Background:
After spending a good while as a wandering bandit-hunter and mercenary, I found myself in the service of the Sarranid Sultanate (think the 13th century Arab armies). Working my way into the Sultan's good graces and the esteem of many of the land's Emirs, I was eventually given Reindi Castle and the village it overlooked, as my fief. It was the farthest northern outpost of our Kingdom, and it must have drawn the ire of the Nords, who declared war on the Sultanate and took the fortress from me while I was away on campaign with the Marshall and the main army of the realm. Thankfully it was retaken later, and the Sultan decided to give me a second chance and once again made me the Lord of Reindi. Peace was declared with the Nords, and I focused on trading and bandit hunting, while keeping a modest garrison at my castle.
Me The Seige:
Soon the Swadians (sort of like the French -heavy knights and good crossbowmen) declared war on us. I raced back to Reindi only to find it surrounded by more than 800 men, many of them heavy knights. With my garrison of 100, plus the entourage of 30 horsemen I had with me, victory was going to be an impossibility. I had to make a desicion: Sneak into the castle and join the defense hoping for a miracle, or ride off and find help. Just then I saw a Sarranid army off to the northeast, moving north. I raced over and caught up quickly, as small horse-only groups like mine travel very fast on the map. I then saw it was part of the main army. I found the Marshall and asked him to ride to Reindi to help me break the Swadian's seige. Since I had done well for him in the past, he reluctantly agreed, and now I had 400 additional men behind me.
The Battle:
We approached my castle, and the enemy was taken by surprise. They first scattered, and then came at us. In the chaos, I rode by my castle and gathered as many men as I could. I now had about 110 men in my group, most of them cavalry of various sorts. About 20 of them were heavy Mamlukes, almost as strong as a Swadian knight. 8 others were powerful named NPC characters, mostly that I modded into the game. More powerful than any non-named soldiers, but very expensive to hire and pay weekly, so it doesn't unbalance the game too much. Anyway, the armies met, and I committed myself to the coming battle. It wasn't going to be easy. 530 Sarranids vs 850 Swadians.
The battlefield was perfect cavalry country. Open fields, rolling hills and few trees. This was going to be to my advantage. Unfortunately, the Marshall was in control of the armies overall. Instead of setting up his infantry and archers in a good defensive position, he ordered a mad charge. The Swadians were a little more level headed. They kept their infantry in a battle line, and sent their heavy knights to the flank. I only had control of my men, and since most were cavalry, I led them off to counter their knights, while sending my few footmen along with the suicide charge. Why not?
At a full gallop we crested the last hill between us and the enemy knights, I lowered my lance. Missing one of the more dangerous Swadian knights, my spear did find a weaker Man-at-Arms, and knocked him from his mount. I could hear the clash of steel and wood, man and horse behind me as I led my charge on thru. Some of mine stayed to engage the knights, but many followed me on towards the rear of the Swadian battle lines.
When we rode into the Swadian crossbowmen, they were focused on the bulk of the Sarranid onslaught to their front, only a few had noticed and turned to see about 20 heavy horses bearing down on them. Easily dispatched with one swing from my sabre, I must have killed 5 poorly armored crossbowmen in 10 seconds. After that, the lines were all broken. The battle had turned into one huge melee. Horsemen were dueling, infantry were running everywhere and archers and crossbowmen were in sloppy formations taking shots of opportunity.
While me and a few allies were running down another group of footmen, I had neglected to notice that about 5 enemy horsemen were pursuing me. A spear to my back changed my attentions quickly. Lucky that I have good armor, I was not killed. But now at about 50% health. Not good when one heavy blow from a charging knight or an unlucky crossbow bolt can take away more than that. I turned to face my attackers, and became immediately bogged down in a swarm of enemy footsoldiers and horsemen. A mamluke and horseman were with me, plus a hammer-wielding brawler of an NPC called Lothar. First my mamluke fell, then the horseman, and Lothar's mount was killed beneath him. I could not pay attention to my cohorts as about 10 footmen were attacking my warhorse. The last thing I saw before my horse was killed was Lothar swinging his greathammer as 5 soldiers closed in on him. I was thrown to the ground amidst a flurry of spears, swords and clubs. Madly striking out from behind my small shield, I fought as long as I could, but they were all around me, and I fell. I did however catch a glimpse of Lothar standing on a pile of Swadians while finishing off another one with a crushing blow to the head. The first part of the battle was over.
Lothar I was revived enough to fight in the next round, but with about 25% of my health, so I was wounded. This time, it was going to be 400 Sarranids and 500 Swadians. Not bad. Apparently, cavalry notwithstanding, we had higher quality troops overall. The next battle went alot better for me, and the marshall was a little more defensive. Once again, I used my mobility as a horseman to my advantage. The third or fourth battle was something like 200 to 150. This was a slaughter, as we still had some high-end soldiers and they were down to mostly militia and farmers/recruits. Victory was ours.
Not only did we defeat the Swadians, but I captured 5 of their Lords, who will command a handsome ransom down the road. Not to mention the equipment looted from the battlefield.
The SPoils of War With the remaining Swadian attackers scattering, I made my way into my castle and began to look at my remaining troops. Time to ride off and find some new recruits in nearby villages. I took a small group of about 15 off to the east. Just then I recieved word that the Khergit Khanate (Mongols) had also declared war on the Sarranids. I'm now about to be crushed between two powerful armies. Ahead of me, I could see a huge army of Khergits riding southeast. Not towards Reindi, but it is only a matter of time. Turning back towards home, I open the inventory screen and change out my lance for my heavy crossbow. In the next few days, I expect to be defeated on the walls of my castle, defending against an army of 1000 with only 70.