The Polish-Magyar War
"And lo! Even the mighty Giant must bow to the masses, should they cut his feet!"-anynmous
The Great Polish War of the 15th century had cut the heart out of the Polish Kingdom. Having lost nearly a fourth of its territory to Bohemia with the capturing of Weilskpolska, Poland suffered an even greater loss with the capturing of Danzig; its only access to the sea. Poland was to never truely recover.
By the late 17th Century, Poland had become a backwater. Although it fielded one of the largest militaries in Europe, that military was one of the least well equipt, an relic of the 16th Century and was having difficulty holding down rebels in Polish-held Rumania. Furthermore it had yet to gain, through conquest or inheritence, another suitable port to the sea, landlocking the nation and forcing it to bow to the whims of its more powerful neighbors.
In 1691 the King of Hungary, and Duke of Seibenburg, invaded his Northern neighbor, hoping to reclaim the Carpathian region which had been wrested from Hungarian control following the Turkish invasion of the 1400's. An ally, and vassal, to Luitipold the Great of Bohemia, he assumed and quick and easy victory over the backward Poles.
The Poles, for nearly two centuries now, had been cut off from the sea and, likewise, from Europe as a whole. They had had two centuries of being bullied by the powerful Kings of Sweden and Bohemia, as well as the less powerful kings of Lithuania, Russia and Seibenburgen. More importantly, for 200 years they had learned how to hate. And so, with when the oppertunity arose, the Polish people set out to do the impossible; to cripple Bohemia and regain their place in the sun.
Luitipold, perhaps making one of the gravest mistakes of his reign, refused to take the threat of Polish invasion seriously. His armies had been badly wounded by the recent war with France, and it would take time to rebuild them to pre-war states of readiness. What armies did remain, he felt, would be put to better use in putting down a violent rebellion which had begun to sweep the Northern lands, calling for rule of Protestant lands by Protestand princes. To waste them upon an invasion of Poland would be pointless, expecially as it would few interests if the Kingdom were to expand further to the East.
And so, when Polish troops crossed the boarder and besieged Weilskpolska, Luitipold was more concerned with the uprising which had currently occured in Danzig. He felt that the Poles would retreat when pressed by the Hungarians to the South, and would be to busy fighting to save their own lives to worry about retaking Bohemian lands. Events quickly conspired to make him a liar.
No sooner had he delivered a speach to the Nobility Council, outlaying his plans for the current war, than word was recieved that the Poles had defeated the main Hungarian army in Carpathia. Two weeks later, Weilskpolska fell to Polish liberators after two centuries of Bohemian rule.
Events continued to spiral out of control for the alliance. Bavarian troops surrounding Krakow were gutted by a long drawn out battle with the main Polish force. Although the Bavarians won the battle, they were so badly crippled as to be unable to carry on the seige any longer.
Luitipold watched with crowing concern, dismay and eventually anger. The Poles had dared to attack Bohemia, which had only been supporting its ally and made no offensive move. The Noble Council cried for vengenace and, in his heart, the King did as well. With the lands temporaily free of any rebellion, he sent the two main Bohemian Armies to attack Poland, one to retake Weilskpolska and the other to attack and subdue the city of Warsaw.
What followed next was one of the strangest wars in Bohemian history. Angered beyond reason by the Polish attack, the Bohemians drove deep into Poland, hell bent on vassilizing the Kingdom and grinding it into dust. And, at first, they enjoyed great success.
However, what new forces were being created were being used to supress dissent in the newly scquired Western German states, or in defending against the Protestant rebels in the North. Few troops were aviliable to help fight the Poles, and soon the Bohemian advance ground to a halt.
Facing attriition, rebellion at home, war exaustion from both his subjects and other nobels, the King had little choice but to sue for peace, despite having control over nearly half of Poland. The Poles, however, realized that time as well on their side and would refuce to accept any vassilization to the hated Bohemians. With a crisis brewing at home, Luitipold had no choice but to lessen his demands and agree to accept a meager cash settlement as well as military access through Poland.
To make matters worse, by this point, Burgundy had utterly caved in, years of work by its kings lay waist by a mad man and his stubborn refusal to seek terms with a war's victor. Redufed to the lands dirrectly surrounding the capital, Philip continued to believe himself a concquering Emperor to his dying day as well as carrying on a futile war with the Swiss Confederation which was made all the more sad by the fact that France now surrounded Burgundy, there by protecting it from other invading armies.
"And lo! Even the mighty Giant must bow to the masses, should they cut his feet!"-anynmous
The Great Polish War of the 15th century had cut the heart out of the Polish Kingdom. Having lost nearly a fourth of its territory to Bohemia with the capturing of Weilskpolska, Poland suffered an even greater loss with the capturing of Danzig; its only access to the sea. Poland was to never truely recover.
By the late 17th Century, Poland had become a backwater. Although it fielded one of the largest militaries in Europe, that military was one of the least well equipt, an relic of the 16th Century and was having difficulty holding down rebels in Polish-held Rumania. Furthermore it had yet to gain, through conquest or inheritence, another suitable port to the sea, landlocking the nation and forcing it to bow to the whims of its more powerful neighbors.
In 1691 the King of Hungary, and Duke of Seibenburg, invaded his Northern neighbor, hoping to reclaim the Carpathian region which had been wrested from Hungarian control following the Turkish invasion of the 1400's. An ally, and vassal, to Luitipold the Great of Bohemia, he assumed and quick and easy victory over the backward Poles.
The Poles, for nearly two centuries now, had been cut off from the sea and, likewise, from Europe as a whole. They had had two centuries of being bullied by the powerful Kings of Sweden and Bohemia, as well as the less powerful kings of Lithuania, Russia and Seibenburgen. More importantly, for 200 years they had learned how to hate. And so, with when the oppertunity arose, the Polish people set out to do the impossible; to cripple Bohemia and regain their place in the sun.
Luitipold, perhaps making one of the gravest mistakes of his reign, refused to take the threat of Polish invasion seriously. His armies had been badly wounded by the recent war with France, and it would take time to rebuild them to pre-war states of readiness. What armies did remain, he felt, would be put to better use in putting down a violent rebellion which had begun to sweep the Northern lands, calling for rule of Protestant lands by Protestand princes. To waste them upon an invasion of Poland would be pointless, expecially as it would few interests if the Kingdom were to expand further to the East.
And so, when Polish troops crossed the boarder and besieged Weilskpolska, Luitipold was more concerned with the uprising which had currently occured in Danzig. He felt that the Poles would retreat when pressed by the Hungarians to the South, and would be to busy fighting to save their own lives to worry about retaking Bohemian lands. Events quickly conspired to make him a liar.
No sooner had he delivered a speach to the Nobility Council, outlaying his plans for the current war, than word was recieved that the Poles had defeated the main Hungarian army in Carpathia. Two weeks later, Weilskpolska fell to Polish liberators after two centuries of Bohemian rule.
Events continued to spiral out of control for the alliance. Bavarian troops surrounding Krakow were gutted by a long drawn out battle with the main Polish force. Although the Bavarians won the battle, they were so badly crippled as to be unable to carry on the seige any longer.
Luitipold watched with crowing concern, dismay and eventually anger. The Poles had dared to attack Bohemia, which had only been supporting its ally and made no offensive move. The Noble Council cried for vengenace and, in his heart, the King did as well. With the lands temporaily free of any rebellion, he sent the two main Bohemian Armies to attack Poland, one to retake Weilskpolska and the other to attack and subdue the city of Warsaw.
What followed next was one of the strangest wars in Bohemian history. Angered beyond reason by the Polish attack, the Bohemians drove deep into Poland, hell bent on vassilizing the Kingdom and grinding it into dust. And, at first, they enjoyed great success.
However, what new forces were being created were being used to supress dissent in the newly scquired Western German states, or in defending against the Protestant rebels in the North. Few troops were aviliable to help fight the Poles, and soon the Bohemian advance ground to a halt.
Facing attriition, rebellion at home, war exaustion from both his subjects and other nobels, the King had little choice but to sue for peace, despite having control over nearly half of Poland. The Poles, however, realized that time as well on their side and would refuce to accept any vassilization to the hated Bohemians. With a crisis brewing at home, Luitipold had no choice but to lessen his demands and agree to accept a meager cash settlement as well as military access through Poland.
To make matters worse, by this point, Burgundy had utterly caved in, years of work by its kings lay waist by a mad man and his stubborn refusal to seek terms with a war's victor. Redufed to the lands dirrectly surrounding the capital, Philip continued to believe himself a concquering Emperor to his dying day as well as carrying on a futile war with the Swiss Confederation which was made all the more sad by the fact that France now surrounded Burgundy, there by protecting it from other invading armies.
