De Hautevilles- Can Anyone Stop the Norman Invasion?

[hjarg]

Here we go, part I of the Mongol wars. Hope you like cliffhangers! And bonuses in being on sickleave- i can write and play all that i want!


SirkTheMonkey - Heretics have full Holy War CB on their own faith. Means Cathars have one on Catholics, Bogomils on Orthodox and so on. Unfortunately, when i'm Cathar, i don't have Holy War on these orthodox heretics, so i have to move the old way- luring poor potential claimants, marrying them matrilineally and waiting for them to die. I have still quite good number of them baking in the oven, so the wars should continue. But yes, try heretic, it's fun! Just a word of warning though- the rest of catholics get a holy war CB on you as well and unless you are strong... you could end up warring with all Europe and losing it all!
As for claims: Sultanate of Seljuk Turks, Mesopotamia, Persia and Egypt. And let's not forget- lots of claims, but the poor man has also lost a lot!

cyrileom - 100 000 strong stack of doom that takes no attrition strong enough? And no worries, no wussing out!

DensleyBlair, Athalcor, cyrileom- Kwisatz Haderach is indeed more of a title, a result of 1000 years of selective breeding. If the current Emperor-breeding keeps up, then... well, Kwisatz Haderach might be a good title for future de Hautevilles.
But you know, back in CKI, the bride finding was problematic at best. No nice lists of potential brides. Paradox fixed it in Deus Vult expansion, but almost as soon as the game was released, someone (i think Peter Ebbesen, but i'm not putting my head on it) relased an independent bride finding tool. Command line based of all things. And basically, the search options were the usual stat-based, but there was also Kwisatz Haderach option, for finding a bride with the best average stats. And in the end, it said something like "Kwisatz Haderach is the goal". I kinda remembered that when i made the Haderach joke Good old days!

As for Dune- yes, read it, DensleyBlair! It is one of the best books ever written.

Chief Ragusa- ah well, his father was with quite good stats when i gave him Duchy of Castille. Can't have them all, i guess. And as for Caliphate- Mongols did also quite a good job in destroying it! Can't claim the whole credit...

 

[SirkTheMonkey]

Noooo, cliffhanger. I was hoping to see how well the battle went against that doomstack because I may need to fight one in my current game.

 

[grumphie]

that is one hell of a large stack. also, first time in what? a century or so? large amounts of levies are called. the only thing i'd have done diffrent was sending heavy inf mainly(preferably levies) to get a shieldwall running, as that makes the flank very durablen for a few days, enough to go outnumber them.

 

[DensleyBlair]

Battle of Dzhankoy, fought in September of 1275, saw an end to Mongol vanguard- and end of the legend of undefeated Mongols.

This battle would also go down in history as the Battle of the Old Woman and the Invisible Man.

And what a cliffhanger! Wonderful to see some Mongol action - I can't wait for the resolution of the battle.

And I shall have a look for Dune. If it is truly the best book ever written, it should be worth a try

 

[Nikolai]

Quite the host the Mongols have. Hopefully your troops will prove to be hardened enough.

 

[hjarg]

Doomstacks on Horizion, Pari II- The Battle of Kairy

Arrival of the Horde

Kagan Alchi had ruled the Horde for over 20 years. Alchi the Wise, they called him. He had seen numerous wars, with Horde always coming out on top. He thought he knew everything about the war there is to know, and he had expanded the borders of the Horde in expense of these pesky westerners who were so little and didn’t know how to fight. Now, looking at the Norman host, he was uncertain...

His vanguard was destroyed! Of course, they were the meat shield, meant to preserve the true Horde, to soften the enemies. But there was 40 000 soldiers! Not a small army by any accounts, and most of them had seen the battle more then once. Totally destroyed! Some few survivors had crept back to his main army. Avoiding roads, travelling by night, all that. Scared and scarred men. They had told that they were winning, but in the night, Normans had planted seeds of soldiers on the ground and by morning, the Normans were multiplied by thousands, fresh new soldiers coming out of the ground, until there were millions of them.

Alchi chuckled at the thought. Normans had some reinforcements nearby and had most likely brought them in during the night, but these scared men. Heh! He had them impaled for running away, but that did not stop his own mind asking the main questions: how many were there and how tough are they?

Alchi with his personal bodyguard

Marching across the burnt and looted province of Lower Dnieper did not help. There was little food and even less water. Of course, Mongols were prepared for such a thing, carrying their own supplies, but still, the fastness and efficiency of the Normans was not a good sight.

Normans? Alchi of course knew about them, but only as a rumor. Il-Kagnate shared common borders with them, and Mongols had tried to send raiding parties across the borders. Result- instead of being scared, the local lords had managed to invent a new sport event- hunting Mongols. That was most unusual... In short time, they adapted their equipment and tactics to best suit the Mongol-hunting, adapted their early warning systems to quickly react and soon, Kagan himself put a stop to these raids and did not dare to move westwards. As for Normans, they were so disappointed that the raids ended that they even sent an angry letter to Kagan, claiming they were in the middle of the season and it was not good sportsmanship to stop halfway.

As for now- Normans had retreated to Perekop isthmus, piece of land connecting Crimea and continent. About 30 000 of them, but as far as Alchi could see, they were not worried at all about meeting the force three times the size. The fact that they were facing Mongols did not seem to make much difference as well. Alchi had sent two of his smaller units to do the usual Mongol tactic- fight, flee and make the enemies chase you right to the middle of big Mongol army. Normans took the fight, bloodied the Mongols, but when Mongols fled, stayed put. Refused to move. That was unheard of!

Alchi could see that the Normans were forcing his hands and he did not like it. Not like he had a choice though. March back across the looted province would not work out so well- and march like that would surely make the Horde question his leadership, so there would be only one option- fight! On Norman terms.

Alchi sighed and ordered the assault. Mongols were finally coming...

Between Anvil and the Hammer

Nazy bint Taimur, the high commander of Norman forces, smiled as the Mongols started to move. They had been lured deep enough to Perekop, a narrow isthmus, that once they arrived, there would be no room for maneuvers. The distance between armies was still a few kilometers, and she gave the order for Normans to retreat. They should be able to move back a kilometre, where the 30 000 of Norman vanguard, Adelise’s most trusted troops, would join up with half of the remaining army, making their strength to about 75 000 soldiers. Still not enough to win the war, but that was part of the plan...

The morning was still foggy when the Mongols started to move. So foggy that no-one could see what was happening at sea- enough to cover over 1000 ships that entered from the hideouts along the coast and were rowing fast towards the Perekop, just a kilometre behind Mongol lines. Norman efficiency- soldiers jumped aboard fast, took to the shore, ship left, next arrived. In about 2 hours, while Mongols were still moving towards the Norman positions and Normans were retreating, the wide beach had seen another 75 000 Norman soldiers embarking.

Meanwhile, the battle was slowly starting. Norman vanguard had reached their positions and Mongols were in for a surprise when they found out that the number of enemies had doubled. Still, they assaulted the Normans and Normans stood strongly. The losses on both sides were getting high, but Mongols were unable to break the Norman lines. Mongol mobility meant nothing when in direct battle in a place with limited maneuver possibilities- the only way to win for them was to break through the enemy lines. Normans knew that well and thus, refused to move. Most of them properly armored and shielded, the Mongols had a hard time killing them.

Then, the rest of the Normans arrived, undetected to the last minute. Guess it wasn’t the Mongol way to look behind. Started with the traditional charge of the heavy cavalry, scattering the Mongol rearguard and plowing their way to the center of Mongol forces. Then, the lines of defenders opened up and heavy cavalry poured across the defenders, charging as well. As a result, Mongols were scattered, confused and for the first time in Europe, could taste the bitter taste of defeat and death in their mouths. Fighting a determined enemy with more soldiers and better tactics, these poor Mongols did not stood a chance.

The Normans charging

In the battle outside small village of Kairy, Mongols were defeated for the first time. And even defeat was planned- the defending Normans opened their lines even more, giving an opening for the desperate Mongols to flee- right to the Crimean peninsula, where they would be trapped.

The biggest battle in history of Europe was over, and Normans were victorious. But at what price? Though more then 60 000 Mongols were killed, 17 394 Normans also lost their lives. That was enough corpses to fill an army- though overall, thinking about the size of the battle, the losses were not that high.

The different stages of the battle

And the result

As an additional insult for the Kagan, she was defeated by a woman. Nazy bint Taimur, who had married William de Hauteville and moved from Arabian Peninsula to Palermo, was the commander of the Norman forces and brain behind the plan that so beautifully trapped and encircled the Mongols.

Only in Cathar Empire- leader of Norman forces

 

[hjarg]

First, i've shamelessly taken Kairy from shores of the Dniepr and moved the poor village to Perikop. Made more fun that way! Plus, i've put Kagan Alchi in charge of the Horde. Out of mercy, he was most likely hiding somewhere in his capital.

And now, this is it. The biggest battle i've ever fought in CK! 260 000 combatants. Heh, wish mr. Guiscard would live to see this. With that, Golden Horde is almost defeated. Hopefully they are all out of doomstacks at least.

SirkTheMonkey - just make sure you have enough soldiers and that the Mongols attack you where you want them to. Lure them in- and miracle, doomstack defeated!

grumphie - my stack is bigger! And you can even sort out troops like that? Didn't even know it was possible...

DensleyBlair - yea, my portraits are kinda messed up. And allowing female councillors allowed them to take up arms as well. But what is more embarrasing to Kagan then being beaten by old woman?

Nikolai- as you can see, they have proved hardened enough

 

[Nikolai]

Defeated by a woman. The Khagan will surely be the laughing stock of his realm.

 

[SirkTheMonkey]

Aye, I had numerous defeats until I looked at your first battle and figured out the trick was luring them to you rather than overwhelming force. In my case that meant sailing 100K or so troops up to the White Sea but it was worth it to smash the Il-Khanate's deathstack.
Those are some insane numbers for your massive win. 940 piety! Think of all the divorces you could arrange with that.

 

[DensleyBlair]

I can do nothing but applaud you, though the war ages on.

I think, even after having bobbed so much, this AAR continues to be entertaining because of all of the things one can do with so many troops This is the first time I've ever seen anyone defeat a Mongol stack.

 

[Ricardo Rolo]

I wonder how being defeated by a woman ruler with a army commanded by another woman will sink in the Khaganate Anyway, if you bring a whole wing commanded by a 2 mil general, you deserve to lose

Now on the war .. in spite of this smashing victory over the atrittionless Horde ( and it's 13.5% contribution to the war score ), you still have a 40k stack of Mongols to deal with and probably a couple more of sieges to do before you can wrap this war... and, after that and with some luck, the Horde will start collapsing and you can start moving east to finish the game in grand style

 

[unmerged(58610)]

If it's any comfort to the mongols, the norman commander doesn't look that female. 160000 Normans is a bit of a departure. Usually, the personal retinue is enough. Now the pursuit to finish off the mongols and claim the Crimea.

 

[hjarg]

Doomstacks on Horizon, Part III

Crushing the Horde

Though the Horde was defeated, there was still 40 000 soldiers in it. Of course, they were running for their lives, but nevertheless, it was bigger then armies European forces could field. So, Mongols run to Crimea while Normans run to their ships and also sailed to Crimea- beating Mongols to Bakhchisaray. There, in the beginning of December, Normans took another victory. And Mongols found out what happened to their vanguard- the area was still littered with corpses from the previous battle. 15 000 Mongols joined them, and 25 000 were still alive.

Mongols fled on to south, where a Mongol ruled over the southern part of the Crimean peninsula. Independent from the Horde, he was still sympathetic and allowed Kagal Alchi to hide in his city. Normans followed of course and in battle outside Kherson, Horde was thinned by another 12 000 soldiers. Now, the Mongols were resembling more a small ragtag army then a horde of fierce warriors and they finally got the point- you have to flee north, away from Crimea.

Since Normans were at war with that particular Mongol as well (as part of helping Byzantine Hautevilles), they quickly took the holdings. Might i say assaulting is a pure pleasure when you have over 100 000 soldiers, but still, Kagan was not to be found and Normans didn’t spend much time there. Instead, they followed the Mongols back North.

After the battle of Kherson, Mongols already gave up. They were willing to cede Crimea to Normans, if the Normans left the remnants of the Horde alive. Normans did their best to delay the Mongol envoy. It was made easier by the fact that Mongol envoy was used to ride in, spit on his partners and demand everything or they be killed to the last man. This new unusual situation where he had to beg and grovel and be polite was quite unusual to the poor man, so when his usual strong arming tactics failed, he was dumbfounded.

The Horde being thinned down a bit more

The Mongol envoy arrived to Adelise during Christmas and the remnants of the Horde were defeated outside Aqmescit in the beginning of January. Last 15 000 of the once powerful Horde were surrounded, forced to defensive and killed. The poor Mongols were so demoralized and tired and unable to offer any resistance that while killing 15 000 Mongols, only 74 Normans lost their lives. With that, the Horde was destroyed and the Beast of the East number one defeated. Golden Horde will of course remain a power, but when the Horde is lost, they are not that scary anymore.

The final battle with the Horde

Crimea, a 5-province Duchy, was added to Norman lands. Guntard de Hauteville, husband to the firstborn daughter of Adelise, Eremberga, was given these lands to rule as he saw fit. The Duchy title was still held by Mongols, but as soon as their war ends, the Normans will take that too. It is the first Duchy taken directly from the Horde and defeating the Mongols had made the Norman prestige to go through the roof. They were really the military power of the Europe.

The end of the war

Meanwhile in Europe

Kaiser Leopold III did something really-really unexpected. That really messes up the power balance of Europe. Best Norman hopes are though that the Kaiser drops the bucket soon and his son and heir (who is currently imprisoned by the Kaiser alongside with Queen Peronella of Leon) will not share his father’s strange ideas.

The world has gone really-really crazy...

 

[hjarg]

This is it! First doomstack killed!

Nikolai - hopefully! Mongols need more humour and less murdering!

SirkTheMonkey - yea, lure the Mongols where you can fight them with advantage Best way to defeat the Horde! Congrats

DensleyBlair - war is done too And it's rare, but not unusual- for example, SirkTheMonkey above you did achieve just the same. Still, there are only so much Mongols and Hordes left...

Ricardo Rolo - Well, at least the war is done and it only did require some assaults and defeat of one Doomstack. Let's see how the Mongols live through the defeat of their Horde- though collapse is a bit yearly, i think.

Chief Ragusa - i was told she was stunning when she was younger As for soldiers- you pick the right amount of troops against the right amount of enemies. Europe doesn't require such a huge force... Anyways, Crimea claimed.

 

[SirkTheMonkey]

Why would the Kaiser convert to Catharism? There's no logical reason. Just because Europe's mightiest power follows the faith and regularly uses it as an excuse to invade and steal your lands? Or that the Catholic Church has been reduced to a small conclave hiding out in a backwater church? I see no reason why he should follow some here-today-gone-tomorrow heresy.

Anyway, always nice to see a Mongol horde destroyed. Two more hordes to go?

 

[Athalcor]

Erm...wtf that HRE CoA?!

 

[unmerged(58610)]

And so the Mongols lose their first horde. the d'Hauteville empire will pick up any pieces that fall loose.

They call the Kaiser the wise, and becoming Cathar is the way to preserve what's left of the Empire, except it won't, because he'll have revolting vassals.

 

[Nikolai]

Hmmm, smart Kaisar!

 

[Ricardo Rolo]

I agree with SirkTheMonkey: even in religious terms why would not the Kaiser turn Cathar, with such a display of force by the Cathar Norman empire, especially in a world where judgement by duel and similars were common ? OFC, the practical side of avoiding being Holy warred every ten years also counts, I guess

Anyway, one less Hordish stack to deal, one more duchy ( and you can form the Kingdom of Taurica soon IIRC ). As I assume you are running short of enemies, I think that sending a hired blade to Germany would probably be a good idea ... or maybe wait for the Catholic rebellions to arise would be better ?

 

[DensleyBlair]

Erm...wtf that HRE CoA?!

A rather unwelcome side affect of modding in a new sovereignty is that all of the CoA's are jumbled around. A constituent county/duchy/kingdom's CoA will take the place of the original one. For example, Frisia becomes the HRE. Very often, England will change to Northumberland, and Hungary will become Pecs, IIRC.

As for the war - congratulations! You're the first person I've ever seen defeat the Mongols (as previously mentioned.) Taurica is somewhere I've always wanted to create, but have never been able to - I imagine I'll be able to see it soon...