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Another excellent entry Bamff, the food reference put a smile on my face, brilliant! Looking forward to the next chapter!

/KotR

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Having tons of fun with XL mod as Armenians in Late on Hard. What a great piece of work. It truly is Hard! Every florin must be spent wisely, every soldier positioned carefully, and every move planned to precision. Is there even hope on Expert? I have been lucky and achieved a nice foothold, had I been backstabbed by my close allies any earlier I would certainly be decimated by now.

Straight in the start of my reign, I quickly gathered an army and began liberating the people oppressed by the Golden Horde. The war was successful, I pushed the intruders far north as I captured provinces one by one, and eventually took Khazar and it's smaller brother; I briefly held Levidia but was forced out again in what was a pyrrhic victory for Mongols and mercenaries well spent for me. With my allies, Russians, to the north, Khazar faces no immediate threat, and Lesser Khazar stands strong against the now weakened Horde. A tired crusade by the English seeking to loot Egyptian riches met my border, but I refused to allow these marauaders to pass my lands to harm my ally. They were not a challenge worth of mention.

Meanwhile the master of the Crusaders' island state was struck by a fit of lunacy which drived him to assault my capital with just his only son and a small band of Chivalric Knights. He never had a chance against my three of Arbalesters and Halberdiers each. Instead of turtling up in a corner I decided to position my men offensively out on the open, overlooking a valley with nothing but forest between the invadors and my left flank. The enemy took the bait and my Halberdiers caught the prince between the trees. The king and his loyal general rushed to his aid from below, but their ranks had been thinned considerably by my marksmen by the time they reached the fight. The performance of cavalry, no matter how powerful they might be on the open, falls flat in the constriction of thick vegetation, and my Halberdiers made a quick work of the incapacitated knights. The prince and the general panicked and managed to escape, with only a few companions left for either. The Mad Master himself, though a brave fighter, could not bare the sight of such terrible destruction, and tried to run, but he had already been completely surrounded, and was now captured! But his subjects were too poor to pay the ransom for their king, and so his disgraced son took it upon him to rule Cyprus.

This meanless offensive, even if harmless, would not remain unpunished. I ordered the construction of a navy and intensified the training of soldiers. Once a Caravel was ready, I set it to destroy the Crusaders' vessel. The attack was successful, but I couldn't believe my eyes when I recieved a message that the treacherous Ottomans had joined in the battle on the sea to backstab their old ally in another mindless assault! What mad world do I live in? The luck did not turn against me as the turkish Baggalas was sunk to the bottom of the ocean. The troops intended to capture Cyprus were promptly directed to Rum, and the next year saw my victorious army march to Anatolia. The traitors now starve in castles waiting for their inevitable final punishment. Yet another crusade, this time launched by Germans, asked me to let them pass to Egypt. As the Mamluks had decided to side with Ottomans, I gave them my blessing.

I am almost certain the Egyptians have developed a lust for my lands. Their armies are impressive. I must suprise them if I am to stand a chance. Once the Green are finally put to sleep, the Yellow will be awarded with my full attention.

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Sounds like a real roller-coaster ride there, Vantek.

Keep us informed of your battles against the Turks and Eggys!

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The Chronicles of Bamff of Burgundy

~ A Campaign in XL ver 3.0 – Hard – GA ~

Chapter 2 – A Principal Rival Vanquished

For some years now, France and the Holy Roman Empire had been at loggerheads. The acrimony between these two states had boiled over in 1324, the very year in which Duke Phillipe II had claimed Switzerland. The Holy Roman Empire had invaded Lorraine, and had driven the French forces back to champagne, leaving room for many dreadful puns about “driving them to drink”.

In fairness to King Phillipe of France, a good number of his troops were otherwise engaged, having answered the call of Pope John XXII. In fact, this had proved to be a “double disadvantage” for King Phillipe. Not only had a great many French knights and other troops joined the crusading army that had marched off from Ile de France in 1323, but that very same crusading army, marching under the colours of France, had resorted to violence and looting when refused passage through German territories. These attacks had in turn sparked the German invasion of Lorraine.

As the year 1326 dawned, King Phillipe launched a concerted attempt to reclaim Lorraine for France, driving eastward with a large force. To assemble such an army, he had been forced to strip a number of provinces of their defensive garrisons. The English were the first to strike, taking Flanders in 1327.

All of these events had played perfectly into the hand of Duke Phillipe II of Burgundy. With only a skeleton force left to protect Ile de France, and that force under the questionable leadership of Prince Phillipe, now was the perfect time to strike. The French Prince was widely known as “Phillipe the Swift”, having fled rather than fought on a number of occasions during the battles for Lorraine, and he did nothing to improve his military reputation in 1327. No sooner had news reached the French Prince that the Burgundians had crossed the border, than he had raced north to Paris Castle in a state of blind terror. Duke Phillipe of Burgundy surrounded the castle, and prepared to storm the defences.

Upon hearing of this, King Phillipe of France assembled an army and marched west to raise the siege of Paris, arriving in early 1328. With two Phillipe’s already engaged in the conflict, the arrival of a third added significantly to the level of general confusion, and the resulting battle was to be known as “The Battle of Trois Phillipes”.

The Battle of Trois Phillipes

The two armies faced each other across a lightly wooded field. A light breeze blew from the south east, causing the various standards and banners to flutter in the early morning sunlight. At the head of the French army, King Phillipe surveyed the Burgundian position.
“Upstarts! If only my forefathers had attended to the Capetian Dukes long ago.” He snorted, and glanced to his left, at his son Phillipe. “If only my son had held his nerve and defended our territory last year….” He shook his head sadly “To think that one day, the boy may be King…No matter – today we put them back in their place.”

The drums and trumpets fell silent as he raised his sword. As he pointed it towards the Burgundians and moved forward, they started once more, and as one, the French army moved forwards.

Prince Phillipe advanced on his father’s orders, his heart beating wildly in his chest. He was perspiring profusely, the sweat stinging his eyes. He swallowed hard, and tried desperately to calm his breathing. His moment of truth was fast approaching, and he knew it. He also knew that the eyes of all of France, but especially those piercing blue eyes of his father, were upon him this day.

On the other side of the field, Duke Phillipe II watched the Frenchmen intently. As they moved towards him, he turned calmly to Lord de Blois and the assembled Burgundian captains “It begins. You had best rejoin your men. Good luck, gentlemen.”

With a bow, each of them took his leave, turning to take theirrespective places in the line, as the steady beat of the French drums drew ever closer.

Phillipe had arranged his line so that the centre was held by the pikemen of Sir Robert de Valois. To the left and right of the pikes were the Chivalric Knights of Lord de Blois, and the Halberdiers of Jean du Guesclin respectively. Behind this frontal screen, slightly elevated by virtue of the small hillock on which they were positioned, stood one regiment of arbalesters, and two of crossbowmen. The Chivalric Men-at-arms of Sir Thibaut de Vesc stood behind the bowmen, to the immediate right of Duke Phillipe’s Royal Knights. At Phillipe’s signal, the Coustilliers of Sir Arthur Marcel and Sir Bernard de Chateaubriant fanned out to the left and right, riding slowly in the general direction of the French.

A regiment of French Chivalric Knights, riding under the standard of Sir Bernard de Coligny, was the first to close on the Burgundian position. A good many of those knights, de Coligny included, became the first casualties of battle as arbalest and crossbow bolts smashed into their massed ranks. Grimly the knights held their nerve, advancing on the Burgundians, and the survivors continued on, charging headlong into the waiting blades of Jean du Guesclin’s men. The carnage was horrific, as screaming horses and men were hacked down by the Halberdiers.

The French monarch swore under his breath, and directed Sir Arthur de Plaisans to drive his chivalric sergeants at the Burgundian left flank. As they wheeled to their right to do so, the first volley of crossbows cut across them, opening great holes in their ranks. The Burgundian arbalests, neanwhile, had found a different target – Prince Phillipe’s Royal Knights. As his men screamed and fell around him, the French Prince became aware of a nauseating new odour rising heavily above the musky scent of sweat that filled his armour. It was not the first time that he had soiled himself on the field of battle, but he now feared that it would be the last if he did not break and run now. Damn this sweat that stung his eyes! He raised his visor, to clear his vision. At that moment an arbalest bolt struck home. The unfortunate Prince felt no pain at all as his lifeless body toppled from the saddle. At least in death he had defied his many detractors at the French court. Most had thought that if the Prince was to die in battle, it would be with an arrow or javelin in his back as he fled the field.

Unaware of his son’s untimely end, King Phillipe signalled for his men to lower their lances, then spurred his own mount forwards. “The Burgundians will break. None can withstand a charge from the Royal Guard!” It was to be his last thought. The Burgundian pikemen stood firm, and King Phillipe perished at the first impact. Those knights that survived now found themselves pinned between the pikes to their front and Duke Phillipe’s Royal Guard at their rear. Similarly, those chivalric sergeants and French halberdiers that had weathered the crossbow storm found themselves caught between de Blois’ knights and the chivalric men-at-arms of de Vesc.

The Coustilliers of Sir Arthur Marcel and Sir Bernard de Chateaubriant had not been standing by idly as the battle unfolded. They had already accounted for the French serpentine crew and were now harrying the few surviving French crossbowmen. Every unit of Frenchmen was now under severe pressure, but none more so than the Royal Guard.

The Frenchmen at this time were fighting purely for their own survival. Their King and Prince lay dead on the field, the day was lost. The Burgundian troops pressed on remorselessly, sealing Duke Phillipe’s victory. As the battle drew to a close, 184 Frenchmen and 56 Burgundians lay motionless on the bloody plain. 206 French prisoners huddled miserably, awaiting their fate.

Aftermath of Victory

With both the French King and his only son killed in the battle, the kingdom of France now dissolved into a series of independent states and provinces. Seizing the moment, Prince Phillipe of Burgundy marched on Provence, the Burgundian army joined by a smaller force sent by their Genoese allies. The province quickly fell to Burgundian control.

In 1331, the province of Champagne fell to Burgundy, with Duke Phillipe’s army crushing the small Blois force raised against him. This victory gave Duke Phillipe control of two of the great wine producing regions of Europe, and much debate ensued about placing a copyright on the names “Burgundy” and “Champagne” in order to prevent other wine-making regions from encroaching on the markets of Burgundian traders. In the end it was decided that in the absence of any copyright laws in medieval Europe, such actions should not be pursued.

These recent successes had indeed grabbed the attention of European monarchs. King Karoly I of Hungary, and King Edward II of England both proposed alliances in 1329, and Duke Phillipe II graciously accepted both treaties. 1329 saw a further union for Burgundy, with the Princess Charlotte wedding the German Prince Otto of the Holy Roman Empire.

King Christopher II of Denmark, and King Jan I of Bohemia were the next to propose alliances, with both treaties favourably concluded in 1332 and 1333 respectively. A further alliance was negotiated with Grand Duke Gediminas I of the distant land of Lithuania in 1334. Prince Phillipe secured a further alliance in 1334 through his marriage to the Byzantine princess Helena.

Even the Pope himself favoured Burgundy, bestowing gifts of 1,000 florins on Duke Phillipe in 1330, 1332, and 1334.

All was once again rosy in the world of Duke Phillipe II. In addition to these numerous alliances and new territories gained in Ile de France, Provence, and Champagne, he had, in recent years, also celebrated the coming of age of two more of his sons – Jean, in 1329, and Charles in 1336, and the birth of a daughter, Isabelle, in 1331, and a son, Jean, in 1336. Why exactly Duke Phillipe and Duchess Jeanne would chose to name two of their sons “Jean” is something of a mystery. Phillipe, for his part, defended the decision by noting at the time “This situation, while regrettable, was completely beyond our control, it was really a matter of some serious limitations in randomisation routines more than any ‘lack of imagination’ on my part!”

Whilst this explanation did indeed cause some degree of confusion at court, and no end of discussion in the Parliament at Beaune, it was hard to argue with the Duke – after all, at that time in Europe, the Holy Roman Empire boasted two Princes by the name of Otto, it was rumoured that the Peoples of Novgorod presently had three Princes called David in line for the throne, and some claimed that half of the current possible heirs to the Aragonese throne were named Sancho.

But we digress. Indeed, with Burgundy celebrating the coming of age of Prince Louis in 1339, it would appear that there was not a cloud on the Burgundian horizon in 1340. They were gathering, however. Brewing to the south, arising from the long running war between Genoa and Venice, trouble was indeed stirring….


Previous Chapters of This Campaign

Chapter 1 – The Duchy Stirs

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I laughed out loud ^_^

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My intuition did not fail me - Egyptians attacked me in just a few years! Unfortunately the same year when I sent a small army to capture Cyprus held by an even smaller army. Unfortunately because I got a brain freeze and forgot that in VI buildings don't get razed before the siege ends, so I decided to abandon the attack and have my units ransomed back instead... Oh well. As usual, despite clearly having more than sufficient means to obliterate me, the AI instead opted for a series of inexplicable suicide attacks. He invaded my capitol itself with an army of almost nothing but Mamluk Cavalry, facing arbalesters and halberdiers suffered massive casualties, lost the general, suffered some more casualties and retreated - two hundred riders dead and a hundred captured, compared to my 16 dead halberdiers and 2 dead royal bodyguards, Naxaras... Well, simultaneously he did manage to force me to retreat to the castle in Mesopotamia, but next year instead of bringing in reinforcements sitting in the safety of his homelands to probably repel my attempt of liberation he retreated again... Simultaneously, Edessa, guarded by my King himself, was attacked... by the Sultan himself... With three of Arbalesters and three of high valour Halberdiers I couldn't help but chicken into the elevated corner. The dumb Egyptians left two of their Mamluk cavalry sitting right in front of my men with their flank towards me... I only had to rush in my Halberdiers to start what was to be a complete massacre. The several hundred of Egyptian foot soldiers joined in but they had no chance uphill against veteran Halberdiers. The Sultan's troop was near, he was thinned down to seven by my arbalesters and then he joined the battle. When he was the only royal rider standing, with quarter of his army already routing and the rest on the verge of doing so, he decided to withdraw... His courage didn't fail him but his luck did, as my sharpshooters managed to hit him in the back as he retreated! His reason had failed him long before anyway. The Egyptians are now on the verge of a civil war, while my border with them is strong and I only need to wait for reinforcements before conquering them.

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Nice work Vantek....

Keep us informed on the progress of your Armenian assault as it unfolds...

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Teutonic Knights, BKB mod, Expert, High Period.

First impressions

I've considered playing the Teutonic knights before, but was often put off by the fact they are hemmed in by significantly larger and more powerful factions, there is also little room for expansion without becoming embroiled in several of those vast multi-faction wars which are all too common in Eastern Europe. At the same time, the unique units and potential of taking this relatively minor faction and turning it into major force proved too tempting to resist.

Otto I

Foundation & Survival

The new Hochmeister of the Teutonic Order was confronted by problems which would dog his successors for decades, the Order maintained territory in Prussia and Livonia, and by 1208 had expanded at the expense of the barbarian pagans of Samogitia and the free Pomeranians. However despite these early successes, Otto knew that the real battles were still to come, the savage Cumans were already sweeping across the steppes, penetrating the poorly defended frontiers of Poland and south against Hungary.

In 1207 the Cumans invaded Prussia, Otto was prepared though, 800 of the Orders finest stood against 1000 Cumans only a few miles from Konigsberg, the Cumans failed to take the initiative though, by the time their feared cavalry was in range to pepper the Teutonic line, severe rain and wind greatly reduced the effectiveness of their archers. Otto saw the opportunity, leading from the front he launched an assault on the relatively fragile Cuman infantry line made up largely of Slavs, his mounted knights crashed into them with such ferocity that they could only provide token resistance before they collapsed. The Cuman cavalry was left exposed and assailed from all directions, soon followed suit, in the rout which followed several hundred Cumans were captured, but Otto ever the merciful ruler, released them for a small ransom.

This victory in the heartland of the Order was a message that though the Order may be small, it was not to be trifled with, the Cumans however did not give up their expansionalist policy, in the following decade they had conquered Poland and Carparthia was taken from Hungary, the were clearly a menace which although bruised, were far from deterred.

Patronage & Consolidation

Otto dedicated as much of the Orders resources as he could to the army, especially the when it came to cavalry and arbalesters, the Orders chief defence against the horse heavy armies of many of it's potential enemies. Ottos reign was relatively peaceful, some would come to see it as the deep breath before the plunge into the larger geopolitical arena which would dominate the reigns of his successors.

During this period of peace, Otto dedicated the foundation of many churches, the conversion of the Pagan populations was still a key directive of the Order, twice in 1214 and 1219 the Pomeranians attempted to reassert their independance, though each time the resistance became weaker, the pacification of this province was finally established as trade began to flow into the Orders ports. The Orders fleet was first constructued in 1219 at the newly established port of Livonia it would spell the beginning of a fine and glorious naval tradition. Alliances were established through marriage with the Latin Emperor of Constantinople in 1220, the Bulgars in 1222, the Poles of Silesia in1224 and both the Russians and Novgorod in 1226, the Teutonic state was secured for now. As peace was being established Otto prepared for war, new regiments of Teutonic sergeants and spearmen were replacing the less reliable Chivalric order which prevailed throughout the provinces in the early years of Otto's reign.


In for a penny...

Then entering the 29th (1233) year of his reign Otto was forced to wage war once again, raids by the Cumans had been relatively commonplace, twice in the 1220's they had attacked Pomerania, but failed to make an impact. Now the declining fortunes of the Holy Roman Empire and the Poles had allowed rebellious factions to seize power in Lusatia a small, landlocked territory to the south, a land administered by the Holy Roman Empire as recently as 5 years previous. Prince Otto was given command of the expedition to conquer this territory and thus securing a wedge between the Cumans and further westward expansion.

Prince Otto crossed the border with a small force of only 600 men, to face a rebel militia force half it's size, to his surprise though banners were seen to the west, on the crest of a hill obscured by the pouring rain. Scouts reported that it was an Imperial army sent from Brandenburg to reconquer this recently lost territory, in the confusion of conflicting reports and now truly torrential rain, Prince Otto sent out a scout he knew he could trust to provide accurate reports. Minutes later he returned to report that no less than the Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II himself was present, but that his army was not an army at all, just his own bodyguards and a small troop of cavalry. Clearly the Emperor was a threat though, Otto chose to continue on and face the German force first, before advancing against the pitiful rebel militia.

The Emperor of the West did not waver though, he and his cavalry charged into Prince Ottos knights and a fierce battle ensued, the timely intervention of Ottos heavily armoured spearmen turned the tide in his favour and soon the Emperor was stranded and eventually forced to withdraw from battle. His own cavalry exhausted, Otto ordered his infantry to deal with the rebels, they did so with ruthless haste, Lusatia was now in the hands of the Teutonic Order.

The death of Otto and new powers

The news was well-received by the ailing Hochmeister in Konigsberg, he was happy to see a block put on Cuman westward expansion, but was troubled by the state of war which now existed between the Order and it's one time benefactor, the Holy Roman Empire. The war with the Holy Roman Empire would expand and draw the Order deeper into international affairs.

However before the the war with the HRE began, rumours arrived at the Teutonic court in Konigsberg, of a new menace from the east of shadowy origins, waves of refugees flooded Livonia telling tales of savages on horseback, destroying everything in their path. It wasn't long until this mysterious new threat had a name, the Golden Horde, Mongols unleashed from the far eastern steppes were rampaging through the territories of the Orthodox kingdoms, within 5 years they had reached Moldavia and soon would push further westward. The greatest enemy of the Teutonic Order had arrived and intended to stay and to conquer.

Otto died in 1235 leaving behind a viable monastic state, with an army which represented a challenge to anybody, also a fledgling fleet and finally a stable economy. His son Otto II was now Hochmeister, the new leader of the Teutonic Order was popular among the people, due to a large extent because of his fathers generosity and piety, Otto I was revered for decades as an example all future Hochmeisters would have to follow.

Analysis and World events.

My strategy from the onset was to establish a viable kingdom along the coast of the Baltic, Samogitia and Pomerania were essential acquisitions for this purpose. Even so the Teutonic Knights are not the wealthiest faction in the known world, money was very tight to begin with and there was a real danger of being swamped by the Cumans and Holy Roman Empire. Large garrisons were responsible for the stunted economy, having to maintain full stacks in all 5 provinces was extremely expensive, the geography made expansion extremely hazardous. Prussia was vulnerable to invasion from the Cumans in Poland and Volhynia and also Lithuania if the Novgoridians turned traitor, so I was forced to maintain such armies until an opportunity arose to expand.

As you will see in the images i'll post, the decline and disintergration of the Holy Roman Empire is sudden and many factions were responsible, in the 1220's the Bohemians began by picking off Austria, the Venetians took Provence and soon the French penetrated the western frontier and raided deep into the interior. The Danes also got a piece of the action in Saxony, I was fortunate in this respect as the war with the HRE was effectively at an end before it got too serious, as we were soon seperated from each other. However I was unable to take advantage of this situation to acquire territory of my own.

Much more alarming than the collapse of the HRE though was the massive expansion of the Almohads, the mid 1220's saw the final destruction of the last free Christian kingdom in Spain, immediately the Almohads drove into France and English held territories. The hesitant response to this threat from the Western powers was to prove costly for everybody in the future.

In the east the Crusader states quickly destroyed the Egyptians and secured their position as the Latins of Constantinople asserted their authority still further by waging successful wars against the Bulgarians and Nicaea. The Bulgarians incidently supplanted the Cumans who massively overstretched themselves, the Bulgarians thus extended their lands to Poland, while my kingdom remained on friendly terms with all of the Orthodox factions and resolved the war with the Cumans. The Mongols arrived with predictably explosive energy, the Georgians were the first to feel their wrath, but the Russians and the men of Novgorod were being overrun with relative ease, unfortunately I was in no position to halt their advance, but simply had to survive as best possible.

1208

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...eland/1208.jpg

1222

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...eland/1222.jpg

1235

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...eland/1235.jpg

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Teutonic Knights, BKB mod, Expert, High period.

Otto II 1235 - 1245

Of Grand Alliances & New Enemies

Otto was a man in his mid-forties, he had served is late fathers army in Pomerania and Lusatia, he was an accomplished leader in the field and at court, he would need every ounce of skill to see his kingdom survive the harsh winters ahead. The situation had changed since his fathers early years, the Cuman threat had declined, overstretched and confronted by an alliance formed by the Bulgars and Hungarians, they were stripped of their armies and reduced to isolation in Croatia. The Teutonic state he had inherited looked promising, the investments made by his father were paying off, Trade was at first a trickle, now Prussia was flooded by a new wealth, the ports of Livonia and Pomerania were also bustling. Faithful allies in Novgorod, Sweden and Denmark were proving profitable.

Things began to change though in 1235, the Mongols proved impossible to contain, the Orthodox armies of the east stood bravely against this horde, but could not halt them, the Mongols cut a swathe through Russian territory, and reducing Novgorod to little more than a vassal to the Khan. They reached Moldavia, cutting the Bulgarian empire in two and began raiding Poland. Otto watched helpless as Christians were being butchered on his very doorstep, but events in the west were coming to a head.

The Holy Roman Empire was now in ruins, Brandenburg was one of the last territories loyal to the detested Emperor Lothair, Otto decided that the large Imperial forces stationed in this province could not be tolerated. He himself led an army of some 900 Teutonic knights, spearmen and sergeants into Brandenburg, facing some 800 Germans, at the same time the Danes and Poles sent armies, tenuous relations with the Poles were resolved and a Grand Alliance was formed against the Holy Roman Empire.

All three armies of roughly comparable size, greatly outnumbered the Imperial forces led by the Emperor himself, Otto realised that the Danes were determined to annex Brandenburg and immediately they set upon the Imperial army without the Poles or Otto. Content to let the Danes do much of the fighting, Otto led his bodyguard and that of his young son Adolf to the frontlines, engaging an Emperors bodyguards for the second time in Ottos life. This time the contest was less fierce, the Emperor had no heart for the battle, his forces were routed by the Danes and Poles, in the aftermath it was agreed that the Danes would be allowed to hold the province, only after pledging to advance no further east.

Otto was satisfied by this, an enemy had been dealt with and replaced with good allies, as he returned to Prussia and Konigsberg, he received word that a Mongol embassy had arrived at the city, Otto was weary from the long ride home, but met with this emissary immediately. What he heard disturbed him greatly, the Russians had been utterly destroyed by the horde, the Bulgars in the process of being overrun in Poland, Novgorod on the verge of collapse. The emissary offered a marriage alliance between a princess of the Teutonics and a Mongol prince, Otto realised that he must now choose between standing alongside the beleagured Christians or submitting and thus safeguarding his own kingdom.

Otto consented to the alliance, but he did not stay a moment longer once the treaty was signed, he had in effect he felt, stabbed his allies in the back.

Betrayel

The treaty was kept quiet as best possible, but soon it was known Europe wide when advancing into Poland the Mongols forced Otto to renounce his fathers alliance with the Bulgars, this with the renunciation of the alliance with Novgorod, was in the eyes of the eastern Christians, the great betrayel of the Orthodox kingdoms. Though it extended further, the Poles and Hungarians were not spared of Mongol invasions, those treaties were torn up also as Otto resigned himself to the fact he he betrayed his allies and fellow Christians to save his own kingdom. Otto died in the 10th year of his reign in 1045, by then the Hungarians were defeated and the Bulgars severely reduced, the Mongol empire expanded everywhere. He was replaced by his brother Hermann as Hochmeister, Otto had been a hero in his youth, a villian in his later years, neither was truly accurate, he wasnt deeply mourned.

Analysis & World Events

The Mongol threat was always something I would have to deal with, I had a pretty extensive network of marraige alliances with all the factions who bordered my kingdom and beyond before they arrived. I was forced to abandon most of them in order to keep them off my back for awhile. I simply lacked the manpower and economy for a long war, the Mongol armies are too strong when they first arrive and very concentrated, war would of been suicide. My plan was to develop trade, which was gathering pace, and thus form larger more advanced armies for when the Mongols overstretched themselves and the confrontation would begin. In the west the Almohads were now unstoppable, the French were on the verge of civil war and England was threatened with invasion, all I could do was await favourable circumstances to strike, before the great power in the west, met that of the east and my kingdom encircled.

1038

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...eland/1238.jpg

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The Egyptian generals are more sheeplike than I thought, as they still cannot cough up the courage to rise against their parody of a sultan. My borders remain the same... as of yet. I have recieved four attacks, two on Edessa and Mesopotamia each. My veteran Halberdiers and their general prince are nearing heroic status as they, with the aid of some Armoured Spearmen and a great many Arbalesters, effortlessly defend against those on Edessa, the second by a force of more than two thousand against one of mine, with only half of them meeting my men, the second disheartened by their companions' utter destruction to the point of retreat without battle. The first of the attacks on Mesopotamia was cancelled, the second, now a Jihad, turned into a farce as after the death of their handgunner general the enemy force was caught in a loop between my now charging main line and two units of Mounted Crossbowmen as well as one of Armenian Heavy which had advanced far ahead behind the enemy. Every single unit in the Yellow army routed, bar perhaps two siege engine crews left behind. With the help of another of Armenian Heavy which had stayed with my main line, as well as the few but valiant Naxaras with the general, five hundred Egyptians were captured, three hundred of them already slain. My forces suffered eighty casualties, mostly from arrows shot by the several hundreds of Desert Archers. As to not disgruntle my men, I still tried to ransom the prisoners, even though I knew with certainty that mamluks lacked the means to pay.

Next year, I will be the one launching attacks.

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Bravo, Vantek! Time to go on the offensive and show those Mameluks the power of Armenia!

I tip my hat to you too, Aetius. Your "walking of the economic tightrope" through the difficult early years was indeed commendable. Still some challenges ahead alright, but you look well placed to meet them!

Keep those write-ups coming!

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Cheers Bamff .

Teutonic Knights, BKB mod, Expert, High period.

Hermann I 1245 - 1256

New Direction

Hermann like his brother Otto II, came to the position of Hochmeister during his later years, in his late 40's though he was, he lacked none of the energy or ambition the Order would require if it was to become a serious power. Hermann had led the abortive expedition into Poland against the Mongol horde in 1238, reigned in at the last moments by Otto who only just managed to maintain peace with the Khan. Hermann wasted no time once he had power, Poland he knew, was absolutely vital to the security of the Order, from there the Mongols could launch invasions of Lusatia, Pomerania and Prussia, it could not be allowed to remain in their hands. Preparations for war were put into overdrive, the economy of the Order was growing, but fragile, trade was now utterly reliant on the good will of the Almohads, whom Hermann had been forced to ally himself with.

The first major act Hermann took was to occupy the isolated and barren territory of Friesland on the North sea coast, long in the hands of squabbling rebel factions, the people were crying out for effective leadership and stability. Before the Almohads could muster the will to conquer the territory themselves, Hermann sent a force of 700 men, mostly mercenaries to occupy and cultivate the the land, though grossly undeveloped and impoverished, the Frisian coastline was potentially an ideal centre for commerce. Friesland represented the Teutonic outpost in the west to keep a close eye on Almohad expansion and more crucially, it was turned into a naval base.

The Teutonic navy now was a force to be reckoned with, ships carrying the standard of the Order could be seen by 1250 as far as the Bay of Biscay, all depended on continued peace with the Almohads, war would spell the utter ruin of the Teutonic economy.

A New Order & Redemption

In 1250, over a decade since the treaty with the Mongols had been signed, it was due for renewal, Hermann made a momentous decision, he took the treaty and burned it, declaring to a congregation of leading knights and bishops that the Order would no longer stand idly by and allow the Mongols to destroy its rivals. Poland was immediately in his sights, all men that could be spared were massed in Prussia, 1200 men, the cream of the Teutonic Order, crossed the border into Poland were a Mongol army of 1000 had just reduced the Bulgar garrison.

Hermann had given command of the army to one of his best general Sir Andrews Von Felben, they faced off with the Mongols on a clear field, surrounded by miles of countryside. The Teutonic army was made up largely of the newly formed regiments of Teutonic spearmen and sergeants, covered as ever by arbalesters. It was these arbalesters who opened the confrontation, firing from their maximum range, they swept the frontline of Mongol infantry, the sturdy Korean spearmen endured a brutal tidal wave of fire and soon began to waver. The Mongol general seemed paralysed, his cavalry now under attack in the same manner, unwilling to go on the offensive against the mass of spears and fierce horsemen of the Order, sounded a withdrawel. Von Felben ordered the general advance, his sergeants chased down the stagglers of the Mongol army, but captured few, the Mongols managed to slip away and withdraw relatively intact. What could of been a titanic confrontation was in the end no more than a skirmish.

Even so the consequences were impressive, Poland was soon evacuated altogether as the Mongols regrouped in the south for a final push into the Balkans, Poland had been conquered without the loss of a single man. It was a great coup for Hermann, the people for years now feeling as though they were already vassals of the Great Khan were now full of hope, willingly listening to the grand tales of Christian knights driving the Mongols from Europe and freeing the oppressed peoples of the Steppes.

The Order was redeemed, the Pope showed his gratitude, donating 1000 florins to the Order for the construction of a new church in Krakow, the previous having been burned down by the Horde. Hermann was supremely happy with the campaign, but was wise enough to know that this was the start of a long struggle, only one could possibly survive, the world was certainly too small for both the Order and the Horde. The Teutonics would be seen now as a shield in the east, Poland represented a buffer to the kingdom of Bohemia and the free Poles, so long as it held, the Mongols would have to go elsewhere.

This wasn't the end of Hermanns ambition though, he also intended to make the Order into the sword which would cut down the Almohads, the Teutonic fleet was growing constantly, it was now a major rival to the Almohad fleet, he believed the Orders role would be to destroy the Almohad fleet and cripple their ability to transport troops. Before his death in 1256, Hermann stripped the Mongols of the relatively unimportant territory of Finland, it would in time become a bustling port, but it served better as a reminder that the Order would attack the Mongols at every opportunity, that they would not relent as they once did. Hermann was a much loved leader, as popular abroad as at home, he was revered and deeply mourned. Standing up to the Mongols may have been brave, but the consequences would fall upon his sons, Adelric was a teenager when he became the 4th Hochmeister of the Teutonic Order, he would have to grow quickly to face the challenges ahead.

Analysis

The decision to go to war with the Mongols was necessary by the 1240's, for years the Novgorodians had safeguarded my kingdom against the majority of Mongol incursions by maintaining their presence in Lithuania and Volhynia. This buffer was invaluable, the only direction of Mongol attacks at that point toward Prussia was from the south where Mongol forces were weakest, by the 1240's though the Novgorodians were clearly on the verge of destuction, if the Mongols had Poland, Lithuania and Volhynia, then I honestly couldn't see how I could survive. It was now or never, I intended to seize Novgorod from the Mongols to, but this proved a step to far so I consoled myself with the minor conquest of Finland instead. At this time though peace with the Almohads was immensely profitable, the treasury was now filling up for the first time, anywhere between 2000-3000 florins of pure profit was coming in every year now.

My future plans at this point was to expand the fleet so it would be able to cripple the Almohads at any moment, I couldn't face the Almohads on land, but I could stop them from counter-attacking me and reinforcing their territories.

World Events

The Almohads by the 1240's and 1250's are undisputed rulers of almost all of the west, as far north as Mercia and as far east as Lorraine, the English had been conquered with terrifying ease, the French reduced to a rump state in Germany. The Danes had expanded into northern Germany, but there was no organised resistance left in central Europe, perhaps only the Venetians and Bohemians together could provide a temporary buffer, however the Venetians were squabbling as they often do with the Genoese.

The Bohemians now had problems of its own, the Mongols though weakened in the south, now bordered Bohemian Hungary with increasing signs of consolidating their position. The Mongols had by now penetrated Asia Minor, causing their usual mayhem for the Nicaean empire, recently re-established in Constantinople. A third major power was rising in the east, the Crusaders had stood by and largely stayed out of the wars in Asia Minor, now though they looked ready to fight to the north and encouragingly to the west.

1252
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...and/1252-2.jpg

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Teutonic Knights, BKB mod, Expert, High period.

Part 1. Alderic I 1256 - 1305

Debacle at Vilnius

Alderic was just 19 years old when his father died, loyalty was already a problem, Hermann had overlooked his elder offspring in favour of his youngest son, several of Alderics brothers harbored resentment at this, while others stood by their noble fathers decision. Alderics cause was not aided by the chaos of his 2nd year in power, before his fathers death, preperations had already been in place for the invasion of Lithuania, now in Mongol hands, this was the second part of Hermanns plan to create buffers around his core territories. Alderic was in no position to halt this, the army was eager for war, the Teutonic forces in Livonia had stood by and had little action during the war with the Mongols, now they pressed for battle.

Alderic gave his consent, though there was little doubt the expedition would of taken place anyway, 1300 men were gathered, the usual Chivalric spearmen and arbalesters, units of halberdiers, and the feared Teutonic knights and the knights of Dobryzen. Over 1100 Mongols stood against them, hundreds of horse archers of many nationalities, the impressive Korean foot soldiers and devastating Mongol heavy cavalry, made up this formidable army. Henrich Alberic, a cousin of the Hochmeister led the expedition, for years he had commanded the Teutonic knights in Livonia, he was a renowned warrior in he prime of his life and had with him a fine army with which to cement his name.

The battle took place near a small hamlet not far from the Lithuanian capital city, Vilnius, both armies were seperated by two small wooded areas and a group of houses directly infront of them. Henrich was content to let the Mongols make the first move, they obliged and sent forth a wave of horse archers, Henrich was short on arbalesters, but confident they would thin the enemy ranks, only two units were present, supported by an equal number of Samogitian tribesmen. The skirmishing went on for some time with the arbalesters generally winning these on and off confrontations, the horse archer ranks began to thin and eventually in their desperation, they charged, beaten back just in time by the Samogitians.

By now the rain was pouring and the men, stationary as they were for some time, began to tire, Henrich realised he couldn't delay the main battle for any longer, leaving the Samogitians and arbalesters to occupy the remaining horse archers, the main army advanced to the left, swinging around the hamlet into the woods towards the right flank of the Mongol army. The Mongols wasted no time, they began moving eastward, away from Henrich, toward some woodland opposite.

In between them was a small field, just big enough for a confrontation, things then accelerated unexpectedly, the Mongol cavalry advanced ahead of it's infantry in a clear provocation to Henrichs knights who took up the challenge immediately without hesitation. This is what they wanted, a chance to prove the mettle of Christian knights against the hitherto invincable Mongol horse, Henrich positioned himself at the front, his guards alongside him, the knights of Dobryzen on either flank and more Teutonics behind them. With a defeaning cry, the charge was sounded and the knights flung themselves headlong into the Mongol cavalry, a massive cavalry melee ensued, a swirling, twisting mass of man and horse, impossibly chaotic.

Mere moments after the cavalry engaged, the infantry were right behind them, crashing into the Mongol counterparts all along the line. As the rain poured and the ground became a quagmire, the battle degenerated into several smaller duels, halberdiers stuck into Mongol warriors, chivalric spearmen with the Koreans, and the cavalry mixed up in an enormous mass to the north.

The Mongols, despite this tremendous momentum, did not break.

Soon the tired Teutonic army was being picked off, the lighter, more flexible Mongol infantrymen were able to flank with ease, Henrichs cavalry was in worse shape, the battle with the Mongol horse was equal, but the addition of a Korean unit of infantry swung the tide in their favour. The knights of both Orders fell in their dozens, too exhausted to disengage, it didn't take much longer before the centre of the line shattered under the weight, the rest of the infantry was isolated and cut to pieces, the cavalry annihilated. Henrich himself was captured in the mayhem which followed. At the Battle of Vilnius, 1000 men were left behind in the freezing fields of Lithuania, the shattered remnants limped home, the rest to be ransomed, when Alderic heard the news it drove him to tears, the Mongols had crushed the flower of the Teutonic knights.

Analysis

I made mistakes during this battle for certain, I was careless with my arbalesters, who were frequently charged by Mongol horse archers, weakening my ability to defeat them first. Secondly I delayed battle to long, by the time battle was joined most of my men were jaded, perhaps also a rush of blood to the head made me accept the Mongol challenge and engage before I had decided on a proper battle plan. Finally I did not bring enough arbalesters or mercenaries who could attack the horse archers. All in all it was a a bit of a shambles, strategically Lithuania is extremely important, it’s conquest would of isolated Volhynia and freed up many men pinned down on border duty. It’s the first major defeat I’ve had as the Teutonics and by extension, in general, especially when it was a battle I could have won. In the end though is makes itself useful as an unexpected twist in the narrative, which is always welcome. Alderics reign is unusually long so I will be posting the 2nd part with images probably tomorrow.

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Three years, three victories, three provinces. First a heroic victory at Antioch, against an army nearly twice the size, reinforcing Prince Oshi's fame as a legendary general: of nine stars, an expert defender and skilled attacker. In Syria the next year, the mameluks already simply fleed in panic. The same happened in Arabia as the siege in Antioch was solved. My border with the Yellow is still three provinces - except now it is three provinces that once belonged to them. By refusing to meet me in combat their armies have remained large in numbers, but numbers alone will not win battles for them, and equipment, discipline, wit they lack. The only wise thing they have managed to do is to remain united despite widespread hate of Sultan in defense of homelands against their common enemy. But that will not save them either. I do not even know wether to be unhappy about it at all - it would've been too easy otherwise anyway.

The year is 1355 as I recieve exhilarating news: no single faction can field an army that would match mine even in numbers, let alone in strength. The Hungarians, at war with my allies of long, Byzantines, send an emissary to offer alliance. I accept. After Egypt falls, conquest of the lands of the Eastern Roman Empire will be my path to world dominance. It will not be without some bitterness that I raise my arms against Purple - they have been trustworthy partners who stood beside me through wars. But benevolence is not the way of this world, and I know deep down they would not hesitate to do the same in my position.

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OMG! I overlooked this thread for a week, and three excellent stories turn up all at once. What a golden age for the P&H thread! Good work, all

/KotR

Bamff: Medieval copyrights - what a brilliant hint to present day. Pass me the bubble-water we no longer can call champagne!

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Hope this works.

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Just started playing MTW again after a long time away. I didn't write a story, but I did take a screenshot:

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Very interesting Teutonic stratagy. Here is my pic of the Teutonics in 1373:



I found that not attacking anyone who does not attack me first seems to work well with keeping the Pope happy. Here is where the Swedish are about to attack.

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The Chronicles of Bamff of Burgundy
~ A Campaign in XL ver 3.0 – Hard – GA ~

Chapter 3 – Venetians Blind to Consequence

Doge Giovanni of Venice was well satisfied with the recent progress that his troops were making in the west. The mighty Venitian army had driven their Genoese opponents from the mainland by 1340. Genoa and Tuscany were now in Venitian hands. Rich provinces that would pour more gold into the Doge’s already impressive coffers.

Yes, indeed, he was satisfied with what he had so far achieved….but he did not, by any means, feel that it was time for his armies to rest.

Doge Giovanni was a greedy monarch, and he coveted the rich lands of Savoy to the north, and Provence to the west. He had gathered his generals in Genoa to outline his plan of action.

“Burgundy’s eyes will be on the north,” he began, tapping Ile de France on the outstretched map, and pausing for effect as his assembled generals took in his words “With both the English and Holy Roman Empire on his front doorstep, Phillipe will not be watching his southern borders. Most of his troops will be in the north, leaving the way open for Prince Pietro’s army to claim further territories for Venice.”

The generals murmured their approval, some nodding, as the Doge went on.

“Provence is not rightfully the territory of Burgundy in any case. Once our Prince has secured these western ports, we will be perfectly positioned to crush the Geonoese to the south, and we will have an ideal staging point from which to strike north at Savoy and Burgundy.”

The prospect of war with Burgundy was indeed an unexpected development for some members of the assembled group. One or two of the Venitian generals shifted their feet. Don Ettore Piccolomini exchanged concerned glances with some of his compatriots, before raising his voice to speak.

“My Lord, a most cunning and bold plan, indeed. I do beg your pardon, my Lord, but are we sure of our intelligence? If the Burgundians do have forces in the south, we could be placing ourselves in a vice between two enemies.”

“Ah, Piccolomini!” the Doge smiled benignly “Ever the cautious one. Even in the unlikely event that our AI spies are as poorly informed as those of the human player so often are, our armies are more than a match for those of Burgundy and Genoa!”

The laughter of the generals faded as the Doge gently raised a hand. “It is decided. Prince Pietro marches at dawn.”
Piccolomini muttered darkly to his son as he left the meeting “I fear that the Giovanni places us all in grave danger. He is a man not worthy of the title Doge. Come, we must return to Venice to ready ourselves for what is to come.”

As it transpired, the Venitian spies were indeed poorly informed. Both Savoy and Provence were very well garrisoned indeed. Prince Pietro’s army arrived in Provence to find that the Burgundian garrison was greater in number than his own force. Rather than give battle, he wheeled about, and marched back to Genoa. The Venitian fleet did attempt to strike at the Burgundians, but with little success.

Duke Phillipe was incensed. He despatched an emissary to the Genoese court to negotiate an alliance, and issued the necessary orders to his generals. In 1342, a Burgundian army under Sir Bernard de Chateaubriant marched on Milan, and Prince Charles led a second force that marched on Genoa. The Venitian Princes Jacopo and Lorenzo fled before Phillipe’s army. Jacopo raced south to Tuscany, and his brother Lorenzo took refuge in Milan Castle.

Genoa was also surrendered without bloodshed, with Doge Giovanni and Prince Pietro also making for Tuscany with great haste. The loss of Milan and Genoa, particularly in such circumstances as these, was further compounded by the ongoing Venitian losses at sea, and the province of Venice exploded into open revolt. The preparations of Don Ettore Piccolomini, it would seem, had borne fruit, for it was under his standard that the rebels rallied.

Prince Pietro of Venice gathered an army and marched north in 1343, intent on aiding his besieged brother, Lorenzo. His army came face to face with that of Sir Bernard de Chateaubriant’s force in a small but bloody encounter to the east of the town of Rozzano.

The Battle of Rozzano

The Burgundian commander at Rozzano did not have a lengthy military pedigree, nor did he even have a great deal of experience on the battlefield. Sir Bernard de Chateaubriant, was, however, a very resourceful man, and noted among his peers as a quick learner (not that a virtue such as this would ever be recorded!).

He knew well enough that the Venetian army of Prince Pietro was larger than his own force, and he also knew that the Venitians were veterans of the Genoese Wars, all battle-hardened and ready for the fray. Most important of all, though, he knew his own men. Among his troops were 4 Swiss regiments, 3 of pikemen and 1 of halberdiers. These alpine troops were tough men, and most importantly, highly dependable troops. They would hold, that he knew. Similarly, the Burgundian halberdiers of Stephen de Poitiers and Lord de Nogaret, were men cut of the same cloth.

The reliability of these men was central to de Chateaubriant’s battle plan. These troops would have to hold the more numerous Venitians at bay to allow the Arbalesters and Crossbowmen time to loose as many volleys as possible.
He looked to the south, noting the gently fluttering Venitian banners. Even as he watched, they began to move towards his position. This was to be his moment of truth, but he felt a surge of confidence. He had made the most of the terrain, of that he was certain. The Venitians would be drawn to his killing ground. He knew that once they closed on his own troops, the fight would devolve to a bloody battle of attrition, so it was imperative that the arbalesters took down as many as possible before that point was reached.

The Venitian force pressed on determinedly, for the most part ignoring their losses. Some units of urban militia decided that discretion was the better part of valour, and fled the field, but most of the army marched doggedly on. It was Sir Lancelot de Poitiers’ pikemen that bore the brunt of the Venitian charge. Their line buckled – but held. In the face of such resistance, it was the Venitians that started to waver, and when the halberd of Sir Enguerrand d’Orleans brought down Prince Pietro’s mount, and then despatched the dazed Prince, the day was lost for Venice.

For de Chateaubriand, it had been a bloody victory, but a victory nonetheless. 153 Venitians and 111 Burgundians lay dead on the field. 98 Venitian prisoners huddled dejectedly on the slope. Sir Lancelot de Poitiers men exchanged murderous glances with the crossbowmen of Gerbert de Lusignan. It had been noted that a number of the Swiss pikemen’s dead comrades had crossbow bolts embedded firmly in their backs. De Chateaubriand had intervened, separating the two regiments. Yes, he had learned a great deal about battle on this terrible day….



The Battle of Zero Branco

Doge Giovanni sent a force to Venice to quell Piccolomini’s uprising. That Venitian force arrived in Venice in 1343, and found itself not only outnumbered by Piccolomini’s rebels, but also facing a Burgundian army under Prince Louis. The Burgundian Prince’s force was also joined by a small army from Burgundy’s ally, the Holy Roman Empire. The Venitian army had not the stomach for a fight, and returned to Tuscany without so much as loosing an arrow.

Piccolomini and his men stood firm. This was their land, and their fight. Victory meant freedom and independence.

Prince Louis felt a twinge of compassion for these brave souls. They were but a small force – crossbows and foot only, it appeared. He peered intently at the nearby thickets, to confirm that no nasty surprises lay hidden. If there were any other troops so concealed, he mused, the Germans would draw them out. Prince Louis had, somewhat callously, determined to send his allies as the first wave.

He raised himself in his stirrups to stretch his legs, then signalled for the German force to advance. As they moved off, he turned to his left, and signalled for the Burgundians to commence their own advance, arcing out to the left to come in on the enemy’s flank.

As it transpired, the plan worked superbly. The Venitians had no option but to engage the German force. They had insufficient numbers to hold any men in reserve, and so their rear was quite unprotected from the Burgundian assault. Piccolomini put up a brave resistance, but in the end he, like a great many of his men, perished.

Venice had become the latest Burgundian state.


The end of Piccolomini

The End of Venice

The territorial losses of 1342 and 1343, and the loss of men and equipment had underlined to the Doge that his kingdom would not last long if he were to continue the war against Burgundy. It was grim pragmatism that forced him to seek a ceasefire in early 1344. Duke Phillipe II was only too glad to accept Giovanni’s offer. Fighting a war is never good for the treasury, but more importantly, he had received a warning from the Pope himself, that Burgundy must cease its current aggression against Venice, a fellow catholic faction. Better that the war came to a close with Venice on its knees pleading for a ceasefire than with Burgundy ‘brought to heel’ by the Pope, he reasoned.

Ignorance for some, may be bliss. Sadly for Doge Giovanni, ignorance was to be lead to his demise. Unaware of the Papal intervention, Doge Giovanni sealed his own fate in 1347, when he ordered the invasion of Rome. Once again it would seem that the Venitian spies were of no more use than those of the human player, for the Papal forces were far stronger and much better led than Giovanni had anticipated. His tattered army retreated back to Tuscany, but he was pursued by the Papist army of Don Gil Alvarez Cerillo.

Doge Giovanni force was hounded back to the coastal township of Cecina, and it was there that the Doge met his end in the battle of the same name.

With the final defeat of Venice, peace settled over Burgundy. If the many years of Phillipe’s reign had taught him anything, it was that such a peace would not last forever, and he resumed his program of public works with renewed vigour, determined to prepare the Duchy of Burgundy for the eventuality of further conflict.

It would appear that this was indeed, a sage approach, for turmoil and chaos continued to bubble and boil all around Burgundy. The Holy Roman Emperor’s ongoing attacks on Bohemia and Poland led to the excommunication of the Emperor in 1348. The previous year had seen the excommunication of the English King for pursuing his war with Aragon.

Whilst the English monarch enjoyed the loyalty of the majority of his populace, and could withstand the impact of such events, the same was certainly not true of his German counterpart, and the Holy Roman Empire soon dissolved into a distinctly unholy mess of warring provinces and feuding minor lords.

As the year 1350 dawns across Europe, one man already has positioned himself to turn this situation to his advantage. In Normandy, word has spread of the return of the “true king” of France. Louis III bears a striking resemblance to his uncle Phillipe, the last man to claim the title of King. He had been a mere babe when his uncle and cousin had perished in Ile de France, and had remained in hiding these past 23 years. Now, though, was his time, and the province of Normandy rang with the cheers of his loyal followers. While it was true that the province was strongly garrisoned by troops of Emperor Frederick, many of those men were born and bred in Normandy....and the province was a long way from Frederick's throne. Could it be that after all of these years, France was about to arise from the ashes to reclaim a place in Europe?



Previous Chapters of This Campaign

Chapter 1 – The Duchy Stirs
Chapter 2 – A Principal Rival Vanquished

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The Chronicles of Bamff of Burgundy
~ A Campaign in XL ver 3.0 – Hard – GA ~
Chapter 4 – The Duke is Dead, Long Live the Duke

The fall from grace of Emperor Frederick of the Holy Roman Empire had been astounding. Clearly, there must have been unrest in Germany for some time, for the swift nature with which the cancer of rebellion spread throughout the empire was breathtaking to behold.

Frederick’s excommunication in 1350 had been the catalyst for revolt, the final straw as it were. As quickly as 1351, just 12 months after the Pope’s fateful decree, Bavaria, Austria, and Normandy had all torn themselves free of the Holy Roman Empire. The opportunistic Bohemians had immediately invaded Friesland upon hearing the confirmation of Frederick’s excommunication. With two allies now at war, Duke Phillipe had to make a choice, for he had no desire to attempt the diplomatic tightrope walk of remaining on the fence. Frederick’s excommunication was the justification used, and Phillipe duly declared that Burgundy would remain an ally of the Christian kingdom of Bohemia, and would support that kingdom in its coming struggle against the heretic German Emperor. In reality, Phillipe had simply observed that the many cracks in the edifice of Frederick’s empire had created an opportunity far too good to miss.

Frederick had to move quickly. He mobilised his forces to reclaim his lost territories, stripping the garrisons of Lorraine, Tyrolia, and Swabia in order to raise sufficient troops to quell the rebellious provinces, and to strike back at the Bohemians. It was to prove a disastrous miscalculation on the part of the German monarch.

Duke Phillipe II of Burgundy had patiently watched these events unfold, all the while gathering his own forces in readiness. The Burgundian strike was launched in 1352, with Prince Jean (the younger), at the tender age of 16, leading the invasion of Lorraine. Sir Stephen Poitiers invaded Tyrolia, and a third force under Prince Jean (the elder) attacked Swabia.

The depleted garrisons of the three provinces had no option but to retreat. Control of Swabia and Tyrolia fell immediately to Burgundy, but the garrison of Lorraine had taken refuge in Nancy Castle, intent on holding this last bastion against the Burgundian invaders. The defiance of this garrison would prove to be short-lived. Prince Jean’s forces stormed the castle the following spring, sparing none of the defenders.

Louis of Calvados had by this time made his presence known in Normandy. He was greeted as a returning hero, and in the midst of raucous celebrations throughout Normandy, he proclaimed himself Louis III, King of France. The population centres of Caen, Rouen, and St Lo all rallied to his cause, as did virtually the entire province. In the town of Bayeux, the mayor announced plans to commission a commemorative tapestry, although these plans were soon shelved when it was pointed out that this had been done before. As it transpired, some local craftsmen pushed on with the plan, but neither the Bayeux tea towel nor the Bayeux doily was to achieve the lasting fame of the local tapestry completed almost 300 years earlier.

The (Holy Roman) Empire Strikes Back (Sorry – but I couldn’t resist!)

Emperor Frederick was furious that his former allies in the west had now turned against him, and he ordered immediate action from his generals. The armies of the Holy Roman Empire marched on Burgundy in 1353, with Karl von Jungingen leading one force into Swabia, while Rudolf Karolinger lead a second force into Venice.

The army of Karl von Jungingen arrived in Swabia in early February. The winter of 1352 – 1353 had been particularly harsh, and Swabia was still blanketed in a thick covering of snow. Even now, as the German troops struggled across the frozen landscape, more snow was falling, driven into their faces by an icy wind.

Prince Jean of Burgundy had chosen to face the German army on a field to the south east of the village of Karben. The township itself was dominated by an impressive monastery. The monks of Karben had established a reputation for being able to duplicate any document or text, and their “Karben Copies” had garnered some deserved fame throughout Europe. Prince Jean winced as he considered the laboured nature of that joke. Coming so soon after the Bayeux debacle, he feared that it did not bode well for the coming action.

As it transpired, his concerns were to prove baseless. Upon sighting the Burgundian positions through the driving snow, Karl von Jungingen turned tail and fled as quickly as his mount could manage through the deep snow. His flight was to a large degree masked by the driving snow, and it was some time before the bulk of his army was to learn that their leader had left them to fend for themselves. By this time the Burgundian arbalests were exacting a terrible toll. The German troops presented easy targets as they struggled slowly through the heavy snow.

The Germans were brave and resolute men, however, and doggedly pushed on, despite the abject cowardice of their general. Those that reached the Burgundian line gave a good enough account of themselves, but they were all too few and could make little impact. As the battle concluded, some 596 Germans and 73 Burgundian troops lay dead. 107 Germans had chosen surrender over death.

Carnage in Venice

Some months had passed since the Burgundian victory at Karben, when Rudolf Karolinger’s army arrived in the province of Venice. Karolinger’s army was far better prepared than that which had perished in the snow of Karben. With 1,200 men at his command, he was confident that the Burgundians would be swept from the field.

Prince Louis of Burgundy looked across the plain at the massive German army. He estimated the German numbers to be almost twice his own, and he was not far mistaken. The Burgundian force numbered some 596 men. Despite this disparity in numbers, Louis remained confident. What he lacked in quantity, he was more than sure would be compensated by the quality of his charges. A good number of these men had seen action in Milan. A small number had even been at his side at Zero Branco. They would do their duty this day, of that he was certain.

Despite the loss of almost 1/5th of their own number, the Burgundian army did not support their Prince, standing firm throughout the day, and exacting a terrible toll on their enemies. Whilst 115 Burgundians died on that terrible day, the German casualties numbered 734 dead and 115 captured. It was a crushing defeat for Emperor Friedrich, and a clear sign that he could not hope to prevail over Burgundy.

He immediately sought a peaceful solution to his dilemma, and went so far as to offer the hand of his daughter Phillipa to Prince Phillipe of Burgundy.

Phillipe the Not-so-Bold

These two victories and the subsequent marriage of Prince Phillipe with the German Princess Phillipa brought great joy to all of Burgundy. That joy was destined to be short lived, however. Barely a year after the royal wedding, Duke Phillipe II, the “father of Burgundy”, passed away peacefully in his sleep. In 1355 his son Phillipe was crowned Duke Phillipe III.

Phillipe III was an altogether different character to his father. Whereas Phillipe II had established his reputation as an empire builder and a warrior, Phillipe III was to be known as a statesman and a scholar. “Phillipe the Bold” had been replaced on the throne by “Phillipe the Not-so-Bold”.

Whilst he was no warrior, Burgundy’s economy thrived under the rule of Phillipe III, as the new monarch focussed his energies on establishing trade networks and infrastructure. Wars raged all around the Duchy, but Phillipe steadfastly refused to become embroiled in what he disdainfully termed “the struggles of others”.

Europe was indeed aflame during this period. Throughout the 1360’s the Papacy and Serbia waged a fierce war up and down the Italian Peninsula. Naples and the Papal states changed hands time and again as the two protagonists struggled for dominance.

Meanwhile in the north, the English aggression against the French saw the excommunication of King William. The French attempted unsuccessfully to claim Brittany in 1366, but they were successful in taking Flanders the following year, though at the cost of King Louis III. The French tenure in Flanders was short-lived indeed, with the English reclaiming the province in 1368. The province changed hands again in 1369, 1370, 1372, and finally in 1373 the English once again claimed the province as their own.

It is intriguing that at this juncture in history, as the wars in the north and south came almost simultaneously to a conclusion, the unremarkable rule of Phillipe III also came to an end. It was perhaps fitting that the Duke met his end whilst supervising work on the fortifications of Dijon Castle, carelessly leaning on an unsecured rail at the top of the new western wall.

Once again it was time for Burgundy to embrace a new Duke, and that man was Charles I. Only time would tell if he would be able to build on the platform laid out by his father and grandfather before him.


Previous Chapters of This Campaign

Chapter 1 – The Duchy Stirs
Chapter 2 – A Principal Rival Vanquished
Chapter 3 – Venitians Blind to Consequence

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Brilliant as usual, sir! I salute you.



I'm *so* glad I wasn't drinking or eating anything when I read this paragraph. Otherwise my keyboard and/or monitor would've surely been in a much worse state.


Uff da! You just can't resist a pun sometimes, can you?

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Excellent Bamff, very well written, and quite funny as usual. Keep up the good work, always a pleasure to follow the adventures of Burgundy.

No screenies this time? Well, we'll have to do with our imagination then.

/KotR

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Hi all.
I know this is a horribly newb question but I really have no idea how do get a screenshot off my game.
I have a good campaign going at the moment and would love to post it but am not sure how to obtain the screenshot in the first place.
Once I have one then I am sure I can upload it no problems.

Apologies if this is the wrong forum if so can you please redirect me.
Cheers.

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Thanks KotR - high praise indeed from the author of the fabled "Camel Campaign"! Now there was a tale worth following.

Apologies for the absence of screenies - had a few things going on of late, so just getting the time to do the write up was problem enough! I will get some into the next update for sure....and may Mithrandir's camels strike me down if I do not....

Fagar - all you need to do is hit "F2". This will save the screenshot as a TGA file in a directory called "TGAs" (seems logical enough, when you think about it) under your "Medieval Total War" directory.

The TGAs can then be converted to jpg format (or bmp, or whatever you want) using any one of a number of photo editing programs. I am using a thing called "Photomania deluxe", which from memory is a shareware thing.

Good luck with that mate - I look forward to reading your campaign.

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Thanks Bamff;
Appreciate the help mate, it all seems pretty easy.

Cheers.

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Hi all! Got a wee bit of free time this weekend, and felt like firing up another MTW campaign, this one using the Samurai Warlords mod. Very well done piece of work, I must say. And with that, off we go!


Ok, I'll admit. I'm gonna sissy out of making an actual storyline for the campaign, at least thus far. Some VERY interesting moments thus far, however.

Starting Faction: Honda

Started the game invading defenseless Mino, despite looking like a difficult to defend province, due to being centrally located. However, it proved a solid decision when the Imagawa brought overwhelming numbers to take the province to my east. I built up forces, and ended up with alliances with both Oda and Imagawa, two of my biggest threats. My third threat, Takeda, I had no intention of allying with. I raised roughly 600 troops to defend both provinces, then brought a simultaneous invasion of Takeda territory. In Shinano, Takeda brought reinforcements from Ettchu, a province I could not see. Thus, I decided it would not be wise to continue with the attack with my heir. Daimyo Tadakatsu lead the invasion of Hida where they withdrew to the to the castle due to a lack of arms. The next year, a peasent rebellion in Ettchu(not of my doing) brought half their force in Shinano to defeat it, with the other half running to the rescue of the Hida.

The battle of Hida saw my force of 600 or so defending against a sally of a combined 800, including a heavy dose of Takeda cavalry. My force consisted of a combination of Yari crossbows, Samurai archers, Yari Ashigaru, and Yari Samurai, along with the Daimyo and a second heir who had matured. Wedging myself in a hilly section of the map with good foliage, I managed to repel Takeda armies twice before succumbing to lousy morale. However, I still inflicted losses of almost 650 on the Takeda while losing 450 myself. I lost the battle, but the war was tipping in my favor.

Two years later, I once again launched simultaneous invasion. Honda Nakatsukasa, top heir, lead the invasion of Shinano, this time surrounding the castle as the meager Takeda army in the province fell back. Similar results occured in Hida, where my Daimyo, with additional new recruits, brought overwhelming numbers to a new invasion. However, Shingen and his heir, Shingen, still held about 400 troops in Ettchu.

Hida soon surrendered without a fight. However, Shinano was taking longer. The final year of siege before starvation brought the two Shingens to lead a small part of their troops in Ettchu to try and relieve the siege. And so the first Battle of Shinano began.

Once again, I found a very nice hill top, this one towards, but not quite totally into, a corner on the map. A thick forest on my left flank, with large hills on my face and right flank. After a little bit of back and forth trying to figure out the best way to approach my army(this time composed of mostly yari ashigaru, but with a couple Yari Samurai, Nakatsukasa himself, and a couple x-bows). Takeda Yari cavalry attempted an early charge through the forest, only to be roundly defeated and routed by ashigaru peasants. The next wave, however, brought a unit of Yari Samurai, who wore down and defeated a Yari Samurai of my own, then routing an ashigaru before being finally routed from the field. On my right flank, more Yari cavalry attempted to climb the hill Three units climbed up, inflicting fairly bad casualties on my ashigarus, before being routed as well.

The battle waged on and on, before finally the two Shingens lost their patience. Shingen II had already been stripped down to a few men, while Shingen I quickly lost over half his unit to x-bow fire. However, they succeeded in battering my x-bow units as well as routing several yari ashigaru, and in the process both losing their entire guards they'd brought to the battle. Tired of their antics, I decided to roll the dice. Honda Nakatsukasa brought the fight to the two himself, with just himself and one loyal guard. Epic fighting ensued for over 4 minutes. Nakatsukasa's guard fell within the first minute of combat, but after 5 minutes, Shingen II, heir to the Takeda clan, fell to the sword of Nakatsukasa. Two minutes later, Shingen I fell as well.




All that remained of the Takeda army by now was a singular unit of mounted Samurai archers. However, the cowardly Ashigaru which was all which remained of the Honda army quailed before the mounted enemies. With just a single charge, each unit routed despite having the numbers to likely defeat their Takeda enemies. Smacking his head against his desktop, the commander dutifully withdrew from the battlefield, entirely frustrated at having to lose the battle.



However, upon the finish of the battle, the Takeda realm was effectively shattered: both Daimyo and his lone heir had been slaughtered by Nakatsukasa "The Mighty" as he would be soon known throughout the land.



Unfortunately, the wars against Takeda had utterly sapped the finances of Honda. Debt halted construction to a standstill. However, Shinano was to be had. Daimyo Tadakatsu invaded Shinano with his full army of 500, forcing the newly independant unit of mounted Samurai archers to fall back to the castle. With new debt piling up, Tadakatsu wasted no time in assaulting the meager garrison, overwhelming it with relatively few casualties.

With Shinano added to his realm, money soon began to flow into the Honda coffers, finally relieving its debts and enabling new building once more. Unfortunately, Ettchu, which Tadakatsu had wished to acquire, was quickly conquered by Clan Mogami before Shinano could be consolidated.

The Current Situation in the Sengoku Jidai:



And so, I leave this for another day. However, before leaving I would like to note- I still cannot believe I wiped out another "non one province" faction without assassination, rebellion instigation, OR winning even a single battle.

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Nice campaign so far, seireikhaan. Do you plan to build up and consolidate now, or do you have plans for more immediate conquest?


Heh. Yeah, that's a bit odd, all right. Truly a case of "losing the battle but winning the war" if there was one.

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Haha, reminds me of how once the Danes out of the blue decided to launch a suicide attack on me. It was a bridge battle... And they brought NOTHING but 6-7 units royal knights - the king and every heir they had. Warded off one bridge, waited the enemy to charge my line with everyone, sent a bunch of other people behind them over the other bridge and sandwitched every single enemy unit, between my men, on the bridge. Presto! They're all dead... and the Danes are done with and I get excommunicated by the pope for "continued aggression towards fellow christians"...

Which in turn reminds me of how once I had a key battle against I think just ONE pack of royal knights, where it was absolutely imperative that no enemy unit is left standing, because I could not afford a siege. With admittedly lots of luck, I managed to catch them between my men in one direction (something ridiculous like one unit of Chivalric Men-At-Arms and one of Feudal Knights, with one unit of Arbalesters giving support fire on a nearby hill) and some buildings in the other! : D Every single unit was killed, I think just one guy routed but I'm quite sure he was killed by a bolt, not captured. And this battle was against the pope XD God I hate him!

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Update:

Ok, so I've played quite a bit further out now. With my central position, I was essentially in a position to do one of two things: dictate the flow of war, picking people off one by one, or get mobbed and swarmed out of the game.

Thus far, its been the former. I allied with the Hosakowa, Oda, Hojo, Mogami, and Hatakeyama. However, this was soon disturbed when the Hosakowa declared war on Oda. I joined the Hosakowa on their assault on Oda, and succeeded in taking a fairly lightly defended Owari with few casualties.


However, the year after, lead by Daimyo Oda Nobuhide, they returned to help relieve the siege. A bloody bridge battle ensued. Oda troops surged initially across my edge of the bridge, threatening to break loose, before being surrounded on all sides. The tide began to turn, and Nobuhide, fighting for his life long after most of his army had either been destroyed or routed, was totally engulfed by Yaris and Warrior Monks. With no avenue for retreat, he was slain:
Final Battle results:


Following the battle, a new Oda assumed power, but the Oda army was almost entirely shattered by either the fight for Owari, or in battles against the Hosakowa. They would no longer pose a threat to me, and would eventually be destroyed some years later by the Hosakowa.

However, not long after taking Owari, I was given another golden opportunity, this time to me my southeast. The Imagawa were in a protracted war with yet another ally, the Hojo, and I took advantage of the cover the Hosokawa were giving me in the west to shift troops eastwards to take the provinces of Totomi and Kai, with the Hojo seizing Suruga. No battles were actually fought here, as the Imigawa were severely lacking in troops, and thus withdrew to their castles before promptly losing the sieges to starvation.

As if to give me something to do, in my north, the Hoganji declared war by invading lightly defending Shinano. I withdrew to my castle, before mobilizing my forces to rescue it. Further aiding my efforts, the Mogami, my ally, declared war on the Hoganji as well. The Mogami shattered the Hoganji in the battle for Ettchu. I swept in with moderate forces to take Kaga and Noto, ending the Hoganji faction.

Interestingly, about 15 years after aiding my war against the Hoganji, the Mogami, now considered the richest and most powerful faction, utterly collapsed. A civil war ripped the dynasty, and they collapsed in the face of a Satake invasion. The Date re-emerged, and I was able to take advantage by seizing Ettchu. With Mogami destroyed, I needed another eastern ally, and was fortunate enough to be able to ally with the now very powerful Satake, who now controlled a very rich stretch of eastern Japan.

However, once again, my alliances could not be permanent. Hojo and Hatakeyama began war. I sided with Hatakeyama, and fresh from 20 some odd years of peace and buildup, swept the Hojo without a fight, having vastly outnumbered Hojo forces. All Hojo provinces would fall to myself.

Again, I manage a decent period of peace, about 15 years this time, before I am backstabbed by my ungrateful ally, the Hatakeyama in the east. They invade lightly defended Shinano and Kai, and I withdraw to my castles. Even more disturbing, the Satake backed the Hatakeyama as they had been allied to both. Thus, I needed to end this war quickly before any potential Satake intervention. However, I am able to marshal large forces, from my new Hojo provinces, Ettchu and other provinces surrounding Shinano. I manage not only to issue rescue missions for Kai and Shinano, but also marshal enough forces in the one turn to attack their home provinces of Musashi and Sagami. I

In Shinano, Hatakeyama forces abandon the siege in the face of overwhelming force.

In Sagami, the Hatakeyama withdraw from the battlefield, utilizing a unit of warrior monks to cover their retreat against my cavalry.


In Kai, they withdraw again from the battlefield, but this time making no pretense of battle and simply flee:



However, this left Musashi, of which my forces were not only outnumbered by roughly 100, as well as outcommanded, and having to cross a bridge to boot. However, stubborn I be. I go with the attack regardless, confident my superior troops(I have naginata and Yari samurai, as well as strong cavalry, whereas they utlized at least 4 units of Yari Ashigaru). Rain poured for the entirety of the battle, helping my own forces, as they outnumbered my ranged units, albeit barely. They allowed my troops access to their side of the bridge, before attempting to swarm my men. The battle turned into a prototypical bridge battle- essentially, whoever could outmuscle the other would win. Following roughly 20 minutes of both sides throwing more meat into the grinder, my foot soldiers are nearing the breaking point. However, with one last unit of Yari Samurai thrown into the mix, my troops finally begin to break the enemy yari troops. One by one, enemy units finally break and route. I pour cavalry across my new hole, and end the battle by shattering their three units of reserve troops with charges. All in all, a bloody battle, but well worth it to end another opponent:

The Hatakeyama Daimyo and heirs, who had been stationed in Sagami, ended up with nowhere to retreat to, and were thus slain. Hatakeyama as a faction ceaced to exist. I had achieved my goal of quickly ending the war(one turn). The next turn, I offered a new alliance to the Satake, who accepted.

I now occupy a tremendous amount of territory, with only one non-ally on my borders, the Date. They may be my next target. However, for now, I am content to sit and rebuild my forces from continuous war, as well as developing a navy and teching my troops for higher valor.

Current situation:



More interesting notes: Allies have proved very helpful for this current campaign. In most of my military campaigns, with the exception of the Hatakeyama war, I have had assistance in some form from allies. I don't know if its the mod, or just a product of necessity due to my central position and many borders. Either way, its been an extremely fun campaign.

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Looks like a pretty good start. Pretty daring starting in the middle of everything.

I really must try Samurai Warlords. That campaign map looks really cool, and I saw that they finally have the sound pack for the old STW music. Scale-wise, it doesn't look as big (in territories or in general army size) as the MTW grand campaign, is this the case?

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