Heaven On Earth: Part One

**General_BT** · 14-08-2008 16:53

That sounds like a Pyhrric victory to me. 25k Orthodox to take down 30k Mongols? Not a good ratio... not a good ratio at all...

**Enewald** · 14-08-2008 17:26

Originally Posted by General_BT

That sounds like a Pyhrric victory to me. 25k Orthodox to take down 30k Mongols? Not a good ratio... not a good ratio at all...

But it proves that mongols are mortal.

**Kurt_Steiner** · 15-08-2008 10:20

Originally Posted by General_BT

That sounds like a Pyhrric victory to me. 25k Orthodox to take down 30k Mongols? Not a good ratio... not a good ratio at all...

Better a Phyrric victory than a defeat...

**asd21593** · 18-08-2008 20:30

Once again, I've been pretty busy and haven't had time to write updates. I'm just as frustrated with the lack of updates as you are. Sorry again, I'll try to update as soon as possible...

asd

**Edzako** · 18-08-2008 21:00

Originally Posted by asd21593

Once again, I've been pretty busy and haven't had time to write updates. I'm just as frustrated with the lack of updates as you are. Sorry again, I'll try to update as soon as possible...

Take your time, I can wait if you can keep up high quality , as it are now.

**asd21593** · 18-08-2008 23:18

Heaven On Earth

Emperor Manuel II: The Descent Of Empires: VII
(Mood Music)

Over 40,000 Mongol troops were originally sent into the Orthodox land above the Danube. But once Poland had fallen, an additional 20,000 Orthodox troops were available to invade the Balkans. And since Hungary and Transylvania were so heavily mountainous, the Mongols were happy to send the extra 20,000 men into Hungary. The Orthodox Empire had even more men than the Mongols; their forces were concentrated in the Balkans and added up to about 150,000 men. In addition to this, they had the Carpathian Mountains to defend them.

However, the vast majority of these troops were stationed in Thrace and Greece and not Hungary. And Manuel II did not want to send too many troops beyond the natural defense of the Danube, so only 50,000 men were sent into Hungary. This was originally thought to outnumber the 40,000 Mongols. But with the addition of 20,000 more from Poland, the Orthodox were outnumbered. Upon learning the news that they were outnumbered, the Orthodox troops separated themselves and retreated into the many mountaintop castles and forts across Transylvania.

One of the many mountaintop forts of Transylvania

The rebellious wasteland that was Hungary, still reeling from the “Rape,” was allowed to fall into the hands of the Mongols without a fight. The populace of Hungary even cooperated with the Mongols. To further trouble the Orthodox, 10,000 Hungarian men joined the Mongol horde. The Mongols agreed to reestablish the Hungarian Kingdom under Bela IV, as long as they agreed to pay tribute to the Mongols. Also, everything that the now 70,000 man Mongol-Hungarian army would conquer would fall into the hands of the Kingdom of Hungary, essentially, the Hungarians would rule over all Mongol conquests in the Balkan Peninsula.

A medieval depiction of King Bela IV of Hungary

So the enlarged horde moved into Transylvania. At first, they had difficulty traversing the rugged Carpathian terrain, but the Hungarians in the army were able to guide the Mongols through the mountains. Wisely, they stopped activities throughout the early months of 1243, when there would be much snow and freezing cold. Then in the spring of 1243, they resumed actions. The Orthodox hilltop forts were originally a thorn in the Mongol side. But eventually, the Mongol numbers overwhelmed the Orthodox. The divided Orthodox troops were picked off in their forts one by one. But they had caused sufficient damage to the Mongol army, killing about 10,000 Mongols. Eventually by the end of 1243, all Orthodox land above the Danube had fallen to the Mongols.

**Kurt_Steiner** · 19-08-2008 10:32

That Bela is a bit of a Quisling...

Now comes the final battle...

**Lord Valentine** · 19-08-2008 16:25

Originally Posted by Kurt_Steiner

That Bela is a bit of a Quisling...

Now comes the final battle...

Exactly! Let's see whether the Mongols and the traitorous Hungarians can follow up these series of large skirmishes with a victory in the empires heartland.

~Lord Valentine~

**asd21593** · 20-08-2008 22:14

Heaven On Earth

Emperor Manuel II: Salvation
(Mood Music)

It was the beginning of the year 1244, when 60,000 Mongol and Hungarian troops crossed the Danube. The Orthodox defenders on the Danube had panicked and retreated into the major cities of Sofia, Thessaloniki, and of course, Constantinople. Manuel II believed that the Mongols would be wiped out in the Balkans. The Orthodox had forces in excess of 100,000. But suddenly, the Mongols were joined in their trek across the Danube by 20,000 additional Hungarians and other non-Orthodox Balkan peoples.

The 80,000 Mongols went on to lay siege on Sofia, the capital of the Imperial Province of Bulgaria. Further north, the lands of Croatia and Serbia fell to the few Mongols that invaded those areas, since they had been disconnected from the main part of the Orthodox Empire. The 20,000 defenders of Sofia knew that the city would fall. They only tried to hold out for as long as possible to give Constantinople time to prepare itself. They killed about 5,000 Mongols. Eventually, by the end of spring, Sofia fell to the Mongols. Constantinople lay open to the wrath of 75,000 Mongols.

Fighting outside the city of Sofia

The Mongols arrived at the gates of Constantinople on May 29th 1244. Immediately, they began to bombard the city with all their siege weapons. Wave upon wave of flaming rocks smashed up against the mighty walls of Constantinople for days. But still, the thick, giant walls stood firm and showed little damage. For the entire month of June, the Mongols made no direct assault on the city, except for the occasional barrage of rocks.

Then, during the month of July, the Mongols constantly assaulted the city. But Constantinople had recently been hoarded with over 50,000 defenders, which meant it had more defenders than all of Greece. So they easily repelled the Mongols. During the failed July assaults, the Mongols lost over 10,000 men.

Then during the month of August, the Mongols received new energy and renewed their assaults on the city. They concentrated their 65,000 men on one portion of the walls and unleashed all their power, both men and siege engines. The charging men, battering rams, and catapults were too much. So on August 12th, the Mongols crashed through the gates of Constantinople and poured into the city. The populace went into a panic and retreated towards the innermost part of the city. This hampered military movements further and allowed the Mongols to move deeper into the city, massacring and rampaging as they went. By nightfall, half of Constantinople was in Mongol hands, with the exception of Blachernae Palace, which was holding out, although it was deep in Mongol held land. To make the situation even more critical, the entire Imperial Family, including Emperor Manuel II, were trapped inside it, with the 1,000 man Varangian Guard. It seemed as if the now flaming city might fall.

Mongols at the walls of Constantinople, watching the red sky

But then, on the morning of August 20th, 10,000 men from Greece appeared on the horizon. Most were on horseback, and it seemed that they were led by the entire nobility of Greece. They had organized themselves into an army and come to save the Empire! This would go down in history as the greatest show of loyalty in the Orthodox Empire. They charged over the horizon and smashed into the Mongol camp outside the city. Immediately after, they headed straight for Blachernae Palace, where the Emperor and the Varangians were still struggling to hold out.

The charge that saved Constantinople and the Orthodox Empire

They crashed into the Mongols attacking the palace and with the help of Manuel II and his guards; they massacred the shocked Mongol troops. They broke out from the palace grounds and pushed forward, killing every Mongol in their way. Meanwhile an Orthodox pincer movement in the Mongol center trapped thousands of Mongols and allowed the Orthodox to cut them all down. All the Orthodox forces banded together and marched throughout the city, killing every Mongol in sight, until the Mongols were running out of the city. By dusk, the city was in Orthodox hands once more. The Mongols had gone from 75,000 men to 25,000. The Orthodox were not immune to casualties and had lost 30,000 men. But the price was worth it, the Empire was saved!

A diagram of the Siege of Constantinople, following the charge of the Greek nobility

**phargle** · 20-08-2008 22:20

Salvation? The title makes us worry, it does. . .

It was the beginning of the year 1244, when 60,000 Mongol and Hungarian troops crossed the Danube.

Hooray!

The empire was saved!

Boo!

Actually, the borrowed drama works very well in this section. The scene where the Mongols break the walls is intense.

And yet, is the empire really saved? It sounds like the Mongols control the Balkans now too. That's a lot of ground to make up.

**asd21593** · 20-08-2008 22:23

The above update is what I consider to be the absolute climax of the AAR. And from this moment on, I will try to return the mood music to the epic folk metal that it was previously.

Enjoy!

EDIT: To phargle - Well, the Empire sure does have a lot of land to reconquer, but at least Constantinople wasn't captured, thus the Empire is still alive, yet still considerably weak

asd

**Lord Valentine** · 20-08-2008 22:35

The Queen of Cities is saved! Already when I saw the first picture I thought to myself "this is a Lord of the Rings like moment", and it turned out to be quite fitting. Mongol force in Europe should be blunted now, however I have the feeling they brought this unto themselves through the same strategic mistake the Turks made at the Second Siege of Vienna. You just don't commit all your troops to a frontal attack of a greatly fortified city without looking out for dangers to your rear.

Well anyway I hope the city did not take too much damage. We don't want to see 1204 repeat itself you know.

~Lord Valentine~

**asd21593** · 20-08-2008 23:02

Originally Posted by Lord Valentine

The Queen of Cities is saved! Already when I saw the first picture I thought to myself "this is a Lord of the Rings like moment", and it turned out to be quite fitting.

The charge of the Greek nobility is a picture of the charge of the Rohirrim at Helms Deep. Its far away enough for one not to notice that the Mongols are actually orcs.

asd

**Viden** · 20-08-2008 23:41

Heaven on Earth? This is Hell on Earth!

**General_BT** · 21-08-2008 03:41

Somehow I don't think "Forth eorlingas!" translates into Greek that well... stirring battle descriptions, however. I'm worried though - Constantinople might have been saved, but the Mongols still control huge swaths of territory on the Empire's doorstep. I doubt this will be their last visit to the Queen of Cities...