The Battle of Adrianople

After breakfast, the army camp was moved 20 kms north, near the river crossing and the border between the Holy Order of Alta and the Kingdom of Moesia. The move took the entire day, which was considered to be relatively fast according to my aides. However, I know for a fact that the French armies during the Napoleonic Wars marched around 30kms a day, the fastest being 52kms in 26 hours, whereas the slowest being 10-15kms under constant skirmish and cannon fire. I needed to solve the logistics of the military if I was to win against enemies on all fronts.

Early in the morning, I was summoned by my father to a strategy meeting, which was held in the open grassland in front of the camp, not in a tent. No matter how talented I seemed to be to my father and his vassals, I wasn't expecting to be given command of a large force during my first battle, but I still needed to have my own separate unit, so that I could gain experience in leading troops in battle, so that I could test my nerves, which I was granted, much to the dismay of my brother, who was given command of a portion of the army, albeit reluctantly.

My brother was given command of the left wing of the army, 20 knights, 50 of my brothers' Immortals that were sent by his grandfather, 700 levy infantry, and 200 cavalry. My father himself took the center with 1000 heavily armed infantry from Alta, 1300 of all the remaining levy infantry, 100 cavalry, 100 knights, and 20 Paladins. Sir Gildor, the commander of the Paladins, took command of the right wing with 300 cavalry, 230 knights and 50 Paladins, a full cavalry force. Finally, I was given command of 10 Paladins and the 100 or so men that I brought with me from Nicea and was placed on the extreme right of the whole army. The army was placed opposite a narrow corridor that spread north, each side covered by a forested hill, with the left side having a river behind the hill that flowed north.

Battle formation of the Holy Order of Alta:

(Paladins and knights are heavy cavalry units, but the rest of the cavalry has the same function here, so there is no distinction between them in this battle.)

Cavalry= C Levy Infantry= O Guards (or the Immortals)= G

OOOO ------ GOOOOOG-------CCC

CGGC ------ CGOOOGC------ CCCCC

GC Fir GC -- GC King GC-----C Gildor C

-------------------------------C Aelius G

From my position, it was difficult to observe the situation, I couldn't even see the enemy lines myself, only dots in the distance. so I constantly sent men on fast horses to report the situation in the center to me. From what my scouts told me, The Koutrigours all of their horse archers in the first line in two groups right opposite my father and brother's sections of the army, whereas the Koutrigour army general positioned himself against Sir Gildor's cavalry force in the second lines.

The Koutrigours first sent the light cavalry units, the horse archers to harass the center and the left. Alta's center had archer units that responded with precise fire, so there was a stalemate in the center. Fir, instead of responding to the enemy arrows, slowly pulled back his units. Sir Gildor attempted to charge at the Koutrigour light cavalry when they were turning after shooting at our center a few times, but he had to stop his charge and quickly turn back to his positions each time as the Koutrigours were trying to pull them closer to the center of the battlefield so that the enemy general can hit them from their sides. The battle raged without much change until noon.

At around noon, the distance between the center of the Alta army, commanded by the King himself, and the left wing opened further, as a result of Fir's troops trying to distance themselves from the rain of arrows and Fir himself pulling his lines back, which prompted a Koutrigour attempt to encircle that portion of our army, the only reason Fir's troops hadn't lost their morale and flee was the presence of 50 Immortals, the famed warriors from the Medes. In response, King Lustinus had to move his second line to the left to close the gap created by Fir's movement backward. This move made the right part of the army's center weaker, a gap that was exploited by the Koutrigours, who moved in to circle the center from the right, but their flank was then circled by the Knights of Alta led by Sir Gildor. It was then that the last fresh troops of the Koutrigours attacked the Knights of Alta.

Alta's troops:

Cavalry= C Levy Infantry= O Guards=G

Enemy:

Light Cavalry, Horse Archers= H Cavalry= M

"<", ">", "^", "v" are the directions of the maneuvres. "-" indicates space and distance.

vHHHHHHHHHHv--------vMMMv

vHHHHHHv------>HHHv><CC<-<MMMMvv

OOO-<vHH-<GOOOOOG-<HH-<CC<

CGCv-<H--<C GOOG<--^Gildor CC^

Fir GC<v----<^CG King G<

Things seemed dire as the only reason why our lines hadn't yet broken was because of the narrowness of the passage, which prevented any further flanking maneuver. Just as the Koutrigours started attacking Sir Gildor from his right flank and the knights seemed just about to be encircled, three thunderous sounds, one after the other, shocked both ally and enemy on the right side of the battlefield. Everyone who was fighting felt like they were subject to the wrath of a primordial deity of nature and the close proximity and the sheer ferocity of the sounds crippled the soldiers. 4 seconds later, the Koutrigour cavalry that was just about to overpower the Knights of Alta was hit by what anyone would assume to be the hammers of gods. Multiple impacts sent shockwaves across the Koutrigour lines accompanied by the cries of beasts and men, and while everyone was stunned, a great sound of a trumpet was heard and the sight of 50 figures made from pure iron, as it would seem to the Koutrigours, were seen riding on their likewise iron steeds with great speed and pointing their lances toward them. The banner held by one of the figures, emitting extreme magic power that could only be explained by the uninitiated as the intervention of the heavens made it clear to anyone on the battlefield that day that these warriors clad in a never seen full steel plate armor, the mightiest of the Holy Knights, were there not just to turn the tides of a losing battle, but also to deliver the judgment of the Goddess of Light upon any heathen enemy who dared to set foot on her holy soil.