HRE NES

[Cyclotron]

King Rudolph II of Burgundy to King Heinrich of Germany
It seems the Magyars may be well within German borders; I am unsure whether we will be able to rendevouz easily at Regensburg if the Magyars stand in our way. Better intelligence would be helpful. We will attempt to meet up with the Swabians first, and proceed from there - by that point we should have between 6 and 7 thousand men between us.

Emperor Berengar I to Duke Heinrich of Saxony
The most favored Berengar I, Emperor of Christendom, wishes to inform you in secret that His righteous army will be traversing the Brenner Pass into Carinthia, and thence northwards to Regensburg. Because the pass will not be open until late Spring at best, you must make arrangements to hold out until such time as the army can make its crossing. He expects all previously requested details to be available to Him upon His arrival. You are to consider yourself fortunate to be favored with His presence, as He has deigned upon careful consideration to lead His army personally to battle. You are, of course, expected to make all neccessary preparations to receive His Imperial personage in proper respect and circumstance. He has no doubt that you, as a faithful and honorable vassal of His Imperial Majesty, will attend to these obligations with your usual diligence and acumen.

[Nimitz]

Duke Vratislaus of Bohemia to King Heinrich of Germany secret
Sire, How many troops are you expecting from Bohemia? While I may be able to spare some troops for the battle with the heathens. I am afraid I can not spare a great number. My duchy lies next to the magyar holdings and if a devote to many I will leave my holdings open if the Magyars are trying to divert our attentions. Also do you have any plans for when the magyars are once again pushed back to weaken them?

[appleciders]

Duke Arnulf of Bavaria to Markgraf Eberhard of Carinthia
Brother, I need a full accounting of the position and size of the Magyar horde as it stands, based on your information, so that the King and I can plan the addition of the Emperor's forces to our own.

Duke Arnulf of Bavaria to King Heinrich of Germany and Emperor Berengar I
I will accept responsibility for the orchestrating the safe passage of the Italian troops over the Alps to Regensburg, where the armies will congregate. At this time, I am considering two plans for gaining passage over the Alps:

The first plan is a simple crossing of the Alps at the Brenner Pass, about 100 miles east by southeast of Salzburg. This pass has been the traditional path for invasions both to and from Italy for centuries, and with good reason; it's the lowest and easiest path from Italy to Germany. I will attempt to clear southern Bavaria from Magyar armies this year in preperation for the Italian advance. With the support of both Franconia and Swabia, this would seem to be a strong possibility.

The second plan might serve as a backup to the first. In the event that Magyar armies are too numerous to be driven from the Brenner Pass, I will attempt to draw the Magyar armies to the Brenner Pass and allow the Emperor's troops to cross at the Resia Pass, a short distance west of the Brenner Pass. The Resia pass is only slightly higher and might be less conspicuous for an army, especially with my troops guarding the Brenner Pass.

In any case, a complete intelligence report concerning the Magyars' movements will be forthcoming from my brother, who has an excellent spy network monitoring them.

Duke Arnulf of Bavaria to Doge Orso II Participazio of Venice
A trade of 200 d. of leather and 400 d. of another valuable trade good might be enough. What do you have a surplus of?

[Cyclotron]

Markgraf Eberhard of Carinthia to Duke Arnulf of Bavaria
My brother, the most recent scout reports inform me that the Horde is camped around a three day march east of Augsburg, not far from the border between Bavaria and Swabia. Their progress northward was rapid until about one week ago; they have stopped for no apparent reason, and they have not made any moves towards Ausgburg.

The Horde, as near as we are able to count, numbers around 16,700 men. The army is a lean one, with few noncombatants and only a fraction of the army on foot.

The Horde has around 10,000 horse archers of the usual Magyar type, armed with bows, maces, and sabers, but lightly armored. Around 3,000 are perhaps minor noble cavalry; they wear chain or lamellar shirts and carry lances as well as bows. About 700 seem to be Magyar "knights," with armor equal in quality to that of our own knights and equipped with a wide variety of death-dealing implements.

With them are around 3,000 Slavic troops, likely peoples that have been conquered by or willingly allied with the Magyars. They are mostly foot spearmen, with light or no armor.

The army employs scouts excellently, and I have lost good men in my intelligence campaign. They are ever flanked by swift horsemen that bring immediately to the Gyula news of even the most insignificant sighting. The army is unexpectedly well-organized, though the Slavic component seems somewhat less so. While their food supplies are slight - they live off the land - many warriors have second or third horses with them that carry quiver upon quiver of arrows. I do not expect running them out of missiles will be a valid tactic.

Emperor Berengar I to Duke Arnulf of Bavaria and King Heinrich of Germany
I grow tiresome of conducting military discussions by way of my heralds, and so will pen further messages myself.

The Duke's plan is suitable, though if my army is forced to take Resia Pass, we will not be able to cross for at least several weeks later than I would expect to through Brenner Pass, due to weather conditions. Additionally, the possibility for an ambush at Resia is somewhat higher. I will avoid this pass if possible, but will take it if neccessary.

I intend to cross the Alps with 17,000 men. An auxiliary force of around 4,000 will remain behind to secure the passes in my absence, and if neccessary cooperate with the Duke's men to clear the passes of enemy interference.

My army is largely infantry, with a backbone of medium spearmen and swordsmen, supported by a corps of heavy bardiche-wielding assault troops, two thousand Lombard mercenaries, and nearly as many heavy spearmen from the Italian cities. I retain a body of 3,000 knights and sergeants and two thousand pavise archers. The army is admittedly large and unwieldly, but heavily armed, which is why I require the ducal forces to be in constant communication with my command, that they may be able to quickly move to counter attempts on my army's flanks.

As my heralds no doubt informed you, I require a complete listing of all your forces and all your intelligence on the Magyars. I realize you may see my access to your military information as threatening, and I do not care. This action will require your full cooperation with me and you will not withhold information at this crucial time.

I have been fighting these heathens since the day I was crowned King of Italy, more than 30 years ago. I have won - and lost - against them countless times. I do not believe the Magyars will wait for us to gather our forces. I also do not believe they will allow my army to move through the passes unchallenged. The Magyars have masterful scouts and will not be caught by suprise by these events. If King Rudolph is sending forces, let him send them south and through Swabia towards the passes, rather than have his men rest uselessly in Regensburg. The northern forces - Saxons and Franconians and so on - perhaps can harry the Magyars, keeping them from moving too quickly to oppose our passage.

I expect your obedience - and if you grant me that, we can all expect victory. God has chosen me to rule his earthly realm of believers and neither He nor I will be denied.

Doge Orso II Participazio of Venice to Duke Arnulf of Bavaria
We have a surplus of good quality timber from Dalmatia, and a new trade route opening up with Cyprus for copper that we are quite enthusiastic about, as well as any further quantities of the other goods we are trading with you. Some quantities of spice from Egypt are also available, perhaps up to 200 denarii worth (most of our stock is usually bought up by the Andalusian Moors or the Romans).

[appleciders]

Duke Arnulf of Bavaria to Doge Orso II Participazio of Venice
Then I'll set the deal at 425 d. of silver for 200 d. of leather, 200 d. of timber, and 200 d. of Egyptian spices.

Duke Arnulf of Bavaria to King Heinrich of Germany and Emperor Berengar I
My forces will then move to interpose themselves between the Magyars and the Alps. I suggest that the Swabian contingent should do the same, and any Saxon and Franconian armies should move into Swabia and southwards, then west to meet up with the rest of the German forces. The Burgundian army should move through Swabia to the Danube, and move quickly towards Augsberg, then meet up with the German armies. My own scouts and agents will act to screen the Imperial advance from Magyar scouts by intercepting those scouts early. Hopefully, we can stop the Magyars from learning the details of the Imperial army until there is too little time to stop the advance. The combined German armies will enact a fighting retreat towards the Brenner Pass, ideally taking several months to reach the pass, allowing the Emperor's troops to join the German force.

Until the Emperor's troops have reached the German force, I plan to fight a defensive war, keeping the Magyar armies from sacking cities and generally harrying their movements. Once the Imperial Army has safely crossed the Alps, we will move rather directly towards the Magyars, keeping a relatively tight formation and using lighter, more mobile troops to guard our flanks. I have myself acquired a troop of Thuringian Woodsmen for this effort, and I strongly encourage the other leaders here to do the same; they're excellent, quick-moving scouts and will be invaluable in screening our flanks. As we reach the Magyar armies, we will delay battle by staying close by their forces but refusing to engage until the terrain favors us (ideally with ourselves on top of a hill or another defensible situation). Longer delays of battle may also deplete the Magyar supplies, as their large army uses all the available pasture and local food sources.

I envision the battle thusly: Once battle is engaged, we will generally force the Magyar troops to engage hand-to-hand by refusing to charge into battle ourselves, thereby exposing ourselves to their deadly compound bows. We will maintain hold ranks and hide behind our superior shields and armor until the Magyars are forced to charge to break the stalemate. In a melee, our forces should be greatly superior, with better armor and weapons, and much better mobility in fighting from foot. Armored spearmen will make up the core of our force, with polearms and shorter swords and axes held in reserve. Spearmen and polearmsmen will hold the center against cavalry, while lighter swordsmen and axemen will serve as a mobile reserve to fend off the small contingent of poorly armored Slavic spearmen. All archers will remain in the center of the overall formation, allowing them to support any part of the field while remaining defended from enemy attacks.

Our large group of horsed nobility (perhaps the largest seen in Germany since Charlemagne) will probably come as a suprise to the Magyars, who have never to my knowledge faced more than one thousand Christian knights. We will keep these nobles to our left and right flanks and slightly to our rear. When the Magyar wave breaks against our lines, we will allow our superior armored infantry to demoralize their forces, then sweep the center of the field of battle clear with our cavalry. This will probably be followed by a feigned Magyar rout, which our forces will not pursue. We will regroup and prepare for a second Magyar wave. This has been the general order of battle for each of my victories over the Magyars.

However, with our superior numbers, we may be able to finally get the chance to crush the third or fourth Magyar retreat. A massive charge from our chivalry may prove definitive if our forces are suitably fresh and the Magyars have been thoroughly tired and starved.

All these plans are, of course, subject to the Emperor's approval, but the Magyars have never been defeated by those who lose discipline and charge into them or advance quickly and leave their flanks unguarded, so these plans are the best I have available.

My own forces at the moment number about 1900, with only about 360 knights and sergeants. The rest are relatively well armed and armored infantry, with about 400 archers and another 400 Thuringian scouts. I will have another 500 soldiers ready for service at the end of the year as well, to continue the campaign.

Duke Arnulf of Bavaria to Duke Vratislaus of Bohemia
While Venice may not feel safe purchasing your iron right now, I've just come into more Venetian goods, and I'd be willing to add an additional 200 d. to our trade deal; maybe raising the total to 350 d. of iron for 200 d. of leather and 200 d. of wine?

OOC: Cyc, I'll be ready to update by Thursday if you can give me those two other generals.

[Nimitz]

Duke Vratislaus of Bohemia to Duke Arnulf of Bavaria
That would be agreeable.

[Cyclotron]

Bavaria

Graf Auvrey d’Normandie – Age 31
This Norman knight is a popular and reasonably skilled commander who served under the (newly titled) von Wien in Italy. Though he has styled himself a “graf,” he does not currently have any title or land in Germany save for the promise of land once Carinthia is retaken. His allegiance to the Bavarian Duke is not well known, but he does have an outstanding reputation as a trustworthy individual. Intelligent and educated (at least, better than the average noble) but quite hot-blooded, he revels in attacks, and subscribes heavily to the doctrine that the best defense is a good offense.


Landgraf Hrudolf von Tegernsee – Age 40
Called “the Invincible” by his men, this rustic noble is well known to have ridden calmly through veritable storms of arrows unscathed. He seems to have miraculous luck in this regard, and unflinchingly leads from the front – he is stone-faced, emotionless, and fearless. This does not make him the most popular man among his peers, who don’t quite know what to think about someone with the emotional capacity of a rock. His tactics are simple, but generally sufficient. He is a man that keeps his own council and says little, and thus not much else is known of him.

[appleciders]

Thanks for the generals; tactical and strategic details coming in the next day or two.

[bipolarbear]

OOC: these aren't final.

Swabian Orders

From the Desk of Kommissar Rommel

Spending
2400 Dn on light armor
960 on shields
840 on swords.
The commissioned materials above are to be sent to the 2,000 new troops we have who are awaiting an assignment. Those who are not covered by this are to report to the armory. Those still not covered will be when they make contact with the Bavarians, and prepare to aid them against the Magyars.

Temporarily, all Iron trade will have to cease to fund the fight against the Magyars. We realize the Duke of Friesland may be angered by this, but we have sent him 12 of our fine Molossus hounds and a sincere letter of apology as a gift, and symbol of our loyalty to our trade relationship.


OOC:

Landgraf Hrudolf von Tegernsee – Age 40
Called “the Invincible” by his men, this rustic noble is well known to have ridden calmly through veritable storms of arrows unscathed. He seems to have miraculous luck in this regard...

Sounds a lot like a certain $$60,000,000,000 humanoid typhoon I've heard of.

[appleciders]

OOC: So... Are people getting orders in through PM, or what? Am I missing something?

[Cyclotron]

Bavaria, Bohemia, Saxony, and Swabia have submitted orders. I would prefer not to update with two missing (Franconia and Friesland), but I am setting a deadline for midnight on Wednesday. I will begin updating on Thursday whether these orders are in or not.

[Cyclotron]

Well, I have given fair warning, and now the update begins. What will happen to our intrepid heroes? Only time will tell...

[appleciders]

For what it's worth, I'm posting a last-second order to equip any Swabians that show up unarmed with Bavarian arms, then recollect them at the end of the year. Disregard this late order at will.

[Micha]

Super late order:

- inform the Emperor of the known facts regarding our troops and the plan of action...

[appleciders]

I adressed my battle plans to you both, so I think it'll work.