Hey folks, one of my first games and my first AAR...I decided to be the actual King, Maximilian, rather than the "Grey Eminence." Hope you enjoy, comments appreciated!
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The Great Austrian Chronicle
The Diary of Maximilian I
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1492
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January 1
I have ascended to the throne of Austria and am lord of all I survey. Tonight is my coronation, and the musicians play and the city is in celebration, after a month of dignified mourning for my late, beloved father Frederick III, the Holy Roman Emperor.
Outwardly I smile and look dignified as I meet the endless succession of dignitaries and nobles, but inwardly I am ablaze, eager to begin my reign. For the past several months, as my father lay ill on his deathbed, I have been meeting intensively with all his ministers, and some new men, bold and with ideas, who have been briefing me on the disposition of my realm and my forces, leaving nothing out, not even the petty details of commerce, which many in the royal court overlook. But I have vowed to be a better ruler than that, for deep in my pampered royal breast lies the driving ambition of a warrior born, and I have vowed secretly, to myself, that I will unite all Catholics under my rule, drive the Turk from Byzantium, and some day wear the crown of the Holy Roman Emperor upon my head. But for now I must put aside such fancies. To business.
The Kingdom of Austria has eight provinces, the most vital of which are my capital, Wien (or Vienna, as my English tutors called it), and Styria, an astoundingly rich province which yields some 90 ducats a year in revenue. I swear to myself that I shall never lose either province, worse comes to worse. In other economic matters we are as of yet of no consequence, having no traders ready to be deployed and no great mercantile city in our boundaries, the nearest being Venice and Genoa. My newly appointed econimic minister is named Goldschlager, he seems a sharp fellow, and eager to acquire for our nation a port of trade.
The army consists of one vast unit billeted in the capital. This is the Imperial Guard, commanded by Colonel Salzburg and consisting of 25,000 infantry, 10,000 horsemen (they style themselves 'Knights'), no cannons, and as yet, no navy, since we lack a port. Salzburg seems to be a competent enough fellow, but this peaceful previous regime has not yet tested him fully. Mine shall.
On the diplomatic front, my advisor Kettle tells me we have a royal marriage with Hungary and a permanent casus belli against Bohemia, two entanglements left over from the previous regime. Our enemies are numerous: both the Turks and Poles despise us, as do France, Prussia, and Brandenburg, while England, Spain, Lorraine, Naples, Savoy and our Father the Pope all favor us greatly.
Moving to our immediate neighbors, besides Bohemia and Hungary: northwest lies a bewildering array of minor German states, but the two of most immediate concern, because they actually border us, are Wurtemberg and Bavaria, the former friendly, the latter decidedly not. West lies the damned Helvetians, who also dislike us, while to our south lie the despicable Venetians and their Doge, a noted traitor and trafficker with Moslems.
The musicians still play their music in the halls below, and the noblemen continue the revel. But I have left the festivities early, and my advisors with me. Earlier this afternoon, an hour after the crown was put on my head and an hour before the feast began, King Ulaszlo II of Hungary and I met in private, and sealed our brotherhood with a military alliance. I shall have to count on him to act as a deterrent against the Bohemians and others, who may be tempted to test a young and new king. More troops are immediately called for in all the provinces, especially those bordering potential enemies.
Tomorrow Salzburg's men march to Styria. Once they arrive I shall join them, and as I lead the column over the border I shall declare war upon the Doge. I have rolled the dice early. I must hope it pays.
January 28
Salzburg's column has finally arrived in the mountains of Styria, and I join them secretly. Scouts report that the Bohemian army has been moving north, which is a relief, while King Ulaszlo has moved his massive army -- even larger than ours -- south. Has he divined my move, ready to pounce on some of the eastern Venetian provinces? Or is there another threat? I do not yet know the mind of my new ally.
Meanwhile it appears the Doge's army, much smaller than mine, is on the move. But to where? Before I cross the border, I shall wait and see where his forces move to. I may delay my strike until the end of March, when our reinforcements have been raised and the weather improved, and the nobles perhaps not so reluctant to follow a young monarch who immediately plunges the realm into war.
January 30
The Doge's army has indeed embarked on ships and sailed away, leaving his realm largely defenseless, although he is enlarging his fortifications in Istria. Good that his ill-got gains are going to improve fortifications that shall soon belong to me. Still, I wait for spring, so that the light of God's sun may shine on our victory.
February 5
A problem! It appears by using our diplomacy to lure the Hungarians into a military alliance, we lack the clout to declare war on Venice! This perturbs me no end, and I have a hard time accepting this fact from my advisors, but it appears that all the time and energy of my court must now be bent towards cementing this alliance and I must visit Budapest, attend festivals, etc., etc., before embarking on any more adventures. So be it.
In other news, the Hanse, Genoans, and treacherous Venetians have all established monopolies in their respective ports of trade. I also notice with some glee that the hated Doge has been expanding his official reach and promoting officials rather than tending to his military needs.
April 2 The Austro-Venetian War
It is done! Just as the new troops (7,000 foot 3,000 horse) are raised in Vienna under Colonel Haus, our diplomatic corps has completed its Hungarian tour and is prepared for war! I wait a day (April Fool's Day being an inauspicious time to begin a campaign) and begin, leading Salzburg's men towards Venice and unfurling my declaration of war. As expected, Hungary immediately joined us, and I have called up the reserves in Tyrol. The nobles grumble and the people seem unhappy that we had no just cause for this battle and that our enemies are Catholics, so I instruct my advisors to placate the nobles and work on our internal stability. Excitement! Soon the campaign shall begin!
April 16-30
My army arrives before the gates of Venice, but without cannon, my advisors tell me this siege could take years. Undaunted, I dig in and await reinforcements. I fear we shall have to take this city by deadly assault. Meanwhile the Magyar royal army marches towards Istria. Elsewhere, we hear that Spain has annexed Granada. We drink the wine of Venice and toast the Spaniards, while the Doge's men shout insults at us from behind their impregnable walls. The oddly-named KuK Armee arrives in Styria, and is ordered to Venice.
May
We sit before the walls of Venice.
June 23 The Battle of Venice
The Hungarians have begun the siege of Istria, and now assault its walls. Reinforcements arrive for us, the KuK Armee, and I lead the assault. But within days, as the battle rages, the Doge's land forces appear seemingly out of nowhere, apparently from the sea. They attack our men and quickly route all my forces, who retreat back into Styria. Now that I have seen the massive walls of Venice, I am beginning to consider cutting my losses and researching cannon before I return there. But at least I might grab Mantua! I shall have manuever my armies to the west. As my beaten troops stream back over the passes to the jeers of the Italian mountain peasants, I leave the Doge this dire warning, "We shall return for what is ours."
June late
Our allies are more fortunate: Istria has fallen to the Hungarians, who have reinforced their armies and even now march south, into Illyria. This is fine with me, for it will keep the Turks at bay and the Magyar busy.
July 5 A Royal Wedding
While marching with my army back into Styria, a messenger brings word that Saxony, a small state just beyond Bohemia, offers us a royal marriage. Grimly I rubber stamp my approval and return home swiftly to the capital for the ceremony. Her name is Gerthe and she is very pretty and smart and I make her my bride. The Saxons are surprised, thinking it strange that I would so quickly marry and one from such a small humble country, but I feel if I am to be campaigning I need a loyal friend in the capital, and in the decades to come I shall need sons to administer my provinces. The wedding is stately, beautiful, but somewhat strained, for we are still at war, and it goes badly.
July 10
Our treasury is nearly empty and I order all spending on frivoloties halted and our money hoarded for more war expenditures. I do not yet take the step of raising war taxes on an already mistrustful nobility, nor do I wish to borrow heavily, not yet, not if I do not have to. The able Venetian commander Borgia is leading his 10,000 men towards Tyrol and the recently assembled 3,000 foot led by my man Colonel Mariazell stationed there. Mariazell is ordered towards Styria, and the Imperial Guard under Salzburg, now in some semblence of order but still disheartened as they camp in Styria, is ordered towards Tyrol, hoping to add Mariazell to our legions on the road. The Guard has been reduced to 14,000 infantry and 14,000 cavalry thanks to the fiasco at Venice and the ardors of war. Damned Doge! For now I remain in the capitol with my new bride and direct the war from afar.
July 15 - August 2 The First and Second Battles of Tyrol
Disaster! The Venetian Borgia, whose prowess I admire ever more each day, has caught the miserably slow Colonel Mariazell and his provincial levies in Styria and forced them to the field, where he annhilated them completely. All the luck is with this Borgia, for no sooner did he win there, then a mere week later the second wave of Tyrolian levies, the so-called "Army of Bohemia" consisting of a mere two thousand raw recruits, takes the field against him and again are slaughtered to the man. Foolishly they did not await the arrival of Salzburg and the Imperial Guard, who rapidly approach. I ride quickly to meet Salzburg and lead the men into battle.
August 6 The Third Battle of Tyrol
Another battle against Borgia, another defeat. It was a very near thing this time and though we had the numbers (14/14/0) against his 10,000 men, my men were tired and still demoralized, while Borgia is an able commander. We were routed again, losing 3k infantry and 2k cavalry, but Borgia's forces have been reduced to 5k men. He commences his siege of Tyrol, while my armies retreat to regroup.
August 12
A dilemna. The Doge sends a letter demanding 12d. for peace (all we have in our coffers), but were I to sign it, my allies the Magyars would lose their gains in Istria and Illyria. I put his letter on the table, leaving the offer open for a weeks, before finally declining. The Hungarians continue to besiege Illyria, and Ragusa would be next. Lucky for them, the Turk seems busy, else surely he would intervene, jumping on Venice as well.
September 24
The Imperial Guard arrives in Salzburg (between Vienna and Tyrol) and regroups, while I return to the capital. Two thousand more foot will be added in the spring, but our monies are too few to allow for much more, and I fear the damned Doge will be able to afford much more than that. There is a surprise -- the English offer us a royal marriage, and I accept, this time allowing my scholarly cousin the chance to wed. Another damned wedding in the capital, when I should be leading my troops into battle! Still, it is nice to see Gerthe again. It will be winter soon, not a good time to be campaigning in the mountains.
October 1
I decide to broaden my diplomatic horizons, seeking future allies against the Doge. The Papal States seem a natural, they hate the Merchant of Venice, and the Holy Father looks kindly on us. I offer his house a royal marriage, my own lovely cousin Eliza, yet they refuse, and our relations suffer for it. Insolent Italians! They are my bane. Meanwhile the Hungarians continue their futile siege of Illyria, though their army has greatly diminished. Borgia is still camped outside Tyrol, but without cannon, he is in as much trouble as we when it comes to taking towns. Tyrol can hold out for another year.
November 11
Two thousand more footmen have been added to the Imperial Guard, and I rejoin the army, leading it again into Tyrol in what will probably be the last campaign of the year, maybe of my whole reign, if we do not finally have some success.
December 7-12 The Fourth Battle of Tyrol
At last! The Imperial Guard (14/13/0) meets Borgia's men (3/3/0) outside Tyrol and sends them packing. We have only light casualties, killing about 4,000 Venetians, who turn tail and head for Venice. We pursue, we must annhilate Borgia! Then it will be on to Mantua, so we might get something from this ill-conceived war. Damn the winter, and damn the Doge too. While on the road, I receive a message... Wurtemberg has accepted our offer of a royal marriage. Eliza at least will be pleased, she will be close to home and among people who speak her language. I leave my Guard in the dubious hands of Salzburg and head back to the capital, to be ready to send her off. Arriving in Vienna, I am confronted with a delegation of merchants, who apparently have readied some trade expeditions, but it seems we still lack the infrastructure to fund them, and they beg me to invest in that. I fully intend too, but for now I cannot.
December 13 -- January 5
The Doge again asks for peace, demanding our entire treasury, a princely sum of 7d. I refuse. The holidays I spend in the capital with my advisors and my bride, there is little to be accomplished in Venice this season, and matters of state must be attended. Salzburg and his men are even more uncomfortable, marching through the mountains on Christmas and New Year's, poor lads. On the fifth of January they reach Venice, surprising the remnants of Borgia's forces, who immediately flee southwest towards Mantua. Salzburg, obeying orders, ignores unassailable Venice for now and chases the Venetian army to Mantua. We collected 70d in taxes this year.
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1493
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January 10
Colonel Salzburg catches Borgia in Mantua and sends him packing again, but the wily one escapes, this time fleeing towards Venice. Salzburg detaches a cover group and then pursues Borgia back to Venice. Currently Salzburg's Guard consists of 11k men and 13k horse, while about 5,000 more infantry call-ups are gathering in Styria from various points around the empire. A siege of Mantua might take a year or more, so our new plan is to do that while keeping some forces outside Venice, to disperse any mustered troops. Back in the capital, I craft a letter of introduction to our recalcitrant neighbors the Bavarians, who intensely dislike us. Relations slightly improve, but at what cost? 25d in the midst of war? Choices, choices.
February 15
A child is born to Queen Gerthe, a daughter. We name her Marie.
March 4
The bulk of Salzburg's forces are now camped around Venice, which turned out to be wise, for a newly mustered relief army of 16,000 Venetians assembled there and were quickly smashed by our more organized men and sent packing. The Venetians were sent running towards Istria, held by our friends the Magyars. They still besiege Illyria, ignoring Ragusa, reinforcing their armies. It seems they will have to attend to Isteria though, which they left empty.
In terms of diplomacy and to help shore up our northwestern frontier, I decided to invite Wurtemberg to our Alliance, and the grateful little nation accepted.
April 2
Our wise men have finally figured out how to place merchants. Naturally, we sent our first to Venice, depsite the siege. Unfortunately, my scouts report the Venetian army we drove away from their capital regrouped in Isteria and rather than besiege the Hungarian garrison there as I had hoped, is marching into Carnolia, SE of Styria, which is currently unprotected. Colonel Salzburg was ordered to lift the siege and crush this outburst. The war has dragged on for an entire year now.
April 5
Again, the Doge sues for peace, demanding our whole treasury of 6d. No, I tell the petulant emissary. Peace now would mean I wouldn't gain a thing, nor would my Hungarian allies. Even if I don't win, I want Venice to be damaged. If only my ally would take a separate peace, gaining provinces! I urge him to do so but he refuses!
May, June July The Battle of Salzburg
Colonel Salzburg arrives in Styria, picking up two thousand more levies, but the Venetian Dicastrozza has gone to Carnolia, looting it, then turned to Vienna! Vainly Salzburg pursues him but the countryside of Vienna is looted before he arrives, and Dicastrozza moves on to Salzburg, burning and looting as he goes. I will have his head, I swear, as I watch the fires in my beautiful country from the confines of my castle. The whoreson! Finally in late July von Salzburg catches the riever in the province of Salzburg and gives him battle. Yet even though the invader is outnumbered by about 50% and in a foreign land, he still routes my worthless, badly-trained troops and continues his rampage.
September 1
Salzburg's ragtag band of soldiers tries to regroup, while Dicastrozza has moved on to Tyrol, besieging the town.
October 6
Salzburg, reinforced slightly and still with about 10k men and 11k horse march towards Tyrol, where Dicastraozza has but 4k men left. Surely we must crush that raider this time. I have already signed his death warrant, he will be drawn and quartered if caught alive, hung if captured dead. The man is little more than a bandit, though he did perform ably defeating that old fool von Salzburg. Once again I will lead my armies personally into the field. I bid my wife farewell and mount my horse and catch up with the Guard.
November 2-12 The Fifth Battle of Tyrol
Battle is joined in Tyrol! The bandit Venetian has only 4k men and his army is quickly bloodied with scant loss to ourselves. He leaves 3,000 men dead in the field and flees towards Venice, with most of the Guard and myself in pursuit -- but not all! We shall leave no province undefended for Venetian looters, not again.
December 8
I would hardly call it a battle, but Colonel Salzburg's 15,000 men slaughted Dicastraozza's last 400 men before the gates of Venice, though the bandit himself escaped inside the walls of the city. Our army moves southwest again, towards Mantua, as we are determined to crack the province. Yet there is only one chance, should the assault fail, it is my opinion, and that of all the court and my advisors, that this war is entirely fruitless and we would be best to expand our economy. To that end, we sent a second merchant into Venice (under false colors, of course). Unfortunately that great city is still open, and our lack of a navy means the world has no trouble coming and going to the markets of that great city, and that worthless Doge could care less what happens to the peasants in his countryside.
December 24 The end of the Austro-Venetian War.
Christmas Eve. I pace before the walls of Mantua, just out of arrow-range, studying the walls and wondering about an assault. Old Colonel Salzburg is against it, as are most of my court, and I too feel misgivings. The enemy has 10,000 men in the garrison, and I have but 13,000 men and 12,000 horse here, and no cannon or siege engines. An assault would almost certainly fail, so reluctantly I call it off. Perhaps the spirit of the holidays moves me, but at last, reluctantly, after a year and nine months of war, I extend the olive branch, offering a white peace. The Doge accepts without comment. We will always be enemies, I feel, but the day of reckoning has not yet come. I hurry back to the capital to my wife and Princess Marie, nearly a year old. The weary army under gouty old, complaining Colonel von Salzburg follows. I doubt that the Magyars are pleased with this turn of events, but their troops up and leave Istria and Illyria without incident.
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1494
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Jan 1
A mere 40 ducats in tax are collected, thanks to the depradations of the marauding Venetian army. Back in court I meet with my advisors in siege warfare, who estimate it will be another eighteen months before we've perfected our metal cannonballs, and even more years before cannons small enough to be hauled from siege to siege can even be considered. Years! It is fortunate I am still a young man.
March 1
The winter has been quiet. Colonel Salzburg is bringing the Guard back to the capitol, while a few small units of levies (1k men apiece) are being posted to the border provinces. Otherwise we are saving our coin, looking to expand the administrations of our provinces with bailiffs and seeking to increase trade. At this point, we have diplomatic capital to expend and that's about it, so we decided to enlarge our network of allies through royal marriage, since we have no coin to be giving gifts. In this sphere, Queen Gerthe is very useful, although her efforts to win us friends in Thuringia through marriage fail, Parma, Milan, and Helvetia all accept.
We review our situation regarding our neighbors. The Hungarians of course remain our friends, but the Venetians and Bohemians still hate us, though fortunately neither has large armies, the Venetians none at all that I ca see, and the Bohemians apparently keep their troops far to the north. Of the minor states bordering us, Milan, Helvetia, and Wurtermberg are friendly or at least bound to neutrality by marriage, the only exception Bavaria, whose army of 35,000 men is even larger than ours.
May
We send a third merchant to Venice, under our own flag now that the war is over, where our Styrian gold is still good despite the resentment the Venetians feel towards us. We've also begun promoting a bailiff to tax collector in our richest province, Styria. Our three merchants in Venice now earn 17d a year.
June
The Hessians accept my offer of a royal marriage, taking another of my numerous cousins off my hands. The summer passes peacefully, indolently, and I spend time in my favorite hunting lodges in the Tyrol, dabbling with my horses and my hounds. Even my old worried advisors seem calm and confident, for Europe is entirely peaceful, no hint of a war or storm on the horizon. Perhaps we are even entering a new age of peace throughout Christendom.
Fall
Another merchant is sent to Venice. Gerthe bears me a son, whom I name Frederick. Later the merchants come, bearing a petition expressing their unhappiness, and due to this work stoppage, much of our investment has been lost. Fat, bungling merchants, bedbugs, louses! I am angry, and happy to send the whole worthless lot of them to Venice. Still, even their discontent cannot mar this wonderfully peaceful time.
Later, Queen Gerthe arranges another royal marriage between our house and that of nearby Baden. We travel to Baden for the ceremony, which lets us visit Wurtemberg, another friend through alliance, and then spend a restful vacation in the hot springs for which Baden is famous. It is a good time, and we return to Vienna a much happier family. Little Marie is quite active and Frederick looks to be a stout young lad. Little does he know he may some day be Roman Emperor and the greatest man in all Christendom, if things work out for his papa.
November 10 -- December
It is a day for celebration, for we enter into a royal marriage with Spain, sending my sister Louise to the royal house of Spain, a move that can only strengthen the Hapsburg bond. The old saying, "Let others war, Austria will marry" has definitely been true this year. For Christmas, I give Gerthe a fine bit of china and a dinnerware set of Styrian gold. Little Marie gets a porcelain doll, and young Frederick a set of wooden soldiers. A prince is never too young to learn the arts of Mars.
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1495
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January
We've reduced military expenditures considerably, are investing heavily in military and trade technology, and dispatched a fourth merchant to Venice. In foreign news, Manuel has risen to the throne of Portugal. We know little of him or his land, except that they are faithful Christians and brave adventurers and explorers. I envy him his coast and his fleet, but must bide my time. Austria remains landlocked. Our tax income for the new year is some 50d, less than I expected, but I direct Goldschlager to re-invest 51d in a tax collector for the capital province. He also wants to spend another 50d improving the administration of Salzburg but I demur. We have but 100d in the treasury, must we spend it all on bureacrats! I opt to hoard it, for I wish to improve the fortifications of Styria.
February
We drove a Tunisian from the great market of Venice. Lousy Doge! Trades even with the infidels! Our three merchants there earn about 17d a year, though it fluctuates slightly.
April
My advisors come to me all in a flurry of excitement. It seems they have perfected the metal cannonball! Two years to late to the day, I tell them, and sourly send them back to their musty old libraries and dangerous alchemy rooms. Build me a field cannon! I demand. And don't come back until you have! Laggards.
May
Goldschlager persuades me to spend another 51d upgrading the administration in another province. We chose Odeburg, which is nestled safely between our territories and that of the Hungarian. After Styria and Vienna, all the other provinces are rather rural and backward, providing little income, so which ones are improved is of little interest except to our generals, who must defend these improvements. The talk of the court is still the Star of Peace, which some astrologers now claim has settled over the land. There must be truth to it, for Europe has been at peace for two years now, excepting my little misadventure of course. Or is everyone furiously preparing for war behind my back? I know the saying, a crowned head never rests easy, to be true, too true.
June
Our fourth merchant arrives in Venice but our income doesn't increase. I am peeved, Goldschlager is perplexed. I suggest we send the next fellow to Genoa, and in that we agree. More funds are invested in the economy, both technology and administration.
July
Damn Goldschlager and his bureaucrats! No sooner had I approved 51d be squandered on another vellum-scratching scribe than a general European war threatens to erupt. This time it is France declaring war on England, and France's parade of mismatched allies -- Savoy, the Papal States, Scotland, Poland, and the infidel Mamelukes -- follow suit. England seems to have no allies, and no troops in Calais, surely the object of France's wrath. I wish England the best, but I want no part of this war. So much for the Star of Peace, though.
August
As the diplomats are stacking up around my capital I dispatch a host of them to Paris, where they quickly bear fruit: we enter into a royal marriage with France. Now that I have royal embassies in both England and France I recieve fairly reliable letters from both sides of the continent, and have a decent vantage point to view the ensuing war. I make Ketel, Goldschlager, and von Salzburg gather weekly in the situation room, where we study the French and English positions and move big wooden soldiers representing their armies around on my giant European map. The English appear to have been caught completely off guard, without a standing army anywhere in their land, though some are rapidly being mustered in Calais. France seems to have planned poorly, with most of its troops in the southwest, near Spain. Belatedly they march across the country. Then again, it could be my spies and diplomats have reports that are spotty at best.
August 18
The first action! James IV of Scotland invades the English Marches and Norfolk of England, who was apparently at sea, rushes to meet him, thoug he will have to march across the breadth of his land.
August 28
How quickly does fire spread, once started! Far off in the distant East, the Teutonic Order has declared war upon Poland, an ally of France. The Order's allies, Venice and the Hanseatic League declare too. Then all of Poland's allies, including France and the Papacy, declare war on the Order and her allies. The Pope and France at war with my enemy, Venice! I thump Salzburg's back with glee and order him to get the troops ready. If there is an opening, an opportunity, I shall seize it, though I fear once again the lack of cannons useful in siege may thwart my efforts yet again.
October
Norfolk closes with James in the Marches, and sends the Scottish king back over the border. France looks as if it shall have Calais as there is nothing English left to stop them. As of yet, the Teuto-Polish War has not caused any problems for the Venetians, or any combat in Italy. I am perplexed. We dispatch a merchant to Genoa and hear word that the infidel Turks and their bag of mostly Moslem allies have gone to war with the equally damned Mamelukes. Anything that keeps the Turks busy is good news for us. However Goldschlager worries that if Turkey conquers the Mamelukes, it shall grow even mightier, and it will be even more difficult to eject them from Europe. He is right to remind me of the true enemy of the Cross.
November
Hannover accepted a marriage proposal, but again the Papacy declined. I undertand that priests are celibate, but does not any one of these cardinals have a brother, nephew, uncle, or son? Or are they all grown from vines, by monks, as the Holy Fathers would no doubt prefer! Bah. Norfolk has stopped on his border, refusing to pursue James. Foolishness, the English should use this opportunity to seize that land.
The Diary of Maximilian I
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1492
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January 1
I have ascended to the throne of Austria and am lord of all I survey. Tonight is my coronation, and the musicians play and the city is in celebration, after a month of dignified mourning for my late, beloved father Frederick III, the Holy Roman Emperor.
Outwardly I smile and look dignified as I meet the endless succession of dignitaries and nobles, but inwardly I am ablaze, eager to begin my reign. For the past several months, as my father lay ill on his deathbed, I have been meeting intensively with all his ministers, and some new men, bold and with ideas, who have been briefing me on the disposition of my realm and my forces, leaving nothing out, not even the petty details of commerce, which many in the royal court overlook. But I have vowed to be a better ruler than that, for deep in my pampered royal breast lies the driving ambition of a warrior born, and I have vowed secretly, to myself, that I will unite all Catholics under my rule, drive the Turk from Byzantium, and some day wear the crown of the Holy Roman Emperor upon my head. But for now I must put aside such fancies. To business.
The Kingdom of Austria has eight provinces, the most vital of which are my capital, Wien (or Vienna, as my English tutors called it), and Styria, an astoundingly rich province which yields some 90 ducats a year in revenue. I swear to myself that I shall never lose either province, worse comes to worse. In other economic matters we are as of yet of no consequence, having no traders ready to be deployed and no great mercantile city in our boundaries, the nearest being Venice and Genoa. My newly appointed econimic minister is named Goldschlager, he seems a sharp fellow, and eager to acquire for our nation a port of trade.
The army consists of one vast unit billeted in the capital. This is the Imperial Guard, commanded by Colonel Salzburg and consisting of 25,000 infantry, 10,000 horsemen (they style themselves 'Knights'), no cannons, and as yet, no navy, since we lack a port. Salzburg seems to be a competent enough fellow, but this peaceful previous regime has not yet tested him fully. Mine shall.
On the diplomatic front, my advisor Kettle tells me we have a royal marriage with Hungary and a permanent casus belli against Bohemia, two entanglements left over from the previous regime. Our enemies are numerous: both the Turks and Poles despise us, as do France, Prussia, and Brandenburg, while England, Spain, Lorraine, Naples, Savoy and our Father the Pope all favor us greatly.
Moving to our immediate neighbors, besides Bohemia and Hungary: northwest lies a bewildering array of minor German states, but the two of most immediate concern, because they actually border us, are Wurtemberg and Bavaria, the former friendly, the latter decidedly not. West lies the damned Helvetians, who also dislike us, while to our south lie the despicable Venetians and their Doge, a noted traitor and trafficker with Moslems.
The musicians still play their music in the halls below, and the noblemen continue the revel. But I have left the festivities early, and my advisors with me. Earlier this afternoon, an hour after the crown was put on my head and an hour before the feast began, King Ulaszlo II of Hungary and I met in private, and sealed our brotherhood with a military alliance. I shall have to count on him to act as a deterrent against the Bohemians and others, who may be tempted to test a young and new king. More troops are immediately called for in all the provinces, especially those bordering potential enemies.
Tomorrow Salzburg's men march to Styria. Once they arrive I shall join them, and as I lead the column over the border I shall declare war upon the Doge. I have rolled the dice early. I must hope it pays.
January 28
Salzburg's column has finally arrived in the mountains of Styria, and I join them secretly. Scouts report that the Bohemian army has been moving north, which is a relief, while King Ulaszlo has moved his massive army -- even larger than ours -- south. Has he divined my move, ready to pounce on some of the eastern Venetian provinces? Or is there another threat? I do not yet know the mind of my new ally.
Meanwhile it appears the Doge's army, much smaller than mine, is on the move. But to where? Before I cross the border, I shall wait and see where his forces move to. I may delay my strike until the end of March, when our reinforcements have been raised and the weather improved, and the nobles perhaps not so reluctant to follow a young monarch who immediately plunges the realm into war.
January 30
The Doge's army has indeed embarked on ships and sailed away, leaving his realm largely defenseless, although he is enlarging his fortifications in Istria. Good that his ill-got gains are going to improve fortifications that shall soon belong to me. Still, I wait for spring, so that the light of God's sun may shine on our victory.
February 5
A problem! It appears by using our diplomacy to lure the Hungarians into a military alliance, we lack the clout to declare war on Venice! This perturbs me no end, and I have a hard time accepting this fact from my advisors, but it appears that all the time and energy of my court must now be bent towards cementing this alliance and I must visit Budapest, attend festivals, etc., etc., before embarking on any more adventures. So be it.
In other news, the Hanse, Genoans, and treacherous Venetians have all established monopolies in their respective ports of trade. I also notice with some glee that the hated Doge has been expanding his official reach and promoting officials rather than tending to his military needs.
April 2 The Austro-Venetian War
It is done! Just as the new troops (7,000 foot 3,000 horse) are raised in Vienna under Colonel Haus, our diplomatic corps has completed its Hungarian tour and is prepared for war! I wait a day (April Fool's Day being an inauspicious time to begin a campaign) and begin, leading Salzburg's men towards Venice and unfurling my declaration of war. As expected, Hungary immediately joined us, and I have called up the reserves in Tyrol. The nobles grumble and the people seem unhappy that we had no just cause for this battle and that our enemies are Catholics, so I instruct my advisors to placate the nobles and work on our internal stability. Excitement! Soon the campaign shall begin!
April 16-30
My army arrives before the gates of Venice, but without cannon, my advisors tell me this siege could take years. Undaunted, I dig in and await reinforcements. I fear we shall have to take this city by deadly assault. Meanwhile the Magyar royal army marches towards Istria. Elsewhere, we hear that Spain has annexed Granada. We drink the wine of Venice and toast the Spaniards, while the Doge's men shout insults at us from behind their impregnable walls. The oddly-named KuK Armee arrives in Styria, and is ordered to Venice.
May
We sit before the walls of Venice.
June 23 The Battle of Venice
The Hungarians have begun the siege of Istria, and now assault its walls. Reinforcements arrive for us, the KuK Armee, and I lead the assault. But within days, as the battle rages, the Doge's land forces appear seemingly out of nowhere, apparently from the sea. They attack our men and quickly route all my forces, who retreat back into Styria. Now that I have seen the massive walls of Venice, I am beginning to consider cutting my losses and researching cannon before I return there. But at least I might grab Mantua! I shall have manuever my armies to the west. As my beaten troops stream back over the passes to the jeers of the Italian mountain peasants, I leave the Doge this dire warning, "We shall return for what is ours."
June late
Our allies are more fortunate: Istria has fallen to the Hungarians, who have reinforced their armies and even now march south, into Illyria. This is fine with me, for it will keep the Turks at bay and the Magyar busy.
July 5 A Royal Wedding
While marching with my army back into Styria, a messenger brings word that Saxony, a small state just beyond Bohemia, offers us a royal marriage. Grimly I rubber stamp my approval and return home swiftly to the capital for the ceremony. Her name is Gerthe and she is very pretty and smart and I make her my bride. The Saxons are surprised, thinking it strange that I would so quickly marry and one from such a small humble country, but I feel if I am to be campaigning I need a loyal friend in the capital, and in the decades to come I shall need sons to administer my provinces. The wedding is stately, beautiful, but somewhat strained, for we are still at war, and it goes badly.
July 10
Our treasury is nearly empty and I order all spending on frivoloties halted and our money hoarded for more war expenditures. I do not yet take the step of raising war taxes on an already mistrustful nobility, nor do I wish to borrow heavily, not yet, not if I do not have to. The able Venetian commander Borgia is leading his 10,000 men towards Tyrol and the recently assembled 3,000 foot led by my man Colonel Mariazell stationed there. Mariazell is ordered towards Styria, and the Imperial Guard under Salzburg, now in some semblence of order but still disheartened as they camp in Styria, is ordered towards Tyrol, hoping to add Mariazell to our legions on the road. The Guard has been reduced to 14,000 infantry and 14,000 cavalry thanks to the fiasco at Venice and the ardors of war. Damned Doge! For now I remain in the capitol with my new bride and direct the war from afar.
July 15 - August 2 The First and Second Battles of Tyrol
Disaster! The Venetian Borgia, whose prowess I admire ever more each day, has caught the miserably slow Colonel Mariazell and his provincial levies in Styria and forced them to the field, where he annhilated them completely. All the luck is with this Borgia, for no sooner did he win there, then a mere week later the second wave of Tyrolian levies, the so-called "Army of Bohemia" consisting of a mere two thousand raw recruits, takes the field against him and again are slaughtered to the man. Foolishly they did not await the arrival of Salzburg and the Imperial Guard, who rapidly approach. I ride quickly to meet Salzburg and lead the men into battle.
August 6 The Third Battle of Tyrol
Another battle against Borgia, another defeat. It was a very near thing this time and though we had the numbers (14/14/0) against his 10,000 men, my men were tired and still demoralized, while Borgia is an able commander. We were routed again, losing 3k infantry and 2k cavalry, but Borgia's forces have been reduced to 5k men. He commences his siege of Tyrol, while my armies retreat to regroup.
August 12
A dilemna. The Doge sends a letter demanding 12d. for peace (all we have in our coffers), but were I to sign it, my allies the Magyars would lose their gains in Istria and Illyria. I put his letter on the table, leaving the offer open for a weeks, before finally declining. The Hungarians continue to besiege Illyria, and Ragusa would be next. Lucky for them, the Turk seems busy, else surely he would intervene, jumping on Venice as well.
September 24
The Imperial Guard arrives in Salzburg (between Vienna and Tyrol) and regroups, while I return to the capital. Two thousand more foot will be added in the spring, but our monies are too few to allow for much more, and I fear the damned Doge will be able to afford much more than that. There is a surprise -- the English offer us a royal marriage, and I accept, this time allowing my scholarly cousin the chance to wed. Another damned wedding in the capital, when I should be leading my troops into battle! Still, it is nice to see Gerthe again. It will be winter soon, not a good time to be campaigning in the mountains.
October 1
I decide to broaden my diplomatic horizons, seeking future allies against the Doge. The Papal States seem a natural, they hate the Merchant of Venice, and the Holy Father looks kindly on us. I offer his house a royal marriage, my own lovely cousin Eliza, yet they refuse, and our relations suffer for it. Insolent Italians! They are my bane. Meanwhile the Hungarians continue their futile siege of Illyria, though their army has greatly diminished. Borgia is still camped outside Tyrol, but without cannon, he is in as much trouble as we when it comes to taking towns. Tyrol can hold out for another year.
November 11
Two thousand more footmen have been added to the Imperial Guard, and I rejoin the army, leading it again into Tyrol in what will probably be the last campaign of the year, maybe of my whole reign, if we do not finally have some success.
December 7-12 The Fourth Battle of Tyrol
At last! The Imperial Guard (14/13/0) meets Borgia's men (3/3/0) outside Tyrol and sends them packing. We have only light casualties, killing about 4,000 Venetians, who turn tail and head for Venice. We pursue, we must annhilate Borgia! Then it will be on to Mantua, so we might get something from this ill-conceived war. Damn the winter, and damn the Doge too. While on the road, I receive a message... Wurtemberg has accepted our offer of a royal marriage. Eliza at least will be pleased, she will be close to home and among people who speak her language. I leave my Guard in the dubious hands of Salzburg and head back to the capital, to be ready to send her off. Arriving in Vienna, I am confronted with a delegation of merchants, who apparently have readied some trade expeditions, but it seems we still lack the infrastructure to fund them, and they beg me to invest in that. I fully intend too, but for now I cannot.
December 13 -- January 5
The Doge again asks for peace, demanding our entire treasury, a princely sum of 7d. I refuse. The holidays I spend in the capital with my advisors and my bride, there is little to be accomplished in Venice this season, and matters of state must be attended. Salzburg and his men are even more uncomfortable, marching through the mountains on Christmas and New Year's, poor lads. On the fifth of January they reach Venice, surprising the remnants of Borgia's forces, who immediately flee southwest towards Mantua. Salzburg, obeying orders, ignores unassailable Venice for now and chases the Venetian army to Mantua. We collected 70d in taxes this year.
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1493
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January 10
Colonel Salzburg catches Borgia in Mantua and sends him packing again, but the wily one escapes, this time fleeing towards Venice. Salzburg detaches a cover group and then pursues Borgia back to Venice. Currently Salzburg's Guard consists of 11k men and 13k horse, while about 5,000 more infantry call-ups are gathering in Styria from various points around the empire. A siege of Mantua might take a year or more, so our new plan is to do that while keeping some forces outside Venice, to disperse any mustered troops. Back in the capital, I craft a letter of introduction to our recalcitrant neighbors the Bavarians, who intensely dislike us. Relations slightly improve, but at what cost? 25d in the midst of war? Choices, choices.
February 15
A child is born to Queen Gerthe, a daughter. We name her Marie.
March 4
The bulk of Salzburg's forces are now camped around Venice, which turned out to be wise, for a newly mustered relief army of 16,000 Venetians assembled there and were quickly smashed by our more organized men and sent packing. The Venetians were sent running towards Istria, held by our friends the Magyars. They still besiege Illyria, ignoring Ragusa, reinforcing their armies. It seems they will have to attend to Isteria though, which they left empty.
In terms of diplomacy and to help shore up our northwestern frontier, I decided to invite Wurtemberg to our Alliance, and the grateful little nation accepted.
April 2
Our wise men have finally figured out how to place merchants. Naturally, we sent our first to Venice, depsite the siege. Unfortunately, my scouts report the Venetian army we drove away from their capital regrouped in Isteria and rather than besiege the Hungarian garrison there as I had hoped, is marching into Carnolia, SE of Styria, which is currently unprotected. Colonel Salzburg was ordered to lift the siege and crush this outburst. The war has dragged on for an entire year now.
April 5
Again, the Doge sues for peace, demanding our whole treasury of 6d. No, I tell the petulant emissary. Peace now would mean I wouldn't gain a thing, nor would my Hungarian allies. Even if I don't win, I want Venice to be damaged. If only my ally would take a separate peace, gaining provinces! I urge him to do so but he refuses!
May, June July The Battle of Salzburg
Colonel Salzburg arrives in Styria, picking up two thousand more levies, but the Venetian Dicastrozza has gone to Carnolia, looting it, then turned to Vienna! Vainly Salzburg pursues him but the countryside of Vienna is looted before he arrives, and Dicastrozza moves on to Salzburg, burning and looting as he goes. I will have his head, I swear, as I watch the fires in my beautiful country from the confines of my castle. The whoreson! Finally in late July von Salzburg catches the riever in the province of Salzburg and gives him battle. Yet even though the invader is outnumbered by about 50% and in a foreign land, he still routes my worthless, badly-trained troops and continues his rampage.
September 1
Salzburg's ragtag band of soldiers tries to regroup, while Dicastrozza has moved on to Tyrol, besieging the town.
October 6
Salzburg, reinforced slightly and still with about 10k men and 11k horse march towards Tyrol, where Dicastraozza has but 4k men left. Surely we must crush that raider this time. I have already signed his death warrant, he will be drawn and quartered if caught alive, hung if captured dead. The man is little more than a bandit, though he did perform ably defeating that old fool von Salzburg. Once again I will lead my armies personally into the field. I bid my wife farewell and mount my horse and catch up with the Guard.
November 2-12 The Fifth Battle of Tyrol
Battle is joined in Tyrol! The bandit Venetian has only 4k men and his army is quickly bloodied with scant loss to ourselves. He leaves 3,000 men dead in the field and flees towards Venice, with most of the Guard and myself in pursuit -- but not all! We shall leave no province undefended for Venetian looters, not again.
December 8
I would hardly call it a battle, but Colonel Salzburg's 15,000 men slaughted Dicastraozza's last 400 men before the gates of Venice, though the bandit himself escaped inside the walls of the city. Our army moves southwest again, towards Mantua, as we are determined to crack the province. Yet there is only one chance, should the assault fail, it is my opinion, and that of all the court and my advisors, that this war is entirely fruitless and we would be best to expand our economy. To that end, we sent a second merchant into Venice (under false colors, of course). Unfortunately that great city is still open, and our lack of a navy means the world has no trouble coming and going to the markets of that great city, and that worthless Doge could care less what happens to the peasants in his countryside.
December 24 The end of the Austro-Venetian War.
Christmas Eve. I pace before the walls of Mantua, just out of arrow-range, studying the walls and wondering about an assault. Old Colonel Salzburg is against it, as are most of my court, and I too feel misgivings. The enemy has 10,000 men in the garrison, and I have but 13,000 men and 12,000 horse here, and no cannon or siege engines. An assault would almost certainly fail, so reluctantly I call it off. Perhaps the spirit of the holidays moves me, but at last, reluctantly, after a year and nine months of war, I extend the olive branch, offering a white peace. The Doge accepts without comment. We will always be enemies, I feel, but the day of reckoning has not yet come. I hurry back to the capital to my wife and Princess Marie, nearly a year old. The weary army under gouty old, complaining Colonel von Salzburg follows. I doubt that the Magyars are pleased with this turn of events, but their troops up and leave Istria and Illyria without incident.
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1494
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Jan 1
A mere 40 ducats in tax are collected, thanks to the depradations of the marauding Venetian army. Back in court I meet with my advisors in siege warfare, who estimate it will be another eighteen months before we've perfected our metal cannonballs, and even more years before cannons small enough to be hauled from siege to siege can even be considered. Years! It is fortunate I am still a young man.
March 1
The winter has been quiet. Colonel Salzburg is bringing the Guard back to the capitol, while a few small units of levies (1k men apiece) are being posted to the border provinces. Otherwise we are saving our coin, looking to expand the administrations of our provinces with bailiffs and seeking to increase trade. At this point, we have diplomatic capital to expend and that's about it, so we decided to enlarge our network of allies through royal marriage, since we have no coin to be giving gifts. In this sphere, Queen Gerthe is very useful, although her efforts to win us friends in Thuringia through marriage fail, Parma, Milan, and Helvetia all accept.
We review our situation regarding our neighbors. The Hungarians of course remain our friends, but the Venetians and Bohemians still hate us, though fortunately neither has large armies, the Venetians none at all that I ca see, and the Bohemians apparently keep their troops far to the north. Of the minor states bordering us, Milan, Helvetia, and Wurtermberg are friendly or at least bound to neutrality by marriage, the only exception Bavaria, whose army of 35,000 men is even larger than ours.
May
We send a third merchant to Venice, under our own flag now that the war is over, where our Styrian gold is still good despite the resentment the Venetians feel towards us. We've also begun promoting a bailiff to tax collector in our richest province, Styria. Our three merchants in Venice now earn 17d a year.
June
The Hessians accept my offer of a royal marriage, taking another of my numerous cousins off my hands. The summer passes peacefully, indolently, and I spend time in my favorite hunting lodges in the Tyrol, dabbling with my horses and my hounds. Even my old worried advisors seem calm and confident, for Europe is entirely peaceful, no hint of a war or storm on the horizon. Perhaps we are even entering a new age of peace throughout Christendom.
Fall
Another merchant is sent to Venice. Gerthe bears me a son, whom I name Frederick. Later the merchants come, bearing a petition expressing their unhappiness, and due to this work stoppage, much of our investment has been lost. Fat, bungling merchants, bedbugs, louses! I am angry, and happy to send the whole worthless lot of them to Venice. Still, even their discontent cannot mar this wonderfully peaceful time.
Later, Queen Gerthe arranges another royal marriage between our house and that of nearby Baden. We travel to Baden for the ceremony, which lets us visit Wurtemberg, another friend through alliance, and then spend a restful vacation in the hot springs for which Baden is famous. It is a good time, and we return to Vienna a much happier family. Little Marie is quite active and Frederick looks to be a stout young lad. Little does he know he may some day be Roman Emperor and the greatest man in all Christendom, if things work out for his papa.
November 10 -- December
It is a day for celebration, for we enter into a royal marriage with Spain, sending my sister Louise to the royal house of Spain, a move that can only strengthen the Hapsburg bond. The old saying, "Let others war, Austria will marry" has definitely been true this year. For Christmas, I give Gerthe a fine bit of china and a dinnerware set of Styrian gold. Little Marie gets a porcelain doll, and young Frederick a set of wooden soldiers. A prince is never too young to learn the arts of Mars.
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1495
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January
We've reduced military expenditures considerably, are investing heavily in military and trade technology, and dispatched a fourth merchant to Venice. In foreign news, Manuel has risen to the throne of Portugal. We know little of him or his land, except that they are faithful Christians and brave adventurers and explorers. I envy him his coast and his fleet, but must bide my time. Austria remains landlocked. Our tax income for the new year is some 50d, less than I expected, but I direct Goldschlager to re-invest 51d in a tax collector for the capital province. He also wants to spend another 50d improving the administration of Salzburg but I demur. We have but 100d in the treasury, must we spend it all on bureacrats! I opt to hoard it, for I wish to improve the fortifications of Styria.
February
We drove a Tunisian from the great market of Venice. Lousy Doge! Trades even with the infidels! Our three merchants there earn about 17d a year, though it fluctuates slightly.
April
My advisors come to me all in a flurry of excitement. It seems they have perfected the metal cannonball! Two years to late to the day, I tell them, and sourly send them back to their musty old libraries and dangerous alchemy rooms. Build me a field cannon! I demand. And don't come back until you have! Laggards.
May
Goldschlager persuades me to spend another 51d upgrading the administration in another province. We chose Odeburg, which is nestled safely between our territories and that of the Hungarian. After Styria and Vienna, all the other provinces are rather rural and backward, providing little income, so which ones are improved is of little interest except to our generals, who must defend these improvements. The talk of the court is still the Star of Peace, which some astrologers now claim has settled over the land. There must be truth to it, for Europe has been at peace for two years now, excepting my little misadventure of course. Or is everyone furiously preparing for war behind my back? I know the saying, a crowned head never rests easy, to be true, too true.
June
Our fourth merchant arrives in Venice but our income doesn't increase. I am peeved, Goldschlager is perplexed. I suggest we send the next fellow to Genoa, and in that we agree. More funds are invested in the economy, both technology and administration.
July
Damn Goldschlager and his bureaucrats! No sooner had I approved 51d be squandered on another vellum-scratching scribe than a general European war threatens to erupt. This time it is France declaring war on England, and France's parade of mismatched allies -- Savoy, the Papal States, Scotland, Poland, and the infidel Mamelukes -- follow suit. England seems to have no allies, and no troops in Calais, surely the object of France's wrath. I wish England the best, but I want no part of this war. So much for the Star of Peace, though.
August
As the diplomats are stacking up around my capital I dispatch a host of them to Paris, where they quickly bear fruit: we enter into a royal marriage with France. Now that I have royal embassies in both England and France I recieve fairly reliable letters from both sides of the continent, and have a decent vantage point to view the ensuing war. I make Ketel, Goldschlager, and von Salzburg gather weekly in the situation room, where we study the French and English positions and move big wooden soldiers representing their armies around on my giant European map. The English appear to have been caught completely off guard, without a standing army anywhere in their land, though some are rapidly being mustered in Calais. France seems to have planned poorly, with most of its troops in the southwest, near Spain. Belatedly they march across the country. Then again, it could be my spies and diplomats have reports that are spotty at best.
August 18
The first action! James IV of Scotland invades the English Marches and Norfolk of England, who was apparently at sea, rushes to meet him, thoug he will have to march across the breadth of his land.
August 28
How quickly does fire spread, once started! Far off in the distant East, the Teutonic Order has declared war upon Poland, an ally of France. The Order's allies, Venice and the Hanseatic League declare too. Then all of Poland's allies, including France and the Papacy, declare war on the Order and her allies. The Pope and France at war with my enemy, Venice! I thump Salzburg's back with glee and order him to get the troops ready. If there is an opening, an opportunity, I shall seize it, though I fear once again the lack of cannons useful in siege may thwart my efforts yet again.
October
Norfolk closes with James in the Marches, and sends the Scottish king back over the border. France looks as if it shall have Calais as there is nothing English left to stop them. As of yet, the Teuto-Polish War has not caused any problems for the Venetians, or any combat in Italy. I am perplexed. We dispatch a merchant to Genoa and hear word that the infidel Turks and their bag of mostly Moslem allies have gone to war with the equally damned Mamelukes. Anything that keeps the Turks busy is good news for us. However Goldschlager worries that if Turkey conquers the Mamelukes, it shall grow even mightier, and it will be even more difficult to eject them from Europe. He is right to remind me of the true enemy of the Cross.
November
Hannover accepted a marriage proposal, but again the Papacy declined. I undertand that priests are celibate, but does not any one of these cardinals have a brother, nephew, uncle, or son? Or are they all grown from vines, by monks, as the Holy Fathers would no doubt prefer! Bah. Norfolk has stopped on his border, refusing to pursue James. Foolishness, the English should use this opportunity to seize that land.
Good idea, on being the king, that is. Looking forward to it! It could be nice to someone's first game as an aar.
i am really starting to like these diary type AARs, just something about them that clicks, did you start this aar from warspites idea when he posted the sweden diary? or is this your own idea? just curious because warspites sweden diary aar he started a few days ago is pretty awesome .
Lay on more posts pappy, your doing the job
Lay on more posts pappy, your doing the job
Thanks Jeep, Sharur!
Hmm, no the one I read at work when I was bored (which inspired me to do my own AAR) was Ariel's long English one. But he kept mentioning the goals his king gave him and since I play with those goals turned off (I don't like the distractions and I'm less concerned with victory points than fulfilling whatever personal goals I've set for myself) it gave me the idea of being the king.
Oh and if any Italians, Turks etc. are reading it's my character who doesn't like you, not me
Hmm, no the one I read at work when I was bored (which inspired me to do my own AAR) was Ariel's long English one. But he kept mentioning the goals his king gave him and since I play with those goals turned off (I don't like the distractions and I'm less concerned with victory points than fulfilling whatever personal goals I've set for myself) it gave me the idea of being the king.
Oh and if any Italians, Turks etc. are reading it's my character who doesn't like you, not me
Just a word of advice: yes, the Pope's vow of celibacy DOES prevent the Papal States from entering a royal marriage
Thanks for the encouragement, Danish King!
And Sharur, eventually I did figure out there was something wrong with the Papacy in that regard... although in my next action report, which hopefully I can post tonight, you'll see I kept hammering away at them stubbornly...
And Sharur, eventually I did figure out there was something wrong with the Papacy in that regard... although in my next action report, which hopefully I can post tonight, you'll see I kept hammering away at them stubbornly...
Maximilian's Diary, Chapter II
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1496
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January
Tax revenue was some 80d this year, Goldschlager is to be commended. There seems to be little action on the Italian peninsula, despite the fact that Venetia and the Papacy are technically at war. Little in Europe goes on either, except Calais burns.
February
One of Goldschlager's bag-men seems to have estabished himself in Genoa, the first to do so successfully. We promote another scroll-scratcher, this time in Oldeburg. Even the Franco-English War has petered out now.
March
A boy is born, I name him Karlmagne after the great emperor of the Franks.
April
The dastardly Doge has finally begun to make his move. My sources in the City of Filthy Canals report a massive army of 20,000 men has marched out of Venice and south, towards our Holy Father. The gall of this man astounds me, making war on the very Church that nourishes his soul. He must lack one altogether, the hellborn money-grubber. I flirt with the idea of making war on him again, but the lack of cannons -- which my scientist Kettel now says are only a few months off, deters me. For now. But events are falling into place. I need only bide my time. All shall be as was ordained, and the Holy Father shall surely crown me Holy Roman Emperor once I've aided him against our mutual enemy, the Doge.
June
Another army of 17,000 Venetian foot is raised in Mantua, though it is not marching south. My natural philospher, Kettle, promises me those cannons soon, soon.
August
Finally, we have field artillery! Immediately we order the construction of some, but it turns out we haven't even the ducats for a measly ten guns. Briefly I consider getting a loan, but even that might only afford us forty cannon. Would even that be enough against Venice's mighty walls? I think not. A final attempt is made to woo the Papacy by royal marriage, this time with the hand of the lovely Elise Hapsburg, my darling niece. She cries and cries and pulls her pretty blonde hair for she doesn't want to wed a priest! She needn't worry, again the Pontiff refuses us. I take out my wrath on the firing range, where we are practicing with some of Kettel's experimental cannons. I imagine the old wall we fire at to be composed entirely of Italians, the Doge and the Pope among them. Later I confess my evil thoughts to my priest, Father Ratz. Evil thoughts about the Pontiff, that is. I could care less who knows my low opinion of that damnable Doge. His name is Augustino Barbarigo, though in my court we call him only That Despicable Man.
November
We place another merchant in Genoa, for we can put no more in Venice. I suspect the foul hand of the Doge yet again. My niece Elise is lucky, she is to be wed to a scion of Lorraine, since the damnable louts of the Palatinate refused us. Surely, they are fools. Meanwhile we order the construction of ten cannon and two thousand infantry, strictly for defense. Russia ended its war with some horde or another, it is of little interest to me. Meanwhile the two wars in Europe are still 'raging' -- that is if you can call sitting in your castles and not doing anything warfare. My minstrels have been composing songs, mocking the combatants and their false War of Words.
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1497
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January
Goldschlager reports 88d in taxes taken this year. He looks crestfallen though when I tell him most of it shall be spent on Kettle's cannons and not on his precious bureaucrats. Ten more cannons are ordered up, this time in Styria, since Kettle's laggards are still working on the first batch at the Austrian smithy. Goldschlager sends one of his merchants to Byzantium, since Venice's stalls are full and the man in Genoa produces but one measly ducat in profit. We caught the narrowest glimpse of a battle in Mantua, but the Doge's men quickly put to the sword the red-bannered chaps from Savoy they were fighting. But his army immediately began moving south, so things are looking up.
February
Winter is cold in the Alps, and I stay close to home with my lovely wife and my growing children. Reports are that the province of Romagna is in flames, with the Doge's army burning and looting fellow Italians, Catholics, subjects of the Holy Father. I am saddened by this. Kettle is all a-twitter for his philosophers have discovered how to build something he calls a 'refinery' which he swears will bring great wealth to the realm. Something to do with pressing grapes, I understand, as if I were some damned dirty purple-footed Frenchman. And what does Old Goldie say this extravagant foolishness will cost? 685d, he tells me. I tell him to get back to his books and invent something practical.
My mood is improved somewhat when a traveler reports that the Mamelukes have ceded Syria to the Crimeans in turn for peace. We look at our map with some amusement -- how will those damned fool heathens hold a province that far from their dirty steppe camps? One final irritation to round out the month. I am so keen on discovering news of the Italian war I again offer marriage to the Pope's family, and again am rebuffed despite our shining relations. Our council reluctantly concludes that some obscure Papal law unknown to us prevents such ties. We shrug it off. One last note -- it seems the English are besieging Calais, which must've fallen earlier in the winter to France's lapdogs, the Savoy. Meanwhile the Scots are in the Marches again.
Spring, Early Summer
I decide to spend the bulk of this year's earnings on 7,000 foot in Vienna. In other news, we established a merchant in Thrace (Turkey). Desultory fighting continues in Calais and the Marches, and presumably, Italy, though we can't see what's happening in the lands of the Pope.
September
I offer Dennmark a royal marriage and they accept. The Teutonic Order sues for peace with Poland, ending that war, and so ends the Doge's campaign against the Pope. No matter, I have targeted March-April of next year for another try at him. I have reigned five years without a conquest. It is intolerable.
October-December
The fools in Savoy reject my friendly marriage proposal. No matter, I get my Christmas present: ten new cannon in Styria, twenty more in Vienna, once the new year taxes roll in.
=========
1498
=========
January
The Doge is busy! He raises an army of 14,000 and puts them to sea. Meanwhile Goldschlager is in a tizzy because Kettle's men have developed traders, supposedly superior to ordinary merchants. I am underwhelmed.
February
The Doge assembles yet another 14,000 men and puts them in Mantua, or is it the same army that went to sea? It is hard to tell, if only we had a fleet! A mere 300 Venetians are dispatched to Isteria, a curious move by any standard, but better than nothing. I dispatch a diplomat to Naples to introduce myself, and the report back is that Rimini regards me as his dearest friend. The Bavarians finally accept a royal marriage as well. My borders are now fairly secure, except for Bohemia in the north and of course, Venice, south.
March-April
More men a-building. Kettle's cannons take a damnably long time. Meanwhile Louis XII took the throne, now let's see if he can take Calais. My council of state meets, in attendance are Goldschlager, von Salzburg, Kettle, and Gerthe. We have a rapidly improving army now but if we're ever to realize our destiny, we must have more funds, it is as simple as that. There are only two practical candidates for war at this juncture, Bohemia and Venice, since we've formed royal marriages with the rest of our neighbors. I instruct von Salzburg to make the case for and against Bohemia.
"Bohemia is an old enemy," the grizzled warrior begins, "and she has oddly left her home provinces, even her capital, undefended, except for the garrisons. Yet she has formed a nice military alliance, roping in Bavaria, Thuringia, and Baden, all of whom are on our northwest border."
"On the other hand," Kettle interjects, "We have a Casus Belli on her, and such a war would not injure our relations with the others!"
"What of Wurtemberg?" von Salzburg says. "She is surrounded by Bavaria, Thuringia, and Baden! She shall not survive!"
Kettle merely shrugs. "None of those armies are large enough to besiege the place properly. Don't forget, we also can count on the Magyar!"
"Yes," I say. "But Bavaria has a standing army of 35,000 men, nearly as large as ours. Combined with the others and who knows how many Bohemians, I don't think we can afford that risk. We need them in our Alliance, isntead." I turn to Kettle. "Now you make the case for Venice."
The crusty old philospher smiles, and begins. "Our antipathy for the Venetians is well-known, but it is not a just cause strictly speaking, in legal terms. Still, we can probably ignore the loss in stability in the short term. More problematic is the fact that the Doge is wealthy and has a large army of 14,000 men and a long border of us. Do we want another Dicaprazzo rampaging across our provinces?"
I wince, and shake my head. Any war with Venice this year will include garrisons all along the border. I say as much, then add: "Again, we can also count on the Hungarians, who surely will have upgraded their cannons much as we have, and should be able to take Illyria or Ragusa. Let's be sure not to let them have Istria this time, it's too close to what is rightfully ours." They all agree, and I continue. "Still, Venice's allies should give us pause. The Hanseatic League, Teutonic Order, Mamelukes and Baghdad are meaningless, but their fifth ally is Milan, who also borders us with a standing army of 10,000 men that must be accounted for."
"What if we invited Parma, Genoa, and the Pope to our military alliance?" asked Kettle.
Goldschlager shook his grey beard, worrying about the expense of it all. "That takes time, and money, and diplomatic effort. In such a case we'd have to postpone our operation until next year, or at least the fall."
Another year? Could I wait that long? Yes, for if a war is to be had, it should be done right, something I learned as a hard lesson in the first year of my reign, a lesson that cost 40,000 Austrians their lives. Older, wiser, and more cautious, that is I. "Gerthe my dear," I said, turning to my Queen. "I am out of cousins. Can you find me some more nieces to marry off? I think we shall be spending some time entertaining more damned Italians this summer."
She smiled. "Of course my lord." She was happy to help in this regard, and I knew she was pleased that we had put off war for another year. She was always one for peace.
Within the week, the Tuscans had accepted our royal marriage proposal. Now Gerthe needed to build up some more diplomats, and soon we would have some Italians in our alliance, or so I hoped.
May
More dark comedy from the east: Turkey's vassal, Wallachia, has captured the Egyptian Delta from the Mamelukes! First Syria to Crimea, and now this! Turkey sure is generous with its small allies, or else it believes in firmly tying their hands across the breadth of the Ottoman Empire. Interesting, and as a token of my curiousity I send my next merchant -- sorry Kettle, Trader -- to Alexandria. Meanwhile von Salzburg oversees the movement of ten thousand provincial infantry into the Tyrol as a check against Milan, for what may or may not happen this fall or next spring.
June
Venice has achieved a monopoly in its own port city, enriching it beyond belief no doubt. We shall have to move within the next few years before they get too rich, and too well-armed. What I need more than anything right now is Venice on some foolish war far away, like the Egyptian Delta. Maybe I'll get lucky, but if not, persuasion of the other Italian potentates continues. Regrettably they are all already in alliances though, and won't even hear of any offers of our own.
August
England and France at last find peace! Unbeknownst to my court, the French had landed in Ireland and seized Leinster, prompting England to cede the province and sue for peace. Calais stands intact though, and my advisors and I conclude that England and France will be at war for some time come. Meanwhile von Salzburg has moved his vast army to Styria without incident, and now some forty thousand Austrians ring the Venetian border from Styria to the Tyrol. They await only my signal to leap into action.
September
The Venetians raise a paltry 300 men and put them on their fleet, which then sails off. Where to? Corfu? Cyprus? Hell? We know not.
October
4,000 more men are being raised in Styria, for peace of mind. Venice's fate will be decided in spring, for we may need that extra January coin for reserves, and we don't fancy a winter siege, for the taking of Venice will probably be long and arduous.
December
The Mamelukes have ceded Alexandria to Turkey, giving the Ottoman peace in that quarter, and peace for five years. Will he next turn north, against Poland, Hungary, or us? We hope he goes instead to Persia. Belatedly, the Doge has begun to fortify Istria.
=========
1499
=========
January-February
Gerthe arranges a royal marriage with Brandenburg. Rather tardily, Bohemia is fortifying her capital which lies just over the border of our northernmost province. Poor old Salzburg has died, and Bournow now commands the Imperial Guard.
March 2 The Second Austro-Venetian War
Today is the day for war! I declare against Venice, and her allies all declare against me. Fortunately my two allies faithfully join our cause.
Austria, Hungary Wurtemberg
vs.
Venice, Milan, (Teutons, Hanse, Mamelukes, and Iraq).
Together Colonel Bournow and I lead the Imperial Guard over the border from Styria into Istria, while Gottwald brings reserves from Vienna to the vacated Styria frontier. Also today, Crimea today declared itself a Turkish vassal.
March 14-30
Envoys try to get Milan to leave the war early but they do not. Wurtermberg begins to march south, while Venice's army in Mantua and 10,000 Milanese march north to Tyrol. There shall be battle in the Tyrol soon enough, yet I and my main cavalary am not there, I march towards Istria instead. Misgivings.
April 1
My traders discover the location of Venice's mysterious ally, Iraq. It is far off in the desert, harmless to us.
April 3-6 The Sixth Battle of Tyrol
Ten thousand Austrian foot, 3,000 Austrian horse, and 10,000 Wurtembergers stand against 10,000 Milanese, who are soon joined by 10,000 Venetians from Mantua. It is a very close thing, but we prevail and send the villains fleeing south. The Guard nears Istria.
April 12-20
Venice sues for peace, but are denied. The Guard arrives in Istria, bivouacing in the country and besieging the town and its garrison of 5,000. We believe it may fall in twelve months, but an assault or two later may quickly change that. The Guard has 20k men, 10k horse, and 50 cannon. The Wurtermbergers are marching south out of Tyrol, chasing the beaten enemy. We estimate Istria may fall in nine months now. This may be a quick war!
April 23 The Seventh Battle of Tyrol
Venice attacks with 6,000 here against our combined forces of us and Wurtermberg, more than 20k men. They are routed.
May
The Magyar army has crossed the breadth of Austria and invaded Milan, besieging it. Bravo for Laszlo! The remnants of the Milanese army hide out in Mantua. Meanwhile attrition wreaks its deadly havoc at Istria. Should we assault?
June - July
Kufstein's 5,000 reserves march from Styria to Istria as replacements. More Milanese stragglers are routed in Tyrol, an action hardly accounted a battle. Our merchants seem to be getting driven out of Venice quite quickly, no surprise there, but the trade is so lucrative we continue to sneak them in there under different flags and names, fictional kingdoms such as Norstrilia and Prester John's Kingdom. Hungary now has about 19k men besieging Milan, effectively taking Venice's only nearby ally out of the war. I now command 22k/18k/50 cannon in Istria, and mull over the siege. But in the end we decided to wait another month or two, hoping to weaken the walls further.
September
Attrition kills us! I have but 13k infantry left before Istria, so I order the assault on the 1st and by the 14th, we are victorious! We leave Istria to our new garrison and move our army back to Styria, where we will be safe from attrition in the winter at least.
November
We ask Venice to give us Istria for peace, but they refuse. Fine, they shall perhaps lose Mantua and Illyria in the spring. Our armies rebuild, drawing in more recruits from around the country. The Guard (8k/6k/49c) is in Carnolia, Thien (8k/0/0) is in Styria, and the Army of Italy (10k/0/0) is in Tyrol.
=========
1500
=========
January
A new Commander, Ferdinand the Monarch, takes command of the Imperial Guard. Surprise, surprise, this is actually me. My name is Maximillian Ferdinand I and my victory at Istria has brought me great fame and skill as a Knight.
March
The Guard is reasonably reinforced (18k/6k/49c) so it marches towards Illyria. The Magyars assault Milan later in the month but break it off after suffering some losses.
May
After a long hike through the pleasant Illyrian and Croatian countryside we reach the town and begin the siege. Colonel Bournow estimates the city might fall in a year, but assault will be perilous for it has a garrison of 10,000 men. On a patrol in the eastern fringes of the country we spy the Turkish banner flying on a fortress just over the border in Bosnia, and I feel a cold dagger in the middle of my heart. I am coming for you Sultan Bayezid II. Not today, not this year, but some day.
On the diplomatic front, from Vienna, Gerthe sends me letters detailing her peace overtures. She has sent diplomats to the distant Teutons to ask for peace but they refuse, considering it a point of honor. She has better success with Navarre, arranging a royal marriage. I miss her terribly, but duty calls.
June-July
Venice is re-arming, assembling troops in its capital at last. Meanwhile the siege of Illyria goes slowly, attrition doing more damage to us than our cannons to their walls. The Guard's infantry is down to 12,000 strong. Hungary and Wurtemberg are both besieging Milan, and are marching another 10k men there apiece. Attrition bites them too.
September
Venice rejects yet another overture, though all I ask for is Isteria. Instead she marches her new army of 20k foot north to Tyrol. A couple days later the Hungarians accept Milan's peace overture after another failed assault, pocketing 250d in the process. I send Laszlo a note of congratulation, for surely he has found the alliance profitable.
October The Eighth Battle of Tyrol
I have reinforced the Army of Italy in Tyrol (14k/1.7k/0) but now they are assaulted by Venice and its men (13k/2.9k/30c). It is a very near thing, but we prevail. My side loses 800 infantry and 300 cavalry, killing some three thousand Venetians. Immediately after the battle I offer the Doge peace again, but he refuses.
December
The siege goes on, the grim spirits of winter and attrition seriously depleting my men. For now, I keep infantry reinforcements back in my own country where they will be provendered for the winter, yet my loyal allies Wurtemberg and Hungary are marching some 27k infantry to the siege in Illyria! I am extremely grateful to them for that, and quite aware that without King Laszlo of Hungary and Duke Ulrich of Wurtermberg and their faithfullness this war would be far more perilous than it has been so far.
=========
1501
=========
January-February
Aleksander is King of Poland. The Hungarians arrive in Illyria, while another of their armies now besieges Mantua. By February Wurtemberg's men arrive in Illyria too, we have nearly 30k infantry there now and soon can assault. The deadly winter continues to take its toll though, but our cannons have barely hurt the Illyrian walls... nine months to go.
March
I order the assault on Illyria but it fails, killing 6k of our infantry (mostly of my allies) and only a thousand of the enemy.
May
The Hanseatic League rejects one of Gerthe's peace overtures. No matter. My war council estimates another six months until the town of Illyria falls.
July
We send another merchant to Venice. Goldschlager's letters inform me that the economy is in excellent shape despite the long war. We are spending some money on replacement troops but by and large we've kept investment high and inflation low. This is due in part to the presence of the allied infantry at Illyria, taking the brunt of the casualties. Mantua falls to Laszlo's men.
August
The Hungarians at Mantua march on Venice, about ten thousand men on a side. I cannot let my ally fight alone, and order the Army of Italy (15k/1k/0) in Tyrol and the Army of Bohemia in Styria (12k) to assist. But before they can arrive the Doge defeats the Hungarians, and starts to pursue them north. However my two armies combine and confront him on the plain of Venice and with our two to one numbers, crush him! His army flees east towards Istria and my men rush in pursuit... without cannon, they would be fools to sit before the walls of Venice. Reports suggest Illyria could fall within three months.
September
Milan sues for peace but I refuse. Venice does too, offering us Istria, but Illyria is within my grasp! I must have this province if I am to absorb Venice some day in order to build up my strength and confront the Turk, but I never want to go through this hideous long siege again. I wave the Venetian offer aside.
October
The Army of Italy and the Army of Bohemia -- some 27,000 men in all -- arrive in Istria, somewhat disorganized and surprisingly, ahead of the Venetians they were pursuing. Then the Venetian army arrives and my armies are put to flight by three thousand desperate mercenaries in the employ of the Doge. Calamity! At least our casualties are not so great, and my men flee into my own country, into Carniola, where they may safely winter.
November
The Doge again offers Istria in exchange for peace. Illyria seems no closer to falling, and the damned Venetians are building another army in Ragusa, which I have left untouches so far. I reject the Doge's proposal but am still dogged by uncertainty. Instead I offer him peace in exchange for Istria and 250d. He refuses, valuing his own coin more than his provinces, it seems. Shortly afterwards we see that the force raised in Ragusa is a mere 3,000 men, no threat to the Imperial Guard in Illyria and its 20,000 men.
December
I order another assault in Illyria on Christmas Eve, hoping for a miracle but instead meet only bloody stalemate.
=========
1502
=========
January The Ninth Battle of Tyrol
Venice has taken its 2,000 survivors out of Istria and marched them towards Tyrol -- clearly, the Doge is enamored of Tyrol, wishes to posess it. In that province I have only a few thousand of my own men, recent recruits, but I send the demoralized Army of Italy to relieve them, while the Army of Bohemia is ordered to Illyria, as our infantry there is melting away. The two small forces meet and fight for many days, back and forth, but just as my men are about to gain the edge, the Army of Italy arrives and seals the Venetians' fate for sure. They are scattered like chaff in the wind.
February
The Army of Bohemia reinforces the Imperial Guard in Illyria... only three months until the city falls, we estimate. Again the Venetians sue for peace, offering Istria, but I counter with Istria and 250d., still unsure if I can take Illyria before attrition melts my army away like the snows off the lower slopes of the Alps in this early spring. The Doge refuses my terms again. So be it.
March 12
Again the Doge offers Istria. I repeat my own terms. Negotiations break off.
March 15
I assault Illyria again, but it fails. Milan offers me peace now, demanding 5d. I do not know if Duke Ludovico has enough gold to build more armies but I don't want to face them, so I accept his peace.
April
The Army of Italy is marching towards Illyria now, as the Army of Bohemia has been badly weakened by battle and attrition. Illyria is close now, I can smell it. The Magyars in Mantua march east.
April 26
Illyria falls! Venice offers peace, yielding both Istria and Illyria now, and I gleefully accept. Joyous peace! The Hungarians fight on against Venice though, fighting a battle outside her walls. I do not care. I sign the peace, take a triumphant ride home through my two new provinces and on to the capital! I have been away for far too long, campaigning here with only brief respites back in Vienna, mainly during winter. Three long years of war have made me an old man and I am overjoyed to see Gerthe and my children again... Marie is nine, Frederick eight, and Karlmagne six.
=========
1496
=========
January
Tax revenue was some 80d this year, Goldschlager is to be commended. There seems to be little action on the Italian peninsula, despite the fact that Venetia and the Papacy are technically at war. Little in Europe goes on either, except Calais burns.
February
One of Goldschlager's bag-men seems to have estabished himself in Genoa, the first to do so successfully. We promote another scroll-scratcher, this time in Oldeburg. Even the Franco-English War has petered out now.
March
A boy is born, I name him Karlmagne after the great emperor of the Franks.
April
The dastardly Doge has finally begun to make his move. My sources in the City of Filthy Canals report a massive army of 20,000 men has marched out of Venice and south, towards our Holy Father. The gall of this man astounds me, making war on the very Church that nourishes his soul. He must lack one altogether, the hellborn money-grubber. I flirt with the idea of making war on him again, but the lack of cannons -- which my scientist Kettel now says are only a few months off, deters me. For now. But events are falling into place. I need only bide my time. All shall be as was ordained, and the Holy Father shall surely crown me Holy Roman Emperor once I've aided him against our mutual enemy, the Doge.
June
Another army of 17,000 Venetian foot is raised in Mantua, though it is not marching south. My natural philospher, Kettle, promises me those cannons soon, soon.
August
Finally, we have field artillery! Immediately we order the construction of some, but it turns out we haven't even the ducats for a measly ten guns. Briefly I consider getting a loan, but even that might only afford us forty cannon. Would even that be enough against Venice's mighty walls? I think not. A final attempt is made to woo the Papacy by royal marriage, this time with the hand of the lovely Elise Hapsburg, my darling niece. She cries and cries and pulls her pretty blonde hair for she doesn't want to wed a priest! She needn't worry, again the Pontiff refuses us. I take out my wrath on the firing range, where we are practicing with some of Kettel's experimental cannons. I imagine the old wall we fire at to be composed entirely of Italians, the Doge and the Pope among them. Later I confess my evil thoughts to my priest, Father Ratz. Evil thoughts about the Pontiff, that is. I could care less who knows my low opinion of that damnable Doge. His name is Augustino Barbarigo, though in my court we call him only That Despicable Man.
November
We place another merchant in Genoa, for we can put no more in Venice. I suspect the foul hand of the Doge yet again. My niece Elise is lucky, she is to be wed to a scion of Lorraine, since the damnable louts of the Palatinate refused us. Surely, they are fools. Meanwhile we order the construction of ten cannon and two thousand infantry, strictly for defense. Russia ended its war with some horde or another, it is of little interest to me. Meanwhile the two wars in Europe are still 'raging' -- that is if you can call sitting in your castles and not doing anything warfare. My minstrels have been composing songs, mocking the combatants and their false War of Words.
=========
1497
=========
January
Goldschlager reports 88d in taxes taken this year. He looks crestfallen though when I tell him most of it shall be spent on Kettle's cannons and not on his precious bureaucrats. Ten more cannons are ordered up, this time in Styria, since Kettle's laggards are still working on the first batch at the Austrian smithy. Goldschlager sends one of his merchants to Byzantium, since Venice's stalls are full and the man in Genoa produces but one measly ducat in profit. We caught the narrowest glimpse of a battle in Mantua, but the Doge's men quickly put to the sword the red-bannered chaps from Savoy they were fighting. But his army immediately began moving south, so things are looking up.
February
Winter is cold in the Alps, and I stay close to home with my lovely wife and my growing children. Reports are that the province of Romagna is in flames, with the Doge's army burning and looting fellow Italians, Catholics, subjects of the Holy Father. I am saddened by this. Kettle is all a-twitter for his philosophers have discovered how to build something he calls a 'refinery' which he swears will bring great wealth to the realm. Something to do with pressing grapes, I understand, as if I were some damned dirty purple-footed Frenchman. And what does Old Goldie say this extravagant foolishness will cost? 685d, he tells me. I tell him to get back to his books and invent something practical.
My mood is improved somewhat when a traveler reports that the Mamelukes have ceded Syria to the Crimeans in turn for peace. We look at our map with some amusement -- how will those damned fool heathens hold a province that far from their dirty steppe camps? One final irritation to round out the month. I am so keen on discovering news of the Italian war I again offer marriage to the Pope's family, and again am rebuffed despite our shining relations. Our council reluctantly concludes that some obscure Papal law unknown to us prevents such ties. We shrug it off. One last note -- it seems the English are besieging Calais, which must've fallen earlier in the winter to France's lapdogs, the Savoy. Meanwhile the Scots are in the Marches again.
Spring, Early Summer
I decide to spend the bulk of this year's earnings on 7,000 foot in Vienna. In other news, we established a merchant in Thrace (Turkey). Desultory fighting continues in Calais and the Marches, and presumably, Italy, though we can't see what's happening in the lands of the Pope.
September
I offer Dennmark a royal marriage and they accept. The Teutonic Order sues for peace with Poland, ending that war, and so ends the Doge's campaign against the Pope. No matter, I have targeted March-April of next year for another try at him. I have reigned five years without a conquest. It is intolerable.
October-December
The fools in Savoy reject my friendly marriage proposal. No matter, I get my Christmas present: ten new cannon in Styria, twenty more in Vienna, once the new year taxes roll in.
=========
1498
=========
January
The Doge is busy! He raises an army of 14,000 and puts them to sea. Meanwhile Goldschlager is in a tizzy because Kettle's men have developed traders, supposedly superior to ordinary merchants. I am underwhelmed.
February
The Doge assembles yet another 14,000 men and puts them in Mantua, or is it the same army that went to sea? It is hard to tell, if only we had a fleet! A mere 300 Venetians are dispatched to Isteria, a curious move by any standard, but better than nothing. I dispatch a diplomat to Naples to introduce myself, and the report back is that Rimini regards me as his dearest friend. The Bavarians finally accept a royal marriage as well. My borders are now fairly secure, except for Bohemia in the north and of course, Venice, south.
March-April
More men a-building. Kettle's cannons take a damnably long time. Meanwhile Louis XII took the throne, now let's see if he can take Calais. My council of state meets, in attendance are Goldschlager, von Salzburg, Kettle, and Gerthe. We have a rapidly improving army now but if we're ever to realize our destiny, we must have more funds, it is as simple as that. There are only two practical candidates for war at this juncture, Bohemia and Venice, since we've formed royal marriages with the rest of our neighbors. I instruct von Salzburg to make the case for and against Bohemia.
"Bohemia is an old enemy," the grizzled warrior begins, "and she has oddly left her home provinces, even her capital, undefended, except for the garrisons. Yet she has formed a nice military alliance, roping in Bavaria, Thuringia, and Baden, all of whom are on our northwest border."
"On the other hand," Kettle interjects, "We have a Casus Belli on her, and such a war would not injure our relations with the others!"
"What of Wurtemberg?" von Salzburg says. "She is surrounded by Bavaria, Thuringia, and Baden! She shall not survive!"
Kettle merely shrugs. "None of those armies are large enough to besiege the place properly. Don't forget, we also can count on the Magyar!"
"Yes," I say. "But Bavaria has a standing army of 35,000 men, nearly as large as ours. Combined with the others and who knows how many Bohemians, I don't think we can afford that risk. We need them in our Alliance, isntead." I turn to Kettle. "Now you make the case for Venice."
The crusty old philospher smiles, and begins. "Our antipathy for the Venetians is well-known, but it is not a just cause strictly speaking, in legal terms. Still, we can probably ignore the loss in stability in the short term. More problematic is the fact that the Doge is wealthy and has a large army of 14,000 men and a long border of us. Do we want another Dicaprazzo rampaging across our provinces?"
I wince, and shake my head. Any war with Venice this year will include garrisons all along the border. I say as much, then add: "Again, we can also count on the Hungarians, who surely will have upgraded their cannons much as we have, and should be able to take Illyria or Ragusa. Let's be sure not to let them have Istria this time, it's too close to what is rightfully ours." They all agree, and I continue. "Still, Venice's allies should give us pause. The Hanseatic League, Teutonic Order, Mamelukes and Baghdad are meaningless, but their fifth ally is Milan, who also borders us with a standing army of 10,000 men that must be accounted for."
"What if we invited Parma, Genoa, and the Pope to our military alliance?" asked Kettle.
Goldschlager shook his grey beard, worrying about the expense of it all. "That takes time, and money, and diplomatic effort. In such a case we'd have to postpone our operation until next year, or at least the fall."
Another year? Could I wait that long? Yes, for if a war is to be had, it should be done right, something I learned as a hard lesson in the first year of my reign, a lesson that cost 40,000 Austrians their lives. Older, wiser, and more cautious, that is I. "Gerthe my dear," I said, turning to my Queen. "I am out of cousins. Can you find me some more nieces to marry off? I think we shall be spending some time entertaining more damned Italians this summer."
She smiled. "Of course my lord." She was happy to help in this regard, and I knew she was pleased that we had put off war for another year. She was always one for peace.
Within the week, the Tuscans had accepted our royal marriage proposal. Now Gerthe needed to build up some more diplomats, and soon we would have some Italians in our alliance, or so I hoped.
May
More dark comedy from the east: Turkey's vassal, Wallachia, has captured the Egyptian Delta from the Mamelukes! First Syria to Crimea, and now this! Turkey sure is generous with its small allies, or else it believes in firmly tying their hands across the breadth of the Ottoman Empire. Interesting, and as a token of my curiousity I send my next merchant -- sorry Kettle, Trader -- to Alexandria. Meanwhile von Salzburg oversees the movement of ten thousand provincial infantry into the Tyrol as a check against Milan, for what may or may not happen this fall or next spring.
June
Venice has achieved a monopoly in its own port city, enriching it beyond belief no doubt. We shall have to move within the next few years before they get too rich, and too well-armed. What I need more than anything right now is Venice on some foolish war far away, like the Egyptian Delta. Maybe I'll get lucky, but if not, persuasion of the other Italian potentates continues. Regrettably they are all already in alliances though, and won't even hear of any offers of our own.
August
England and France at last find peace! Unbeknownst to my court, the French had landed in Ireland and seized Leinster, prompting England to cede the province and sue for peace. Calais stands intact though, and my advisors and I conclude that England and France will be at war for some time come. Meanwhile von Salzburg has moved his vast army to Styria without incident, and now some forty thousand Austrians ring the Venetian border from Styria to the Tyrol. They await only my signal to leap into action.
September
The Venetians raise a paltry 300 men and put them on their fleet, which then sails off. Where to? Corfu? Cyprus? Hell? We know not.
October
4,000 more men are being raised in Styria, for peace of mind. Venice's fate will be decided in spring, for we may need that extra January coin for reserves, and we don't fancy a winter siege, for the taking of Venice will probably be long and arduous.
December
The Mamelukes have ceded Alexandria to Turkey, giving the Ottoman peace in that quarter, and peace for five years. Will he next turn north, against Poland, Hungary, or us? We hope he goes instead to Persia. Belatedly, the Doge has begun to fortify Istria.
=========
1499
=========
January-February
Gerthe arranges a royal marriage with Brandenburg. Rather tardily, Bohemia is fortifying her capital which lies just over the border of our northernmost province. Poor old Salzburg has died, and Bournow now commands the Imperial Guard.
March 2 The Second Austro-Venetian War
Today is the day for war! I declare against Venice, and her allies all declare against me. Fortunately my two allies faithfully join our cause.
Austria, Hungary Wurtemberg
vs.
Venice, Milan, (Teutons, Hanse, Mamelukes, and Iraq).
Together Colonel Bournow and I lead the Imperial Guard over the border from Styria into Istria, while Gottwald brings reserves from Vienna to the vacated Styria frontier. Also today, Crimea today declared itself a Turkish vassal.
March 14-30
Envoys try to get Milan to leave the war early but they do not. Wurtermberg begins to march south, while Venice's army in Mantua and 10,000 Milanese march north to Tyrol. There shall be battle in the Tyrol soon enough, yet I and my main cavalary am not there, I march towards Istria instead. Misgivings.
April 1
My traders discover the location of Venice's mysterious ally, Iraq. It is far off in the desert, harmless to us.
April 3-6 The Sixth Battle of Tyrol
Ten thousand Austrian foot, 3,000 Austrian horse, and 10,000 Wurtembergers stand against 10,000 Milanese, who are soon joined by 10,000 Venetians from Mantua. It is a very close thing, but we prevail and send the villains fleeing south. The Guard nears Istria.
April 12-20
Venice sues for peace, but are denied. The Guard arrives in Istria, bivouacing in the country and besieging the town and its garrison of 5,000. We believe it may fall in twelve months, but an assault or two later may quickly change that. The Guard has 20k men, 10k horse, and 50 cannon. The Wurtermbergers are marching south out of Tyrol, chasing the beaten enemy. We estimate Istria may fall in nine months now. This may be a quick war!
April 23 The Seventh Battle of Tyrol
Venice attacks with 6,000 here against our combined forces of us and Wurtermberg, more than 20k men. They are routed.
May
The Magyar army has crossed the breadth of Austria and invaded Milan, besieging it. Bravo for Laszlo! The remnants of the Milanese army hide out in Mantua. Meanwhile attrition wreaks its deadly havoc at Istria. Should we assault?
June - July
Kufstein's 5,000 reserves march from Styria to Istria as replacements. More Milanese stragglers are routed in Tyrol, an action hardly accounted a battle. Our merchants seem to be getting driven out of Venice quite quickly, no surprise there, but the trade is so lucrative we continue to sneak them in there under different flags and names, fictional kingdoms such as Norstrilia and Prester John's Kingdom. Hungary now has about 19k men besieging Milan, effectively taking Venice's only nearby ally out of the war. I now command 22k/18k/50 cannon in Istria, and mull over the siege. But in the end we decided to wait another month or two, hoping to weaken the walls further.
September
Attrition kills us! I have but 13k infantry left before Istria, so I order the assault on the 1st and by the 14th, we are victorious! We leave Istria to our new garrison and move our army back to Styria, where we will be safe from attrition in the winter at least.
November
We ask Venice to give us Istria for peace, but they refuse. Fine, they shall perhaps lose Mantua and Illyria in the spring. Our armies rebuild, drawing in more recruits from around the country. The Guard (8k/6k/49c) is in Carnolia, Thien (8k/0/0) is in Styria, and the Army of Italy (10k/0/0) is in Tyrol.
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1500
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January
A new Commander, Ferdinand the Monarch, takes command of the Imperial Guard. Surprise, surprise, this is actually me. My name is Maximillian Ferdinand I and my victory at Istria has brought me great fame and skill as a Knight.
March
The Guard is reasonably reinforced (18k/6k/49c) so it marches towards Illyria. The Magyars assault Milan later in the month but break it off after suffering some losses.
May
After a long hike through the pleasant Illyrian and Croatian countryside we reach the town and begin the siege. Colonel Bournow estimates the city might fall in a year, but assault will be perilous for it has a garrison of 10,000 men. On a patrol in the eastern fringes of the country we spy the Turkish banner flying on a fortress just over the border in Bosnia, and I feel a cold dagger in the middle of my heart. I am coming for you Sultan Bayezid II. Not today, not this year, but some day.
On the diplomatic front, from Vienna, Gerthe sends me letters detailing her peace overtures. She has sent diplomats to the distant Teutons to ask for peace but they refuse, considering it a point of honor. She has better success with Navarre, arranging a royal marriage. I miss her terribly, but duty calls.
June-July
Venice is re-arming, assembling troops in its capital at last. Meanwhile the siege of Illyria goes slowly, attrition doing more damage to us than our cannons to their walls. The Guard's infantry is down to 12,000 strong. Hungary and Wurtemberg are both besieging Milan, and are marching another 10k men there apiece. Attrition bites them too.
September
Venice rejects yet another overture, though all I ask for is Isteria. Instead she marches her new army of 20k foot north to Tyrol. A couple days later the Hungarians accept Milan's peace overture after another failed assault, pocketing 250d in the process. I send Laszlo a note of congratulation, for surely he has found the alliance profitable.
October The Eighth Battle of Tyrol
I have reinforced the Army of Italy in Tyrol (14k/1.7k/0) but now they are assaulted by Venice and its men (13k/2.9k/30c). It is a very near thing, but we prevail. My side loses 800 infantry and 300 cavalry, killing some three thousand Venetians. Immediately after the battle I offer the Doge peace again, but he refuses.
December
The siege goes on, the grim spirits of winter and attrition seriously depleting my men. For now, I keep infantry reinforcements back in my own country where they will be provendered for the winter, yet my loyal allies Wurtemberg and Hungary are marching some 27k infantry to the siege in Illyria! I am extremely grateful to them for that, and quite aware that without King Laszlo of Hungary and Duke Ulrich of Wurtermberg and their faithfullness this war would be far more perilous than it has been so far.
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1501
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January-February
Aleksander is King of Poland. The Hungarians arrive in Illyria, while another of their armies now besieges Mantua. By February Wurtemberg's men arrive in Illyria too, we have nearly 30k infantry there now and soon can assault. The deadly winter continues to take its toll though, but our cannons have barely hurt the Illyrian walls... nine months to go.
March
I order the assault on Illyria but it fails, killing 6k of our infantry (mostly of my allies) and only a thousand of the enemy.
May
The Hanseatic League rejects one of Gerthe's peace overtures. No matter. My war council estimates another six months until the town of Illyria falls.
July
We send another merchant to Venice. Goldschlager's letters inform me that the economy is in excellent shape despite the long war. We are spending some money on replacement troops but by and large we've kept investment high and inflation low. This is due in part to the presence of the allied infantry at Illyria, taking the brunt of the casualties. Mantua falls to Laszlo's men.
August
The Hungarians at Mantua march on Venice, about ten thousand men on a side. I cannot let my ally fight alone, and order the Army of Italy (15k/1k/0) in Tyrol and the Army of Bohemia in Styria (12k) to assist. But before they can arrive the Doge defeats the Hungarians, and starts to pursue them north. However my two armies combine and confront him on the plain of Venice and with our two to one numbers, crush him! His army flees east towards Istria and my men rush in pursuit... without cannon, they would be fools to sit before the walls of Venice. Reports suggest Illyria could fall within three months.
September
Milan sues for peace but I refuse. Venice does too, offering us Istria, but Illyria is within my grasp! I must have this province if I am to absorb Venice some day in order to build up my strength and confront the Turk, but I never want to go through this hideous long siege again. I wave the Venetian offer aside.
October
The Army of Italy and the Army of Bohemia -- some 27,000 men in all -- arrive in Istria, somewhat disorganized and surprisingly, ahead of the Venetians they were pursuing. Then the Venetian army arrives and my armies are put to flight by three thousand desperate mercenaries in the employ of the Doge. Calamity! At least our casualties are not so great, and my men flee into my own country, into Carniola, where they may safely winter.
November
The Doge again offers Istria in exchange for peace. Illyria seems no closer to falling, and the damned Venetians are building another army in Ragusa, which I have left untouches so far. I reject the Doge's proposal but am still dogged by uncertainty. Instead I offer him peace in exchange for Istria and 250d. He refuses, valuing his own coin more than his provinces, it seems. Shortly afterwards we see that the force raised in Ragusa is a mere 3,000 men, no threat to the Imperial Guard in Illyria and its 20,000 men.
December
I order another assault in Illyria on Christmas Eve, hoping for a miracle but instead meet only bloody stalemate.
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1502
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January The Ninth Battle of Tyrol
Venice has taken its 2,000 survivors out of Istria and marched them towards Tyrol -- clearly, the Doge is enamored of Tyrol, wishes to posess it. In that province I have only a few thousand of my own men, recent recruits, but I send the demoralized Army of Italy to relieve them, while the Army of Bohemia is ordered to Illyria, as our infantry there is melting away. The two small forces meet and fight for many days, back and forth, but just as my men are about to gain the edge, the Army of Italy arrives and seals the Venetians' fate for sure. They are scattered like chaff in the wind.
February
The Army of Bohemia reinforces the Imperial Guard in Illyria... only three months until the city falls, we estimate. Again the Venetians sue for peace, offering Istria, but I counter with Istria and 250d., still unsure if I can take Illyria before attrition melts my army away like the snows off the lower slopes of the Alps in this early spring. The Doge refuses my terms again. So be it.
March 12
Again the Doge offers Istria. I repeat my own terms. Negotiations break off.
March 15
I assault Illyria again, but it fails. Milan offers me peace now, demanding 5d. I do not know if Duke Ludovico has enough gold to build more armies but I don't want to face them, so I accept his peace.
April
The Army of Italy is marching towards Illyria now, as the Army of Bohemia has been badly weakened by battle and attrition. Illyria is close now, I can smell it. The Magyars in Mantua march east.
April 26
Illyria falls! Venice offers peace, yielding both Istria and Illyria now, and I gleefully accept. Joyous peace! The Hungarians fight on against Venice though, fighting a battle outside her walls. I do not care. I sign the peace, take a triumphant ride home through my two new provinces and on to the capital! I have been away for far too long, campaigning here with only brief respites back in Vienna, mainly during winter. Three long years of war have made me an old man and I am overjoyed to see Gerthe and my children again... Marie is nine, Frederick eight, and Karlmagne six.
Great writing, and yes, screenshots are a must. I'm kind of surprised you went after Venice first, and not Bohemia, but you've done a good job. Keep it up!
Originally posted by Sharur
Just a word of advice: yes, the Pope's vow of celibacy DOES prevent the Papal States from entering a royal marriage
Dude, the old goat must be horny when he reaches 50 or so.....
Somehow old goat and Pope just dont match Rex you the man.
Better yet, Stirling you are the man with this AAR, great plan and lots of work i see you have put into it so far, i like it so far though im still reading through the first post (slow reader sorry ) the first person story line is definately interesting. I shall read on if you will write on good man. Thanks for the good read.
Rex you the man.Better yet, Stirling you are the man with this AAR, great plan and lots of work i see you have put into it so far, i like it so far though im still reading through the first post (slow reader sorry
) the first person story line is definately interesting. I shall read on if you will write on good man. Thanks for the good read.
warspite? Slow reader? Not possible! You must write faster than you can think, then... well, that would explain some of the things you've said...
Just kidding, I'm too cruel
Just kidding, I'm too cruel
If Warspite is a slow reader the how does he put up with all those long replies in th Itality AAR.
(I found a simple way, I don't read them. )
(I found a simple way, I don't read them.
)
ah thank you for the many kind remarks! The next installment shall be posted soon, unfortunately I fell prey to what I think might be a common disease amongst Europa gamers -- Multiple Gamus Plays. Right now I'm playing four Grand Campaigns -- Austria, Turkey, Russia, and now I just started Portugal. Austria is the only one I'm taking notes on though so it's slower going... much slower. But stay tuned!
And as to why I went after Venice first... Bohemia has a LOT of allies in the neighborhood whereas Venice had few, and acquiring Venice would give me the Port of Trade, and few new borders, whereas Bohemia just borders on more and more German pests...
And as to why I went after Venice first... Bohemia has a LOT of allies in the neighborhood whereas Venice had few, and acquiring Venice would give me the Port of Trade, and few new borders, whereas Bohemia just borders on more and more German pests...
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Ah, I understand your reasoning. Probably a good choice for you. When playing Austria in the GC, I went after Bohemia right away (DOW w/in the first year), and later diplo-annexed Venice. I must say that all of those German states are awfully yummy if you're not afraid of your BB rating
Great AAR, need screenshots. This I now its not new.
It must feel good being the big man and not the man behind the throne, like in other AARs, but then again you must feel big responsabilities because when the mistake is done, it is the boss who takes the blame, but who has not heard of the old saying 'the just pays for the sinner'? I believe you have a big stock of little Habsburgs wannabes that are going to pay sooner or later for those mistakes.
About the borders you are must certainly right, it is better to take Venice in that matter. Now I believe is time to think about a NAvy, and maybe a suntan?
Good luck and keep the good work My Lord King.
It must feel good being the big man and not the man behind the throne, like in other AARs, but then again you must feel big responsabilities because when the mistake is done, it is the boss who takes the blame, but who has not heard of the old saying 'the just pays for the sinner'? I believe you have a big stock of little Habsburgs wannabes that are going to pay sooner or later for those mistakes.
About the borders you are must certainly right, it is better to take Venice in that matter. Now I believe is time to think about a NAvy, and maybe a suntan?
Good luck and keep the good work My Lord King.
Sharur, of course as it turns out, Venice itself was too much to crack that early, and I did end up turning northwards. As for screen shots, I will try to set up a web page to get some up for the next installment, but for now you'll have to remember which province is where, sorry about that.
Argael, yes it's good to be the king. One problem I found though is that naturally a King has heirs, etc., but the game doesn't really worry about your family too much, so I decided to just make up heirs and hope they're old enough when the game tells me a new monarch has taken the throne. It shall be interesting to see what happens when Maximilian dies.
Here comes the next installment...
Argael, yes it's good to be the king. One problem I found though is that naturally a King has heirs, etc., but the game doesn't really worry about your family too much, so I decided to just make up heirs and hope they're old enough when the game tells me a new monarch has taken the throne. It shall be interesting to see what happens when Maximilian dies.
Here comes the next installment...