084.Battle of Philomelion_a - WDS Crusades Book II
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| Rating: | 0 (0) |
| Games Played: | 0 |
| SM: | 2 |
| Turns: | 25 |
| Type: | Stock |
| First Side: | Anti-Crusader Alliance (CB2) |
| Second Side: | Crusader Alliance (CB2) |
Date: May 7th, 1190 - Size: Medium - Location: On the way to Philomelion
Crusade: The Third Crusade
Scenario Briefing: Historical - Of all the Crusader leaders that participated in the various Papal proclamations, designed to retake, and maintain the Holy City of Jerusalem, none were more powerful than the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick "Barbarossa". When Pope Gregory VIII called for a Third Crusade to retake Jerusalem from Saladin and his Ayyubid Empire, the Emperor took up the Cross for a second time on the 27th of March 1188. Some have estimated the size of his army to be as many as 600,000. Others, at 200,000 or 100,000. If any of these had been true, Saladin could not have defended his land holdings, nor could the Seljuks of the Sultanate of Rum. Fortunately for the Muslims and even for fellow Christians that lay en route to Jerusalem, all of these estimates are greatly exaggerated. As someone once said, no territory, friendly or otherwise, benefit as an army passes through. As for the true number of Germans in the Emperor's army, there is no definitive agreement. However, for our purposes, we will estimate them, as do most modern historians, at 20,000 plus combatants. Whatever the true number, when combined with the Western European Crusaders that have taken the Cross, the total must have exceeded 50,000 combatants. Interestingly, this is about the same number that comprised the army of those in the First Crusade.
With the Emperor, accompanied by his son, Frederick VI, Duke of Swabia, the German Crusaders would take the same roads as did the First and Second Crusades. Their first major obstacle would be the city and capital of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople. Here, the Byzantine Emperor initially refused passage, but later relented and ferried the Germans, as fast as he could, across the Dardanelles and into Anatolia. At first, all went peacefully as the army marched through Byzantine held lands, but soon, the German Crusaders would be passing through Seljuk lands held by the Sultanate of Rum's potentate, Izz al-Din Kilij Arslan II.
With the Crusaders now fully committed in their passing through Seljuk territory, they were almost immediately set upon by Seljuk mounted archers. These tactics were initially only meant to harass and isolate the different German contingents. The plan was to isolate the vanguard and attack with a numerically superior force. Then destroy it before moving on to the remaining German contingents and destroying them in detail as well. Regarding the former, the Seljuk plan was successful.
What happens next is for you to determine. You may choose to head the German Vanguard and defend against the initial attack of the Seljuks, or choose to ambush the Crusaders with thousands of mounted warriors along with a smaller force of infantry. This will be a battle that is not too dissimilar to the first Battle of Dorylaeum in 1097. Good Luck!
In this version, the Germans will not receive any assistance.
Recommended Rules: [Default]
Intended to be played as either side against the AI or play Head-to-Head.
Suggested Reading: Loud, G. A., The Crusade of Frederick Barbarossa: The History of the Expedition of the Emperor Frederick. And Asbridge, Thomas. The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land (p. 420 - The fate of the German crusade).
Crusade: The Third Crusade
Scenario Briefing: Historical - Of all the Crusader leaders that participated in the various Papal proclamations, designed to retake, and maintain the Holy City of Jerusalem, none were more powerful than the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick "Barbarossa". When Pope Gregory VIII called for a Third Crusade to retake Jerusalem from Saladin and his Ayyubid Empire, the Emperor took up the Cross for a second time on the 27th of March 1188. Some have estimated the size of his army to be as many as 600,000. Others, at 200,000 or 100,000. If any of these had been true, Saladin could not have defended his land holdings, nor could the Seljuks of the Sultanate of Rum. Fortunately for the Muslims and even for fellow Christians that lay en route to Jerusalem, all of these estimates are greatly exaggerated. As someone once said, no territory, friendly or otherwise, benefit as an army passes through. As for the true number of Germans in the Emperor's army, there is no definitive agreement. However, for our purposes, we will estimate them, as do most modern historians, at 20,000 plus combatants. Whatever the true number, when combined with the Western European Crusaders that have taken the Cross, the total must have exceeded 50,000 combatants. Interestingly, this is about the same number that comprised the army of those in the First Crusade.
With the Emperor, accompanied by his son, Frederick VI, Duke of Swabia, the German Crusaders would take the same roads as did the First and Second Crusades. Their first major obstacle would be the city and capital of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople. Here, the Byzantine Emperor initially refused passage, but later relented and ferried the Germans, as fast as he could, across the Dardanelles and into Anatolia. At first, all went peacefully as the army marched through Byzantine held lands, but soon, the German Crusaders would be passing through Seljuk lands held by the Sultanate of Rum's potentate, Izz al-Din Kilij Arslan II.
With the Crusaders now fully committed in their passing through Seljuk territory, they were almost immediately set upon by Seljuk mounted archers. These tactics were initially only meant to harass and isolate the different German contingents. The plan was to isolate the vanguard and attack with a numerically superior force. Then destroy it before moving on to the remaining German contingents and destroying them in detail as well. Regarding the former, the Seljuk plan was successful.
What happens next is for you to determine. You may choose to head the German Vanguard and defend against the initial attack of the Seljuks, or choose to ambush the Crusaders with thousands of mounted warriors along with a smaller force of infantry. This will be a battle that is not too dissimilar to the first Battle of Dorylaeum in 1097. Good Luck!
In this version, the Germans will not receive any assistance.
Recommended Rules: [Default]
Intended to be played as either side against the AI or play Head-to-Head.
Suggested Reading: Loud, G. A., The Crusade of Frederick Barbarossa: The History of the Expedition of the Emperor Frederick. And Asbridge, Thomas. The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land (p. 420 - The fate of the German crusade).
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