Eastern Strife; Lithuanian AAR

[GMaximus]

I was originally going to post this yesterday, but my dial-up modem didn't want to start. So I guess I'll have to post two chapters today.

Chapter 3: A fall from grace


Lord Vatijaitis is assigned to be the Duke of Kiev. He is a very loyal man, as well as rather knowledgeable in economical matters.



One of the Princes invades Smolensk, in which only a small force is present.



Obviously, the Kievans retreat; the risk of losing their Grand Prince is too great.



News from the North.



News from the west. As usual, the Lithuanians do not pay much attention to Catholic superstitions – in the dense forests of north-eastern Europe, battles are more often ambushes than gallant charges of heavy cavalry.



The Poles continue waging their war against the Cuman Khanate; Grand Duke Algirdas is rather irritated that his ally allows faith to take the place which common sense should occupy – the Cumans are potential allies, and mighty ones at that, as their heavy cavalry is matched perhaps only by the Volga-Bulgars’.



The Polish are overwhelmed from all sides, and are forced to break off the siege and return to their homeland in shame.



Another son of Algirdas comes of age, the second of the three that were born during the time when Algirdas was away in Smolensk.



More news from the catholic world.



A misfortune – the Grand Prince was about to agree on a ceasefire between Lithuania and the people of Novgorod, or at least that was the presumption the emissaries up north made. Now, everything shall have to be begun anew.



A strategy of Algirdas to weaken the Kievans is set into motion.



The sixth and final son of Algirdas comes of age.



The Kievan force attacks Vladimir castle. The garrison commander, who had heard of the Battle of Kiev Gate, intended to try the same strategy. However, the fort’s wooden walls fail to hold, and his force is attacked from all sides.



An unfortunate loss. At very least, the Kievans were weakened.



A famine in Lithuania.



Grand Duke Algirdas strikes at the Kievans’ last province, hoping to put an end to the Kievan Rus.



The combatants are equal in numbers, yet the Kievan Grand Prince has more archers. Algirdas decides that, if possible, the battle must be fought during rainfall, to minimize the casualties that could be inflicted by the archers.



(Author’s apologies: Regretfully, overjoyed about finally destroying my most active enemy, I forgot to save the replay of this battle…)
The Lithuanians managed to win a victory without calling in their reinforcements. Unfortunately, the Khwarazmian Cavalry that was sent to Grand Duke Algirdas by the Seljuk Sultan was destroyed in the battle.




The Grand Duke of Lithuania, wounded during the battle, did not make it. This is a black day for Lithuania, as a fine ruler was lost, and with him the influence he managed to fight for Lithuania.



News from the east.



The several Turkish engineers that have recently arrived to Lithuania evaluate the castle and, from its size judges that the food should not last long.



The new Lithuanian Grand Duke is crowned, however he is a particularly weak ruler. Whispers about a plot against him fly through the Council of Nobles.



Until this plot can be realized, the Council accomplishes one of the wishes of Grand Duke Algirdas the First – they send an emissary to England, hoping to make an alliance with a powerful Catholic state.



More news from the east. Could the Seljuk Sultanate be in trouble?



The assumptions of the Turks were correct – Vladimir castle falls, and with it, the Kievan Rus.

With Lithuania’s fiercest enemy gone, the future looks bright. The Poles are suspiciously silent, and the Council suspects that some ill fate might have befallen them; however, the border watch reports that the Polish garrison in Volhynia is at full strength, so it is not dwelt on for long. The new Novgorodian Grand Prince seems willing to end the stagnated war with Lithuania – even though he does not agree to sign the official papers, the negotiators report that he has made promises not to move against Lithuania. More and more educated Turks arrive in Lithuania, suggesting that not all is well with the Seljuk Sultanate; however, this only means that civilization in Lithuania shall continue to prosper! Even more, the current Grand Duke, Algirdas the Second, is not as proud and ‘old-fashioned’ as his father, and is already looking towards the possibility of accepting Islam as Lithuania’s major religion…

[GMaximus]

More of a summary than a chapter. I didn't want to post the entire mess that was my war against Novgorod, but it was more of a push out than war anyway, as apparently they had very small armies. In the end it was a battle that I autocalculated instead of fighting as it was obvious who was to win.


Chapter 4: Summary of Lithuanian deeds during years 1080-1151




At the year 1151 AD, after the crowning of a new Grand Prince, all Lithuanian forces were to arrive at the capital for inspection.




The entire Armed Forces of Lithuania, except for the keep garrisons.





Current Lithuanian Grand Duke, Gediminas the First, son of Kestutis the Old who took over after Algirdas the Second was assassinated at the request of the Council of Nobles.





Prince Mindaugas, brother of Kestutis and second of the four sons of Kestutis the Old.





Lord Chamberlain Algelis, grandson of Lord Vytautaitis.




Map of Europe, provided by one of the Turk cartographers who arrived, along with many others, following the fall of Seljuk Sultanate.



The results of Turkish influences are there for all to see – Lithuania is the most civilized and developed nation of the world.





The Lithuanian treasury and political state. The alliance with the Poles was broken after the new Polish King proclaimed war against the Danes; Kestutis the Old could not support him, as Gediminas had recently married a Danish princess.

Overall, the Lithuanians did much during those seventy years of warfare and politics. While relatively new players in the world of Europe, they did not falter; now, with an army that cannot wait to sweep over the battlefields of Europe, and a grand Turk-inspired civilization, they are one of the most powerful nations of the world!

[GMaximus]

A text-only chapter, with which I want to ask a question - should I break one of my rules and attack the Poles, who are, apparently, going to be destroyed soon, or stick to the rule and thus enter a war with a stronger opponent, the Byzantine Empire, for the same provinces?

Chapter 5: The Council

“Fellow noblemen of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania! I welcome you to the twenty second gathering of the Council of Nobles! Fellow dukes, present your right to be heard in the form of your tokens of rulership over certain provinces of the Grand Duchy.” Lord Chamberlain Algelis announced loudly, quelling all the conversations in the grandeur room. At those words, a boy of no more than fifteen summers walked around the oval table, stopping occasionally nearby the seated noblemen to collect the tokens. Many different items were put on the golden tray he carried – a broken sword, incrusted with silver along the edges from the Duke of Kiev, a silk handkerchief with a crescent from the Duke of Livonia (the Duke was a Turk nobleman until the Seljuk Sultanate fell)… The last item to be put into the tray was a gold-incrusted horn, a family heirloom of the Dukes of Lithuania. Afterwards, the tray was set down on the table, right in front of the throne on which the Grand Duke himself sat. Afterwards, the boy bowed and left the room.

“This gathering, the Grand Duke himself has blessed us with his presence, for only the second time in the entire history of our nation.” Lord Chamberlain continued. All the Dukes stood up and bowed in the direction of the throne; Grand Duke Gediminas responded with a slightly lazy nod. All the Dukes sat down; Gediminas began whispering with one of his Turk advisors who stood alongside the throne.

“As you all know,” Duke Algelis continued, his gaze wandering through the faces of the Dukes in the room. “This gathering has been called to discuss the particularly troubling state in which the Grand Duchy finds itself. The Byzantine Emperor, our recent ally, has asked for our help against the enemies of his Crimean lands and thus his whole Empire, the Kingdom of Poland. This puts us in an awkward position – by the decree of treaty of Vilnius, we are not to wage war against the Poles unless provoked, and there has been no provocation on the Poles’ part towards us.”

“And there will be none as long as the Lithuanians do not provoke the Poles themselves.” The Duke of Smolensk, Lord Wartislaw, proudly announced; his father was of Polish birth, and it was no secret that the Duke himself maintained active relationship with the Polish court.

“What are you suggesting?” The resounding voice of Duke of Muscovy, Lord Kantibutas, sounded in the room. Duke Kantibutas’ grandfather was the first noble in the family, having saved the Grand Duke’s life in the battle of Chernigov; their family was always noted for their fierce loyalty to the Grand Dukes and Lithuania.

Lord Wartislaw straightened in his chair; several members of his retinue reached out for their swords. Duke Kantibutas began standing up; however, he fell back into his chair when the Grand Duke slowly raised his hand.

“Dukes, Dukes! Let us not fight when war may be at our gates.” Algelis frowned. “Resolve your differences in an honorable duel, not in the court, more so in the presence of the Grand Duke.”

“If I may be allowed to have my say.” Mehmed al-Rashid, the Duke of Livonia spoke. Duke Algelis nodded and sat down; Mehmed rose from his chair, candle light flickering on his scale cuirass.

“The situation we find ourselves is… difficult.” He began, searching for the best words to pick, something that he found rather difficult, as Lithuanian language was an unusual one for all the Turks, him included. “However, I remind you from what lands I came. We have fought against the Greeks. We have earned great victories, but so have they. And no matter how numerous, our victories were not enough. Their leader is powerful and smart; he delayed the fall of his people with wise politics and tactics, even when he was not yet emperor. He will not hesitate to destroy any that stand in his way. If Allah wills it, after the Seljuks will come the Fatimids. After the Fatimids the Poles. And after Poles shall be you, if you are so unwise as to stand in his way for no other reason than a sentimental friendship.”

“Mehmed speaks wisely.” Duke Kantibutas rose from his chair, breaking the silence that reigned in the room after al-Rashid sat down. “The Byzantines’ army is great, and we know it. And so are the Danes’ Viking hordes. Both of them are bearing down on Poland, and winning. We shall earn nothing from standing with the Poles, and possibly lose everything!”

“The armies of the Polish king are mighty as ever-“ Lord Wartislaw began, standing up, but was cut off by Kantibutas, who was almost yelling at this point.

“You know that this is not true! Poland’s armies are beaten and weak, and the only reason they hold in the south is because the Byzantines are yet to transport their entire army over the Black Sea! And let me ask you one question, Wartislaw – when was the last time Poland offered military support to Lithuania?”

Lord Wartislaw fell silent, slowly sitting down. Kantibutas smirked, continuing his speech:

“Have any of you noticed that this question is hard to answer in any other way than ‘never’? The Poles are worthless allies – the Seljuks Turks, a faraway nation, have helped us more than our own neighbors! Thus, I propose that our armies march into Volhynia, Pereyaslav and Levidia, and take what should be ours!”

Silence fell over the council of nobles, the only noise being a creak as Lord Kantibutas sat down on his chair.

[GMaximus]

I'm afraid this AAR won't continue. After I moved my Total War folder, for some reason it deleted all my savegames, including the one with the AAR. I've tried moving it back, but, alas, it didn't work. So I guess I'll have to quit on this AAR...

[Ferret]

Are you sure they're not in the "recycle bin" or something? It'd be a shame for this to end so early.

[GMaximus]

I've checked in there as well, and sadly the savegames aren't there. Bloody Vista has a habit of deleting my savegames. Truly, it's a shame I had to end this; however, I hope to get another MTW AAR going, using the BKB Super Mod.

[Ferret]

If it's vista are you sure you checked both save games files? IE the one in the folder as normal and the one under compatability files?

Even if you can't find them I'll look forward to your next one