Give Unto Caesar What Is Caesar's - German Kingdom AAR

[nalivayko]

Country: Germany Kingdom
Scenario: Mongolian Scenario (1150)
Difficulty: Hard
AI Aggressiveness: Aggressive

Prelude: This aar is inspired by mfigueras' and C.V. Mannerheim's aars. I fell in love with Mongolian Scenario and played test games as Almohads and Kiev. Enjoyed it a lot. Very soon I noticed a country that had a lot of potential, but seemed to disintegrate within first ten years of every game. This country was German Kingdom.

Goals:

• To preserve German Kingdom no matter what it takes
• Keep the Imperial Crown as long as possible
• Keep crusader states alive
• Italy should be either directly or indirectly controlled by the German Kingdom

Rules:

• No concessions to rival rulers of the Empire - Germany's unity should be preserved
• Honor the commitments
• Never ally with the infidel or pagan country (including Mongols if they arrive to Europe)
• Pope should be respected, but disobeyed when his requests threaten Imperial authority
• New rules may be added if they follow the spirit of the old rules
• New goals may be added even if the old ones are not yet achieved

As usual, there won't be any pictures, but plenty of screenshots.

Hope everyone will enjoy it.

[Judge]

You are BUSY, good luck

[C.V. Mannerheim]

O now this should be great *subscribes*

[Amric]

Great, another AAR by nalivayko! Been wondering what you've been up to lately. Now I know. Will be keeping my eye on this!

[C.V. Mannerheim]

For all of you guys that have not played this mod before:

If nalivayko can manage to hold the German Kingdom together, with these settings, he is pulling off a MAJOR feat.

It is nearly impossible for the German kingdom to retain unity following about 1215 AD,

CvM

[Judas Maccabeus]

Oooh, another MES AAR!

And the German Kingdom, too! Now that's a challenge!

Easy on Baden if it revolts, though, okay?

[C.V. Mannerheim]

Oooh, another MES AAR!

And the German Kingdom, too! Now that's a challenge!

Easy on Baden if it revolts, though, okay?

Which reminds me, Judas, if Baden revolts? What happens to the German Capital?

Cvm

[Judas Maccabeus]

Which reminds me, Judas, if Baden revolts? What happens to the German Capital?

Cvm

Same thing that happens whenever a country revolts in a capital. The capital moves to whichever province of that country has the lowest number. This, in a regular game of EU, would often result in North American capitals. Fortunately the MES doesn't include American colonization.

[nalivayko]

A Lord of Straw Devours a Vassal of Steel: 1150-1160

A year of Our Lord 1150. The contemporary historians write about the end of an old era and the beginning of a new one. They always do, as if being in the middle is not interesting enough. Take Middle Ages, for example – the very name makes you think about negative things. To my taste, those years were as good as any other. And 1150 was no better or worse. It was your normal year, which mankind spent killing, raping and pillaging. Womankind wished it was on top of things, but luckily the issues of emancipation was still centuries away, belonging to a different game altogether.

Europe in 1150

Konrad III was the King of Germany back then. He was also the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. It was still the empire, but holiness and roman customs were nowhere to be found inside its borders. At least there was a unity of religion, but it came with a price – greedy Popes in the south, who would have liked nothing more than to break the empire into many little archbishoprics and rule them all from Rome.

In addition, there were plenty of nobles who dreamed of being kings themselves. And since there were not so many crowns lying around in Germany they planned on breaking the kingdom into many little kingdoms and ruling them from many little castles with no regard for the empire, its future, its pride and its glory.

In short, Konrad had many enemies and but one friend – the emperor of the Romans, the eastern Romans that is, - Manuel I. The Byzantine ruler saved the Western Roman Emperor-elect during the Second Crusade and then married his sister-in-law Bertha of Salzburg. Later his niece married Konrad’s brother, Duke Henry of Austria. Two empires, two Caesars, two sets of problems – Byzantines were too busy protecting their eastern borders from Turks to aid Konrad against his foes.

German allies in 1150

After his defeat in the battle of Dorylaeum, Konrad had but one thousand knights and two thousand landsknechts to rely on. From his castle Hohenstaufen he attempted to rule twenty six provinces – three of them with no castles – and three Marches, whose barons had neither gold nor men to adequately protect them. It was clear that three thousand men would not be enough. The Emperor called upon his vassals to raise additional three thousand infantry and one thousand cavalry. With seven thousand warriors Konrad would attempt to overcome the days of darkness lying ahead.

Politically, German Kingdom was strong and respected. It was allied with Kingdom of Italy and Kingdom of Arles (Arelate) and held Gelre, Holland and Friesland as vassals. Being an exemplary vassal the Duke of vassal broke his oath as soon as he got a chance. He, however, did not have a common border with Germans and Gelre and Friesland did. Their rulers refrained from making any stupid moves for a time being. Holland’s time would come too, although not soon enough to give Konrad a joy of revenge.

In the West Normans in England still treated their country as the conquered territory and preferred to spend time in warmer lands of Gaul. They were yet to feel comfortable among the sea of Angles and Saxons. Come to think of it, Konrad too had enough trouble with Saxons – the old ones that had chosen to stay on the continent rather than traveling to Britannia.

The rulers of Saxony – the family of Welfs – were always the rivals of Hohenstaufens. They were always the first dogs, if this comparison can be allowed, to bite the emperor’s hand in times of trouble. Their lands were rich, their private army strong and they had the backing of the Pope. Their leader was a superior soldier and general. His name was Heinrich the Lion and, unlike the rest of the vassals, he did not want to have his own little kingdom. He wanted the crown of Germany, he wanted the crown of the empire, and he would want the world, for Christ’s sake, if he was not such a realist.

Unwilling to take on such a strong foe, Konrad decided to appease the Welfs and soon resigned from power. In 1152 his designated successor was elected the King and the Emperor in Frankfurt. He was Konrad’s nephew and the son of Friedrich II, duke of Swabia, and Judith, daughter of Henry IX, duke of Bavaria of Welfs. His name was Friedrich III Barbarossa and he had blood of Hohenstaufens and Welfs running through his veins.

Remember, he came to power during the Middle Ages, where decentralization of government was the only path considered to be right. His uncle behaved as if he was the Roman Emperor of old. Roman Empire fell and so would Germany if it did not adapt to new ways of life. Feudalism was still relatively young system that promised the right answers to all questions. Why try to govern the realm yourself, when you can have your vassals do it for you. As long as you appoint the right people to the right places, nothing can go wrong. Luckily for German Kingdom and the Empire, Friedrich decided to avoid the enlightened politics of the present and tried to stick to his predecessors’ rules. That is, he decided he wanted all the power for himself and would not share it with anyone.

It is a rather simplistic approach that most of the rulers take anyway, but at his time it took balls to make such a decision. He was challenging the authority of all the nobles in his realm, who thought themselves his equal and would fight to keep their power.

As it was the custom during Middle Ages, as soon as the King would make an intelligent decision that would benefit the kingdom later, the stability dropped (-3), barons demanded higher compensation for their knights (aristocracy -1), and peasants and nobles alike rushed to the churches across the country to bargain with God for help (-2 innovativeness). Pope did not like this decision either (-50 relations with Papal States) and a possibility of the general uprising became all too real (+4 revolt risk). Of course, Friedrich had more power now, but how was anyone to know whether it was a good thing or not.

Archbishop of Salzburg requested autonomy first. Friedrich denied the petition without even thinking about it. Archbishop gathered peasant rubble, strengthened it with his monks and tried to get the autonomy anyway. He reminded Friedrich of Peter the Hermit and his ragtag army of peasants. He dealt with it accordingly.

Meanwhile, King Henry of England had conquered Wales and married Eleanor of Aquitaine, strengthening his positions in France. As Christian kingdoms of Iberia united in the face of a new Almohad invasion, Kingdom of France united Burgundy, Anjou, Blois-Champagne and Brittany against possible invasion from England.

In 1153 the Archbishop of Mainz demanded his autonomy. The Pope added his voice this time. He definitely did not like watching another “army of God” to be cut down by Barbarossa’s knights. He had to suffer through it anyway. Needless to say, the relations between German Kingdom and Papal States deteriorated fast. Friedrich’s reputation of a noble King and Emperor had suffered again and stability dropped throughout the kingdom.

In 1154 King Henry annexed the duchy of Anjou to kingdom of England, creating an empire that ruled over large chunks of Britain and France. Aquitaine soon pleaded allegiance to this empire, betraying the House of Capet.

In 1155 the city of Genoa rebelled against the Emperor authority and declared its independence from the Kingdom of Italy. Being the ruler of both Germans and Italians, Friedrich felt no remorse in attacking Genoa and annexing it to the German Kingdom. The siege lasted three long years. The Italians were rather upset, especially since it was their own King who robbed them of this trading center. Of course, if they took care of their affairs a little bit more carefully, this situation would not have happened.

The conquest of Genoa plunged the country into a new period of instability and further ruined the reputation of Barbarossa. He was now considered not only a harsh ruler, but also a dangerous neighbor. His army of eight thousand was denied passage through Italian territory – the Italians still hoped to convince their King to return Genoa to them. In response, Friedrich called on his vassals to raise another army back in Baden. This time he could only raise and support 1,000 knights and 5,000 landsknechts. Most of his treasury went into constructing fortresses in Saxony and Munster. The last was finished only in 1160.

Throughout the decade the Kingdom was in turmoil. All technological progress has died with all money going into improving the situation. Frequent river floods in the north devastated the economy of Saxon and Wiendish lands. Constant threat of rebellion kept all Imperial forces occupied with garrison duty. On the good side the political stance of the kingdom was improving. Gelre and Friesland joined the alliance and Bohemia became a kingdom within the Holy Roman Empire with Emperor’s blessing. To Bohemians’ dismay, the blessing was rather costly, as now Bohemian Kings became vassals of the German rulers. In theory the Bohemian King could became an emperor too, and then the German King would pay homage to him. His chances, of course, were rather small.

In 1156 the Welfs led by Heinrich the Lion demanded the autonomy for their Austrian and Bavarian lands. Friedrich had to make a tough decision. On one hand he could give one-third of his country to his rival. On another he could keep one-third of his country and weaken his rival. Plus he could spill rivers of blood – all belonging to his political opponents. The loss of stability did not worry him – the country was as unstable as it ever could be. Where is the catch, he wondered, there has to be a catch.

Need I say more? The Welfs received nothing. The revolt risk in Austria and Bavaria became extremely high (+8). Stability did not suffer a bit; a bottom low has been hit long ago. Austrian provinces started to pay fewer taxes, as rebels robbed and pillaged the countryside. Friedrich responded with yet another call on his barons. This gave him another 6,000 troops to put down the rebellion and kept the nobility occupied. The more they fight the less they think, was his reasoning.

In the Fall of 1158 Byzantines gave up their claims on southern Italy and paid tribute to the Seljuk Turks. Fighting against Normans and Muslims at the same time proved to be a bad idea. Friedrich could only hope his country would never have to face a war on two fronts. In order to take his mind off these things, he held a grand tournament in Hohenstaufen, which somewhat improved the mood of the population. The things were not going to well for the peasants and nobles alike, but the sight of armored knights clashing with each other did raise their spirits (+1 stability) and brought some cash into the treasury (25,000 ducats)…

While Iberian Kingdoms went into war against French Duchies, the Italians were becoming restless again. The city of Milan declared its independence of Italian Kingdom and the other cities were ready to follow its suit. The Emperor “decided to pursue the old laws which bound the cities to the Imperial crown and pronounced on the diet of Roncaglia in 1158 new constitutions for Italy which mostly beheld the restoration of the old rights of the emperor to lead the city governments or at least to influence their choice and of securing of imperial income from the cities.” Most Italian cities accepted the regalia – 15,000 German troops on the border could be very persuasive. Kingdom of Italy agreed to pay 100,000 ducats, become forever bound to the German Kingdom as its vassal and provide 8,000 infantrymen to Barbarossa’s army.

Only people of Milan dared to oppose the Germans. Counting on help from the Pope they raised an army and awaited the Germans at the gates of their city. In February two armies approached Milan from south and north. Any hopes Milanese might have had disappeared. The southern force was Barbarossa’s main army marching from Liguria.

The battle of Milan was quick and brutal. 4,000-strong Milanese army made mostly of new recruits did stand a chance against Friedrich’s 15,000-strong veteran army. The city fell in July of 1159. After extracting light tribute, Friedrich’s army retreated and let the Italians have their share of fun. Soon after Milan has again become a part of the Kingdom of Italy.

As usual though, good news came along with bad. The Milanese Uprising allowed the King of Arles to cancel his alliance with Barbarossa and throw his lot with the King of France. Gelre and Friesland also decided to wait out the storm and refused to send their troops to the Emperor’s aid. Unfortunately for Friesland, there is God in Heaven. In June of 1159 the Duchy of Holland declared war on Friesland. Holland’s allies included Flanders, Zeeland and Denmark. Friesland could only count on German Kingdom and the Emperor was not inclined to help the traitors.

The reminder of 1159 Friedrich spent in strengthening his positions in Italy. In September he supported Pope Alexander’s claim to the throne of Papal States, finally making friends with the Church. With Imperial lands in Italy pacified, the Emperor was able at last to return north to Germany. It has been four long years. In his stead he left Reynald von Dassel and 7,000 men in Liguria.

In winter German merchants began trading in Genoa – at first meeting disaster after disaster. But soon they will establish themselves as a power to reckon with and then… then maybe, just maybe, the ships carrying the golden banner with black eagle will sail the waters of the Mediterranean.

In Saxony Heinrich the Lion continued to plot against his suzerain. He was a persistent man that never abandoned his plans and he was still a danger to the throne. Still, as powerful as he was, Heinrich was but a vassal of Friedrich and the King would always triumph over his vassals… as long as he behaves like a King. The Emperor knew that a lord of straw devours a vassal of steel. One should never be afraid to assert his authority. It might cost you your life, but I am sure there is an answer to that as well...

German Kingdom in 1160

[nalivayko]

Judge, I am trying Thanks!

C.V. Mannerheim, glad to have you here! Especially since you know the scenario well. Hope I won't disappoint you

Amric, I've been busy teaching your kind (damnyankess ) the true meaning of Southern patriotism. Check Victoria forum, you might like it

Judas Maccabeus, nobody's going to revolt away, trust me Unless they do and then I am going to sing another song.

[Amric]

still looking good...haven't been in the vicky forums lately. See you have a Confederate AAR there. I'll have to check it out...

[ladyfabia]

Subscribe!
I'm always interested with Mongol Scenario AAR.
In my game, German was divided and became several kingdoms.
Good luck with your German Kingdom.

[Machiavellian]

An enjoyable AAR so far. I was also intrigued to play the German Kingdom, but have not made the attempt thus far. I have however seen it disintigrate into tons of lesser Kingdoms and Dukedoms.

Good luck.

[King Of Nines]

Started a game in ME campaign last night as Hungary and am watching the German Empire split into the many German principalities that you see in EU2. I imagine keeping it together would be like keeping the Timurids or the Golden Horde from disintegrating.

[Amric]

I've thought about trying it, but my dl'd speed is so slow now, I don't think I will...just takes too long to dl it and then the unlimited time patch as well...Oh well, c'est la vie...

[Lord_Robertus]

This looks interesting, your going to be a busy bunny.

[nalivayko]

Better to Die Ten Thousand Deaths, Than Wound My Honour: 1160-1170

One may assume it is great to lord over the scores of vassals. Yes, when times are good it might be indeed. But when the going is bad, the good ones are following and the bad ones are going. When Friedrich Barbarossa waged war against the rebellious citizens of Milan both Gelre and Friesland dishonored their alliance with the Emperor. Gelre was soon brought back and so was Friesland, but the latter was already knee deep in troubles.

The County of Holland, formerly a vassal to the Kingdom of Germany, decided to expand its borders in the north and declared war on Friesland, hoping the war in Italy would keep Barbarossa’s attention away from the Netherlands. Unfortunately, Friedrich’s campaign ended before Friesland could be overrun. Not willing to waste another moment, Friedrich declared war on Holland. Kingdom’s stability was neither good nor bad, the state of treasury was satisfactory and the King’s honor was by far more important the future of the Kingdom. These were the Middle Ages – the game was different and so were the rules.

The Emperor-King was supported by Kingdom of Italy and Gelre. Holland called upon her allies as well – the Country of Flanders and Kingdom of Denmark. Barbarossa’s invasion of Denmark soon brought the Danes to their knees. They were forced to pay 50,000 ducats and abandon the battlefields… or so Friedrich hoped. It appeared that since Holland attacked Friesland before it was re-admitted into German alliance Denmark still had the rights to wage war on the northern Dutch county. Soon Friesland was overrun by Danes and forces to accept annexation.

In the same time Amsterdam fell to victorious German landsknechts, who found no small support from the Italian army. But this glorious victory was overshadowed by the fall of Gelre to the army of Flanders. Having lost one vassal already, Barbarossa was reluctant to lose another one. His honour would not allow him to abandon an ally and a vassal, who came to his aid and was annexed by the foe in return for a good service to his Emperor.

Thus Holland was left occupied and Imperial troops, consisting largely of Germans and Italians, waged war against Flanders. Soon enough Gelre was ceded to the German Kingdom, which in turn set it free as a vassal. Holland was forced to pay 100,000 ducats and become once again the vassal to the crown of Germany. Peace in the Netherlands was finally restored.

The year was 1163. Things could be worse was the general attitude. The situation did not hesitate to worsen. In May of 1163 the King of France acknowledge himself a vassal to the King of England – a thing unheard of, but it was a necessity dictated by recent English victories on the battlefields of Gaul. The Southern Duchies of France warred against Iberian Kingdoms and paid little attention to the affairs of the North, while the Kingdom of Arles hurried to joined Anglo-French alliance.

Soon the Lion of England – King Henry II – met with Heinrich the Lion of Saxony and together they plotted the fall of the Kingdom of Germans. In August Heinrich led a rebellion in Magdeburg, which although quickly suppressed, did draw the troops away from the western border. In September Henry declared war on the Empire. His allies were France, County of Blois-Champagne, Duchy of Brittany and Kingdom of Arles.

Both Kingdom of Italy and County of Gelre came to Barbarossa’s aid. In 1158 the King of Bohemia accepted Barbarossa as his suzerain. Now he also joined German alliance, which he temporarily abandoned when the war against Holland broke out.

Friedrich’s response to Henry’s attack was so swift. He took 13,000 men and invaded Blois-Champagne, burning the villages and besieging small towns along his way. In October he encountered the vanguard of the enemy army, which he easily overran. Then the main force of the Count of Blois-Champagne came upon him, consisting of 18,000 men. The battle raged for days. The Count’s army was annihilated. Germans also suffered heavy losses, up to 10,000 men according to contemporary writers.

This battle broke Count’s will to fight and soon he agreed to the white peace with the Emperor.

The things got worse again. These were the Middle Ages and things hardly ever got better. French defeated the Emperor’s army twice and occupied the Imperial Duchy of Lorraine. English invaded Piedmont, while French armies marched as far as Austria. Poland declared war in January of 1164 and only peace with Kingdom of Arles made the Emperor smile that year. Poles and their Russian allies took eastern marches of the Empire and only a counter-attack on Kustrin forced them to abandon the further attacks on Germany. The Romans of the East saved the Empire from the possible Hungarian attack by waging war against the Kingdom

Only two years later French were expelled from Lorraine. By this time the Emperor was not shy in raising large armies of peasants, which played in the hands of Heinrich the Lion, who was behind every rebellion in Saxony during that war. Finally France itself was invaded and after numerous victories in Nivernais over the combined forces of England, France and Brittany the honorable peace with Henry of England was made.

Few months later, after numerous victories over combined armies of Poland and Halitch in Kustrin, the Polish King was forces to abandon his dream of conquering wiendish lands of the Empire. Furthermore, the war with Germany lessened his power and powerful nobles of Poland openly challenged his authority. In April of 1166 the King of Poland allowed the princes to manage their provinces independently. The Principalities of Welikapolska, Silesia, Gdansk and Masovia soon appeared on the map of the Eastern Europe.

Silesia soon lost Kustrin to Poland, but was able to survive by allying itself with the Emperor Friedrich.

In fall of 1166, when the Kingdom of the Germans was licking its wounds and hoping for few years of peace, the Emperor and the Pope got into another heated argument. Pope wanted more power for his bishops within the boundaries of the Empire. The Emperor wanted all of the clergy, Pope included, dead, but phrased rather more politely. Neither side made any attempts to find a solution; the Emperor decided to ignore Pope’s demands, while also leaving him alone in Italy and saving German army for later… a fatal decision.

In response, Pope incited Italian cities to leave the Italian Kingdom and form a league of their own. Milan, Pisa, Mantua, Florence and County of Savoy left Italian Kingdom, which by that time shrunk to the territory of County of Este. Este alone remained a vassal of the Empire, while the rest of the cities were in turn vassals to Este. Thus, the Emperor still formally ruled all of the Northern Italy. In reality, all these cities were independent and they proved it soon by entering in their own alliance – the Lombard League, headed by the city of Milan.

The city of Genoa made two attempts to enter the League, but Imperial authority was still strong there. The second attempt resulted in rebellion. Rebels took control of the city, which by that time was the major trading center of the Empire. The merchants were leaving the city in panic, spreading it far beyond the borders of Italy. The fate of the rebels, who were massacred to the man, did not improve the opinion about the Emperor abroad. Still, he decided to hold on to Genoa, especially since the years of war and few years of peace and stability made him unwilling to fight for the rest of Italy. Genoa would remain his stronghold in the peninsula, a base from where the future invasions of Italy would be launched by his descendants.

In the same time the Archbishop of Magdeburg requested autonomy. His rebellion was too brutally suppressed. The general of the Imperial army witnessed to the Emperor the presence of Heinrich of Saxony in the ranks of the enemy.

The decade that passed was different from the last one. Before, the Emperor struggled to preserve his throne and kingdom from the enemy within. But then he was forced to fight the external foe as well as internal, which seemed to strengthen his position within both the Holy Roman Empire and Kingdom of Germany. De facto loss of Italy was compensated by good stability, full treasury and large standing army. When Friedrich came to power his forces numbered 3,000 knights and 5,000 landsknechts. Now he commanded 10,000 knights and 25,000 landsknechts. He did not enlarge his domain, but neither did he lose any of his lands to English, French, Poles and his own nobles. He sacrificed thousands of his subjects, but saved his honour and crown.

[nalivayko]

Amric, you definetely need a good connection I highly recommend this scenario. And yes, do visit Victoria forums. Be very afraid though, you might like it too much

ladyfabia, Machiavellian, King of Nines - I had the same experience and this is why I chose German Kingdom. Every game I started they fell apart almost as soon as they had any chance to expand... a pity, truly. I was looking for a challenge and I was looking to playing a game that does not end in me conquering half of Europe. So here it goes Glad to have you all here.

Lord_Robertus, I am indeed. Now when I am done with this update, I am rushing to play CSA

[TreizeV]

Good show Nalivakyo! I really like your format of AARs.

Are you going to participate in the third crusade?

[Amric]

Good to see that the English, French and Poles were unable to tear you apart. Another fine episode to this grand adventure. I am enjoying it immensely!