Compilation of Turns; Crusades RP

THE ASSAULT 1180

15,000 Roman troops assemble in the Theme of Chersones. Their first target is closing the neck of the Island (peninsula) like Hadrian.

The Imperial army marches, and meets a army of Cumans measuring in the thousands. The Commander in charge, Andronikos Philokales, prepares countermeasures to the traditional enemy tactics. The discipline of the army must be relied upon to negate the nomadic power of the Cumans. 

Need a 6. 

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The Romans lose -1,000 men, the cumans up to 5,000. 


Fortresses are planned on the neck of the peninsula as the Imperial army attacks Cuman forces on the mainland. Minimum of 7. 




The Cumans are driven out. Roman troops attempt to garrison the interior via forts. The theme of Upper Cherson is tentatively created. 




The Imperial navy supports an assault on the east. The City of Phanagoria, a Roman possession, is a important one for the taman peninsula contains deposits for Greek fire production.

We attempt to lead the Cumans to a shore in the south-east. 



No dice. The Imperial army strikes out from Phanagoria, and tries to catch a Cuman force some days march out from Tmutarakan. 



Imperial missile and cavalry troops target fleeing Cumans, while the infantry march. 



While we gain victory, the Cumans escape with much of their force. Darn fast nomads. The Commander calls a halt, as the most foolish decision is to fall into the nomadic trick of a false retreat. 


BETWEEN THE TWO RIVERS. 


Meanwhile,  5,000 Roman troops assemble at the small town of Aegyssus. They are joined by 5,000 locals. They set out to take the coastal lands from the Danube to the Danastus (dniester) 

They are opposed by 8-10,000 Cuman warriors, and the battle takes place in the hinterlands. The local troops act as light infantry covering for the disciplined Roman infantry and defensive troops. 




Some local troops are run down but the Cumans overstep their bounds, impacting with a crunch upon the serried Imperial lines. 

The army remains in good order, and attempts to strike forward with the hope of drawing the campaign to a close. 



The Cumans retreat past the Danastus. Hopefully they are killed by Russians or lose the will to fight. ·············

Venice and Hungary 11-whatever-the-year-is

Venice sends more men into Aquileia to finish off the annoying rebels who for some reason do not appreciate the Doge’s benevolent leadership. The campaign is short as the rebels can’t possibly stand against Venice’s mercenaries.

Venice doesn't do much other than keep building boats (Rule Venetzia! Venetzia rules the waves!) and making da monies (ok I'll be honest, I have little knowledge in economics and that sort of thing). Some more land along Dalmatia is taken and consolidated but the Doge is careful not to encroach to far on Byzantium.


Meanwhile in Hungary.....

In accordance with a deal (more on that “deal” later) struck with Byzantium, Hungary strikes at the nomad Cumans. The 30,000 man strong standing army musters at the border with the Cumans. Alongside these troops are the newly formed Polish Lisowczycy Cavalry mercenaries who have been recruited. The Cumans suffered many defeats against the Byzantines and as they struggle to defend Hungary strikes. The Lisowczycy is sent to harass the enemy in the region claimed by Hungary (see map below, orange is Hungary’s claimed land and purple Byzantium’s) after Byzantium and Hungary agreed on dividing Cumania.




With Byzantium attacking the Cumans and the Lisowczycy harassing the Cumans, the Hungarians move in. The first target is Craiova and the surrounding area. We need a….lets say a 5 or above for this initial strike as the Cumans are probably disorganised.

2W3A|JVz

A victory! The Cumans defending that area are routed and retreat. Hungary pushes deeper into Wallachia. Two simultaneous attacks are launched in an effort to split the defending Cumans. One attack strikes at Turnu the other at Barlad.

Turnu (need a 6):



Barlad (need a 7):



The battle at Barlad goes well with Hungary having a great victory. However, the Hungarian general had failed to predict where the Cumans woudl group. He expected the bulk of their forces in this area to assemble at Barlad, not Turnu however the opposite happened and the Cumans sent the bulk of their forces to Turnu instead. A smaller force had been sent to Turnu which was not prepared to face the larger force and thus the Hungarian troops lost. However it was not over yet. The troops from Barlad swung around behind the Cuman's main lines and with the help of the Lisowczycy they surround the Cumans. The forces are roughly equal in number with the Hungarians having slightly more. The Hungarians also have the advantage of most of their troops being in a better shape than the Cumans with the exception of those troops originally sent to take Turnu.

I will need a 6 or above to win.



The battle is another success and most of the Cumans are killed, captured or desert.

The Lisowczycy now receive their payment. Instead of taking wages, they ransack towns and although the King of Hungary hates looting, he hates losing more and so allows them to loot an area of their choice so long as it was within the area claimed by Hungary (because the King respects his allies and would not wish to raid areas agreed to be claimed by Byzantium). Where do they loot? Five or above and they loot the richer cities along the Dniester-ish area otherwise they loot along the Danube-ish area.



The Lisowczycy loot the area claimed by Hungary along and near the Dniester and Black Sea coast, much of this has yet to actually be taken by Hungary and is planed to be taken once the army is rested. However the Lisowczycy find a surprisingly large ammount of Byzantine troops, not Cumans in Hungary's claimed area. This confuses the King and his generals who assume the Byzantines are still of course honouring the agreement and simply decided to be kind and assist the Hungarians in capturing its land. Nonetheless an envoy is sent to Byzantium to confirm their intentions. The King sees this as little more than a formality and assurance as he is certain the Emperor is trustworthy and would not take land not agreed on.

Once the Hungarian's and Lisowczycy are replenished, the move onto the next campagin which is to take the rest of its claimed land (aside from the bit Byzantium seems to kindly be assisting us with). Lets say we need a 6 to finish this up since Byzantium kicked them down pretty good and they had a large ammount of troops defeated at Turnu.



More casulties are taken than hoped but the job is done and all of Hungary's claimed territory is under Hungarian control, well except for that bit that we are waiting for Byzantium to transfer.




Order of Battle (Since everyone has a lot of troops I guess I’ll have a lot of troops or else I’m screwed. However if people think that its disproportionately large or small let me know and I’ll change it)

Venetian Army:

Standing Army: 10,000

Guardia Republicana: 5,000 (currently in Verona)

Levies: 30,000 (10,000 currently in Verona, the rest not currently raised)

Mercenaries: Varies. A lot can be mustered if need be.

Venetian Navy:

110 Great Galleass
100 Galleys
30 Cogs

Hungarian Army:

Standing Army: 30,000

Levies (Currently raised): 50,000

To bee cee or not to bee (cee)? I dunno, maybe I'll continue maybe not.···········

Portugal 1184 (Under Afonso I):

Political:
-Portugal has gained alliance with the Angevin Empire (Desophaeus) and Burgundy (@icantremembertheusernamerightnow)
-Portugal sends a final appeal to the pope to declare war on the Moors. I'll roll for it in the main thread.

Military:
-15,000 Portuguese active duty
-10,000 Reserves
-25,000 from Burgundy
-25,000 from Angevin or whatever it's called

Economy:
-Government is forced to raise taxes in order to take care of the 50,000 troops from other countries.
-A church is finished earlier than expected. People gladly attend.

Ayyubid Sultanate 1184

OOC:

In 1183, the Ayyubids didn't do much from what was written except making ties to the Hashemites.

Anyway, part of this turn will be done in a 3rd Person POV. Not all, only the main event of the year.

IC:

Before the peace talks at Baghdad start, another effort of bribery, plotting, and sending of agent starts at Baghdad. Roll for how much growth the Ayyubid spy network grows.

9NXEShPW

A steady growth of the already-acceptable Ayyubid spy network brings great influence on the Caliph's court. Most of the city officials are Ayyubid men, and many of its residents are Ayyubid symphatizers.

---

Marwan

Marwan sighed - he was lucky to be standing still in his small, austere stall and not being in the mass of men approaching the Baghdad markets. He had talked to his customers a few days before, and desultory conversation gave the impression of a huge Ayyubid and Rum host coming to Baghdad for peace. Their arrival was announced around Baghdad, including Marwan's district. Yet it took six more hours for those men to arrive to the market. Marwan thought a congestion had happened at the gates.

Here they are, he thought. A large, tired host, who soon will find themselves clamoring in the market.

With the band of men entering the market, Marwan started to sell.

"Silks, my friend?"

Some listened to Marwan's offers and looked. They haggled back and forth, and the silks eventually changed hands. That went on for a few hours as usual - Marwan always lost the track of time when he sold, before being reminded by a call to prayer. The sun was still up, admittedly.

Then came a richly-dressed man, with five guards by his side.

"Have you fine silks, merchant?" said the bearded man. His voice was authoritative, and he wasted no time nor asked permission to begin feeling his goods, carefully examining the silks on display.

"Why, yes, friend. We silks and laces and soft wool, all fine. In fact, I might get some-"

A band of men walked to Marwan's stall. "Kukbary?" 

All the eyes in the market turned to the man's party. Some in Seljuk dress, and some in Arab dress. The man calling for Kukbary put his hand over his sword's scabbard. In response, Kukbary's guard along with some men in the market held their swords and readied their spears. Kukbary did not draw his sword, his hands instead extended to shake. "Here I am, brother. Peace be with you." The man's hands did not move from the scabbard, though.

"Peace be with you, and that is all the courtesy you deserve." Kukbary's hand moved back to his hips. "If you wish."

The man's hand stayed on his scabbard, his eyes now staring into Kukbary. "You are Kukbary, Salah al-Din's second-in-command at Raqqa?" Kukbary nodded. Marwan was worried. The man had a frown, and his face seemed vengeful. Marwan also saw Kukbary's face to know more than he showed, understanding why he was called upon.

"I am Said of Nurguz; Half of the men in Nurguz died in Raqqa, most in your pursuit." Kukbary listened to the man intently. "And that is war, brother-" Kukbary wanted to continue, yet the man grunted and stridden forward, spitting at Kukbary. "A war which you have won, and a pursuit which you pursued only for death.  I might say too that you caused such war-"

"Murderer!" a yell sprung up from a market corner. Marwan ducked, expecting a confrontation. More men approached to Kukbary, and joined the chant. "Torturer! Traitor!" Soon, two sides began to form. A line of Seljuks and another of Ayyubids, Marwan thought. At least that was how their clothes looked.

With a crowd behind his back, Said picked up a rock. "I, Said of Nurguz, demand trial of combat on Kukbary. May Allah favor the innocent." The rock was thrown, and swooshed through the air, hitting Kukbary. He and his guard reeled.

The sound of drawing steel was heard on both sides. Dust kicked up as the Seljuks charged on Kukbary. Marwan didn't care much to show his neck during the fight - A man was stabbed and fell upon the front of his stall. The sound of clanging steel, battle-cries, and fistfights were heard, along with dust kicking up. Marwan hid in his stall for the most of it, and his peeks did not provide comforting views - a man was thrown into the opposite stall, of a vase-seller. The vase broke, and its shards hit some of the fighters, them yelling in pain with such high-pitched screams that it seemed to sound like steam.

The same yells and shrieks continued, until another sound was heard. An ordered beat marched to the market, beating their weapons on the ground too. Marwan didn't dare to look up, but he heard a monotone voice, almost like a town crier reading, muffled by the screams and protests of the market.

When the sounds were gone, Marwan looked up. His own stall had been a mess - silks were torn and boards broke. Other stalls were not spared: crushed fruit and its juices littered the ground, broken shards of vase, and the swordseller's stall being conspicously empty.

Marwan reasoned that the city guard detained the fighting men, and sighed a breath of relief.

[Will continue. 1st POV is finished. I plan to make 2-4 POVs on the Baghdad negotiations. I might merge the 2nd and 3rd POVs along with telling the 4th in a chronicle and not a POV, but we'll see what happens. 2nd POV will be in the shoes of an Ayyubid soldier, 3rd if not merged will be another citizen]
···

Our attack to the South is a huge success. With the number of troops we have, we are able to quickly secure the ground. For the Southeastern attack, we are able to secure for no counterattack, and we don't lose many men.

For the Southern Attack: With the number of troops we have, Sancho I pushes to destroy their army that just retreated. A 9 will be needed, since we do have to leave troops behind in case we lose.
Xoqk4CUz
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Portugal 1185 Part 2 of 2

Economy:
Unfortunately, with the recent War declaration, more products are going to fighting the War than ever. However, the War time spirit has encouraged people to work harder. Exports are limited to increase products at home.

Political:
Alonso I (who would've died in battle this year, if we had been battling for awhile) seeks naval support on the East borders of the Iberian Peninsula. He seeks to begin a naval invasion to open second front.