Opening The Papal AARchives 1453-1792

[Bingo Brett]

Game: EU3, patch 1.3, Magna Mundi IV 1.31 mod
Difficulty: Normal
Start Date: Grand Campaign (1453)
Objective: Survival of the Papal State to 1792. Use actual historical figures whenever possible. Random bits of humor here and there. Please be gentle, This is my first AAR.

For anyone who is clicking on this thread for the first time, (or catching up on things) I've provided a table of contents for you to view the various chapters without having to click through all the pages of the thread.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: From Constantinople to Conflagration (1453-1455)

Thursday, May 31, 1453. Pope Nicholas V wrote in his journal that he would forever remember that day as, “one great dark day in my heart.” For on that day a fast trade ship entered the harbors near Rome with word that the great city of Constantinople had fallen to the Ottoman Turks. The Courts of Western Europe failed to heed Nicholas’ call for a new Crusade to defend the city and now all of Eastern Europe was open to attack from the Ottoman horde.

The Italian peninsula itself was a powder keg of shifting alliances, schemes, and delusions of unification. Nicholas knew that the mere aura of the Papacy was no longer protection enough from the princes whose lands surrounded the Pope’s lands. Alliances would be need and quickly. Bishops and prelates were summoned to an audience with the Pope and dispatched to Urbino, Tuscany, Siena, Modena and tiny Mantua. Only Mantua agreed to help defend Nicholas from enemies abroad and within.



Moreover, the recent schism in Church politics still had not healed completely. The Pope retained Leon Alberti to continue as official Vatican painter and increase stability. He also hired Prospero Verona to help with Governmental reform (though not in the Vatican itself) and Callistus Monfalcone to reform trade, though Nicholas couldn't fathom what the Papal State could trade.



In October of 1454, a minor Italian Baron died penniless and childless. His lands overlapped the Tuscan border with the province of Romagna, but the powerful di Medici family who administered Tuscany controlled his debts. The Baron willed the land to the Church to be used for blind nuns to grow olives, and sell the olive oil, but the bishop refused to cede the land as payment for the debt. And as with all conflicts over oil, (extra virgin wouldn‘t you know,) the fuse to start the First Great Peninsular War was lit.

Mantua immediately renounced the alliance saying that the conflict was a contractual matter and not a matter between nations and recommended a lawyer. Tuscany’s ally Milan committed to assisting against the Papal State. Thus Nicholas V faced a combined army of 15,000 troops against 2,000 Papal troops. The struggle might be quick, but not favorable for the Pope.

Tuscany began the war by laying siege to Romagna. Milan attempted a seaborne invasion of Rome but that was quickly rebuffed by a division of Papal cavalry. Nicholas marched the combined Papal Army into Romagna, and lifted the Tuscan siege in early February 1455. After regrouping in Florence, Tuscany’s army divided into two and marched simultaneously into The Papal State during March/April 1455. On the eve of the battle for Romagna, Pope Nicholas V fell ill with fever and died. He was 57.

[stnylan]

Good first post. Papal AARs are always fun.

Welcome to AAR writing. Any questions feel free to ask or PM me. And remember, the most important thing is to have fun

[Capibara]

Welcome to the AAR section! Nice first post, good luck and I'll be following!

[canonized]

Ahh another Papal States AAR , a perennial favourite for me ! Good luck , we'll be cheering ! If only they'd listen to good ole Nick about those Turks tsk tsk .

[Berrrie]

Welcome and good luck with this.

[safferli]

Welcome from me as well and good luck! I'll be following this, out of... eh... pure theoretical interest!

Very nice first post, I must say, keep it up!

[comagoosie]

blind nuns keeping growing olives

keep it up.

[Bingo Brett]

Thank you all for the warm welcome. I'll try to finish writing up Chapter 2 tonight and post it before night night time. Currently I'm up to the early 1480's in the game.

Comagoosie: You'll be amazed what trouble a gaggle of blind nuns can get into...

[jwolf]

Currently I'm up to the early 1480's in the game.

Good, at least you didn't get annexed. Good luck to the Holy Father trying to bring order out of the chaos of 15th century Italy, to say nothing of the rest of Europe.

[chefkoch]

argh, EU3 is so ugly but i will follow that one. sounds interesting.

[rcduggan]

Papal AARs are the best ones to read, good luck with this.

[coz1]

Tough times already, it seems. But one must have hope with the Pope calling the shots. Good luck and welcome to AAR writing.

[Bingo Brett]

Chapter 2: The First Peninsular War (1455-1462)

Rumors circulated quickly in Rome that Pope Nicholas had been poisoned. Riots erupted in Rome and Bologna, stability dropped, and the Papal army in Romagna was eventually routed with 40% casualties. Fifteen of the Twenty-one living cardinals met at the Vatican to determine who to elect succeed Nicholas. Old animosities between Cardinal Colonna and Cardinal Orsini divided the college, but both men realized a protracted conclave would only benefit their mutual enemy Tuscany. Neither could win on their own, and neither could receive the support of the three Frenchmen who held the balance of power.

Though they tried to support the Aragonian Cardinal Borgia*, neither the French nor the Neapolitan Cardinals would agree scuttling his chance to be Pope. And the Greek Cardinal Bessarion was unacceptable to the French and Iberians as he still followed Eastern Rites and wore a beard. Finally, word of the approaching Tuscan army reached Rome. The Conclave settled on their only member with military training, Cardinal Domenico Capranica as Pope. The Cardinals then fled the city, stage left… gypsies, tramps and thieves trailing behind even... In addition to various military positions he held with the Papal state, Cardinal Capranica was personal secretary to Pope Martin V who reigned from 1417-1431. He chose to honor his benefactor by assuming the name Martin VI (3/6/8)



Soon after placing the papal tiara upon his head, Martin VI seized an opportunity and ordered his underfed troops in Urbino through the heart of Tuscany and into Pisa. There he personally led the countersiege through the summer and captured the city nearly at the same time as Romagna fell to di Medici’s troops. These battles did not alter the war’s balance of power, but did have one unfortunate outcome: Venice decided to join the war on the Tuscan side, and to protect the value of their olive oil supplies from the Middle East. Thus, Naples and Aragon also entered the growing conflict. Now the full weight of major Mediterranean powers would be brought down on The Papal State.

Milan ferried in 6,000 troops to force the Pope’s army out of Pisa and a new contingent of Tuscan troops forced them back into Urbino. By February 1456 Tuscany controlled Rome and demanded the Pope cede Romagna, declare Avignon a free state, and surrender the Vatican treasury as conditions for Peace. Naturally the Pope rejected the outrageous request and righteously excommunicated Cosmo di Medici.



It was then that both sides settled into a stalemate over the terms of the peace. Martin VI could not break through the forces holding his provinces, and the Tuscan, Venetian and allied forces could not attack the Pope. Diplomats were trained, and the Pope sent them forth to offer a minor sum to the alliance leaders or a white peace to their allies. Martin also rejected every offer made to him as wholly unreasonable as all inisted on Avignon's release. In reality, Pope Martin VI was enjoying the company of Maria of Urbino a young daughter of the his host the King. Any peace would force him to leave her loins.

Eventually the war exhaustion began to take it’s toll on the invaders. Milan accepted a white peace in December of 1458 and Aragon in August 1459. The latter with the insistence that a nephew of the recently deceased Cardinal Borgia receive a red hat. Venice accepted a payment of 50 ducats for themselves and Naples in 1461 and finally the new leader of Tuscany accepted a white peace ending all hostilities on April 1, 1462, the same day Maria of Urbino died mysteriously in childbirth. After nearly eight years of war, peace had finally returned to Italy.

*In OTL, Cardinal Borgia would succeed Nicholas V in 1455 as Pope Callistus III.

[comagoosie]

I thought for sure that you were going to lose, there were nations galore fighting you.

In reality, Pope Martin VI was enjoying the company of Maria of Urbino a young daughter of the his host the King. Any peace would force him to leave her loins.

whoa

EDIT: but not in a bad way...

[Bingo Brett]

Forgive me if that was a little over the top. Like Pope Martin VI, sometimes it is difficult for me to restrain my passion (when writing)

Indeed I thought this would be the world's shortest AAR at the time, but the game's AI can be rather "stoopid". The longer the war drags on it seems, the easier it is to convince them to accept a White Peace. Especially when the war score is -74.

[coz1]

Persistant, I see. Well it worked in this scenario. Let's hope you don't have to do that too many times, however. If they weedle you down to one province, you won't have that luxury.

[jwolf]

Let's see -- you were fighting alone against Milan, Tuscany, Venice, Naples, and Aragon -- did I miss any? -- and you didn't really lose anything?!? I can't believe you got out of that!

I'm anxious to see how you will handle the next Cardinal Borgia in about 30 years (the historical Alexander VI).

The Pope's reasons for continuing the war were, um, interesting.

I hope you can get some allies pretty soon.

[cocodtim]

Vivant copiae Paparum Romae!

(long live the troops of the Pope of Rome)

[rcduggan]

why is there giant white boxes in every screenshot, it makes them hard to read....

[Bingo Brett]

coz1: I am just lucky that Savoy and France still love me.

jwolf: God works in mysterious ways! The next Cardinal Borgia will be handled tactfully I'm sure.

cocodtim: I concur!

rcduggan: I'm sorry about the screenshots. I thought the file sizes were a little too big so I tried to shrink them down. Thus the white boxes in the images. They will be there for the next chapter or two I'm afraid.