A HISTORY OF THE HANSEATIC LEAGUE
Part 6: The Division of Poland (1677-1727)
The Alliance War on Hessen (1677-1678)
With the help of the Hanseatic Alliance, the duke of Hannover seeks a revenge on Hessen; he declares war on his Western neighbor on March 3rd, 1677, and both the Hansa and Sweden intervene. Hannoverian troops pour to Hessen, and in June, a Hanseatic siege force reaches the former Hannoverian province of Oldenburg.
Sieges in both provinces go on unharassed through the summer and the winter; instead of fighting in their own territory, a large army force from Hessen starts a siege of Hannover in February 1678. As the Hannoverians do not have men to spare, the Hansa orders its armies to the rescue, and in April, the invaders are driven away. At that time, forts in both Oldenburg and Hessen start showing first signs of collapse, and on August 30th 1678, just days after the fall of their capital, Hessen agrees to pay an indemnity of 250 ducats to the temporarily Hannover-led Hanseatic alliance. This premature end to the war is not what we were looking for; the fall of Oldenburg was just a matter of weeks at the time of the peace treaty, and the alliance could easily have gained a much more decisive victory.
In the following years, the Hansa and its allies keep a low profile. Colonization of the New World is now a top priority, as we want full access to Yukon gold as soon as possible.
September 1684 marks a new milestone in the history of the Hanseatic League, when the local natives in Yukon meet with our colonists in the province, and agree to live under our protection as Hanseatic citizens. The natives are skilled fishers and hunters, and this new development allows us to switch more of our colonial labor force to gold washing.
Europe is unusually peaceful in the early 1680s. Part of this may be attributed to a Turkish civil war, which seriously hampers any expansionist plans the Ottoman Sultan may have had. Even France and Spain leave each other alone; Russia and Austria continue to eat up Polish territory, but that really is not even news anymore. However, the Hanseatic Regent is fully aware of the fact that the Polish territories in the Baltics are, historically speaking, ours; a weakened Poland might be a prime target for future expansion, even though we would gain an aggressive and powerful neighbor, Russia, along with those Baltic territories. But first, the Hansa has to deal with Hessen, and this time, we take the initiative.
The Second Alliance War on Hessen (1688-1689)
War is declared on February 27th, 1688, and both Hannover and Sweden honor the alliance and join in. We immediately send a siege force to Oldenburg, while the entire Hannover army marches to Hessen. Again, the Hessen army leaves both siege forces alone, and thanks to a joint effort by Hanseatic and Swedish forces, Oldenburg falls already on November 24th. However, Hessen refuses to give it to us in peace, and in December, their army starts a siege in Hannover. Again a Hanseatic field army liberates the province, and as their capital is about to fall and their army is in shambles, Hessen offers us Oldenburg in exchange for peace in February; the peace treaty is signed on March 6th, 1689.
The 1690s is almost as peaceful as the previous decade. Only a couple of short wars are fought, and this time Spain and France are the main culprits; there is, however, no significant change in their balance of power. The Hansa expands its foothold on the eastern part of North America, forming colonies where we previously had trading posts. The first colonial manufactory is built in 1697 in Shenandoah, an iron-producing province, which now also produces high-quality muskets and protective gear to our colonial forces.
In March, 1699, the Hanseatic Alliance expires after 10 peaceful years. We try to re-establish it in April, only to find that the Swedes had already signed a treaty with the Netherlands. However, Hannover is still willing to ally with us. While we gladly accept an alliance with our friends, this is not what we were after; we are happy to provice protection for Hannover, but the Regent would sleep much better if we had a large military power willing to do the same to us. However, none seem to be available.
In the next decade, the Hansa finds that being independent from major military powers does have its advantages. If the 1680s and 1690s were peaceful, Europe seems to do its best to balance things out in the first decade of the new century. Wars rage on everywhere, including our immediate neighborhood; Austria and Russia take on Hungary and Brandenburg, France fights first England and then Spain and the Netherlands both at once; the former war wins them some territory in North Africa, but in the latter both France and their ally, Venice lose provinces to the Netherlands. Russia and Austria also start a long, drawn-out war against the Ottomans, which has disastrous consequences for Russian domestic policy: in 1709, the Russian government falls, and in the following turmoil, Denmark declares independence.
While most of Europe is one big battle ground, the Hansa-Hannover alliance manages to stay out of skirmishes. However, we do not plan to stay in peace forever – instead, we are building an attack fleet to take our troops to the Polish provinces on the Baltic coast.
The Second Polish War (1710-1714)
Poland has nearly collapsed during the late 1600s and early 1700s, thanks to a series of wars against the Russo-Austrian alliance, and in 1710 their nation, once the largest in Europe, is down to five provinces. The Hanseatic Regent decides that if there is to be some kind of a division of Poland, the Hansa wants its share; therefore, we declare war on March 20th, 1710, when a Hanseatic assault force had already set sails for Eastern Prussia. Poland, in turn, quickly sends troops to Western Pommerania, where they start a siege in July.
The Polish force in Western Pommerania is eventually defeated by the third wave of attack by the Hanseatic field armies, but the Hansa siege army in Eastern Prussia is left almost unharassed through 1710. The province continues its resistance well into the year 1711, when Poland gets another enemy to worry about. Parma had gained Western Prussia and Posen in the Franco-Spanish alliance wars in the early 1600s, and now they are apparently looking for a bigger peace of Poland; they start a war of their own in June.
In November, we accept an invitation Swedish-Ottoman Alliance, but do not require assistance from our new allies in the war against Poland. Eastern Prussia surrenders on December 16th, 1711, and Poland sends us an immediate peace proposal; they are willing to give us the province. However, we are not yet done, as our Regent has set his eyes on Danzig. The conquerors of Eastern Prussia receive some reinforcements in January 1712, and before the end of February, Danzig is under siege. Parma sends some forces to the province as well, and with their help, our army successfully storms the fortress just after New Year's Day 1713. Danzig is ours on January 8th, but Poland refuses to give us both Danzig and Eastern Prussia. However, nothing less than that will be good enough to us; new troops are shipped to Danzig, and our army is ordered to give us more leverage in the negotiations by taking Warsaw.
By now, the Polish army is totally destroyed, as is their will to fight. The siege of Warsaw starts in April 1713, and on January 5th, 1714, the capital of Poland surrenders. Shortly afterwards, on January 15th, we gain both Eastern Prussia and Danzig in a peace treaty.
The conquest in the Baltic had taken a serious toll on our army, and immediately after the peace treaty, we start to rebuild our forces. Originally, this was intended to protect us from Russian and Austrian aggressions, but as things turn out, we need the new troops elsewhere.
The Fall of Denmark (1718-1719)
The recently regained independence has obviously filled the Danes with foolhardy nationalistic pride, as they, along with their ally, Kleve, declare war on us on May 16th, 1718. Kleve agrees to an immediate white peace, so we decide not to bother our allies with what should be a minor annoyance.
The entire Danish army of some 14000 men attacks Jylland in June, but is almost totally destroyed by our field army once they reach the province in August 1718. Unfortunately, our siege force was stationed in Danzig at the time of the war declaration, so our troops do not reach the Danish capital (and only) province, Sjælland, until February 1719. The fortifications in the province are minimal, and the Danish capital surrenders on September 26th; Denmark loses its independence for the second time on October 4th, 1719.
Following the annexation of Denmark, the Hansa starts planning for another offensive, directed at the last Polish possession in the Baltic Sea, Memel. The Regent orders Danzig and Eastern Prussia to draft a new siege force for this purpose. However, as the interests of trade must come first, we start work on a new kind of manufactory, a cigar manufactory, near our tobacco plantations in Chesapeake in North America in 1720.
In October 1722, Sweden declares war on Russia. The Ottoman Empire intervenes on Sweden's behalf, and Austria joins in to help the Russians. We feel that we are not strong enough to defend ourselves in such a war, and decide not to honor the alliance; however, the Swedish King does not seem to hold this against us, as we are accepted to the alliance again a few months later. The war proves to be a short affair, as it ends in a white peace after only six months.
The Third Polish War (1723-1727)
While we are not strong enough to fight the Russo-Austrian alliance, our troops are well-prepared for a final showdown against what remains of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. War is declared on July 7th, 1723, and as the Poles have no allies, we do not bring ours along, either.
The small defending army in the Polish capital province of Mazovia is slaughtered in September 1723, and the province is immediately set under siege. By now, Poland has no army, and the disspirited defenders of Warsaw surrender on May 17th, 1724; our siege force is then ordered to Memel.
The defenders of Memel put up a better fight, but as we know their defeat is only a matter of time, our troops are in no hurry. In fact, while waiting for the fall of Memel, the Hanseatic Regent is free to pursue other goals; therefore, we agree to intervene when the Ottoman Empire declares war on the Knights of St. John in Feburary 1626. We do, however, sign an immediate separate peace with the Knights.
The continued resistance of the Polish garrison in Memel causes some alarm among the commoners throughout the nation. Therefore, their surrencder on October 3rd, 1727, is welcome news to everybody. On October 11th, we sign a peace treaty with Poland, gaining not only Memel but also their entire treasury, 90 ducats. The once mighty Poland is now an insignificant two-province nation.
With a foothold in the Baltics, the Hansa may now be in a position to resume its former glory; the historically Hanseatic cities of Riga and Reval are within striking distance. There is, however, one major obstacle in our way: the gigantic albeit backwards Russian Empire. To defeat them and their allies, the Austrians, the Hanseatic League will need all the resources it can get. The opening of a new North-American trade center in our colonial city of Shenandoah will help us along in our path, but we do need more.
*************************
I'll put up a screenshot of Central Europe in 1727 later tonight.
Part 6: The Division of Poland (1677-1727)
The Alliance War on Hessen (1677-1678)
With the help of the Hanseatic Alliance, the duke of Hannover seeks a revenge on Hessen; he declares war on his Western neighbor on March 3rd, 1677, and both the Hansa and Sweden intervene. Hannoverian troops pour to Hessen, and in June, a Hanseatic siege force reaches the former Hannoverian province of Oldenburg.
Sieges in both provinces go on unharassed through the summer and the winter; instead of fighting in their own territory, a large army force from Hessen starts a siege of Hannover in February 1678. As the Hannoverians do not have men to spare, the Hansa orders its armies to the rescue, and in April, the invaders are driven away. At that time, forts in both Oldenburg and Hessen start showing first signs of collapse, and on August 30th 1678, just days after the fall of their capital, Hessen agrees to pay an indemnity of 250 ducats to the temporarily Hannover-led Hanseatic alliance. This premature end to the war is not what we were looking for; the fall of Oldenburg was just a matter of weeks at the time of the peace treaty, and the alliance could easily have gained a much more decisive victory.
In the following years, the Hansa and its allies keep a low profile. Colonization of the New World is now a top priority, as we want full access to Yukon gold as soon as possible.
September 1684 marks a new milestone in the history of the Hanseatic League, when the local natives in Yukon meet with our colonists in the province, and agree to live under our protection as Hanseatic citizens. The natives are skilled fishers and hunters, and this new development allows us to switch more of our colonial labor force to gold washing.
Europe is unusually peaceful in the early 1680s. Part of this may be attributed to a Turkish civil war, which seriously hampers any expansionist plans the Ottoman Sultan may have had. Even France and Spain leave each other alone; Russia and Austria continue to eat up Polish territory, but that really is not even news anymore. However, the Hanseatic Regent is fully aware of the fact that the Polish territories in the Baltics are, historically speaking, ours; a weakened Poland might be a prime target for future expansion, even though we would gain an aggressive and powerful neighbor, Russia, along with those Baltic territories. But first, the Hansa has to deal with Hessen, and this time, we take the initiative.
The Second Alliance War on Hessen (1688-1689)
War is declared on February 27th, 1688, and both Hannover and Sweden honor the alliance and join in. We immediately send a siege force to Oldenburg, while the entire Hannover army marches to Hessen. Again, the Hessen army leaves both siege forces alone, and thanks to a joint effort by Hanseatic and Swedish forces, Oldenburg falls already on November 24th. However, Hessen refuses to give it to us in peace, and in December, their army starts a siege in Hannover. Again a Hanseatic field army liberates the province, and as their capital is about to fall and their army is in shambles, Hessen offers us Oldenburg in exchange for peace in February; the peace treaty is signed on March 6th, 1689.
The 1690s is almost as peaceful as the previous decade. Only a couple of short wars are fought, and this time Spain and France are the main culprits; there is, however, no significant change in their balance of power. The Hansa expands its foothold on the eastern part of North America, forming colonies where we previously had trading posts. The first colonial manufactory is built in 1697 in Shenandoah, an iron-producing province, which now also produces high-quality muskets and protective gear to our colonial forces.
In March, 1699, the Hanseatic Alliance expires after 10 peaceful years. We try to re-establish it in April, only to find that the Swedes had already signed a treaty with the Netherlands. However, Hannover is still willing to ally with us. While we gladly accept an alliance with our friends, this is not what we were after; we are happy to provice protection for Hannover, but the Regent would sleep much better if we had a large military power willing to do the same to us. However, none seem to be available.
In the next decade, the Hansa finds that being independent from major military powers does have its advantages. If the 1680s and 1690s were peaceful, Europe seems to do its best to balance things out in the first decade of the new century. Wars rage on everywhere, including our immediate neighborhood; Austria and Russia take on Hungary and Brandenburg, France fights first England and then Spain and the Netherlands both at once; the former war wins them some territory in North Africa, but in the latter both France and their ally, Venice lose provinces to the Netherlands. Russia and Austria also start a long, drawn-out war against the Ottomans, which has disastrous consequences for Russian domestic policy: in 1709, the Russian government falls, and in the following turmoil, Denmark declares independence.
While most of Europe is one big battle ground, the Hansa-Hannover alliance manages to stay out of skirmishes. However, we do not plan to stay in peace forever – instead, we are building an attack fleet to take our troops to the Polish provinces on the Baltic coast.
The Second Polish War (1710-1714)
Poland has nearly collapsed during the late 1600s and early 1700s, thanks to a series of wars against the Russo-Austrian alliance, and in 1710 their nation, once the largest in Europe, is down to five provinces. The Hanseatic Regent decides that if there is to be some kind of a division of Poland, the Hansa wants its share; therefore, we declare war on March 20th, 1710, when a Hanseatic assault force had already set sails for Eastern Prussia. Poland, in turn, quickly sends troops to Western Pommerania, where they start a siege in July.
The Polish force in Western Pommerania is eventually defeated by the third wave of attack by the Hanseatic field armies, but the Hansa siege army in Eastern Prussia is left almost unharassed through 1710. The province continues its resistance well into the year 1711, when Poland gets another enemy to worry about. Parma had gained Western Prussia and Posen in the Franco-Spanish alliance wars in the early 1600s, and now they are apparently looking for a bigger peace of Poland; they start a war of their own in June.
In November, we accept an invitation Swedish-Ottoman Alliance, but do not require assistance from our new allies in the war against Poland. Eastern Prussia surrenders on December 16th, 1711, and Poland sends us an immediate peace proposal; they are willing to give us the province. However, we are not yet done, as our Regent has set his eyes on Danzig. The conquerors of Eastern Prussia receive some reinforcements in January 1712, and before the end of February, Danzig is under siege. Parma sends some forces to the province as well, and with their help, our army successfully storms the fortress just after New Year's Day 1713. Danzig is ours on January 8th, but Poland refuses to give us both Danzig and Eastern Prussia. However, nothing less than that will be good enough to us; new troops are shipped to Danzig, and our army is ordered to give us more leverage in the negotiations by taking Warsaw.
By now, the Polish army is totally destroyed, as is their will to fight. The siege of Warsaw starts in April 1713, and on January 5th, 1714, the capital of Poland surrenders. Shortly afterwards, on January 15th, we gain both Eastern Prussia and Danzig in a peace treaty.
The conquest in the Baltic had taken a serious toll on our army, and immediately after the peace treaty, we start to rebuild our forces. Originally, this was intended to protect us from Russian and Austrian aggressions, but as things turn out, we need the new troops elsewhere.
The Fall of Denmark (1718-1719)
The recently regained independence has obviously filled the Danes with foolhardy nationalistic pride, as they, along with their ally, Kleve, declare war on us on May 16th, 1718. Kleve agrees to an immediate white peace, so we decide not to bother our allies with what should be a minor annoyance.
The entire Danish army of some 14000 men attacks Jylland in June, but is almost totally destroyed by our field army once they reach the province in August 1718. Unfortunately, our siege force was stationed in Danzig at the time of the war declaration, so our troops do not reach the Danish capital (and only) province, Sjælland, until February 1719. The fortifications in the province are minimal, and the Danish capital surrenders on September 26th; Denmark loses its independence for the second time on October 4th, 1719.
Following the annexation of Denmark, the Hansa starts planning for another offensive, directed at the last Polish possession in the Baltic Sea, Memel. The Regent orders Danzig and Eastern Prussia to draft a new siege force for this purpose. However, as the interests of trade must come first, we start work on a new kind of manufactory, a cigar manufactory, near our tobacco plantations in Chesapeake in North America in 1720.
In October 1722, Sweden declares war on Russia. The Ottoman Empire intervenes on Sweden's behalf, and Austria joins in to help the Russians. We feel that we are not strong enough to defend ourselves in such a war, and decide not to honor the alliance; however, the Swedish King does not seem to hold this against us, as we are accepted to the alliance again a few months later. The war proves to be a short affair, as it ends in a white peace after only six months.
The Third Polish War (1723-1727)
While we are not strong enough to fight the Russo-Austrian alliance, our troops are well-prepared for a final showdown against what remains of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. War is declared on July 7th, 1723, and as the Poles have no allies, we do not bring ours along, either.
The small defending army in the Polish capital province of Mazovia is slaughtered in September 1723, and the province is immediately set under siege. By now, Poland has no army, and the disspirited defenders of Warsaw surrender on May 17th, 1724; our siege force is then ordered to Memel.
The defenders of Memel put up a better fight, but as we know their defeat is only a matter of time, our troops are in no hurry. In fact, while waiting for the fall of Memel, the Hanseatic Regent is free to pursue other goals; therefore, we agree to intervene when the Ottoman Empire declares war on the Knights of St. John in Feburary 1626. We do, however, sign an immediate separate peace with the Knights.
The continued resistance of the Polish garrison in Memel causes some alarm among the commoners throughout the nation. Therefore, their surrencder on October 3rd, 1727, is welcome news to everybody. On October 11th, we sign a peace treaty with Poland, gaining not only Memel but also their entire treasury, 90 ducats. The once mighty Poland is now an insignificant two-province nation.
With a foothold in the Baltics, the Hansa may now be in a position to resume its former glory; the historically Hanseatic cities of Riga and Reval are within striking distance. There is, however, one major obstacle in our way: the gigantic albeit backwards Russian Empire. To defeat them and their allies, the Austrians, the Hanseatic League will need all the resources it can get. The opening of a new North-American trade center in our colonial city of Shenandoah will help us along in our path, but we do need more.
*************************
I'll put up a screenshot of Central Europe in 1727 later tonight.