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A Time of Joy, A Time of Sorrow
The year of our Lord 1523 dawned with the Polish king and kingdom in good spirits. In addition to the humbling of the Turks the economy and mood of the people were much improved. We took in 276d and recruited more troops on the Baltic front. In addition we recieved news that Wurtemburg had embraced the Protestant faith. In April one of Aud's girls married a young Spanish noble. On the way home from the wedding I commented on how cruel it was to give a Polish girl to a Spaniard. Aud looked at me strangly and said, "But she loves him! All of my girls choose their husbands. I merely help them marry the man of their dreams... as I did." I smiled sighed and never brought the subject up again. I feared she might have been using some of her ancient arts, not being altogether sure about her conversion to the true faith. On July 1st another of her girls married a French Duke. On the 5th of August the Hun and the Turk settled for a white peace. On November 11th the king's nephew married into the royal house of Portugal. Then, on Christmas day our former vassals in Prussia declared war. I was outraged by the violation of a season of peace and ordered that the war be quick and brutal. It was not as quick as I hoped but it was brutal.
On New Year's day 1524 we took in 276d. It took a full month for our forces to reach Konigsberg where they lost their first battle to a Prussian force which they vastly outnumbered. We ordered the recruitment of more troops in Masovoia. We finally annexed Prussia in June, and once more recieved a flood of Protests from Catholic countries. These fools violated the celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace with a declaration of war and my co-religionists dare to protest? Apparently the advent season and Christmas are far from sacred. On December 23rd France and her allies, Savoy, Scotland, Navarre, and.... the Pope (!) declared war on Lorraine and Baden. The spectacle of the Pope joining in what looked to be such an uneven contest during the advent season made me want to invite Martin Luther to preach in Warsaw.
The year 1525 saw the lands of the Golden Horde fully integrated into the Polish Kingdom. We spent some of our 267d in revenues hiring tax collectors in Samara and Kujbyeschew. On the 1st the king announced a project to improve the fortifications in Belgorad (RE) which seemed to me to be a good idea indeed. On the 18th of March Milan declared war on Genoa and her allies, Parma and the Knights. Her troops marched off the ultimate extinction of the Sforoza dynasty. Lorraine made peace with France, only paying 250d in reparations. During the year two of Aud's girls were married off, this time to Scottish and bavarian princes. On November 1st the minister of trade informed me that he now believed we were in a position to corner the market in several trade centers (Trade lvl 3)
The year 1526 passed quietly. We took in 290d and appointed tax collectors in Bogutar and Saratow. In September we issued a crude firearm known as the Arquebus to our infantry (land tech 5).
In the year 1527 we raised 294d and recieved news that the Protestant faith had been embraced in Thuringia, Hessen, and.... the Hanseatic League! We waited for England to offer us a white peace having only known they joined Prussia in the latter's war against us when the English started sending demands for tribute before declaring war against the Hansa. The war was far from being the quick and decisive campaign I hoped for. In the long run it may have been worth it though it was costly. On the 30th of September Michael Gilinski led our troops into a bloody battle in Western Prussia where he became a casualty. The subsequent battles in eastern Pomerania was also bloody and the subsequent siege was long, lasting almost a full year. We pushed a force through past the siege in East Pomerania to besiege West Pomerania as well and they did serve to prevent any interruption of the main force in the east. On the 22nd of December venice and her allies the Hedjaz,Iraq, and the teutonic Order declared war on Turkey (Tripoli and Algiers) once more. The Turk is getting very little breathing space between wars!
In 1528 we took in 298d and learned that helvetia had embraced Lutheranism. We improved our fort in Danzing and raised more troops for the grinding sieges in Pomerania. On the first of September we learned that gold output at the Samarra mines had increased dramatically due to the finding of rich veins there. We cheerfully banked the 400d! In November we captured East Pomerania and recieved an immediate peace offer from the Hanseatic League ceding it.
In 1529 we took in 298d attended the wedding of one of Aud's proteges to a Nobleman from Naples and began making plans for the construction of a university and other centers of arts and learning in Masovia. (Infrastucture 4)
1530 was to be a year of great grief for the Kingdom. We took in 306d, appointed a chief judge for Belarus and planned a massive celebration of Konstantin Ostrogski Day. On the 15th the hero, newly appointed as Minister of War, attended a reception held in his honor at the palace. As he took the king's hand the hero of Constantinople's grip tightened, his eyes rolled, his grip loosened and he fell to the floor. Aud knelt and placed her hand over the hero's heart. She then threw her head back and howled a howl the likes of which I have not heard from her since before we became Christian. She did not need to speak. Everyone knew. The soul of one of Poland's greatest heroes was in heaven before his body hit the floor. Konstantin Ogstrogski day was a somber affair featuring a state funeral rather than a festive celebration. I have rarely mourned as I did that day. Konstantin Ogstrogski gave Poland far more than Poland was able to give back, or could give back. The legend he gave Poland by humbling Suleyman is a priceless legacy which will inspire the Polish people for as long as people study history.
The year 1531 was to be another year of ill fortune. We took in 306d in taxes. In May our refinery in Galicia, built at great cost was destroyed by fire! This was a more costly misfortune by far than the good fortune of the rich vein discovered three years earlier. It seems that good fortune never outweighs ill fortune!
In 1532 we took in 299d in taxes and learned that the Palitinat had embraced Lutheranism. On the 17th the Hanseatic League declared war on Denmark and Naples to her eventual chagrin.On the 30th of July Venice ended her participation in the eternal Balkan war by ceding Kosovo to the Turks. This was also bad news for the Kingdom. It put the possibility of a common border that much further away!
In the year 1533 we took in 299d in taxes and promoted a Tarnowski to the rank of general (one star). I did not expect him to be another Konstantin Ogstrogski but I did hope he would accomplish something. On the 5th of February Turkey and her allies Tripoli and Algiers decided that six months of peace in the Balkans would be too much and declared war on Hungary and her allies Bohemia and Bavaria. The war would be long and bloody with both sides raising and losing tens of thousands of troops at a time. then, on September 2 I learned that protestant minister in Konigsberg had preached against the king, denouncing him as a Papist. The Cardinal of Kroakow responded by denouncing the King as a closet Lutheran for not crushing the Protestant heresy as the Pope wished. The Orthodox clergy reminded their flock that the Tsar was their rightful spiritual leader and muslim clerics denounced us all as crusading zealots. (Unhappiness among clergy) I urged the king to make contributions to all Christain churches and to endow the construction of more Churches throughout the realm. (Invest in stability)
In the years 1534-1537 we invested heavily in church building and courting the clergy (200d every year plus increased monthly allocation to stability) In 1534 France and her allies declared war on Lorraine and Baden again while the Hanseatic League surrendered Holstein to Denmark. In 1535 the minister of finance began talking about the advisability of declaring trade embargoes (trade 4). In 1536 Denmark became Lutheran and in 1537 England established a Protestant state church.
In 1538 we supressed revolts in Moldavia and Kremjtung before declaring war on the heathen Turk on April Fool's day. We once again captured Constantinople on December 15th but this time the Sultan eluded us. As sieges ground on and on in Bulgaria and Macedonia we lost a battle in Moldavia to Turks out of Wallachia and had to scramble to raise the forces to relive a siege there. Finally, on December 16, 1539 we signed a peace treaty with Turkey which gave us Bulgaria and Macedonia. The Turk's Balkan provinces no longer had a direct land connection to Asia Minor!
January 1540 saw 262d added to the royal coffers and we recieved the news that Brandenburg had adopted the Lutheran heresy. I ordered the construction of a Fort in Bessarabia and made some agonizing diplomatic decisions. On February 17th Bohemia and Turkey settled upon a white peace and then, on April 5 persia declared war on Iraq. this would have put us at odds with Venice. After a long discussion with the King and Foreign Minister we decided to dishonor the alliance which was not a popular decision with the people. Saxony had also dishonored the alliance so we renewed our alliance with them.
The year 1541 opened with bad news. The Saxon ambassador informed us that the state religion of Saxony is now Lutheranism, a faith he has quietly preferrred for some time anyway. Aud smiled and nodded at this news until he informed us that naturally Saxony could no longer remain in an alliance with papists. On the way home I asked Aud if she preferred the teachings of Luther to those of the Holy Catholic Church. She stared at me for several minutes and said, "I have always found Lutheranism preferable to servitude to the Pope! How can anyone with Norse blood not be Lutheran? Have we spent too much time in southern climes and thinned your blood dear?" I had to admit that I also found Lutheranism preferable, more rational, above all more honorable. Above all though I want Poland to be a tolerant state. In the long run it is probably better to maintain Catholicism as the state religion, though we did attend Lutheran services the next Sunday. On the 4th of February venice invited us to join their alliance. We eagerly accepted. The inconvenience of not leading the alliance was offset by the benefit of drawing ever closer to venice diplomatically. I then stared in shocked disbelief at the bland blue wallpaper which I need to replace! (Crash to Desktop Event)
In 1542 we took in 277d saw Persia cede Hamad to our Iraqi allies, and lost General Tarnowski in a rebellion in Macedonia. I begin to fear that promotion to general is not good for a man's health!
In 1543 we collected 260d. On St. valentines day Spain announced the annexation of Lima and Ayacucho as well as the payment of 250d from the Inca empire. The Spanish ambassador, Luis Rodriguez, stood in my office fairly beaming as he made this announcement. I responded, "Two provinces and tribute from a pretentious band of savages? You must be very proud!" Sarcasm is often lost on the pompous. On the 9th of March Hungary ceded Croatia to the Turks. On August 1st I became the center of a scandal when the french ambassador chose the occaision of a reception in honor of the new Papal Nuncio to ask why I was attending Lutheran services. I bluntly informed him that in Poland it was none of his damned business. It still damgaged our diplomatic relations and kept the king busy explaining our religious policy to everyone. (Dip value reduced to one)
The year of our Lord 1523 dawned with the Polish king and kingdom in good spirits. In addition to the humbling of the Turks the economy and mood of the people were much improved. We took in 276d and recruited more troops on the Baltic front. In addition we recieved news that Wurtemburg had embraced the Protestant faith. In April one of Aud's girls married a young Spanish noble. On the way home from the wedding I commented on how cruel it was to give a Polish girl to a Spaniard. Aud looked at me strangly and said, "But she loves him! All of my girls choose their husbands. I merely help them marry the man of their dreams... as I did." I smiled sighed and never brought the subject up again. I feared she might have been using some of her ancient arts, not being altogether sure about her conversion to the true faith. On July 1st another of her girls married a French Duke. On the 5th of August the Hun and the Turk settled for a white peace. On November 11th the king's nephew married into the royal house of Portugal. Then, on Christmas day our former vassals in Prussia declared war. I was outraged by the violation of a season of peace and ordered that the war be quick and brutal. It was not as quick as I hoped but it was brutal.
On New Year's day 1524 we took in 276d. It took a full month for our forces to reach Konigsberg where they lost their first battle to a Prussian force which they vastly outnumbered. We ordered the recruitment of more troops in Masovoia. We finally annexed Prussia in June, and once more recieved a flood of Protests from Catholic countries. These fools violated the celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace with a declaration of war and my co-religionists dare to protest? Apparently the advent season and Christmas are far from sacred. On December 23rd France and her allies, Savoy, Scotland, Navarre, and.... the Pope (!) declared war on Lorraine and Baden. The spectacle of the Pope joining in what looked to be such an uneven contest during the advent season made me want to invite Martin Luther to preach in Warsaw.
The year 1525 saw the lands of the Golden Horde fully integrated into the Polish Kingdom. We spent some of our 267d in revenues hiring tax collectors in Samara and Kujbyeschew. On the 1st the king announced a project to improve the fortifications in Belgorad (RE) which seemed to me to be a good idea indeed. On the 18th of March Milan declared war on Genoa and her allies, Parma and the Knights. Her troops marched off the ultimate extinction of the Sforoza dynasty. Lorraine made peace with France, only paying 250d in reparations. During the year two of Aud's girls were married off, this time to Scottish and bavarian princes. On November 1st the minister of trade informed me that he now believed we were in a position to corner the market in several trade centers (Trade lvl 3)
The year 1526 passed quietly. We took in 290d and appointed tax collectors in Bogutar and Saratow. In September we issued a crude firearm known as the Arquebus to our infantry (land tech 5).
In the year 1527 we raised 294d and recieved news that the Protestant faith had been embraced in Thuringia, Hessen, and.... the Hanseatic League! We waited for England to offer us a white peace having only known they joined Prussia in the latter's war against us when the English started sending demands for tribute before declaring war against the Hansa. The war was far from being the quick and decisive campaign I hoped for. In the long run it may have been worth it though it was costly. On the 30th of September Michael Gilinski led our troops into a bloody battle in Western Prussia where he became a casualty. The subsequent battles in eastern Pomerania was also bloody and the subsequent siege was long, lasting almost a full year. We pushed a force through past the siege in East Pomerania to besiege West Pomerania as well and they did serve to prevent any interruption of the main force in the east. On the 22nd of December venice and her allies the Hedjaz,Iraq, and the teutonic Order declared war on Turkey (Tripoli and Algiers) once more. The Turk is getting very little breathing space between wars!
In 1528 we took in 298d and learned that helvetia had embraced Lutheranism. We improved our fort in Danzing and raised more troops for the grinding sieges in Pomerania. On the first of September we learned that gold output at the Samarra mines had increased dramatically due to the finding of rich veins there. We cheerfully banked the 400d! In November we captured East Pomerania and recieved an immediate peace offer from the Hanseatic League ceding it.
In 1529 we took in 298d attended the wedding of one of Aud's proteges to a Nobleman from Naples and began making plans for the construction of a university and other centers of arts and learning in Masovia. (Infrastucture 4)
1530 was to be a year of great grief for the Kingdom. We took in 306d, appointed a chief judge for Belarus and planned a massive celebration of Konstantin Ostrogski Day. On the 15th the hero, newly appointed as Minister of War, attended a reception held in his honor at the palace. As he took the king's hand the hero of Constantinople's grip tightened, his eyes rolled, his grip loosened and he fell to the floor. Aud knelt and placed her hand over the hero's heart. She then threw her head back and howled a howl the likes of which I have not heard from her since before we became Christian. She did not need to speak. Everyone knew. The soul of one of Poland's greatest heroes was in heaven before his body hit the floor. Konstantin Ogstrogski day was a somber affair featuring a state funeral rather than a festive celebration. I have rarely mourned as I did that day. Konstantin Ogstrogski gave Poland far more than Poland was able to give back, or could give back. The legend he gave Poland by humbling Suleyman is a priceless legacy which will inspire the Polish people for as long as people study history.
The year 1531 was to be another year of ill fortune. We took in 306d in taxes. In May our refinery in Galicia, built at great cost was destroyed by fire! This was a more costly misfortune by far than the good fortune of the rich vein discovered three years earlier. It seems that good fortune never outweighs ill fortune!
In 1532 we took in 299d in taxes and learned that the Palitinat had embraced Lutheranism. On the 17th the Hanseatic League declared war on Denmark and Naples to her eventual chagrin.On the 30th of July Venice ended her participation in the eternal Balkan war by ceding Kosovo to the Turks. This was also bad news for the Kingdom. It put the possibility of a common border that much further away!
In the year 1533 we took in 299d in taxes and promoted a Tarnowski to the rank of general (one star). I did not expect him to be another Konstantin Ogstrogski but I did hope he would accomplish something. On the 5th of February Turkey and her allies Tripoli and Algiers decided that six months of peace in the Balkans would be too much and declared war on Hungary and her allies Bohemia and Bavaria. The war would be long and bloody with both sides raising and losing tens of thousands of troops at a time. then, on September 2 I learned that protestant minister in Konigsberg had preached against the king, denouncing him as a Papist. The Cardinal of Kroakow responded by denouncing the King as a closet Lutheran for not crushing the Protestant heresy as the Pope wished. The Orthodox clergy reminded their flock that the Tsar was their rightful spiritual leader and muslim clerics denounced us all as crusading zealots. (Unhappiness among clergy) I urged the king to make contributions to all Christain churches and to endow the construction of more Churches throughout the realm. (Invest in stability)
In the years 1534-1537 we invested heavily in church building and courting the clergy (200d every year plus increased monthly allocation to stability) In 1534 France and her allies declared war on Lorraine and Baden again while the Hanseatic League surrendered Holstein to Denmark. In 1535 the minister of finance began talking about the advisability of declaring trade embargoes (trade 4). In 1536 Denmark became Lutheran and in 1537 England established a Protestant state church.
In 1538 we supressed revolts in Moldavia and Kremjtung before declaring war on the heathen Turk on April Fool's day. We once again captured Constantinople on December 15th but this time the Sultan eluded us. As sieges ground on and on in Bulgaria and Macedonia we lost a battle in Moldavia to Turks out of Wallachia and had to scramble to raise the forces to relive a siege there. Finally, on December 16, 1539 we signed a peace treaty with Turkey which gave us Bulgaria and Macedonia. The Turk's Balkan provinces no longer had a direct land connection to Asia Minor!
January 1540 saw 262d added to the royal coffers and we recieved the news that Brandenburg had adopted the Lutheran heresy. I ordered the construction of a Fort in Bessarabia and made some agonizing diplomatic decisions. On February 17th Bohemia and Turkey settled upon a white peace and then, on April 5 persia declared war on Iraq. this would have put us at odds with Venice. After a long discussion with the King and Foreign Minister we decided to dishonor the alliance which was not a popular decision with the people. Saxony had also dishonored the alliance so we renewed our alliance with them.
The year 1541 opened with bad news. The Saxon ambassador informed us that the state religion of Saxony is now Lutheranism, a faith he has quietly preferrred for some time anyway. Aud smiled and nodded at this news until he informed us that naturally Saxony could no longer remain in an alliance with papists. On the way home I asked Aud if she preferred the teachings of Luther to those of the Holy Catholic Church. She stared at me for several minutes and said, "I have always found Lutheranism preferable to servitude to the Pope! How can anyone with Norse blood not be Lutheran? Have we spent too much time in southern climes and thinned your blood dear?" I had to admit that I also found Lutheranism preferable, more rational, above all more honorable. Above all though I want Poland to be a tolerant state. In the long run it is probably better to maintain Catholicism as the state religion, though we did attend Lutheran services the next Sunday. On the 4th of February venice invited us to join their alliance. We eagerly accepted. The inconvenience of not leading the alliance was offset by the benefit of drawing ever closer to venice diplomatically. I then stared in shocked disbelief at the bland blue wallpaper which I need to replace! (Crash to Desktop Event)
In 1542 we took in 277d saw Persia cede Hamad to our Iraqi allies, and lost General Tarnowski in a rebellion in Macedonia. I begin to fear that promotion to general is not good for a man's health!
In 1543 we collected 260d. On St. valentines day Spain announced the annexation of Lima and Ayacucho as well as the payment of 250d from the Inca empire. The Spanish ambassador, Luis Rodriguez, stood in my office fairly beaming as he made this announcement. I responded, "Two provinces and tribute from a pretentious band of savages? You must be very proud!" Sarcasm is often lost on the pompous. On the 9th of March Hungary ceded Croatia to the Turks. On August 1st I became the center of a scandal when the french ambassador chose the occaision of a reception in honor of the new Papal Nuncio to ask why I was attending Lutheran services. I bluntly informed him that in Poland it was none of his damned business. It still damgaged our diplomatic relations and kept the king busy explaining our religious policy to everyone. (Dip value reduced to one)
Good deal on the screenshot! I think I need to upload one of Prussia comitting national suicide. 
Yep, Olaf is at it again. I'm pretty positive there'll be more screenshots to come. Keep 'em coming.
Here is one more from Olaf which I had to manually upload.
www.systemvoid.com/eu/aars/OlaftheWhite_PolandD1523.html
Olaf this file was under the same as the previous one you uploaded. Since me little script can't handle that fuction yet, please try to post files under different names. Thanks.
Btw, that was a stupid move by Prussia. Ah, nations always tried to be independant, to bad this one won't hang around to tell about it.
I'm pretty positive there'll be more screenshots to come. Keep 'em coming. Here is one more from Olaf which I had to manually upload.
www.systemvoid.com/eu/aars/OlaftheWhite_PolandD1523.html
Olaf this file was under the same as the previous one you uploaded. Since me little script can't handle that fuction yet, please try to post files under different names. Thanks.
Btw, that was a stupid move by Prussia. Ah, nations always tried to be independant, to bad this one won't hang around to tell about it.
Ooops! I guess that's what happens when you take a screenshot on New Year's Day and Christmas Day. You tend to forget they're in the same year. Actually Windows balked at the renaming but I thought the problem was the "OlaftheWhite" part of the name because it said I already had a file named OlaftheWhite... (without what followed the underscore) in that folder. I'll keep an eye out for that in the future.
Yep, and maybe you'll post your whole AAR in EU Arsenal, like BiB did. You'll see his AAR as an example on EU Arsenal.
The First Deluge
And while the sand slipped through the opening
And their hands reached for golden ring
In their hearts they turned to each other's hearts for refuge,
In the troubled years that came... before the deluge
By the skald Jackson the Browne
(c 1974 in another age entirely)
1544 was supposed to be a year of peace. We had just wrested two provinces from Turkey and expected to consolidate our position. There would not be lasting peace for many years. We began the year taking in 275d and ordering the usual recruitments. I wanted peace but knew that a nation so surrounded need to be prepared for war. That war came on July 26th when Venice and her allies (Teutonic Order, Iraq and the Hedjaz) declared war on Turkey. We honored our alliance to our most important ally and sent reinforcements to the Balkans. The forces involved for the first six months were incapable of accomplishing anything so my advice to the king was to conserve them wherever possible while waiting for reinforcements to arrive. We did however begin a siege of the all important province of Kosovo.
By the new year of 1545 we had fresh forces in the Balkans as well as the king's son Sygmunt*, who was destined to become king in his own right. With the 285d we collected we would also recruit more. He arrived in Rumelia where our forces were splitting and took command of the wrong force! He won a battle in Thrace and rather than begin a siege there I suggested he get to Kosovo and take command of that siege. it was all for naught. Before he could attempt the second and hopefully decisiive assault Venice made peace taking Croatia in the bargain on April 9. During this year Bohemia also established Protestantism as the state religion.
The year 1546 passed was a year of peace and rebuilding. We brought Sygmund up to the Baltic area and recruited there, though we were still woefully unprepared for the opportunity which would present itself. The Teutonic Order saw over 100,000 soldiers simply desert on their return trek through our territory. This apparently embittered their leadership.
On New year's day 1547 we recieved news that the Ordenstaat had declared Lutheranism the state religion. Even though we were nowhere near as prepared as I would have liked I persuaded the king to declare war promptly so as to prevent them from allying with Russia and Denmark after leaving their alliance with us. Venice honored the allaince. The cowards in Baghdad and Mecca dishonored it and themselves. By June 25th the prince had captured Memel, which was to be the only conquest of the year. We also invested Livonia and Estonia during this year which also saw the emergence of yet another reformer by the name of Cauvin (Calvin). The Cardinal of Krakow excitedly informed me that surely the Pope would deal with this Protestant scourge now. I asked if that meant I should adopt the nickname, "The Whip".
In 1548 we took in 284d and witnessed England and Helvetia changing their state religion to conform to the teachings of the fanatic Cauvin. After the death of King Sygmunt I his son followed him on the throne. We took to our estate after the funeral, announcing our retirement from public lifeand imbibed of Aud's concoctions. We then presented ourselves to Zygmunt as Haakon and Ingrid, Olaf's son and daughter-in-law offering our services. Sygmunt accepted our service and expressed the hope that I would prove as wise as my father. I smiled and expressed the same hope. On the 22nd of February we captured Livonia and pressed on to Estonia and Ingermanland rejecting all pleas and offers from the Ordenstaat.
In 1549 we continued our sieges in the Baltic. The Teutonic fortresses were proving to be stout indeed. We took in 284d and learned that the palitinat had established a Reformist state church. On April 1 the Turks and their allies Tunisia and Algiers declared war on the Knights of St. John. while on the 11th of April Helvetia and Genoa went to war with Spain, Portugal and... Morocco! Why the Spanish are allied to Morroco I do not know!
In 1550 we took in 296d and accepted the surrender of the last Teutonic fortress in Ingermanland. The Ordenstaat was promptly annexed to the Commonwealth. On April 1st we issued pistols to our officers (land 6). One month later we learned that the Netherlands had established their independence from Spain and established a Calvinist state church. We sent them our congratulations and expressed hopes for warm relations but that was not to be! On September 17th the Knights were annexed by the Turks.
By 1551 our forces were thin everywhere I looked. We took in 308d and recruited more troops. On May 28th Persia declared war on Iraq. We honored the alliance even though there was nothing we could do to help. Looking back it was the hole in the dam which would lead to the first deluge. On September 16th Turkey, with 48,000 troops in Thrace and her allies triploi and Algiers declared war. In all of the Balkans we barely had 20,000 spread out on garrison and revolt suppression duty. I gathered our forces in Rumelia and ordered a siege of Thrace, hoping that another occupation of Constantinople would lead to a quick peace. Eight days later Crimea and her ally Tunisia also declared war. I now thinned the forces facing Mucovy to fight what was becoming a nightmare war in the Balkans whereupon Muscovy and her Danish allies declared war. The Russians marched for Tula and the Danes, when they arrived would besiege and take Ingermanland. On Christmas Eve the Hanseatic league earned a vow from me to see them exterminated by violating the advent season and declarting war. They brought their allies Brandenburg and the Dutch and marched for Eastern Pomerania.
As 1552 dawned we were besieged in Ingermanland, Tula, Kremejtung and Bulgaria. Macedonia was already lost. Just when it seemed it couldn't get any worse Astrakhan declared war on January 26th. through it all our venetian allies remained faithful. By this time Iraq and Hedjaz had a second chance to dishonor the same alliance! The Astra-Khanate marched for Kujbyschew. The one consolation was that it was winter and the enemy was marching and sieging in winter losing far more men than we were. Of course we were outnumbered more than 10-1!
(During this time I had numerous Crash to Desktop events and can only provide the broad outlines of events since my notes were rendered almost useless.)
I ordered our troops to stand fast and ride out the winter. I decided to adopt a strategy of counter-sieging and resolved to relieve what sieges I could. We invested Tver, battled the Danes around Ingermanland fought running battles with the khanates, lost Kremjutung to Crimea only to have it returned by rebellion. When East Pomerania finally surrendered I made what was to prove to be the only cession of land in the war. I ceded that province to Brandenburg in hopes that it will prove to be a long term strain on relations between Brandenburg and the Hansa. After this I compromised my integrity somewhat and accepted a bribe of 400d from an obscenely wealthy noble who was enamored with one of Aud's girls and wanted a good word with the king and the girl's family. The marriage was arranged and the 400d may have saved the commonwealth. If I had it do over again I'd still take the bribe even though I felt like a slave trader. (Gift of 400d) With this money we recruited even more troops, of course they had to be trained and it was autumn before I launched the climactic battle of the war with Russia. The King made a daring attack on the siege force in Tula and put them to flight with a numerically inferior force. The Russians sat in Moscow and licked their wounds while we took Tver. Once that was done and Ingermanland was reclaimed from the Danes the Russians sued for peace and ceded Tver. Meanwhile my Balkan gambit worked. The Turks had taken Macedonia and Bulgaria and inundated us with arrogant demands. When we took their capital for the third time they could not conclude a status quo peace quickly enough.
At this point Astrakhan mysteriously sued for a white peace also. Perhaps it wasn't so mysterious. They had taken Kujbeshcew at great cost. By the time they were ready to move on we had the force on hand to take it by assault. They may have lost 20,000 men for nothing.
Crimea was to be the last belligerent to bow out. By the time we could assemble the forces to deal with them they had conquered Kremjtung, Bessarabia, and Moldavia. We retook all of that territory with a helping hand from Venice in Moldavia and smashed their forces in Crimea, Azow, and Kaffa. I flirted with the idea of conquering them but decided more Muslim territory was not what we needed. We demanded tribute and recieved 102d on June 21, 1555.
All in all it was a bitter four years war against all neighboring states save Hungary and Bohemia. At various times I thought of resigning my position as advisor. Still, in the end we prevailed with a big help from a desperate nobleman. We may have lost 20-50,000 men. Our enemies certainly lost more. The net change was an exchange of Tver for Eastern Pomerania. If the bear tries to attack us again he will pay with the loss of Novgorod. Our possesion of Tver makes Novgorod all the more precarious!
And when the sand was gone and the time arrived
In the naked dawn only a few survived
And in attempts to understand the thing so simple and so huge
Believed that they were meant to live... after the deluge...
The skald Jackson the Browne
(c1974... the same song obviously)
Screenshot to come.
*My knowledge of Polish history is lacking. Am I correct in guessing that Sygmunt II was the son of Sygmunt I?
And while the sand slipped through the opening
And their hands reached for golden ring
In their hearts they turned to each other's hearts for refuge,
In the troubled years that came... before the deluge
By the skald Jackson the Browne
(c 1974 in another age entirely)
1544 was supposed to be a year of peace. We had just wrested two provinces from Turkey and expected to consolidate our position. There would not be lasting peace for many years. We began the year taking in 275d and ordering the usual recruitments. I wanted peace but knew that a nation so surrounded need to be prepared for war. That war came on July 26th when Venice and her allies (Teutonic Order, Iraq and the Hedjaz) declared war on Turkey. We honored our alliance to our most important ally and sent reinforcements to the Balkans. The forces involved for the first six months were incapable of accomplishing anything so my advice to the king was to conserve them wherever possible while waiting for reinforcements to arrive. We did however begin a siege of the all important province of Kosovo.
By the new year of 1545 we had fresh forces in the Balkans as well as the king's son Sygmunt*, who was destined to become king in his own right. With the 285d we collected we would also recruit more. He arrived in Rumelia where our forces were splitting and took command of the wrong force! He won a battle in Thrace and rather than begin a siege there I suggested he get to Kosovo and take command of that siege. it was all for naught. Before he could attempt the second and hopefully decisiive assault Venice made peace taking Croatia in the bargain on April 9. During this year Bohemia also established Protestantism as the state religion.
The year 1546 passed was a year of peace and rebuilding. We brought Sygmund up to the Baltic area and recruited there, though we were still woefully unprepared for the opportunity which would present itself. The Teutonic Order saw over 100,000 soldiers simply desert on their return trek through our territory. This apparently embittered their leadership.
On New year's day 1547 we recieved news that the Ordenstaat had declared Lutheranism the state religion. Even though we were nowhere near as prepared as I would have liked I persuaded the king to declare war promptly so as to prevent them from allying with Russia and Denmark after leaving their alliance with us. Venice honored the allaince. The cowards in Baghdad and Mecca dishonored it and themselves. By June 25th the prince had captured Memel, which was to be the only conquest of the year. We also invested Livonia and Estonia during this year which also saw the emergence of yet another reformer by the name of Cauvin (Calvin). The Cardinal of Krakow excitedly informed me that surely the Pope would deal with this Protestant scourge now. I asked if that meant I should adopt the nickname, "The Whip".
In 1548 we took in 284d and witnessed England and Helvetia changing their state religion to conform to the teachings of the fanatic Cauvin. After the death of King Sygmunt I his son followed him on the throne. We took to our estate after the funeral, announcing our retirement from public lifeand imbibed of Aud's concoctions. We then presented ourselves to Zygmunt as Haakon and Ingrid, Olaf's son and daughter-in-law offering our services. Sygmunt accepted our service and expressed the hope that I would prove as wise as my father. I smiled and expressed the same hope. On the 22nd of February we captured Livonia and pressed on to Estonia and Ingermanland rejecting all pleas and offers from the Ordenstaat.
In 1549 we continued our sieges in the Baltic. The Teutonic fortresses were proving to be stout indeed. We took in 284d and learned that the palitinat had established a Reformist state church. On April 1 the Turks and their allies Tunisia and Algiers declared war on the Knights of St. John. while on the 11th of April Helvetia and Genoa went to war with Spain, Portugal and... Morocco! Why the Spanish are allied to Morroco I do not know!
In 1550 we took in 296d and accepted the surrender of the last Teutonic fortress in Ingermanland. The Ordenstaat was promptly annexed to the Commonwealth. On April 1st we issued pistols to our officers (land 6). One month later we learned that the Netherlands had established their independence from Spain and established a Calvinist state church. We sent them our congratulations and expressed hopes for warm relations but that was not to be! On September 17th the Knights were annexed by the Turks.
By 1551 our forces were thin everywhere I looked. We took in 308d and recruited more troops. On May 28th Persia declared war on Iraq. We honored the alliance even though there was nothing we could do to help. Looking back it was the hole in the dam which would lead to the first deluge. On September 16th Turkey, with 48,000 troops in Thrace and her allies triploi and Algiers declared war. In all of the Balkans we barely had 20,000 spread out on garrison and revolt suppression duty. I gathered our forces in Rumelia and ordered a siege of Thrace, hoping that another occupation of Constantinople would lead to a quick peace. Eight days later Crimea and her ally Tunisia also declared war. I now thinned the forces facing Mucovy to fight what was becoming a nightmare war in the Balkans whereupon Muscovy and her Danish allies declared war. The Russians marched for Tula and the Danes, when they arrived would besiege and take Ingermanland. On Christmas Eve the Hanseatic league earned a vow from me to see them exterminated by violating the advent season and declarting war. They brought their allies Brandenburg and the Dutch and marched for Eastern Pomerania.
As 1552 dawned we were besieged in Ingermanland, Tula, Kremejtung and Bulgaria. Macedonia was already lost. Just when it seemed it couldn't get any worse Astrakhan declared war on January 26th. through it all our venetian allies remained faithful. By this time Iraq and Hedjaz had a second chance to dishonor the same alliance! The Astra-Khanate marched for Kujbyschew. The one consolation was that it was winter and the enemy was marching and sieging in winter losing far more men than we were. Of course we were outnumbered more than 10-1!
(During this time I had numerous Crash to Desktop events and can only provide the broad outlines of events since my notes were rendered almost useless.)
I ordered our troops to stand fast and ride out the winter. I decided to adopt a strategy of counter-sieging and resolved to relieve what sieges I could. We invested Tver, battled the Danes around Ingermanland fought running battles with the khanates, lost Kremjutung to Crimea only to have it returned by rebellion. When East Pomerania finally surrendered I made what was to prove to be the only cession of land in the war. I ceded that province to Brandenburg in hopes that it will prove to be a long term strain on relations between Brandenburg and the Hansa. After this I compromised my integrity somewhat and accepted a bribe of 400d from an obscenely wealthy noble who was enamored with one of Aud's girls and wanted a good word with the king and the girl's family. The marriage was arranged and the 400d may have saved the commonwealth. If I had it do over again I'd still take the bribe even though I felt like a slave trader. (Gift of 400d) With this money we recruited even more troops, of course they had to be trained and it was autumn before I launched the climactic battle of the war with Russia. The King made a daring attack on the siege force in Tula and put them to flight with a numerically inferior force. The Russians sat in Moscow and licked their wounds while we took Tver. Once that was done and Ingermanland was reclaimed from the Danes the Russians sued for peace and ceded Tver. Meanwhile my Balkan gambit worked. The Turks had taken Macedonia and Bulgaria and inundated us with arrogant demands. When we took their capital for the third time they could not conclude a status quo peace quickly enough.
At this point Astrakhan mysteriously sued for a white peace also. Perhaps it wasn't so mysterious. They had taken Kujbeshcew at great cost. By the time they were ready to move on we had the force on hand to take it by assault. They may have lost 20,000 men for nothing.
Crimea was to be the last belligerent to bow out. By the time we could assemble the forces to deal with them they had conquered Kremjtung, Bessarabia, and Moldavia. We retook all of that territory with a helping hand from Venice in Moldavia and smashed their forces in Crimea, Azow, and Kaffa. I flirted with the idea of conquering them but decided more Muslim territory was not what we needed. We demanded tribute and recieved 102d on June 21, 1555.
All in all it was a bitter four years war against all neighboring states save Hungary and Bohemia. At various times I thought of resigning my position as advisor. Still, in the end we prevailed with a big help from a desperate nobleman. We may have lost 20-50,000 men. Our enemies certainly lost more. The net change was an exchange of Tver for Eastern Pomerania. If the bear tries to attack us again he will pay with the loss of Novgorod. Our possesion of Tver makes Novgorod all the more precarious!
And when the sand was gone and the time arrived
In the naked dawn only a few survived
And in attempts to understand the thing so simple and so huge
Believed that they were meant to live... after the deluge...
The skald Jackson the Browne
(c1974... the same song obviously)
Screenshot to come.
*My knowledge of Polish history is lacking. Am I correct in guessing that Sygmunt II was the son of Sygmunt I?
"*My knowledge of Polish history is lacking. Am I correct in guessing that Sygmunt II was the son of Sygmunt I?"
Probably. I'm Polish but I don't really care about the Vasa dynasty. Damn fools almost converted the country to Protestantism, just because they and some of their nobleman lackeys felt inclined. Obviously nobles feel inclined - they reap the rewards by taking Church lands. That's probably the only reason that Luther's ideas took off - it's not as if enough people could read, and princes were stupid enough to let such flagrantly heretical materials float around unless they wanted it to. Conversion came from the top down.
Probably. I'm Polish but I don't really care about the Vasa dynasty. Damn fools almost converted the country to Protestantism, just because they and some of their nobleman lackeys felt inclined. Obviously nobles feel inclined - they reap the rewards by taking Church lands. That's probably the only reason that Luther's ideas took off - it's not as if enough people could read, and princes were stupid enough to let such flagrantly heretical materials float around unless they wanted it to. Conversion came from the top down.
Hehe oops, didn't mean to come off angry. I just get irritated thinking about religious matters and how people killed each other in the name of God... I'm not religious myself, though I was raised Catholic.
I personally think that Protestantism would have been a disaster for Poland. It would have given Brandenburg/Prussia stronger claims to Polish lands, alienated Austria completely (and remember, Prussia never made a reliable ally), while introducing another mix into Poland's religious mish-mash.
The tolerance that Poles had for various religions was a good thing and worked very well, but at a time when it seemed the only way to get your populace excited by a war was to proclaim the enemy as heathens... if your population is always at least 1/10th 'heathen'...
Yes, Sigismund I was son of Sigismund II but thy were Jagiellon not Vasa dynasty, aslo Sigismund III Vasa of whom you probably speak was most counter-reformed king of Poland, and IMHO turning Poland-Lithuania protestant (or better yet, making of national church) would make polish claims to prussia stronger not the other way.
Thanks for the replies to my historical query! I have played almost up to 1600 but haven't been able to post it since the forum always seems to be having server dificulties (or AOHell gets tempermental at the time of night when I want to post.) Since I'm now in a "double" BB war I'd like to wrap that up before I post more since it's still possible that Polish elation of the moment will be tempered by later events.... but I doubt it.