Pics & History of your Empire

[Martok]

Awesome, Kaidonni. I don't think anyone's done a write-up for the Venetians before, so you'll be charting virgin territory for all of us. Good luck!

I've tried to start a Swedish campaign twice now, but I always suffer a freeze during the first battle against the norwegians (who seem to be unbribable). My computer has seen its best days. I'm serious here: there really must be some slow self-destruct device in all computers (and cell phones) so that we'll be forced to buy new ones within a few years. Just a few month ago, my MTW was working flawlessly.
Anyway, will have another go during this weekend.

Sorry to hear about your computer, man; I can definitely sympathize. What's with the line about the Norwegians being unbribable, btw? Did you mean in terms of securing an alliance/ceasefire with them?

Sensei Warrior: I can state unequivocally that a Danish campaign would be awesome.

[naut]

Sensei Warrior I will be reading if you do.

[Kaidonni]

Last time I checked, the Genoese weren't allied to any non-Catholics. Oh well...I'll go with the line:

'The Genoese have been increasing border activity, and our contacts tell us they intend to subvert, at least to an extent, Venetian sovereignty.'

I'll play some more today, then post a proper write-up, right from the start. Does anyone remember which year the True Cross was found in MTW? I didn't note that event...

[Innocentius]

Sorry to hear about your computer, man; I can definitely sympathize. What's with the line about the Norwegians being unbribable, btw? Did you mean in terms of securing an alliance/ceasefire with them?

In High the Norwegians are removed and the Teutonic Knights have taken over their map colour. "The Norse" however are only represented as rebels, which is OK, when one considers that this makes the more important TKs playable. I have decided never to refer to rebels as "rebels" in my campaigns anymore, I'll refer to them as the minor kingdoms they are.

[Kaidonni]

Er...question: Often Drunk (-1 command, -1 acumen)...how bad is it? Prince Vitale...the top heir to the throne, the one most likely to take it...he has it. It has taken him down to 1 acumen, while King Vitale I has...5 acumen.

Does anyone think that Prince Vitale should...you know...drink a little too much before battle and have an accident when I fight the Genoese? As in...galloping into battle and getting himself impaled? He won't be leading the army...

It'd be tragic, yes...

Or am I just over-exagerating? I mean...5 acumen from my last king to 1 for the next king would spell doom for my economy, right? Prince Orso only has 2 acumen...maybe I'm being silly?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I never use Kings (unless they have lots of command) for battles, so if I keep him, I'm fine there. Lord de Tankerville is the best guy I have, at 5 command.

EDIT: Probably won't matter much. Unless I get an heir with, you know, 4-5 acumen...I'll start the main posts of my campaign once I've fought the Genoese in Tuscany.

[Innocentius]

I really think you should use your kings for battles, that's the only way to intentionally give them vices, increase their command and their influence.

[Innocentius]

So, finally, I've got my Swedish campaign up and going. Some of you might wonder why I chose to play in High instead of Early, well there are two main reasons for this:
1. Sweden is damn near impossible in Early. You can't take Norway early on, and they'll come for you sooner or later. The same with the Danes except they're alot stronger than the Norwegians. Finland is a rather easy picking, but it is likely that Novgorod will take it sooner or later. It's not a very fertile province anyway.
2. Sweden as a kingdom did not exist in 1087. To be picky, a centralized kingdom under the name Sweden did not appear untill the mid 13th century, but in Late, the Swedish troops are hopelessly outdated and you only have some 130 years to play. Thus, I chose High.

I can already now say with all certainty that this is not a campaign where I'll win thanks to the 100% dominance goal. I will probably never even reach the 60% goal. Instead of aiming for impossible goals, I will just play for fun and leave the campaign when i feel I have a decent sized kingdom and my borders are stabile and my economy is prospering.
Only three more notes before I finally get on with it:
1. This campaign is played in Normal
2. I will not refer to rebels as rebels
3. I will make up stories for waging war against other catholic factions. The Danish issue is a rather obvious one.

The Kingdom of Sweden - The Unification of Scandinavia and the rule of King Erik I

In the year 1204 A.D, King Erik was elected king at The Stones of Mora, and was crowned the next year in Uppsala by the archbishop himself. The crown had not come to him easily.
He was already 31 years of age in 1205, and had spent his youth in Paris, studying mathematics and philosofy as was fit for a member of a royal family. His family had no real kingdom to rule however. For decades Sweden had been torn apart by the wars of small noble houses, struggling for the power. Mostly, the ones who were able to gain the support of the mighty Danes were the ones who were victorious. Erik, However, had surprisingily turned tables on the Danes and his rivals, siezing the crown from Sverker II in 1203, and defeating the Danes at the Battle of Lena the next year [in reality fought in 1208].
Now in 1205 he ruled a rather weak kingdom, with the lands of Finland only recently being incorporated into the kingdom. Many pagans still dwelled in these lands, and later on, it would be an important matter to spread Christianty across the Baltic Sea. But now, war with the Danes was unevitable. He had recently won a great victory, and not risking to lose his momentum, King Erik I led his entire army to invade Scania in the year 1206 of our Lord.
The weakened Danes fled the field, seeing that they were outnumbered. Over in Copenhagen, king Valdemar must have been furious with this sudden turn of events. He had clearly not expected the Swedes to take the offensive on him.

1207 was a busy year. King Erik travelled with his army back and forth in Scania, forcing castle by castle to surrender to him, untill only Lund castle remained in Danish hands. An important event of the year was the alliance between the Swedes and the people of Novogord. Princess Natalya, daughter of Prinve Mstislav V offered the alliance herself.
In January 1208, Lund castle finally fell, providing King Erik with a great treasure that had been protected and hidden within the castle.

King Erik was now busy with buildning up his forces for a final assault on Denmark itself, not risking that the Danes could recover from their defeats. In 1210, an important alliance with the mighty Holy Roman Empire was concluded. Having one of Christianty's most powerful nations on their side in the conflict against Denmark was indeed an important moral boost to the Swedes and their king.
Internal matters were dealt with as well. Gregers Kettilmundsson, Lagman of Finland was stripped from office after rumours had begun spreading of his obesity and greediness. Also, his love for food had lately distracted him from his paper work, which had put the finances of Finland in a terrible state.

In the year 1213 A.D, the final strike against Denmark came as King Erik I himself led his army across Kattegat in a great fleet, while a smaller fleet under Prince Magnus crossed Öresund. Copenhagen, Aarhus and Roskilde were besieged, and all fell before the end of the year. Denmark had been subdued.
All operations were not successful in 1213 though. A Danish fleet had entered the Baltic sea in late 1212, seriously harming Swedish trade, plundering and pillaging the coasts and Öland and Gotland in particular. The Swedish fleet attempted to stop the Danes, but was defeated in a sea battle just outside Gotland.

Now came a peaceful time. A ceasefire was quickly sealed with the Danes, who were now isolated in Pomerania, and King Erik ordered the reconstruction of the Swedish fleet. And soon money came flowing into the national treasury again thanks to the excessive trade with the increasingly powerful Hanseatic League as well as with the People of Novogorod.

In 1218, yet another Lagman of Finland was stripped from his office due to his lack of mathematic skills, and Lord Valdemarsson was granted the title of Jarl of Denmark, increasing his fame all across Northern Europe. Also, the final step towards a united Scandinavia was taken, as King Erik sailed with his army for Norway.
Knud Jarl, ruler of Norway, had never been very friendly with neither Swedes nor Danes. He had earlier in Eric's career refused to join the Swedes despite being offered a respectable sum of florins. Lately, his malice towards the powerful Swedes had grown. Not only had he made insulting comments on the Swedish royal line, his troops had also been spotted disturbingly close to Lödöse. Deciding that offence was the best defence, and not risking that Lödöse be burnt or conquered by Norwegian troops, King Erik thus set sail from Denmark where he had been living all since he had conquered it, leaving the rule of Sweden to his sons.

The Norse under Knud Jarl decided to meet the Swedes in open battle, but were easily beaten. The superior swedish troops, experienced from the long war with Denmark routed them easily. When Knud Jarl died, impaled on a Swedish halberd, the rest of the Norse broke ranks and fled. Many prisoners were take that day, and none were spared.

Thus, with Norway defeated and secured, King Erik I had by 1220 turned his little, squabbling kingdom into a mighty Northern European state. It was in these years, when Sweden first tasted power, that idea of turning the Baltic Sea into a Swedish Mare Nostrum was born. But that is a story to be told later.

The Kingdom of Sweden and Europe in 1220:


King Erik I in 1220:

[Kaidonni]

I don't use my king for battles unless he has the best command. Right now, he has 2. Lord de Tankerville has 5. I'm pressing the advantage. Each to their own, of course. Just the way I work.

[caravel]

I don't use my king for battles unless he has the best command. Right now, he has 2. Lord de Tankerville has 5. I'm pressing the advantage. Each to their own, of course. Just the way I work.

Of course if you have a better general then you should use him instead of the king. Though if the king and his heirs see little action they'll soon become useless. I have a strategy of saving my best generals for defensive roles, and sending my 2 and 3 star generals out to earn their pay, and increase their rank. The king is no excpetion. If you have some good available heirs and the king is still young, risk him. If he's past his sell by date, it should be his heir that you are testing in battle. The king/heir should only engage broken or routing troops, or be deployed in a flanking role. Getting him into those risky battles or sending him into the woods to chase some Janissary Heavy Infantry is not a good idea. Engaging the general at the right moment can turn the tide of a battle. Sending him in too early, or too late, will lumber you with another good runner and a lot of demoralised troops. Those 20 man bodyguard units are very vulneralbe to missile fire, especially horse archers or crossbows. You need to be aware of when these units are under fire and get them to safety without distancing them too much from the army they're supposed to be leading. Often the King/heir unit can do well to flank and destroy some of the enemies archers, in quick hit and run attacks.

[Martok]

Excellent, Innocentius! Looks like Erik is well on his way to leading the Swedish to glory.

Since I finally got the Pocket Mod up and running, I've gone and started a Fatamid campaign. I've been taking notes, and will hopefully have the first installment up tomorrow! [keeps fingers crossed]

[King Kurt]

The long awaited 5th episode of King Kurt's Almo adventure!!

JIHAD - THE RECKONING

The Caliph stretched his old bones as he stood in the window surveying the view to the sea. A dhow was pulling into the harbour, its white sail shone in the early morning sunshine. No doubt it would bring more news from the north - he trusted that the news would remain good.
The war against the infidel French went well. Even now a mighty Jihad was travelling through Spain and France to return Normandy to the cause of Islam. In Britany, his eldest son, fresh from surpressing a local revolt, would join the serried ranks of the Jihad for it's final push into Normandy. The arsenals of the Caliph's Iberian domains had added handsomely to the Jihad and it boasted many well armoured and armed Urban Militia in its ranks as well as magnificant Faris and fine Saharan cavalry. He also was keen to hear how the new terrible weapons of fire and destruction, the seige mortars, had fared.
Later that morning the Caliph and his advisers heard the report from the military attache. He brought a mixture of good and bad news. His army in Flanders continued to repulse the French Crusade from Wessex. The jihad with his son at the head had routed the French army in Normandy and now stood poised to storm the remnants who cowered in the fort outside Caen.
Furthur east, his forces pushed the French ever eastwards and his forces had occupied the Tyrol with their eyes on the prize of Venice. His armies in Italy had routed the Doge and had captured Genoa. Sadly the Doge had avoided all attempts to capture him
However, the French King and the Doge had gathered a joint army and invaded Valencia. The standing army of Iberia had rushed to the province, but, although outnumbered, the skillful French King had defeated the poorly led army and now stood victorious on the plains of Valencia. Moreover that Catholic cur, the Pope had invaded Naples and had stormed the castle, splitting the Caliph's Italian kingdom in two.
The Caliph knew this was not the time to hesitate. He ordered his Iberian generals to gather all their forces to invade Valencia. He specifically called for them to be led by one of his more skillful generals. To his Italian generals he told them to stabilise the north and to create the naval bridge to move troops from North Africa to Sicily to reinforce Sicily to eventually retake Naples. He instructed his son to swiftly end the seige of Caen then push on to Flanders to continue the expansion into England and North West Europe. The messengers bowed and sped into the night to carry their instructions to the 4 corners of the empire.
The sun was setting blood red, painting the Normandy countryside with a crimson hue. Prince Jusef caught the acrid smell of burnt gunpowder in the air as he watched the assault troops pour through the wreckage of the fort gates. The new weapons had worked well and his army faced little resistance as they swept into the town of Caen. Behind him the Alims were calling the remaining troops to prayer to celibrate the sucess of the Jihad. Suddenly the royal bodyguard parted as a messenger, clad in the purple of the royal household, spurred his horse up the hill to where Prince Jusef stood. The messenger's horse was flecked with sweat and a trickle of blood ran down its flank, testement to a zealous use of the whip. The courier, looking as dishevelled as his horse, threw himself at the feet of the prince - "Sire, I bring sad news. Your father, the Caliph is dead." The furore drowned out the end of the message. The courier reached inside his tunic and removed a small pouch. Inside was the Ring of the Desert, the ring which all Caliphs had worn for many centuries. Jusef slipped it on to his finger and turned to face his retinue. "Continue our work in the north, I have business in Algeria. God is great."
On his return to Tangers, Jusef took over the reins of power without a hitch.
Soon word came of the liberation of Valencia. In Italy, Venice had fallen and his troops were firmly in command of Northen Italy. In Central Europe his armies pressed the French back on all fronts. Friesland had fallen to his troops, but an upstart claimant to the long defunct Danish throne had suddenly appeared causing his troops to withdraw to Flanders. His troops, including many of his comrades from the Jihad to Normandy, had invaded Wessex and had the remnants of the shattered French crusade cooped up in the castle in London. Jusef smiled, all was well in his kingdom, soon the Pope would feel the force of his armies. His moment of thought was broken by the entrance of a courier into his room. He turned and smiled as he recognised the courier who had brought him the news of his father's death. Already the story of his journey from North Africa to Normandy had passed into legend and was the talk of the Souk.
"Welcome, good sir. Do you bring me more bitter sweet news?"
"No sire, only good this time. Your French foes are rent asunder. The whole rotten, corrupt ediface has collasped. Even now, rebels gather across their provinces as civil war rips through the land"
Jusef laughed as he called for his military attaches. "Good news indeed. Allah be praised. The time has come to finish this matter once and for all. Soon my kingdom will stretch from Scotland to Egypt, from Portugal to Franconia. Then all of Christendom will cower at my feet."

Reflection

Another roller coaster ride, care of the Almos. Things looked a bit dicey for a while - I even went into deficeit despite having the largest income - I have been working towards the French Civil War for some time and had the defeat of the crusade targeted as the likely straw to break the camel's back. The French King had died not that long ago and a new King is always fair game to drive into civil war - take a few provinces, defeat a crusade etc. the Danes coming back was a pain as Freisland had been lightly held by the French and had been an easy picking. Two years later, up pops the Danes with a 4 stack army, so time for a tactical retreat.
The Valencia episode was interesting. Once again the AI had done a good move dropping a reasonable army - French and Italian - into Spain with most of my troops in the north. This time I was prepared, having kept an army based in Castile to defend the Iberian peninsula. I dutifully attacked, casually pressing the auto resolve button as I outnumbered them quite comfortably. However, I had overlooked that my best general was a 1 star guy, while the French Kingwas a 5 star leader - result, a resounding defeat. However the French/Italian army had taken heavy losses as well, so I was able to round up enough troops under a 3 star man from Aragon to get rid of them. Must be a little more careful in the future!!
Next on the agenda - press home the advantage that the French civil war gives me, duff up the Pope and rebuild my navy.

[Kaidonni]

Okies, got to 1099AD...will start writing up the campaign. I think I should also put in 1100AD (which I haven't played yet...only just ended 1098). Basically, it would be the final year of the 11th century AD (1101 being the beginning of the 12th century, mathematically).

I tell you, I have some nice notes here to turn into a beautiful AAR. I basically role-play now.

Just a sneak peek of what I have in store for y'all (not put into a story context yet, more informal):

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

'In 1099, the Venetian-Genoan Treaty of Sovereignty and Independence was successfully negotiated between Doge Vitale II of Venice and Consul Gregorio II of Genoa. They both signed a document officially recognising each other's nation's sovereignty and independence, and stating that neither king shall lawfully subvert the other nation's identity ever again. The treaty was to be ratified by Pope Urban II himself, forging a new era of peace and respect between the Venetians and Genoans.'

I'm considering an alliance with the Genoese (as much as I'd like to wipe them out and get lots more land - but then, that wouldn't be very realistic nor would it be very Christian of Doge Vitale II...LOL!).

One reason why I state that the treaty was to be ratified by the Pope is role-playing. The other is that both Venice and Genoa stand at 3 provinces each. Any aggressive action by either towards the other, and conquest of land, means that one will stand at twice the size of the other, risking the Pope's wrath.

So, we are now awaiting the first installment of Venice.

[Innocentius]

Ok, so here's part two of my Swedish campaign. I was going to bring this up in the first post but I forgot so I'll squeeze it in here instead. I have a few personal rules for this campaign, I first intended to make them as realistic as Kavhan Isbul's rules for his Bulgarian campaign, but in the end decided I'm not skilled enough to play that level Anyway, I will:
- Not use Pavise Crossbows or Arbalests (though I will use Arbalests, despite it being inaccurate).
- Use only a minimum of mounted units (my only HC at the moment are my Royal Knights, I can't even produce CK yet) as Swedish armies were pretty infantry heavy.
- Try to wage reasonable and explainable wars against Catholics (i.e. not attacking just for conquest).
- Keep my borders within reasonable limits.

That's that. Now, onto:

The Kingdom of Sweden - 1220 to 1260 A.D.

With Scandinavia united into one, big kingdom, King Erik's first goal was to improve the economy, expand the trade routes and make the small army he had capable of defending his borders. To better be able to overlook the developments, King Erik travelled by land to Sweden from Norway, leaving his men to maintain loyalty from the recently subdued locals. He also ordered watch towers as well as forts to be constructed in order to be able to defend.
In 1223, Gotlandic merchants arriving in Stockholm brought with them disturbing words of the situation in the east. The pagan Lithuanians had invaded Livonia, seat of the Teutonic Order, and had defeated the Order in a great battle, in which the Grand Master of the Order was slain. The order brethren, now without a force able to defeat the Lithuanians, retreated to their castles, forts and citadels. In 1226, the same year that Lord Bonde was granted the title Earl of Scania, news reached King Erik, who at that time recided in Kalmar overlooking the contruction of the new castle there, that the Teutonic Order had been destroyed. Their last stronghold, Riga, had fallen to the pagans and the Grand Mater slain. King Erik now mourned that he had not earlier realised the seriousness of this matter, and that he had not sailed to the aide of his Catholic brothers. With this, he swore that he would reclaim Livonia from the pagans, and that he would not have peace untill the pagans were utterly defeated. To achieve this goal, he allied with his former enemies the Danes, who had recently taken Prussia from the Lithuanians.
King Erik now summoned all his sons and fine generals to a council in Kalmar, and instructed them to raise an army able to reclaim Livonia and, if possible,
all Baltic coast from the Lithuanians.
King Erik I's efforts of driving the pagans out was hampered however by a weakened treasury, and before he could see to that his enemies were destroyed, he needed to establish a profitable trading organisation, and thus granted the ships of the Hanseatic League with privileges in Swedish harbours. In combination with his strenghthened fleet, this lead to a steady flow of Florins into the Swedish treasury.
In 1230, odd news reached Sweden. There were the news of a pagan tribe from the far east, arriving in the lands of the Cumans and Turks. To many other Catholic kingdoms, these news slipped by unnoticed, but Scandinavians had a strong tradition with the east. A long time ago, in the pagan days, King Erik's ancestors had been close friends with the Kievan Rus, and many had travelled to the golden city of Constantinople where they had served as the bodyguard of the mighty emperor himself. Others had reached as far as the Caspian Ocean.
Although these news caught the attention of the nobility and the royal family of Sweden, it didn't really concern them. These events took place so far to the east that they could not possibly bother them, at least not for a long time.
In 1234, King Erik's plans were finally realised. Birger Magnusson, the first and foremost knight of Sweden, sailed with an impressive army across the Baltic Sea landing just outside Riga. The Lithuanians who had recently been weakened by a failed attempt to reclaim Prussia retreated in fear when the saw the Swedish army, not even standing to hold their castles. Livonia was again in Catholic hands. The pagans were then defeated in a battle against the people of Novgorod the next year.
As if this wasn't enough, an English Crusade that has passed through Denmark in 1236 pillaged its way through Lithuania itself in 1237. In spite of all this, the Duke of Lithuania managed to keep his people loyal to him and his realm remained, although weakened. King Erik took no further actions against the Lithuanians however. War was costly, and he did not wish to risk another economical crisis. Besides, other foreign politics caught his attention. Erik Birgersson, royal emissary of King Erik I, had been assasinated during his stay in Brandenburg. King Erik sent men to investigate the matter, and urged that the Holy Roman Emperor did the same, but despite of the common effort, nothing was clarified, and the murderer remained unknown.
With the conquest of Livonia also came a slight change to the Swedish armies. The clever Birger Magnusson saw potent in the Lithuanian turcopoles, who fired their bows from the horseback. This concept was unknown to Swedish armies, but Birger decided to recruit a couple of regiments of horse archers to serve him, seeing their value as a mobile force in the otherwise very slow Swedish armies.
Although an old man, King Erik was always vigorous and enjoyed spending his time outside. In December 1238, he had been out hunting with some of his sons when the ice on the lake on which he rode suddenly burst under his horse. The horse drowned in the freezingly cold water, but the King was rescued. As a result of this, he caught a fever that claimed his life in early January 1239. Upon his deathbed, he urged his sons to continue the struggle that he had started, and that they should always strive to make the Baltic Sea into a Swedish Mare Nostrum and that they should always fight the pagans. With these words, he drew his last breath. King Erik I of Sweden was dead.

The rule of King Erik II

King Erik I was mourned by an entire kingdom and by his sons in particular. The throne now passed to the deceased king's oldest son, also named Erik. Erik was crowned King of all Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Livonia [Finland was considered a natural part of Sweden during this period] by the archbishop in Uppsala. This was an important change that his father had made. In the old days, Uppsala had been the seat of the Swedish archbishop while the Danish archbishop resided in Lund. As Lund was now a part of the Swedish kingdom, there was no longer any archbishop of Lund, although he had held superiority to the archbishop of Uppsala and the two archdioceses had been merged into one. King Erik II married the daughter of a leading aristocrat the next year.
The project of converting the pagans of the Baltic to Catholics was the first matter that King Erik II dealt with. In 1245, Filip Engelbrektsson was determined the first individual bishop of Finland, giving Finland its own diocese with Turku as its centre. The church in Turku wasn't finished untill 1248 though. In 1246, Halstan Björnsson was determined bishop of Livonia. In the same year, Prince Joar (from King Erik's previous marriage) who had just reached the age of 17 married with Princess Jarol, daughter of András III of Hungary.
The years past, and the Swedes and King Erik were content. Their kingdom had reasonable borders and the pagan threat had been neutralized. The Mongols from the far east had been stopped early in their tracks by the combined force of the Prince of Novgorod and the Turkish Sultan. Although they remained a potent power, they did not threaten Sweden.
The Lithuanians on the other hand had grown in power and had recovered, but they yet lacked the time to strike against Sweden, although that time was perhaps drawing near. King Erik did not fear anyway, he had all confidence in Birger Magnusson in Riga. The peace was not to remain however.
In 1251, the Holy Roman Empire got engaged in a war with the Ventians, both long-term allies of the Swedish. When forced to choose his allies, King Erik II chose the Venetians, as their power as a trading nation had much greater impact on the Swedish economy than the nearly landlocked Holy Roman Empire had. When these news reached the Holy Roman Emperor, he was severly angered, and sent an insulting letter to King Erik. King Erik, being a very proud (perhaps a bit too proud) and argumentative man sent an equally insulting letter back to the Emperor. This resulted in the assasination of several Swedish emissaries throughout Germany. That was too much for Erik to handle, and in spite of his age, he set sail for Saxony and invaded it in the summer of 1252. Too late did the Emperor realise his mistake, as his forces to the north were not fit to defend against the well equipped and well trained Swedish armies and his troops duly fled from Saxony without putting up a fight. The Swedish nobility, not wishing war, now urged King Erik to end the conflict with the Emperor, and they succeeded in settling his mind for a few years, but in 1256, King Erik once again commanded an army invading Brandenburg. The Germans fled. Although war was not wished, none could argue that the copper mines of Brandenburg was not a welcome boost to the Swedish economy.
This was the last action taken by King Erik II anyway, and he passed away out of age in 1259, still situated in Brandenburg which he had hardly left since he conquered it. His only son, Joar, now ascended the throne as King Joar I. King Joar was at this time already 30 years old, and had participated in his fathers' campaigns in northern Germany. King Erik II was not remembered as a very great king. Although his campaigns had gained the kingdom vast areas of land, his personal abilities had been lacking in quality. He had also ignored the task which his father had laid upon him and had not fought the pagans during his entire reign. He was however praised by the Pope for the foundation of the dioceses of Turku and Riga.

King Joar I:


Birger Magnusson:


The Kingdom of Sweden in 1260:


I am surprised to see how few battles I've fought in this campaign (only one!). My enemies tend to flee and I'm not very agressive. This means my generals and princes generally s*ck, which is sad. Anyway, I hope things will stir up a bit to the east and that something will happen that'll give me the chance to wipe out the Danes and take Pomerania and Prussia.
I blame this on my frequent use of CS. I normally don't use them and prefer Halbs instead, but decided to give them a try. The 100 men units makes my armies much larger which I believe is why my enemies flee. I am also working to reach CK in Livonia, which would indeed be welcome.

[King Kurt]

Episode 6 of king Kurts Almo adventure

REFLECTION

The sun glinted of the mirror surface of the oasis. Jusef sat crosslegged on the rug of his forefathers, the canvas of the tent gently rippling above him. He was alone, save for his personal retainers who quietly lounged around the oasis at the bottom of the dune. There were times when one had to think and reflect. This was one of them.
He had been Caliph for some years now. Initially, things went well. The accursed French had fallen into civil war and had been easy pickings. Their Kingdom now consisted of scattered provinces across Europe - small holdings in Wales, Austria and Scandanavia. Soon they would be vanquished and the slight against his family avenged. There had been the wholesale conquest of Italy, sending the Pope into exile. And there had been the sad case of the Germans. They had been allies of Jusef and his family for over 50 years, but suddenly had decided to betray that trust by attacking the province of Aquataine. What fools - in their enclave of Southern france and Northen Italy, how could they stand against the might of his armies - in 3 short years armies fron Spain and France has crushed all resistance and now not a trace remained of this foolish monarch and his misguided ambitions. Moreover the fortress of Milan was in their hands, a bastion with the fortress of venice against all who stood against him.
Then, when all seemed well, the accursed Pope reared his head again. Miraculously he appeared with 3 massive armies within his midst across Italy. His out numbered troops had defended gallantly, but had been driven out of their their newly conquered provinces and their Southern Italian lands as well. To the north the fortresses of Venice and Milan stood as sentinels on this upstart priest, but the loss of Naples and Sicily weighed heavily on him.
So, what to do? As his family had done before him, he had travelled into the desert to get clarity of thought. The palms of the oasis rustled as his weighed the options in his mind. His empire was the mightiest it had ever been. His armies were large and his treasury healthy. He could strike in any direction - but which way to choose. He felt he must stay true to the principles of his family - so no action against a fellow Muslim. It saddened him that the other 2 nations of Islam were even now waging war against each other and had been for many years. No the Jihad against the infedel must continue. The gallant defenders of Italy must be avenged. He would bide his time, gather a massive force and crush this Pope into dust. The last French outposts would prove a useful training ground for his forces and the Italian empire in the Balkans looked ripe for plucking - for too long had those accursed sons of Genoa hindered his shipping. With cool clarity, his mind was made up. He stood and stretched his arms and legs, the warm wind of the desert hot against his cheek.
"Call my generals and Alims. We have a reattribution to plan"

The campaign goes well - until the Pope decides to reappear in 3 provinces with 4 mega stacks in each!! - despite a determined resistance, I was driven out of central and southern Italy, including Sicily. My northen defences should hold and I should reconquer when I have gathered a sufficent force. The HRE were strange - we had been allies for ages - almost since the game began. All he owned was Milian, Provence and Toulouse. He then decides to attack me in Aquataine, despite me having considerable forces all around. Suffice to say, he did not last long. I am close to being in that unassailable postion - I am now consistantly getting the you have the biggest army, biggest income messages, as well as leading in the GA points as well, so it should soon be time to say adieu to the Almos - once I have stuffed the Pope again!!

[Martok]

Gah! I just realized I hadn't checked out this thread in the last few days.

@Kaidonni: Have you made any progress on your Venetian campaign yet? While I won't claim to speak for everyone else, I confess I've been looking forward to reading about it for a little while now.

@Innocentius: Very nice! Have you destroyed the Danes yet?

@King Kurt: Awesome, man. It's fun to read an AAR where the author so clearly relishes the campaign they're playing. What year is it in your game, by the way? Sounds like you own around 1/3 of the map or therabouts, and I'm curious as to how rapid your expansion has been.

[UltraWar]

Danish Campaign: ZXMod
Difficulty: Normal

[Innocentius]

@Innocentius: Very nice! Have you destroyed the Danes yet?

Not yet, but that's because I haven't played since I last posted For some reason, I work in short bursts of activity, and then play around with the game playing other serious campaigns/less serious campaigns and custom battles. I tend to play through a few years, then go directly to writing before I lose the mood. Then I let the campaign rest untill next time.

[bamff]

Hi all - have been away for a while, but am now back on deck.

Apologies in advance - this instalment is quite long-winded (a combination of having been away from it for so long and wanting my 200th post to be something worthy of the double century - and I figured if I couldn't make it worthy in terms of quality, I would instead go for quantity!)


The Chronicles of Bamff’s English

Chapter 11 – King Alfred III (1310 - 1350)
The year is 1310. The past 225 years has seen the English kingdom expand eastwards across mainland Europe, to the point that the eastern border is comprised the provinces of Friesland, Franconia, Bavaria, Tyrolia, and Venice. The bulk of Scandinavia now rests in English hands, with both Norway and Sweden protectorates of the English crown. All of the Iberian peninsula, and the entire northern coastline of Africa, from Morocco to Tripoli are part of the kingdom, as is the island of Sicily.
Whilst England has flourished, other kingdoms have crumbled and fallen, with many now nothing more than memories or footnotes in the chronicles of history. The Almohads and Turks are no more. The French, Spanish, Italian, and Sicilian kingdoms have all ceased to be a part of medieval Europe. Indeed, the English themselves had brought about the downfall of each of these latter four nations.
King Henry I is the monarch who now rules over this burgeoning kingdom, a nation forged in steel and blood. True enough, these past few years, he has left the management of his kingdom largely to his trusted advisors in Wessex whilst he pursued glory on the battlefields of Milan. His forebears had long since established the concept of the English warrior king, and Henry felt it necessary to prove himself on the field to ensure his place in the hearts of his loyal subjects. This he had done most admirably, with a series of victories resulting in church bells across his kingdom loudly tolling his triumph for all to rejoice in. This is not to say that Henry took no interest in the continued economic growth of his kingdom. His overhaul of the system of taxation during the early years of his reign had laid the groundwork for the dramatic increases in the English treasury in recent times.
England’s only remaining enemies, the Holy Roman Empire and Egypt, had both been battered into mere shadows of their former glory. Neither represented any real threat to the might of England….and yet, Henry was uneasy about what the future had in store for himself, and this mighty empire that he and his forefathers had constructed. Henry was a more than capable tactician, but he always took a keener interest in the strategic overview of any given situation, and a number of issues conspired to concern him greatly.
Byzantium remained one of his largest and most dangerous potential rivals. This eastern empire had a naval force as large as the English navy. The Byzantines also currently held the northern province of Saxony, and continued to reinforce this garrison. The Byzantine army encamped in this province was already far in excess of what was required to police and defend these territories, reasoned the English king…and yet more troops were despatched by Constantinople with each passing year. The Byzantine garrison of Syria also appeared unusually large, and with the rich English held province of Tripoli just across the border, this too, was a source of some concern for the English monarch.
The Golden Horde shaped as a further possible rival – although with no naval presence, and no lands bordering upon English soil, this empire was something of a lesser threat.
The Poles had in the past attempted to wrest the possession of certain provinces from English hands, albeit unsuccessfully. Henry viewed them somewhat warily as well, although they were currently hard pressed in the east by the Golden Horde, and it was unlikely that they would be able to let their guard down for long enough to strike any blow at the English lands to their west.
“Sure enough, a storm is coming….”, the King mused to himself “But from which direction will the clouds roll in?”
As it transpired, King Henry would not live to see the arrival of the coming storm. In the year 1312, the English mourn the loss of their beloved monarch. His son, Alfred, succeeds him, and is crowned Alfred III at the tender age of 19 years.
Europe remains peaceful for the ensuing five year period, allowing the young king time to re-structure the extensive empire that the kingdom of England has now become. There is much to do – Alfred ascribes to the theories of his father, and he is anxious to be prepared.
In 1317, word reaches the king that Byzantine forces have invaded the rebel province of Naples. In King Alfred’s mind, this actions cements Byzantium as the kingdom most likely to emerge as a thorn in the side of the English lion.
The following year, Prince Chort of Novgorod attacks the rebels in Finland, seizing that province after a series of small battles. Chort’s joy proves to be short lived, as the Finns re-assert their independence in 1320, driving the Novgorod armies from Finnish soil.
Alfred uses this series of events in far off lands to support his desire to extend the English trade networks rather than increasing spending on military forces. He addresses his court, stating that “The Way to prosperity is through trade, not through the sword and the lance. Our kingdom produces the finest woollen goods in all of Christendom, this is well known, and widely acknowledged. England must seek to dominate the wool trade.”
The young king further decrees that taking control of no less than 2/3 of the wool trade would indeed be a glorious achievement.
In 1322, the long awaited storm breaks in dramatic fashion. The Byzantine forces that had long been amassing in Saxony sweep south into the English held province of Franconia. At the same time, a large Byzantine force strikes Tripoli. Both battles prove to be bloody affairs, with massive casualties on both sides. Notwithstanding that both result in English victories, the horrendous loss of life prompts Alfred to resolve to never to auto-calc again. The use of such odd terminology sparks rumours at court about the king’s sanity. Having already weathered numerous rumours of “secret perversions”, Alfred is not largely concerned.
The enormity of the Byzantine losses have left their garrisons in both Saxony and Syria sorely depleted. This is particularly so in Syria, and Sir Michael Audley, recognising this fact, launches an assault on that province immediately. The Byzantines are severely outnumbered, and flee northwards rather than face Audley’s army.
The following year, Sir William Plantagenet leads the invasion of Rhodes. Stephen Calaphates’ beleagured troops prepare grimly for the onslaught. The have no hope of either escape or reinforcement – the English naval blockade has seen to that. Calaphates and his men are stubbornly brave, but they are hopelessly outnumbered. Rhodes becomes part of the English kingdom.
In 1326, Antioch and Edessa are now cut off from the rest of the Byzantine empire. To the east is the English province of Syria. To the south, England holds Tripoli. The lands to the north are all that remains of the once proud Egyptian empire. The seas to the west contain nothing but English ships. Alfred realises that never will England have a better chance to strike at these rich provinces. With the complicity of his long time allies in Rome, a crusade is declared against Antioch.
Sir Richard Burnell leads the crusaders. His Byzantine adversary is the wily Lord Lascaris. Lascaris’ men fight admirably, but just when it appears that the Byzantine general is about to carry the day for the defenders, a series of arbalest bolts strike home, bringing down both horse and rider. News of Lascaris’ death spread like wildfire across the field, inspiring the English crusaders and sapping the morale of the Byzantines. The defenders wither before the crusaders, and Antioch falls.
As if the defeats in Franconia and Tripoli, the loss of Syria, Rhodes, and Antioch, and the growing number of naval battles lost were not bad news enough for Emperor Michael IX of Byzantium, in 1327, the province of Corsica rebels, and succeeds in throwing of the shackles of Copnstantinople.
Sir Richard Giffard’s crusaders arrive in Edessa in 1335. Lord Botanciates meets them. Botanciates’ men sell their lives dearly, but their heroically suicidal stand is in vain. As it transpires, this battle proves not only to be Botanciates’ last stand, but the last stand of the Byzantine Empire. Emperor Michael is a broken man. The events of the past 10 years have caused him to sink into an ever-deepening depression. Having already reached an almost catatonic state in which he neither eats nor drinks, the news of the fall of Edessa is the final straw. The morning after the news is brought to Constantinople, the emperor is found dead, leaving no heir to take his place on the throne. Constantinople dissolves into a series of independent provinces, with each governor squabbling with the others over his right to rule all of Byzantium.
As the sun sets on the Byzantine Empire, it rises further west across the Mediterranean. A new day dawns for Sicily, it would appear. The peoples of Naples and Malta rally under the banner of King Aed III.
The following year, the kingdom of Italy is similarly reborn, with Corsica and Sardinia pledging their allegiance to Doge Vitale IV.
Meanwhile in eastern Europe, the Golden Horde have taken advantage of the crumbling of the Byzantine Empire. A series of small independent state are far more tempting targets than one large monolithic empire. With the Horde once again on the march, Sir Nicephorus Cerlularius decides that it would be preferable to join the kingdom of England rather than attempting to stand alone. Once one of Byzantium’s leading generals, this man is both a skilled commander and an able administrator, and Alfred welcomes him to the English cause.
The Khan of the Golden Horde realises all too late that his tactics in relation to the former Byzantine provinces are all wrong. In 1346, these states have had enough of the continued attacks of the Horde, and the Byzantine Empire is once more. Cyprus, Anatolia, Armenia, Trebizond, Georgia, Nicea, Constantinople, Bulgaria, Moldavia, Serbia, Saxony, Livonia, Smolensk, and Ryazan all answer the call that originates in Musvcovy.
In 1348, the reign of King Alfred III draws to a close, as the English king dies peacefully in his sleep. His son King Henry II steps forward to claim the throne of what is now undisputedly the greatest kingdom in all of Europe.

[Martok]

Another terrific write-up, bamff! I had to laugh at this passage, though:

Both battles prove to be bloody affairs, with massive casualties on both sides. Notwithstanding that both result in English victories, the horrendous loss of life prompts Alfred to resolve to never to auto-calc again. The use of such odd terminology sparks rumours at court about the king’s sanity. Having already weathered numerous rumours of “secret perversions”, Alfred is not largely concerned.

That was great! Totally had me rolling.

In regards to the Byzantines: Did they really re-emerge in all those provinces? If so, that's gotta be the unofficial record for this game.

Anyway, looking forward to the next installment; can't wait to see what Henry II does!

[Innocentius]

Good to hear from your English campaign bamff. Things seem to be going rather well (except for that huge re-emergance).

The reign of King Joar The Great: 1259 - 1288 A.D.

Were Erik II had dissapointed many in terms of personal qualities and abilities, his son Joar I made up for them all. When Joar first became king he was mostly known as a man of numbers and the kingdom greeted a time of stabile finances and prosperity. And although Joar was to live up to all of these expectations, he is best remembered as a warrior king.
The first few years of his rule was a peaceful time, which the nobility of Sweden appreciated after the undesired wars in northern Germany under his father King Erik II. That was all to change in 1262 however, as the Lithuanians invaded Swedens long-term allies the people of Novogorod. The Prince of Novgorod was defeated in a great battle against the pagans. The Prince himself and a handful of his men retreated to Novgorod itself where they were besieged, while the other remnants of the army made it for the lands of their allies in Livonia. Here Birger Magnusson, Duke of Livonia and one of Sweden's greates military commanders, welcomed them but was severly upset when he heard about what had happened in the east. Birger was infamous for his temper and it is said that he without hesitation summoned his army and marched for Novgorod to releave his allies without even waiting for the permission to do so from his king. So frightening was the sight of an approaching Swedish army with Lord Magnusson of Livonia as its commander that the Lithuanian army fled at once, even though it greatly outnumbered both the Swedish and the People of Novgorod's together and was under personal command of the Duke of Lithuania himself. Novgorod had been saved.
The very next year, 1264 of our Lord, King Joar I set in motion the great operation he had planned for many years now. Small armies had been raised all across Sweden, and had within a few months traveled by sea to Saxony, where they joined King Joar who had been reciding there for several years, planning this operation. This was to be the beginning of the end for the Danes.
No exact reasons for this attack can be given actually, and the common opinion is that this war was triggered by King Joar's hatred toward the Danes alone. Joar had studied history in his youth, and had learnt of the long conflicts between Sweden and Denmark, in which the Danes were successful for the most part unfortunatley. His father had left the Danes alone in their provinces of Pomerania and Prussia as they meant no harm. They were a broken people, robbed of their homelands and ultimatley defeated by their old enemies the Swedish, but King Joar would not settle with this. He wanted the Danes eradicated. War was declared in the summer of 1264 as King Joar I and his army crossed the Danish border. The Danes were indeed taken by surprice, and having nothing but bad memories of warfare against the Swedes they retreated, leaving Pomerania to the Swedish.
Such an act did not pass unnoticed however, and soon enough a warning from the Pope reached King Joar in which he was told to sease these hostilities with the Danes his fellow Christians. Facing excommunicatin, King Joar reluctantly abandoned his plans, for a while at least. Nonetheless, this short war had added the wealthy lands of Pomerania to Sweden. As a reward for his loyal and faithful service during the campaign, Lord Sverkersson was granted the tile Duke of Pomerania. After this, King Joar sailed back to Stockholm, where he would remain for many years.
The war with the Danes was far from over though. The King of Denmark had a great fleet at his disposal, and he now attempted to turn tables on the Swedish by defeating them at sea, enabling his troops in Prussia to raid whichever Swedish coast they wished. This was to fail though: in 1265 the Swedish fleets in both Skagerrak and the Baltic Sea defeated their Danish counterparts. In 1266 the Swedish fleet in the Norwegian Sea won yet another battle, and the war on the seas ended in 1268 as Olof Valdemarsson, the now famous captain who defeated the danes in a similar battle three years earlier, completely destroyed the remnants of the Danish fleet in Skagerrak. In the same year, Sweden did not only conclude as ceasefire with the Holy Roman Empire, but an alliance was forged as well.
But even in these years, the years of great military success and great economic prospering there were bad news. In 1267, it was reported from Livonia that the famous Birger Magnusson had passed away out of old age. He was mourned and missed by many, his subjects in Livonia and King Joar in particular as they had learnt to appreciate this man's hot temper and skills with both the pen as well as the sword. In 1270, further bad news hit Livonia as a cholera epidemic spread throughout the lands, killing thousands and thousands of people. Many considered this to be the punishment for King Joar's war against the Danes, but the King would have none of it.

An interesting side story that took place in these days is The story of Johan Birgersson, a both sad yet at the same time somewhat amusing - although in a morbid way - story.
Johan Birgersson was a nobleman from Scania, born sometime durin the 1230ies and was well known for his silver tounge, and his way with words. These abilities, along with his lack of interest for the use of weapons made him become an emissary of King Joar I in 1260. The very next year, he was sent to Prussia to spy on the Danes. As war broke out, he could no longer be seen in public, and had to hide, travelling back and forth through Prussia, avoiding detection while at the same time reporting to King Joar in Pomerania or later on Sweden.
In 1267, when the conflict had settled somewhat, he began to act as royal ambassador of Sweden again, and tried to conclude a ceasefire with the Danish king, but failed thanks to the King's stubborn mind.
Johan remained in Prussia despite this, now being able to reside in relative safety, and although not exactly welcome, it was prohibited to lay hands on him by orders from the King of the Danes himself. Johan was still not safe though, and many tried to claim his life. In 1271, 1273, 1274, 1276 and 1277 there were attempted assasinations of him, but he somehow managed to survive them all. In 1278, he had finally had it. Prussia was in Swedish hands by this time (see below), but there were still people who wanted to see him dead. Now growing old, he decided to leave for Scania and spend the end of his days there but was found dead, stabbed in the chest, the morning on which he was about to depart for home.

The first Battle of Prussia

In 1275, King Joar I of Sweden had finally had it. The repeated rejects of his offering of truces and the many attempted assasinations of Johan Birgersson was simply too much for him, and hot-headed as he was, he commanded the invasion of Prussia. He himself lead the army.
Sometime during the middle of July, the armies met. The Danes positioned their troops - most of them fairly outdated by this time, however outnumbering the Swedes - in a rather traditional manner of a single line. Their flanks were left rather unprotected, but the shere size of their army and the shape of the battlefield made an out-flanking difficult and besides, Joar was never a man of great finesse when it came to warfare.
Thus, Joar positioned his men in a rather similar manner, although with his arbalests on his left flank and his Lithuanian Turcopoles - an interesting touch to the otherwise infatry based Swedish army - on the right. Himself and his knights waited just behind the main body of the army, consisting of halberdiers.
The arbalests and the turcopoles began to approach the Danes, while the reast of the army waited. The Danish chivalric - although foolish - sergeants on their left flank took the bait of the turcopoles and charged strait ahead towards them. Within minutes they were separated from the rest of the army, surrounded by the mobile horse archers, hauling volley after volley of deadly arrows into their ranks from behind and from the flank simultaneously. Some axe-wielding woodsmen from the area who tried to aide them were shot down in the same way.
The Swedish arbalests on the left flank moved up, loosed a few volleys at the Danish spearmen but then quickly retreated as this caused the entire Danish army to attack. Outnumbering the enemy, the Danes did not see why they shouldn't attack their foes. Their King strictly ordered them not to, but after but a few minutes of being exposed to enemy fire, they charged straight ahead. The Danish king, desperatly trying to make the best out of the situation joined the charge. He was the first to reach the Swedish ranks, and also the first of many to end his life sliced and skewered by a Swedish halberd.
Now, within minutes, the Danes broke ranks and fled as their attack was stopped dead once they reached the wall of halberds. Once the enemy ran, King Joar and his knights charged them, pursuing them to their bitter end. Few Danes escaped that day. The Danish King and all his sons were either killed or captured, and the Kingdom of Denmark forfeit. Prussia was in Swedish hands and the Danes were no more.


The war against Novgorod

In 1284, the citizens of Stockholm celebrated as the great citadel that their king had ordered to be constructed many years ago was finally finished. In the same year, a man named Torgils Knutsson had sprung to great fame over in Livonia as he had proved to be both a great mathematician as well as tactician [Note:This is a hero that I've added myself, he is not a "regular" hero for Sweden].
All seemed now to be as good as it could be. Sweden was the supreme power of the Baltic Sea, and was at peace with its neighbours. The economy was flourishing and the treasuries of Sweden seemed endless to many. Everything was not what it seemed though.
Unlike his predecessors King Joar had never shown any great love towards the People of Novogorod, and the aide the Swedes had given the Novgorods in 1263 wasn't a campaign that Joar had liked, although he had been quiet about it since he had been very fond of Birger Magnusson. What Joar disliked the most about the Novgorods was their wish to always be aware of what their neighbours were up to. Many spies and assassins said to have been sent from Novogorod had been caught and executed throughout the years, and when a Swedish bishop - who's name can't be found in any record of this time - was murdered in Estonia in 1285 it was more than enough for the hot-headed King Joar. He ordered his green, yet seemingly talented general Torgils Knutsson to invade Estonia in 1285, and this was done with great success. The outnumbered Novgorods retreated to their keeps and castles and Torgils patiently waited for them starve.
Prince Vsevolod II of Novgorod was both shocked and angered when he heard of this, and ordered an invasion of Prussia, where King Joar waited with his army. This invasion was ill-planned though, and the Novgorods retreated as they realised they were greatly outnumbered. Vsevolod himself led a better organised army the next year, only to be defeated by King Joar and killed in The Second Battle of Prussia.

The castle in Reval, the last of the castles to withstand Torgils Knutsson and his men fell in the same year.

King Joar I was not enjoy these triumphs for long however, as he passed away in an unknown fever illness in early 1288. Some say this was a punishment from God for his many unnecessary wars against his fellow Christians, no matter if they were following the Pope or the Pathriarch. Others claimed that his hot temper and great personality finally made his body burn from the inside while others still just claimed that old age and spending much time in the field and on the battlefield had caused the king's death. No matter what, King Joar would forever be remembered as King Joar the Great, Hammer of the Danes.
He was succeeded by his only grown up son, Karl, who became king as King Karl I of Sweden.

King Karl I:


The Kingdom of Sweden in 1288:


Torgils Knutsson:

[bamff]

In regards to the Byzantines: Did they really re-emerge in all those provinces? If so, that's gotta be the unofficial record for this game.

Sure did....it had me scratching my head too, I'll tell you. First off, I would have thought that the fact that some of these provinces were so far away and completely isolated from Muscovy (where the new Emperor appeared) that there was no way known that they would jump on the bandwagon.....but there you go....

Actually while on the subject of "strange portents and happenings", here's another one for you....My crusade on Edessa was launched in Palestine, travelled through Syria to reach Edessa. My troops in Syria were all "home grown" English units (by that I mean types that I could make as England)...imagine my surprise when I found a unit of 35 Szekely's among my crusaders! Even weirder is that I do not recall seeing them when assembling my troops prior to the battle. How did they get there? Clearly those Hungarians are sneakier than I gave them credit for!

Innocentius - what a write up! Fantastic stuff!

[naut]

Ok I'll get to reading.

[Martok]

Sure did....it had me scratching my head too, I'll tell you. First off, I would have thought that the fact that some of these provinces were so far away and completely isolated from Muscovy (where the new Emperor appeared) that there was no way known that they would jump on the bandwagon.....but there you go....

Yeah, that really is unusual. I personally have never seen a faction re-emerge in more than 5-6 provinces at most, so I wonder why this one was so huge. Perhaps it's different because the Byz died out from their royal line ending, and not because they were conquered? I suppose it's possible, but I've simply never heard of anything like it before.

Actually while on the subject of "strange portents and happenings", here's another one for you....My crusade on Edessa was launched in Palestine, travelled through Syria to reach Edessa. My troops in Syria were all "home grown" English units (by that I mean types that I could make as England)...imagine my surprise when I found a unit of 35 Szekely's among my crusaders! Even weirder is that I do not recall seeing them when assembling my troops prior to the battle. How did they get there? Clearly those Hungarians are sneakier than I gave them credit for!

Indeed!

I don't know, bamff. I would say that it must be a bug of some sort, except that I don't care for such a simplistic explanation. I wonder if maybe they were mercenaries who just happened to be in Syria at the time. I've personally not seen mercs voluntarily join a Crusade without being paid to do so, but that certainly doesn't mean it's not still possible.

Innocentius - what a write up! Fantastic stuff!

I definitely second that. Loved the sub-story on Johan Birgersson; that was a hoot!

So do you think Karl will press the war against Novgorod, or will you leave him be?

[Innocentius]

Thanks for your kind words everyone

So do you think Karl will press the war against Novgorod, or will you leave him be?

Most likely, yes. Invading Estonia wasn't really an economic benefit, it just adds me another border with the Novgorods and it's a pretty poor province. I invaded out of pretty sneaky reasons; since it was so lightly defended, I was pretty sure the enemy would run and then try to counter me elsewhere as their strongest armies were down in Lithuania. This worked, and hopefully they'll attack again. When fighting defensive battles my armies are at their best, static armies that can both take and deal out a lot of damage. Their obvious downside is that they're pretty immobile. This will hopefully change a bit once I get CKs in Livonia though.

[Kingtotalwar]

what mods r u guys using

[UltraWar]

what mods r u guys using

That would be VikingHorde's Medieval:XL Mod

[caravel]

A Byzantine Campaign

1153, Nicopherus IV has sat on the Byzantine throne some 20 years. He has managed to hold together the Empire that his father had rebuilt thus far. In the North the Italians and Hungarians grow restless. The Hungarian peasants grow lean from the famine that is sweeping the lands of Hun and Pole alike. Their king gazes with envy at the Byzantine lands south of the border, but has not the strength of arms to move against Nicopherus' forces in Bulgaria and Serbia.

In the East the army are resting after a long campaign against the Seljuks. Those vile dogs have now been driven back to Mesopotamia and Persia where they belong. Further south the Saracens remain like the proverbial thorn in the side of the empire. Only two years past, Nicopherus and many brave men including Micheal Commenus and Andronicus Branas invaded and sacked Tripoli, a Saracen strongpoint that had seen the end of many a good Roman and filled Constantinople with the wails of it's widows. Now Tripoli is back under Imperial control. Palestine was taken the following year in a quick victory.

Further north, beyond the caucasus the recently acquired lands of the Steppes are free from war. The priests and holy men have made it their business to bring the word of our lord to the nomadic barbarians that live there. The Emperor has never travelled to those parts is purportedly planning an excursion soon. Old age has now crept up on his highness, and at the grand old age of 57, the Emperor feels that his time draws near. The year before, the Emperor had pulled his most daring stroke yet. In response to a Frankish crusade allowed against our land of Palestine by the Pope of the Catholics, Nicopherus ordered that four stout galleys be readied and that this pretender be taught a sharp lesson. Three months later, after many delays, battling high winds and stormy seas, the fleet set sail. The force landed in Rome, and took the enemy by surprise. His men were defeated and driven off with great slaughter, and the pretender himself fled to a neighbouring province where he is now holed up shaking and quivering. This move was poorly received by the empire's former allies among the catholics. Many critics have regarded this as Nicopherus' last shot at infamy before his death... some of those critics are still alive. Palestine was also lost as a result of the Emperor diverting forces to the conquest of Rome. There is no word of the Frankish crusade, it is believed by some to be lost in the Sahara, and by others to be lost at sea.

The recent posting of the Varangian Guard to Serbia and Croatia have sparked many rumours that Nicopherus' next target will be Venice! General Romanus Commenus, of the Emperor's family, and arguably the best general in the army, leads the army in Croatia, this has caused yet more speculation. There are many that would say that we should not be meddling in the affairs of the westerners but instead securing our own lands from the Saracens.

1154 And the wearied Franks have appeared in Cyrenacia and have besieged the Moors! They will have to fight their way through the Saracen lands in order to reach Palestine. The Emperor has announced his intention to wait for them. Many including Lord Vatatzes of the Syrian army had urged the Emperor to move immediately against the Saracens and establish a defensive strongpoint in the Sinai. After careful consideration Nicopherus had decided that he simply didn't have enough men at his disposal and needed to keep his troops fresh for the inevitable desert battles to come. It is possible that Nicopherus had had some belief that the Christians would see their error and join with the Byzantine Forces to finally crush the Saracens once and for all.

1155 The Frankish army have conquered Egypt. An insolent Frankish emissary has requested a ceasefire! He was lucky to leave with his head still attached! The Franks number at around 500 men, there are some cavalry, few nobles but mostly peasants. They have brought along siege equipment as if anticipating an assault on Jerusalem! A Moorish emissary also requested an audience but the Emperor has little time for their oiled words and quite rightly so!

A Saracen Prince has fallen to the blade of an assassin. The Saracen Sultan is apparently weeping at this loss. The Emperor is not a man without heart, and has condemned those from his own court that have made a mockery of the enemy's misfortune. There have been other rumours that the Emperor himself ordered the assassination to assist the Franks in an easy victory against Palestine.... mere rumours of course and nothing more...

1156 And treachery and perfidy are in abundance. The Franks of the so called "Holy Roman Empire" invaded Croatia in this year and were utterly defeated by the army of Romanus Commanus. Four hundred of these fools were slaughtered needlessly, and another one thousand taken prisoner and ransomed to the enemy. The crusading Franks have advanced into the Sinai looting Egypt and leaving it to it's fate! After hearing word some months later of the attempted invasion of Croatia, the Emperor, so incensed by these miscreants, has accepted a ceasefire from the King of the Saracens! It may be that the 60 year old Emperor is so overjoyed by the coming of age of his son Constantine, guaranteeing that his line will live on, that having Saracens prowling along your frontier is not such a bad thing!

1157 The Franks in the Sinai have surrendered and been ransomed back by the Saracens! And now comes word of civil war in the lands of the Franks!

There is an uneasy peace along the frontier of Syria and Tripoli. The Emperor has left Tripoli in the capable hands of the rather nervous Prince Constantine and made his way to Syria, to the aid of an army General now beset by the scandal of an adultery. Any weakness in the fragile desert frontier could see the Saracens flooding in at any moment...

To be continued...

[bamff]

Nice write up Caravel!

[Martok]

Awesome, Caravel! Good to see you finally put up a story here.

So you border the HRE already? I confess surprise that they're even still alive!

[caravel]

They've had a bad time to be honest. The crusade bound for palestine was actually declared while the egyptians were still in ownership so it wasn't really their fault that they came to blows with the Byz. The problem was their disastrous invasion of Croatia. That was sad to watch. The main strategy there was conserving my troops and not throwing them away needlessly. The rest was really a foregone conclusion. After this they had, I think, about two civil wars, though I can't be sure, the second was on account of their crusade failing anyway.