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Post by aspenivan on Oct 27, 2014 5:36:21 GMT
The Cerdigonian plan to gain the upper hand before the night-time assault had been well thought out, but the execution was a total disaster. King Aeron's spies were caught, tortured, and slain to the last sylph. This would cost him not only dozens of veteran agents of Cadoc's reign, but the element of surprise as well. When the great Commonwealth-Vaekirate joint army arrived before the walls of Mog Bhelnom, they found thousands of dwarves waiting for them.
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-- Commonwealth-Vaekirate forces fail to surprise Mog Bhelnom defenders
-- King Aeron Sefti loses Spymaster retinue until beginning of Turn 10
-- Every district of Mog Bhelnom has a stone wall, so the entire city is walled. The defenders benefit from ramparts and towers, giving them significant bonuses to range and accuracy of ranged troops, defense of all troops against enemy ranged attacks, morale, and cohesion. To negate this bonus, the attackers must scale or breach the walls, or open the city gates.
-- The attacking forces, except for mercenaries, benefit from Holy War: bonus to morale and ferocity.
ORDER OF BATTLE:
Sefti-Cerdigonian Commonwealth (cerdigon)
LEADER: King Aeron Sefti (Monarch) (Spymaster/Administrator) - 50 Royal Guard
-- General Modron Halfwing (Sylph) (General) - 50 Bodyguard
-- Duke Agricola (Elf) (Explorer)
-- 1,000 Sylph Light Infantry (1 unit)
-- 1,000 Sylph Longbowmen (1 unit)
-- 3,000 Sylph City Roundshiers (3 units)
-- 2,000 Sylph City Shocktroops (2 units)
-- 3,000 Sylph Peasant Roundshier (3 units)
-- 2,000 Sylph Peasant Pike (2 units)
-- 1,000 Sylph Peasant Archer (1 unit)
+ D'Artagnan's Musketeers
LEADER: D’Artagnan Melio (Human) (Warrior/Ranged)
-- 2,000 Human Musketeers (2 units)
-- 500 Human Pikes (1 unit - understrength)
-- 1,000 Human Light Infantry (1 unit)
Total: 16,600 soldiers
Messarom Vaekirate (Zurajai)
LEADER: Cathasach (Sylph) (Warrior-Monk) - 200 warrior-monks
-- 3,000 Human Halberdiers (3 units)
-- 2,000 Human Pavise Crossbowmen (2 units)
-- 3,000 Peasant Roundshiers (3 units, 1 elf / 2 sylph)
-- 3,000 Zealots (3 units, 2 elf / 1 sylph)
Total: 11,200 soldiers
Mog Bhelnom (vaklu)
NO LEADER
-- 8,000 Dwarven City Archers (8 units)
-- 4,000 Dwarven City Roundshiers (4 units)
Total: 12,000 soldiers
This battle will end after the second moderation mark.
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Post by cerdigon on Oct 28, 2014 4:11:42 GMT
'' I would formally advise against this, Your Grace. '' Modron Halfwing said, as both King and General surveyed the imposing Dwarven fortifications that the Commonwealth army was about to bloody itself upon from a nearby hill.
'' In all the years of fighting with my father, do you think he would've retreated? '' The young King inquired with a raised brow.
'' Never. '' Modron said, his dour mood broken by a wry grin.
'' Then you have your answer, General. '' The answer was no regardless. The Imperial Army was on the move and would be here within days and the King had already locked himself into an agreement with the Vaekirate. He wasn't about to let himself be made a fool again nor give the Vizier the satisfaction of being proven right. For better or for worse, the Commonwealth army would make its attack here but it wouldn't be a night assault. With the element of surprise lost, the King opted to wait for the coming dawn to launch his attack.
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Like a swarm of insects from the West they came, the flapping of wings becoming incessant as thousands of Sylph's took to the air, spearheaded by King Aeron and General Modron. It wasn't a direct assault on those walls, Aeron intended to take his troops and fly not into the teeth of the enemy defenses but over them. The King grunted as an arrow sailed past his cheek and saw one more than one Sylph fall tumbling from the sky, gripping a shaft that had punched through his breastplate to find flesh beneath. It couldn't be helped. The screams of the Dwarves could be heard as the first wave of Sylph troops, lead by Modron landed. The sound of iron crashing against bronze sent a shiver of anticipation down his spine as the King began bellowing orders once his feet touched the ground, torch's flickering under the moonlight as the troops began to advance throughout the district. Soon smoke would be rising, the King's plan was simple:
Force the Dwarve's to come out from behind their walls and down onto the streets where the Sylph's could meet them on their terms. As the Sylph's landed, pikeblocks were forming in the narrow streets to stop any impending countercharge while the Cerdigonian troops fanned out across the city. His gaze lingered towards the wall as he waited for the second part of his plan to unfold...
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'' FIRE! '' Hundreds of muskets opened fire, sending deadly shot towards the walls while Pavaise crossbowman using their shields as cover unleashed a wave of bolts at the enemy towers. The point wasn't to destroy the enemy but keep them bogged down and behind the cover of stone while the massive assault force took to the skies. D'Artangan was well aware that the Sylph's would take casualties as they launched their attack and he was determined to minimize them as much as he could...of course without losing his own bloody head.
SUMMARY:
-- The Commonwealth army launches an assault over the walls, bypassing them, and into the outermost district where they begin destroying it to draw the dwarven army out. The Commonwealth army effectively cuts the district in two, placing itself between Dwarven reinforcements in the inner districts and the outer wall. Pike units are deployed in the streets to ward off counterattacks, with archers supporting. The hope is that the Dwarves whom have no real commander will rush out of their defenses and away from the walls to defend their homes.
-- Zwerkir Fahuan (Sylph)(Priest)) BLESSES King Aeron Sefti and attaches himself to his unit for the battle.
-- King Aeron is attached to a city roundshier unit while Modron is attached to a city shock unit.
-- Musketeers alongside Vaekirate pavaise crossbowman attempt to suppress Dwarven archers on the walls and towers as the Cerdigonian's attack.
-- With the enemy dealing with the Commonwealth onslaught, Cathasach (Sylph) (Warrior-Monk) is given 500 Cerdigonian light infantry to launch an attack on the gatehouse during the melee and allow the rest of the Allied army into the city.
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Post by zurajai on Oct 28, 2014 5:05:50 GMT
"Brother, it is time."
Cathasach remained knelt and with his head bowed as he finished his prayer, fingers knotted together in solemn reverence. Upon completing the final verse he stood erect, stretching himself in the hastily erected shrine before turning around to face the disembodied voice. His disciple, another Sylph warrior-monk, stood waiting for him at the opening of the tent bedecked in his war-attire. A cuirass of banded bronze hugged his chest like a carapace of metal, gleaming in the low light. Above the cuirass hung tightly fitting robes of red and white, emblazoned with the symbol of the dome and two books.
"Yes, it is. Tell me, does the Young King continue on his path?" intoned Cathasach as he stepped through the entryway, tightening the straps of his own cuirass before strapping his pauldrons into place, "If you, we will need Aed's guidance more than ever."
"Aye, Brother, he intends to fight with bravery and no small amount of recklessness. Perhaps today fortune shall favor the bold?"
Cathasach grinned broadly as he belted his two bronze sabers and hefted the wicked looking Slyph-spear he carried as his weapon of choice. With that he marched to join the gathering force of similarly armed and armored Warrior-monks and marched to the front line, preparing themselves for the attack soon to come.
-- Cathasach (Sylph)[Warrior-Monk] leads 500 Cerdigonian Light Infantry, 1000 Sylph Zealots, and 1,000 Sylph Peasant Roundshiers to take the gatehouse and surrounding walls of the first district to allow for friendly forces to advance into the city.
-- Pavise Crossbowmen are deployed alongside D'Artangan's musketeers to harass those troops defending the walls before the arrival of Cathasach then will begin firing upon areas where friendly troops are not fighting.
-- With two units of Zealots leading the way, the Halberdiers and the remaining Peasant Roundshiers prepare to storm the gate the moment it is opened by Cathasach, with the Peasant Roundshiers marching up the stairs to relieve Cathasach as soon as they're through.
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Post by Vaklu on Oct 28, 2014 10:55:02 GMT
Every bowman that could fit on the the walls had been placed there with a few swordsmen dispersed amongst them to hold the walls against troops landing on the parapet. Instead of a rain of arrows it may have been more accurate to call it a deluge. The sylphs flying over the walls were met by waves of arrows and in landing they would find that a great number of archer had taken to the rooftops. In the streets and alleys units of roundshiers were deployed. These men had survived numerus street fights, riots and then the open battles of the civil war. They knew their home better than any fool foreigner who had just stepped foot into THEIR city. They would meet them in the alleys and side streets and cut the winged shits down to size.
They would find the gate house to be staunchly guarded. they knew it was the key to any battle plan. and once the first slyph had taken to the air troops were sent to reinforce and hold the gate.
-6,000 archers, 1,000 rounshiers defend the walls and gates
-2,000 Archers, 2,000 Roundshiers are involved in the street warfare
-1,000 roundshiers move to support the gate house.
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Post by aspenivan on Oct 28, 2014 22:21:03 GMT
Moderation Mark
The orderly volleys of D'Artagnan's musketeers and the Vaekirate crossbows elicited cheers from the main army behind them as it prepared to attack, but they did relatively little damage. Shooting up at an enemy firing from behind ramparts or from slits in towers was a difficult exercise, and the Commonwealth-Vaekirate skirmish force did not have the numerical superiority it would have needed to win by sheer firepower. More importantly, the dwarves had the high ground, twice as many shooters, and a clear line of fire at their enemies. The Pavise Crossbows had shields to protect them at least, but the musketeers were having their fine hats and uniforms decorated with arrow-shafts by the hundreds. It was the attackers, not the defenders, who were more suppressed in the first phase of battle. Then came the call for the main assault. With a roar of battle-cries followed by the roar of thousands of wings, the horde of sylph warriors charged into the sky and into a gauntlet of enemy fire. Flying through the shower of arrows was a withering experience that would haunt many survivors for years. Soldiers saw their companions get pincushioned in mid-air, only to bump and fall into others. It was a matter of less than a minute, but for most it felt like hours under the relentless pressure of their adversaries. By the time they landed inside the city and out of the range of the wall archers, the grand formation had lost much of its cohesion. Even worse, King Aeron had been struck by a wicked barbed arrow that had managed to slice through his left wrist and into his wing. Thankfully, however, his guards had helped him down. For the moment he was in pain but still conscious, standing, and capable of giving orders. So the sylphs endured. They believed in their holy mission, they believed in their commanders, and most importantly they believed in their King. All, even simple village folk drafted into the Commonwealth army, either made it to the landing or were felled along the way. Disorganized by the turbulent transit, much of the host had been left in small chunks that were surrounded and destroyed by savvy dwarves who knew their home turf. But enough landed in larger groupings for most of the surviving army to regroup and reform. And here was where King Aeron's incredibly bold gambit finally began to pay off. Though the dwarves had astutely directed some of their archers to rooftops and some of their infantry to the streets, the fact remained that the Commonwealth had transported a vast army from the field directly into the city proper. The famous Sylph Longbows, supported by peasant hunters, were able to counter-skirmish the dwarves while the enormous main body extended through the corridors of the city and began to wrap around the much smaller dwarven core of roundshiers. With pikes before them and shock infantry beginning to gnaw away at their sides, Beg Guhrim's inner defenders were soon losing options in this contest. If they did not retreat or receive reinforcements, they would surely be encircled and destroyed in time. At the gatehouse, the situation was nearly the opposite. Cathasach's initial landing around the gatehouse was devastating, the warrior-monk and his acolytes carving clearings out of every mass of defenders they ran into. The peasants and especially the zealots eagerly followed behind to mop up the remains, while the light infantry broke up into companies for rear-guard actions and other assignments as needed. With ruthless eficiency, they moved closer and closer to the gate-lever. But with enemy reinforcements piling in and their own casualties mounting, progress grew slower and slower until a meatgrinding stalemate set in, agonizingly close to their objective. Just a little extra push, a few extra soldiers, and Monk Cathasach knew he could make it. __________ RESULTS AND CASUALTIES:
Sefti-Cerdigonian Commonwealth suffers grueling casualties but manages to land, regroup, and begin encircling the enemy inner defenders!Approximate Casualties-- King Aeron Sefti (Monarch) (Spymaster/Administrator) - 10 Goyal guard, character MODERATELY WOUNDED (cannot fly or fight well but can still move and give orders) -- General Modron Halfwing (Sylph) (General) - 15 Bodyguard -- 100 Sylph Light Infantry -- 300 Sylph Longbowmen -- 200 Sylph City Roundshiers -- 500 Sylph City Shocktroops -- 350 Sylph Peasant Roundshiers -- 700 Sylph Peasant Pikes -- 400 Sylph Peasant Archers -- 600 Human Musketeers (D'Artagnan's Musketeers) Messarom Vaekirate's task force lands on the walls near the gatehouse in a blaze of glory and hacks its way through the defenders, but is stopped just short of its objective by reinforcements!
Approximate Casualties
-- 150 Peasant Roundshiers -- 200 Zealots -- 50 Light Infantry -- Cathasach (Sylph) (Warrior-Monk) - 25 warrior-monks City of Beg Guhrim holds the walls and inflicts more damage than it takes, but is beginning to lose the battle in the interior!
Approximate Casualties
Walls -- 150 Dwarven City Archers -- 550 Dwarven City Roundshiers Interior -- 350 Dwarven City Archers -- 250 Dwarven City Roundshiers |
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Post by cerdigon on Oct 28, 2014 23:14:59 GMT
'' 'Tis but a scratch. '' The King said, the words slightly slurred and his lips numbed with pain as one of his bodyguards drew him back within the ranks of the formation. The King had lost a good chunk of his army in his attack, hundreds of his troops littered the field, dead, dying, or wounded. Sir Drystan reached out with one gauntleted hand and steadied him as the army began to reform and launch it's attack. Sylph longbowman were engaging in a pitched battle with the Dwarven troops on the rooftops while on the ground below the Commonwealth army was reforming and striking out towards the wall to aid the Vaekirate attack under Aeron's direction. The King was enthusiastic to get back into the fight but his bodyguard kept the youngling firmly out of the fray. It was here in the narrow streets that the Sylph's used their mobility to their advantage. Commonwealth roundshier troops and archers struck out for the tops of roofs, using their wings to get close to the Dwarven defenders and then roof hopping from building to occupied building. A common Commonwealth tactic became to engage the Dwarve's in brutal street fights with pikes before Sylph's on the rooftops up above would drop down behind the dwarven defenders and lay into them with spear, axe, and sword.
Under Aeron's orders, Modron Halfwing had taken a thousand troops in his advance towards the gate. The Vaekirate's assault seemed to have stalled but it was perilously close to its objective. Both King and General could see the Vaekirate banners fluttering over the banner as they struggled over the top, if the gates could just be opened, then a tsunami of reinforcements could flood in and seize the city. Modron was well aware that a small horde of Vaekirate troops and halberdiers were eagerly awaiting for the gates to yawn open. Elsewhere outside the walls, the musketeers had withdrawn after taking a pummeling from the walls now that the Sylph's had made their bold but costly crossing into the city. D'Artangan had formed up with his light infantry and pike, waiting for the chance to use them in the melee to come.
SUMMARY:
-- Using a combination of pikes and shocktroops to ensnare the Dwarven defenders on the streets, the Sylph's use their mobility and ability to fly to outflank and drop in behind them in the narrow alleyways. Archers move to the rooftops to continue skirmishing with the enemy and to support the advance.
-- While the battle is continuing in the streets and the army is advancing, General Modron takes 1,000 city roundshier troops and launches an assault on the gatehouse in an attempt to break the deadlock and force the gate open.
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Post by zurajai on Oct 28, 2014 23:37:24 GMT
"Forward brothers!"
Cathasach grunted the guttural words of encouragement as he leaped above the swing of a dwarven warrior, the keen edge of the axe passing beneath his feet before Cathasach lets himself drop, catching the blade and pushing it down before running the dwarf's eye through with his saber. He regretted the loss of his spear, the weapon buried in the chest of a particularly cantankerous dwarf who had fought against death for nearly a minute after being impaled and even after refused to let go of the Warrior-Monk's weapon preferred weapon. A moment later and the dwarf crumpled in front of him giving Cathasach the room to roll forward and lash out at another one of the dwarves, hamstringing the stunted fighter and opening his guard for another Warrior-Monk to unleash a killing blow, opening the dwarf's neck ear to ear.
"Master! We must take the lever swiftly! We do not have ti-"
The voice was cut off and replaced with a gurgle as one of Cathasach's brothers took a fatal wound to the back of the head. Cathasach mourned inwardly for the briefest of moments before continuing his charge forward, blades whirring at a breathtaking speed, hewing all those who rose to stop his advance. Down the way he could see the zealots roaring their praises to Aed as they got properly stuck in, proving themselves especially ineffective as they fell in equal numbers to their foe on the wall. It was not what Cathasach had expected but he would have to make due.
-- Cathasach redoubles his efforts to take the gatehouse, directing all forces to take it.
-- All Vaekirate forces prepare to storm through once the gate is opened, once more with Peasant Roundshiers ready to come relieve Cathasach.
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Post by Vaklu on Oct 29, 2014 4:52:31 GMT
"To the gates you bastards, to the gates. You want these son's of orcs to take the city?" Troops rushed towards the gate house from either side of the wall. the dwarves were unwilling to go without a fight. they'd make the sylph's pay for every in
On other parts of the walls there was a direfernt convestation going on between seversl of the captains. "Are you sure about this? If we do it we're damned the lot of us." The captain speaking was young and freash faced, his beard only reaching to his chest by the barest margin.
"It our orders boy, if the city looks to be taken we're to light our arrows and set it ablaze. I'll not have my children and their children be slaves to these bastards." The older dwarf spat over the wall.
"The gates hold we have a chance, if not the city burns."
- all roundshiers on the walls not at the gates and in the city converge on the gate house along with 1,000 archers from the walls.
- The archers in the city continue withe their gurilla fighting
- If the gates fall all archers on the walls are given orders to use fire arrows to set fire to the city.
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Post by aspenivan on Oct 29, 2014 21:09:23 GMT
Final Moderation Mark
The dwarves of Mog Bhelnom fought bravely, but in vain. Most of the sword infantry available on the walls was already committed to the battle at the gatehouse, and the sylph reinforcements from inside the city were arriving faster than the retreating dwarves. The Commonwealth relief division took some losses from arrow fire, but despite the weight of fire they were longshots loosed haphazardly from relatively far away: The area around the gatehouse had already been cleared of archers by Cathasach's initial charge. Many of the arrows ended up landing on dwarves, either burghers or roundshiers. The melee was brutal, but with the burst of extra Cerdigonian help bolstering his forces, Cathasach managed to slice and bash his way to the lever. And from there, the city's fate was sealed. Thousands of fresh troops, including the Vaekirate detachment's professional halberdiers, poured in through the gates, overwhelming the resistance they encountered from surprised-looking dwarven roundshiers. Meanwhile, King Aeron's army was already mopping up the last of the inner city archers who had been abandoned by their sword-armed protectors. The sylphs were simply too numerous and too fast for hit and run tactics to work: It was a massacre. The battle for the walls was more difficult, though no less inevitable a victory. Here the Vaekirate's professional halberdiers shined, paving their way acros the walls with dwarven bodies. Meanwhile, the tired Cerdigonian main force mostly cheered on from the back while the fresh, well-armored human troops did the dirty work with ruthless efficiency. There was little left in the way of proper dwarven infantry, and the only real struggle was to get onto the walls themselves under relentless bow fire. From there on out, there were ten dwarves dead for every one human. The dwarves might still have pryed victory from their enemies' hands if their elder captain were obeyed consistently, but he lacked the authority to convince more than a third of the surviving archers to light their arrows. The rest were far more concerned with the legions marching up stairs and ladders to the ramparts, even if they might have been willing to light their own homes aflame. Whatever fires they started were quickly put out either by Commonwealth troops or the city's inhabitants themselves, who were generally not of the same mind as the fanatical wall captain. The one exception was the Militia Drill Square, which the burghers seemed less concerned about leaving their homes to protect at this point. Finally, with half the defending force dead or dying and countless others routing aimlessly through the city, a cadre of lieutenaints threw their overzealous captain off the wall and had cries and flags of surrender lifted wherever they could. Hopefully, the Vaekirate presence would force the Commonwealth to show mercy. __________ RESULTS AND CASUALTIES Sefti-Cerdigonian Commonwealth eliminates all enemy resistance inside the city with ease!
Approximate Casualties-- King Aeron Sefti (Monarch) (Spymaster/Administrator) - 5 Royal Guard -- General Modron Halfwing (Sylph) (General) - 5 Bodyguard -- 10 Sylph Light Infantry -- 5 Sylph Longbowmen -- 25 Sylph City Roundshiers -- 50 Sylph City Shocktroops -- 50 Sylph Peasant Roundshiers -- 100 Sylph Peasant Pikes -- 10 Sylph Peasant Archers Messarom Vaekirate opens the gates and floods the walls with fresh troops!
Approximate Casualties-- 150 Peasant Roundshiers -- 100 Zealots -- 50 Light Infantry (Commonwealth) -- Cathasach (Sylph) (Warrior-Monk) - 10 warrior-monks -- 100 Halberdiers -- 200 Peasant Roundshiers City of Mog Bhelnom surrenders after its defenders are devastated by the fierce melee!
Approximate Casualties
-- 3,000 City Roundshiers (3 units ANNIHILATED) -- 2,500 City Archers (3 units ANNIHILATED) All surviving units have SURRENDERED. Militia Drill Square is DESTROYED.
VAEKIRATE-COMMONWEALTH ALLIANCE CAPTURES THE CITY.-- Both attacking players post regarding captured prisoners. -- Open diplomacy thread with Master of the city Nazram Golmor. |
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