Herravälde från Norden-Dominion from the North. A Sweden MM DW edition AAR

[Rifal]

Herravälde från Norden-
Dominion from the North

A Sweden Magna Mundi, Divine Wind Edition AAR.

​

Hello and welcome to my new AAR. As you can tell from the title this time I am taking a step away from the usual D&T mod I usually play and I have opted for the Divine Wind Edition of the Magna Mundi mod. It’s still in its Beta stage but very playable in its current state. Massive credit goes ofcourse to the guys undertaking this monumental challenge to bring the MM goodness to us modernists.
The premise of this AAR will be much like my others. I wish merely to write a decent story around the events in game.

Rules and settings

1. Start Date :1453 (Fall of Byzantium bookmark)
   
2. All settings on default
3. No Cheats (some save editing is allowed to correct events just to absurd to be acceptable)
4. No Reloading, what happens happens.
5. Historical plausibility is at the centre of this AAR. No ridiculous conquests.

Goals: (All depends ofcourse on how the game goes)

1. Drive the Danes and Norwegians from Sweden and secure our independence.
2. Reconquest of the southern Scandinavian peninsula (Halland and Skåne)
3. Conquer Greater Finland (Karelia, Kexholm, Neva)
4. Conquer the Baltic states (Estland, Livland, Riga, Kurland)
5. Dominium Maris Baltici

Table of Contents


Karl VII Bonde(1435-1456)
Prologue Part I: The Bonde Conflict, how Sweden gained its independence.
Prologue Part II: Swedish independence and the rise of Tre Rosor

House of Tre Rosor

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Erik XIII Tre Rosor (1456-1481)
Chapter I: The New Dynasty
Chapter II: The Baltic Trade War
Chapter III: The Kexholm Issue and the end of Erik XIII

Karl IX Gustav Tre Rosor (1481-1492)
Chapter IV: Ofreder i Öster
Chapter V: The Sami Question and the end of Karl IX Gustav

Regency council in the name of Katarina I Tre Rosor (1492-1497)
Chapter VI: Katarina the Orphan
Chapter VII: Katarina's coronation and the War of Ingria

Katarina I Tre Rosor (1497-1546)
Chapter VIII: The Swedish Renaissance
Chapter IX: From Russia with Infamy
Chapter X: The New Army and the War Against Norway

Chapter XI: Gathenhielm and His Army's Deed in Poland
Chapter XII: The Nordic 16 Years War. Part I: The Russians
Chapter XIII: The Nordic 16 Years War. Part II: The Coalition of Lund

Chapter XIV: The Nordic 16 Years War. Part III: Finland and Ingria
Chapter XV: The Nordic 16 Years War. Part IV: Russia's on Fire
Chapter XVI: The Nordic 16 Years War. Part V: The Swedish Intervention in Poland

Chapter XVII: The Nordic 16 Years War. Part VI: The Swedish Deluge

Gustav I Tre Rosor (1546-1560)
Chapter XVIII: Religion in the Kingdom of Sweden
Chapter XIX: The Danish war of Succession: Prelude
Chapter XX: The Danish War of Succession

Ulrika Eleonora I Tre Rosor (1560-1588)
Chapter XXI: The Early Reign of Ulrika Eleonora
Chapter XXII: An Unstoppable Force
Chapter XXIII: The Battle of Warsaw and the End of the War

Chapter XXIV: The Livonian War
Chapter XXV: The Baltic War Part I
Chapter XXVI: The Baltic War Part II

Chapter XXVII: End of an Era

​

 

[unmerged(63836)]

Nice to see another MM AAR. Good luck - looking forward to learn what path would you lead Sweden through.

 

[Rifal]

Prologue part I

The Bonde Conflict, how Sweden Gained its Independence
​

Swedens independence from the Kalmar Union in the middle of the 15^th century has its origins in one man. The nobleman Karl Knutsson of the House of Bonde (Bonde ironically meaning peasant in Swedish)

House of Bonde Coat of Arms
​

In 1434 he became member of the Privy Council of Sweden and in October of the same year he assumed one of its most senior offices, Lord High Constable of Sweden, or Riksmarsk. Due to the growing dissatisfaction over King Eric of Pomerania among the Swedish nobility, Karl was in 1436 made Rikshövitsman, an office as Military Governor of the Realm and finally replacing the king as an elected regent from 1438 to 1440. During Karl's brief regentship, the so-called rebellion of David (a peasant rebellion) took place in Finland. Eric of Pomerania was forced to step down from the throne and in 1440 Christopher of Bavaria, was elected king in the Sweden, Norway and Denmark. At the coronation of Christopher in September 1441, Charles was dubbed a knight and appointed Lord High Justiciar of Sweden, or Riksdrots. In October he resigned as Lord High Justiciar and resumed his office as Lord High Constable. From 1442 he was the military governor, hövitsman, at Vyborg in Finland (margrave of Viborg).

Charles acquired extensive fiefs during his time as margrave of Viborg, for example in Western Finland where his first seat was in Turku (Åbo). Soon however Christopher's government began to take back fiefs and positions and Charles was forced to give up the castle of Turku. Charles's next seat was the castle of Viborg, on Finland's eastern border, where he kept an independent court, taking no heed of Christopher and exercising his own foreign policy in relation to such powers in the region as the Hanseatic League, the Russian city of Novgorod and the Teutonic and Livonian Knights.

When Christopher died in 1448 without an heir Karl was crowned King of Sweden on June 20. The Danish however saw Karl’s ascension as a threat to their domination of the Kalmar Union and in September 1448 they elect Christian I as their new monarch.
A rivalry ensued between Karl and Christian for the throne of Norway, which had also been ruled by Christopher, with both kings gaining support from various factions in the Norwegian Council of the realm.

In 1449 a portion of the Norwegian council elected Karl as King of Norway, and he was crowned in the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim on the 20th of November. However, Christian also continued pursuing his claim to Norway. The Swedish aristocracy was reluctant to back Charles in a war against Denmark over Norway, and already in 1450, Charles was forced to relinquish the throne of Norway in favor of Christian.
From 1451, Sweden and Denmark were in state of war against each other but neither side dared to make a move for almost two years as Christian still tried to gain Norwegian support for the war effort but being opposed by reluctant Norwegian nobles and Karl being too busy gathering his forces to commit to an offensive. Karl is also busy petitioning his old friends among the Teutonic and Livonian knights for aid against the Danes.

In August 1453 the wait is over and Norwegian troops cross into Värmland and marches east in through the forested landscape when they are faced with Karl’s 11000 men.

The Battle of Oscarsstad (1453-08-04)
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The Norwegian army was camped outside the village of Oscarsstad when Karl approached with his army. Swiftly the alarm was raised and the Norwegians form up for battle. The wheat fields outside the village are rapidly transformed into a battlefield as the Swedes advance towards the Norwegians in full force attempting to pin the numerically inferior Norwegian infantry in place.
At this point it is important to notice the significant difference in quality of the soldiers on either side of the war. Karl’s forces where a semi professional force with more than half of the soldiers constantly on the kings payroll and the remains levied from the peasant population for the infantry and the nobility for the cavalry
.The Infantry of the Swedish army was largely made up from Pikemen with contingents of crossbow armed peasants to provide ranged punch and disrupt enemy formations before the main clash.

A: Swedish Pikeman
B: Swedish Crossbow Levy
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The cavalry was much like most European cavalry at the time: A core of heavily armored and armed noblemen backed by lighter cavalry provided by the lower nobility.

Compared to this rather well balanced and quite high quality army for its time the Norwegian army was mostly levied from the peasantry with little to no proper training and armed with whatever farming tools they had at hand when the draftsman came.
The Norwegian army was also poorly led and motivated seeing no reason why they should lay down their lives for the greed of a foreign king.
This reluctance towards war coupled with Karl’s formidable army led to a crushing Norwegian Defeat which almost put Norway out if the war completely.

​

After the significant victory at Oscarsstad Karl turns his army south towards the Danes who has marched into Småland. Småland is a largely forested area of Sweden and not a suitable place to have a battle. Therefore when the two armies meet the melee soon becomes confused with neither commander having much clue of what’s going on. After about 2 hours of battle the Danes however retreat allowing Karl to regroup his forces and give chase towards Skåne where he catches and makes prisoners of the entire Danish force.

​

At roughly the same time as the capture of Skåne the Swedish navy sails into Öresund and after a brief battle sets up a blockade of the strait dooming any Danish attempt at reinforcing their eastern holdings.

With Halland and Skåne firmly under Swedish control Karl gathers his army and in the winter of 1455 he and his army boards the fleet commanded by Axel Liljencrantz and crosses Öresund. The crossing was a perilous thing indeed as the cold winter has caused large sheets of ice to form and form a frozen barrier on the Danish coast. Regardless of the Danger Karl leads his forces ashore not far from Köpenhamn’s walls. Over 700 men of the Swedish force drown in the freezing water.

The Danes attempts one last stand to protect their Capital of Köpenhamn but are demoralized and Christian is certainly not the military leader Karl is. The Danes also lack proper cavalry and the result is the total annihilation of the Danish force followed by an end to the war. Köpenhamn itself is never captured. Christian signs the treaty of Köpenhamn outside the city’s main gate.

​

With its independence gained Sweden starts to recover from the war and form a proper government to administer the rather large realm.

​

Sweden c. 1456
Karl VIII Bonde
By the Grace of God: King of Sweden and Grand Prince of Finland
​

 

[Ashantai]

Excellent! Nice to see an MM version of DW in an AAR. Good luck!

 

[WGPower]

Looking forward to this. After you secure hegemony over the Baltic do you plan to be a late coloniser? Perhaps the East Indies and Oceania?

 

[pirro]

I hope this AAR spreads the good new, that MM has came to DW

 

[Rifal]

Excellent! Nice to see an MM version of DW in an AAR. Good luck!

Ahh Ashantai, always keeping an eye on my humble attempts at writing. Good to have you aboard

Looking forward to this. After you secure hegemony over the Baltic do you plan to be a late coloniser? Perhaps the East Indies and Oceania?

I have no clue if Sweden can get into the colonizing game in MM. Probably if I take Iceland but right now I just wanna get my economy straight.

I hope this AAR spreads the good new, that MM has came to DW

Yeah im pretty psyched about MM comming to DW but as I stated before, it is still in its beta stage so im half excpecting it to blow up in my face any second.

 

[Rifal]

Prologue part II

Swedish independence and the rise of Tre Rosor
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With its independence firmly established both militarily and diplomatically Karl set about ruling his newly gained realm. By 1456 both the monarchists (Nobility and burghers loyal to the king first and themselves second) and the Aristocrats (the opposite) are firmly entrenched in Sweden. Luckily both factions currently enjoy civil if somewhat cool relationships. One of these Aristocrats is the very ambitious and wealthy but untalented Erik of the house of Tre Rosor.

When Karl starts showing sign of sickness in the autumn of 1456 he starts to spend his wealth bribing key members of the council of the realm to elect him as the new king of Sweden. The council is rather easily swayed as Karl has no children and is growing weaker and weaker by the day until the morning of December 10^th 1456 when he didn’t wake up.

Karls body is placed in an elegant coffin and escorted by 2000 of his soldiers from Tre kronor Castle to Riddarholmen Church where he is buried and remains to this day. The road from castle to church is lined with people mourning the “Liberator and Champion of Sweden” and most future Swedish monarchs will swear to defend the freedom granted by Karl and his army. This also established “Kungliga Armén” (The Royal Army) as Sweden’s first proper standing army. An 8000 man strong force loyal to the king and the king only. For a long time this army would be Sweden’s only means of defense on Land.

Two days later the council of the Realm gathers to elect a new monarch. Most are in favor of Erik and truth be told there weren’t many other candidates. In just a few hours it is decided that Erik is to be crowned the new King of Sweden and Grand Prince of Finland.

​

On the 12^th of December 1456 Erik is Crowned “Erik XIII Tre Rosor, King of Sweden and Grand Prince of Finland”. Thou fairly untalented in most aspects of ruling Erik is at least ambitious and willing to do whatever it takes to make Sweden strong.

Coat of Arms of the House of Tre Rosor

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Sweden c. 1457
Erik XIII Tre Rosor (ADM: 4 MIL: 3 DIP: 4)
King of Sweden and Grand Prince of Finland

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Treasury: 45
GDP: 24.5 Ducats/Year

Standing Army: 6000 Pikemen, 2000 Cavalry
Navy: 1 Pinnace 18 Galleys 8 Cogs
Reserves: 29000
Discipline: 104.80%
Tradition: Army 30.20 Navy 1.90

Prestige: 41
Reputation: 2.5
Legitimacy: 20

 

[Ignominius]

A very interesting concept, I will definitely subscribe.

 

[ve3609]

interesting. Im surprised to see MM on DW

 

[pirro]

I'm part of the project, and I can assure you it is very stable Only problem is, I've only done in-game test until 1600,so perhaps the 30 years war isn't alright

 

[Rifal]

I'm part of the project, and I can assure you it is very stable Only problem is, I've only done in-game test until 1600,so perhaps the 30 years war isn't alright

Well that is good to hear, I guess I will just have to wait and see what happens in 1600.

 

[pirro]

Well that is good to hear, I guess I will just have to wait and see what happens in 1600.

I'm about to start a HRE game to see if it is working, but the files seems to be OK, so everything should be fine

 

[Merrick Chance']

If you take Iceland it's quite possible to get the Northwest passage exploration chain going. I'll always support a MM AAR, and a well written one at that will garner yet more of my support! (does that make sense? I'm very tired)

 

[Rifal]

Chapter I

The new Dynasty
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The house of Tre Rosor had existed in Sweden virtually since the establishment of the kingdom dating back to Erik the Victorious who defeated the Jomsvikings and their leader Styrbjörn the strong who attempted to take the Swedish crown for himself in the 10^th century. While not much is mentioned of the family before Erik’s ascendance to the throne of Sweden it should be noticed that the family was one of the few noble families who resisted the Kalmar union from day one by correctly pointing out that Denmark’s wars with the northern German states was negatively affecting Swedish trade in the area. Yet few still considered the family as Sweden’s legitimate ruling family. Tre Rosor would undeniably have a rough start.

Despite his inherent lack of talent Erik was determined that he should at least contribute something to Sweden, starting with its Navy. Erik saw a strong navy as key to keeping Sweden safe as a strong navy could block any enemy from entering the Baltic Sea. Any power on the continent would either have to march through Denmark to reach Sweden or take the long way around through the Baltic States and Finland and if a strong Swedish navy blocks Öresund they will be forced to take the long way around the Baltic Sea. To this end Erik institutes a formal set of fighting instructions for the Swedish navy and persuades the Riksdag to approve funding for several new Ship Wharfs along the Swedish coast to serve as supply bases and repair stations should severe damage be suffered in combat.

These measures drastically improved the effectiveness of the Swedish navy in combating Piracy as well and made it clear to any pirates hoping to pray on merchant shipping coming through the Swedish archipelago that they would be mercilessly hunted by the Swedish navy.

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In 1469 Erik hires the German economist Jurgen Niemann to attempt to improve the Swedish economy. To everyone’s surprise the Swedish economy swells to the point that it can easily filed another 6000 man standing army. This marks the birth of the Finnish Army. A 6000 man force recruited wholly from Finland but with a largely Swedish officer staff. This is however not a problem as most educated people in Sweden are fluent in both Swedish and Finnish.

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This army would soon see action in both southern and Eastern Sweden as Erik forms an alliance with the Kingdom of Poland in an attempt to curb the power of the growing Muscovite Principality. The Polish Kingdoms attempt at subjugating the crusader states of the Baltic goes awry when Muscowy attacks Lithuania. Erik honors the call to arms and stations his forces in Eastern Finland and routinely leads raids into Kexholm and the area around the River Neva.
It is upon his return from one of these raids in the summer of 1470 that a messenger arrives from Stockholm. A Danish declaration of war has arrived and both Danish and Norwegian forces are crossing the Swedish border and overrunning most of southern and western Sweden.

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Erik Rushes his army back west and leads his forces onto transports to cross the Sea of Åland back to Sweden proper to hopefully drive the Danes back.

Sweden c 1470
Erik XIII Tre Rosor (ADM:4 MIL:3 DIP:4)
By the Grace of God: King of Sweden and Grand Prince of Finland
​

Treasury: 365
GDP: -12.5 Ducats/Year

Standing Army: 10000 Pikemen, 4000 Cavalry
Navy: 1 Pinnace 18 Galleys 8 Cogs
Reserves: 27000
Discipline: 104.80%
Tradition: Army 42.20 Navy 1.90

Prestige: 60
Reputation: 0.7
Legitimacy: 0

 

[unmerged(63836)]

Muscovy already annexed Novgorod? I suppose that Russians (and potential alliance with Danes) would be your worst concern?

 

[Rifal]

Muscovy already annexed Novgorod? I suppose that Russians (and potential alliance with Danes) would be your worst concern?

Most of it anyway, they still hold Novgorod itself and the small window to the Gulf of Finland (Neva and Ingermanland). And yes if Denmark allies with Muscowy tehy will have me surrounded by hostile powers and just walk all over me.

 

[Merrick Chance']

You raised 60,000 troops from Finland? And they're all under Swedish officers?

I couldn't see the Finns liking that...

 

[Rifal]

You raised 60,000 troops from Finland? And they're all under Swedish officers?

I couldn't see the Finns liking that...

*jedi hand wave* You didn't see the number 60000

 

[unmerged(90806)]

Did Poland, busy pushing back the Muscovites, honour your alliance when Denmark attacked?

The choice of your 1st (that is 4th ) NI suggests Sweden is destined to become a naval power.