Apologies for the lack of images in this post. When I started playing I hadn't yet decided to do an AAR, but there is one image at the end, and I promise more images in future updates, so bear with me.
Chapter 1: Urbino is Ours.
In the year of our Lord 1444, Pope Eugenius IV ruled over Roma, Romagna, and Avignon. He was not a very skilled ruler, having poor military skill and even worse administrative and diplomatic skill. Fortunately the papal states were home to many talented diplomats who would serve him well. Indeed, diplomats would soon prove more useful than soldiers in expanding the Pope's power and influence.
Eugenius made it his mission to conquer Urbino, whose lands he considered as rightly belonging to the papacy. However his hesitation cost him the opportunity to quickly annex Urbino. Despite having the superior army, Urbino had aquired an alliance and royal marriage with the king of Aragon. Aragon was already in personal union with Naples, and the Pope suspected this was part of a plot by Aragon to eventually diplomatically vassalize Urbino, and further increase his influence on the peninsula. This state of affairs could not be allowed to stand, but for now there was little the Papacy could do about it, Aragon was too powerful to take on at the moment. Eugenius excommunicated the King of Aragon, hoping to encourage other Catholic states to attack, and making him unable to defend Urbino. Unfortunately no one took the bait. France was still embroiled in the hundred years war against England, and Castille was finishing the reconquista.
Meanwhile the Papal diplomats were having great success in improving relations with the leaders of powerful European nations. When relations with Austria improved, The Papal State was welcomed into the Holy Roman Empire. They soon secured alliance with Austria, Milan, Savoy, and France. There was some tension, as France and Austria were rivals, and both of them resented the fact that the Pope was allied to the other. Still, the hard work of the diplomats ensured that both countries had excellent relations with the Papacy, despite this issue.
With these new alliances Eugenius felt confident that he would be safe from any attempted invasion by his neighbors. However before he was willing to attack Urbino he had to make sure his allies would back him up. Most of the monarchs of Europe enjoyed playing Truth or Dare at official state functions, and Papal diplomats managed to slip in questions as to whether they would support a war against Urbino, to which they all replied no.
Before long, the Pope was called to war by Austria. The Teutonic Order had attacked Pommerania and as Emperor, Austria was bound to defend him. On TO's side was Hungary and Mecklenburg. Austria invaded Hungary, while his many allies in the HRE assisted Pommerania in attacking mecklenburg and TO. While the Pope did declare war on the Teutonic Order, he didn't actually send any troops to fight. He did however give his Papal blessing, which seemed to satisfy his allies. Very soon the war was settled, Hungary and Mecklenburg would pay Pommerania a small amount, and TO would give up a single province to Pommerania.
During that war, Tuscany had declared war on, and annexed Siena. He took advantage of the fact that Austria was distracted with a major war, and was unable to defend an imperial state. Tuscany's growth was a threat to the Pope and would have to be dealt with eventually.
Soon after the war with TO was concluded Eugenius died. The college of Cardinals elected Clemens VII to replace him. Clemens, often known by his nick name "Guilty Spark" was an average administrator and military planner, but a slightly above average diplomat. He was certainly an improvement over his predecessor at running the place. He was, however, under the influence of England and would not excommunicate a national sovereign or call crusades without permission from the King of England. His main goal was to accomplish the mission Eugenius had set out, to annex Urbino, and for now that mostly meant keeping his diplomats at work.
France soon called them to war against Burgundy and Burgundy's ally Savoy. Although they were allied with France and Savoy, it was clear which ally was more important, and Clemens accepted France's call to arms, ending his relationship with Savoy. No troops were sent, but its the thought that counts. When the war was ended, France had handily beaten his oppopnents, taking a single province from Savoy, and taking a few from Burgundy.
When the war concluded, Clemens began to plan an invasion of Urbino. Once again Diplomats were sent to discern if the Papal allies would assist. They were reluctant, but the diplomats reminded them that the Pope had joined Austria and France in their own wars. True no troops were actually sent to fight in either war, but the silver tongued diplomats told tales of Papal armies fighting glorious battles. Soon, France, Austria and even Milan agreed to join the war. As expected Aragon joined the war in defence of Urbino. Castille, having his own anti-Aragon agenda, decided to send subsidies to the Pope during this war, which would prove invaluable.
France, Milan, and Austria all sent the bulk of their forces to Iberia to invade Aragon, but in the meantime, the Papal armies were alone in Italy. They were a bit stronger than Urbino's army, and just about equal to Naple's army. Pope Clemens himself lead the army, hoping to wipe out Urbino's forces before Naples could arrive, rather than fighting them together. Unfortunately it did not work out that way. Naples arrived in time to save the Urbinese army and together they beat the Papal army. Clemens tried to retreat North to Milan, but the enemy army chased him down. The entire Papal army was wiped out, down to the last man. Clemens himself survived only because he disguised himself as a nun, and the enemy army ignored him.
Clemens fled to Romagna were he put the Castillian subsidies to use, and began recruiting a new army. Meanwhile the Urbino/Naples army laid siege to Roma. Soon the wall fell, and Roma was occupied. Urbino/Naples moved to invade Romagna. Being highly outnumbered, and not wanting to lose another entire army, Clemens moved his army north to Milan to keep it intact, and allowed the enemy to lay siege to Romagna. As the months passed one Aragonese province after another had fallen, and eventually the Pope convinced him to agree to a white peace.
Now Urbino was in the war alone. The Papal army was not fully rebuilt and was not strong enough to fihgt Urbino, but when the Austrian and French armies showed up in force, the army seiging Romagna was wiped out. The Papal armies moved to invade Urbino, while his allies liberated Roma. Soon the war was over and Urbino was forced into full annexation by the Papal State. Despite losing his entire army, and having his capital occupied, the Pope still achieved his goal in the war due to the assistance of powerful allies. Bringing rivals France and Austria into a war on the same side demonstrated that the Pope was a force to be reckoned with.
Although Milan had attacked Aragon, his armies were notably absent in the later years of the war. It seems Tuscany was up to no good again. Tuscany had once again taken advantage of Austria's distraction to declare war on another HRE member, this time Modena. Milan was allied with Modena and joined the fight against Tuscany. Even as this war still rages on, a Tuscan spy was discovered fabricating claims on Romanga. It seems his next target was aleady chosen.
Chapter 1: Urbino is Ours.
In the year of our Lord 1444, Pope Eugenius IV ruled over Roma, Romagna, and Avignon. He was not a very skilled ruler, having poor military skill and even worse administrative and diplomatic skill. Fortunately the papal states were home to many talented diplomats who would serve him well. Indeed, diplomats would soon prove more useful than soldiers in expanding the Pope's power and influence.
Eugenius made it his mission to conquer Urbino, whose lands he considered as rightly belonging to the papacy. However his hesitation cost him the opportunity to quickly annex Urbino. Despite having the superior army, Urbino had aquired an alliance and royal marriage with the king of Aragon. Aragon was already in personal union with Naples, and the Pope suspected this was part of a plot by Aragon to eventually diplomatically vassalize Urbino, and further increase his influence on the peninsula. This state of affairs could not be allowed to stand, but for now there was little the Papacy could do about it, Aragon was too powerful to take on at the moment. Eugenius excommunicated the King of Aragon, hoping to encourage other Catholic states to attack, and making him unable to defend Urbino. Unfortunately no one took the bait. France was still embroiled in the hundred years war against England, and Castille was finishing the reconquista.
Meanwhile the Papal diplomats were having great success in improving relations with the leaders of powerful European nations. When relations with Austria improved, The Papal State was welcomed into the Holy Roman Empire. They soon secured alliance with Austria, Milan, Savoy, and France. There was some tension, as France and Austria were rivals, and both of them resented the fact that the Pope was allied to the other. Still, the hard work of the diplomats ensured that both countries had excellent relations with the Papacy, despite this issue.
With these new alliances Eugenius felt confident that he would be safe from any attempted invasion by his neighbors. However before he was willing to attack Urbino he had to make sure his allies would back him up. Most of the monarchs of Europe enjoyed playing Truth or Dare at official state functions, and Papal diplomats managed to slip in questions as to whether they would support a war against Urbino, to which they all replied no.
Before long, the Pope was called to war by Austria. The Teutonic Order had attacked Pommerania and as Emperor, Austria was bound to defend him. On TO's side was Hungary and Mecklenburg. Austria invaded Hungary, while his many allies in the HRE assisted Pommerania in attacking mecklenburg and TO. While the Pope did declare war on the Teutonic Order, he didn't actually send any troops to fight. He did however give his Papal blessing, which seemed to satisfy his allies. Very soon the war was settled, Hungary and Mecklenburg would pay Pommerania a small amount, and TO would give up a single province to Pommerania.
During that war, Tuscany had declared war on, and annexed Siena. He took advantage of the fact that Austria was distracted with a major war, and was unable to defend an imperial state. Tuscany's growth was a threat to the Pope and would have to be dealt with eventually.
Soon after the war with TO was concluded Eugenius died. The college of Cardinals elected Clemens VII to replace him. Clemens, often known by his nick name "Guilty Spark" was an average administrator and military planner, but a slightly above average diplomat. He was certainly an improvement over his predecessor at running the place. He was, however, under the influence of England and would not excommunicate a national sovereign or call crusades without permission from the King of England. His main goal was to accomplish the mission Eugenius had set out, to annex Urbino, and for now that mostly meant keeping his diplomats at work.
France soon called them to war against Burgundy and Burgundy's ally Savoy. Although they were allied with France and Savoy, it was clear which ally was more important, and Clemens accepted France's call to arms, ending his relationship with Savoy. No troops were sent, but its the thought that counts. When the war was ended, France had handily beaten his oppopnents, taking a single province from Savoy, and taking a few from Burgundy.
When the war concluded, Clemens began to plan an invasion of Urbino. Once again Diplomats were sent to discern if the Papal allies would assist. They were reluctant, but the diplomats reminded them that the Pope had joined Austria and France in their own wars. True no troops were actually sent to fight in either war, but the silver tongued diplomats told tales of Papal armies fighting glorious battles. Soon, France, Austria and even Milan agreed to join the war. As expected Aragon joined the war in defence of Urbino. Castille, having his own anti-Aragon agenda, decided to send subsidies to the Pope during this war, which would prove invaluable.
France, Milan, and Austria all sent the bulk of their forces to Iberia to invade Aragon, but in the meantime, the Papal armies were alone in Italy. They were a bit stronger than Urbino's army, and just about equal to Naple's army. Pope Clemens himself lead the army, hoping to wipe out Urbino's forces before Naples could arrive, rather than fighting them together. Unfortunately it did not work out that way. Naples arrived in time to save the Urbinese army and together they beat the Papal army. Clemens tried to retreat North to Milan, but the enemy army chased him down. The entire Papal army was wiped out, down to the last man. Clemens himself survived only because he disguised himself as a nun, and the enemy army ignored him.
Clemens fled to Romagna were he put the Castillian subsidies to use, and began recruiting a new army. Meanwhile the Urbino/Naples army laid siege to Roma. Soon the wall fell, and Roma was occupied. Urbino/Naples moved to invade Romagna. Being highly outnumbered, and not wanting to lose another entire army, Clemens moved his army north to Milan to keep it intact, and allowed the enemy to lay siege to Romagna. As the months passed one Aragonese province after another had fallen, and eventually the Pope convinced him to agree to a white peace.
Now Urbino was in the war alone. The Papal army was not fully rebuilt and was not strong enough to fihgt Urbino, but when the Austrian and French armies showed up in force, the army seiging Romagna was wiped out. The Papal armies moved to invade Urbino, while his allies liberated Roma. Soon the war was over and Urbino was forced into full annexation by the Papal State. Despite losing his entire army, and having his capital occupied, the Pope still achieved his goal in the war due to the assistance of powerful allies. Bringing rivals France and Austria into a war on the same side demonstrated that the Pope was a force to be reckoned with.
Although Milan had attacked Aragon, his armies were notably absent in the later years of the war. It seems Tuscany was up to no good again. Tuscany had once again taken advantage of Austria's distraction to declare war on another HRE member, this time Modena. Milan was allied with Modena and joined the fight against Tuscany. Even as this war still rages on, a Tuscan spy was discovered fabricating claims on Romanga. It seems his next target was aleady chosen.
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