AS THE BLACK MANTLE IS COLOURED RED: THE KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN
I set out to play as hard a game as possible, and indeed, with a yearly income of 2, the single province nation Knights of St. John looked the like perfect candidate. I used these settings to maximize difficulty, while still maintaining some historical accuracy:
Difficulty: Hardest
Aggressiveness: Normal*
Missions: Off
Forced annexations: On
Events: Historical only
* Someone mentioned that this resulted in the hardest game play, or at least as hard as aggressive, which is generally recognized to be harder than the wild setting. Personally I never noticed much difference between the normal and aggressive.
I believe now that virtually any other single province nation would’ve been harder to play than the Knights of St. John, partly because of their (relatively) strong navy – giving the opportunity to strike anywhere in the Mediterranean area, and partly because of the Moslem neighbours – especially suitable for annexations, as they do not worsen relationships with catholic allies.
The game quickly lost its charm once the templar war machine started rolling, and my notes became less ornamental. Hence, the quality of the AAR will drop towards the end.
A Struggle for Survival: The Reign of D’Aubusson 1492 – 1502
Number of Provinces: 1
Annual Income: 2
The world will never learn of the dark side of our holy order. Our secluded group has always remained secret, and so it shall, for centuries to come. Although the winner writes the history, some truths remain too dark to even be lied about.
Little is known about the origin of the group to which I belong. Our first member must have begun his work once we – the Knights of St. John - were driven off Cyprus, and isolated on the poor island of Rhodes.
He was the first to understand that spiritual men were not well suited to lead worldly nations. And so, when he rose to the position of first chancellor, he lifted to burden of deciding in worldly matters from the shoulders of the grandmasters, who were more than happy to accept the fame and success that we gave them.
Yet, our great order is truly holy, hence it should be lead by an equally holy man. My predecessors realized this as well, and our history begins with the reign of Grand Master D’Aubusson, in 1476, Anno Domini.
Although D’Aubusson was an extraordinary ruler (8/8/8) it was not until my predecessor were appointed chancellor in 1492 that history took a course it should not have taken otherwise.
Rhodes was an extremely poor island, its income a mere 2 ducats, and even when the army and navy maintenance was cut into half, we still had to fight a monthly expenditure of 0.3 ducats – we lost more than a ducat every year. Needless to say, the money in the treasury, 49 ducats, would not last forever.
Our only hope was to capture land from the infidels. Our fleet made it possible for us to strike anywhere we wanted, and though there was no doubt that our military would reap enough infidel blood to make the desert bloom, we had to plan our assault carefully.
At this time we were allied with three Italian states, Parma, Toscana and the strong trading power Genoa. If we went to war with the infidels, we could not count on their help, as two of the three lacked navy, and the third lacked army.
We had to bide our time, but time was running out quickly. Our fleet consisted of 14 galleons, and our army of 10.000 men (9/1/0). Our money lasted long enough to allow us to add another 4.000 men to our army in Rhodes, and left us with 14 ships capable of carrying 1.000 men each.
The First War Against the infidel Mamalukes: 1492 – 1495
As my predecessor planned an assault on Cyrenacia, Tripolitania or possibly Tunisia, his problems seemed solved when the Turks declared war on the Mamalukes in June 1492. When infidels make war on each other, there can be only one winner: the righteous one. Which in this case was synonymous to the true Christian faith, which in turn is synonymous to the Knights of St. John.
My predecessor writes: “I will never forget the glow in [Grand Master D’Aubusson’s] eyes, as he ordered our army to change our black mantles crested with the silver cross for the red ones. Blood-coloured mantles, the colour of war. His eyes burned with that very same colour.”
We declared war on the Mamalukes a few weeks later, July 14. 1492, and our army set foot on Egyptian ground on October 29. The siege of Delta commenced immediately, as the main Mamaluke army was fighting the Turks in Aleppo, at least two months away from us.
Toscana did not honour our alliance, a crime for which no punishment is enough. As you shall see, we rewarded her well for her betrayal. And as my predecessor suspected, neither Genoa nor Parma helped much during the long war that had begun.
Although all our leaders were – and are – trained well in the art of siege (0/1/1/1), we could not do much to harm the great walls of Damietta. Luckily Delta was a rich province that easily supported enough pillaging to keep the army alive and safe from attrition.
My predecessor writes: “On April 1. 1493 I was forced to ask for a loan, which the Grandmaster granted me. I used part of the money to hire a sheriff in Rhodes, mostly increase to capabilities of raising an army in that province. The rest of the money I spent to raise such an army, which was shipped to reinforce the siege army in Damietta.
But things looked dark indeed, as the siege had already seen seven moons, and the Grandmaster was getting worried, to say the least.”
We now had an army of 20.000 men in Damietta, when the Turks signed a peace treaty with the Mamalukes. Our first siege was not even finished, and our military campaign started to look like a disaster.
The Grandmaster insisted that we had to sign a peace treaty with the Mamalukes. However, my predecessor convinced him that although the Mamalukes only had one enemy now, they must have been badly beaten by the Turks, otherwise they wouldn’t have given up Judea, Aleppo and Nuyassabin. In hindsight, it is easy to see why my predecessor rose to such an important position.
Damietta fell on February 28. 1494, 16 months after the siege began. Our army was split in two (10/0/0 and 9/1/0) equally large forces, and sent west to Alexandria and south to Cairo.
The sieges of both cities commenced in mid April 1494. The army in Cairo fought off a puny army raised by the Mamalukes in pure desperation. There was still no sign of their main army, and my predecessor came to the conclusion that it had indeed been wiped out by the Turks as he had suspected all along.
Alexandria fell on September 18, and the Alexandrian army joined the Cairo army’s siege after capturing the small colonies of Quattara and Cataract on the way.
Cairo surrendered almost 10 months later, and the Mamalukes accepted our peace offer shortly thereafter, on August 4. 1495: we were given both the Damietta – whose tax income alone could support us – and the Alexandria – a tradecenter. “God truly smiles upon the righteous”, as the Grandmaster exclaimed when my predecessor gave him the news.
The Second War Against the infidel Mamalukes: 1496 - 1497
The Grandmaster had barely set foot on Rhodes again until news reached him that Tripolitania – who now allied with the Turks – had declared war on the Mamalukes. He turned on the doorstep in such a hurry that he forgot his red mantle. But do not worry, dear reader, the problem was quickly solved.
To this day, I can’t quite tell why he reacted as he did. Perhaps is first victory aroused him. Perhaps he saw an opportunity to finish off the infidels, and bring civilization back to the Godforsaken country. But he Grandmaster immediately declared war on the Mamalukes, April 9. 1496, and although the people was furious (-7 stability) they would be the happier when they saw what spoils of war their Grandmaster had brought for them.
Genoa and Parma honoured our alliance, but this time the Mamalukes were supported by Iraq. When the war begun, our army still consisted of single corp, stationed in the Delta and still numbering 20.000 men (19/1/0). The Mamalukes had thousands and thousands more, but hardly even comparable to our templar knights.
Their huge army marched towards the pair of Mamaluke cities in the northeast that was already under Turkish siege, however, and left the vulnerable southern provinces open to our templars’ grace.
Our army was once again divided into two parts, one set forth for Samaria – the richest province on a safe distance from their army, the other for Cairo – to break their morale.
But in the heat of the battle against the desperate defence that the Mamalukes raised to defend their capital we learned that the Turks signed a premature peace treaty with the Mamalukes.
This time the disaster could not be avoided, as we know that the Mamalukes had an army numbering almost 40.000 men. The Grand Master once again wanted to withdraw, possibly giving up Alexandria, but my predecessor insisted on waiting until his scout fleet returned.
The scout report was astounding:
“I could hardly believe the news, and neither could my Lord, when I presented them for him. In the peace treaty between the Turks and the Mamalukes, the Turks had received Judea. But the Mamaluke army had been fighting in Syria when the peace treaty was signed and had to return to Lebanon rather than Samaria. This means that their entire army was caught in Lebanon, surrounded by Turkish lands.
My Lord asked for his two-handed sword, and though he forgot his war mantle, the black one he was wearing was quickly coloured red by the blood of the infidels. Noone had expected this change in colour – least of all the Grandmaster himself - as it is commonly known that the blood of infidels is black.”
The Siege in Samaria ended after a few months, and our two armies joined forces in Cairo, which had been under siege for a long time now. The Mamalukes kept begging for peace, but seeing that they had no forces left that could threat us, we refused.
As Cairo fell, we dispatched a small part of our army to capture the Assuan, whoich lacked fortifications. When Assuan finally fell on June 1. 1497 we accepted a peace that gave us both Nile and Samaria. We were now stronger than they were, and we could now afford starting a war with them on our own.
A young Master rose through the ranks, L’Isle Adam (3/2/2/2), and was given command of our army, still counting 20.000 men, on January 1. 1500. The preparations began, but it looked like they might take a long time, as the Mamaluke defence force quickly had grown to 40.000 men.
The general consensus was that we needed the help of a major power, and the Grand Master broke the alliance with Genoa and Parma and immediately joined an alliance with Spain (together with Lorraine, Kurpfalz and Cologne). The Christian kingdoms naturally appreciated all our noble work with converting the barbarian Moslem states. They would not have to be disappointed.
But the Mamaluke army in Cairo continued to grow, and counted 82.000 men in mid 1502. It looked like Spain probably would have to take larger part in the converting that she expected.
On New Year’s Eve 1502 our Lord called his children D’Aubusson to take a place at his table in Paradise. The loss was mourned all over the empire, and it truly was an empire the Grandmaster had turned the poor farmer island into.
The Infidels’ Sunset: The Reign of Villiers de L’Isle Adam 1503 – 1525
Number of Provinces: 5
Annual Income: 28
Although technically not as excellent a leader as D’Aubusson, L’Isle Adam (7/7/6) filled his shoes well. The loan had been repaid to the Grandmaster only months before he died, and L’Isle Adam’s position was much better than it had been for the the previous Grandmaster ten years earlier. Yet, L’Isle Adam had the same opportunistic character, and he exploited it well.
He started building an army and appointed sheriffs in the provinces. Inflation was still below 6%, which is quite remarkable, keeping in mind the warfare and prolonged loan. However, annual income was far from acceptable, and the Knights of St. John was an easy target for a power such as the Turks.
L’Isle Adam solved both problems at the same time.
Venice had formed an alliance with the Hanseatic League, Persia and the Teutonic Knights. My predecessor was surprised to see such respected partners fight together with infidels, but today we know that the Persians hated the Turks almost as fiercely as we did. The alliance declared war on the Turks on May 17. 1503.
On February 6. 1504, the huge Poland-Lithuania joined the war against the Turks.
Our army in Delta was immediately ordered back to Rhodes to prepare an invasion of Turkey of our own. The fleet set sail with 14.000 men and L’Isle Adam and declaration of war was sent the same moment that our army was ordered ashore. This was April 8, 1504.
The First War Against the infidel Turks: 1504 - 1507
Troops were shipped over from Rhodes to Konya, and once again, the army was split into two parts of 10.000 men. One part stayed in Konya, continuing the siege, the other part – led by L’Isle Adam marched for Smyrna, which he reached in February 6. 1505, 8 days before Konya fell.
Smyrna, however, turned out to have too strong defences, and the army which counted just below 10.000 men count not affect its fortifications, and moved on to Anatolia. The second army in Konya moved to Angora. On June 1. 1505, Anatolia fell thanks to the siege skills of L’Isle Adam. Three months later Hungary, Austria and Bohemia joins the war on our side.
My predecessor writes:
“I cannot believe our luck. There is no sign of the Turkish armies at all – they seem preoccupied with some of the other 13 countries fighting her, but I for one Is not complaining. All losses so far have been due to attrition. And this is true for all three wars since 1492. Is this a stroke of luck of a gift from God? I’m starting to believe the grandmaster is right.”
In January 1506, Venice signed a peace treaty with the Turks, giving her Bosnia. The war council became increasingly anxious to sign a peace treaty with the Turks before the other major powers could pull out as well, leaving us alone against the infamous recruiting abilities of Thrace.
But out offensive continued, as Spain captured Judea. Angora fell, and the two armies started the siege of Trabzon in late April.
The Turks offered us peace, but apparently, they had yet to learn how badly we could hurt them. When Angora fell on November 30. 1506 they agreed to a peace treaty on our terms two months later: Angora and Anatolia, two immensely rich provinces were added to our empire.
Spain – as the alliance leader – continued the war and was till occupying Judea, but that wasn’t our problem anymore.
A Brief Time of Rest and Rebuilding
The Grand Master withdrew from the worldly conflicts at this time, and spent some time at building an army in Delta lead by himself, while maintaining a strong garrison in Anatolia. The goal now was the complete conquest of the remaining Mamaluke territories.
Poland-Lithuania and the Turks signed a peace treaty giving Poland both Bujak and Rumelia in early February 1507. Nine days later the war torn Turkey declared war on the Mamalukes again. This pleased the Grandmaster very much, as he saw how the huge army of 82.000 men shrunk away to two armies counting 30.000 men together, mostly through attrition.
The Turks obviously had gotten rid of the most dangerous enemies, and forced the Hungary-Austria-Bohemia alliance into a status quo peace in 1508.
The Mamaluke army in Egypt was restored to 70.000 men in 1509, but was beaten by Turks in 1510. The two infidel states signed a peace treaty in 1511, resulting in Syria changing ownership to the Turks.
To the Grand Master’s great surprise, he discovered that Spain had been at war with the Turks all this time, but that the Turks finally had been able to take back Judea. Spain, on the other hand, had captured Brudja, which she received in the peace treaty in 1512.
A scout fleet once again set sail to find out if there was some kind of garrison army in Lebanon, but the province was empty, and the capital Beirut had no fortifications. My predecessor immediately ordered the building of an army capable of matching the current Mamaluke army of 40.000 men in Egypt.
In 1516 we started trading for the first time, as the money to send traders to Alexandria (13 ducats) had been hard to spare, the competitors many, and the reward had not been large enough.
The Third War Against the infidel Mamalukes: 1518 - 1519
In early July 1518 the Templar Knights counted 37.000 men compared to the Cairo garrison of 40.000 men. The Grand Master declared war on July 17, and all our allies honoured the alliance.
On August 16. 1518 we fought out first real battle. And suffered an ignominious defeat. 22.000 men were slaughtered by the infidels, and the numbers we killed on their side them could be counted in hundreds, rather than thousands. Our army fled back to Delta, followed by the infidels. They caught up with our army, and another 9.000 men lost their lives, before my predecessor figured out what had gone wrong.
During the long time of peace, the troop salaries had been cut in half, resulting in poor morale among the soldiers. The mistake was immediately adjusted, although the Grand Master would not take responsibility for the mistake. Perhaps I’m not too bold if I suggest that it was this stubborn refusal to admit his mistake that caused our Lord to call L’Isle Adam to Heaven a smidge earlier than he might have done otherwise.
The army marched through Quattara and Cataract to even out the number of captured provinces (Delta was under siege by the Mamalukes now) while their moral improved. It reached Nile in October 12 1518, where it lost another battle.
The relief army raised in Rhodes had been used to capture the undefended Lebanon, and was now shipped past Judea into Samaria. The army retreating from Nile started a siege of Cairo in February 15. When the Spanish forces arrived at the same time, capturing Sinai, and Egypt fell a mere two months later.
The main Mamaluke army had lifted the siege on Delta, and instead rushed to save Samaria. While passing through Sinai, their strength was reduced from 36.000 to 12.000 due to attrition, and their numbers were insufficient to save Samaria in time.
The Mamelukian army in Nile tried to break the siege, but was annihilated, and when Cairo fell, our Egypt army didn’t have to do more than pass through the unfortified Assuan to capture it, despite the fact that it now counted less than 3.000 men.
The Mamalukes accepted our peace offer of annexation (giving Spain Sinai) on July 12. 1519. Little could my predecessor know what problems the Spanish ownership of Sinai would give him, and even less did he appreciate the irony of the situation, as the Mamalukes were the ones to have their empire cut in half a few decades earlier, saving us from defeat.
The War Against the infidel Cyrenacians: 1520
When the new year dawned, L’Isle Adam raised an army in the Delta, commanded by himself. The goal was to start the conquest of the three infidel nations of Cyrenacia, Tripolitania and Tunisia.
A swift war against an infidel army of 10.000 men began on May 23. to September 28. 1520 and soon led to a glorious victory and annexation. Our empire now counted 12 provinces, and L’Isle Adam surely received one of the most glorious seats next to our Lord, as he passed away in 1525.
The Race for Tunis: The Reign of La Sangle 1526 – 1556
Provinces: 12
Annual Income: 81
The reign of La Sangle is a sad chapter in our history. Little was accomplished with one of our greatest leaders (8/8/7), mostly because the group to which I belong (whose members I refer to as “my predecessor” or “my predecessors”) started fighting among its own ranks. I do not know much of it, and I care to tell even less. But La Sangle’s reign started with a major setback: Venice invaded and annexed Tripolitania. This effectively prevented us from striking at Tunis.
A second disaster was the support the heretic Luther received from countries that previously dared to call themselves Christian. Württemburg was among the first to caused the wound in Christianity that has not healed to this day.
The Two Wars Against the infidel Tunisians: 1529 - 30
The failure in the first war against Tunisia was the result of a miscalculation of Spain’s friendly intensions. Spain, we learned, is only a friend of Spain herself, and she only honours an alliance because it might gain herself as leader.
We declared on Tunisia on September 9. 1529, but had to sue for peace shortly thereafter, February 26. 1520, when it turned out that out of the two occupying armies, Spain’s was the larger, and thus the one that controlled the province. We quickly sued for peace before Spain could annex Tunisia.
The Grand Master was outraged. This was the first – and only, he stressed – war that the Knights of St. John had ever fought without gaining something for it. He ordered the garrison in Asia Minor to North Africa, and attacked again in April 16. 1520. The people got outraged (-7 stability), and rebellions broke out all over our empire. Nevertheless, the Grandmaster managed to conquer and annex Tunisia, this time without the “help” from our allies.
The war had been fought with seaborne invasions, but now at least we had a land base if we wanted to expand our territory westwards.
A discontent slumber
Years after the Tunisian wars had been fought some provinces were still in rebellion. Little did we realize that this was religious unrest, the result of our changed policy toward some religions when the reformation began.
It took several years to rebuild our army that had starved to death in Tunis, due to the much larger Spanish army in the same area. We also started appointing marshals, a process that required a lot of gold.
But all in all, when the unrest turned to rest and more money could be spent on soldiers, we raised an army worthy to undertake a two-front war on the alliance of the Turks and Algeria.
The Second and Third Wars Against the infidel Turks and the First Two Wars Aainst the infidel Algerians: 1540-46
We declared war on Algeria on January 13. 1540. Her allies Turkey and the Crimea Khananate joined the war. Our army in Angora marched to Thrace, and started besieging the city. The army in Tunis marched into Kabylia.
However, a few months into the war some Crimean armies started disturbing our operations in Thrace, and the Grand Master tried to negotiate separate peace with them. Little did he know that the Crimean Khananate was in fact the leader of the alliance, and so the declaration of war was void, when his intension had been to buy off only one of the enemies.
Needless to say, the Grand Master was furious.
When Venice declared war in the Turks two years later, he immediately demanded retaliation, and so we attacked again in March 16. 1542. His original battle-plan was maintained, and though it worked brilliantly against the Turks, the Algerians were surprisingly strong.
It would be impossible, he realized, to conquer Algeria, as they built troops faster than he could, and the Spanish had already signed a separate peace treaty. But he received to get Smyrna from the Turks and Kabylia from the Algerians, and all in all, these were strategically important lands: Kabylia was next the Algerian capital, and when Smyrna no longer was Turkish, the Turks had no possibility to send troops from the Balkans to Asia Minor without using fleets.
Although a wise ruler, his reign was spotted with failure, and he was missed by few, as he died in 1556.
The Rise of a Major Power: The Reign of La Valette 1557 – 1575
Provinces: 15
Annual Income: 112
Without doubt the greatest of all our leaders, both as Grand Master (9/9/9) and as general and siege expert (2/5/6/4), La Valette did much to aid The Order of St. John.
It is about this that the things are getting less interesting economically (we had monopoly in Alexandria, marshals where possible and low inflation), and thus my focus will be more on the military aspects.
The situation in Europe had not changed much, apart from the fact that Poland was almost as powerful as Spain and France, especially after annexing the Hanseatic League in 1548.
The Turkish-Algerian-Crimean alliance now included Nubia, an African kingdom my predecessor didn’t care much for, and whose forces he didn’t consider at all.
La Valette insisted on commanding the Asia Minor army himself, and there was little my predecessor could do to stop him. Nevertheless, a war had to be fought. He gave the seemingly random expansion westwards a goal: the complete control of North Africa.
The Fourth War Against the infidel Turks and Third War against the infidel Algerians: 1557-61
With a large force in Tunisia and Kabylia, my predecessor counted on a swift annexation of Algeria, and hopefully a rich Turkish province as well. He demanded command of the army in Angora, and took Thrace in less than three months month after the declaration of war. His rumour as a siege expert was not exaggerated the least.
But the Algerian war was a disaster, and our army in North Africa was crushed. By the same time that we had captured Thrace, they had put both Kabylia and Tunis under siege. And Nubian forces started storming up through the desert, threatening Cairo. Still, the stubborn La Valette tried to capture as many Turkish cities as possible.
Capturing cities in the desert through sieges proved to be extremely difficult, as you needed 10.000 men to match a 5.000 men strong garrison. With the high attrition in the desert, our soldiers died almost as fast as infidels. By this time Algeria had captured both Kabylia and Tunis.
My predecessor had had enough, and convinced the Grand Master to sign a separate peace with the Turks, which gave us Trabzon, and ordered him to travel to Nubia immediately. With his stratical expertise, the templar knights had conquered Nubia in 3 months, and annexed her November 25. 1558.
The war had been reduced to a one-front war, but Spain had signed a separate peace treaty. When La Valette finally reached Tunis, he discovered that the city was ours again, I suppose we had our Spanish allies to thank for that. He quickly recaptured Kabylia, but was faced with the same situation as La Sangle in the second Algerian war: Spain was out of the picture, and the Algerians mustered troops at a higher pace.
La Valette raced through the steppes to capture both Aures and Al Djazair, where their capital was, and was offered Aures in the peace treaty. He signed the treaty on February 2. 1561.
A Moment of Tranquillity
The Netherlands proclaimed their liberty on March 1. 1561, and we joined the war that ensued on Spain’s side. My predecessor prevented the Grand Master from sending a relief fleet, and ensured him that our good will was enough for Spain.
The Turks annexed their neighbour Hedjaz by diplomatical means. We had no idea that the infidels knew how to solve things peacefully, and the alliance was a great surprise for my predecessor. The Turks where reinforced, but we spent seven years to rebuild our army, and replenish our numbers.
The Fifth War Against the infidel Turks and Fourth War against the infidel Algerians: 1568 - 70
We declared war on November 10. 1568, and followed the same battle plan as during the previous Turko-Algerian wars: a strong army in Asia Minor marched up from Angora and seized Thrace to keep the Turks from capturing our provinces, while the main effort was put into the war in Algeria. This time we managed to beat Algeria, and conquer all her provinces, but just like during the first Tunisian war, Spain captured the capital.
The Grand Master withdrew from commanding troops in the late 1570, but he was still Grand Master and took the opportunity to immediately sign a peace with Algeria giving us the other two provinces, Oranje and Atlas. Now all we had to do was wait out the five years.
Of Paying Back old Debts: The Reign of Vergara 1576 – 1589
Provinces: 21
Annual Income: 170
La Valette died unexpectedly – and sadly – in 1575, and his successor Vergara was not nearly as skilled as any of the previous leaders (5/7/7). In hindsight, we can also mention that he reigned for a short time, yet he managed to increase the financial power of our empire greatly, although he sacked it completely diplomatically.
But I will have to agree with my predecessor when he said that: “We have now reached such a size that we need not be afraid of anyone, not even Spain.”
Vergara decided that we should change religion to counter-reformed – and my group stay out of the religious matters of our glorious order. That ruined our relation with Spain, as well as it dissolved the alliance that still was in effect. We did not need Spain anymore, they had become an obstacle. And an awfully powerfully obstacle it was.
One can only guess that when Vergara saw our old enemy Tuscany building manufactories in both her provinces a desire of his to own them arose. But nevertheless, Tuscany had dishonoured our alliance, and they would pay for it. Or at least pay for the stupidity to guard two provinces with 9.000 men.
The Tuscan War: 1577-78
Our fleet had increased in size to include nearly 40 ships, a majority on them was the result of annexations. In August 1577 an army of 40.000 men (30/6/4) landed in Florence and defeated the puny defence force. The army split in two parts, and the larger part followed the fleeing Tuscans into Luca.
The Tuscans fled to and fro between Luca and Florence, before they were finally annihilated, and their both cities surrendered some time later. The peace treaty was signed in mid 1578, and the Tuscans agreed to be annexed. We promised to reward them for their treachery, and unlike Tuscans, the Knights keep their promises.
The Papal States War: 1582-1585
Some critics say that as soon as Vergara had captured a piece of mainland Italy, he was eager to exploit his victory, and swallow the rich – but weak states. And the same critics say that when Venice was too strong, Genoa was allied to France, Naples and Parma allied to Spain, Milan already annexed, only the Papal States remained.
Vergara himself would argue that the Papal States, who had not yet converted to counter-reformed Catholicism, had lost her faith and divine link, and should be better off governed by the true believers of The Knights of St. John. Nevertheless, the Papal States was added to the Knightly lands after a 3-year war ending on August 17. 1585.
It is perhaps telling that Vergara switched back to the Catholic faith in 1586, less than a year after the capture of Rome.
Towards a Byzantine Empire:
In the years that followed, the Knights of St. John captured Venice, Morocco, Algeria, and what was left of the Turks (save Thrace and the Cyclades) at 1660, or so. I’ll post screensaves taken at crucial dates throughout the AAR if there’s interest.
At this time I lost all interest in the game, and my only goal was to see how much I could capture before 1792. I should’ve quit playing after the first 50 years, at the time I first realized that the Knights of St. John wasn’t really what I was looking for in the first place. (I’ll take a look at Baden next time. No leaders, no money.) But still I wanted to see what I single-province nation with a yearly income of 2 could do, how far can you get on pure wargaming with a pathetic nation? Well, pretty far, actually.
I totally neglected the diplomatical and political aspects, and… well, to be honest, I neglected military strategy to. I made premature assaults, grew impatient, ignored cutting supply routes when the opportunity was given, et cetera. I agree with the ones who argue that the problem with the easiness of the game is not to the AI skill, but the effectiveness of military warfare.
Cheers,
sisyphus
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''Spass muss sein', sagt die Katze zum Vogeln, und frass ihn.'
I set out to play as hard a game as possible, and indeed, with a yearly income of 2, the single province nation Knights of St. John looked the like perfect candidate. I used these settings to maximize difficulty, while still maintaining some historical accuracy:
Difficulty: Hardest
Aggressiveness: Normal*
Missions: Off
Forced annexations: On
Events: Historical only
* Someone mentioned that this resulted in the hardest game play, or at least as hard as aggressive, which is generally recognized to be harder than the wild setting. Personally I never noticed much difference between the normal and aggressive.
I believe now that virtually any other single province nation would’ve been harder to play than the Knights of St. John, partly because of their (relatively) strong navy – giving the opportunity to strike anywhere in the Mediterranean area, and partly because of the Moslem neighbours – especially suitable for annexations, as they do not worsen relationships with catholic allies.
The game quickly lost its charm once the templar war machine started rolling, and my notes became less ornamental. Hence, the quality of the AAR will drop towards the end.
A Struggle for Survival: The Reign of D’Aubusson 1492 – 1502
Number of Provinces: 1
Annual Income: 2
The world will never learn of the dark side of our holy order. Our secluded group has always remained secret, and so it shall, for centuries to come. Although the winner writes the history, some truths remain too dark to even be lied about.
Little is known about the origin of the group to which I belong. Our first member must have begun his work once we – the Knights of St. John - were driven off Cyprus, and isolated on the poor island of Rhodes.
He was the first to understand that spiritual men were not well suited to lead worldly nations. And so, when he rose to the position of first chancellor, he lifted to burden of deciding in worldly matters from the shoulders of the grandmasters, who were more than happy to accept the fame and success that we gave them.
Yet, our great order is truly holy, hence it should be lead by an equally holy man. My predecessors realized this as well, and our history begins with the reign of Grand Master D’Aubusson, in 1476, Anno Domini.
Although D’Aubusson was an extraordinary ruler (8/8/8) it was not until my predecessor were appointed chancellor in 1492 that history took a course it should not have taken otherwise.
Rhodes was an extremely poor island, its income a mere 2 ducats, and even when the army and navy maintenance was cut into half, we still had to fight a monthly expenditure of 0.3 ducats – we lost more than a ducat every year. Needless to say, the money in the treasury, 49 ducats, would not last forever.
Our only hope was to capture land from the infidels. Our fleet made it possible for us to strike anywhere we wanted, and though there was no doubt that our military would reap enough infidel blood to make the desert bloom, we had to plan our assault carefully.
At this time we were allied with three Italian states, Parma, Toscana and the strong trading power Genoa. If we went to war with the infidels, we could not count on their help, as two of the three lacked navy, and the third lacked army.
We had to bide our time, but time was running out quickly. Our fleet consisted of 14 galleons, and our army of 10.000 men (9/1/0). Our money lasted long enough to allow us to add another 4.000 men to our army in Rhodes, and left us with 14 ships capable of carrying 1.000 men each.
The First War Against the infidel Mamalukes: 1492 – 1495
As my predecessor planned an assault on Cyrenacia, Tripolitania or possibly Tunisia, his problems seemed solved when the Turks declared war on the Mamalukes in June 1492. When infidels make war on each other, there can be only one winner: the righteous one. Which in this case was synonymous to the true Christian faith, which in turn is synonymous to the Knights of St. John.
My predecessor writes: “I will never forget the glow in [Grand Master D’Aubusson’s] eyes, as he ordered our army to change our black mantles crested with the silver cross for the red ones. Blood-coloured mantles, the colour of war. His eyes burned with that very same colour.”
We declared war on the Mamalukes a few weeks later, July 14. 1492, and our army set foot on Egyptian ground on October 29. The siege of Delta commenced immediately, as the main Mamaluke army was fighting the Turks in Aleppo, at least two months away from us.
Toscana did not honour our alliance, a crime for which no punishment is enough. As you shall see, we rewarded her well for her betrayal. And as my predecessor suspected, neither Genoa nor Parma helped much during the long war that had begun.
Although all our leaders were – and are – trained well in the art of siege (0/1/1/1), we could not do much to harm the great walls of Damietta. Luckily Delta was a rich province that easily supported enough pillaging to keep the army alive and safe from attrition.
My predecessor writes: “On April 1. 1493 I was forced to ask for a loan, which the Grandmaster granted me. I used part of the money to hire a sheriff in Rhodes, mostly increase to capabilities of raising an army in that province. The rest of the money I spent to raise such an army, which was shipped to reinforce the siege army in Damietta.
But things looked dark indeed, as the siege had already seen seven moons, and the Grandmaster was getting worried, to say the least.”
We now had an army of 20.000 men in Damietta, when the Turks signed a peace treaty with the Mamalukes. Our first siege was not even finished, and our military campaign started to look like a disaster.
The Grandmaster insisted that we had to sign a peace treaty with the Mamalukes. However, my predecessor convinced him that although the Mamalukes only had one enemy now, they must have been badly beaten by the Turks, otherwise they wouldn’t have given up Judea, Aleppo and Nuyassabin. In hindsight, it is easy to see why my predecessor rose to such an important position.
Damietta fell on February 28. 1494, 16 months after the siege began. Our army was split in two (10/0/0 and 9/1/0) equally large forces, and sent west to Alexandria and south to Cairo.
The sieges of both cities commenced in mid April 1494. The army in Cairo fought off a puny army raised by the Mamalukes in pure desperation. There was still no sign of their main army, and my predecessor came to the conclusion that it had indeed been wiped out by the Turks as he had suspected all along.
Alexandria fell on September 18, and the Alexandrian army joined the Cairo army’s siege after capturing the small colonies of Quattara and Cataract on the way.
Cairo surrendered almost 10 months later, and the Mamalukes accepted our peace offer shortly thereafter, on August 4. 1495: we were given both the Damietta – whose tax income alone could support us – and the Alexandria – a tradecenter. “God truly smiles upon the righteous”, as the Grandmaster exclaimed when my predecessor gave him the news.
The Second War Against the infidel Mamalukes: 1496 - 1497
The Grandmaster had barely set foot on Rhodes again until news reached him that Tripolitania – who now allied with the Turks – had declared war on the Mamalukes. He turned on the doorstep in such a hurry that he forgot his red mantle. But do not worry, dear reader, the problem was quickly solved.
To this day, I can’t quite tell why he reacted as he did. Perhaps is first victory aroused him. Perhaps he saw an opportunity to finish off the infidels, and bring civilization back to the Godforsaken country. But he Grandmaster immediately declared war on the Mamalukes, April 9. 1496, and although the people was furious (-7 stability) they would be the happier when they saw what spoils of war their Grandmaster had brought for them.
Genoa and Parma honoured our alliance, but this time the Mamalukes were supported by Iraq. When the war begun, our army still consisted of single corp, stationed in the Delta and still numbering 20.000 men (19/1/0). The Mamalukes had thousands and thousands more, but hardly even comparable to our templar knights.
Their huge army marched towards the pair of Mamaluke cities in the northeast that was already under Turkish siege, however, and left the vulnerable southern provinces open to our templars’ grace.
Our army was once again divided into two parts, one set forth for Samaria – the richest province on a safe distance from their army, the other for Cairo – to break their morale.
But in the heat of the battle against the desperate defence that the Mamalukes raised to defend their capital we learned that the Turks signed a premature peace treaty with the Mamalukes.
This time the disaster could not be avoided, as we know that the Mamalukes had an army numbering almost 40.000 men. The Grand Master once again wanted to withdraw, possibly giving up Alexandria, but my predecessor insisted on waiting until his scout fleet returned.
The scout report was astounding:
“I could hardly believe the news, and neither could my Lord, when I presented them for him. In the peace treaty between the Turks and the Mamalukes, the Turks had received Judea. But the Mamaluke army had been fighting in Syria when the peace treaty was signed and had to return to Lebanon rather than Samaria. This means that their entire army was caught in Lebanon, surrounded by Turkish lands.
My Lord asked for his two-handed sword, and though he forgot his war mantle, the black one he was wearing was quickly coloured red by the blood of the infidels. Noone had expected this change in colour – least of all the Grandmaster himself - as it is commonly known that the blood of infidels is black.”
The Siege in Samaria ended after a few months, and our two armies joined forces in Cairo, which had been under siege for a long time now. The Mamalukes kept begging for peace, but seeing that they had no forces left that could threat us, we refused.
As Cairo fell, we dispatched a small part of our army to capture the Assuan, whoich lacked fortifications. When Assuan finally fell on June 1. 1497 we accepted a peace that gave us both Nile and Samaria. We were now stronger than they were, and we could now afford starting a war with them on our own.
A young Master rose through the ranks, L’Isle Adam (3/2/2/2), and was given command of our army, still counting 20.000 men, on January 1. 1500. The preparations began, but it looked like they might take a long time, as the Mamaluke defence force quickly had grown to 40.000 men.
The general consensus was that we needed the help of a major power, and the Grand Master broke the alliance with Genoa and Parma and immediately joined an alliance with Spain (together with Lorraine, Kurpfalz and Cologne). The Christian kingdoms naturally appreciated all our noble work with converting the barbarian Moslem states. They would not have to be disappointed.
But the Mamaluke army in Cairo continued to grow, and counted 82.000 men in mid 1502. It looked like Spain probably would have to take larger part in the converting that she expected.
On New Year’s Eve 1502 our Lord called his children D’Aubusson to take a place at his table in Paradise. The loss was mourned all over the empire, and it truly was an empire the Grandmaster had turned the poor farmer island into.
The Infidels’ Sunset: The Reign of Villiers de L’Isle Adam 1503 – 1525
Number of Provinces: 5
Annual Income: 28
Although technically not as excellent a leader as D’Aubusson, L’Isle Adam (7/7/6) filled his shoes well. The loan had been repaid to the Grandmaster only months before he died, and L’Isle Adam’s position was much better than it had been for the the previous Grandmaster ten years earlier. Yet, L’Isle Adam had the same opportunistic character, and he exploited it well.
He started building an army and appointed sheriffs in the provinces. Inflation was still below 6%, which is quite remarkable, keeping in mind the warfare and prolonged loan. However, annual income was far from acceptable, and the Knights of St. John was an easy target for a power such as the Turks.
L’Isle Adam solved both problems at the same time.
Venice had formed an alliance with the Hanseatic League, Persia and the Teutonic Knights. My predecessor was surprised to see such respected partners fight together with infidels, but today we know that the Persians hated the Turks almost as fiercely as we did. The alliance declared war on the Turks on May 17. 1503.
On February 6. 1504, the huge Poland-Lithuania joined the war against the Turks.
Our army in Delta was immediately ordered back to Rhodes to prepare an invasion of Turkey of our own. The fleet set sail with 14.000 men and L’Isle Adam and declaration of war was sent the same moment that our army was ordered ashore. This was April 8, 1504.
The First War Against the infidel Turks: 1504 - 1507
Troops were shipped over from Rhodes to Konya, and once again, the army was split into two parts of 10.000 men. One part stayed in Konya, continuing the siege, the other part – led by L’Isle Adam marched for Smyrna, which he reached in February 6. 1505, 8 days before Konya fell.
Smyrna, however, turned out to have too strong defences, and the army which counted just below 10.000 men count not affect its fortifications, and moved on to Anatolia. The second army in Konya moved to Angora. On June 1. 1505, Anatolia fell thanks to the siege skills of L’Isle Adam. Three months later Hungary, Austria and Bohemia joins the war on our side.
My predecessor writes:
“I cannot believe our luck. There is no sign of the Turkish armies at all – they seem preoccupied with some of the other 13 countries fighting her, but I for one Is not complaining. All losses so far have been due to attrition. And this is true for all three wars since 1492. Is this a stroke of luck of a gift from God? I’m starting to believe the grandmaster is right.”
In January 1506, Venice signed a peace treaty with the Turks, giving her Bosnia. The war council became increasingly anxious to sign a peace treaty with the Turks before the other major powers could pull out as well, leaving us alone against the infamous recruiting abilities of Thrace.
But out offensive continued, as Spain captured Judea. Angora fell, and the two armies started the siege of Trabzon in late April.
The Turks offered us peace, but apparently, they had yet to learn how badly we could hurt them. When Angora fell on November 30. 1506 they agreed to a peace treaty on our terms two months later: Angora and Anatolia, two immensely rich provinces were added to our empire.
Spain – as the alliance leader – continued the war and was till occupying Judea, but that wasn’t our problem anymore.
A Brief Time of Rest and Rebuilding
The Grand Master withdrew from the worldly conflicts at this time, and spent some time at building an army in Delta lead by himself, while maintaining a strong garrison in Anatolia. The goal now was the complete conquest of the remaining Mamaluke territories.
Poland-Lithuania and the Turks signed a peace treaty giving Poland both Bujak and Rumelia in early February 1507. Nine days later the war torn Turkey declared war on the Mamalukes again. This pleased the Grandmaster very much, as he saw how the huge army of 82.000 men shrunk away to two armies counting 30.000 men together, mostly through attrition.
The Turks obviously had gotten rid of the most dangerous enemies, and forced the Hungary-Austria-Bohemia alliance into a status quo peace in 1508.
The Mamaluke army in Egypt was restored to 70.000 men in 1509, but was beaten by Turks in 1510. The two infidel states signed a peace treaty in 1511, resulting in Syria changing ownership to the Turks.
To the Grand Master’s great surprise, he discovered that Spain had been at war with the Turks all this time, but that the Turks finally had been able to take back Judea. Spain, on the other hand, had captured Brudja, which she received in the peace treaty in 1512.
A scout fleet once again set sail to find out if there was some kind of garrison army in Lebanon, but the province was empty, and the capital Beirut had no fortifications. My predecessor immediately ordered the building of an army capable of matching the current Mamaluke army of 40.000 men in Egypt.
In 1516 we started trading for the first time, as the money to send traders to Alexandria (13 ducats) had been hard to spare, the competitors many, and the reward had not been large enough.
The Third War Against the infidel Mamalukes: 1518 - 1519
In early July 1518 the Templar Knights counted 37.000 men compared to the Cairo garrison of 40.000 men. The Grand Master declared war on July 17, and all our allies honoured the alliance.
On August 16. 1518 we fought out first real battle. And suffered an ignominious defeat. 22.000 men were slaughtered by the infidels, and the numbers we killed on their side them could be counted in hundreds, rather than thousands. Our army fled back to Delta, followed by the infidels. They caught up with our army, and another 9.000 men lost their lives, before my predecessor figured out what had gone wrong.
During the long time of peace, the troop salaries had been cut in half, resulting in poor morale among the soldiers. The mistake was immediately adjusted, although the Grand Master would not take responsibility for the mistake. Perhaps I’m not too bold if I suggest that it was this stubborn refusal to admit his mistake that caused our Lord to call L’Isle Adam to Heaven a smidge earlier than he might have done otherwise.
The army marched through Quattara and Cataract to even out the number of captured provinces (Delta was under siege by the Mamalukes now) while their moral improved. It reached Nile in October 12 1518, where it lost another battle.
The relief army raised in Rhodes had been used to capture the undefended Lebanon, and was now shipped past Judea into Samaria. The army retreating from Nile started a siege of Cairo in February 15. When the Spanish forces arrived at the same time, capturing Sinai, and Egypt fell a mere two months later.
The main Mamaluke army had lifted the siege on Delta, and instead rushed to save Samaria. While passing through Sinai, their strength was reduced from 36.000 to 12.000 due to attrition, and their numbers were insufficient to save Samaria in time.
The Mamelukian army in Nile tried to break the siege, but was annihilated, and when Cairo fell, our Egypt army didn’t have to do more than pass through the unfortified Assuan to capture it, despite the fact that it now counted less than 3.000 men.
The Mamalukes accepted our peace offer of annexation (giving Spain Sinai) on July 12. 1519. Little could my predecessor know what problems the Spanish ownership of Sinai would give him, and even less did he appreciate the irony of the situation, as the Mamalukes were the ones to have their empire cut in half a few decades earlier, saving us from defeat.
The War Against the infidel Cyrenacians: 1520
When the new year dawned, L’Isle Adam raised an army in the Delta, commanded by himself. The goal was to start the conquest of the three infidel nations of Cyrenacia, Tripolitania and Tunisia.
A swift war against an infidel army of 10.000 men began on May 23. to September 28. 1520 and soon led to a glorious victory and annexation. Our empire now counted 12 provinces, and L’Isle Adam surely received one of the most glorious seats next to our Lord, as he passed away in 1525.
The Race for Tunis: The Reign of La Sangle 1526 – 1556
Provinces: 12
Annual Income: 81
The reign of La Sangle is a sad chapter in our history. Little was accomplished with one of our greatest leaders (8/8/7), mostly because the group to which I belong (whose members I refer to as “my predecessor” or “my predecessors”) started fighting among its own ranks. I do not know much of it, and I care to tell even less. But La Sangle’s reign started with a major setback: Venice invaded and annexed Tripolitania. This effectively prevented us from striking at Tunis.
A second disaster was the support the heretic Luther received from countries that previously dared to call themselves Christian. Württemburg was among the first to caused the wound in Christianity that has not healed to this day.
The Two Wars Against the infidel Tunisians: 1529 - 30
The failure in the first war against Tunisia was the result of a miscalculation of Spain’s friendly intensions. Spain, we learned, is only a friend of Spain herself, and she only honours an alliance because it might gain herself as leader.
We declared on Tunisia on September 9. 1529, but had to sue for peace shortly thereafter, February 26. 1520, when it turned out that out of the two occupying armies, Spain’s was the larger, and thus the one that controlled the province. We quickly sued for peace before Spain could annex Tunisia.
The Grand Master was outraged. This was the first – and only, he stressed – war that the Knights of St. John had ever fought without gaining something for it. He ordered the garrison in Asia Minor to North Africa, and attacked again in April 16. 1520. The people got outraged (-7 stability), and rebellions broke out all over our empire. Nevertheless, the Grandmaster managed to conquer and annex Tunisia, this time without the “help” from our allies.
The war had been fought with seaborne invasions, but now at least we had a land base if we wanted to expand our territory westwards.
A discontent slumber
Years after the Tunisian wars had been fought some provinces were still in rebellion. Little did we realize that this was religious unrest, the result of our changed policy toward some religions when the reformation began.
It took several years to rebuild our army that had starved to death in Tunis, due to the much larger Spanish army in the same area. We also started appointing marshals, a process that required a lot of gold.
But all in all, when the unrest turned to rest and more money could be spent on soldiers, we raised an army worthy to undertake a two-front war on the alliance of the Turks and Algeria.
The Second and Third Wars Against the infidel Turks and the First Two Wars Aainst the infidel Algerians: 1540-46
We declared war on Algeria on January 13. 1540. Her allies Turkey and the Crimea Khananate joined the war. Our army in Angora marched to Thrace, and started besieging the city. The army in Tunis marched into Kabylia.
However, a few months into the war some Crimean armies started disturbing our operations in Thrace, and the Grand Master tried to negotiate separate peace with them. Little did he know that the Crimean Khananate was in fact the leader of the alliance, and so the declaration of war was void, when his intension had been to buy off only one of the enemies.
Needless to say, the Grand Master was furious.
When Venice declared war in the Turks two years later, he immediately demanded retaliation, and so we attacked again in March 16. 1542. His original battle-plan was maintained, and though it worked brilliantly against the Turks, the Algerians were surprisingly strong.
It would be impossible, he realized, to conquer Algeria, as they built troops faster than he could, and the Spanish had already signed a separate peace treaty. But he received to get Smyrna from the Turks and Kabylia from the Algerians, and all in all, these were strategically important lands: Kabylia was next the Algerian capital, and when Smyrna no longer was Turkish, the Turks had no possibility to send troops from the Balkans to Asia Minor without using fleets.
Although a wise ruler, his reign was spotted with failure, and he was missed by few, as he died in 1556.
The Rise of a Major Power: The Reign of La Valette 1557 – 1575
Provinces: 15
Annual Income: 112
Without doubt the greatest of all our leaders, both as Grand Master (9/9/9) and as general and siege expert (2/5/6/4), La Valette did much to aid The Order of St. John.
It is about this that the things are getting less interesting economically (we had monopoly in Alexandria, marshals where possible and low inflation), and thus my focus will be more on the military aspects.
The situation in Europe had not changed much, apart from the fact that Poland was almost as powerful as Spain and France, especially after annexing the Hanseatic League in 1548.
The Turkish-Algerian-Crimean alliance now included Nubia, an African kingdom my predecessor didn’t care much for, and whose forces he didn’t consider at all.
La Valette insisted on commanding the Asia Minor army himself, and there was little my predecessor could do to stop him. Nevertheless, a war had to be fought. He gave the seemingly random expansion westwards a goal: the complete control of North Africa.
The Fourth War Against the infidel Turks and Third War against the infidel Algerians: 1557-61
With a large force in Tunisia and Kabylia, my predecessor counted on a swift annexation of Algeria, and hopefully a rich Turkish province as well. He demanded command of the army in Angora, and took Thrace in less than three months month after the declaration of war. His rumour as a siege expert was not exaggerated the least.
But the Algerian war was a disaster, and our army in North Africa was crushed. By the same time that we had captured Thrace, they had put both Kabylia and Tunis under siege. And Nubian forces started storming up through the desert, threatening Cairo. Still, the stubborn La Valette tried to capture as many Turkish cities as possible.
Capturing cities in the desert through sieges proved to be extremely difficult, as you needed 10.000 men to match a 5.000 men strong garrison. With the high attrition in the desert, our soldiers died almost as fast as infidels. By this time Algeria had captured both Kabylia and Tunis.
My predecessor had had enough, and convinced the Grand Master to sign a separate peace with the Turks, which gave us Trabzon, and ordered him to travel to Nubia immediately. With his stratical expertise, the templar knights had conquered Nubia in 3 months, and annexed her November 25. 1558.
The war had been reduced to a one-front war, but Spain had signed a separate peace treaty. When La Valette finally reached Tunis, he discovered that the city was ours again, I suppose we had our Spanish allies to thank for that. He quickly recaptured Kabylia, but was faced with the same situation as La Sangle in the second Algerian war: Spain was out of the picture, and the Algerians mustered troops at a higher pace.
La Valette raced through the steppes to capture both Aures and Al Djazair, where their capital was, and was offered Aures in the peace treaty. He signed the treaty on February 2. 1561.
A Moment of Tranquillity
The Netherlands proclaimed their liberty on March 1. 1561, and we joined the war that ensued on Spain’s side. My predecessor prevented the Grand Master from sending a relief fleet, and ensured him that our good will was enough for Spain.
The Turks annexed their neighbour Hedjaz by diplomatical means. We had no idea that the infidels knew how to solve things peacefully, and the alliance was a great surprise for my predecessor. The Turks where reinforced, but we spent seven years to rebuild our army, and replenish our numbers.
The Fifth War Against the infidel Turks and Fourth War against the infidel Algerians: 1568 - 70
We declared war on November 10. 1568, and followed the same battle plan as during the previous Turko-Algerian wars: a strong army in Asia Minor marched up from Angora and seized Thrace to keep the Turks from capturing our provinces, while the main effort was put into the war in Algeria. This time we managed to beat Algeria, and conquer all her provinces, but just like during the first Tunisian war, Spain captured the capital.
The Grand Master withdrew from commanding troops in the late 1570, but he was still Grand Master and took the opportunity to immediately sign a peace with Algeria giving us the other two provinces, Oranje and Atlas. Now all we had to do was wait out the five years.
Of Paying Back old Debts: The Reign of Vergara 1576 – 1589
Provinces: 21
Annual Income: 170
La Valette died unexpectedly – and sadly – in 1575, and his successor Vergara was not nearly as skilled as any of the previous leaders (5/7/7). In hindsight, we can also mention that he reigned for a short time, yet he managed to increase the financial power of our empire greatly, although he sacked it completely diplomatically.
But I will have to agree with my predecessor when he said that: “We have now reached such a size that we need not be afraid of anyone, not even Spain.”
Vergara decided that we should change religion to counter-reformed – and my group stay out of the religious matters of our glorious order. That ruined our relation with Spain, as well as it dissolved the alliance that still was in effect. We did not need Spain anymore, they had become an obstacle. And an awfully powerfully obstacle it was.
One can only guess that when Vergara saw our old enemy Tuscany building manufactories in both her provinces a desire of his to own them arose. But nevertheless, Tuscany had dishonoured our alliance, and they would pay for it. Or at least pay for the stupidity to guard two provinces with 9.000 men.
The Tuscan War: 1577-78
Our fleet had increased in size to include nearly 40 ships, a majority on them was the result of annexations. In August 1577 an army of 40.000 men (30/6/4) landed in Florence and defeated the puny defence force. The army split in two parts, and the larger part followed the fleeing Tuscans into Luca.
The Tuscans fled to and fro between Luca and Florence, before they were finally annihilated, and their both cities surrendered some time later. The peace treaty was signed in mid 1578, and the Tuscans agreed to be annexed. We promised to reward them for their treachery, and unlike Tuscans, the Knights keep their promises.
The Papal States War: 1582-1585
Some critics say that as soon as Vergara had captured a piece of mainland Italy, he was eager to exploit his victory, and swallow the rich – but weak states. And the same critics say that when Venice was too strong, Genoa was allied to France, Naples and Parma allied to Spain, Milan already annexed, only the Papal States remained.
Vergara himself would argue that the Papal States, who had not yet converted to counter-reformed Catholicism, had lost her faith and divine link, and should be better off governed by the true believers of The Knights of St. John. Nevertheless, the Papal States was added to the Knightly lands after a 3-year war ending on August 17. 1585.
It is perhaps telling that Vergara switched back to the Catholic faith in 1586, less than a year after the capture of Rome.
Towards a Byzantine Empire:
In the years that followed, the Knights of St. John captured Venice, Morocco, Algeria, and what was left of the Turks (save Thrace and the Cyclades) at 1660, or so. I’ll post screensaves taken at crucial dates throughout the AAR if there’s interest.
At this time I lost all interest in the game, and my only goal was to see how much I could capture before 1792. I should’ve quit playing after the first 50 years, at the time I first realized that the Knights of St. John wasn’t really what I was looking for in the first place. (I’ll take a look at Baden next time. No leaders, no money.) But still I wanted to see what I single-province nation with a yearly income of 2 could do, how far can you get on pure wargaming with a pathetic nation? Well, pretty far, actually.
I totally neglected the diplomatical and political aspects, and… well, to be honest, I neglected military strategy to. I made premature assaults, grew impatient, ignored cutting supply routes when the opportunity was given, et cetera. I agree with the ones who argue that the problem with the easiness of the game is not to the AI skill, but the effectiveness of military warfare.
Cheers,
sisyphus
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''Spass muss sein', sagt die Katze zum Vogeln, und frass ihn.'
