I think you should give it to me.
I'm sure you do.
Update is coming tonight; I have to finish something else first.
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I'm sure you do.
Update is coming tonight; I have to finish something else first.
Well that doesn't help me. Off to bed. Looking forward to the update though. Also hopefully the descendant of Archbishop Albrecht.
Chapter 18: The rise and fall of regencies
6 August 1578, Württemburg
While his older brother Wilhelm got the family title -- Graf von Niederbayern, it was Adalbert who got the important role in the Königsrat: he was named the newest Chancellor of Bayern.
Adalbert was certainly surprised at his promotion. After all, Adolph von Ungern had been patiently waiting for his opportunity, an opportunity which never came. Adolph was too loyal to Clemens to put up with Dorothea as Regent, and resigned his post almost immediately upon her appointment as Regent. Of course, what Dorothea didn't know was that Adalbert was an even worse choice in terms of loyalty, for Adalbert considered Ulrich von Hohenzollern rightful König von Bayern, and knew that many others did too. Ulrich had employed Adalbert as a spy, and when Adalbert's ailing mother died in April, Adalbert was the perfect fit.
The new Chancellor had no idea what precisely Ulrich planned. Ulrich's wife could not conceive a child, or so the doctors claimed, and that meant that even if Ulrich could take over the kingdom, there would be no heir without Ulrich divorcing Cecilia Drake. Adalbert had only met Ulrich's wife once, but knew he never wanted to meet her again. All he did know was that he was supposed to serve the Empire to the best of his ability and, when he received instructions, to carry out a critical task.
28 November 1579, Nürnberg
Alarice von Hohenzollern smiled at her husband as they attended the formal coronation of Ernst as König. Her husband was a handsome young soldier named Javier de la Rosa. The two had married in early 1577, and just in time too: Alarice was pregnant. Javier, native of Burgos, had travelled to Bayern to seek his fortune with the Bavarian army, the single institution that had provided even the slightest resistance to French imperialism. Javier had led raid after raid on French positions, but to no avail. He was something of a legendary outlaw in his homeland, but all the notoriety he could muster proved meaningless against the mighty French war machine. His latest attempt to topple the French was to ally with Bayern; that he truly and deeply loved Alarice was a wonderful coincidence. He had consented to marry her matrimonially so that their children would bear the Hohenzollern name (de la Rosa was in no danger of dying out -- Javier had six brothers, five of whom had children), and now their son was Prinz von Böhmen.
For all of her scheming to become Regent, Dorothea had failed to secure a suitable husband, and with no husband, she could never be accepted as Königin in her own right. With no husband, she could produce no more children, and Ernst I was too young to have children as of yet. In fact, Ernst remained unmarried, to the realm's disconcernation. Marrying Alarice was a long shot, even before her marriage, since she and Ernst were half-siblings. Dorothea could either make Ulrich heir to the throne or make the two year old Joseph heir; she chose the latter. That only eliminated the problem later on; she was forced to find a new Regent for young Joseph, and Alarice's husband was unacceptable as a Spaniard. She chose the least horrible candidate: Adolph von Ungern. True, he had no royal blood, but he was also far better than naming either Ulrich von Hohenzollern or Louisa von Hohenzollern, who were both direct blood relatives of the new Prinz.
Dorothea had won a couple of minor concessions, and at the very least ensured that her name would not be forgotten. She founded an Imperial art academy in her birthplace of Valois, Aquelia, and pledged the support of Hohenzollerns to all worthy artists.
The new Dorothea von Hohenzollern Academy was just her most visible triumph. Much more dangerously, she decreed a Bavarian court system, and that only lawyers of noble birth could serve as judges there.
Her objective had been to secure alliances with the noble families her husband had so prominently displaced in order to get her named Königin. That backfired, and now the nobles had a way to exert influence over the kingdom. Her power play had completely failed, but there was one bright side: her loving and loyal son Ernst ruled in Bayern. If he could produce children of his own, she could at least permanently shut out the "bastardized" line of Hohenzollerns that arose from Louisa von Ulrich.
3 September 1583, Dublin, Ireland
Ulrich von Hohenzollern found himself in an impossible situation. If he pressed his claim to the throne now, he wouldn't be only unseating Ernst; he'd been unseating his own nephew. He wished Alarice and her husband every success, and hoped that Joseph would be a fine König someday. But he also had his mother to consider, as well as himself. Technically, Ulrich was still Archbishop von Nürnberg, and could thus return to take up his position whenever he liked. He began to recognize that marrying Cecilia was a mistake, and not just because she could not bear children. Cecilia had an unhealthy desire to see open civil war within the kingdom of Bayern, and that was something that Ulrich found repulsive. He could not understand why she loathed his homeland so much, but she did. Whenever he asked, she simply glared at him.
It turned out that the "powerful ally" that the Elector of Ireland had promised was Norway, and the King of Norway was focused entirely on wars in the New World.
Ernst answered the call, but wisely committed no troops or money to the effort. Ulrich himself, with little to do in Ireland, served with distinction in the war with the Shawnee, Creek and Cherokee. In gratitude, the King of Norway named Ulrich Duke of Apalachee, but Ulrich had no desire to travel across the Atlantic when his heart remained in Europe. Adalbert Asch had been feeding information to Ulrich, but Ernst was doing a commendable job as König and the opportunity to return in triumph no longer remained. That left one option.
Returning in secret.
Clemens August Dulac was a brilliant financier who had worker for an Irish shipping company for the past fifteen years. Ernst had selected him as the new Steward when Kajetan, the old Steward, died of a heart attack. Clemens was certainly qualified for the job, but he was also a very close friend to Ulrich; he was named after Ulrich's father, after all, the man who appointed Anton Dulac as Steward. The plan was simple: Ulrich would travel along with Clemens as his bodyguard. Only when he reached Nürnberg would he reveal his identity and see what options were open to him. Ulrich studied the map in front of him carefully.
Assuming he wanted to overthrow Ernst, Ulrich needed an ally. Poland was a possibility, but the King of Poland was too busy with his wars with the Golden Horde in the east. Hungary was too weak. Venice and France hated Ulrich. That left two possibilities: Byzantium and Sweden. Sweden had the fleet; Byzantium, the army. The question was, what would they demand of Ulrich in exchange for their support? More importantly, was it a price he was willing to pay?
1 September 1584, Oberbayern
Javier de la Rosa, as the father of the Prinz von Böhmen, was given a seat at the Königsrat. Dorothea died in 1580, followed by Adolph von Ungern the next year. That deprived his son of a regent while simultaneously removing the sole obstacle to the reintegration of his brother-in-law into the politics of Bayern. Ulrich was named Prinz-Regent the day after Adolph's death. Javier planned for young Joseph to learn from the experienced and intelligent Ulrich while Ernst guided the kingdom, becoming more powerful and more centralized every day. To formally cement the bonds between de la Rosa and Hohenzollern, Ulrich was married to Javier's sister Carmen. (Cecilia Drake had disappeared shortly after Ulrich's return; the Pope was only too happy to annul the marriage.) Louisa von Ulrich was also welcomed back to Bayern as she formally assumed the role of Contessa di Ferrara.
Yet Javier too was frustrated. His goal was to convince Ernst and the Königsrat to strike at France. After all, Bayern still had the formal claim to Valenciennes. Instead, they were diverted by Venice, who had foolishly revealed that Urbino had formerly been Bavarian territory.
Adalbert Asch, the Chancellor, was in favor of the war, and as the most prestigious individual in Bayern, his decision stood and war declared days later.
Javier had no doubt that Bayern would prevail; Venice was alone and weak. However, that didn't mean it wasn't a distraction. His only hope was that the war would end quickly.
10 January 1587, Treviso
Ulrich von Hohenzollern, with Marshal Hafenbrädl in the field, stayed behind in Nürnberg to help Javier de la Rosa and Kaiser Ernst plan the war against Venice. Any hope of a quick war was dashed when General Armansperg ran directly into a Venetian ambush a few days after the war began.
The General himself was seriously injured in the battle and would die a few months later. The Marshal rapidly counterattacked, winning decisively over Venetian General Barilla.
With the Venetian army fleeing in disarray, Marshal Hafenbrädl ordered a hard pursuit; although the march was hard, it was very productive, and in a single battle, the Venetian army disappeared.
Yet despite Bavarian success in the battlefield, the Venetian fortresses put up extreme resistance. Attempts to bring forward more siege cannon were severely delayed by the lack of proper foundries. A second Venetian army met a brutal fate of its own at Parma, with the talented General Satzenhofen claiming the glory.
Venice's one truly loyal ally, Savoy, found itself overrun shortly afterwards, releasing Ferrara as an independent nation once again.
Again, in February of 1585, France was excommunicated; again, France suffered no serious trial. Javier de la Rosa swore, knowing that Bayern's golden opportunity to strike at France may have passed for good. Ulrich, impressed by Colonel Gumpenberg's brilliant defense of Rome against a small Venetian counterattack, promoted him to General. By the end of 1585, Hungary and Transylvania both sued for peace. While the remaining Venetian forts continued to hold out, isolated Venice simply could not prevail. Three more provinces were added to Bayern, and Marshal Hafenbrädl proclaimed the new Conte di Urbino. Treviso and Verona would be occupied by the Bavarian army until such time as they completely surrendered to Bavarian control. It was a glorious victory; there was no doubt about that. Three new ports were added to Bayern, and Venice itself completely surrounded by Bayern and Österreich. To commemorate the victory, the keel of the Bavarian caravel Hohenzollern was laid down. Soon, the finest army in Europe would have at least the beginnings of a fleet.
31 January 1590, Constantinople
The Basileus could not, for the life of him, figure out why Cecilia Drake had been pushing him so hard to attack Bayern. The Germans were less than an afterthought; they were simply ignored. The Byzantines did have an Ambassador in Nürnberg, usually the biggest fanatic on the subject of beer that the Basileus could find; only the beer made Bavarian service tolerable. Accepting Drake into the Empire as a political exile was a calculated insult at the unimportance of Bayern. Almost entirely out of spite, the Basileus made Cecilia one of his Imperial concubines. She didn't seem to mind, and she was more talented than many of his other concubines. When he asked her how she had acquired such experience, she simply said "Long years." This puzzled the Basileus, who was easily twice Cecilia's age, but he didn't press the matter. However, he didn't let it rest either. He charged a scholar with historical research to discover who, precisely, Cecilia Drake was. In the meantime, most of his attention was taken up with managing his vast realms.
A courier interrupted the Basileus's daydreaming. "Emperor, the Ambassador from Finland is here. He insists he's been invaded by Norway."
The Basileus chuckled. "He really needs my help? Norway is hardly a threat to anyone."
"They have enlisted Bavaria's aid, Your Imperial Majesty."
The Basileus sat upright. His last contact with a Bavarian citizen was Admiral Asch, who had brought the Hohenzollern for a visit to "demonstrate Bavaria's commitment to countering piracy."
"I see. Do we have any Bavarians in Byzantium right now?"
The courtier thought for a moment, then nodded. "Two, Your Imperial Majesty. Cecilia Drake --"
"Besides her, fool."
"-- and Louisa von Ulrich."
The Basileus thought for a moment. "Who is Louisa von Ulrich?"
"The grandmother of their Prinz, Sire. She is the mother of Ulrich and Alarice von Hohenzollern; Ulrich is their Archbishop while Alarice is the Prinz's mother."
Offhandedly, Basileus ordered Louisa's blinding. "That should show Bavaria that we do not take threats on Imperial allies lightly. Send for Cecilia Drake, too. I would get intelligence on her former home."
"Yes, Sire. It shall be done."
Before the Basileus could go to the war room to order a mustering of the army, a historian busily tugged at his arm. "What?"
"You had instructed me to research Cecilia Drake, Your Imperial Majesty."
"So? I've no time for such nonsense now."
"I have learned some terrifying secrets, secrets you would do well to listen to."
"You presume to order me around, scholar? I think not. Guards, seize this man and have him tortured and beaten. That should teach him to keep his mouth shut."
The historian was hauled away screaming. For the Basileus, his only concern was the war his Empire was now embroiled in.
The war with Byzantium (and friends) will take two updates, maybe three! Then we'll have another 50 year update, and we'll be at a point where I'll need to play some more.
We'll have a fairly easy contest -- my goal is to update Gunboat Diplomacy tomorrow then come back to this one Tuesday or Wednesday. Only one question:
1. Precisely how, in the game, did Byzantium get involved in this war? Ignore my RPing above.
Good luck!
How on Earth is Ethiopia considered a rival? They have vast tracts of land but they're nowhere near you. What odds are the bookmakers giving on Joseph Ferdinand falling ill or having a hunting accident?
Yaroslavl got to lead the war, invited its ally - Byzantium through cascading alliances.
Whatever. Constantinople should get sacked for their injustice against the greatest woman in history.
We've already had a winner! (BTW, DOTF isn't technically an ally, and cannot be called in unless you attack a country of that particular faith.)
Apologies for missing these earlier -- I kind of skipped past comments that didn't involve guessing. :blush:
Because they're big and powerful? No idea. Joseph Ferdinand does indeed survive to 1600; apart from that, I couldn't say.
As will Bavaria!
At present, I intend to update here on Thursday.
Because they're big and powerful? No idea. Joseph Ferdinand does indeed survive to 1600; apart from that, I couldn't say.
As will Bavaria!
At present, I intend to update here on Thursday.
Chapter 19, part 1: The lion and the eagle
11 March 1590, Nürnberg
Ernst I, König von Bayern and Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire, had had a very easy reign, thus far. Yet now he found himself faced with the ultimate test of a leader's skill: a war against a formidable opponent. While the Bavarian armies had crushed every minor power with ease, previous wars against large powers had gone very poorly. Ernst did not lack for advisors in the military art, that much was true. In addition to Marshal Hafenbrädl, he had the Archbishop of Nürnberg and Prinz-Regent von Böhmen (Ulrich von Hohenzollern); his half-brother's father (Javier de la Rosa); and two generals. The general in charge of the Armee von Pfalz, given the honorable assignment of guarding Nürnberg until the operation went into motion, was Ferdinand Maria Rickauer.
General Rickauer was the grandson of his namesake, who had fought for Kaiser Wilhelm when Nürnberg was burned. His ancestor's name had been somewhat blackened, and Ferdinand was bound and determined to restore his family's reputation. However, he was also the oldest officer in the entire kingdom, at five years older than Marshal Hafenbrädl. His command of the Armee von Pfalz had been intended to be a sunset assignment; the war with Byzantium gave him a painfully large role in the conflict to come. On the other hand, there was Raphael von Zentner.
In broad matters of strategy, von Zentner and Rickauer were very, very similar, apart from von Zentner's fondness for cannon. His army, the Armee von Salzburg, would probably be the first to engage the Byzantine armies already invading Imperial land at Krain. The young aristocrat was born in Fürstenburg when Aachen was still an autonomous kingdom; his family predated even the Hohenzollerns in southern Germany, although they had not seized the opportunities that the senior family in the Empire had. They remained Barons of their ancestral castle, called Zentner for its humble beginnings as a hundred-acre farm. Still, the fierce Zentner was aggressive and skilled, and the perfect choice to command offensive operations.
All of this talent and experience reassured the young Kaiser, but not completely. When the kingdom of France was but a dream in the thoughts of the Capets, a crown with neither prestige nor power, the Byzantines had already ruled in Constantinople for half a millenia. Ernst valued tradition highly, and knew that this war would not be easy. To help inspire his men, he took a page from the most ancient of Hohenzollerns, and ordered the creation of a new weapon. For many years, the rulers of Bayern carried Gotteszorn, "God's Wrath", a mighty broadsword that lay buried with Ernst's father, Clemens I. Gottesschild, on the other hand, was a symbol of the new age: a massive 200 pounder cannon that sat in Nürnberg as the final and ultimate defense of Bayern's capital. "God's Shield" was cast entirely in iron, an extremely expensive proposition, but it was needed to make the necessary impression. An ingenious rotational device allowed the cannon to be rotated (although it required many, many men or horses to do so).
Ernst prayed it would never be fired in anger.
1 December 1590, Constantinople
Louisa von Ulrich had begged her captors to let her return to her homeland. She spent her 60th birthday entirely encased in darkness. On more than one occasion, her son's former wife had come to torment her. Louisa hated Cecilia Drake. She wished her son had never taken her advice. She had been so bitter in her relative youth that Dorothea had so effortlessly tossed her aside that she had passed on that rage to her own son. Ulrich was absolutely critical to the war effort now, as he had been named Marshal in the place of the deceased Marshal Hafenbrädl.
As both Marshal and Archbishop of Nürnberg, as well as Prinz-Regent, Ulrich von Hohenzollern was among the most powerful men in the world. All the same, she could not help but think her son was disappointed, partially because he thought his mother was disappointed. Louisa's greatest fear was that she might die in Byzantium without ever telling Ulrich exactly how proud she was in all he'd accomplished. No amount of physical or mental anguish could compare to that emotional trauma.
Only one man was kind to her: a prisoner in a cell across the hall. His German was heavily laced with Greek, which amazed her. Even the glorious and honorable Greeks betray their own, it seems, she thought to herself. The scholar shared Louisa's distaste for Cecilia Drake, but added to that hatred a healthy dose of fear. Louisa considered Cecilia worthy of respect, perhaps, but not fear. The tales the Greek historian shared seemed unreal, legends of nightly butchery and a woman forever young. Louisa was too pious to believe such a monster could truly exist.
Thoughts of such horror were, at least briefly, dashed to one side at the glories of Generals Rickauer and Zentner. Louisa, a former soldier in her own right, thought the near octogenarian would be content to guard the Kaiser and his capital. Instead, he led a daring attack on the Byzantine army in Krain; General Zentner scooped up the remainder of the army in a neat double envelopment.
The Byzantine attack had been blunted; now, the thing was to press the attack.
30 November 1591, Nürnberg
Back in Bayern, Louisa's son hardly had time to consider his mother's horrible fate. The new Marshal had planned many small scale attacks in his days across an ocean, but planning a massive offensive was a far different beast. The Austrians and Ansbachers both proved invaluable in providing senior advisors. Initially, the 1591 campaign began with a simple occupation of the Byzantine Balkans.
That plan was derailed with the arrival of 45,000 fresh Byzantine troops, who had just occupied Wallachia. Cecilia Drake was rumored to be named the military governor of the region, and the Danube ran red with blood. Rather than let this awesome army attack and destroy the 2nd Army, currently commanded by Oberst Vieregg, Ulrich decided to turn the Byzantine offensive into a massive counteroffensive of his own.
A few days after the Armees von Salzburg und Pfalz started their march, Oberst Vieregg planned a delaying attack of his own, designed to disrupt the Byzantine army while he waited for reinforcements to arrive. The initial Battle of Zachlunia was indecisive, a bloodbath for both sides. Yet the superior speed of both Generals Rickauer and Zentner overcame the retreating armies, and in short order both were completely destroyed.
In almost two years, some 85,000 Byzantines had been captured or killed by the Bavarians with minimal casualties of their own. Ulrich came to trust both Rickauer and Zentner's offensive tactics, and decided to grant them more command autonomy while he worked on the logistics of keeping the nearly 100,000 Bavarians in the field supplied with food and ammunition.
3 May 1592, Urbino
Every other war in Bayern's history had been fought relatively close to home, apart from the unsuccessful Crusades. With most of the death and fighting what seemed to be a world away, Bavarians kept living their lives. Many never even heard of the minor Battle of Belgrade (a crushing victory), which saw only 78 casualties for the elimination of 4000 Byzantines. Yet one of those 78 casualties was General Ferdinand Maria Rickauer.
Rickauer had insisted on leading a small detachment further into the interior of the Byzantine Empire to free Louisa von Ulrich. This small detachment ran headlong into a Byzantine ambush, and while the rest of the Armee von Pfalz charged forward to protect their beloved leader, it was too late. Amazingly, six different musket balls were found lodged in the General's body. No other officer would allow for a large scale raid again and risk losing their lives. The easy victories had spoiled planners and combatants alike. To the people at home, the only significant change in their lives was the Rickauer Mint, constructed in Urbino, the very first of its kind.
The inhabitants of Urbino continued to go about their business, amazed at the pace of construction, but otherwise unaffected. The lessons of the coming months had yet to be learned.
4 October 1592, Belgrade
Oberst Vieregg was given the plum assignment of eliminating the Byzantine garrisons installed in Wallachia and retaking part of the Bavarian crown lands. Along with his new mission came a promotion to General and command of the entire 2nd Army.
General Vieregg was amazingly young for his rank; he celebrated his 26th birthday in June. Raphael came from the very lowest of origins; his parents were completely unknown. An orphanage took him in, with a priest naming him "Raphael" after catching the then-ten year old scribbling on a church wall. The Irish youth graduated from vandalism to theft, and by sixteen he was among the nimblest thieves in recent memory, earning the nickname "Four Eggs" for his audacity and skill. (It was said the young thief could lift a sleeping hen, steal four eggs, and put her back down without waking.) He would probably have gone in and out of prison, except for one of his marks: Ulrich von Hohenzollern, from whom Raphael stole 25 thalers in a market. Ulrich and his young nephew Joseph visited the thief in the prison at Cork. Joseph, just then learning how to talk, could not pronounce "Ei" (German for "egg") for the life of him. As Ulrich tried to explain the thief's nickname, Joseph latched on to the English word "egg" and insisted upon calling him "Vieregg". The newly dubbed Raphael Vieregg was pardoned by Ulrich and, over time, proved himself a capable leader of men and rose rapidly through the ranks in the Bavarian army.
General Vieregg proved not to have lost his touch, however, and led a daring operation to free Louisa von Ulrich, whom Cecilia Drake had brought to Wallachia with her. Not only did he succeed, he also captured the lovely Drake in the process, making him an instant hero. Louisa von Ulrich made her way back to Bayern under an honor guard while Cecilia Drake was kept as a hostage. Louisa von Ulrich retold the exciting tale of her rescue to an enraptured Bayern. Not least among the new devotees of the charming General Vieregg was the König. With his heir old enough to rule in Nürnberg, Ernst was eager for glory of his own, and with a dearth of qualified officers, took personal command of General Rickauer's Armee von Pfalz.
Surprisingly, the newly appointed General was more of a relic than his predecessor; Ernst was obsessed with cavalry to an unhealthy degree. He even refused to teach his infantry how to entrench properly, insisting that with "sufficient elan, they could win the day without firepower."
Needless to say, the soldiers quickly grew weary of their new commander.
27 February 1593, Philippopolis
As 1592 ended and 1593 began, it seemed a very promising campaign for Bayern. More territory fell to the blue-and-white checkered flag each day, while Byzantine armies continued to suffer defeats. The loyal allies of Bayern were given the job of liberating Wallachia while the trio of Vieregg, Zentner, and König Ernst continued farther east.
Philippopolis, or Plovdiv as the locals called it, was named for the father of the legendary Alexander the Great. For all that, it had been a relatively quiet city. The events of 27 February completely changed that, and not for the better.
Raphael von Zentner had won an impressive victory at Serdica, and with his trademark speed of pursuit, caught up to and engaged the Byzantine force near Philippopolis. The then-unknown General Syropoulos had a plan, however, and an important ally that Zentner, in his haste, did not consider: the Maritsa River. General Syropoulos's "failure" at Serdica was little more than a feint, and the bulk of forces waited near Philippopolis. Zentner was unprepared for a quick river crossing, and a vicious counterattack as Zentner's troops forded the river completely annihilated the Armee von Salzburg, capturing Zentner in the process.
For a high value target such as Zentner, the emissaries of the Basileus insisted that only one exchange was possible: Cecilia Drake. Ernst, a thorough monarch, decided to visit the imprisoned Drake. However, instead of doing as the negotiators had agreed, the impetuous youth did something much, much worse.
He not only refused to surrender Drake, he surrendered to her ample charms and married her. Cecilia Drake was now Königin von Bayern. Although it was almost certainly her extensive injuries and old age, it is still popularly held in Nürnberg that the impromptu wedding killed Louisa von Ulrich, hundreds of miles away, mere hours afterward.
15 October 1593, Innsbrück
While Ernst von Hohenzollern fell head over heels in love, his half-brother grimly put aside his grief and continued to press on. He immediately ordered 20 new regiments be raised to replace the lost Armee von Salzburg.
General Satzenhofen, who had been enjoying a peaceful retirement, was rushed to the Byzantine Empire to lead a much larger attack on Philippopolis.
Satzenhofen struck an impressive blow, while Ernst I personally led a massive cavalry action against the retreating Akropolites.
Akropolites was a distant cousin to the Basileus, and a deal was struck to release Zentner without parole. Zentner lobbied successfully for the newly formed 3rd Army and a chance to redeem his dismal failure at Philippopolis.
Within days of his appointment, the hard-driving Zentner had his troops moving towards Byzantine territory.
7 January 1594, Zachlumia
As 1593 continued and 1594 dawned, the war had taken an altogether different complexion. Enough casualties had been inflicted on Byzantine troops that Ernst I and General Satzenhofen could focus on Greece while the newly arrived General von Zentner and Vieregg could press the attack at Belgrade. The König and the General each racked up impressive victories; Ernst I had learned a little more patience with hard battle, and slowly came to appreciate the role of infantry.
A few weeks later, the Raphaels made their own attack on a small Byzantine army in Belgrade.
Not to be outdone, the veteran Satzenhofen completely routed over 20,000 Byzantines at Dyrrachion.
If Zentner's experience at Philippolis could be avoided, there would be no Byzantine troops between Bavarian forces and Constantinople. Cecilia Drake urged her new husband to abandon the slower, surer path of Byzantine defeat in Greece to go for the dramatic victory at Constantinople. The completely besotted König quickly agreed.
The decision he made would have repercussions throughout history.
The conclusion to this war will be posted Saturday!
Nice progress with the war. How is the manpower holding out? Is France in truce or will the BBB be looming soon as a threat.
Will that damned Drake die? I'm sure she's caused more problems than Cleopatra by now.
Will that damned Drake die? I'm sure she's caused more problems than Cleopatra by now.
You're smashing the Byzantines something fierce, whats their tech levels do you know? Also your generals are dropping like flies, leading from the rear does have its advantages after all...
My manpower is excellent; 100k+. I've had really minor casualties (apart from Philippopolis). The truce with France is up, but France has never attacked me directly; only attacked other members of the HRE. As far as Cecilia Drake... I do have plans for her, even so.
I really felt bad about killing her, if it's any consolation.
In terms of numbers, they're pretty close to me; what they don't have is Western Units.