XIV. May 5-June 1, 1574. Orsza, Witebsk Voivodeship, Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
- Location
- United States
Shwk-shwk! You whistle as you produce your carbine from its saddle holster. The Muscovites nock arrows and the lead draws his pistol. You don't need to look at your men to know why they're rustling, too. "Whatever this is, stop it. Make way. Now." You notice how foreign speaking in such a tone is.
Muzzles and arrowheads are to the floor and the sky, bowstrings undrawn, matches unlit, wheels uncranked. You hope to keep it that way. The Muscovites look to their chief, whose expression is unreadable at this distance. He holds still, pistol held high, parallel with his head. A few boyars begin to mutter amongst themselves.
He must be thinking. They clearly hadn't thought this through, if these men are even acting upon official orders. "Do you think you can withstand our volley, sir?" They cannot, they wouldn't dare. "Prime your weapons!" you call out, readying the wheel of your carbine as the sound of metallic click-clacking surrounds you. Your eyes are fixed on their bows, the few pistols between them. "At best, we all die," you say, looking for another angle to try.
They conference briefly. Nobody breathes until their leader finally calls out: "Fine then. We shall see what we shall see regarding you and yours. You people can move the tree. Mudaki."
"And swear on God and the Savior and His Mother that you will not pursue us further," you snap.
He sighs and tepidly offers up an oath. His men couldn't be compelled; several said they'd rather die.
They spur themselves away, leaving behind only the barrier-spruce and a little swirling haze of dust. That night was sleepless; nearly every man was willing to stand guard of his own accord.
"You know, I don't see why they wouldn't just follow us, anyways. It's not like they have to let us go," volunteers Sir Marszowski. "Smart fellows to stare down the gun, swear an oath, and still go for the kill — even if it's dishonorable."
He's certainly got a point, even if the Lord would certainly punish them sooner or later. You spend the rest of your time across the border looking over your shoulder, making sure that any man found dozing on guard duty be punished as severely as your conscience could allow. Villages and trade caravans are avoided and men clutch their weapons close.
But God is to be praised: the Dniepr is forded without a distant dust cloud in sight. You've made it. The men chuckle and shake each other's hands at another successful operation.
Or, well, seemingly successful. Some amount of breath is held until you at last spotted van Gistel and his party waiting outside Orsza Castle to welcome you home. It's really, truly over.
"Thank you for your help, Your Serene Highness," says Lord Kmita with a nod. "But from what you've told me, it seems you're a little red-handed. No Muscovite is fooled."
You grimace. "Yes. That's not so good, I'd imagine."
"Well, we should expect a response. And soon."
Indeed, the respite only lasts a few weeks before grim reports begin to come in from the riverside fishing villages. Livestock taken, roofs burned and walls pulled down, serfs hiding in the forest when they avoided being cut down in their own fields.
Lord Kmita says the coming of summer here on the border brings bloodshed as surely as it does horseflies and sunburnt necks; however, he notes, this is earlier and harsher than usual. "You've probably angered Prince Szujski," Kmita chuckles. "Well, not probably, he was made a clown, after all! And I'm sure he's mighty fearful of his mighty Caesar."
You had plans for Orsza, damn it. For the castle, perhaps, or the town itself, or the surrounding starostwos, perhaps for the Holy Church, even. You had plans for yourself, too, but with the countryside increasingly unsafe and the raids only picking up speed, something must be done and fast.
You and Kmita work together to coordinate the defense, calling up noble horse to aid the spymaster's detachment of Zaporozhians, and cobbling together starost's men and peasant militia.
The result is a balanced force of light foot and cavalry. Is this satisfactory?
You possess around 500 foot and a similar number of horse. Your personal guard number around fifty.
The personal guard is of very high quality, well-armed with gunpowder and melee weapons of all shapes and sizes. They are armored in both Western-style and hussar's plate, and can fight as infantry or cavalry.
The quality of the infantry is low-average: peasant militia and starostwo guardsmen, armed polearms, bows, various axes and bludgeons, and a smattering of outdated matchlocks. However, they are well-accustomed to raiding season and should not be mistakenly thought of as unmotivated or fresh-from-the-plow.
The quality of the cavalry is above-average. The experience of the local lordlings and Kmita's Zaporozhians make up for their lack of meaningful armor and overreliance on the saber.
You have a cannon or two at Orsza Castle.
Morale is high. Discipline is high relative to troop quality. Supplies are abundant and easily refilled.
Finances are stable; there's no need to dip into the tax-purse.
[] Go out of pocket — hire a few hundred Lipka Tatars.
Having lived within the Grand Duchy for over a century, Tatars were a common sight in your home turf around Wilno and Trakai as a boy. Although living as farmers and occasionally lampooned as merely Muslim Lithuanians, they have preserved their martial traditions of horse archery and mounted skirmishing. They would therefore would prove invaluable assets to riding down Muscovite raiders, many of whom would be fighting in a similar style.
[] Go out of pocket — hire about a hundred rajteria from the Empire.
Best suited for a pitched battle, these men wear plate cuirasses or even fuller suits of armor, charging into combat with volleys of pistol fire and swords held high. Versatile medium-heavy cavalry, able to tangle with chainmail-wearing boyar horsemen as well as lighter lancers and even horse archers.
[] Request aid from Witebsk, however much they can spare.
Personally ride north to meet with Voivode Stanisław Pac, with the hopes of coming home with professional musketeers and hussars to round things out. Lord Kmita will put in his good word, of course — there's no reason you should be declined — but it would be naïve to assume that Voivode Pac isn't dealing with raids on his section of the border, too.
[] Declare van Gistel your colonel and raise more locals — aim to double the size of the host.
Desperate nobles with horses and swords are a dime a dozen, townsmen can be made into volunteers given the right incentives, and serfs have little say when it comes to defending their village or master's manor. The primary goal will be padding out the cavalry's numbers while creating a frontline of burgher infantry, backed up by ad hoc serf militias. The quickest and cheapest way to raise more troops.
[] Use what we have.
No point in shelling out money, calling in favors, or disrupting the commoners' daily life when you can make do with the force Kmita knows and uses so well. He'll be at your side all the while, after all. Also avoids provoking the Muscovites, who are liable to view troop movements as a prelude to open war.
[] Write-in, keep it about as long as a tweet if you can.
And a posture must be adopted against the Muscovites. What shall it look like?
[] Reactive-defensive.
Infantry would patrol roads and waterways while the cavalry serves as a quick response force, beating raiders back over the border and remaining in position for further speedy interceptions. Prides maneuver. The way Kmita's been running things.
[] Static-defensive.
The infantry would be distributed across the villages and Dniepr choke-points, building outposts and fortifications with the hope of denying easy access in and out of our territory. Also allows for surveillance across the border, spotting campsites and maneuvering parties. Based out of Orsza, the cavalry can respond quickly to anything the waystations can't catch.
[] Retaliatory-offensive.
Effectively the "reactive-defensive" plan but with the extra step (or provocation) of counter-raids over the river, chasing down withdrawing raiders
[] preemptive-offensive.
Relying on a network of observation posts like in "static-defensive," aggressive cavalry raids of our own will strike at Muscovite riders in their tents and bring vengeance for our serfs wherever we may find their villages undefended. Obviously a major diplomatic gamble, but you and your fellow Lithuanians on the offensive would certainly keep Orsza and the surrounding areas quiet.
[] (short-ish please) write-in.
Muzzles and arrowheads are to the floor and the sky, bowstrings undrawn, matches unlit, wheels uncranked. You hope to keep it that way. The Muscovites look to their chief, whose expression is unreadable at this distance. He holds still, pistol held high, parallel with his head. A few boyars begin to mutter amongst themselves.
He must be thinking. They clearly hadn't thought this through, if these men are even acting upon official orders. "Do you think you can withstand our volley, sir?" They cannot, they wouldn't dare. "Prime your weapons!" you call out, readying the wheel of your carbine as the sound of metallic click-clacking surrounds you. Your eyes are fixed on their bows, the few pistols between them. "At best, we all die," you say, looking for another angle to try.
They conference briefly. Nobody breathes until their leader finally calls out: "Fine then. We shall see what we shall see regarding you and yours. You people can move the tree. Mudaki."
"And swear on God and the Savior and His Mother that you will not pursue us further," you snap.
He sighs and tepidly offers up an oath. His men couldn't be compelled; several said they'd rather die.
They spur themselves away, leaving behind only the barrier-spruce and a little swirling haze of dust. That night was sleepless; nearly every man was willing to stand guard of his own accord.
"You know, I don't see why they wouldn't just follow us, anyways. It's not like they have to let us go," volunteers Sir Marszowski. "Smart fellows to stare down the gun, swear an oath, and still go for the kill — even if it's dishonorable."
He's certainly got a point, even if the Lord would certainly punish them sooner or later. You spend the rest of your time across the border looking over your shoulder, making sure that any man found dozing on guard duty be punished as severely as your conscience could allow. Villages and trade caravans are avoided and men clutch their weapons close.
But God is to be praised: the Dniepr is forded without a distant dust cloud in sight. You've made it. The men chuckle and shake each other's hands at another successful operation.
Or, well, seemingly successful. Some amount of breath is held until you at last spotted van Gistel and his party waiting outside Orsza Castle to welcome you home. It's really, truly over.
"Thank you for your help, Your Serene Highness," says Lord Kmita with a nod. "But from what you've told me, it seems you're a little red-handed. No Muscovite is fooled."
You grimace. "Yes. That's not so good, I'd imagine."
"Well, we should expect a response. And soon."
Indeed, the respite only lasts a few weeks before grim reports begin to come in from the riverside fishing villages. Livestock taken, roofs burned and walls pulled down, serfs hiding in the forest when they avoided being cut down in their own fields.
Lord Kmita says the coming of summer here on the border brings bloodshed as surely as it does horseflies and sunburnt necks; however, he notes, this is earlier and harsher than usual. "You've probably angered Prince Szujski," Kmita chuckles. "Well, not probably, he was made a clown, after all! And I'm sure he's mighty fearful of his mighty Caesar."
You had plans for Orsza, damn it. For the castle, perhaps, or the town itself, or the surrounding starostwos, perhaps for the Holy Church, even. You had plans for yourself, too, but with the countryside increasingly unsafe and the raids only picking up speed, something must be done and fast.
You and Kmita work together to coordinate the defense, calling up noble horse to aid the spymaster's detachment of Zaporozhians, and cobbling together starost's men and peasant militia.
The result is a balanced force of light foot and cavalry. Is this satisfactory?
You possess around 500 foot and a similar number of horse. Your personal guard number around fifty.
The personal guard is of very high quality, well-armed with gunpowder and melee weapons of all shapes and sizes. They are armored in both Western-style and hussar's plate, and can fight as infantry or cavalry.
The quality of the infantry is low-average: peasant militia and starostwo guardsmen, armed polearms, bows, various axes and bludgeons, and a smattering of outdated matchlocks. However, they are well-accustomed to raiding season and should not be mistakenly thought of as unmotivated or fresh-from-the-plow.
The quality of the cavalry is above-average. The experience of the local lordlings and Kmita's Zaporozhians make up for their lack of meaningful armor and overreliance on the saber.
You have a cannon or two at Orsza Castle.
Morale is high. Discipline is high relative to troop quality. Supplies are abundant and easily refilled.
Finances are stable; there's no need to dip into the tax-purse.
[] Go out of pocket — hire a few hundred Lipka Tatars.
Having lived within the Grand Duchy for over a century, Tatars were a common sight in your home turf around Wilno and Trakai as a boy. Although living as farmers and occasionally lampooned as merely Muslim Lithuanians, they have preserved their martial traditions of horse archery and mounted skirmishing. They would therefore would prove invaluable assets to riding down Muscovite raiders, many of whom would be fighting in a similar style.
[] Go out of pocket — hire about a hundred rajteria from the Empire.
Best suited for a pitched battle, these men wear plate cuirasses or even fuller suits of armor, charging into combat with volleys of pistol fire and swords held high. Versatile medium-heavy cavalry, able to tangle with chainmail-wearing boyar horsemen as well as lighter lancers and even horse archers.
[] Request aid from Witebsk, however much they can spare.
Personally ride north to meet with Voivode Stanisław Pac, with the hopes of coming home with professional musketeers and hussars to round things out. Lord Kmita will put in his good word, of course — there's no reason you should be declined — but it would be naïve to assume that Voivode Pac isn't dealing with raids on his section of the border, too.
[] Declare van Gistel your colonel and raise more locals — aim to double the size of the host.
Desperate nobles with horses and swords are a dime a dozen, townsmen can be made into volunteers given the right incentives, and serfs have little say when it comes to defending their village or master's manor. The primary goal will be padding out the cavalry's numbers while creating a frontline of burgher infantry, backed up by ad hoc serf militias. The quickest and cheapest way to raise more troops.
[] Use what we have.
No point in shelling out money, calling in favors, or disrupting the commoners' daily life when you can make do with the force Kmita knows and uses so well. He'll be at your side all the while, after all. Also avoids provoking the Muscovites, who are liable to view troop movements as a prelude to open war.
[] Write-in, keep it about as long as a tweet if you can.
And a posture must be adopted against the Muscovites. What shall it look like?
[] Reactive-defensive.
Infantry would patrol roads and waterways while the cavalry serves as a quick response force, beating raiders back over the border and remaining in position for further speedy interceptions. Prides maneuver. The way Kmita's been running things.
[] Static-defensive.
The infantry would be distributed across the villages and Dniepr choke-points, building outposts and fortifications with the hope of denying easy access in and out of our territory. Also allows for surveillance across the border, spotting campsites and maneuvering parties. Based out of Orsza, the cavalry can respond quickly to anything the waystations can't catch.
[] Retaliatory-offensive.
Effectively the "reactive-defensive" plan but with the extra step (or provocation) of counter-raids over the river, chasing down withdrawing raiders
[] preemptive-offensive.
Relying on a network of observation posts like in "static-defensive," aggressive cavalry raids of our own will strike at Muscovite riders in their tents and bring vengeance for our serfs wherever we may find their villages undefended. Obviously a major diplomatic gamble, but you and your fellow Lithuanians on the offensive would certainly keep Orsza and the surrounding areas quiet.
[] (short-ish please) write-in.
