Cry Havoc!

More dogs of war descend upon the troubled Kingdom of Ruritania.

Sigismund, the famous Baron of Visegrad


He leads a powerful conroi of other knights


Meanwhile the Arlecchino, a fearsome assassin from Venice stalks the land


Lorenzo, the Signore of Pirano leads his men


Goran, the Friar of Trieste has joined forces with the Pirano nobleman


A lone man-at-arms guards the camp


Meanwhile, the Elizabethan Adventurers won the poll by a significant margin: 9 votes to the Highwayman's 4 (Those poor unloved Medieval Pilrgrims got none at all). Time to shop around...

The Battle of Marburg

Meeting the Bohemian army besieging the fortress at Marburg, Alexios Doukas presses into action to control the bridges over the river Drava.

Doukas plans to use his heavy cavalry on the open ground on his left flank and his massed infantry on the right to decide the battle, holding a skirmish line in the centre to prevent any decisive movement of reserves from one side of the river to the other



After a slow initial advance, Doukas' massed cavalry charge into the opposing force, doing some serious damage before withdrawing to avoid getting drawn into a close-range struggle in the woods



On the other flank the Bohemian infantry advance cautiously, sticking to the wooded hills to stave off any opportunistic attack by the enemy



The Bohemians counter-attack in the centre aiming at the holding force in the forest connecting with Doukas' centre. Despite the involvement of heavy infantry and cavalry the attack peters out



A fierce infantry engagement breaks out on the right flank, with the lines becoming confused and broken with Doukas gaining the upper hand but with no clear winner



The final struggle for victory on the battlefield takes place back on the left flank where the Bohemian heavy infantry is attack by heavy cavalry charging through the woods with a flanking force of Doukas' personal guard. With this decisive attack and when a last valiant effort by the Bohemian infantry on the other flank Doukas' army firmly grasps victory



Is there any force now in Ruritania that can block Alexios Doukas' ascent to the throne?

The Battle of Garestin

The forces of Johannes of Bohemia are arrayed outside the town preparing for an attack on Francesco Savorgnan.

Johannes (the Bastard) or Bohemia is breakfasting in the town and relies upon his lieutenants Ulric Meinhard of Görz and William Wittelsbach or Bavaria to execute the battle plan



But the wily Italian from Udine has hired a strong band of mercenaries from Brabant and marched through the night to raid the town at dawn. Here the Brabazon crossbowmen advance in a line up to the strong walls surrounding a large field of young wheat



Francesco Savorgnan keeps his men together and prepares to sweep the town in search of the claimant of the throne of Ruritania from Bohemia



William Wittelsbach hurries across footbridge, holding up his men-at-arms as he negotiates the old wooden structure



Ulric Meinhard heads for the ford with his trust squire beside him



Geoffrey of Brabant's light cavalry race around field. Are they going to head off Meinhard at the ford, or are they just avoiding the heavy foot traffic through the town?



They avoid contact at ford and turn into town, perhaps dissuaded by the presence of archers on the hill overlooking the ford



They are shot at as they approach Wittelsbach and they wheel away to circle the butter market in the town square



Johannes of Bohemia emerges from hiding now that relief has arrived. He begins to back away towards Wittelsbach's men-at-arms



Archery from river bank begins to tell on the mercenaries. Over the course of the next few minutes, the infamous Saracen archer Yusuf Edrisi (reputed to be blind) wounds two crossbowmen and two men-at-arms with his accurate shooting



A cavalry charge hits home, but one of the knight's timing is off and he doesn't arrive in time to support his fellows



Savorgnan's infantry stands fast and repels the knights, wounding two of the horsemen



One of the knights is pursued by two infantry, Ulric would have taken one prisoner except he thinks better of sticking around while wounded and continues his flight



A grand melee erupts as Johannes of Bohemia advances to support his beleaguered knights



A flanking force finally arrives from Wittelsbach's retinue, killing two men-at-arms outright



They follow up to set Geoffrey of Brabant to flight (thinking of his profit margins no doubt) until arrows from Savorgnan's trusty hunter kill Wittelsbach's squire



The grand melee intensifies. with Savorgnan's infantry making in into contact. Wittelsbach sees off three men-at-arms, capturing a soldier on foot and a hobilar. Savorgnan himself is taking on Johannes the Bastard and a brave footmen wielding a voulge, despite the odds he wounds Johannes in the face. Geoffrey of Brabant is taken prisoner by one of Wittelsbach's trusted retainers



Johannes of Bohemia is mortally wounded by Francesco Savorgnan who has single-handedly turned the battle. The disheartend forces backing the Bohemian's claims rout, but the pursuit is lacklustre as losses have been high and the dreaded Saracen bowman still holds the ford



Alexios Doukas' claim, the Byzantine Knight in Exile, is in the ascendency, but resistance must be stamped out before a new claimant can hold his hand up. A silver must be found to pay the Brabazon mercenaries...

Muster of Ruritania

King Friedrich of Ruritania, a hotblooded and foolish youth, went on crusade without securing his line. He died in battle, along with his army and most of the nobles of the Kingdom, at Nicopolis.
His infant son, a weak and sickly boy, died four year later leaving the realm bereft of a rightful heir.



Two candidates have come to the fore during the interregnum.

Johannes, Bastard of Bohemia. Claimant on the throne of Ruritania by no real right, but put forward by Wenzeslas, King of Bohemia.



Alexios Doukas, Byzantine Knight in Exile. Claimant on the throne of Ruritania by the fact that he is married to the dead King Friedrich's sister.



Nobles war amongst themselves, both to gain land and power in the chaos, but also to push their preferred candidate forward.

Francesco Savorgnan, younger brother of the ruler of the Italian city of Udine, here with a trusted hunter.



Massimo de Montacada, an Italian German man-at-arms in the service of Francesco Savorgnan of Udine. Here with his four heavily armed sergeant and archer.



Ulric Meinhard, a nobleman from the powerful nearby city of Görz. Seen here mounted and with his squire attending and the infamous saracen archer Yusuf Edrisi.



Baldric von Lienz, a German man-at-arms in the service of Ulric Meinhard of Görz. Here with two sergeants and a crossbowman.



William Wittelsbach, a nobleman connected with the ruling dynasty of Bavaria. Seen here mounted and with his squire attending.



Siegfried von Scheyern, a German man-at-arms in the service of William Wittelsbach. Here with two well-armed sergeants.



Leopold von Neuhaus, a German man-at-arms in the service of William Wittelsbach. Here with a sergeant and an archer.



The ambitious Brabanzon mercenary captain Geoffrey of Brabant has also taken an interest in the war. Here he is with attending sergeant. Under his command are three separate mercenary lances, each with a man-at-arms, mounted sergeant and crossbowman.



Jean de Leuven, a mercenary in service with Geoffrey of Brabant



Johannes de Baesweiler, a mercenary in service with Geoffrey of Brabant



Markus de Namur, a mercenary in service with Geoffrey of Brabant



Surely God will be merciful upon the unfortunate people of Ruritania and make the interegnum a short lesson of humility and wisdom...