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Bosnia?
Quite interesting.
Caliph wants Kärnten...
Soon they control all of Danube... :rolleyes:

The King, the Church, the Nobility?
Why won't anyone think of the rest, that compose 99% of the population? :rofl:
 
Bosnia?
Quite interesting.
Caliph wants Kärnten...
Soon they control all of Danube... :rolleyes:

The King, the Church, the Nobility?
Why won't anyone think of the rest, that compose 99% of the population? :rofl:
Weird, huh?

Nonsense! There's no place better to raise a tyrant than a frozen city.
The bay is frozen over... like his heart... :p
 
I know... I just forgot about NA as I haven't played EU for a long time. And vanilla EU ends in the 18th century. You can figure the rest out. :p
Wow... that was a while ago... I usually just play CK... I really enjoy it more than EUIII, that is for sure. It has more sources of action other than constant war.

Which reminds me, EUIII has been very peace filled, so wars instead of being one or two updates now fill whole chapters (yes, as in more than one).
 
Homelands
Chapter Twenty Nine: March of the Prussians
Part 1


Prelude:
Kings like Sviendorog knew that even in peace that the armies had to be kept ready at all times. This led to a strong military tradition in Prussian life. It also led to Prussian having one of the largest standing armies in the world even during peace. Units were encouraged to design their own banners, anthems and to a lesser extent uniforms. The look of successful units were often emulated and eventually adopted as the standard. Prussian uniforms between the 1100's and 1900's were usually black with white and red, though for a period during the renaissance they were white. By the time Kiten had become King, the Prussian Guards had fallen far out of favor with the nobility. They were found to be too ruthless, too violent and too powerful. Slowly they faded into history. Kiten's war against Bosnia was a show of Prussian might. Cities sent their best units, who were sent off with parades and fan fare and when they returned they were showered in praise and affection. Cities would often compete to send the most affective units and try to outdo each other. By the XVI century this practice had been banned after a pyrrhic battle left several towns without any young men to sow the fields.

August 31st, 1286

Kiten laughed in joy as the soldiers of Memelgrád marched by his balcony. The war in Bosnia had been highly successful, and was done much quicker than had been expected. Prussia, through Hungary, now had access to the Adriatic Sea, limiting the threats in the arsenal of Rome. Bosnia still existed, still under Peter the Black, but now greatly reduced to the coast. The soldiers saluted their King as they marched by. From their weapons and helmets hung laurels and flower pedals all haphazardly thrown from the citizens along the sides of the street. It seemed to Kiten that the Prussian people were in the mood for war and conquest, they wanted to see their armies return victoriously and watch Prussia expand to all four corners of the world.

PrussiaHungaryBosnia.png

Prussia, Hungary and Bosnia at the end of 1286.

"You are planning something, my liege," said Jakob. "Dare I ask what it is? We are starting to get rather old, and I don't know if my body can take it anymore."

"It is okay, old friend, we will stay here... but I have plans for those young men," Kiten said already hatching plans, "Prussia has entered an era of war, and we shall push our nation to the limits of her ability to rule!"

"You think you can handle making this country any bigger? We already dominate nearly half of Europe!"

"I believe I can, but we shall start small. I want to invade Pskov to the north and link Finland to the mainland. Then I shall hit Germany! I also want to finish off Bosnia! Jakob, this is Prussia's chance, we must show Europe that we are not growing fat and weary, that Prussia is trim and ready to fight off all attackers!"

Jakob was silent as he thought about it, he knew he would have little real say, but his words could greatly affect Kiten's choices. "We must be cautious, we cannot let our guard down or let ourselves over expand ourselves. Our enemies are numerous and will appear to take us out if we show any weakness."

Kiten suddenly looked gloomy, he was fond of thinking that he had few personal enemies, but he knew that it wasn't true. "I don't think that any of those wars will require large numbers of troops. We should still be safe with those we keep in Prussia."

"I guess we will be safe enough. But if I can say so, my lord, it is time to cut back on the nobility. They are forming bases of operation, many have controlled massive regions of lands for almost two centuries now. If you think that they do not have the loyalty of their serfs, you are sadly very wrong. They are expanding their power daily, it needs to be curbed."

Families-1.png

The Three Kingdoms of Kiten with the major families and their fiefs. Most fiefs were split up further into smaller fiefs, so this reflects the first ring of Princes and Counts under the King.

The King waved his hand as to keep the idea from reaching him, "No no no. I agree with you, Jakob, but I cannot risk it. I cannot hold back an all-out civil war. German nobility will seek freedom, Prussian nobility will seek the throne."

"It will have to be done eventually, Kiten. Eventually someone is going to have to say no to them. Never has a country been made more powerful or more secure by having multiple bodies fighting one another."

Kiten was silent, it was all true. "Some other time, Jakob, it will take a long time to figure out." Jakob nodded, glad he got through but still feeling the sting of defeat. The two men walked back inside the palace and toward a table covered in maps. Kiten searched through them and found the one containing the Pskov and Ingria regions of Russia. They had recently revolted from Mordvia, and now they were a target ripe for Prussian expansion.

"You'll definitely putting the squeeze on the Mordvins," Jakob remarked, "I doubt they will like the idea of becoming land locked."

"They are in sad shape. Recently we've sent missionaries into Mordvia, with generally good success. Soon the largest pagan nation will become one of the largest Christian ones."

"Do you think that they will do something like that?"

"I do, Jakob. If enough of the people convert, the monarchs will have to change as well or face the risk of being toppled. And once they convert, Prussia will offer them the security of joining our nation... or risk being invaded."

"Devious, my liege," Jakob responded dryly.

"It is part of the reason why I am stepping up the war efforts. I want to look like I mean business, force them to accept my rule through fear and respect. If I could do it on respect alone, I would, but they need to know that I mean business and that my threats are not idle ones." Kiten paused, stroking his chin, "Actually, that is part of the reason for hitting Pskov..."

"Huh?"

"If we take their coast, we cut them off from news. We can then feed false information into them. Basically saying that we offer people a chance to surrender and they refuse and get invaded. If the Mordvins see our success, and think we gave each of them a chance to surrender as well, they are more likely to take the bait," Kiten said. He looked up at Jakob and smiled, "I wasn't my father's best diplomat because of my looks."

"You could have fooled me. Can I ask though... why Germany?"

Kiten laughed a little, shaking his head as he thought about it. "I was warned by the Caliph that they are planning to end it all soon, one more invasion of Germany to be done with it forever... he told me to grab what I can while I could."

Jakob chuckled, "That was kind of him."

"It was, he has a decent sense of humor from what I've heard," Kiten said. He pulled out a chair and sat down. From under the table he produced a bottle of mead and two goblets. He filled them both and handed one to Jakob. "To Germany, may she be worth our time!"
 
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Empires that try to conquer the world and keep expanding, yet fail continuously in doing that, usually end up destroyed by forces stronger then them.
Until one is left... :cool:

Mordva shall stand! :p
 
Homelands
Chapter Twenty Nine: March of the Prussians
Part 2


Prelude:
The period between 1286 and 1306 is often referred to as the "March of the Prussians". It was a period of expansion and domination for the Prussian state, done mostly through strength of arms. It was speared headed by King Kiten with the overwhelming support of the nobles, clergy and people. It was a rare time of unity for Prussia, where all walks of life were united in a common cause. Kiten used this popularity to slowly subvert the powers of the nobles and clergy behind their backs. The war is Pskov was planned to start mere weeks before the beginning of the war in Germany. The hope was that it would be finished in a matter of days, that was not the case. The point, though, to disrupt Mordvia's connection to the outside world was successful enough to be considered a success, but Kiten wanted the land connection to Finland, so it was so. Pskov was inhabited by Ingrians and so-called "New Mords", vassals of the Mordvins and closely related to both Mords and Finns. Wedging them out of their long-time home proved difficult, partially due to weather, but also due to the Prussians underestimation of Ingrian will to fight.

Fennids.png

The Uralic Peoples and their slow creep into Russia proper.

May 4th, 1288

Report from Pskov were coming in to King Kiten. His generals were concerned that they'd have to postpone the invasion of Germany until next summer, but Kiten didn't want to wait. Things were ready now and they had to strike while they still had the element of surprise.

"My lord, I don't think it is wise to attack the Germans while all of this is still going on," Erasts Littosun began. Erasts was one of the best military minds in the kingdom, and the son of a well-liked count. But he was known to be overly cautious, treating each small skirmish as if it would decide the fate of the war. "We should finish the Pskov theater before moving on to Germany."

"But if we stall too long, Germany will eventually catch on. We've moved a large number of troops onto their border, they already have to be suspicious. If we don't strike soon, they'll just prepare for our attack." Scurdo Akosun was a long-time rival of Erasts both by family and by doctrine. He sat with his arms folded across his chest and his feet up on a table. He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath and stood up to walk over to the maps. "It is not like you to ignore a powerful advantage like surprise."

Erasts scowled, he didn't like being patronized. "We cannot even defeat some damned pagan tribes, what makes you think we can take on Germany?" he asked, pounding his fist on the table.

Scurdo crossed his arms again, "You know as well as I that Vikentas underestimated the Ingrians, and you know as well that the extra troops that are on the way to Pskov will quickly end the problem." Scurdo paused, "I also believe that we are overestimating the ability of Germany to keep fighting what is essentially all of Europe."

"My, lord," Erasts turned toward Kiten, "Why am I brought here just to be told that I am wrong? We all know you are going to invade Germany, so why bother ask my opinion?" Scurdo got a smug look of satisfaction on his face, his years of obscurity during the peace were finally over. He was becoming the foremost leader of the Prussian armies.

Kiten, who up until know had been silently listening to the two men argue finally stood up and walked over to the two men, "Erasts, you have misunderstood. I did not ask you to come here to debate whether or not we should invade Germany... you are right, I have already made that decision. I have asked you two here to plan that war. Whether you like each other or not, you are the two best commanders we have, and you will work together, dammit."

"You best bet," Scurdo began, "Would be to strike at Altmark, but it depends on what you are trying to gain."

"Altmark is a good target, so is Jutland. I would like to try to secure both of these. Maybe have troops land on Jutland and then march south into Holstein from the north?"

"Yes, divide their forces with a two-pronged attack, hopefully chase them south into the waiting maw of the Caliphate," Erasts agreed. "However, I see no reason to agree with you that this is going to be a cake walk. First, they'll have to divide their armies, what if they don't? What if they counter-attack with a larger force? You aren't thinking this through!"

"Neither are you, Erasts, is Germany seriously going to go on an all-out offensive with an enemy army wreaking havoc in the homelands? No. They are going to want to halt both advances. And we can always vary the pressure a bit. Let one army push a bit harder to attract the attention of the Germans and when it has it, the other one will pick up the pace! Perfect."

Erasts growled quietly, "You too are making assumptions! You assume that we will always win!"

"And you are assuming that we will never win... now when dealing with disorganized peasant and church rabble which is more likely?!" The room grew silent. Scurdo sat back down on his chair and put his legs up on the table. "Why don't you have some faith in the soldiers for once?"

Kiten smiled to himself, they were right where he wanted them, "Assumptions are powerful things, gentlemen. Without them, nothing would ever have been done. At some point, thought, the assumptions must be proven true or false. And if one particular assumption has one answer it becomes fact. But we are dealing with people, generals. People with brains. It is a lot harder to make assumptions when humans are in the equation. Neither assumption is likely to be valid. Will we win every single skirmish? Unlikely. Will we lose every skirmish? Unlikely. Will we win the majority of skirmishes and probably win the war? Very likely."

"It is like with Pskov," Kiten continued, "They might have made a few upsets, but there is nothing they can do against the inevitability of our victory. They can only postpone the inevitable. Now, can we plan this war or shall you two continue to bicker over bad assumptions?"

"I apologize, my lord," Scurdo said. Erasts nodded his head in agreement. But as they got back to the drawing board a messenger entered the room. He bore the crest of Vikentas Sabesun, the general leading the expedition into Pskov.

"What is it?" Kiten asked, anxiously.

"My lord, sir Vikentas was found dead the other day. The invasion has been halted so that a replacement leader can be found. But sir, we beg that you act quickly! It will not be long before the enemy regroups!"

"Drát!" Kiten shouted. Impulsively he kicked over a chair. Taking a deep breath he looked at Scurdo and Erasts for some idea.

"I shall go, my lord," Erasts said.

"No, I need you two in Germany. Boy," Kiten said to the messenger, "Find one of my aides, tell him to take you to Gunvald Vilis Gunvaldsun, that is your new commander." Kiten quickly sketched an order and a promise of land grants for serving the nation again.

"That old koot?!" Scurdo asked.

"Shut it," Erasts said, "Don't speak of Vilis like that, he thought us everything he knew. He can do it."

"Thank you, my liege," the messenger ran out with the letter.

"What did you promise the old master? He's been happily retired for a decade now." Erasts asked.

"Pskov... I promised him Pskov and Ingria," Kiten answered. Vilis was family, and Kiten knew that even if he hadn't offered his uncle land that he would have jumped at the chance. Pskov was a way of saying thanks for many years of service.
 
Pskov is the Russian name, Pihkova would be the Finnish version, of Prussian version I don't know. :p

Also, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setos

I don't the origin of the name of the city, possibly pihka.

I'll keep that flag in mind for later. I am sorry that my knowledge of all things Finnic is limited. And I know that Pskov is the Russian name, but it is also the English name. Prussian is "Piskó".
 
Hello all, little break to give these updates/questions:

-Brigid is out this weekend, that means plenty of time to write (as I have little else to do other than drink) so I was wondering if there was any interest in another Prussian story update or should I hold the course?

-Things have gotten a tad quiet here, though the views keep coming (almost 50k!) just want to make sure the populace is still happy.

-Almost done playing EUIII, and I have a TON of notes, 13 pages worth, which suggests that EUIII might take up books 2 and 3 (depending on how much I clip down). Actually that might work well, combining the modern ages into one book. I have some ideas on how to do that.

-Is there any questions or demand for more language lessons? They don't take very long and I'd like to make them a bigger part of future stuff if I can.
 
You still have me as an avid reader, Capiatlist. :)

No demands here except for the next update; can't wait to see what Kiten will do from here on out. And his son, for that matter.
 
Are you kidding ? Ok, i know i'm not very talkative, but i look forward your every updates ! Me wants more !!! I'd even love to have information regarding what happens in the rest of the known world :cool:

I'm torn apart, loving this part of the AAR and hoping it'll continue for a long time... and looking forward reading what happens in the following era :D
 
Actually this works fine, because it tells me I have to shift over the Vishly. ;) The next update was likely going to be about Kiten some more, but I agree... maybe a shift is in order.