Chapter 20: Siege of Pergamon
I quickly moved my troops to Nicea with all 4000 of our standing army, 300 knights and Paladins, 1000 man-at-arms cavalry, 1000 volunteers, and 6 pieces of artilery. The number of volunteers started to rise the longer we stayed in Nicea to form the supply trains that will travel with the army. Our technology enabled us to preserve a great variety of food and move greater amounts of food in glass and bioplastic containers. The drying ovens and the blenders that we made were especially great as they allowed us to make powders of meat, mushrooms, and vegetables. Jams, biscuits, dried fruits, and herbal teas were also among the supplies we were carrying with us.
The army moved toward Pergamon on the morning of a sunny day in early spring after a week of preparation, during which the number of volunteers increased to 3000. Apart from the army, we also had around a thousand personnel who were responsible for artillery, building camps, and preparing meals. I forbid camp followers, so there were no people whose presence wasn't required for the war effort.
Our navy, which was made up of 40 xebecs, -a kind of ship that is both sailed and oared and is generally bigger than a galley- and 20 smaller vessels, were ordered to sail through the Dardenal straights into the Aegean Sea and engage any Pergamon vessels they saw and destroy their coastal fortresses. Almost all the ships were armed with cannons, specifically the 2-kg and 4-kg cannons. However, the number of cannons we could produce was limited due to cost efficiency, so we could only arm around 8 cannons per ship, with 4 cannons at each side.
The army marched around 200 km Southeastwards for a week to reach the river of Caecus near the city of Pergamon. The speed of our army forced the King of Pergamon to gather his forces and supplies in haste, forcing him into a defensive position. We crossed the Caecus river virtually unopposed and marched on the city of Pergamon. We finally met the Pergamon's army outside their city gates. The city was centered on a mesa, an isolated, flat-topped hill, with three out of four sides of the city having natural steeps, and the only route above was a sloop. The river Caecus flows through the city and there was another river on the east side of the city. Pergamon had around 4000 men outside the city gates. The flanks of the Pergamons were protected by around 500 cavalry per flank, most of whom were man-at-arms, and the army center had 2000 peasant infantry with little armor and discipline. The archers were placed in front of the infantry and they numbered 500. All the units in sight were typical of the era, however, we knew for a fact that the Pergamons had a unit far more important than the rest, the Almogavars. One of the chronicles of the Old Empire that was in the library of Alta had this written for the Almogavars;
"These people who are called Almogavars live for nothing more than the profession of arms. They don't live in the cities or the villages, but rather in the mountains and forests, and fight every day against the Empire: and enter its land for a day or two, pillaging and taking the inhabitants captive; and that is how they live. And they endure harsh living conditions which others could not endure. They could well spend two days without eating if necessary, eating herbs of the fields with no problem. And the adalids (leaders) who lead them know the country and roads. And they do not wear more than a tunic or shirt, be it summer or winter, and they wear leather breeches on their legs and leather sandals on their feet. And they wear a good knife and a good shoulder strap and a flint steel in their belt. And they each carry a good lance and two spears, as well as a leather shoulder bag, where they carry their food. And they are very strong and very quick, for escape and for pursuit, and they are Catalans and Aragonese and Serrans."
The Almogavars came to Anatolia with their Lord upon the invitation of an Emperor of the Old Empire as mercenaries, then they conquered lands in the name of the said Emperor until their Lord and the Emperor broke their previous agreements, which ended in a rebellion and the following guerilla warfare that took 10 years for the empire to resolve by simply appointing the Lord of the Almogavars, the Lord of Pergamon. After the Holy Order conquered and destroyed the Old Empire, the Lords of Pergamon claimed ownership of the title of the Emperor, but after a disastrous defeat at the hands of Alta, they revoked their claims in the following peace treaty.
The Almogavars were elite light infantry shock troops, who excelled in unconventional warfare. Therefore the longer we stayed in their lands, the higher our casualties would be, however, their castle and the only route going there was on an elevation, making it harder for us to aim with our cannons without blockading the main gates and setting up ramparts, and assuming that we did achieve it, then the Almogavars both within and outside the city could easily attack our positions. That's why I abandoned the idea of encircling the enemy castle and bombarding them with cannons. A frontal assault would've worked, but I had no intention of sacrificing any of my men, therefore I needed an overwhelming victory.
We set camp a bit further away from the enemy castle, away from the hills, and closer to the river. It was one of the worse locations to set up a camp as the enemy had access to both the river and occupied the higher ground and could easily attack our camp at night. However, that's what I wanted to happen in the first place. If I couldn't bring benefit from my artillery to the fullest, then I would set them in the most ideal position and wait for the enemy to attack.
I positioned my artillery on a bit of an elevation towards the only route down from the castle. I gave the order to release the wolves and owls that I tamed with magic to return back if they came across any humans excluding the people in this camp. Since the animals were trained to always move at the same speed and move 4kms in the same direction before returning back to the camp without alerting the enemy in shifts, we can guess the distance of their encounter with the approaching enemy, making it possible for us to prepare an ambush. If even one-fifth of what is written about the Almogavars is correct, then they would surely attack us, and we will be waiting for them.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
ryuutaurus
ryuutaurus The Almagovars were light infantry units that once gained considerable fame and notoriety in Iberia and the Mediterranean. The Kingdom of Pergamon is a Catalan minority-ruled country in Western Anatolia that has roughly the same land as the Ancient Kingdom of Pergamon, event the castle in this very chapter is based on the original. The country is a what if of a permanent Catalan Company presence in Anatolia.
Sorry for the late releases, I have been busy with work and will be so for a month.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone