Philibert de Naillac
The 34th Grandmaster of the Order of St. John (1396-1421).
We arrive at Rhodes in the beginning of the year of our Lord 1419. Philibert de Naillac is in his 24th year as Grandmaster of the Order. He is a veteran of the battlefields of the Levant, and is driven by two strong wishes: Liberation of the Holy Land, and destruction of the heathen Turks!
The Ottoman Turks had since long expanded into the Balkan, and in 1394 AD the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid had proclaimed himself Sultan of Rome to spite the Christians. When the Pope arranged an offensive in 1396 to answer the Sultan, de Naillac had just been elected Grandmaster and eagerly supported the joint Papal forces. The campaign was a total disaster and the force was almost completely annihilated by the Ottoman forces at the Battle of Nicopolis, the Grandmaster narrowly escaping alive.
It was not without some delight he witnessed Tamerlane's assault on the Ottomans, and their devastating defeat in the battle of Ankara on July 28 1402. Some delight, but it was also with some concern he thought of the horde of horsemen from the east. The concern shifted to relief upon the death of the king of the hordes, and the following discord and civil war between the Ottoman pretenders, greatly weakening his foes.
In 1419 the Knights held the Island of Rhodes, which yielded a very minor annual income of 10d. The Order could easily support an army of 9000 men and a navy of 11 galleys.
(Yep - that's it. 9k army/11 navy support limit... add to this the whopping annual income from Rhodes of 10d. As mentioned I have no tolerance for the muslims (slider all to the left) while the Catholic slider is all the way to the right. This leaves Orthodox in the middle.
The DPs are allready maxed at aristocracy, quality and a 9 on serfdom. Narrowminded (3) and slightly defensive and naval (4). First DP move is +1 offensive.)
The Order have an understanding (i.e. an alliance) with the Mameluke rulers in Egypt which give them access to the Holy Land, and provided them with the possibility to focus on the Turks first...
The Beachead
Juan Almeira walked up the street towards the Castle. It was a chilly january evening, and he had pulled his cloak tight around himself when he left the comfort of the main room of the Inn. He had been discussing his experiences from his latest mission - a five month voyage with the Order's navy - with a fellow brother. All members of the Order had to serve a part of their time at sea to gain promotion, and he had been on many of these missions before, but at this time of the year he admitted to himself that he preferred to stay ashore. Preferrably on horse-back.
Almeida was still a young man, but experienced. As a younger son of a Catalan noble he had joined the Order at the age of 16. It seemed a good alternative to a dull career as a clergyman, which seemed to be his only option if he stayed home. He had served with the order for 11 years, mostly with the navy, fighting off corsairs attacking the pilgrims, and occationally raiding a rich Egyptian galley.
As he passed through the gates of the castle and crossed the courtyard he thought of the Grandmaster. He was growing old, and was known to be quite bad-tempered and irascible at times... He hoped he was in a good mood tonight...
When Almeida entered the large war-room he noticed that most of the council was present: The Marshal, Grand Hospitaller, Grand Chancellor, Grand Bailiff, the Turcoplier and of course the Grandmaster was there, while the Admiral was away on a mission.
The Marshal, Sir Jean de Villaret, looked up and addressed him:
- Ah, I see young Almeida is here. Have you settled in after your voyage?
- Well... not yet, but...
- Good! you will soon be on the move again he said with a grin, and glance at the others.
The Grandmaster spoke up:
- You will start preparing tonight. I want you to take command of a company of turcopoles when we go agains the Turks.
- The Turks? What is happending?
- We will move agains Antalya within the month. We have been preparing for months now, and need any able men we can summon. WE have just recieved word that the Ottomans are fighting the Candars in the north, while Karaman are in chaos (-3 stab). It is imperative that we strike fast.
Almeida got exited. Finally - The Grandmaster are moving a gains the heathen Turks! It was not a secret that the Grandmaster hated the Turks, and he was not surprised that they would strike now in the aftermath of the civil war among them.
He quickly received his orders from the Turcoplier, Sir Henry Mandeville, and went out to start his preparations. It didn't seem to be much rest tonight...
In April 1419 the Knights of St. John declared war on the Beylik of Teke, and launced soon after an attack on the strategic port of Antalya. The Knights fielded an army of 9000 men, whereof 200 where heavy knights, 1800 were lighter turcopoles and the rest, about 7000 men, were men-at-arms and crossbowmen. They were surprised by an early attack from the forces of `Uthman Beg, and after a brave stand they retreated to reorganise and launch a counter. Colonel Almeida led his company of turcopoles in a flank manouver to disable the turkish archers that had caused many losses in the initial attack. At one moment it seemed as if the counter had succeeded but new reinforcements from Antalya caused the first campaign to a halt, and the invading army retreated from the field. Returning to Rhodes was a mere 5500 men. The rest were slain by the men of Teke.
The defeated army returned to Rhodes in spring. While the battle was lost the war was by no means over yet! A new attack was planned - New recruits, mostly greeks from the islands, were drilled as men-at-arms, and the Admiral had just arrived with the rest of the fleet, bringing a good 2000 men.
When the fleet again saw the shores by Antalya they were met by a small fleet of Teke galleys, but these were no match for the fast Rhodian galleys. Soon the second invasion force was disembarking on the shores of Antalya. This time they soon got the advantage in the battle following the first meeting with the Turks. The heavy knights under Sir Jean de Villaret wreaked havoc in their lines, and they were soon pushed back. Thus, in the winter of 1420 the knights could initiate a sige of Antalya. The roaming remains of the armies of Teke were hunted down and disposed off in a serie of short campaigns in the spring and summer of 1420. Luckily it seemed as if the Ottomans had no interrest in joining the war.
Unfortunately, the Grandmaster would never see the outcome of the siege of Antalya. The winter of 1421 he caught an illness in his chest, and less than a month later he died.
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