Ambush on the March - NULL

So much for reconnaissance.

The Sultan smiles to himself, enjoying a brief rest following victory. The Janissaries of the rear-guard stare pensively at the horizon, glad to see no Russians approaching. The Sultan watches his brave Azabs as they scour the bodies of the dead for valuable pieces of armour. Any abandoned baggage is also searched by soldiers eager to find a treat. When the Ottomans had been on the receiving end of such looting, the Sultan’s own supplies had given many Germans and Poles their first taste of coffee, which in 1683 was a rarefied thing, when Vienna had only one coffee shop, and that had only opened a few years before. Ahmet’s ego was, of course, well fed by the cries of his men, who seemed to yell his own name even more than they yelled that of God. Before battle, he had told his men that they were part of the greatest campaign since the capture of Constantinople, and after Hohenau am der March he was starting to believe it himself.

Sultan Ahmet decides to strike while the iron is hot, knowing his men are at the peak of motivation Plans are put in place for a Martyrs’ Cemetery in Bratislava, where the lost men may be buried. Of course, the wealthier casualties might have families to pay for their return home, but the great bulk of the dead are to be given simple graves, tended by a modest Mosque, which Ahmet intends to endow with funds himself.

In the absence of a Russian counter-attack, the armies are to return to Bratislava, once the men have had their rummage, through Hohenau, the dead, and any lost baggage, where they will cross back over onto the southern side of the Danube, and march to Vienna for a siege.

As well as any banners or fine items, that tend to be handed over as the Sultan's share for storage in his armoury, the Sultan has one particular request: A full relatively intact set of armour from a winged Hussar. The Sultan wishes to have it displayed on a mannequin at his palace.

I'm inclined to agree that military simulation in this game has been a let down, which is a shame as Admin has done an absolutely fantastic job of everything else.

I still maintain the best way of doing mil sim in these games is on an arbitrary basis with pen and paper. 

I think that if Theo is willing, he could do a very good job running the battles. I personally trust him to produce a fair and un-biased result when a battle involves his own troops. If Admin agrees then I suggest we do a re-run of this battle in order to test any new system, after that people can debate whether they think it fair or not.

As far as Theo being privy to plans that might hurt him, I propose this. Players still send their battle plans to Admin and Theo, but if when the battle is posted someone thinks that Theo has used this information in order to help himself Admin can step in and arbitrate.

Likewise keen to continue, I see no reason why the result of this battle should be overturned or given special treatment, given others have previously had qualms about battles that have gigantically changed the course of history for their nation.

I do really appreciate the work of the admin to date, despite my disagreements on battle outcomes, I also think it takes some cajones to call out an area where they think someone else may do the job better. However, retrospective action shouldn't be allowed or established as a principle.

Rhys beat me in battle four or five times in a row, I didn't like it, but it never really bothered me to the extent that I felt they needed redoing - war is unfair. Thomas out smarted us, so good on him for doing so

This battle was quite likely to take place, and was almost guarantees as an Ottoman victory. Maybe the way it was artistically portrayed in the post might not have been 100% realistic, and the losses may be disputed, but the Ottoman armies possessed twice the power and many times the numbers of the Poles and Saxons.

The signal system built along the Little Carpathians, the use of merchants as frontline lookouts, and limits on the visible presence of Ottoman scouting were employed. The location of the Polish army was ascertained by insignificant itinerant traders, not fully kitted out military scouts. There were contingency plans in place for all reasonable movements of the army, and several battle sites suggested. The Polish army would have been intercepted or blocked wherever they went, unless they did some convoluted march all the wat around the Austrian Empire. The attack sure was close enough to the Slovakian border to be reached with ease. Short of legging it back to Poland, battle was almost guarenteed. The March crosding was chosen as it presents a natural chokepoint where the movement of the Polish army can be predicted, and groups of Azab irregulars can be sent through the woods to attack the flanks.

Just so you know that this battle wasn't a simple case of 'i want to ambush' and scouts being ignored. It was a pre-planned interception. The way it was portrayed by Admin was very suspenseful, if not rigorously authentic.

This post is intended to shed a little bit of light on what went into arranging this battle, rather than taking a side on the current debate. Other than viewing a Polish victory as a very unlikely prospect, I reserve all opinion.

I am happy to leave any interpretation, reinterpretation, and final say to the judgement of Admin. This is his game, so everything must ultimately come down to his opinion on the matter.

On an unrelated note, we can perhaps take the heated passions aroused by this dispute as a sign of the success of a game which has undoubtedly got everyone deeply invested in their nations and the grand narrative.