HRE NES

[foolish_icarus]

How much would it hurt the moral of the levies that aren't already on the point of desertion to send the other ones home, given that the King will be arriving to personally oversee and fight in the defenses of the east?
Remind me: How long does it take to call up vassals?

[Cyclotron]

Originally posted by foolish_icarus
How much would it hurt the moral of the levies that aren't already on the point of desertion to send the other ones home, given that the King will be arriving to personally oversee and fight in the defenses of the east?

There wouldn't really be any negatives from such a policy. If anything, it would be helpful to their morale to remove the tired, older levies, who likely spend their time in camp complaining about the last few years and moping about their far-off farms and families.

Remind me: How long does it take to call up vassals?

If you call them up in this turn's orders, you will be able to command them in next turn's orders.

[appleciders]

Thanks for the correction.

What would happen, theoretically, if I turned over the Markgrafship(?) of Carinthia to Eberhard? Might I be able to reduce the rampant corruption? How much of a cut out of how much control I have over Carinthia would that take, and how much would it affect me financially?

[Cyclotron]

Originally posted by appleciders
Thanks for the correction.

What would happen, theoretically, if I turned over the Markgrafship(?) of Carinthia to Eberhard? Might I be able to reduce the rampant corruption? How much of a cut out of how much control I have over Carinthia would that take, and how much would it affect me financially?

It depends on the deal you make with Eberhard. Typically, the transformation of Carinthia into an autonomous Margravate (in German, it's just "Mark") is quite complete. You would no longer receive income from Carinthia's demesne, but you would also no longer suffer losses for Carinthia's corruption or raiding, and would not have to support their army. Mineral rights would have to be separately negotiated; you could ask certain strategic mines to be turned over directly to you. The Markgraf would be obligated to raise an army and create arms for it when you called for them. The advantages are that corruption would decrease a great deal, and that you wouldn't have to concern yourself with the Mark's general management; the downside is that you would not gain the full income from the Mark because the demesne would belong to the new Markgraf.

You could request the Markgraf to undertake certain projects - build defenses, a chapel, so on - but the choice to build and maintain would essentially be his, not yours, and even your brother might resent constant interference on your part.

Technically, though the Markgraf would be your vassal, the King would have to appoint or at the very least "OK" the choice of Markgraf.

[Cyclotron]

Icarus and bipolarbear, can I expect some orders at some point?

[foolish_icarus]

Yep. Gettin' on it.

[Cyclotron]

It seems interest has been lost here. Is there anyone still watching this thread?

[Micha]

Of course I am! Leipzig and Dresden need to fall!!! Also I´m looking forward to founding Chemnitz and Glauchau (my birthplace), and to discover the silver deposits of Schneeberg 400 years ahead of time!

[appleciders]

While my plots aren't quite that grandiose , I'm still hoping this will continue. I'm really looking forward to throwing an imposter out of my ancestral (well, one generation, anyway) lands and showing that Emperor who's boss (in the realms of trade deals and rhetoric, anyway).

[Cyclotron]

Thanks, it's good to hear I'm not the only one - but you two are also the ones who have given orders already!

I suppose we'll see whether there is enough interest to make this worth continuing. It just doesn't work with too few, unfortunately. Tell your friends, I suppose - if foolish or bipolarbear decide they can't continue, I'll have spaces (actually, I already have one space open for Bohemia).

[foolish_icarus]

King Conrad to King Rudolph II :

As always, you are a stalwart and commendable Christian ally, and you have my thanks. I will indeed continue to retain your regiment, though hopefully the campaign will draw to a close soon.


Call up dem generals

Weinsberg Levy moves to Bamberg to better protect the border.
The Frankfurt Levy and the Mainz Levy go back to Germany where the soldiers will be released and new ones will be called up and trained to take their places, but the generals (Rhinegraf Gisfried von Ingelbeim and the fellow in charge of the chivalry) will stay in the east to help command.
The Chivalry of Franconia, the Eastern Battalion, and the Rhine Levy will stay out there. Supporting us are the Burgundians, the Swabians, and anyone else I’ve forgotten.

Some of the gear will, however, be left with the campaigning forces.

The (Franconian) guys staying are the chivalry, 380 Medium Swordsmen (sword, shield, light), 100 Medium Spearmen, 50 Medium Guards, 50 Shield Guards, 50 Pavise Archers, 40 Light Skirmishers (javelin, shield). To supplement their arms, from the leaving forces the following gear will be transferred in the following ways (new gear will of course have to be made for the replacement recruits, but that can happen later) :

The 380 medium swordsmen will be provided with spears. Any archers and skirmishers that lack light armor will be provided with it. The 100 medium spearmen, the archers, and the skirmishers will be provided with swords (light ones, preferably) and javelins. The guards and shield guards are given bows. Men are more important than gear, so if in the course of marching or fighting they have to drop certain gear, they can (on the orders of their commanders).


I’m going to spend a hundred denarii on scouting to find where the Magyars are and if possible what they’re doing. The money is for bribes, extortions, supplies, whatever.

Also a hundred denarii for assassin(s) to go and kill some Magyar leaders. The Bohemians lieutenants who were with the Magyar army might be able to tell us (discreetly) who to go after: how to identify the leaders and loyal followers of said leaders. Anything to destabilize them. We might even be able to make it look like it was internal, a rival horse lord who ordered it, but most important is to get the job done and have the assassins get out without getting caught.

Send greetings and our recognition to Emperor Berengar.

Let everyone know that Luitpold, invader of Carinthia, is a bad guy, committed atrocities et al. The Pope himself has ordered him to surrender.

Appoint some decent fellow to fill the position of the good Hatto, who was a swell chap.

Skim through Regino von Prum’s Tonarius, see if I like it, maybe read some of his other work if I’ve got the time.

Give the authority, where applicable, to civil and church offices grant some pardons to peasants turned to banditry by the famine if they turn themselves in. This is not of course a blanket amnesty, and bandits as always will be punished severely if caught, but it might encourage some normally decent folks to return home for a light (probably symbolic) sentence or absolution, depending on the nature of their crimes, to be assessed by their communities and religious leaders.

The King rides east to take command of the remainder of the German and allied forces on campaign. We will keep constant contact with the Bohemians so that our armies can support each other should the need arise. And of course we will all be on our best behavior while in our new allied duchy.

I suggest the Bohemians patrol on the north side of the Elbe River, and the various Germans will patrol on the south side. We can even keep boats on the river and scouts on the bank for communication. We’ll sweep upstream to try to find the Magyars, and if we haven’t found them, meet near the headwaters to join forces and expand the search.

The German contingent is now a smaller, more mobile force, more reliant on the mounted chivalry, and able to generally subsist on less forage.
With the reduced size, it will be possible, and important, for me to establish a stately and respectable yet close and perceptive rapport with my generals (especially Cristianus von Stabmeintheback), lieutenants and fiefs, and to be seen among and have a good read of the men.
We will march quietly and defensively (with adequate scouts, of course), but when/if we come upon the enemy and they discover us we will use fires and noise to attempt to confuse them of our numbers and layout, hopefully drawing them into empty space while our forces strike quickly at exposed places. We should make the best of our disadvantage in numbers by having them well organized and better looked after in battle, as the commanders have fewer to keep track of. Each man (unless he has to drop it, which as I indicated may be acceptable depending on circumstances) has a variety of weapons to draw upon. We should also make use, if possible of the support of the Bohemians if they are near enough. Our ratio of cavalry/infantry means they should be able to support each other well--The chivalry strikes out to keep the infantry from being surrounded or flanked, while the infantry will keep the pressure on the enemy’s weak troops and keep a small profile to make it more difficult for the enemy to maneuver his heavy troops in.
All that said, if we are clearly outnumbered/outmatched and the Bohemians cannot support us, we can be sneaky and use sneaky German tricks of ambushes and hit and run and occupying small, defensive places to maximize our defensive and quick strike power and minimize how much force the enemy can bring to bear against us.
I will hire some Frankish Chivalry, as much as the meager remains of my treasury can bear, if I can get them. If not, Italian guards. If not, well we’ll just make do with what we’ve got. Note that I’m not going to spend really any time at all looking for them. If they’re available, I’ll take them. Actually I’ll hire pretty much any reputable (for mercenaries) Christians that are available.

[foolish_icarus]

Originally posted by foolish_icarus several fortnights ago
Yep. Gettin' on it.

That's a bit embarassing, but it's hardly the most shameful thing I've done in the last little while. Nevertheless, there you have it, and I'm excited about this continuing

p.s. to any who care; to hell with battle orders! let the generals (alias "Cyclotron") work it out! I suppose the real life avatar of one "Conrad" rolled rather low on his "gives a damn about tactics" stat

[Micha]

Heya, foolish, most excellent!!!

Now, on with the game, there are still heathens desecrating the lands of my ancestors!

[appleciders]

Indeed! And chances are I'll see BP this Fourth, and I'll kick him when I do.

[Cyclotron]

If you can get BP to post some orders this week, I will have an update on the weekend. If you can't, maybe I'll update anyway, as I want to keep some kind of momentum going here.