one of which had just turned fifteen and married. His brother in law had three. Cristoforo’s wife, Martinella, was there too. Other families lined the beach, waiting to see their fathers, husbands, sons, and brothers. There was much grieving and feasting that day. Cristoforo remarked that night to his wife, “It is so odd to return to a home thus divided. Half the city celebrates, while the other grieves.”

[Scottish King]

Great start! The story is great! I liked the use of real artwork at the beginning of each battle, it really adds to the overall story. Just one thing: to improve the immersion of the reader in your screenshots try not to have units selected. You can do this by pressing 'Enter' while you're playing. Also cropping out the UI also helps. Just a little suggestion. Again great job and I hope more updates are on the way! + rep

[Deepstrike101]

Thanks for the suggestions! Unfortunately, I have written eight chapters and many screenshots will have the green circles of selection, but I will make sure to crop out the UI in battles for future posts.

[Strengelicher]

Excellent start, I like it. Owing to the proximity to the Crusader States, of course I have a special interest to see how it goes. And I find the history of the Hospitallers really interesting, too. Visited Malta some time ago and later met a descendant of the Grandmaster de la Valette here in Germany, also named de la Valette! That was the famous grandmaster who defende Malta against the Ottomans in 1565!

On the technical side, contrary to Scottish King I do not mind the UI in the screenshots. It gives additional information on how the battle was fought, so I would say it is a personal preference. I would like to suggest that you wrap a couple of things into spoilers - otherwise the many screenshots will make the screen jump around until everything has downloaded, and later you have to scroll up and down a lot. Intense battle where the Byzzies killed your general. These bodyguard units are really hard to take down.

[Deepstrike101]

Hey guys. Sorry for the delay. I've been very busy with work the last week, but I'll have the next few chapters up in a day or two.

[jones_33]

nice aar can't wait for next update

[Deepstrike101]

Unfortunately, I have been putting this off for a reallyyyyyyy long time. I hate uploading stuff and my campaign crashes inexplicably on turn 1354 or so, which caused me to lose interest for a long time.

I'll be posting the rest of the campaign in short order, about 1-2 chapters per week.

I edited the first two chapters to include those contentboxes for the battles. Since this is a battle heavy-aar, and dozens of sieges can get boring, for chapters 3+, I will also put a spoiler at the start of the contentbox with the summary of the battle, for those who do not want to read through it. Those who do like the battles, just don't click the spoiler!

The spoilers will look like this:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Character X led his Rhodian forces to a decisive victory over the Saracen forces of Egypt by breaking the enemy center with the heavy horsemen of the Knights Hospitaller, then exploiting this disorder with his heavy infantry. As the enemy formation fell back, the Rhodian army repositioned itself on high ground and met a large force of Egypt. After some initial skirmishes and archer battles, the Rhodian army descended on the enemy position and, taking advantage of the enemy's lack of cavalry, initiated flanking maneuvers, utterly crushing the enemy.

The Rhodians lost X amount of men, while inflicting X amount of casualties to the enemy force.

In addition to all of this, I am starting a campaign as the Romans in the year 1220. The grim struggle for the East Roman Empire's survival against all of its neighbors will be a nice contrast to the somewhat optimistic tone of the Knights of Rhodes. That campaign is being played on VH/H and you'll get to watch the Roman empire plagued by everything from economic depression to lack of supplies and constant attrition against growing empires.

[Deepstrike101]

Quick thing, I would be interested in continuing Knights of Rhodes into the real late era (plate armored knights, musketry, Timurids, etc).

Whenever I load that save, the game tells me that there is an unexplained error of some kind. The game first crashed just as the rebel turn ended and mine began. I believe this was around turn 1354 of the early campaign.

If anybody has a potential solution to this problem, please let me know! I would love a solution that I could put in via game files, but I suppose I could also use the medieval shell to move things around if that is the only solution.

[Deepstrike101]

Chapter Three: The West in the East



When Cristoforo returned, he found that everything and yet nothing had changed. The people were different, yet little seemed to have changed about the islands themselves. Rhodes was still a wooden castle surrounded by wooden ramparts. Crete had its wooden palisade upgraded to wooden ramparts… but little else was improved. De facto, Cristoforo was give the job of running Rhodes after his return. He did not have the population for all the large scale building projects he envisioned, so instead, he focused on ways to increase the population. Just after his return, the growth rate rose to 4.5% per year.

He regularly talked with Simone about improvements and projects. Crete, with a larger population already, was constantly building new structures. But all it took was time. In 1136- just two or three years after his return to Rhodes, Cristoforo had managed to raise the population enough to upgrade the settlement of Rhodes to a castle. The treasury was overflowing, and securing the funds for this project was no issue.

Some other good news arrived that year: Forces of the Holy Roman Empire had managed to seize Cairo from the Fatimids. This meant the Egyptians would be severely weakened by the loss of their capital, at least temporarily. The Crusader states would have to deal with Egypt a little less, and would be able to turn their attention to the Seljuk Turks instead.

As time continued, there were some changes to the family. Elisa, Ansaldo’s wife, died in 1138. She had lived a long life and there was not too much grief caused by this incident. Ugolino, Simone’s son, was close to coming of age. Giuliana and Diana di Oria were both daughters of Simone. In the same year, he decided to send them into Europe to look for suitable husbands and to establish trade and alliances. Diana was to head northeast, into the unknown lands called Rus. Giuliana was to head west, to Spain and France, then north to Norway. There was no doubt in Simone’s mind that he would not see his daughters for years, but for them it would be an adventure. He could never bring himself to keep them locked up on an island, and their travels could bring prosperity to the Duchy anyways. Just the following year, this proved to be true. Diana secured an alliance with the Romans. This put the di Orias’s fears of a Roman invasion to take back Rhodes and Crete at rest.

The year 1141 marked a turning point in the Duchy’s history: The first non-noble knights were trained at Rhodes. These were mailed knights- strong cavalry, and quite capable of holding their own on the field of battle. They were not bodyguard material, but they were a welcome addition, and signified a finally developing feudal system on the island. Crete was still not as feudal, being a city, but it contributed its own specialties to the Duchy.

The following year, Ansaldo declared that despite success against the Fatimids of Egypt, there was more that could be done to help the crusades. Acre, Aleppo, and Tortosa remained in Arab hands. It would, he remarked, be prudent to help the Crusader States unite into a single great kingdom, led by Jerusalem. To do this, however, any land separating the States must be subjugated. Cristoforo and Simone agreed with this, and began assembling an army to take Acre.

The army was finally put together in 1145 and Albertino di Oria, son of Ansaldo, was chosen to lead it. Cristoforo passed away in the same year, though he seemed content with the work that he had done. He knew he had helped secure the survival of the Crusader States, and his only regret was not spending more time at home with his wife. The newly built port in Rhodes was named in honor of Cristoforo. It was not yet a massive port, but it was capable of producing galleys and would facilitate trade between Rhodes and Crete. Ugolino was made Grandmaster of Rhodes, while Simone continued to rule Crete.

Some time passed rather uneventfully. The army led by Albertino besieged Acre and continued the siege for years. Since his army largely consisted of Rhodian citizens rather than militia, he did not want to risk their lives. By 1152, however, it became clear that the siege was taking far longer than anticipated. With some major trouble, he managed to convince his men to stay another year, promising that in return, they would take Tortosa and Aleppo by force and sack them. Tortosa and Aleppo, as Rhodian spies reported, had far smaller garrisons, and far less Rhodians would die in such attacks. The following year, Acre surrendered and Albertino had the town sacked. His army had been draining the treasury fast, so any cash was welcome.

To the disappointment of the men, a new reconnaissance by spies revealed that Tortosa and Aleppo had already been taken by the Crusaders. To the south, reports came that they had also taken Damietta from Egypt, though Imperial held Cairo was retaken by the Egyptians. Desperate to save face as a warrior, Albertino did something very ill advised- he marched on Seljuk held Damascus. In conjunction with this, the Pope agreed that it was time for another crusade. The Crusader States were more powerful than ever. With Rhodia to handle Damascus, it was possible for other kingdoms to send crusading armies deep into the Muslim empire of the Seljuks, and to take the great city of Baghdad, thus proving the great extend to Christian power and superiority over the infidels.



The year of 1155 came to be known as the year of Royal Sorrow across the Mediterranean. Almost a dozen kings died that year, including Duke Ansaldo. Simone was crowned as the next Duke, and his son, Ugolino, became the new heir. Ansaldo was much grieved. He was very old when he died, and his long life had ensured stability and safety for Rhodes and Crete. He would surely be missed. Something changed with his death, though. In the past, the ruling class of Rhodes still referred to themselves as Genoese expatriates. Though this could still describe Simone, any kind of claim to the throne of Genoa was lost with Ansaldo’s death. Now, they were truly Rhodian.

The Pope’s call for a crusade immediately picked up volunteers. More than a few nations immediately joined. On the part of Rhodes, Albertino decided to take Damascus and any cities between it and Baghdad. This would ensure the safety of future crusading forces.

Siege of Damascus, Summer 1155 (Click to Read)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:  The siege of Damascus was an important battle, both for its strategic value, and the innovative tactics Rhodes learned during the siege. The Rhodian army attacked with their main force on one gate, and used a smaller contingent to break through another gate and flank the enemy, thus crushing them quickly. Damascus was only lightly defended. Along with a general, there were some foot archers, javelin men, and horse archers. Albertino had learned a lot from his brother in law, Cristoforo. He understood that to take a city with as few casualties as possible, it was always wise to surround the enemy. Thus, he built four battering rams and two sets of ladders. This would allow him to attack from any point, and come at the city from all sides. All three battering rams reached the gates. The ones on the flanks were completely unopposed. The men on the ladders, however, had a far worse time. On the right side, the spear militia engaged archers. Although they defeated the archers, they suffered in the process. On the left side, the militia reached an undefended section of wall. This unit’s intention was to take this wall, and then engage javelin men further to the left. What happened, however, was by the time the spear militia climbed the walls, the Afghan Javelin men had abandoned the walls, and were raining javelins onto them from the city streets. Almost half the urban spear militia was killed off before they could make their way off of the wall to engage the javelin men. On the flanks, the battering rams broke through, and the cavalry and supporting militia charged in as fast as possible. They had to distract the enemy so that the frontal assault could succeed. In the center, they engaged the enemy general and his body guards, as well as the Afghans, which they cut down with great fervor and hatred. Finally, with the city center soaked in blood, the Rhodian forces stood victorious. The last of the enemy, some archers, had surrendered near the town square. The Rhodians had lost men, but they succeeded in taking a very important city. The victory they won there could change the fate of the Holy Land. The following year, Damascus would be handed over to the Crusader States, thus finally and truly uniting their states into a single great kingdom. Albertino’s army rejoiced at this victory and, since it had not suffered major losses, it prepared to march on Qarisiya to the east.

The same year, Diana di Oria reached Smolensk, a city in the Republic of Novgorod. She became married to the prince of the land, and an alliance was established. Some less happy news came from Novgorod as well, however. The Lithuanians had been expanding against Russia, and Christianity needed help to triumph in the north. While Rhodes was not able to send an army so far, Duke Simone concluded that it would certainly be possible to call another crusade in the future- this time, against the pagans of Lithuania.

The following year, after some riots in Damascus, Albertino decided to hand the city over to the Crusaders. He had lost 300 soldiers to the riots, and he didn’t need to lose any more. This also freed up his entire force, and so he marched on Qarisiya. With more and more nations joining the crusade, it would only be a matter of time until Baghdad fell. Albertino had gained the title of Prince of Acre, though like in Cristoforo’s case, this meant nothing. He hoped that clearing the route to Baghdad- or even taking the city itself- would give him more fame. In addition to the fame he gained for conquering the two great cities, he had also lost face in some ways. His command of cavalry was shameful, and after Damascus, he became known for sending his cavalry to certain doom. He was also a poor logistician, and this showed on his road to Qarisiya. They were so poorly prepared with food and clothing, that even he himself caught pneumonia during the winter months.

He did have one very redeeming quality in his military mind: He was very good with flanking maneuvers. He had demonstrated this at Damascus. Despite his cavalry taking heavy losses during the flanking, he managed to very effectively destroy the enemy. At Qarisiya, he would show an understanding of flanking in the strategic scale. A force of 300 Turks was located to the south of the city. Albertino moved quickly. He sent detachments of his army to encircle this force. However, he left a corridor open for reinforcements from the city to come assist these Turks. The reinforcements were about 850 men. What they didn’t know, was that the entire plan was to get the city garrison to come to the Turks’ rescue, where Albertino could attack with his far larger force, thus destroying them easily in a field battle.

Battle of North Jazira, 1157 (Click to Read)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:  The Battle of North Jazira was an attempt by Albertino to lure the town garrison into a field battle, where they could easily be slaughtered. He hoped to use his army's superiority to route and chase down the entire garrison. In a surprising turn of events, Albertino found most of his knights slain and his militia quite late to join the fray. Although the battle was won, Qarisiya's garrison escaped the battle and Ansaldo earned a bad reputation when it came to leading cavalry. The failure at North Jazira led to a year wasted laying siege to Qarisiya. When the battle began, Albertino split his forces. Two companies of spearmen were sent to handle the 300 Turks to the south, and would also be supported by incoming reinforcements. However, the major portion of the battle took place to the north, where the enemy garrison entered the field. Hoping to gain the high ground, Albertino ordered his soldiers- a very large shield wall of urban militia- to run onto a hill to the north. He himself took his bodyguard and came up the hill, only to find horse archers ascending it. Without a second though, he charged downhill, hoping to break the light enemy cavalry. What happened went against all his expectations, and even after the battle, he could not comprehend it. His knights, heavily armored and charging with couched lances, were almost entirely slaughtered by the enemy horse archers in melee within seconds. The horse archers lost many men too, but the outcome was nonetheless nothing short of shocking. With only seven other bodyguards, Albertino was forced to retreat up the hill once more. By this time, the urban militia, sweating and tired, had finally made it to the crest of the hill. As Albertino approached the militia, he ordered a downhill charge against the enemy, who were coming up. Wasting no time, the militia sprinted downwards, crashing into the enemy. Since the Rhodians were in a deep wall like formation while the enemy was fewer in number and was in a far deeper formation, the Rhodian spearmen wrapped around the enemy formation, quickly routing them. About 30 cavalry, including mailed knights and sergeants, attempted to chase down the routers, but there were too many, and they were too close to an area where Albertino did not want to follow, in fears of splitting too far away from the other half of his army, to the south. Though the battle plan was excellent, Albertino’s fumbling with cavalry, and also the lack of it, led to a less than expected result. While the enemy was dealt a heavy blow, the enemy garrison was not cut down entirely. This meant Albertino would have to lay siege for another year.

In 1158, an army from the Crusader States captured Baghdad, but Mesopotamia remained separated from Syria by Jazira. Albertino realized that Mesopotamia was surrounded on all four sides by hostile Muslims, and it was necessary to remove one of those sides and provide a support corridor through which armies from the Holy Land could travel to relieve Mesopotamia. The same year, Albertino made the decision to storm Qarisiya. This would secure Jazira’s north, and not much ever went on in its desert to the east. This meant the roads would be clear for the Crusaders.

Siege of Qarisiya, Winter 1158 (Click to Read)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:  Qarisiya was in many ways a repeat of the two-pronged siege assault invented at Damascus. Due to better defenses, including infernal javelin men, the Rhodian forces took heavy casualties during the attack. Albertino's cavalry tactics once again proved to be harmful to mounted knights. Nonetheless, the city was taken, securing the rout east to Baghdad for crusading armies, and striking another blow against the Muslim enemy. This victory secured a long period of prosperity for the Crusader States and Rhodes was finally able to take a respite from waging total war. After the Battle of North Jazira, the garrison of Qarisiya was cut in half. However, the city still had to be taken. Albertino decided to launch an attack similar to the siege of Damascus. Two battering rams and two sets of ladders were made. The west gate would bear most of the assault, but Albertino took three companies of spearmen and his remaining cavalry to the south gate, from where he could flank enemy forces in the city. The assault on the west gate was successful, but resulted in heavier casualties than anticipated. The Afghan javelin men, whom many of the urban militia now referred to as the infernal javelin men, killed an entire half company with javelins alone as the militia struggled to climb onto the wall. There were few, if any, enemies that the Rhodians hated more than these ugly spear throwers. As the battle continued, the Rhodians evened the odds. Both gates were breached and despite casualties, the Rhodians began massacring the Afghans in melee. No mercy was shown. As the enemy fell back from both gates, spearmen gave chase to them in the west, and Albertino’s cavalry rode down spearmen to the south. Both forces closed in on the city center, where the enemy was attempting to regroup. It would get bloody. The bulk of Albertino’s urban spearmen had remained to the south. Their captains recognized this as the time to enter the battle, and they began a slow march to the castle. Meanwhile, what forces Albertino had near him attacked the town square. His cavalry, unfortunately, were again first into the fight and found themselves badly outnumbered. Several javelin volleys did not help. Although eventually Albertino’s men began overpowering the defenders, most of his remaining cavalry, including many of his personal knights, was wiped out. He himself remained unwounded, and largely out of the fight other than several short instances, sparking a lot distrust from the remaining cavalry- just a handful of mailed knights and his own guards. Finally, however, the square was taken and the siege was over. With Qarisiya in Crusader hands, Albertino hoped they would be able to hold Baghdad and supply their forces there. To the south were the Fatimids, although the Arabian deserts would prevent even them from coming north to take Baghdad easily. To the north were the Seljuks, but the loss of Damascus, Baghdad, and Qarisaya would force them back, and they would not be able to mount a very powerful force in retribution.

With Baghdad somewhat secure, or at least connected to the rest of the Crusader States, Albertino’s work was done. He could return home. It had been a long time and he, like Cristoforo, was eager to see his loved ones. He was proud of his men. They were not mercenaries- they were men of Rhodes and Crete, and they all had families. They had all sacrificed many years with their wives and children to serve God by fighting the infidels. Many of those who had come lay slain. Many came back with wounds to the body and soul. But they had done it. In 1158, the victorious army fought one last skirmish and headed towards Jerusalem, from which they would sail home.

In the same year, Giuliana di Oria found a bride for Ugolino during her travels in southern France. Herleif Tarnovius was a Norwegian princess. An alliance was announced and grand celebrations took place in Rhodes.

In 1160, Albertino’s army reached Jerusalem. There was a very different mood in the Holy Land than Albertino remembered. When he had arrived, people lived in fear. They were on the frontier of Europe, surrounded, and battling against a barbaric enemy of heretics. The Crusader States had been divided and any support had to march through enemy territory. Pilgrims were so unsafe that organizations like the Knights Templar had to spend most of their time policing the roads rather than fighting on the field of battle.

Now, the Crusader States were a prosperous European state. The late king renamed his territories to The Kingdom of Heaven after he settled disagreements about rule throughout the states. He would be the only ruler, and so the crusaders would be united under a single flag. The latest of European fashion from France and Italy was worn by the upper classes, and new European architecture dominated the skyline of Jerusalem. It was impressive how things had changed in the last 2 decades. The west was pushing east, bringing its culture to new areas and making the areas safer from the two Muslim empires. The Duchy of Rhodes was no longer on the frontier of Europe… it was in the center of it.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Deepstrike101]

Knights of Rhodes, Chapter Four: Jihad



Albertino di Oria had not been back in Rhodes a month, when terrifying news reached the capital. Jihad. The people of Islam grew weary of the successes of the Kingdom of Heaven and the Duchy of Rhodes, and also the Roman Empire. The Seljuks and Egyptians- even the Khwarezmians- understood that they could no longer afford to stand divided. The Sultans, Caliphs, and Shahs did not get along, but they realized that the successes of the Christians threatened the very existence of Islam. They did not agree on whose fault this was, but that was irrelevant. Agreeing on a course of action was more important, and this they did. The Kingdom of heaven was a threat to them. It had to be destroyed. Jerusalem had to be taken, and every Christian in the land, eradicated.



The Duchy of Rhodes was at a loss. Almost three thousand of its men had been crusading for two decades, and now all their progress was threatened. A war council was called. Duke Simone stated the events were a tragedy, but there could only be one course of action. Losing Jerusalem was unacceptable, and the Duchy had to send an army to its defense. Reluctantly, Albertino volunteered. The Duke was too old for battle, at 74 years of age. Ugolino was the heir and had to be present to take charge when his father passed away. Amadeo was married and had no understanding of military matters.

It was up to Albertino to take up arms once more. Rhodes began recruiting more soldiers, and an army was assembled to travel to Jerusalem’s aid. Several companies of militia were added, as well as some knights. However, there were still not enough men in the army and Jerusalem was running out of time. Three companies of Slav mercenaries were hired, and Albertino hurriedly set sail in 1163. An Egyptian army had already entered the Holy Lands on a Jihad, and more were likely to follow. As it turned out, however, just one was enough.

In 1164, the Egyptians managed to take a poorly fortified Jerusalem, just before Albertino could reach the coast. Upon landing and learning of the siege, Albertino scorned the incompetence of the Kingdom of Heaven, and laid siege the following year. Every Muslim who came on that Jihad would die.

Siege of Jerusalem, 1167 AD (Click to Read)

Battle Summary Spoiler Alert, click show to read:  Under Albertino's leadership, the large army of Rhodian urban spear militia and mercenaries managed to fight back heavy resistance at all three walls and gatehouses. Despite heavy casualties in the initial assault, and additional casualties during the slow street by street fighting that ensued, the Rhodian army made it to the town center. This was possibly the bloodiest battle for Rhodes, and Albertino lost 1,200 men. The fall of Jerusalem was completely unacceptable, and Albertino had to take the city back. The battle began with Albertino’s classical Damascus style attack on three sides. This enemy though, he quickly learned, was already familiar with his style of combat. The siege began with siege towers slowly lumbering towards the enemy. In previous sieges, Albertino had used ladders, but he understood that the siege against such determined defenders would need something special. Four siege towers would assault the western walls and a ram would breach the gate. On the north and south sides, one ram and one siege tower were to take the gatehouse and allow cavalry to ride into the city square. The enemy, however, did not take kindly to attempts to breach the gates. On all three sides, enemy cavalry or infantry sallied forth and attacked the men manning the rams. One of the siege towers which was supposed to reach the western walls collapsed, and its militia struggled to find a place on the field where they were not being pelted with arrows. Finally, they resolved to chase off the Arab cavalry at the western gates and reclaim the ram. With the western approach once again cleared of enemy cavalry, Albertino focused on commanding the other groups. To the north and south, he sent an order commanding another two companies of spearmen to join the fighting. The Slav mercenaries were holding their own, but the forces at the western walls were having trouble pushing into the city and therefore the flanking maneuvers from the north and south were necessary. Though they broke through in the north and south, the flanking forces were somewhat delayed. The cavalry was unable to move into the city because on both sides the gates were more or less blocked by the idle rams, and it would take some time to remove them. This delay proved fatal to the sixth unit of urban spear militia. This was the same group which had its siege tower collapse and then chased off the enemy Arab cavalry. After doing this, they noticed Turkoman cavalry firing at the backs of their friends on the wall. The Sixth unit charged through the gates and at the enemy cavalry, but were met with a truly withering amount of arrows. About half the unit was slaughtered by arrows before they even reached the cavalry after the 30 meter sprint. After some time, they managed to turn the tide in melee, but the charge had nonetheless been disastrous. Shortly after the charge of the urban militia, Albertino noticed a drop in the morale of his troops on the western wall. Many of them, most, even, were dead or wounded. Fearing the assault would collapse, he ordered 600 men to join the assault on the west. It was not long before they destroyed the exhausted and depleted enemy troops at the walls. The western walls were secured and to the north and south, the enemy had been beaten back. A double company or so of urban militia from the northern gate made its way to the center while another company of spearmen blocked off a nearby alley with light cavalry attempting to intercept them. They made their way, unsupported, to the town square. This proved to be a mistake. Upon reaching the square, they were immediately attacked from all sides by hiding reinforcements. The enemy commander really had studied Albertino, and had placed many troops in hiding to the east of the city, where Albertino would overlook them. Knowing that Albertino would send his men to take the city square from the sides, the enemy general prepared an ambush. However, he made the mistake of springing this ambush too soon. He assumed this was the bulk of Albertino’s flanking forces. Seeing enemies coming from all sides, the spearmen formed a ring of spears, hoping to survive until reinforcements arrived. The sheer amount of enemies, however, including the enemy general and his elite guards, broke the morale of the militia, and they routed, hoping for a chance of survival. At this point, Albertino’s real flanking forces- three half companies of cavalry- made their ways into the city. Spear militia approached from the west. The enemy general and his forces attempted to hold the square, but were overwhelmed. Finally, Albertino made his way into the city with his guards. The Rhodian spear militias from the west had been delayed by some spearmen, but now they broke through, and Albertino reached the town square, cutting down the rest of the enemy bodyguards. To the surprise of all his forces, he ordered everyone to withdraw. He and his personal guard would finish off the general. Soon enough, the enemy general fell. Jerusalem was retaken, though at a high price. No enemy soldier was spared. Under Albertino's leadership, the large army of Rhodian urban spear militia and mercenaries managed to fight back heavy resistance at all three walls and gatehouses. Despite heavy casualties in the initial assault, and additional casualties during the slow street by street fighting that ensued, the Rhodian army made it to the town center. This was possibly the bloodiest battle for Rhodes, and Albertino lost 1,200 men.

With Jerusalem taken, Albertino was satisfied that the Egyptians would not be able to return any time soon. One final blow was necessary, however, to cripple Egypt for the foreseeable future.



Alexandria was a port city in the west of the Nile River Delta. It was a strategic location and, after the Crusaders took Damietta, it became Egypt’s only way of interacting with the Mediterranean. As Albertino put it, “With the Mediterranean, the Egyptians are proud and rich. They can trade their Indian spices with Venice and the rest of the world. They are those who superseded the great Hellenistic Egypt, with its wealthy culture and influence. Without it, who are they? Desert Nomads living in huts.”

Of course, destroying Alexandria would not defeat Egypt. It would, however, block off their trade routes and disadvantage them further. Without Alexandria, the only major city left in Egypt or Arabia would be Cairo.

Back on Crete, Simone was ever watchful of the world. He noticed two countries which were alarming him. The Moorish Caliphate and Lithuania. Both were nations of non-Christians and both were growing. He would frequently converse with the Pope. He was aware that he promised Novgorod to call for a crusade against the Lithuanians, but he deemed that it would be better to first aid the Reconquista in Spain. The three kingdoms of Iberia- Portugal, Leon, and Aragon, were all Christian states, and at times allies- but for some reason, there was no real cooperation between the three. They would go to war against the Moors one at a time, but would gain no ground at all. Recently, Leon even lost Toledo. A crusade was necessary to unite Iberia under one banner, the banner of the Holy Cross. With a stinging blow dealt to Egypt and a crusade against the Moors, Islam would be defeated and the possibility of any significant Jihads in the future against the Kingdom of Heaven would be reduced.

Battle of the Hills, 1168 AD (Click to Read)

Battle Summary Spoiler Alert, click show to read:  Encountering an Egyptian army on the way to Alexandria, Albertino was reluctant to allow it to continue into the Holy Lands. After a frantic race to high ground, and a shootout between levy archers and ballistae, the enemy army began to retreat in the face of a Rhodian advance. Once the enemy army began to lose due to the poor leadership of its general, the companies which had retained cohesion were ordered to retreat. The Rhodian forces then effortlessly routed what remained of the Egyptian army and went after the Fatimid general, who unfortunately escaped. On the road to Alexandria, passing by Cairo, Albertino met with a large force of Egyptians, on its way to the Holy Land. Since the Kingdom of Heaven was still busy recovering from the Jihad against Jerusalem, they would incur many losses fighting such a force, and Albertino decided it would be better to destroy it. The battle began with Albertino deployed in a rather disadvantageous position- he was on the left side of a hill, with his enemy on top of it, to the north. He knew he needed to face the enemy on even ground, so he rushed his army up the hill. Seeing the Rhodians approach, the Egyptians began to fall back, puzzling Albertino. They had the advantage, and he would have lost many men had they charged. As his lines reformed, he sent his small force of archers very far ahead to harass the enemy. To his great surprise, the enemy force completely ignored the archers, though they had over 200 light cavalry in their force. The enemy attempted to respond to the Rhodian archers with ballistae. It was the first time Rhodians encountered enemy artillery, and it was terrifying. Burning javelins flew through the air at the Rhodian militia, who knew that there was no escaping the javelin if it was on target. Shields would not stop it, and in a line, they could not evade it. After seeing several men burned to death by the ballistae, Albertino ordered his forces to charge. The Sudanese mercenaries were in the front, as wide as the enemy infantry line. They were supported by Rhodian militia. This line was as wide as the entire Egyptian line, including their cavalry. The Rhodian knights were ordered to engage the lighter enemy cavalry and would be supported by the flanks of the Rhodian urban spear militia. As the Rhodian line drew closer, the enemy began another withdrawal, putting Albertino on edge. He commanded all of his men to charge as fast as possible and catch the enemy before they could regroup. It could not be an ambush, because he could see the enemy’s artillery struggling to move their pieces and panicking as the Rhodians approached. He could not figure out what was causing the enemy to retreat. The enemy line, seeing they could not escape, attempted to reform. However, the Rhodian line reached it first. The cavalry clashed on the flanks as the Rhodian spear militia struggled to catch up. The infantry lines were fighting, with the Rhodians gaining a very quick upper hand. Many of the enemy units began to pull out, it seemed under orders from their general, who was behind the Egyptian line, so far away from the fight that even a skilled javelin man would have trouble throwing that far. After observing the battle, he ordered a full retreat. Many of the units which had already withdrawn from the line were able to run, but most of them attempted to retreat and panicked in confusion. Their morale plummeted, and they broke. The Rhodian infantry pressed on, determined to keep them from regrouping. The enemy general did not attempt to rally his forces, fight to keep them from being run down, or even watch to make sure they escaped. As soon as he ordered the retreat, he turned tail and galloped at full speed away from the Rhodians. He had not even been engaged once in the battle, or even shot at. Not once had he, or any of his guards, been in danger. But he was a coward, and so he ran. Outraged at seeing the enemy general flee and abandon his forces, Albertino rallied his knights and chased after him, but they only succeeded in killing several of his bodyguards. Albertino had been in melee for most of the battle, and his unit’s horses and men were exhausted. The enemy general, who had stood idle, rode a fresh horse. The Rhodians could not catch up. The enemy general escaped unharmed, but his infantry was not so lucky. Angry at the cowardice of the enemy army, Albertino ordered his cavalry to run them down without mercy. When the last of the enemy was rounded up, he ordered them all executed. He sent the corpses of the enemy general’s bodyguards to Cairo with some local travelers, warning him that their fate in this world was incomparable to the fate he would suffer in the next. The stink of the bodies- they were thoroughly rotten after weeks of travel- really meant a point. “The stench of these bodies,” Albertino wrote, “is nothing compared to the stench of a coward.” Though disappointed by the coward’s escape, Albertino was generally in high spirits. The enemy army had been crushed without heavy losses to Rhodian lives and they were on the road to Alexandria. Battle Summary Spoiler Alert, click show to read:  Encountering an Egyptian army on the way to Alexandria, Albertino was reluctant to allow it to continue into the Holy Lands. After a frantic race to high ground, and a shootout between levy archers and ballistae, the enemy army began to retreat in the face of a Rhodian advance. Once the enemy army began to lose due to the poor leadership of its general, the companies which had retained cohesion were ordered to retreat. The Rhodian forces then effortlessly routed what remained of the Egyptian army and went after the Fatimid general, who unfortunately escaped.

Siege of Alexandria, 1170 AD (Click to Read)

Battle Summary Spoiler Alert, click show to read:  Determined to cut off Egyptian access to the Mediterranean and force the Fatimid empire deep into the desert, Albertino attacked Alexandria. Mercenaries managed to take the walls and gatehouse, allowing the rest of the Rhodian army to march to the city center fairly unopposed. The Caliph of Egypt along with 50 royal guards held his ground there, inflicting massive casualties on both Rhodian militia and knights. Finally, with the help of Albertino's personal knights and his own sword, the Caliph and his guards were slain. The siege of Alexandria, Albertino knew, would not be a particularly difficult affair. He heard rumors it was lightly guarded, and he figured that his mercenaries would be able to handle the majority of the fighting. This time, he decided to use a very direct approach. He launched a frontal assault on the enemy, relying on the Sudanese to take the walls while Slavic mercenaries break down the gates. Albertino noticed early on that the left flank was being manned by some kind of heavy spearmen while the right was not as heavily guarded. Therefore, he sent two companies of tribesmen to the left flank and one to the right. On the right side, the Sudanese immediately pushed the enemy back and began a long and bloody melee on the walls. On the left side, the tribesmen at first encountered significant difficulty. The enemy was butchering them in droves as they came off of the ladders one by one, but ironically, it was the left flank which would be won in the long run. The numbers of mercenaries did seem to make the difference. As the fight raged on, the Slav mercenaries finished ramming the gate and made their way into the city. The Sudanese on the right flank were on the verge of breaking, so the mercenaries made their way to the walls there just as their fellow mercenaries broke. Albertino ordered his cavalry to ride into the city center, but not engage the enemy there. The cavalry were just there to make sure the mercenaries did their job. Once the walls were finally taken, the mercenaries were sent to the town square where they discovered that being a mercenary for Rhodes was not the safest job in the world. In the center were over fifty royal guards and the Caliph of Egypt. The mercenaries were in trouble. Hearing of the complications, Albertino ordered his men to advance and sent a forward unit of spearmen to cover the retreat of the mercenaries. The battle raged on in the town square. The spearmen were engaged and seeing them struggling, the cavalry decided to intervene. Several times, both the Rhodian and Frankish knights charged, and each time they killed many royal guards. In the end, however, even the heavy cavalry was not quite enough. Knowing that his forces needed help, Albertino ordered his men to run, and galloped ahead with his royal guards. They came just in time. Only four mailed knights remained and the spearmen were on the verge of breaking. During the melee that ensued, Albertino and the Caliph traded several blows, but were then separated again. Finally, the Caliph met his end at the hand of one of Albertino’s knights. With the Caliph dead and the city taken, Albertino was free to return home. The victory had cost many mercenary lives, and some Rhodian ones, but it was well worth it. He was coming home. This time, it was for good. The city was sacked, and a galley prepared for Albertino’s departure. Battle Summary Spoiler Alert, click show to read:  Determined to cut off Egyptian access to the Mediterranean and force the Fatimid empire deep into the desert, Albertino attacked Alexandria. Mercenaries managed to take the walls and gatehouse, allowing the rest of the Rhodian army to march to the city center fairly unopposed. The Caliph of Egypt along with 50 royal guards held his ground there, inflicting massive casualties on both Rhodian militia and knights. Finally, with the help of Albertino's personal knights and his own sword, the Caliph and his guards were slain.

[Strengelicher]

Nice work, +rep. Are you using any additional difficulty settings (like longer assimilation, BGR etc.)?

[Deepstrike101]

Nice work, +rep. Are you using any additional difficulty settings (like longer assimilation, BGR etc.)?

Thank you!

Back when I was playing this AAR (atm, I have finished playing and writing, I am just uploading), I believe I was using the longer assimilation option. BGR seemed risky, as I had started this AAR when I was first trying out Stainless Steel and everything was new.

The campaign that I am writing right now, Imperial Purple Never Fades, uses BGR II in addition to longer assimilation. I may eventually attempt a campaign (probably as Novgorod) with BGR V, though I am not sure about this.

As I mentioned earlier, I am trying to get 2 or so episodes of Knights of Rhodes uploaded per week, and there are 9 chapters total. I'm going to try to see if there is a way to fix that bug that I have on turn 1354, so I can continue this campaign save. Otherwise, I will create a "book 2" in a sense, which continues the story of Rhodes after 1400. For that, I will have to play through much of the late campaign in a different save, and then (after 1400 AD) pretend that it is the continuation of this AAR, just 50 years later.