Homelands
Chapter Twenty: Storm and Sun
Part 1
Prelude:
The winter of 1198 and the first winter of 1199 were spent preparing for a great war. Sviendorog had over 65,000 troops at his disposal, his word quickly met by enthusiastic Princes looking for glory and conquest. But he made sure they understood that the only land gains to be had was to be Moldavia. If they didn't stick to their casus belli it would reflect poorly on the newly gained prestige and legitimacy Sviendorog had spend his career building. Sviendorog was leading the army closest to the Hungarian capital of Pest, a center group made up of 12,000 men from the Baltic and 6,000 of Hyg Dormandy's light cavalry. The Hungarians met the Prussians with between 45,000 and 60,000 of their own troops, mostly conscripts but also including regiments of Teutonic and Mosselian knights who had helped settle Wallachia and Transylvania. Much of Europe looked to the war with interest in its outcome. To many Western European monarchs it would be a glimpse into a full-out war between East and West. The West utilized heavy cavalry and light infantry while the East, especially Prussia, used light cavalry with heavy infantry. For Hungary defeat meant a slow fade into obscurity, and for Prussia it meant a shattering of its façade of invincibility. Both nations had much riding on victory.
August 3rd, 1199
Hyg's cavalry men wore turbans in the heat of the sun. All the Prussians sought out the shade in the middle of the day, but more than any other day, today as the worst. Inside the city they were sieging things were little better. The city of Pressburg had been under siege for nearly a month now. It was nothing short of a massive mountain of castle and wall. Sviendorog's plan, however, was to siege the city and force the Hungarian King to move the majority of his troops west to relieve the city. Then he could deal with them himself.
"My lords, Hungarian banners on the horizon. It is the personal banner of King István," a messenger said.
"Any idea about numbers?" asked Sviendorog.
"Maybe 20,000. It is a pretty big army, mostly heavy cavalry, moving fast."
Sviendorog turned to Hyg, "Well, now we get to prove ourselves once again."
The Norman grew a diabolical smile across his face, "I shall have my soldiers mount up." He left the shade of the open tent and wrapping his turban as he entered the sun.
Sviendorog then turned to Sabe, "Let us get everyone moving. We must make sure that the Hungarians do not get into the city, or we'll never get them out."
"Very good, we'll ensure they don't."
The Prussian army came to life, quickly wheeling around the city to stand between the Hungarians and their goal. In the front ranks pikers and Hyg's cavalry. Colorful banners flapped in the light breeze, each one marking a different unit or city. In the center and towards the rear was a massive white banner marked with a black eagle. It was edged with golden trim and beneath it stood Sviendorog and his personal guard. As the Hungarians began to set up their own formations their King rode forth under the flag of truce, and Sviendorog did the same to meet him.
"Sviendorog, great King of the Prussians. I've been expecting this day for some time now." He crossed his arms over his chest looking over the older Sviendorog. "Do you still have a fight left in you, old man?"
Sviendorog sneered, "Enough to kick the stupid out of you, little boy. I'll offer you this one chance, surrender to my claims of Moldavia and we shall not spend the rest of this year salting your fields."
"Declined"
"Then it is war." Sviendorog turned and rode away without a glance back.
February 15th, 1200
The battle lasted three days, and consisted first of cavalry raids against the Prussians that culminated in a major cavalry change, stopped short by pikers. With the Hungarians now lacking their strongest unit of cavalry, Hyg's cavalry began Prussian attacks on the Hungarian camp that night. Startled and scared the Hungarians suffered major casualties, but Hyg's biggest victory was stealing a large portion of their supplies and bringing it back to the Prussians. Now low on supplies and seeking medical asylum in Pressburg, István was forced to make a general attack against Sviendorog. Under constant raids from Hyg and arrow fire, the Hungarians made it to the front lines to be met by Prussia's heavy infantry, most armed with battle axes and long swords. The lightly armored Hungarians stood little chance. On the third day, István retreated his troops in the direction they came, but when he thought he was out of sight, began to wheel his army around to the other side, hoping to still make it to Pressburg. But Hyg's cavalry caught them, and the third day broke the Hungarian spirit enough to force an all-out retreat and then Pressburg surrendered as well. Now from a position of power Sviendorog was able to resupply his own men before following István deeper into Hungary.
Meanwhile the Prussian forces in the far east quickly knocked down István's wall and occupied the whole of Moldavia. Once Moldavia was secured Prussian troops moved into Wallachia and Transylvania, which were both lightly guarded.
As winter approached, though, the enemies were forced to call a truce and sit the winter out in their camps. Sviendorog retreated slightly and took refuge in Pressburg while István took refuge in Pest. Rumor spread that next spring the Roman Empire was going to join the conflict, with aims at Wallachia. István became worried that too much territory was at stake. He attempted to parlay with Sviendorog in January of 1200, but refused to surrender all of Moldavia to Prussia, which was unacceptable to Sviendorog.
In the cold winds of February, Sviendorog stood by a window looking down into Pressburg. "My lord?" Sabe asked, entering the room.
"Yes, Sabe?"
"I've heard talk that the parlay with Hungary has ended."
"You've heard true, come thaw we move again, we will gain our ends."
"The soldiers are anxious to get home for the planting season."
"Ensure them we will be home by then. István cannot last much longer." And with that Sviendorog turned his attention back to the city. Soon, he said to himself, soon.
Hungary during the truce: Hungarian control in Grey and Prussian in red.