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[Maldevious]

Please don't use the thread being locked as a way to influence the discussion. To reiterate, I have zero problems with arguing, and all the problems with personal attacks. I see no personal attacks in what Gerv posted above: he merely strongly disagrees with the prevailing opinion. Carry on.

[Gervassen]

Gervassen, reign yourself in. You'll get the thread locked.

No, believe it or not, I do have the ability to say some ideas are really terrible. There'd be little point in a discussion if we forced to agree that everyone's idea was equally awesome. And splitting up is dumb. We're massively outnumbered, and where we should be gathering every cringing wastrel hiding in the back alleys and putting a bill in his hands, instead we're dividing off experienced soldiers to play prison guard.

[Gamerlord]

Please don't use the thread being locked as a way to influence the discussion. To reiterate, I have zero problems with arguing, and all the problems with personal attacks. I see no personal attacks in what Gerv posted above: he merely strongly disagrees with the prevailing opinion. Carry on.

Just the way he said it sounds like he was insulting the person who suggested it.

[Maldevious]

It was a bit sarcastic, but I don't think any personal attacks were made. Carry on.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Split up. Brilliant strategy in a war. Divide and be conquered, then get slaughtered by enemies clearly more ruthless and bloodthirsty. Darwin wins again.

The other options are crowding them in a town that Maldevious clearly said had no room for them, or setting them free. Our options are limited. There are no good choices, we have to take the least bad one.

[Gervassen]

Gamerlord... You know what you are doing. You know that you were also centrally involved in the last lock, and you know that you have no business pretending to be my minder. Please stop the farce. I'm sorry I had to add to this, but you're just going to nip around my edges continually unless I'm blunt, right?

The other options are crowding them in a town that Maldevious clearly said had no room for them, or setting them free. Our options are limited. There are no good choices, we have to take the least bad one.

He gave us a false dilemma. Let's see if we can in fact get the priests to take them, and if not, we take them with us on the march. No safer place than in an army, and hostages can continue to be useful when we meet with the enemy. I do not support removing one soldier from our ranks. We are heavily outnumbered.

I think the next village we meet, we're just going to have to slaughter them. If this is what people expect, that we can just waste our military forces on the ones we spare.



 

[GreatWyrmGold]

If the priests can take them, great. If not, our hands are tied.

We'll burn that bridge--or hopefully not--when we come to it.

[Gamerlord]

Gervassen, cut it out. I don't want Mal to lock the thread again, so please stop.

[LordSlowpoke]

Gervassen, cut it out. I don't want Mal to lock the thread again, so please stop.

Please don't use the thread being locked as a way to influence the discussion.

please stop getting the thread locked bro

why you do this bro

bro pls

[Gervassen]

Sounds about the best we can all support, then.

At any rate, just some cluttered ideas before I sign out for the night....

Wagon loads of oil, ask Joral about personal duels and Gergal's banner. Learn the enemy language and customs.

Maybe take ships to catch up with the Duke's host. They often can do as well as 5-7 knots, and that's a day march in one hour. We may also be able to scatter some enemy fishing fleets and villages. If we plan to use attrition, we'll have to attrite the villagers doing the gathering along the coast...

The Duke plans to hit the raider settlement before the siege, right? Sounds like Gergal left it relatively undefended, too. Northsea is weak. Maybe our small force could even raid from sea, if their settlement only has a landwall around the beached ships. I really doubt that they expect seaward attack, being confident sailors; yet it appears they have all left their ships in an arrogant all-out push on the capital.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Sounds like a plan. Here's hoping your assumptions are correct!

[Gervassen]

My use of English was imprecise. When I characterised Kaian's plans as terrible and dumb, I really meant sub-optimal. That was an over-reaction. A battle against the odds could hinge on a few dozen veterans missing, but then it may not. I usually value Kaian's suggestions, such as his speech to Joral about her village's future; and I definitely do not think that he personally is either terrible or dumb... just sub-optimal...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

As are we all!

I really don't like to see any veteran soldiers go, but whatever. Let's go with the lowest bid of 10 men, given by evilcherry.

As for raiding by sea, it could work. If the Duke hasn't used the navy after ferrying, it would be a cool way to catch up to him, heh. And I think the heavy horse can also be loaded into the holds. Those boats have already ferried a lot of cavalry before us. It's a gamble that the other raider village is weak and unexpecting, at least by sea. It's not a case of "this is obviously the best course" because it could go horribly awry.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Let's hope that the 1:10 ratio of soldiers:prisoners works out. If it doesn't, I know who to blame (not that I'm likely to hold it against you).

Horses can be loaded into ships, it's just not necessarily easy.

And, as I said earlier, there are no good options.

[Gervassen]

Let's hope that the 1:10 ratio of soldiers:prisoners works out. If it doesn't, I know who to blame (not that I'm likely to hold it against you).

Horses can be loaded into ships, it's just not necessarily easy.

And, as I said earlier, there are no good options.

Those 10 men are guardians as much as guards. Joral can tell them they'll simply be lynched by angry peasants if they escape.

As for horses, William I obviously did it in large numbers. He alone had three horses killed under him in Hastings, so they brought enough spares. William's boats were shallow drafted and beached on shore. In the last battle, the Duke captured a great number of longboats, which are also shallow draft. Those are good for beaching quickly and assaulting from sea; unfortunately, they probably do not have specific restraints for horses like William's boats. They'll just sink if horses panic inside them. We have no capability similar to William's.

I'm thinking a set-up like this: Put the horses in a few cogs, our men in longboats. Sail to the settlement and beach the longboats quickly, using surprise and the similar appearance to their own craft to gain the beach-head; and then ground the cogs in probably 10 feet of water and prod the horses out of the hold and into swimming a shore, cogs lighter and drawing less water now, crew anchors and disembarks into skiffs.

It's a lot of work for those horses, but an enemy that fights primarily with shield and axe will be easily broken up by charges. Worth the herculean effort, imo.

Of course, I'm also okay with simply riding to the Duke.

[GreatWyrmGold]

The horses are definitely a great enough asset that whatever battle we plan should try to include them. Your plan-of-attack sounds reasonable.