Clearing the Road

[Nagato the Great]

OOC: You wouldn't have gone unresisted. There are still 6,000 troops and cavalry in True Russia.

IC: The counter attack was swift. The brigands hardly had any knowledge of the city scape of True Russia, and thus were easy to be killed by the army, who knew the cities like the back of their hands. They swept through the brigand groups, who could not use their guerrila tactics in a city that the army knew completely.

Meanwhile, news of the attack spread to the army in Sibera. Leonov, whose wife and children had been killed in the attack, was so furious he was indistinguishable from a demon.

"I will find the brigand commander, and personally, I will make his life hell on Earth." he howled into the night sky. "I WILL RIP YOUR PATHETIC BEATING HEART TO SHREDS!!!"

This note was sent to the Lu Chinese Army.

"The barbarians have attacked True Russia. Dozens of women and children have been killed. Please, march faster. We must annihilate this threat before it reaches Lu China as well."

Meanwhile, from the peaceful Northern villages of True Russia, a group of caravans and traders left on the road to Lu China.

In the caravan hold, were dozens more soldiers and swords, spears, shields, and bows and arrows. The 'traders' themselves were soldiers in disguise. The 'caravans' slowly moved towards Lu China, a seemingly vulernable target.

[loannes]

OOC: I highly doubt your entire army was in that one city.

[Nagato the Great]

OOC: *cough*burning villages*cough* you wrote it plural

1. There are still about a good 500 troops.

2. They get reinforcements.

3. So you'd run into about 2,000 troops

4. So post your losses.

[loannes]

OOC: The size of your nation makes it impossible for the entire army to reach the villages in the southernmost part of your country within two hours.

[Nagato the Great]

OOC: The size of your nation makes it impossible for the entire army to reach the villages in the southernmost part of your country within two hours.

OOC: It was not the entire army. 1,500 men in that area. Plus the 500 in the villages you attacked. You would definitely suffer many deaths because our forces are basically the same.

[Mergerberger II]

News of the expansion of False Russia reached Japan after it was well underway. Many in Japan have been heard making jokes that all seven Russians are fighting all three Siberians somewhere in a frozen wasteland to the Northwest.

The Emperor, as the unconfirmed rumors were, sent aid caravans to the natives in the area.

*HIGHLY CLASSIFIED*

400 Japanese infantrymen, 100 archers, and 20 horsemen escorted an aid caravan to the native tribes' army, which was found using native scouts and residents that were sympathetic to the Siberian cause over the Russian. The caravan consisted of 10 cannons, and enough ammunition for 10 battles, as well as several rocket-shooters, equipped with ammunition for a major engagement. They were meant to be used by natives. On a small bit of papyrus, the Emperor had a message written expressing Japanese sympathy to the Siberian cause, however this was all Japan could do at the time for them. Should the caravan be captured, the message was to be immediately swallowed by the man who carried it.

[Nagato the Great]

The True Russian troops saw a caravan riding downt he road and moved to capture it. However, Leonov stopped them. Only he knew that it was the True Russian trap.

"Let them go." He told his troops. "Leave them to Lu." He said this to cause any brigand spying on them to believe that it wasn't a trap.

Edited November 29, 2009 by Nagato the Great

[Mergerberger II]

The caravan was captured immediately; the invasion army was monitoring anything going their way, while if the caravan had tried to make it to the invading brigands the True Russian Army would capture it immediately.

"Hmm, strange...there is no way in hell the brigands could have arms and cannons as these. Someone is aiding them."

OOC: LOL no. 100% !@#$%^&* is what this post is. Just how did you manage to put an army everywhere in Siberia between you and Lu?

[Nagato the Great]

OOC: LOL no. 100% !@#$%^&* is what this post is. Just how did you manage to put an army everywhere in Siberia between you and Lu?

OOC: Not everywhere, but let's figure it out. Lu invading from the south. Me from the North. It's bound to be captured, if not by me, then by Lu.

[Mergerberger II]

OOC: Not everywhere, but let's figure it out. Lu invading from the south. Me from the North. It's bound to be captured, if not by me, then by Lu.

OOC: That's also a massive piece of land. It is not difficult for 400 men to avoid an army of 8,000, nor is it difficult to pass themselves off as merchants, nor is it difficult for them to fight back, considering that I am something like 300 years more advanced than you, and you don't know what a cannon is.

[Nagato the Great]

OOC: That's also a massive piece of land. It is not difficult for 400 men to avoid an army of 8,000, nor is it difficult to pass themselves off as merchants, nor is it difficult for them to fight back, considering that I am something like 300 years more advanced than you, and you don't know what a cannon is.

OOC: It's not really massive. The sliver of land that is needed for the route to Lu China?

And anyway, 400 men may be able to avoid 8,000, but as I said, Lu's invading force would find them if I didn't.

And anyway, I would think, hmm, a random trade caravan in the middle of a known battleground?

[Tahsir]

The caravan was captured immediately; the invasion army was monitoring anything going their way, while if the caravan had tried to make it to the invading brigands the True Russian Army would capture it immediately.

"Hmm, strange...there is no way in hell the brigands could have arms and cannons as these. Someone is aiding them."

OOC: Merger is right. You've either spread out so much that your army is basically useless fodder or you're failing to understand just how bad communication and scouting was in the medieval era.

[Nagato the Great]

OOC: Okay, I'm not saying for sure that I would capture it, i'm saying if I didn't Lu would. Editing post.

[Mergerberger II]

OOC: It's not really massive. The sliver of land that is needed for the route to Lu China?

And anyway, 400 men may be able to avoid 8,000, but as I said, Lu's invading force would find them if I didn't.

And anyway, I would think, hmm, a random trade caravan in the middle of a known battleground?

OOC:

-Yes, it is massive. That 'sliver' is 1,000 miles long at its shortest, and with as much harsh geography and terrain as there is in Siberia, it is far longer (you would have to wind around).

-520 men can avoid all of your troops, thanks. A thousand miles long, and it is filled with terrible terrain. If you were guarding it, you would not be fighting any natives, because with an army the size of anyone's in the medieval age, it would be more realistic in this situation for your nations to just say 'good !@#$@#$ luck' to anyone that wanted to trade between your nations.

-That is why they are being escorted? If the Japanese want to trade with someone, and there is a war going on, then there will probably be an escort so that they don't get stabbed, which is probably what you should do with your trade caravans to make this more realistic.

[Nagato the Great]

OOC: enough ooc. i corrected my post.

[Tahsir]

OOC: at a medieval scale, without resistance, on good roads, it would take about 3 months of hard travel to get from your nation to Lu. You're trying to march, into resistance, without roads. How does 20 years sound?

[Nagato the Great]

OOC: It sounds like !@#$%^&*. and for christ's sake, enough OOC. I corrected my damn post, problem solved. We have a road. 20 years is total bullcrap. I estimate a few months.

[loannes]

OOC: It was not the entire army. 1,500 men in that area. Plus the 500 in the villages you attacked. You would definitely suffer many deaths because our forces are basically the same.

OOC: You would also suffer casualties, so I'd better not see you losing only 10 men.

IC: The bandits swiftly reorganized in the woods close to the border. 317 men had been killed, but they'd gone down swinging. The bandit commanders worked together, and ordered their 1,400 remaining infantry to enter a shield wall formation, with their a hundred cavalry on each wing. They began their advance across the field towards the Russians, with the back ranks ordered to raise their shields over their heads as they marched if arrows were fired.

News of the expansion of False Russia reached Japan after it was well underway. Many in Japan have been heard making jokes that all seven Russians are fighting all three Siberians somewhere in a frozen wasteland to the Northwest.

The Emperor, as the unconfirmed rumors were, sent aid caravans to the natives in the area.

*HIGHLY CLASSIFIED*

400 Japanese infantrymen, 100 archers, and 20 horsemen escorted an aid caravan to the native tribes' army, which was found using native scouts and residents that were sympathetic to the Siberian cause over the Russian. The caravan consisted of 10 cannons, and enough ammunition for 10 battles, as well as several rocket-shooters, equipped with ammunition for a major engagement. They were meant to be used by natives. On a small bit of papyrus, the Emperor had a message written expressing Japanese sympathy to the Siberian cause, however this was all Japan could do at the time for them. Should the caravan be captured, the message was to be immediately swallowed by the man who carried it.

One of the more influential tribes received the caravan. The Japanese were regarded with caution at first by the scarred chieftain, but when he read the letter and saw the cannons, his face lit up and he laughed heartily. "Tell your emperor I thank him for the gift," the chief told the messenger in a gravelly voice. "We now have a better chance of holding the invaders in a field battle. Your generosity will long be remembered by all Siberians."

The cannons were unloaded, and a few foreigners who lived in the area taught the tribesmen how to use them.

Runners were sent to the other tribes, requesting a meeting for the sake of Siberia.

OOC: 20 years might be a little extreme, but 2-4 years isn't. You're going through hostile land, without roads, wandering the wilderness, with tribes and bandits shooting you every step of the way. With stiff resistance, it could indeed take up to 10 years.

[Nagato the Great]

In preparation for the coming attack, longbowmen were placed in the top floors of houses. The True Russian losses numbered about 210, but they were ready to fight on, having rested, reorganized, and rearmed.

Meanwhile, in Siberia, the large caravan passed by a group of brigands and rattled on...

Any of the runners who by chance ran into the True Russian forces were executed upon contact.

The True Russian army marched on through the tundra, where there was no possiblity of hiding.

[loannes]

The shield wall was broken, and the army moved away, headed for a clearing several miles from town, where their tactic would be more successful.

A Mongol-influenced tribe spotted the Russian army as it moved across the tundra. The alarm was silently raised, and the tribe's warriors, numbering 3,000 mounted their horses and readied their bows and awaited orders.

Four hundred warriors rode across the plain, stopping in range of the army, and firing their arrows at them. Their composite bows were constructed in a way that allowed them to fire upon foot archers, but remain out of range. If they fell into range, they would be able to ride out, firing a Parthian shot as they withdrew. These four hundred warriors were simply there to cause the Russians to break formation; no soldier could stand getting pelted by arrows for too long.

[Nagato the Great]

The True Russian Army simply charged down their adversaries, hacking and stabbing at them. As they numbered 7,000 they were numerically superior. The archers fired several arrows before charging with their swords as well, bringing the fight directly to the enemy. Those who tried to ride away were chased down by the Russian cavalry who, having horses most likely more well fed and trained than those of the barbarians.

[loannes]

The horse archers scooted away, losing a dozen men to the archers. They remained ahead of the Russian cavalry, firing their arrows at the vulnerable riders. A number of the horse archers laughed, for the thought of infantry chasing horses was amusing to them. They were only wearing themselves out, running in full battle garb.

The chief of the tribe smiled. "For freedom!" he roared. The other 2600 horse archers rode up a small slope and onto ground level with the Russians, and spread out. They began a loop around the infantry, firing their arrows as they went, in a modified, giant version of the Cantabrian Circle.

[Nagato the Great]

The infantry slashed at the legs of their horses, while outside of the ring, the hundreds of cavalry attacked the barbarian horsemen From a distance with arrows, while other cavalrymen rode in and stabbed the riders off their horses. About 100 infantrymen had already died in the circle, and more seemed to be about to die. Meanwhile, Leonov turned his horse around and engaged the chieftain of the horsemen in one on one combat.

Edited November 30, 2009 by Nagato the Great

[loannes]

OOC: Right. So your guys managed to run the 100+ yards to the horsemen and stab them, and only 20 men died with 2600 archers shooting at them? !@#$%^&*.

[Nagato the Great]

OOC: Right. So your guys managed to run the 100+ yards to the horsemen and stab them, and only 20 men died with 2600 archers shooting at them? !@#$%^&*.

OOC: After about a minute in that circle, I doubt you would kill the entire lot of them. I specifically said, in the circle, not overall.