This summer has been an unkind one for the men of the Empire. With constant assaults upon the mountain fortress of Helmgart and beset by vampiric corruption from the east and north with the elector counts of Middenheim, Talabecland, Hochland, Ostenmark and Nordland all having been subjugated by Mannfred von Carstein. The fate of the Empire seemed bleak.

An older foe, smelled blood in the water and moved to strike down the embattled Empire. The forest elves of the south have massed in great numbers. 3 tribes allied themselves to fell the wounded beast that the Empire has become. And for a while it looked like they might achieve their evil plan. One by one, the southern settlements and cities, fell. Some being colonised by the beastly creatures, others less fortunate razed to the ground. The Imperial armies rose to the task and opposed the invading force. First, the elector count of Averland rode south seizing fort Sol, determined to not let one single elf pass through. He was defeated. His men watching in horror as his body was skewered by a tree kin abomination. This would set the tone of the war. By the time the Emperor, Karl Franz and the Supreme Patriarch, Balthazar Gelt could march south, the provinces of Solland and Averland, were lost. After numerous battles in which the garrisons fought tooth and nail to take as many enemies with them to the grave as possible, The Emperor and his trusted advisor met the invading armies at the border of Wissenland and Solland. The battle had been apocalyptic. The Emperor himself would fall wounded on the battlefield, his men rushing to recover his body from the frontline. In the end, imperial steel and gunpowder would win the day, but at tremendous costs. Out of the almost 3000 men that would go to face the invading force, only 200 made it out alive.

One of them was Balthazar Gelt. Bloodied and battered, the Patriarch knew that to let the enemy take Nuln, the capital of Wissenland, would mean a clear passage into Reikland and a death sentence to the Empire. He knew that while they had won the battle at the Wissenland border, the enemy had yet more armies well on their way to the imperial heartland. He would be proven right by the 3 new armies that now marched into Wissenland. As Balthazar reamassed his army in Nuln he could do naught, but watch as the adjacent settlements were raised by the beastly invaders. Meanwhile back in the capital of Altdorf, Franz was recovering from his wounds. Some speculated that, Sigmar himself, stood watch at the young prince's bedside. And that he whispered the secret plan through which to save the empire in its hour of need. Tales and fabulations of course, but what was real, was the fact that as soon as he woke up. The emperor ordered the formation of a great army. And sent word to the Elector count residing in Wurtbad to move south as soon as he receives the word.

Back in Nuln, Balthazar looked on to the plains bellow the walls from atop his Pegasus. A full two armies of elite treekin and elf warriors stood arrayed, poised to strike down the defenders. As the battle commenced artillery and muskets erupted with fire. In response, the arrows of the elven army ripped through the men on the walls. The battle was a cacophony of steely and fleshy sounds of agony. The stalemate was total. Atop the walls man and elf grasped at each other, fighting for their lives. Down below, gunmen unloaded into embattled treekin, weary and withered from their arduous battle against imperial greatswords. It all seemed to go on for ages, until, something unexpected happened, and fate smiled upon mankind. The scared and desperate crew of a steam tank fired shot after shot at the monstrous tree like entity guiding the elven army. Cannon balls whizzed past it or riccoched off of its bark like skin. Suddenly, a lucky shell found its mark. Taking the unnatural heart out of the monsters chest, clean out through its back. The tide was about to turn. One by one the units of elven warriors turned and ran in panic as they saw the carcass of their general collapse. Victory was at hand. The following weeks, meagre attempts were made to take Nuln. But the invaders were too battered and too discouraged to mount another assault on the same scale. Worse for them, the blood skullz orks tribe started invading their forests in the south. With reinforcements from the Reikland, the Emperor and the patriarch pushed the elves out of the borders securing them and even managing to slay another one of their great beasts, the monstrous construct known as Durthu, through an ambush executed by the army of Wurtbad. Victory was bitter sweet however. Many settlements would have to be rebuilt, and even though the elves were on the backfoot, an uneasy peace treaty had to be signed. The elves were to stay in their forests and never cross the mountains again. While the empire would expand no further than the mountain forts. Neither of them could afford to continue the war. For as they were at each other's throats, from the north, chaos began to stir.

so, on my first mortal empires campaign as the lizardmen, i was trying to deal with a late game heavy Skaven infestation, and my Mazdamundi army got intercepted by 4 fully stacked Skaven armies. they had 10287 rats vs my 916 lizardmen. but im not one to give up my armies like that! so i fought to the bitter end. never the less, i defeated the 4 skaven armies, and came up victorious thanks to those brave lizards who didnt flee on the sight of overwhelming numbers they all fought ferociously. that and my mazdamundi killed 1900 rats with the help of his loyal mount Zlaaq. although i basically lost the entirety of my army, the enemy was more broken than i was. this is why i love the lizardmen, and why they will always be my favorite faction. here is the link to the picture of the post battle https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2284715484

This is based on my first completed Western Roman Empire campaign in Attila. After a lot of banging my head against the wall, I finally got far enough to face the Huns. Enjoy!

Listen, my son, for I shall tell you a tale of a time of lost glory, of destruction and bloodshed, a time when there were in fact two Romes. And through this dark era, only one Rome, the stronger Rome, survived.

The year was 395, and the Western Roman Empire was on the verge of catastrophe. With a child on the throne, barbarians in Germania becoming more aggressive, public order deteriorating, and whispers of a new power growing in the East, it looked as if it were destined to be an age of darkness and decay.

But an age of darkness is also a time for Heroes.

Flavius Honorius Augustus, as young as he was, at least understood his own shortcomings. A few escapades on the frontier taught him he was no warrior, and the legions were uneasy of being led by a weak child. But he knew that Rome was in a long decline; even if he beat back the various tribes in his first year, the economy was deteriorating, crops were failing, and power struggles between the senatorial families threatened the realm’s stability. However, he was sharp and well-educated, and noticed from the ledgers that the Imperial budget spent on “personal expenses” from the frontier governors was exorbitant, even as they provided little tax revenue in return. Realizing the rampant corruption and impossibility of defense on the frontier, Flavius issued his first decree: for the legions to retreat from the frontier in 3 months time to Hispania, southern Gaul, Northeastern Italia, and Africa. All wealth would be confiscated and to prevent the barbarians from profiting in this moment of weakness, all infrastructure and buildings would be put to the torch. Any Romans remaining would not be under the protection of the legions.

Naturally, these drastic measures and the resulting famine caused uproar across the Empire, leading to a series of revolts from Hispania to Africa. Flavius Stilicho was put in charge of suppressing the uprisings while Honorius played to his strengths and became directly involved in the affairs of Italia, governing from Rome and gathering political support among the scheming senatorial families.

After grinding down the barbarians to a halt north of Aquatania and suppressing the rebellions, Honorius began investing every coin he could scrape together into massive infrastructure and agricultural development projects. He told the army that they would receive no more funding; they would have to make do with what they had. A fledgling spy network was deployed, hunting down corrupt officials embezzling tax revenues while the emperor did the same to fund more infrastructure projects.

While technically at war with various tribes, the barbarian nations seemed content to stay in their frigid homelands. Until 405, when the Picts, Jutes, Geats, Vandals, Quadians, Ebdanians, Caledonians, Angles, and Saxons all invaded from the North. With the Imperial budget tied up in infrastructure projects, Stilicho consolidated all available legions and garrisoned the cities of Aquitania and Mediolanum. The northern settlements’ militias survived wave after wave of the German hordes, while the Vandals sacked towns by sea off the coast of Italy. But the brave sons of Rome, even in defeat, made the barbarians bleed for every inch. And so, after multiple towns were pillaged and southern Italy rebelled, the hordes were so weakened after only a year that even the inexperienced, ill-equipped Roman legions were easily able to finish off the invading scum.

But even as the tribes ceased the raids, trouble came from the east. A young Priest in Caralis had a vision of the apocalypse incarnate, an endless horde of evil the civilized world had never seen before. Months later, the battered remnants of the ostrogothic people fled into Venetia, seeking asylum. They confirmed the vision, and gave a name to this threat: the Huns.

By now, Honorius, secure in his power, understood that the coming conflict would be the greatest Rome had faced since Hannibal. The old ways of thinking and tools for war would not be enough to counter this new threat. With the infrastructure projects beginning to pay off, the emperor began constructing libraries and universities across the Empire, bringing together Rome’s greatest minds to increase productivity and the legion’s deadliness. The innovations in agriculture, industry, and weaponsmithing were invaluable, and reforms and military restructuring as a result revolutionized the Roman Army from an outdated institution to a well-equipped, powerful juggernaut. The military foundries and training camps of Germania churned out the best-equipped and best-trained legions the world had seen since Marcus Auralius. The provinces thrummed with unity, with a revitalized shining city of Rome resting firmly in the center.

They made ready for war.

The desolated regions of Pannonia and Salona were recolonized by the older soldiers, who accepted their retirement at isolated outposts in exchange for land and permanent exemption from taxation. Meanwhile, 2 forward armies moved against Macedonian rebels all the way down to Corinth, cementing the friendship of the Eastern Empire and providing more buffer territory between the frontier and Venetia.

The economy buckled and protested, the bureaucracy fretted about budgets, and corruption began to once again eat away at the imperial revenue, but Honorius pushed on, creating 8 of the best-equipped legions the Western Empire had ever seen. And just in time, for out of the darkness of the Eastern steppes thundered massive armies of horse archers and raiders, screaming praises for their dark gods as they razed the Latin kingdoms of Illyria and Dacia to the ground, before immediately listing Rome as their next target. In 414, amongst a cacophony of church bells and roaring crowds in the streets of the Eternal City, Honorius ordered total mobilization of all Legions to strike the enemy before they reached Venetia. The Hunnic Wars had begun.

At first, the Huns were content to move through the Oriental Buffer provinces with little event. There was nothing to raid and no vulnerable targets, as even the tiniest of settlements now were surrounded by walls and fortified by large town militias. And so the Hun’s advance halted, unsure of how to proceed.

Flavius Stilicho was the Empire’s greatest hope. An experienced and strong general, he realized that the traditional Roman tactic of break-and-counter would not work here; they had made their defenses too great and the Huns were not falling for the trap. To beat the 5 great hordes roaming through their territory, they would have to risk crushing them on the open field. Most of the legions were still training the last of their recruits, so he picked an isolated horde and attacked it alone.

However, for as cunning, strong, and skilled as he was, he was also arrogant. His experience was against rebels and ragtag groups of barbarians, who would usually just throw themselves against Roman lines with no tactical maneuvering. He believed these stinking horse lords would be no different, so he spread his infantry wide and attempted to engage as much of the enemy at once, with cavalry at the flanks.

But the Huns were no mere rabble. Their superior mobility allowed them to surround the roman lines and shoot them in the rear, rendering the crossbows useless and the cataphracts dead before the infantry could react. As a last desperate measure, Stilicho courageously charged into the general, killing him and just breaking the morale of the first horde. Rome had carried the day, but she had lost half a legion. And in the process, Flavius Stilicho, Rome’s greatest hope, took a sword across the face and was struck blind.

Meanwhile, a second legion was caught out of position while marching back to Italy for resupply. That’s when the Romans learned the second hard lesson about the Huns: they too knew how to construct artillery. The barrage from the heavy onagers softened the Roman shieldwall to the point where light cavalry was able to smash through, killing the legion’s general in the process. The survivors fled the field in disarray.

With 2 Legions already needing a total retraining and the empire’s greatest general rendered useless, Honorius convened the Senate and the imperial family for an emergency meeting. The Huns, due to their culture of ferocity, simply had better infantry and cavalry. Crossbows were useless on the open field and Roman cataphracts were simply a target for their archers. It was noticed, however, that artillery was always the most effective killer on the battlefield. With this in mind, the Emperor’s son, Quintus Varus, took command of Stilicho’s beleaguered army, reinforced it with as many onagers as he could field, and once again marched east.

This time, through careful positioning and use of spies to harass and hinder the enemy, he was able to surround the Huns and beat them with overwhelming numbers, still with extreme casualties. However, the Roman legions cycled in and out of the frontier, marching back to Germania after a battle for retraining and resupply. Even the fierceness of the Hunnic Warriors was no match for the efficiency of the revitalized Roman military and bureaucracy! The Huns were cut down with maneuvering and numbers, and the legions returned to friendly territory, for surely the enemy was, although not dead, severely weakened.

But the empire of Christ’s challenges had just begun. Believing the Roman armies to be occupied, the Sassanids and Garamantians, whose combined empires stretched from the deserts Leptis Magna, to the mountains of Iran to the shores of Asia Minor, opportunistically declared war on the heels of finally taking the Eastern Empire’s last city of Constantinople itself! As the military scrambled to train a militia in Africa and reshuffle the forces to the South and East, word came from the Eastern steppes once again, and it was the making of nightmares.

The Hunnic hordes that Rome had defeated weren’t their total strength. It was the vanguard.

At the head of the largest army group Rome had faced was the fiercest and most brutal of these demons. Atop a pale horse rode the scourge of God: Attila the Hun. He had set his sights on Rome and vowed to destroy the light of Western civilization.

The Senate was in disarray. Families blamed their rivals, calls for peace or cessation of territory were made, and some even whispered of abandoning the empire and fleeing West. In the midst of this chaos, Quintus Varus, now a famous and accomplished general, shook his head and made his way to the exit. A Senator asked him where he was going. He said he would meet Attila in the field of battle and cut the head off the Hunnic serpent. The room quieted in shock. When asked how he would accomplish such an impossible feat, his eyes gleamed with determination as he answered:

“With God’s favor. And Roman Steel.”

With that, he and Stilicho’s son Firmus Tubulus, hellbent on revenge for his father’s fall from grace, marched once again to Panonia to goad Attila into a fight.

Meanwhile, the power of the Sassanids was growing, so that even if the Huns were defeated, surely the descendants of the Achaemenids would ensure Rome’s downfall. With every available army engaging the Huns or holding Africa from wave after wave of Garamantian raiders, Senator Appius Severus appropriated imperial funding for the largest fleet in the Mediterranean. If Rome could not conquer the eastern territories, then no one would have them. Starting counterclockwise from Carthage, the Grand Fleet razed every coastal city to the ground, only capturing Cyprus to serve as a resupply outpost. The Sassanids were a victim of their own success and found themselves in the same position of Rome 30 year prior: their armies were stretched too thin to counter the lightning fast strikes of the Roman navy. Over the coming years every coastal settlement that once proudly waved the Sassanid flag was reduced to piles of ash and rubble. Such is the punishment of those that defy Roman might!

Meanwhile on the European front, the two generals marched towards certain doom for the glory of God and Empire. They camped near the main horde and waited. Sure enough Attila saw this as an opportunity, and the full strength of 3 hordes descended upon the Romans.

The rain came down buckets, bouncing off armor and shield. Veteran spears and legionaries formed a square of steel around the general and artillery. From over the hill thundered the cavalry, screaming incomprehensible war cries in their grotesque tongue. The 10 onager groups opened up, creating mayhem and creating piles upon piles of Hunnic corpses. But they still kept coming.

Three times did the Hunnic foot and horse crash against the Roman testudo, and three times they broke against it like the tide on a rock, all the while the artillery reaped a bloody harvest.

The air was filled with smoke and blood.

The next wave of Uars panicked and fled, giving the battered front line another precious moment of rest. When out of the misty treeline rode Attila himself, his horse a terrifying creature of the apocalypse while the king’s rage filled eyes glowed like the fires of hell itself. Behind him rode an entirely new and fresh army. He crashed into the Roman phalanx of spears like a tidal wave, sending men flying. The Roman lines began to waver, and the two generals threw themselves into the fray to hold the line. The onagers loosed their payloads until they ran out of ammunition, and then they picked up the swords of their fallen comrades and rushed into the fray. In a last desperate attempt, even though they were surrounded, the infantry in the flanks and rear broke their testudo, throwing their darts and adding more steel to the viscious slugging match, being cut down by the hail of arrows in the process.

And then, whether by Providence or Roman determination, a legionary scored a lucky hit on the Hunnic king, wounding him and causing him to flee. With their leader in retreat, the rest of the horde soon followed suit. Rome, against all odds, had carried the day. But not only that, the Romans had discovered that Attila could bleed. And what bleeds can be killed.

The Huns retreated, and with fresh troops arriving from Ravenna, Varus and Tubulus pursued Attila from battlefield to battlefield, using their spy network to confuse and harass the opposing armies, allowing them to defeat Attila’s guard again and again. Until one day, after chasing him to the Volga River, the scourge of God made his last stand, outnumbered and outgunned, and fell.

The war was far from over, but the back of the Huns was broken. In the 427th year of our Lord, the final Huns were left to the vengeance of the Burgundians and Saxons, who had been driven from their homes and craved retribution. Such is the price of their brutality.

The next decade saw the recolonization of ruined territories and the rolling back of old enemies. Rebels in Greece and Africa were brought into the fold, while Britannia was rebuilt, greater and wealthier than before. And then, it was finally time to humble the last great threat: the Sassanids.

After the Hunnic Wars, Rome’s legions were hardened by decades of never ending conflict, with the state’s coffers more full than ever before. The men were given the best weapons and armor from the finest black smithing foundries in Germania, Hispania, and Thrakia. A wave of legions uncountable crossed the Hellespont and struck through Anatolia like lightning, while a land and sea operation was launched from Africa to take the valuable province of Egypt for Rome once again.

There were few noteworthy battles, for the famed Sassanid cavalry was no match for the sheer number of Romans tearing through their newly acquired territory. Eventually, Rome accomplished what it had not done since Trajan, annexing Syria and making the ancient cities of Mesopotamia bow to their new Latin overlords!

And now, my son, we are truly blessed to live in the four hundred and seventy sixth year of our Lord, a second Pax Romana, a time of prosperity and stability never seen before in the history of man! The Africans and Persians have bent the knee, all barbarians north and East of the Rhine have been completely removed or subjugated, and to thank our God in Heaven, we have constructed the greatest cathedral in the Christian world. We are standing at the dawn of a new age, and because of the mighty actions of the heroic leaders of my grandfather’s time, from Stilicho to Honorius, we can still proudly proclaim Roma Invicta!

Playing the English on long campaign with the sole goal of conquering the entire known world. I moved a full stack of units into Adana with two family members (Prince Edwards and Duke Marvin) they marched in Adana pretty much unopposed with:

• 3 English Knights
• 2 Culverin
• 4 English Longbow men
• 4 very experienced Levy Spearman
• 5 Dismounted Knights

I landed my Army VIA ocean and marched it straight in Adana, it was a crusade ordered by the pope and I had intentions of building the castle up as a reinforcement point to conquer the east. The actual conquering of Adana was completely uneventful, I took it on auto resolve with minimal losses (less then 100 men in total), it was a single wall castle with about 1,000 population left to grow until I could upgrade it. It didn't have much in the way of actual infrastructure so I began building that as I did my best to reup, resupply, and upgrade the Army that was sitting in the castle. By this point in the game my economy was booming.

A few turns in I see my first stack, its the mongols full stack and they smack Adana. I quickly notice that they have arty capable of taking down my walls. My fear is if I allow this arty to attack my walls unopposed the Mongols will open multiple points of entry making it difficult to defend against so I employ a common tactic I use.

Battle 1 Adana

I position my longbow men with their stakes, my goal is to get the Mongolian cavalry to charge into those stakes and keep my Calvary/general, and a few knights in the center as reserve to preserve their strength for future fights. I then station two Levy spear men, mongols have two arty units, one spear men per arty unit and use my other spear men in a V shape around the gate with a knight as backup and two knight units on the wall for more defense.

I start the battle, I rush my spear men out to the arty, take it out, I'm able to get one unit of spear men safely behind the walls and send him to the center of the castle for rest, unfortunately my other spear men unit gets caught in the open crowd against thousands of Mongolian Calvary, it routes to my gate but the gate stays closed. This is unfortunately going have to be an acceptable loss. The battle progresses planned, Mongolians march their rams up to my gate, knock down the gate, rushes in the Calvary into my stakes which my longbow men positioned and it vaporizes the Mongolians.

I end the battle against a full stack of Mongolian invaders with minimal loses, I even recover much of my spear men unit which I thought was lost.

I repair, I attempt to retrain as much as possible.

Battle 2 Adana

A full turn later, another Mongolian hoard attacks my weakened but still strong garrison in Adana.

The battle progresses much in the same way as before, however a bit easier since this time they didn't bring an arty! Straight forward defense, minimal losses. However 3 minimal losses of men in short order does take a noticeable toll on Troop count.

Battle 3 Adana

Occurs again immediately after battle 2, however this time I'm faced with two Mongolian stacks, a single layer castle, a weakened defense and both enemy armies have artillery, what I would have done for a 2nd wall at this point. Naturally they also have siege towers, I recognize holding the walls is important and I'm going need to divide two fronts at the same time with a weakened stack.

Before the battle begin I started searching for a way to send in reinforcements, however my Army near Cario was busy dealing with the Egyptians, my eastern two stacks in Europe were busy in all out war with the Germans, and Milians, and in the west I had problems with the Spaniards. At this point in the campaign I had multiple cities under siege by various enemies. My stack in Adana was far away from reinforcements, and simply had to do their best.

Battle plan, I evenly divided my force between the walls, the northern wall got

• 2 Longbow men
• 2 Dismounted Knights (one on the wall, one on the ground)
• 3 Spear men
• 1 English Knight

Eastern wall got

• 2 Longbow men
• 3 Dismounted knights
• 1 spearmen
• 1 English knight

The rest of my units I kept in the center which was my arty (which was pretty much useless to me), 1 English knight and my family members.

• 2 dismounted knights

The battle starts, on my northern wall I rush out my english knight and one spearmen to deal with the arty, on my eastern wall I do the same. I have my longbow men on the walls, a few units on the ground to defend the gates in V formations and my heart is pumping. My knights get to the Arty in plenty of time they do the deed and rush them back, however I end up losing both of my spear men on both fronts in their entirety as they perish in the Mongol horde. Also my eastern Calvary took a shoot of cannon to their franks and got pretty beat up by the mongols.

However my walls are safe, now its time to deal with a two stack mongol Army at once, did I mention they have Siege towers?

I had set my longbow men to fire flaming arrows and had ballistic towers, but the luck of god my northern wall was able to knock out both of the siege towers, meaning my northern wall would be a gate fight only with stakes on my side! Thank god for that!

So I dispatch one of the spearmen from the northern wall to the eastern wall, and thank god I did unfortunately only one of the enemy siege towers went down, and another one had landed men right on top of my longbow men it was only archers, but I'd rather my longbow men not get into hand to hand combat. I rushed my spear men unit from the northern wall into the fight and attempted to pull back my longbow men from hand to hand combat, with little success.

I went to quickly check on my northern wall, all was going well. The gates had been broken down but the V formation was holding and it appeared the enemy would route soon. Thank god! The northern attacking force was very heavy on Calvary which is what I wanted! I check my eastern wall and I can tell the lines are about to crack. The eastern attacking force was more infantry focused and my stakes did little but slow them down. I rushed in my main General Price Edwards, along with a dismounted knight and an English knight to reinforce. They arrived on the scene, but it was still very close call.

I checked my northern wall and saw I had routed almost the entirety of the northern force so I routed a dismounted knight from my northern front to my eastern. But it would take some time, even with running them to confront them so I ordered Duke Marvin to charge into battle.

Duke Marvin charged in with full force, and he was the straw that broke the horses back and the eastern mongol force caved and routed like the cowards they were.

I then made the critical mistake and ordered Prince Edwards, and Duke Marvin to chase after the routing enemy to ensure they couldn't regroup and unfortunately Duke Marvin perished to my stakes.

However the battle was won

Damage Report

3 battles in, my 20 stack was now down to 16 stack after consolidating my losses. A brave family member perished due to my stupidity, my soldiers who survived experienced and with great moral. Many Mongolian family members had perished trying to take my walls. I decided it was time to disband my Culverin as they were providing me no real value. I trained an additional 2 longbow men, and 4 more spearmen (as I hadn't upgraded to dismounted knights yet)

The Timurid Invade

Honestly, this part is quite boring. The Timurids attacked me a combined total of 3 times. They would bring in siege towers, their elephants and one battering ram each time. The battering ram would catch on fire, a few siege towers would catch on fire I would end up defending against one or two siege towers as my longbow men made their elephants march. However through each attack, which was one after another my forces were slowly chopped up, losing 100-200 men per battle. Only being able to retrain a little bit before being sieged again.

By this time I had mentioned to get a full stack Army heading to ships awaiting off the southern coast of France, it would take many, many turns for them to arrive however back up was finally on its way. Through all the war, my city had still not been able to been upgraded and my popularity after spending the better part of nearly two decades under siege wasn't that great.

Those Pesky Mongols return

Round 2, Battle 1

Very standard battle, unfortunately I was tired and failed to recognize they had arty, the mongols successfully took down one of my walls and came rushing in. It took everything I had to fight them back, but fight them back I did with heavy losses. My Army was ripped into pieces after this unfortunate battle. Back up was still far away, and right behind this stack was another stack that I could see.

Round 2, Battle 2

A stack of mongols attack me right away, I have about 750 men at this point in total, I figure I can handle one stack of mongols, they siege me for a turn and don't attack. End turn again, and now I know why. 3 additional stacks of mongols attack me.

Prince Edwards, and a damaged group of spear men, longbow men and knights are surrounded by 4 stacks of Mongols, if you think this story has a heroic ending you'd be wrong, never the less I am proud of my men for the fight they put up against insane odds after many years of constant battle, but eventually we all have our breaking point.

https://imgur.com/undefined

Legacy

A few turns after this faithful battle I landed 3 stacks of Army in the middle east, made quick work of the weakened Egyptians, and finally took on and defeated the Mongols & Trimuds in battle. I was able to get other castles in the region producing reinforcements and conquered the whole world, however the great outpost of Adana and Prince Edwards (yes I know based upon that screen shot that wasn't his name I forgot I had that screen shot when I started writing) and Duke Marvin) legacy will live on forever.

FYI Invading a Trimud city protected by elephants is really hard

After I had united the British Isles under the Kingdom of Mercia and having a rich and prosperous population with high happiness. My kingdom was seeing a virtual Renaissances filled with wealth and culture, and had become the dominant force in the world. However I wasn't quiet content with ending the game just yet, and was now actively looking for my next war. to My south the Kingdom of Charlemagne was a relatively close target; however they were my closest ally and a stable trading partner so they were out of the question. Instead I looked to Iberia and the religious conflict that was threatening the sanctity of Christendom Europe, and so the Merican Crusade began. Sending a full stack of troops from Wessex to the occupied territory of Leon (with a brief stop in Brittany to help quell a rebellion for my allies) the Crusade was off to a rocky start. The goal was not to conquer but to liberate, and soon I had liberated 3 kingdoms that now pledged their loyalty to the Mercian crown. With the much of the north of Iberia liberated and my allied kingdoms growing in strength the Crusade could now push further south. Soon the province of Mawree was taken back from the Caliphate but was in a very week position as both my army and the army of Leon was weak from taking back the province. And then it happend, the counter attack from the Caliphate. 4 armies comprising of 2 full stacks and 2 half stacks the armies attacked us (the name of the city eludes me so please forgive me but it is one of the smaller towns in the province). With my army in full and my Leon allies comprising of mostly cavalry but not much they would be no mach for the combined forces of the Caliphate. Seeking to take a defensive position, the majority of my infantry were stationed on a hill flanked on both sides by building structures, while a small contingency of spear-men defended the rear. The battle ensued with great calamity, it was clear this was an all or nothing attack against my crusade and that this battle would make or break the campaign. Ten minuets into the battle, the general leading Leon was killed and his forces routed, my army was on its own to deal with the constant onslaught. With my main army being bogged down but maintaining its own against the constant attacks of the Cordoban forces my army was holding its own. Then an attack from the rear occured and the rear spearmen were forced to fend off a greater force to protect my main army currently fighting a 3rd wave of troops. But to my surprise the rear attacked failed and my forces gave pursuit and held position to counter any additional forces attempting to attack from behind. Fifteen minuets into the battle and my forces were wearing down, a third of my forces had been wiped out from the constant onslaught, and i feared a chain route was imminent. Surveying the outlying area, most of the enemy forces had been routed; except for one last half stack that was about to hit my army from the front. My army held firm against the attack, but moral was dropping. Soon i sent my rear guard to flank the attacking army leaving my rear exposed to any attack. My fear's of a chain route were almost realized when my general had fallen, a defeat was inevitable now. And then it happened, a miracle. The last enemy general fell, and my other force attacked the flanks of the enemy. The Cordoban forces began to chain route and my remaining army began pursuit. The day was ours and the Merican Crusade was saved from certain doom; though it had cost me 85% of my forces. Victory was ours.

The Somber Days

The King was dead, but Vincenzo's plan had worked; for the most part that is. Genoa was unable to thwart Marco's army. The government of the city surrendered. The day was won. All of this still could not come to pass with Vincenzo. His grief at the loss of his eldest son took a serious tole on the man for the remainder of his days.

Several months after the capture of Genoa, Anthony again met with his father in Rome. It was here where Anthony would assume the burdens of, both, his duties as well as the duties vacated by the death of King Marco. Nevertheless, Anthony agreed to continue his family's work to honor Marco's memory.

After a rather brief holiday, Anthony was back to work in Rome preparing for the final stages of his plans. He had meetings with the Pope for days leading up to the time away from the city. Anthony had for the past few years tried to convince his uncle the Pope to anoint new leadership in the Papal States -- perhaps a King!

Alas, the Pope finally gave in. He agreed to delegate political and military power to Anthony who would be henceforth known as King Anthony I of Italy, Lord Paramount of Rome. The Pope even offered the new king control of the Papal Navy. New days were ahead for the young monarch, glorious days.

A True Route to Victory

On August 6th, 1715 King Anthony I of Italy was named the official king of Italy. He held a lavish dinner party for other nobles from the area. The purpose of this was to select his royal court and to assign roles to the lords underneath him and also his royal council. Many great Italian families attended with the hope of obtaining power.

Once the formal process's were completed, the King organized the kingdom's leadership for his first orders of business as the new head of state. The King made sure to outline policies that would stir the nationalism within his country, build a strong military, and work through diplomats to gain the allies needed to complete his number one task: eradicate the Spanish from Italy.

For decades, the Spanish Crown had laid claim to many regions in Italy. Much of the southern Italian Peninsula was controlled by Spain as well as the trade-rich markets in Milan. The King's goal was to force the Spanish invaders away from Italy for good. Spain, however, wasted no time in declaring war on King Anthony for his capture of Genoa. For most of 1715-1717, King Anthony's forces came to blows against Spanish forces and their loyalist allies. It was in this conflict that the King's armies would march up and down the peninsula uniting and in some cases liberating Italy. The Battle of Verona saw the destruction of the once great Republic of Venice in March 1716, the Battle of Milan saw the defeat of the Spanish Loyalist Army in June, and finally the Battle for Naples which marked the defeat of the Spanish on the peninsula in January of 1717. Now, Italy was united, Italy was strong, and Italy was ready.

For Thy Nation

By 1721, King Anthony had finally solidified his power over Italy by destroying his last foe, Savoy. One thing that took the King by surprise was the behavior of the other great global powers was towards his own. After defeating Spain in the Spanish-Italian Wars of 1716-1720, Spain requested peace and an alliance between the two nations -- which King Anthony would accept. France, also stepped forward and negotiated a defensive alliance. The last alliance that the King would see to was between the Kingdom of Italy and Poland/Lithuania. For now, Italy was untouchable. Her armies were undefeated since before Anthony's reign with powerful allies, and growing influence around the Mediterranean. The great game of global politics now included the Kingdom of Italy.

To be continued...

Note Based on Empire: Total War campaign, numbers have been inflated for realism.

This is the dramatic tale of the Italian King Anthony Morelli de Roma. Morelli was born to a wealthy merchant family from Rome. Nephew to the Pope, Clement IX, Anthony's story begins with his father in Rome.

Embers of a New Dawn

Anthony Morelli's family had made quite a name for themselves by 1700. Anthony's father, Vincenzo, was a successful merchant. With wares such as wine, tobacco, and silks from the Orient. Vincenzo had amassed himself a king's fortune without a doubt. However, Vincenzo is not the most impressive Morelli. His brother, Giovanni, was the sitting Pope. Anthony himself would inherit each of the men's characteristics throughout his life.

One late morning in the city, Vincenzo Morelli had called a meeting of his direct business associates. The meeting was to determine the future of the business now that Giovanni, now Clement IX, had been elected Pope. Business was sure to boom as Vincenzo and Giovanni had always enjoyed a close fraternal bond. Though not nearly as pious as his brother, Vincenzo grew to be an honest yet shrewd business man. It was no secret that his fortune aided Clement into his Papacy.

At the meeting, the board raised concerns about Vincenzo's growing influence in Rome. Most members of the board were the majority owners of their own companies which Vincenzo had formed an extremely lucrative conglomerate. Morelli was able to quell the arguments by laying down his newest, boldest business plan yet. One that would make the seven men in that room some of the most powerful men in Italy. His plan was to manipulate the vast economies of the Italian Peninsula by establishing trade with powerful non-Italian nations. Almost acting as a national diplomat, the company would stimulate the Papal State's coffers. His first targets were France and Austria as transactions with these two superpowers would generate enormous amounts of money. Which it did.

Vincenzo's profits enabled him to educate his three children very well, whilst also furthering his plans to cement the Morelli family at the seat of power in Italy. Each son was envisioned with differing professions. His eldest, Marco, had just graduated from a military academy in Berlin; he was to be a soldier, perhaps a king. Anthony, his second son, was sent to Vienna for his schooling. At university, Anthony showcased his cunning political mind; he was to be in government. Anthony's younger brother Stephan had just begun his days at the seminary. With each of his sons on very powerful career paths, Vincenzo just needed to wait and buy his time

The Dream

A few years had past since Vincenzo's plan had been implemented. The Pope had managed to gain favor with the French and Austrians. This favor played in Vinenzo's favor. Unknowingly, the Pope had become an integral part of his power grab. By gaining political and military favor of France and Austria gave the Papal States momentum to continue to build a strong nation... eventually. Vincenzo had never felt as though the Church made the best governing decisions; thus Vincenzo's scheme was to replace the Papacy as head of state, peacefully.

In 1711, Anthony had finished his schooling and now worked as a lawyer in Genoa. He had maintained correspondents with his father and Marco throughout his years away from Rome. Vincenzo had summoned his oldest two sons to Florence as they were now old enough, and in position to know.

At a cafe in Florence, the three men sat down to lunch. Vincenzo began by telling Marco and Anthony that their destinies are all intertwined, and that the two brothers would both be necessary for the scheme to work. The plan was as fallows: STEP 1 - Gain the complete trust of the Pope and influence him (Check). STEP 2 - Buy Italian newspapers and begin to spread ideas of Italian nationalism (Check). STEP 3 - Find Anthony and Marco key positions within the hierarchy of Italian politics, and begin transition to secular Rome. (). Step 4 - Broaden military research and development (). STEP 5 - Unite the Italian Kingdoms of Genoa, Savoy, Sardinia, Venice, and Corsica (). STEP 6 - Exile the Spanish once and for all from Italy (). STEP 7 - Build a modern and powerful Italy ().

The plan, so far, had gone off without a hitch to this point. Vincenzo's influence was able to land Marco as one of the commanding officers to the Papal forces. With Marco at the head of the military, the Papal States could now effectively exercise the wealth Vincenzo's conglomerate afforded it. Anthony was assigned by the Pope to be the Governor of both Rome, and the Papal lands that surround her. With Anthony in place as the "Prime Minister", he began to modernize the region. Roads, harbors, mines, and mills were erected throughout the Roman countryside. A great construction project was underway, the construction of a nation.

Footsteps

For almost 15 years now, Vincenzo had filled the vaults of banks all over the city. Now it was time to empty them. Vincenzo had been maneuvering for the people of Rome to adopt the ideology of the Industrial Revolution. Vincenzo had never thought poorly of the Church, yet the part it had played was finished.

Anthony's role in all this came to a head in 1713 when he approached the Pope to handing over governing power to a monarch to enable him to focus more on the church. Which was also benefiting monetarily from Vincenzo's business dealings. The rest as they say was history. Marco was to be crowned king, however, Anthony and Vincenzo believed that a military campaign would be needed to prove the new nation's legitimacy as well as invigorate Italians with ideas of nationhood. For weeks, the three men met in Rome to discuss possible targets. They decided upon the Republic of Genoa because of they controlled Corsica in the Mediterranean. Anthony quickly procured two 12 thousand strong armies to be dispatched north. Marco himself would lead the Siege of Genoa.

The 1st Army was boarded to a small transport fleet and sent off to capture Corsica. The soldiers hit the beach in early 1714 and quickly moved to surround and destroy Genoa's defenses on the island. The capture took just a little less that 5 weeks. The siege of Genoa though, was different entirely.

As soon-to-be-king Marco stood above his siege ramparts overlooking the city of Genoa, he felt a certain uneasiness about the battles to come. Just as siege preparations had concluded, the Genoa's defenders mounted a sterling attack on Marco's forces. Men poured from the gates of the city slaughtering everyone in their path. The attack occurred with such speed, Marco found it difficult to organize his defense. In the confusion, Marco took a bullet to the heart whilst removing him from his horse. The King was dead.

To be continued...

I may post this on the main sub but I figured I'd start it off here (warhammer)

The Empire had grown powerful, and quickly, it was as if Sigmar himself blessed Emperor Karl Franz, he wielded his mighty warhammer Runefang like none before him, and in an unbelievable amount of time had secured all of the Empire and more under his rule.

But rumors of a terror in the north shadowed his footsteps, and his own failures haunted him like ghosts. Franz had grown greedy, and spurned the friendship of Bretonia, leading to a breakdown of peaceful ties and eventually leading him into conquering it. Chaos stirred still more as Karl tried and failed to secure an alliance with mighty Kislev, whose fearsome people had long been the stalwart shield of humanity. He had let himself break oaths and betray the trust of several elector counts, giving himself a reputation that did not befit a man who sought to unite.

Turning his gaze east, Franz saw the cursed lands of the vampire counts, and for whatever reason; desired them. They fell quickly under his boot, he razed their castles and colonized them, declaring a new age of humanity.

But All was not well in the north, rumors spread that the warring savages who populated that inhospitable land had been unified, and even now we're building their strength in preparation for a march south, the Emperor scoffed.

He lead his army's south, burning and pillaging the lands of the wood elves, leaving none alive. He made trade agreements with the dwarves, and named them allies, although in private he laughed at the thought of calling on them for aid. He did all this and more, building his mighty empire so that on paper it looked to have never been stronger, on paper...

The armies of the emperor were elite, hardened by years of combat, these men were of top notch skill and loyalty, but his forces had also been whittled down in that time. So the Emperor made the decision to split several of his elite army's into smaller ones, and then recruited more troops to bring these new forces to full strength, Thus he hopped to meet the march of chaos with superior numbers rather than superior skill at arms.

He kept a few forces of the old standard intact however, keeping one for himself and sending two others north to meet the charge of chaos.

While Franz gathered his strength and ordered his scattered army's north to hold the line, Kislev was burning, chaos had made inroads quite quickly. led by the fearsome monster they call "the suneater" the armies of chaos were great and savage animals wreaking havoc across that once peaceful land, with their marauder slaves following like a pack of hyenas behind.

Without a formal alliance with Kislev, Franz delayed sending help, and only intervened when the great capitol was under siege. He rode north, crossing the riverwith many armies at his back, and drove the followers of destruction from Those lands, he cut the head off the snake when the Suneater himself was killed, although Franz cursed mightily and executed one of his captains when he discovered that while the king of dragon ogres had in fact been slain before the walls of Kislev, a few of his Shaggoths along with more of their smaller brethren had been allowed to escape the field.

Franz followed up this great victory with a sweeping campaign meant to rid the north of chaos, he crushed the barbarian marauders and sent two armies across the sea of claws to raze towns on the icy shore. Franz reveled in his victory and issued orders for his armies to spread out and find any stragglers, while he himself retreated behind the lines to replenish his army. All seemed to be going according to plan until a fire mage, skilled in sorcery, and one of Karl's closest and most trusted friends, came across a great host of chaos trolls and dragon ogres. A pitched battle was fought, but this elite army, the vanguard of the Emperor's cleansing operation; was destroyed utterly.

Far from being defeated, chaos had been biding its time, now Archeon the Everchosen had arrived! Yet Franz was still arrogant, he delayed calling his scattered armies together, and soon paid the price.

Now things turned ugly, scattered and war weary, the Empires great armies were no match for the hordes of chaos. One by one, they were cornered and destroyed.

Things finally came to a head at the city of Bechafen, where the emperor would finally be trapped. First Franz and others had valiantly held Castle Von Rauken, and then Zavastra against the resurgent forces of chaos, but after much fighting, the emperor and his grand Imperial army was forced to retreat. At Bechafen Franz made his stand, his elite Reichsguard and greatswordsmen around him, he led the defense of the castle walls.

By this time nearly 3/4s of the armies the Empire had in the field had been annihilated, the interior was empty of forces who could defend against uprisings and the savage beastmen tribes who began raiding the southern border, all the armies had marched north long ago, and now many of them were either destroyed or pillaging Norsican towns while the Empire lay helpless. When Franz came under siege by Archeon and his chief lieutenant Sigvald, he called for all his remaining troops to rally to him, but it would be too late. The battle would be fought before the nearest armies could reach him and support.

The battle began well enough, the Reichsguard rode forth with imperial knights and harried the forces of the Everchosen, but soon the cavalry of Sigvald joined the fray, and the heirs of Sugmar died out on that field, a grand wizard of great skill directed divine blasts of wind and lightning bolts down of the army's of chaos, but a siege tower full of chosen soon reached his place on the wall, and a battalion of great-swords and halberdiers died defending him.

A ram broke through the gate, and more halberdiers fought bravely to hold back a tide of trolls, followed closely by vengeance drunk dragon ogres, shouting cruel victory as they laid waste to the brace defenders of the Empire. Forsaken and Chaos warriors scaled the walls, paralyzing the troops stationed there while chaos knights broke through the lines defending the gates, soon the Imperial forces were in disarray, retreating in vain from a tide of horror.

The only rally point was the Emperor himself, astride his white Pegasus, he appeared unstoppable! Trolls and chosen fell before him as he fought to hold the last line behind the walls, his halberdiers and greatswordsmen standing shoulder to shoulder in the narrow streets, not letting a single enemy past. Franz leaped into the air, circling, spying out what he could, issuing orders to his scattered men, directing them to join his stalwart defenders at the main plaza.

Flying high above the battle, Karl Franz knew this would be his last day, the forces of chaos were too numerous, and his own too few, it would take a miracle to turn the tide now... But there! Far away from the walls, commanding his forces and directing the fire of a few hellcannons, was the Everchosen! If Franz could kill him, then maybe this days disaster could be avoided!

He swooped and charged, and struck a blow on the head of Archeon so ferocious that the whole battlefield rang, and the Everchosen himself almost lost his balance and fell from his demonic steed! Franz charged again, but aware of him now, Archeon dodged, and rode foreward, seeking to join the rest of his army in the plaza, where the last shaggoth (the others all having been killed) fought the last of Franz's elite troops who still held the line. The Shaggoth and his lesser brethren were being held at bay by some spear men for now, but they would not last forever.

Franz disengaged with the Everchosen, his men needed him! And he would not cut off the head of the snake only to lose anyway because his men had scattered, despairing at his return! So he took to the sky again, and soon landed with a crash, scattering a group of chosen who had been about to join the fray. Once more at the forefront of the battle, Emperor Karl Franz became a terror, an absolute nightmare to the forces of chaos. Runefang rang, and swept from here to there, everywhere, crashing down on the heads of chaos warriors and chosen, slaying aspiring champions of chaos left right and center, none could stand before him!

But alas, the great Emperor grew tired, his support had long ago began to fade, his experienced mage having been killed on the wall, and most of his men now barely able to lift their swords, chaos pushed foreword.

Now a great cry went up, "The Everchosen! The Everchosen!" As Archeon, Sigvald beside him, finally arrived. Franz charged, and with a final effort from the few remaining members of the Reichsguard, Sigvald was driven from the field, wounded. But it was for nought, as the Everchosen was a force of nature, and the emperor could not be everywhere at once! With the last shaggoth and 5 dragon ogres behind him, Archeon pressed the attack. And while Franz still slew the shaggoth in single combat, he was no match for its brethren.

Wounded, exhausted, and with no strength left. Emperor Karl Franz fell valiantly that day, surrounding his body were the corpse's of 2 dragon ogres, a dragon ogre shaggoth, a few trolls, 3 aspiring champions, and mountains of chosen and chaos warriors, the Emperor did not sell his live cheaply at least.

But all that mattered little, because Archeon the Everchosen stepped over his cold body nonetheless, pried Runefang from his dead fingers as a trophy, and razed the city to the ground, erecting monuments to his dark gods in that place.

From that day on, the fate of the empire was decided, its territory was intact, and it still had more than a few strong armies to defend her, but it's back and will had been shattered. Archeon and his hordes swept south like a hot blade through butter, none able to stand against them, he pillaged, burned and raped his way across the continent, sparring no one in his quest to please his dark masters.

The Empire of course tried to recover, to stand against his hordes, and they did, for a time. Any time they singled out a Norsican army of marauders they annihilated them, but more often than not it was the vanguard of this new age they battled, not its soft underbelly. The warriors of chaos left the empire no time to replenish its armies, gone now were the old gold standard armies, only ground down through constant warfare, or green armies full of un-blooded recruits who would scatter at the first sign of trouble. The armies the Empire fielded these days were a shadow of what Franz had put together in his prime, and they died like it. The armies of Franz at least had discipline, but these new ones had a hard core of troops from the old gold standard days, surrounded by troops green as grass, and while the gold standard armies of Karl Franz could only stand up to the warriors of chaos when they outnumbered them 2:1, these new, lesser armies almost always fought against odds of 3:1 or worse. Needless to say they stood no chance.

When all way said and done, nothing of the old world remained, all was dust, and ash, and bones.

Russia and Denmark were on very different paths in the early 1700s. Russia, under Peter the Great, had established themselves as a premier power in Eastern Europe. The vast expanses provided a seemingly endless supply of resources. Russia, too, had the largest standing army in the world. Hundreds of thousands of men could be called upon by the Czar at a moment's notice.

Denmark on the other hand, seemed to be surrounded by adversaries. Prussia, Holland, and Imperial Sweden had all taken shots at the Danes for years. In fact, Swedish armies were able to capture Norway away from Denmark. However, not wanting to return to Copenhagen defeated, the Danish Army attacked the Swedes and were able to retake Norway. Unfortunately, the victory came at a tremendous cost for the Danish army. To that end, Denmark's King called upon the Russian Czar to destroy Imperial Sweden. The two agreed to an alliance.

Now that Sweden had tasted defeat, the combined forces of the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Denmark converged on the remaining strongholds of Sweden in both Northern Europe and Scandinavia. Russia was able to force the Swedes into a retreat from Europe while the Danes laid siege Stockholm. Unable to redirect his forces, the Swedish Emperor fled the capital to safety in Swedish-held Finland.

The terms of the Russo-Denmark alliance were that, upon victory, Russia would keep all former Swedish holdings in Northern Europe, while Denmark would gain the Scandinavian territories of Sweden and Finland. However, the Russian Czar, seeing an opportunity to strengthen the Russian Navy marched his armies on Finland before Denmark could siege the region's capital.

The Swedish Emperor was executed on May 16th, 1722 in Oslo and Russian forces occupied the city. With Sweden eliminated, the two allies were victorious. Yet, the Russians had not respected the terms of the alliance, and the Danish King decided to act. With his army already marching towards Finland, and another army leaving the naval base in Jutland, the Danish King ordered a preemptive strike on the Russian capital of St. Petersburg.

Unannounced to the Czar, Danish cannons began a week long bombardment of St. Pete. The bulk of the Czar's armies were tied up with a war in Poland and Lithuania, so the capital was not sufficiently defended.

Surprisingly, Danish forces obtained a slew of quick victories over the much larger and better equipped Russian Army. St. Petersburg was taken with relative ease and suddenly Denmark had momentum. The Russians, not to be defeated, began mobilizing a sizable force to retake their former capital. The Czar mobilized his forces from the old capital of Moscow as well as a sizable army from Siberia. However, the distance proved to be a hindrance for Russian forces as railroads were not around. The shear size of Russia meant that any contact with the Danish invaders would take months to occur.

Meanwhile, Denmark's finest generals were already planning on conquering more Russian controlled territory. Here was the set up:

Russian Armies were on the march towards St. Petersburg from Moscow and Poland. Denmark had reinforced their position in St. Pete with another large force to hold any advance towards the city. Meanwhile, yet another Danish army embarked on a massive flanking maneuver around the advancing Russian Armies. Instead of facing the Russians head-on, the third Danish force marched east to take the regions of Karelia, Arehengelsk, and Komi. All of these regions were completely undefended allowing the Danes to force quick surrenders of each territory. Now, with the Russian Empire splintered, the Danes prepared to siege Moscow to effectively end any Russian hope of gaining the upper-hand in the war. The Danish military was able to destroy Moscow.

The Russo-Danish war ended in June 1739 with the Russians suing for peace. Denmark was able to effectively outflank the much larger and more advanced Russian military to obtain a decisive victory. Soon after, the King of Denmark anointed himself the first Norse Emperor.

Where: Marburg, present day Germany. When: January 3rd, 1718. Combatants: Westphalian and French Coalition (52,000) vs. Prussia (22,000). Conflict: Great Prussian War.

Dawn. The morning light peaks over the horizon. In the fields of Northwestern Westphalia, French and Westphalia's own have prepared an all out assault on a much weaker Prussian force. Led by French General Jean-Louis Moreau, the coalition numbered about 52,000 men. Across the snowy January ground stood the Prussians ready to face their enemies. Only a force of about 22,000, the Prussians were severely outnumbered and a long way from home.

Just a few years earlier, the Prussian King Frederick IV had begun a military campaign focused on primarily Germanic regions in central Europe. After successfully defeating Hanover in one day, the Prussian forces were keen on acquiring more territory. Soon, Prussia's finest were marching on Munich. However, the Prussian's were not expecting such vigorous resistance from the relatively small kingdom. To make matters worse, France decided that this is an opportune time to weaken their biggest rivals in Central Europe thus establishing a hefty coalition to halt the marching Prussians. Over the next few years, the Coalition and Prussia came to blows on the battlefield. Back and forth the conflict went, both sides contemplating surrender. That all changed on the hills just outside of Marburg on January 3rd, 1718.

Outnumbered, outgunned, and facing certain death, the Prussian General Hans von Reinhold took up defensive positions overlooking the tiny village of Marburg (population 1,000). Though von Reinhold was short on numbers, he did have two great advantages: the high ground, and plenty of artillery.

The morning began with an echoing bugle tune. This was it, the coalition was ready to obliterate the Prussian Army.

At approximately 0800 hours, the first of the three Coalition armies began their assault. This army, led by General Henrik Starke, embarked from their garrisoned position in Marburg to meet the Prussian Army to the north. After Starke's forces assembled outside of town, the second coalition army emerged from the forest from the east of the Prussian position. Finally, to complete the encirclement of von Reinhold's forces, the French General moved his forces behind the Prussian line.

Realizing the threat presented on three sides, the feisty von Reinhold positioned his men around the crest of the hill. The ellipse-shaped Prussians now were able to form a thin, but defensible position around their coveted artillery pieces. The first shots of the Battle of Marburg happened at 0900 hours with Prussian artillery peircing the silence of the winter morning. Snow flurries began to fall decreasing visibility to just under 300 meters thus the Prussian artillery was unable to locate effectively; the bulk of the fighting will have to be from Prussian muskets.

The Coalition began to inch closer to the hill where their rival's were waiting. As the three armies drew within musket range, French artillery began shelling the east slope of the hill taking many men with. To the surprise of the triumvirate, Prussian soldiers stood firm, not fleeing the field when surrounded. Instead, the Prussians, who began the fight with men at the base of the hill, fired their volley, only to retreat up the hill. In doing so, they allowed the artillery to fire grapeshot down the sides of the hill. This was extremely effective in killing the enemy. So much so that the smallest Coalition force routed even with superior numbers.

Realizing the circumstances, General Moreau reinforced the vacated east flank of the Prussian Army. Still surrounded, the Prussians, by now entrenched at the crest of the hill, began unleashing massive volleys of musket fire upon the attacking enemy. Each Coalition assault was met with heavy losses while only inflicting a hand full of casualties to the Prussian forces.

After fighting all morning to no avail, General Moreau ceased the attack in hopes the snow would lighten up to enable his artillery to hammer the hill. Moreau marched the combined force back to Marburg to resupply. Meanwhile, General von Reinhold took this time to inspect his men. Many were exhausted, other's weary at their prospects of victory. The Prussians, again, moved down the hill to enable the artillery to pound Marburg from their perch.

By now it is late afternoon and the Prussian artillery had forced their enemy from the town. Again the Coalition began their advance towards the hill. Prussian lines now concentrated toward the south, General Moreau spread his forces in hopes of enveloping the enemy into surrender. Unfortunately, the Prussians again held firm; sending each wave of attackers back down the hill. Feeling a shiver run down his spine, General Moreau ordered an all out assault with his remaining forces.

The force was large enough to encircle the Prussians, but the Prussian position on the high ground kept the Coalition from having a clear avenue of attack. Thousands of soldiers marched up the hill only to be met with volley fire. Finally, as the sun was setting the Westphalian General Starke ordered his men to retreat. Now, only Moreau's French forces were standing toe-to-toe with Prussia's. Knowing the Prussians were running low on ammunition, Moreau's hope was to route the depleted Prussian Army. Yet, the attack proved futile, the Prussian's threw back the final French assault to win the day.

After it was all said and done, some 38,000 casualties, the coalition was decisively defeated. Only about 8,000 Prussian casualties were tallied after the battle. The complete and utter destruction of this coalition had severe consequences for its members. Westphalia had been dealt a devastating blow which it would never recover; even falling to the same Prussian army just weeks later.

France on the other hand was humiliated. General Moreau was dismissed soon after the defeat. Furthermore, France lost her territorial possession of Strasbourg. Prussia had weekend her biggest rival to the point that the remainder of the Prussian's campaign was seemingly unimpeded by her neighbors.

Back home in Prussia, General Hans von Reinhold became an overnight hero. The King was so impressed with his defense of Marburg that he promoted the man to head of state. For a force of over 50,000 men to be destroyed by a force half the size, Prussian confidence in her military soared.

The Great Prussian War ended eight months after the Battle of Marburg. The Prussian victory there set in motion the rivalry that would later culminate into the Franco-Prussian War almost 150 years later.

In 1780, Europe had been recovering from many decades of war. The large powers of Europe: England, France, Spain, Prussia, and Holland had all enjoyed a rare period of peace and prosperity. The "Big 5" had all established vast and profitable empires. Meanwhile, other nations in Europe had not fared as well. Denmark was one of these struggling nations. She had lost Norway to an independence movement and reduced to only two territories. Sweden, on the other hand, was on the rise. After wars with Russia and Poland had ended, Sweden had come away with multiple territories in northeastern Europe. Denmark was in immediate danger of becoming subservient to the Swedish King.

While Sweden was preparing for more territorial expansion, Denmark was busy trying to regain some substance to their declining state. In 1782, King Leopold of Denmark commissioned the building of an army to defend Danish shores from the Swedish threat. It would be months before the King's wishes could be brought to fruition. The Great Danish Defense Force the king called it, would be garrisoned outside of Copenhagen.

As expected, the Swedes launched a two-pronged invasion of Jutland. One army, tasked with taking Copenhagen landed just sixteen miles from the city while the second smaller force was to lay waste to the Danish country side. The Swedish invasion was swift and deadly. Soon, both Swedish Armies were marching on Copenhagen.

The Battle of Copenhagen took place on a farm just outside the city. Sweden had fielded an impressive army of 12,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry with 124 heavy artillery pieces. The Danes countered with 10,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry, and 200 guns. It is this battle that would shape the future for the Kingdom of Denmark forever.

On the morning of April 15, 1785, the two armies emerged from their respective camps to finally meet each other on the battlefield. The Danes had positioned themselves in a wooded area southwest of the city. It was here that fortifications had been prepared for a Swedish assault. Just after dawn, the Swedish General gave the order to advance to engage the Danes. They marched south from directly west of the city to combat the mass of Danish troops entrenched there. Sweden's best and brightest men march straight into the awaiting guns of the Danes. Soon, scores of Swedish dead litter the ground. In a last ditch effort, the Swedish General sent his reserves on a suicide bayonet charge supported by his huge force of cavalry men. However, the Danish had reinforced their position with spiked stakes which thwarted the treat. Out of the nearly 18,000 men, only 3,000 escaped death that day. Out of options, Sweden withdrew her forces, defeated.

Now under such incredible pressure from those in government, King Leopold again sanctioned another army. Months went by with only small skirmishes littering Scandinavia. It was not long, however, that Leopold would send his Royal Army of Denmark off to foreign soil. Under the guise of multiple trade fleets, Leopold amassed his troops near Stockholm. With the window of opportunity closing, King Leopold ordered a direct assault on the city. Luckily, most of Sweden's forces were dealing with Russian troops in Finland and were not able to respond to the threat. The city put forth a gallant defense, but alas Danish forces swept through the city. Stockholm had fallen but Denmark was not done with her war with Sweden. The king mobilized his existing forces into one and sent them across the Baltic Sea toward Oslo. Sweden stood no chance. Oslo fell within weeks and Sweden was no more. As for Sweden's ally Norway, it was only a matter of time before Denmark could muster another army to crush any hope of Norwegian sovereignty.

Just five short years before, Denmark was a fledgling nation on the brink of collapse, now her boarders encompass all of Scandinavia and Iceland. The acquisition of such territories saw steady economic growth, Danish merchants became huge players on the international fur trade while mines produced ample building materials to further modernize the country. New farmlands kept a booming population fed while a sound military kept it safe. Denmark, had successfully conquered territory without creating enemies. Thus, the economy surged creating more opportunity for this grand empire. Denmark was even invited to aid in the defeat of Napoleon during his 100 Days of Terror. Suddenly, Denmark had become a power in Europe. They found themselves with multiple nations vying for trade rights from the fabulously wealthy Danish Empire. Her military was called upon to put down other power hungry rulers from Europe; she truly was a superpower of the day. But this was only the beginning.

After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, the Empire was snubbed from the Conference of Vienna. This was due to the other powers of Europe were concerned that Danish power would soon lead to another like Napoleon. This infuriated King Leopold who, was by this time in his early eighties, lived the remainder of his life to spite of the Big 5. He adopted policies that most around Europe deemed inappropriate such as attacking Indian trade fleets in African trade theaters, naval blockade of the North Sea, and even making peace with the Barbary Pirates.

A few years passed and other European Monarchs were beginning to grow tired of Danish foreign policy. King Leopold had died and the empire was vulnerable. King Leopold's final order was the construction of star forts that would guard against any enemies advancing from Hanover. Moreover, he deployed the Great Danish Defense Force to occupy the string of forts collectively referred to as Fort Beowulf. Only a fool would attempt to march an army up into Jutland. History, however, is full of fools.

Just one year after the death of King Leopold, other nations began looking for ways to weaken Danish economic power. Many of the large economies in Europe cut their trade agreements. In a shrewd diplomatic move, the new king, Alfons, quickly formed alliances with non Christian nations to recover lost trade revenue. Alfons was also able to bring the Ottoman Empire and Russia into a powerful triumvirate; as well as support from Persia and Greece. This coalition was built on mutual defense should war arise.

On the morning of July 17, 1822, the commanders of Ft. Beowulf are awoken by thunderous artillery blasts not far from the walls. To the Danish surprise stood a Dutch army beginning their siege of the Beowulf Fortresses. Under the cover of darkness, the Dutch army had marched straight through Hanover to catch the Danes completely by surprise. Unfortunately for the Netherlands, the intelligence they had gathered was not accurate. Holland, thinking that only a handful of garrisoned troops were deployed at the fortress. That day over 15,000 Dutch soldiers perished on the frozen soil at Beowulf.

This preemptive strike on the Danish homeland was received with tremendous disdain throughout the empire. Young men from all over the empire flocked to the capital to enlist in the army to take revenge on any who wished ill upon the Danish Crown. The army's ranks swelled to numbers unrivaled by any; except for Prussia of course. King Alfons mobilized a huge force of over 80,000 soldiers to march in just under six weeks.

King Alfons himself would lead this new army. Together with some 200 ships, the Danish armada set sail for the port of Amsterdam. After arriving within cannon shot of Amsterdam, the king decided to amass his forces just north of the city. After the army made their way ashore, the King ordered his troops to surround the city on all three sides by land and then ordered his Navy to block the sea exit. Over the next two weeks Amsterdam was reduced to a steaming pile of rubble. With the head of state killed in the fighting, Holland's overseas territory soon fell into rebellion. After the defeat of Holland at the Battle of Amsterdam, King Alfons returned to Copenhagen a hero. The Dutch allies, fearing the same fate, soon sued for peace with mighty Denmark.

With her enemies on the run, Denmark would now be positioned to take the next step into becoming the premier superpower of the day. King Alfons had realized in his travels that the Navy was sub par compared to that of England or France. In his second major act as king, Alfons commissioned what would be the largest navy in the world. Soon, the open seas were dotted with Danish ships. With several fleets under his command, King Alfons looked at more lucrative trade ventures or even new territory. Thus, in 1825 the Grand Navy of Denmark set sail on a mission. With 188 warships, 50,000 soldiers, and numerous trade vessels the armada set sail for India.

After weeks on the high seas, the Danish fleet arrived off the coast of India. The armada crept up the coast, eventually making landfall in the territory of Mysore. The army was joyful not to be in the cramped confines of the ships. After some tactical planning, the army set a coarse for the Mysore capital. Over the coming years, Denmark would acquire most of the western coast of India.

This is a story of perseverance, nationalism, and perhaps a bit of luck. Starting from nothing, Denmark was able to rise to become the most powerful nation on the planet. Its important to know that the small or meager can achieve the highest of successes.

In the mid 13th century, King William of England had successfully conquered the British Isles uniting it under a single banner.

After a brief period of peace, William's long time nemesis King Louis from France declared the castle of Caen and the surrounding lands now under his control. Louis turned his armies toward the Normandy coastline in hopes of consolidating French power. Troops from all over France began their embark towards the castle.

Inside the castle there garrisoned an entire army, however the vanguard forces made up primarily of men loyal to William that had been levied into a rather minute presence outside the castle. Nonetheless, alongside the levy men were four units of peasant archers, two long bowmen, and some sell-swords from west of the castle. The force was led by the young Prince Alfred. Though not the Crown Prince, he still held firm in fighting for his father's kingdom.

The siege begins as now two French armies are within viewing distance of English spies. From such distances, the French were unable to mobilize their forces into a complete army. They, still, had many heavy infantry units. One-by-one the French armies crossed the boarder only to be met with a ferocious counter offensive from the men in the castle. They dealt significant blows to French troops, so much so that the French were in full retreat. Prince Alfred became a master at attacking marching French forces then return to the castle where the French cavalry mattered little. Even by most siege standards, this one looked to be years in the making. Nevertheless! every French army that moved too close was brilliantly attacked by the brave defenders of Caen. For nearly 20 years, these Englishmen defended their homes against invaders. Eventually, the French lords all turned on the Louis, and from that foot hold in Caen, William the Conqueror was able establish a dynasty that would destroy what was left of the tattered French Kingdom.

For now and ever, we remember the men who defended Caen.

The sun rises upon a new century. The cold January snows stretch from Amsterdam to Warsaw. However, disguised under the frozen landscape lay a continent on the brink of conflict. A new king from Brandenburg feels the threat of hungry enemies on all sides. Through the summer of 1700, the Noble King of Prussia had linked his capital of Berlin to the eastern edge of Prussia. Longtime rival Poland had been thrown from West Prussia into the awaiting muskets of Austrian forces keen on Polish held ground. Her allies in full retreat, the Pols found themselves marching their way back home. By the winter of 1701, massive Austrian Armies were at the gates of Warsaw. Poland saw its end in January of 1702 with Austria completing the destruction of Poland. The King in Prussia now felt a tingle running down his spine. Prussia could be next.

The Summer of 1702 saw an explosion of radical religious violence throughout Central Europe. Hanover had fallen into economic recession, Bavaria and Wurttemberg found themselves in conflict with each other over Catholic/Protestant ideals, and the Rhineland was struggling to find allies to protect from the uneasy situations around them. The King of Prussia, not a particularly devout man, but nonetheless inspired by fate mobilizes all of his forces and points them towards the setting sun.

The Prussian 1st and 3rd armies crossed the borders into Saxony. Thus the Great Germanic War begins. Bavaria and Wurttemberg cease the pointless fighting to join their fellow Catholic Germans against the Prussian-Protestant threat. The Autumn saw over 12,000 casualties on both sides. After the fall of Saxony, the King of Prussia set his sights on Bavaria. With her riches and industry, Prussia could finish this war ahead of schedule. Bavaria stood firm against the Prussian invaders, but with some extraordinary cunning and courage of Prussia's finest General, Alfred von Meselholer, Munich fell along with many men that day. With this momentum, Prussian Armies continued until the spring of 1705 when the first Prussian banner waved over Cologne. There was now a Germany, to hell with Otto von Bismarck.

In the years following the Great Germanic War, the King had worked with his council to build his empire into the premier force in Europe. However, before he could pursue such ambitions his new territories became ripe with rebellion. It would be two long, drawn out years before peace would finally rule the day in Prussian Germany. Peace brought prosperity within the country. A new road system connected Leipzig to Cologne, Berlin to Munich, and everywhere in-between. The former agrarian countryside now dotted with iron mills, shops, and factories. Money flowed through the nation like wine at a gathering of aristocrats, the farms produced aplenty, and taxes were lowered. Great universities encouraged technological advancement, and the King was looking to the seas.

It had been 15 years since the turn of the century, and tensions in a completely redrawn Europe are once again on the rise. By this point, only two great alliances were forged after the Great Germanic War in 1705: Prussian Germany, The United Provinces, and Denmark on one end, and Austria, Venice, The Papal States, and the Kingdom of Two Sicily's on the other. What became a militaristic split about religious differences would soon transform the European Continent forever.

Though the technology through the ages had dramatically improved maritime trade, it was all too evident that such trading ventures must also be protected. No other governments in Europe understood this better than Great Britain, France, and the United Provinces. Together, those three nations had amassed almost 70% of the world’s maritime assets into spectacular and terrifying armadas. Realizing this threat, the King of Prussia invested large sums of gold into his nation's naval colleges. Taxes were raised, a waves of propaganda were printed, and Prussian Germany was now interested in the high seas. However, higher taxes; especially in the higher classes, caused unrest among the King's most powerful lords. The King of Prussia was soon stripped of his power, and was forced to give executive powers over to the Reichstag. His hopes and dreams dashed, he spent the rest of his days in his chambers.

With the peaceful transition into a constitutional monarchy, Prussian Germany became simply Germany. Even though the Prussian aristocrats were replaced by a democratically elected representatives, German fiscal policy changes were not so different than the days of the old king. German desire to master the seas swept over the country faster than a herd of thoroughbreds through an open meadow. It was not long before the pride of Germany found its way into the depths of the oceans. Three massive fleets set sail in order to secure trade and resources abroad. Soon German ships found ports in Africa, South America, and the West Indies. Added revenue from this trade monopoly was forged in fierce battles on the surf. Soon, trade theaters bustled with German merchant ships filling the pockets of those in Germany. Wealth swelled so much that the excess money was put back into an already pristine infrastructure and educational campuses. Money was everywhere, and soon war hawks began the conversation about the possibility of territorial expansion.

By the spring of 1723, Germany had become the biggest economy in mainland Europe. Their only true economic rival was France, but France had been at war with England and/or Spain for almost ten years. So the German Government had to protect itself from Austrian, Russian, and Swedish expansion in and around Europe. In December 1723, Germany's top military brass had a meeting to discuss the future of Germany's foreign policy. Austria's growing power and dominance of the Balkans had spruced their economic prowess up among the top in Europe. However, everything changed on Christmas Day 1723. Under influence of the Pope, the Papal States along with their sizable alliance declared war on the German Kingdom. In a complete polar sense, Protestant Europe was at war with Catholic Europe. Armies of extreme size began to take space in Europe. The first battle in this war would be the deadliest seen in history.

Germany was facing the fight of the young nation’s life. Instantaneously after the declaration of war by the Pope was issued, Austrian Armies pushed into Brandenburg, Saxony, and Bavaria. In a single spring, six armies would trade blows with each other resulting in over 20,000 dead and many more wounded in what would be called the Battle of Leipzig. Germany’s 1st Army, led by General Alfred von Meselholer, along with the 3rd Army marched on Leipzig. Two Austrian Armies met them in the fields just a mile northwest of the city. Both sides took absolute astonishing casualties, but the German’s were able to thwart the Austrian offensive. Two weeks after the Battle of Leipzig, Germany sent four armies (17th, 12th, 4th, and what was left of the 3rd) a few miles south of Munich and marched for Vienna. For the German Command, the city's fall could severely cripple Austria’s ability to finance more armies to face the German push. A combined force of Dutch and German Armies converged on Vienna with only minor resistance.

Its Autumn 1724 and the war is nearing the completion of its first year. The siege of Vienna began on the 2nd of October with a devastating artillery bombardment that lasted six days. Soon, the walls of Vienna were overrun by a mass of some three thousand soldiers. Austria had lost her capital. One week after the fall of Vienna, Austrian controlled Hungary fell to the Dutch. Of the Protestant armies, the Danes made the next move, they pushed two armies through the Alps to begin engaging the dormant Italian belligerents. Germany’s next move was to seize the valuable ports in Croatia and Bosnia. This action would throw the Austrian economy into ruins as well as any hope of possible naval support had been eliminated. By the spring of 1726, Austria was in full retreat. The Austrian king took refuge in the mountains of Transylvania. Unfortunately, it too soon fell into German occupation. With a strong presence of soldiers in occupied territory, Germany then raised its now legendary 55th Korp. The 55th consisted of around 2000 infantry and the latest artillery pieces in the world into a strike force. These German soldiers were selected for the 55th Korp were the best and brightest of Germany’s young service men from the war. The 55th ‘s officers are Prussian veterans from the Great Germanic War just over a decade before. This lean fighting force’s first task was to capture the city of Rome.

The 55th was about a week’s march from Rome. Germany had control of regions Austria, Bosnia, Croatia, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Silesia, and Transylvania. The United Provinces held Hungary, and Prague. Denmark was able to capture Venice and Saxony. The Danes were at the doorstep of Genoa. In the spring of 1727, the 55th marched on Rome. The Battle of Rome was fought in relatively quick pace. The 55th was reinforced by the 2nd Army and they swiftly drove any Italian resistance into Sicily. It took six months until all of the Italian peninsula to be under German control. The 55th was now tasked with one final objective of the war: destroy the last Catholic stronghold in the Mediterranean, Malta. The 55th was sent ashore on the morning of November 17th, 1727. The Grand Master of the Island surrendered withot firing a shot. Germany was now completely in control of the entirety of Central Europe. Holland had managed to capture Paris, while Great Britain captured Madrid and Lisbon. Alas, every European based Catholic state had been destroyed. In what would become the War of the Faith, Germany and her allies completely change the power struggle in all of Europe.

After the war’s end in April 1728, the newly reorganized German Empire reigned supreme over Europe until 1799.

This is a pretty long one, but it's my first post here. Just to be clear, I don't play the campaigns really; custom battles are what brought me into loving Medieval 2 and I've recently began looking to mods. Planetary TW, Third Age TW, and Hyrule TW are gems, but Elder Scrolls really induced the mouth watering. I hadn't played the campaign tutorial in a long time and I had little to no experience, so important details like "trade routes are essential for captured cities to train soldiers" and "your allies don't like you being a dick or sending armies through their lands" were not known to me. But here is the story of my experience so far.

Things were looking up for my lord, Vivec, and his fledgling empire. The treasury and armies were swelled as the gods of Command and Line showered vast sums of Septims upon the people and erected buildings, fields, and roads within an instant. Our agents bought out the Imperial strongholds and villages on Vvardenfell, the island with our capital. We made strong alliances with the great houses of Morrowind: Redoran, Telvanni, Hlaalu, and Dres. My lord set upon his generals three goals, three nations to deal with: annihilate the blight of Red Mountain that is the sixth great hogouse, led by immortal Dagoth Ur, before turning our sights on our neighbors: the Kingdom of Skyrim and the Clans of Black Marsh.  The Nevarine had appeared to fulfill the prophecy that would eventually lead to the downfall of Dagoth Ur, but we moved first. Through the Ghost Gate streamed our columns of golden bonemould armour and vibrant plumes -- the hordes of mutations, ashspawn, zombies, and our own countrymen under Dagoth's spell could not hold back our wrathful tide. We fielded powerful crossbows and siege engines, armoured silt-striders, and brave men and women in our ranks of Ordinators and militias. "Glory to Vivec! Glory to the tribunal and House Indoril!" we sang as our army marched up the slopes of Red Mountain to slay the remaining beasts and claim the head of house, literally.

This is the turning point for us. Upon the eradication of House Dagoth and the surrounding villages, the industry of war cranked full scale. We bought several more cities from our allies and neighbors on the mainland of Morrowind. From Telvanni in the east, Hlaalu and Dres in the south, Redoran to the west, and even Imperial strongholds on the northern island of Solsteim. Meanwhile, our diplomats urged the houses to aid us as we moved on Skyrim and Black Marsh. Hlaalu, Dres, and about have of our Tribunal forces moved South to engage the Argonian scum that was currently distracted with large rebel groups while a fleet moved from behind to establish a beachhead and capture their coastal city. Three full groups of Tribunal warriors marched to Skyrim with a host of Redoran and invaded the kingdom via Castle Dawnguard, securing a shortcut through the mountains before pouring across the land. Before the year was up, Riften, Windhelm the legendary City of Kings, and two towns had fallen to our might. With every place we captured though, we were commanded to exterminate the populace. Our religion was to be chief in priority, even over the Divines and Daedra themselves, and we slaughtered all who resisted. This was not sitting well with the other great houses and we lost favour over time. Our supply lines were not fully secured with their lands, meaning we could not produce soldiers beyond war machines in our distant cities. It didn't help that our battalions from Morrowind had to cross their lands unchecked to bolster the campaigns.

Then, almost all at once, the great houses Redoran, Telvanni, and Hlaalu (who still held land and their main armies in Morrowind) turned on us. They sacked our poorly defended towns with only catapults and ballistas to hold them back, they ambushed our traveling contingents that were marching to occupy those very cities, they scoffed at our diplomatic offers and are attempting to besiege our greater castles in Morrowind. Even the Redoran armies in Skyrim are at the doorsteps of Windhelm and Castle Dawnguard. So here we are, House Indoril and Tribunal Temple, fighting a two-front war with angry, vengeful humans and Argonians while our own homeland is in civil war. Things are not over, however. We've fortified our positions, we bested much of Hlaalu's weak excuse of an army, House Dres remains loyal and engages Telvanni/Hlaalu on the mainland, and the traitorous houses are being softened by Nord/Argonian counterattacks.

Mid Winter 1864 Tsu

Iga, my poor Iga, strong and proud but surrounded by foes. I will have to start construction on a fortress immediately, in times of war such as these we must ensure home is protected before any dreams of conquest can be formed. The many foes around us are Shogunate fools, stuck in the past, I say Japan should accept the future with open arms, thus siding with the emperor was a easy choice.

Late Winter 1864 Tsu

A mission, from the emperor himself, a order to take the shogunate controlled province of Omi. I have begun raising a army to do his will but raising soldiers is no cheap task, hard to get and easy to lose.

Early Spring 1864 Tsu

We have raised a sufficient army of 1095 men, I want to raise a couple hundred more but my son Takahisa has insisted we march onward anyway. "waiting would only give them more time to prepare" he said, so I gave him my blessing and he now marches to Omi, Gods give him strength.

Mid spring 1864 Tsu

Defeat, horrible Defeat, My son tells me he won the first battle, but at a high cost, only 299 men survived. right after victory came a wave of death, my son was half killed when he returned home.

Late Spring 1864

I have no choice, our foes draw closer, the Tsu clan will fall unless I do this, to my people, my son and myself I'm sorry we have to join the shogunate.

Mid autumn 1864

I need more land, the treasury is nearing on empty and we are being pushed into debt. I think I have found a perfect opportunity, Sayama is weak and we still have an army, an army I will lead. Taking Yamato was simple, the Daimyo must have feared losing his capital as this province was very lightly defended.

Late autumn 1864

War with Sayama was a mistake...

The death of prussia is a classic tale of blind ambition, so blind was the good king Jay that he did not notice his greatest enemy right on his doorstep. King Jay had his eyes on west prussia, on poland in general but he would start with the west, reconnecting his two cities, King Jay was positive that the people of the west would rejoice in Prussian rule returning to the west lands. The King built up his forces, putting his best general in command of a mighty army that he called "The people's Liberation" with 1,800 strong the king commanded the west to be taken and general Stro led the people's liberation army to victory, easy victory. Something happened the King did not expect, the people of west prussia revolted, they did not want his benevolent rule, so King Jay with a mighty fire raging in his heart and a blade in his hand, saw every soul who stand against him, every Prussian who call themselves Polish be put down and any rebellion be brutally destroyed. the people of the west began calling him the "death of peace" with most of his troops in west prussia he didn't notice until it was too late that a large force of austrian soldiers 5,000 in total easily took the lightly defended Königsberg. in fear of losing his army and having no one defend Brandenburg he abandoned west prussia to austrians "let the rebels chip down a couple austrian fools before death! declared the King he built three forts around his capital and held up in his capital, awaiting the austrian attack. the austrians came down upon brandenburg like a herd of angry bulls, attacking on all sides and tackling down forts with ease. Prussia finally fell after a long battle, 2,000 loyal prussians versus 3,000 austrian dogs and in the end, a prussian king's head on a pike.