Re: Colonize & Conquer 2: Medieval Mayhem

[Sirius Lupin]

(How's the war with the Ottomans?)

[Flagmauth]

It's going well for the most part, but with Polish and presumably Kalmar troops being withdrawn the allies are slowing down.

[Sirius Lupin]

Hoping for more reinforcements, Octavius tries to help form a truce between the Polish and the Kalmar Union.

[99luftballons]

Seeing that Octavius needs reinforcements, Italy offers to lend Octavius money from the Medici Bank, that can be used to hire more mercenaries.

[President WIN]

(How goes my diplomat's appeal to the Polish?)

[Flagmauth]

The Polish aren't terribly pleased by it.

[President WIN]

(Since referring to the parts of my army by fractions isn't very fun, I'm going to just formally start calling them by names. They are officially the Kalmari 1st-6th Armies. Please note that although some of these armies have regional names, all of them contain troops from all over the Kalmar Union.

The First Army is the Anatolian Army.
The Second Army is known as the Eastern Guard.
The Third Army, very prestigious, is known as the King's Army.
The Fourth army, slightly larger than the others, but composed mostly of unskilled troops, including berserkers from Finland, is known as the Grand Finland Army, although it is better known by its nickname; the Big Finnish.
The Fifth is known as the Scandinavian Peninsular Army.
The Sixth, which assaulted Brandenburg and switched to new tactics following large losses is known as the Danish Army. Currently they are the world's foremost experts on guerrilla and amphibious tactics, which isn't saying much, but there you go.)

Assuming the Polish do not agree to Kalmar's proposal (which is what I'm understanding from you, Mycro), Kalmar basically gives a national shrug and readies for war.

The veteran Kalmari 1st Army, who were apparently forgotten down in Anatolia, begin marching roughly homeward, fighting Polish troops as they go, and engaging in trading and/or light looting to sustain their supplies.

The Sixth Army keeps up its guerrilla attacks on Brandenburg.

The Third, Fourth, and Fifth Armies press on against Poland, fighting the mostly defeated Teutons as necessary.

[Flagmauth]

The Polish and Lithuanians march into the Teutonic Order, attempting to drive the Kalmari back to the sea. A second, slightly smaller Polish force heads for Brandenburg and eventually Jutland.

The Polish and Kalmari forces collide in July 1441. The Kalmar troops make a good show for themselves, but Poland-Lithuania has the advantage of numbers and Kalmari lines are broken after a fierce battle, with cavalry charging down the fleeing Kalmars.

The Brandenburgers have now hooked up with the Polish expedition towards Jutland and are on the march.

The Ottoman Empire sends an envoy to Octavios, signalling their desire to surrender. Their ability to fight has been broken, smashed between the allies of Christendom on one side and the Timurids on the other. So they say, but it appears to be true; Ottoman showings on the battlefield have been less than impressive lately.

[President WIN]

The Calvary charge is met by a heroic line of pikemen from the Third Army, who stand just long enough for the retreating troops to reach their boats. Once there, if still pursued, the men take up bows and shoot as their ships retreat to the fortified Baltic Islands.

The Annatolian army, undaunted by the main forces' recent defeat (partially because they haven't heard a lot, if anything, about it) continue their march through the countryside, hoping to hit the Polish army from behind while they are hard pressed and over extended against the main body of the Kalmari. However, the Annatolian army still assumes they will arrive in time to pincer the Polish, and are thus working on outdated plans, so they're probably doomed for failure.

Meanwhile, the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Armies begin nursing their wounds on the Baltic island fortresses, and provide what aid they can to the (recovered) Danish army, which redoubles its raids, now that the Polish and Brandenburgers are marching on Jutland (which I assume is modern day Denmark). The Danish Army aims first to raise towns ahead of the advance so as to deny them friendly shelter, and secondly to cut supply lines behind advance, to starve them out.

Finally, King Olaf calls on the Hansa league to honor its alliance with Kalmar and resist the Poland-Brandenburg advance in tandem with Kalmar (or at the very least to allow Kalmar to fight defensively on Hansa soil). The king, recognizing that naval power will be key to future Kalmar dominance, orders new classes of ships built, including better river fighting vessels, and longer range sailing vessels.

[Flagmauth]

Slightly over half of the Kalmari force that engaged the Polish-Lithuanians manages to escape.

The 1st Army presumably doesn't want to piss off Hungary, so I'm assuming the looting is kept to a minimum?

The Hansa declines to enter the war on the grounds that the officially stated casus belli is Kalmari aggression. Left unstated is the fact that they feel distinctly threatened by the apparent Scandinavian designs on North Germany, wondering if Kalmar wins who would be next.

The Danes' scorched-earth tactics are, unfortunately, less than effective - the area is simply too densely populated for all settlements ahead of the Polish-Brandenburger advance to be razed with the effectiveness seen in Russia OTL. The advance is slowed but is far from disabled.

[Sirius Lupin]

The Byzantines politely refuse the money being lent to them because Octavius says he "doesn't hire mercenaries".

Meanwhile, Octavius sends diplomats to the Kalmari and the Polish, hoping to help form a treaty between them.

[Flagmauth]

[Current year 1444]

[President WIN]

The Kalmari take advantage of the Byzantine interference to build more fortifications and continue razing the support system of the Polish invasion force.

(Note, Mycro, that the army called the Danish Army is from all over Kalmar. King Olaf has taken multiple steps to integrate his country, and fromer countries exist primarily as regions now.)

As to the Byzantines themselves, the Kalmari respond politely but noncommittally. They change the subject somewhat and ask if the Byzantines would care to form trade agreements.

The Kalmar alliance again contacts the Hansa League, reminding them that if they do not aid their allies, their allies will not be able to aid them when the Polish come for them. Also, all trade with the Hansa League stops, due to the need for such materials for military purposes.

With that Kalmar withdraws its envoy, explaining that when Poland marches through Hansa territory, the Kalmar envoys would no doubt be tortured for information. If the Hansa league wishes to contact Kalmar, it must send an envoy to them.

(Where on earth is the Anatolian Army?)

[Flagmauth]

[Seeing as I'm unable to find a previous reference to this Adriatic Army, to what are you referring exactly?]

The Hansa replies that they will take their chances. Denied the opportunity to trade with Kalmar, they increase trade with Burgundy and Holland and begin negotiations with England.

The Poles, by this point, have reached the boundary between Germany and Denmark and are currently arranging themselves for the invasion itself. Their attempted defense of the Teutonic Order is pretty poor at the moment; Kalmari raiders mostly have to contend with the relatively untrained Teutons, owing to the Polish-Lithuanian focus being on Jutland at the moment and their adherence to fort construction in the Order. Brandenburg, by comparison, is making quite a showing of itself.

[Sirius Lupin]

The Byzantines say they will agreee to trade agreements, but not until the Kalmari make peace with the Poles.

Meanwhile, diplomats approach the Ottomans with an offer of peace.

[Flagmauth]

The Timurid Empire enters a period of turmoil as Timur dies, leaving his descendants to squabble over the empire. With that, the Ottomans get the same break the Byzantines had nearly thirty years ago...that plus the withdrawal of Kalmari and Polish-Lithuanian troops from the battlefield allows them to rescind their offer of peace and take on the Christians anew.

[99luftballons]

Italy meanwhile is developing into a naval power. Italy sends a diplomat to the Lombard League to negotiate an alliance.

Also, Pope Damian I has gotten fatally ill and may (will) die soon... (if anybody wants to enter a candidate for the papacy, go ahead and choose one).

(Also since it is 1455-ish, is the printing press around? Or does it still need to be invented)

[President WIN]

Hearing the news, Cardinal Karl Bjornson, Archbishop of the Kalmar Faith Cathedral, bids his faithful farewell, and begins his journey to Rome. In keeping with the strengths of his native country, it is a sea voyage, with his flagship the Divine Child, as well as an honor guard of five of the best ships Kalmar can spare.

King Olaf bids the the good Cardinal "Godspeed."

Meanwhile, Kalmar ends all attacks against Brandenburg and Poland, and although it does not take any action to officially end the war, it shifts mainly to a peacetime economy, focusing its military strength on the borders and training them VERY well. (Think OTL South Korea.)

King Olaf reaches out to Holland, Burgundy, Brittany, England, Scotland and Ireland for trading purposes. He also makes a royal visit to the small Kalmari holding north of Scotland.

[Flagmauth]

[The press still needs to be invented...Italy or Lombardy have the best shots at it for the moment.]

The Polish/Brandenburger force enters Denmark and begins generally laying waste to the countryside. (With the Anatolian Army out of contact with the rest, are they continuing on their previous course then?)

The Lombards don't seem particularly interested in an alliance with their southern neighbors...Meanwhile, Holland accepts the offer for increased trade, along with Scotland and Ireland. England, Brittany and Burgundy do not.

[President WIN]

(Considering the printing press was a german invention IRL, I might try my own hand at that.

Also, I guess the offensive army just ignored the border defenses I've been building up for, what? five posts now??? lol

And, as to the Anatolian Army, since they got to Anatolia, in essentially one post, if you have no problem, I'm going to say that that they're getting home in this post.

By the way, I find it funny that the Polish are just ignoring 1/6 of the original Kalmar army just raiding willy nilly through their homeland, but oh well. Maybe the First Army didn't have orders to do that much damage, since they were trying to be home for the big battle of several posts ago.)

After the Polish/Brandenburg Army breaks through the Danish border defenses (which should have been quite hard), they find the country side behind rather soft and easy, overtaking several villages, sending their inhabitants fleeing. Then, one day, they find it stops being so easy.

They awake to find that the Scandanavian Peninsular Army and the Sixth Army have circled up behind them and are approaching from the southwest. Meanwhile, the Eastern Guard Army and the recently arrived Anatolian Army are marching up from the Southeast. Finally, the King's Army and the Big Finnish move in from the North.

General Felix Torstein, of the King's Army, rather reluctantly offers the Polish and Brandenburgers the customary opportunity to surrender, drop their weapons, and march home peacefully. There will be no second chance.

[Flagmauth]

[The offensive army broke your defenses, but it took quite a lot of effort on their part. In addition, the Anatolian Army would, technically, just now be arriving in Poland-Lithuania. I think it was assumed that between your committing the troops to the Byzantine cause and their arrival was a decent period of time.]

The Polish do not know the precise strengths and layouts of their foes, but they are generally under the belief that they are stronger (Technically they are, at least from a cavalry standpoint. I'm given to understand that the area is "gently rolling plains" according to Google so this is no small advantage. The Kalmars have a numerical advantage over the Poles themselves but between the Poles, the Lithuanians and the Brandenburgers the invaders are larger, accounting for the losses incurred by the initial breakthrough. This also does not include the Anatolian Army; I don't think they would have arrived yet but if they have then they will not have been allowed to rampage unchallenged through Poland - their entire force isn't committed to this one field of battle) As such, the envoy from the Kalmars is turned away disdainfully.

In the meantime, Burgundy enters a trade dispute with Holland. The war on the Iberian Peninsula has gone rather badly all of a sudden for Castille and Aragon - Portugal having been already submerged by the invading Moors. France has refused to help them, looking northward to Brittany and Burgundy.

[President WIN]

(As for timing on the Anatolian Army, you're the DM, so I suppose you get to decide that.)

As formerly alluded, with the rebuff of their envoy Kalmar begins its attack, starting with an archery and artillery attack to further weaken and disorient the invaders, while the armies advance closer under cover of indirect fire. Considering that they used the same trick earlier, the Kalmari move as much as possible to avoid any obvious pike emplacements, or large groups of pikemen.

They then initiate a cavalry charge, followed closely by their footmen. As soon as the charge begins, the archers lay down their bows, draw melee weapons (duh) and prepare to either fight individual stragglers, or to close en masse, and aid the main army, as necessary.

Meanwhile, Cardinal Bjornson is making good progress. His ships, being among the newest and fastest of all ships, are making good time toward Rome. As he travels he is kind, but not lavish, in his gifts to parishes in which he stops.

[Flagmauth]

The Polish-Lithuanians are far from caught off-guard. They meet the Kalmaris with enthusiasm. Polish cavalry meets its Kalmari counterpart head-on. The results of this battle, while initially inconclusive, result in significant casualties on both sides but in favor of the Poles and their allies. The cavalry arm of the southwest attackers (forget which army and too lazy to check) is almost completely destroyed.

The infantry battle is somewhat less lopsided; Kalmari drilling allows them to have an edge in this area over the mostly-militia forces of the Brandenburgers and the Poles, despite being outnumbered. The two forces ultimately turn out to be evenly matched, with the Poles executing a more or less orderly withdrawal once they become aware of being surrounded, heading west. Kalmari cavalry, badly mauled from its encounter with the Poles, is unable to attempt a route (though this is due less to their casualties and more due to the Poles withdrawing in an orderly fashion).

A group of Brandenburgers pressed into service as footmen throws down their pikes in panic at one point, having become separated, and bolts. The Kalmari cavalry savagely cuts most of them down, perhaps in frustration at their earlier loss.

[Also, I believe the Wars of the Roses may come a bit later...According to Wikipedia, one of the factors was the loss of English territory on the Continent. While this still happened, they gained a whole load of new territory in Scottish lands. I believe this would help them stomach their losses...AP Euro students feel free to beat me with the stupid stick if I'm messing this up  ]

[President WIN]

The Kalmar army executes its own retreat to its nearby fortresses. Having taken heavy casualties, it will take some time for the Kalmari armies to recover to full strength. King Olaf makes it clear to the people of Kalmar that further military action is not in Kalmar's immediate future. Kalmar declares the war a success as it now holds all islands in the Baltic and has lost no land in the war. 

An envoy to the Brandenburg and Polish-Lithuanian Armies declares the Kalmari desire for peace. Kalmar admits the wrong done to Brandenburg, and offers the decimated lands of the Teutons as recompense. 

(Note to the DM; the Kalmari are well aware the Teuton lands are not theirs to give. Rather, they are trying to sow a seed of tension between Brandenburg and Poland-Lithuania. Presumably the lands are occupied by joint armies, and nothing has yet been decided as to what should be done with Teuton lands. Kalmar is making it clear that it believes that Brandenburg should have then. If this is not the situation, ignore the second sentence of the paragraph directly above.)

Also, the Anatolian Army is still unaccounted for, and may be doing who knows what in Poland-Lithuania. When Kalmar re-establishes contact (which they aren't trying overly hard to do) it will call them off and tell them to return home, assuming overtures of peace are proceeding reasonably well. Obviously, communications are quite difficult in this day and age...

(Oh, and when did England get Scotland? I missed that.)

Meanwhile, Cardinal Bjornson has passed Gibraltar and is currently staying on one of the islands of the Mediterranean Sea owned by Aragon. He is distressed to hear of the Spanish situation, and encourages the Spanish Catholics to hold to the good faith, and to show Chrisitan righteousness and mercy in equal measure.

[Flagmauth]

[England never did get all of Scotland but they've got a little over half of it IIRC.]

The Poles and Brandenburgers both seem open to this...Brandenburg can hardly object to so much new territory being handed to it essentially for free, and Poland-Lithuania has a firm belief in its own ability to push the weaker German state around, thus giving it essentially a whole heck of a lot of influence over these lands.

The Catholics in Spain are pleased at Bjornson's visit, although it is fairly obvious the war is straining Aragon's resources almost to the breaking point.

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