Pics & History of your Empire

[seireikhaan]

Chapter Two-The Tale of Ysevolod the Unfortunate

Ysevolod II, War Hero in the Kievan-Polish War, son of Ysevolod the Great, was coronated in Kiev in 1118 A.D. With his strong legacy as a great field commander, many of the nobles of the court expected great things in his reign as Grand Prince, even if it was shortened by the age at which he aquired the throne. With the Polish and Cumans no longer a threat, and the Byzantines and Turks locked with one another in a fierce war, Ysevolod II found he had little place to turn for conquests. He doubted the nobles would approve of an invasion of Novgorod, as they were brothers in faith, and on top of that, allies. A similar situation occured with the Byzantine province of Crimea, which Ysevolod II badly wanted, to reduce the potential threat against the underbelly of the Empire. For much of his first year, the only actions were the continued efforts to subdue the garrison of Levidia, through bribery, and the consolidation of Lesser Khazar. In the end, Ysevolod II would never reach a plan of conquests. As circumstances would have it, Ysevolod II's years of binging on the finer delicasies of the world, would catch up to him. In 1119, merely one year after his coronation, his body, broken from years of warfare and indulgence, could take no more, and Ysevolod II, son of Ysevolod the Great, War Hero of the Kievan-Polish War, died of of illness. It seemed that his heart, strained from his gross gluttony and stress of warfare, simply could go no more. The nobles of the court weeped, as they had lost a great mind, one that they had thought would take them to greater heights.

Ysevolod II died with no living heirs, partly due to his constant military campaigning, and also due to the fact that his horribly overweight body disgusted his wife, Catherine, who was orinally of the court of Aragon. Thus, the Empire was left to his younger brother, Yuri. Yuri, in comparison to his brother, was of average stock. He had not particated in any military campaigns, as Ysevolod the Great had assigned him to the defense of Cherginov, which was never invaded. He was not especially bright, known more for his steely gaze than his mathematics. Furthermore, although few knew it, he had long been involved in affairs with women of the courts of Novgorod. Having spent as much time as he did near the borders of the two kingdoms, it is little wonder that he was only involved with a single Novgoridian, by the name of Svetlana. This relationship would prove to be a major impetus in future events...


Tales of the Kievan Kingdom
Chapter One- Ysevolod the Great

[PershsNhpios]

Great Bohemia, a home of the most famous valour, and the middle of the Earth!

There are many hundreds of accounts portraying the historical ventures of the Bohemian Kingdom,
but these are all falsified, written with biased and drunken views.
Some of them scorn and bear too harshly of the central Royalty, others praise too liberally - to the eclipse of sycophancy!

This construction, anonymously scribed so that the observer may view only the words I digress,
(And not the foretellings and assumations of their own mind), writes a history of the Bohemian Kingdom's greatest achievements.

It reports the Battle for Munich, preaches the true events that occurred on the crossing of Franconia, my file honours the name Vratislav with the virtuous tales it has served,
and censures it for the grave misfortunes it represented in Bohemia.
I have even translated here, the battles within Bohemia itself, (Otherwise known as the War of the Compass, for the numerous directions from which Bohemia was attacked),
and the fine ability and tact that gave the Kingdom notice in courts as distant as Sicilia.

Before my prologue ends, and I allow you to devour my notes, I wish that my reader would put out of his mind, all the previous and dishonourable fiction he has believed on the reign of King Vratislav I.

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In the very first years of it's ascent in the political scale, Bohemia was a Kingdom it is generally agreed, smaller than the Italian Provence & Genoa.
When Vratislav I came to Feudal power during the Polish Reign of King Wladyslaw I, he had many feuds outside and amongst the borders of his rule.
His son, and future ruler, Vratislav II, was an ignoble, ignorant, and ignored young man who was so ill-spoken and so incapable of all arts he was considered by most of the Bohemian nobility to be inbred.

This pressured the King, his father, into the decision of demoting him to a captain in the Royal Lancers.
Almost disowned, yet by his life, entitled to his fathers possessions - Vratislav II hated his father, and his many young brothers who aspired in talents numerous and awesome.

Yet dissent in the Royal family was only a minor flaw in comparison to the reality of the Bohemian Kingdoms' situation.

Though Vratislav himself had no intent or ambition internationally, and was incessantly occupied with domestic affairs, the Kingdom of Bohemia was surrounded on all sides by young leaders, militaristic and willful.
The King was not ignorant of this, but he was intimidated by the very discussion, or shaded possibility of warfare so early in his reign.
Nonetheless, under constant advice and guidance, he leant his power upon the lower class Bohemians, and succeeded in forcing them into permanent military service.
Within two years there was a standing garrison of approximately 550 men stationed in the Kingdom, trained well and weekly, some in skirmishing and use of the javelin.
Others in the use of the spear and tactics against cavalry, some of the nobility were persuaded to recruit themselves to the Royal Lancers, and the Middle class contributed to the addition of an Armoured Spears regiment.

Yet all these things were still being accomplished, and the land south of the Bohemian Keep being cleared in hope of farming, when the Polish King Waldyslaw I invaded with 600 men in the late autumn of 1088.
This was the first battle in what was to be style the, "War of the Compass", a title still used to describe an overwhelming diffculty or situation.
The Polish ruler came with his own selected cavalry, three regiments of spears, two being armoured well, a company of archers and in addition,
a new levy of town Militia and local horse archers.

King Vratislav I was overcome, for the Hungarian Kingdom south of Bohemia was in alliance with Poland, and was equally optimistic in the acquisition of new claims.
If the Bohemian divisions survived the Polish offensive, Hungary would control an army of between 800 and 900 men capable of uprooting the very Keep Vratislav dwelt within.
This was overshadowed by the standind army idling within Lesser Poland, and the great hordes of Militia that bored themselves in the West - amongst the Holy Roman Empire!

The War of the Compass began in the middle of a great storm, and Vratislav possessed himself of an eminence that gentled and then dropped into a great valley which braced itself against the Polish advance.
Confidence however, gripped the Eastern invader, and Wladyslaw shouted his spears over the rise opposite Vratislav, before climbing it himself.
Here, with a thin, but greatly steep valley between, and in the assault of the weather the two militaries were allowed to view each other.

Vratislav I had experienced himself as deeply in war as he had in management of a Kingdom, and the disobedience of his son aided no one.

He positioned the three spears in one great line of five ranks in front of all, with the Armoured regiment holding a slightly larger ground on the left.
The rest, the lower class gathered behind the spears with their javelins in a cluster, and Vratislav himself took the Royal Lancers, with young Vratislav, and formed a line seperate from the army on the left flank.

The Polish formation was thus;

The Spears were sent forward in ranks six deep, with the Militia circling far on the Polish right flank, and the archers forming up on the left due to their despise of the Bohemian Lancers.
Wladyslaw himself followed neatly behind with his personal guard of vassals, as they advanced the horse archers attempted to find an easier route on the far right Polish flank.

When both men had surveyed the valley and their foes readily enough, the Bohemians raised a shouted and Wladyslaw,
in his heaviest tone, pushed his infantry into the valley and followed once they had begun to climb the other side.
It was as this happened, the spears lowered themselves and the javelinmen cast their weapons down into the valley with great effect on the Polish advance.
King Wladyslaw I was forced to repair to one of his willing vassals' horses, when a javelin felled his own and pinned the steed against the bank.

With the Royal guard itself losing half it's number by the weight of a single volley, the lower class spearmen fled immediately and began to spread far from each other in search of the easiest retreat to the side wherefore they came.
The Armoured regiments, though suffering as greatly, pressed up the hill as Wladyslaw summoned on the routing spearmen and another rank of javelins loosed upon the attackers.
The Militia, who, due to their lightness and also the small value of their shields preventing them from forming a phalanx similar to the spears,
were the more anxious to advance upon the Bohemians, and on the Polish right took themselves with great speed up the steeples.

The Lancers, induced by Vratislav's demeanour against the Polish, and by the havoc wrought upon the phalanx in the valley, began to almost chant a request to charge from the King.
Vratislav, quite willing to allow anything that would put him in the favour of his men, saw nothing but weakness in the exhausted Militia, and his horse sprung ahead of all.
The Javelins were now exhausted, yet the phalanx formed below the Bohemian line was reduced by more than half, and the spearmen, though recovered from their rout, now were spread across the entire valley,
and hard pressed to navigate and find formation again.

Wladyslaw, seeing the danger of his Militia at the sudden charge, and spurred by emotions - fear and anger - called his entire infantry to the banner of the Bohemian king.
As the Polish spears became a loose herd in a rush to seek revenge on calamity, the Bohemian spears and lesser men, despising their enemy, flung themselves into the valley, some against the archers, (Who were no use to the Poles),
yet most ran amongst the Polish colours and ripped apart the tired, encumbered spearmen.

The Horse Archers, seeing this, and their King surrounded on all sides by cavalry and spears, routed into the Eastern forests.
Wladyslaw, seeing his vassals fighting upon foot and many heaped in the cupped pit of the valley, the Bohemians covering the hills and the purple banners dominating the sky, found it above his predetermined virtue to allow his death to occur in this place.
The Polish King impaled the rider of a Bohemian horse, mounted, and fled after the remainder of his cavalry.

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It was testimonial to Wladyslaw's true destiny, and rewarding to the Bohemian valour, that the Polish King contracted a disease in that battle, and died within a month.
The Polish honour was in ruin, Vratislav I entertained guests from kingdoms all over Europe pleading alliance with the rogue and daring Kingdom of Bohemia.
This War of the Compass was won upon the Eastern point, yet there were two leaders who did not beg alliance and treaty with King Vratislav.

[seireikhaan]

Chapter 3- The Tale of Yuri the Vengeful

Trouble brewing

In the year 1119, Yuri, son of Ysevolod the Great, and younger brother of Ysevolod the Unfortunate, took the throne amidst turmoil. Whispers were abound in the royal courts that Yuri lacked the consitution for war that his brother and father had. Yuri's agents caught more than one noble who whispered a tad too loudly, and said nobles were summarily executed for their attitudes toward the Grand Prince. For Yuri, nothing more than supreme loyalty would be allowed.

Further turmoil erupted a mere two years later. Yuri's mistress, Svetlana, who was wife of the Novgoridian nobleman, Alexander of Muscovy, was caught during attempting to sneak into Yuri's territory when her husband had unexpectedly returned not long after leaving for war council, as he was intercepted by a messenger with news that the council had been called off due to illness of the Grand Prince of Novgorod, Mstislav. Alexander was outraged to learn that his wife, for 25 years now, had been going behind his back to visit the Prince, and now ruler, of an opposing kingdom. Svetlana was immediately executed for treason as a spy against the crown of Novgorod. It did not take long for Yuri to hear news of his love's tragic demise. The court witnessed a terrible display of anger from Yuri when he recieved the news from a messenger. Yuri bolted upright immediately, fire in his eyes. He beheaded the hapless messenger for daring to bring him such terrible news. Immediately, Yuri shouted in anger, "Bring me my horse! Rally the troops! THIS IS WAR!"

War With Novgorod

From his position in Lithuania, Yuri immediately gathered every available troop he had, over 1,600 troops in total, and set course straight for the Novgoridian homeland. Mstislav, with only 1,000 troops of his own, ordered a withdrawal from the province, with a loyal one hundred troops staying to garrison the keep. Meanwhile, in the Baltic sea, a terrible naval war raged. As part of his invasion, Yuri ordered his entire fleet in the Baltic to engage the Novgorod fleet, to hold no quarter, to destroy every Novgoridian ship they saw. The navy, whether inspired by awe of Yuri, or fear of him, accomplished their job admirably, sinking the entire Novgoridian Baltic fleet in less than one year. And lastly, before leading the army himself into Novgorod, Yuri left orders to his governors that they were to train and conscript every soldier they could.

The efforts of Yuri paid off. In Novgorod, Mstislav launched three different counter attacks to attempt to relieve his trapped troops. However, each time, Yuri led his troops to victory. Every time, Yuri, with a larger force, was able to wrapj his light infantry around the flanks of the smalller Novgoridian army, while his heavy Rus spearmen held the central of the battlefield admirably. However, unlike his older brother, Yuri took to the field with the full intention of combat. Upon each counter attack, he manuvered himself and his bodyguard to the flank of the enemy formation, letting loose many arrows before closing in. However, each time, Mstislav escaped, as well as Alexander. After four years of siege, and three different counter attacks, the city of Novgorod fell to Yuri. Not to mention, Yuri was quickly disspelling fears that he was not able to hold up to his legendary brother and father. After the fall of Novgorod, and a new influx of fresh troops, Yuri took the offensive into Muscovy, while he sent a newly gathered force in Cherginov to take Ryazan. In Ryazan, the Novgoridian forces handed the province over without a fight, retreating to Muscovy. However, Yuri had not taken into account this possibility, and decided to call off the attack for the time being. Off in the west, Yuri's allis, the Danish, were also attacking Novgorod positions. They had taken both Finland and Estonia. Yuri soon decided it would be best to make sure he didn't let Denmark establish too strong of a foothold, and the year after calling off the attack of Muscovy, he invaded Livonia from Novgorod. Novgoridian troops in Livonia retreated to the fort, and after two years of siege, surrendered the province to Yuri's rule. Thus, all that was left of the Novgoridian territories was Muscovy, where both Mstislav and Alexander lay cowering from Yuri's wrath. Leaving a sizable garrison to ensure loyalty of the province, Yuri returned to Novgorod. He joined up with fresh troops from Lithuania and Smolensk, and planned his final revenge for Mstislav and Alexander.

Yuri's Revenge

Now that Mstislav and Alexander had nowhere else to go, Yuri was finally ready to finish them once and for all. With over 1,000 troops, Yuri departed from Novgorod towards Muscovy, where Mstislav lay in wait with 550 troops, most whom were either severly battered from war, or else slavic conscripts with little true taste for battle. Upon taking the battlefield, Yuri ordered his soldiers in prototypical formation. His heavier Rus spears in the middle, with tribal woodsmen and voi on the flanks. Behind the spears was Yuri, along with two regiments of Druzhina cavalry. The battle of Muscovy was not so much a battle as a slaughter. The slavic conscripts, for all practical purposes, bounced off of the Rus spearmen in the middle. The Druzhina cavalry departed from Yuri's side to deal with two impudent units of archers. Much to Yuri's dissapointment, Alexander fell early in battle when his unit of druzhina foot soldiers was flanked by tribal woodsmen while Alexander was attempting to break the line of spearmen. Yuri had truly hoped to slay him himself. However, he did gain some consolation when the soldier who slew Alexander brought his head to Yuri following the battle. Before Mstislav knew it, he was practically by himself, his army crumbling in front of his very eyes. The Kievan line advanced forward towards Mstislav, who attempted to fall back while continuing to fire arrows with the remnants of his bodyguard. However, he soon found himself encircled on three sides by spears and Druzhina cavalry, while Yuri and his bodyguard launched volley after volley of arrow fire at him. The encirclement folded on Mstislav, and it took approximately 2.4 seconds for Mstislav to finally lose all nerve, and flee from battle, towards his fort. However, the fort would provide little haven from Yuri. After three years, the fort's supplies ran out, and the guards opened the gates to Yuri's army. Yuri had finally captured the ruler who slew his now deceased love. With Mstislav bound and kneeling at his feet, Yuri took great pleasure in bringing his sword down with all his might through Mstislav's neck. However, Yuri's rage proved to destablize his swing, and thus, the beheading was botched. Yuri became further incensed by Mstislav's apparent refusal to die, and immediately took one of the axes from a nearby druzhina guard. He brought the axe down on Mstislav with all his fury, hacking and hacking until the body was no longer recognizable and his fury had abated. The nobles nearby were shocked, but not displeased, that Yuri had developed a taste for bloodshed and war.

Aftermath

With Novgorod vanquished and destroyed, Yuri had not only taken his revenge for his former love, but also added considerable territory and riches to his empire. Meanwhile, sons from his legitimate marriage had grown older and were nearing coming of age. However, Yuri had, in the course of his battles with Novgorod, developed an instinct to kill, a love of war. To the south of his kingdom, Yuri had decided the time was right to take Crimea from the Byzantine empire, who were otherwise occupied with the threat of the Seljuk Turks. He sent a force of 450 into Crimea, and the Byzantine army of 100 men handed the province over without a fight. Soon after, a ceasefire was established, and soon after that, an alliance, as the Byzantine's were all too happy to have Yuri on their side and not on the Seljuk. Not long after the occupation of Crimea, war erupted between two of Yuri's allies, the Danes and Swedes. Yuri maintained his alliance with Denmark, as he sensed an opportunity to grab the riches of Sweden. As much as he would have liked to removed Danish influence from Estonia and Finland, the two provinces simply were too poor for Yuri to care. Soon after declaring his alliance with Sweden null, he invaded Sweden, leading the army, once again, himself. Time, it seemed, had been on his side. As his troops were crossing the Baltic, the Swedish navy was off in the Skaggerak combatting the Danish fleet. At the same time, the Swedish king Hardeknud left his station in Sweden, taking all but 100 troops to invade Scania. The Danish army in Scania withdrew to their fort, while the Swedish army withdrew to their keep in Sweden. Thus, Hardeknud was left with no province completely under his control. To alleviate this, he immediately attacked the Danish fort in Scania, reducing it to rubble. However, Yuri sent one of his most eloqent diplomats to negotiate the surrender of Stockholm castle. Efforts proved successful, and Sweden fell to Yuri with no bloodshed. The year after these events, a large Danish army invdaded Scania, and overwhelmed Hardeknud, and thus, eliminating the Swedish kingdom completely. Yuri soon returned to his palace in Kiev following the conquest of Sweden. Now at a venerable age, Yuri's bones and soul had grown weary. The conquest of Sweden had brought no joy to him, and now, at the age of 58, he realized that his revenge against Mstislav and Alexander had brought him no joy either. More than anything, he just wished he could have Svetlana back. He felt 20 years senior of his actual age. His sorrow and age, combined with an illness he contracted back in Sweden, soon caught up to him. At the age of 60, in his palace at Kiev, Yuri the Vengeful died in his sleep. Once more, nobles of the Kievan court would weep for the loss of a great Grand Prince. A new change would come, no doubt, as Yuri's eldest son, Vladimir III, took the title of Grand Prince at the age of merely 20. Vladimir III was highly promising as a military man, having witnissed many of his father's campaigns while growing up, and soaking in advice from his father. Time would tell what feats this promising young ruler would accomplish, with hopefully many years more than his father on the throne.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[B]The Conquests of Yuri the Vengeful(not outlining Sweden or Crimea for reasons of the map not being big enough)(and me not wanting to put three different maps up, I'm a tad lazy about that )

/B]

Chapters of the Kievan Empire

Chapter one- https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showp...postcount=1227
Chapter two- https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showp...postcount=1229

[Innocentius]

Excellent campaigns, folks I shouldn't have stopped reading here just because I quit playing...

Anyway, I guess it's a bit too long ago to resume my Polish campaign now, but I got tired of it anyway. It ended up with me and Spain being the two major factions (and almost the only two factions), and I didn't really look forward to a huge slugfest with the Spaniards.

The map when I quit playing (1330-1340-ish):


I'm thinking of starting a new campaign in the Late period, so that it won't become too lengthy. I've modded my Late XL campaign pretty heavily, and I'm planning to follow some personal rules to make it more interesting. We'll see how it turns out.

[Innocentius]

The Holy Roman Empire - Normal - Late XL

First of all; what has been modded:

I like to tweak the game myself a lot, and the Late XL campaign is probably the one which I've altered the most. Quite a few units have been altered (improved, mostly), but the only ones that have been changed enough to be brought up here are the handgunners (since I intend to use them a lot once possible): I was tired of the gunpowder units being so useless, so I decided to "boost" the coolest looking of the two, i.e. the handgunners. Handgunners now fire longer and more deadlier than arquebusiers (which are superfluous), and are almost as good as CMAA in melee (some testing has shown that in 1/5 of the cases, they will beat CMAA's in a head-on charge, without using their guns). As a result, they are now a lot more expensive to recruit (although the upkeep is still the same), and they now require a Swordsmith's Workshop and Gunsmith's Guild to recruit.

Second, I've changed the map quite a lot, both for historical and playable reasons (as you can see below). The GH and the HRE have lost a lot of ground, especially the HRE. This is to
1) Prevent the Horde from butchering the Poles right away
2) Prevent the HRE from being that boring big-but-fragile state that gets split between all the others
3) More or less historical reasons (the HRE wasn't a unified kingdom etc)

And finally, I've boosted every faction's homeland. This means I've added or improved a few buildings in each homeland province (Sweden for the Swedes, Bavaria for the Germans, Ile-de-France for the French etc), hoping that this will reduce the number of spearmen and UM's running around in the 15th century.

Oh, and one more thing: I'm planning to use one important personal rule. Realising that I lose interest in the game once I grow too big and powerful, I've decided that once/if I reach the number of 20 provinces, and my situation is good, I will trigger a cataclysm, like starting a stupid war and intentionally losing a major battle, getting myself ex-commed etc. If I survive the cataclysm, and proceed playing until I reach 30 provinces, I will trigger another cataclysm - and so on for every 10 provinces I conquer.

That's that, now onto:

The Reign of Ludwig IV: 1320 - 1340 A.D.

Europe in 1320 AD:


Over the last half-century, the once so glorious and mighty Holy Roman Empire has been reduced to a number of independent counties and duchies. Internal conflicts, "issues" with the Pope(s) and failed wars has lead to the disintegration of what was once the most powerful and prominent kingdom of all Christianity...

Emperor Ludwig, the fourth Holy Roman Emperor to carry that name, had grown up during these years of decline. He had seen what corruption and weakness that had torn the empire to pieces, reducing it to a mere shadow of it's former self. All his life, he had struggled to turn the tide, and in the year 1314 of our Lord, he was crowned king of the Germans in. Just six years later, in 1320 AD, he was crowned as Holy Roman Emperor, at the age of 38. And indeed, with his ascension to the throne, the tide did turn.

Ludwig's first action as emperor was the reorganization of the army and the construction of many watch towers and borders forts along the borders of the empire. The German army was outdated and ill-equipped, and needed a dramatic improvement if the empire was to survive the sandstorms of time at all. Also, the construction of a new navy was ordered in Saxony.

Already a year after his coronation, Ludwig considered himself ready to go to war. After Karl von Herden, leader of the Schaubergs in Austria declined his offer to put Austria under the direct rule of the emperor, Ludwig promptly marched into Austria with a grand army in the summer of 1321. von Herden, shocked and surprised by this drastic action by the emperor, dared not face his opponent in the open field, but preferred to let the emperor fight his way through Austria, while the Austrian troops remained safely in their castles. He was hoping that hid old friend and ally, the duke of Burgundy, would come to his aid, but in July that year, Arnold Merowinger, royal emissary of the Holy Roman Empire, negotiated and alliance with duke Phillipe II, nullifying his chance for rescue. Emperor Ludwig IV's campaigns in Austria continued for years, capturing castle after castle, until in 1324, when von Herden himself surrendered Vienna to the emperor, recognizing his authority. Austria was again put under the rule of the emperor.

The campaigns of Prince Ludwig

In 1323, there was a great famine in the lands of Franconia, but this bothered the emperor little, as he celebrated the sixteenth birthday of his eldest son, also named Ludwig. Ludwig was a man who enjoyed two things: war and beer, the latter perhaps somewhat too much. After keeping the prince with him for weeks, celebrating his birthday in a newly conquered Austrian castle, the emperor eventually let him go, sending him to oversee the recruitment and training of a new army. In late 1324, the emperor entrusted him with the new imperial army, raised in Bavaria. This army was small, but consisted of men well equipped and well trained.

According to his father's orders, prince Ludwig marched with this army to the lands of Friesland, which he reached not until late 1325, due to plenty of time spent drinking by the prince. The army rested for the winter, and the campaign was recommenced in early 1326. The border to Friesland was crossed in May that year, and the frightened Friesians decided to rather hide in their castles and forts. A stalemate began, due to difficulty in travelling through the marshy terrain and the slow advancement of the army, but the prince was not bothered by this, as he sent for reinforcements from Franconia. Prince Ludwig figured that it didn't take the finest soldiers of the empire to starve out a few Friesians who cowardly hid behind their walls, and instead marched south with his army in the summer of 1327, crossing the Rhine into the duchy of Lorraine.

The duke of Lorraine, Richard de Poitiers, was a man of greater courage than his Friesian neighbours, and decided to face the invaders, not wishing to become the subject of the emperor, who was his rightful master. On a small river running up to the Lippe, he met prince Ludwig with his force.

The summer day was cloudy, and right before the onset of battle, a heavy rainfall began. This worked in the favour of prince Ludwig however, as his arbalesters were not affected by the rain, whereas the crossbowmen of de Poitiers would have difficulties aiming and shooting properly with their wet bowstrings. A short bridge over a narrow river was all that separated the two forces, and although attacking across a bridge was never easy, the prince dealt excellently with the situation. His arbalesters moved up first, outranging the enemy crossbowmen, depleting them and annihilating an entire regiment of knights (these knights were however of lesser quality, and still fought with weapons and armour fit for the feudal era). This left de Poitiers with half a regiment of crossbowmen, one regiment of knights and his own spearmen.

Seeing that the enemy was weakened, prince Ludwig ordered his infantry across the stream, and de Poitiers and his men retreated to a nearby hill before the danger. The German infantry advanced towards de Poitiers and his men, but the surviving crossbowmen, who had withdrawn in a different direction, now fired at them in their flank. Realising the danger, Ludwig himself charged with his retinue across the bridge, chasing the crossbowmen off and capturing many of them. Meanwhile, the far superior halberdiers and noblemen of the Holy Roman Empire easily defeated de Poitiers and his men in melee combat, ultimately capturing de Poitiers himself, after which the remaining Lorrainians routed. de Poitiers, along with the other men captured, were duly executed as the rebels against the emperor they were.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The war was not over yet however, and prince Ludwig continued to campaign in Lorraine, until finally in March 1328 when Nancy was stormed, captured and sacked. Thereafter, no man in Lorraine dared to oppose the might of the emperor.

The year 1329 of our Lord carried with it further triumphs for the Empire. Prince Ludwig married Princess Ruta of Lithuania in that year, and his younger brother Rudolf, only aged 17, married Teresa of Aragon. And finally, in September, Groningen, the last Friesian stronghold to fight the empire, fell.

The years of hardships

Although the first ten years of emperor Ludwig's reign were to be crowned by success, the last ten years were not to be quite as glorious.

In 1330, a famine plagued the people of Saxony, and the same year, king Wladyslaw IV of Poland invaded and conquered Brandenburg. Although Ludwig was not yet supreme ruler of Brandenburg, these lands were contested by the empire, and has once been an important part of it - and now the Polish had beaten him to it! It was no wonder that the emperor declined the proposal for an alliance presented to him by king Wladyslaw later that year.

It would however take years before Ludwig was ready to strike, and not until 1333 had he assembled an army powerful enough to throw the Poles out of Brandenburg. Commanding the army was prince Rudolf, and his opponent, prince Wladyslaw retreated in all haste, not even leaving troops to defend the castles and towns, when he realised the Germans were upon him. Brandenburg had been taken without the loss of a single life.

Despite the initial success of the war against Poland, it was soon to prove a mistake, as a league of Catholic nations soon allied with Poland in an attempt to prevent the Holy Roman Empire from ever regaining its former strength. In the summer of 1334, the Swedes in Pomerania sent a poorly prepared army under the inexperienced commander Lord Knutsson raiding into Saxony, where it was ambushed by German troops and driven away.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The result of this attack was a German naval blockade of all Sweden. This blockade was raised in 1336 however, as a Swedish fleet in the Baltic Sea defeated its German counterpart. In the same year, the empire saw a slight glimpse of of light though, as prince Herrmann came of age. An event which was greatly celebrated - or at least to the degree that the heavily strained treasury allowed it to be celebrated. The setback in the Baltic was followed by other disastrous naval defeats in the English Channel in 1337, and again in the Baltic in 1339. Only one naval victory did the empire claim, as it in 1339 defeated a Swedish fleet in Skagerakk. This was not enough to reinstate the blockade at sea however, and Swedish reinforcements continued to arrive in Pomerania.

At land, things were going somewhat better, although the empire now lacked all initiative as Bohemia and Venice joined the anti-German coalition in 1337 and 1338 respectively. The imperial troops were outnumbered, and with the exception of the grand armies recruited in the 1320-ies badly equipped. Still, they managed to repel the Bohemian invasion of Bavaria in 1337, and the Venetian invasion of Swabia in 1338. The Venetian army in particular was decisively beaten by a much smaller force, even with superior ground for the invaders, and Doge Giovanni VI, who commanded the army himself, was slain at the battle of Lindau, well known to be the smallest battle in history to claim the life of a such a prominent ruler.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Battle of Lindau

Despite the triumph at Lindau, 1338 AD was a black year for the empire, as its most important conquest over the last few years, Austria, was invaded by the combined forces of Bohemia and Venice. Emperor Ludwig saw no other way than to retreat, leaving only a minor force to defend Vienna itself. The city was stormed and fell in early 1339 however. In a bold move, emperor Ludwig now sought to strike against the poorly defended lands of Bohemia proper, and himself led an army from Bavaria into Bohemia, leaving Bavaria nearly undefended. The outnumbered defenders retreated behind their walls, but were rescued in the autumn of 1340, as a huge Polish army came to their aid from the east. The emperor saw no other way than to retreat, but the cold and tiresome march back home through the autumn cold caused him a fever, which he never recovered from, and the old emperor drew his last breath in December in the year 1340 of our Lord.

Emperor Ludwig IV had been a man of great ambition, and initially his grand plans had met with great success, but towards the end of his life, his enemies gathered, and against their combined force it was not very much that he could do. He would however be remembered and praised as the man who finally dealt with the internal issues of the Holy Roman Empire, and who returned several provinces to the empire's domains. He was succeeded by his son, Ludwig, who was crowned emperor in early 1341 at the age of 33. He faced war on three fronts, and the empire he inherited was only slightly stronger than the weak and scattered state his father had come to rule before him. Would he be up to the task to repel the power of the coalition and restore the empire to its former strength?

The Holy Roman Empire in 1341:


Emperor Ludwig V:



It feels like I've lost all my writing skills during my time off. Hopefully I'll regain them once I get back into it. This episode became a lot more bare and stiff than I had hoped for

[seireikhaan]

Alrighty, first post of the new year in this thread!

Chapter 4- The Tale of Vladimir the Righteous

In the year 1138, Vladimir III, eldest son of Yuri the Vengeful, ascended to the rank of Grand Prince of Kiev. He took over a very strong kingdom which occupied nearly all of the open steppes, as well as prominent cities such as Kiev, Novgorod, and Muscovy. His borders were few, allies many, and a strong econonomy to boot. However, the course of his reign, which would last over thirty years, would take Kiev through a whirlwind of ups, downs, and adventures aplenty.

Upon his coronation, Vladimir announced to the nobles of the court the new objective for the Kingdom of Kiev. He wanted to complete his father's conquests of the steppes, to lessen his boundaries, and perhaps, if possible, complete conquests of Scandinavia. In 1139, he sent diplomats to Georgia, to convince the local troops to join Kievan rule, and found great success. At the same time, yet more diplomats were sent to Khazar to negotiate with the Khazars. Efforts in both provinces proved successful, and in 1140, both provinces joined the grand kingdom of Kiev. This left just Volga Bulgaria free from Kievan control in the great open steppes. However, Vladimir would need no excuse to invade. In 1141, the Volga Bulgarian army invaded the weakly garrisoned Ryazan, perhaps in an attempt to try and take advantage of the change in power in Kiev. Vladimir was secretly glad the Volga Bulgarian army had invaded, as it gave him a great excuse to erase them off of the map. However, in the same year, Vladimir's spies and diplomats returned to the royal palace with grim news in western Europe. The Almoravid kingdom had completed conquests of Spain and Aragon, and was now launching a new offensive into France with seemingly little resistance. France, which had been on the brink of eliminating England, was stopped cold in its tracks, with a vastly superior Almoravid navy cutting off troops in the British Isles, and soon lost both Wales and Wessex. Vladimir was alarmed that the Islamic world seemed bent on the conquests of Europe altogether. In 1142, he ordered his recently expanded navy to cut off Almoravid support to the British Isles and the Norman coast. In the meantime, he gathered troops from Muscovy and Lesser Khazar. However, his attempt to relieve the siege in Ryazan was put on hold due to communication and discipline problems with the troops from Lesser Khazar, many of whom were either Cuman or descended from Cuman troops whom Vladimir's father had bribed previously. The Kievan navy met success in the waters of the English Channel against Almoravid ships. Similar success was won off the western coast of France, opening up a path to an invasion of the British Isles, to liberate the people from Islamic rule. In Ryazan, the Volga Bulgarian army made a most puzzling move. They attempted to assault the defenders of the fort, only to change their mind just a mere 500 yards from the fort itself, and withdrew. The following year would prove decisive for Vladimir and the fortunes of the Kievan kingdom.

In 1143, with the path to the British Isles clear, Vladimir sent a large force, led by his brother, Sviatopolk, to take the province of Wales. The force was comprised of a great variety of mercenaries, as well as Viking Huscarles recruited from Sweden, a few of the ever faithful Rus spears, a unit of mounted crossbows, and a unit of light Cherny Kobluki lancers recruited from Muscovy. As Sviatopolk was setting sail, Vladimir was arranging for the destruction of Volga Bulgaria. He marched in a a small force from Muscovy, led by himself, to meet up with a the force from Lesser Khazar. Meanwhile, he sent a moderately large force into Volga Bulgaria itself, a balanced force featuring tribal Vois, heavier Rus spearmen, as well mounted crossbowmen and a few Cherny Kobluki. The Khan, who led troops in Ryazan, attempted to retreat from the Kievan force that came to relieve the siege. However, he, like his Islamic bretheren in the west, met an unpleasant surprise.

Battle of Wales

The Battle of Wales would be revered as a turning point in the timespan of Europe. The forces were relatively evenly matched, with just under 1,000 Almoravid troops defending against around 1,100 Kievan soldiers. The Kievan force included at least five regiments of Rus spearmen, two regiments of Steppe Heavy Cavalry, a regiment of mounted crossbows, a regiment of Cherny Kobluki, a regiment of horse archers, two regiments of Huscarles from Sweden, as well as a conglomoration of other troops, in addition, of course, to Prince Sviatopolk and his unit of Boyars. The Almoravid army consisted of a few regiments of archers and desert archers, as well as many Muwahid Foot Soldiers and Almoravid Urban Militia, among others. However, the Almoravids had little in the way of mounted forces.

The battle began with Almoravid forces repositioning themselves, whilst the unit of Kievan horse archers harrassed their soldiers all the way as they manuevered themselves to a small hill. With the Almoravids now entrenched, Sviatopolk pulled the horse archers back, and marched his entire army in earnest. He divided his forces into two overall segments. The Steppe Heavy Cavalry joined the horse archers, as well as the two regiments of Huscarles, and marched through a small forest which had presented itself obtrusivly upon the battlefield. Meanwhile the other segment, which comprised of a solid line of Rus spears, fronted by mounted crossbows, and backed by Sviatopolk and the Cherny Kobluki, until they found a position on a small hill which overlooked a ridge that formed between the Almoravids and Kievans. The western forces, led by the Steppe heavies, marched on the eastern flank of the Almoravid army, and poured arrows onto the Almoravid foot soldiers. The Almoravid commander had foolishly placed his archers behind his foot soldiers, thus rendering them unable to respond properly. Seeing this, Sviatopolk sent his mounted crossbows from the other segment ahead, to pour crossbow fire into the Almoravid front line. The Almoravids, unable to properly return fire, thus marched their foot soldiers out to meet the challenge. Several units marched to the mounted crossbows, who drew back, and let the heavier Rus spears take the frontal charge of the Almoravid infantry. Meanwhile, two units of Almoravid Urban Militia had marched out to attack the Steppe heavies. However, unbeknownst to them, the Viking Huscarles had remained hidden at the edge of the forest, rather than following the cavalry further. The Steppe Heavies fell back to the forest, and the Almoravid Urban Militia gave chase. However, as soon as they came to the forest edge, they were ambushed by the axe-armed Huscarles. The Huscalres proved their fearsome reputation by slaughtering many Almoravids, destroying the units nearly entirely. Meanwhile, to the east, the Rus spears had engaged the majority of the Almoravid front line, and the eastern side turned into a bog of spears and swords, neither side able to push the other back. Sviatopolk now sent the order to the Cherny Kobluki, and they began march. The Cherny's marched clear around the pit of battle, manuevered clear around a unit of Muwahid foot soldiers which had been hanging to the rear, and let loose a spectacular display. They took the hill which the Almoravids had abandoned, and charged down it to the archers who were attempting to fire into the mass of Rus spears. Coming down the hill, the Cherny's ripped the archers apart, shattering the unit in a single charge. The Cherny's then ran through yet another unit of archers, once again nearly annihiliating the entire unit through its charge. Now, the entire rear of the Almoravid front line was exposed. The Cherny's picked up speed once again, and practically squered the Almoravid frontline. Now, the entire Almoravid frontline panicked and fled, and the units which had attempted to hang back began withdrawing. Now, Sviatopolk ordered every single one of his mounted units to run down the Almoravid army. They did so with great success, capturing over 400 enemy soldiers. The day was Sviatopolk's, with a great and resounding victory.

Battle of Volga Bulgaria

The Battle of Volga Bulgaria proved to be much less eventful than the Battle of Wales. The Volga Bulgars were heavily outnumbered, fighting only because there was no option of retreat. However, they did possess superior cavarly to the Kievans. Unfortunately, on the River Kalka, this advantage proved to be nill. The Kievan army began by marching a unit of Rus spears accross the river, whilst being covered by two units of mounted crossbows. The Rus spears proved far to strong to dislodge, despite the best efforts of the Volga Bulgarian cavalry. The spears slowly mulched their way accross the edge of the bridge, with aid from the mounted crossbows. Once the path accross was clear, the battle turned into a rout, as the far outnumbered Volga Bulgars became surrounded and run off the field.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Vladimir recieved word of the victories, and became greatly pleased. His last threat to his flank had been eliminated, and he had established a foothold with which to use against the Islamic threat in Britain. However, his joy was short lived. He received word that the Almoravids had replaced their navies in the English channel and the coast of western France. Meanwhile, he received shocking word from the diplomats of his neigbors. England and Denmark both allies of Kiev, canceld their alliance with Vladimir in favor of, of all people, the Muslims of the Almoravids. This Vladimir had not planned for. England could ruin his foothold on the Isles, and Denmark's navy could severely hamper his efforts in staving off the Almoravids. The next 30 years would be the most stressful times of Vladimir's life. He constantly beseeched both Knud II of Denmark, and William III of England to listen to reason, and to join in his efforts of saving Europe from the Islamic tide. However, both Denmark and England at the least did not declare war on Kiev. Meanwhile, an epic naval war emerged between Kiev and the Caliphate. Both sides were producing navies at optimum speed, and neither was able to make consistent headway against the other. On the Isles, Sviatopolk became stranded, as his army was not large enough to displace the Almoravid army in Wessex, yet was strong enough that he himself could not be displaced. Thus, for 30 years, the Almoravid Caliphate and Kievan Kingdom warred, with neither side making any progress against the other. However, France continued to deteriorate in the mainland, as Kiev was unable to assist beyond the shoreline. During this time, the Caliphate made small progress against France, as well as warring against the Genoans. However, it was being shown that it was indeed possible to resist the Caliphate.

After 30 years of stalemate, Vladimir finally broke through. He finally convinved the Kingdom of Denmark to ally with him rather than the Almoravids. A year later, he garnered a similar committment from England. Furthermore, the aging Caliph Yusuf II, who had achieved nearly legendary status for his conquests, died two years following England's decision. As Yusuf died, the Danish finally committed. Their navy and armies joined in the war against the Caliphate, and Danish armies soon ran down the coast of western Europe, liberating the people from their Islamic ruler. The Almoravid navy was now contending with both Danish and Kievan competition, and soon was becoming overwhelmed. In central Europe, the Kingdom of France had finally stabilized, and was beginning to counter attack in earnest. The Caliphate was still immensely powerful, but the tide of war had now turned. It seemed that Christians had finally united against their Islamic foes.

On the home front, Vladimir put forth programs to modernize the provinces under Kievan rule. Building was put forth an an impressive clip, especially considering the funds going to the war against the Caliphate. Additionally, a large navy was taking place in the eastern mediterrenean, in an attempt to increase the Kievan range of influence. Somewhat conveniently, the island of Rhodes had recently established independance from the Byzantine empire, and was taken over so as to serve as a naval base for Vladimir's ships. However, modernization and naval power came at a hefty price. The Kievan reserves, which upon his coronation had been estimated at 24,000 florins, was soon rendered to a paltry 4,000, on average. Not often had the kingdom been so close to bankruptcy, but, in the eyes of Vladimir, it was worth every florin to keep Kiev up to date on weaponry and training facilities.

Now approaching his elder years, Vladimir was looked upon with awe and respect throuhout the known world. Many considered him a near equal to the Byzantine Emperor himself, though Vladimir rejected such claims, stating that he was nowhere near as powerful as Emperor Andronicus, who, like Vladimir, had taken up action against the muslims, and now ruled all of the middle east and Cairo as a result. Thus, the east now presided as a calm state of Orthodoxy, with the Andronicus and Vladimir ruling over nearly all of eastern Europe combined.

In 1176, at a wisened age, Vladimir the Righteous, son of Yuri the vengeful, died peacefully in his sleep. He had left Kiev in a state far different than what he left it in. It was stronger, more influential, and modern without question. However, he had left a near quagmire of a war against the Almoravids, in addition to a small treasury, which had been depleted by years of war, naval expansion, and modernization. His eldest son, Andrei II, took over the throne in his stead. There was a modicum of worry amonst the nobles, as some felt Andrei was not as worthy a candidate as his younger brother, Yaroslav. However, it was muted some due to the relative successes of nearly every Grand Prince since Mstislav the Great.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Legacy of Vladimir the Righteous

Tales of the Kievan Kingdom
Chapter one- Ysevolod the Great
Chapter two- Ysevelod the Unfortunate
Chapter three- Yuri the Vengeful

[Martok]

Very nice write-up, kamikhaan! A great way to start 2008.

[Kaidonni]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and announce that I will attempt a Portugal/Expert/Early/GA/XL 3.0 campaign, trying to survive all the way through to 1453 (without steamrollering or anything). Especially no mercenaries for me (I'd only build an Inn if it was required to build special units, such as Latin Auxillaries, depending on faction, of course - but not to get mercs...the computer can't get mercs, so I won't). I know this might sound like a suicidal campaign, but I will try to balance conquest and turtling the best I can.

I was playing a Venetian/Hard/Early/GA/XL 3.0 campaign, but by 1145, I had upwards of 13 provinces, was filthy stinking rich, and thought it'd only be a matter of time before I trounced the Almoravids, whether or not they were a superpower (I mean, I had the boats to do that, and I had access to plenty of good units, such as Feudal Knights and Feudal Foot Knights - and could build good Feudal, armoured, morale-boosted units in most provinces...it just seemed like if I went on to conquering other factions, I'd trounce them, and end up with a pointless cold war with the Almoravids and Byzantines, ending in me destabilising them - it just felt too easy, like I'd gone too far so early). Genoa, Sicily, the Serbs and the Germans all trounced by me in any conflicts...(Sicily besieged Perugia for ONE turn, then I took it back from them, and took Naples and Sicily, destroying their fleet...and consigning them to Corsica).

I won't try to bribe El Cid at the start...it feels so much more a Castile-Leon or Aragon move, too arcady for Portugal. Plus I'd have to find a way to connect Valencia to Portugal... I'm also thinking armies along the lines of M2TW - not professional, but boosted with various troops, including Militia Sergeants (sp?) and Besterios (sp?). Not sure about my garrison armies, though...

EDIT: Well, it's either this, or Aragon (or Denmark - or Poland...can't decide...LOL!).

[Mouzafphaerre]

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Started an Early/Normal Almo campaign on XL

Began building up. Allied with almost everybody except Portugal. Bribed Algeria and Tunisia. Recruited some. Tried my luck with the Portuguese but screwed up and reloaded. Repelled a couple rebellions in Algeria but retreated from Tunisia.

Then the Portuguese king decided that the ruling business was too boring and life sucked anyway and invaded Qurtuba. Khalife Yusuf I responded by not defending the province, leaving that job to his competent sons, but charging home. Portugal eliminated.

Castilla-Léon removed Aragón with a blitz. I kept recruiting what I could, knowing that they would sooner or later betray the alliance. They did. I'm without a navy now.

Gave a break.
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[Martok]

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Castilla-Léon removed Aragón with a blitz. I kept recruiting what I could, knowing that they would sooner or later betray the alliance. They did. I'm without a navy now.

Gave a break.
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Ouch, Mouza! You're definitely in for a fight then. Which lands do you and Castille-Leon hold, respectively?

[Mouzafphaerre]

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I started from scratch. The war had come earlier than I was planning.

Avoided provoking battle except surrendering to the charm of bribing El Cid. Portugal did it again and paid for it again, but I withdrew from Portucale and let rebels enjoy independence for a while, until Castilla swallowed it.

Aragon and Castilla are buddies now and ganging up on me. I'm a fearsome enemy for them if only numerically; spamming AUM, UM and Murabitin, add a couple Ghazi and Archers here and there. The war is going on in the sea, except a quickly resolved skirmish in Qurtuba.

I have all starting provinces (Algarve, Qurtuba, Granada, Morocco) plus Valencia (avoided expanding towards Egypt); Castilla own their starting provinces and Portucale; and Aragon expanded into Aquitaine.
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