The beginnings of the Polish empire were humble. With a mere two provinces under their control, they weren't as powerful as the larger empires to the south and west. Still, the King was firm in his belief that the Poles could one day rule a united Europe.
With that belief firmly in mind, he sent out expeditions to conquer neighbouring provinces. The might of the Holy Roman Empire was too strong, so the expeditions were sent north and east. These early campaigns were successful, bringing florins pouring into Poland's warchest. The money in turn was used to develop the cities, build armies and start work on a fledgling navy. Soon after, the King passed away, and his son took the throne. He continued his father's work, and more provinces fell. However, he soon came up against the powerful Byzantine empire which had expanded northward, and the weak Novgorod empire. Diplomatic channels were opened to both, and alliances set. However, the new King realized that having allied with the Hungarians below him, and the Germans to the west, he had run out of room to expand. After consulting with his generals, a decision was made. War was declared.
The armies of Poland poured into the Novgorod territories like a vengeful fire. The Prince of Novgorod responded with some weak sallies, but was no match for the might of Poland. Soon he had but two poor provinces under his control. On the verge of destroying the petty Princeling, the King stopped. His generals were puzzled, but held their faith in their King. Rumours had reached the King's ears of a mighty army sweeping through Asia. With amazing foresight, he predicted the path the army would take, and saw it would enter Europe. The provinces held by Novgorod were directly in their path. The King considered it wise to leave them as a buffer zone, and it was so ordered.
He turned once more to his beloved building projects, ordering castles and citadels built in numerous places. Training centers for his warriors were constructed in anticipation of the arriving Mongols. The King's attention, however, was turned to a new threat.
The long peace with the Holy Roman Empire had led to lax guarding of the western front. The bored soldiers were shocked to find French troops pouring into the provinces adjacent them. Diplomats were hastily sent western to find and parley with the French King. The Polish King was relieved when they returned and declared the French had no interest in Polish lands. He watched with sadness, however, as the soldiers of Germany were hunted down and put to the sword. Germany was no more.
His attention was diverted once again, however, by the arrival of the Mongol Horde. He sat stunned when scouts reported the initial numbers. They were ten times greater than he had expected. He ordered conscription stepped up, with a sense of horrible futility. As the year progressed, it seemed that the horde was moving the large bulk of their forces southward. He recovered enough to feel somewhat happy that his foresight had been rewarded, and that the Novgorod buffer had worked. Well, half-worked. The Mongols took one of the provinces, but left the other. Still, an acceptable situation. He ignored the still-large armies on the south-eastern front, and went back to his building.
Later Kings continued this work, the expensive navy that the first King had ordered sailed the seas, carrying trade goods back and forth. Poland was extremely wealthy. Things were looking up, The Mongol Horde had bottled up the Byzantine, and was fighting with the Egyptians and Turkish to the south. The French were fighting a multi-facetted war they couldn't possibly win - the Spanish, Danish, English and Italians fielded armies against them. Hungary maintained the friendship and alliance they had formed early on. Yes, things were looking up...
Things were NOT looking up. The French had somehow managed to punch through the Italian's defenses, occupying all of their territory. The Danish army fell when their homeland was invaded. The English fell back to their island, then fell back farther when the French followed. And the Spanish were diverted by a war to the south with the Almohad. It seemed no one was left to control French expansion, surely they would turn towards Poland. The only good news was that the Horde seemed content to fight in the south, leaving a static front along the Polish south-eastern front.
After many talks with the Hungarians, a plan was formed. A joint attack would be made on the French. Hopefully news of this would spur the Spanish and English, and the French could be contained. Poland and Hungary sent their armies into the field, and after bitter fighting, emerged victorious (OOC: Surprisingly, the Hungarians declared war on the French the same year I did, and invaded the territory right below the one I attacked - it almost felt planned). Unfortunately, this attack had an unforeseen consequence. The French ports, so important to the tradefleets, became closed to Poland. Keeping the new armies in the field was expensive, and Poland was losing money - fast. Fierce naval battles took place before the Polish fleets finally eliminated the French. The French ports were still closed, but Poland continued to trade with the English and Spanish. Still, they continued to lose money. The King ordered the armies to advance and take more land from the French. There was vicious fighting back and forth before the Poles gained the upper hand, and pushed back the French lines. The lands they gained were not rich, but the taxes gained were enough to reverse the tide. Poland began to slowly refill her coffers.
Then, a most unexpected event took place. One of the sons of the old German Emperor emerged leading a mighty army. The Polish armies, besieging a French castle, gladly stepped aside to let the new Emperor control the province. With another ally against the French, things were looking up. Indeed, things continued to improve. A civil war tore apart the French empire. Provinces were in open revolt. Fearing the power of the Polish, the French King left his armies along the border, so Poland didn't get to take advantage of this weakness. The Spanish, however, were able to make strong advances. The territory they gained helped finace their war against the Almohad, and they emerged victorious. Their full might could be turned against the French.
The Polish King did manage to take brief advantage of the situation, but this proved to be a critical error. Word of the French situation had reached his Holiness, and the Pope issued a stern command to the Polish King: "Cease attacking the French". Unhappily, the King withdrew his armies, and tried to focus on building up florins. When word reached him of a fresh French naval blockade, he was furious. He ordered the blockade sunk. This would prove to be a mistake. When word reached the Pope, he promptly excommunicated the Polish King. The next year, he went further, and demanded the other Kings send crusades against the Polish. The Polish King was stunned, after rashly sinking the French ship, he had committed no further action against the French (OOC: Not sure why the Pope asked for crusades against me...).
The Polish King was blessed, however, with the support of his brother King to the south. Defying the Pope, the Hungarian monarch was also excommunicated (OOC: Again, this happened right after my excommunication, guess those Hungarians make good allies!.
The French, eager to take advantage of the Pope's goodwill, launched a crusade against the Polish. They started off in goodspirits, but when they reached the border and saw the size of the Polish armies, their spirits faded. They were extremely reluctant to make any sort of assault against the Polish. The Polish King regained his good spirits when this news reached his throne.
Once again, right after receiving good news, he received bad. The new German Emperor was attacked by the French. He had withdrawn to his castle, and was being besieged. The Polish King ordered his best general to rush to their aid. Leading a strong force, and with the Germans sallying from the castle, the French retreated from the field. The German Emperor expressed his personal gratitude for the assistance...
This was the beginning of the end for the Polish empire. For no sooner did the Polish army return home, did the Germans follow after with an invading force. Words cannot express the surprise the Polish King felt (OOC: Or me... Right after I save them from the French, they turn around and attack - this game needs a "gratitude" adjustment). The Germans were beaten back, although the Polish army took losses.
At the same time this was happening, another army was marching on the south-eastern front. Rebels had taken numerous provinces from the Mongols, and the Polish King was anxious to take advantage of the situation. Taking a province bordering the sea would give him the ability to finally build a southern fleet. The rebel army was much stronger than initially expected. The Polish general was dismayed to find the rebels had set up their forces on the other side of a river. His attacks across one of the bridges was beaten back, but he made it across the other. He continued to take casualties, but finally managed to kill the enemy general. Despite outnumbering his troops 2:1, and despite having the better quality troops, the rebels ran. He was happy to see them go.
What the general didn't realize is that the native population of this land had grown to like their Mongol overlords. Rising up in protest, they fielded a large army. The general withdrew politely, ceding them the province. He was under strict orders to not antagonize the still powerful Mongol Horde.
Back on the western front, things had continued to deteriorate. The French continued to attempt naval blockades, causing the Polish treasury to flucuate badly. Despite heavy losses to the Spanish, the French were able to send fresh levies against the Polish army. Finally, the inevitable happened - the French broke through the weakened Polish lines.
The King took this news calmly. What caused his outcry was the equally bad news that the Mongol Horde had not been placated by the general's withdrawal. They had invaded along multiple fronts, destroying the Polish garrisons, and taking most of the north.
When news came from the south, that the Hungarians had terminated their alliance with the Polish - and that they had done so because of the German attack, the King gave in to dispair. His ancestor's dream of a united Europe may still happen, but it would not be the Polish flag the flew over the cities. He felt like weeping. He went back to his bedchamber, sat down, and waited for the news of an attack.
He knew it was coming.
---
A bit longer than I had planned, but it gets across most of what happened. Quite a fun game, despite the loss at the end. It's possible I might have been able to pull out of it, but I was too far in debt to be able to buy anything for awhile, so it didn't seem worth it. Oh well, on to another game
Bh
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