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Post by Ladorak on Sept 13, 2009 14:22:53 GMT -5
Briefing Background: Unable to stall any longer, Duke Ferdinand is once again on the move, heading out of Dumont and on the road to Cosnair. General Carian Duross has rushed his Army of the North from the Mordenz border down south to block Ferdinand's advance. Summoning General Kellerman and the Army of the Center to join him, General Duross took up position on the road to Cosnair, in defense of his nation's capital. Coming into contact with General Duross's units, the Rosferian army seemed to melt away into the woods in disarray and retreat before Ferdinand's advancing units. Confident of success, Ferdinand ordered a hasty pursuit, and pushed on into and through the woods, but found no trace of General Duross or his army. Pressured by King Frederick into continuing on, Duke Ferdinand suddenly found not only the Army of the North but the Army of the Center as well, all brought up in line behind his own army. His supply lines have now been cut, and Ferdinand has one of two options. Keep heading for Cosnair, or turn and fight. Deciding the former is not his style, the ferret Field Marshal has chosen the latter option. Wheeling his army around, the Gradvar commander has opted to fight to reopen his tenuous supply line. The battle will take place near the small milling village of Valmy. Rosferian Situation: General Duross and General Kellerman have pulled off a rather brilliant coup. By giving way and allowing Ferdinand to pass, Duross has managed to stick his rather large combined force behind Ferdinand and cut him off from the Gradvar border, an extremely dangerous position for any army in enemy territory. What Duross must do to achieve victory is ensure that Ferdinand does NOT drive him off the ridge he holds, which would clear the road to Gradvar. He must hold his position in order to ensure victory over Gradvar. Size of Force: 47,000 Commander: Carian Duross (otter) Advantages: High ground, excellent artillery, superior numbers Disadvantages: Shaky morale Recommended Strategy: The Rosferian force should defend it's ground and cover the road to Gradvar. If Ferdinand manages to regain the road then his supply lines will be reopened. In order to ensure victory, Rosferia's number one priority is keeping the road blocked. --------------------------------------------------------- Gradvar Situation: Gradvar's army is in a very dangerous position now. Ferdinand's supply line has been cut and he will not be able to maintain a sustained campaign against Rosferia unless he can reopen his lines of communication and supply with Gradvar. Thanks to Frederick's insistence upon a fast advance, he was not able to build up a supply base as he would have wished at Dumont. Because of this, the ferret is still reliant upon Gradvar for supplies. Due to troop detachments to guard Longwy and Dumont, Ferdinand has reduced his invading force as well, and now finds himself outnumbered and on low ground facing the Rosferian army. Size of Force: 35,000 Commander: Duke Ferdinand (ferret); (operating under the authority of King Frederick II(ferret)) Advantages: Highly trained Disadvantages: Inner quarreling between Frederick and Ferdinand, outnumbered, low ground Recommended Strategy: Ferdinand MUST clear the road back to Gradvar. If he fails to do this he will lose this battle and most likely this campaign. His army is cut off from it's home country now and faces annihilation in the interior of Rosferia, and thus he MUST clear the road to Gradvar if he can declare victory on this day. Because of this, he will have to take an offensive posture and launch attacks against the Rosferian position. And now I'll open up various characters that any player may feel free to play for this battle. Duross (otter): Skipper (it's his character after all ) Kellerman (marten): Bookity Frederick (ferret): Bookity Ferdinand (ferret): Cal OK guys, this is going to be our first real battle here, and the fate of Rosferia hangs in the balance. I'll pick my character based on what other players decide on. It's the same as before with Frederick and Ferdinand. Frederick is in overall command though normally delegates actual field decisions to Ferdinand, his general. Kellerman is subordinate to Duorss and commands the Army of the Center, a smaller force that's working with Duross's Army of the North. Combined they have 47,000. Best of luck to everyone, and we'll commence once slots begin to fill up. Rosferia vs. Gradvar
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Post by bookity101 on Sept 14, 2009 7:44:04 GMT -5
I'd like to do Gen. Kellerman, or i could do Fredrick again.
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Post by Ladorak on Sept 14, 2009 9:31:20 GMT -5
I'll put you down as Kellerman, and then I'll take Ferdinand. Bookity, I could put you down for Frederick too if you want, but if you think it'll be too much then you can just play Kellerman, it's up to you
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Post by Carrow on Sept 14, 2009 14:58:35 GMT -5
Have to admit, I'm more than a little nervous about this. It'd be my first time doing any of this sort of thing. Looking forward to it all the same.
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Post by bookity101 on Sept 15, 2009 15:06:03 GMT -5
Sure. I'll do Fredrick too. That will be fun, working from both ends
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Post by Ladorak on Sept 15, 2009 16:46:13 GMT -5
OK, you're in for Frederick. Alright, battle starts now, from now on all posts will be IC. BATTLE START
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Post by Ladorak on Sept 15, 2009 17:19:09 GMT -5
Valmy. An incredibly small village in east-central Rosferia that lay on the road to Cosnair. So ironic....SO ironic that he would find himself in such a position! Cosnair, the capital of Rosferia and his goal in this entire campaign, was now behind him. BEHIND him. Because the ferret had had to swing his army around in an about face to prepare to square off with the Rosferian Army of the North and Center under the overall command of Carian Duross. An otter...an OTTER...besting him...HIM! Duke Ferdinand of Gradvar! Greatest soldier on the continent!
It was with more than mild annoyance that the ferret Field Marshal pushed his telescope down into itself and stashed it into his pouch. "Grrrr...." the "masked" mustelid let out a bit of a growl. How could this have happened! His supply lines! His route back to Gradvar! His precious home country! It had all been cut off! He was now with his back to his objective and his front to the Rosferian Army. If only.....if only he could make a dash for the capital...but it just wasn't Ferdinand's style. He preferred to fight and not take risks. His supply line being cut was too much of a risk, and he'd have to clear the road if he could continue his advance.
The General was dressed in a rather impressive looking silver and blue uniform. He sat atop a small horse as well, which was currently chewing on some grass. "Mmmm...." decisions....decisions. The two armies were about 2,500 yards apart, and each occupied a ridge line, though with some dismay Ferdinand could easily tell that the Rosferian ridge was taller than the one he was on. It looked to be General Kellerman's army out in front on that ridge, their lines broken only by a massive windmill on the crest of the hill.
Behind Kellerman's line, a secondary line was formed on the other side of the ridge, and that would be Duross's force. They were acting as a reserve right now, and Ferdinand could tell they were safely out of his range of artillery at the moment as well. Sighing, the ferret silently cursed his crafty otter opponent. NO one, not even a fellow mustelid (though Ferdinand considered ferrets the best), made a mockery of the Gradvar military. It just didn't happen. As humiliating as this situation was, Ferdinand figured he could still salvage it. They had the morale advantage after all, and they were better trained. True, they had poor ground and were in a dangerous position (not to mention outnumbered), but he hoped to make up for that with the might of the Gradvar Army.
"Ahem......" first things first. He cleared his throat and hoped to all that was good and righteous that his cousin, King Frederick II, wouldn't show up and ruin things. "Commence artillery fire on the enemy position! Soften them up!" he called out his initial combat orders, and his troops moved to obey. He'd hit them from long range first....hopefully it would sap their morale and make them unsteady and unequal to the challenge his charging troops would present.
The cannons were loaded, and at the order to fire, a single roar thundered out the muzzle of one gun, quickly fired by another, and another, moving off down the long line of cannon before it would repeat from battery number one. It was like music to his ears....earsplitting music that is, but music all the same. He was confident right now. He would have bet money on the Rosferian Army doing poorly under his attacks, he was that sure of himself. All he needed to do was show them a bit of Gradvarian muscle...and they would back off.
The opening shots had been fired, and Ferdinand kept his troops back for now, planning on firing artillery only for the moment, and seeing what the Rosferian side would do. Probably shoot back with their own cannon, but for now Ferdinand had to be the one taking the offensive. If he didn't, he wouldn't win anything here today. He watched as the solid shot lanced up and across the field in their graceful arcs and headed for the Rosferian lines......
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Post by Carrow on Sept 16, 2009 14:40:48 GMT -5
Carian Duross watched a pawful of beasts around him fall to the aforementioned opening shots. He was not kidding himself that there would be losses on his side if the otter's army did not counter soon. Clad in a uniform of white and turquoise, the latter colour matching the shade of the mustelid General's eyes, which seemed even darker than normal now as he quickly glanced worriedly around him. Of course, there would have to be a great deal of thinking done on paws here.
First things first, though, Duross thought as he turned to address his creatures.
"Righto, here's the deal: For now, we give as good as we get. If it gets to the stage where Ferdinand orders his troops to charge, we meet them in paw-to-paw combat," - as he said this, the otter pawed at the rapier tucked into his belt, "and do our best to make an end of it. The way I see it, all we need to do here today is stand our ground, resist the foe's attempts as well as we can. I see no reason why we cannot do that. Now then... RETURN FIRE!!," Duross called to his artillery beasts, smiling satisfactorily at the quick response his command received, and watching the shot head for Ferdinand's creatures. He knew that General Kellerman of the Army of the Center was with him, a very capable creature indeed, and though the aquatic mustelid had experienced tough times over the last few weeks while training his troops, he felt quite sure now, that regardless of the morale situation in his ranks, they would pull through and give their all.
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Post by Ladorak on Sept 17, 2009 0:02:26 GMT -5
Ferdinand smiled in satisfaction as the Rosferian guns boomed out their replies to his own artillery. Very well then.....let this game begin. He tried to see where his shots were landing.....at first they weren't very accurate, but that was to be expected. They were finding the range after all. That was the thing about the Gradvar artillery....they were run by a guild and not the military. It was seen as a "specialized branch" but sadly...it had gone to waste over the last few decades or so. The guild that was on top had received little to no practice, and the ferret could tell his artillery was at a disadvantage.
That blasted guild...he'd make sure another one took their place once this campaign was over. Ferdinand had been given sole authority in the military over the past few years, simply because up until now, King Frederick had not shown a direct interest in military affairs. Consequently, Ferdinand had run the army practically on his own for years, and it wasn't in the best of shape as it could have been. Only now was he acknowledging that despite his talents, it took more than one to run an army. He hadn't really modernized it during his tenure.
The returning fire of the Rosferian artillery struck his lines, cutting a few beasts down here and there. "Relax boys! No sense in trying to dodge! One spot is as good as the next!" he called out, trying to keep the morale up in his army, and he received some snickers and appreciative chuckles amongst the troops.
This gave the ferret Duke a sudden idea. Seeing his men taking well to his statement, he decided to try something. He wanted to see how bad the Rosferian morale really was. What Ferdinand didn't realize was that while there were many raw volunteers over in the Rosferian ranks, there were regular army troops as well, and they were not as likely to flinch at theatrics. "Assemble the troops! Start forming up for an assault! Get into formation!" he called out to his subordinates, who promptly saluted and began organizing the brigades up into rows, setting them this way and that and getting them ready for a general advance.
With confidence did the Duke study the front lines of Kellerman's force. They would be the first to be hit, once the advance reached them. Ferdinand wasn't counting on two things however. One was that there WERE regular army units in his opponent's lines, and the second was that they had a superior artillery system. Rosferian artillery was perhaps the best on the continent, and even had an interchangeable barrel system that allowed them to shoot at greater or shorter distances with unerring accuracy.
Still though, the ferret was confident....maybe overconfident. He expected Duross' ranks to start to panic upon seeing the mighty Gradvar Army advancing upon them. He was counting on them to just melt away and leave the road open. This would be Kellerman's and Duross' first real test of leadership. Ferdinand's troops were assembling. They were under fire yes, but they didn't flinch in the face of this. Their own artillery was thundering away after all, and it gave them a sense of security that once their advance started, there would be no stopping them. They were a bit surprised at their poor position and the trick that Duross had pulled, and so their morale had dipped a bit, but they were ready. Ferdinand would lead them to victory....he had to.
It would take some time for them to organize however, and thus the artillery duel continued at long range, building up to Ferdinand's eventual advance....
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Post by Carrow on Sept 17, 2009 16:12:25 GMT -5
Indeed, the artillery duel did continue, and Duross smiled slightly now as he witnessed the damage being inflicted on the Gradvar forces. He hoped that his troops, which included more than a few green creatures, would stand their ground no matter what. The otter glanced about him once more. The loss of life seemed to be even so far, the artillery battle going tit-for-tat. The mustelid was of course not unduly worried, as he had the numbers on his side, though when Kellerman and Duross' combined forces were weighed up against Ferdinand's, the latter had a good deal more experienced.
As well co-ordinated as the combined force was seeming (the otter smiled once more when he thought of how well they were gelling), it was obvious that this all hinged on the charge, and the paw-to-paw combat that would no doubt ensue. Duross was a dab paw when it came to swordsbeastship - or so he himself thought, at least - so reasoned that he would be able to hold his own in a skirmish. Thinking of the younger recruits troubled him, though, and his whiskers twitched anxiously as he wondered how well they would fare. And even for those that survived, would they be able to cope with the toll that the aftermath would no doubt take on their minds?
Duross knew that the ball was in Ferdinand's court now, so letting the artillerybeasts continue to work, he roared out: "Alright, it's clear that Ferdinand is soon going to mount a charge, so, into formation, troops! Form up, mates! We're going to be meeting him head on, so weapons at the ready!"
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