Lithuania - 1171

For over 60 years the King of Kiev, once a lowly duke, had ruled a nearly united Rus. Aside from Novgorod in the north holding out independance, the Kievans had brought together just about every other principality under their control. Their king was strong and had high diplomatic skill so I don't think I ever once saw a revolt. Yet they had one of my de jure provinces, and it was buggin me. Kiev had around 6000 manpower advantage, and while I could have brute forced it, I never really felt comfortable doing so. In project Balance, levies replinish MUCH slower than vanilla, so if I lost a bunch of guys in a huge slug fest it would seriously hut my ability to wage war, at least for a good 10 years. I needed the good king of Kiev to be distracted, perhaps with a foreign war or a rebellion. Even better, I needed the old guy to hurry up and die and let his imbecile son take over. Patience is indeed a virtue, for I got all three.

Kiev was in a bitter de jure war against Hungary when their old king passed on and let his idiot son take over. A son, mind you, who couldn't lead a thirsty man to a drink of water. Still in the midst of a nasty war in the south, the Duchy of Vladimir revolted. Now engaged on two fronts, it was my turn to add insult to injury



Initial invasion plans of Kiev in order to add the province of Polotsk to my domain. My main army supported by my allies, the (for now) free tribes along the northern border would attack Polotsk proper while a smaller mercenary strengthened force would hit Minsk in the south.

Absolutely no resistance was encountered for the first six months, likely due to the enemy armies being tied down fighting on so many fronts. However, they had an ace in the hole. An alliance with Byzantium! Fotunately for me, Byzantium was a shadow of her former glory, having delt with independance wars all game. Still, she put up a spirited fight.



The battle of Minsk was the utter devastation of the standing Byzantine army. 12,000 men against 17,000 allied Romuva forces, I took a beating there and lost a good overall 5,000 men, but the Byzantines came out much worse. Their entire expeditionary force was lost and i bagged a good 10-12% warscore from those fights alone. The entire Kievan defense collapsed under the weight of so many foreign wars. They used to have about 18000 men, now they have 2000.



Meanwhile, Lithuania endures through it all. The war was won, and Kiev is now in a downward spiral. If those Vassals don't rebell out of spite from losing so many wars it is purely because they don't have any men to do so with.

Cumania was only the first stop for the Golden Horde. Although the southern Ilkhanate fell quickly to decay and internal pressures, the Golden Horde brushed all aside as they marched forward. The Cuman Khanate, which was one of the strongest powers of the known world with a 70k levy, fell within a year. The Kingdom of Kiev, which had united all the Rus lands (save Novgorod) was next in the Horde's sights. The powerful Grand Dukes of Kiev, who had successfully curbed the growing power of Lithuania for years, were completely crushed after two years of warfare. The Duchies of Vladimir, Rostov and Tver broke away and declared independence as the kingdom fell and are currently fighting the horde in separate actions. After twenty long years, it's still unsure whether the Golden Horde is a power that is here to stay. Until then, they remain a power to be respected.

In the south, what was once a united Hungary has split into two states. Although divided on the issue of who rules what, the Polish-Hungarian commonwealth protects its borders fiercely against all outside aggressors. Two kings now rule, one in Poland, and one in Hungary, both brothers and sons of the late Hungarian king who had held both thrones united. The brothers are far from their father's equal and have lost much territory to the rising star of Lithuania.

No longer constrained by a united Hungary in the South and a powerful Kiev in the east, the Kingdom of Lithuania's power has never been greater. With the ability to levy 40,000 men and close royal ties to both the Kingdom of Pomerania and the Duchy of Prussia on their western border, the Alexanis dynasty has just concluded a bloody war against the Polish-Hungarian Commonwealth in which both the duchies of Mazovia and Kuyavia were secured.

The Republic of Novgorod, once a near client state of the Kingdom of Kiev, is undergoing a bit of a restoration of power in the wake of the Horde's arrival. With the Rurikovich dynasty in chaos, Novgorod and Vladimir represent two of the only strong states remaining of that bloodline. Their rivalry will no doubt decide who is the true successor of the Kingdom of Kiev and the standard bearer of the Rus.

And lastly, the Duchy of Estonia resides to the North of Lithuania and east of Novgorod. With deep dynastic ties to many of the Northern Finnish tribes, she has the manpower and political connections to ensure that they may endure no matter what storm might beset them. Their borders have gone largely unmoved for two hundred years.