1326 - My Response

I have gone for the more conservative option. My Nicean army will retake Smyrna, leaving only a pillaging unit behind. Foot units in Ankara and Trebizond will combine with cavalry from Edessa to take Angora. My main cavalry force rides from Edessa through Antioch, to meet up with a guard seige unit, to assault Jerusalem. Edessa will be abandoned, its garrison moving to Antioch. Single raiding units will depart from Edessa, striking towards Iconium and Tarsus on the off chance that one or both of these provinces will be abandoned.

The gamble is that he won’t march on Edessa with his cavalry this turn. Secondarily, I gamble also that he won’t seize Ankara or Nicea. He should probably wait one more season before adjudging the Tarsus army invincible, my raiding units gamble against his patience. He might use his navy to ferry troops to either Trebizond or our mediteranean coast. He might march his Tarsus army into Armenia. If he succeeds at these objectives I will be caught with three recruitment centres, a divided army, and a rapidly diminishing resource base. If that occurred, I could only go down fighting.

To give me the greatest chance of keeping Edessa next season, I have recruited five skirmishers and a guard unit in Edessa.
Diplomatically, peace motions are made towards Bavaria, encouragement to plot given to the Horde, Hungary, the Mamlukes and Venice. With life, hope…