I technically already started this AAR in 1399, but I only just decided to begin it today. Playing it on Normal, and lucky nations are set to random.
Backstory:
The Year 1356, the Golden Bull is made official. Yet, Europe's most grim times are soon to come. The Pagan hordes, the Lithuanians, exist in the east. France struggles to decrease noble power in the West, even while the Hundred Years War passes. Bohemia is the only bulwark against foreign aggression against the Holy Roman Empire, and the Balkan Europeans sit in fear as the Muslims grow in power. In between all of this, is Austria. The greatest country in Europe, depending on who you ask.
Albrecht II sits in his imperial palace. "Sigh...25 years of rule, and yet nothing has happened." As he said that, an emissary rushed into the room, chased by guards. Albrecht II raises his hand to call them off. "Speak, you who intrudes my sanctuary."
The emissary pants with exhaustion. "My lord...our allies in Naples have requested our help in attacking the Pope!" Albrecht II takes a moment to catch his breath. "What?! Well...we are in quite the bind. The Duke of Savoy and the King of Naples are currently our only allies. I have no choice..." The emissary gasped. "But Lord! We would shame the Church of God to attack them!" Albrecht II stepped up from his throne and walked to the emissary "I know, but without the King of Naples' support we will have little other choice."
"Very well." The emissary leaves, and Albrecht II faces his court, "All of you! Prepare to get our armies ready to fight the Pope."
4 years later...in 1367
The Results of the Treaty of Rome.
After Albrecht II died during the war, his son, Rudolf the Fourth, succeeded the throne, only to realize that Naples' true goal was to bring the Curia under its control. Fortunately for him, he was left with the good note that Naples had failed to conquer Rome itself, which would have tarnished Austria's reputation amongst the other Catholics.
Rudolf IV summons Giovanni de Valois, then King of Naples, to the his court in Wien.
The Archduke slams his fist on his throne, "What did you think you were doing?! Attacking the pope is an action so blasphemous that I can't begin to describe my bewilderment at my father's acceptance of your call!"
Giovanni laughed, "Well, the Pope has no right over lands that were rightfully ours, is that not true?" He continues, "Please, I do hope that we remain allies, but you must understand that my act of aggression was purely in the name of righteousness."
Rudolf IV, annoyed, "You are a traitor to Christendom! Leave this place, now!" The guards motioned for Giovanni to leave, and he did so, seemingly in shame. "Well...now that leaves only the Duke of Savoy as our ally. Ah well..."
Skip forward, to nearly two decades later, in 1385...
Austria's Political Situation in 1385
Ferdinand I the Affably Brutal was the successor of Ludwig I von Habsburg, the one who conquered the Milanese lands that Ferdinand now rules over. He ruled to 1409, engaging in numerous wars to retain Austria's honor. The first, against Hungary, was a dispute over the area of Pressburg, which, at the head of his army, he swiftly destroyed the Hungarian armies...as they were being already heckled by the Bohemians, of course. The second was against the lowly country of Bar, which had the gall to insult our grand country. He also led an army against them, and was soundly defeated by Bar's much more competent leader and soldiers. Ultimately, his reign alloted to little more than the takeover of a small piece of Hungarian territory. He died in 1409, succeeded by Albrecht IV.
The Reign of Albrecht IV
Albrecht IV's realm near the end of his reign.
Albrecht IV was, arguably, a better ruler than Ferdinand the First. He conquered the province of Sudety from Bohemia, who unjustly excommunicated him, and from Bavaria, a Duchy which had been a thorn in Austria's side since Ferdinand I. His chief ally of the time was Switzerland, which just goes to show the power of the Pope. His chief achievement is considered by many Austrian scholars to be his vassalization of the Duchy of Milan after it made the mistake of turning against Austria in the war against Bohemia. He reigned until 1420, where he was then succeeded by Ladislav I, the first truly great Austrian emperor. He is noted for having fought against the vast Pagan nation of Lithuania, but ultimately failing in the end. However, he is chronicled as the bravest of Austrian rulers regardless.
Joseph I the Great
Joseph I's realm in 1430, after Bohemia was demolished by the great general Otto von Oberg.
Joseph I gained power after 1424, when Ladislav I's short rule of 4 years ended. He acquired many things for Austria. First, he successfully crippled Bohemia's power, effectively eliminating it's ability to attack Austria. (However, it would make the foolhardy decision of attacking our grand nation once again, only to lose yet another region to Joseph II). He made a vassal of Silesia, thus adding to Austria's already considerable power base in the Holy Roman Empire. Then, he vassalized Anhalt, one of the Imperial electors, securing his successor's abilities to remain emperor for many centuries. He also recruited one of Austria's most excellent Generals, Otto von Oberg, who destroyed army upon army with no difficulty at all. Joseph I's successor, Joseph II, gained power 2 years after his father died in 1434.
Joseph II the Invincible
Austria under Joseph II, the largest it has yet to become
Joseph II sits in his imperial palace, looking at a map of his realm...
"Bayern, Schleisen, Krakau, Augsburg, Wurzburg, Bremen, Anhalt, and Parma! All of their rulers bow to me! No state in this Empire is stronger than-"
A noble cuts in, "Except the King of France, of course, who you bow to!" The entire court bursts into laughter, then stops when Joseph II gives them all a furious glare.
"We do not bow to the French! They are merely our allies...we will topple them in the future, but for the moment, they are all the help we have access to." As he said that, a messenger runs in, "Sir! The ruler of Ferrara has sent his recognition of your hegemony over him!"
"Ah, good! What of Milan, the Venetians, and the Croats?" The nobles clap at yet another victory for Joseph II's armies, "Well, sir, The Milanese have ceded Lombardia to us, and the Venetians have conceded defeat to our superior armies, from what I have been told. However, the Croatians simply backed down when Venice left the war. That was a good choice of theirs, don't you think?"
"Of course! Yet another victory for us!" A noble says under his breath, "With the help of France, of course..." Joseph II snaps at the offending noble, "What was that?!"
"Oh, nothing, nothing at all, your highness..." Joseph scoffs. "Good then. Now, we turn to the problem of Lithuania..."
And that is where our AAR starts. In Austria, the nobles refer to Joseph II the Invincible as "the puppet Archduke" due to his unflinching acceptance of French aggression in lands he is supposed to protect! In the East, the Pagans of Lithuania have all but destroyed Poland and the Teutonic Order, and the Ottoman Empire continues its aggression across the entirety of the Balkans. How will Joseph II solve this? We don't know, but it will probably be decided when the King of France tells him what to do.
Backstory:
The Year 1356, the Golden Bull is made official. Yet, Europe's most grim times are soon to come. The Pagan hordes, the Lithuanians, exist in the east. France struggles to decrease noble power in the West, even while the Hundred Years War passes. Bohemia is the only bulwark against foreign aggression against the Holy Roman Empire, and the Balkan Europeans sit in fear as the Muslims grow in power. In between all of this, is Austria. The greatest country in Europe, depending on who you ask.
Albrecht II sits in his imperial palace. "Sigh...25 years of rule, and yet nothing has happened." As he said that, an emissary rushed into the room, chased by guards. Albrecht II raises his hand to call them off. "Speak, you who intrudes my sanctuary."
The emissary pants with exhaustion. "My lord...our allies in Naples have requested our help in attacking the Pope!" Albrecht II takes a moment to catch his breath. "What?! Well...we are in quite the bind. The Duke of Savoy and the King of Naples are currently our only allies. I have no choice..." The emissary gasped. "But Lord! We would shame the Church of God to attack them!" Albrecht II stepped up from his throne and walked to the emissary "I know, but without the King of Naples' support we will have little other choice."
"Very well." The emissary leaves, and Albrecht II faces his court, "All of you! Prepare to get our armies ready to fight the Pope."
4 years later...in 1367
The Results of the Treaty of Rome.
After Albrecht II died during the war, his son, Rudolf the Fourth, succeeded the throne, only to realize that Naples' true goal was to bring the Curia under its control. Fortunately for him, he was left with the good note that Naples had failed to conquer Rome itself, which would have tarnished Austria's reputation amongst the other Catholics.
Rudolf IV summons Giovanni de Valois, then King of Naples, to the his court in Wien.
The Archduke slams his fist on his throne, "What did you think you were doing?! Attacking the pope is an action so blasphemous that I can't begin to describe my bewilderment at my father's acceptance of your call!"
Giovanni laughed, "Well, the Pope has no right over lands that were rightfully ours, is that not true?" He continues, "Please, I do hope that we remain allies, but you must understand that my act of aggression was purely in the name of righteousness."
Rudolf IV, annoyed, "You are a traitor to Christendom! Leave this place, now!" The guards motioned for Giovanni to leave, and he did so, seemingly in shame. "Well...now that leaves only the Duke of Savoy as our ally. Ah well..."
Skip forward, to nearly two decades later, in 1385...
Austria's Political Situation in 1385
Ferdinand I the Affably Brutal was the successor of Ludwig I von Habsburg, the one who conquered the Milanese lands that Ferdinand now rules over. He ruled to 1409, engaging in numerous wars to retain Austria's honor. The first, against Hungary, was a dispute over the area of Pressburg, which, at the head of his army, he swiftly destroyed the Hungarian armies...as they were being already heckled by the Bohemians, of course. The second was against the lowly country of Bar, which had the gall to insult our grand country. He also led an army against them, and was soundly defeated by Bar's much more competent leader and soldiers. Ultimately, his reign alloted to little more than the takeover of a small piece of Hungarian territory. He died in 1409, succeeded by Albrecht IV.
The Reign of Albrecht IV
Albrecht IV's realm near the end of his reign.
Albrecht IV was, arguably, a better ruler than Ferdinand the First. He conquered the province of Sudety from Bohemia, who unjustly excommunicated him, and from Bavaria, a Duchy which had been a thorn in Austria's side since Ferdinand I. His chief ally of the time was Switzerland, which just goes to show the power of the Pope. His chief achievement is considered by many Austrian scholars to be his vassalization of the Duchy of Milan after it made the mistake of turning against Austria in the war against Bohemia. He reigned until 1420, where he was then succeeded by Ladislav I, the first truly great Austrian emperor. He is noted for having fought against the vast Pagan nation of Lithuania, but ultimately failing in the end. However, he is chronicled as the bravest of Austrian rulers regardless.
Joseph I the Great
Joseph I's realm in 1430, after Bohemia was demolished by the great general Otto von Oberg.
Joseph I gained power after 1424, when Ladislav I's short rule of 4 years ended. He acquired many things for Austria. First, he successfully crippled Bohemia's power, effectively eliminating it's ability to attack Austria. (However, it would make the foolhardy decision of attacking our grand nation once again, only to lose yet another region to Joseph II). He made a vassal of Silesia, thus adding to Austria's already considerable power base in the Holy Roman Empire. Then, he vassalized Anhalt, one of the Imperial electors, securing his successor's abilities to remain emperor for many centuries. He also recruited one of Austria's most excellent Generals, Otto von Oberg, who destroyed army upon army with no difficulty at all. Joseph I's successor, Joseph II, gained power 2 years after his father died in 1434.
Joseph II the Invincible
Austria under Joseph II, the largest it has yet to become
Joseph II sits in his imperial palace, looking at a map of his realm...
"Bayern, Schleisen, Krakau, Augsburg, Wurzburg, Bremen, Anhalt, and Parma! All of their rulers bow to me! No state in this Empire is stronger than-"
A noble cuts in, "Except the King of France, of course, who you bow to!" The entire court bursts into laughter, then stops when Joseph II gives them all a furious glare.
"We do not bow to the French! They are merely our allies...we will topple them in the future, but for the moment, they are all the help we have access to." As he said that, a messenger runs in, "Sir! The ruler of Ferrara has sent his recognition of your hegemony over him!"
"Ah, good! What of Milan, the Venetians, and the Croats?" The nobles clap at yet another victory for Joseph II's armies, "Well, sir, The Milanese have ceded Lombardia to us, and the Venetians have conceded defeat to our superior armies, from what I have been told. However, the Croatians simply backed down when Venice left the war. That was a good choice of theirs, don't you think?"
"Of course! Yet another victory for us!" A noble says under his breath, "With the help of France, of course..." Joseph II snaps at the offending noble, "What was that?!"
"Oh, nothing, nothing at all, your highness..." Joseph scoffs. "Good then. Now, we turn to the problem of Lithuania..."
And that is where our AAR starts. In Austria, the nobles refer to Joseph II the Invincible as "the puppet Archduke" due to his unflinching acceptance of French aggression in lands he is supposed to protect! In the East, the Pagans of Lithuania have all but destroyed Poland and the Teutonic Order, and the Ottoman Empire continues its aggression across the entirety of the Balkans. How will Joseph II solve this? We don't know, but it will probably be decided when the King of France tells him what to do.
