That or maybe he knows something we don't garv. I'm not TOTALLY disagreeing with you he could be botching up this whole last stand of ours.
However, id like to think that the Duke has been reinforced by other Dukes and counts. Remember that Count Zander fellow? he's from another Duchy {if i remeber correctly} and i think they've made contact built up a strong contingency, scouted enemy forces, and is now moving to engage. This is all a big IF though as we will just have to see what happens either way onwards to cooking this Sea raider town in fire and brimSTONE!
I'd like to hope those things, and assume that he isn't committing virtual suicide. Time will tell. But enough of things beyond our control. Here's a comprehensive summary of our plans.
Out front, I'll point out a lingering question. I suppose it may remain in doubt how we can control a city of several thousand with 200 men. It has been done many times: there are always large numbers of civilians without leadership and means of fighting back whenever a city has fallen and they never mount a credible repulse. I could point to the fall of Constantinople to the Crusaders in 1204 as an example of 20 thousand Latins holding 400 thousand Greek civilians captive. Or Cortes in Mexico, gliding over the unpleasantness of Triste Noche.
The first thing is to destroy their actual garrison. We advance to the gate under cover of our longboats as quickly as possible, one boat becomes a ram, others form mantlets. The towers are swept by cover fire, other archers spread fires at great random as deep into the village as possible to break up movement and assembly within. Our longbows out distance whatever ranged they have, hitting places upto 365m away at maximum arc, and archery targets were routinely practiced at 220m distance. Meanwhile the gates break quickly under twenty men slamming a ship's prow into it. Our cavalry is formed on the beach and advances up.
The enemy militia will have a central assembly point, a town square, perhaps along its widest avenue. Let's strike deep with our horse initially to get that under our control and kill anyone who looks to be gathering, especially leaders and heros. 16 heavily armoured men can do much to break up groggy militia stumbling from their beds and rushing to their armoury in the early morning gloom. We set fire to the armoury and hold the square if possible as the infantry march up to hold what we seized with speed.
The square will have big huts or even longhouses with potentially important civilians like Joral. We bust into those when supported by infantry and kill those in need of killing, capture those in need of capture. I'd love to get some really important princesses of various tribes that stayed behind in the safety of the main village. Burn everything in the main square as we fall back toward the harbour.
The harbour has warehouses. Don't argue with me here. A harbour always has warehouses for what a harbour necessarily does. That's where we put captives. A fishing town has nigh limitless supplies of rope and netting, too. These high-value prisoners are the first, but not the last. Next, we're going to go as one body of troops in a methodical sweep of the city, breaking into houses, beating the civilian men inside, bruising their ribs and swelling their joints so that fighting back in the next few weeks is not in their thoughts. March some of them in each district back to the warehouses and crowd them in like cattle. We're going to pack the warehouses with hostages. Important ones, common ones, any is fine. If the rest of the city resists after this point, we threaten to fire the warehouses.
Now get the supplies of the village loaded on our ships. We may stay longer, or we may leave. Too far ahead to make that call.
If this plan fails, then set fire to the immediate surroundings of the harbour gate district and make our escape in the fires that block them from following us. Grab any enemy ship already at the shoreline.
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Topic: Lordship: A Suggestion Game (Read 327863 times)