Raid on Hagia Katerini
Thessaloniki, Macedonia
"Comander Demakis! Commander Demakis!"
Three officers were crouched over an old, shabby, wooden table inside the Commander's tent, examining maps of the regions. All three abruptly turned around to face the man.
"What is it now?" grouchily asked the commander, who was wearing the most expeninsive clothing of the three. The man at the entrance of the tent floundered to get some maps from his bag, spilling papers all over the grass bottom of the tent.
"Well commander, it's - it's - it's..." he said grabbing as many of them as he could. He ruffled through them, looking for the paper he wanted to show to the commander. Demakis slowly walked towards the papers, unnoticed by the man as he was too busy picking them up.
Commander Demakis bent down and picked one of them up. "What are these all?" he asked sourly.
"Maps, commander," timidly answered the man.
"I know they're maps!" he bellowed. The paused, took a deep calming breath and asked, "Maps to what?"
The man stood up, dropping more of his papers stuffed messily into his bag. "They contain the position of villages north of here and the location of any Turks. That's why I came here, commander. A small band of Turks spotted a few miles west of is estimated to make a raid on a tiny Greek port at any time."
"I see," he said slowly, pretending to read the maps to some village which he'd never heard of.
"Commander, aren't you going to do something about it?" asked the man confusedly.
"I make the orders around here!" he said as if he were a lion and the man an insignificant mouse. "What port is expected to be raided?"
"A tiny village called... hmmm... I had it here somewhere..." The man frantically searched through the maps again on the ground. "It was named after a saint or something... Hagia Kata - no. Hagia Kokonin - wait, that's not it! Hagia Kate-"
"Hagia Katerini," said one the two officers still back at the table filled with maps. "Just a few miles close of here. I suppose the Turks want to raid the food stocks there. It's one of the major supply ports and grain storage hubs in the region. If they take it, the army'll be even more short on food as it is."
"Kouli, you know of this town well?" asked Commander Demakis.
"Yes commander. My men went through it on the march to Thessaloniki," said Kouli, the taller officer of the two.
"Alright then. How many Turks are planning the raid?" asked Commander Demakis.
"Some five hundred commander," answered the man obeyingly.
"Kouli, I need you to lead five hundred of our best and fastest cavalry to Hagi Katerini."
Kouli nodded.
"Thanos, I need you to make sure the artillery commanders are making enough progress on our siege of Thessaloniki. Report back to my tent in an hour's time."
Thanos nodded.
"And you there..." said Commander Demakis, thinking. "...messenger - or whoever you are! I need you to get me another one of my officers for the cavalry run on Hagia Katerini."
Commander Michael Demakis had just killed two birds with one stone...
__________
July 18th, 1557
Road to Hagia Katerini
"Alright men keep up the pace! We need to reach Hagia Katerini by nightfall!" yelled the officer named Kouli to his fast-galloping cavalry army.
"Nicely done, Kouli! Way to keep the men in order!" said the bothersome officer Stavropoulos. He galloped his faster so that he was right beside Kouli's horse. "Nice horse you got there! Quite speedy, no? Seems like one of the Mongolian ones, Kouli."
Kouli grudgingly turned his head towards Stavropoulos. "That's sir or Lieutant Kripitos to you!" he bitterly said.
"You know we're of the same rank?" pointed out Stavropoulos cheerfully.
Kouli shuddered at the fact that he and Stavropoulos were of the same rank. Just some spoiled little now-it-all brat who was able to buy himself a good rank in the army, that's all he was. Kouli envied and hated people like him. His family estates in Italy could buy him whatever he wanted in life, while other people had to work towards success in life. Kouli was the son of great revolutionary leader in Laconia, who proved himself to be an even greater leader than his father was. A brave and devout soldier, willing to adapt to and cope with almost any obstacle, he was afraid of no-one.
"So like I was saying Kouli, is that horse of yours Mongolian?" asked Stavropoulos.
"Actually its Hungarian, Stavropoulos," he said trying to move his horse ahead of him before the conversation could continue.
Stavropoulos' horse sped up to catch with the great Hungarian steed. "You know if we're from the same rank, you could call me by my first name as well."
"So I can call you 'rat'?" Kouli muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" he asked. He shook his quickly trying to ignore Kouli's mutters. "It's Giovanni."
Kouli rolled his eyes.
"That's Italian, you know," said Stavropoulos, while Kouli let out a sigh of impatience. "Yeah, my mother's from Florence. Beautiful city you know. There's this big cathedral and there's so many famous artists from Florence..."
__________
July 19th, 1557
Hagia Katerini, Macedonia
The cavalry army under Kouli and Stavropoulos was camped behind the eastern hills of Hagia Katerini. Kouli ordered several men to be on watch for any Turks around the village, as he expected the Turks to strike in the morning. The men tried to keep as quiet as possible, as to not make a sound on the other side of the village. The air was cold and wet. The breath from the horses mouths could be seen easily, and the grass was already dewy. Morning was nearing and there was not a single light in the unknowing village of Hagia Katerini. Fishing boats and tiny merchant vessels were docked in harbour, with not a single wave splashing around there hulls. The officers decided that once morning came around, they would move into the tiny village and defend it from any Turkish raiders seeking to take its food stocks and supplies.
The great Hungarian horse grew restless in anticipation for the forthcoming attack. Kouli placed his soothing hand on its back and gently stroked it. "Soon. Soon we'll get our hands on some of those dirty, blood-thirsty Turks," Kouli smiled. No Turkish raiders had been spotted throughout the night, and he anticipated the march into town where they would hold a great advantage over any Turkis raiders.
"Stavropoulos, get the men ready! Let us march into Hagia Katerini!" he cheered triumphantly, eager for a quick victory over the savage heathens.
Stavropoulos called the men to arms, and they quickly prepared for the ride into town. Many of the men wore either old or shoddy-made armor and were armed with longswords. Their dress, although not a standard issue one, was all very similar. All were in classic Greek Revolutionary dress and looked like a modern fighting unit worthy of the most fiersome foe. The men were silent, waiting for the order.
"Men of Hellas! We march now to save the innocence of our people from the Turks! Let us drive them from to the barren wastelands from which God had spit them out! For Hellas!" Kouli roared, leading the advance.
Five hundred Greek cavalrymen stormed forward into the village, awaiting their Turkish foe...
Raid on Hagia Katerini
July 16th, 1557Thessaloniki, Macedonia
"Comander Demakis! Commander Demakis!"
Three officers were crouched over an old, shabby, wooden table inside the Commander's tent, examining maps of the regions. All three abruptly turned around to face the man.
"What is it now?" grouchily asked the commander, who was wearing the most expeninsive clothing of the three. The man at the entrance of the tent floundered to get some maps from his bag, spilling papers all over the grass bottom of the tent.
"Well commander, it's - it's - it's..." he said grabbing as many of them as he could. He ruffled through them, looking for the paper he wanted to show to the commander. Demakis slowly walked towards the papers, unnoticed by the man as he was too busy picking them up.
Commander Demakis bent down and picked one of them up. "What are these all?" he asked sourly.
"Maps, commander," timidly answered the man.
"I know they're maps!" he bellowed. The paused, took a deep calming breath and asked, "Maps to what?"
The man stood up, dropping more of his papers stuffed messily into his bag. "They contain the position of villages north of here and the location of any Turks. That's why I came here, commander. A small band of Turks spotted a few miles west of is estimated to make a raid on a tiny Greek port at any time."
"I see," he said slowly, pretending to read the maps to some village which he'd never heard of.
"Commander, aren't you going to do something about it?" asked the man confusedly.
"I make the orders around here!" he said as if he were a lion and the man an insignificant mouse. "What port is expected to be raided?"
"A tiny village called... hmmm... I had it here somewhere..." The man frantically searched through the maps again on the ground. "It was named after a saint or something... Hagia Kata - no. Hagia Kokonin - wait, that's not it! Hagia Kate-"
"Hagia Katerini," said one the two officers still back at the table filled with maps. "Just a few miles close of here. I suppose the Turks want to raid the food stocks there. It's one of the major supply ports and grain storage hubs in the region. If they take it, the army'll be even more short on food as it is."
"Kouli, you know of this town well?" asked Commander Demakis.
"Yes commander. My men went through it on the march to Thessaloniki," said Kouli, the taller officer of the two.
"Alright then. How many Turks are planning the raid?" asked Commander Demakis.
"Some five hundred commander," answered the man obeyingly.
"Kouli, I need you to lead five hundred of our best and fastest cavalry to Hagi Katerini."
Kouli nodded.
"Thanos, I need you to make sure the artillery commanders are making enough progress on our siege of Thessaloniki. Report back to my tent in an hour's time."
Thanos nodded.
"And you there..." said Commander Demakis, thinking. "...messenger - or whoever you are! I need you to get me another one of my officers for the cavalry run on Hagia Katerini."
Commander Michael Demakis had just killed two birds with one stone...
__________
July 18th, 1557
Road to Hagia Katerini
"Alright men keep up the pace! We need to reach Hagia Katerini by nightfall!" yelled the officer named Kouli to his fast-galloping cavalry army.
"Nicely done, Kouli! Way to keep the men in order!" said the bothersome officer Stavropoulos. He galloped his faster so that he was right beside Kouli's horse. "Nice horse you got there! Quite speedy, no? Seems like one of the Mongolian ones, Kouli."
Kouli grudgingly turned his head towards Stavropoulos. "That's sir or Lieutant Kripitos to you!" he bitterly said.
"You know we're of the same rank?" pointed out Stavropoulos cheerfully.
Kouli shuddered at the fact that he and Stavropoulos were of the same rank. Just some spoiled little now-it-all brat who was able to buy himself a good rank in the army, that's all he was. Kouli envied and hated people like him. His family estates in Italy could buy him whatever he wanted in life, while other people had to work towards success in life. Kouli was the son of great revolutionary leader in Laconia, who proved himself to be an even greater leader than his father was. A brave and devout soldier, willing to adapt to and cope with almost any obstacle, he was afraid of no-one.
"So like I was saying Kouli, is that horse of yours Mongolian?" asked Stavropoulos.
"Actually its Hungarian, Stavropoulos," he said trying to move his horse ahead of him before the conversation could continue.
Stavropoulos' horse sped up to catch with the great Hungarian steed. "You know if we're from the same rank, you could call me by my first name as well."
"So I can call you 'rat'?" Kouli muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" he asked. He shook his quickly trying to ignore Kouli's mutters. "It's Giovanni."
Kouli rolled his eyes.
"That's Italian, you know," said Stavropoulos, while Kouli let out a sigh of impatience. "Yeah, my mother's from Florence. Beautiful city you know. There's this big cathedral and there's so many famous artists from Florence..."
__________
July 19th, 1557
Hagia Katerini, Macedonia
The cavalry army under Kouli and Stavropoulos was camped behind the eastern hills of Hagia Katerini. Kouli ordered several men to be on watch for any Turks around the village, as he expected the Turks to strike in the morning. The men tried to keep as quiet as possible, as to not make a sound on the other side of the village. The air was cold and wet. The breath from the horses mouths could be seen easily, and the grass was already dewy. Morning was nearing and there was not a single light in the unknowing village of Hagia Katerini. Fishing boats and tiny merchant vessels were docked in harbour, with not a single wave splashing around there hulls. The officers decided that once morning came around, they would move into the tiny village and defend it from any Turkish raiders seeking to take its food stocks and supplies.
The great Hungarian horse grew restless in anticipation for the forthcoming attack. Kouli placed his soothing hand on its back and gently stroked it. "Soon. Soon we'll get our hands on some of those dirty, blood-thirsty Turks," Kouli smiled. No Turkish raiders had been spotted throughout the night, and he anticipated the march into town where they would hold a great advantage over any Turkis raiders.
"Stavropoulos, get the men ready! Let us march into Hagia Katerini!" he cheered triumphantly, eager for a quick victory over the savage heathens.
Stavropoulos called the men to arms, and they quickly prepared for the ride into town. Many of the men wore either old or shoddy-made armor and were armed with longswords. Their dress, although not a standard issue one, was all very similar. All were in classic Greek Revolutionary dress and looked like a modern fighting unit worthy of the most fiersome foe. The men were silent, waiting for the order.
"Men of Hellas! We march now to save the innocence of our people from the Turks! Let us drive them from to the barren wastelands from which God had spit them out! For Hellas!" Kouli roared, leading the advance.
Five hundred Greek cavalrymen stormed forward into the village, awaiting their Turkish foe...
