Hold Against the Horde is the first scenario of the State to Empire chapter and the fourth scenario of the The Rise of Moscow campaign in Age of Empires IV. It depicts the sacking of Moscow in 1382 by the forces of the Golden Horde under Tokhtamysh Khan.
Intro[]
Scenario description[]
Retribution was coming to Dmitry. Moscow's stone walls would face their most arduous test yet: the full force of a khan enraged.
Opening cinematic[]
On the morning of September 8th 1380 – at Kulikovo – the Moscow-led Rus army defeated the Mongols for the first time. One of the key battles of the medieval age, it was a transformative event in the rise of Moscow as the future capital of Russia.
For the first time, rival principalities had joined Moscow to fight a common enemy. Now, many Rus principalities began to see themselves as one. Future leaders of Moscow would draw on the memory of this battle… to claim their supreme political position in Russia.
Moscow's Grand Prince, Dmitry Ivanovich, had led the Rus principalities to victory over the Mongols, reinforcing his dominance. But for the Mongols' leadership, the defeat at the Battle of Kulikovo was disastrous. The ruler of their Golden Horde was overthrown by a descendant of Genghis Khan. His name was Tokhtamysh. And Tokhtamysh was not going to let the treacherous Moscow-led Rus get away with rebellion.
Two years after their defeat at Kulikovo, Tokhtamysh's Golden Horde set out to attack Moscow. The city had not felt the wrath of the Mongols for more than a century. That was about to change.
Loading screen[]
Dmitry Donskoy had angered the Golden Horde. Thirsty for revenge, Tokhtamysh Khan descended on the capital. Moscow would pay for its defiance.
Start of scenario[]
Racing to brace the gates of Moscow, Prince Dmitry and his army of Rus allies rushed into the fortified heart of the city. This would be the greatest test of Moscow's mighty stone walls.
But could the capital hold out against the furious legion of the Golden Horde?
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Age:
Feudal Age - Units:
Prince Dmitry- 10 Warrior Monk
- 20 Man-at-Arms
- 30 Spearman
- 50 Archer
- 32 Villager
- Resources: 1,400 food, 2,000 wood, 600 gold, 300 stone
Objectives[]
- Keep the Mongols out of the city
- Prepare for Mongol retribution
- Hold against the Horde
- Hold the city while the citizens escape
Players[]
- Dmitry Donskoy: Prince Dmitry controls the city of Moscow, with a few Hunting Cabins, Lumber Camps, and Mining Camps outside its walls, as well as a sizeable force of defenders. They will have to protect Moscow from several waves of Mongol attacks, culminating in a final large push by the Golden Horde, which will force the Muscovites to flee into the city. The city itself is divided into two parts; the inner city is protected by Stone Walls and contains the player's Town Center and some other buildings, while the outer city has only Palisade Walls and Wooden Fortresses for protection. It contains some farmland and additional military production buildings, as well as a Blacksmith.
Allies[]
- Refugees (Rus): The Rus refugees will flee from the countryside into Moscow and will not actively participate in the scenario. In the last phase of the scenario, the Muscovite forces will have to defend the city while its citizens escape to the west.
Enemies[]
- Golden Horde (Mongols): The Mongols will assault Moscow in waves of increasing frequency, culminating in a final large assault. Their forces will mostly consist of cavalry, including Early Lancers, Horsemen, and Mangudai, as well as some Men-at-Arms and Archers, and will increasingly be accompanied by siege engines, such as Mangonels and Traction Trebuchets. The final wave will include a staggering number of cavalry, Mangonels, Traction Trebuchets, Battering Rams, and Siege Towers. All of the attack waves will originate in the east of the map, though some raiding parties will circle around the map to attack the player from the west and the south as well.
Strategy[]
A straightforward yet nonetheless challenging survival scenario, the player will be tasked with defending Moscow from Mongol attacks of increasing intensity.
The key to success is to be constantly producing units from the player's military production buildings and sending them where needed to hold the attacks at bay. This will require an economy to sustain it, so the player's first move should be to produce additional Villagers and set them to gathering more of each available resource, as well as building the High Trade House landmark for the additional food and gold income. Some of the Villagers to the southwest of Moscow should also be tasked to building additional Hunting Cabins and mining stone, as the latter will be needed for the upgrades to the player's Wooden Fortress defenses. Survival Techniques should be researched, and a sizeable number of Villagers tasked to hunting the Deer and two Boars to the southwest, in order to rapidly increase the player's Bounty level.
Once a decent economy is set up and the next Age is reached, the player should immediately begin queuing up military production from their production buildings in Moscow's inner and outer cities, researching any available upgrades first. The enemy forces will consist largely of cavalry and siege engines, so the main focus should be on producing Horsemen and Spearmen, although the player's Archery Ranges should also be kept busy producing Crossbowmen and Archers, so long as there are resources to spare. As most of these do not require gold, the player should also build a Monastery and begin producing Warrior Monks as well. Additionally, some of the Archers posted on the inner city's Stone Walls can be sent to reinforce the units defending the outer city, as these will do little to slow down the final assault anyway.
The player should ensure that their production buildings are fully queued up at all times, periodically sending the new units to the different areas of the city under enemy attack. The enemy will only attack the outer city in the east during the first phase of the scenario, although they will also send small attack parties to attack the player's Villagers and buildings outside of Moscow. There is no point in trying to defend these areas, as most are too far from the city to effectively reinforce without compromising Moscow's defenses. Therefore, once the attacks begin, the Villagers should be brought into the city and tasked with gathering additional food, as this will be the most needed. As the Mongol attacks originate from the east, the player can wait a while before bringing in the Villagers from the southwest, as this will be the last area hit.
When the initial attack waves have been defeated, the player will be informed of a huge Mongol force heading from the northeast to attack Moscow, consisting of cavalry, Men-at-Arms, and a large number of siege engines. It is nearly impossible to defeat this force, and even a flanking charge by the player's cavalry will be quickly destroyed by the large numbers of enemy Mangonels. The player should therefore draw their forces back into the outer city, while continuing to produce additional units, in the aim of slowing down the enemy forces from reaching the inner city's walls. If the player is able to prevent the enemy from breaching the inner walls for about two minutes while the refugees escape, they will be awarded with victory.
Achievement[]
Stopping the Mongols from entering the outer city grants the Get Off My Bailey! achievement.
Outro[]
End of scenario[]
Dmitry and his men held the city, giving some of Moscow's citizens time to flee. But despite their steadfast defense, the Rus could hold out no longer and the capital succumbed to the vast numbers of the Horde.
Tokhtamysh Khan sacked the city, plundering its riches and slaughtering any Muscovites that remained. Prince Dmitry had no choice but to take flight, abandoning his home. Rus independence would have to wait…
Post-game screen[]
After the devastating sacking of Moscow, Prince Dmitry was once again forced to submit to the khan. The struggle for independence would pass to future princes.
Page From History: The Empire Falters[]
| “ | The vast and powerful Mongol Empire had held muscovy in its grip for almost two centuries. But despite its might, the Empire was not immune to civil war. Genghis Khan's grandsons in the east had fought bitterly for the title of Great Khan. And later, in the west, competing branches of the family squabbled for supremacy over Russia, Persia and the Crimea. Khan Tokhmatysh of the Golden Horde became embroiled in a long series of violent conflicts with his former supporter, Timur, the dominant Khan in the middle east. Timur was strong and the war was devastating for Tokhtamysh. He lost his army, his capital and was eventually forced to flee. As the remnants of the Golden Horde fought with neighboring khanates, the time had come for Muscovy to seize upon the weakness of its long-standing overlords. |
” |
Historical comparison[]
- While Dmitry is presented as leading the defense of Moscow himself, in reality, he had already fled the city. Command of the defending forces was therefore left to Ostei, a Lithuanian Gediminid prince and grandson of Algirdas. Ostei was reportedly lured out of the city by the besiegers on pretense of seeking negotiations, and then killed.
- The attacking forces also included Rus allies of the Golden Horde, who tricked the inhabitants of Moscow into opening the city gates, leading to the sack of the city.
