This is an AAR of my ongoing GC as the Hanseatic League, with game version 1.05b (at the moment), on hard/aggressive. My goals are simple: try to survive, and as long as that doesn't seem like a problem, expand, and try to become the leading nation in the Northern part of the Holy Roman Empire. As the Hansa is a fairly small nation at the start and does not have a permanent casus belli against anybody, I have no special rules about honor or decency – I'll give myself an unlimited supply of tickets to Bastard County.
In 1492, the Hansa consists of five provinces in what is now Northern Germany: Bremen, Holstein, Western and Eastern Pommerania, and the capital Mecklemburg. A screenshot of the initial situation can be found at
http://users.utu.fi/timhau/hansa1492.JPG
A HISTORY OF THE HANSEATIC LEAGUE
Part 1: Good Winds before the Storm (1492-1530)
THE FIRST HANSETAG
The Hanseatic League is a small nation of traders in the Northern borders of the Holy Roman Empire. First and foremost, we're merchants, not fighters, although the Hansa tries to keep a small, relatively advanced army ready to defend its territory if need be. However, we do not have an unending supply of poor peasants willing to risk their lives on the battlefield like Russia does; instead, we put emphasis on quality, and we also pay our soldiers well. The Hansa is by no means a superpower, but for a small country, it is relatively prosperous. None of its five provinces are poor, and the trading town of Hamburg, in Holstein at the Danish border, could even be characterized as rich.
The Hanseatic army consists of only 10000 men in the start of 1492, and the first thing the Royal Council, known as Hansetag, does is to draft more soldiers. Before the summer, our standing army has 15000 men in full battle readiness, and in time, we intend to rise the number to 20000. We should be able to defend ourselves from attacks from other small Germanic states. However, the Council does not consider them major threats; the Barons are much more concerned about Poland and Denmark, both of which have armies much stronger than ours. If we are to survive, our best shot is to find friends and allies with whom we could establish a mutually beneficial union.
In the spring of 1492, the Council approaches the Czar of Russia, with the intent of marrying the daughter of one of the Barons off to the Russian court. They accept our generous proposal, and this new-found friendship betweent the two nations leads to a military alliance on June 25th of the same year; in October, our old friends, the Teutonic Knights are added to the alliance. At about the same time, one of the Council members marries a young princess from Venice, thus bringing us closer to the Mediterranean merchants; in the following spring, one of our daughters becomes the wife of a Polish prince.
The Northern Union expands further in 1493, as our Western neighbor, Hannover, joins our alliance. The alliance is activated for the first time in June that year, when Russia declares war on Kazan; everybody but the Teutonic Knights honors the alliance, but only Russian troops fight. The war ends on January 6th, 1494, with Kazan paying a small indemnity to the Union.
In the next couple of years, the Hanseatic Council tries to establish itself as a legitimate part of the European royalty; royal marriages are arranged with the Teutonic Knights, Portugal, Hessen, Saxony, Austria, France, and England. With such a network of relatives, the Council should be able to find a valuable friend in any situation.
By 1498, our military has one army group of 19000 men backed by a small artillery regiment, and a considerably smaller field army consisting of infantry and cavalry. The Council passes a secret resolution to improve both armies as soon as our treasury permits, as they have now set their eyes on Brandenburg.
In the middle of the covert war preparations, the Russian Czar declares war on Kazan in July 1499; we support them again, but again only in spirit. The war ends on October 2nd, 1500, with Russia paying a small indemnity; this is treated as bad news in the Council, as we have trusted that having the Czar as our ally would be a deterrent for Polish aggression. However, we may have to revise our policies, if the Russians are indeed as weak as the Kazan Khanate made them look. Later the same year, the Spanish and French alliances go to war, but it does not really concern us; the battles are far from our borders.
On February 15th, 1503, our allies, the Teutonic Knights, declare war on Pskov, and we agree to support their cause. The war ends in September, when the Knights annex Pskov. This happens a month after our diplomats succeed in adding Astrakhan to our military alliance; they share a border with Poland, and should provide a headache for the Polish king, if he chose to attack us.
War preparations are almost finished in the spring of 1504, when the area south of us starts boiling: Austria and their ally Wurttemburg go to war against the Bohemia-Hungary -alliance in April, and a month later the Ottomans attack the alliance formed by Venice and the Mamelukes. While the Council is concerned that the Hansa might find itself in a squeeze between two larger wars – the Spanish-French war is still raging on – these incidents do not affect our planned conquest.
The Brandenburgian War (1504-1505)
The war declaration on September 9th, 1504 is not received well in our provinces. We do not have a diplomatically acceptable casus belli against Brandenburg, and our relations with them have been relatively amicable for a long time. However, this war is purely a business decision. The Souncil members explain patiently to lower-ranking nobles as well as yeowmen, merchants, and artesans that Hanseatic League needs to expand to guarantee survival and prosperity;
Our siege force of 20000 men and a small artillery regiment marches South to Magdeburg, which finds itself under siege in early October. Instead of defending their home territory, the Brandenburgian army – a force of only 15000 men, no artillery – marches to Eastern Pommerania and starts siege operations there. Our backup army force cannot drive them away, but is successful in diminishing their numbers further; Eastern Pommerania is one of our best fortified provinces, and as long as the Brandenburgian army is only marginally larger than our local garrison and has no artillery, the province should be able to hold on while we take control of Magdeburg.
Magdeburg starts to show first signs of weakness in the spring of 1505, but the news is by and large ignored by the general populace. No open riots take place, but the Council agrees that the war has in fact caused a political crisis in the domestic front. When Magdeburg falls on September 15th, 1505, the Brandenburgian army has hardly made a scratch on the fortifications in Eastern Pommerania. The Brandenburgians offer us Magdeburg in a peace proposal, which the Council is glad to accept; the treaty is signed on September 22nd, 1505.
Even though the war has ended, the atmosphere on the domestic front is still one of turmoil and uncertainty. Madgeburgian local nobles exploit this fact, bribe the local garrison leaders, and go to open revolt in November. The rebel army consists mainly of peasants with poor equipment and no battle experience, and it is slaughtered before the rebellion can spread; however, the small rebel garrison does not surrender until the following summer.
In the early part of 1506, Russia, supported by the Northern Union (except Astrakhan, which now drops out of the alliance altogether) although in spirit only, fights a short war against Kazan, gaining the province of Ryazan in a peace treaty in May. The Austro-Bohemian alliance war ends in 1507 after 3 years of warfare, with Austria paying a healthy sum of ducats to Bohemia. The peace treaty arouses considerable interest in the Council; a country which can successfully fend of Austrian attack might be a valuable ally, if Poland starts causing trouble.
The Council is very active diplomatically during the next couple of years; royal marriages are established with Kleve, Cologne, Baden, and, after some letters have paved the way, Bohemia. Bohemia even agrees to join the Northern Union in early 1509. Our old royal marriages also bear fruit; a Hansa-born princess in Paris gains access to French maps of the world which, unfortunately, are not much better than ours.
The Saxon War (1509-1511) and the Division of Saxony (March 7th, 1511)
The relations between Bohemia and Saxony have been tense for a long time, but the Saxon war declaration on November 9th, 1509, catches the Council by surprise. Bohemia asks for the Northern Union to intervene, and all union members do; Bohemia is an ally too valuable to lose. Saxony is supported in the war by their ally, Thuringen.
The siege force that tamed Madgeburg marches to the capital province of Saxony, and starts siege operations there in February 1510. Part of the Saxon army joins the Thuringians and marches to Erz, where they are quickly slaughtered by the numerically and technologically superior bohemian army; the rest of the Saxons march through Hannover and reach the Hanseatic capital in Mecklemburg in October; however, our small but well-equipped field army drives the much larger Saxon army away, into Hannoverian territory, where they eventually meet their destiny. Meanwhile, the Hannover main army sieges Anhalt, and Bohemians send a large siege force to Thuringen.
Anhalt and Thuringen both fall in December 1510, but Saxony holds on through Christmas; they finally surrender on February 27th, 1511. The leaders of the three Union members, Bohemia, Hannover, and the Hansa meet briefly before the peace talks, and agree that the Saxon insolence must be punished without mercy. On March 7th, 1511, both Saxony and Thuringia cease to exist as independent nations; Saxon territory is divided between Hannover and the Hansa with Anhalt going to the former and the capital province Saxony to the latter, and Bohemia annexes the former Saxon ally Thuringia.
The next couple of years are full of small-scale military actions by our neighbors and allies. Most notably, Poland declares war on Moldavia in 1511 and annexes the country in early 1512. Russia attacks Kazan in 1511, which causes the war-weary Hannover to drop out of the Northern Union; the war lasts for almost a year and a half, and ends in a total defeat for the Kazan Khanate, which is annexed by Russia on January 20th, 1513. Only a month later, Russia goes to war against the Golden Horde, and wins Saratow, Kujbyschew, and a nice sum of ducats two years later.
Meanwhile, while the Hanseatic Council has supported the military actions of their allies, no Hanseatic troops have been sent to the battle field. Instead, the Council has spent a considerable amount of money for improved fortifications around the nation; these were deemed necessary, since many of our neighbors view us with unwarranted suspicion after the Brandenburgian and Saxon wars. Royal marriages with a number of the small states of the Holy Roman Empire do some good in improving the relationships, however.
Throughout the early part of 1516, the Council has heard of rumors about a Wurttembergian monk openly opposing the Church and Papal rule. His words seem to echo the feelings of the masses, since the majority of people in our provinces and elsewhere in the nearby area convert to his new religion. The Council does not take action, but the Barons are especially interested in the economic consequences of the new doctrine.
The French and English alliances go to war in January 1517, but the Council pays them no mind. Renewed royal marriages with Bohemia and Russia bring our allies ever closer to us, but another war declaration by Russia against the Golden Horde in late 1520 causes Bohemia to abandon the Northern Union. Russia annexes the Horde on November 30th, 1521, and goes to war against Astrakhan on the following Summer. Meanwhile, the French-English war is still going on, but it has taken a surprising turn: France is burning, and English troops are at the gates of Paris. As the Council convenes to ponder the new developments, a messenger from the Polish king arrives in Lübeck, bringing what could turn out to be disastrous news.
The Polish War (1523-1526)
Poland declares war on the Hanseatic League on January 12th, 1523, and their allies Milan, Lothringen, and Scotland all intervene. We call on the remaining members of the Northern Union for help, and both the Teutonic Knights and Russia agree to help us; however, we are unsure how much help the Russians can give, as they are still fighting Astrakhan.
In February 1523, England wins the province of Picardie and a large sum of ducats from France, but the Council is too busy to pay attention to foreign affairs, as a large Polish army group has been spotted on its way West along the coast of the Baltic Sea. The group reaches Eastern Pommerania in March, and the province is immediately under siege. At the same time, a Scottish seaborne invasion hits Bremen without warning; those bastards are coordinating their efforts! The Scottish menace is dealt with in May, but the Polish army receives more and more replacements in Eastern Pommerania, and they stoon start storming the local fortifications relentlessly. The Polish peasants attack the fort in waves; each wave is beaten back, but each victory costs us dearly. The Polish army receives reinforcements almost weekly, and in July, the depleted and exhausted garrison in Eastern Pommerania is forced to surrender. At almost the same time, the Scottish army makes a half-hearted invasion attempt in Bremen, but is slaughtered to the last man; unfortunately, they have been encouraged by the early success of the Polish forces, and refuse a separate peace.
Our army tries to gather strength to beat the Polish forces stationed in Eastern Pommerania and liberate the province, and the war comes to a temporary standstill in the Fall of 1523. On January 2nd, 1524 Russia makes peace with Astrakhan and gains Donetsk and Lugansk in the process; immediately afterwards, our scouts report that a large part of the defense force in Eastern Pommerania has been seen heading Eastward, towards the Russian border. Our main army in Western Pommerania gets orders to assault Eastern Pommerania immediately; they defeat the Polish forces in the province in a short battle in February, and the province is liberated already in May.
Russians have not done much in this war yet, but the Teutonic Knights have gained control of Welikia, and reportedly siege Kurland in the spring of 1524. A Teutonic raiding army pillages Polish provinces behind the battle lines, and marches all the way to Western Prussia to conduct a siege. Poland attacks Eastern Pommerania again in July, but this time our forces are ready; the Poles are defeated, and the Pommeranian liberators march on to Danzig, and start a siege there in July.
Just as the war seems to be turning our way, we hear disastrous news: the Russians have arranged a secret meeting with Polish officials, and the two countries agree to a separate peace on September 12th, 1524. Worst of all, the Russian traitors even pay good gold to the Poles; we are all but certain that the gold goes directly into supporting their war effort against us and the Teutonic Knights.
Our siege army in Danzig does not have the overwhelming numerical superiority required for storming the local fortifications, so we are forced to fight a war of attrition; however, the Danzigian defenders prove to be a resistant bunch. They hold on through all of 1525 before finally showing signs of weakness in the winter of 1526. Their determination is probably what saves Poland from defeat in the war; they are able to raise a very large army group in 1525, and the group heads directly to Livonia after swiftly taking control of the Teutonic-occupied Welikia. Livonia falls in late May, 1526, and the Teutonic Knights are forced to sign a separate peace treaty on June 6th, in which they pay a considerable ransom for their capital. The news cannot be kept secret from our nobles for long, and when it finally breaks out, Madgeburg rebels in June.
In a move which looks like a preparation for a massive assault, Poland attacks the Hanseatic siege force in Danzig on September 7th with a small field army. The Poles are beaten back, but according to our spies the Polish main army has left Livonia and headed west. In order to avoid any further bloodshed, the Council gives up on their goal of conquering Danzig, and orders the peace negotiators to start their work immediately. To our good fortune, the Poles do not seem to have much confidence in the ability of their soldiers, and they agree to pay some ducats as war reparations in a peace treaty, which is signed on September 20th, 1526. The sum is not large, but the fact that Poland officially lost the war has considerable symbolic significance in the eyes of the members of the Hanseatic Council.
When the Hansa was busy fighting Poland, some monarchs have officially turned their backs on the Catholic church. Among these are Wurttemberg, Switzerland, and Hannover; Sweden and Prussia join the movement in early 1527. At about the same time, the Spanish alliance declares war on England, a fact which does not interest the Council. However, they welcome the news that the rebellious Madgeburg is under control in August, 1527.
In the Spring of 1529, Russia goes to war against Astrakhan again; the Council supports them in spirit, but is more concerned about the question of Hanseatic state religion. Almost all of the subjects of the Council are Protestants, and most of the Barons are Catholic in name only. However, in fear of the domestic and diplomatic consequences of such a major step, the Council agrees to reinforce our battle-depleted armies before committing itself. When Russia takes Kouban, Volgograd, and a nice sum of ducats in exchange for peace with Astrakhan in October 1530, the Council takes action; on October 15th, 1530, all Church properties in the Hanseatic League are seized, and the country becomes officially Protestant.
The conversion is received surprisingly well on the domestic front; however, the treacherous Russians terminate our alliance with them, and the once-great Northern Union is dissolved. As if this was not enough, the dogs of war are about to be unleashed upon the Hansa; the Pope, that lecherous swine of Rome, is concerned about his diminishing authority and the destiny of the Papal treasury, and declares war on the Hansa on October 28th, 1530. The Papal allies France and Savoy intervene immediately. To prove that you can never fully fathom what goes on in the commoner's mind, the subjects of the Council do not cower in fear in front of an overpowering enemy – in fact, they do not even rebel; instead, they are full of patriotic vigor and join our military forces in hordes. However, even with such reinforcements, our army cannot match the military might of the French alliance; can diplomacy, military strategy and defensive maneuvers save us, or will this be the end of the Hanseatic League?
[This message has been edited by Kekkonen (edited 24-01-2001).]
In 1492, the Hansa consists of five provinces in what is now Northern Germany: Bremen, Holstein, Western and Eastern Pommerania, and the capital Mecklemburg. A screenshot of the initial situation can be found at
http://users.utu.fi/timhau/hansa1492.JPG
A HISTORY OF THE HANSEATIC LEAGUE
Part 1: Good Winds before the Storm (1492-1530)
THE FIRST HANSETAG
The Hanseatic League is a small nation of traders in the Northern borders of the Holy Roman Empire. First and foremost, we're merchants, not fighters, although the Hansa tries to keep a small, relatively advanced army ready to defend its territory if need be. However, we do not have an unending supply of poor peasants willing to risk their lives on the battlefield like Russia does; instead, we put emphasis on quality, and we also pay our soldiers well. The Hansa is by no means a superpower, but for a small country, it is relatively prosperous. None of its five provinces are poor, and the trading town of Hamburg, in Holstein at the Danish border, could even be characterized as rich.
The Hanseatic army consists of only 10000 men in the start of 1492, and the first thing the Royal Council, known as Hansetag, does is to draft more soldiers. Before the summer, our standing army has 15000 men in full battle readiness, and in time, we intend to rise the number to 20000. We should be able to defend ourselves from attacks from other small Germanic states. However, the Council does not consider them major threats; the Barons are much more concerned about Poland and Denmark, both of which have armies much stronger than ours. If we are to survive, our best shot is to find friends and allies with whom we could establish a mutually beneficial union.
In the spring of 1492, the Council approaches the Czar of Russia, with the intent of marrying the daughter of one of the Barons off to the Russian court. They accept our generous proposal, and this new-found friendship betweent the two nations leads to a military alliance on June 25th of the same year; in October, our old friends, the Teutonic Knights are added to the alliance. At about the same time, one of the Council members marries a young princess from Venice, thus bringing us closer to the Mediterranean merchants; in the following spring, one of our daughters becomes the wife of a Polish prince.
The Northern Union expands further in 1493, as our Western neighbor, Hannover, joins our alliance. The alliance is activated for the first time in June that year, when Russia declares war on Kazan; everybody but the Teutonic Knights honors the alliance, but only Russian troops fight. The war ends on January 6th, 1494, with Kazan paying a small indemnity to the Union.
In the next couple of years, the Hanseatic Council tries to establish itself as a legitimate part of the European royalty; royal marriages are arranged with the Teutonic Knights, Portugal, Hessen, Saxony, Austria, France, and England. With such a network of relatives, the Council should be able to find a valuable friend in any situation.
By 1498, our military has one army group of 19000 men backed by a small artillery regiment, and a considerably smaller field army consisting of infantry and cavalry. The Council passes a secret resolution to improve both armies as soon as our treasury permits, as they have now set their eyes on Brandenburg.
In the middle of the covert war preparations, the Russian Czar declares war on Kazan in July 1499; we support them again, but again only in spirit. The war ends on October 2nd, 1500, with Russia paying a small indemnity; this is treated as bad news in the Council, as we have trusted that having the Czar as our ally would be a deterrent for Polish aggression. However, we may have to revise our policies, if the Russians are indeed as weak as the Kazan Khanate made them look. Later the same year, the Spanish and French alliances go to war, but it does not really concern us; the battles are far from our borders.
On February 15th, 1503, our allies, the Teutonic Knights, declare war on Pskov, and we agree to support their cause. The war ends in September, when the Knights annex Pskov. This happens a month after our diplomats succeed in adding Astrakhan to our military alliance; they share a border with Poland, and should provide a headache for the Polish king, if he chose to attack us.
War preparations are almost finished in the spring of 1504, when the area south of us starts boiling: Austria and their ally Wurttemburg go to war against the Bohemia-Hungary -alliance in April, and a month later the Ottomans attack the alliance formed by Venice and the Mamelukes. While the Council is concerned that the Hansa might find itself in a squeeze between two larger wars – the Spanish-French war is still raging on – these incidents do not affect our planned conquest.
The Brandenburgian War (1504-1505)
The war declaration on September 9th, 1504 is not received well in our provinces. We do not have a diplomatically acceptable casus belli against Brandenburg, and our relations with them have been relatively amicable for a long time. However, this war is purely a business decision. The Souncil members explain patiently to lower-ranking nobles as well as yeowmen, merchants, and artesans that Hanseatic League needs to expand to guarantee survival and prosperity;
Our siege force of 20000 men and a small artillery regiment marches South to Magdeburg, which finds itself under siege in early October. Instead of defending their home territory, the Brandenburgian army – a force of only 15000 men, no artillery – marches to Eastern Pommerania and starts siege operations there. Our backup army force cannot drive them away, but is successful in diminishing their numbers further; Eastern Pommerania is one of our best fortified provinces, and as long as the Brandenburgian army is only marginally larger than our local garrison and has no artillery, the province should be able to hold on while we take control of Magdeburg.
Magdeburg starts to show first signs of weakness in the spring of 1505, but the news is by and large ignored by the general populace. No open riots take place, but the Council agrees that the war has in fact caused a political crisis in the domestic front. When Magdeburg falls on September 15th, 1505, the Brandenburgian army has hardly made a scratch on the fortifications in Eastern Pommerania. The Brandenburgians offer us Magdeburg in a peace proposal, which the Council is glad to accept; the treaty is signed on September 22nd, 1505.
Even though the war has ended, the atmosphere on the domestic front is still one of turmoil and uncertainty. Madgeburgian local nobles exploit this fact, bribe the local garrison leaders, and go to open revolt in November. The rebel army consists mainly of peasants with poor equipment and no battle experience, and it is slaughtered before the rebellion can spread; however, the small rebel garrison does not surrender until the following summer.
In the early part of 1506, Russia, supported by the Northern Union (except Astrakhan, which now drops out of the alliance altogether) although in spirit only, fights a short war against Kazan, gaining the province of Ryazan in a peace treaty in May. The Austro-Bohemian alliance war ends in 1507 after 3 years of warfare, with Austria paying a healthy sum of ducats to Bohemia. The peace treaty arouses considerable interest in the Council; a country which can successfully fend of Austrian attack might be a valuable ally, if Poland starts causing trouble.
The Council is very active diplomatically during the next couple of years; royal marriages are established with Kleve, Cologne, Baden, and, after some letters have paved the way, Bohemia. Bohemia even agrees to join the Northern Union in early 1509. Our old royal marriages also bear fruit; a Hansa-born princess in Paris gains access to French maps of the world which, unfortunately, are not much better than ours.
The Saxon War (1509-1511) and the Division of Saxony (March 7th, 1511)
The relations between Bohemia and Saxony have been tense for a long time, but the Saxon war declaration on November 9th, 1509, catches the Council by surprise. Bohemia asks for the Northern Union to intervene, and all union members do; Bohemia is an ally too valuable to lose. Saxony is supported in the war by their ally, Thuringen.
The siege force that tamed Madgeburg marches to the capital province of Saxony, and starts siege operations there in February 1510. Part of the Saxon army joins the Thuringians and marches to Erz, where they are quickly slaughtered by the numerically and technologically superior bohemian army; the rest of the Saxons march through Hannover and reach the Hanseatic capital in Mecklemburg in October; however, our small but well-equipped field army drives the much larger Saxon army away, into Hannoverian territory, where they eventually meet their destiny. Meanwhile, the Hannover main army sieges Anhalt, and Bohemians send a large siege force to Thuringen.
Anhalt and Thuringen both fall in December 1510, but Saxony holds on through Christmas; they finally surrender on February 27th, 1511. The leaders of the three Union members, Bohemia, Hannover, and the Hansa meet briefly before the peace talks, and agree that the Saxon insolence must be punished without mercy. On March 7th, 1511, both Saxony and Thuringia cease to exist as independent nations; Saxon territory is divided between Hannover and the Hansa with Anhalt going to the former and the capital province Saxony to the latter, and Bohemia annexes the former Saxon ally Thuringia.
The next couple of years are full of small-scale military actions by our neighbors and allies. Most notably, Poland declares war on Moldavia in 1511 and annexes the country in early 1512. Russia attacks Kazan in 1511, which causes the war-weary Hannover to drop out of the Northern Union; the war lasts for almost a year and a half, and ends in a total defeat for the Kazan Khanate, which is annexed by Russia on January 20th, 1513. Only a month later, Russia goes to war against the Golden Horde, and wins Saratow, Kujbyschew, and a nice sum of ducats two years later.
Meanwhile, while the Hanseatic Council has supported the military actions of their allies, no Hanseatic troops have been sent to the battle field. Instead, the Council has spent a considerable amount of money for improved fortifications around the nation; these were deemed necessary, since many of our neighbors view us with unwarranted suspicion after the Brandenburgian and Saxon wars. Royal marriages with a number of the small states of the Holy Roman Empire do some good in improving the relationships, however.
Throughout the early part of 1516, the Council has heard of rumors about a Wurttembergian monk openly opposing the Church and Papal rule. His words seem to echo the feelings of the masses, since the majority of people in our provinces and elsewhere in the nearby area convert to his new religion. The Council does not take action, but the Barons are especially interested in the economic consequences of the new doctrine.
The French and English alliances go to war in January 1517, but the Council pays them no mind. Renewed royal marriages with Bohemia and Russia bring our allies ever closer to us, but another war declaration by Russia against the Golden Horde in late 1520 causes Bohemia to abandon the Northern Union. Russia annexes the Horde on November 30th, 1521, and goes to war against Astrakhan on the following Summer. Meanwhile, the French-English war is still going on, but it has taken a surprising turn: France is burning, and English troops are at the gates of Paris. As the Council convenes to ponder the new developments, a messenger from the Polish king arrives in Lübeck, bringing what could turn out to be disastrous news.
The Polish War (1523-1526)
Poland declares war on the Hanseatic League on January 12th, 1523, and their allies Milan, Lothringen, and Scotland all intervene. We call on the remaining members of the Northern Union for help, and both the Teutonic Knights and Russia agree to help us; however, we are unsure how much help the Russians can give, as they are still fighting Astrakhan.
In February 1523, England wins the province of Picardie and a large sum of ducats from France, but the Council is too busy to pay attention to foreign affairs, as a large Polish army group has been spotted on its way West along the coast of the Baltic Sea. The group reaches Eastern Pommerania in March, and the province is immediately under siege. At the same time, a Scottish seaborne invasion hits Bremen without warning; those bastards are coordinating their efforts! The Scottish menace is dealt with in May, but the Polish army receives more and more replacements in Eastern Pommerania, and they stoon start storming the local fortifications relentlessly. The Polish peasants attack the fort in waves; each wave is beaten back, but each victory costs us dearly. The Polish army receives reinforcements almost weekly, and in July, the depleted and exhausted garrison in Eastern Pommerania is forced to surrender. At almost the same time, the Scottish army makes a half-hearted invasion attempt in Bremen, but is slaughtered to the last man; unfortunately, they have been encouraged by the early success of the Polish forces, and refuse a separate peace.
Our army tries to gather strength to beat the Polish forces stationed in Eastern Pommerania and liberate the province, and the war comes to a temporary standstill in the Fall of 1523. On January 2nd, 1524 Russia makes peace with Astrakhan and gains Donetsk and Lugansk in the process; immediately afterwards, our scouts report that a large part of the defense force in Eastern Pommerania has been seen heading Eastward, towards the Russian border. Our main army in Western Pommerania gets orders to assault Eastern Pommerania immediately; they defeat the Polish forces in the province in a short battle in February, and the province is liberated already in May.
Russians have not done much in this war yet, but the Teutonic Knights have gained control of Welikia, and reportedly siege Kurland in the spring of 1524. A Teutonic raiding army pillages Polish provinces behind the battle lines, and marches all the way to Western Prussia to conduct a siege. Poland attacks Eastern Pommerania again in July, but this time our forces are ready; the Poles are defeated, and the Pommeranian liberators march on to Danzig, and start a siege there in July.
Just as the war seems to be turning our way, we hear disastrous news: the Russians have arranged a secret meeting with Polish officials, and the two countries agree to a separate peace on September 12th, 1524. Worst of all, the Russian traitors even pay good gold to the Poles; we are all but certain that the gold goes directly into supporting their war effort against us and the Teutonic Knights.
Our siege army in Danzig does not have the overwhelming numerical superiority required for storming the local fortifications, so we are forced to fight a war of attrition; however, the Danzigian defenders prove to be a resistant bunch. They hold on through all of 1525 before finally showing signs of weakness in the winter of 1526. Their determination is probably what saves Poland from defeat in the war; they are able to raise a very large army group in 1525, and the group heads directly to Livonia after swiftly taking control of the Teutonic-occupied Welikia. Livonia falls in late May, 1526, and the Teutonic Knights are forced to sign a separate peace treaty on June 6th, in which they pay a considerable ransom for their capital. The news cannot be kept secret from our nobles for long, and when it finally breaks out, Madgeburg rebels in June.
In a move which looks like a preparation for a massive assault, Poland attacks the Hanseatic siege force in Danzig on September 7th with a small field army. The Poles are beaten back, but according to our spies the Polish main army has left Livonia and headed west. In order to avoid any further bloodshed, the Council gives up on their goal of conquering Danzig, and orders the peace negotiators to start their work immediately. To our good fortune, the Poles do not seem to have much confidence in the ability of their soldiers, and they agree to pay some ducats as war reparations in a peace treaty, which is signed on September 20th, 1526. The sum is not large, but the fact that Poland officially lost the war has considerable symbolic significance in the eyes of the members of the Hanseatic Council.
When the Hansa was busy fighting Poland, some monarchs have officially turned their backs on the Catholic church. Among these are Wurttemberg, Switzerland, and Hannover; Sweden and Prussia join the movement in early 1527. At about the same time, the Spanish alliance declares war on England, a fact which does not interest the Council. However, they welcome the news that the rebellious Madgeburg is under control in August, 1527.
In the Spring of 1529, Russia goes to war against Astrakhan again; the Council supports them in spirit, but is more concerned about the question of Hanseatic state religion. Almost all of the subjects of the Council are Protestants, and most of the Barons are Catholic in name only. However, in fear of the domestic and diplomatic consequences of such a major step, the Council agrees to reinforce our battle-depleted armies before committing itself. When Russia takes Kouban, Volgograd, and a nice sum of ducats in exchange for peace with Astrakhan in October 1530, the Council takes action; on October 15th, 1530, all Church properties in the Hanseatic League are seized, and the country becomes officially Protestant.
The conversion is received surprisingly well on the domestic front; however, the treacherous Russians terminate our alliance with them, and the once-great Northern Union is dissolved. As if this was not enough, the dogs of war are about to be unleashed upon the Hansa; the Pope, that lecherous swine of Rome, is concerned about his diminishing authority and the destiny of the Papal treasury, and declares war on the Hansa on October 28th, 1530. The Papal allies France and Savoy intervene immediately. To prove that you can never fully fathom what goes on in the commoner's mind, the subjects of the Council do not cower in fear in front of an overpowering enemy – in fact, they do not even rebel; instead, they are full of patriotic vigor and join our military forces in hordes. However, even with such reinforcements, our army cannot match the military might of the French alliance; can diplomacy, military strategy and defensive maneuvers save us, or will this be the end of the Hanseatic League?
[This message has been edited by Kekkonen (edited 24-01-2001).]
