Just had a very interesting game playing as Poland in the GC.
1495 - Poles invade Pskov and capture it after several months. Muscovites, allies of Pskov are persuaded not to wage war against the Poles by diplomatic means.
1498-1502 - Polish/Muscovite interventions in Kazan. Muscovite invasions from 1498-1501 submerge much of Kazan under occupation of the Muscovite sword. Subsequent peace in 1501 leads to secession of a great deal of western kazan territory to the Muscovites. The Poles taking advantage of Muscovite intervention in Kazan invade themselves, fearing that the Muscovites will be able to annex the entire area, giving them substantial land / populace increase. In 1501 the Poles invade the south-western border areas of Kazan completely annihilating several Kazan armies sent out to stop their invasion. Kazan begs for peace with Muscovy several weeks after the Polish invasion.
In the subsequent peace the Russians leave the plundered capital of Kazan, taking much territory as noted above, which only worsens the weakness of Kazan. Polish armies continue to make inroads into Kazan in 1502 however their advance is rather slow, mainly due to a serious shortage of infantry and artillery.
Finally towards March of 1502, the Poles advance on the capital of Kazan, laying immediate siege to it, they capture it several days later. The 'Palatinate of Kazan' is incorporated into the Polish domains, the Muscovites holding onto their earlier gains however.
1508-1512 Internal crisis escalation. Stability decrease. Increasing peasant disquiet in the NE and E territories of the Commonwealth spill over into full scale civil war by 1511. The Polish crown armies are unable to deal with the severity of the outbreak, especially because 3/4's of the formerly loyal soldiers openly rebel the rule of the Polish King, giving the rebels much more tactical skill / technological knowhow and for over 12 months numerical superority as once loyal armies now scour the countryside almost completley unopposed. In Warsaw and other western provinces a conscription effort is being created. What is their actual agenda? Who do they represent?
Taking advantage of the chaos inside Poland, Pskov openly rebels in 1512 and re-declares its independance. Polish armies in Wieliki are ordered to advance into the province in the fall of 1512. Polish armies, though outnumbered soundly defeat the Pskov forces, largerly made up of peasants. Despite this, there is complete chaos in eastern Poland. Rebels control areas such as the city of Wilno (in Lithuania), pripet, chernigov and Ukraine)
When things can't possibly get worse in early 1513, taking advantage of the worsening situation, the Ukraine declares itself 'independant' from Poland. Cossack armies under their own banner are mobilized in their war for complete independance.
Between 1513 and 1516 the Polish armies are in a constant state of war battling both independant peasant revolts as well as the official armies of the Cossacks who are continually being defeated on the field. In January of 1516, Kiev is captured after a siege lasting several months, however the Ukranians are still not finished.
With the chaos all around Poland, it takes till Aug of 1518 to capture the last Cossack area of major resistance: Chernigov. The Ukranians are finally brought back into the fold. It takes the Poles 4 years to fully capture this territory and the city due to incessant Cossack partisan action as well as quickly changing circumstances in other parts of Poland.
At one point the area was virtually flooded by rebelling soldiers / peasants, some infact crossing the border of Poland and engaging Muscovite armies in Novgorod (!)
It would have been interesting to see Muscovy or Turkey take advantage of this situation, which is still not 100% resolved. It is interesting to note some of the countries which can gain independance when the region around them is de-stabilized. Next part when I get around to it.
Sapura
1495 - Poles invade Pskov and capture it after several months. Muscovites, allies of Pskov are persuaded not to wage war against the Poles by diplomatic means.
1498-1502 - Polish/Muscovite interventions in Kazan. Muscovite invasions from 1498-1501 submerge much of Kazan under occupation of the Muscovite sword. Subsequent peace in 1501 leads to secession of a great deal of western kazan territory to the Muscovites. The Poles taking advantage of Muscovite intervention in Kazan invade themselves, fearing that the Muscovites will be able to annex the entire area, giving them substantial land / populace increase. In 1501 the Poles invade the south-western border areas of Kazan completely annihilating several Kazan armies sent out to stop their invasion. Kazan begs for peace with Muscovy several weeks after the Polish invasion.
In the subsequent peace the Russians leave the plundered capital of Kazan, taking much territory as noted above, which only worsens the weakness of Kazan. Polish armies continue to make inroads into Kazan in 1502 however their advance is rather slow, mainly due to a serious shortage of infantry and artillery.
Finally towards March of 1502, the Poles advance on the capital of Kazan, laying immediate siege to it, they capture it several days later. The 'Palatinate of Kazan' is incorporated into the Polish domains, the Muscovites holding onto their earlier gains however.
1508-1512 Internal crisis escalation. Stability decrease. Increasing peasant disquiet in the NE and E territories of the Commonwealth spill over into full scale civil war by 1511. The Polish crown armies are unable to deal with the severity of the outbreak, especially because 3/4's of the formerly loyal soldiers openly rebel the rule of the Polish King, giving the rebels much more tactical skill / technological knowhow and for over 12 months numerical superority as once loyal armies now scour the countryside almost completley unopposed. In Warsaw and other western provinces a conscription effort is being created. What is their actual agenda? Who do they represent?
Taking advantage of the chaos inside Poland, Pskov openly rebels in 1512 and re-declares its independance. Polish armies in Wieliki are ordered to advance into the province in the fall of 1512. Polish armies, though outnumbered soundly defeat the Pskov forces, largerly made up of peasants. Despite this, there is complete chaos in eastern Poland. Rebels control areas such as the city of Wilno (in Lithuania), pripet, chernigov and Ukraine)
When things can't possibly get worse in early 1513, taking advantage of the worsening situation, the Ukraine declares itself 'independant' from Poland. Cossack armies under their own banner are mobilized in their war for complete independance.
Between 1513 and 1516 the Polish armies are in a constant state of war battling both independant peasant revolts as well as the official armies of the Cossacks who are continually being defeated on the field. In January of 1516, Kiev is captured after a siege lasting several months, however the Ukranians are still not finished.
With the chaos all around Poland, it takes till Aug of 1518 to capture the last Cossack area of major resistance: Chernigov. The Ukranians are finally brought back into the fold. It takes the Poles 4 years to fully capture this territory and the city due to incessant Cossack partisan action as well as quickly changing circumstances in other parts of Poland.
At one point the area was virtually flooded by rebelling soldiers / peasants, some infact crossing the border of Poland and engaging Muscovite armies in Novgorod (!)
It would have been interesting to see Muscovy or Turkey take advantage of this situation, which is still not 100% resolved. It is interesting to note some of the countries which can gain independance when the region around them is de-stabilized. Next part when I get around to it.
Sapura
I was sure though that they would invade me during those 12 yrs of instability from 1508-1520, thank goodness they didn't.
