Tales from Wallachia

Prologue: The Reign of Mihai I

Wallachia was a quiet place in the 1400s. Anybody who studies their history can tell you that. They were a small kingdom bordering the warlike, powerful Ottoman Empire--so they had good reason to keep quiet. The Wallachians spent most of their time making sure the Ottomans didn't get angry enough to start an invasion.

And so it was in 1419. Mihai I was the king of the realm. He was a smart ruler, and for the protection of his country from the Turkish menace he had, several years before, created an alliance with his neighbors and good friends, Moldavia. The alliance was still alive in 1419.

1419 and 1420 seemed like years to parallel the past ones for the level of quiet. Not much happened at all. On April 14, 1419 Wallachia granted military access to Hungary, and then on September 24 accepted Moldavia's offer for a royal marriage. On June 30, 1420, Mihai, in an attempt to create further resistance to possible Turkish expansion in Europe, invited Serbia to join the alliance. Serbia's acceptance was greeted with celebration in Bucuresti, Wallachia's capital. Feasting, parading, and partying were the order of the day, and political leaders proclaimed it the 'Balkan Alliance', three great nations to control the Balkans from the infidel. But then, a month later, tragedy struck.

On July 30, 1420, Mihai came down with a terrible fever. He did not last long. On August 1st, as the people who had previously celebrated mourned and the politicians who had previously declared their triumph read tributes and obituaries, Dan II became King. Many who knew Dan believed him to be an agressive man, but few knew how much of an impact he would make on his country's future.

Wallachia During the Reign of Mihai I

Wallachia during the reign of Mihai I. Note that no land has changed hands as yet. 1420.


EDIT: The screenie works!!!!

Chapter 1: The Rumelian War

Dan II's first move as new king was to strengthen his ties with the other members of the Balkan Alliance. In early 1421 serious reforms were made to the navy, which at this time consisted of ships patrolling the Danube and ferries crossing it. These reforms, and a thirst for expansion made Dan look East, towards the port of Rumelia, which was conveniently located on the Black Sea. What was more, Rumelia was held by the Ottomans, still another reason to capture it. He continued to improve relations with his allies to ensure they followed him into battle. He increased his army's size from 10,000 to 32,000. And then, finally, on February 13, 1422, he declared war on the Ottoman Empire.

Colonel Boszau was the commander of the Wallachian Army at the time. He led his men into Rumelia quickly, and on March 13 destroyed the small Ottoman force there. He laid siege to the city. Soon after two more enemy armies (OOC: Ottomans had mil. access through Byzantium) came; the first was defeated at Boszau's hands, but the other won a crushing victory, as the Wallachian and his troops were tired from constant fighting. On June 5, the Wallachians retreated to their home.

Dan was a stubborn king, though, and Colonel Boszau was loyal to his king. Reinforcements were built just in time to come in handy at the Battle of Bucuresti, in which 4 seperate Ottoman armies were crushed and destroyed. The gateway was open once again to Rumelia. The siege started up again on August 24, 1422, and Boszau succesfully fended off to more Turkish attacks. Like last time, though, the Ottomans succeeded on the third attemp with a force of 9000--twice as much as Boszau had ever fought before. On November 13 the proud army once again retreated, meeting more reinforcements upon their arrival at the capital.

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The date was February 26, 1423. Colonel Boszau had lined his men around a large hill outside Bucuresti. From atop the hill the colonel could see the Turkish janissaries approaching. Scouts reported there were 8000 of them, compared to an equal number of his own men. Over the winter they had rested quite well, and were ready for a fight. Then a cannon boomed from the direction of the Turks. Boszau knew the battle was on.

He watched, then, as 5000 of the 8000 Turks formed for a frontal assault. He instructed a messenger to go down to the bottom of the hill, to tell them to hold on for all they had. He watched the Turks advance, marching across the ground still dusted by snow, but not enough to be a factor. It was a grand sight. A chill went down the Wallachian's spine as he saw this army of devoted men, willing to give their lives to their nation for any cause, great or small, marching in formation towards a hill, a hill well fortified with many men with halberds, many knights, many musketeers. And then he shuddered as he watched artillery and muskets (for he had about 200 musketeers) rip into the bold formation.

Suddenly he realized he was probably needed down at the bottom of the hill, and so he mounted and galloped off. For the next hour fighting continued at a roar, with the Wallachians controlling the upper hand. Then Colonel Boszau played his winning move.

1000 cavalry men came roaring along the side of the hill and onto the plain, sweeping into the flank and rear of the Ottoman formations. The janissaries panicked, but when they attempted to escape the cavalry encircled them and the Wallachian infantry made a bold charge. The Turks were trapped, and in a desperate move to escape they plunged into the cavalry, hoping to drive them aside and escape. It worked, partially. A carpet of dead was left behind, making it obvious where the breakout was attempted. Only 300 Turks made it alive, and soon the cavalry pursued. The once proud Ottoman army, 8000 strong, was soon destroyed.
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It was Colonel Boszau's greatest victory, and it led to victory for the Balkan Alliance. Soon Rumelia, Dobrudja, and Bulgaria fell to the Wallachians, and Serbia captured Macedonia. In peace talks, the Ottomans gave Wallachia Rumelia and gave Serbia Macedonia (ironically, the first seaport provinces for each country). The Rumelian War had ended in great triumph.

The Byzantines (Romans) are already in an alliance, but I've been building relations from the start. (I have mil access to invade the Turkish homeland.) What I want is a Christian country on the other end of Anatolia--like Georgia or Trebizond (but Trebizond's in the alliance with the Byzantines)--so I can surround the Turkish menace!

Chapter 2: In Time of Peace

And so, on August 28, 1426, the war with the Ottoman Empire ended. It would be another 6 years before Wallachian armies would fight a foreign nation again.

On November 19, Serbia declared war on the tiny nation of Bosnia. Since breaking the alliance was out of the question, both Moldova and Wallachia joined the war. However, armies of Moldova or Wallachia would never come in contact with the forces of Bosnia and its allies, Venice and Ragusa. In less than six months Wallachia had signed a white peace with the three nations.

On March 10, 1427, King Dan arrived in Rumelia at the harbor to see a grand sight. His entourage surrounded him on his high throne. The King looked out onto the harbour, and (for ettiquette reasons) the rest of the crowd looked, too, but only after the King's gaze was fixed on the water. (Nearly half of the population of Rumelia, and the richest men from Bucuresti, had come to see the event.)

Then it came into the harbor for everyone to see: a warship. It was Wallachia's first warship of any kind, and it was the first navy the tiny kingdom had ever seen. It was a landmark, a symbol of a tiny dot on the map becoming a world power, able to sail to England, far Russia, or even Africa. It was the dawn of a new age. (Or so the King's propagandists told everyone.)

A year later almost to the day, on March 11, 1428, word arrived that the growing power (and ever closer friend and ally) Serbia had annexed Bosnia. Festivities rocked the nation once more. In celebration the King married off his daughter to a Serbian prince.

Then came the kingdom's greatest crisis yet. On the first of February, 1431, the peasants of Rumelia rebelled against good king Dan, laying siege to the city. Colonel Boszau, however, was quick to his feet, and by March 6 all the rebels were crushed. The colonel stayed to prevent a second revolt, which did indeed occur from May 1 to May 4, and was stopped successfully.

But on June first, 1431, Dan II had an enormous heart attack after a Feast of the Summer (to celebrate summer and mourn the passing of spring) and died. Immediately his son, Alexandru, was crowned King of Wallachia. Alexandru was ambitious, too, and extremely aggressive, and since his brother-in-law was Serbian, was quite fond of his neighbors to the south.

Unfortunately, these two facts would bring Wallachia to a point of crisis from which escape would be a miracle.

Sorry about the little break there, I din't have time to update the AAR. I should sometime over the weekend.

Please, tell me this: Can you see the screenshot I've posted? If you can, I'm delighted, otherwise, I'm afraid we'll have to go screenie-free.

Chapter 3: The Crisis Begins

The new king, Alexandru, built up his forces. He was very aggressive and hated the Ottomans with all his heart. On April 12, 1432, he declared war on them, and his allies joined the fight.

Within days Sofia, Bulgaria, was besieged. Several small Turkish forces challenged the siege, only to be destroyed. In early 1433, a fresh army laid siege to Dobrudja as well, but the Ottomans swiftly defeated them. On April 1, 1433, Colonel Boszau and his army retreated in the face of a far superior enemy army fresh from wars in Asia Minor. Upon arrival in Wallachia more reinforcements joined him.

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On June 24, 1433, the colonel led his stronger army back to fight the Ottoman army in Bulgaria. The Ottoman force was caught on a plain with no cover, and the colonel devised plans to surround the enemy army.

He knew the Turkish cavalry were the biggest threat of all, and so had his own cavalry go on a wide sweep about 10 miles to the right of the Turkish line. As he expected, almost all of the Ottoman cavalry rode off to fend off this threat. The colonel then sent the bulk of his force around the flank of the Turks, but on his foe's left, and only two miles away.

On the morning of June 25, his remaining troops made a frontal attack on the Ottoman infantry. Colonel Boszau rode along the line, encouraging the men. Soon the fight was a draw. But then, by sheer luck, his cavalry--the same force which had been dispatched ten miles down the enemy's right--came barrelling into the Turkish right flank, pursuing fleeing cavalrymen, and causing the infantry to flee to avoid being surrounded. The colonel had not expected this at all--he had expected the Turkish cavalry to win the fight 10 miles south hands-down--but was delighted all the same. The enemy retreated to avoid being cut off, before running into the final piece of the Wallachian colonel's plan: the flanking infantry force.

By this time they had made it to the Turkish line of retreat, capturing supplies and retreating cavalry. Now the entire Ottoman army came running at them--not charging, fleeing. It was a grand opportunity, and the advantage was taken. The battle was bloody, and in the end all the Ottoman men either surrendered or died.

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Two months later, the victory would come to nought, as the Colonel and his men would have to return home to suppress a revolt. On January 16, 1434, Serbia captured the province of Bulgaria, and for the rest of that year Wallachian armies besieged Dobrudja, successfully.

But the crisis began in November and December, 1434. Croatia, Hungary, Siebenburgen, and Bohemia all declared war on Serbia (all but Croatia were in one alliance), and Moldova and Wallachia accepted. But it would turn out to be much more than anybody bargained for. It would be the closest Wallachia would ever come to extinction.

Many, many thanks Judas!

The screenshot way up there works now, and I will be posting another with the next chapter!

I do, I just don't have time. Somewhere in the near future, Wallachia will come alive again...well, so it was never dead, anyway...

Actually, the best part is coming. It took me a week to play, I had half of Europe after my neck, seriously. It will be close to disaster, this next portion...

Chapter 4: In Dire Straits

For a year, Wallachia took no part in the war against Hungary, Siebenburgen, and Bohemia. But, on January 8 through 14, 1436, the entire army of Siebenburgen was massacred by the brilliant Colonel Boszau, who proceeded to lay siege to Transylvania's cities and castles. In March, a revolt in Rumelia was squashed by a fresh army, which immediately joined Boszau at the front. On May 15, the war became a war on only one front: peace talks with the Ottoman Empire ended, with the Turks giving up Dobrudja to King Alexandru of Wallachia.

On June 26, crisis struck. A fresh army of raw recruits just leaving the city of Bucuresti was ambushed by an army of 30,000 Bohemians and Croatians (the number of enemy forces was later reduced to 20,000 when Boszau and his superiors learned otherwise). The recruits were killed to the last man, and the capital of Wallachia was under siege.

Alexandru and his court fled to Rumelia--which seemed to be less rebellious now--but Colonel Boszau was smart and realized he could not abandon his siege in Transylvania and come to Bucuresti's aid. The enemy army was twice his size, and commanded by a great general--whose name has been forgotten by time--and the Colonel knew that he stood little chance against this threat.

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The tale of Prince Vlad was a sad one. He had married into the royal family of Siebenburgen at age 18, and was happily wedded (with one child) for 13 long years, before his life was engulfed by turmoil. His wife and her family had no choice but to side with their ally Hungary in this new war, and Vlad received death threats warning him to leave Transylvania forever. Fearful for his life, he parted with his wife and left for Wallachia, in tears. He was now at war with his own family, and he did everything he could to stop the war. On October 10, 1436, Croatia ended their war, taking Bosnia from the Serbs, but Hungary, Bohemia, and Siebenburgen remained at war. His wife made statements against his father, King Alexandru, in public. And then things came to a head for the young man.

On December First, 1436, Prince Vlad Dracul was proclaimed King of Wallachia and commander of its armies, and was told by his staff to pursue war at all costs.
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Shortly after, on January 4, in the new year of 1437, Vlad annexed Siebenburgen. He reunited with his wife, and would remain married to her for decades to come. But the happiness would not last. In February news arrived that Tuscany and her allies Modena and the Duchy of Athens had declared war. Dark days were ahead for the reunited couple.

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Screenshot coming soon!
I will post it before I update the AAR, as the screenie comes from right before Tuscany's declaration of war.