After some looking through the AAR library to see who doesn't have any writtien yet (and a few detours through the more interesting looking ones
) I decided to throw a curveball and play a Balkan nation not only not mentioned yet in this thread, but without any AAR of their own (even Croatia has a megacampaign aar). That nation is Bulgaria, formerly Turkish territory, but released easily enough as part of a peace deal with Hungary.
Now, without further ado, the Annals of Bulgaria.
In August of 1453 Bulgaria finally gained it's freedom from the Ottomans thanks to the efforts of its ally and friend Hungary. King Kalojan II, last of the members of the old royal family, was put onto the throne. As mighty of a nation as he knew Bulgaria was, King Kalojan knew it was in danger, with so many larger nations laying claim to the region. Military access was exchanged with the Ottomans in the hope of keeping them from declaring war, while Bulgaria prepared for a war on Moldavia and Wallacia, declared on New Year's Day, 1454.
Bulgaria's economy was strained to the breaking point, and several 10 Ducat loans were made, but little progress occurred. Bulgaria's single 3,000 man army was just barely able to chase several Moldavian and Wallachian armies around, and the tiny nation was hemmoraging money. Finally, their ally Hungary managed to assault the capital of the Moldavians, and they were forced to pay a war indemnity and become a vassal of Bulgaria.
King Kalojan died leading a brave charge against the Wallachians, but his successor King Koloman III was an able man, and continued the war.
King Kaloman knew that continued skirmishes between Bulgarian and Wallachian forces would be futile, so he allowed the Wallachian army to siege Bulgaria's capital, while Bulgarian armies sieged both of Wallachia's territories. Luck was on his side and they fell before the Bulgaria city did. With the loss of both of their territories, the remaining Wallachian forces quickly surrendered and in early 1456, Wallachia became a vassal of Bulgaria and ceded Oltenia.
In just two years Bulgaria became a three province nation with two vassals, but King Koloman was not satisfied. He knew that to stave off larger predatory states more land was needed. He noticed that Athens had no ally since Morea was annexed by Austria, and having military access through Ottoman territory made it easy for him to get troops there.
Somehow the King's lust for land was not sated by this conquest and his next target was Rhodes, held by the Knights. They also had no allies, and although their fleet could have prevented Bulgarian troops from crossing onto the island, they sent it far away to send men to Athens, where a Moldavian army took them out. The way to Rhodes was now free and Bulgarian troops were ferried there. Rhodes was quickly taken and annexed.
While possibly still greedy for land, the King paused when he realized how unpopular his nation had become in the world. It was decided that it was time to relax and consolidate his gains, while Bulgaria's reputation recuperated. He was even forced to let Poland annex Moldavia, since he couldn't fight such a large nation, to say nothing of its ally Lithuania.
As 1459 came to a close he angrily noticed that the larger nations to the north thought nothing of splitting Crimea between them, despite their concern about Bulgaria's meagre conquests. Austria was also likely to demand territory from the Ottomans, since they seemed to be winning a war with them. He became determined to gain more territory in his reign, somehow...
So, how much warmongering can Bulgaria manage without being invaded by all neighbors? Or will they turn peaceful for a while? Are there more one province minors in the area without allies to pick on, which will most likely provide the answer to the last two questions? Tune in for the next update to find out!
