Which nation to play the Wends?

Would the Wends be more like the Polish or Novgorod forces?

well I've had a google about & I'm still not much wiser on who to choose to play the Wends.

Found out that Charlemange was of Wendish decent & that 'wend' means 'water' owing to their origins in swamp/marsh habitats as a culture. From this I'm guessing that cavalry & artillery may be low on their strengths but bowmen might be more prolific than usual.

below is from : http://www.fanaticus.org/DBA/armies/var89a.html

In 1147 AD, St. Bernard preached a crusade among the Saxons and Danes, who preferred to attack their pagan Slavonic neighbors rather than setting out to save the Holy Land as Bernard intended. Bowing to necessity, Bernard obtained a Papal Bull blessing the endeavor and a crusading army led by Henry the Lion of Saxony and Albert the Bear of Brandenburg set forth to convert the Wends by sword, but were stopped cold that same year. Set against the backdrop of the "Northern Crusades," the Wendic Crusade continued for nearly 30 years. Waldimar I of Denmark joined forces with Henry and Albert against the Wends. Eventually, persistent pressure by the Christian Saxons, Danes and the expansionistic Poles broke down Wendish resistance. Pagan idols were destroyed and Catholicism was introduced throughout Lusatia. After1185 AD, the Wends fell almost entirely under the sway of Poland.

i would suggest to everyone on this board to read a book called "the Northern Crusades" on penguin putnam press, should be available to order from barnes and noble

it goes over the history of germanic crusades and the teutonic order in their ordenstadt

Having read the book ... who would you recommend I choose to play the Wends?