The Italian Boot (A Sicily HIP AAR)
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Thanks for the support, and sorry again. But, I have little time to work on two AARS at the moment, as well as doing revision for mocks.
I'm in Saxon so better get writing again! 
Seriously though this one's looking good so far. Looking forward to when you get writing again
Seriously though this one's looking good so far. Looking forward to when you get writing again
I'm in Saxon so better get writing again!
Seriously though this one's looking good so far. Looking forward to when you get writing again
I will, just after I no longer have mocks and SK Chapters looming over my head.
Well Folks, the mocks are done and since I don't want this to stagnate and die, HIP has been reinstalled and the save is intact. So expect a chapter over the next few days.
The Reign of Boehemond de Huatville, Chapter II The Waiting Game 1075 - 1078
With the birth of a son, the succession was safe in and several years of waiting would occur before the inevitable holy war on Sicily. Indeed several months after the birth of Tancred, Queen Emma would become pregnant once again in May 1076. It was during these summer months that Boehemond elected to improve his stewardship by becoming a gardener in his spare time. By the time December arrived Boehemond has improved his garden exponentially and improved his stewardship to the point where he had average skills in that area. He then decided to focus on improve his diplomatic skills. By the end of the month, Emma had given birth to a second son named Roger, after Bohemond’s loyal uncle. Days later, the lords of Sicily allowed the crown to become much more centralized under the rule of Boehemond, the power of the nobility and the king were in precarious balance.
1077 began and Bohemond’s brother Roger came of age. When Gavelkind had split the realm several counties were parceled out between Roger and Bohemond’s other brother Guido. Roger had certainly done better then his brother since he was a duke rather then a count. Roger was also better educated then his younger brother since he was a master of diplomacy, and was known to be a skilled fighter despite his hunchback. Boehemond in order to ensure his continual loyalty gave him the position of chancellor.
1077 passed without relative incident, and in March 1078 Guido came of age. In contrast to his brother, he was relatively unskilled in the art of diplomacy and his ambition and deceitfulness caused friction with Boehemond. Indeed Duke Roger his vassal lord despised him and he was not well liked by any other vassals of the kingdom.
In August 1078, the first rebellion of Bohemond’s reign occurred, the Aquino Rebellion. Roughly 2000 men led by a peasant solider named Eugenio rose up in the county of Aquino. Boehemond quickly ordered his own forces and the levies of his brother Guido to converge at the capital in the providence of Melfi. While these forces converged, Boehemond found out that Queen Emma was once again pregnant. Mere days after, he also received word that his Chaplin Fraunk had converted the populace of Messina to the Catholic faith.
With a force of 4000 men now gathered in Melfi, Boehemond led them to the county of Aquino arriving there in early October. The peasant rebels perhaps believing that they had an advantage in the mountains of the county had been content to lay siege to the castle and wait for the Sicilians to arrive. What follows is an account of the battle of Aquino as written by an anonymous writer during that period.
The Battle of Aquino October 1078
Roughly 4000 Sicilians faced off against roughly 2000 peasant rebels, in this battle in the mountains of Aquino. The Sicilians having just crossed a river formed a battle line at the foot of a mountain track, expecting the peasants further up the track to break ranks and charge. The peasants confident in their position remained where they were. A war council was called by King Boehemond who suggested that the infantry should move to engage the rebels, while all of the cavalry should flank the peasants by means of a hidden mountain path. It was decided that this was the best option seeing as the peasants were unlikely to move from their secure position. Boehemond decided to take command of the infantry forces, much to the dismay of his fellow captains but there was nothing they could say that would dissuade him from fighting on the front line and so they relented.
As darkness began to fall, the infantry moved forwards up the path towards the rebels who started firing arrows into the infantry who could only form line 10 men wide due to the wideness of the mountain path. When the infantry were close enough they charged slamming into the rebel shield wall with Boehemond leading the charge sword held high. It quickly became apparent that the lightly armed and armored peasants were being overwhelmed by the size and skill of the Sicilians forces. Indeed things quickly became much worse for them as the Sicilian cavalry slammed into there rear and broke the wall. The peasants quickly routed from the attack on two fronts and only 600 men escaped the slaughter that followed. The Sicilians lost only 400 men in the battle.
With the majority of the peasant rebels dead, Eugenio surrendered and was made to take the vows, with the recent acquisition of piety through converting Messina to Catholicism a holy war could now be begun to reclaim the rest of Sicily...
It's good to be working on this AAR again. Next time, we shall hopefully reclaim Sicily from the Muslims.
With the birth of a son, the succession was safe in and several years of waiting would occur before the inevitable holy war on Sicily. Indeed several months after the birth of Tancred, Queen Emma would become pregnant once again in May 1076. It was during these summer months that Boehemond elected to improve his stewardship by becoming a gardener in his spare time. By the time December arrived Boehemond has improved his garden exponentially and improved his stewardship to the point where he had average skills in that area. He then decided to focus on improve his diplomatic skills. By the end of the month, Emma had given birth to a second son named Roger, after Bohemond’s loyal uncle. Days later, the lords of Sicily allowed the crown to become much more centralized under the rule of Boehemond, the power of the nobility and the king were in precarious balance.
1077 began and Bohemond’s brother Roger came of age. When Gavelkind had split the realm several counties were parceled out between Roger and Bohemond’s other brother Guido. Roger had certainly done better then his brother since he was a duke rather then a count. Roger was also better educated then his younger brother since he was a master of diplomacy, and was known to be a skilled fighter despite his hunchback. Boehemond in order to ensure his continual loyalty gave him the position of chancellor.
1077 passed without relative incident, and in March 1078 Guido came of age. In contrast to his brother, he was relatively unskilled in the art of diplomacy and his ambition and deceitfulness caused friction with Boehemond. Indeed Duke Roger his vassal lord despised him and he was not well liked by any other vassals of the kingdom.
In August 1078, the first rebellion of Bohemond’s reign occurred, the Aquino Rebellion. Roughly 2000 men led by a peasant solider named Eugenio rose up in the county of Aquino. Boehemond quickly ordered his own forces and the levies of his brother Guido to converge at the capital in the providence of Melfi. While these forces converged, Boehemond found out that Queen Emma was once again pregnant. Mere days after, he also received word that his Chaplin Fraunk had converted the populace of Messina to the Catholic faith.
With a force of 4000 men now gathered in Melfi, Boehemond led them to the county of Aquino arriving there in early October. The peasant rebels perhaps believing that they had an advantage in the mountains of the county had been content to lay siege to the castle and wait for the Sicilians to arrive. What follows is an account of the battle of Aquino as written by an anonymous writer during that period.
The Battle of Aquino October 1078
Roughly 4000 Sicilians faced off against roughly 2000 peasant rebels, in this battle in the mountains of Aquino. The Sicilians having just crossed a river formed a battle line at the foot of a mountain track, expecting the peasants further up the track to break ranks and charge. The peasants confident in their position remained where they were. A war council was called by King Boehemond who suggested that the infantry should move to engage the rebels, while all of the cavalry should flank the peasants by means of a hidden mountain path. It was decided that this was the best option seeing as the peasants were unlikely to move from their secure position. Boehemond decided to take command of the infantry forces, much to the dismay of his fellow captains but there was nothing they could say that would dissuade him from fighting on the front line and so they relented.
As darkness began to fall, the infantry moved forwards up the path towards the rebels who started firing arrows into the infantry who could only form line 10 men wide due to the wideness of the mountain path. When the infantry were close enough they charged slamming into the rebel shield wall with Boehemond leading the charge sword held high. It quickly became apparent that the lightly armed and armored peasants were being overwhelmed by the size and skill of the Sicilians forces. Indeed things quickly became much worse for them as the Sicilian cavalry slammed into there rear and broke the wall. The peasants quickly routed from the attack on two fronts and only 600 men escaped the slaughter that followed. The Sicilians lost only 400 men in the battle.
With the majority of the peasant rebels dead, Eugenio surrendered and was made to take the vows, with the recent acquisition of piety through converting Messina to Catholicism a holy war could now be begun to reclaim the rest of Sicily...
It's good to be working on this AAR again. Next time, we shall hopefully reclaim Sicily from the Muslims.
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Hey Saxon-I nominated you for this award a couple of weeks ago: http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?225580-Fan-of-the-Week-Saxon125&p=18835637&viewfull=1#post18835637
You need to go nominate another fan of the week
You need to go nominate another fan of the week
Nikolai already nominated Stuyvesant and I support that. (As a side note expect the Holy War for Sicily chapter over the next few days.)
The Reign of Bohemond De Hautville, Chapter IV, The Sicily Holy War 1078 - 1079
King Boehemond had 10,000 men at his disposal for this holy war, while the ruler of Sicily could only muster 8,000 men. Indeed Boehemond and his military advisors were confident of victory; they expected the Muslims to stay on the defensive on Sicily. However, word reached Boehemond that the Muslims having gathered their forces were now attacking the capital Melfi. Boehemond having managed to gather his army marched to Melfi and faced the Muslims outside the castle of Lu Cauastiedd In what was to be the most talked about battle of the decade.
The Battle of Lu Cauastiedd – March 1079 (A soldier’s account)
It was a calm and cool spring day when the two hosts faced each other. A sense of stillness crept over the battlefield as each side waited for the other to move forward to skirmish. We Sicilians outnumbered the Muslims by roughly 3000 men, but they did not care they had faith in their god and we had ours. Our forces were made up of mostly infantry and cavalry, indeed our side had roughly 3000 light and heavy cavalry. We also had roughly 3000 infantry, ranging from lightly armed infantry in leather to heavily armored infantry wearing mail. The Muslim forces by contrast had an army mostly consisting of horse archers and other cavalry including 1000 camels, who served as the royal retinue of the Muslim ruler.
But enough about numbers, I should talk about the commanders of our army. On the left flank was Robert de Huatville, while on the right flank was William de Huatville. Both of these men were skilled leaders and were both cousins of Boehemond who led the center of our forces. Boehemond wearing mail and mounted on a warhorse gave a rousing speech which I will transcribe here:
Men, this is day that our children and grandchildren will remember, this is the day that we defeat those Muslim savages and move to reclaim our de-jure land of Sicily. So their will be no retreat, fight to the last man fight for your lives and fight for freedom against the Muslims!!!
And so it was that we charged forward into the Muslim horde. For hours both sides struggled like a swinging pendulum as each side tried to overwhelm the other. The Muslims, with their camels inflicted severe casualties on our light cavalry before Boehemond rallied his heavy cavalry and cut through the camels like an axe through ripe cheese. Meanwhile the infantry traded blows with the Muslim infantry taking many losses. It was only when the Muslim right flank broke under pressure from William’s forces, that the battle starting to swing into our favor. With the right flank is disarray William put pressure on the Muslim centre from the flank, soon the Muslim left flank also broke under a severe melee beating from Robert, with the Muslims retreating the battle was won, but our losses were severe for we had lost over 6000 men roughly half our forces. The Muslims however only had 1000 men left who were slaughtered days later at the battle of Arjaeno for only 50 men lost…
With Half of the Sicily forces lost in the battle, many would have expected that Boehemond would sue for a white peace. Yet Boehemond continued his war and within 2 months, after only one siege Sicily had been reclaimed…
Nothing really interesting happened during this war aside from the battle of Lu Cauastiedd. At least now Boehemond has much land in Sicily which will be passed onto Tancred. Taking a break from CK2 for a week to focus on schoolwork and other things.
King Boehemond had 10,000 men at his disposal for this holy war, while the ruler of Sicily could only muster 8,000 men. Indeed Boehemond and his military advisors were confident of victory; they expected the Muslims to stay on the defensive on Sicily. However, word reached Boehemond that the Muslims having gathered their forces were now attacking the capital Melfi. Boehemond having managed to gather his army marched to Melfi and faced the Muslims outside the castle of Lu Cauastiedd In what was to be the most talked about battle of the decade.
The Battle of Lu Cauastiedd – March 1079 (A soldier’s account)
It was a calm and cool spring day when the two hosts faced each other. A sense of stillness crept over the battlefield as each side waited for the other to move forward to skirmish. We Sicilians outnumbered the Muslims by roughly 3000 men, but they did not care they had faith in their god and we had ours. Our forces were made up of mostly infantry and cavalry, indeed our side had roughly 3000 light and heavy cavalry. We also had roughly 3000 infantry, ranging from lightly armed infantry in leather to heavily armored infantry wearing mail. The Muslim forces by contrast had an army mostly consisting of horse archers and other cavalry including 1000 camels, who served as the royal retinue of the Muslim ruler.
But enough about numbers, I should talk about the commanders of our army. On the left flank was Robert de Huatville, while on the right flank was William de Huatville. Both of these men were skilled leaders and were both cousins of Boehemond who led the center of our forces. Boehemond wearing mail and mounted on a warhorse gave a rousing speech which I will transcribe here:
Men, this is day that our children and grandchildren will remember, this is the day that we defeat those Muslim savages and move to reclaim our de-jure land of Sicily. So their will be no retreat, fight to the last man fight for your lives and fight for freedom against the Muslims!!!
And so it was that we charged forward into the Muslim horde. For hours both sides struggled like a swinging pendulum as each side tried to overwhelm the other. The Muslims, with their camels inflicted severe casualties on our light cavalry before Boehemond rallied his heavy cavalry and cut through the camels like an axe through ripe cheese. Meanwhile the infantry traded blows with the Muslim infantry taking many losses. It was only when the Muslim right flank broke under pressure from William’s forces, that the battle starting to swing into our favor. With the right flank is disarray William put pressure on the Muslim centre from the flank, soon the Muslim left flank also broke under a severe melee beating from Robert, with the Muslims retreating the battle was won, but our losses were severe for we had lost over 6000 men roughly half our forces. The Muslims however only had 1000 men left who were slaughtered days later at the battle of Arjaeno for only 50 men lost…
With Half of the Sicily forces lost in the battle, many would have expected that Boehemond would sue for a white peace. Yet Boehemond continued his war and within 2 months, after only one siege Sicily had been reclaimed…
Nothing really interesting happened during this war aside from the battle of Lu Cauastiedd. At least now Boehemond has much land in Sicily which will be passed onto Tancred. Taking a break from CK2 for a week to focus on schoolwork and other things.
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Why would Bohemond have sued for a white peace when he clearly had the advantage of numbers?
Nice little update though-the reconquest continues!
Nice little update though-the reconquest continues!
I was expecting my forces to be struck down by muslim forces who joined the war. That did not happen fortunately.
I was expecting my forces to be struck down by muslim forces who joined the war. That did not happen fortunately.
Sorry for the lack of updates recently. RL is causing a lack of time to actually sit down and write. Though I do have the images for the next chapter, just have not found time to sit and write for any of my AARS. Hopefully RL will stop being a ass and give me some writing time soon enough.
Is anyone other then Asantahene reading this AAR and enjoying it. Just want to see what people think about this AAR.