A very good update, as always. Just keep on writing, SeanB, that way I'm not completely bored at work 
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Georgios is heading for a glorious career within the roman army. Wonder what will happen to him, a Byzantine Napoleon - although be it a few years early - perhaps?
By the way, what are you planning to demand from France in the way of spoils of war?
By the way, what are you planning to demand from France in the way of spoils of war?
Sorry for the wait guys. Last week a power surge fried my computers motherboard, and it is now in Atlanta being repaired. This means that until it gets back I can't progress in game. Fortunately I was a little bit ahead so I can update a bit still, but I've been trying to space it out so that I don't exhaust all of my options before I get my comp back.
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By June 22nd of 1704, the army under Megas Domestikos Alexandros Balisarios had firmly surrounded the city of Lyon. The cities garrison remained stern in its determination to resist any Roman assault, however. As Alexandros gradually resigned to the fact that he would be forced to besiege the fortress, rather than take it in a quick assault, a Spanish army of 35,000 was marching towards Lyon from the south.
On August 2nd, the Spanish arrived in Lyonais, forcing Alexandros to quickly rush to meet them. In order to maintain the siege, he left 5,000 men behind to keep supplies from reaching the fortress, while he marched with his main force of 34,000 to meet the Spaniards. Roughly 10 miles north of the Massif Mountains on August 3rd, the two armies met…
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The rumble of thunder that would normally echo across the morning plains and mountains was overshadowed by the marching of thousands of men, the hooves of their horses, and the wheels of their cannon. As the two armies maneuvered against one another before the battle, Alexandros went over last minute tactics with his commanders.
“Our cannon have a slight advantage in range. We must exploit this for all its worth. Make use of the small hills to the east and west of our position. Have 8 cannon placed on each side.” Alexandros said, in his usual commanding tone as he pointed to specific locations on the map that was laid across the table before him.
“Have them target the Spanish artillery first and foremost. The Spanish army is not any prize to behold, and will quickly fall against our superior infantry.” Alexandros declared confidently, as his commanders chuckled slightly.
“Oh,” Alexandros said, as he began to walk towards the door of his command tent, “Make sure and place the 19th infantry regiment on the first line, in the center.” A slight smile could be seen to creep upon the Megas Domestikos’ face. “It should prove to be a most interesting experiment.” The commanders simply glanced at one another in confusion as Alexandros left the tent, and mounted his horse.
As Alexandros rode out to give his pre-battle speech, the 19th regiment was relocated to the center of the first line. Its Regimental Commander, Georgios Curcuas, calmly directed its movements with his newly acquired officer’s saber. “Halt!” He shouted as they arrived at their location, the regiment instantly stopping and coming to attention. Being suddenly thrusted into such a command was quite a bit overwhelming for Georgios, but he understood that for whatever reason, he had been given a great opportunity to prove himself, and perhaps start on a potentially rewarding career within the army.
His train of thought was broken however, when the sound of the Megas Domestikos’ approaching horse snapped him back into the real world.
“In the distance there…” Alexandros said, his voice rising above the sounds of the marching soldiers and the rumble of the cavalry, “the Spanish march towards us. The Spanish, feh! They think they can stand against the might of Constantinople and her armies, but they and their dieing Empire will soon see the errors of their ways, just as their French allies did. “ Alexandros glanced over his army as he spoke, and Georgios could have swore he looked him directly in the eyes at one point.
“Let them know why we are the finest army on Earth! Let them know why for the past 300 years the Empire has never been defeated! Show them the skill, discipline, and ferocity in battle that we Greeks are so well known for! And let them know that the next time they see us, it will be as we march triumphantly through the streets of Madrid!” The soldiers in the army cheered as Alexandros paraded back and forth with his saber raised high.
Georgios could only feel his heart begin to pound as the battle drew near. This was not like the other battles he had been in. He had been a simple soldier then. Now he was an officer, with other men’s lives in his hands. He had to do his duty, however. Gripping his saber tightly, he waited for the order to advance. He could feel the sweat dripping down his left cheek. He hoped his rapid and hasty promotion would not prove to be a disastrous mistake…
Atop the small hills near the western and eastern flanks of the Roman army, the artillery crews took aim at the advancing Spaniards. As he rode towards the rear of the army, Alexandros, glancing back once more towards the advancing Spanish, nodded to his commanders. Several minutes later, the Roman cannon opened fire, and the battle began.
The cannonball that had been loaded slammed into the Spanish artillery, as they hastily attempted to push them into range. Many of the Spaniards cannon were shattered by the large spheres, and made the overall task of unpacking and loading them all the harder. Still, some were set up, and returned fire as best they could. The Roman army had already achieved a crucial advantage in artillery however.
Alexandros, watching the battle closely, smiled with anticipation. He could sense another great victory on the horizon.
“Advance!” He shouted, lowering his saber to signal the gallopers.
Georgios heard the shout of his Megas Domestikos loud and clear, however, and raised his blade high, before thrusting it forward, “Advance!”
The armies approached one another, as the Roman artillery began to shift focus from the Spanish cannon to their infantry. The cannonball soared over the heads of the advancing Roman army as they slammed into the ground a distance ahead, throwing dirt and grass into the sky as they bounced at high speeds towards the Spaniards. Large parts of Spanish regiments would be smashed when the cannonball would actually directly impact one of the solid blocks of soldiers, causing chaos and often times panic among their ranks.
“Halt!” Georgios shouted as his regiment instantly stopped its advance. “Ready…” Georgios ordered as his regiment lowered their muskets. “Aim…” The regiment leveled their muskets in the general direction of closest Spanish regiment. Georgios did not wish to waste his first volley, as it was the most important. As the Spanish grew closer, and began to lower their muskets, that was Georgios’ signal. “Fire!!” he screamed as a wall of smoke soon exploded from the barrels of the men at the front of his line.
The fire from the Greek soldiers, having been trained to always aim high, struck a relatively high number of Spanish soldiers in the first volley. Georgios could just barely make out the sight of many Spaniards collapsing from their wounds as they frantically aimed in the direction of the clouds of smoke and returned fire. Between the cannon and the volleys fired from the Greeks soldiers however, and the smoke obscuring the enemy, the Spanish landed few solid hits against the Roman army.
“Rotate and reload!” Georgios shouted, as the front rank of the 19th turned on their heel and moved to the back of the line, dropping the butts of their muskets to the ground and quickly going through the standard loading procedure while the fresh soldiers fired. After the fifth volley had been fired the smoke began to clear and Georgios could see the Spaniards still coming despite their losses. When the click of his regiment priming their muskets filled his ears, Georgios quickly went through the series of commands again.
”Ready…” I’ll need to hurry; they are closing rapidly…this will be the last volley “Aim…” Almost…….now! “Fire!” Georgios voice was quickly followed by another cloud of smoke rising from the barrels of his regiment. “Equip bayonets!” Georgios shouted, knowing that there was now not a second to lose. Seeing the Spanish rapidly closing in with their own bayonets, he knew that this would be the decisive moment of the battle.
The soldiers of the 19th fitted their bayonets quickly, before lowering them into charging position. Georgios gripped his saber tightly, as he could feel his heart about to beat through his chest. “Charge!!” Georgios shouted, thrusting his saber towards the enemy, as his regiment began running towards the Spaniards, muskets forward, the sun gleaming off the steel bayonets that tipped the end of every gun. Georgios ran along with them, holding his saber high as a symbol of encouragement. The front ranks of both charging armies unloaded one last volley, as they were mere yards apart, sending bodies crumpling to the ground.
Georgios watched as his soldiers fought fiercely against the Spaniards in brutal hand-to-hand combat. Men were falling on both sides, but the Roman’s clearly held the advantage. Unable to stand back any longer, Georgios charged in, saber ready.
The battle was chaotic, as men fell to the ground still locked in combat with their foe.
Georgios head quickly snapped to his left as he caught sight of a Spanish soldier charging towards him, bayonet poised to impale him through the stomach.
Standing with his blade ready, Georgios waited calmly, as calmly as one could be in such a situation anyway, as he enemy charged towards him. As he thrusted his musket forward, Georgios quickly twisted his body to the right, striking the soldiers musket with the side of his saber, with the effect of causing him to miss and stumble forward.
Moving quickly, Georgios slashed the Spaniard across the neck as he turned around for another attack. Blood poured from the wound, down the mans shirt and onto the ground as he struggled to breath, choking on his own blood. Finally, falling to the ground, his eyes rolled up into his head and his life passed from this world.
Georgios has not even remained to witness the mans death this time, moving on to further aid his regiment in the fight.
Alexandros looked through his small telescope at the battle from atop his horse. One of his commanders rapidly rode to his side.
“Sir, our commanders on both wings report that the Spanish cavalry is in full retreat, and are unlikely to rally.”
Alexandros continued to glare through the telescope, “Good, though still have a small force follow just to be sure. Have the rest circle around and charge into rear of the Spanish army.”
“Yes sir!” The Commander said with a quick salute, and quickly rode off to transmit out the Megas Domestikos’ order.
Alexandros focused in on the center of the battle, as he watched the Greek line continue to force the Spaniards back. A slight smile crept upon his face, “It seems my hunch about you was correct…”
“Come on! We’ve got them on the run!” Georgios shouted as he and his soldiers began to rapidly advance against the demoralized Spanish.
“Don’t give them a second to recover! Keep pushing them back!” Georgios screamed, as he quickly moved towards an already engaged Spaniard, slashing him across the back with his saber, prompting the soldier in front of him to impale him through the stomach with his bayonet. The Spanish army was already close to breaking and routing when the Roman heavy Hussars returning from their engagement with the Spanish cavalry smashed into the rear of the Spanish center. What followed was a quick and bloody rout.
Georgios looked on, watching as the Spanish soldiers began to break from combat one after the other, some dropping their muskets on the spot in their hurry to flee. Greek soldiers who had not yet fired quickly pointed their muskets at the routers and fired.
Cheers soon erupted from all across the Roman army as the Spaniards fled towards the Massif Mountains.
“Victory!” Alexandros shouted riding in from behind the lines with his saber held high, as the army cheered, waving their hats. Alexandros knew that with the Spanish soundly beaten, the siege of Lyon could continue uninterrupted. It was a glorious victory indeed.
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The battle of Lyonais was a decisive battle in the War of the Spanish Succession as it stopped a Spanish attempt to retake southern France from the allies, which would have allowed France to continue their newfound success in the north without any distractions, possibly with disastrous consequences for the Germans, Dutch and English. The Romans suffered roughly 900 casualties, while the Spanished suffered close to 4,000. Spanish captured are said to have numbered around 8 - 10,000. The battle was considered a great humiliation for King Anjou of Spain.
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Enjoy and reply as always.
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By June 22nd of 1704, the army under Megas Domestikos Alexandros Balisarios had firmly surrounded the city of Lyon. The cities garrison remained stern in its determination to resist any Roman assault, however. As Alexandros gradually resigned to the fact that he would be forced to besiege the fortress, rather than take it in a quick assault, a Spanish army of 35,000 was marching towards Lyon from the south.
On August 2nd, the Spanish arrived in Lyonais, forcing Alexandros to quickly rush to meet them. In order to maintain the siege, he left 5,000 men behind to keep supplies from reaching the fortress, while he marched with his main force of 34,000 to meet the Spaniards. Roughly 10 miles north of the Massif Mountains on August 3rd, the two armies met…
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The rumble of thunder that would normally echo across the morning plains and mountains was overshadowed by the marching of thousands of men, the hooves of their horses, and the wheels of their cannon. As the two armies maneuvered against one another before the battle, Alexandros went over last minute tactics with his commanders.
“Our cannon have a slight advantage in range. We must exploit this for all its worth. Make use of the small hills to the east and west of our position. Have 8 cannon placed on each side.” Alexandros said, in his usual commanding tone as he pointed to specific locations on the map that was laid across the table before him.
“Have them target the Spanish artillery first and foremost. The Spanish army is not any prize to behold, and will quickly fall against our superior infantry.” Alexandros declared confidently, as his commanders chuckled slightly.
“Oh,” Alexandros said, as he began to walk towards the door of his command tent, “Make sure and place the 19th infantry regiment on the first line, in the center.” A slight smile could be seen to creep upon the Megas Domestikos’ face. “It should prove to be a most interesting experiment.” The commanders simply glanced at one another in confusion as Alexandros left the tent, and mounted his horse.
As Alexandros rode out to give his pre-battle speech, the 19th regiment was relocated to the center of the first line. Its Regimental Commander, Georgios Curcuas, calmly directed its movements with his newly acquired officer’s saber. “Halt!” He shouted as they arrived at their location, the regiment instantly stopping and coming to attention. Being suddenly thrusted into such a command was quite a bit overwhelming for Georgios, but he understood that for whatever reason, he had been given a great opportunity to prove himself, and perhaps start on a potentially rewarding career within the army.
His train of thought was broken however, when the sound of the Megas Domestikos’ approaching horse snapped him back into the real world.
“In the distance there…” Alexandros said, his voice rising above the sounds of the marching soldiers and the rumble of the cavalry, “the Spanish march towards us. The Spanish, feh! They think they can stand against the might of Constantinople and her armies, but they and their dieing Empire will soon see the errors of their ways, just as their French allies did. “ Alexandros glanced over his army as he spoke, and Georgios could have swore he looked him directly in the eyes at one point.
“Let them know why we are the finest army on Earth! Let them know why for the past 300 years the Empire has never been defeated! Show them the skill, discipline, and ferocity in battle that we Greeks are so well known for! And let them know that the next time they see us, it will be as we march triumphantly through the streets of Madrid!” The soldiers in the army cheered as Alexandros paraded back and forth with his saber raised high.
Georgios could only feel his heart begin to pound as the battle drew near. This was not like the other battles he had been in. He had been a simple soldier then. Now he was an officer, with other men’s lives in his hands. He had to do his duty, however. Gripping his saber tightly, he waited for the order to advance. He could feel the sweat dripping down his left cheek. He hoped his rapid and hasty promotion would not prove to be a disastrous mistake…
Atop the small hills near the western and eastern flanks of the Roman army, the artillery crews took aim at the advancing Spaniards. As he rode towards the rear of the army, Alexandros, glancing back once more towards the advancing Spanish, nodded to his commanders. Several minutes later, the Roman cannon opened fire, and the battle began.
The cannonball that had been loaded slammed into the Spanish artillery, as they hastily attempted to push them into range. Many of the Spaniards cannon were shattered by the large spheres, and made the overall task of unpacking and loading them all the harder. Still, some were set up, and returned fire as best they could. The Roman army had already achieved a crucial advantage in artillery however.
Alexandros, watching the battle closely, smiled with anticipation. He could sense another great victory on the horizon.
“Advance!” He shouted, lowering his saber to signal the gallopers.
Georgios heard the shout of his Megas Domestikos loud and clear, however, and raised his blade high, before thrusting it forward, “Advance!”
The armies approached one another, as the Roman artillery began to shift focus from the Spanish cannon to their infantry. The cannonball soared over the heads of the advancing Roman army as they slammed into the ground a distance ahead, throwing dirt and grass into the sky as they bounced at high speeds towards the Spaniards. Large parts of Spanish regiments would be smashed when the cannonball would actually directly impact one of the solid blocks of soldiers, causing chaos and often times panic among their ranks.
“Halt!” Georgios shouted as his regiment instantly stopped its advance. “Ready…” Georgios ordered as his regiment lowered their muskets. “Aim…” The regiment leveled their muskets in the general direction of closest Spanish regiment. Georgios did not wish to waste his first volley, as it was the most important. As the Spanish grew closer, and began to lower their muskets, that was Georgios’ signal. “Fire!!” he screamed as a wall of smoke soon exploded from the barrels of the men at the front of his line.
The fire from the Greek soldiers, having been trained to always aim high, struck a relatively high number of Spanish soldiers in the first volley. Georgios could just barely make out the sight of many Spaniards collapsing from their wounds as they frantically aimed in the direction of the clouds of smoke and returned fire. Between the cannon and the volleys fired from the Greeks soldiers however, and the smoke obscuring the enemy, the Spanish landed few solid hits against the Roman army.
“Rotate and reload!” Georgios shouted, as the front rank of the 19th turned on their heel and moved to the back of the line, dropping the butts of their muskets to the ground and quickly going through the standard loading procedure while the fresh soldiers fired. After the fifth volley had been fired the smoke began to clear and Georgios could see the Spaniards still coming despite their losses. When the click of his regiment priming their muskets filled his ears, Georgios quickly went through the series of commands again.
”Ready…” I’ll need to hurry; they are closing rapidly…this will be the last volley “Aim…” Almost…….now! “Fire!” Georgios voice was quickly followed by another cloud of smoke rising from the barrels of his regiment. “Equip bayonets!” Georgios shouted, knowing that there was now not a second to lose. Seeing the Spanish rapidly closing in with their own bayonets, he knew that this would be the decisive moment of the battle.
The soldiers of the 19th fitted their bayonets quickly, before lowering them into charging position. Georgios gripped his saber tightly, as he could feel his heart about to beat through his chest. “Charge!!” Georgios shouted, thrusting his saber towards the enemy, as his regiment began running towards the Spaniards, muskets forward, the sun gleaming off the steel bayonets that tipped the end of every gun. Georgios ran along with them, holding his saber high as a symbol of encouragement. The front ranks of both charging armies unloaded one last volley, as they were mere yards apart, sending bodies crumpling to the ground.
Georgios watched as his soldiers fought fiercely against the Spaniards in brutal hand-to-hand combat. Men were falling on both sides, but the Roman’s clearly held the advantage. Unable to stand back any longer, Georgios charged in, saber ready.
The battle was chaotic, as men fell to the ground still locked in combat with their foe.
Georgios head quickly snapped to his left as he caught sight of a Spanish soldier charging towards him, bayonet poised to impale him through the stomach.
Standing with his blade ready, Georgios waited calmly, as calmly as one could be in such a situation anyway, as he enemy charged towards him. As he thrusted his musket forward, Georgios quickly twisted his body to the right, striking the soldiers musket with the side of his saber, with the effect of causing him to miss and stumble forward.
Moving quickly, Georgios slashed the Spaniard across the neck as he turned around for another attack. Blood poured from the wound, down the mans shirt and onto the ground as he struggled to breath, choking on his own blood. Finally, falling to the ground, his eyes rolled up into his head and his life passed from this world.
Georgios has not even remained to witness the mans death this time, moving on to further aid his regiment in the fight.
Alexandros looked through his small telescope at the battle from atop his horse. One of his commanders rapidly rode to his side.
“Sir, our commanders on both wings report that the Spanish cavalry is in full retreat, and are unlikely to rally.”
Alexandros continued to glare through the telescope, “Good, though still have a small force follow just to be sure. Have the rest circle around and charge into rear of the Spanish army.”
“Yes sir!” The Commander said with a quick salute, and quickly rode off to transmit out the Megas Domestikos’ order.
Alexandros focused in on the center of the battle, as he watched the Greek line continue to force the Spaniards back. A slight smile crept upon his face, “It seems my hunch about you was correct…”
“Come on! We’ve got them on the run!” Georgios shouted as he and his soldiers began to rapidly advance against the demoralized Spanish.
“Don’t give them a second to recover! Keep pushing them back!” Georgios screamed, as he quickly moved towards an already engaged Spaniard, slashing him across the back with his saber, prompting the soldier in front of him to impale him through the stomach with his bayonet. The Spanish army was already close to breaking and routing when the Roman heavy Hussars returning from their engagement with the Spanish cavalry smashed into the rear of the Spanish center. What followed was a quick and bloody rout.
Georgios looked on, watching as the Spanish soldiers began to break from combat one after the other, some dropping their muskets on the spot in their hurry to flee. Greek soldiers who had not yet fired quickly pointed their muskets at the routers and fired.
Cheers soon erupted from all across the Roman army as the Spaniards fled towards the Massif Mountains.
“Victory!” Alexandros shouted riding in from behind the lines with his saber held high, as the army cheered, waving their hats. Alexandros knew that with the Spanish soundly beaten, the siege of Lyon could continue uninterrupted. It was a glorious victory indeed.
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The battle of Lyonais was a decisive battle in the War of the Spanish Succession as it stopped a Spanish attempt to retake southern France from the allies, which would have allowed France to continue their newfound success in the north without any distractions, possibly with disastrous consequences for the Germans, Dutch and English. The Romans suffered roughly 900 casualties, while the Spanished suffered close to 4,000. Spanish captured are said to have numbered around 8 - 10,000. The battle was considered a great humiliation for King Anjou of Spain.
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Enjoy and reply as always.
I can't belive I missed the last update o
I smell a great career for our friend Georgios Curcuas, going from lowly private to a regimental comander that leads the charge in such a victory won't be the end of it (I hope )
And as always great writing SeanB, and I hope you get youre computer back soon.
o I smell a great career for our friend Georgios Curcuas, going from lowly private to a regimental comander that leads the charge in such a victory won't be the end of it (I hope
)And as always great writing SeanB, and I hope you get youre computer back soon.
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Vlennin: Though I shall elaborate more clearly later, the Emperor has many many things on his mind, and is likely to only ask for, as you said, some gold and the glory of victory.
Mr. Capiatlist: The French have a lot of American colonies, however, they are mostly inside the mainland, blocked off by the coastal British colonies. They wouldn't be worth the trouble for the Empire, maybe something from Spain though.
Mattermrmk: Yeah, Alexandros is not one to hold back with his generosity. This might just alienate other officers who took years to get to that position however.
Kelvin: Glad to know I can alleviate a dreary life of office work and bad cafeteria food.
Zucker: Yes, Georgios might just find himself up for a place in the history books if he continues to play his cards right. As for France, who knows? It'll depend on where we are when war exhaustion kicks in, and what seems to be a realistic peace term.
Patrick: He may very well be one day. And welcome to the AAR Patrick.
Rirre: Yeah, leading the charge is extremely risky, some would say even suicidal, but it sure does encourage the men. And hopefully it will be soon, I'm going to call down there tomorrow and check on the status of it.
Mr. Capiatlist: The French have a lot of American colonies, however, they are mostly inside the mainland, blocked off by the coastal British colonies. They wouldn't be worth the trouble for the Empire, maybe something from Spain though.
Mattermrmk: Yeah, Alexandros is not one to hold back with his generosity. This might just alienate other officers who took years to get to that position however.
Kelvin: Glad to know I can alleviate a dreary life of office work and bad cafeteria food.
Zucker: Yes, Georgios might just find himself up for a place in the history books if he continues to play his cards right. As for France, who knows? It'll depend on where we are when war exhaustion kicks in, and what seems to be a realistic peace term.
Patrick: He may very well be one day. And welcome to the AAR Patrick.
Rirre: Yeah, leading the charge is extremely risky, some would say even suicidal, but it sure does encourage the men. And hopefully it will be soon, I'm going to call down there tomorrow and check on the status of it.
Now that you have won the Emperor's War for him the least you deserve is some nice juicy province (or two). 'Course the AI's idea of a just peace will be France's overseas territories and 2d. There's always the Create Vassal option.
I've been reading this AAR for months now- it promted me to engage in reading other aars as well as make my own. I am a Byzantium fanatic myself when it comes to EUII and this is very well-written.
Just caught up -- took me the last two days and all day today, and this is quite simply amazing. This is definately on par with Rensslaer's Epic Fire Warms series. I hope your motherboard makes it back with all data intact cause it would be a shame to see such a stellar AAR go away
Is that Russia to the north? If so, there might be some clashes between the two "protectors of Orthodoxy" in the future...
Great updates. just caught up on the last few; the Empire is really prospering.
If I were you I'd probably grab the Bealerics and Gibraltar from Spain, would help you a lot in colonizing the Caribbean. Getting the French as vassals would be interesting indeed, giving you several possible scenarios for the future.
You could improve relations with the french, thus allienatiing yourself from the rest of Europe, but in turn create avery powerful alliance.
You could also keep the french under an iron heel, isolating them and making them easy prey for the German states and England.
The choice is yours.
Again, great updates, looking forward to more.
-TGD
If I were you I'd probably grab the Bealerics and Gibraltar from Spain, would help you a lot in colonizing the Caribbean. Getting the French as vassals would be interesting indeed, giving you several possible scenarios for the future.
You could improve relations with the french, thus allienatiing yourself from the rest of Europe, but in turn create avery powerful alliance.
You could also keep the french under an iron heel, isolating them and making them easy prey for the German states and England.
The choice is yours.
Again, great updates, looking forward to more.
-TGD
It's even worseSeanB said:Kelvin: Glad to know I can alleviate a dreary life of office work and bad cafeteria food.
For the last month or so, I had only 3 or 4 days of actual work, and to make things even worse, the company changed their internet-filters, so I had to find a way to get back to forums.
Now I'm back here, and thanks to you and some other writers, I'm not completely bored, AARs keep me sane
(and we have no cafeteria
)
The siege of Lyon
After the Spanish defeat at Lyonais, Alexandros ordered the city of Lyon to be relentlessly bombarded, night and day, until it surrendered, not wishing to give either the French or Spanish the time to rally another attack. The bombardment began on August 7th. The cannon, well out of range of the fortresses defenses pummeled them relentlessly. By August 19th, shipments of cannonball were being transported to Lyonais to keep up the bombardment, so determined was Alexandros to breach the walls and take the city.
In Dauphine, Domnus proved to still be having difficulty breaking the fortress that protected the province. Despite his large and well-equipped army, the fortresses defenses continued to hold strong. Domnus, eventually realizing that the siege would drag on for many more months without aid, sent a letter to Alexandros requesting aid in breaching the fortress. Upon receiving this letter, Alexandros determined that a direct assault on Lyon was necessary in order to make it to Dauphine in time to prevent the Spanish from reinforcing them.
Their cannon had dealt great damage to the fortress, and it looked as if it would collapse on its own soon. Alexandros, on September the 4th, ordered his army to prepare to storm the fortress and enter the city.
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“Everyone make sure that your bayonets are securely fastened! We will be attacking the enemy fortress, so you can expect heavy hand to hand combat.” Regimental Commander Georgios Curcuas said, informing his men of the tactical situation.
“As before, the Megas Domestikos will be placing the 19th in the center of the first line…” Several cheers came from Georgios’ regiment. The 19th had been gaining something of a reputation since he took command.
“We will therefore likely be the first, or at least one of the first regiments to enter into the fortress. We can expect heavy resistance from the soldiers there. I am, however, confident that we shall, as we have done in the past, defeat our enemy with all the glory and splendor that has become expected of us.” His men let out a slight cheer again as Georgios continues to pace up and down the ranks of the regiment.
“Alright men, lets go and show the French how the Greeks fight war!” With a quick yelp of approval, the regiment assembles into marching formation and heads to the front of the gathering army.
“The cannon fire has ended, Megas Domestikos.” One of Alexandros gallopers informed him. The Megas Domestikos sat upon his horse, looking through his telescope over the plains at the fortress before him.
“Excellent. Once the army is in position, have the attack commence. The 19th will lead the charge. With the fortress in such a condition, they almost certainly have only a few operational cannon, and will be easy prey for our men.” The galloper saluted sharply and rode off to give Alexandros’ command.
“This battle will need to be resolved quickly…” The Megas Domestikos muttered to himself.
Within the French fortress, Captain Alfred Gilles looked out at the gathering Greek army. “Damnit…I’ve got to get out of here…” He muttered, as he looked below, at the demoralized garrison, low on food, ammunition, and having suffered weeks of relentless bombardment, his soldiers were in tatters. He knew they wouldn’t be able to stand up against the assault.
“Lieutenant!” The Captain shouted as the younger officer quickly rushed to his side.
“Yes sir?” He questioned, expecting to receive orders regarding the defense of the fortress.
“Get my horse ready.” Alfred muttered to him, without any sort of explanation as to why, though one was hardly needed by the look of fear in his eyes.
“Are you leaving, sir?” Lieutenant Chantal asked, arching his eyebrow, though he already knew the answer that awaited him.
“I err…” Alfred spluttered slightly, “Well, yes.” He finally gave up and stated bluntly. “There is no hope for us to resist their assault! What is the point of staying?!”
The Lieutenant clenched his fists in anger, before lunging forward, and smashing the Captain’s jaw with his fist, sending the older man flying to the ground.
”You are not worthy of command, you coward!” The Chantal shouted to the Alfred’s utter surprise, as he lay on the floor, his jaw quickly swelling. Picking him up, Chantal forcibly removed the upper part of his uniform.
“You aren’t fit to wear this. Go, flee like the coward that you are, but know that we who are still loyal to the King shall find you eventually, and you will pay for abandoning your duty, and your men!” He shouted as Alfred scrambled out of the door, and ran for his horse. Removing his old uniform, and equipping the former Captains, he called a guard into the room.
“Prepare our defenses, we shall fight to the last man, for His Majesty Louis XIV!” He said, as the guard quickly nodded, and went to carry out his order. Chantal knew that he and the fortress were doomed, but nobody would claim that he was not loyal to his King and Country.
Several hundred yards away, Georgios and the 19th, flanked by the 11th, 16th, 7th and 21st, prepared to rapidly advance on the battered fortress before them. “Lose formation!” Georgios shouted as his regiment quickly spaced themselves out. The other regiments in the center quickly mimicked the actions of the 19th, upon their individual officers orders, of course. Georgios could see the French garrison running back and forth within the fortress doing their best to repair what they could before the Greeks reached them.
Alexandros rode directly behind the first line, holding his saber high, before giving the order that they all had been waiting for…
“Charge!” The Megas Domestikos’ voice boomed, as Georgios quickly repeated his order to the 19th. The entire center was soon rapidly advancing on the fortress, still in loosely packed formations to limit the affects of enemy musket fire. Georgios guided his regiment towards the main breach in the wall; he soon realized that the French had barricaded it with wooden planks as a sort of last-ditch effort to keep them out.
“Don’t let up, no matter what! We’ll go right through those damn boards!” He shouted, as musket fire began to pelt the ground beneath he and his regiment. Few Greek soldiers were being hit, thanks to their formation and speed of approach. They soon reached the wooden planks, and Georgios ordered his soldiers to smash them with the butts of their muskets. The time it took however, proved to be costly…
“That’s it! You’ve almost got it! Just a bit more…” Georgios shouted. French soldiers were firing down into the regiment from above, while those on the stairs, fired through the wooden palisades, at those trying to break them and again access.
“Get up against the walls!” Georgios shouted to his regiment as they were being cut down by French fire, having become closely packed around the breach. Only those necessary to break down the wooden fortifications remained within the enemy’s sights.
“Quickly, we haven’t got all day!” Georgios barked at the soldiers tearing down the palisades from his place against the wall. Finally, getting tired of standing out of harms way while his men struggled under constant fire, Georgios rushed forward, against his Lieutenants rather vocal protest to help them.
“Lets tear this damn thing down already.” Georgios stated, as he began pulling on the uppermost plank with both of his hands, as his soldiers smashed at the edges with the butts of their rifles. Together, they gradually managed to tear the planks down, with only a relatively small number of soldiers being seriously wounded.
“Charge!” Georgios shouted, rushing ahead at the front of his regiment, saber ready. The 19th stormed into the breach as the 7th and 21st followed closely behind. Fierce hand-to-hand fighting between the attacking Greek regiments and the French garrison began, Goergios in the thick of it with his men.
He had been promoted from a lowly grunt soldier to a regimental commander so quickly, rather than gradually as most had, and he still felt as if he was but a common soldier on the inside. He could not stand to simply stand back and give orders.
Georgios felt the sweat droplets slide down his forehead as he struggled to maintain some semblance of order within his regiment despite the chaos of hand-to-hand combat that now raged around them. His efforts were soon cut short as he was forced to defend himself from a bayonet-armed Frenchmen.
The French soldier came charging towards Georgios, bayonet lowered in an obvious effort to impale them through the stomach. Georgios quickly sidestepped, parrying the attack with his saber as he did so, ending the parry by slashing the soldier from across the right breast to under the armpit of his right arm. The soldier screamed in pan as he fell to the ground, dropping his musket. Crippled with agony, he laid there in a pool of his own blood as Georgios moved on to engage another French soldier.
As the battle progressed and the Greek soldiers gradually pushed the French garrison out of the surrounding walls, and further into the fortress, Center Commander Damian Xerus Rshtuni IV rode through the breach upon his horse to observe “his” hard won victory. With a swift kick, he prompted his horse to ride forward, though he was careful not to stray too close to the actual fighting.
“Ah, I see that I have yet again executed the Megas Domestikos’ plan to perfection. I will no doubt be amply rewarded for this heroic victory.” He said to his retainer, who rode alongside him. The retainer simply smiled and nodded, as usual.
“I only wish he would allow me organize my own regiments. Things would go so much more efficient if he would not insist on placing uneducated peasant rabble like that “Georgios” in the center.” Damian muttered, shaking his head. The Rshtuni family was one of the wealthiest of the Greek Dynatoi, and as most of the Dynatoi did, the Rshtuni loathed the Palaiologid’s enforcement of the Meritocracy. The Rshtuni were among the most adamant supporters of the Komnenid revolt against Zoe II in the early 17th century, and despite their defeat by the Empress, they remained a prominent family within the Empire.
Within the hour, most of the heavy fighting had ended, and the remaining French soldiers began to surrender their arms to the victorious Roman Army. Captain Chantal had died fighting against the Greeks on the inner wall. The army soon marched into the city of Lyon, victorious. Alexandros rode alongside his center, right, and left wing commanders, head held high with pride in his soldiers and commanders. He knew he would not have time to celebrate the fall of Lyon, however, as he would soon be forced to march his army southwards towards Dauphine to relieve Domnus’ army.
Winter was also setting in, and attrition would pose a significant threat to an army of his size.
However, victory was his this day. And, God willing, Dauphine would fall before December.
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And finally, another update. Good news though, my computer should be arriving today, so I'll be able to progress forward.
Chief Ragusa: I honestly can't see Louis XIV ever accepting France being the vassal of another state, especially a non-Catholic one.
Steevo: Thank you very much. I try and engage people with the story of the Empire's progress through history, and all the unique characters that live within that universe.
Maximilliano: Woah...comparing me to Rensslaer, not sure I deserve such an honor, but thank you nevertheless. I'll be focusing more on story from now on, however, and I did indeed take much inspiration from great writAARs like Rensslaer.
Mr. Capiatlist: Glad you think so. I try not to put it on too thick, while still showing the horrors of war.
Zuckergußgebäck: Perhaps so. There is indeed some worry about the ambitious Petr in Moscow. Who knows what he could be planning?
The-Great-Dane: Yes, the Empire's fortunes have indeed been high thus far. Well, Gibralter has just been captured by England. They'll probably be the ones to get it in any peace settlement. The Bealerics are a possability, though the Iberian cultures tend to hate the Empire, blaming it for the decline of their empire, so it could be more trouble than the Emperor would care for.
Kelvin: Heh heh, hey, Aristocrats will be Aristocrats afterall. This includes being a total snob, drama queen, and most of all, having a massive superiority (or perhaps hidden inferiority) complex.
As for my computer, it didn't come today, so I called and they said it would for sure be there this morning, so I'll probably be going to get it in a few hours.
Steevo: Thank you very much. I try and engage people with the story of the Empire's progress through history, and all the unique characters that live within that universe.
Maximilliano: Woah...comparing me to Rensslaer, not sure I deserve such an honor, but thank you nevertheless. I'll be focusing more on story from now on, however, and I did indeed take much inspiration from great writAARs like Rensslaer.
Mr. Capiatlist: Glad you think so. I try not to put it on too thick, while still showing the horrors of war.
Zuckergußgebäck: Perhaps so. There is indeed some worry about the ambitious Petr in Moscow. Who knows what he could be planning?
The-Great-Dane: Yes, the Empire's fortunes have indeed been high thus far. Well, Gibralter has just been captured by England. They'll probably be the ones to get it in any peace settlement. The Bealerics are a possability, though the Iberian cultures tend to hate the Empire, blaming it for the decline of their empire, so it could be more trouble than the Emperor would care for.
Kelvin: Heh heh, hey, Aristocrats will be Aristocrats afterall. This includes being a total snob, drama queen, and most of all, having a massive superiority (or perhaps hidden inferiority) complex.
As for my computer, it didn't come today, so I called and they said it would for sure be there this morning, so I'll probably be going to get it in a few hours.
I was suggesting that you would be offered all of France's overseas possessions by the ai on the very grounds that they are next to useless. Louis XIV s stubborn enough to continue fighting until you have taken every province in France and then start on those overeas holdings.
Spain's overseas territories would be an excellent gain.
Spain's overseas territories would be an excellent gain.
SeanB said:Kelvin: Heh heh, hey, Aristocrats will be Aristocrats afterall. This includes being a total snob, drama queen, and most of all, having a massive superiority (or perhaps hidden inferiority) complex.
In ordinary words, being a stuck up idiot
Any news on the update?
