XVIII: Forging an Identity
Historians know that war can define a nation. Oh, the underlying traits may have been there all along, but often enough it's the crucible of war, where every decision can lead to the death of your people or the birth of a new age, where all these traits come together and forge an identity, a vision.
For two hundred years after settling in the Baltic, the Teutonic Order had a vision bred in religious intolerance, moral superiority and paid for with the blood of thousands. For a short time they lost their way: Bluntly, they ran out of Pagans and angered enough people that their two largest neighbors, Poland and Lithuania, decided to teach them a lesson at Grunwald, near Tannenberg.
Four generations passed. The Teutonic Knights bitterly and often fought their mortal enemies, even as they carved a niche for themselves in the changing world. They fought Hussites, Rus, Germans and themselves over and over, and still this new vision eluded them. Were they minions of the Emperor, or children the Church? Were they there merely to stymie their enemies, defying them simply by existing?
Martin von Wetzhausen never claimed to know who his knights were, and he wouldn't live long enough to find out. He knew who they weren't though: They weren't servants, and would dance to no one's tune but their own. To this end he dealt Lithuania a decisive blow, regaining lost territory, unifying with the Livonian Brotherhood, and putting those ghosts to rest. That left only two ties to be broken:
In November 1487, the Teutonic Order declared war on Brandenberg, and with them Emperor and Church both. The Teutonic Knights answered to no one.
This might seem a little strange, for quite a few people had answers for
them.
Papal supremacy in secular affairs through Europe was a fundamental tenet of Catholic doctrine. To simplify numerous decrees case studies and bulls the argument went like this: God appointed a given land's ruler. This alone was enough to deny a seperation between secular and religious tenets. Jesus is the King of Kings, above secular potentates. Papal authority descended from St. Peter, one of Jesus' apostles and 'heir' to the Catholic cause, therefore the Pope was Jesus' representative on Earth. That gave him
every right to rule over the lesser kings. This control had been weakening for some time, but now Martin von Wetzhausen - a church official(!) - publically denied it. This was tantamount to a declaration of war, far more serious than merely declaring war on Brandenburg. Innocent VIII couldn't let this slide further, and excommunicated the Teuton grandmaster "and anyone who follows his heresy."
The threat of being denied Heaven weighed heavily on the Knights, and many demanded the grandmaster's removal. He replied that no
man would dictate terms to his Order while he lived. Political brinkmanship reached the point of no return, and the Teutonic Order descended into civil war.
Civil War
Martin immediately expelled the 'rebels' from the Order and ordered their lands confiscated. This worried and angered those who'd hoped to stay out of the fight, but in the end perhaps it was just as well: Von Wetzhausen's declarations, and the resulting battles that erupted across the countryside told everyone just who was on which side.
Rikard von Bromberg, on the verge of invading the Neumark, found himself in a pitched battle with his own retainers for control of Bromberg. Fortunately he had the advantage of training and discipline, while his retainers entered the battle haphazardly. He suffered minimal losses, then rushed to Kalisch to deal with nobles there. On December 12, they met west of Kalisch, more organized but still undermanned and trained compared to the force prepared to strike Brandenburg. The Livonians on Osel Island they ignored, trusting in winter to take the fire from their cause.
Rikard returned to the front in January, but just a few months later rebels in Danzig and Leignitz would try their luck. Johann von Loringhoven, last Landmeister of the Livonian Chapter and so second in command, recruited a fresh army and spent the summer dealing with the Catholics calling for von Wetzhausen's removal. In Autumn 1488, the Knights' problems were just starting.
Brandenburg
While von Bromberg went to dance with rebels Johann von Tiefen, Preceptor, Grand Hospitaller and now third in command of the Order, advanced into Neumark unopposed. It was a strange war, as massive German armies seemed intent on avoiding each other: Brandenburg launched seperate sieges on Stargard in Pommerania and Lausitz. Mecklenburg went after Berlin. The first battle of the Brandenburg war wouldn't take place until October, nearly a year after the initial declarations, when von Bromberg tried to relieve Lausitz though outnumbered 3:2 and failed.
The War Spreads
In September 1488, Bohemia declared war on the Teutons: Bavaria and later Mecklenburg honored the alliance, while Pommerania eventually wound up ally with the Lithuanians in their endless war with Montenegro and the Knights Hospitaller. Saxony would jump in that October, calling it a crusade against heresy. At least the Bohemians were honest: They wanted revenge.
Lausitz under siege, and Oppeln soon found itself under attack by twenty thousand Bohemians. Clearly the Teutons were in trouble, and von Wetzhausen spoke to the Danzig and Hanseatic merchants about lines of credit.
(Two loans, one to build an army, another to settle a Boundary Dispute: Muscovy, +25 relations, +1 stab, -75 gold)
In November 1488, Pommern broke the siege on Stargard and rejoined the war in earnest, just as Lausitz fell to Brandenburger forces. The Papacy offered a humilitating treaty, but von Wetzhausen refused, knowing the only way to break the excommunication (and so end the civil war) was to force the Pope to the table on his terms. Two months later, as the rest of the Empire celebrated the ascension of Christoff I of Baden to Holy Roman Emperor, von Wetzhausen died.
January 1489
Death of a Grand Master
Martin von Wetzhausen was an able planner, but he overlooked one possibility even as it became inevitable: His own death. Once more the Knights had no clear succession planned. Von Loringhoven, as second in command, claimed the mantle until a Conclave could be summoned. Johann von Tiefen pointed to the Teuton charter, which stated clearly the Preceptor was acting grandmaster.
Such a division could have broken the Knights, especially since calling a Conclave would have fatally weakened leadership on the front line. Perhaps they realized this: The two quickly compromised - von Tiefen would deal with their external enemies and diplomacy, von Loringhoven would crush the rebellions now spreading through Latagalia and Curonia into Livonia and internal affairs. It worked. It worked well.
A Piece of a Peace
In the west, Magdeburg with almost thirty thousand men attacked the Teuton/Pommern/Mecklenburg alliance outside of Berlin with thirty-three thousand. It was a pyrrhic victory for the alliance, but victory enough as the Magdeburgers routed with over ten thousand dead. Elsewhere the front faced total collapse however, with Kalisch and Leignitz sieged by Bohemia and Saxony respectfully. Von Tiefen cleared Kalisch of Bohemians in March 1489, while Rikard von Bromberg seized Neumark weeks later. When Berlin fell, Innocent VIII once more offered a truce:
Von Tiefen agreed, reversing any excommunication against the Teutons. Maybe this should have ended the rebellions. Nope.
Firestorm
Johann von Loringhoven surged eastward against a mixture of Livonians unhappy with the merger, Catholics unhappy with defying the Pope, and peasants unhappy with their lot. He broke the rebel army in Curonia, only to learn Latagalia and Osen had already fallen. He settled down to two long, boring sieges and asked for help as Teutons in Posen rose up.
Rikard von Bromberg, on the way to relieve Kalisch and Oppeln, happened to be only ten miles away when a number of Posen officers declared their intent to break from heretics. By another coincidence, a Bohemian army of eight thousand was also only a few leagues away. In May 1489 everyone deployed in one of the stranger three way battles in history.
(I was in province when Posen rebelled. Then the Bohemians moved in a second later. Owie.) Von Bromberg emerged victorious, letting the Hussites and Papal supporters tear each other apart before engaging. Later that month Oppeln fell to the Bohemians, who moved to reinforce their Kalisch siegers. Twice Rikard tried to break the siege, twice he failed. Then he received unexpected support: Catholic supporters, desperate to be anywhere but under Bohemian occupation, rose up against the sieging army and routed it. They didn't seem keen on letting Rikard have the city for himself though.
While von Tiefen sieged Breslau and ignored Bohemia's peace offering for Oppeln, he arranged to further normalize relations with Muscovites amused at Papal embarassment. They praised the Teutons for their heroic fight for independence from outside sources and offered technical support.
(Diplomatic Move: Muscovy +25, Diplomats +1)
January 1490
War Without End
April 1490, and Lausitz fell for the second time in one war, this time to Saxony. Von Tiefen refused to hand it over. There was no one to retrieve Lausitz though, and their thirteen thousand man 'liberation' force wasn't leaving. Bavarians, having taken Sumava from Bohemia, advanced into Saxon holdings but the Elector proved too clever (or stubborn) to fall for such a simple ploy.
For his part, von Tiefen couldn't really leave Breslau. Eventually he had no choice though when the twenty-four thousand man "Hus' Elite" under Dana Zahradnik, their greatest general, shoved him out in October.
(Zahradnik is non-historical. As you'll see, though, his unit deserved mention.)
In the east, von Loringhoven continued his earnest campaign to bring the Livonians back to the fold. He conquered Latigalia in August, defeated a Livonian uprising in September, then launched an amphibious assault on Osel in January 1491.
January 1491
...Onward?
While von Loringhoven fought for Osel and Rikard von Bromberg retook Kalisch and went for Oppeln, von Tiefen reeled behind the Oder River to recover and take on new recruits. He tried to break the siege on Leignitz, failed, then simply ran around the Bohemian army and ended up right back in Breslau. An Italian, noticing the Teutons simply weren't winning in a defensive war against the two great powers
and rebels, offered his services. Von Tiefen sent him packing.
(Italian Engineer Available: Decline (-1 VP))
Oppeln in March, then von Bromberg and Zahradnik began the campaign that would immortalize both. In October 1491, the German invaded Bohemian Moravia. Zahradnik deployed, and after several hours pushed the Teutons back to Oppeln. The Bohemian then counterinvaded. And lost. After the final tally the two generals squared off ten times. Together they proved the problem with two armies simply colliding, for their setpiece battles killed thousands. Their high casualties also proved that modern armor simply could not stand up against modern weapons. Similar to Martin von Wetzhausen's vision for the Teutonic Knights, they offered no vision of what the future of warfare looked like: They only showed what no longer worked.
February 1492
Having secured the east, Johann von Loringhoven charged westward. Von Tiefen continued to refuse peace for Oppeln or Lausitz, hoping that if Breslau fell and von Bromberg could just break the 'Hus Elite', they'd force Bohemia out and could focus on Saxony. Other than repeated demands for Lausitz, the Saxons seemed inclined to duel Bavaria and had pushed into Bavarian territory.
Von Loringhoven broke the siege on Leignitz by Bohemian forces then joined forces with his counterpart in Breslau, watching with growing amazement and horror as Rikard von Bromberg and Dana Zahradnik mauled each other again and again and again, seven of their battles fought in one year for the same thirty or forty miles.
(It was like we planned it: I'd wait in Oppeln, 'he' would sit in Prague. One of us would make a move on Morava, the other would jump them, we'd maul each other, back off for reinforcements, and try again.)
The Tide Turns
The tide appeared to be..tentatively...turning in the Teutons' favor, with Saxony busy elsewhere, and the entire Bohemian army busy duelling von Bromberg when Breslau fell. That's when the Livonians, noticing von Loringhoven had gone west, rose up again.
(Sep 1492: Unhappiness Among the Peasantry: Stab -3, Revolts: Livonia, Osel) Curonia followed them
(due to low stab) a month later.
They sent a new rittermeister, Albrecht von Steirland, to deal with the problem. In January 1493 he attacked Curonia, and failed. Osel fell to the Livonian rebellion later taht month. He tried again in February, failed. Attacked Livonia: Failed. Curonia fell to the rebels in July.
Then, disaster. Rikard von Bromberg lost an obligatory battle for Moravia, but this time the Bohemian crushed him. Zahradnik chased him to Oppeln. The German fought hard, but found himself outnumbered 5:1. Von Bromberg died, was buried with full honors in Prague, and finally returned in 1527 to be reburied in Marienburg.
In July a cabal of older knights, exhausted after so many years of war, threatened to overthrow Marienburg itself.
(Yep, revolt) It was time to end this. On August 2, 1493 the Teutonic Order signed treaties with both Bohemia and Saxony, trading Oppeln and Lausitz for peace. On paper they'd lost.
However, in six years of brutal warfare that wiped out a generation of Teutons, the Knights threw off the last of their shackles, and if they weren't quite sure who they were yet, examples like Rittermeister von Bromberg's valiant (stubborn) stands, and von Loringhoven's and von Tiefen's putting their claims aside to make sure the Order survived, were giving them some good ideas.
Johann von Tiefen said:
We go now to take care of business at home. We go to honor our dead and to treat our wounds. Remember this, however: Your victory is nothing but a hollow shell, for you have awakened that you should have let sleep. Enjoy your victory, for we shall return. It may take a thousand years, but we shall return.
Well, as long as he doesn't go to war with you, you should be fine. Then again, I doubt he wouldn't betray you a second time too.
