The Czarny Choragiew of Lubnie
…Among the best of the forces of the Grand Duchy are the Czarny Choragiew, the black banner. The Czarny Choragiew are the elite of the elite, only the most prestigious of the winged hussars from the border town of Lubnie are able to join their ranks. The unit was founded in 1392, immediately after the second battle of Braclaw, to guard the southeastern marches of the Grand Duchy from the Khergits and later the ambitious Ormeli Empire. In 1391 a vast host of Khergits, fifty thousands strong and gathered from every corner of the Khergit Khanate marched on the lands of the Duchy. They wiped out three large ducal armies and laid siege to Lubnie. The main part of the garrison of Lubnie had been killed trying to hold back the horde, and all that remained in the city were two banners, or choragiew, of winged hussars and four thousand scythemen and Haiduks gathered from the nearby villages. Trapped inside Lubnie were the Prince-Sovereign Izak Maksymillian, his wife and their infant son. The Khergits surrounded the city and wasted no time in constructing several artillery pieces and siege towers. Ducal Haiduks in the city exchanged fire with Khergit archers over several days, taking a heavy toll on the unprotected invaders. On the sixth day of the siege the artillery were completed, and mangonels and trebuchets pounded the city walls with rocks almost non-stop.
On the eleventh day of the siege, the catapults ceased firing. Eight assault towers placed at various points at the walls moved slowly towards the city. The city militia were gathered and sent to reinforce the walls, along with one of the two banners of hussars. Brutal fighting on the walltop continued for a day and a night, then, on the evening of the thirteenth day of the siege of Lubnie the Khergits planted their banners on the parapets and at once let out a great cry. The Khergits opened the main gate and their cavalry swarmed into the city, burning and looting and killing and raping. In the town hall waited Prince-Sovereign Izak Maksymillian and a single banner of winged hussars. As the Khergits reached the central square of the city the doors of the hall were opened and the great bell of Lubnie was tolled three times. On the third toll, the hussars charged out in two ranks, Izak Maksymillian at their head. They drove the Khergits from the town square, the Prince-Sovereigns wife in the second rank, carrying the infant heir to the Ducal throne. Their lances broken, many unhorsed, the banner of hussars fought their way to the second gate of Lubnie. The Prince-Sovereign Izak Maksymillian and three quarters of the surviving hussars held the gateway against the Khergits already inside the city, as the remainder escorted the Queen-Consort and heir to safety. A parting shot from a Khergit on the parapet struck the queen and slew her, but one of the hussars managed to save her son from falling.
Upon seeing this, a great rage came upon Izak Maksymillian and he fought like a madman, taking up the fallen standard of Lubnie, which appeared black with blood in the twilight, as did Maksymillian himself. The hussars around him fought to the death until finally, Izak Maksymillian stood alone atop a pile of corpses. Pierced with many arrows the dying Prince-Sovereign lifted the standard of Lubnie and placed it into the pile. No Khergit dared cross the threshold of the gate to pursue the infant who was now the Prince-Sovereign, and he escaped north to Tarnowd. He became a rallying point for the armies of the Duchy, and in September 1392 the great host of the Grand Duchy brought the Khergit horde to battle outside Braclaw castle, and vanquished them. After the victory, a new unit was formed from the surviving hussars of Lubnie as the first line of defense of the duchy. They were named both for the Khergit legend of the black madman of Lubnie and in mourning for the much loved Izak Maksymillian. They bear all black armour and weaponry to this day, even taking the feathers of their wings from carrion crows. The Czarny Choragiew function as scouts and guardians of Braclaw pass, and are currently led by Leopold Znaniecki, castellan of Braclaw. Znaniecki’s career is detailed elsewhere in this book, but it is safe to say that he is fully capable of commanding such an esteemed unit as the Czarny Choragiew…
Excerpt from “The Complete History of The Armies of the Grand Duchy” by Gunter Kindheim, published 1492 Marienburg press.
Just a quick job, if I have the time I'll rewrite some of it tomorrow.
These are a couple of really small and rather pedantic suggestions that I've already implemented in my own game but I thought I might as well share them: firstly, renaming the Union troops to be Musketeers -> Jaegers/Pikemen and secondly changing the various union minifactions' pikemen and party ratios. I kept the Haelmarians the same, but with a higher number of cavalry in their parties, the Berthe got longer pikes but less cavalry and gunners, and the Nordlanders got infantry with either pikes or halberds, a low number of cavalry and a higher number of gunners to represent their respective terrains.
