Crusades

The Great Crusade refers to a three-year long military campaign launched by the Knights of Bretonnia and the Knights of the Empire in order to free the distant Kingdom of Estalia from the enslavement of the Araby invaders of Sultan Jaffar. The King of Bretonnia, Louis the Rightous, raised a huge army of knights to free Estalia and punish Jaffar for the atrocities they have committed. Glory-hungry knights from all across Bretonnia joined the King's banners in what would become the first of a series of Crusades all across the known world. While this splendid army marched on Estalia, distant lands have lended reinforcements to these brave Knights, such as the warships of Tilea.

The scale of this campaign had resulted in the the largest congregation of Knights in known history, which would eventually lead to the creation of many of the Empire's Knightly Orders. Such is the zeal that these Knights have brought upon the Arabyans, that the cities of their nation were torn down, their populations slaughtered, and their once great Sultan killed in the final battle that saw the true end of the war. Many Bretonnians have kept this part of their history as one of the greatest victories of their time.

The Beginning
In the Imperial year of 1448 IC, the Sultan Jaffar united all of Araby into a unified Empire, ruling his newfound nation with an iron-fist. Convinced by the nefarious Skaven that the Estalian Kingdoms were planning an invasion against his rule, Jaffar gathered a vast army and prepared his fleet for war. His armies made landfall within the southern shores of Estalia and quickly seized the city of Magritta before advancing on the city of Bilbali. As his army marched north, the Arabyans took thousands of slaves from the local populace and were sent back to Araby in chains, to be sold at the terrible slave markets of Lashiek. Moved by the plight of the Estalians, King Louis the Rightous called forth the first Errantry War upon the Arabyan invaders. Some say this was because the King feared the Arabyans might turn their attention to his own realm once Estalia had been conquered; others suggest it was the outrage felt by the noble ruler at the terrible deeds supposedly carried out by Jaffar's soldiers that moved his heart and forced his hand.

Whatever the case, the Kingdom of Bretonnia was at war. Looking to gain further military aid for his campaign, King Louis sent word to the Emperor Frederik III, but Frederik was reluctant to send his army south, for his Empire teetered on the brink of civil war and he felt he could not spare men to defend a foreign nation when the welfare of his own people hung in the balance. Nevertheless, Emperor Frederik did not ignore Louis entirely. No imperial army marched to war, but Frederik did appeal to the independent orders of knights who resided within the Empire to support the Bretonnians in their fight against Jaffar, and encouraged each of the Elector Counts to send a portion of their own forces to the aid of Estalia.

The Knightly Alliance
Unaware that to the north, the Empire and Bretonnia were preparing for war, the Sultan sent part of his forces east. A massive fleet sailed up the Tilean Sea to attack the city-state of Tobaro. Thinking such a small principality would be easy prey, the Arabyan commanders were surprised when it proved far harder to take than they had initially imagined. Despite being hugely outnumbered, the tenacious defenders managed to hold Tobaro's great sea walls, preventing the invaders from setting foot even in the outer parts of their city. Ultimately the Arabyans had to accept a humiliating defeat, and for the first time it was shown they could be beaten, even when gathered in force.

The allied army consisted mostly of heavy cavalry, a thing the Arabyans lacked as their desert homeland isn't suited for horses or thick armor. With this superiority, they crossed the mountains into Estalia and quickly won victories against the lightly-armored Arabyan army. As Jaffar realized he couldn't win in the open field against the superior Crusader Knights, he withdrew to his homeland while he left a force in the most important city of Estalia, Magritta, under the command of the Sheikh Emir Wazar, better known as Emir the Cruel.

As the inhabitants were enslaved and forced to fortify the city, the Arabyan army quickly withdrew south through Estalia. Seeing how the vengeful Arabyans had put entire towns to the torch as they fled back south, the leaders of the Crusaders vowed to take the crusade all the way to Araby and topple the Sultan's Empire to the ground. As they assaulted Magritta they knew that the siege could go on for years, and Jaffar would then be able to gather a fresh army in Araby and return back to Estalia if they didn't pursue now.

Thus they decided to split their army in two, one would stay to besiege Magritta and break the last Arabyan strong-point in Estalia before following the other army into the hot deserts of Araby, a task that would take eight years and the intervention of Mymidia to complete. As the main force arrived in the ports of southern Estalia, warships were brought in from all over the Old World to ship the army across the sea, a navy that stretch from horizon to horizon.

Sack of Copher
As the Crusaders sailed, Jaffar and his men prepared for the coming invasion. When they finally arrived in the spice-trading city of Copher, it was heavily fortified and the defenders were well prepared for the coming battle. Yet they were not prepared for the hundreds of warships barring thousands upon thousands of Knights upon the shores of the city, and once the defenders first started faltering against the Crusader assault, a breach was made and soon the high spires of the city were pulled to the ground and much of the population were put to the sword.

The Crusaders were playing straight into Jaffar's schemes, as he had expected that once they had fought for months in the sweltering heat of Araby, they would loose their taste for vengeance and return home. They proceeded slowly and the forces of Jaffar, lightly equipped and highly mobile, could avoid pitched battles. But the Crusaders were determined to fight on, and soon the inhabitants of the lands provided their aid towards the beleaguered Crusaders, for the people of Arab hated the tyrannical Sultan more than even the Older Worlders. For months they marched through the hot deserts towards El Haikk, the capital of the Sultan's Empire where Jaffar had decided make his stand, where the outcome of the war would be decided, once and for all.

Battle of El Haikk
As the crusaders laid siege to the sultan's stronghold, hundreds of tribesmen that were forcefully conscripted by Jaffar revolted, plunging the city into disarray and throwing the careful plans of Jaffar into chaos. Seeing his city defenses lying in ruins, the Sultan knew that the only chance he had to defeat the Crusaders was upon the open plains, where the hot desert sun would deter the Old Worlders in their combat. Bolstering his army with elemental spirits of the deserts, the formidable armies of Sultan Jaffar sallied forth and met the Crusaders on the battlefield.

While Jaffar's army slightly outnumbered the crusaders, the lack of heavy cavalry in his army came into play once more. As the infantry of both armies fought a desperate battle, with the crusaders being pushed back in the heat, thousands of heavily armored knights charged into the side of the Arabyan army; thousands of tons of metal cutting straight through the lightly armored footman like a scythe. This charge has been immortalized by many legendary stories and songs, coloring the ground red as the Arabyans were crushed beneath thousands of armored horses. A color that remains to this day.

Outcome
Jaffar died that day, pierced through the back by a Bretonnian lance as he fled. Now seeing their honor satisfied, the knights of Bretonnia decided to return to Copher and sail home. Yet most of the Imperial knights stayed for years hunting down and defeating remnants of Jaffar's dark empire, and almost 100 years passed before the last of the Empire troops had returned home. It was in this century that many of the Imperial Knightly Orders were founded, as they discovered many things previously unknown in the Old World.

One particular event occurred when what remains of the Crusader Knights found an army of the Sultan in the southern mountainous region of El-Haikk, near the city of Martekk. Once they began to march towards their location, they were harried by a variety of huge vultures capable of carrying an armored man and his horse in the air, as well as ferocious felines who were attacking knights who deviated from the main army. This last remaining Crusader army tracked the last of Jaffar soldiers into a massacre, ensuring that none of the Sultans old regime shall ever return.

Today, mountain dwellers within the regions spoke about silver warriors who clothed themselves with the skins of these large felines, becoming an instrument of justice and vengeance upon the battlefield. On returning home, the Knights Panther formed themselves into a brotherhood, ensuring the racial purity of the Empire and the persecution of all mutants. After nearly an entire century, the last of the Crusader Knights returned home in ships laden with treasures. Though it took many years, the fragmented city-states and kingdoms of Araby soon rebuilt, but never again were they ever a unified power.

Source

 * Warhammer Armies: Bretonnia (6th Edition) -- pg 32 - 34

Cruzadas contra Arabia
 * Warhammer Fantasy: Knights of the Grail (FRP) -- pg 19

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