Sweeping the Steepes

[OlafTheBrave]

Since I have played two partial HRE campaigns I decided it was time for something different and challenging as well. With this in mind I started a Russian High Hard GA and figured I would more or less present it in story form with pics as I do like to role play a bit. I have only started one or two of these before I started playing RTW so for me this is basically a cold campaign. Other than the Horde showing up I have no idea what my GA goals or twist of fate will be. I am also using a couple of house rules such as all govenors must be Boyars and no reloads. I figured in the opening stages I would update every 10 years as this is when most of the critical develops seem to happen. After these rapid updates I will probably go to 50 year or so spans. I also like to develope generals from scratch as will become evident. So without further ado away we go.

[OlafTheBrave]

The year is 1205, The Grand Prince of Russia, Ysevelod III surveys his small empire and decides he must leave more for his sons. The are rich kingdoms to the west to trade with and vast untamed lands at home to be tamed. There is also a need to spread the faith of the people. The empire is divided and this must be rectified at once. With this in mind he orders his Chamberlain the Grand Duke of Novogorod, Miloslav Orekhov (L6 P0 D0 C1 A6) to begin building ship building facilities. Sturdy men will be needed to tame these lands so he orders a monastery constructed in Moscow.

In three years things are progressing well with the construction efforts on the coast so he orders Orekhov to subjugate the pagan Finns. In this effort he is entirely succsesfull and awarded a rank. The royal emissary Guba Shchukin is successful as well at persuading the people of Chernigov to join our cause so the empire is now united. Within a few years there are several offers of Alliance and the bloodline is secured by the marriage of Ingebord of Denmark to the royal heir.

In the last year of his life trade is begining to flourish with Denmark, whos daughter married his eldest, and he sees his loyal govenor the Grand Prince of Kiev, Maksim Domaslavov (L6 P0 D0 C2 A3) successfully defended Kiev from the Lithuanians supported by the pagans from Khazar. His small force of three Steep Calvary, Horse Archers and Peasants manage to hold strong and win the day. Domaslavov is a bit pleased with his efforts (secret pride vice grrrr) and all the prisoners are put to the sword as an example.



Grand Prince Yesevolod IV orders Domaslavov to capture Lithuania in response to their audacity and as he himself is a proud man he departs for Sweden on his own where unfortunately he meets his doom. Domaslavov is successful in storming the castle and is rewarded by the new emperor with an increase in rank (back to 1 star).



With the demise of Ysevold IV his brother Yuri II ascends to the throne. He further expands his fathers trade network as this has begun to bring riches to the realm. With an eye to the steppes he begins the training of horsemen and improvements to their stables. It is a stable time in the empire and as its coffers expand he looks again to the west. He calls for his fathers trusted man Shchukin and dispatches him to Livonia with a chest full of gold for this is a developed land that may be better had through bribery than conquest. The nobles agree to the terms but the peasants are of a different mind. They soon however learn what it means to resist Russian might.



Things are not so well however as the pagans of Volhynia invade Kiev and the token force is unable to hold. Domaslavov is dispatched from Lithuania and the rebels decide a fight is not to their taste. They did pillage the provence and this is a setback to the growth of the empire. The last pagan lands within the bounds of the empire are conquered as they had no taste for gold. In 1231 a vast tribe of horsemen sweep across the steps overrunning all the petty fiefdoms up to the empires borders. An alliance is sought but not accepted.



An useasy peace is maintaned for a decade. With the dispatch of troops to pagan held Prussia they sense an oppertunity and strike hard. They strike at Moscow, Pereyaslav, and Kiev. The newly trained arbalest troops from Livonia prove the wisdom of the gold spent in its conquest. The battle of Moscow is particularly fierce and with an intense storm raging the Mongol Hordes withdraw. They are repulsed on all fronts and perhaps will again turn their attentions to the south.



Alas this is not to be as the next year the Khan leads a force of 2260 men against Yuri II's paltry 482. A fierce battle ensues pitting heavy cavalry against sharp pikes. The fighting is intense but soon the Grand Prince's forces have the upper hand. The Khan foolishly alows himself to be captured and is placed under guard by Livonian Axemen. All is not well however as there are many mounted archers and no swift cavalry in the northern forces. A tactical withdrawal is made to the walls of the city. The arrows are all spent and the situation looks dire indeed. Grand Prince calls for the execution of the prisoners. After seeing their leader put to the sword the lust for battle has gone out of the Mongols hearts and although savagely tired the Boyars under Yuri's command see them off.



Pereyeslav is invaded by mostly Archer troops and the fighting is fierce indeed. The cavalry under Zaiats Domazhirov (L6 P1 D1 C1 A3) is green and not a sturdy force. The meager deployment of pikes proves its worth and the day is won, out of a force of 582, 273 are killed and 261 captured at a cost of 224 men. Almost have the forces under the dukes command. This does however please the Grand Prince and another rank is bestowed.

The invasion of Prussia proceeds where the pagans to the west seek their last refuge having been driven out of Moldavia by the Poles. Our staunch ally the Danes send a force to assist Grechin Gubin (L7 P0 D0 C0 A4) and his troop of 600 horsemen from the steeps. The fighting is brutal and in the midst of it sadly our ally is defeated. The day is held and much reknown is heaped upon Gubin. (Skilled Risky Attacks, Skilled Attacker, Scant Mercy, Butcher, Approachable Manner). His efforts are rewarded with an increase in rank. For his efforts in devolping trade income and loyalty to the empire the govenor of Lithuania Guba Ivanovich (L7 P1 D4 C0 A4) is granted the title of the Metropolitan of Moscow.

It is now been 40 years since his father began expanding the empire and Yuri II has gained quite some status himself, especially with the defeat of the Mongols. (Weak Principles, Great Builder, Swift Justice, Skilled Last Stand, Skilled Defender, Scant Mercy) Sadly the second battle of Moscow has affected his first born Vladimir and the Grand Duke of Novogorod as both are starting to act a bit strange. However Vladimir is a promising youth with a martial talent to equal his fathers so the future looks secure.

[dgfred]

Great stuff Olaf - much fun to read. Thanks.

[OlafTheBrave]

Thanks for the compliment dgfred. I really need to do some more editing as there are still numerous typos, some errors and ommisions. I have two more updates to post once I get them typed up. So far this has been a very interesting campaign, perhaps because I normaly play on early but I am seriously finding the Russians to my liking. This is also one of the very few times I have seen Denmark do anything without my involvment.

[Roark]

Fantastic narration, Olaf!

[m52nickerson]

Very nice, I want more!

[NodachiSam]

Your narrations and pictures are excellent! Please continue

[OlafTheBrave]

Despair is felt throughout the land, our great leader, the savior Moscow, Yuri II is dead. He fell suddenly ill in his palace in Moscow and never regained his health. His son a capable general in his own right takes the crown. While he may talk to people that no one sees his people still respect him, and perhaps even fear him. There is much work to be done now that the mongols are gone. The empire needs expanding and the trade network must be increased. Also our armies need strengthening such that no foe can ever threaten our sacred capital again.



Apparently some of our Catholic allies are a bit devious and less than brotherly. The great emissary Guba Shchukin is assassinated in Rome while trying to convince the pope of an alliance. Soon after this there is troubling news of Italian agents being apprehended at the borders. Work is begun on locating the proper men to handle such business as this requires. Unfortunately the allies of the Empire the turks are quicker in getting the rich lands of the horde to the south so the planed conquest in that direction is put on hold.

In the west the decision is made not to further extend the trade network but to now concentrate on securing it by strengthening our numbers. This turns out to be an excellent decision. Apparently the Danes have grown bold and reckless through their gains due to civil wars in England and the Holy Roman Empire. They strike at Prussia without warning but the brave garrison there shows them what it means to encroach upon Russian soil. They have strength in numbers in the English Channel and our fleet there is lost. However the seas are wiped clear of their presence from Finland to the shores of England. This is a most unfortunate act as the loss of trade hampers the development of the eastern fleet. Within a few years a peace is sought and the Danes accept. Seeing as to how they are blood relatives the decision is made to leave them three ships in the English Channel to resume their trade routes. They foolishly do not do so and after producing another ship attack yet again. This time their navy is removed from the face of the earth. It also seems the English take exception to the Danes perfidity of breaking the alliance and take the war to their homelands.

A new weapon of war is developed and is decided to pursue this innovation. This will give the empire's formidable armies even more strength. As has been shown alliances cannot be trusted even when secured by blood. Their are formidable forces on the southern borders and the capital must never be threatened again. While in his lifetime he never was able to accomplish all he wanted Vladimir III did maintain the borders of the realm. This is a picture from the last year of his life.

[Roark]

I think I want to play Russia now...

[Graphic]

LOL me too.

Good stuff Olaf

[Martok]

Fantastic story, Olaf! I'm really enjoying this.

[EatYerGreens]

Great going, Olaf. Nice to see someone sticking it to the Horde, with less than 2000 florins in the bank too!

I really enjoy these story threads. They're quite addictive and I find myself spending almost as much time writing about my campaign as playing it. Many thanks, also, to dgfred, for his appreciation of my efforts.

Mind you, I'm going to have to brush up my writing style, to keep up with this!

About time I added some pics too.

[dgfred]

Great going, Olaf. Nice to see someone sticking it to the Horde, with less than 2000 florins in the bank too!

I really enjoy these story threads. They're quite addictive and I find myself spending almost as much time writing about my campaign as playing it. Many thanks, also, to dgfred, for his appreciation of my efforts.

Mind you, I'm going to have to brush up my writing style, to keep up with this!

About time I added some pics too.

You are welcome sir, both of you deserve high praises for you time and effort
that is for our enjoyment ---- and enjoy we do!

Keep the great stories coming (with the pics of course EYG )

@Olaf- Smack those Danes to show them the errors of their ways .

[OlafTheBrave]

When he assumed the crown at the age of 18 Yesevolod V found himself to be in control of a moderate empire with strong armies and a modest trade fleet. He avowed himself to continue his fathers policies as these seemed to have been good for the empire. The western fleet would be strengthened a bit more and the eastern fleet expanded upon. The research into what many might consider a court curiosity as far as armaments was leading to the development of new troops which showed promise for the empire.



Perhaps it is because he was such a young man in a position of power he made some decisions which could be considered a bit reckless. His main one was his on going affair with the wife of his uncle Mikhail (L3 P5 D5 C5 A1), Anna of Poland. He was always circumspect in his dalliances with the fair lady and such was not common knowledge. His uncle was aware of this state of affairs and began blackmailing officials close to the Grand Prince. He was most bitter about this state of affairs and showed no loyalty to him what so ever. He had to maintain a close watch on Mikhail and this also perhaps kept Anna close as well.

After two decades in office and with a tenuous string of trade fleets in the east he made another rash decision as well. The sole trading partner of the eastern fleet was the Turks, no longer an ally after their aggression to other Christian nations had been confirmed. The decision was made to launch a war against them in the hopes of capturing the lands his grandfather had dreamed of Crimea and Khazar. Finding them weakened from a civil war he dispatched his uncle Mikhail south to Khazar and a second uncle Sviatopolk (L4 P3 D6 C3 A3) to Crimea. The truks were found to be quite weak and smashed quickly without any attempt at retribution from them. The Turks were also quite willing to agree to a quick cease fire leading to no prolonged loss of trade income. The public view on this is that he did this to remove his uncle from Moscow and to grant him a title to his loyalty. Members of the family wonder if it was done in light of Anna's advancing years and his interest in his younger bride herself the daughter of a prominent shipbuilder.

In his latter years he proved himself to be a capable emperor as well. His program of magnificent building programs was well know throughout the land. He also devoted quite a bit of the treasuries resources to farm improvements in the hopes of staving off a repeat of the troubled times the Danish war brought. The English and the Italians were quite grateful in his help with rebellions in their lands. By the time of his death the eastern fleet stretched as far as Italy and covered the eastern mediterranean sea. Here we see Yesevolod V in the final year of his life surrounded by his sons and retainers holding court outside of Moscow.

[dgfred]

WOW, Europe looks like some kind of wacked out puzzle.

[ajaxfetish]

It looks as though Ysevelod V also made great strides in improving the Russian spy networks. Now we know the true origin of the KGB!

[AntiochusIII]

I just love these kind of threads.

Wow, Russia sure is pacifist and yet strong...

[Ludens]

Very good, OlafTheBrave! Please continue.

If you like stories, you can look in the Library of the Mead Hall. It has been a good while back since we had any good campaign stories over there.

[OlafTheBrave]

dgfred that happens sometimes late in an early campaign when the AI is left to their own devices.

ajaxfish what is revealed is mostly through priests. I did have a few spies in some neighbooring provinces of Turkey's but they got killed a few years before this update.

AntiochusIII That is basically how I play GA. Once I have carved out my empire I concentrate on whatever goals my faction may have. To me it allows more roleplaying and I also avoid the dreaded bloat headache with bad vices for govenors. Since I am currently way in the lead in this campaign points wise I have no need currently to strike out at any faction.

Ludens thanks for the heads up, I need to head that way and do some browsing.


I have decided to finish this out as the last post was done by the lifetime of the ruler. Since there is quite a bit going on at the moment it might be a few days before the next update.

[ajaxfetish]

Priests work well for spying since they tend to have a much longer lifespan than most alternatives. They're the way I usually get to see the areas of the map my empire and fleet can't reach.

[bretwalda]

Priests work well for spying since they tend to have a much longer lifespan than most alternatives. They're the way I usually get to see the areas of the map my empire and fleet can't reach.

I used to use them to the extreme until I realized that I hinder my inguisitors and grand inquisitors work by placing at least one in every province. Now, I only put them to non-catholic provinces...

[BAD]

I used to use them to the extreme until I realized that I hinder my inguisitors and grand inquisitors work by placing at least one in every province. Now, I only put them to non-catholic provinces...

I noticed that my priests don't affect my Inquisitors rate of "killing" their specific targets. I think it's only an opponents priest/Cardinal that does that. In my current campaign my inquisitors/grand inquisitors have burned Popes, Kings and Heirs all while my priests have been watching on, with eager eyes.

[lugh]

Well, if your Inqs are powerful enough to take popes etc, the modifier from the Bishops is probably minimal.
I think they dampen the efects of inquisitions though, and by that I mean the spontaneous ones.

[BAD]

Well, if your Inqs are powerful enough to take popes etc, the modifier from the Bishops is probably minimal.
I think they dampen the efects of inquisitions though, and by that I mean the spontaneous ones.

Nah they were "killing" lower ranked generals when they were yet n00b inquisitors too, even with my priests in there watching. Guess they just turn a blind eye.

[lugh]

Must be! Reminds me of a You know you've played too much MTW thread at the com.
You know you've played too much MTW when a Jehovas witness visits your door and you try to prove that you are in fact a pious man, and hide any petrol cans you have lying about.

[NodachiSam]

Keep the good stuff coming Olaf!

If you're leader is pious or amibtious enough he could easily justify a conquest of constantinople. The russians admired the later roman empire emensly and saw themselves as continuing the roman empire after its fall. I imagine the Orthodox clergy and pious would have been greatly destressed by the capture of Constantinople by the Turks. The 2nd great Christian patrioch resided in that great city. (The others were in Rome, Antioch, Jeruselum (dam I spelt it wrong I think, I should know that) and Alexandria in Egypt) Your King could take back the city from the Muslim hands and would be seen a hero for generations, unless he messed up terribly in other ways (Kind of like Justinian)

[Martok]

I used to use them to the extreme until I realized that I hinder my inguisitors and grand inquisitors work by placing at least one in every province. Now, I only put them to non-catholic provinces...

Uh, bishops have *never* affected my inquisitors' abilities to fry someone. Cardinals are the only guys that can truly counterbalance them at all (aside from an assassin trying to kill the zealot, of course). For that reason, I make a point of stationing at least one cardinal in all of my provinces. In addition, I usually make sure my king, princes, and jedi-generals get a "holy escort" as well.

[OlafTheBrave]

Assuming the crown in 1341 Grand Prince Yaraslov II (I7 P5 D7 C7 A1) decided to continue his fathers programs of improvements to the imperial infrastructure and agriculture. The eastern fleet was to be father strengthened while it was deemed the western fleet was of sufficient strength. As was the case with his father he himself did purse many an adventure behind closed doors that would scandalize the regime if ever known. Many a young page was said to have been transferred to another province when his presence was noticed lacking within the walls of the Kremlin.

Yaraslov II also decided that the Turkish empire and their spread of mohammadism had reached an intolerable level. Constantinople had been under their rule for generations and they were now openly invading Rome. With this in mind he ordered his brother Mikhail II (L9 P5 D7 C7 A1) to launch an invasion south from Prussia into Poland. This drive south was supported by a second wave commanded by the Duke of Prussia Grechin Gubin. As gains were made and the Trucks driven south into the balkans a third prong was added by the Grand Prince of Kiev Grigorii Malov driving in from the east.

In 1362 the city of Constantinople was abandoned by the Turks to the superior might of the oncoming Russian onslaught. Work was immediately begun on rebuilding of the holy structures that had been destroyed by the Turkish despoilers. The Turkish empire meet its ends as its final sultan was captured and killed by rebels in Greece after having been torn apart by civil war. All however was not well as perhaps fearing the might of the Russian military the English and the Italians declared war in 1365 disrupting the trade fleets and the emperor watched sadly as all his former allies joined in the support of the aggressors.

Here we see the Grand Prince Yaraslov II touring the countryside south of the Kremlin before his death a few months latter.

[EatYerGreens]

My Emperor Herrmann II's influence has crept up from 4 to 8 in recent years but I have to admire the dread score you got onto that guy. What had you been doing with him, or did he start off like that?

[OlafTheBrave]

EYG he started off like that with a dread of 7. I have found the Russian royal line has maintained high stats rather well except for the fact they seem to be about dumb as bricks. Overall that hasn't mattered much as money hasn't been all that tight even in the early years. Honestly I have found them rather easy to play. The horde is the bigest challenge you face and I honestly don't see much problem to building up a suitable force to contain or defeat them by the time they arive. Once they are gone it is very easy to have secure borders. With a suitable navy and stopping at Lithuania, Kiev and Khazar that would leave a grand total of three border provinces to have to be concerned with. The HRE they are not that is for sure.