Encyclopedia wAARspite : The Habsburg Dynasty and Austria

MAP : EUROPE 1486

Europe 1486

Things to note (This is a map of things in spring 1486, so a sign of things to come) but a couple of important notes.

1. Rome is a possession of the King of Aragon

2. Later you will find out how Hungary takes over Transylvania and Serbia to form Corvinus' Empire

3. France has formed and is a big threat to Austria for Italy

4. The Ottoman turks are beginning to shape an Empire of their own but the Roman Empire survives barely.

Advisors to the Archduke

Duke Albrecht V had an advisor when he was a boy and to when he became Duke in 1404. Noga Zangle was a wise man of the court with lower class nobility. Noga died in 1410 and so Duke Albrecht appointed Nogas son Albrecht as his new court advisor. Having done such a good job, Albrecht Zangle was made a count and given land and position for life in the court in 1418. It would be Albrecht who would help make many of the key decisions that would guide Austria to the future. Albrecht Zangle was instrumental in developing the newer Army, allying with Hungary during the turbulent years against Italia and also in various diplomatic and domestic moves.

After Count Albrecht died in 1430, his son Leo was not old enough to be court advisor to the Duke. So Duke Albrecht appointed his late advisors wife Mary Zangle to court advisor since her son Leo was only 19 years old. In 1439 Duke Albrecht died and so for a brief while Mary held much power over Austria. Duke Albrechts wife gave birth to Ladislas four months after his death. Friedrich V, who was Duke Albrechts brother, became regent for the infant Ladislas. Mary remained court advisor until 1444 when Friedrich appointed the 33 year old Leo Zangle to replace her. Leo and Friedrich then ruled Austrian lands in Duke Ladislas’ place until about 1455 when Archduke Ladislas began making decisions for himself.

Ladislas died mysteriously in 1457, most believe it to have been poisoning. This made Friedrich V Archduke of Austria. Leo Zangle remained court advisor to Friedrich well into the 70s. It would be Leo who would help Friedrich with his peaceful and diplomatic ideas that led Austria to such prestige and power later in the century.

Zangle Family of Advisors : Period of Court Advisor

Noga Zangle : 1404-1410
Albrecht (son of Noga) : 1410-1430
Mary (wife of Albrecht) : 1430-1444
Leo (son of Albrecht) : 1444-1477
Dietrich (son of Leo) : 1477-1500
Gerd (Son of Dietrich) : 1500-1544

Encyclopedia : Austrian History from 1461-1473

The darkest times for the budding Austrian Empire seemed to be behind them as the Habsburg family continued into the sixties. The population was put to work on rebuilding and repopulating after war-time losses. In just ten years the out of control inflation dropped to near nothing giving the economy more breathing room. This also helped give Archduke Friedrich more money to begin rebuilding foreign relations.

Leo Zangle was instrumental in advising the Archduke on relations. Between 1462 and 1473 relations with German states greatly improved. Bavaria once again became a close friend to the Archduke. Leo also had a plan to gain more favor in Italia, so great amounts of money and effort was spent on winning the allegiance of Modena. Though Duke Borso of Modena ignored Leo during the late sixities. Leo and his chief diplomat focused on Borso's son Ercole. Ercole did not get along with his stubborn father. So the Austrian plan payed off upon Borso's death in 1471 when Ercole I became Duke of Modena and joined the Austria-Hungary alliance. Then in 1472 agreed to become vassal to Austria. Ercole I and Leo agreed to cooperate on economic and military matters. It would be Ercole I who would convince and then help build an Art Academy in Vienna years later. To Ercole he saw it as a benefitial to him. Knowing Austria might have wanted Modena by force anyways, he used the cooperation between the two to his advantage.

Gaining Modena as ally and vassal was a tremendous diplomatic victory for Austria at the time because of a few factors. First, Habsburg power in the region was already very unpopular and second France was beginning to have some influence in the region and the french did not want Austria gaining more for themselves. The Papacy, Aragon, Genoa all opposed Modenas Duke allying with Austria but still Leo, and lots of gold managed to win them over.

Another Diplomatic victory was with Athens, though the Duke of Athens was allied to the Knights of Rhodes, they still agreed to greater relations with Austria. This allowed for Austrian use of Athenian ports to send its growing fleet of Galleys deeper into the Mediterranean sea for training and other operations. Athens also felt the pressure from the growing Ottoman Turk presence, so having Austria on their side was helpful.

Austria was not devoid of conflicts however. Many nobles in both Italia and mainly in Croatia and Bosnia, rebelled against Habsburg rule. In Italia it would only be a matter of time for the Italians to accept Habsburg rule, in the meantime thousands of people died from several Rebellions in Romagna and Marches. The KuK Army made its base in Mantua so it was called to snuff these revolts, which was done quite easily.

Not so easy was the revolts of Croatia and Bosnia. The Croatian army loyal to Austria together with the Imperial army combined for about 40-50,000 men at any given time. Nobles who were either anti-Austrian or pro-Hungarian mounted large and often coordinated revolts from 1461 to 1472. In the difficult terrains it was often hard for the poorly lead Austrian forces to combat determined resistance fighters. It is estimated that between 150 to 200,000 rebel men fought against Austria in those twelve years. It put a tremendous strain on Austrian finances and manpower. The good part was that word of the revolts were isolated. Only the immediate region of Bosnia and Croatia was effected, but the rest of Austria was at peace. The strictly contained rebellions did not have much negative effect aside from the destruction of their own lands.

In 1472 Modena became vassal to Friedrich. It was also a year of several revolts in Austrian controlled Italy. Though the revolts were easily put down, it was found there may have been French connections to the revolts. As it was, the French diplomat to Friedrich warned of repercussions if Austria did not stop its ambitions in the region. It further strained the dismal relations between the two powers.

When Austria refused to back down to French demands over Italia, it sent a message of leadership to the nobles of the German states. They again saw the incredible determination and influence of Friedrich for diplomacy. The long time enemy of the Habsburgs, Philip of the Palatinat then began very close relations with Austria. With Emperor Dietrich aging it was not unfeasible to think Friedrich might win the Imperial vote. This excited Friedrich and he had already begun plans to reestablish the Habsburgs as Emperor.

(Next update "The turbulent breakup with Hungary")

Maybe the breakup will be a surprise to readers, most of the first 65 years of this AAR will be brief history to set up the AAR for more detailed events and story to come. Thanks for reading Amric

Friedrich breaks with Corvin : 1474-1478

1474 was a peaceful and prosperous year for Austria, even the Italian and Croat regions were beginning to warm up to Habsburg rule so it seemed. Only the most stubborn and hateful resisted Austrian control, for 1474 that resistance seemed curiously quiet.

Leo Zangle and Archduke Friedrich were working on plans for an expanded naval fleet in the Adriatic. The goal was going to be superiority over Venice and to then control sea traffic even in times of war. This plan was going along nicely. Leo had also sent his best diplomat, Ulrich Mans, to negotiate with the Bohemian King about becoming vassal to the Archduke. During peaceful times, much needed to be done to plan for the future and both Friedrich and Leo were masters in this area.

The Serbian War.

Trouble began brewing in that summer when word reached Vienna that King Corvin of Hungary was moving his massive 120,000 man army in positions along his southern border with Moldova and Serbia. Though Corvin had not officially given any hint of his intentions to Friedrich, it soon became clear what was about to happen. Hungary was preparing for war.

Fearing being drawn into war that could damage his delicate diplomatic web of the past fifteen years, Friedrich sent messengers to King Corvins courts demanding information and peace. The only word that returned to the Archduke was Corvins request his allies join his armies against Serbia in war. Friedrich was enraged.

Knowing he would lose too much prestige and credibility if he didn’t, Friedrich agreed to aid Hungary. A 10,000 man Austrian led Croatian army entered into Serbia along with 60,000 Hungarians. In the four month siege that followed there were repeated clashes between the Croatian and Hungarian forces. After losing 2000 men to friendly combatants Friedrich had his army return to Austrian controlled soil. It was clear that Hungary was becoming very hostile towards anyone associated with Austria.

The Moldova War.

There was months of cold silence between the two nations following the war. Hungary annexed Serbia in fall of 1475 and then Immediately began moving more soldiers towards the Moldova border. By Spring 1476 the invasion had begun, Friedrich sent another Croatian army of 15,000 men not necessarily to help Hungary but to try and gain victory for himself against Lithuania and Moldova.

Signs that Austria’s army improvements were paying off showed when the Austrian army successfully sieged Krementjug in Lithuania with minimal losses. The winter of 1476 cooperated and this greatly helped Austrian forces but in Moldova it wreaked havoc on Hungarian forces. In Spring 1477 Austria had 14,000 men sieging Bujak in Moldova, Friedrich hoped to gain a peace of his own to take Bujak. Just before Bujak fell to Austrian forces, Moldova surrendered to Hungary and the war ended. Austria by honor was forced to withdraw. It had been a race that King Corvin won but was costly. In its war against Moldova from 1476 to 1478, Hungary lost over 60,000 men, more than half his army. Austria had lost only 2000 total men. Though Moldova surrendered to the Hungarian Crown, by and large it was Austria that proved superior in the war.

The fight for Bohemia.

While the war with Moldova and Lithuania went on in the east, Diplomats of both Austria and Hungary tried feverishly to gain the favor of the Bohemian King. The reason was because a split was about to happen in the alliance and each wanted Bohemia on their side. King Corvin used bully tactics by threatening Bohemia’s King with invasion if he did not break ties with Austria. Leo used peaceful diplomacy to gain the trust of Bohemia. By 1476 Bohemia agreed to become vassal to Archduke Friedrich, another major victory for the Habsburgs. The implications of this move was tremendous. Had Bohemia sided with Hungary it would have meant King Corvin would have a major ally if he invaded Austria. After such losses in the war with Moldova however, there would be no way Hungary could fight both Austria and Bohemia. Corvin was forced to give up any ambition of conquering land in Austria.

The Breakup.

In early 1478 revolts began to break out in Croatia. The revolts were crushed after a few months but a greater problem was found out. Half of the nobles of Croatia’s court had aligned with Hungary in a secret plot against the Habsburgs. The goal was to weaken Austrian defenses, to rouse Italian and anti-Hapsburg Bohemian nobles and to prepare for a major war where Hungary would invade. Austria would have been fighting on all sides. The plot was easily uncovered and it cost half of the treasury to get rid of the corrupt nobles. The stability that was lost in this corruption was soon regained.

Archduke Friedrich made official in winter 1478 Hungary was kicked out of the Alliance and left on her own. It was now the Austria-Bohemia alliance. The bitter breakup came after years of alliance between the two nations. Corvin and Hunyadi may have done well militarily but they had failed completely in diplomacy. Though they were no longer allied, the majority of Hungarian nobles liked the Habsburgs. The break up was not really with Austria and Hungary as much as it was Friedrich and Corvin.

Austrian prestige grows.

Favor among German princes grew after Austria’s showing against Hungary. Friedrich's son Maximillian was married to Mary of Burgundy in 1477. While enemies to Hungary grew in numbers, old enemies to Austria became friends. With the death of Emperor Dietrich that same year, Europe watched in anticipation to see if Archduke Friedrich would be elected next Emperor. Austria’s rise in Europe was only a vote away

Encyclopedia : 1479 The New Emperor, King and .... Coffee?

Since there were several leaders contesting who was rightful German King upon the Emperors death at the end of 1478, there was a vote to decide the new emperor. It was Archduke Friedrich who was elected Holy Roman Emperor and his son Maximillian was made German King. Most German princes and nobles approved of the vote. Opponents such as France were very vocal against it however. Further, Aragon upon the insistence of France, refused to allow the Archduke passage to Rome to be coronated by the Pope. Thus Friedrich and his son were coronated in Munich.

Spring 1479 saw Austria and the Habsburg Emperor emerge as the most powerful political and possibly military force in Europe. What was the Emperors favorite treat to celebrate his powers? Coffee. In spring of 1479 Austrian traders from Damman were in Musqat trading goods. They had wagons full of wool and had just heard news of their Archdukes coronation as Emperor. Together they thought to send the Emperor a gift and came across a merchant from Aden who was selling coffee.

Coffee at this time was a very rare and treasured item. The Ottoman traders had already flooded Musqat over the past years to get all the coffee they could. It was difficult and cost them all their wool but for twenty wagons of wool the Austrian traders purchased one barrel of coffee. This was also done secretly so the Ottomans would not know. Secrecy was important because the Austrian traders then had to take the coffee over land route in large merchant convoys to Asia Minor, transfer the goods to Athenian traders who then took the coffee and other goods to Constantinople to be routed. The Ottoman Turks had a ban on any coffee (among other goods) to pass into Europe. The Turks were pretty greedy when it came to coffee, as it was so new, rare and well liked. The Athenian merchants, who at the time were respected and trusted by the Turks, would sneak the coffee past Ottoman territory and ultimately to Vienna.

So in summer of 1479, still celebrating his title of Emperor, Friedrich was introduced to the taste of black Arabian coffee. The coffee was a curious item and only a select few in the court knew about it to avoid spreading word. Friedrich at first did not care for the taste but his son Maximillian loved it, as did his wife Mary. Their secret delight in coffee would be a secret for years to come.

Encyclopedia : 1480-1483 The Partition of Burgundy

When Austria expelled Hungary out of the alliance it sent waves of fear for what would happen in the near future. Nobles, merchants and peasants all scrambled fearing the instability and possible war to follow. This caused an economic down turn in Austria that started in 1478 and hit its worst point in 1480. Losing about 20% of its tax revenue at one point, the economy gradually improved as worries waned. After the acquisition of Burgundy in 1481 the economy steadily improved, by 1482 the economy had increased 30% from 1480. The economy never looked back and with the revenue from its vassals Bohemia and Modena Austria soon became the richest nation in Europe.

Partitioning of Burgundy

King Louis XI of France was swiftly creating a more centralized France, successfully uniting princes and dukes to France and fighting back the English during the 1470s. His biggest goal was to dismantle and acquire an old enemy, Burgundy.

Charles the bold of Burgundy was fighting numerous wars against France and the Swiss during the 1470s. He was slain at a battle in Nancy in 1477. His daughter, Mary, had just married Maximilian of Austria before he died. Meanwhile France was aggressively trying to take land from Burgundy, French King Louis XI was angered when Mary turned to Austria instead of marrying into France, her decision would pit two nations against each other that would spill lakes of blood for years to come. However Mary wanted to preserve Burgundy from the French so when she died from falling off a horse accidentally in 1481 the remaining Burgundian possessions became contested between Louis of France and Maximilian of Austria.

France refused to recognize Austria’s claims and used diplomacy to cow nobles and also used its military to take Burgundian land by force. Maximilian and his father with anti-French nobles resisted France and this turned into what is known as The Quiet War or The Partition of Burgundy. Called the quiet war because no declaration of war was ever made by anyone. It was simply former Burgundian nobles siding with either France or Austria and the diplomacy or battles that would shape the political landscape followed.

France had already secured Artois and French-Comte by 1481, when Austria got involved, France took Picardy and Burgundy by force while Austria secured Zeeland, Brabant and Luxemburg peacefully whose nobles favored the Habsburgs. Austria also moved troops into Alsace but the nobles there wanted independence. France attempted to take Lorraine but their nobles fought and won independence.

The conflict over Burgundy lasted from 1477 to 1483. The most fighting occurred from 1481 and about 60,000 people died in former Burgundy controlled land. Austria lost about 5000 men and France lost around 15,000 men in the fighting. The devastation would have lasting effects for years to come. France and Austria finally ended conflict by signing the treaty of Artois in 1483, that would make official the split up of Burgundy lands between the two powers.

Relations with Portugal, Spain and Aragon.

Emperor Friedrich at this time was not very concerned over France as much as he was with Aragon. France was after all was still heavily at war against the English and with its own rebellious nobles. England at this time was a major power, however that would change. What concerned Friedrich most was Aragon whose power seemed to be growing. Aragon controlled all of south Italia and had ambitions for more. Though vassals of Spain, Aragon was rapidly becoming the dominant power in the Mediterranean. Aragon was also hostile to Austria for the same reason, balance of power in Italia.

This prompted Friedrich to form close relations with Spain and Portugal. Priority was placed in King Joao II (John) of Portugal because at the time they did not have an alliance or lean to any other power. With the help of his advisor, Dietrich (son of Leo), Friedrich sent numerous diplomats and spent much of his treasury to secure close relations with the Portuguese from 1479 into the 1480s. Portugal would later join the Austrian alliance in 1485.

Close relations were also made with Queen Isabel of Spain, however Isabel had close ties with Ferdinand of Aragon, they were married in 1477. From 1482 to 1483 Dietrich sent Victor von Hartsburg to meet with Isabel. Ferdinand and Isabel were working on plans to unify the two Kingdoms into one however the process was fractured because of conflicting interests and nobles opposed to it. Victor von Hartsburg drove a large wedge in their relationship when he sealed close relations between Austria and Spain. This is largely what kept Ferdinand from unifying his lands with Isabel’s. Though Ferdinand and Isabel did not know it at the time, Austria had just helped keep them from uniting into the most powerful force of Europe. Austria remained number one.

Encyclopedia : Events that began in 1484

THE COFFEE WAR

The Habsburgs had a long-standing close relation with the duchy of Athens going into the 1480s. This provided them with good ports to use in the Mediterranean. It also helped them with trade from Asia. In 1484 this tie was about to be cut off by the Ottoman Turks who had much interest in total control of the region.

In late 1483 Athenian merchants were caught by Turks trying to smuggle Arabian coffee to Vienna. The Turks had a ban on any coffee going to any European country beside their own. The merchants were executed and the duchy was enraged by this abuse. The Turks were purposely trying to fuel problems and used the trade infringement to spark a fire. After exchanged insults the Ottomans launched attacks on Athens that led to the duchy being added to the growing Ottoman Empire in 1485. The war was short and one sided, the duchy of Athens never had a chance on its own against the power of the Turks. Albania, Roman Empire, Knights of Rhodes, Venice, Moldavia, Georgia, the Mamluks, Hungary, Austria; all wondered who would be the Ottomans next target. Because the Ottomans really had no rightful reason to attack athens, it was called the Coffee War by Emperor Friedrich in 1486 when he learned about all that had happened.

THE DECLINE OF ENGLISH POWER

Tired of English claims and control, the Friesland league was formed with France, Scotland, Friesland, Wales and Eire in 1484. This league would wage war against England and its ally Spain (castile) until 1493. England would be stripped of almost all territory it had in France. Scotland also made gains by taking Lancanshire and North umbria from England. Further, England by the end of the war was so weak they had a mere 1000 man standing army.

This break up of English dominance in the region was important because it established France as the regional power. France then turned its sights on breaking yet another threat, the Habsburgs. That conflict was years away though.

Charles VIII replaced Louis as King of France in 1483. It would be his sister Anne however who would be regent for her infant brother. Anne’s ambition was to completely route out the English and to get the Habsburgs out of Italia. Her plans began when she convinced the church of the Habsburg threat, this sent fears across Europe of further Habsburg expansion.


STRUGGLE FOR ALSACE

From 1477 to 1481 there was a transition of control in Alsace from Burgundian allegiance to either French, Habsburg or Independent. Though the Habsburgs won the right to control Alsace by 1481, much of the nobles there did not want the Habsburgs. Mainly the nobles in the south (Haut Rhin) were very pro-independence. After a couple years of relative calm while the Habsburgs settled in Strasbourg the Alsace rebels began to cause problems.

In May of 1484, the nobles in the south formed an army and several noble families of north Alsace joined them outside the village of Molsheim. They organized for an attack on Strasbourg where the Habsburg army was. Their plans were thwarted when on May 25th the Habsburg army of 22,300 men met them at Molsheim. The bloody battle that followed was one sided, the rebels were mowed down by the now well-trained Austrians. Within eight days the entire rebel army of 15,000 men was dead or in Austrian hands.

The Habsburgs then began to persecute known rebel noble houses. Stability was maintained and the only other battle for control was in March of 1489 when a small force of 5000 rebels was defeated outside the rebel stronghold of Mulhouse In southern Alsace. At this point Alsace was firmly in Habsburg hands and would remain that way for years to come despite French objections.

Thanks for reading gentlemen You will see some action between France and Austria down the road. For now the seeds of that friction have just been planted.

I was planning on doing a "general overview" of nations and situations in a bit. That way players can get a grasp of the overall situation of things as they follow this AAR and its stories. I will be posting many screenshots yes, in time though. For now use the screenshot dated 1486 for now, that is still current for the AAR. It will change over time though.

I play far ahead in the game, then write the AAR. This way i can research things and write the AAR using historical and fictional.

For example i found out through my research for this AAR, i learned about Coffee in the Ottoman empire during the 1470s. Learned so much about Austria, her leaders, the Habsburg Dynasty and about many other things i never knew. When I write these AARs i learn so much about real history, Its what makes me love this game and writing AARs so much

Encyclopedia : Years 1485-87


DUKE OF SUDETEN

In 1440 Leo Zangle, the advisor to the Archduke, married Duchess Adele of Sudeten. Leo and Adele had five daughters, the eldest, Barbara, married Dietrich Sudott of Ostmarch in 1462. Barbara would become the Duchess of Sudeten when her father Leo died in 1477. Dietrich became court advisor to Archduke Friedrich in 1477 to take Leo’s place even though Barbara and Dietrich divorced in 1472. Dietrich and Barbara had two children together during their marriage. Saundra, who would marry into the polish nobility and Gerd who would become Duke of Sudeten and court advisor after Dietrich in 1500.

Brief family tree of advisors to Archduke and Dukes of Sudeten

Leo Zangle 1411-1477 m-Adele of Sudeten
(Duke of Sudeten 1474)
(Court Advisor 1444-1477)
I
I
Barbara Zangle (Sudott)(Duchess of Sudeten in 1477)
m-Dietrich Sudott in 1462 divorce 1472
I
I
Saundra b1466 ---------------------------Gerd Sudott b1472
m-Jimwiga Sierzyn-----------------------(Duke of Sudeten)
(Duke of Podlasa) -----------------------(Court Adv 1500-44)


RELATIONS WITH MODENA AND ART

Advisor Dietrich loved music and art, so he convinced Friedrich to build a fine arts academy in Vienna with Modenas help. Though the cost was steep, about 832,000 gold, it would help with stability and relations abroad. After Dietrich negotiated with the Duke of Modena and her artists, work began on the academy in January of 1486 and would be completed in 1488. The Academy was so beautiful for the time and place that it would help to stimulate cooperation among nobles in Habsburg control for years to come.

REGENT ANNE AND REVOLTS

French King Charles regent sister Anne began to make trouble for the Habsburgs from the start of her power. While she built up her armies in the war against England she secretly plotted to destabilize Habsburg control over Italia and Balkans. In April of 1486 7200 rebels stormed the Castle at Ancona only to be slaughtered by 27,000 men of the Italian Army of Habsburg.

In Croatia the most rebellious nobles built up an army of 22,000 men by winter of 1486. It was the largest enemy force the Habsburgs faced in years. The Imperial Guard of 25,000 men marched in spring of 1487 and cut the army in two. The first half of the unorganized rebel army was crushed with Austria losing only 500 men. The second half of the rebel army of about 11,000 men fled to the hills of Krain. In August the Imperial Guard marched to battle up Vremscica Hill and were beaten back with 2200 men lost. After regrouping they tried again in December and almost were beaten back again but the rebels finally broke. The rebellion cost Austria 3200 men.

Regent Anne had hoped to see Croatia break from Habsburg control, to create more instability for them but the massive Habsburg armies were able to keep control for the time being.

Genoa joined France for a time in 1486 when they placed a trade embargo on Austria. They lifted the embargo quickly in a few months after pressure from Dietrich. He threatened, Genoa was beaten once and would be again if needed. Doge Piero of Genoa was not about to fall prey to Austria again, even for France.

Seeking to help its new ally, Portugal sent a gift of 200,000 gold in 1487 to help pay for the cost of fighting in Croatia and Italia. King Joao had no love for France either.

In an attempt to make more money, Dietrich began giving loans to boost long term treasury income and relations. Recipients were Bohemia and Bavaria, however the plan would flop after Bohemia later did not pay back the loan and Bavaria paid back but without interest. Friedrich quickly put an end to any other loans.

For those following this AAR, I am going to post more here soon but for now im focusing on Albret Schiens diary, but be sure to check out the first post of this thread from time to time as i update the timeline and rulers. I hope to combine the story of a family, a dynasty and an empire. Surprises will abound im sure but in the most unsuspecting ways
Thanks for reading