NationStates Jolt Archive

Intro

The Empire of Kaelmark had sprung into being three hundred years previously during the disasterous civil war that split the Ostwind Empire (NPC) into two states. Since then Ostwind to the north and Kaelmark to the south had seen an uneasy semi-peace. In the last three centuries there had been fought a dozen skirmishes and small battles along the border in territorial disputes.

It had been a bad harvest for Ostwind, a blight upon the wheat cut the expected output by almost a third and belts had been tightened over the winter. Under pressure and with the threat of another rebellion at its doorstep the Ostwind government decided that reaquiring fertile lands to the south, implicitly Kaelmark, could bring stability back to their own governship.

In mid-spring after the final frost, Ostwind mustered an army to march south and reclaim their lands and possibly put an end to the offshoot Kaelmark state.

Northern Border of Kaelmark

General Huw VonFric of the Ostwind Royal Army sat astride his horse atop a hill overlooking a shallow stream. The ground below was hazed by a light cloud of early morning fog that seemed to cling to the ground at about knee height.

Columns of Ostwind soldiers dressed in green and marching on foot with their muskets over their shoulders were crossing a narrow stone bridge across the stream. It was creating some congestion, and officers were tidying up the formation as it met the bottleneck. A small force of cavalry had already crossed to protect the far side. Stretching up the road to the north seemed an endless line of men, horses, wagons and cannons.

General VonFric lifted a spyglass to one eye and peered across the shallow gully and into the foggy fields to the south where the roofs of houses and barns could be seen. He could hear the muffled gong of a church bell being franticly rang.

VonFric turned to his aides, sniffing distainfully, "As we suspected, our crossing has not gone unnoticed." He pointed with a gloved hand southwards towards the town, "Signal our cavalry to send pickets towards that town.. what is it called?" turning to look at a young Major, his face flushed in the cool air.

The Major consulted his map, "Ah, Karlsburg General."

Karlsburg, Kaelmark

A young man in his early twenties ran through the streets of the small town like a wild rabbit. His chest heaving, clothing splattered with mud from his work in his fields. He almost fell through the door of his home, startling his wife who had been standing by the window staring at the mass of confused citizens who took to the street as the church bells tolled.

"David!" the woman gasped, reaching for him. He shook his head and gently grabbed her wrists to get her attention.

"Sarah, take the children down to the cellar now!" He was already moving to the cabinet where his militia clothing and musket were kept. Sarah followed him, her face concerned.

"David, what's going on!?" As her husband opened the cabinet and began to put on his orange militia coat, she shoo'd their daughter and son away from the window. She looked worriedly into the street, seeing other men of the town gathering in their uniforms with their weapons.

"I saw them. Ostwinders coming in across Dally Ford." Spoken as he struggled into his overcoat and grabbed his hat. He moved towards the door, pausing to grab his wife around the waist and kiss her mouth fiercely, "Get on into the cellar. Don't come out 'til I get back, y'hear now?"

She bit back tears and nodded, not wanting to worry the children who David was crouching down to hug. He turned, giving her a last look before he took to the streets.

Karlsburg Commons, north of town

The governer of Karlsburg rode into the fields with a small escort of important townsfolk. He came to a halt as out of the mists he saw men in green mounted on large horses and carrying sabers. He waved nervously at what looked like an officer. The man rode forward and brought his horse to a halt ten yards from the delegation.

The governer cleared his throat, "Sir, what is the meaning of this?" asked as the screen of cavalry moved closer to town. He looked over his shoulder and saw the militia gathering near the Rusty Hinge Pub.

The cavalryman, actually a Lieutenant, replied. "Lieutenant Gris, Fifth Dragoon Regiment sir. This is none of your concern, your excellency. We ask that you recall your militia, no harm will come to your town." As he spoke and his head nodded, the feathers on his helmet whispered in the gentle breeze now blowing in from the west.

The governer frowned, "Well Lieutenant, it is my obligation to see to this town - and it's surrounding lands - defense. If this is an invasion then surely your mad Emperor has finally tipped completely over the cliffs?"

The Lieutenant stiffened in the saddle at the insult and turned his horse away without another word. He rode back to his line as the town's delegation made haste to their town.

Dally Ford

A cavalryman galloped towards the bridge. Finding it still packed with soldiers, he guided his horse into the shallows and crossed in a bow wave of cold water. He rode towards the General's party on the hill. "General sir! Lieutenant Gris begs to report contact with this town's leadership. They mean to fight, they've called out militia. Looks like a company of militia."

General VonFric shook his head in annoyance. He hadn't wanted contact so early. This risked slowing down everything. "Very well, return to your post and tell the good Lieutenant to hold his position. I'll send orders shortly." The cavalryman saluted and rode off.

Karlsburg Commons, north of town

Kaelmark militia in orange stood in a mostly neat line facing across the commongrounds with mounted Ostwind dragoons in green. The two forces stared at each other tensely.

A wagon being moved into a street behind the Rusty Hinge Pub drew the attention of one Ostwind Dragoon. He squinted through the mist, mistaking the wagon for an artillery piece and began to ride forward for a better look at a canter.

In the militia line a worried Sergeant was forming his men into two ranks of fifty men. He paused and looked towards the approaching horseman. Down the line, David stood shivering in the cold air. Two men down from David, a boy.. no older than sixteen paniced at the sight of the horseman. Assuming they were under attack he lowered his musket and fired. David looked around in confusion as fifteen or so other men fired in response as they assumed they'd missed a command to fire.

The Sergeant ran down the line yelling, "Hold your fire! Hold your fire!" Out in the field the startled cavalryman heard several balls pass by close enough to snap the air. Unhurt but for a hole in his jacket he turned and galloped away. The militia gave a ragged cheer, still mostly confused.

Karlsburg Commons, mid-morning

The cavalry had kept their distance after that. The fog was burning off and now they could make out most of the town. The militia stood in a battle line two men deep and fifty across.

Moving in from the north were two hundred men from the Ostwind Eighth Regulars Regiment. They brought with them orders to commence an attack and sieze the town. The cavalry were ordered to support the action and afterwards to look for spare stores of food as well as suitable horses.

Within ten minutes the Ostwind Regulars had organized and were marching across the field towards Karlsburg. Snare drums and penny pipes began to play an Ostwind battle hymn which carried across the commons and echoed through the deserted streets of town eerily.

On the Kaelmark side, David felt his knees tremble slightly as he watched the Ostwind Regulars approaching, their large flags flapping in the breeze and the music playing. Behind him, the Militia Sergeant shouted, "For'ard!"

The two forces slowly marched towards each other as the last of the fog was disappearing and the sun began to shine down in earnest on the field.

At one hundred and fifty yards the militia came to a halt under orders. They stood waiting as the Ostwind Regulars continued their advance. The Sergeant shouted, "Arms!"

The militia brought their muskets down from their shoulders.

"Ready!"

Weapons came to their shoulders in preperation. David squinted through the sights of his musket, watching the wall of green-jacketed men march towards them undeterred.

"Aim!" They paused. And then, "Fire!"

The line fired, a cloud of white smoke obscuring the view momentarily. As it cleared they saw some of the Ostwind Regulars had fallen out of the line. At this range the hits were few, however. They began reloading.

The Ostwind Regulars closed to seventy yards and with a distant shout they too came to a halt. The militia stiffened in fear as enemy weapons came to bear and then spat white clouds at them. Balls zipped past, cutting air and thunking into flesh and bone.

Cries of pain errupted from the militia line as men fell. Those left standing brought their muskets to bear when they heard the command, "Ready!"

Karlsburg

Having disobeyed her husband, Sarah was crouched by the window on the second floor of their home. She watched as the orange and green lines exchanged fire. She couldn't make out her husband in all of it, and she cried out tearfully each time the Ostwind Regulars opened fire.

Even as she watched the two lines closed to within fourty yards of each other. The ragged Militia line fired first causing dozens more casulties among the Regulars. Then with cold efficiency the Regulars returned a volley. Sarah bit her knuckles as large gaps appeared in the Militia battle line. Half of the front row were dead and in some places, there were gaps of six or seven yards between any standing men.

Several militia turned and ran. Many more wavered, torn between reloading and firing back or seeking saftey.

Karlsburg Commons

David tried to ignore the burning pain where a musket ball had clipped his thigh. Just a flesh wound, but it hurt like the devil. To either side of him men were retreating.

Some ran towards the Rusty Hinge Pub while others footed it towards the fields. The Sergeant had fallen several minutes prior, and there was no one left to give commands. He reloaded his musket and lifted it to his shoulder, firing into the wall of green.

He bowed his head to reach for his powder horn and noticed to his right there were no men left. A neat line of bodies wearing bloody coats, some of them dead atop each other. He looked to his left and saw only a handful of men left. Those men broke, turning and running as the Regulars lifted their muskets again.

David closed his eyes tightly as the mass of regulars opened fire on himself and the few remaining men. He was dead before he hit the ground, but he Held The Line.

Karlsburg, hours later

General VonFric stood in the town square watching as the Ostwind flag was hoisted on the town's flagpole. He had taken the liberty of riding into the town, observing the rows of bodies on the green and then into town. He took a leisurely breakfast and oversaw the raising of the flag. He would soon be on his horse again to move with his army south.

Is this an RP you want players to respond to, if so I can play as Ostwind or as my own Rechburg Duchy.

If not I will still read with interest, good to see a well written thread for a change.

ooc: Anyone can respond and play. I just ask that people use period equipment and play sensibly. Someone to play Ostwind would be nice, but if you want to play as your regular nation that's OK too.

OCC - I will play as my Duchy, we will join Ostwind.


Duke Leopold I sat at his desk reading the latest diplomatic messages coming in from Ostwind, they didn't make good reading.
For some months now the Ostwind Government had been signalling to him that they would need to move south against Kaelmark simply to ensure a source of good crop growing areas.
The bad harvest of this and previous years did not make it easy for nations in the north, but for the Ostwinds it had been particularly difficult.

The Duke had sent what supplies he could afford, but Rechburg too was limited in what it could send, he just had to keep a reserve in case next year was as bad.
Then three weeks ago Baron Von Davout the Rechburgian Ambassador had sent a urgent dispatch that indicated the Ostwind Emperor had decided on war.

Leopold I was in a bind, between a rock and a hard place it would seem. Thanks to the alliance he had signed with Ostwind, he would likely be dragged in to the war. The Emperor had made it clear several months ago when they met at Malmaison, give me crops or honour your sworn oath of alliance and join me to gaining land.
At first Leopold tried to gain time by giving food to his neighbour, but now food and time ran out, he had to make a choice.

Walking to the large French doors, he pulled them open and stepped out onto the balcony, it was a beautiful spring morning, far to beautiful to contemplate war the thought; but decide I must.
He stood there, taking a pipe out of his jacket pocket, he lit it and drew on the raw rechburgian tobacco. Down below his children Prince Andre and Princess Arlais played chasing around the beautiful manicured gardens, their governess watched over them with that all pervading scowl of hers.

Arlais looked up at the palace and saw her father standing on the balcony, she waved at the unexpected joy of seeing him so early in the day. Just then however Prince Andre pushed her into the flower bed and ran away.
Leopold laughed aloud and enjoyed the warm mellow feeling of love he felt for his children.

He was interrupted by a deliberate cough, he turned and saw General Alexander Clinton.

"You sent for me Sire"

"Yes I did Alexander, this morning I received a demand from the Emperor that I join him in his "crusade" against Kaelmark, either that or the word of Rechburg will not be worth the paper its written on"

General Alexander, shifted his stance, standing still was not something he did easily; the old Lance wound he received in the Kunesdorf rebellion played up something wicked on these fresh spring mornings.

"Sire we could not be less prepared for a campaign" the general declared.

"Giving all our reserves to Ostwind has left us in a desperate way, and if next year is as bad we will definitely be in a sorry state"

The Duke walked back into his study, he unrolled a map, pinning it flat with books at each end, he said.
"I know all of this Alexander, yet because of all those things and because I foolishly agreed to ally with him, I am honour bound to go to war with him.
If our food situation is bad, then like Ostwind we must gain areas in Kaelmark."

The General limped over to the map, he looked up at his Duke. He knew his Leopold was stricken with grief over this, in his heart it was clear that he didn't want war; but against all good advice he had signed that damned alliance.
"Sire, the alliance ....."

The Duke raised his hand silencing the General, he picked up a folder from his desk, quickly looking down it he said,

"Alexander, I see we have 9 Brigades (18,000 men) ready, get them organised and send them in"

The General and his Duke stood facing each other, both aware this was a bad decision, but one of them had his honour at stake and above all else he would not besmirch that.

"Yes Sire" General Alexander said "I will do it immediately"

He bowed and turned and left the study, once through the door he donned his hat and indicated to the officers waiting outside, he said
"Its war; we march on Kaelmark".

ooc: I'll play as my own country, as I don't have much 1700s experience and dont want the major player role right now.

The Republic of Lorraine was situated next to Ostwind and Kaelmark, though farther south and n contact with a large sea. They had been involved in regional politics sionce the beginning, to the extent that the Revolution had partially been caused by the succession of Kaelmark. Because of its positioning, it didn't take long for the news to reach the desk of the Directory. They in turn, delivered it to the President himself.

A Directory member, Darin Mirya stood before the president, who had never recieved such demand in the young life of the Republic. He had many problems to deal with, the king had long escaped from Lorraine, but his supporters still plauged the north. The recent shortage of food in the north had also caused many problems there as well. It already consumed a huge amount of troops to keep the peace and battle royalist troops.

The Revolution had been caused by the Kaelmark succession in a major way, the king had purposly taken the money of the southern provinces, who didn't support him as much, and used it to send to the Ostwind government in exchange for an alliance and troops in case of revolts. This angered the south, which included the largest population of peasants and middle class, and despised the fact that the king also increased taxes on them just to give striaght to nobles and supporters in the north.

Now they had a chance to get back at the Ostwind degenerates who had purged their treasury for nothing. It also provided an excellent chance to rid the country of the many opponents of the Directory.

President Colberht looked at the man in front of him and took the paper.
"looks like we have the chance that we have been waiting for. We have been waiting for years to get back at Ostwind and now we have it! I believe we have 22,000 troops without any duties. Send a message to Kaelmark and inform them that we are willing to help them against Ostiwnd and are sending forces in."
"Yes sir, is that all?"
"Indeed, but hurry, this is important to our standing in the region and the survival of the Revolution!"
"Leaving now sir!"

The President, tall, dark-haried and clean shaven, looked at a painting that was on the wall, depicting the final defeat of the king during the "Storm of Lunich" where the kings guard had been slaughtered by Lorraine troops who turned against them along with citizens in destroying the ancient fortress with the king inside. He himself had been the one to drag the king back to the capital and behead him. It had earnmed him his reputation as a leader, along with the fact that he was the one who led the soldiers against the Royal guards in the battle.

It took nearly a day to get all the troops mobilized, but they were marching towards Kaelmark by the end of the day, hoping to make it there before Ostwind had time to react.

OOC: Seems interesting enough. I'll RP my own country, but I need a bit of information before I do anything big. What are the ideologies and interests of each side, and is there a sea or ocean nearby? I'd like to bring my troops in by boat if possible.

IC:
Konor, capital city of the Aglorean Empire
Imperial Palace
Emperor Poor sat in his comfortable chair behind the desk in his personal chamber, as two generals and an admiral stood before him. Word had come from the Kaelmark region, and although Aglorea had no alliances with either country, this was seen as a great opportunity. As soon as he had recieved the letter, he called his top three military men, and they had arrived shortly afterwords. The first, General James Corona, was a tall man, with dark hair that showed signs of grey around the ears. Next to him stood General Robert Gates, who was much shorter, less menacing, with light brown hair and a clean shaven face. Final of the group was Admiral George York, who was the most average of the three, with dark brown hair and a short beard.

Emperor Poor himself was about the Admiral's height, with dark hair and a clean shaven, slightly tanned face. He was fairly young, having been elected to the position of Emperor six years earlier after the previous had passed away in his sleep. At this time in Aglorea's history, emperors were elected, but were in power for the rest of their life. Not wishing to have his cut short in and unfortunate 'accident', he had set about being a good ruler, but sometimes this was difficult. He held a number of slaves, which he recieved when he was elected. These men were usually prisoners of war, but often they were simply traded for goods with no questions asked. He called one of them in at this point, and ordered tea and coffee brought in.

"Gentlemen, I trust you know why I ordered you here," he began, standing up and unrolling a map onto his desk. "I recently recieved a letter from this region asking for military assistance in their new war. As we do not have an allegiance to either nation, I am currently in the process of determining which side to support. The opportunity this presents us is great, and could go far in supporting our nation for many years to come. Imagine it! Trade with these countries would prove very profitable for us. Therefore, I ask you, what are our options?"

"My Emperor," General Corona spoke first. "I have six thousand men ready to go when you give the order. I can have another seven thousand ready within three days."

"And I," General Gates took a turn to talk, "can give you another thousand men from our conquest of the savages to the east." He referred to a fight to gain additional land for the Empire, in which the native people in the area had not won a single battle, and the war was costing more in terms of resources to feed the soldiers than it was in human lives.

The Emperor interupted to ask a question. "Admiral, we will have to sail these men to the area. How many ships do you have ready?"

"I have enough ships to transport half of the mentioned soldiers. I can have enough ships ready within seven days. I can get the ships to the region in about three weeks."

"Good," Emperor Poor replied. "General Corona. How many can you have ready for combat when the ships return?"

"An additional twenty thousand, easily."

"Make it happen." The Emperor dismissed them, and set about choosing a side to support.

ooc: Glad to see people getting interested in this type of RP. Welcome aboard. Rechburg, I'll do an IC response to you once you make it clear you've become involved. Same to you Lorrine.

Aglorea: The two nations are rather similar actually. The major idealogical differences is that Kaelmark leans towards free trade while Ostwind prefers protectionism. It's what has lead to the economic gap between the two nations. Ostwind is larger, more population and a bigger military. Kaelmark is smaller, has more wealth and a better navy.

They both border the ocean and both sides have navies, so trying to support one side or the other via troop ships may risk being intercepted at sea.

Kaelburg, Kaelmark Capital

His High Excellency Emperor Jon Guye of Kaelmark looked down the long meeting table in the Imperial Palace. There were assorted military advisors, this being a council of war, many of the typical ministers and heads of departments had been dismissed. "I need hard facts gentlemen, not estimates."

A senior officer, his orange uniform decorated with medals and commendations and wearing a white powdered wig stood formally. "M'Lord, all we have are estimates and scout reports. Our scouts have only made contact with part of the Ostwind army. They are keeping up a strong cavalry screen to prevent our men from getting close."

The Emperor leaned forward in his char with an intense frown, "And the estimates are that Ostwind has sent an army of sixty thousand?"

The officer nodded, "Yes sir. Judging by the units we have seen so far, their movement speed, the number of artillery and the size of their wagon train. Our best guess is in the region of sixty regiments."

Northern Kaelmark

The long procession of the army had been marching for days down country lanes and dusty roads. Fortunetly the weather had held up and enabled the artillery, wagons and horses to move quickly.

Behind the column a large tent had been set up in the army's latest resting point. In that tent the Ostwind command staff were having their own meeting. General VonFric leaned over the map table, dragging his finger along the road leading south and then tapping a city marked 'Poston'. "This is our first major target gentlemen. This city is one of Kaelmark's economic centers. They produce many grain products and it will likely be well protected."

A Major spoke up, "General, they know we are coming. We've had contact with their scouts for several days. They have been trying to gauge our strength and direction. We can expect Line Troops there. Regulars and plenty of them."

The General gestured dismissively, "No more than ten regiments at the most. Remember we hold the numerical advantage in this campaign by a factor of a little less than two to one." He folded his arms over his chest and glowered at the map, "We would have an overwhelming force if those damned Rechburgians had held up to their end of our alliance."

Konor, capital city of the Aglorean Empire
Imperial Palace

Emperor Poor sat in his chair, leaning over his desk writing his letter. Because both sides had very similar ideologies, they both seemed excelent subjects for support. What ultimately lead to his choice was the economic ideas in terms of trade. If the Aglorean Empire was going to get involved, they would need to gain something for it, and more trade would work perfectly. He pondered for a moment, wrote another sentence, and signed his name.

He stood up, reading over the letter as he walked out of his chamber and down the stairs towards one of his messenger, his favorite slave and one of his best friends, and handed him the letter. The letter read:
To the leader of Kaelmark,
I have looked at the incidents that have occured in your region, and have decided to send military aid to your country. I have been told that you have a powerful well-trained navy, and I must request that my ships be allowed to move into the area. A few of my ships will also remain in the area to provide support to your navy. A total of 14,000 soldiers will be sent to the area, with an additional twenty thousand a month later. Best of luck in the war until they arrive. My best general will be aboard.
Regards,
Emperor Poor

The slave sealed the letter and took it across town to ship docked in the local river. This was the Emperor's messenger ship, and it was quicker than most. The letter would arrive within seventeen days, four days sooner than a larger military ship could. Hopefully they would remain in good shape for that long.

Eastern Territory, Aglorean Claim
An Aglorean convoy moved down a wide road towards a nearby military base that was running low on supplies. After all, it takes quite a bit of food and ammunition when you're enforcing a claim to another man's territory. Suddenly, the convoy came under attack from all sides by the native warriors of the land. They were everywhere, and completely unexpected. The convoy guards leapt from the wagons, guns raised, and each fired a shot. At this range it was hard to miss. Half of the savages were dead before they got close enough to do anything. The Aglorean soldiers had no time to reload, so they fixed bayonets and went hand to hand. By the time the dust settled, all of the savages were dead, and five Algoreans were lost. The convoy loaded back up and continued on. At this rate, the war would be over within a month and all of the soldiers would be in Kaelmark.

Marshal DeJaque looked at the maps of the region. at the top, Poston was situated, a large city, and perfect to make a dent in Kaelmarkian morale. They wouldn't be able to get there for almost a week agter the Ostwind army would. They decided that they would meet up with a rear guard unit from Kaelmark in the south. And move into the next target of the Ostwind army. Poston was a hopeless cause in his thoughts, to far, not enough Kaelmark troops to hold for a week, and not important enough to try to loose an entire army for. His 22 regiments weren't nearly enough to take on the enemy force, though another 28 were due to be with him in a month. Kaelmark was still basically on its own until the 28 could arrive.

When the President learned of another nation, Rechburg, joining the Ostwind force, he winced until he read some good news. Aglorea was on their side at least.

The troops moved forward, eager to give the Ostwinds a taste of the Lorraine Revolutionary spirit.

Poston, Kaelmark

In the north word had not yet reached them that allies were joining the fight. It wouldn't have made a difference, as a battle was brewing and could not be put off.

In the farmlands north of the city, regiments of Kaelmark troops were entering their battle formations as seemingly endless rows and columns of Ostwinder Regulars took to the field.

Behind the Kaelmark lines, artillery were deploying in batteries as fifers and snare drummers rattled out a hymn. With a shouted command the artillery began to fire. 8 and 12 pounder field guns boomed and sent their projectiles zooming towards the Ostwinders. Some hit the ground and threw up brown puffs of ground and smoke, while others exploded in the air over the lines.

General VonFric had opted to send in an overwhelming force and twenty five regiments were taking the field against nine regiments of Kaelmarkers.

The lines disappeared in washes of white and grey smoke as they closed. Cavalry clashed on the flanks, darting at each other and engaging in wild running skirmishes near the tree line to the east.

Port Saint

Upon recieving word of reinforcements by sea, the Kaelmark Royal Navy had pulled up anchors and turned their bows towards the ocean. The Kaelmark navy had a proud tradition of protecting the shores. They had been superior to the Ostwind sea forces for so many years that even the Ostwinders had assumed they would lose and let their navy slip.

An armada of proud ships of the line put to sea, moving out to link up with the inbound reinforcements and escort them safely in.

(OOC: Since my nation wouldn't have contact with your kind of nation I'll be the Provincial Union of Arkham.)

Emperor Leonard Joker rubbed his hairy chin using the gloved hand he owned. His purple attire, the royal colour of the Union of Arkham, never contrasted with his oddly hazel eyes, along with the pure black quilt pen he was using to write up first the summons of twenty-six regiments of Arkham Regulars, and the declaration of war against Ostwind, if a government can not support its population it should be removed, not add to the destabilization of an entire nation.

Janewood, Arkham
Over thirty thousand trained troops marched in perfect formation to the west, into South Western Kaelmark. The mass of purple cloth clocked the field, providing a brilliant and intimidating contrast to the green ground. Each regiment was two hundred men long, seven men deep. Two regiments side by side, five regiments behind the first row, the rest would be held in reserve, four of the twenty-six regiments were cavalry units, the use of the horses was strictly as scouts and skirmishers.

Captain Gene Redwood was en charge of the first company en his regiment, he had the difficult task of maintaining order for a hundred men all the way from the left of the line. However the soldiers of Arkham were a fearsome group, though the repercussions of this were a lacking navy and cavalry unit, the artillery was not to bothered by the army's demand, because they were equipped with enough guns to be a substantial force en the fighting. They would be moving to the small South Western city of Bonjanave, it would be the headquarters for the Arkham military, and from there they would launch attacks at the rear of the Ostwind military, and deploy a large amount of skirmishers to disrupt their trade routes. The 7th Horsed Skirmishers Regiment was already on their way to attack a suspected Ostwind supply convoy.

ooc: Sure. I'd say no more than 20-30 thousand troops to be realistic.

[OOC: Edited post.]

Farther to the East...
Beluk Khan skimmed through the reports indicating the massive mobilization of the Western nations. Several nations, most importantly Kaelmark, Ostwind, and Rechburg, seemed to be heavily involved in what was so far not much more than light skirmishing. The great Khan cared little about what the end result of such a war would be, but, in true Ravean style, knew that now was the time to act. It was always easiest to gain glory and land in a time of great chaos.

The nomadic horse archers from the steppes of the far east that had carved the Ravean Empire had fallen out of favor in recent times. Unlike several of the smaller, less prestigious hordes, Ravea had invested heavily in western arms, combining Ravean horse mobility with devastating firepower to make a special brand of war. Although horse archers still played an important role in the military, especially in scouting and flanking roles, the Raveans now relied upon heavy dragoons and Sipahi lancers rather than slower infantry favored by the west. The small infantry detachments that the Ravean military used were centered around heavy artillery rather than standard infantry combat. Being nearly completely landlocked, Ravea had little need of a navy.

Sitting upon a massive throne of silver and bone, the aged Khan thought hard. A true Ravean Khan never sided with anyone but himself, but a false alliance had its uses...a small band of riders was sent to travese the many miles between the territory of the Ravean horde and Kaelmark, and another directly to Ostwind. It would be a tossup to see which side would most want Ravean services-or which side offered the best pay.

OCC:Think of Ravea as a modern Mongol horde adapted to 1700's style combat using a combination of light and heavy cavalry as well as horse archers, with a bit of skilled artillery use mixed in. At the moment, Ravea is offering its army to either side-for a high price. Expect the horde to betray allies, go against treaties, and just cause general chaos.

We should make a map for this as well.

ooc: Is anyone skilled at mapmaking?

[OOC: I can maybe try and make a crappy map. But, can you respond the 7th's Attack? You can say they missed, but I'd like to know what happened.]

ooc: Yup. Just waiting on some others in the RP to post.

OCC - I concur on the map. I will most later tonight.

OCC
Here is a map I had for another project, I have done some quick repairs.

Posen is on the right near the border.
The number represent miles between towns or junctions etc. As the average marching speed was approx 20 miles per day it will give players an idea how long it takes to move.
If you wanted the nation to be bigger then just tell the players are double the printed distances, then you have doubled the size of the country.

Other countries can either be over seas or one of the other coloured areas.

If this is acceptable let me know and I will post according to this map, otherwise I will wait for another.


http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k411/Game-Images/map2.jpg

OCC
Here is a map I had for another project, I have done some quick repairs.

Posen is on the right near the border.
The number represent miles between towns or junctions etc. As the average marching speed was approx 20 miles per day it will give players an idea how long it takes to move.
If you wanted the nation to be bigger then just tell the players are double the printed distances, then you have doubled the size of the country.

Other countries can either be over seas or one of the other coloured areas.

If this is acceptable let me know and I will post according to this map, otherwise I will wait for another.


http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k411/Game-Images/Ostwind-Kaelmark.jpg


ooc: Looks pretty good.

Kaelmark

Word of the growing conflict was spreading quickly. Rumors of foreign troops entering the country from the south, of strange ships on the horizon, of unidentified horsemen, all setting the citizens of Kaelmark on the edge.

Kaelburg Imperial Capital

The Khan's men would be greeted coldly by a detachment of the House Guard. After consulting among each other a runner was sent to the palace with word of the Khan's offer. Two hours later a sealed letter was brought forward and offered to the Khan's men. Inside the letter was a handwritten document from Emperor Guye himself denouncing the Khan's soldiers as mercenaries and blades for hire and refusing their offer to become involved.

With word that troops from Lorraine were marching into the country and the offer of Aglorean help, the Emperor felt confident in his nation's ability to fight off the attack from Ostwind. No word of Rechburgian involvement had reached Kaelburg, nor of Arkham movement in the south of the country.

Falcon's Heights, Ostwind Imperial Capital

Emperor Ito of Ostwind sat in a comfortable chair in his 'war room' overlooking a table covered in maps and unit markers. On the border between Kaelmark and Ostwind, green markers representing his troops had pushed beyond the border. Smaller units were positioned at Poston while the main body of the army continued south on the offensive.

He rubbed his hands together thoughtfully and looked to the Rechburg Ambassador who had been called in. He spoke carefully and deliberately, "It is my hope sir that your nation's soldiers will make all haste to the border. We wish to maintain the offensive."

An official entered the room with a detachment of soldiers. The soldiers were escorting several of the Khan's horsemen. The official spoke, "M'Lord. These men represent the Khan Beluk. It seems he wishes to become involved. He wishes to know what price we are willing to offer for their .. services."

Emperor Ito stood, smiling, "Ah, welcome gentlemen. You may rest in the city tonight and in the morning return to your lord. Tell him we are willing to offer ten thousand gold crowns for a sizable army to strike at Kaelmark's borders while they are distracted in the north."

Poston, Kaelmark

The two armies had been trading volleys for half an hour. Ragged gaps were visable in both lines. The Kaelmark 9th Regulars were manuevering on the east side of the field, the surviving seven hundred men pushing forward and putting pressure against the weakening Ostwind left flank despite taking a pounding from artillery firing canister ammunition.

After another devestating volley in the center the Kaelmark troops wavered. A unit of militia broke and began a retreat, leaving a sixty yard hole in the line. Reserves ran forward to plug the hole, almost tripping over bodies stacked sometimes three deep.

Poston was doomed to fall however. Kaelmarkers were outnumbered two to one in the field and with so many militia among them, lacked the discipline to hold out against an intense push.

It started on the Kaelmark left flank. Men were retreating as the Ostwind Dragoons -having chased off the ill-trained militia cavalry of Kaelmark- poured down upon them, hacking with sabers and firing pistols into their rear and flanks. The line began to fall apart and spilled back towards the town and woods.

On the right, the 9th Regiment was left alone on the field. They continued to push bravely, fixing bayonettes and charging. Ostwind light infantry gave way under the pressure, but the Ostwind center was able to swing its line around and face east, firing a hot volley into the regiment's flank. The 9th was ruined under combined fire from two directions and an increasing artillery focus. A lone survivor in orange broke away from the smoke and chaos, running back towards the town. Artillery fired after him. The man ducked and weaved as explosive shot blew holes in the turf around him. One air burst finally caught him and he tumbled into the grass among the other dead.

Poston had fallen.

Western Kaelmark

Arkham infantry would find the going rather easy. Kaelmark maintained its roads well. The western part of the country seemed untouched by war, and that should have raised caution flags about a supposed Ostwind supply train in the region. The conflict was much further north.

The 7th Regiment would burst through a field of tall grain and find themselves on a slope looking down at a convoy of wagons headed north. These wagons were driven by men in the orange of Kaelmark and the flags were also those of Kaelmark. Big horses pulled along heavy wagons and artillery pieces. This sort of supply train often followed a much larger army. Perhaps a Kaelmark corp was up the road to the north?

Captain Redwood dispatchd three of his men to fall back to the main deployment of Arkham troops, the rest of his unit marched along side the supply line, keeping a constant eye on the orange flags, it was a supply line, but not one that they were looking for. It was funny, however, that the Kaelmarkers would be marching North, when he was told the fighting was down South, and a supply line no less, this wasn't a retreat that was for sure.

Just Outside Bonjanave
The three horsemen finally caught up with the rest of the regiments, and delivered their message. Apparently a telegram from a Kaelmarker press let out had confused North with South, and now the entire formation had to be halted, reversed and marched five hundred miles Northward. The formational changes could be done within an hour due to the training of the Arkham troops, their purple attire would leave a stream of hope for the Souther Kaelmarkers who had nothing but of bad news from the Northern front. And the declaration of war so well on its way, would only take another day or two to reach the Kaelmarker parliament.

Rechburg - Ostwind border

Command for the Army of the Rechburg forces in Kaelmark was given to General Jochiam von Huber a gruff no nonsense type of man. His family had been staunch supporters of the Rechburg Dukes since the earliest days of the Duchy, however it wasn’t because of his family connections that von Huber reached the rank of Generals; it was based on his ability and reputation.

He was a tough General to follow, yet he cared greatly for the well being of his men. On the eve of battle he could often be found sitting at some campfire amidst his fellow soldiers, yet should one become to familiar with him; they would likely end up on the triangle receiving a flogging the next day. Despite this however Von Huber was greatly loved by his men, to them he was “papa Huber” or “Blood & Guts Huber” depending what he was doing for them or ordering them to do for him.
The command of the army came as a surprise to Jochiam, there were younger men, most likely more capable men; but the Duke insisted that the command go to von Huber.

It had taken a week to assemble the Army and the baggage trains, fortunately the Brigades had been assembled in preparation for the spring manoeuvres, so it had been no trouble to simply march them south to their present positions on the Rechburg Ostwind border, opposite Piccadilly.
He had sent scouts and liaison officers into Kaelmark to make contact with the Kaelmark High command, meanwhile the concentration was now over and it was time to move.

It was early in the morning, a spring dew lay over the rolling hills of the border region, the smoke from thousands of campfires and the steam from the sweat of horses and the steaming breaths of man and beast all added to the heaviness of the air.
Von Huber as was customary rose early and breakfasted with his companion and aide Colonel Sorenson. Together they had spent days going over maps and ledgers, trying to determine the best course of action and the most economical way to achieve their desired results. All those arguments and preparations were now behind them, now it was the day to move.

Already outside men and horses in the livery of the Blue and gold uniform of the “Dukes Own Hussars” were heading out onto the road to start the long journey across Kaelmark to Ostwind.
The heavy thud of hundreds of horse’s feet vibrated into their tent as von Huber and Sorenson discussed the day.
Von Huber had ordered his friend to go with the advance guard, to remain there ensuring all went well.
Once again pointing at the map, he repeated the movement.

“You cross the border here at Piccadilly and march on Rye, from there move south east down to Rothenberg and then Albany a distance of about 200 miles, it should take us about a week to get there”.

Rechburg Capital - Malmaison

Duke Leopold I stood in his study, alone with his thoughts, he was worried and the words off General Clinton still rang in his ears,

"This was the wrong war and in the wrong time".

Both men new the Duke was involved in the Ostwind enterprise purely because of the Dukes vanity and perhaps his earlier inexperience in diplomacy.
However whatever the reason, he was now committed and he was resolved to see it through.

However the timing of this war was wrong, it was spring and it was a time of planting crops, not fighting wars. The continent had already suffered several years of smaller crop harvests, and with wars in the spring the next harvest would likely be as bad.
That was why the Duke only committed 18,000 men to this war. He would not call up his reserves for another month, simply because they were the farmers and labourers that would at this very moment be on their farms sowing the annual crops. If he didn't want famine next year he had to give them time, so win or lose in Kaelmark, the Rechburg army would remain small for the next 4 - 6 weeks.
The only consolation being, the troops that had been summoned for the annual manoeuvres were the core of his regular army, they should be able to hold their own, at least until reinforced by the reserves.

As he turned from the map and made his way to his mahogany desk, he thought

"Still in 4 - 6 weeks the war will likely be over"

The armies of the Aglorean Empire were loaded up onto the ships a day quicker than originally predicted. Within a month the war in the east for the additional territory would be over, and the forces there could be sent to this new war, and hopefully help bring it to an end. The soldiers wore there snow white uniforms, and sat in the ships as comfortably as possible, some eating, others reading. General Corona came aboard, and moved to his cabin with his advisors. The ships would set sail by nightfall. There destination was Beslitz, a relatively large port city. From there, the plan was to march north, possibly across the border and take the offensive away from the enemy.

Corona studied the map, his forehead wrinkled as he thought. He turned to his advisors and spoke plainly, "When we arrive, our actions will be based on those of our enemy. If the path seems clear, our forces will march to the north and across the border. Our objective will be this small town here." He pointed to the town of Bobersberg. "It will be about a six day march, but the town will likely fall easily. If the route to the north seems blocked, we will march our forces northwest, towards Nuedamn. From there, we will have hopefully met up with our allies, and we can begin to push back. Poston will be our first important objective." Corona dismissed his advisors, as none of them disagreed with him, and he settled down for sleep. The ships set sail.

Marshal DeJaque sighed as the news of the defeat at Poston. With Ostwind and Rechburg armies moving fast, along with news taht the Khan had been rejected in Kaelmark, meaning they likely were now with Ostwind, meant that they reinforcements from other nations would be needed quickly.

His army of 22,000 were in their columns ready to march to their next destination, the largest city that was in the way of the Ostwind forces was a 2 day march away. They would reach it beofre the Ostwinds by about 2 days. Then, the troops marched, their blue uniforms making it seem like an ocean wave moaking another strike at the shore. DeJaque only hoped that the Lorraine wave would break the Ostwind beach.

Western Kaelmark - Village of Rye

General von Huber sat beside the road on the southern outskirts of Rye, having his midday meal as the men of his army marched by.
The men were heartened to see their General was out in front,

“You wouldn’t find Papa Huber skulking in the rear they murmured amongst themselves, he was always up there at the front”

Von Huber would occasionally wave or acknowledge a yelled remark by one of his veterans,

“The men are in a good humour Sorenson,” the general remarked to his advance guard commander.

“Aye general they are in good condition and morale is high, I pray that it stays as such sir”.

“Well we must do all we can to ensure that Sorenson, all we can; do you hear”

“Yes sir I understand, but one of the main problems we are having is forage, the men are having to move to far away from the line of march just to find food, and the baggage train is too slow to keep up”

“I agree Sorenson, this damn country is like a desert, its as if a swarm of locusts had swept upon it, a damn miserable country”


“We have tried all we can General to pry food from the peasants but they are starving and have no food”

“Then we must give them something to soothe their bellies, offer to pay cash for all our supplies, I suspect you will find the supplies will start coming”.

He placed the remains of a chicken leg on the plate,
“Even the damned chickens taste like carrion, what a miserable country” he repeated again.

He rose from the table, the chair being removed by an aide.
He walked down to the road edge and starting walking along with his army, seeing a sergeant urging his men along, the General moved up to him

“How are my children, sergeant? He asked

The sergeant was surprised to see the General walking up to him, not only walking but he actually spoke to him,

“Well sire, the men are well, they are keen for the fight”

“Well sergeant in 5 days time we may have your fight, make sure my children are ready, do you hear me man”

“Aye Sire, I hear you and they will be ready or they will feel the point of this here bayonet”

The General tossed the sergeant a Gold ducat, and waved up his horse.
He mounted his horse, looking along the road both forward and to the rear.
Well he thought to himself that was Rye, now on to Tonvel a 100 miles to the south east.

The purple mass's direction swiftly changed as word from across the countries came to their commanders, first the regulars heard of movement into the south of the country, then to the north and now it seemed their commanders were promising a Kohfurt, a city some four days march away. Two thousand eighty cavalrymen, the entire horsed segment moved to the city at full gallop, they were expected to make the march en a single day, and from their they would try to organize the militia into an actual fighting force.

The artillery batteries moved sluggishly behind the massive column of troops, the lines were eight men wide, each regiment only having a four-man pace behind the front and rear, except Captain Redwood, whose figment was at the front, marching his men wearily, his sword en scabbard and mind en check. He expected to die en this war, the casualty rate of the captains en the Arkham army was a staggering eighty percent, it was the most unwanted of all the positions, but it was one worn with pride.

OOC: May I play.

Imperial Capital City

Crown Prince Vio Audicio looked at the map of the continent. Things looked bad by all accounts. Not only had one of the major trading partners of his country, Kaelmark, been attacked but it seemed that all pwers were bieng sucked into the war. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, looking out the window at the bucolic countryside.

He returned his attention to his military staff.

"Admiral how many ships do we have?"

"55 Sire, 25 more could be used in extreme circumstances"

"General, how many troops do we have?"

"21 000 regulars and 7 000 reserves Sire"

The Crown Prince rose and walked to the window, and stood for a long time. He very slowly walked back to the council. He took a look at the map. Both sides had advantages to joining, Ostwind was clearly winning so far, but Kaelmark was a major trade partner.

"Send a messenger to each capital, they must persuade us to join thier side."

"Yes Sire"

"And Admiral, and General, Prepare your men"

With that the council broke up and went thier seperate ways.

Open Sea

The Aglorean fleet was approaching the Kaelmark coastline by the time the Ostwind war fleet had caught up and intercepted them. Using the wind to their advantage, they were closing in from the north. This was likely quite worrisome, but for the sight of orange sails on the horizon to the south-west. Kaelmark's navy was moving into the area to escort the Agloreans in and cut off the Ostwind armada.

South Kaelmark

The Arkham troops, traveling north, would soon happen upon the rear guard of a rather large Kaelmark army marching up the road. This mass of men, horses, wagons and artillery were moving along at a steady pace, not pushing too much to maintain the health of the men. At this rate, the Ostwind army and Kaelmark army would be running into each other in the Belzig area, far south of Poston.

Open Sea, approaching Kaelmark coast

The Aglorean fleet was made up of twenty-eight ships, each armed with twelve powerful cannons, six on each side. It did not take long for the Ostwind fleet to come within view. General Corona and Admiral York met on the deck of the Aglorean flagship, the Arcadia, and studied the likely battle site. Shortly after the Ostwind fleet was spotted, the lookouts noticed the orange flags of the Kaelmark navy, but they would not arrive for a short time. The Ostwinds clearly had the advantage of wind, so the Admiral knew he had only two options.

First, he could order the Aglorean fleet to move broadside to the enemy, and attempt to move the Ostwind fleet into an approach angle in which they could not fire. It would be risky, and the advantage would only last for a few volleys. He immediately tossed out the idea. Just then, Corona decided to voice an opinion. "If we move broadside to them, we could get in a few shots before they could turn to face us and we..."

"No good," York interrupted, sharply. "Here's the plan. The wind is giving them a boost of speed. If we turn south, we can move to friendly ships there." He pointed to the Kaelmark navy in the distance. "If we lead the Ostwinds into our combined fleet, we can't lose. A win here will open up much of the Ostwind coastline, and we could land farther north."

"We could land closer to Bobersberg and go on the offensive sooner..." Corona considered. "Admiral, if you're sure this will work, I'll support you the whole way." With that, the Aglorean fleet turned towards the south-west, and moved to meet up with the Kaelmark fleet.

At Kohfurt the entire Arkham military surrounded the city, with trenches. The artillery was positioned on the hills to the northeast and southwest, two hundred sixty cannon on each hill, surrounded by five regiments each, the rest holding the entire town. The cavalry was put up en the random stables threwout the city, some reports of non-chirstian centers of worship were being used a stables. The random shooting of citizens en the city that were to believed to have been spies, and those who refused to give Arkham soldiers food or board. The entire eight regiment reserve based at or near the Kohfurt Community College and horse stadium, two of the reserve regiments were mounted. The remaining infantry regiments were positioned two on each side of the city, and the two remaining mounted regiments were splint up, one on the east side, the other on the west side.

Captain Redwood had the honor of holding the eastside on the northeastern hill, him and his men were digging, like the other two thousand eight hundred soldiers on this line. The cannon were also being dug in by his company's second platoon. The work was adrigous, but not once did his men allow him to help them dig when he asked. En the two days that they had been positioned there, they had already dug six fight, with a dirt turpet.

Back at the college Major Smith was organizing his battalion, made of seven companies into sector first-response zones, and seeing how quickly he could move his troops en and out of battle, and assigning runners to each squad, along with a hospital zone, Saint Marcus Hospital two blocks south of the college. Here Smith's battalion were responsible for building the last line of defense, without obstructing their response time, a larger task due to the mounted segment of the unit.

General Von Huber sat on his camp stool, by now he should have been in Tonvel, instead he was sitting at Neustadter 50 miles south of the Rye - Tonvel highway. He was here because of the message his Duke had sent him just after he left Rye.

He had been informed that the Duke had rescinded his earlier decision not to raise the reserves, he had thus ordered a partial mobilisation and they had been assembling for the last week. The new draft would bring around 15,000 men into the ranks making the force of 33,000 men including those already in Kaelmark So deciding he should halt and await the reserves he had stopped on the Rye - Tonvel Highway and sent patrols out.
One of the patrols had reported back that a Arkham force was fortifying itself in Kohfurt, on receiving that report General Huber decided he needed to investigate and thus moved his army south down to Neustadter, 40 miles from Kofurt.

He had sent messengers on to Ostwind High Command of his location and that of the Arkham force. He was also told by refugees from Kohfurt that a number of Kaelmark citizens were being shot, all presumably because they were spies.
Further more many citizens were being turned out of their homes, that made the people of the Kohfurt region weary of their Governments ally.
General Huber ordered that any refugees be treated with respect and then sent on their way, before long word would spread about the atrocities in Kohfurt and the Kaelmark Government would pay the price for their allies abuses.

Meanwhile he sent patrols forward to screen all approaches to Kohfurt, while he waited for the reserves that would join him directly.
Meanwhile his own army prepared redoubts for their large batteries and fletches for the smaller ones.

Captain Redwood looked out into the morning sun, it was a pleasant day, none too cold, yet not a heart-warming temperature. It would be perfect for a cup, or atleast a tin, of coffee and a robe... but this was not the case, he was wearing his once clean purple uniform, after the shoveling some of the dirt had attached itself to his coat, and more so of his men's coats, half of which was brown from mud. Peering out into the treeline, which was a few hundred meters away he could make out a small group of figure, and he didn't see any purple or orange en it either. "Arms, ready!" He yelled to his men, all of which surprised by this command as they could not see any group themselves, until he waved and cursed en the direction of the intruders. His men lined their sights against the group, "Open fire!" He screamed, a volley from the hundred men shot towards the group, at the range their rifles would have admirably accuracy, only due to the Arkham troop's training.

Higher up the hill Brigadier General Nathaniel Herman heard the shots, he and quickly moved an artillery battery en the direction of the shots fired, sending a messenger to find out what was happening further down the hill. Around the rest of the hill the emplacements were well set, except for the artillery which had not been completely dug, and thus leaving it slightly exposed, but gave it a quicker turn rate. All together this chain of defenses would prove troublesome for any attacking force.

OCC: A couple hundred cannons! We need to get some things straight. There aren't nearly that many cannon available at the time, plus rifles weren't in use, depending on what part of the 1700s this takes place, but almost no troops would have them anyways because of costs.

ooc: True, and true. Greatly limit the artillery, and keep the rifling to low numbers as well. This is still the 1700s.

IC:

Frankfur, Kaelmark

The main body of the Ostwind Army had occupied Frankfur without issue. The force of regulars at Poston had been scattered, and the Frankfur militia had opted to march south towards potential reinforcement rather than risk a suicidal battle.

General VonFric had gathered his staff again. This time they met in the Frankfur town hall, sitting or leaning comfortably among the tables and chairs here.

The General's aide held up a letter, "General, our allies have sent word. General Von Huber has set up at Neustadter and reports that Arkham seems to have split off from the Kaelmark main force. They are occupying a town south of Von Huber's position and seem to be treating the citizens poorly."

VonFric shook his head, "Idiots. Why would they split away from the Kaelmark army? Emperor Guye of Kaelmark will be furious when he hears of the killing of civilians." A sly smirk spread across his face, "All the better for us that there may be dissent among our enemies yes?"

Belzig, Kaelmark

With only a day's march seperating the Ostwind army from the Kaelmark army, things were growing tense in the main camp of Kaelmark. The army had marched throughout most of the night to Belzig and as the morning reports came in, General Woods of Kaelmark had been astonished and annoyed to discover that the Arkham general hadn't followed them to the scene of a major engagement but had split off at some point in the dark.

As the morning progressed runners entered Belzig and informed General Woods of the situation occuring in Kohfurt. Woods was famous for his firey temper, a tall, lean redheaded man with a stern face but a love for his country. His face turned a deep red in fury and he threw aside the latest dispatch. He stormed down the stairs of the bed and board home the command staff were staying in, his voice a bellow, "Major Gates!"

The major, a man in his early thirties stepped out of one of the rooms, "General?"

General Woods grabbed him by his shoulder, trying to hold back his rage, "These damned Arkhamers are as worthless as fleas on a mule. They are shooting civilians in Kohfurt. Take a regiment of Dragoons and personally go there. I want this stopped and I want it stopped now!"

"But General, weakening our cavalry bef-"

"Now Major!"

"Sir!"

South of Belzig, Lorraine Army

As the Lorraine army moved north towards Belzig, a messanger on horseback wearing the orange of Kaelmark galloped up. He saluted the first officers he found and spoke the message, "Sir! General Woods sends his compliments. He asks that you march through the morning and afternoon and make all haste to Kohfur. He feels that victory at Kohfur is absolutely vital at this time. The Rechburgians are in that area, and the Arkhams are proving highly unreliable."

East Coast of Kaelmark

And as strong as the Aglorean ships were, with so few guns they were vulnerable to the sort of line battle developing. The Kaelmark line was tacking against the wind and flaggers on the deck of the lead ship signaled to the Agloreans to make their way to port and get their troops safely offloaded. They were in vital need.

As the afternoon progressed, the two sides closed together. The Kaelmark ship line moved between the Agloreans and Ostwind fleet, and the two sides manuevered for a classic line battle. Sailing parallel to each other, they began to open up with vast broadsides. The massive 70 and 80 gun Kaelmark ships of the line tearing into the somewhat smaller 60 gun Ostwinders.

It was a hellish scene, smoke and flame boiling into the air, great gouts of water jetting skywards. Tatters of sails, masts and wood falling in all directions as the Kaelwind fleet formed a moving wall to protect the Aglorean transports.

ooc: 20-30 cannons would be normal for an army of this era. And by RIFLES we mean rifled guns. Muskets are fine, but muskets are smoothbore, not rifled. Just make it clear when you say 'rifles' you really mean muskets.

ooc: Look at it like this. At Waterloo in 1815, there were only 80 guns in Napoleon's "grande batterie". And he LOVED artillery. So.. 40 or less is pretty reasonable for smaller armies.

[OOC: Well, I'm going to delete my OOC comments, nut from now on there's sixteen cannon on each hill

Kaelmark Capital City

The Allied Ambassador arrived to see what the Kaelmarkians would offer him, although he doubted they could offer much, at all. He walked up to the splendid building, braced himself then began to enter.

ooc: I am probably going to join this rp next week. I've been waiting for a 18th century rp to start. I rp as a prussian style state so this perfect for me.

East Coast of Kaelmark

All men on the Aglorean ships, including Admiral York and General Corona, watched the massive naval battle unfolding behind them. They sailed towards the port city of Beslitz at top speed, eyes on the terrible fight that allowed them to safely pass into this wartorn region. The Kaelmark that died this day would never be forgotten, as long as Corona lived. The way in was clear, and they would arrive in no time at all.

Beslitz
The Aglorean army of 14,000 men, all dressed in their white uniforms with muskets over their shoulders, marched off of the ships. 13,500 of the men were standard infantry, all trained to be excellent shots, and the other 500 were cavalry composed of the fastest horses that could be found in such short notice. The number of 14,000 did not include the 35 artillery that would be following behind the main force. General Corona rode his horse, a white as bright as his uniform, down from the ship and towards the front of the line of soldiers. They all respected him and would follow him to their deaths if need be.

Corona had spent his whole life fighting for the respect of his fellow Agloreans. As a child he would often try to impress the other students at the school, and when he was sixteen, he joined the Aglorean Army where he served on the frontlines of several small territorial wars that expanded the size of the Aglorean Empire. He was a brilliant tactician and soon caught the eye of the current general at the time, and was promoted quickly. The rest, as they say, is history.

Corona rode to the front of the marching mass of soldiers, and looked at them. "We rest in this city for a few hours while I meet with the Kaelmark leaders in this area. We will move out as soon as I get an idea for the enemy positions." He rode off towards a small tavern in the center of the city, where he was told a Kaelmark military official would meet him.

The night was dark and still,therefore it was reasonable for the sounds of an approaching army to carry in the still clear air.

General von Huber had been asleep for only a few hours when he heard the familiar thumping of marching feet, leaping out of bed in his night gown, he turned up the lantern, opening the door a little he yelled

"Officer of the watch, report to me immediately".

Von Huber then went to his bedside and began to change from nightwear to his military blue and gold uniform.
As he was pulling up his breeches, Captain Ney burst through the door.

"General, sorry about the delay, I was outside trying to figure out who the marching troops belong too..
I have alerted the duty squadron and they are away now to find out, I have sent the alarm out to the camp so the army will be ready directly sir"

"What is the time then Ney"? Von Huber asked.

"3:30 sir"

"Then I venture its not the bloody Arkham army descending on us, Christ if they marched in the dark I suspect they would be all over themselves. surely it cant be the reserves, they aren't expected until tonight sometime".

The General pulled on his shirt,
" All right then Captain,away with you and report back when you have more information."

Captain Ney saluted and immediately left, the General picked up his jacket and quickly flung it on.

He made his way down the rickety steps of the "Golden Plough" the largest tavern and building in Neustadter.
Once outside he saw the duty squadron galloping back down the road, The squadron commander spoke briefly to Captain Ney, who then walked over to the General.

"Sir it is the reinforcements, they are here already, twelve hours ahead of schedule"

"Outstanding Captain, get me my horse, I want to go out and see the troops into the town, and captain after that, ride out to the camp and tell them we have 15,000 more men to make room for."

The General rode for 5 minutes before he came upon the leading troops of the reinforcement column

A Brigadier General rode up to him

"Brigadier General Kemp sir, 1st House Hold Guards"

"You are most welcome Kemp, most welcome indeed".

The General rode back along the column, he saw the men were loaded on wagons.

"Wagons General Kemp, where the hell did you get so many damn wagons"
The Brigadier General smiled,
"We started with over 300 sir and we purchased another 200 back in Ostwind."

"I have been carrying 6 men per wagon as hard as the horses will carry them, I carry the men forward for about 30 miles, unload them and send them on their way marching, I then send the wagons back to the end of the line and pick up another 3,000."

"Excellent Kemp, well done, and how many men do you have"?

"10,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry along with 12 x 9 pounders and 6 x 12 pounders sir. They are all regulars sir, the Duke is using the conscripts to train and garrison Rechburg, while he has sent the balance of the regular army."

"Very well Kemp, take your men through the town into camp on the other side of Neustadter, get the men fed and rested, we will be moving tomorrow."

Kaelmark

As the Agloreans were offloading, the sun was setting in the western sky. To the east out on the ocean, a bright orange glow marked where the battle at sea was still underway. A half dozen ships were burning, and one errupted into a tall fireball as its powder storage went up.

The line of battle was creeping north-west as the Kaelmark Navy continued to block off all approaches to the port.

On the docks the Agloreans were met by a delegation of officers. A Colonel rode forward and saluted the Aglorean commander, "Greetings sir and welcome to Kaelmark. If your men are rested we ask that they march north to Belzig. If you require rest you may use the barracks and the common houses here in town. Most of them are empty, we've marched our garrisons to Belzig."

General von Huber having now concentrated his army, and ensuring they were well rested advanced on Kohfurt, with the objective of ejecting the Arkham army out of the town.

The march was screened by a heavy advance guard of Dragoons and Hussars.
As the distance was some 40 miles it was expected to take 2 days to be in position, in that time Von Huber decided to use diplomacy and see if he could avoid bloodshed for both sides.

He sent a courier under a whiteflag to offer terms for both armies to join together.

To The Commander Officer
The Army of Arkham in Kohfurt

Sir,
I have the honour of entreating with you to see whether our forces may reach an accommadation in regard to the war in Kaelmark.
As the Duchy of Rechburg and the Arkham provinces are neighbours and have to date acted in common accord and good faith, I am beseeching you as a good neighbour and as an ally to Ostwind to join with us in bringing this unfortunate war to a acceptable conclusion.

You may be sure sir, that Rechburg gains no territory or favour from this war, we act as honour and faith of an ally decree, and I am assured that there is no favour for the Arkham forces to be gained in Kaelmark.
It has been reported to us by spies and intercepted dispatches that the Kaelmark High command are very dissatisfied with you and your forces. So again sir, I beg of you join us in this war and put an end to the misery that has befallen both Ostwind and Kaelmark.
You may give your reply to our courier.

In any event sir, please be sure that I face you as either friend or foe with the greatest respect.

Regards
General Von Huber
Ceneral officer Commanding the Rechburg Army at Kohfurt.

The rider was welcomed and the message was heard.

"Arkhams? Damn those bastards! We'll be there by nightfalll!" Replied the Colonel on scene. "As long as Lorraine lives, so will Kaelmark! I don't give a damn if Arkham is there or not, Ostwind will be crushed by our combined armies no matter what!" He yelled as the rider left.

After that, the army didn't stop until it reached Kohfur. It took several hours, but it was eventually set-up next to the Kaelmark forces. By the next morning, the Rechburg forces took witness to the combined Lorraine and Kaelmark forces.

The rider was welcomed and the message was heard.

"Arkhams? Damn those bastards! We'll be there by nightfalll!" Replied the Colonel on scene. "As long as Lorraine lives, so will Kaelmark! I don't give a damn if Arkham is there or not, Ostwind will be crushed by our combined armies no matter what!" He yelled as the rider left.

After that, the army didn't stop until it reached Kohfur. It took several hours, but it was eventually set-up next to the Kaelmark forces. By the next morning, the Rechburg forces took witness to the combined Lorraine and Kaelmark forces.

ooc: There are no Kaelmark forces at Kohfur. They marched on Belzig. That's why they asked your troops to go to Kohfur, there's only undependable Arkhams there to hold back Rechburg and whatever Ostwind reinforcements go that way. Arkham forces split away and are at Kohfur.

OCC

Arkham hasnt replied yet, so I wouldnt be too hard on your ally, tho Im sure he is feeling the love.

PS Are there any Ostwind forces in the area.

OCC

Arkham hasnt replied yet, so I wouldnt be too hard on your ally, tho Im sure he is feeling the love.

PS Are there any Ostwind forces in the area.

ooc: "Undependable" as in.. killing friendly civilians. This info is secret to everyone but Rechburg basicly: Ostwind has deployed at least six regiments of line infantry, several artillery and a regiment of lancers towards your area, Rechburg. They're lagging behind though, they've been marching hard for nearly a week now.

OOC: Kaelmark please respond to my ambassador.

[OOC: Seeing as I don't know of the deployments against my forces yet, I'll have to decline, but once those bullets start passing above the army's head, I wouldn't be so inclined to reject such an offer. On the other hand, how does the execution of suspected spies make my military UNRELIABLE, as a fighting force, that's very irritating.]

Reply to the Rechburg High Command:
It is an honor to see one not take war so personally. Such men are difficult to find en these days, the duty we must serve to our country is propelled by orders, not personal drive to bring pain and death to the enemy. However, we are not traitors, and have come here to defend our neighbor's land from pillage and rape, and to do that I must stand against you, but if there ever comes a time when after this bloody business is over, and I see you, you can expect an invitation for tea.

Signed,
Field Marshall George V. Baton

Neustadter Village

The news that the Arkham General had rejected his proposal didnt come as a complete surprise, what did concern him however was that the Lorraine forces and the Arkham army would join at Kohfurt.

Knowing he was outnumbered he decided not to attack and withdrew back on
Neustadter, as he already had defences prepared here he felt much more relaxed about his position.

The news that Ostwind reinforcements would soon join him was also an encouraging sign, and once reinforced he would then decide on the next action.

As he looked at the map, what really worried General von Huber was that it seemed that Rechburg was the only Ostwind ally, and as Kaelmark was steadily being reinforced the odds would increase against him.

Kaelmark Capital City

The Allied Ambassador arrived to see what the Kaelmarkians would offer him, although he doubted they could offer much, at all. He walked up to the splendid building, braced himself then began to enter.

Kaelburg, Imperial Capital

The ambassador would be shown into the foyer but no further. He would be met by an ambassador of Kaelmark. "What can I do for you, sir?"

Neustadter, Kaelmark

Seven thousand Ostwind line troops were still steadily marching towards Neustadter. Their pace had slowed considerably and it would be another two hours before they finally reached the town. Once there they would require a day or so of rest before being fit to fight. Moving ahead, behind and on the sides were a thousand Lancers and escorting the infantry and a battery of six 12lb field guns.

A messanger had been sent ahead to the Rechburg commanders that the Ostwinders would be on the field within hours but needed rest.

"Hello Ambassador, I am here to see if your nation would like help in your little exchange of firepower, The Allied States would be willing to help but what are you willing to give us in return."

"Hello Ambassador, I am here to see if your nation would like help in your little exchange of firepower, The Allied States would be willing to help but what are you willing to give us in return."

Kaelburg, Kaelmark

The ambassador frowned deeply, "It would seem your leader wishes to sell your men as mercenaries. Rather than fighting injustice and aggression he seeks reward. We have no need of help from the likes of your nation. You have traveled a long way for nothing, sir."

Beslitz
General Corona weighed his options, and after giving his army two hours of rest, he had them all move out. It would be about a six day march, but they would have no trouble, from the looks of it. The mass of soldiers were on their way in no time at all.

"Very Well Ambassador, you have a nice day"

ooc: My bad. I was just a bit confused for a second there.

The Lorraine troops arrived to meet the Arkham troops holding strict control over the town. Kohfur was under marshal law. But the Lorraine troops held themselves back and prepared themselves next to the Arkhams.

Rechburg order of Battle

Rechburg OOB in Kaelmark (http://z13.invisionfree.com/Duchy_of_Rechburg/index.php?showtopic=90)

OOC: If no one minds, I'd like to join the thread on Ostwind's side of the conflict. My troops will come from overseas, so don't expect them for at least two weeks RP time. I'll get a post up later tonight.

OOC: That's fine. We really need a post from Budda at the moment. He and Rechburg may be going at it.

OCC

I have included maps for 2 battlefields, that may or may not be used.

The stuff on the maps are purely reference points so as players RP their way thru the battle they can write where they are attacking from and two, or where they are defending or where reserves are etc.

It is not expected for players to use the maps for anything but as RP aids.

IMG]http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k411/Game-Images/newMap.jpg[/IMG]

The Brown Hills are rolling hills, they block line of sight as do buildings.
In the Kohfurt map the Rechburg forces are located in Neustadter, thus can be expected to use the Neustadter-Kohfurt road for the advance


http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k411/Game-Images/NeustadterVillagewithfortifications.jpg
Map of Neustadter Village.

The hedges around the cornfields break units formation and line of sight, as do the buildings of the village.
In both maps you may see into a village, not through.
In this map assuming the Arkam/Kaemark forces advance from Kohfurt they will advance along the Kohfurt/Neustadter road, so this would be the axis of advance.

Hope these help make an enjoyable battle.

The Rechburg forces pulled back from Kohfurt to await the Ostwind reinforcements and to give them a chance to rest after their long march.
The situation is Rechburg/Ostwind in Neustadter, Kaemark/Arkham in Kohfurt.

ooc: It's mostly Lorraine and Arkham in Kohfurt. We just need Arkham's player to post so we can get on with it.

OCC Yeah sorry about the name mixup, was done late at night and I was a tad tired.
Im cool with waiting.

ooc: Great maps, too. But yeah, this waiting stuff stinks. It's what happens when there's too many chefs in the kitchen.

OOC: I agree about the maps, they're pretty cool. What are the orange blocks, though? Barns?

[OOC:
Becketts Ridge [Artillery Batteries Group A]
Messine Ridge [Artillery Bateeries Group B]

Are the Rechburg troops outside Kohfurt? I didn't see a marching post, but I'll double checking that.]

OCC

My troops approached Kohfurt, but realising they were outnumbered feel back on Neustadler to await reinforcements. So at the moment you are in Kohfurt, Im in Neustadtler.

Neustadter, Kaelmark

The Ostwind reinforcements were under the command of a Colonel named Devin. Colonel Devin was fairly young, in his late 30s and quite competent. He was out-ranked however and deferred to the Rechburg command.

Colonel Devin stepped into the Rechburg HQ and nodded greetings. "Good morning gentlemen. My men have been resting up and we are ready."

Ostwind OOB
5 regiments of Ostwind Regulars
2 regiments of Ostwind Light Infantry
1 regiment of Ostwind Home Guard
1 regiment of Ostwind Lancers

General von Huber acknowledged Colonel Devin as he entered the Headquarters which had been set up in the Neustadter School which was next to a Church.
General Huber had just returned from using the bell tower as an observation post, from up there he had a magnificent panoramic view of the Rechburgian and Ostwind armies.

He had seen the Ostwind Colonel Devin organising his men and then make his way towards the school grounds, thus very quickly von Huber descended the tower to greet the Colonel.

Colonel Devin stepped into the Rechburg HQ and nodded greetings. "Good morning gentlemen. My men have been resting up and we are ready."

Gen von Huber saluted and greeted Colonel Devin with a firm handshake

"Your reputation proceeds you Colonel, a man of your experience and ability is most welcome, most welcome indeed."

He turned and with an expansive wave of the hand said

"Gentlemen, Please greet Colonel Devin"

The officers present all made their way forward and with hand shakes and shoulder slapping they all introduced themselves.

Eventually von Huber made his way to the head of the table, on which a large map had been placed. Although lacking in the finer details the map included the more prominent terrain in and around Neustadter.

"Gentlemen, in Neustadter we have reasonably open and flat terrain, the line of sight is only blocked by those accursed hedgerows, however they do have the nice advantage of disorganising anyone attempting to cross them, sadly that includes our own units should we wish to counter attack, so great care needs to be placed in your deployments."

The General paused for breath, and then taking a large ornate pipe from his pocket he waved it over the map

"North of Neustadter is very rough ground, terrain that prevents us deploying with any security, so north is virtually impossible to move or deploy an army.
To the south it is very open but the ground is marshy, so any army moving in that area will have trouble and the more one walks through it, the more churned up it will likely become."

He placed the pipe in his mouth, taking a smoking taper from his travelling desk, he puffed on the pipe, eventually almost hiding his head in smoke.
Again he pointed to the map

"Gentlemen to defend Neustadter we must defend the village and the area here"
(OCC- The area covered in the Neustadter map)

"Now we are still out numbered significantly by the enemy, so we can sit here and tie up two enemy armies, allowing our Ostwind brethren further east a better chance to advance and kick those damned Kaemark arses, or we can attack them in Kohfurt."

Gen von Huber nodded to an aide who placed a map of the Kohfurt region on top of the Neustadter map.
(OCC-See the Kohfurt Map)

"Now here gentlemen we have a prickly problem, Kohfurt is covered by these three ridges and this damned thick woods to the north"

He paused to puff on his pipe, other officers also taking the opportunity to light up their pipes.

"It is very unlikely we can attack the north Gentlemen, this wood is impenetrable to an army, we may get jagers in there but that would be all, even then we would lose control of them as they advanced into the forest"

One of the aides quietly made his way to the windows, he opened them to allow the smoke to waft out.

"To the front and south gentlemen we have open terrain that is over looked by these ridges, so any movement can be seen and countered.
The closer we get to that river, I am told is that there are marshy areas,so some caution needed there"

Steeping back from the map, he went to an old rocker chair and waited.

"Gentlemen I am waiting to hear your proposals, do we sit here and tie up the enemy, or do we attack them while they cower in Kohfurt. Do bear in mind Gentlemen that we have just received word that another nation is joining Ostwind in this war of Liberation, it is expected they will land in the east. So the more we tie up here the better our allies have in the east of Kaemark. "

General DeJaque was busy that morning looking over the maps and sipping his coffee. As he did, an aid gave him the morning report, with some extra news.
"General, we have reports that Ostwind forces have linked up with Rechburg. They are staying in the nearby village."
"Neustadter? That will be a problem. There is almost no way we can get to the rearof that town without exposing us the entire way, or seriously hurting our forces going through the swamps. Can't go straight in with so many cannon and troops about. But they can't win a war by just standing there, it will divert to much supplies and valuable cannon to maintain their strong defensive position there, while we enjoy the advantage of being in allied territory."
"Thats true sir, but we to have large amount of troops here. Not to mention that the hedges block their artillary sights. I believe we should attack immediatly."
"No, no, no. Our troop will be sitting ducks for several dozen meters before they get to the hedges. Not to mention that once we get there, it will be all hell moving through the hedges to the point where they will have a good cup of tea and watch us struggle through. If we go around, we are going to be mowed down by those guns until we reach them, where we will still have to fight constantly against their infantry, who are still fresh and ready, while ours will be tired and useless. No, we must find another way."

Karlsruhe, Capital of the Kingdom of Aurigea
It was a beautiful day here in Karlsruhe, the sky shone a bright deep blue, birds sang songs overhead and an air of peace and prosperity hung about the land. It was this scene that High King Ferdinand VII gazed out at from the large window of his palace throne room. The palace was set high on a mountain and as such the view was breathtaking, below him he saw the green rolling fields of the countryside as well as the dense forests near the coast, and far off in the distance he could just make out the ocean. It was also the scene in which his happiness would evaporate and turn into concern.

The High King turned away from the window and was greeted by an aide who immediately dropped down to one knee. While on his knee, the man spoke to his beloved sovereign, "My King, we have received word from Ostwind that they have gone on the offensive against the rebels fashioning themselves as Kaelmark."

Ferdinand was an imposing figure, standing just a shade over six feet tall with bright blue eyes that seemed to pierce your very soul. He was a well muscled man with a long greying beard and shoulder length hair. He wore his power with ease and carried himself as though he walked among the gods. He was every bit the invincible ruler that was so beloved by his subjects.

When he spoke, his voice was deep and commanding, "Rise Wilfred," he said to the young man. "Let us walk together and tell me more about the situation." The young man obeyed and fell into step beside his king.

For the next twenty minutes, he relayed all that he knew of the conflict to the king. When he was finished, they had arrived in the palace gardens, where the spring flowers had just begun to bloom. The king was silent for a while, while the young man waited silently a step behind him for instructions.

"Inform General Chatham to ready his troops for departure and have Admiral James ready his fleet. Aurigea will come to the aid of Ostwind in this conflict."

The young man nodded quickly and sped off on his duties. Alone now in the gardens, the king swept his piercing gaze over his kingdom watching the peace that gripped his country melt away into the grim tide of war.

Two days later, the port of Adumar
It had taken two days for General Chatham to muster the bulk of his army for transport, 15,000 able bodied soldiers boarded the ships for the voyage to Ostwind and war.

OOC: Let me know which port is good to land at and it'll be in my next post. Also, here is my ORBAT:

12,000 Infantry (with another 8,000 in two months)
3,000 Cavalry (with another 2,000 in two months)
35 Artillery Pieces

Belzig
The Aglorean army moved into the town of Belzig. They found places to rest and relax for a few hours while they waited for word from their Kaelmark allies.

General von Huber allowed the discussion over whether to attack or defend for sometime, when it became apparent that there would never be a consensus he finally rose from his Rocker chair.

"Gentlemen Please, a moment if you will"

The Arkham Army in Kohfurt and their new keepers the Lorraine Army may out number us, in fact by a ratio of 1:5 to 1, and if you throw in the benefit of those hills and the guns on them, those additional defensive benefits give the Kaemark puppets an advantage of 2:1 on the defence.

However Gentlemen, study the map and you will see that the hills except for the bottom two are not mutually supporting. In fact it would be at extreme range for a battery on Messine or Caprice ridges to hit troops attacking Knots hill. Equally gentleman Messine Ridge screens any guns on Caprice Ridge were the attacker coming from a south westerly direction, and obviously guns on Knots hill would not reach troops attacking Caprice Ridge.
So gentlemen those batteries are not supporting each other, therefore there are significant gaps in the line.
Secondly, the Arkham forces are despised by the Lorraine commander, in fact he was we are informed, sent specifically to ensure the Arkham forces stay and fight. One can only suspect he can only do that by making sure Arkham forces are in the zone we attack.
You can be sure Gentlemen, the Lorraine Army will not defend the front while the Arkham troops are out on some un-threatened flank or worse, in the rear."

The General looked around his group of fellow officers, smiling he said,

"Gentlemen tomorrow we attack, the advance guard move out immediately, they will screen the army as we advance on Kohfurt. I will issue the battle orders tomorrow, on the field of Battle."

He turned to Colonel Devine

"Colonel my dear chap, could you please tell me where exactly the Ostwind forces are, and what do you know of the new allies we seem to have gained?"

General von Huber allowed the discussion over whether to attack or defend for sometime, when it became apparent that there would never be a consensus he finally rose from his Rocker chair.

"Gentlemen Please, a moment if you will"

The Arkham Army in Kohfurt and their new keepers the Lorraine Army may out number us, in fact by a ratio of 1:5 to 1, and if you throw in the benefit of those hills and the guns on them, those additional defensive benefits give the Kaemark puppets an advantage of 2:1 on the defence.

However Gentlemen, study the map and you will see that the hills except for the bottom two are not mutually supporting. In fact it would be at extreme range for a battery on Messine or Caprice ridges to hit troops attacking Knots hill. Equally gentleman Messine Ridge screens any guns on Caprice Ridge were the attacker coming from a south westerly direction, and obviously guns on Knots hill would not reach troops attacking Caprice Ridge.
So gentlemen those batteries are not supporting each other, therefore there are significant gaps in the line.
Secondly, the Arkham forces are despised by the Lorraine commander, in fact he was we are informed, sent specifically to ensure the Arkham forces stay and fight. One can only suspect he can only do that by making sure Arkham forces are in the zone we attack.
You can be sure Gentlemen, the Lorraine Army will not defend the front while the Arkham troops are out on some un-threatened flank or worse, in the rear."

The General looked around his group of fellow officers, smiling he said,

"Gentlemen tomorrow we attack, the advance guard move out immediately, they will screen the army as we advance on Kohfurt. I will issue the battle orders tomorrow, on the field of Battle."

He turned to Colonel Devine

"Colonel my dear chap, could you please tell me where exactly the Ostwind forces are, and what do you know of the new allies we seem to have gained?"

The Colonel nodded and gestured to the regional map. "Yes sir. When we split from the main body, General VonFric was moving towards Belzig. I imagine they'd be somewhere north of Belzig now. As to our new allies.." he shrugged, "My force was dispatched before any of them pledged themselves. I've not been informed by the General as to the disposition of our new allies."

He then pointed about half a mile north of their current position. "My troops are in the woods north of here sir. They've been rested up and are ready. General VonFric's orders are that I support the attack in whatever form you deem proper, sir."

The Rechburg army is moving from Neustadter to Kohfurt, they will deploy well out of any artillery range.

OCC
Could both Arkham and Lorraine give us some sort of Oob so I have some idea what is in Kohfurt. By now I would have a reasonable idea considering many people left from Kohfurt.
Assume my forces are deploying on the west side of the Map on the Neustadter road, well out of artillery range.

Karlsruhe, Capital of the Kingdom of Aurigea
It was a beautiful day here in Karlsruhe, the sky shone a bright deep blue, birds sang songs overhead and an air of peace and prosperity hung about the land. It was this scene that High King Ferdinand VII gazed out at from the large window of his palace throne room. The palace was set high on a mountain and as such the view was breathtaking, below him he saw the green rolling fields of the countryside as well as the dense forests near the coast, and far off in the distance he could just make out the ocean. It was also the scene in which his happiness would evaporate and turn into concern.

The High King turned away from the window and was greeted by an aide who immediately dropped down to one knee. While on his knee, the man spoke to his beloved sovereign, "My King, we have received word from Ostwind that they have gone on the offensive against the rebels fashioning themselves as Kaelmark."

Ferdinand was an imposing figure, standing just a shade over six feet tall with bright blue eyes that seemed to pierce your very soul. He was a well muscled man with a long greying beard and shoulder length hair. He wore his power with ease and carried himself as though he walked among the gods. He was every bit the invincible ruler that was so beloved by his subjects.

When he spoke, his voice was deep and commanding, "Rise Wilfred," he said to the young man. "Let us walk together and tell me more about the situation." The young man obeyed and fell into step beside his king.

For the next twenty minutes, he relayed all that he knew of the conflict to the king. When he was finished, they had arrived in the palace gardens, where the spring flowers had just begun to bloom. The king was silent for a while, while the young man waited silently a step behind him for instructions.

"Inform General Chatham to ready his troops for departure and have Admiral James ready his fleet. Aurigea will come to the aid of Ostwind in this conflict."

The young man nodded quickly and sped off on his duties. Alone now in the gardens, the king swept his piercing gaze over his kingdom watching the peace that gripped his country melt away into the grim tide of war.

Two days later, the port of Adumar
It had taken two days for General Chatham to muster the bulk of his army for transport, 15,000 able bodied soldiers boarded the ships for the voyage to Ostwind and war.

OOC: Let me know which port is good to land at and it'll be in my next post. Also, here is my ORBAT:

12,000 Infantry (with another 8,000 in two months)
3,000 Cavalry (with another 2,000 in two months)
35 Artillery Pieces

OOC: Matra would be the best place. Any further south and you risk a fight with the Kaelmark Navy.

West of Kohfurt

Colonel Devine peered through a spyglass towards the enemy fortifications critically. "Hardly an original defense." He could see several weaknesses in the enemy deployment. Behind him the combined Ostwind and Rechburg army were moving into place well out of artillery range. He turned his horse and rode back to the main force, mulling over options in his mind.

Matra, Ostwind

The harbor was being cleared of ships to make way for the inbound army from Karlsruhe. The Ostwind Navy was still engaged in skirmishes further south but so far had suffered convincing losses against the better trained and equipped Kaelmark Navy.

OOC: If there is going to be an engagement between my army and the Ostwind forces at Belzig, could either I or Rechburg make a map of the city?

OOC: If there is going to be an engagement between my army and the Ostwind forces at Belzig, could either I or Rechburg make a map of the city?

ooc: Feel free. I keep meaning to reply to you, but realized there's nothing to say until your troops arrive at Belzig. The fight'll occur north of town in the fields probably.

The first map is of the immediate Belzig area, the second is a larger or wider view of the terrain.
Remember all marked ridges are simply slightly higher ground or ridges, they are 100 ft high or so and block terrain.
All forests have no movement allowence except for Light or Jager and you should loose the ability to lose control of units in there.

Units defending a town should be considered unformed and therefore command is again difficult, they may or should not immediately respond to your RP orders as they are seperated and in buildings, fences etc.


Map of Belzig town area (http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k411/Game-Images/Belzig.jpg)

Map of the Greater Belzig area (http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k411/Game-Images/Belzigareamap.jpg)

You guys can decide which if any map to use. Feel free to change or use another.

OOC: Ah, I just finished a map, too! We can use your map, it doesn't matter to me. But because I can, I'm posting mine.

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s86/Aglor/BelzigMap.png

EDIT: I'll leave it up to Kaelmark to decide which map to use, next time he shows up.

well damn that is one great map, I would go with yours.

Very well done and Im depressed.:$

ooc: Impressive.

well damn that is one great map, I would go with yours.

Very well done and Im depressed.:$

That's a shame. I hate making people depressed.

So does that mean we're using my map?

Map of Kohfurt

I have altered the map to make it a little more defensible.

http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k411/Game-Images/newMap.jpg

Matra Docks, Ostwind
The gulls squawked above the masts of the Aurigean ships and a brisk sea breeze bit the air as they made their way into the port of Matra. Admiral James saw to the disembarking of troops and supplies onto the dock while General Chatham made haste to the garrison commander in Matra.

Garrison Barracks, Matra, Ostwind
As the general arrived at the barracks, he announced himself and was quickly ushered before the Ostwindian commander. Tilting his head in recognition of the other man, Chatham quickly broke the silence, anxious to get to the front and begin fighting.

"General Chatham, Commander of the First Army of the Aurigean Royal Guard, reporting. I have fifteen thousand troops at your disposal all I need to know is where to send them."

Matra Docks, Ostwind
Meanwhile back at the docks, the Admiral was seeing the the re-provisioning of his ships before they departed back to Aurigea to transport the rest of the army, some 10,000 troops, to Ostwind.

By nightfall, the ships were ready to set sail again. And with the wind at their back, they made haste to Aurigea.

OOC: Is there going to be much naval emphasis in this thread or is it more strictly land based? Just curious because if the navies will be involved more, I'll send more battleships and such with the next installment of troops.

Kohfurt - Kaelmark

Ensign Leeke rose from beneath his blanket. He was cold and he was hungry, not too far away he saw some officers from another Regiment sitting around a fire; he made his way over to them.
All around him the Armies of Rechburg and Ostwind were rising, it was early but the dawn alert had sounded and the men responded, albeit not to quickly.

Now the men would light fires, cook food, wash and shave if possible, some were already clearing their muskets, the rattle of indiscriminate musket fire taking place right around the camp could easily be heard.
The warmth from the fire finally seeping into his young body, the stiffness of the cold ground began to disappear.
For Ensign Thomas Leeke, this was his first campaign, and he was as confused as he was lost; and he was very lost.

He had joined the army when he was 15, he spent 2 years at Rechburg Military College and now he was 17 years old and a officer. his parents were cousins of Duke Leopold I, they had asked that Thomas be given a chance at a military career and he had embraced the opportunity with all the enthusiasm of his youth.

To date his campaigning had seen him posted to the Guards Brigade, a most illustrious unit and the cream of the army, a most fortunate break of luck for Thomas.
Here the men were all veterans with the exception of one or two Ensigns such as Thomas, the sergeants ran the company's and while Ensign Leeke was nominally in charge he ignored his sergeants "advice" at his own peril.

Finally feeling the warmth of the fire was making his joints easier to move, Thomas rose from his little seat beside the fire and looked around.
The camp was a hive of activity, covered with early morning mist and low hanging smoke.
As he mad his way back to his company, Sergeant Borthwick made his way over to him, giving him his usual smart and correct salute, the sergeant said

"Sir, it doesn't do to mix with officers from other regiments, it sort of makes your own officers feel you are too superior to keep their company, if you know what I mean sir"

Thomas shook his head, how could he have been so stupid, he had already been told about this very behaviour.
"Of course Sergeant, you are quite correct, it was just they had a nice fire going and it was so inviting"

Sergeant Borthwick replied
"Well sir, we have our own fire, so we do sir; and its right inviting I should tell you. Its right over there sir, by the supply wagon"

"So it is Sergeant, and ummm thank you for your timely advice"

As they made their way to the fire, Thomas noticed a low haze on the horizen; He pointed in the direction of the haze.
"Sergeant, what is that smoke over there, on the horizen"

The sergeant smiled, the gaps in his dark brown teeth all to apparent.

"Why sir, that's the enemy army, they be in Kohfurt, and you can be sure they had nice warm beds to sleep on; and after today sir, we will too; Im bound to say".

"Quite right Sergeant", Thomas replied.

Finally arriving at the fire, his fellow officers welcomed him with a cup of broth; though to Thomas it tasted like yesterdays washing water.

Captain Heinrich Bulow came over to him

"How are we this morning Thomas?"

I'm fine sir, indeed fine."

"Excellent Thomas, glad to hear it"

The captain then walked off to speak to others, leaving Thomas with his dark thoughts about the day to come.

OCC
I will wait now for the Oob and positions of any units from both Lorraine and Arkham.

Belzig
General Corona stood over the table at the back of a local tavern, surrounded by his highest ranking officers. They had just enjoyed a delicious meal with several soldiers and local townspeople, but made sure the tavern was closed before they began their discussion. On the table was a map labeled "Map of Belzig and Surrounding Area", and it was a map of just that. The only thing that didn't fit was a brown ring on the middle right side, which was quickly determined to be a stain from a cup of coffee. The officers moved a little closer to the table as Corona began to speak.

"As you all know, we've taken defensive positions throughout the area. Our main camp and force deployment is here." He pointed his finger to a relatively flat area of land between a nearby hill and the town. "In the town itself, we've managed to find a number of people willing to take in some of our men to garrison the buildings. This will be a very effective advantage if the Ostwind army advances directly towards the town. Here," he pointed to Parker's Hill, "we have positioned our artillery. The height advantage will increase their range slightly, so we can cover more of the area. There are a number of soldiers on the hill too. Our cavalry is over here." He pointed to another spot to the side. "The Ostwind will never see them coming until it's too late." Corona noticed most of the officers let out a grin. The positions seemed bullet-proof.

"Any word on when the other twenty-four thousand men will arrive?" Corona asked, changing the subject.

"Tonight or tomorrow, probably," one of the officers spoke up. "They'll arrive at the same port we did, and move to meet up with us here immediately, as you ordered."

"Good. If we're going to push north, we'll need all of the help we can get."

ooc: Things are sort of paused while we wait for Lorraine and Budda C. The action at Belzig is moving forward too quickly while we wait on Kohfurt..

ooc; Sorry. Ive been sick all week long.

there are 22,000 Lorraine troops based in Kohfur along with their 45 cannon.

1,000 infantry have been sent into the forest to ensure that no enemy units take it.
10,000 troops are position inbetween the woods and knots hill.
1,000 troops on knots hill
25 cannon on knots hill
2,000 troops north of forest
1,000 troops guarding road to the north in between the forest and lake.
4,000 troops between knots hill and Messine ridge.
2,000 troops on Messina ridge
10 cannon on Messina ridge
10 cannon on southern part of Beckets ridge.
1,000 troops reserve in Kohfur

OCC thanks for that and sorry to hear your not been too good. I will respond once we have those pesky Arkham louts lined up.

Messine Ridge

16 Cannon
2nd Line Regiment (1,400)
3rd Line Regiment (1,400)
4th Line Regiment (1,400)
8th Line Regiment (1,400)


Becketts Ridge

16 Cannon
5th Line Regiment (1,400)
1st Line Regiment (1,400)
9th Line Regiment (1,400)
10th Line Regiment (1,400)


Holding the East of the City

12th Line Regiment (1,400)
13th Line Regiment (1,400)
26th Horsed Skirmishers Regiment (500)


Holding the West of the City

15th Line Regiment (1,400)
14th Line Regiment (1,400)
28th Horsed Skirmishers Regiment (500)


Holding the North of the City

16th Line Regiment (1,400)
17th Line Regiment (1,400)


Holding the South of the City

18th Line Regiment (1,400)
19th Line Regiment (1,400)


En Reserve Threw Out the City

7th Line Regiment (1,400)
6th Line Regiment (1,400)
11th Line Regiment (1,400)
20th Line Regiment (1,400)
21st Line Regiment (1,400)
22nd Line Regiment (1,400)
23rd Line Regiment (1,400)
24th Line Regiment (1,400)
25th Horsed Skirmishers Regiment (500)
27th Horsed Skirmishers Regiment (500)


Total Troops Deployed*: 35,600

*Estimated

OCC

Thanks for the orbat guys I will respond soon.

General von Huber marched into the command tent, looking around he saw the eager expectant looks of his commanders, all awaiting their orders.

It was 5:00am in the morning, the army had been fed and were now assembled in position.
"Gentlemen, good morning"

There was a chorus of greetings, as he made his way to the map table, on which was placed a somewhat loose interpretation of the terrain.

"Gentlemen we have a problem, but not one I am overly concerned with. The problem is we are considerably outnumbered, but that bodes well for the other Ostwind forces as we are tying down over 50,000 valuable troops. Troops gentlemen, that will be badly needed needed elsewhere."

He paused, looking around he saw a aide with a teapot, he nodded
"Please Andrew, a cup of tea if you will"

The General continued,
"Gentlemen the issue isn't that we capture Kofhurt, simply we don't need it; what we are doing here is tying up a larger army with a smaller one. So this is not a do or die battle for us"

He smiled at his men
"But that's not to say we shouldn't have some fun, eeehhh.

"Now, we have one major advantage, we significantly outnumber them in Cavalry, but my our estimation 9,000 to 2,000 of their light skirmish cavalry.
So gentlemen we need to entice them, annoy them and make them come out against us, as they advance our heavy cavalry can ride them down, so first things first; lets tease them a little."

He pointed to the map, his finger resting on knots hill.

This hill gentleman is far advanced from the other hills, it is unsupported by the guns on the other hill and in fact it masks them significantly. Our reconnaissance tells us there are 1,000 Lorraine troops and 25 guns on that small hill, it will be considerably crowded.
So brigadiers Hoche and suchet, you will take your men and attack that hill, that's 6,000 against their 2,000. You will have the 4th brigade in reserve should you need it.
I have assembled all the guns from all the brigades into one grand battery, it is placed in the front and centre, it will fire on the hill prior to your attack, once your forces go in, and your men mask the guns, the battery will then turn against the 10,000 Lorraine troops stretched out in the open from behind knots hill to the woods in the north. They should make a juicy target no doubt" he said with almost a lecherous smile.

"So while Hoche and Suchet go in, Colonel Devinne will take his contingent supported by 2,000 Lancers from 1st cavalry Brigade and attack the 1,000 men we know to be in the woods.
Now devine, I know you cannot take in line troops, the woods being unsuitable, but you have 2,000 Light troops you can use in there, push the enemy Light troops back so the northern end of the Lorraine line to the south becomes unsupported, then we will have the measure of these strutting Lorrainers.
You can use the rest your men colonel, and the 1st cav bde to push those troops north of the wood back to the lake if possible, I see the Lorrainers have 2,000 men up there, so you should easily be able to deal with them, eeeh.
So gentlemen to your positions, we attack in one hour"

The men filed out of the tent, sipping his cup of tea the General pondered the map.

He turned to his aide
"Lovely tea Andrew, excellent"

6:30am

One hour later the attack begins with the artillery barrage playing on the enemy guns and troops on Knots hill. The Ostwind Brigades advanced under the command of Colonel Devine, heading for the large forest to the north.

OCC
I have tried to place all the units as close to the positions as written as I could, I couldnt get the Arkham Oob on the map it was too big.

The map shows the 1st attacks after an hour of bombardment on the hill.
Once my attacks started against the hill, my men would have masked the target, so the guns changed to sheeling the Lorraine troops aligned in the open.

http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k411/Game-Images/1stAttacks.jpg

ooc: nice plan. its going to be tough though. Also, i have made a map with my troop movements, but it won't allow me to paste it here. I tried photobucket, but when I posted it, it didn't have the changes (the movements) on it, only the original map. Is there any way for me to post the image. I don't have photoshop.

IC:
The bombardment didn't go without resistance. The 25 guns on the hill, protected by earthworks, fired down upon the Rechburg artillery as well. When the infantry approached, they were suprised to find that they weren't being fired upon. The cannon on the hill continued to fire on the artillery (if they stayed in range. If you retreated them, then they fire on the infantry approaching.) Once in range of canister, the cannon let loose on the infantry until they are to close to fire, then they reurn to fireing on the enemy cannon.

The guns on Messina ridge, though farther away, were still able to fire on the infantry approaching knots hill, they fired until their infantry began the flank.

On Beckets ridge, the cannon also have a chance to fire on the enemy infantry, though its only a brief moment. But when they begin to fire, the approaching infantry is caught in a three-way crossfire of cannon, raking through their lines from all directions.

The alert rung throughout the town as troops gathered to move out. the 1,000 Lorraine reserves were gathered and sent to move south of knots hill and group up with the 4,000 troops already there. the 2,000 on Messina ridge also move to the south of knots hill. After the hours bombardment, they were ready. As the infantry are almost on the ridge, they moved around the the bottom of the hill and wheel around to the flank of the infantry, where they engaged the enemy troops, already now taking fire from the 1,000 on the hill.

The 10,000 troops in the center pull back out of artillery range except for 500 men who retreat onto knots hill.

the regiment guarding the north road, was ordered to help reinforce the 2,000 to the north of the forest, now the Lorraine right flank.

Its kinda hard to understand, but its the best I can do without the map.BUt pretty much its this:
1. all guns brought to bear against your infantry.
2. 7,000 infantry flank yours with another 1,000 in front of them.
3. center falls back with 500 retreating to knots hill
4. far north now numbers 3,000

OCC
Its not going to be tough, its bloody near impossible, but fun eh.
I will wait for Arkham to reply and then will post casualties and further moves.

Im just using paint - try saving the map on page 6, if you have Paint save it there and alter as you see fit.
Load it into something like "photobucket" from there do you IMG into the thread.

However I do understand what youare doing and will make a new map when we have all the early moves in.

occ: thanks. Ill try to give it a shot tommorrow.

The 7th Line Regiment was sent to the Southern-side of Knots Hill, and to make sure they don't go over the top of the hill, or else they would be exposed to artillery fire. The commander of the 7th Line Regiment, Colonel Robert Dicks was ordered to move his men was quickly as possible and could break formation as long as it was re-established at the position that they were needed. They would be there in less than six minutes to support their comrades.

The 25th Horsed Skirmisher Regiment, along with the 6th Line Regiment was moving to the right flank of their comrades to help support their troops. The commanders of which were Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Reyes and Colonel Corey Niel, both respectably. They would be positioned to help maintain the line, while the 25th would stay out of range of both musket and artillery of the enemy, and prepare themselves to attack at any given time that Colonel Niel ordered.

The 18th and 19th Regiment were ordered to move to Caprice Ridge, and begin entrenching themselves. Lieutenant Colonel Josh Hanson and Colonel Cody Ford, again respectably, were given orders not to break formation to get to hill, as it was already in clear site. The remaining troops were all ordered to dig in, and the troops en reserve at the city were ordered to begin entrenching the outer perimeter of the city. The sixteen cannon atop Becketts Ridge also fired off what shots they could at the advancing enemy near Knots Hill.

Artillery Fire.
The Battle was to start with fire onto knots hill, however rather belatedly the discovered the guns were dug in (This wasn’t Rp’d so I changed targets), instead the guns began pouring fire into the lines of Loraine troops arranged in front of them, well with effective artillery range.

As time developed the gun fire was becoming less effective however as the guns on Knots hill were attempting long range counter battery fire, normally a waste of time, but the accumulative effect was guns and gunners were being hit or damaged.
After an hour of counter battery, 3 guns had been destroyed and 12 gunners killed.

Meanwhile the Rechburg artillery continued their fire on the 9,500 lorraine troops trying to step back over their dead and wounded.
While the artillery fire was taking place the Lorraine troops started to step back, to avoid the effect of the guns pouring fire directly into them, stepping back was a laborious and time consuming task for the best troops, it was achieved, but at a considerable cost.

1st attack on Knots Hill
The Arkham and Lorraine troops started moving around Knots hill, this was rather surprising as their had been no movement by the Rechburg forces at the early stage., however now the 5th and 8th brigades marched towards the hill, the 4th brigade marched behind and slightly south of them in support.

1st attack on the Woods and troops to the north of the Woods.
In the north 3,000 jaegers charged into the Heavy woods, they immediately started to melee with the 1,000 Lorraine light troops in the woods. They suffered 89 killed going into the woods, but once there their numbers would tell against the enemy
To the north of the wood the Ostwind Brigade started marching against the Lorraine Line, this line had been reinforced and now consisted of 3,000 Lorraine’s.
As the Ostwind Infantry went in, the 1st Guard Rechburg Lancer brigade started a fast wide sweeping right hand swing around the Lorraine Flank. The 3,000 Lorraine troops were now being attacked by 8,000 infantry and 1,000 Cavalry belonging to the Ostwind Brigade, as well as 3,000 Elite Lancers that attacked them in the flank.
This attack placed the 3,000 Lorraine troops in a bad situation as they had an impenetrable woods to the south and open terrain behind, with no where to run.

The attack on Knots hill continues.
As the 5th and 8th Brigade made their attack on Knots hill, much to their consternation, some 6,000 Lorraine troops swung out from behind the hill to fire into their Rechburg flanks.
The 5th Brigade was already suffering heavy casualties from artillery in their approach to the base of the hill they had suffered some 250 men killed, now canister and flanking fire was adding to the misery. This additional flank fire caused 200 casualties and the 16th line regiment of the 5th Brigade had lost a total of 300 men out of a thousand, they were becoming disorganised and wavered. The other regiments of the Brigade took over the advance the 17th regiment having suffered only 150 casualties was in abetter position to continue the attack up the hill.

Down on the Plain at the bottom of Knots hill
However the 4th Rechburg Brigade fired into the exposed flanks of the Lorraine line, and the fast moving Cavalry Brigade charged the now exposed and startled flanks of the enemy.
The Light cavalry brigade took 28 killed from artillery fire from Messine ridge, but generally long range artillery fire against fast moving cavalry was ineffective.
As general Huber watched he was sure a combined Cavalry/infantry on the exposed flanks would have a considerable effect on the Lorraine troops.

http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k411/Game-Images/battlephase2.jpg

[OOC: One question. Where did all my troops go? There's none on Becketts Ridge, the 2,800 to the west aren't there anymore?? The 25th and 6th Regiments were meant to be moved up on the northern flank above Becketts Ridge. The 7th Regiment is in good position, though. And I'll RP as that, but everything else is off, sorry, perhaps it's me, I have an issue with typing only half the needed information and assuming that you know what I'm thinking. I don't mean that sarcastically, honestly.]

The 7th Regiment was moving to engage the enemy to the west of Knots Hill. Colonel Dicks ordered his men to have their bayonets near the ready. They formed up in a line from the tip of the four thousand troops, down southward about fifty meters. Their line was seven hundred men long, two rows deep. They halted and immediately opened fire on the advancing cavalry. The 15th Line Regiment and the 28th Horsed Skirmishers Regiment moved to support the 7th. The 15th would simply reinforce the 7th's position, while the 28th would hold the southern flank, and wait until the enemy cavalry was dangerously close and then would charge with their sabers and pistols blasting.

OCC

Sorry its my interpretation that is faulty, and I have missed some units that didnt move or are not engaged because it was getting crmaped. I worked on the assumption if it wasnt mentioned it didnt move.
If you see I have made an error just correct it with an OCCV as you have here.

We all need to be minful that these are the 1700's, troops marched only in line when battling or in column when moving from one place to another. In other words movement was slow and clumsy.

For example for Lorraine to move 10,000 men back out of range means they have to step back in order, all the while being shot at with 24 guns plowing through the lines. To maintain order and formation would have beyond most, but not all forces.

It is why I gave my men an hour to move from their start position to the bottom of the hill.

Your men counter charging wouldnt be a problem, firing from a moving horse with a flintlock pistol was a total waste of time.
Your men in line would just be run over by charging cavalry, bayonets or not.

[OOC: Then that is a military oversight that my military will quickly learn from. ;-).]

occ: there is a counter to my men moving back. The about face order anyone? They all just turn around and march back. My guys are trained.
And as proven by history, a horse's psychology shows that it will not charge into a row of pointy things unless the pointy things are brought up to late for the horse to change direction, or there are to many horses for it to turn or stop. But since his infantry would launch a volly into themthere would be some room and many horses would simply stop until another pushes them forward again. I only use cavalry to attack a retreating enemy, or unless i have a complete flank or simply need something to break an attack.

IC:
Right Flank:
The Lorraine troops saw the enemy cavalry approaching and immediatly went into a right enfilade (I think its right, it may be left but you get the idea) which angled the line down to the right where the infantry there turned to face the cavalry.

Center:
The center formed a line reaching Becketts ridge and curving into the southern part of knots hill. 3,000 of the former 9,5000 were sent to the west of knots hill to reinforce th flanking manuever and allow them to continue the attack.

Left Flank:
The Flanking force was suprised when they saw the approaching cavalry, but the commanding officer took charge and created a Left Enfilade looking position with the attack still going closer to the hill, but the rest of it was now guarding the flank, but the cavalry got there before it could be cojmpleted. Still, the infantry got off several vollys into the cavalry as they were hit both by artillery and musket.

Kuhfur:
DeJaque raced to meet with his Arkham equivalent. When he arrived at the command post, a map and small figuresrepresenting the units on the field were already there. He told the Arkhamian everything that he knew already. Then he asked forr some help.
"Its seems to me that my forces are being flanked n the north and in the south. The officers there have countered this, but we are still outnumbered in those places, especially in the far right. If you can put a powerful and effective force on the right, then help the fighting on the left, then my artilelry in the front will pound their guns into submission. Then we go all out in an attack with my forces in the center and a combined assault from the left, and you on the right to carry out a devastating flank on their entire line. Once their attack on knots hill is beaten back, my cannon can concentrate on their guns. DO you think that you can do that?"

[OOC: Is your cavalry already charging? And the plural for Arkham is Arkham.]

The 7th Regiment was not yet reinforced by their two counterparts, but they were close. Colonel Dicks ordered his men to attach their bayonets after the second volley was shot and to kneel on the ground, digging their rifle butts down as hard as they could. Meanwhile the 28th was just about fifty meters, but they were ordered not to break formation for quicker results. The Skirmishers had their pistols drawn to fire, and their sabers on quick standby. The 15th was about seventy-five meters behind the 7th, and if the enemy cavalry broke threw the rank of the 7th then they would be met with about volley quickly after as they had maintained position.

"We would like to move the 16th and 17th Regiments into the woods. They're heavy infantry, but I think you could use the support. The 25th and 6th Regiments will be moving to the battle ground North of the forest. The 25th is a cavalry unit and I'll try and use them to counter-attack far north on the advancing infantry. The 6th will reinforce your position. I can have the 12th and 11th Line Regiments moved quickly, they're both en reserve. But I don't want to move all my reserves just yet."

"That will do. I don't think that my men holding the forest will last long against a larger force. Anything that you can get there would be helpful. If we lose the forest, they can cut off our right flank and hit the flank of the center, or even move into Kohfur if they were so bold."

He paused as the figures were moved according to the plan and how the battle was commencing.

"In the north is the most important though. If we hold there and destroy his attacking infantry and cavalry, it will put us in the position to hit his unprotected flank. That, in coordination with a similar attack to his south and my center force going straight in, would effectivly break his line and we can take him all the way to Nuestader. You areright though, we can't commit our resrves so early. Use them sparingly and if something comes up, we will use them to stop it."

The Arkham General ordered a young private to go give the news of each regimental commander's new posting. "True... but I'd much rather counter-attack from the north and south and engulf the center. We could gain some much needed information from one of the soldiers, especially if we're lucky enough to capture a regiment commander. I think I'll be sending another regiment to help push out of the forest, it would prove to be very surprising to the enemy. I'll move the 21st en support. Once those damned guns are silenced we'll have a much better chance en this fighting to the south."

DeJaque watched th private leave the room before continueing.

"Anything in the forest can help."

He pointed a finger at the Rechburg cannon.

"Those will be silenced, just leave it to me. We keep my battery at knots hill safe, and those cannon will never make sound again."

Updated ORBAT:

Messine Ridge

16 Cannon
2nd Line Regiment (1,400)
3rd Line Regiment (1,400)
4th Line Regiment (1,400)
8th Line Regiment (1,400)


Becketts Ridge

16 Cannon
5th Line Regiment (1,400)
1st Line Regiment (1,400)
9th Line Regiment (1,400)
10th Line Regiment (1,400)


Kohfurt Woods

16th Line Regiment (1,400)
17th Line Regiment (1,400)
21st Line Regiment (1,400)


Holding the East of the City

12th Line Regiment (1,400)
13th Line Regiment (1,400)
26th Horsed Skirmishers Regiment (500)


Protecting Left Flank Near Knots Hill

7th Line Regiment (1,400)
15th Line Regiment (1,400)
28th Horsed Skirmishers Regiment (500)


Holding the West of the City

14th Line Regiment (1,400)


Far North Flank

12th Line Regiment (1,400)
11th Line Regiment (1,400)
6th Line Regiment (1,400)
25th Horsed Skirmisher Regiment (500)


Caprice Ridge

18th Line Regiment (1,400)
19th Line Regiment (1,400)


En Reserve Threw Out the City

20th Line Regiment (1,400)
22nd Line Regiment (1,400)
23rd Line Regiment (1,400)
24th Line Regiment (1,400)
27th Horsed Skirmishers Regiment (500)


Total Troops Deployed*: 35,600

*Estimated

ooc: It's lovely that a tree falls on our power lines the day the fighting kicks off here. -.-

IC:

Kohfurt Forest

Colonel Devine, on the northern flank of the army continued to drive his Light Infantry Regiments towards the woods. The rather large gap in the enemy line units formed by the woods was being exploited as planned as the Ostwind Light Infantry began to enter the woods.

The Light Infantry being trained in skirmishing warfare moved easily through the underbrush and trees, pausing to fire at the enemy troops deployed in the woods as well. In this regard Ostwind had the numbers advantage of 2:1 and pressed it home, taking skilled shots at the enemy troops arranged against them and manuevering swiftly to hopefully rout the enemy before the heavy infantry reinforcements could arrive.

OCC
To reply to some points raised.

occ: there is a counter to my men moving back. The about face order anyone? They all just turn around and march back. My guys are trained.
And as proven by history, a horse's psychology shows that it will not charge into a row of pointy things unless the pointy things are brought up to late for the horse to change direction, or there are to many horses for it to turn or stop. But since his infantry would launch a volley into them there would be some room and many horses would simply stop until another pushes them forward again. I only use cavalry to attack a retreating enemy, or unless i have a complete flank or simply need something to break an attack.

Your men turning and moving back
No issue with that, but in reality consider this.
9,500 men turn their backs on an enemy they know is advancing, they are now being shot in the backs and its inevitable they will be looking over their shoulders and thus losing cohesion.

I would assume normally that would have scared and broken most men. But as you say your men are trained to do that.

And as proven by history, a horse's psychology shows that it will not charge into a row of pointy things unless the pointy things are brought up to late for the horse to change direction, or there are to many horses for it to turn or stop. But since his infantry would launch a volley into them there would be some room and many horses would simply stop until another pushes them forward again. I only use cavalry to attack a retreating enemy, or unless i have a complete flank or simply need something to break an attack.[/QUOTE]

Quite the contrary, history proves any Information not in square formation was usually broken by cavalry, the square formation doesn't come into effect until 1792, so in our period if a line was caught unsupported it could and was devastated by charging cavalry.
The Cavalry I have used I stipulated are lancers, these men are Guard units with an 18ft lance. Your men have a musket with bayonet that is 4-5ft long.
Must firing and loading by the best troops was 3 rounds a minute, usually 2 rounds for normal troops.
Secondly while your troops are stepping back and angling to face the cavalry who could simply move right round them at speed, you were being attacked by 3 x times or number of infantry to the front.

The Forest
On many occasions I wrote the forest was too thick for line infantry, only light infantry could go in there, I assume this still applies.

It is why I only put light troops in there and why I purposely designated in my Oob what units were light or Jagger (which are light by another name).



In the south, my men were advancing and Lorraine moved out with his 6,000 to outflank - ok no prob here
My 4th brigade which was brought up in support for such an eventuality then attacks the 6,000 men in the flank, they are supported by the Cavalry who will also attack the flank.

Arkham since you units started further back and taking in the slow pace of linear movement your men would be still advancing when the battle at the base of the hill took place, with the possible exception of the 500 cavalry who would have reached, if you wish.
In which case my cavalry commander would detach 500 cavalry to engage them and the remaining 1000 cavalry would continue into the flank and rear of the Lorraine troops.

So the situation as I see it is this (plse correct me if Im wrong.)


North of the woods

Lorraine 3,000 troops swivel to face lancers who suffer 150 dead going into the attack (remember, you were moving, swivelling, keeping formation and firing possibly 2 rounds a minute.)
These 3,000 troops were then hit by the 8,000 Ostwind Inf.
No losses to the inf as you were maneuvering and firing on the cav.

In the woods

Your 1,000 infantry are fighting hand to hand against 3,000 Infantry.
(Firing would have been totally ineffective in there)

Rechburg/Ostwind casualties in the forest 400 -

In the Centre.

Lorraine troops turn and march out of range of rechburg guns, that takes them east of Knots hill.
They are THEN ordered to turn about and split facing to the south (I believe) while also sending 3,000 to go to the west of Knots hill

This would have taken considerable time as it would require your troops who would have been shaken by being shot in the rear, to march east out of range (first order). Halt, reform and then split (second order) and then march to their destinations.
By that time the fight in Knots hill would have been almost over.

No Rechburg casualties here.

Knots Hill
I have already indicated 400 dead and 1 regiment halted as the infantry went up the hill.
The 6,000 Lorraine if they are still facing and firing into the Rechburg troops as they advance up the hill will cause another 400 casualties (flank fire is a real number cruncher), this will have halted the attack.
However if that was the case the 6,000 Lorraines would have been attacked by almost 3,000 Infantry in their own flank and by 1,000 cavalry hitting them in the rear (assume 500 cav have already been detached to engage the arkham cav)

At this time if I judge right.
In the centre the 9,500 troops would have finished their rearward march and still be reorganising and refacing.
Arkham would be coming around the base of knots hill, unable to fire, but able to join in the general melee.

If we assume the Lorraine 6,000 do fire into the rechburg troops going up the hill my casualties there are as stated and the attack stops.
In that case my troops that hit the flank of the same Lorraine troops would fire and then charge them in the flank and the cavalry would hit them in the rear.

In all these cases I have left it open for you guys to judge your own casualties.

[OOC: My Cav would stay behind/near the 7th Regiment. The 7th Regiment is not engaging en the general melee, we're moving to support the left flank of the hill as you're moving cavalry (which I assume we can see??)

Woods. The heavy infantry would pretty much be used as a club, since bayonet training was above average. (not elite.) So they wouldn't stay en a line formation once entering the woods, however they would stay within eye sight of each other.

And I have several thousand troops + a regiment of cavalry moving to the north of the Kohfurt forest.]

OCC - Ok got that - thanks

OCC
To reply to some points raised.



Your men turning and moving back
No issue with that, but in reality consider this.
9,500 men turn their backs on an enemy they know is advancing, they are now being shot in the backs and its inevitable they will be looking over their shoulders and thus losing cohesion.

I would assume normally that would have scared and broken most men. But as you say your men are trained to do that.

And as proven by history, a horse's psychology shows that it will not charge into a row of pointy things unless the pointy things are brought up to late for the horse to change direction, or there are to many horses for it to turn or stop. But since his infantry would launch a volley into them there would be some room and many horses would simply stop until another pushes them forward again. I only use cavalry to attack a retreating enemy, or unless i have a complete flank or simply need something to break an attack.[/QUOTE]

Quite the contrary, history proves any Information not in square formation was usually broken by cavalry, the square formation doesn't come into effect until 1792, so in our period if a line was caught unsupported it could and was devastated by charging cavalry.
The Cavalry I have used I stipulated are lancers, these men are Guard units with an 18ft lance. Your men have a musket with bayonet that is 4-5ft long.
Must firing and loading by the best troops was 3 rounds a minute, usually 2 rounds for normal troops.
Secondly while your troops are stepping back and angling to face the cavalry who could simply move right round them at speed, you were being attacked by 3 x times or number of infantry to the front.

The Forest
On many occasions I wrote the forest was too thick for line infantry, only light infantry could go in there, I assume this still applies.

It is why I only put light troops in there and why I purposely designated in my Oob what units were light or Jagger (which are light by another name).



In the south, my men were advancing and Lorraine moved out with his 6,000 to outflank - ok no prob here
My 4th brigade which was brought up in support for such an eventuality then attacks the 6,000 men in the flank, they are supported by the Cavalry who will also attack the flank.

Arkham since you units started further back and taking in the slow pace of linear movement your men would be still advancing when the battle at the base of the hill took place, with the possible exception of the 500 cavalry who would have reached, if you wish.
In which case my cavalry commander would detach 500 cavalry to engage them and the remaining 1000 cavalry would continue into the flank and rear of the Lorraine troops.

So the situation as I see it is this (plse correct me if Im wrong.)


North of the woods

Lorraine 3,000 troops swivel to face lancers who suffer 150 dead going into the attack (remember, you were moving, swivelling, keeping formation and firing possibly 2 rounds a minute.)
These 3,000 troops were then hit by the 8,000 Ostwind Inf.
No losses to the inf as you were maneuvering and firing on the cav.

In the woods

Your 1,000 infantry are fighting hand to hand against 3,000 Infantry.
(Firing would have been totally ineffective in there)

Rechburg/Ostwind casualties in the forest 400 -

In the Centre.

Lorraine troops turn and march out of range of rechburg guns, that takes them east of Knots hill.
They are THEN ordered to turn about and split facing to the south (I believe) while also sending 3,000 to go to the west of Knots hill

This would have taken considerable time as it would require your troops who would have been shaken by being shot in the rear, to march east out of range (first order). Halt, reform and then split (second order) and then march to their destinations.
By that time the fight in Knots hill would have been almost over.

No Rechburg casualties here.

Knots Hill
I have already indicated 400 dead and 1 regiment halted as the infantry went up the hill.
The 6,000 Lorraine if they are still facing and firing into the Rechburg troops as they advance up the hill will cause another 400 casualties (flank fire is a real number cruncher), this will have halted the attack.
However if that was the case the 6,000 Lorraines would have been attacked by almost 3,000 Infantry in their own flank and by 1,000 cavalry hitting them in the rear (assume 500 cav have already been detached to engage the arkham cav)

At this time if I judge right.
In the centre the 9,500 troops would have finished their rearward march and still be reorganising and refacing.
Arkham would be coming around the base of knots hill, unable to fire, but able to join in the general melee.

If we assume the Lorraine 6,000 do fire into the rechburg troops going up the hill my casualties there are as stated and the attack stops.
In that case my troops that hit the flank of the same Lorraine troops would fire and then charge them in the flank and the cavalry would hit them in the rear.

In all these cases I have left it open for you guys to judge your own casualties.

ooc: All good points.

Actually, the men in the center aren't getting attacked by your infantry. They are geting hit by artillery that is already worried about being blasted to hell by my cannon on the hill. And even if they do look back, with men on every side of them, they would simply bump, the other guy would curse at them and they would be straightenend out in a second. Plus, being trained and the fact that they know they have over 9,000 troopsright there won't make anyone scared.

And First, they were told to about face and march. The southen part of that was told to go and reinforce knots hill at this point. Then the line thins out and is stretched out from Messina ridge and reaches, curving inward, to knots hill.

In the forest, yeah thats pretty much it.

In the north, yeah, thats pretty much it to.

IN the south, Lancers didn't carry lances THAT long. The sheer weight of that thing would make the guy exhausted before he got on the battlefield. Not to mention charing with that heavy thing is a monsterous task. They used shorter lances that were still pretty dang long, but 18ft was for the tournaments, not the battlefield.

Plus, the fact that horses don't charge lines of bayonets is true, but you often don't see that they charge AFTER cannon fire and engagements by infantry, when the line is more sporadic and bayonets aren't everywhere and horses will be persuaded to go to these openings, which the rider uses to to kill soldiers NEXT to the horse. The horse doesn't give a shit for whatever is nect to him. Thats why good ol' Napoleon got realy pissed at Ney for using his cavalry against infantry that were regrouped. It wasn't the square, it was the fact that the infantry weren't splitand only directly after each bombardment, did Ney's cavalry do anything because holes were made in the squares temporarily.

PLus, Arkham does have troops there to, I just wrote my actions down first. So his actions are happening at the same time as mine.

OCC
You are of course quiet correct the 18ft should be 8 feet, and damn 18ft you would fall of a charging horse :-)

I have no desire to argue the point about infantry verses square, but to add some historical relevence, it wasnt that ney used his cavalry against the infantry, it was he used unsupported cavalry against infantry in square.
Howevrer in our case thats neither here nor there, in all these attacks my cavalry are supported infantry so its not an issue.

But cavalry in line never stood against Lancers, many good example of historical relevance if you wish. Remember the square doesnt become a fact until 1792.
-
we need to resolve the conflicts that are occurring before we start racing more troops around the map.
I have listed my losses, I need to know whats happening your side.

I wonder if its advisable to have a non engaged player determine casualties and results after each player writes his plan
out.

In our case perhaps kaemark could decide issues, and in other battles when he is involved one of us could do the same... sort takes the passion out of it if you know what I mean. i would rather do the story thing than get hung up over specifics.

Some info for players re inf cav.

This was taken of a site a few years ago when I was doing email campaigns, its relevence may or may not be considered, but here it is.

Many of these circumstance dont apply, but the common thread of the vulnerability of Inf in Line does.



Line and column vs cavalry.
"The most welcomed sight
for the attacking cavalry."


Infantry formed in line or column (not in square) was the most welcomed sight for attacking cavalry. The line was attacked from one or both flanks where the musket fire was the weakest. In vast majority of cases the line was routed and the men hotly pursued.
Examples:
- In 1815 at Quatre Brass, French chasseurs-a-cheval charged against advancing British Foot Guards formed in line. Approx. 500 redcoats were killed and wounded, while the rest fled to Bossu Wood.
- In 1811 at Albuera, British Colborne's Brigade (formed in line), were attacked by Polish Vistula uhlans (lancers) and French hussars and totally destroyed, losing 5-6 standards and hundreds of prisoners.
- In 1815 at Waterloo, the 8th Battalion of KGL, all veterans of the Spanish wars, got into difficulty when, preparing to fight advancing French infantry, they were surprised by the arrival of French cuirassiers. Since a firefight between square vs line would have been decidedly unequal, with all the advantage going to the French, the Germans decided to deploy into line. The French infantry opened their ranks to allow some cuirassiers to pass through. The German line was smashed, their colonel was killed and their Color was captured.
- In 1805 at Austerlitz, Colonel Pourailly inexplicably ordered 24th Light Regiment to deploy both battalions in line despite the presence of Russian cavalry. The Russians charged it, the Lifeguard Horse Regiment struck the French on their left, while the Lifeguard Hussars attacked their right. The French broke and fled, bandoning their Eagle that, unseen, was trampled under the hooves and feet. The fleeing battalions passed through Napoleon's headquarters in ther panic flight. De Segur wrote: "The unfortunate fellows were quite distracted with fear and could listen to nothing; in reply to our reproaches for thus deserting the field of battle and their Emperor they shouted mechanically 'Vive l'Empereur !' while they fled faster than ever." Napoleon only remarked "Let them go."
- In 1807 near Eylau, French 46th Line marched in snow while being fired upon by the Russian artillery and skirmishers. It didn’t stop them from crossing their bayonets with the Russian infantry and the famous 18th Line (nicknamed "The Brave") hurried to support their comrades. Meanwhile the S.Petersburg Dragoons moved around own infantry and began deploying into charge. The 18th Line suddenly saw a dark mass of cavalry coming at them and leaving no time for forming the square. The French infantry wavered and fired. The dragoons attacked from the front and from the rear and the infantry lost any order. A desperate struggle was around the French standard. Trooper Podvorotny drove the French standard-bearer to the ground and seized the Eagle. Trooper Deriagin and others cut down the escort of the standard, Adjutant Fomine, dragoon Erofeiev and trumpeter Logvinov were also involved in this bloody struggle.

Marshal Soult’s Journal of the IV Corps: “The 18th Regiment was near to arriving at the summit, when a large body of enemy cavalry surrounded it, charged it, repulsed it.” Colonel Langlois wrote that General Lavasseur, all the senior officers, as well as large number of officers and soldiers of this regiment were seriously wounded and, the worst of all, the Eagle was lost. The damage was indeed enormous: 44 officers killed, wounded and captured as prisoners - including Lavasseur, Ravier and Pelleport. The 18th also lost more than 500 other ranks, including several hundred prisoners. The situation could develop into a slaughter if not the charge by the 13th Chasseurs who saved the 18e Ligne. This regiment was so shaken that it was kept in reserve when the Battle of Eylau was fought. The losses of the dragoons were only 20 men killed and 18 wounded. The French army Bulletin dated 9 Feb. 1807 tried to downplay the loss of the regiment’s Eagle and the Emperor ordered that the 18th Line be given replacement eagle.

OK. Point proven. But this also means that your cavalry must stay with the infantry, because these were 1 v 1 regiments (You did mention only 1 regiment in each scenario) so when he has 1 v 6+ then hes got to have sizable infantry support to ensure his cavalry aren't just anihalated in a charge.

OCC

1 cav Brigade in each scenerio

The Guards cav brigade in the North has 3 Regiments

The one in the south 2 regiments.

ooc: Sigh. We shouldn't NEED a judge here. If people think their infantry can run across the battlefield faster than a horse or perform complicated manuevers instantly and want to use OOC information.. they don't belong here.

OCC

Ok well I need to know Lorraines casusalties before I decide what happens from my side next, otherwise we will get out of synch, so I will wait for Lorraine to come on.

Alright, this is just a little guess of the casualties. I have to go soon, but this should be somewhat accurate, considering Arkham forces are also there taking casualties to.

North:
~200 dead and still engaging Ostwind infantry

Forest:
~50 dead and still engaging Jagers ad Lightinfantry

Knts hill battle;
1,500 defending hill- 300 dead
6,000 flanking force- 150 dead

OCC Hmm ok,

IC

General von Huber instructed the orders be given for the forces to be withdrawn back to the start line, he would consider his options once it became clear what had been achieved.

OCC Hmm ok,

IC

General von Huber instructed the orders be given for the forces to be withdrawn back to the start line, he would consider his options once it became clear what had been achieved.

After the initial attacks the Rechburgian/Ostwind forces pulled back to the start line, the forces were reorganised and realigned. Several hours had passed since the initial attacks and now General Hube had to re-evaluate his position.

The commanders gathered in his tent, Gentlemen we need to understand what our goal is here, be fore we decide on future actions. My instructions from the Duke were and still apply, we are to assist Ostwind in the Liberation of Kaelmark, it is not gentle to Liberate Kaelmark on our own.
Out there gentlemen we have an enemy dug in and twice our strength, so therefore our task is achieved, we are tying down twice our numbers thereby relieving pressure on Ostwind and its other allies further east.

I am concerned gentlemen in the lack of drive, while we caused some casualties in the north, 200 I believe. We should have annihilated that Lorraine fore with over 2:1 odds against them with infantry and with 3,000 Guard lancers attacking them in the rear, all we caused 200 men lost.
It is the lack of punch in our attack gentlemen that has caused me concern enough to call of this attack, we will pull back to our defensive positions and await events or further instructions. Meanwhile Gentlemen I will be investigating with each of you why you failed to cause the casualties you should have".

Though they were withdrawn back to the start line, the cannon on knots hill continued to pound the Rechburg guns. Now that the chance to change their positions had come, the center force was split to support the north and southern areas. 2,000 more troops were rushed to defend the crumbling northern flank that had suffered tremendous casualties. THe center numbered approximatly 4,500 troops. Still a significant number to make the planned assault. The Rechburg retreat had given him the time he needed to make the attack in coordination with the Arkham troops.

In Kohfur, the news that the enemy forces had falln back spread like a wildfire, giving joy and happiness to the people living there, and to the command staff present.
"Well," DeJaque said after hearing the news, "It appears that we can make that attack now, while the enemy is demoralized and confused. I am giving the order for 2 regiments to support the north, the last attack killed over 200 of my men and wounded many. THey will also be resupplied for the attack. THey were doing well in the forest, 50 of my men are dead and the rest were on the breaking point. When they charged, we started to rack up kills and casualties. I intend to bring up the guns on Messina ridge to knots hill and begin the push. The guns of Becketts ridge will fire at long range at the enemy artillery, but the damage will be little, but anything helps. With so many of our forces here, we should be able to squash this army into submission and chase them all the way back to Nuestader. Once we get there, They'll be sorry they ever tried to attack us. I think that if you give me about 2 hours to move my cannon to knots hill and bombard theirs, then our men will be rejuivenated and resupplied. I believe they will crumble agaisnt our combined assaults." He stopped after his long-winded speech. After gathering his breath and let the Arkham general take it in, he began again.
"we can get him in a deadly envelopment f we begin soon. Unduobtly a 2 hour barage will either wipe out his guns, or demoralize them so badly that they will turn-tail and run. The guns on Messina ridge are already moving, are you willing to make commit your troops to a full scale assault?"

"We'll deploy the troops that are already on the field. All the reserves, the troops en the town and those on the ridges will be holding position encase of a counter-attack from the flanks. We may send more troops en for support, but I want to hold Kohfurt to keep them from advancing any further south. This way if they try to by-pass by taking a longer route, we can attack their rear."

OCC

The Rechburg forces have now pulled back out of artillery range.

ooc: about time.

"But if we destroy this army, there is nothing stopping us from making a push into Nuestader, if they get another army there, then they will build on the already tough defenses and we can't push. What Kaelmark needs right now is a major victory. Besides, holding Kohfur is no good if we don't have the troops elsewhere to hold the lines there. We outnumber our foes almost 2:1 and that means that we can envelope their entire army. This needs to be a quick, decisive, and overwhelming victory in order for us to raise the morale of all the troops. I am going to put my entire force into the attack. They don't stand a chance if we can envelope them. I am sending my southern forces to move onto their flank and await orders. Also, now that they have moved out of cannon range, I am going to have all my guns moved forward to make the attack, including those on Becketts ridge. Sense the bombarrdment won't be neccesary, I think its time for us to attack now. Once our guns are caught up with the infantry, we can begin a full scale assault and chase them back to Neustader and overwhelm them before they can use the defenses. It will send them scattering and will take them days, and maybe weeks before they can reform into anything. We need to make a full out attack now while we still hold the flanks."

General Hube decided to withdraw his army back to Neustedter, moving away behind a vary lage cavalry rearguard with some batteries the army already formed up for a rear movement just kept marching.

"You can do whatever you want to do with your army. I will do what I will with mine, and that includes sending en what I stated I would send in."

After some rapid movement the army once gain reached its positions at Neustadter, the rear guard was still to arrive as they were watching for any enemy advance, when none seemed to be forth coming, General Hube ordered 3,000 Light cav to remain behind and watch Kohfurt, but not to engage unless the sitution was favourable.

bump?