Right. Putting a stop to
that...with this....
The Battle of Three Armies, Part 1
Towards the end of winter you head south. Even the insane fury of greenskins and Chaos-riddled madness of Thorgar's forces cannot fully defeat the most powerful force of Natasha's homeland. As such, the general plan as you march south through the melting slush is to strike at the back of the hopefully exhausted enemy before they can fully regain momentum. Your army is fresh and ready to the fight, as are the elements that Nordland and Ostermark sends to you. Though they cannot actually send an entire army each with you, they do send a healthy helping of assistance. In one case your heart soars at the sight of the rippling banner of the Knights of Everlasting Light. In the years since Gruber, Ortrud has greatly refurbished the Order, and bereft of the curse of its previous generation it has become quite the well-respected group.
As you march south, you hear many things about how the battle is going. Already the southern provinces have crashed into the rear of Gorebash's WAAGH! This has squashed the big orc between Thorgar and the Empire, though unfortunately this does not seem to have dented the Warboss's enthusiasm at all. Nevertheless, up until that point the greenskins had been dominant on the battlefield, their numbers even eclipsing that of Thorgar's forces. Now the fight is much more even. Unlike before however you are not joined by a surprise force from Johanna Fuerbach, as she is still under house arrest. Now more so than ever before as her father has taken the field, and at this point the larger majority of Elector Counts have joined him.
What truly strikes you, however, is your first view of the battlefield as you come down through Stirland.
==================================================
Carnage.
What a simple word. Two syllables, barely a word at all really. Carnage does not describe what has happened to the fields outside of Nuln. It cannot. No word does. You spend a minute racking your brain to come up with one, and come up short. That is how horrendous it is. It is more than a slaughter. The fields of Wissenland have been churned into black and brown, with the only true hint of green being that of the
ocean of green flesh which even now slams again and again into everything around them. You see small glinting formations of Imperials drown beneath this tide, even as the howling warriors of Thorgar cut and stab their way into the mass on the far,
far side. At this, you only see thanks to Adolf Fuerbach, who has either taken his daughters special Cathayan eyeglass or produced more off of its design.
The smell of gunpowder chokes the air as the cannons of Nuln fire non-stop, and every now and then any sally from greenskin or Khornate forces towards the city is immediately scorched to blackness by incredibly powerful bolts of magic and energy. Apparently both of these armies made the poor decision to attack Nuln when the top magical advisor in the Empire was visiting. Yes indeed, and this brings cheer all around, Loremaster Teclis is present alongside Emperor Magnus. As well as some other elven spell casters, or so it is told. But even still, the sheer numbers of the enemy are
staggering. Honestly, it terrifies you to know that a truly unified group of greenskins could reach such numbers. On the far side, Thorgar has supplemented his lack of mortal assistants with daemonic ones, strange creatures of brass and blood stomping into the fray while the infamous and well-feared Bloodletters unleash themselves against the Greenskins. Every now and then it is said that a dark and winged shape can be seen in the mists and dark shadows, but no one has confirmed this. On the other hand, those
massive rock creatures are most certainly real. Bristling with greenish WAAAGH! energies, amalgamated out of rock, trash, dung, and scrap metal, they seem practically impervious to any damage.
Well. Almost. Apparently one got too close to Nuln and was
smote by the Loremaster. Another was bogged down by a hundred Bloodletters and was torn apart by cannons that managed to hit it enough times to break it beyond the ability of the energies powering it to repair the damage with the debris around it. In any case, now it is time to decide what to do about all of this. On one side, you have the WAAGH!, which has left a weakened flank directly bordering Nuln as apparently the 'betta foit' was against Thorgar for now. With all the armies of the Empire finally converged, this may or may not change soon.
Now, here is the problem. Not a day before you arrived, Reiksmarshal Drakenhoff took the majority of the knights present and performed a beautifully executed charge, smashing through orcish lines and reaching Nuln, bringing it much relief. Except….then the enemy reforged those lines and stronger than ever. Still weaker than the other side of Nuln, but the point remains. Several of the Elector's have argued about this, and about what to do. With your arrival and the implicit command of the Nordland and Ostermark detachments, you have a bit more of a weight to your words than you might otherwise have.
No one is certain of who should be in command right now. One the one hand, success means glory. But on the other, failure means ridicule and more than likely death. But if you all attempt to go at it individually, you are
certainly doomed to failure.
Who Should Command?
[] Yourself: Nominate yourself for command in the absence of the Reiksmarshal or the Emperor. You've got Adolf's support, and this could be a chance to try and better yourself in the eyes of your southern peers. 65%
[] Alberich Rommel: He is the most martially inclined Elector, even more so than you. Also, he has brought a healthy helping of cavalry with him, the heaviest out of any of the other groups. Furthermore, in the past few years he has become known for being a fair sort, and has the support of many of the southern Electors. 100%
Allied Forces:
Army of Ostland/Army of the Forest/Nordland and Ostermark Detachments (100%)
Army of Reikland - Count Present (100%)
Army of Stirland - Count Present (100%)
Army of Averland - Count Present (100%)
Army of Middenland - Count Present (100%)
Army of Talabecland - Count Present (100%)
Total: 120,000 Soldiers Total
Nuln Defenders:
Army of Nuln - Count Present
1 Arch-Lector of Nuln
1 Reiksmarshal Drakenhoff
1 Loremaster Teclis
1 Archmage Aurelion
1 Loremaster Finreir
1 Magnus the Pious, Emperor
WAAAGH! Gorebash:
Orcs
Savage Orcs
Goblins
Night Goblins
Trolls
3 Idols
1 Warboss Gorebash
1 ????
Total: 150,000
Thorgar's Legion:
Marauders
Chaos Warriors
Chaos Knights
Bloodletters
Juggernauts of Khorne
Hounds of Khorne
1 Blood Lord Thorgar
1 ????
Total: 90,000