You are blessed with some badass leadership indeed. Now all that remains are the Teutons?
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Yeah, I got really lucky with Prinz. As for the German war, The Emperor is not fucking around, He brough over 25k soldiers to Danzig and smashed the Teutons completley. Victory looks inevitable.
Blood hell you've got a Napoleon in your midst! And Erik seems quite the statesman considering he chew solids yet. 
If any of my readers are conserned that the release of EU IV will mean that this AAR is to end, have no fear. I played it and I found it came up short compared to MM (But then again, what doesn't). This AAR will carry on but currently work and life is as always getting involved. Nect week should be calmer and expect the naxt chapter around that time.
I'm glad it's continuing. I love MM too much to see this end! Looking forward to your next update, as always!
Chapter VII
The Nordic 8 years war. Part IV
After spending the winter 1445-6 in winter camps in Livland Karl and his army of 18000 is eager to finally take the war to the Teutons. In early March they cross the Daugava River on improvised barges and entered into Kurland uncontested. The rural population, fearing pillage and death quickly surrenders to Karl and in return for loyalty Karl orders that no looting or unecesary cruelty shall befall any man woman or child who surrenders.The Nordic 8 years war. Part IV
With a willing peasant population supporting his army and supplies streaming in from occupied Livonia Karl has little trouble supporting his army and by the end of March all of Kurland was under Swedish control. Yet despite this Karls scouts report that no Teutonic forces are comming North. Despite this Karl is hesitant to march South. The heavily fortiifed town of Memel bars his passage south and Karl fears that further advances against the Order might draw the ire of the Vienna and Berlin who are currently wrapping up the Pommeranian war. Insted Karl Choses too use his spare time to consolidate his hold on Estonia, Livoni, Kurland and Wenden. He traveled extensively through the occupied areas meeting with nobleman and commoner alike using a translator to talk with the Lets and Estonians.
This unusual behavior towards occupied subjects made it even easier for Karls army to keep the population in check and is believed to have been the major reason behind the fact that no revolt against Swedish occupation ever occured during the remainder of the war.
In October 1446 Karl recieves news that the Teutonic Grandmaster, the Duke of Brandenburg and the Austrian Emperor have reached a peace settlement where the Eastern part of Pommerania is ceded to Brandenburg, the Order pays a war indemnity to the Duke of Brandenburg and the Emperor recognized Brandenburgs claim to Hinterpommern (Becomes core of Brandenburg).
In the Spring of 1448 Memel finally surrenders ofter 529 days of total land and sea blockade. Karl was so impressed with the defiance of the Prussian levy garrison he said that never in his entire campaign against the Danes, Norwegians, Russians and Livonians had he seen such courage as that showed by the mottley rabble of Prussians who had held his army at the gates of Memel. The city was allowed to keep all of its local administration, its population was unmolested and Karl and his entire army even helped bury those who died in the defense of the city.
It would however be until the 10th of October 1448 before Königsberg surrenderd and peace negotiatios began. However with both Grandmasters prisoner it took a mere 2 days to reach a conclusion. In the treaty of Königsberg the Islands of Gotland, Ösel and Dagö were ceded to Sweden along with Estland witch became the Duchy of Estonia and gave Sweden a firm foothold on the eastern coast of the Baltic sea.
Swedish Dominions
The Swedish "Dominion System" was instituted by king Karl as a way of governing newly aquired territory outside of "Sweden Proper". That is too say Sweden and Finland. Considering Swedens small population and inability to institute settlement policies in newly conqured Estonia the Dominion system instead put Estonia and Ösel-Dagö under the control of a governor-General.
The governor-general was often a Swedish noble of whose loyalty to the king had been proven many times. He was in charge of both civil and military matters in the region but apart from this the conqured territory was allowed too keep a great deal of their internal political structure and their diets. They would however have no representation in the Swedish Riksdag and a Riksdag decision affecting the entire realm would always override any conflicting decision made by the diets in the Dominions.
The sudden agressive expansion of Sweden however brought the eyes of the continent towards the north. Even the Pope himself is not very pleased with Sweden ripping Estonia from one of the Holy Orders of the Baltic but the fact that it was the orders who were the agressors made it hard for any condemnation of Karl to take place. The rest of the Major courts of Europe mearly grumbles a little but are fortunatley tied up in their own buisness.
Sweden c .1450
Regency council in the name of Erik Vasa
By the Grace of God: King of Sweden, Grand Prince of Finland and Duke of Estonia
Treasury: 32,1 Million Daler (321 Ducats)Regency council in the name of Erik Vasa
By the Grace of God: King of Sweden, Grand Prince of Finland and Duke of Estonia
GDP: 35.2 Million Daler (352 Ducats)
Standing Army: 12000 Footsoldiers, 6000 Cavalry
Navy: 12 Carracks, 2 Galleys, 6 cogs
Reserves: 12000
Discipline: 125.50%
Tradition: Army 25.20 Navy 10.90
Prestige: 80
Reputation: 8.0
Legitimacy: 48
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Consolidation is next on my agenda but who knows what the game will hurl at me.
Erik was born in 1444 so he is 6 in November 1450. Thats 9 years of Regency ahead.
Nine years of Regency might not be all bad, throw out a couple of warnings get some development done.
I feel I must explain myself.
Hello dear readers.
I am aware that I have been absent for quite while now and I feel i owe you some explanation simple though it may be. As you may know Rome 2 was released a while ago and that combined with a crushing writiers block has forced this AAR into an unwanted hiatus. Now however I have started writing again and hopefully I will have the next entry done by the end of the weekend. I hope too see you there.
Hello dear readers.
I am aware that I have been absent for quite while now and I feel i owe you some explanation simple though it may be. As you may know Rome 2 was released a while ago and that combined with a crushing writiers block has forced this AAR into an unwanted hiatus. Now however I have started writing again and hopefully I will have the next entry done by the end of the weekend. I hope too see you there.
Chapter VIII
The Kalmar War
The Kalmar War
The Kalmar war was launched by king Christian I in alliance with Olav V of Norway against Sweden in an attempt to regain atleast on of the thrones lost by Eric. Ofcourse he has no intention of keeping Norway as an ally, once he has Sweden under control he will have both the manpower and land routh to invade Norway with ease.
In Stockholm the regency council quickly appoints Patrik Prinz as supreme commander of the Swedish army. The Royal army is mobilized and the Army of Finland prepares to cross the sea of Åland as soon as the Swedish fleet can secure the crossing.
In May 1453 Danish forces marches on Kalmar which is taken by storm in early June. At about the same time the Swedish navy takes to the seas with orders to engage and eliminate any enemy ships and if possible eract a blockade of the Danish coast lines to limit the amount of reinforcements that can be brought in.
In August 1453 the Swedish and Danish navys meets just north of Åland, with the Danish navy being mostly galleys and other light ships they stand little chance against the capital ships of the Swedish fleet under the command of Admiral Patrik Eriksson. The hight of the Carracks hull makes it very difficult to board from a galley and one by one the galleys are repelled and hunted by Swedish galleys darting between the capital ships.
In the end two Danish galleys are captured with the rest limping back to Copenhagen. Admiral Eriksson pursues and in Autumn of 1453 he has the majority of the all Danish ports under blockade. The Danish army is cut of from its home Islands.
With the Baltic Sea firmly in Swedish hands the Army of finland crossed over the sea of Åland and joined up with the Royal Army assembling outside Stockholm. Together they numbered 22000 men. While togheter Denmark and Norway can field almost twice that number the easy fall of Kalmar and Småland has emboldened king Christian and he splits his army up in 2 smaller units hoping to secure more ground before the Swedish counter attack wich he knows is comming.
In Septermber 1453 General Priz marches south towards the Danish Army laying siege to Linköping, an important stop on the road to Stockholm. Unlike Kalmar, Linköping was prepared for the danish attack and was able to repulse the first wave of attackers promting Christian to attempt to starve the city into surrender.
Upon hearing of the much larger Swedish armys aproach Christian realises that splitting his forces had been a mistake. He lifts the siege and initiates a forced march to link up with the rest of the Danish forces in Östergötland. Pushing west towards Lake Vättern the Danish army comes under constant harrasment from Prinz's light cavalry and peasant bands resentful of the Danish invasion forces. Realising that the will not be able to reach Östergötland in time Christian halts his army at the village of Mjölby, the town itelf was mostly abandoned as the population fled north to the relative safety of Prinz's army.
Stationing his forces on a small hill just North of the village he hopes to be able to inflict enough casualties on the Swedish army to be able to continue his withdrawal in peace.
Prinz however has gained significant knowledge of the area thanks to the escaped villagers whom he emplys as guides. thus Prinz is able to use the Forst just north of the Danish occupied hill as cover for his cavalry. The more numerous Swedish infantry attacks up the hill but faces stiff Danish resistance until the Swedish cavalry emrges on the Danish Left flank charging up the hill and completley breaking the Danish army. Christians army is forced off the hill and pushed Southwest.
By now he has realised just how outnumbered he is and he Orders a full on retreat. Christian himself fights a valiant rearguard action alongside his personal entourage of knights but is soon also forced to flee. His rearguard actions however has bought his officers enough time to organize a withdrawal back to Skåne.
With the Swedish victory at Mjölby the Danish lost about half of its military precence in Sweden. There was still about 8000 Danish soldiers in Västergötland but they were poorly led and demoralized by guerilla warfare. The Norwegian troops in Värmland and Dalarna are numerous but also very inactive, seeming to be in no rush to aid their Danish allies.
Prinz is therefore confident enough to split his own forces into the 14000 Royal army and the 8000 Army of Finland, Command of the army of Finland goes to Karl Johan Toll. who is taked with retaking Småland and defending the south against further Danish incursions. Meanwhile Prinz takes the Royal army northwest hoping to manage a decisive victory over the Norwegian forces and force them out of the war.
Prinz Winter Campaign
Poor roads, awful weather and constant hit and run attacks by norwegian forces slows Prinz advance to a crawl and demoralizes his men. It would not be until January 1454 that Prinz finally made contact with the Norwegian king and his army just 1 days march south of Mora.
While the Norwegian army was smaller they did have a significant advantage in the amount of cavalry they fielded. Not one to be deterred by numbers however Prinz froms up his army with his infantry in the centre, his heavy cavalry on the right wing and his light cavalry on the left. As is his custom Prinz places himself at the head of the Heavy cavalry.
Taking the initiative Prinz sends his light cavalry out to the Norwegian right flank to distract the more numerous Norwegian horsemen who in their eargerness to win fame gives chase leaving the Norwegian right flank unguarded. Prinz now sends in his heaviest infantry towards the norwegian right, Under a hail of crossbow bolts the swedes advance and crasch into thir foes driving them back. At the same time Prinz leads his heavy cavalry towards the Norwegian right flank catching the norwegian cavalry there by suprise and drives them of the field.
This leaves Prinz and his heavy cavalry the opportunity to smash into the Norwegian infantrys rear, within minutes the Norwegian line crumbles and King Olav sounds the retreat. Here Prinz realises his mistake of sending his light cavalry away asbait, he has no way of giving immideate pursuit and is forced to wait until he can gather his forces again giving the Norwegian army almost and entire days head start.
Despite this Prinz sets a punishing pace westwards in pursuit of King Olav and his army. Sending his Hakkapeliita out in force to harass the Norwegian baggage train in an attempt to force Olav to give battle. On the 27th of Febrary Olav finally halts his army south of the town of Hamar in Eastern Norway. In a desperate attempt to preserve his forces Olav orders his forces to form a wagon fort with the ramainder of the bagage train, however while his army is in the middle of construction Prinz arrives with his army.
Seeing the disorganized Norwegian army Prinz orders an immideate attack into the half finished Wagon fort, it was a complete slaughter. In less than 1 hour the entire Norwegian army was dead or has surrendered, unfortunatley king Olav had managed to slip away. He fled into the mountains and would conduct a small scale guerilla war against Swedish troops untill October 1455 when he surrendered.
The string of Swedish victories so early in the war severely blunted the Danish-Norwegian offensive and enthusiasm for the war plummeted in Copenhagen and Oslo but soared in Stockholm where Prinz was hailed as a great hero and defender of the realm.
With the Danish forces retreating back to Sjeland and the Norwegians scattered in their mountains the Swedish army settles in for a slow and methodical siege of the major cities and castles in southern Sweden. In early October Oslo falls to General Prinz and the Norwegian king signs a peace treaty where he ranounces all Norwegian claims to Swedish lands, Severs his ties with Denmark and other continental powers.
With his western flank secured Prinz turn all his forces south were the army of Fonland hasw successfully occupied all of Skåne, Halland and Bleking giving Sweden total control of the Scandinavian mainland.
On Copenhagen king Christian is under great pressure, he has no army, his fleet has been forced into port due to the Swedish blockade of Öresund, He does however hope that Prinz will stain in Skåne over winter giving him some breathing room.. Prinz however has other plans. The winter of 1455-1456 is a very mild one and Öresund is almost iceless. The Swedish fleet would normally seek shelter in ports during the winter months but now Prinz loads his forces on transports and ferries them across on the night between February 4-5. On the Morning of the 5th the Danish Capital awakens to the sight of 22000 swedish soldiers camped outside their walls. The surprise is complete and after just one day king Chrisitan himself surrenders the city to Patrik Prinz.
The peacetreaty is signed on February 7th as the Regency council had taken the liberty of drawing it up as soon as the war turned in Swedish favour. Denmark is to recounce all its claims on Swedish lands, sever all its connections with continetal powers and grant Slesvig the independence it lost during the Nordic 8 Years War.
Sweden c .1457
Regency council in the name of Erik Vasa
By the Grace of God: King of Sweden, Grand Prince of Finland and Duke of Estonia
Treasury: 5,2 Million Daler (52 Ducats)
GDP: 31.2 Million Daler (312 Ducats)
Standing Army: Casualties from war not calculated
Navy: Casualties from war not calculated
Reserves: 12000
Discipline: 125.50%
Tradition: Army 25.20 Navy 10.90
Prestige: 80
Reputation: 8.0
Legitimacy: 48
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Such a low infamy... best way to play is to keep it always near the limit for maximum challenge.
Chapter IX
Erik XIII
Early Life
Erik XIII
Early Life
Erik was born in Castle Tre Kronor on the 6th of November 1444 and was to bee the only child of Karl VIII and his wife Maria of Holstein. Upon his birth Sweden was embroiled in the Nordic 8 Years War and his father was spending all his time on the Eastern front fighting Russians and Teutons. This combined with Karls death in 1450 meant that Erik spent less than two years with his father. This could have had drastic consecuensces for Erik and the entire Swedish realm as powerhungry nobles sought to manipulate the young king to achieve their own ends.
Fortuneatley such atempts were foiled by the shrewd Queen Mother Maria of Holstein with aid from Patrik Prinz who thanks to his actions in the war had become nothing short of a natonal hero commanding the loyalty of the vast majority of the Swedish proffesional army whereas the nobles could boast a few thousand levies and a handfull of Knights and men at arms. Many nobles where also loyal to Prinz having fought with him in the war.
The sceeming nobles could do little but grumble to eachother in correspondence. With Prinz becoming something of a father figure for young Erik and hearing tales of his fathers achivements from his mother naturally meant that Erik took a great interest in military matters. As Prinz marched of to fight the Kalmar War Erik was only six but time and time again pleaded with his mother to let him see the front. Naturally she refused.
Happily enough the Kalmar war ended favorably for Sweden with minor casualties among both soldier and civilian and Denmark and Norway both deeply humiliated. Upon Prinz's return to Stockholm Maria rewardshim with a vast amount of money to help with the restoration of his familys lands that were burned by the Teutons and Russians. He is also apointed to toutor young Erik in the ways of War, something he would do great at.
Coronation and Reign
Erik was crowned alongside his wife Margareta Gryf in Uppsala Cathedral on the 11th of November 1459 at the age of 15. The coronation was attended by the kings of Denmark and Norway along with the creme of all the Scandinavian nobility. With a Danish Princess becoming queen of Sweden the Danish king hopes to tie Sweden and Denmark togheter and reverse the missfortune Denmark suffered at the hands of Sweden.
Erik however will continue to view Denmark with suspicion, while the Danish king acts polite and even respectfully towards Erik Denmark retains its alliance and close cooporation with Norway while and still collectes tolls from Swedish merchant shipping going throigh Öresund. However open war with his father in law would be inapropriate to say the least. For now cordial relations with Denmark is for the best.
Eriks reign was to be remembered as a peaceful one. Under his reign piracy in the Baltic (that wasnt very common too start with) went down 50 percent due to his new anti piracy plan featuring small naval bases on strategically placed Islands such as Åland, Ösel, Gotland and Öland but also in the Finnish and Swedish archepilagos and the coast of the Gulf of Finland. This and a series of signal beacons made it virtually impossible for any ship to navigate the Baltic sea undetected and what pirates eaked out a meagre living in the north set course for the more lucrative mediterranean.
Many of the sailors encompased by the Anti piracy plan would later go on to enlist in the Swedish war fleet. This gave the Navy access to sailors who already had significant experience in naval matters, soon the War fleet recruits its sailors exclusively from these men.
the 20th of October 1462 was a day of great joy as Mergareta gives birth to the heir of Sweden. The child is christened Christoph Vasa and is to be the first of 3 children born by Margareta. The other two, Katarina (1466) and Maria (1470) would both go on to mary into great houses in Europe. Katarina married the second son of the king of France while Maria married the Prince of Novgorod following "The Lithuanian War" (1484-1488) where Sweden and Novgorod defeated the Lithuanians and the Knightly orders in several battles and sacked Vilna.
In 1470 Erik initiates a series of reformations of the Swedish army. Instead of the semi proffesional mix of Men at Arms and local levies Erik and Prinz introduces Pike warfare to Sweden. He hires a large group of Swiss mercenaries to act as instructors. The Swedish army sees rapid reformation as it accustomes itself with the new tactic known as "Push of Pike" in which the pikeformations advance in a rapid manner in an attempt to pin the enemy and hold him and allow the Cavalry to deal the decisive blow by outflanking the already engaged enemy.
Erik also increases Swedens war time army from 22 000 to 30000 in 1480. At peacetime the soldiers would live on and work their land like any other citizen but they were also rtequried to assemble for drills at any time of the year, most future swedish kings would do with with varying frequency but at most time the Swedish army was well trained and equipped and a mach for any of the great powers of Europe.
Sweden c .1480
Erik XIII Vasa (ADM:6 MIL:8 DIP:6)
By the Grace of God: King of Sweden, Grand Prince of Finland and Duke of Estonia
Erik XIII Vasa (ADM:6 MIL:8 DIP:6)
By the Grace of God: King of Sweden, Grand Prince of Finland and Duke of Estonia
Treasury: 25,3 Million Daler (253 Ducats)
GDP: 21.6 Million Daler (216 Ducats)
Standing Army: 20000 Infantry, 10000 Cavalry
Navy: 15 Caravels, 15 Barques, 8 Transports
Reserves: 17000
Discipline: 127.00%
Tradition: Army 14.20 Navy 5.90
Prestige: 40
Reputation: 0,5
Legitimacy: 89
I absolutely adore the style of your AAR, not many of the Swedish AARs around sadly. Love it, keep doing good work!
Love it, keep doing good work!