TEATRC tribute & universe expansion

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Just 'cause of the good old days: I've started on a rather ambitious lore project on what happens in the short-term after Vienna. I might continue writing and eventually post the rest if there's any interest.



After Vienna: The Winter Campaign of 1505

In the aftermath of the horrific defeat inflicted upon the Holy Swadian Empire by the Lion Throne at Vienna, the Empire's very existence stood on the brink. Whilst the Marshal Hengest occupied his time with the bulk of Imperial Swadian forces besieging Nibelheim, the far-weakened Swadian forces in the Vienna basin were few and stretched thin. Among those scarred brethren who had endured the great siege it was recognised that some effort had to be made to stall any Filaharnist assault until Hengest brought down the First Imperial Swadian Army in the New Year. None of those veteran, and perhaps, blessed few would have foresaw the ferocity of the Filaharnist attack nor bloodshed that would occur that winter. However, neither the Swadians or the Filaharnists would have foreseen the outcome of those desperate months.

I. All the Little Lordships: The Swadian Nobility after the Siege of Vienna

"All these pathetic little lordships will fall before the Lion's might. These heathen dogs won't stand: Filaharn will relieve them of their petty and worthless resistance soon enough. Once Vienna falls, so will this 'Holy Swadian Empire'. Take off the head and this gross bull shall die. Their follies not continue beyond December."

-- Beldinas Pilofiro, Kingpriest of Ellis

The Vienna Campaign had taken its toll upon the crop of the Swadian nobility that still remained in Vienna as the Filaharnist tide approached. Hundreds of knights fell in Vienna alone, and thousands of squires, esquires, petty gentry and men-at-arms fell too. Of the higher nobility, at least fifteen minor Lords of note were casualties. Above them, one border count fell in battle, guarding one of the city's main gates; three barons fell holding the Swadian border and another two in Vienna itself.
The noblemen who survived the Viennese meat-grinder were thus some of the hardest men that Swadian soil had ever borne. Consisting of old hands such as the former Marshal Harhengothus, to minor Lordlings who had gained renown through war, as well as less 'gentlemanly' men who had been rapidly knighted or even ennobled in the Emperor's brief moments of lucidity having proved their worth, valour or sheer determination based on the volume of Filaharnist blood which they had spilt. It need not be mentioned that with the serious manpower issues which the Empire now faced that amongst the ranks of these 'new blood' were a small number of women who had battled and fought their way not only on the battlefield but into proper Swadian society. However, though the mettle of the Swadian leadership had been forged in Vienna, it would be further tempered on the fields beyond it.

Regardless of the state of the Swadian commanders, the immediate post-Vienna period was marked by severe disorder and panic amongst the refugees and stragglers that had streamed from the Capital. It is to the extreme credit of the Swadian leadership that despite pressure from scouting and substantial raiding groups from the Lion Throne forces that an organised hierarchy was set up and units consolidated  in only a matter of days. By merit of being the former marshal, Harhengothus became the de facto leader of the Swadian forces. However, his wounding during a scouting mission by a force of mounted Brigadiers split the Swadian forces into two armies. One, centred around Marienburg was led by the Markgraf of Marienburg, Siegfried; the other, based around Harhengothus' lands, was led by the recently-elevated Duke Gottfried Talhennweir, a relative of both Harhengothus and the Zollerns who had been given a nonexistent dukedom in recognition of previous bravery.

II. Out of Sight, Out of Mind: The Strategic Situation

"IMPERATIVE: Swadian forces MUST be held up in Marienburg whilst the First Deva reduces the heathen capital. The siege must be kept up until further reinforcements are available for an assault. Do not, DO NOT, withdraw your men or allow the Marienburgers out regardless. Hold your position. Any failure to obey these orders will be rewarded with death and damnation."

-- Orders from Mondo, First Deva of Filaharn, to Theophilus Ajdhesc, Commander of Lion Throne forces around Marienburg

The Siege of Vienna was the crucial event of 1505, yet it was not the only event of significance that occurred. As would be gradually realised by leaders on both sides, it was important not to lose sight of their strategic goals whilst in a frenzy over Vienna. Though the Swadian capital was undoubtedly important in so many ways, the Swadians had lost their capital before, and had still ruggedly and persistently failed to die off despite the best efforts of everyone in Calradia. Mondo's failure to realise this fact - perhaps due to growing fears that his actions may not seem zealous enough to the Pope - may have ended the possibility of ending the war that year, and may have resigned the conflict to continue for years to come.

Marienburg, one of the major cities of the Empire, was invested in the late summer. Though Mondo may have perhaps wanted to reduce it using the Aurora Cannon (as a sort of test/target), delays in finishing and aiming the megacannon as well as the sheer inability to even dig siege trenches before Vienna meant that its entire attention would have to be focused upon reducing the Swadian Capital. The forces attacking Marienburg was a quarter of the force Mondo had led across the border that spring, but was remarkably led by relatively junior officers. All of the senior commanders had chosen to join the larger army that would take Vienna, for the sake of glory, honour and devotion to Filaharn. With the problems with the Aurora Cannon, new orders were relayed to Ajdhesc, the Gunther-Piedmontese Engineer-General in command of this force. The investiture of Marienburg was intended to bottle the forces of the Markgraf from reinforcing the Swadians or even forcing Mondo's right flank. If practicable, Marienburg should be taken; if not, Mondo would swing around to capture Marienburg once Vienna had fallen.

As it stood, the Siege of Marienburg was a relatively placid affair. Marienburg, like all the other great cities of the Empire, was heavily fortified and decently manned. Though the Marienburg region lacked the technological academies of Ulm or the forgeworks and mines of Zollern, Marienburg's fall was not inevitable. Though numerous, the Lion Throne forces under Ajdhesc were largely spread thin, poorly dug-in and largely inexperienced. With the bulk of the Brigade forces in Calradia at Vienna, the forces ordered to besiege Marienburg were largely auxillaries and mercenaries: predominantly unarmoured or dismounted troops outside of their depth charging thick Swadian defences. Though there were a number of Gunther-Piedmontese troops, the vast majority of the Lion Throne artillery train was around Vienna.

For once the Swadians were in a better position. The red-brick walls of Marienburg had stood strong before many a Khergit horde in years past, a fact that would not bear well for the considerable number of Kara-Khitan who may have proved to be even more useless in the gutter and trench fights of Vienna. The Vienna valley was notably tough and stony, making it difficult to entrench or sap the walls. An artillery bombardment was limited by the lack of ammunition and guns available, whilst an escalade would be slaughtered. Ajdhesc, playing safe, chose to surround Marienburg to the best of his ability and otherwise attempt to occupy the efforts of the Marienburgers. As one of the longest and hottest summers drew on, the forces at Marienburg slept whilst their brothers elsewhere bled in the streets of Vienna.

By November, heavy rains had ruined the Filaharnist entrenchments around Marienburg, whilst the bulk of Lion Throne forces still licked its wounds in the ruins of Vienna. The irreparable damage to the Aurora Cannon and gross casualties to the Brigade of the Radiant Cross - including what was considered an unacceptable number of Propugnators - drew Mondo and the Devas away from the Swadian theatre. Mondo would be temporarily recalled to face the Pope; Zalera, heavily wounded, retreated to Ellis to convalesce. To cover the mistakes, Mondo appointed Elhaym to gather forces in preparation for an attack in the new year upon Ulm, in a northern pincer that would, it was hoped, mop up the ruined empire at little cost to the Brigade.

As Elhaym took a third of the Brigade with her, and Mondo a suitable honour guard of Propugnators, the forces occupying Vienna were left in a quandry. The area around Vienna had been burned in a stellar example of scorched earth and slightly-less exemplary Aurora cannon misses, making a serious campaign of movement difficult, or indeed, a proper pursuit of the retreating Swadians. Any effort to smash through Swadian lines would have to wait until enough of the Brigade recovered or until Mondo returned with reinforcements. With both the Lion and the Eagle licking their wounds, the Kingpriest of Ellis felt victory would be secured. A campaign of heavy raids and harassment employing the forces of Ellis and Gunther-Piedmont would push the heathen to the breaking point. Perhaps all that was needed was to overrun the rudimentary Swadian lines with committed Ellisian spear blocks after a solid Gunther-Piedmontese volley? After all, the Swadians must have surely given up all hope after their capital and holiest city burned.

The double-headed eagle, however, would still have some life in it yet...

marienburg.png


The Battle Standard of Marienburg.
Marienburg, though having always resided in the shadow of Vienna, nonetheless posed a considerable threat to the Lion Throne. Notorious for its delusions of self-determination, it had nonetheless grown rich under Swadian rule. Guarding the trade routes to the south, the various coups and discontent amongst first the Khergit then the Ormelis in recent times hit the Marienburgers hard. However, the red-walled city and its population has remained relatively intact despite the toll inflicted upon Swadian forces by the Ellisians and the Lion Throne. Most importantly, its manufactories remain intact and its troops well-armed and heavily drilled.
Though the Markgraf Siegfried has faced considerable criticism for his repeated requests for autonomy and questionable backroom dealings, his 'conservatism' in contributing troops to Vienna would prove instrumental that winter.



As I've mentioned, if anybody's interested I might continue it; here's the quote for part IV:
"There will be nothing for the Filaharnists but blood here...and it will be their blood, not ours! The grasses here deserve a good watering. The altar-cups need filling. Trample the Filaharnist into the dirt and let his blood flow for...With every quart spilt my heart shall sing! With every quart spilt our fallen brethren will thirst for more! With every quart spilt let the angels rejoice! With every quart spilt noble Swadia will be reborn: ONWARDS!"
--- Captain Albrecht Ardelen von Berechingen, XXXI Heartlander Regiment
 
Thanks Shrugger!

Aye, it's been quite a while; sort of came up with this on a whim, so it wasn't that coherently planned.

Also I wasn't that sure about how to bring in Marienburg.

The problem is that while it's been agreed that Vienna falls and Nibelheim is recaptured by the Swadians, what happens in the mean time until Hengest marches down from the north? Either:
a) the LT takes catastrophic casualties at Vienna and cannot push on
b) the Swadians stall any advance that winter:
  I) Mondo is an idiot and dawdles,
  II) Some other guy takes command whilst the Devas are occupied and is a massive idiot and either dawdles or loses badly

I thought I'd bring Marienburg into it as hardly anyone ever mentions it in all the fuss over Vienna, though I sort of had to pull excuses about the Aurora Cannon being delayed and the entire Brigade going all religious and attacking Vienna to keep it in the HSE (if it were plausible it would have fallen alongside Vienna.)
 
By the way... i know the canon states otherwise, but i thought it would make much more sense if we rotate the classic TEARC map counter-clockwise. So that the Obello sea now lies EAST of Calradia, instead of north.

2u8gv80.jpg

This way:

1) Haelmar gets to keep a more geographically credible "nordic" theme, together with the Vaegirs and the Grand Duchy.
2) Bermia gets to have the mediterranean\temperate climate it is supposed to have. Same with Ellis, which will be located more or less on the same latitude.
3) Lauria, Ptia and Mylesia receive a "scorching sun of the south makes people more warlike" bonus.

The only adjustment needed will be to place the Papal State south of Ptia, and move the Sarranids, the Khergits and the Kara-khitan more to the east.

It makes much more sense to me, and although i know debating the lore of a mod is quite an aimless pursuit, i thought it would be worth a shot. Plus, whatever you guys think, i'm going to keep thinking this way  :lol:
 
Well, to be honest the orientation of the map doesn't matter to me at least; I've never really paid attention to it and put down the colder climates to the east being due to handwavium/'climactic conditions'. A Calradian Gulf Stream or whatever.

Not that the world of TEATRC particularly makes sense anyway.

Also, here's a continuation of the thing I was doing a while back.

III: From Heaven's very heights: Opening Moves
"From Heav'n's very heights did the Filaharnists rain death upon sacred Vienna. But fear not, for our God has not been vanquished! He hath smoke down and wreck'd their Aurora Cannon, and have burnt the best of their men. He hath lit the forests of Ellis alight and choked the streets of Vienna with blood. Now, my brethren, is the time to make them pay for what they did to Vienna. Rise up, men of Swadia! Clad yourselves once again in the garb of your fathers, arm thyselves with their swords and bows. Now let our own goode retribution fall upon the heathen, and butcher them boldly. For God, Emperor and Swadia!"

-- Jurgen von Krullheim, Exhortation to the People of Swadia

"Filaharn can go to hell."

-- Last Words of 'Harlaus', a Swadian peasant arrested by Brigadiers of the Radiant Cross, stabbing a secreted poisoned blade into the eye of a Propugnator Captain

The appointment of Beldinas Pilofiro, Kingpriest of Ellis to the command of the troops around Vienna was not a military decision. The Kingpriest, though known to have illustrated some martial capability, was not known for taking strategic decisions independent of his devout nature. Though the mock claims of less-than-pious Ellisians in Filaharnist service that the Kingpriest had to "consult the entrails of a burnt baby before taking a ****" were (probably) exaggerated, there was no doubt that the Kingpriest would probably put a greater effort upon converting the locals that survived and purging the rest rather than seizing any opportunity at destroying the regrouping Swadian forces.

Pilofiro, however, was not a fool, and knew the danger of becoming too passive in the face of the enemy. Recognising the difficulty in waging a proper campaign, he embarked upon terror raids upon the local countryside as well as more-substantial raids into territory which was still owned by the Swadians. Though the horsemen of Mylesia and Ptia would be the most visible component of these raids, in reality their contribution would rapidly decrease as the winter set in. The devastation around Vienna had eliminated any grazing land and feed stocks were dangerously low. The feed left in Vienna - the remnants of the supplies Mondo had brought with him half a year ago - was running out and largely used to feed the far-more important and expensive Brigade warhorses rather than the smaller auxiliary horses. Very little feed could be salvaged from the burnt-out ruins of the Imperial Stables, meaning that the Lion Throne troops became increasingly dependent upon caravans from Ellis.

Most alarmingly, however, was the rapid increase in engagements in the countryside. Though the Lion Throne was no stranger to guerrilla attacks or civilian unrest, the number, scale and ferocity of attacks upon Lion Throne scouts, foragers and caravans quickly mounted, leaving the Filaharnists in Vienna even more desperate for supplies. Heavy conscription in the Ellisian territories in preparation for the great push on Vienna had left the harvest smaller in usual, a fact that was severely compounded by the very dry summer.  The fall of Vienna had been meant to end it all: the act that would have crushed the heathen Swadian and his supposedly-Sacral Empire before winter: an ideal even Mondo, concerned about other rising stars in his staff, propagated. Instead, the infidel had been driven into a state of frenzy not seen before: it was to be expected that the enemy would be a tough and most stubborn opponent as the Filaharnist hammer smashed into the Swadian Heartlands - that was inevitable - but the loss of the Capital and heavy casualties upon its administration and leadership should have shattered the Old Eagle.

The utter slaughter that occured in Vienna - and the intense changing of the men within those mighty walls - had unforeseen consequences outside of it. As the upper strata - or at least the most effective and devoted members of the upper strata - of the Swadian Church died in the alcoves of the Grand Cathedral - those that survived to preach their message were the most militant and vehement of the lot. In combination with the shell-shocked and terrible members of the Swadian military who had slovenly marched out of the city as it fell, new subsects would emerge of the previously (and notably) homogeneous Swadian Church. And as it seemed that the evil foeman had come to bring unholy wrath upon the grasslands of Swadia the smallfolk and peasantry ate up the preaching and the propaganda. A man without lands nor gold nor perhaps even a family or an occupation but only an iron will and an infinite hatred for the Filaharnists and the corrupt Swadian hierarchy is a most terrifying tool. With nothing to turn to, new heresies and ideologies would spread as a plague throughout the lands known as Swadia and Ellis.

As the Kingpriest settled down the Brigade's heavy infantry and heavy horse in their winter bivouacs preachers and their Brigadier guards were spread throughout the newly-occupied territories. Though violence was to be expected, the feeling towards these men was far stronger than the Filaharnist had expected. The Lion Throne had never properly administered a native population in Calradia that had a strong and properly organised religion. The Ellisians had submitted to Filaharn in a none-too bloody fashion. After all, their aristocracy and ruling classes had long submitted to the authority of the Pope in return for military and financial aid. In general, the population had more-or-less agreed to cast away their old gods - at least in public - after years of integration under the old Ellisian Government and now under the new Brigade administration.

Swadia was different. The Swadian saw the Brigade as the Devil reborn: the Arch-Enemy. Though Ellis had been Swadia's greatest enemy before, the Brigade had in a matter of years usurped this position and indeed superseded it. Even under the nominal control of Nikephoros was the Brigade and its fanaticism and merciless nature despised: the arrival of the Lion Throne's invading army and the utter obliteration of newly-occupied Ellis had strengthened this opinion. The atrocities of Vienna had soldered, welded, forged and quenched this ideal into the Swadian national psyche; the arrival of these Pope-men, the evil of Pope Saldian in the flesh in Sacred Swadia, merely amplified this effect. The Emperor was no longer the utter paragon of Swadian ideals, at least not in truth. One thing stood above all the traditional Swadian values: The Filaharnist must be destroyed. There would be only peace with the Filaharnist; only death. An obvious concept indeed, for the Filaharnist felt much the same for the Swadians - though with much less emphasis - but the fires of Vienna had warped this into something much more.

In No-Man's Land between the two sides, in the forests of Swadian-held territory, and even in the deepest enclaves of occupied land did the Swadian people turn to new vehicles for their anger. After the Filaharnist massacres there would be no peaceful conversion, and wandering militant preachers added fuel to the fire. From these communities dangerous new sects and militant brotherhoods emerged:
  • The Erzonesians, after the ancient occultist Erzonesius of Dhirim, were one of many dualist sects. They believed that the Holy Swadian Empire, and the Emperor by extension, was the embodiment of Order, and the Lion Throne the embodiment of devilrous arts on earth. To an extent ignored by the Swadian authorities, the members of this sect were notorious for reaching a quasi-bloodlust akin to the Brigadiers and Propugnators of their Filaharnist foe.
  • Solesians turned to the old pagan deities, and believed that the Emperor should be once be truly elected, only not by the Elector Counts: instead, the electors who truly wished for the position should step into a great pyre and be reborn as Sol-Imperator Invictus, the Unconquerable Sun and Emperor of All.
  • Benesils, an exceptionally militant sect, saw themselves as the spawn of the devil and that in order to be redeemed, one had to kill non-believers in abundance. Filaharnists were ten times more valuable than 'ordinary' non believers. Additionally, cheese (and other dairy and diary products) was banned for it was of the secular Haelmarians, and possession as punished by death.
  • Maesenians saw the Swadian God as merely the Patriarch, and lead God of the existing Ancient Swadian Pantheon, and reintroduced animal sacrifice and libations. Commonly found in large, built-up areas, the sect spread into Ellis where a spate of notorious murders occured involving Brigade officers and notable Filaharnists who were found drowned in kegs of grape juice with fish bones impaled into their eyes.

The development of such groups merely compounded the problems the Kingpriest had to face. Guerrilla warfare and harassment would have been inevitably a problem, but the winter of 1505 was represented by the feeling that the entire Swadian populace, and, to an extent, the Ellisian populace. had taken arms against the Lion Throne. Though the peasantry was often poorly-armed and poorly-equipped, the sheer number of incidents left the forces of the Lion Throne dangerously overstretched. The Brigade could control the grasslands, but not the forests or the mountains or the swamps, and its ability to use light horse greatly reduced by heavily casualties and attrition. A Brigadier may have been one of the most heavily armoured soldiers in Calradia, but he could still be ambushed or murdered or poisoned, especially in some slum or puny little village. If any significant force was mustered to suppress and raze the location, Hershey or some other peasant defence band - or even groups of stragglers or deserters from the Swadian Army of Vienna would arrive before the Brigade and inflict serious casualties. Atrocity was met with atrocity.

Under serious pressure to relieve the situation, and at his wit's end to suppress revolts and to keep supplying the Brigade forces in Ellis and Swadia, Pilofiro was in a quandry. The occupied lands were already ripe for revolt and generally devoid of foodstuffs after years of war and intentional scorched-earth warfare. His light cavalry, his first tool for suppression and for foraging, was weak, underequipped, overstretched, and had severely low morale. Should he focus upon keeping the Brigade fed, in the hopes that the dissent would blow over, or crush unrest at the risk of the Brigade having to endure half rations (and perhaps less) under the threat of a new Swadian offensive and a cold and long winter? Or should he attempt both, and risk failing in both regards? As the food supplies ran dry, the Kingpriest took the reluctant decision to order the lightly-armed foragers to search even further away from Vienna for supplies, moving dangerously close towards Swadian lines. The larger raiding parties, previously employed to scout, harass and destroy anything of value, were also ordered to capture and save any food they came across, and were ordered to operate within occupied territory as well. The risk upon these groups thus doubled: raiding parties that were either heavily-laden with captured supplies or were large in number were more easily caught by heavier Swadian cavalry, or even ambushed by the Swadian peasantry and cut to pieces. With the mild reinforcement of the few and weak light cavalry units with somewhat-fresher troops previously deployed against the Kaiserlichers in North in early December, Pilofiro was forced to make yet another decision: whether to pull back the foragers, to give them time to fully acclimatise and to rest, or increase the strength of the raids, for an increased short-term gain before the winter set in. He chose the latter.

His counterparts in the Swadian camp had long assumed that the militant zealot would take such an action, and had made preparations accordingly. With both Swadian and Filaharnist readied for a long series of costly skirmishes over the winter, the two sides settled in for a long and hard winter - though one that would be considerably more bloody than any had anticipated.

The 'quote' for Part IV:
The Old Landsknecht came marching down through Hech-Zollern,
Back from the Wars in the Nord-Country,
And he sang as he marched
Through the crowded streets of Hech-Zollern,
"Who'll be a soldier for the Emperor with me?"

"Who'll be a soldier, who'll be a soldier?
Who'll be a soldier for Swadia and thee?"
And he sang as he marched through the cobbled streets of Hech-Zollern,
"Who'll be a soldier for the Emperor with me?"

"The Emperor has ordered new troops onto the Ellisian Plain:
To strike a blow at the old enemy.
So join as me a landsknecht
In that bloodied uniform,
And fight them more for the Emperor with me."

...
"To be a landsknecht, to be a soldier,
To be a warrior for the Emperor and me
Salvation or danger,
That shall be thy destiny:
And conquer more for the Emperor with me!"

-- The Old Landsknecht, Traditional.
 
Thanks! The cults and sects were largely a second thought to spice it up but I'm glad you liked it.

Anyway, the next bit: less on the grand overview, and more about the Swadian military.

IV. The Old Landsknechts: The Swadian Order of Battle

The Old Landsknecht came marching down through Hech-Zollern,
Back from the Wars in the Nord-Country,
And he sang as he marched
Through the crowded streets of Hech-Zollern,
"Who'll be a soldier for the Emperor with me?"

"Who'll be a soldier, who'll be a soldier?
Who'll be a soldier for Swadia and thee?"
And he sang as he marched through the cobbled streets of Hech-Zollern,
"Who'll be a soldier for the Emperor with me?"

"The Emperor has ordered new troops onto the Ellisian Plain:
To strike a blow at the old enemy.
So join as me a landsknecht
In that bloodied uniform,
And fight them more for the Emperor with me."
...
"To be a landsknecht, to be a soldier,
To be a warrior for the Emperor and me
Salvation or danger,
That shall be my destiny:
And conquer more for the Emperor and me!"


-- The Old Landsknecht, Traditional.

Talhennweir's Boys: The Hechzollern Military District
Though the image of the Swadian soldier after Vienna has been typified as a broken soul, out for vengeance for his friends and for his Emperor after the slaughter of that long summer, in reality the forces mustered by Harhengothus outside Zollern - the troops that would bear the brunt of the violence throughout that winter - were made up of a variety of figures. Though the cynical, world-weary veteran of Vienna was by far the most visible component - and the most effective and amongst the most-numerous - he was not alone, nor was this group entirely homogeneous. Of the 'Vienna Veterans', or as they would become known, the 'Damned Irascibles', after one of the Kingpriest's less-eloquent speeches, there were not only landsknechts. Talhennweir, a Damned Irascible himself and the de facto commander of Swadian troops around Zollern (and thus the leader of Swadian forces in this campaign), would relate:

"If one puts forward the concept that the forces I led were uniquely a mixed and scattered band of anti-Filaharnists, then one is incorrect. Vienna may have been Swadia's twilight, but she was not there alone... all the bloody world was there, in that City, united against the foe. Though their countrymen and leaders would wilfully ignore the Filaharnist spectre, they still stood behind me even after Vienna fell. Perhaps you are correct though: Kaiserlichers, Haelmarians or Bermianese they may be, but in the crucible of Vienna they became Swadians all."


Nonetheless, it would be Swadians themselves who would bear the brunt of the Filaharnist attack in the upcoming months. Of these troops the greatest proportion would consist of relatively fresh troops made up of troops predominantly from Zollern and Ulm. The Zollern Division, consisting of the city's best troops, was fresh and unengaged throughout the summer, though was not wholly green: the very finest Zollern could provide were well-honed veterans of many battles, including against the Lion Throne. Though technically under his command as the Duke of Hechzollengen and direct lord of Zollern, he gave his command to a junior but highly capable lordling in his retinue, Hermann Daostermann. In his preliminary plans for a pitch battle, if one were to occur, Talhennweir placed his Zollern men in the centre.

The other bulwark upon which Talhennweir could rely, holding the right flank of the Army in any pitched fight, was the Twentieth Imperial Division, a regular force of landsknechts and supporting troops. Originally raised to support the Marshal Hengest in his campaigns against the Laurians, the Division was a mixed formation intended to form part of a new regular Swadian Army under the command of the Imperial Marshal; it had marched to Nibelheim with him. On hearing of the state of Vienna, the Twentieth, which had distinguished itself in the various major battles but largely unengaged during the actual Fall of Nibelheim itself, was reinforced with troops from other regular formations and force-marched down in the hopes that it could help lift the Siege of the Capital. Though Vienna had fallen by the time it arrived in Zollern, it mustered under the command of its pricklish commander, Theobald von Stann, known as 'the Boar'.

His remaining flank would be held by the Damned Irascibles themselves, as well as a number of auxiliary forces that were of varying quality. The most senior officer amongst this group was the one-eyed Freiherr von Wechsin, a secret Semi-Solesian who had distinguished himself in Vienna by gleefully burning Filaharnists to death, including a high-ranking Ellisan Syntagmatarch and a Brigade Propugnator Captain. Having made his name years earlier against the Dual Monarchy, he could be relied upon not only to stubbornly hold the line but to release a ferocious counter-attack. To support his weakened Irascibles, reinforcements were prioritised to his command. The other 'regular' Swadian formation was the Ulm Mobile Detachment, a rapid force of medium cavalry which had been established by an earlier Duke of Ulm to deal with Norse and later, Laurian raiders through harassment and ambush. Waynfeld's Heavy Regiment of Foot, a fearsome mercenary company with discipline equal to that of any regular force and with the veterans and notoriety to boot, gave additional footsloggers to this weakened flank. To his own distaste, the Duke of Zollern allowed radical fanatics from the village of Nemeja to help reinforce this flank, in the hope that they would exhaust themselves and die on the Filaharnists' blades.

'The Eagle needs a bite': 'Hengest's' Reforms

"The Eagle shall need to find its bite once more if it is to deal with the threats that amass on its borders...Swadia shall not survive for another year if it does not change - its military most of all."

-- Imperial Field Marshal Hengest the Elder

The Post-Vienna Holy Swadian Army had a number of noticeable, but import changes to the faithful landsknechts and levies that had served before. Necessity drove the Lords of the Empire to throw their personal wealth into raising new regiments of Landsknechts, which, bankrolled by ancestral wealth, took increasingly more armoured forms. Whilst the landsknecht prior to the Siege of Vienna was exemplified by ragged clothing and a dearth in equipment, by that November the counts and lords and knights had raised well-drilled, professional and more importantly, well-armoured regiments of foot and horse to deal with the heavily-armoured  Filaharnist threat. Armouring their entire left shoulder and arm in plate or scale, and a light greave on the lead leg, the reformed landsknecht was thus still more poorly armoured compared to his Coselete cousin but less so, and but still affordable; capable of holding the Filaharnist for longer when the odds were stacked against. A longer pike and the introduction of fighting halberds and poleaxes to sergeants and ensigns gave the Swadian pike block a greater effectiveness in the crush of melee, whilst attempting to keep a necessary distance from the enemy. As a poor and exceedingly unpopular attempt to protect the landsknecht against the deployment of Filaharnist archers to the field, the first three ranks of the formation were required to wear visored helmets, and the ranks behind ordered to wear skullcaps under their fancy hats. A possibly apocryphal tale tells of fifteen thousand landsknechts rising in revolt temporarily when a commander attempted to enforce these policies.

To compensate for the landsknecht's reduced close-combat ability, new regiments of shock infantry were raised to act in concert with the more prestigious doppelsoldners. Armed with an assortment of weapons - most commonly halberds and munitions-quality zweihanders, but also short scythes, bills and poleaxes, these troops were now meant to pass as an organised block from behind the pike blocks, through gaps in the Swadian line, and smash into the flank of a pinned enemy. To help with this, the doppelsoldner were organised into professional companies and trained to act in unison rather than individually hacking away through enemy formations after emerging from their own pike blocks.  For the other component of the pike formations, the skirmisher or arquebusier, new policies were also introduced. The heavy crossbow with its windlass or cranequin was to be disposed of entirely; the Swadian skirmisher was to be armed with a gun, or an ordinary crossbow that could be reloaded with devices as simple as a goat's-foot-lever. After all, there was little point expending such money in expensive crossbows with complicated prods and intricate spanning devices if it had trouble killing a brigadier; better to use cheaper guns copied from their Kaiserlicher cousins. Acknowledging the inability for troops with unrifled firearms to sufficiently aim and hit a target, Swadian arquebusiers were almost entirely ordered to focus upon volume of fire, rather than accuracy; the volley and the cartridge was now the order of the day. With the mobilisation of a standardised army came the introduction of standardised calibres; the Swadian musketeers had long been the laughing stock of other nations for part of the time the damned guns could not be reloaded or fired for sufficient periods of time. The manufactories of Ulm, Zollern and Marienburg were refitted to produced somewhat-standardised models; though each city had its own unique make of firearm, the bore diameter would remain the same by Imperial decree. Initial attempts at making a breech-loading paper-cartridge-based firearm were attempted by the master gunsmiths of Ulm, but this project was put aside in favour of mass manufacturing arquebuses and muskets for the new Reformed Regiments of Foot.

Swadian Cavalry largely remained the same: the aristocracy could not bear such a change to their most prized arm of battle. The Great Swadian Knight still remained a staple of the great field armies, though increased political pressure from the hawks saw them agree to contribute meaningfully to sieges. Nonetheless, financial concerns as well as practical ones saw the Swadian military convert increasingly to the use of dragoons or reiters in battle. Such was not an indicator of a change in Imperial Swadian military doctrine - they still abhorred the doctrine of mass firepower as perpetuated by the Kaiserlickers - but there was a necessity for loyal, professional light cavalry to be employed on the battlefield and in general. Cavalry which had to endure long enough in a running fight with the accursed Mylesians or Ptians yet be capable of scouting and of fighting on foot or on horse equally. The demilancer still had his shock value, yet his arrogance made him a poor scout and tended to get caught in the midst of Brigade formations instead of retreating and reforming. The Duke of Ulm had led the reforms with his mounted arquebusiers, many of whom now joined Talhennweir in Zollern, though by and large their poorer nephews in the new Regiments of Horse were of lower quality and less-well equipped. Though their contribution in actual pitched battle was of question - particularly the poorly-armoured dragoons with their poor-quality mounts - outside of it they were invaluable, giving the Swadian commanders far greater information. A lesser known, but nonetheless worthwhile contribution to the war effort involved the ambushing and harassment of foraging parties of Lion Throne auxiliaries, actions which placed an even greater toll upon the already-overstretched Filaharnist light cavalry.

A unique concept was brought up by a junior officer, but rejected by the Marshal. However, in such desperate times Duke of Zollern took some interest in the rejected proposal: to form a checkerboard-like formation instead of lines of battle. Lines of arquebusiers and musketeers would form up in rectangles in front of and next to pike blocks, falling back in the face of the enemy. The pike blocks would widen out to leave smaller gaps between each other, but not form a single contiguous line; the longer pikes and the better-armed flank companies would help prevent flanking. From those gaps in the line, the new shock regiments could pour through without disrupting the cohesion of the main Swadian battle line. Talhennweir was not convinced - not least because it involved adopting the tactics of their age-old Ellisian and Laurian enemies - but because he doubted whether his men could successfully hold such a formation and carry out such complicated manoeuvres without disrupting formational cohesion or routing entirely. Regardless, he was prepared to try this new tactic so long as the ground would be suitable and the enemy sufficiently zealous enough to ignore the glaring weakness in the centre of his line. And if the Swadian pike formations could not hold the Brigadier in melee for long enough - Vienna had been the proof of that - then he would shoot the bugger to death beforehand.

And much shooting of the buggers to death, along with stabbing, would occur that winter.


HechZollern Military District Order of Battle
Winter, 1505.
Commander-in-Chief: Imperial Marshal Otto Harhengothus, Graf Haringoth.
De facto Commander: Albert Talhennweir, Herzog von Hechzollengen.

Chief of Staff:
General Wilhelm, Graf von Fleussringen.
Captain of Artillery: Colonel Michael Dennewitz, 'the Charred Serpent'.
Chief Engineer: Ernst, Graf von Fulburg-Magdeburg.
Adjutant-in-Chief: Falke Doynemann, Knight of Zollern.


The Centre
Commander: Hermann Daostermann, Knight of Zollern.

Zollern Division
The reinforced Zollern Garrison and local troops capable of deploying to field battles.
Commander: Albert Talhennweir, in his capacity as Pfalzgraf von Zollern.
De facto Commander: Hermann Daostermann, Knight of Zollern.
10,000 Landsknechts of Zollern.
3,000 Doppelsoldner.
800 Greatswords.
1,000 Musketeers and other firelock-equipped troops.
1,200 Free men and citizen militia.
400 Engineers.

200 Dragoons and Reiters.
300 Knights and Demilancers.
100 Mercenary cavalry.

2 Basilisks.
7 Cannon.
5 Demi-cannon.
5 Mortars.
10 Falconets.
6 Minions and Pedereros.
Total: 17,000 Horse and Foot and 37 Guns.


The Right
Commander: Captain-General Theobald 'the Boar' von Stann.

Twentieth Imperial Division
Regular troops force-marched from Nibelheim.
Commander: Captain-General Theobald 'the Boar' von Stann.
7,000 Semi-Armoured Landsknechts.
3,000 Arquebusiers and Musketeers
1,200 Doppelsoldner and Halberdiers.
1,300 Heavy Cavalry, assorted.
2,500 Reiters, Dragoons and Horse Artillery.

5 Falconets.
5 Other horse-drawn light artillery.
Total: 15,000 Horse and Foot and 10 Guns.

The Ellisian Legion
Die-hard anti-Filaharnists in an alliance of convenience.
Commander: Syntagmatarch Theodoros Desideridos
2,000 Ellisian Pikemen
1,500 Ellisian Auxilliaries
1,000 Ellisian Skirmishers, mixed.
500 Light horse
Total: 5,000 Horse and Foot.


The Left
Commander: Karl Georg, Freiherr von Wechsin.

Provisional Vienna-Division, The 'Damned Irascibles'
Formed from the remnants of the Vienna Garrison, Second and Third Imperial Swadian Armies and assorted troops present at the Siege of Vienna.
Commander: Karl Georg, Freiherr von Wechsin.
2,600 Landsknechts of Vienna.
200  Doppelsoldner.
900 Men-at-Arms, Armsmen and other infantry of quality.
800 Mercenaries and other foreign troops.
600 Arquebusiers.
960 Civilian militia and peasant levies.
200 Engineers, sappers, artillerymen and other assorted combat-capable support troops.
500 Former Ellisian troops.

240  Knights, Lancers and assorted other Horse.

5 Culverins.
2 Sakers.
1 Leather cannon.
Total:  7,000 Horse and Foot and 8 Guns.


Ulm Mobile Detachment
Mobile reinforcements from the City of Ulm.
Commander: Eustasias Hentwigger, Esquire of Ulm.
3,000 Dragoons and other firelock-equipped cavalry.
500 Ulm Mounted Arquebusiers.
500 Demilancers.
2,000 Assorted freeriders, scouts, border reivers and mercenary light cavalry.
Total: 6,000 Horse.

Nemejan Trained Bands
Surprisingly well-trained civilian trained troops from the area of Nemeja. Notable for having a considerable number of Erzonesians amongst its ranks.
Commander: Captain Henricius, son of Nigel, the Head-mann.
500 Light Spears.
100 Arquebusiers.
300 Archer and crossbow levies.
100 Scouts and light skirmishers.
Total: 1,000 Foot.

Waynfeld's Heavy Regiment of Foot
Former mercenaries which had offered to join the Swadian Crown for half-wages for that winter after hearing of the massacres at Vienna.
Commander: Aldalbert von Waynfeld, the 'Hammer-and-Pickle'.
3,000 Armoured Pikemen, trained in the Laurian Style.
500 Halberdiers and Doppelsoldners, well-armoured.
100 Dismounted Knights and Men-at-Arms.
1,200 Arquebusiers, trained in the Haelmarian and Vaegir styles.
200 Engineers and Artillerymen.

5 Culverins.
Total: 5,000 Foot and 5 Guns.


Total Strength: ~56,000 Horse and Foot and 60 Guns.
Inaccurate figures for disorganised armed bands and armed peasantry

The Old Landsknecht came marching down through Hech-Zollern,
Back from the Wars in the Nord-Country,
And he sang as he marched
Through the crowded streets of Hech-Zollern,
"Who'll be a soldier for the Emperor with me?"

"Who'll be a soldier, who'll be a soldier?
Who'll be a soldier for Swadia and thee?"
And he sang as he marched through the cobbled streets of Hech-Zollern,
"Who'll be a soldier for the Emperor with me?"

"The Emperor has ordered new troops onto the Ellisian Plain:
To strike a blow at the old enemy.
So join as me a landsknecht
In that bloodied uniform,
And fight them more for the Emperor with me."

"Now I," said the young man, "have oft endured my father's queue.
There's no job nor hopes for me;
Now salvation or danger,
That'll be my destiny,
And be a soldier for the Emperor with thee!"

"To be a soldier, to be a soldier,
To be a soldier for the Emperor and me
Salvation or danger,
That shall be my destiny,
To be a soldier for the Emperor and me."

And so the landsknechts went marching to the battlefield
To face the spears and the cavalry:
"And they came back victorious:
Warriors of the Empire all
Now a landsknecht and a soldier with me!"

"To be a landsknecht, to be a soldier,
To be a warrior for the Emperor and me
Salvation or danger,
That shall be my destiny:
And conquer more for the Emperor and me!"


-- The Old Landsknecht, Traditional.

Just to make it clear, Hengest is still in Nibelheim - these reforms are to an extent advocated and accepted by the Imperial Field Marshal but are largely organic developments brought about by the autonomous lords and the quasi-organised and extremely panicked Imperial foundry/armoury system.
 
Old Hengist seems to change the good old landsknechts into some kind of poor man's Laurian Pikemen! The fool, as if the old Landsknechts weren't spiffy and stronk enough!
Doppelsöldner on the flanks and rear, what the hell? They aren't some kind of feeble Rodoleros! Heresy!
 
Venitius said:
A unique concept was brought up by a junior officer, but rejected by the Marshal. ...[additionally,] Talhennweir was not convinced.

Basically it's the stirring up of a number of junior know-it-alls and desperate cynics after Vienna; the armour thing is a stop-gap measure that was HIGHLY unpopular..

Venitius said:
A possibly apocryphal tale tells of fifteen thousand landsknechts rising in revolt temporarily when a commander attempted to enforce these policies.

Desperate times call for desperate measures and it's a combination of the resurgence of the military aristocracy trying to stick everything in armour and people panicking after the fall of Vienna. The regulars won't have anything of it but they'll accept active assistance, as awful as it is, as opposed to complete ignorance.
 
Awesome stuff! Makes me want to create a TEATRC mod for Total War so we can actually see those numbers in action...56000 angry Swadians!  :smile:

Also reminded me of the fact that I currently live in Ulm. Heh. Haven't seen any Mounted Arquebusiers yet, though.
 
'twas about time the Swadians got proper firearms (seriously, blunderbusses? Were they expecting to board some pirate ships?). But the leather cannon, good Lord of Cheese, whose idea was that? It was the Haelmarians, wasn't it? They were too lazy to throw that thing in the Obello Sea and decided it was better off blowing itself up amongst the Swadian ranks.
 
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