So, at a long last, here comes the seventh and final episode of my Swedish (High XL, Normal) campaign. It's a slightly premature ending, but that is not at all a problem to me. I'm perfectly satisfied with this campaign, and I even got a lot further than I ever thought I would. And I never expected to achieve the total dominion-victory anyway. For those who are interested in reading the previous episodes they can be found here:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
So, with that said, on to:
The reign of King Joar II, The Last King of Sweden: 1359 - 1398 A.D.
As Joar became king at the age of 27 in the year 1359 of our Lord he was not considered exactly the greatest of men to ascend to the throne of Sweden. He was rather young, inexperienced and there were rumours about him which claimed him to favour the company of young boys rather than that of women. There were never any evidence for these rumours however.
Many claimed Joar would indeed have been coddled and spoiled by growing up in the wealth and prosperity of his father's reign. That wild, barbaric touch of the Swedish was long since gone, and the kingdom of Sweden was now considered to not only be the most powerful of all, but also the be the richest and most technologically advanced. Growing up under such hospitable circumstances made nobody tough. King Joar II was to face plenty of wars during his reign however, and proved himself a worthy heir to the throne and a great warrior as well as strategist.
His father, Magnus I, had left him a mighty kingdom, yet a kingdom involved in many wars. A seemingly never-ending naval war stood between the Swedish fleets and the French. The Swedish were successful for the most part, but nonetheless these hostilities even on the seas seriously harmed Swedish trade.
Furthermore, a great campaign against the Orthodox kingdom of Kiev had been launched by his father the same year as he died. The lands of Pereyaslavl, Levidia, Volhynia, Levidia and Kiev itself were occupied by Swedish troops while the remaining Rus hid in their castles and fortified cities and towns. Only a few months passed before the russian Prince Andrei III in the old lands of the Poles launched several counter-attacks. In the early months of 1360 Kievan armies marched into Volhynia, Pomerania and Franconia.
These were not very well planned though, and by chosing to attack on all fronts instead of focusing on one the Kievan troops were spread to thin and all retreated facing the Swedish overmight.
Other troubles occupied Joar's mind as the foolish King of Hungary declared war against his Catholic brethren. The reason for this is unknown, and the Hungarians must have known that in the long run, they could never defeat the vast kingdom of Sweden. The war even began with the humiliating defeat of the Hungarian army that had marched into Bavaria. Its commander, Prince András himself was killed by a volley of Swedish bolts.
The First Battle of Bavaria
Prince Andrei III was not idle though, and during the year his troops amassed in Moldavia, to finally launch a surprise attack against the Swedish forces under the command of Lord Sverkersson in Levidia. On December 8 1360 a massive russian army faced the badly outnumbered Swedish under Lord Sverkersson.
The day was long and bitter. The freezing wind cracked bowstrings and men froze to death long before the battle itself commensed. Not far off the battlefield, the wolves howled, already tasting blood. The Kievans and the Sweidh clashed time and again. Each time the russians broke and fled, reformed, awaited reinforcements and renewed their charge. No less than 18 charges were carried out by the huge russian army, but in the end they were utterly defeated and the few who could fled back to Moldavia to tell the tale of how the Devil gave the Swedish supernatural powers that day. That night, the wolves feasted.
The Battle of Levidia
This destruction of more than half of the total Kievan army was more than the kingdom could handle. Civil war broke out, and Prince Andrei found himself abandoned by his men. Only in Greater Poland did the loyalist forces remain.
But despite this glorious victory no rest was given to the Swedish as Prince Lázlo of Hungary invaded Bavaria - seeking to avenge his dead brother - in the spring of 1361. The brave Lord von Kniprode, the victor in the First Battle of Bavaria now saw faced an army so big it could not be defeated. Nonetheless he made his stand, this time without the advantage of defending a bridge.
Indeed, many Hungarians paid with their lives that day and Lázlo himself was shot to death just like his equally pathetic brother, but nontheless von Kniprode was so badly outnumbered he decided to retreat in the end. As he made haste to lead his army to the safety of the walls of Münich, he is reported to have said to his men: "We gave the Huns the field, but the day belonged to us!". Indeed, it was a pyrrhic victory for the Hungarians:
The Second Battle of Bavaria:
The surviving Hungarians marched to besiege Münich, but the siege did not last long. Soon enough reinforcements from Franconia arrived and the Hungarians, disheartened by the death of their leader, fled like whipped dogs before the approaching Swedes.
Finally, Sweden enjoyed a short period of peace. There was still great opposition in the former lands of the Kievan rus, but great news reached King Joar in 1363 as Kiev itself fell. No worse news could be imagined by Prince Andrei in Greater Poland. His capital had fallen, and hardly anything remained of his once so great kingdom. The remaining opposition in the provinces invaded in 1359 now fell quickly.
The final blow came in 1365 as King Joar II of Sweden himself commanded an army invading Greater Poland, mopping up what was left of the Kievans. Prince Andrei was killed and his army annihilated in a bloody battle.
The Battle of Greater Poland:
Again, a short period of peace followed. King Joar was content, surely his enemies must have realised that their resistance and opposition was nothing but futile by now? All of Sweden now drew a breath of relief. The long wars were coming to an end at last. How wrong they were, for a last wave of massive conflicts had to be broken against the rock that was Sweden before it was all over.
In 1368, Sweden's southernmost lands, the lands of Georgia, suddenly found themselves invaded by a great army under the command of Prince Romanus of the Byzantine Empire. In truth, the Byzantine Empire was not much of an empire anymore and only held parts of Anatolia by this time. Its former capital Constantinople had long ago been conquered by the Venetians.
Prince Romanus however was a man who reminded of what Byzantium once was. He was one of the finest commanders in Europe it was said, and he was feared by all who knew warfare. Perhaps jealous of the expanding Swedes and seeing that his father's empire was nothing but a shadow of its former self he attempted to restore glory to the Byzantines by proving that they could defeat even these strange men from the north. In Lord Sverkersson he faced his equal though and the entire campaign ended in utter humilitation for Prince Romanus. Lord Sverkersson valiantly marched to meet Romanus' army on the battlefield, and positioned himself atop a steep hill. Romanus army arrived and the infamous Kathaphraktoi began to march back and forth in front of Lord Sverkersson's camping army while Romanus ordered scouts to be sent out to see if there was no way to outflank the Swedish.
There was no way however, and as he dared not a risk a frontal assault against such a well-positioned army Romanus reluctantly marched off and retreated back to Trezibond.
Romanus did not remain there for long however. His reputation and self esteem had been badly hurt by the humiliation. He therefore gathered his strenght in Trezibond and again invaded Georgia in the spring of 1369. Lord Sverkersson repeated the tactis used the previous year, but this time Romanus and his brothers (for many of Byzantium's finest princes had joined this campaign) charged straight ahead, regardless of the consequences. Like so many other great men before him, from Prince Mstislav VII of Novgorod to the foolish brothers András and Lázlo of Hungary, Prince Romanus died at the hands of an anonymous Swedish arbalester and so did all his brothers. In a single battle, more than half of the Byzantine royal line had been extinguished and the entire heavy cavalry of Byzantium was no more. Never again would the Kataphraktoi or Pronoiai claim any victories.
The Battle of Georgia:
In the same year, 1369 of our Lord, the pagan Cumans, the last pagans of the east met their end as King Joar himself invaded the Crimea. The Khan of the Cumans rallied his people and met the Swedes at bridge crossing a minor river running up to the Dnieper.
The pagans fought bravely and the Swedes were surprised to face such fierce warriors here, almost at the end of their expansion. But no matter how brave, the Cumans were all slain and their Khan taken captive and later executed. This marked the end of the steppe pagans. Catholicism was now spread by the pious King Joar who ordered churches to be constructed in every town and village of the east.
The Battle of the Crimea
The Battle of Volhynia 1371 - The last battle of the Kingdom
When things finally started to calm down, a last attempt at stopping the Swedes was made. In the east, the pagans had finally been dubdued and baptised after 150 years of bloodshed. The treacherous Byzantines had effectively been defeated and a ceasefire was signed in 1370. The Kievan rus had been wiped off the earth and were no more. Not even the Catholic enemies of Venice and Hungary, whom were still relatively strong, had the will or power to fight the Swedish. But the menace came from a most unsuspected foe.
In the aftermath of the terrible russian defeat in Levidia in 1360 many people in the lands of what once was Poland swore fealty to a man named Kazimierz who claimed to be the surviving heir to the throne of Poland. In 1361 he crowned himself King of Poland as King Kazimierz IV in Lesser Poland. The lands of Moldavia and Silesia joined this restoration of the kingdom of Poland. The Swedish invasion of Greater Poland in 1365 had actually been launched to prevent the increasingly powerful Poles from reclaiming their own lands and to keep the lands of Silesia separated from the King and the rest of the kingdom. King Kazimierz now regarded the Swedish and King Joar II as his greatest enemies as they possessed what he considered to be his. He was well-known as a great military commander and promptly refused all proposals of alliance made by Joar.
In 1371, he and his entire army marched into the once Polish lands of Volhynia where Lord Henriksson was in command of a relatively small Swedish army. Lord Henriksson bravely chose to make his stand, despite being outnumbered 3:1 and having no suitable ground to defend.
Lord Henriksson positioned his men in a traditional manner, with his arbalesters up front, protected on the flanks by halberdiers and chivalric sergeants. He also ordered a second line of halberdiers to take position right behind the arbalesters to charge out and save them should they get engaged in melee. The Swedish line was so long and had its flanks so well deployed in dense and impassable woods that it could, quite simply, not be outflanked. King Kazimierz was not the least bit frightened by this however, nor was he scared by the now infamously accurate Swedish arbalesters.
Kazimierz himself and his heavy cavalry would commit the initial charge and the rest of the army, mostly infantry, would follow. Such was the Polish plan of attack, a plan that many had attempted before and that many had paid with their lives for.
Slowly the Polish knights approached. The Swedish arbalesters made themselves ready. As soon as the first knight was within range a volley was loosed. Man and horse alike fell to the ground screaming in pain. This spurred the other Poles who could no longer resist to attack the hated and unchivalrous arbalesters. As they charged forth they were shot to pieces and once they came too close, the arbalesters retreated while the halberdiers behind them marched out to meet the approaching cavalry. The Polish knights were quickly slain; sliced and skewerd as many other foolish cavalrymen before them. They retreated and reformed. The arbalesters moved up again. This time Kazimierz lead the second line of knights into another equally stupid charge. Kazimierz fell dead long before he reached the Swedish lines, beating even the old Prince Mstislav as he is said to have been struck down by no less than 20 bolts.
The knights fullfilled their charge regardless, and the Swedish tactic was now repeated and the entire knighthood of Poland was wiped out. Now the desperate Polish infantry arrived in wave after wave but each was beaten and driven back. When Lord Henriksson considered the time right, he called for his own units of knights that had been held as reserves. The Swedish now rode out and killed all that came in their way. No prisoners were taken that day.
As the sun set that day, Poles beyond counting laid dead on the fields.
King Kazimierz had died without an heir, and the Kingdom of Poland - once again - was no more. Over the next few years, King Joar one by one bought off the local lords in Lesser Poland and Moldavia, untill he could proclaim himself ruler over these lands as well.
The Battle of Volhynia in 1371 marked the end of nearly two centuries of fighting. No more enemies were there who could challenge the Swedish under King Joar II. Both the Venetians and the Hungarians were busy fighting other enemies or suffered from civil wars. The only other Kingdom that even came near to the glory of Sweden was the Kingdom of Spain, that had risen from the ashes of the short-lived French empire. Sweden and Spain were allies and shared mutual enemies though. Thus, King Joar II was able to live the remaining time of his reign in peace.
Stockholm, 1398:
Inge was nervous. He frowned as he felt the smell when he entered the room. This was the smell of dicease and ever approaching death. He slowly walked over to the grand bed in the middle of the room.
"Father" he said and knelt.
"Rise, my son" said a hoarse voice from the bed.
Inge stood up and looked the old man in the eyes. His father's face was old and tired. His long white beard had not been cut or tended for months.
"I'm dying my son" said the old king. "You know this, and I have sent for you to tell you this one thing: You shall never be King of Sweden".
Inge looked in surprise and chock at his father.
"But father, I..." he began.
"Come come, my son!" his father interrupted. "Let me finish...hm...You have the arguable and impatient ways of me and our ancestors...good, good. Now to the matter: You shall never be King of Sweden. Do you understand me?"
"I..I don't think I truly do understand, father".
"See, my son, there is now no other kingdom in the whole wide world than can challenge us. Mother Sweden stands unchallenged. There are no longer any empires left. The Byzantine Empire clinges on to the world yet today, though without glory or honour. That fool in Nicaea still refers to himself as Emperor, and there are hardly any remains of what once was the Holy Roman Empire".
"Do you mean...".
"Yes, indeed I do my son. You shall be the first to be crowned Emperor of Sweden. No other kingdom in the world can claim such a title more than us. I shall indeed be the last in the line of Kings. Now go, my son. You have plenty to see to".
On November 6 King Joar II of Sweden drew his last breath. He was the last King of Sweden, and soon after his son ascended to the throne as Emperor Inge IV of Sweden. The first in a long line of Emperors. So much was different from the little squabbling kingdom in the shadow of Denmark that his ancestor Erik had ruled. Sweden now stretched from Laponia in the north to Georgia and the Black Sea in the south. From Saxony in the west to Volga-Bulgaria to the east. Truly, Sweden was the greatest Empire of its time. Now the 15th century laid ahead of the Swedish Empire.
The Swedish Empire in 1398:
The End
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