(I've never actually written an AAR before, so I've opted to use a history-textbook style that won't be too difficult for a newbie like myself to write, supported with lots of screenshots. I hope it isn't too dry! Also, the screenies are a little too big and I don't know how to resize them. xD )
The Annals of King Siegmund I von Holstein
Siegmund was born into a world on the brink of sweeping changes. Firearms had recently replaced the blade and bow, the decadence and corruption of the Catholic church had given rise to a massive outbreak of heresy, and while the Holy Roman Empire rose in the west, the Old Roman Empire was seeing rebirth in the east...
Perhaps it was this combination of old and new that drove Siegmund's personality; he lived a deeply sentimental life, motivated in great part by stories of old and an idyllic dream of a world whose sun had just set before he could be a part of it. His reign would be characterized by a return to the ways long gone, and allies long lost...
Siegmund's first decree would be to purge the heresy from his lands. His father had left Schwaben in the hands of protestant heretics, and even the capital of the Empire had fallen under the sway of reformism. Missionaries were sent out, an army was sent to Schwaben, and an imperial decree was passed making it a crime for a non-priest to print or own a copy of the the Holy Bible, which would hopefully dissuade the masses from coming up with their own heretical interpretations:
Siegmund vowed that, whenever possible, he would unite the Empire through peaceful means. Bavaria was hated throughout the world when Siegmund took over, and he intended that Bavaria be loved by the time he died. The military advisers his father had employed were dismissed, to be replaced with diplomatic advisers such that Bavaria might restore its reputation in the world.
With Bavaria's newfound overtures of peace, Personal Union was formed with Mecklenburg. While Bavaria attempted to bring Bar into vassalage under the Empire, however, the realities of European politics set in. The regional power Flanders, long a rival of Bavaria, sought to claim the lands of Normandy, a defenseless and minor power at the edges of Bavaria's arena of influence. Were Siegmund a more practical sort, he may have let this go without issue, but with a chivalrous heart Siegmund lept to the defense of the unfortunate Normandy. Brave Norse defenders held their ground as long as they could against the bulk of Flanders' army while Bavaria assaulted Flanders' eastern citadels. Just as Normandy's defenders broke and surrendered, Bavaria forced Flanders to accept defeat in the east:
So as not to invoke the ire of all of Europe, Bavaria's demands were modest: Flanders would relinquish its center of trade in Antwerpen and the lands south of their center of trade in Calais, such that Bavaria's two armies in the region could operate out of these two bases, and such that Bavaria's merchants, who had become accustomed to Bavaria's protectionism in their own markets, would benefit from the same protectionism in Antwerpen.
Siegmund felt a kinship with what he viewed as his Old Roman brothers in the east, and took many steps to cement a positive relationship with them, even going so far as to arrange marriages between their families and to promise the Byzantines that, were they ever attacked, Bavaria would send an army to help them. He made similar overtures in the west, and hired a skilled diplomat to spread his message of peace. It was during this time of diplomatic overtures that Bavaria's ancient claim to Alsace was recognized and integrated into Bavaria proper.
It would be Flanders again who broke the new Pax Romana of which Siegmund dreamt. Despite being weakened by their first war with Bavaria over Normandy, they made a second attempt, met with the same disastrous results for Flanders. At the Battle of Vlaanderen, the back of the Flemish army was broken, and peace would see Flanders lose its last center of trade in Calais as well as its border with Normandy.
Something changed in King Siegmund after the second war with Flanders. Perhaps it was the blatant disregard of his desire for peace that his neighbors felt; perhaps it was that the wars gave him a taste for blood. Whatever it was, Siegmund had become quick to fight and slow to back down. When Bavaria's ancient enemy, Burgundy, dared to interfere in Bavarian politics, Siegmund immediately declared war against the now third-rate power. When Lorraine, who had until that point been a staunch ally, refused to follow Siegmund's banner to war, he became infuriated; if Lorraine would not come with him to war, he would bring the war to Lorraine.
Burgundy's defeat was swift; Savoy reclaimed from them the province of Savoie, and then Burgundy was forced into vassalage under the Bavarian crown. Lorraine would end up integrated into Bar, and both Bar and Savoy were subsequently vassalized.
Two major events occurred at this point in European history. The first was a massive revolution in Great Britain, which Bavaria would take advantage of to liberate lands for Normandy using carefully-placed spies to instigate revolts. These spies were far more successful than Siegmund had even hoped they would be and, upon conquering Normandy's ancient homelands, somehow managed to convince the rebels to cede themselves to Bavaria:
The second event was a massive war against the now-excommunicated King of Milan, who unlawfully held Holy Roman lands. The full weight of the Bavarian Confederation crushed them in a matter of weeks, and huge swaths of the Kingdom of Italy fell under Bavaria's sway:
Siegmund had reigned for almost thirty years. Indeed, he had outlived his younger brother who had been next in line for the throne. His son was incompetent, and Siegmund realized that fulfilling his dreams of a peacefully united Europe had been derailed for too long, and that he would not live to see them come to fruition. In his fading years, he ordered a number of civic projects done, such as the construction of highways, new defenses in the Netherlands provinces, and constabularies throughout the empire. He reformed the agricultural system and centralized the government. Through these reforms and constructions he hoped to mitigate the damage his daft son could do before the next in line would take over. On his deathbed, Siegmund asked that a regency council be formed to oversee his empire while his son's education was completed. The old king died on the 18th of June, 1557, leaving a much more financially and foundationally secure Bavaria in his wake.
