A Brief History of Prussia - A D&T AAR

We begin with the reign of Winrich von Kniprode, in the year 1356, with Kniprode having already reigned for five years. Kniprode was faced with a number of dilemmas – the seemingly inevitable conquest of the hordes to the east, the division of his lands in two by the pagan Lithuanians to the south, and the strong kingdoms potentially threatening the Teutons to their southwest. Despite these threats, many of his advisers were pushing him to attack another threat – Novgorod.


The early moves of Kniprode were seemingly decided for him when Lithuania declared war on Mazvoia for no reason other than that they could. Attacking Lithuania with new allies Smolensk backing up the Teutons could easily connect the two sides of the Order's lands, while eradicating (partially for the time being) the pagan problem – a much easier solution than waiting for them to convert, as some thought they would. Kniprode appeared to follow the obvious course by building up his troops, although this did involve asking Lithuania for access to their lands, potentially giving away a future declaration of war once the access treaty was cancelled.

While making his preparations for war, Kniprode also implemented a more centralised form of government, in keeping with the idea of connecting the Teutonic lands - by centralising the government, the disparate lands of the Order would not seek further autonomy, but be connected under one banner. Such was the thinking of Kniprode. This was enough to see a revolt occur, led by Theodor von Sangershausen, a man who was also opposed to fighting the Lithuanians, and had had his eyes on the Hochmeistership for some time. Following the quick defeat of this uprising, it was expected that war would be declared.

But nothing happened.

Kniprode instead moved his troops up to Livland, and sat them there until October, when war was declared not on Lithuania, but on an unsuspecting Novgorod, without the support of his allies. This move, unsurprisingly, caused a small political crisis. But Kniprode was not one to care about reputation. He was a resolute, and occasionally blunt, man who valued logic in all he did – including diplomacy, which he tended to do firmly, but was convincing enough to be effective (when not launching surprises). He was first and foremost a strategist, and this, being the head of what was essentially a crusader state, was always to lead to one thing - war.


Novgorod was no match for the skillful troops of the Order. Despite the unusual timing of the declaration, facing the onset of a Russian winter, the Novgorodian army was routed quickly, with their allies in Ryazan unable to assist them. The surprise declaration of assistance to Novgorod by Pskov did little to change the course of the war, seeing them become an obvious target for immediate annexation. It did, however, force Kniprode to come back from his excursion in Tikhvin, in which time he hired Johann Kasimir Schaluyn to deal with the infamy the Order was soon to have.

Another surprise came soon after, with Muscowy offering the Order an alliance, which they accepted as, at this point, there was no reason to make an enemy out of a potenitally strong Christian state, with, as Kniprode put it, “those creatures (the Hordes) threatening the peace of our world”. The First War of Teutonic Aggression against Novgorod came to an end in March of 1359, with the taking of Kholm, plus the release of Finland. Here we see the strategy of Kniprode, as he clearly planned at least one more war against Novgorod – Ingermanland was now considered core territory of the order, so an infamy free reconquest could be achieved in the future.

Finland was expected to be a useful, if small, ally, but this quickly changed when the Finnish leader, an Archbishop whose name is lost to time, announced they would be keeping their Pagan traditions. Unsurprisingly, this greatly angered Kniprode, who quickly broke their alliance and declared war on the fledgling Finns in April. The Hochmeister, though, was called back to Pskov to deal with a massive revolt in the area, one which had successfully taken over the province. Allowing the nationalists to move to Kholm, Kniprode first took his army to Estland to deal with an Estonian revolt, before moving back to Pskov to deal with the returning nationalists. The small Finnish contingent quickly took the three province nation, and the Teutons could now turn their attentions back home for a time.

It was on the 1st of February, 1365 when Kniprode was to resume hostilites with Novgorod, again looking to connect separated lands, by taking the core of Ingermanland. Smolensk was to confirm in Kniprode's eyes their uselessness by backing up Novgorod, along with Ryazan, but Muscowy, importantly, joined with the Order, thus giving itself a prime opportunity to dominate Russia. Lithuania was to then attack Smolensk, seeing for itself a great opportunity to also gain a further foothold in Russia. Indeed, Kniprode was to use this attack by Lithuania to gauge the strength of their forces, and it was clear that attacking Lithuania directly would not be an option in the near future – particularly after their annexation of Smolensk (a land Kniprode had been considering taking for himself, given their lack of support as an ally and small size).


Distracted by the enemy forces, Kniprode was unable to prevent Finnish nationalists from taking Kexholm for a time, before beating them back to their base in Viborg. Muscowy quickly secured a peace deal with Novgorod, taking Viatka and Tula, leaving the Order to slowly occupy the remaning territories after securing a small peace deal with Ryazan.


Oddly, Kniprode took this time to introduce another centralisation policy, unsurprisingly resulting in revolts in two provinces. While certainly his determination to stick to policy was admirable, to do so whilst resting with most of his forces in Novgorod cannot be called a wise decision. Unsurprisingly, Kniprode quickly called for a peace settlement, one quite clearly in the Order's favour, and surrounded the capital with Teutonic provinces. Understandably, this was followed by a long period of peace, as constant revolts, war exhaustion and infamy were dealt with. This is not to say that the conquests of Kniprode were a bad thing – he made extensive gains in a small period of time – but simply that there were some negative consequences in changing the idea of the order to that of great expansion, especially when this did not yet include attacking Lithuania.


If needing proof of the all-round ability of Kniprode, his advocacy and implementation of the National Teutonic Bank in 1371 would surely be enough. Rather than wanting further improvement for the army, he chose to secure the future of the economy – a necessity given the relatively poor land available to them. Two years later he appointed Johann van Campenhausen, a Minter, as head of the Bank. This came after his support of the Florentine School, seen as a surprise by some, but a smart move in order to establish a better culture as well as improving the Order's reputation.

But the itch to be at war was always at the forefront of his mind. The increasing friction on the Novgorodian border was enough to go to war for by 1374, but Novgorod had found new allies – Sweden, and the Order's allies in Denmark, while Muscowy was also guaranteeing them. Ideally, only Sweden would defend Novgorod. But there was no way to be entirely sure, leaving Kniprode in a precarious position. A war with all three would be too much to handle, even with two it would be quite a task. The Hochmeister waited until 1375 before making his move.

MrQwerty said:

The Teutonic Order ultimately suceeds against Novgorod. Good work, although not what I would imagine as the first move. So with your bolstered economy and army, how well do you think you can do against Lithuania?

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Depends on whether or not I attack Lithuania.

What I'll be doing is trying to get into the "mind" of each leader as such. Each leader will have a goal (even if they are incompetent), and I'll play in accordance with that goal.

His decision disappointed some – he decided to wait longer. As he remarked to one advisor, “We only really want Novgorod. We don't need to take on all of Russia for a province we'll get eventually.” Though seemingly opportunistic, Kniprode had patience when required. It was, to him, pointless to fight any war there was a decent chance of losing, even if that meant not taking chances that others might see as obvious. The long term stability of the Order was of utmost importance. He was still fearful of the Hordes in particular, despite their relative lack of movement since he came to power – at least until their annexation of Ryazan, which caused him to be in a state of near panic for some weeks (I say “near” because, of course, he was hardly the type to show his emotions too much. We can only glean so much from what his contemporaries said of his reaction.) It was likely this which caused him to make his policy announcement which focused on improving the army, instead of again increasing centralisation, as many had expected and geared for reactive revolts.

Opportunity for war came in 1379, with Muscowy declaring war on Novgorod. But an alliance war could still potentially bring in Denmark (and Sweden). Deciding that the Scandinavian countries weren't able to touch him up too badly, Kniprode declared war, a declaration followed by two surprising alliance offers from The Hansa and Hungary, both of which were gladly accepted. By December, Teutonic troops had taken Novgorod, followed by a peace with Novgorod finally handing the province to the Order.


Holstein was to prove to be a significant annoyance, laying siege to Prussia while the main army, a 21000 strong force, dealt with the Danish and Swedish invaders as well as revolts that continued to pop up. Thanks to their Hanseatic allies, though, the Teutons were able to force Holstein to end their alliances, thus allowing the 21k army to continue without splitting up. Muscowy furthered its Russian claims by vassalising what was left of Novgorod, before Tver, presumably sick of being a Russian minor, decided to join in the wars against both Muscowy and the Teutons. They were even kind enough to fight the Russian patriots in Borovichi for the Order.


The Hansa were able to take advantage of Denmark's troops dying in Russia to siege Denmark itself, but Kniprode wished first to force Sweden to release Finland, again to create a buffer state, preferably this time one that wasn't a pagan state.

After taking Rzhev from Tver, Kniprode led his troops into Finland, while Muscowy annexed Tver, leading to a rather clean border division in Russia.


Quickly assaulting Swedish Finland, Kniprode ensured their release, and this time they were a Catholic state. Peace with Denmark was unfulfulling, with Denmark too poor to offer anything of substance, but a small deal was nontheless reached, thus ending the war.


And this too was to be the final chapter in the reign of Winrich von Kniprode. Having fulfilled his goals of ensuring an economic future for his Order, and of successfully extending his reach into Russia, Kniprode was to pass away in Novgorod on the 30 June 1385.

• Provinces gained: Borovichi, Karelia, Kexholm, Kholm, Ingermanland, Neva, Novgorod, Pskov, Rzhev and Tikhvin
• Provinces lost: None
• Established National Bank
• Moved towards centralisation and land

It is clear that Kniprode was an effective ruler. Having established that, to survive, the Order needed to expand, Kniprode set about attacking the relatively weak Novgorod (not a move likely to cause great distress in the Catholic world), thus leaving the country stronger economically and militarily. He did not lose any of his wars. He gained an alliance, importantly, with his Russian neighbours, Muscowy, and also with the Hansa, Hungary and a renewed Finland. He left his successor with a myriad of opportunities to pick from, with which to further strengthen the Order - the Lithuanians weren't Christians yet. The Hordes were still coming. The chance for the Order to continue spreading the word of God while simultaneously becoming a great power was there.

Kniprode was not blameless though. His single-mindedness more than once put the Order in a temporarily precarious position. Why centralise when revolts are likely to occur even more? What would've happened had The Hansa not been there to stop Holstein? Why spend all your time conquering, rather than administering in the capital? Kniprode was an able administrator when he put his mind to it, but he tended to prefer foreign relations (in war and peace) to internal matters. Overall, though, Kniprode was an excellent leader. As I will do for all the leaders, he will gain an epithet or a sobriquet. And thus, he is Winrich von Kniprode, Father of Prussia. He is not merely a father because he is the first Hochmeister I have dealt with - there were many before him, after all. But he set up the Teutonic Order into something else, allowing his "sons" to follow in his footsteps, but also to go their own way, whatever way that may be. He was everything a child would imagine their father to be, and this includes being able to overlook his faults. He was, ultimately, a man to be proud of.

Karl Joseph I was an unsurprising successor to Kniprode. Having been second in charge under Kniprode, often running the administration while the Hochmeister was campaigning, it made sense that he would continue in this role. It is perhaps no surprise that he appears to have been greatly affected by the way Kniprode approached governance, and that he attempted to emulate the works of his predecessor. He was not Kniprode, however. While he was an administrator of almost equal ability, his diplomatic and military prowess was somewhat average. As such, his ability to conquest was somewhat stifled by naturally lacking the ability to lead like Kniprode. Naturally, this meant that calls from advisors from the start of his reign to vassalise Pommerania were ignored in favour of further consolidation and economic prosperity. There was one thing Karl Joseph had had his eyes on for some time – an embassy. Such a thing was quite expensive, and as such he was willing to forgo conquest for some time in order to improve the Order's reputation. Being at peace was something he had no trouble with.

He was on the verge of ordering an embassy when a crisis of the nobility occurred. A noble himself, Karl refused to deny aid to the family in need, despite calls to the contrary, thus delaying his task longer than it should have been.


His "child", so to speak, was finally called for construction in 1389, in Rzhev, a move which turned out to cause great difficulty once the National Bank ran into trouble soon after. In order to support the Bank, further loans were taken out, putting a great strain on Emmanuel Hertzler. In order to further prop up the economy temporarily, the nobility was given control over church functions for a time. Another centalisation policy was also announced at this time.


Karl was to watch with interest as the Golden Horde invaded Poland and Lithuania, and noted with some surprise how quickly the combined forces were able to charge into Horde territory. At this time also, Lithuania had become a Christian nation, causing the Order some concern for their own position, while Muscowy completed their Russian takeover.


1392, though, was a year that made even Karl consider going to war. Brandenburg declared war on Poland. The thought of taking some rich Polish lands (some of which the Order did have a claim to) excited even the war-fearing Hochmeister. And on the Christmas Day, 1392, Poland came under the attack of the Teutonic Order. Leading the Teutonic charge was Bernhard von Ruszdorf, a respected Prussian general. Soon after, Bohemia saw on opportunity to attack Polish allies Hungary, and all of a sudden all of the Eastern European powers were at war – a potentially defining era in European history.


Poland did well enough, considering that it was surrounded by enemies, thanks to its allies. Slowly, it formed peace deals, which, while increasing the pressure on Teutonic troops to quickly take provinces, also allowed them the opportunity to potentially take a great swathe of land. Poland formed a sneak invasion force through Lithuania, which the main Teutonic army was forced to take care of.


Ruszdorf then led his forces back to Poland, seeking to complete the siege of Sandomierz before Karl Joseph attempted a peace deal. By the end of 1394, the war was not yet over, and was looking increasingly like being a relative stalemate, with Bohemia and the Teutons capturing half each, before Poland accepted Bohemia's conquest of Poznan, leaving the Teutons to siege all of a very weakened Poland.

With Poland looking defeated, Ruszdorf was to rush towards Kurland in early 1395 to take care of some Animist zealots who had crossed over from Lithuania. The conqests of Poland had also allowed the Golden Horde to make inroads into Lithuania, free of the mass of European forces that were previously attacking them. With a 90% of Poland under Teutonic control, a peace deal was finally made, and it was quite extraordinary too. Karl Joseph seemingly wanted to make this his only significant war, and took five provinces, decimating Poland and giving the Order a poor reputation again. But Karl was heard to remark that “This was what the embassy was made for”. 1396 was to see Humbert von Bucholtz become the head of the National Bank following the retirement of Johann von Campenhausen.


Muscowy also launched a war on the Golden Horde, seeking to take advantage of their Lithuanian distraction, but this ended with no gains for either side. The Lithuania-Horde war finally ended in 1399, with Lithuania losing Poltava. More importantly, this decade saw an number of the Order's Russian territories be fully accepted as lands of the Order. In addition, the final Orthodox lands began coverting to Catholicism, and in 1400 the Order was rewarded for this hard work by becoming the Papal Controller. But a more surprising event occurred not two months later, with Karl Joseph declaring war on Denmark for the core territory of Kola. Here we see that Karl took more lessons from his master than we tend to give him credit for. A war against Denmark was perfectly feasible, given England was currently beating them quite handily. But the war had to be quick, as England made peace treaties relatively soon after the declartion. And so it was, with Denmark accepting the taking of their three northern provinces.


This seemed like a somewhat odd treaty. There didn't seem to be much use in holding the other two Scandinavian provinces. So why were they asked for? It is difficult to tell. Perhaps Karl simply got a bit over zealous with his warmongering, attempting to emulate his predecessor. Nevertheless, it put a foot in the door for the Teutons in Scandinavia, much like the Scottish to the west. With Finland no longer an ally, an annexation of them seemed to be a logical step, given the Teutonic core on their land. But such a move would have to wait just a little longer.


It took some time before Karl Joseph was willing to go to war again. It was 1409 when he declared war again, saying to all around him that this would be his “last war”. It was a matter of necessity, in fact, that he went to war – having Finland separate the lands of the Order was pointless. Of course, had he not demanded the Danish lands earlier, he would not have been in such a position, but he did, so he was. The Scandinavian countries were again at war with England, so there was really no better time to attack Finland.

Sweden, Norway and Gotland all rose to defend Finland, but this was to be an annoyance rather than an opportunity. Indeed, it appeared to be so for both sides, with all the Order's enemies offering white peaces very soon after the declaration. But the war would not be complete until Finland itself was taken.

Finland was quickly annexed in March of 1410, and peace was made with the other countries soon after. And so there was peace in the land of the Teutons. In the HRE, a reform was passed after the Diet of Berlin, following the election of another Bohemian king to the emperorship. When Muscowy went to war with Lithuania in 1413, Karl simply waited. He had no intention of going to war unless Muscowy asked him to. This even meant letting Lithuania take a Muscovite province. He watched with dread as the Horde continued to break Lithuania, before the Horde agreed to simply take the province of Podolia – not getting too much closer to the Order's lands.


In fact, to say that Karl Joseph became a recluse in his later years would not be a stretch. Focused entirely on the economy, Karl would not even arrange festivities for the people following a good year. His advisers retired and weren't replaced. He did not seek foreign diplomacy. He did, however, ask his representatives in Rome to call for a crusade on the Horde, to ensure they would not get near the Order's lands. When asked, tentatively, whether it was best to give the serfs some freedoms as they had been asking for, he would respond with a quick nod of the head, and move back to his economic musings.


However, in 1424 he responded to the call of his Muscovite allies to help them against the Jalayirids. But this was nominal only – there was little way for Teutonic soldiers to reach the Jalayirid lands, and Karl had no intention of getting them to do so. A white peace was reached within due course. He watched with fascination as the European alliance ripped through the Golden Horde, but was somewhat perplexed by the white peace accepted by many of them. So when Muscowy again called for assistance, he agreed to help out. But again, it was only nominal, and the peace secured by Lithuania soon after going to war did little to calm his fears, but these were soon quelled with a white peace.


And so it was that Karl Joseph I passed away in Konigsberg on the 8th of January, 1431.

• Provinces gained: Kalisz, Kola, Nyland, Osterbotten, Plock, Savolax, Sandomierz, Sieradz, Tavastland, Torun and Vasterbotten
• Provinces lost: None
• Moved towards centralisation, free subjects and land

Karl Joseph was not a grand strategist like his predecessor. He ran his country as events happened, without any clear long term goal (other than keeping the economy going). But he ran it well. Under his guidance the lands of the Order expanded, entirely in his earlier years, as he took advantage of opportunities as they arose. His administrative abilities shone through in guiding his economy, able to take advantage of loans and minting as was necessary. He was able to take, most notably, rich Polish lands, weakening one of the Order's biggest rivals while also providing an excellent economic boost. But he became unimaginative as time went on. It almost seems as though, after his Scandinavian adventure, he became too frightened of taking lands the Order may not have needed, and simply refused to take any at all. He wasn't really able to take advantage of any of the opportunities given to him by Kniprode, whether through circumstance or his own lack of aggression.

His reign can really be divided into two parts - the successful earlier part, and the consolidatory latter half. Both of these, though, are characterised by his stability. Through war and peace, Karl Joseph was always ensuring first and foremost the stability of his nation, both for the present and the future. It would not be fair to give him an epithet merely ascribing to one of these two halves, nor one that simply named him according his slightly less capable rulership when compared to his Kniprode. His epithet must be one encompassing his entire reign, and it for this reason he is Karl Joseph "the Steady".

Thanks all for your comments so far.

Merrick Chance' said:

So do you have a larger strategy or are you just taking opportunities as they come?

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Depends on the leader.

While normally I would go for a larger strategy, it has actually been quite fun to take events as they happen with some of the leaders.

Tommy4ever said:

Those are some ugly borders. I wonder if there will be substantial German settlement in Finland? I'd imagine the population would still be very small and Germans could take the historic role of Swedes in Finland as a sort of urbanised elite whilst the native Finns remain in the countryside.

Look forward to you continuing thi, hopefully making your borders a little less ugly in your next updates.

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We can hope.