HRE NES II: Der Aufstieg

[appleciders]

Duke Arnulf of Bavaria to Doge Orso II Participzio of Venice
I may ask you for assistance in using the money to arrange to hire Croatian mercanaries to assist my own forces, in addition to those that the King of Germany will ask for. I thank you for your help.

[Cyclotron]

Let's get those orders in, people!

Doge Orso II Participzio of Venice to Duke Arnulf of Bavaria
We were hoping to be able to hire those mercenaries ourselves, as the Croatians are some of the few local mercenaries that are readily available to us. I would prefer if you could draw upon mercenary groups we cannot access - Franks, Slavs, Vikings, Magyars, and so on.

[appleciders]

Duke Arnulf of Bavaria to Doge Orso II Participazio of Venice
Certainly.

[Cyclotron]

In celebration of your GM's 21st birthday, let all Dukes receive free mead

Now that we have mead, let's get those orders in

[Micha]

Originally posted by Cyclotron
In celebration of your GM's 21st birthday, let all Dukes receive free mead

Now that we have mead, let's get those orders in

Henricius I, by the Grace of God King of Germany, Prince-Elector and Duke of Saxony, Margrave of Thuringia, Count of Ringelheim and the Eichsfeld, Lay Abbot of Hersfeld, says: Happy Birthday Cyclotron, Lord of the world from the pillars of Hercules to the steppes of the east! May your wisdom guide us for eternity! Praised be you!

Micha says: Happy Birthday Cyc! I hope you haven´t partied too hard... I wish you the health and strength to do whatever your desires ask you to do (which, of course, includes continuing this wonderful NES )! Happy Birthday!

[foolish_icarus]

Happy Birthday!

my orders are on the page before last

[appleciders]

And mine are updateable us well, and I'll get in tactical and strategic PMs in tomorrow, after my last final is over.

[appleciders]

Duke Arnulf of Bavaria to Duke Eberhard of Franconia and King Heinrich of Germany
My friends, I have a particular favor to ask of you. With myself trapped in Venice and the King going to Pressburg to negotiate with the Magyars, no noble more prestigious than a Graf will be with the German army. I ask that Duke Eberhard personally accompany the German army; I have carefully placed only my most trustworthy generals in command (with the exception of Markgraf Eberhard, who is needed in Carinthia) but I would rest easier knowing that a Duke was in ultimate command of the army.

[foolish_icarus]

you are trapped in Venice, yes?

Duke Eberhard responds, with all necessary secrecy

Indeed. I am personally accompanying my own army, and can take command of any situation that requires a Duke's judgment.
If you would, please have your generals send very trustworthy envoys to me with their plans of advance so that our armies can work in concert.
In the coming season I intend only to advance to a secure location in the passes until lines of defense, supply, and secure withdrawal routs can be established that will allow actual penetration into Berengar's lands without risking being cut off and obliterated, but if any of you have plans for a more ambitious immediate advance, please inform me and I will do my best to have my armies participate.
Further, I have set up a system of ciphers to guard sensitive communications which I hope you all will adopt, but no such system is foolproof so we must be sparing in our sensitive communications.

[Nimitz]

Duke Vratislaus to the One who will lead the Army
I am leaving the Army I send under your direct control for now. All I ask of you is that you use it well and smartly. I hope to have it back somewhat intact. I may take a more direct control of it should the King attain peace and I be able to not worry over the magyars.

[appleciders]

Duke Arnulf of Bavaria to Duke Eberhard of Franconia
I shall leave this in your capable hands. Bavaria's forces will move to secure the passes; as soon as you reach them, assume command.

OOC: Yes, Venice.

[Cyclotron]

King Rudolph II of Burgundy to King Heinrich of Germany (and for all German Dukes)
Could I perhaps be informed of your troop strength and intentions this coming year, that we might best cooperate our efforts in the field?

[appleciders]

Duke Arnulf of Bavaria to King Heinrich of Germany
For your report to Rudolph, my Lord, my forces will number about 2300 men, of which only about 200 are chivalry.

[Nimitz]

Duke Vratislaus to King Heinrich of Germany
The strength of my contingent to the battle will be about 800 strong. When your mission to the Magyars succeeds I will be able to more then double that number as will not need to act as a shield for north of Germany.

[foolish_icarus]

Duke Eberhard to King Heinrich, Duke Arnulf, Duke Burchard, Duke Vratislaus, and King Rudolph

(OOC Note: I am using anachronistic placenames for the sake of clarity and simplicity).

Here is the plan my generals and I have arrived at. We are right now marching south, so please send by courier any intelligence or orders for alterations to the plan.

The armies will move south from Innsbruck to Vipiteno to Bressanone to Bolzano.
[essentially follow the modern roadway of the E45.]

If this route can be secured, further advance to Trento may be in order.
The Reschen Pass to the west also needs to be defended.
Trentino is our key defensive point. It has to be secured against advances from the south (Rovereto), the east, (via Arco and Riva or Tione di Trento), and the west (Pergine Valsugana).

If we can securely control Trento, we can advance via Rovereto to the south or Borgo to the east onto the Italian plain knowing we have secure lines of supply and withdrawal.

There is another option, but the terrain is more treacherous, although less easy to attack from the west. Go from Salzburg south, (via the E55) to Villach and then Friuli. At present we are planning on the former option, but there is still time to veer off and take this path.

So far, the committed troop numbers for the Alpine Campaign are-- Franconia: Just under 3200. Bohemia: 800. Bavaria: 2300.
For a current total of ~6300, somewhat fewer when the numbers for scouting, desertion, et al. are taken into account.

The current idea is for the Franconian and Bavarian contingents to hold the forward positions in the passes and at the edge of the Italian plain, while the Bohemian contingent secures the rear passes, guards our supply lines and paths of withdrawal, scouts the alternate passes for enemy flanking, and acts as an emergency reserve.