Iron Cross: The Last Crusade of the Teutonic Knights

Originally posted by pjcrowe
I find that sending a letter every now and then improves relations as much as sending them every chance you get, and at a far lower cost overall.

-Pat

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Pat-

Good tip. At this point we have to pinch every ducat til it screams. I'm about to order the chancellor of the exchequer to start looking under the sofa cushions

1504- The Swedish war drags on into its third year. Fortunately the enemy still has his hands full on the Danish front, and so has been unable to send a force to the relief of Viborg. However as spring becomes summer, it seems less and less likely that the defenders of the fortress will need any relief, as the renewed siege seems to be going nowhere. In August I order a second assault, and this time a number of Knights manage to scale one of the towers and get inside the walls. Victory seems momentarily in our grasp, but the Swedes rush reinforcements to the threatened sector, and we are forced to retreat once again.

By October, with winter coming, we are compelled to raise the siege again and fall back to our own territory. The war is beginning to seem hopeless; I decide to offer the Swedes a white peace but they will have none of it, bidding our herald carry their threats of vengeance back to us. It is now apparent that, for good or ill, the war will have to be fought to a finish.

To that end I persuade the Grand Master to arrange another loan; our credit at this point is so shaky that the interest rate is set at a usurious 13%. No matter; with the funds I begin to arm and equip fresh forces powerful enough to allow us to make one last throw of the dice in Nyland. In addition we outfit an expeditionary force of 6,000 men to send to the assistance of our loyal Hanseatic allies, whose capital, Stettin, is being besieged by Scottish troops. By spring von Plettenburg commands an army of 27,000 infantry and 20 cannon, and the roads leading north are once more thronged with columns of troops headed for the Swedish border. In May a Swedish deputation under flag of truce arrives at my headquarters bearing a peace offer- the enemy demands the entire contents of our treasury in exchange for their forbearance. I write a letter in response to the Swedish king- "Regarding your peace offer...We hurl it back at you, right in your evil-smelling teeth." Victory or death shall be the motto of this campaign.

In June a secret member of the Order, posing as manservant to a Swedish admiral, manages to steal the enemy's sea charts and smuggle them into our camp. Much useful information is gleaned about the sea beyond the shores of England and France, an apparently huge body of water known as the "Atlantic Ocean". Days later, though, we receive chilling news: Denmark has quit the war, ceding the province of Skane to Sweden. Our spies report large bodies of enemy troops headed eastward.

July 29, 1505- Following a furious cannonade, the army of the Order rises from its trenches and swarms toward the walls of Viborg. Battering rams begin to pound the gates while destruction rains down on our troops from above. Finally one band of Knights manages to ignite some hides soaked in pitch and fire a section of the wall. Despite desperate countermeasures by the Swedes, the wall collapses and our soldiers pour through the gap, cutting a swath of death through the panicked garrison.

By nightfall, the city that had defied us for so long has, by the grace of God, been crushed into submission.

Lord E-
Thanks a lot. The feedback from you and Pat has really helped keep me going with this thing.

I'm interested to see how you handle the Reformation in your Hanseatic League AAR. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do when it happens...I think most if not all of my provinces will go Protestant. I'm just dreading that -5 stability hit and the damage to my alliances.

Bocaj-
Thanks for the kind words.

I was under the impression that all alliances were immediately broken when one of the members switched religions (vassalages, I'm not sure about). If that is the case, I'm wondering whether it's best to make the change and wait for my allies to come over to the "true" faith, or to wait for them to convert and then immediately join them.

Ah well, guess I'll sort it out when the time comes. Right now there are those pesky Swedes to be chastened.

August, 1505- With Viborg in our hands, a council of war decides that we should maintain our momentum by staying on the offensive for the remainder of the campaigning season. Accordingly it is determined to launch an invasion of the province of Finland. No sooner are our forces on the move than I receive reports that a Swedish army under general Hemming Gadh, hero of the Danish war, is en route to meet us. Von Plettenburg prepares to meet him, but Gadh surprises us by slipping behind our army and laying siege to Viborg.

The Swedish army now lies athwart our supply lines, and it is obvious that these miscreants must be dealt with at once. Von Plettenburg wheels the army about and drives quickly for Viborg. On the plains outside the city the decisive battle is joined; the enemy is superior in cavalry and artillery, but our massed infantry wins the day as human-wave attacks shatter the Swedish line and turn the battle into a rout. The enemy's army is virtually obliterated; only a handful of survivors manage to escape northward. Stunned, the once-haughty Swedes now offer to accept our former request for a white peace, but it is now obvious that the tide has turned for good and their appeal is rejected out of hand. Instead,our armies resume the march toward Finland.

By November our expeditionary force is finally ready and lands in north Germany to relieve the siege of Stettin; 6,000 Teutonic Knights attack a like number of Scotsmen, but a furious countercharge by screaming Highlanders drives our forces from the field. Despite this rankling defeat the war seems to be going well as our troops in Finland prepare to storm the town of Abo. On December 28, 1505, as I stand on a frost-covered hill watching the progress of the assault, a messenger arrives from the Swedish court. The Swedes sue for peace, offering to recognize our claims to the province of Nyland.

On New Year's Day, 1506, I order that Te Deums be sung in every cathedral. It is indeed a happy new year...victory is ours.

Pat-
Sound advice...that way I can immediately re-establish the RM with them.

bocaj and Lord E-
Thank you, gentlemen, thank you. I could easily have lost that one. I failed at first to take into account Sweden's strongest ally..."General Winter". (Us would-be conquerors never learn, huh?) I got quite a sick feeling watching my terribly expensive army melting away before my eyes in the snows of Finland...

1505-1510: Peace with Sweden had been attained, but our army was kept busy during this period with internal turmoil. Agents in the pay of the Swedish king financed the nationalist societies of Nyland, and pro-Swedish uprisings had to be quelled in June 1506, April 1507, June 1508 and December 1510. Ultra-Orthodox factions continued to cause problems, stirring Ingermanland to rebellion in August of 1506 and Pskov in November of 1507. Although the poorly-armed peasant bands never had any serious chance of success, the mere frequency of these outbreaks represented a cause for concern. After lengthy discussions with Grand Master von Sachsen and secret correspondence with the Orthodox metropolitans of Ivangorod and Pskov, in July of 1509 I ordered a number of strictures against the Orthodox religion relaxed and granted an amnesty to a number of men of that faith now languishing in our dungeons. The policy seemed to pay dividends, as political tensions in the Orthodox provinces lessened considerably.

In August of 1509, however, the Grand Master began to exhibit some rather bizarre behavior, and rumors that he was losing his mind became rampant. As it turned out these were the symptoms of the last stages of a fatal illness, to which von Sachsen succumbed in January of 1510. The powerful Hohenzollern family spread around enough gold and cashed in enough political favors to swing the subsequent election to their candidate, Albrecht von Hohenzollern. As always, I met with the new Hochmeister to discuss the political future of the Order, and most of all to push urgently for an austerity program to pay off our 3 outstanding loans and rid ouselves of the murderous interest rates that were killing our economy.

1512-1517: In May of 1512 a German monk named Martin Luther issued his now-famous challenge to the Church of Rome; his ideas spread rapidly through our lands and soon virtually the entire population (except for Ingermanland and Pskov, which remained stoutly Orthodox) were professing the new Lutheran faith. Many of the Order's most influential Knights (myself included) had a profound sympathy for Luther and his teachings, but a meeting of the council decided that an open break with the Church at this point would be unwise for a number of reasons, but secret orders were issued to local authorities that the practice of Lutheranism was not to be interfered with. By January of 1514 we were able to pay off one of the loans, while in foreign affairs Brandenburg joined our alliance with Prussia and the Hanse in July of 1516. In the summer of 1517, some adroit behind-the-scenes negotiations with powerful Prussian nobles resulted in a pledge of fealty to the Grand Master from the Prussian elector, giving us the right of military passage through their lands, as well as a much-needed annual tribute.

A pretty boring post, I know. Maybe I need another war to liven things up. Wonder if those Russians are up for a rematch (he said, greedily eyeing Novgorod)?

Originally posted by pjcrowe
Rebellions from religion can be taken care of by adjusting your tolerance levels. Nationalist rebellions will fade away over time. The latter's probability starts at 3% and drops by one point every five (?) years. [Wonder how I knew that ]

Time it right with going after Russia, and be careful. If you've got the highest BB rating, everyone within reach and then some will jump on you once you're already at war.

-Pat

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Pat-
I finally figured out the bit about religious tolerance- hence the part about concessions to the Orthodox church. For the longest time the religious tolerance slider bar scared the hell out of me- I was afraid to touch it for fear of mass rebellions breaking out .
Just kidding about Russia (for now, at least)...I'm still struggling to get my finances straightened out. So unfortunately there may be another boring post or two...

As for my relations with Poland...well, to be brief-they suck. -200 or close to it, which is pretty much the case with all of my neighbors except Prussia. Incidentally my BB rating was a mere 9 last time I checked...guess we're too small to be considered a real threat yet.

Originally posted by pjcrowe
Consider yourself fortunate that it's only your neighbors who hate you. My peaceful England is held in lower esteem than are pirates, and that's a pretty solid hate.

-Pat

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Pat-
Just read the last couple of chapters of your England AAR, in which Danes are slaughtered, Dutch trading posts burnt to the ground, and Swedish ships blown to smithereens.

"Peaceful England"!
LMAO!!