Middelkerke: Thanks. I don’t think your idea will work though, as I’m not a Trade League. The only way to do what you suggest would be to conquer and dismantle the various small CoTs around Germany.
JDMS: Castille has about three times as many troops as me in Europe, but they’re scattered through Iberia, Italy, Greece and North Africa.
sjones25: The other nations are pretty entrenched in South America now, so I’d prefer to stay out of there. I’ll look at taking the Falklands or something to expand my colonial range.
blsteen: To be honest, the British thing is my fault. I was playing around with CBs at the time, which allowed them to easily grab something in India so early on.
History_Buff: My economy was almost wrecked by the Caribbean colonies, so I don’t plan on adding another bunch I’ll have to manage with this huge war on. I’ve been slowly expanding my fleet, but it’ll be a while before it can match up to Britain’s.
Chapter Seventeen: Fighting the Catholics
There was only one way to break the present stalemate, and that would be to take the fight to the Castillians. As they were in overall command of the alliance, if they could be brought to terms then Britain would have to follow.
An army was dispatched to Castillian Italy to see what it could do in the rebel-torn region. However, it had to withdraw as it was discovered that the Iberians had placed a large force in Lombardia preventing any Frisian troops from entering the area without a tough fight.
It was a good thing that the retreat was called, as someone else was eager to break the stalemate.
Intent on aiding its Catholic allies, Austria entered the fray with its vast armies. The majority of Frisian forces were immediately ordered to the eastern border, with only a small force staying behind to hold of British landings around Calais.
Austria had brought the tiny kingdom of Cologne into the war, and they just so happened to stand between the Frisian armies and the isolated territory of Brunswick.
They were swatted aside and brought into the fold with ease.
Frisian soldiers lead by Johan III met the Austrian advance force in Brunswick and engaged in a bloody battle.
The Austrians were crushed, but many more were on the way. Brandenburg was bearing the brunt of the Austrian sledgehammer and soon those troops would be pointed at Friesland. The terrible battles going on there gave Johan mixed feelings. While Brandenburg had been a staunch Frisian ally for years, they were still heretics and having them engage in deadly battles with Catholics was probably the best use for them.
After finishing their work in Brandenburg more than fifty thousand Austrians made their way towards Brunswick.
Johan knew that he had no chance against such a force, especially given the Austrian advantage in technology and doctrine. So he ordered the Frisian army to retreat to the territory of its vassals, which weren’t a part of the war and so safe from Austrian troops, and had them burn everything they passed on their way out of Brunswick. The Austrians would have to storm the provincial capital to have anywhere near enough food to support their massive force.
Johan plans did little to ease the pain of the people of Brandenburg and Meissen, who found the majority of their lands absorbed by Austria.
Johan publicly vowed to free the oppressed Calvinists from the Catholics, but really that was quite far down his agenda. There were more important matters than freeing a group of heretical allies.
The Austrians had refused to assault Braunschweig and instead focused their efforts on watching the border where Frisian troops were massed. They apparently were afraid that taking the city would expose their back to the Frisians, and that had cost them dearly as they discovered the induced famine the region was suffering.
After tens of thousands of Austrians lay dead or starving, Johan moved his forces in and easily crushed the survivors. Such a defeat sent waves of discontent through the Austrian court, and their king was willing to accept a ceasefire to recover from the loss.
With the east secure for the time being, Johan lead the Armies of Friesland and Flanders to Iberia. He had managed to secure access through Aragon, who were eager to see their Iberian rival humiliated, and planned to strike at the heart of Castille itself.
The plan went far better than expected. The majority of the Castillian army was either engaging rebels around Granada or guarding their large Mediterranean empire. This allowed Frisian troops to run rampant through the countryside, seizing cities as they went.
Meanwhile, in New Friesland, the natives around the Great Lakes made a valiant effort to retake their territory. (Pagans get Holy War as well in this mod.)
Valiant but futile, as local forces were more than enough to handle them and conquer more land in retribution.
In Iberia, thing were mostly going to plan. Large swathes of the nation were under Frisian control and only one large army opposed them. Having crushed the Granadan rebels, that army was finally able to turn its attention to the invaders. Johan lead one of his armies against them, and was able to defeat them after a very tough battle around Murcia. Then he suffered one of the most embarrassing defeats of his life.
A small group of Castillian cavalry came up behind the exhausted Frisian army and caused a massive rout, as the troops feared it was a massive detachment of reinforcements. (I have no idea why this happened. I would have thought that after beating the other Castillian army I would have enough morale left to one-shot a single regiment that spawned. Is morale rounded down or something, since I know mine was pretty low following the battle?)
Luckily, the other Frisian army in the region was able to catch the larger Castillian force and finish it off even after that failure.
The loss of the only real Castillian army in Iberia was enough for them to offer their surrender.
For the loss of Johan’s army they were forced to pay a large sum of reparations, as well as turn over Calais and the British colony of Epetwitk.
The war was finally over, and while it hadn’t been the total defeat of the Catholics Johan had wanted, British interests in the Americas were almost completely destroyed. Now the country could rebuild and get ready for the next inevitable war.
Now that the Calvinists in the eastern half of the Empire were crushed, Austria was a bigger threat than ever and Johan knew that. The next major war would almost certainly be against them, so preparations would have to be made.
Burgundy was a shadow of its former self, having suffered repeated defeats in the series of conflicts that had been termed the French Civil War. Still, they were strong enough to be appreciated as allies against the Catholics. Defensive structures were expanded in key regions in case of Austrian attack, and another full size army, the Army of Brunswick, was added to the Frisian arsenal in Europe.
Meanwhile, the Councils were doing their part by looking into possible Frisian claims on other regions of the Empire in order to consolidate the Kingdom’s strength before taking on the Austrian juggernaut.
Hannoverian refugees settling in Anhalt after the attempted Hessian cleansing of Brunswick were enough to press a claim on the small state. Elsewhere, the Calvinists in Cleves were oppressing the Protestants they had conquered from Trier giving a reason for Frisian intervention.
Austria had finally bitten off more than it could chew. Their aggression and conquests had gained the anger of all of Europe.
This could very well be the chance Johan needed. If he could land a decisive enough blow on Austria, then the other nations of Europe would see it as a chance and join in to grab what they could from the official villains of the continent.
There was the matter of the Emperor though. The Catholic King of Luneburg had forged an alliance with his Austrian counterpart, effectively adding another large force Friesland would have to contend with on the frontline in Northern Germany. Something would have to be done about him before Austria could be engaged. It just so happened that there was a way to do just that without garnering the immediate attention of the Austrians.
Cleves lay under the protective sphere on Luneburg, and they were likely to rush to its defence without calling in any allies. It was time to bring down the Emperor.
To be continued...