MTW: Poland's High Period of Power

[Chief Rum]

Hello all,

Thanks to the nagging efforts of Ryan S (I assume), the old board has come upon and efforts have been renewed to try and bring more material over to this board.

I, however, reached the end of my rope when I almost lost this stuff, so I said screw it and now I am bringing it over. Following are the posts from the second thread devoted to this dynasty. I have also saved the first thread, but that figures to be a project which will take some doing, so I will just get the important one down first.

Thank you all for your patience with the transition and welcome again to the continuing story of Poland's rise to power in the medieval world.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

Welcome to the new thread for my continuing dynasty about the historic rise of medieval Poland in our alternative historic timeline.
This dynasty is using the Medieval: Total War game, a fantastic medievel wargaming product that combines Civ-like turn-based diplomacy and national strategy with real time combat scenarios.

The game allows you to control a faction in the world at three different time periods: The Early (1087), High (1205), and Late (1321) Middle Ages. If you choose an earlier period, you may then play through any subsequent periods. I have done so with Poland through the Early period, and have now reached the High Middle Ages, for which this thread is being started.

This is not your history teacher's Poland. In real life, Poland was but a fledgling kingdom that did exist in this time period, but was weak and subjugated constantly by the nearby Holy Roman Empire. Its era of power was not be until the 1300s and 1400s, when it would combine with Lithuania to become perhaps the dominant Eastern European pwer of the 15th and 16th centures.

No, in this timeline, the First Crusade did not happen in 1090 (it was about 1097), Richard the Lionheart never defeated Saladin before the walls of Jerusalem (instead the Egyptians, Spanish, Byzantines and Germans have been visitors to the Holy Land's jewel), to my knowledge Robin Hood never came to be, and English nobles won't be forcing anyone to sign the Magna Carta in ten years. And if William Wallace is going to revolt against his masters in 90 years, it sure as heck won't be Longshanks he's gunning for.

Following is an account of the history of the world, and of Poland, since 1087, followed by some other posts to bring you up to speed on the current status of the Great Northern Kingdom.

If you wish to travel through roads long-walked, feel free to start from the beginning with this thread:

MTW: Poland Shall Rise Again!

It's never too late to join in the fun, so if you have any commentary or just wish to come in and say hello, you are welcome to do so. I make an effort to respond to one and all who come here, so rest assured you will receive a response.

This dynasty, BTW, has been nominated for a Golden Scribe.

Onward, Polish warriors!

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

Posted by MrBug

Onward!!!

[Chief Rum]

The History of Medieval Europe (1087-1204)

1091 Poland annexes Pomerania, beginning a 30 year period of Polish expansion in northeastern Europe.

1095 Pope Urban II calls for a Crusade to Jerusalem. The Spanish respond with the first ever Crusade a year later. The Crusade starts a war between the Spanish and the Moorish Almohads of North Africa.

1106 The Byzantines conquer Kiev, initiating a Byzantine sweep across the northern coastal regions of the Black Sea and as far north as Chernigov in central Russia.

1107 The Egyptians and Turks begin to war with one another in the Middle East.

1119 The Khalifah of the Almohads is killed in battle with Spanish Crusaders in Cyranacea, allowing th Spanish to sweep across North Africa and eliminate all traces of the Moors.

1121 The War For Britain begins between the French and English. This war between mortal enemies will last more than 60 years.

1123 The Egyptians kill the Sultan of Turkey after a long siege of his last territory in Armenia. The Turks are eliminated.

1126 Pope Urban II dies. Pope Nicholas III is elected by the cardinals to become the new leader of the Catholic world.

1128 The Spanish declare a Crusade to Egypt, which would bring them to war with the Egyptians and what is widely acknowledged to be the most powerful army in the known world at this time.

1135 The Byzantine Empire involves itself in wars with Italy in the western Balkans, and Egypt in central Turkey.

1140 Pope Nicholas III calls for a Crusade against the Egyptians, who control the Holy Land at the moment, and are successfully holding off the Byzantines to the north and the Spanish to the west.

1143 The Germans attack the Danish province of Saxony, starting the War for Danish Dominion, and declare a Crusade to the Egyptian-held province of Antioch, bringing the Holy Roman Empire into war on two fronts.

1145 The War for Novgorod Dominion begins when the Polish invade Novgorod itself. The war and Poland's accompanying expansion into Scandinavia will dominate the northern territories for the next 20 years.

1152 The Spanish declare a Crusade to Palestine and the Holy Land.

1153 Pope Nicholas III dies. Pope Nicholas IV becomes his successor in Rome.

1156 Sicily and Hungary start a short-lived war. Within a year, Sicily would also go to war with their closely-related brethren, the Italians.

1157 Italy is excommunicated by the Pope for its aggression against Sicily. The Egyptians wipe out the German Crusade in Antioch.

1162 After backing off after being excommunicated, the Italians renew their war with the Sicilians. The War for the Boot will continue off and on for another 30 years.

1163 The Germans declare a Crusade to Tripoli.

1165 The Prince of Novgorod dies in battle in Volga-Bulgaria against Polish invaders. The defeat of the Novgorods in Volga-Bulgaria completes the Polish conquest of northern Russia, and ends the War for Novgorod Dominion.

1166 France declares a Crusade to the Egyptian-controlled province of Edessa in south-central Turkey.

1167 The French conquer Mercia and push the English back to Wales, their lone remaining province. The French captured English King Edmund III and executed him.

1171 The First Costa Verdan War, a short naval war between Poland and Spain, begins.

1175 The Italians declare a Crusade to Antioch. The French sneak attack the Polish, starting another short naval war.

1178 The Italians are excommunictaed again for their aggressions against Sicily.

1179 The Kingdom of Poland is divided by civil war, with six provinces, including the province of Poland itself, breaking away from forces loyal to the King Kazimierz II. At the time of the civil war, Poland was the known world's richest and most powerful kingdom.

1181 The Novgorods overthrow Polish rebels in Volga-Bulgaria and re-form the Princedom of Novgorod after 15 years of exile.

1182 Pope Nicholas IV excommunicates the French for their continuing subjugation of the English.

1183 The French capture and kill William IV of England, and complete the conquest of the last English province, and all territories south of Polish-hel Northumbria. The conquest of Wales also brings to end the War for Britain. The Germans announce a Crusade to Edessa.

1185 The War Against Polish Aggression begins when the French attack the Polish fleet in the English Channel, and loyalist forces invade Poland to stop a Hungarian advance against Polish rebels. The Pope called for Crusades against the Italians for their continued aggressions against the Sicilians in the War for the Boot.

1187 The Germans kill the King of Denmark in battle, eliminating the northern kingdom from the map and ending the War for Danish Dominion. The Holy Roman Emperor is excommunicated by the Pope for this act. Spain enters the War Against Polish Aggression with a sneak attack on the Polish fleet in Costa Verde.

1188 The Italians become the fourth enemy of Poland in the War Against Polish Aggression when they attack Polish ships in the Straits of Sicily.

1191 Pope Nicholas IV excommunicates King Kazimierz II of Poland for continuing aggressions against Hungary. The loyalist Polish forces defeat the last remnant of Polish rebels in Silesia, officially ending the Polish civil war. Danish rebels unconnected to the exiled crown throw the Germans out of Denmark. Spain is forced to accept a peace offering from Poland after Polish ships eliminate the Spanish navy.

1193 The Italians capture and kill the King of Sicily in Naples, ending the War of the Boot and the conquest of the Sicilians. Except for the two central papal provinces, the entirety of modern Italy is now under Italian control. Pope Nicholas IV passes away, raising the excommunications of Italy, Poland, Germany and France. Nicholas V becomes the new Pope.

1194 The French declare a Crusade to Arabia, under the control of the Egyptians.

1195 The Spanish declare a Crusade to Sinai, resulting in Crusades by two separate Catholic nations to adjacent Egyptian provinces. The province of Egypt itself has been under Spanish control for 50 years.

1196 The Italians declare a Crusade to Constantinople, becoming the first faction to declare a Crusade against the Orthodox Byzantines. The Germans declare a Crusade to Palestine, bringing the total Crusades going to six (including two by the Italians and Germans).

1197 The exiled Sicilians re-establish a kingdom on the island of Malta, returning to sovereignty just four years after their conquest at the hands of Italy. Italy settles peacefully with Poland, consummating the peace with a Royal Marriage of the Doge's daughter and the Prince Heir of Poland.

1199 Poland annexes Denmark peacefully.

1201 Spain's conquest of Sinaipushes the Egyptians back from the sea for the first time in the Muslim nation's history. The four provinces of the coastal Middle East are all in the hands of different Christian factions.

1203 Italy is split by a huge civil war, with rebel forces far outnumbering loyalist forces. Only Venice remains under absolute control by Italy, and the struggle for others begins. The Spanish declare a Crusade to Constantinople and against the Byzantine Empire.

1204 Poland completes the conquest of French Britain, bringing the entire British Isle under Polish dominion. With Hungary stalemated, the French retreating, and Italy and Spain already out of the war, Poland is winning decidely. Not to be left out, the Novgorods invade Poland's eastern province of Ryazan and join the War Against Polish Aggression. The Holy Roman Empire begins an invasion of rebel-held Italy. Italian loyalist forces suffer heavy losses in Naples and Sardinia in Italy's civil war.

The end of the Early Middle Ages.

The Jagiellonczyk Line of Polish Kings

Wladyslaw the Great (reigned 1087-1113, 6 provinces at death)
Wladyslaw II (r:1113-1136, 9 provinces at death)
Henry I (r:1136-1172, 15 provinces at death)
King Kazimierz II (r:1172-present, 20 provinces currently)

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

Posted By MrBug

32 years currently.

Any chance of a map?

Posted by Anrhydeddu

It would be interesting to see if any new units become available, or at least finally getting a key building done so you can build a new unit.

The basic combat model in TW is set up so that...

Spearmen kill Cavalry
Cavalry kill Bowmen
Bowmen kill Spearmen

But you are probably a little like me in that you throw everything into the pot and see what shakes out.

Posted by Troko

Chief Rum,
Go for chivalric men-at-arms as quickly as possible, especially in provinces (such as Sweden) that can produce metalsmiths. They are elite troops suited for both attack and defense that can survive against cavalry and cut through spearmen. Furthermore, they're cheaper and more loyal than knights and often make good general candidates.

I'm interested in second opinions on this (especially since I never learned to use spearmen and sergeants properly), but in my limited experience chivalric men-at-arms are the best units to form the backbone of high-middle-age armies.

Posted By Anrhydeddu

Here's the details and various opinions on Chiv Men-at-Arms

http://www.totalwarassembly.com/wara...t=v1&UnitID=50

You can use this site to get details and opinions on every single unit in the game.

[Chief Rum]

MrBug: I wish I knew how to do the map thing. I would if I could. And don't say Print Screen. As I have said before, I haven't gotten that working on my past three computers--I have no idea why.
What do you mean 32 years? Kaz's current reign?

Anrhydeddu: Some new units do become available. I don't know if they are due to me building new buildings, though, or just reaching the High Period.

Here are the new ones I discovered going around my kingdom in 1205:

Caravels-- a quick attack ship that can sail in deep waters. Definitely going to be the new sea warriors in my fleet once I build significant numbers of them.

Crossbowmen-- self-explanatory.

Pavise Crossbowmen-- these are basically crossbowmen with huge shields called Pavise. We're talking practically head-to-foot shield. They duck behind them while they reload, then they come out to fire.

Arbalesters-- apparently this is like a "super crossbow". An arbalester seems to be a slow-loading powerful crossbow that is particular useful because it can punch through heavy armor. But like I said, the unit is apparently very slow loading.

Trebuchet-- this is a siege enhine. It looks like a tower with a sling shot on a stick. Basically, the sling shot is centered around the top of the tower, it is wound up backwards and then it sends its missle flying over the top. This looks to be powerful for assaults, but it can't be aimed (merely set up at the right point).

Chivalric Men-at-arms-- Troko should like this. These guys have shown up in Wessex. We'll see how they hold up.

These, of course, are just what I am capable of building, so obviously this is not necessarily representative of the whole group of new units that may be available now.

As for the site you linked, too, I have found a number of these Web sites. It seems like they often disagree...

Troko: We'll see. In my current save game (ten or so years in the "future"), I have built some of these units, but they didn't fare too well in a recent battle. But chances are I am misusing them. I have even managed to make mounted sergeants look bad (my mounted sergeants).

Some more dynasty updates coming, followed by the official beginning of the High period (if I get to it tonight).

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

An Economic and Develoment View of the Great Northern Kingdom of Poland

As those of you who have been following the dynasty know, Poland's territories stretch from Moscow to the British Isle. Our center of power still lies in the center, though. Technologically, the most advanced provinces are here, particularly Poland. They are also the provinces most capable of currently building elite soldier units.

You might note, though, that the real power lies along the circle of the Baltic Sea. Trade has become the great difference-maker for Poland, and Sweden, Novgorod, Lithuania and Livonia, among others, are now the economic, if not political or intellectual center of the kingdom.

Our total income right now is 22754 florins. 16145 of those florins come from trade, a resource that we are drawing from every coastal province in the game, with the world's most powerful navy. That is almost 71% of the kingdom's income.

Mining is bringing in just 208 florins per year, or just under a percent of our annual income. This is an area I would like to develop, but it seems clear that the benefits may be few from this, so it is currently on the backburner.

The remainder of the income all comes from farming. 6401 florins, or 28% of our income, comes from tilling the fields. To be honest, that's a little higher than I expected. And I know I haven't come close to maximizing the income that can come from this. Trade will always be the first priority, which is why I have become known for being particularly vicious in sea battles. But farming will definitely get its share of attention.

Our top five provinces, by income:

1. Lithuania--3165
2. Sweden--2822
3. Novgorod--2651
4. Pomerania--2364
5. Livonia--1774

Our worst three provinces, by income:

1. Scotland--243
2. Wales--254
3. Denmark--262

These three are definitely a result of minimal development at this point in time. They should soon quickly pass the incomes of our inland territories, like Muscovy, Smolensk and Volhenya.

Top five farming provinces, by income:

1. Poland--564
2. Novgorod--539
3. Lithuania--501
4. Smolensk--464
5. Muscovy--412

Development

We have long been behind the Byzantines in development, but to say that we haven't made our mark would be quite false. Few kingdoms have the depth of facilities we have in our provinces currently.

Most facilities

1. Poland--14
2t. Pomerania--13
2t. Sweden--13

Lithuania, Novgorod and Prussia are all tied at 12.

Most faciltiies and upgrades:

1. Poland (24; +10 upgrades)
2. Pomerania (22; +9 upgrades)
3t. Lithuania (21; +9 upgrades)
3t. Prussia (21; +9 upgrades)

Muscovy and Wessex tied at 19, with +8 upgrades.

Castles

As I noted before, I have undergone a huge Project in the past to upgrade the basic enforcements of most of my provinces at one time or another. The civil war interrupted some of this, but I have for the most part replaced those projects that were interrupted, or I have them currently scheduled.

Regardless, here's the kingdom report: we have 7 castles, 10 keeps, and 2 forts. The castled provinces are, of course, mostly in the middle of the kingdom, in Lithuania, Livonia, Poland, Pomerania, and Prussia. The only ones I would call somewhat outflung are in Smolensk and in Wessex (built by the English, I'm sure).

We had plans for a Citadel to be built in Poland that was interrupted by the civil war. That huge project is back on the docket and expected to begin within the next few years.

Denmark and Northumbria are the only two provinces with forts. Northumbria is scheduled to begin its Keep soon, and Denmark is simply lightly developed at the moment. In fact, the just completed fort is the only facility in that entire province.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

The Grand Army of the Great Northern Kingdom of Poland

We have been at war with someone for 34 straight years, and 54 of the last 60 years. Wow.

Obviously, the army of the kingdom is of huge importance at this time. This includes the navy as well. Here is the current breakdown:

We have 53 ships (all barques), 10 siege engines, and a standing army of 9551 soldiers. Of those soldiers, 6531 are infantry, 1483 cavalry, 1452 missile firers (mounted missle soldiers included here instead of with cavalry), and 82 siege engine operators.

Here are the most pertinent groupings:

Top five infantry units:

1. Spearmen--1885
2. Militia Sergeants--990
3. Feudal Sergeants--930
4. Peasants--619
5. Feudal Men-At-Arms--606

Top three non-missile cavalry units:

1. Mounted Sergeants--846
2. Steppe Cavalry--267
3. Royal Knights--198

Top two missile units:

1. Archers--854
2. Mounted Crossbowmen--559

Spies/Assassins

Sadly, our covert forces have fallen by the wayside badly. What had been a priority for Henry, has been an afterthought for Kazimierz, thanks to the civil war.

We lost many of our spies to the civil war, and we have yet to replace them. And our once strong assassins group has been whittled down to almost nothing, as nearby factions have improved their border defenses to counteract our agents.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

The Nobility and Other Personages of the Kingdom of Poland

As one might expect, in the rich history of Poland, many notable individuals have come to power. I will get to a sampling of them in a second.

For now, here is the current Jagiellonczyk line, with all heirs listed.

King Kazimierz II--+2 COM, 6 INF crowns

Prince Leszek--+1 COM
Prince Henry--rubbish
Prince Konrad--+3 COM; most able commander
Prince Mieszko--+3 ACU; smartest son
Prince Boleslaw--+1 COM
Prince Casimir--brother to the king

The line is pretty assured of continuing on, for what that's worth, given the line is particularly weak in character and ability. Poland has been lucky to have been aided by able advisors the past century.

Notable Personages and Generals

The supreme and untouchable, the high command of the Grand Army:

Lord Sir Casimir Jagiellonczyk, the Duke of Lesser Poland-- Casimir's exploits need not be expounded upon here. At +5 COM, the most able commander in the kingdom. Of royal blood.

Lord Sir Leszek Jagiellonczyk, the Grand Duke of Livonia-- Leszek, Casimir's brother and also of royal blood, is nearly as able a commander, and is a better governor.

King Kazimierz's circle of noble councillors:

The Duke of Prussia, Lord Godzilla Blitz-- This ancient figure still sometimes pronounces the language with a German accent. No one knows how old he is, but it is rumored he is so old, he met with Wladyslaw the Great himself and looked him in the eye, and that he even knew Casimir and Leszek when they were mere boys. +5 ACU.

The Grand Duke of Lithuania, Lord MrBug-- The portly grand duke has been one of the wisest men in the kingdom for decades. His province is the most profitable in the kingdom (+6 ACU).

The Chamberlain of Poland, Lord Real Deal-- Lord Real Deal has been running the royal palace in Krakow for as long as anyone can remember. He wasn't considered one of the brightest originally, but he has developed a keen sense for the minutiae of detail required in running a kingdom. Originally a +4 ACU, now a +6.

The Duke of Volhenya, Lord Shorty-- Lord Shorty is in the king's doghouse right now, and only keeps his head because of his extraordinary wits and skill, especially in training armies. Lord Shorty was one of the few rebel leaders from the civil war to be allowed to return to Polish nobility. He is +5 ACU and the most elite fighting units in the kingdom have been trained in Volhenya.

The outer circle of up-and-coming nobles--

The King of Scotland, Lord Miazga-- Miazga made a name for himself by leading the armies of Poland in a smashing victory over the French in England. He completely swept the French off the isle, for which he was promoted to +2 COM. He also happens to be one of the brightest men in the kingdom (+6 ACU).

The Earl of Denmark, Erik Guddrodson-- The earl is actually still learning the language of the Poles, but his lordship of his native Denmark, a potentially rich province, his innate skills (+4 DRE, +4 COM, +4 ACU), and rumored ties to the exiled royal Danish family have made him a powerful new figure in Poland's political circles.

The Earl of Sweden, Niels Skottkonung-- The old of the new. Skottkonung is almost as weathered as the inner circle, so he tends to stand out among the mostly younger nobles of the outer circle. Skottkonung distinguished himself with exceptional bravery and leadership in the Polish Civil War, and in the Silesia campaign against Hungary. He is +3 COM and +4 ACU, and his province is the second most profitable province in the land.

The Duke of Pomerania, Duncan of Douglas-- The Scottish native has made a name for himself in one of Poland's richer provinces. He is a passingly decent commander (+1 COM), but he earns his keep with his smarts (+4 ACU) and his ferocity (+4 DRE).

The Grand Duke of Novgorod, Lord Ogitszak-- Once considered a clear candidate for the inner circle after he re-conquered Muscovy and Ryazan for loyalist forces in the civil war, Lord Ogitszak has stumbled a bit after a failed assault on Ryazan Castle during that same campaign. Still, he is a +1 COM, +3 DRE and +4 ACU, and he controls the third most economically viable province in the kingdom in Novgorod.

There are others of note, of course, for reasons both good and nad, but these guys are the inner sanctum of Poland's political power circles.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

1205

Game Events

I completed my goal again and got a score of 7. In fact, this is what I have received in every "score tally year". So, I'm not sure what it means at this point. I can't recall if I have said so, but it is somewhere in the past 15-20 years that the Byzantine Empire has passed me in Glorious Achievement points. I hope I will be able to get back on top soon.

World Events

Aw, for crying out loud! The German Crusade vacationing in Poland is supposed to be on its way to Palestine. So does it go south, as you might expect? Of course not! The Crusade heads north to Prussia. Fortunately, I don't have many units stationed here, so I don't lose a whole heck of a lot.

Stupid German Crusade. Not only does it steal a royal general and some sizable numbers of soldiers, but it goes in the opposite direction. Not that I'm shedding any tears over losing a traitorous wretch like Boleslaw Jagiellonczyk, but it still sucks.

What I don't like now, though, is this question: where does it go next? I can keep shuffling armies around so that aren't tempted to join, but how long will I have to do this? I give brief consideration to attacking, but I think this would have consequences both at home and abroad (and with the Holy Roman Empire in particular), and the army is over 2000 men right now (probably a bit much for me to take all at once).

The Germans continue their advances in other areas, too. Having conquered Genoa, they move on and defeat Italian rebels in Tuscany. They have definitely taken advantage of Italy's civil war problems.

It's not so easy for them in their Crusade-conquered province of Tripoli, though. The inhabitants, having long been under Byzantine rule, revolted to return to their former masters. The relatively small remnants of this German Crusade is now facing a sizable army raised by the local populace.

And then famine strikes in Brandenburg. Even though we have always been friends, Germany's recent imperialistic actions have definitely caused me to take notice. So I can't say I'm unhappy that not all is going well with them after all.

I lost a barque in the Gulf of Gables, near Cyranacea in North Africa. I am able to replace it fairly easily, although I lose a small bit of income from affected provinces for this year. The connection to the rich northern Italian cities, the Middle East, and the prime Byzantine provinces is still connected, though.

My discovery of the push back of Egypt from coastal provinces led me to do a little exploring with a couple emmissaries. I discovered, as I surmised, that Egypt has been pushed back to four provinces--Arabia, Syria, Armenia and Edessa. Wow, talk about a turn of events. At one time, they might have been the most powerful faction in the game. There is a lesson to be learned here, I am sure...

The prime beneficiary seems to be the Byzantines. The coastal provinces in the Middle East are still a toss up, and Spain has North Africa locked up to the Sinai, but the Byzantines are now the ones in control of all of Turkey (which was once the main front, I believe, in their long war with the Egyptians). And they are in the best position to do more damage. It will be interesting to see if Egypt can make a comeback.

War Events

The siege in Ryazan goes through its first year. We lost 22 men defending Ryazan Castle's walls against the bastard Novgorod invaders, but we still have 95 men remaining and enough provisions to last us for two more years. Hopefully, by then, I will have help present to raise the siege.

Speaking of which, I move Casimir and a sizable force to Novgorod. I should be able to have them in Ryazan in a couple years, although it is not my intent to wait if I feel I can take the invaders with my forces that were already present in Novgorod, and the even closer province of Muscovy.

I also do some more army shuffling in the heartland, as I try to get my best men out of reach of that blasted Crusade.

And in Wessex, my emmissary strips the accidental governor-general of his short-lived titles.

Covert Events

I send in a spy to discover vices on the Novgorod general. It is not Prince Mikhail himself, who has returned to Volga-Bulgaria with most of his force. Of course, the men he leaves behind are still plenty enough to keep us bottled up.

We catch and kill an assassin in Northumbria, who reveals himself to be in the employ of the Aragonese.

Diplomatic Events

France and Hungary both rejected my ceasefire offers (sigh). I will have to continue fighting them. I fear this fight will go on until only one of us remains--and I don't think either of them have the strength to do that. So that's bad news for them.

I move an emmissary to Malta and propose an alliance to the fledgling kingdom of Sicily and young King Robert I, so recently returned to us.

Having renounced the naming of the Earl of Mercia and freed up that title, I bestow it upon the proper general, a smart fellow by the name of Wladyslaw Orlicki. Well-named as well, it would seem.

I have also noted that Patrick Bell, the Earl of Northumbria, has gained a vice or two that has dropped his ACU to just +2. I am afraid that just won't do in the Kingdom of Poland, so I send in an emmissary to strip him of his titles as well.

Economic Events

Income: 22754
Expenses: 9743
Profits: 13011

Treasury: 55605

The kingdom's economy continues to chug along. And the treasury continues to rise.

It is a busy year for construction. The big project is Smolensk's castle, which is completed this year. That replaces the one that was being built when the civil war hit.

Wales added a Border Fort, Muscovy a Town Guard, Sweden a Siege Engineer, and Novgorod a Bowyer's Workshop. Pomerania and Lithuania both complete Horse Farmers, so they are now capable of building some early cavalry units.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

Posted by Anrhydeddu

Cursades are not only good for their traditional purposes, but the tactic of sending one through a future enemy provinces to weaken them is not only stated in the manual (I think) but it is historically accurate. Sounds like the AI is using that tactic on you. Lol.

I am really anxious for you to fight in the raging sandstorms of the Middle Eastern and North African deserts, but it looks like that is a long ways off.

By the way, I will be getting back to MTW this week and I think I will copy out my previous posts and put them all into a new one, so I don't clutter up this one.

[Chief Rum]

Yes, Anrhydeddu, it does indeed some it will be a while before I fight in the Middle East. But we'll see. For such a slow-moving game overall, it's amazing how quikcly new developments can happen. I might be in North Africa faster than you think. No, that's not a hint--I have yet to reach either of these areas in my current save game.
Interesting on the Crusades. Yes, that does seem to be happening to me. The French avoided it, though (despite the opportunity). It seems to be just the Germans doing it, the bastards. The aggression of the Holy Roman Empire becomes a bit more concerning, though, in as yet unreported years. I fear a huge war with them will eventually be inevitable, despite more than a century of peace and a long-standing alliance.

I will check out your thread shortly, most of which I have probably read before, but you may have some new stuff at the end. I look forward to seeing how you're doing there.

To all my readers: I just reached 1215, and am planning for 1216. I gotta tell ya, these past couple years have been about as exciting as I have ever come upon. I look forward to telling you all about them.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

Yes, Anrhydeddu, it does indeed some it will be a while before I fight in the Middle East. But we'll see. For such a slow-moving game overall, it's amazing how quikcly new developments can happen. I might be in North Africa faster than you think. No, that's not a hint--I have yet to reach either of these areas in my current save game.

Interesting on the Crusades. Yes, that does seem to be happening to me. The French avoided it, though (despite the opportunity). It seems to be just the Germans doing it, the bastards. The aggression of the Holy Roman Empire becomes a bit more concerning, though, in as yet unreported years. I fear a huge war with them will eventually be inevitable, despite more than a century of peace and a long-standing alliance.

I will check out your thread shortly, most of which I have probably read before, but you may have some new stuff at the end. I look forward to seeing how you're doing there.

To all my readers: I just reached 1215, and am planning for 1216. I gotta tell ya, these past couple years have been about as exciting as I have ever come upon. I look forward to telling you all about them.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

The 1206 Defense of Muscovy

The Novgorods have bigger ones than I thought. Rather than wait for the siege in Ryazan to get wrapped up, they decided to go ont he offensive and attack the force I would likely use to raise the siege there (and they were correct in that assumption).

I hadn't planned to go into Ryazan for another year or so, but in 1206 Prince Mikhail I took a sizable force into Muscovy to head me off. They arrived with 720 men, which isn't much smaller than the force they brought to the Battle of Moscow Bridges in 1155.

Against them I had 992 men. I had a wide range of units; mounted crossbows, archers, steppe cavalry, mounted sergeants, spearmen, etc. Mostly it was units built there in Muscovy (which is one of my more diverse military training provinces) or brought over from Novgorod and Smolensk in the past year. Four units of archers and the mounted crossbows meant I had a sizable group of missile troops. That would turn out to be key.

The last time I fought a battle in Muscovy, there were bridges with blood pouring over the sides, and a thousand men dead. For some reason, then, I wasn't at all surprised when the terrain for this battle came up. Yup--bridges.

It was pretty much the same terrain. We were once again fighting at the very spot of the original Battle of Moscow Bridges, and once again against the Novgorods. But as I noted before, the odds were much closer for this one. Both sides of the river were relatively clear, with only a handful of forested areas, and all far away from the river's edge. There were two bridges again, with one well off to the side and essentially out of the battle. This battle would once again be fought mainly on the primary bridge.

The Novgorod army was on the other side of the bridge and coming hard. As in Ryazan, they had large numbers of boyars. They also had a sizable infantry force, although not as big as mine. There were some decent units in there, too, like feudal sergeants.

They sent some of the infrantry units over the bridge first. On my side, I had a feudal men-at-arms encamped at the foot of the bridge, and other infantry units ready to provide support. On each side of the bridge, I had two lines of archers set up in staggered angles to the bridge, putting almost the entire length within range of my bows. This just seemed to be a move that would make sense, but it ended up being the most key decision I made.

The Novgorods streamed across the bridge, and before I knew it, they had engaged our infantry. As in past bridge battles, the two sides set up a small front running the width of the bridge, and then a mass of fighting soliders (and falling bodies) built up all around them. They pushed us pretty good, so I sent in other infantry units as support.

Meanwhile, our archers were just pouring it on. Every other second, you could hear the deadly arrows from four extended lines of archers streaming onto the bridge. This seemed to shake the Novgorods' confidence greatly.

They compensated by committing some of their elite troops. They sent a couple boyar units charging into the mix. I prepared for my men to run, and the line to break, so that I would have to fall back. But it was for naught--the line held up. And then the boyars became the victims themselves. They appeared to be easy targets for my archers, and there were a lot of arrows left.

Finally, the Novgorods sent up a large contingent of their remaining forces, including more boyar units. By now, though, my infantry was clearly buoyed by the heavy casualties the enemy was taking from our bows, and they fought fiercely. Not only did the line hold, it began to advance a little. And more of the enemy forces fell within range of our deadly cloud of arrows.

It finally seemed to cause dissension in the enemy, as bodies fell by fletchered wood all around the bridge. The infantry units, what was left of them, began to waver. I sent in some more infantry units and a cavalry charge of steppe cavalry and mounted sergeants, and that broke them. Prince Mikhail hightailed it for the road, and his army was stumbling over them, even as we chased them down from behind.

I could barely believe the numbers when they came up. We lost just 77 men this day. The Novgorods suffered 394 killed and 30 captured. Wow!

This was easily the most dominating victory I have ever had. And it did a lot to restore my faith in my own combat skills, which had suffered more than a few blows in recent years.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

1206

War Events

With England conquered and Hungary rather silent, our war news is all from the east this year.

Muscovy has successfully and resoundingly resisted the Novgorod invasion and thrown them back to Ryazan and Volga-Bulgaria. I can't tell you how crushing a defeat it was for the Novgorods. Their army was just literally obliterated. It will take them many years to recover the men they lost at the Second Battle of Moscow Bridges. They are so hard up for cash, that they didn't even pay for the 30 prisoners we captured (and then summarily executed).

Even worse for them is the fact that the bulk of the army I had been preparing to send into Ryazan to raise the siege there remains. I will be sending them in at the end of this year.

Speaking of Ryazan, my defenders there continue to hold out. 33 Polish soldiers fell on Ryazan Castle walls, but 62 remain. It is about to fall, though, so our army will be arriving just in time.

Grand Duke Ogitzak of Novgorod was promoted to a +2 COM for his masterful defeat of the Novgorods in Muscovy. It is his second promotion--the first came after he defeated rebel forces in Muscovy during the civil war in 1180.

World Events

The Germans' latest aggressions continue, and curse me for not realizing what was about to happen. As my men raised the Polish standard above the Tower of London, I considered the possibilty of sending a force into Ireland. It was the only remaining original rebel province in the known world. There was a sizable force of rebels there, but nothing that I couldn't overcome. I had wanted to bribe the Irish leader, an intelligent +4 ACU noble, a long time ago, but where my army could use ships to travel to Ireland, my emmissary for some reason could not without a port on the island.

Anyway, after considering it, I put off taking that last step for another year or two. It would be a critical error. As you have no doubt already guessed, the Germans, the only power with ships in the Irish Sea and North Atlantic, invaded the island, defeated the rebels, and conquered the Emerald Isle. All of England was bathed in Polish red, but Ireland was black as night. I was kicking myself about that one--just stupid of me, like when I lost Chernigov almost a century ago by pausing.

The first German Crusade reached Tripoli and forced the Byzantines to retreat. So the Germans also gain a strong Middle East province this year.

The other German Crusade, coming off so recently leeching soldiers from Polish armies in Prussia, was not so successful.

Led now by former Polish prince and general Sir Boleslaw Jagiellonczyk (third son of King Wladylsaw II), the second German Crusade used our ports to jump from Prussia all the way down to Palestine. The Byzantines met them there, and unlike in Tripoli, the Byzantines took care of business here. They have apparently routed the Germans and forced them to return to Prussia of all places. I just can't get rid of these guys. I had to laugh when i saw that Boleslaw had acquired the Vice of Weak Attacker, and that the Crusade was 900 men lighter on its numbers from when they set out in the first place.

A storm sinks our barque in the Sea of Marinara, cutting us off from the rich ports of Constantinople and along the ring of the Black Sea. We will look to replace it quickly, with reserves along the Mediterranean coastlines.

Nearby, Emperor Alexius II finally bites the dust after a long reign over the Byzantines. The new emperor is Michael VIII.

A piece of the True Cross is discovered by the Spanish. It has been placed in a cathedral in Castile, and is now a place of worship and a pilgrimmage destination for Spain's fervent masses. Zeal increases throughout the Iberian Peninsula.

Royal Family and Nobility Events

With Patrick Bell acquiring some unattractive vices and thus dropping his ACU to just +2, I have stripped him of his titles as the Earl of Northumbria. I bestow it upon a countryman of his instead, a +4 ACU gentleman by the name of Robert Broune.

Covert Events

My spy failed to reveal any vices of the Novgorod general running the siege in Ryazan. I guess we'll just have to demoralize them with good old-fashioned blood-and-guts.

We catch and kill an assassin in Northumbria. He seems to be Byzantine in origin.

Diplomatic Events

Man, even the little countries are shooting us down. The kings of Sicily and Aragon both turn down our alliance offers. The King of Sicily refused to even see our emmissary, and the King of Aragon, homeland of two Polish past queens, turned down our marriage proposal.

We go ahead and propose ceasefires to King Louis VI and King Andras II of France and Hungary, respectively. One of these days, they're just going to have to accept, right?

We also propose an alliance with the Pope again, and send our emmissary back into Aragon to try to secue an alliance with them, marriage be damned.

But our most interesting news didn't involve another faction at all. I had watched with some interest earlier this decade when the seemingly powerful Italians dissolved into internal struggle, bickering and civil war. In one turn, the Italian green boot became a mixture of off-colors and greys.

One of the provinces I watched was Naples, which occupies most of Italy's southern end. It was pretty neat to watch the Italian rebels not only hold their own there against the resident Italian forces (and former brothers-in-arms), but even push them back and force them into a retreat into the castle. With no help on its way, the Italians were helpless before the siege of the rebel Neapolitans, and soont he province was in rebel hands.

It wasn't a part of my plan to try to pick up territories so far from any other Polish lands, so I wasn't really thinking about making any moves on Naples or any of the other former Italian provinces now under the control of various rebel factions.

So it was with a bit of a shocking realization that I noted how strategically placed Naples is at the end of the boot. It is right smack in the middle of the Mediterranean. It would give me a closer power base from which to perhaps pursue conquest in the southern areas of the known world. It could be a quick source of replacement ships in case of enemy attack or violent sea storms along our critical trade routes. It could reduce the expenses we pay for our ships being so far away from Polish lands (the expenses apparently increase with distance), as Naples is far closer to our shipsin the Mediterranean than any Polish provinces in the Great Northern Kingdom. And, lastly, it would put us right next to the Pope, where we might put a little more "direct" pressure on the pontif every once in a while, should he get out of line.

So I took what was to me an extraordinary and heretofore unexpected move by having an emmissary approach the leader of the Neapolitans, Lord de Montferrat, with a bribe. I was informed the needed bribe would be 3180 florins (quite affordable), and it would be presented next year.

Economic Events

Income: 22977
Expenses: 10133
Profits: 12844

Treasury: 59941

The kingdom continues to prosper strongly in economics and trade, even as its fringes are fraught with war.

It was quite a year for farming in Poland's kingdom. Scotland completed +40% Farming Improvements, and Wessex, Mercia and Denmark all finished +20% Farming Improvements. Silesia was the weird one--they finished a Horse Breeder.

1207

War Events

The defenders of Ryazan Castle were hanging by a thread, feeding off wayward rats and thin as posts, when the horns of the approaching Polish army was heard in the distance. The Novgorod army encamped outside the walls immediately broke camp and marched east toward Volga-Bulgaria--their scouts confiremd that they could not defeat a force of 914 battle-tested Polish warriors. The ragged defenders cheered as Grand Duke Ogitzak of Novgorod rode through the gatehouse, leading a stream of other elite cavalry units. The province of Ryazan is back in Polish hands again.

It was a quiet and bloodless re-conquest. No facilities were damaged and destroyed, and the Novgorods were finally back where they were when they first started the stupid war by invading Ryazan in the first place.

World Events

Boleslaw's Crusaders gave it another shot, but this time they headed for Anatolia, another Byzantine province, but in central-south Turkey, along the coast. The Byzantines were less numerous there, so they retreated before the oncoming German Crusade. The goal of the Crusade, however, is still Palestine.

Famine rocks the Papal States. The papacy's two provinces have been getting hit by famine fairly often in the past 50 years.

Italy had lost Sicily and Naples to the rebels, and Genoa, Tuscany and probably Milan to the Germans (via rebels), but they had managed to reassert their power in Corsica and Sardinia. This year, though, the kingdom suffered another setback, when they were rocked again by civil war. The large island provinces both immediately fell to rebel forces, and the once strong power of Italy was completely ensconced in Venice alone.

Royal Family and Nobility Events

I continued to look for governor-generals who ahd suffered ACu losses for one reason or another. I discovered another in the Grand Duke of Muscovy, Gellir Stellarsson. He was just a +3. So I have set for him to be stripped of his titles.

I also renamed Tarkhan reuven the Duke of Ryazan. The Ryazan native has now lost the title twice due to enemy aggression. He first lost the title during the Polish civil war, and then more recently because of the Novgorod invasion. Hopefully he will keep the title for a while now.

Diplomatic Events

Don Boniface de Montferrat does indeed turn out to be a man susceptible to the allure of Polish gold. He accepts our bribe, and the army of Neapolitans (and Naples with it), will begint he process of turning over to Polish sovereignty.

The Pope turned down our request, requesting that we make war on its neighbors to show the Pope our sincerity. Aragon turned us down, saying it was not ready to choose sides in our wars. And France shot down our ceasefire offer, refusing to even meet with our emmissary. Hungary's reaction was the same.

Persistent as always, we approach Spain for an alliance offer again this year, and propose another alliance to an Aragonese princess, this one named Sancha.

Economic Events

Income: 23686
Expenses: 10613
Profits: 13073

Treasury: 66504

I am immediately able to return Ryazan to Very High taxes, which is nice. That accounts for most of our income increase from last year.

It turns out be one of the busiest years ever in Polish construction. Finland finished a Castle, taking that next step to a big time province. Wales became a little more mechanized when they built a Copper Mine. Volhenya completed a Merchant to increase trade. Silesia and Mercia both finished Border Forts, to make enemy agent travel much more difficult. Also, Smolensk added a Horse Farmer, Prussia a Swordsmith, and Denmark Watchtowers.

1208

War Events

The army in Naples turns over to us completely, and for the first time ever, the Polish red-and-gray is raised above Mediterranean lands. The takeover is quite costly, though, as four facilities are destroyed and two damaged. Polish coffers increase by 1200 florins from countryside plunder.

The standing army is about 300 men, which is a little low for being so far from any other Polish lands, so I send another 300 or so men from Wessex to help keep the peace in Poland's newest province.

I have to say, it seems weird to see that splash of red on the lower end of the map. But I think it was the right move.

World Events

The Egyptians, already struggling to maintain a presence in the coastal provinces of the Middle East, have a bad year.

The Byzantines invade Lesser Armenia, forcing the last Muslims in the world to retreat. The Germany declares another Crusade, this time to Rum in eastern Turkey.

Definitely not a good year for the Egyptians.

Royal Family and Nobility Events

It should come as no surprise that the Lord de Montferrat is better suited for commanding an army than he is governing a province. Those different skills are rarely visited upon the same man. So we choose another Italian unit commander, Don Pietro Morisini, to become the new King of Naples.

With the acquisition of Naples, King Kazimierz II has now reached heights seen only by King Wladyslaw the Great himself. King Kaz is now +7 in INF, and factions across the known world supposedly bow before his supremacy. Of course, that doesn't seem to be getting us any alliances or ceasefires now, does it?

Covert Events

Short and sweet. Bodyguards caught and killed an assassin who claimed to be working for Spain before he died.

Diplomatic Events

As I mentioned in the World Events, Germany has declared another Crusade, this time to Rum. Since Rum is Egyptian-controlled (one of the few remaining), I must choose between the Germans and Egyptians with respect to alliances. I choose Germany, of course. Egypt is just too far away and now weak to be as important an ally as the Holy Roman Empire.

The King of Spain is not taking visitors from Poland, so our emmissary is unable to obtain an audience with him. Aragon declines our marriage proposal again. So it was a bad year for Polish relations in Iberia.

I continue try to make a difference in this area. This year I make the most extensive round of diplomatic offers yet. I offer alliances to Spain (again), the Pope, the Byzantine Empire, and Aragon (again). I also offer ceasefires to all three of my war opponents, France, Hungary and Novgorod.

Economic Events

Income: 24490
Expenses: 11273
Profits: 13217

Treasury: 73227

All four economic indicators are now at the highest levels ever. The treasury's building levels are just incredible. This trade thing really works!

I am able to move Naples to Very High right away, thanks to the 600-700 men present in the province. Naples has not natural resources, but it does trade heavily in Silk and Olive Oil. It is decently productive right now, with a range of 184 to 308 florins (Very Low to Very High). As you might expect, the vast majority of the population--about 98%--are Catholic, with Islam taking the remaining 2%.

Ryazan finishes Border Forts, Norway +40% Farming Improvements, and Livonia a Dockyard this year. It is relatively light for project completions compared to recent past years.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

Posted by MrBug

Chief, have you ever lost a leader to assasination? Seems like you have gotten quite a few attempting on your life or your leaders, but you seem to stay alive. Yet you somehow manage to knock some off some of the foreign leaders as well. A case of an advantage towards the player?

Posted by Anrhydeddu

Losing Ireland was a blow in more ways than one. I have found, even as I venture into the High Period, that the Irish Gallowglasses are superb attacking units and I am still building them.

By the way, I examined the units list more closely to find what the good High Period units are. Take a look at the units that have a high charge value (like around 8) or combination of good melee/defense. It's no wonder that you had trouble with the Boyars. Other unit stats were surprising as well. Can anyone see some comments to make? I would like to hear of more experiences with newer units.

[Chief Rum]

MrBug: Well, catching assassins in your territories is not quite the same as having attempts on your life.
It's hard to get assassins and pies deep into enemy territory where you have border forts built in every province, as I have. You may have noticed that Lithuania and Prussia are two of the more "popular" places for assassins to get caught. That's because they are coastal provinces--assassins ship in, but then they get caught.

At the rate I kill them, I have probably wiped out a whole host of assassins from some countries, especially Spain and the Byzantine Empire.

As for actual attempts on my agents' lives, to my knowledge there have been only three actual attempts. I have lost two emmissaries to assassinations (both in Scotland, and I suspect the French for both), and a long time ago, I had an attempt on a general in Lithuania. He survived the attack, and got the vice of Born Again, maxing his PIE rating.

Anrhydeddu: Losing Ireland does hurt. I suspected the gallowglasses would be solid warriors. But don't think this is the end of that--if I ever get into a war with the Holy Roman Empire, you gotta figure that Ireland will be high on the list of targets for me.

Interesting link on units, although it's hard for me to translate the numbers into what they actually do on the field of battle. I guess I need to see them in action first.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

1209

World Events

Interesting events in Anatolia since Boleslaw and his Crusade arrived there. Apparently, the local populace didn't take too kindly to the Catholic religion the Crusade brought with them, nor the German rule. They have been Orthodox and Byzantine since the beginning of the game, I am sure.

So not only did a religious army of Orthodox peoples get raised, but also a standard Byzantine uprising. Two large Byzantine armies pretty much magically appeared there. What was really odd was that the religious uprising said three other provinces joined in. I don't know what that means (only one province was German-controlled and that was Anatolia tiself). My suspicion is that the armies were made even bigger by contributions from neighboring Byzantine provinces.

Anyway, a sudden 1600-1700 force of Byzantines wasn't what the doc ordered for Boleslaw's Crusade, which has struggled a lot so far. So they moved up to Rum (I think--they moved out of sight, but it was the only non-coastal province they could have gone to that I wouldn't have seen them).

King Louis VI passed away, leaving the throne of France to Henri II. If Henri wasn't French I would have hope--but he is, of course.

A few years ago the Dominicans rose to prominence. This year, it is the Franciscans. Francis of Assisi (to be sainted in the future) is preaching his Doctrine of Poverty, and his order his doing the same. They preach of poverty (or renouncement of wealth), the simple life, and devotion to God. They are Pope-approved apparently. Catholic numbers and Zeal goes up in the Papal States, Rome, Tuscany, Genoa, and recently Polish-acquired Naples.

Royal Family and Nobility Events

I stripped Gellir Stellarsson, he of the now +3 ACU, of his Grand Duke of Muscovy titles and bestowed them on Sir Msciwoi Czajka, the general with +5 ACU to whom I have been waiting to find a good province to give.

Covert Events

We catch and kill another assassin in Sweden. This one is apparently Spanish--at least the evidence suggests it.

Diplomatic Events

Since I went nuts with the emmissary offers, of course, I got a flood of responses this year. Here's what happened.

First the alliance offers. The Pope said no, because he's not ready to choose sides. Aragon said no and asked us to prove our sincerity first. Spain said no, seeing no advantage to it. And the Byzantine Emperor was too busy to even see us.

With the ceasefires, things were pretty much the same. France asked me to make war on its troublesome neighbors, Hungary said the time wasn't right (but didn't offer us any insult nor planned any aggressive action against us), and Novgorod listened to our arguments, but gave no reason for rejecting our offer. I wish these made more sense. Why on Earth would Novgorod want to continue its war against me, when they invaded and we pretty much thoroughly crushed them?

I still want to get some brides in place, so I propose marriages to Princess Kunigunde of Germany and princess Agata of Hungary.

Economic Events

Income: 25865
Expenses: 11777
Profits: 14088

Treasury: 78719

It was just a huge year in contruction. I think this is the biggest year we have ever had for projects being completed. Eleven facilities were added to Polish territories this year.

Northumbria finished their Keep, leaving just Denmark and Naples to finish a Keep in their province. Prussia added a Royal Palace, so they could move toward knights of all sorts.

Poland and Mercia improved their trade revenues by adding a Merchants' Guild and a Trading Post, respectively. And Wales and Novgorod increased their city security by adding a Town Watch and Town Guard.

Sweden approached the ability to make mounted sergeants and other elite cavalry units by finishing a Spearmaker's Workshop, and Smolensk added a Spearmaker. To finish things off, Pomerania finished a Siege Engineer's Workshop, Lithuania a Swordsmith, and Finland a Bowyer.

1210

World Events

I have the world's largest military force. This is no surprise, of course, but it's nice to return to this achievement after falling off because of the civil war and the necessary losses suffered from decades of war.

King Fernando I of Aragon dies, and his throne is passed to Garc I. What a horrible name.

Boleslaw's Crusade is now in the Sinai with the Spanish. They apparently got permission from the Spanish to be there. I guess they weren't in Rum, because I don't know where they started this year, but I watched them enter Palestine and got thrown back by the Byzantines again (forcing them into Sinai). The Byzantines also finally took over Tripoli from germany's last Crusade, so the Holy Roman Empire isn't doing so hot in the Middle East. The Byzantines also officially reconquered Anatolia, although that was given once Boleslaw's Crusade fled the uprisings there last year.

The Byzantine Empire received the benefits of the work of one of its noted scholars this year, a man named Nicetas Choniates. Apparently he has completed a History of the Empire, which reflects well on the Byzantines. It gives +1 INF to the Byzantine Emperor and leads to a loss of 10% Zeal in all Orthodox provinces (unsure if this is really a reference to all, or just such provinces in the Byzantine Empire).

The Holy Roman Empire received a bonus this year for the rise of a heroic epic poem called the Niebelungenlied. It is described as being more than a German legend--that it defines what "German" is. It helps to unite the nation more strongly, and all German generals receive a +1 LOY bonus.

Diplomatic Events

The Holy Roman Empire and Hungary both declined our marriage proposals. I wasn't exactly shocked.

Economic Events

Income: 25891
Expenses: 11976
Profits: 13915

Treasury: 82057

It's ridiculous how my income and profits continue to rise. I don't even know how it's happening any more, but I'll take it.

Not as much construction this year, though (which isn't a surprise, considering that eleven provinces started new projects this year). Wessex completed a Shipwright, becoming yet another ship-building province for the Great Northern Kingdom. Scotland added an Armourer, and Ryazan completed a Trading Post.

Since this is such a quiet year compared to others, it seems fitting I should add more content here I forget to add earlier. In 1208, I sent out the first Polish caravels.

These ships, which I mention as becoming available in 1205 (probably due to the transition to the High Period) are fast ships with enough range to go out into the sea a bit, away from coastal regions. They both attack and defend better than barques--and galleys as well. I have to think that at the moment, they would be the most powerful ships in the medieval world. I started my coastal provinces on their production from the very beginning. Now I am moving them out, two provinces at a time (I told you they were fast). My first ships, out of port in 1208, will reach the Mediterranean this year, and I am now able to station ships in the Atlantic Ocean, allowing me to protect trade routes without forcing myself to go through the coastal areas (and subsequently susceptible to blockade).

1211

World Events

Boleslaw and his Crusading German comerades are ertainly gluttons for punishment. They launch another attack on the Byzantines in Palestine, and are once again thrown back to the Sinai. They are nothing if not persistent.

The Spanish Crusade to Constantinople has been working its way through French, German and Hungarian lands the past few years. This year it reaches Bulgaria, the first Byzantine province on its route, and forces the Byzantines to retreat.

War Events

Nothing too big to note here. I just decided to do another army clean up. I disbanded some more units, mostly woodsmen, peasants, urban militia and other units with small numbers of men).

Economic Events

Income: 25627
Expenses: 11744
Profits: 13833

Treasury: 93947

I'm maybe one year away from 100,000 florins. Now that's a lotta mozoulias!

Wales and Mercia finished Horse Farmers, and Muscovy a Horse Breeders' Guild, aiding my cavalry building capabilities in England and in the east. Denmark adds a Port, which is one of the things I have been looking forward to adding here. It long had one, of course, but it was destroyed in the subsequent German invasion and following overthrow.

Finland finished a Spearmaker and Silesia an Armourer to improve their unit-training capabilities as well.

1212

World and War Events

I normally don't combine these two, but it's hard to avoid it this year.

The Byzantines attacked our barque in the Black Sea, sinking it with their galley and dromon fleet combo without losing a ship.

I can't begin to give enough weight to this occurrence. This is a potential war that has long been building up, but one that you have to wonder why the Byzantines would do it now.

Had the Byzantines attacked us 80-100 years ago when they first expanded into the sourthern Russian steppes, they could have caused us a lot of problems. Those of you who have been with us that long will recall that was a primary concern of mine.

They also could have caused a lot of problems by invading when we were rocked by civil war 30 years ago. Even though we probably could have fought them off eventually, it likely would have set us back at least 50 years and we would have lost sizable lands in either the old Novgorod territories or maybe even our then-rebel-controlled heartland. Our most economically-vaible province of Lithuania would have been particularly vulnerable.

But they did not choose to attack at those times. They instead waited until they were beleaguered by attacks on all sides, and after I had completely recovered from my civil war. And on top of that I have been building up my forces because of the War Against Polish Aggression for decades now, and recently was ackowledged as the world's greatest military power.

And I haven't really gotten into detail on what the Byzantines are going through this particular year in other areas. As you know, the Spanish invaded Bulgaria last year, and this year they enter Constantinople itself, the capital of the Empire. The Byzantines resisted, but the Spanish were too much and forced them to retreat. So even as they attacked us in the Black Sea, they were falling back to the Citadel in Constantinople, as Spanish soldiers surrounded its walls.

The German Crusade attacked Palestine again, and were once again thrown back to the Sinai. France declared a new Crusade to Antioch, bringing them into war with the Byzantines as well. And the Byzantines themselves were heavily pursuing an offensive against the last remaining Egyptian provinces, and had forced the last Islamic faction to just holding out in its castle in Arabia.

So the Byzantine Empire was very powerful and yet also under much attack at this moment. An attack on Polish ships in the Black Sea, which gains them nothing, only brings the world's most powerful army into conflict with them. And since there are a lot of Byzantine provinces I would like to get my hands on, this just gives me am opportunity to press the issue. Altogether an awfully dumb decision by the Byztnine Empire's AI.

I immediately start moving armies around to prepare for a big offensive against the Orthodox Byzantines.

Famine strikes Toulouse and hurts French income there. And the Children's Crusade begins. This sad event takes place when a bunch of peasant children take it upon themselves to recapture the Holy Land. Sadly, they disappear around northern Italy, probably captured and sold into the slave markets in Venice. And their loss leads to widespread farming income drops in Germany and France. Also many bereft parents in these areas turn from the Church and Zeal and Catholicism numbers both suffer.

Diplomatic Events

Since I am about to go to war with the Byzantines, I decide to try again to propose peace with the Hungarians. As they are so close to my homelands, they could present a problem. They say they are not planning any aggressive attacks against us, but it would work better if I could be assured of that via ceasefire.

So I approach King Andras II again with a ceasefire proposal.

Economic Events

Income: 19095
Expenses: 11677
Profits: 7418

Treasury: 102355

Even as we finally reach that mythical level of a hundred grand in florins, our income and profits take a huge hit. With no ship in the Black Sea area, and as it happens, a Byzantine galley in the rich Adriatic Ocean area, we are blockaded from some of the richer areas in the world. The true irony, of course, is that Constantinople is in Spanish hands right now, so we are still connected to the Byzantines' rich capital.

Naples finishes its Port and now all of Poland's coastal regions are once again seafaring lands. Ryazan adds a Town Watch, Norway an Armourer, and Livonia a Swordsmith. And the entire economy is geared once again toward producing military units and unit-improving facilities. Also, my caravels begin to filter into the area, where they could be the difference on the seas.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

Posted by Troko

Chief Rum,
I think your income rises each time another faction builds a new port on your trade routes. Happy new year and good luck in dealing with the Byzantines!

[Chief Rum]

Thanks, Troko. Happy new year to you, too. Yeah, I figured the continuing changes were a result of everything from ports being built to different facilities being built in foreign lands to small changes in my lands.
More to come shortly.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

King Kazimierz II

(b.1143 - d.1213) a.k.a. Kazimierz Warhawk, Kaz the Bloody

Was Kazimierz the greatest monarch in Poland's history? That is for historians to decide. In reality, Kazimierz, or Kaz as he was known by close family and friends, was a very conflicted men. In some ways, he was indeed the greatest king Poland had had up to this point. And in other ways, he left a lot to be desired, bringing more troubles on the kingdom with poor decision-making than good with his rule. Without a doubt, he is one of the more oft-studied of the time's monarchs, for his influence on both Poland's continued rise to greatness and its increasing role in the medieval world's politics.

Kaz ruled the Great Northern Kingdom from 1172 until his death from a heart attack in 1213. The 41-year stretch is up until now the longest stretch for a Polish monarch. Like his father, Henry I, Kaz was quite young when he ascended to the throne, just 29. Unlike Henry, though, Kaz lived much longer, extending his reign significantly. And in an odd bit of trivia, Kaz was born 100 years after Wladyslaw the Great, his great-grandfather, and died 100 years after Wladyslaw the Great.

Kazimierz was born the third child of Henry I and Queen Violante of Aragon in 1143. Kaz was very close to his mother, his sisters (of whom he would eventually have seven), and his three uncles when he was just a child. Even as Henry prepared to expand the borders of the kingdom, the mood at Krakow Castle was light, as Kazimierz was constantly babied by his mother and Henry's brothers Konrad, Mieszko, and Boleslaw.

Kaz was just old enough to understand what had happened when he first heard of the death of his oldest uncle, Prince Konrad, in the 1147 invasion of Novgorod-held Finland in the War for Novgorod Dominion (1145-1165). It is reported that this when the rift between him and his father first began, as Henry was rumored to have ordered Konrad to the front of the lines in Finland. The rumors were never confirmed, but they found fertile soil nevertheless in young Kaz's mind.

The rift grew for a number of reasons as the years passed. For one thing, Henry treated his living brothers as poorly as his dead one. Boleslaw and Mieszko were well-known to be less than loyal to the king, with aspirations for glory of their own. But they treated Kazimierz well, and he loved them very much. So it was years before he would really come to accept their true natures, and well after his father's death.

Henry was also a very devious and circumspect man, dealing heavily in spies and political intrigue. This did not settle well with young Kaz, who was a rather blunt young man, and did not agree with many of Henry's decisions nor with the way he handled his own family in the same manner. And Kaz watched as Henry married away each and every one of his sisters. The moves were often politcally necessary, but they angered Kamiziez nonetheless.

Henry was also known to be privately uncomfortable with himself, so he was disgusted to see so much of himself in Kazimierz, who took much after his father in look and skills, if not attitude. As a result, even though he never allowed Kazimierz to be far away from him, he also rarely dealt with his only son personally, handing him off to the Queen, his prince brothers or other assorted advisors and tutors.

The real break, though, came as Kazimierz approached maturity in the late 1150s. His father was increasingly more distant and abusive with his mother because of her seeming inability to bear sons. As Kazimierz was very close to Queen Violante, this almost brought the prince and the king to deadly blows on more than one occasion. Kaz also chafed under Henry's requirement that he always be in attendance upon the king, because of his status as the lone living male heir to the throne.

Henry was once thought to have said, "It is not my desire that Kaz love me. It is merely my desire that blood runs through his heart when I walk this Earth no more. This kingdom will need its king, and I am an old man."

Kazimierz the young man was outwardly a charismatic man, much more of a born leader than his father. But he did inherit some underhanded characteristics and tricks from his father, including the art of skillfully blackmailing others. This was a skill which for the most part stayed private for Kaz's entire life, but it was the worst kept secret among those in and around Krakow Castle, and Konigsburg Castle in Prussia, where Kazimierz spent much of his time, both as prince and king.

It was reported that in 1165, Kazimierz blackmailed a Polish general to hide young Prince Mikhail of the Novgorods from the marauding armies of his father's powerful general Sir Casimir Jagiellonczyk, rumored to be Kaz's own great-uncle. Mikhail, but a youth in 1165, was thought to be Novgorod's last remaining heir, a nephew of Prince Sviatopolk. He was to have died in the assault on Volga-Bulgaria Castle, but Kazimierz, disagreeing with his father's intention to leave no male of Novgorod royal lineage alive, arranged for the youth to be slipped out of the castle as a page and into Ryazan, where he was raised by a roving band of Tarkhans loyal to the Duke of Ryazan and to Poland from afar. The story of Mikhail and Kazimierz is a long one that will often be revisited in Kazimierz's lifetime and even beyond.

In 1162, Henry arranged for his son to marry the Princess Margaretha of Hungary, a young woman of reknowned for her great beauty and grace. It was, some insiders believed, to be a sort of apology to his son for his treatment of him, although Henry would never say it was anything more than an appropriate political maneuver. Regardless of the source for the union, the two young royals were well-infatuated with one another from the very start.

This marriage and the twilight births of Kazimierz's brothers Wladyslaw (1166) and Casimir (1168) led to a softening of the edge between father and son in the late years of Henry's life. Although their relationship could never be regarded as more than lukewarm, even as Henry laid on deathbed in 1172, at the very least it was not the same frosty regard they had for each other when Kazimierz was but a just maturing adolescent in 1159.

Kazimierz and Margaretha were quick to bear children, and Margaretha would prove nearly as fruitful as the Queen Mother Violante, but blessed with more sons. The royal couple had five sons and two daughters. Their first child, Zophia, was born in 1163, not long after they had married, and the new Prince Heir, Leszek, was born in 1173, just a year after Kazimierz ascended to the throne of Poland.

The kingdom was at the beginning of interesting times when Henry was living his last days. Indeed, the "interesting" times would come to be a regular mark of Kazimierz's following reign. After the fall of the princedom of Novgorod in 1165, Henry led the kingdom through a bit of a golden age, the like of which had not been seen since the last days of King Wladyslaw II, Henry's father, in the 1130s. The Great Northern Kingdom, which had established trade routes to beyond Spain and along the Mediterranean coast of Aragon and France, was bringing in more wealth than any other nation, and Henry had begun the second Project, a series of great castle-building throughout the kingdom, including a Great Citadel in Krakow itself.

But in 1171, other kingdoms began to envy Poland's wealth and power, and fear their aggressive approach to trade and the seas. That year, Spain, never a friend of the Kingdom of Poland, treacherously struck at the Polish barques in Costa Verde, starting the First Costa Verdan War.

It was during these times of troubles that Henry began to waste away. The mysterious sickness that would eventually kill him, also left him unable to rule the kingdom, especially in times of war, and thus forcing Prince Kazimierz to ascend to the throne at 29 years of age.

Kazimierz would prove over time to have some very admirable qualities for a monarch, but in 1172, those qualities were yet to be apparent. Under Henry, the generals of the Polish armies knew fear, for Henry was not secretive about what he did with treasonous offenders, and his ability to ferret out conspiracies with his kingdom-wide network of spies was well-reknowned. It was thought at times the king knew the inner thoughts of every general himself, as if he were speaking those thoughts aloud and in Henry's presence.

The generals held no such regard for Kazmierz, though, who was very present at the royal palace, but who beyond it was naught more than a mysterious heir who was rarely allowed to travel beyond Krakow. Kazmierz had never seen the battle field, and his skills at blackmail were already whispered about, so the fighting men of Poland, who preferred more confrontational and up-front habits, were already put off by him.

They were further put off by his insistence in maintaining wars as being purely naval. Kazimierz felt that the trade routes to the Mediterranean were of the utmost importance, so he directed the Polish navy, built up to be the world's greatest under his father, to wipe out the Spanish fleet in the First Costa-Verdan War, but not tary a single foot on Spanish soil. This rubbed the generals the wrong way, as they had long hated the Spanish for their disdain of Poland, and longed for the chance to put the rogues in their place by invading their very homelands. Their loyalty was further put to the test when Poland fought a imilar war with France in the late 1170s. Polish forces did advance on the French in Northumbria, but the French fled before a drop of blood was spilled, so once again the war was almost entirely naval.

Kazimierz heard these rumors, of course, especially near the beginning of the skirmishes with the French in 1175. His spy network, also inherited from his father, was very effective. But Kaz was not nearly as adept at operating it as his father was, nor was he ever too certain of the info he was provided, unlike his father, who regularly relied on it. As such, he did not give proper weight to spy reports of dissatisfaction from some generals in 1178.

He had heard rumors of discontent before, but the rumors seemed to center on Khan Ziemowit Mazovia of Volga-Bulgaria, a distant figure Kazimierz had only met once. Kazimierz arranged for his youngest sister, Swietoslawa II, to marry the khan to solidify his loyalty, and that seemed to defray the rumors.

But it was naught but another level int he conspiracy. It's not known if the report Kazimierz received about mustering Hungarian forces was really true or not, but in this one bit of intelligence, King Kaz did find some worth. As a result of it, he pooled much if his best forces and elite men in the homelands of the kingdom under his uncles Boleslaw and Mieszko (yes, the same ones who bounced him on their knees when he was but a child), while he and his royal court travelled first to Konigsburg Castle in Prussia and then to Novgorod to put his family out of harm's way.

This would prove to be a critical error, as Boleslaw and Mieszko were in deep with the growing conspiracy. Indeed, it is thought that Boleslaw, ever a master of deviousness like his brother, the late king Henry, might have been the source on the Hungarian spy report. Suddenly, sizable forces of Poland were under the brothers' command, and the King was far from the heartland and able to be posed as something of a coward to generals on the wavering line of rebellion.

And with that, in 1179, the Great Northern Kingdom of Poland fell into a Great Polish Civil War. To Kaz's utter shame (one he once stated that he could never live down), Poland itself turned on the monarchy, along with five other provinces, including neighboring Volhenya and Silesia. The brothers led two of the largest armies in the world in the heart of the country, and the Khan of Volga-Bulgaria himself became reknowned as the leader of the intrepid rebellion.

It is during this time that Kazimierz first began to truly establish himself as a great king and leader of men. His kingdom was on the verge of collapse. Great forces controlled the heart of his kingdom, and the loyal people of the Kingdom of Poland were shaken in their faith for their new, young King.

Kazimierz had the upperhand, though. Despite the loss of six provinces, Kaz had the superior armies, the great Polish navy, and the strong economic base of the coastal provinces. And his decisions, up until now questionable, were beyond reproach for the next few years.

First, he ordered the driving out of rebels in Scotland, Northumbria and Muscovy. Then he orchestrated a ceasefire with France (using a bit of blackmail on the king there, reportedly). And then he sailed himself with a great army to take Prussia back from rebel control. And none of that even begins to touch what he orchestrated in Volga-Bulgaria. But more on that in a bit.

His sword did not leave its scabbard, but Kaz finally saw his first battlefield in the snow plains of Prussia. He used superior cavalry forces to rout the rebels remaining there. He himself did little, but by leading the force so quickly and strongly against the rebels, and for being there personally, he did much to heal what doubts his still loyal generals may have had about the strength of the man in Kazimierz. By 1181, Prussia, Scotland, Northumbria and Muscovy were all in loyalist hands, and assaults were already being planned in Ryazan and Smolensk.

His most brilliant move, though, may have been in Volga-Bulgaria. King Kazimierz lacked the strength at that time to take on the khan and his forces himself in that far east province, but he had someone else who could: the exiled Prince Mikhail, leading a band of Novgorod loyalists on the steppes of Ryazan. With aid from Kazimierz's spy network, the Prince returned to Volga-Bulgaria and pronounced himself the new Prince of Novgorod. The once loyal people of Volga-Bulgaria arose to support their returned prince, and soon the khan himself was facing a mighty Novgorod uprising. One year later, King Kaz received a gift: Khan Mazovia's head on a boyar arrow-spit, with distinctive Novgorod colors on the arrow flethings, and a simple message of thanks from the young Prince, and a promise of alliance.

Smolensk and Ryazan were under Polish control in 1185 when Kazimierz began to gather his forces in Pomerania and Poland for the final assault into the rebel-heart of Poland and Volhenya and his traitorous uncles' armies there.

But King Andras II of Hungary, brother to Queen Margaretha of Poland herself, felt that he had a rightful claim to Poland through that marriage, and invaded the homeland of the Great Northern Kingdom before Kazimierz could. Shocked at the brazeness of the once friendly monarch, Kazimierz launched his own forces into Poland to meet the Hungarians, and intitiating the War Against Polish Aggression.

This war would mark Kazimierz's remaining reign. Not only were the Polish warring with the Hungarians, but the French snuck attacked them again in the English Channel in 1185, the Spanish did the same in 1186, and the Italians of all people, sank Italian barques in 1188.

The war became so prevalent that Kazimierz was forced to make peace with his uncles, even as he wanted to perch their heads on the walls of Krakow. He did do so skillfully, though, bringing both back under the Polish standard. It appears that former princes Boleslaw and Mieszko feared the Hungarian sword without protection more than the potential consequecnes of returning to subjugation under King Kazimierz.

Kaz, who felt deeply betrayed by the brothers' treason, would never trust them again, of course. It is rumored he framed Boleslaw in the infamous trial of 1186, in which the former rebel general was unsuccessfully tried for murder. Kazimierz was also likely the one who set up Mieszko for a fall in the campaign in Moldavia in 1193. Mieszko was believed to be felled not by a Hungarian lance through his breastplate, but by a Polish arrow in his back. Kazimierz is even rumored to have blackmailed Boleslaw into joining a German Crusade later in life, but this was never confirmed, nor the content of the blackmail revealed.

Through bribery and sheer force, Kazimierz was able to bring an end to the Polish Civil War by 1191, and also force the Spanish to accept a ceasefire. He then orchestrated a peace with the Italians, including a bride for his eldest son Leszek, and Kazimierz's reknown as a diplomat and warring taskmaster was assured in the anals of medieval history.

He was not popular in all circles, however. Pope Nicholas IV, who had proven quick to excommunicate monarchs, was in a rage over Kazimierz's campaigns in Moldavia against Hungary, and in 1192, he excommunicated the King. Kazimierz himself was never known to be very religious, and reportedly just shrugged it off, but the heretofore unknown action in Poland shook the people's faith in the King greatly, and contributed much instability to the realm. Were it not for the great armies Kaz had built for both the Civil War and the War Against Polish Aggression, the kingdom might have fallen into disarray and internal strife again. Fortunately, the Pope would pass away a short time later, and Kazimierz was returned to the masses of the holy by his successor, Pope Nicholas V.

Although the Hungarian campaigns were ultimately unsuccessful, Kazimierz had yetr to achieve what was considered his greatest achievement. It was also the conflict by which he came to be known as The Bloody and Warhawk. In 1197, Kazimierz ordered the invasion of Mercia and initiating a seven-year sweep through England. The occupying French were helpless before the great forces of Poland, as Kaz's chosen general, King of Scotland Lord Miazga, conquered Mercia, Wales and then the great southern province of Wessex, including the great Tower of London in 1204.

While Kaz's reknown for his war skills in the Civil War, and his diplomatic skills in the handling of his disloyal generals and the cowing of Spain and Italy made him famous throughout the medieval world, it is his work for the economies of Poland that his own people would be most thankful for. Even as his kingdom was fraught with war, Kazimierz maintained the importance of his trade routes. He continued to build up the strength of Poland's already great navies, even adding the fast and powerful caravels to the mix near the end of his reign. By the 1190s, a Polish ship was off the coast of every coastal province in the known world, and Poland was by far the richest kingdom in the world. Kaz also continually maintained ongoing construction projects throughout the kingdom and brought in Denmark and Naples, both potentially very rich provinces, under the fold of Poland's rule, via bribery, diplomacy and annexation.

By late in his rule, Kaz was acknowledged to have reached a pinnacle power achieved by no other Polish monarch excpet old King Wladyslaw I himself. And Kaz was considered his great-grandfather's equal in every respect.

Of course, Kazimierz did not have one year of peace during his reign as king. The late era was no different, as the War Against Polish Aggression continued to rage, even as the French were driven out of England and the Hungarians were stalemated. For in 1204, King Kaz was visited by yet another treachery.

In that year, Prince Mikhail turned on his one-time mentor and invaded Ryazan and then Muscovy. It was a foolish move, made by a young Prince who felt he might take advantage of Poland while its attentions were elsewhere. But it was a poor judgement in error, as Poland had plenty of forces remaining to repel the Novgorod attacks. Polish forces crushed the Novgorods and sent them packing back to Volga-Bulgaria. King Kaz was ever hopeful, even to his death, that a peace could be had with his old friend Mikhail, but it did not come to be in his time. Nevertheless, the King refused to grant his generals' wish to invade Volga-Bulgaria and finish the rival faction off for good once more.

In 1213, the King was already drawing up plans for an assault against the Byzantine Empire, which had recently assaulted Polish vessels in the Black Sea, when his 70-year-old heart siezed up on him. He reportedly keeled over right on top of a map of Eastern Europe, even as his eldest son and new King Leszek watched in horror. He died doing what he had always done--making war and making plans.

Leszek ordered a him placed in a great tomb in the city square of Krakow, and had a great monumental building constructed around it. It was named the Timb of the Great King, and to this day, King Kazimierz II's bones, that of the Warhawk, remain in place there, and as a source of nationalistic pride for the peoples of Poland.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

1213

Royal Family and Nobility Events

King Kazimierz II has passed away, leaving the realm in the hands of Leszek I, the old kings' eldest son and third child. It also removes Kazimierz's youngest brother Casimir from the list of princes, and moves princes Henry, Konrad, Mieszko and Boleslaw up to brothers of the king.

Leszek is 41, which actually makes him a bit older than usual for a new king. Henry was 30 when he ascended to the throne, and Kazimierz 29. Leszek has three crowns of INF, which is one more than his father had at the beginning.

The kingdom actually goes through a bit less upheaval than before. There are loyalty drops across the country, of course, and many generals take a big hit in that category as well. But only Livonia dips below 100%. We do some unit shuffling to get a big enough army there to get the province back above 100% without dropping taxes.

Leszek and new Queen Letizia, originally from the nation of Italy, have just one child, a daughter named Zophia who is 14 years old. So they will have to get cracking on a male heir as soon as possible. Until one is born and matures, the Prince Heir will be Prince Henry, Leszek's brother, and we really don't want that (he sucks even worse than usual).

Of course, the real issue is that we are at a critical time, as the War Against Polish Aggression rages on, even as we have been drawn into a new war by the Byzantine Empire. Is Leszek strong enough to lead us? He isn't much different than his father, talent-wise, so I am guessing I will have little to work with overall.

The Crowns of Influence don't always make sense to me. I understand that the other monarchs of the world don't necessarily hold Leszek in the highest regard yet, but +3 INF is the monarch of a minor kingdom (or mid-major, to borrow a term). Poland is clearly not so. It would seem to me that the monarch of the most powerful and richest nation in the medieval world would be more highly-regarded and respected than Leszek is right now, no matter what his stats are like. Just another quirk of the game, I guess. I had similar thoughts when Henry and Kaz ascended to the throne.

World Events

Even as we prepare for more war ourselves, fighting rages in and around the Byzantine Empire, at the locus of the medieval world's conflict at the moment.

The big news is in Arabia. In the movements section of the game, the Spanish have the appearance of moving their huge armies in the Sinai into Arabia, where the Byzantines are besieging the last Egyptian stronghold.

From what I can tell, the Byzantines both successfully repel the Spanish and then assault the castle. Egypt's Sultan is killed in battle and he has no heirs, so amazingly enough, what was once one of the world's most powerful factions is now no more. Once possessed of the world's largest armies and having eliminated Turkey and harassed the Byzantines for a century, the Egyptians finally succumbed to the endless Crusades and yet another huge Byzantine offensive.

It is also the end of the last Islamic faction in the game, at least until a new heir shows up in some rebel province at some unknown time in the future.

It was a good year for the Byzantines (outside of drawing us into war, that is), as they marshaled their forces in nearby provinces and charged back into Constantinople, driving the Crusading Spanish from their capital. The Crusade retreated across the Mediterranean to the Sinai where it nursed heavy casualties along with the other Spanish armies which were defeated in Arabia.

Ironically, in a year in which the Byzantines seemed to manhandle the Spanish, the significantly weaker German Crusade run by Boleslaw finally managed to conquer Byzantine-held Palestine. The repeated attacks,though, have taken their toll--just 84 men are left under Boleslaw's command. This was once a 2,000-man strong army.

In other news, a flood hits the Papal States. No facilities are destroyed, but income is still halved, as usual.

Covert Events

Another quick year. An assassin is caught and captured in Novgorod, and he seemed to be employed by the Byzantines.

Diplomatic Events

Hungary rejected our ceasefire, asking that we prove our sincerity by making war on our mutual enemies. Of course, we have no mutual enemies. (sigh) The logic of this game...

I decide to approach Novgorod again for a ceasefire. Hopefully someone will take me up on this.

Economic Events

Income: 19550
Expenses: 12383
Profits: 7167

Treasury: 102748

Our income continues to be hit by the blockades from Byzantine ships. The fleet which attacked us in the Black Sea has now moved to the Sea of Marinara, removing Constantinople from our trade ports of call. It's amazing how quickly our profits can take a plunder in a situation like this. Running the world's largest military is not cheap, you know. I'm glad we have such a sizable treasury to fall back on.

It's another big year for construction. Smolensk adds a Town Guard and Silesia a Town Watch. Sweden, Pomerania and Novgorod all finish Swordsmiths. Northumbria adds an Armourer, and Lithuania moves closer to more elite soldiers by adding a Spearmaker's Workshop. Denmark moves closer to joining our other coastal ports in the trade market by adding a Trading Post.

War Events

It's a testament to the units and armies I have been building that I am able to put together the forces I do in such a quick manner.

Just one year after the Byzantines attacked us in the Black Sea, I am sending in 3816 men in several armies originating from Lithuania, Smolensk and Ryazan into the Byzantine province of Chernigov. This is a province I have long desired, because of its strategic positioning to both the north and south of Russian Europe. It is literally a pinwhell around which most of the other provinces are attached. It has also always been a source of contention, as it could be used to quickly launch an attack into Polish lands and in numerous directions. This is a critical opening move for us, which is one reason I am so willing to commit such a large force to the invasion. Old Sir Casimir is the commander of this force, and we vastly outnumber the Byzantine forces present (which are about 800-900 or so).

On the Mediterranean Sea, I prepare to launch a naval attack as well. Hoping to re-open the trade route quickly, I send in a two-barque fleet at the galley-dromon Byzantine fleet currently in the Sea of Marinara. This may not seem like a good matchup, but the two Byzantine ships are much better at attacking than defending.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

The 1214 Defense of Wessex

So hear I am expecting to have to battle for Chernigov when the French once again choose a simply awful time to begin an offensive of their own. This is intentional, of course--the French wouldn't want to actually attack us when our attention was on them, would they?

The French send in a 279-man army into Wessex, and we march a 580-man army out to meet them. As they are wont to do, the French have plenty of cavalry, with both royal knights and mounted sergeants to spare. They also have seige weapons and a good mix of missile and infantry troops.

Arrayed against them is one of my more advanced armies. Wessex, being one of the more technologically proficient provinces in my kingdom, has been developing a siege weapon called the Trebuschet (a big tower sling-shot affair) and Troko's noted chivalric men-at-arms. We also have some mounted sergeants, archers, spearmen and mounted crossbows.

The terrain is intriguing from the very start. We are fighting beside the ocean! Apparently, the French landed and we quickly went to meet them near their landing point. The ocean is a bar of water all along the right side of the battlefield.

The area is very developed, with lots of farmlands a couple of small town-like collections of buildings. The center is mostly bare of trees and flat, but the sounds have splotches of forest and feature some gentle rolling hills. There seems to be a major road running parallel to the ocean, which passes through one of the towns. It also serves as a right-hand side barrier for the corridor of grass which would separate us and the French forces.

I set up my Trebuchets a little bit back, hoping to be able to do some heavy damage to their elite cavalry and missile units before they can reach us. Most of the rest of the forces I set up in ranked lines in front of the Trebuchets. I also have the mounted sergeants in place behind them, and mounted crossbows off to the side, and a line of archers ready to attack throught he air. My commander is the Earl of Wessex, a man more suited to the intellectual details of running a province than of commanding an army. The opposing commander is a +3 general.

With a 2-to-1 advantage, it would seem that I should have the upperhand, but it goes like this oh so rarely. As usual, Anrhydeddu is right in that you cannot underestimate the effect of the general's COM rating in these battles.

When the battle began, the French were rather slow in progressing toward us. I spent much of time hoping they would get it range of the Trebuchets, which were aimed somewhat towards the middle of the battlefield. I found I couldn't turn the damn things, though, so I had to be lucky if enemy units crossed their target paths.

I sent the mounted crossbows ahead to harass the enemy, but a charge or two from their cavalry quickly had my crossbows skirmishing and able to do little. But that was okay, as I was anxiously awaiting to see how my chivalric men-at-arms would hold up.

The French sent a unit of feudal men-at-arms and mounted sergeants out into the farmland area which served as the left-hand barrier of our chosen battlefield spot, and I sent my mounted sergeants and a unit of chivalric men-at-arms to meet them.

I tried to get the Trebuchets aimed at their archers, but I never seemed to make a dent as those units moved closer to getting in range of us. That is when they started to charge us in the center with their infantry and royal knights. I sent my troops thundering down at them (we were very slightly uphill) and the battle was met.

It went badly from the very beginning. We just didn't have the archers to battle theirs, as they outnumbered us there. And our Trebuchets were as good as useless. With the enemy's morale at a high from their commander's good COM rating, we were soon getting routed. I spent most of the next few units trying to rally some units, while sending in others to replace them or stall the French where they were tracking them down. It was one of those ugly battle scenes where it seemed like whatever unit I sent against whatever of the enemy, I still came out on the short end. It reminded me of when the Hungarians raised the siege of Cetatea Alba Castle in Moldavia 20 years before. I had a similarly feeling of helplessness.

And to think I had such a huge man advantage. It was as if it didn't matter at all. Finally, we were sent packing back to the Tower of London, thoroughly whipped. The French had returned to England.

436 of our men were either killed or captured by the French. In return, we killed just 128, and captured a measly three.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

Posted by RealDeal

hello?

[Chief Rum]

Not done, RealDeal. I actually addressed this in HornManiac's thread about writers finishing dynasties. I will be continuing this shortly. It's just a lot of my time of late has been taken up by the holidays, TDCB, and a longer work schedule.

As I said there, I remain very interested in MTW and in my dynasty. I just need to get back to it.

I may even get to it today (I had been mulling htat before I saw your post). But don't get your hopes up until you see my first post.

It helps that the next few years in my dynasty really kick ass.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

1214

I will go over more of the intricate war events of this year and preparation for next year at the end of this post. Let's just say that 1214-1216 is a period of war I will not soon forget.

World Events

The whole world is at war with each other, I swear to God. For those needing a quick refresher course since it's been a while since my last update, the Egyptians have been eliminated by the Byzantines, but the Byzantines themselves have been the subject of repeated Crusades by the Spanish, French, Germans and Italians. They compounded their problems by attacking my ships in the Black Sea and bringing the wrath of the Great Northern Kingdom of Poland upon them. Parts of the Middle East are in various hands, with the Spanish in the Sinai and struggling to get by Byzantine forces there, Boleslaw Jagiellonczyk's German Crusade occupying Byzantine, and German Crusaders in other areas as well. The Spanish have also captured Constantinople, and been driven out.

Meanwhile to the west, the Pope seems ready to excommunicate everyone. The Germans have taken up a lot of residence on the boot, and Italy has been shrunk by civil war and provinces lost to other factions to just Venice. I have annexed Naples.

The War Against Polish Aggression in its various forms continues, with the Novgorods cowed in Volga-Bulgaria, the Hungarians more or less stalemated but not appeased in central Europe, and France recently renewing its invasion of England, trying to get land back it lost to us 15 years ago.

I hope that does some good catchup for you guys. Now here are the world events for this year.

The Germans have decided that former Italian lands are not enough. They send in a large force into Venice itself, and it looks like they are seeking to finish off the Italians. The ensuing conflict causes me to choose sides, and, of course, I pick the much more powerful Germans.

The Spanish, having been thrown out of Constantinople by Byzantine forces, are aching for another shot, so they declare another Crusade to the gem province of the Byzantine Empire.

The Germans match them with another Crusade declaration to Tripoli, which they just lost to another Byzantine army reclaiming land.

The German Crusade currently in control of Palestine, however, is under more immediate danger. As in Antioch a few years ago, the people of Palestine do not take as kindly to the rule of the Holy Roman Empire as they did to Byzantine rule. They raise a great common-man army to overthrow the German Crusade, which is now severely weakened by its repeated failures to take the province before finally succeeding a couple years ago. Against this new impromptu Byzantine force, the Germans have just 85 men remaining. They have been beaten so severely that their former commander, the confiscated Sir Boleslaw, son of Wladyslaw II of Poland, has been stripped of his command, and reduced to a simple +0 COM general.

Germany also suffered through a smallpox epidemic in Saxony, just south of the Polish territory of Denmark. And the Byzantines, for all their stupidity in attacking me, have been acknowledged once again as the most advanced nation-state in the game.

Royal Family and Nobility Events

The Princess Zophia, eldest child of King Leszek I, reaches marrying age. I don't really have any plans for her yet, though, so I leave her in Poland for now.

Diplomatic Events

Novgorod, ever the stubborn bastard nation, has rejected my latest ceasefire offer. Don't they realize I could finish them off just like that? Truth be told, the only reason I don't finish them off is because I want them to be easy fodder for the Golden Horde, which may make its appearance any time now.

I ended the year proposing a new ceasefire to Hungary, and yet another alliance offer to Pope Nicholas V.

It should be noted that my relationship with the Pope may be changing soon. I didn't just get Naples for the potential benefits of having a seafaring province in the middle of the Mediterranean. The fact of the matter is that I am just one step away from the walls of Rome if I get pissed off. We'll see if Nick Number Five figures this one out.

Covert Events

We catch and kill an assassin in Novgorod. Before he was put to death, the rogue claimed to be from the Byzantine Empire. That is likely true.

Economic Events

Income: 18648
Expenses: 12734
Profits: 5914

Treasury: 102227

Thanks to the roving ships of the Byzantines, what seas are blockaded continues to change, so the income suffers a little bit more. Still, I have superior naval power already in the area, with more on the way--I am not int he least bit worried about my naval dominance over the Byzantines. Until those matters are settled, though, I will have to accept the lesser trade income--which is still far more than my expenses.

I do move a ship back to the Adriatic Sea (abandoned by the Byzantines), so I can once again reap the benefits of trade with the eastern coast of Italy and the western Balkans coastal area.

Denmark continues its slow progression back to respectability by completing a Border Fort this year. Scotland finishes a Swordsmith, Norway a Bowyer, and Livonia a Siege Engineer, as our provinces continue to gear up for war.

War Events

Wessex fell to the French,a nd they immediately set upon a siege of the Tower of London. The disgusting defeat at their hands left the French in control of the lives of 214 Polish soldiers. I agree to pay their demand of 1028 florins for the men's lives.

The French takeover was costly, of course, as 2 facilities are destroyed, one is damaged and 630 florins are plundered from the local populace.

I begin to marshal forces in Mercia, gathering many of the extra troops available in Wales and Northumbria. This will make up much of what is to be an invasion force to retake Wessex from the French and settle the matter once and for all. It is my hope the meager army in the Tower of London can hold out until I do so. The King of Scotland will also be arriving by ship in Mercia to handle such an invasion.

Back east, the excitement of finally invading Chernigov turned out to be for not. My armies flooded the province that is so close to the heart of my kingdom, and the Byzantines were overwhelemd. They retreated and fell back to the castle.

I was stunned at the level of damage Chernigov sustained when we took over. Three facilities were destroyed, four were damaged and 1540 florins were pillaged from the countryside.

Polish ships engaged the Byzantine galley in the Sea of Marinara this year, and we sunk it. We did lose one of our own (a barque), but the Sea outside the rich port of Constantinople is once again under Polish control.

This naval victory sets off some other movements to engage remaining Byzantine ships in the area. I send the victorious fleet and others, a total of a caravel and two barques, up into the Black Sea to regain control of that body of water. I also advance two caravels into the Ionian Sea to meet a Byzantine galley there.

But all of that pales in comparison to what I do in western Russia. Last year I began a sharp procession of armies from northern Polish lands and from the heartland toward Byzantine holdings in southwest Russia. This year they have come together, and I have taken matters one great step forward.

First I move forces from Smolensk, Ryazan and Lithuania into Chernigov to aid the invading force there. Then I split the invasion force into three parts, leaving one part in Chernigov to continue the siege, but sending the other two parts into Pereyaslavl and Kiev, the two neighboring Byzantine provinces.

The Pereyaslavl province is barely a blip on the map, just taking up space between Kiev and Khazar. The Byzantines seem to regard it as such, too, as they have just 159 soldiers present. Against them, I have sent in 803 men under the control of Niels Skottkonung, the Earl of Sweden.

Kiev is a whole other matter. I knew from the get-go that pricey province would be well-protected, and it is. The Byzantines have 2889 men stationed there, easily the largest standing force I have come up in defense of a province.

Against that, I send in no less than six significant armies from Chernigov, Lithuania and Volhenya. It is the greatest assemblage of force in the history of Poland, and includes numerous notables, including Casimir and Leszek Jagiellonczyk.

They lead a total man-force of 4572 men, with a wide array of different soldiers. I can barely keep track of it all. If the Byzantines don't just turn tail and run, this could be the greatest battle I have ever even had conceptual thoughts of doing.

Let's face it, the invasion of the Byzantine Empire has truly, officially begun with this move.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

Posted by MrBug

Wow!!!

Talk about an epic battle Chief

Posted by Fonzie

Woohoo! He's back!

[Chief Rum]

MrBug: It's going to be an interesting 1215. But maybe not for the reasons you think.

Fonzie: Never really went anywhere. I have explained what has been going on in other threads. Hopefully I can get back into this a bit more. I should have 1215 (and accompanying battles) up tonight at the very least. I'm almost caught up with my save game (1218).

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

1215...The Year Of Blood

That's right, everyone. This was the year when the blood red of Poland's grey-and-red standards blazed to an eery shine. Polish blood would spilt from one end of the known world to the other, and the blood of other nationalities with it.

No less than four fierce land battles are fought this year with Polish forces. Only one of them is planned.

Here they are.

The Invasion of Pereyaslavl

This one is known about, and the only battle that was planned and initiated by the Grand Army.

Niels Skottkonung, a veteran of the civil war and the War Against Polish Aggression, led a force of 796 men into the inland province of Pereyaslavl, which has only known Byzantine rule since the intrepid Orthodox invaders took over almost 100 years ago.

The Polish force was quite varied, with 160 footed and mounted missile troops, 160 fighting cavalry and 476 infantry. A full ten different types of combat units were present, including footed and mounted crossbowmen, hobilars, mounted sergeants, and feudal men-at-arms.

So isn't it ironic that much of the force would end up standing idly by while the battle is being fought?

Skottkonung is a +3 COM who has fought in a number of battles, including the rebellion in Prussia and the vicious bridge battle against the Hungarians in Silesia.

Arrayed against us were 160 Byzantines, led by a +2 COM named Romanus Vatatzes. The group had no infantry whatsoever. There were three full (40-man) Byzantine archer groups and a 40-man unit of mounted sergeants. I believe the archers were actually Trebizond archers, although I'm not too keen on the difference.

The terrain was very flat, almost plain-like in its lack of contours. There were woods all over the place, and some sizable ones at that. It was also rather well-inhabited, with roads through the center of the terrain, and a sizable, four-structure village near our end of the field.

Basically, there were two stretches of large forest on the borders of each side of the central area, and at our end the village and some accompanying farmfields formed a boundary at one end. Most of our forces were gathered behind those buildings.

The enemy set themselves up in a wider clearing just beyond the corridor of trees, and slightly off to the left, so that a direct passage to them would likely take our left flank through some trees. They were mostly a line of archers with the group of mounted sergeants scurrying about on the right side.

Noting that they had no infantry, I decided to send my three mounted sergeants ahead to cause havoc amongst the archers and engage their sergeants. One went to the right, the other through the woods to the left, and in the middle was our last set of mounted sergeants.

This battle has become a pinnacle for what these units are good for.

The mounted sergeants burst out into the open from the trees, and of course were immediately beset upon by the archers. But we closed distances too fast. My middle group was the first to reach the archer line, and I swear, they literally devastated them. I was stunned. Byzantine archers fell like cut grass in a sharp wind, flung aside like nothing. Having eliminated the center line of archers from 40 to about 6 inside of seconds, I turned that group to the right to engage that end of archers. My right side sergeants came a little late to the game and found the enemy's mounted sergeants preparing to march upon our first group of sergeants. We sent them charging at the enemy midst, and those units were shortly and sharply engaged. The sergeants on the left side came out and immediately fell upon the left-end Trebizond archers. These archers, shaken by the quick dispatch of the center group, were already beginning to turn tail and run when our unit got there.

By then the center and right side archers were virtually aliminated or scattered, and we were outnumbering their mounted sergeants badly. It wasn't long before they took off as well, general in tow. We would capture General Vatatzes before he left the field of battle.

The Byzantines were thoroughly whipped, and Poland had gained another territory in western Russia.

We killed 68 men, and captured 83 others. We lost just 35 men, mostly sergeants killed during the meless with the Byzantine sergeants.

This actually wasn't the first battle I fought this year, but it was the only one I was anticipating that happened. All of the others were, to varying degrees, surprises.

The French Assault on the Tower of London

I guess I should have expected this. Having driven us to the castle last year, the French had to know we were gathering our forces in Polish-held England to raise what we expected to be a siege. The French decided they weren't going to be so predictable and would try to take on the small beaten force that had retreated to the Tower.

I was actually surprised to see that we nearly numbered as many as the enemy did. We had 124 men in the castle, and were commanded by Sir Leszek Malewicz, the former Earl of Wessex (lost whent he province itself was lost to the French last year, of course). Malewicz has solid attributes--for a governor. He is no army commander, at least not at this point. I have come to truly respect Anrhydeddu's observation that a general's command ability is critical, and the French had us beat here. They were led by Sir Charles Poitevin, a +3 general with 148 men. He was the one, of course, that orchestrated a masterful defeat of Malewicz in the 1214 Defense of Wessex battle near the shores of the English Channel.

The Tower itself, of course, is a fierce looking castle, with the usual inner and outer keep. It was full grey walls and dominating. The territory around it was largely clear, with some woods and minor hills in the distance.

I expected the French to set up like I did in assaulting a castle (front gate then inner gate), but I was very surprised when I was wrong.

They set up three ballistae to the left side of the castle, generally facing the left wall where the inner keep wall and outer wall became one. This was one of the few points of the castle at which there was only one wall to get through to get to the inner keep. The ballistae were also aimed in such a way so that they could take on a portion of the outer wall, to get into the outer courtyard as well.

I saw immediately the brilliance of this set up, and feared that I might not be able to stop it. I wasn't sure my entire force could stop theirs, and now it looked like I really would have to guard both courtyards well, splitting my strength.

I strategized as best as I could. I placed 43 chivalric men-at-arms and 11 mounted sergeants in the inner courtyard, shielded from the ballistae by the keep. Then I put 21 feudal men-at-arms, 17 spearmen and 12 mounted crossbowmen in the far "corner" of the front courtyard, where they were guarded from trebuchet bombardment by both high walls and sheer distance. And lastly, I placed my lone remaining trebuchet in the center of the outer courtyard, putting it in range to hit the enemy ballistae.

The battle began with the assault on the walls, of course. As I surmised, the French aimed for the joined wall which would gain them access to the inner keep. They aimed only for that wall from the beginning. I turned my trebuchet and their siege weapons and tried to whittle their numbers down. I saw my best shot as eliminating their crews before they broke down our wall.

What really shocked me about this battle, though, was that my trebuchet was largely ineffective compared to the real power on my side: the Tower itself. The archers in those arrow towers really know what they're doing, and I'm beginning to see why I always seemed to lose far more men in an assault than the battle could account for.

There was an arrow tower directly in front of the enemy ballistae, and another in arrow range. They blitzed the crews with arrows, and even as the ballistae wore our inner wall down to nothing, their ballistae crews dwindled one at a time felled by arrow-tower missiles.

It wasn't enough, though, as the wall finally crumbled. The French had a number of crossbows in their number, so I tried to shield my men-at-arms around one corner of the wall, while I debated what to do.

Their urban militia, the main infantry in their army today, approached the newly opened hole in the inner keep wall. Finally, I launched my chivalric men-at-arms, fearing they would fall quickly under a hail of crossbow bolts from the line of French crossbowmen and would crumble under a charge from the handful of elite horsemen (royal knights and mounted sergeants) that the French also had.

And to my surprise, they held up pretty well. This was quite the opposite from the battle in the open last year, when the chivalric men-at-arms seemed helpless to do anything other than simply die. Perhaps Troko was right.

I sent my mounted sergeants out to support the man-at-arms and maybe force the crossbows to retreat. That worked a little bit, but it wasn't long before they met up with chraging royal knights and were forced to retreat themselves.

But despite not having any backing, the chivalric men-at-arms continued to fight strongly, to the point that the French ended up sending in the crossbows to do hand-to-hand as well. They finally started to push us back, taking heavy casualties along the way. They charged into the fray with their mounted soldiers and we responded by sending in our rallied mounted sergeants again, but we were badly outnumbered. We fought them for every step of Tower soil, but our numbers were dwindling. They finally completely wiped out our men-at-arms and mounted sergeants and the inner keep was there.

But at what cost? The arrow towers continued to do their work, and they had already wiped out one ballistae crew. Shortly after the inner keep defeat and a general French retreat to behind the ballistae line, the second crew was also eliminated. The trebuchet was still going strong, too, with plenty of missiles left. And it was pretty shocking how few French soldiers were left. I was only beginning to understand the damage the arrow towers had done to my enemy.

Finally, the final ballistae crew had had enough. They were probably running out of missiles anyway, and our outer courtyard wall was barely touched. The two that were left skedaddled for the terrain edge. Realizing the battle was unwinnable, and that we doubtless outnumbered them even if they did get into the outer courtyard (by then, we did), the French hightailed out of there like cowards. The laughs of Polish soldiers echoed off the bloody walls of the Tower of London as Poitevin and his men left for the relative safety of the countryside of Wessex.

Our forces killed 55 French, and lost 54, completely represented by the wiped out ofrces in the inner keep. The arrow towers, I would come to figure out, killed 80 of our enemy, bringing their total casualties to 134 men. And for an assault which failed.

The French were thrown back and were now going to be easy prey for the much largewr force I was planning on marching into the province in the next year or two.

The Novgorod Invasion of Ryazan

There are few guarantees in life, but if there are any at all, one of them has to be that the treacherous hordes of Novogord boyars and their foolish Prince will come calling at the worst possible moment.

After ten years of licking their wounds from that disastrous defeat in Muscovy, the Novgorods decided to march down the exact same road, sending in 393 men into the mostly steppe-land province.

We were much more prepared, though, as we had larger forces in place from both the previous Novgorod assault on Ryazan and because of the onset of war with the neighboring Byzantines.

We had 665 men stationed in Ryazan. They were led by a heretofore unknown young general named Sir Leszek Czersk. Czersk, like Malewicz, is not known for his command abilities (+0), and it is also not known what placed him at the head of the a large garrison with no real dignitaries, nobles, or even semi-talented commanders. But he did have a lot of men.

The Novgorods were led by Prince Mikhail himself and once again featured many groups of boyars. Mikhail is an accomplished general with +3 COM, but he has taken his hits, too, thanks to the slaughter at the Second Battle of Muscovy Bridges.

The terrain was similar in composition to the flatlands of Pereyalavl, with a lot of wooded areas. There are six huge forests in the terrain including three big ones near the middle. The result is something of a clearing that looked like a 'T' with a wide top bar. We were stationed at the bottom of the 'T', between two forests forming a corridor toward a more wide opening.

There, in the fields beyond, the Novgorods set up at the foot of the far woods, which formed the far barrier of the battlefield and the top of the 'T'. There were no roads or habitats whatsoever in the area.

As the defenders we had the right to set up our defenses, and I did so gleefully. I had found a wealth of just the right kind of troops I wanted for this unexpected battle: lots and lots of missile troops.

Despite the success of our own mounted sergeants against Trebizond archers in Pereyaslavl, I felt that the numbers of missile troops I had on hand could cause some real problems for the Novgorods, especially since I had enough support forces to keep them from obliterating the archers.

I had 114 archers and 170 mounted crossbows to lead the way. I set them up in varied lines, with five mounted crossbow units up front and ready to charge forward, and a long, corridor-length line of archers behind them. I was even able to keep an extra group of archers in reserve.

In support of them, I had 119 steppe cavalry and 40 mounted sergeants, so we wouldn't be completely helpless before a boyar mounted charge. We also had 102 feudal men-at-arms, 60 urban militia and 60 woodsmen to serve as a wall before the archers and as general militiamen.

I put the mounted crossbows and the woodsmen in the woods ont he right, hoping to get into a situation where I could flank the enemy. I didn't really feel that I could hold the Novgorods back. I just wanted to contain them and slow them done, maybe long enough for the missile troops to do their work.

This was dangerous, of course, in and of itself, because the boyars are one of the few mounted cavalry in the world that fire their own bows. The Novgorods had several units of the fierce fighters, along with spearmen and some missile units of their own, although far less than ours. I think they had 201 boyars in their army.

The distance between the two armies was rather large when the battle bgan. I sent the left side of my mounted crossbows on a swinging line to come upon their charging units on the left side. Then I sent the right most crossbow units forward a little to the right, and advanced the middle ones to the point where they could get a shot at the oncoming enemy.

And that's the last time in this particular battle that I really felt I had control of the battle. After this, it was pretty much reaction and crossing my fingers.

The boyars and the mounted crossbows immediately began an interesting charge-and-scatter, then reform dance at various points of the battle field. Our crossbows would set in one area and aim at the boyars I had pointed them at, then eventually those targetted boyars or some of their support groups would come close enough to drive us back. And their boyars would charge toward our lines, which were slowly advancing behind our crossbowmen, and then back off.

This led me to constantly change the targets of my mounted crossbows, switching from one to the other and targeting both boyar units and enemy spearmen and footed crossbows. The field was a starnge formation of friend and foe, with the fingers of each hand not knowing what the other fingers were really doing. It was a unit-by-unit survive at all costs.

Our mounted crossbows seemed more able to reload and fire than they're boyars and we also seemed to have slightly greater range, so we were doing our damage against the boyars. But they had worked it out so that one of our crossbow groups got caught in a bit of a crossfire from two boyar groups, and were eventually nearly wiped out by a dual boyar charges. This will happen when the unit you're aiming at pulls away from you, and draws you into the line of fire of other enemy units.

The pivotal action of the battle came when a couple boyar units started to approach the woods on the right, where I had hid 60 woodsmen and 40 mounted sergeants. They didn't seem to be fooled by our cover and went into the forest. Or maybe they were just trying to flank our archers and feudal men-at-arms, the lines of which were starting to become a factor at our end of the field of battle.

Anyway, we charged forward with our woodsmen, and then our mounted sergeants. I knew the woodsmen didn't stand a chance normally, but I was hoping the hindering trees and the woods being the chosen terrain of all woodsmen would serve as advantages for us. We seemed to hold up okay at first, but we were quickly crumbling. The mounted sergeants didn't seem to do much better when they charged in, as they were suffering from the same disadvantages the boyars were suppoed to be suffering from.

The boyars began to leak out of the forest to come at our infantry line. The feudal men at arms were closest and I decided to send them charging in. This seemed to really give the boyars struggles, much to my surprise.

Then I brought the closest archers about to fire on the two boyar units and set up the steppe cavalry near the back end of our lines for a charge at them. Held in place by the feudal men-at-arms and beginning to come under fire from the archers, the boyars were in an ugly situation. Our feudal men-at-arms were still just beginning to falter when our steppe cavalry hit. That seemed to change the momentum of this battle-within-a-battle and the boyars were soon racing for the open fields and the continuing air-missile war of that battle. We had won a key part of the battle, and reformed our lines for further advancement.

By the, it was clear that our mounted crossbows were winning the day. They had done severe damage to the boyar units that hadn't charge toward our lines, and they were really starting to hit the enemy's support units as well.

Finally, Prince Mikhail called for a general retreat and the Novgorods fell back from the battlefield. They streamed through the far forest, but I let them go. I had won another hard fought battle, but I was proud that I hadn't won this win with superior numbers so much as superior tactics.

Novgorod dead numbered 163, about one-thied of their force, and we captured 91 others. In return, we lost 123 of our own.

The mounted sergeants recovered well and hit the retreating boyars hard, killing 16 and taking 43 for a Valour bonus of +2. They lost 21 men. The closest archer unit to the boyar charge killed 25 themselves, and captured one while losing 17. They gained a +1 Valour.

But as I said, the real winners were the mounted crossbows. The one unit that was caught in between enemy units lost 38 of its 40 men, and killed just seven Novgorod soldiers. But the other four units killed 86 Novgorod soldiers, and lost just 24 of their own.

It was yet another resounding victory for us over the Novgorods, in a long list of one. I can only hope Mikhail will come to his senses and seek peace with us for once.

The Invasion of Poland

For all the other battles of this year, this was the one that took the cake and that truly surprised me.

You have to understand where I was at this point. I was completely psyched for a huge battle with the Byzantines. I mean, I had gathered together the single greatest force I had seen in the game and thrown it against the largest defensive force I had seen in kiev. I was anticipating--no, fearing--that I would have to fight that mighty battle and foreseeing a conflict the likes of which would only be hinted at by huge bloodfests like Muscovy in 1155 or Silesia in 1187.

So it was with some anxiety that I watched as I was assaulted in London and invaded in Ryazan. Then I had the invasion of Pereyaslavl, a planned attack (but the minor one). Each moment was a build up where I prepared for the Big Battle and every time something came up. It made for unparalleled anticpation and suspense.

So when this doozy hit me, I was floored. I had already been playing this particular year, with its assorted battle for more than an hour, and had yet to even reach Kiev. In retrospect, of course, it was a brilliant move by the Hungarians.

Those 4700+ soldiers had to come from somewhere, and sure enough I had much lighter standing armies in my interior provinces of Volhenya and Poland. The Hungarians hadn't really made a peep in 20 years, so I didn't expect one now. They had huge forces in Moldavia still, and had ever since they defeated us there in 1193. But elsewhere they seemed to have only small forces and weren't in any position to take the war to us.

But I had turned my attention from them, and that was wrong, a critical error. Despite the fact that the Hungarians are the only people to have invaded Poland, I let myself get carried away with the Byzantine threat and left little in the center of my kingdom.

And in the deep snows of December 1215, even as my other armies were celebrating victories throughout the world, 700 Hungarian soldiers marched into the heart of my kingdom. And all I had present to stand against them were 418 men, led by none other than King Leszek himself.

You heard me, folks. Deep snow. The last "white battle" occurred in Prussia in the civil war. Incidentally, it was also the last time a Polish king took the field of battle, as the late King Kazimierz led that battle. But Kazimierz had a great numbers advantage for that one. No such here--we were the ones who wer eoutnumbered.

But King Leszek was not alone. His younger brother and premier royal commander Prince Konrad (+3 COM) was at his side, and so were Duke Godzilla Blitz's spearmen and Lord Real Deal's woodsmen. So some significant Polish nobles were in attendance to defend the homeland.

We also had some elite units. Not only did we have the 41 royal knights in Konrad and the King's guard, but we had 40 feudal knights as well. 160 mounted sergeants formed the main strength of our force, along with GB's 100 spear and Real Deal's 60 woodsmen.

Our only missile unit was a 40-man mounted crossbows, and we knew that could be disastrous. We could scarcely melee with any of our units without putting someone important in danger, and some mssile units would have helped immensely to keep the enemy at bay and forestall a fierce hand-to-hand combat.

The terrain was white, but the air was not. In Prussia, there had been a severe snowstorm, and visibility was nil. Today's battle would be fought on a previous snow but a crystal-clear and icy day.

The terrain, in addition to being blanketed by white, was covered with decent sized hills and lots of woods. For the most part, though, the woods were off to the sides. There are some structures, two mini-villages, but they are mostly out of the way. This is the first battle I have ever fought in Poland itself.

There is a nicely-sized hill in the center of the terrain where I set up my army. I have few actual infantrymen, so I set them up at the top of the hill. I have Duke Godzilla Blitz's spearmen in a double line on the left, and, at an angle to them, Lord Real Deal's woodsmen. I set up the 160 mounted sergeants in a couple lines to the right of the woodsmen and slightly down the hill, and I have the mounted crossbows flanking the spearmen, ready to charge out and harass the enemy from the left. At the top of the hill and a little bit behind the "corner" formed by the spearmen and archers, I placed the feudal knights and the 41 royal knights, including the Prince and King themselves.

I'm glad the Prince Heir is not here, as much of a buffoon as he is. King Leszek's oldest younger brother Henry is in Pomerania at the moment. His ineptness makes the presence of the King here all the more galling, though. Not only is the King at risk, but his death without a direct line of heirs could lead to the worst monarch in Polish history. And if Leszek were not here, this army, small as it is, would have been commanded by Prince Konrad, a much more able commander. Unfortunately, the faction leader always takes precedence on the field of battle, no matter what his COM rating is. The King is all of +1 COM.

So the immense risk of this moment was not lost on me. Indeed, I was deathly afraid of the result of this battle. But I still wanted to win. I could only hope that my defenses could hold.

The Hungarian forces were led by one of their princes, as usual. They have some able prince-generals, a few of whom we met on the field of battle during the first round of Hungarian-Polish battles. I didn't catch the name of this one, but I had no doubt whoever he was would outclass the King in general skill at commanding an army.

The 700 enemy soldiers looked to be a large number of archers and infantrymen, with a unit of mounted crossbows and two or three units of mounted sergeants and royal knights of their own.

The archers set up in long lines at the bottom of the hill, with the infantry just behind them. The cavarly backed them up distantly, and their mounted crossbows were off to their left (our right).

Flashes of the just fought Pereyaslavl battle came to mind when I saw all the archers. Could I send my 160 mounted sergeants sweeping down on the archer units to take them out before they did any real damage? Would that cripple the enemy enough to send them packing?

I knew there were infantry down there, too, but it wasn't so easy to tell, as the enemy lines were pretty well packed close together, and the archers were all that were lighting up when I clicked the front of their lines.

I decided to go for the gusto, and I sent the mounted sergeants charging down the hill at the archers. Each targeted a unit of archers, and there seemed to be one for each. I also sent my mounted crossbows out to begin a line of fire at their right flank.

The sergeants hit their archers hard and for a moment, I could see some damage being done. But it soon became abundantly clear that this was not Pereyaslavl. Their infantry, an array of spearmen and feudal men-at-arms, held strong and fortified the archers. Indeed, while the archers took some losses, and some didn't get away from the mounted sergeants at all, for the most they stepped back, allowed their infantry to handle the mano-y-mano and began firing mercilessly into our mounted sergeant ranks, like lambs for the slaughter.

Then they sent in a couple mounted sergeant units, and that was that for most of these guys. What mounted sergeants were left on the right side of lien began to stream toward the woods on that side, pursued by enemy mounted sergeants. I sent in the feudal knights and Konrad's own royal knights down the center of the line, and then a real fierce melee began at the foot of the hill. But we were just too outnumbered. The archers were still relatively untouched and firing into our ranks, and the infantry were holding us at bay while their mounted cavalry began to do repeat charges on us.

I called for a general retreat for the cavalry and the enemy streamed after us. I briefly sent the spearmen and woodsmen down to meet them and slow their progress. Duke Godzilla Blitz and Lord Real Deal led their men well, and I threw what I had left into the melee, short of the King's unit itself, but it was only a brief pause in the onslaught. I called a full retreat and we made a mad dash for the iron gates of Krakow Castle.

It was only after less than a 100 of our remaining forces were gathered in the outer courtyard of the royal palace that we determined our true losses. 350 men were captured or killed by Hungarian invaders, and among the dead were two of the longtime members of the Jagiellonczyk family's inner circle: Duke Godzilla Blitz, rumored to be Wladyslaw I's first henchman, and Lord Real Deal, the venerated and genius Chamberlain of Poland. Both were killed in the final charge and flee of the Polish army, and may God allow them to take their proper places in Heaven beside other great generals of the Polish past like Prince Blade and General James Colison.

Fortunately, the King and Konrad made it back to the castle. Konrad himself shown mightily on the field of battle, showing off his Great Warrior skills. He made it to Krakow Castle; only one other knight in his entourage did likewise. The King, who never engaged in direct combat, lost but one knight.

The army did do some damage. We killed 194 Hungarians and captured 25 others, although I believe in a loss like this, you may immediately lose those prisoners. The feudal knight unit fought very well, killing 51 of the enemy. This was the first time I had used the unit in a battle; alas, they were completely wiped out in the final charge, all 40 perishing or being captured.

The 350 man we lost is only further demoralizing when we learn that just 76 men have been captured. Almost 300 Polish soldiers gave their lives in defense of their homeland, including two of our greatest personages in Godzilla Blitz and Real Deal.

The Hungarians have once again taken Poland, and once again done so by catching us at a moment of weakness. I will make them pay for this. I swear that, just as I swore I would take England from France. I don't know yet in what way this shall happen, because I still consider the continuing war against the Byzantines to be of the utmost importance (once I drive these dogs from Poland, that is), but when I am satisfied with that, I will return to attending to Hungary, and Poland will never have to worry about an invasion from the south ever again. The price will be blood.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

1215

War Events

It is fitting to start off the Year of Blood with War Events, is it not?

Before I get into the extensive consequences of the year's battles, my 4700-man army did indeed march into Kiev.

The 2800 or so Byzantines decided that was a fight they could not win, left a sizable force in the castle there, and took off for neighboring Crimea.

Sieges also continued this year. The siege of Vladimir Castle in Chernigov moved toward Year Two. 133 Byzantine defenders died, leaving 246 inside. The castle is about to fall to my army there, commanded by the Earl of Denmark, Erik Guddrodson.

In Wessex, while the assault failed, the siege continued, despite the enemy's paltry forces. We lost 8 men, leaving us with 63 remaining. The Tower of London will take three years to fall at this rate, and I will raise the siege by then.

In Pereyaslavl, the province was conquered without any damage. Apparently there's really nothing to damage here. We ransomed 83 men and Byzantine general Romanus Vatatzes for 765 florins.

In Ryazan, the Novgorods once again showed a dastardly ill respect for their captured countrymen, turning down our offer for ransom for 91 men captured in their ill-considered invasion. We, of course, put them to death, having no need for prisoners. Commander Leszek Czersk received a promotion to +1 COM for his well-strategized victory over the Novgorods.

In Wessex, Sir Leszek Malewicz received similar props, gaining a +1 COM for repelling the French from the Tower of London. As he is also still a good governor, I look forward to the opportunity to place him back in titled nobility somewhere.

In Kiev, two facilities were destroyed, one was damaged, and 700 florins were pillaged in the Polish takeover.

In Poland, the Hungarians demanded a ransom of 247 florins for the 76 men they captured in their sneak invasion of our homeland. I agree and the men are returned to the Kingdom (albeit far away from Krakow Castle).

In the Hungarian takeover, one facility is destroyed, four facilities damaged and 160 florins were taken. And for the second time, ongoing construction of a Citadel in Krakow has been abandoned because of civil war and/or Hungarian invasion. These bastards are costong me a lot of money, and who knows where Poland would be right now if it didn't keep losing facilties and levels of facilities to these invasions (the civil war, the first Hungarian invasion, our retaking of the province, and now Hungary's second invasion).

Now begins a wide array of army and ship movements to put us ina position to take back what we have lost or reinforce us in weaker areas.

I moved Casimir from Chernigov to Kiev, and Leszek (with 900+ men) from Kiev to Volhenya. Kiev still has over 4000 men, so it is unlikely we will be attacked there just yet.

I am satisfied with the armies I have gathered in Mercia, under the command of Lord Orlicki, the Earl of Mercia, and I march 360 men down into Wessex. I also order Malewicz and his ragtag defenders out of the Tower to aid Orlicki. I expect the French to retreat, as Poitevin has a mere 23 men now under his control after being devastated by the failed assault on the Tower of London.

In and around Poland, I gather my forces. Altogether I have a sizable force to send into the homeland province and raise the siege on my King. The problem is that I don't have a good general one stop away from Poland. I feared warring with Hungary without one, as I have been defeated by the Hungarians (or had a really bloody victory) even with huge man advantages.

But then I realized the Hungarians would likely assault Krakow Castle and not wait for a siege to work. So I didn't have time to wait for Sir leszek to get close enough to join in. I needed to attack now, or the Hungarians would capture and kill the King.

So I sent in forces from Silesia, Pomerania, Prussia and Volhenya. Forces of 160, 120, 261, 140, and 883 joined all the forces in Krakow except the king (48, under the command of prince Konrad). Among the notables were princes Boleslaw and Mieszko, the youngest brothers of King Leszek and Konrad; Birgir Thorrodson, the Voivode of Silesia, commanding the large 883-man force; and Grand Duke of Lithuania MrBug, with Mieszko in Pomerania at the time of the invasion of Poland.

The Hungarians have about 450-500 men left, so I hope that the 1000+ soldier army will dissuade them from even taking the field of battle with us. And Sir Leszek and his 965 men are just a year away from arriving as well.

I have enough ships in the Black Sea to launch two attacks on enemy ships there. I lauch a two barque attack on a Hungarian vessel there, and a barque-caravel attack on a Byzantine galley.

I also move a caravel up to the Mirtoon Sea just southeast of Greece, where a Byzantine galley is patrolling near one of my trade-route guarding barques.

World Events

King Andras II of Hungary finally croaks after 50 years of being a nemesis of Poland. As twisted as these things can become, of course, he was also the brother of the Queen Mother Margaretha of Poland, and uncle to our current KIng Leszek. Obviously, though, he was no friend and I am glad to see him die. I doubt his heir, Samuel II, will be any more understanding, though.

Germany broke down the walls of venice and captured the Italian doge. They executed him and left the Italians with no king, as the doge had no heirs. So what had so recently been a seeming budding power in the Meditarranean had, in twenty years, fallen prey to civil wars and advancing Hessians. Italy is no more.

We got some interesting news from Palestine. The remnants of Boleslaw's Crusade was under siege in Jerusalem there. We got word that the former Polish prince fell in defense of the city this past year. He was the last living son of Wladyslaw II. He may not be honored, but he will certainly be acknowledged as a man who lived a lively life.

There are still 13 Polish soldiers in Jerusalem, by my count, but they are Germany's problem now. They fled the red-and-grey years ago to pursue God's land.

Royal Family and Nobility Events

The Queen gives birth to a daughter, even as the Hungarians await outside the walls of Krakow. The new addition to the royal family is named Anna. There still is no royal heir for Leszek outside of his brothers.

Diplomatic Events

Hungary rejected our ceasefire attempt, offered prior to their invasion. Well, duh!

The Pope also turned us down for an alliance. No surprise there.

I began to take an active interest in working against the Hungarians at all levels. I sent an emmissary to Croatia by ship, where new King Samuel is currently. I also send an emmissary from Poland into Carpathia to start scouting the territories to the south of Poland.

I use an emmissary in one of the surrounding provinces of Poland to propose a bribe to Hungarian general Sir Kovacs Mihaly in Poland. The bribe is expected to be 11086 florins, which is a lot, but I have a lot of gold to give out. Mihaly is the commander of one of the two Hungraian armies sieging Krakow, and his army is the larger one and has the siege engines.

I also proposed an alliance with Spain again, and another ceasefire with Prince Mikhail of Novgorod. Hopefully that will work.

I am well aware of the direct path that can be taken from Flanders to Wessex from across the English Channel, regardless of who controls the seas. I decide that I will constantly be under attack from the French in England if I do not take measures to control their ability to get to it, so I decide to try and take over Flanders. To this end, I have offered a bribe to former French royalty Sir Henri Poitevin, a brilliant-looking governor type controlling an army in Flanders. I suspect he is the brother of Charles Poitevin, currently leading the small French force in Wessex. The bribe called for is rather high at 21083 florins, but I have more than enough treasury to handle it.

Covert Events

I send not one, but two spies into the camp of the other Hungarain general in Poland, the commander of the force, Sir Laszlo Andras. They will both seek to reveal vices in the commander, even as I bribe the other Hungarian commander to switch sides.

Actually, Andras already has a revealed vice of blackmail. I can only hope he has more.

Economic Events

Oh, were there parts of the kingdom that weren't at war?

Income: 18595
Expenses: 12553
Profits: 6042

Treasury: I didn't write it down for some reason--it was still six-figures.

It's good to see that war hasn't derailed our economy much yet.

Construction projects continued around the kingdom. Mercia made itself a more profitable province by adfding +40% Farming Improvements. Prussia upgraded its already sizable trade income by adding a Merchant's Guild. Northumbria added a Bowyer, Muscovy a Siege Engineer's Workshop (enabling it to make catapults), and Finland a Town Guard.

This year we have added Pereyaslavl to the Great Northern Kingdom. It should come as no surprise, I'm sure, that this is not a rich province. There are no trade items or natural resources of note. The range of income is currently 147 for Very Low taxes to 245 for Very High. As I mentioned when I took over, there is pretty much no development here at all--there isn't even a fort. The local populace is 73% Orthodox, no doubt in part due to their longtime occupation at the hands of the Byzantines. There is a surprisingly high 23% Catholic population, though, probably the result of incessant priests from the western nations. And 4% of the old Pagan religion remains from pre-Byzantine occupation days.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

1216

War Events

It was a good year for us, especially since for all the movements we made, we didn't end up getting into even one land battle.

The French did indeed retreat before Earl of Mercia in Wessex, but not before bribee-target Henri Poitevin joined his brother with a decent force in Wessex. I was a little surprised they didn't fight, as the battle looked like it would be competitive.

Much to my relief, the Hungarians gave up Poland without a fight, retreating to Hungary and Carpathia, no doubt. Both Poland and Wessex were conquered without any more damage to their facilities, which is a blessing.

Our sieges continued. Chernigov officially fell to us. And Kiev was particularly bloody, since the Byzantines left over 500 men there. They lost 182 defenders, leaving just 333 defenders. That castle is also about to fall to us.

At sea, we were involved in two battles. In the Black Sea, my two barques sank Hungary's barque, with no loss to our own ships. In the Mirtoon Sea, the Byzantine galley there attacked my barque before my caravel could get there, and sank it without a loss.

The Byzantine galley in the Black Sea fled to the Sea of Marinara to avoid a battle with my caravel-barque fleet.

Once my caravel arrives in the Mirtoon Sea, I immediately assign it to take out the galley, and we should see that battle next year. I also send ships after the galley that went to the Sea of Marinara.

In an event covered more under World Events, I am also forced to scatter my just gathered armies in Poland to various surrounding points. A Crusade has come to Poland once again.

World Events

What is this, stop in and see Poland on your way to the Holy Land? The Germans have once again entered our lands with an army of fervent followers. This one is destined for Tripoli. As I said, I scattered my armies a bit to avoid having anyone important leave for the Middle East.

The Germans aren't the only ones in the area. The French Crusade, on its way to Antioch, is in Hungary, so it is one step away itself. I hope they take a lot of Hungarian soldiers with them.

The Byzantines have now completely wiped out the old German Crusade that was headed by the late Boleslaw, but they have other problems to deal with. A Spanish Crusade, on its way to Constantinople the hard way, stops off in Palestine, and engages the Byzantines there. As in the past, though, the Byzantines seem to be more than a match for the Spanish, and they are once again thrown back to the Sinai, with huge losses from the looks of it.

Diplomatic Events

As is the general case with reclaiming land captured by other Catholic nations, Pope Nicholas V gave me a warning about my retaking of Poland and hostilities against Hungary. I wish I could dare him to excommunicate me. I almost want the opportunity to pour into Rome with my forces in Naples and put someone new in the Vatican. He wants me to pull back from Poland within two years, of course, and not seek to resume the hostilities for ten additional years.

Spain rejected our alliance offer, of course. I wish I knew what the point was anymore with that. The Spanish King (his name eludes me at the moment) refused to even see our emmissary.

Novgorod rather stupidly turned down our offer of a ceasefire. We got an audience, but Prince Mikhail gave my emmissary no reason for the rejection.

In the interest of abiding somewhat by the Pope's wishes, we offer a ceasefire with the Hungarians, and we also propose an alliance with Aragon. I don't expect either to work, of course.

The bribe of Hungarian general Mihaly is apparently off the table since they retreated from Poland. The emmissary I assigned to the deed is no longer listed as having an assignment.

The bribe of Henri Poitevin just got interesting. Since Henri and his army went to join Charles, his brother, in Wessex, things have changed. After they were forced to retreat by our armies back to Flanders, the two French armies were joined into one, and now Henri is the second-in-command behind his brother, the better commander. But my emmissary there is still assigned to proceed with the bribe. So I don't have a clue what's going to happen.

Speaking of bribes, I found an excellent prospect for another one. Lord de Tankerville is a former Italian general, leading 190 men in Sicily, the only occupying force on the island. Tankerville is an impressive +6 COM, and that rating is the entire reason why I am doing this. I need as many high quality commanders as I can get against the Byzantines, which have several high quality generals.

It will also give me control of Sicily, which would be a nice bonus. With Naples under our control, the two provinces can help protect one another in a largely hostile area.

Covert Events

The two spies both failed to reveal any vices in Hungarian general Sir Laszlo Andras, who led the invasion force into Poland. I got a good laugh when I checked him out and found him to have a full-fledged Informant Network. He's probably paranoid as heck. He's also clean as a whistle apparently, since my guys couldn't come up with anything new on him.

Royal Family and Nobility Events

With the new provinces I have been taking over, the French and Hungarian invasions, and the untimely deaths of lords Real Deal and Godzilla Blitz, I have some titles that have become open. It is time to reassign them, so that I can miximize my income with a new round of governors. I was actually really surprised with just how many I had to assign again.

The first title grant was to Sir Casimir Jagiellonczyk, who I renamed the Duke of Lesser Poland. I actually got scared for a bit that I had lost him, because I had gotten used to finding him with his title. It just turns out he lost the title when the Hungarians briefly took over the province of Poland.

I discovered when I was checking out some Byzantine generals that you can name a general both a Chamberlain and a governor at once. My best candidate to replace Lord Real Deal as Chamberlain of Poland was Grand Duke of Lithuania MrBug. So I named the Chamberlain of Poland, in addition to his current title.

I have to admit, I forgot about Malewicz's significance when it came to assigning the Earl of Wessex, otherwise I would have given it back to him. Since I forgot, though, I found another candidate named Sir Henri Turek. Turek is an Eastern European name (more Hungarian actually), but the French Henri confused me. Anyway, turek was leading one of my newer units (I forgot which) in the Kiev army. I named him the new Earl of Wessex.

I find two other governor candidates among the armies of Kiev as well, naming Ziemowit Kaszcyk the new Duke of Prussia (replacing Lord Godzilla Blitz) and Przemslaw Jagiello the first Polish Prince of Chernigov. Jagiello is particular disloyal, so I am moving over Princess Zophia to court him and hopefully get his loyalty higher.

I finished off the year's title grants by making Sighat Forkbeard, a general in the army in Pereyaslavl, the first ever Polish Duke of Pereyslavl.

I will have other titles to hand out soon, when Kiev falls and seeing how the bribes in Flanders and Sicily go, but this is enough for this year.

Economic Events

Income: 21095
Expenses: 12797
Profits: 8298

Treasury: 101801

Some of the increased income is from Pereyaslavl and Chernigov, and some from reopening trade routes, but the most additional income I am adding is simply because I have assigned the new governors.

I am able to immediately move Poland, Pereyaslavl and Wessex up to very High taxes, and Chernigov to High. I move Kiev to Very Low, just because I figure it helps loyalty early on while I'm not earning a cent from the province (and won't until I clear the Byzantines out of the castle).

Chernigov is this year's addition to the Kingdom of Poland. Like Pereyaslavl, Chernigov has no trade items or natural resources of note. It's too bad these inland provinces don't seem to be worth much. The income rate is a little higher in Chernigov, with 178 florins for Very Low taxes and 297 florins for Very High taxes. This, however, could simply be because the province is more developed than Pereyaslavl. The religious breakdown is also not far off from the latter province, with 69% Orthodox, 28% Catholic, and 3% Pagan.

1217

War Events

I had another barque that I had moved into the Mirtoon Sea to replace the sunk one, and instead of acknowledging my caravel's attempted attack on the Byzantine galley, it went ahead and allowed the galley to attack my new barque.

Of course, my barque was outclassed and sunk. That really annoys me.

All I can do is keep trying. I set up the same attack (caravel vs. galley) in the Mirtoon Sea. I also catch up with the galley that escaped the Black Sea to the Sea of Marinara, and attack it with a two caravel fleet. And more caravels are on their way, crossing the Mediterranean into the eastern end.

Kiev also falls to us this year, and we finally have a port along the Black Sea.

World Events

I guess one Crusade wasn't enough. The Germans took off for Hungary, and apparently high-fived the French Crusaders going in the opposite direction. That's right, the French actually moved away from their target (Antioch) to get to us.

I was prompted on whether I would let them through, and of course, I would. I was a little surprised, though, that it bothered to ask. After all, I am at war with France. I guess at this point, the Crusade is still more its own beast, even if it's flying the blue and gold standard of those bastard French.

The Germans continued their dismantling of modern-day Italy, even after the nation-state had been eliminated. This year they invaded the island province of Corsica. I was suddenly quite glad that I had bribed Naples and was in the process of doing so in Sicily. It looks like if I had waited any longer, there wouldn't have been anything left.

Famine hit Novgorod, so our income from that northern province was halved.

Diplomatic Events

Well, here's something I was curious about. How would the game handle a bribe to a general no longer in control of an army. Apparently the answer is to bump it up to the next general, Henri's brother Charles.

So my emmissary reported that the value of the army had changed. Surprisingly enough it was for far less--6768 florins, down almost 75% from the original 20,000 or so demanded by Henri.

But, hey, who's arguing? I okayed the amount change, and the emmissary then reported that Sir Charles Poitevin had agreed to the changeover. I couldn't believe my luck. Both brothers are of French royal blood, related in the past to some king who has left this life. Charles is the +3 COM who led the invasion of Wessex. Henri is the highly-intelligent general who should make a great governor. And they bring a decent-sized (345-man) army and Flanders along with them (well, once we take care of a third army in the castle there). The army will make the transit in the next year.

Business as usual elsewhere in diplomacy. Aragon rejected our alliance offer, althought hey were careful not to imply we were in any way unworthy.

I proposed a ceasefire to Novgorod again, and also to the Pope. And I decided that I needed to start finding wives for the King's brothers (especially since he's doing such a poor job of producing sons), so I propose to the German princess Kunigunde again, hanging out in Silesia.

The Princess Zophia finally arrives in Kiev and begins to court Prince Jagiello of Chernigov. They should be wed in a year.

Royal Family and Nobility Events

I accidentally gave the Grand Princedom of Kiev to the wrong person, so I have to go to the effort of stripping the poor soul of his recently begotten titles.

Covert Events

I had sent in a spy into Hungarian territory to scout them out, and he was caught this year in Moldavia. Spies just don't last long anymore in hostile countries. You would think they would be better at surviving.

I caught and killed two assassins this year. One was pretty much expected, while the other completely took me by surprise, and after all these years, that's hard to do.

The expected assassin was a likely Hungarian killer caught in Naples. The unexpected was caught in Poland itself--with evidence suggesting his origin to be none other than the Vatican itself! And Poland--that assassin got a lot farther than assassins usually do in my kingdom (to my knowledge anyway). I vowed once again to have Pope Nicholas V killed if he so much as squashed a Polish fly.

Economic Events

Income: 21929
Expenses: 13055
Profits: 8926

Treasury: 94931

It's nice to see the income climbing again. I still haven't cleared the way to Greece or Constantinople, but the addition of Kiev and the return of Poland to the realm has given us another income kick. I was also able to immediately raise Kiev to Very High taxes (of course, with such a large army in attendance), and Chernigov to the max as well.

It was a decently busy year for construction projects. Sweden and Silesia completed Merchants, the former no doubt gaining much income for the addition. Smolensk added a Horse Breeder, and Pomerania and Novgorod upgraded to Spearmaker's Workshops. And Mercia added a Town Watch.

This year's new province is Kiev. Like Pereyaslavl and Chernigov, Kiev has no natural resources. It does, however, have some trade items, specifically linen and grain. It has a good amount of development so far, and is currently ranging from 180 to 300 with the tax rates. It is 85% Orthodox, no doubt reflecting how much closer it is to Constantinople. The rest of the population is Catholic. I was interested to note that Zeal was just 2% here--apparently religious fervor is not seen often in Kiev, much less than most of the other provinces I have seen.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

Posted by Troko

Chief Rum,

Sorry about the losses to your nobility. I'm glad that the men-at-arms redeemed my opionon of them, though. Keep up the great writing!

Posted by Anrhydeddu

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Hungarians have once again taken Poland, and once again done so by catching us at a moment of weakness. I will make them pay for this. I swear that, just as I swore I would take England from France. I don't know yet in what way this shall happen, because I still consider the continuing war against the Byzantines to be of the utmost importance (once I drive these dogs from Poland, that is), but when I am satisfied with that, I will return to attending to Hungary, and Poland will never have to worry about an invasion from the south ever again. The price will be blood.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That brought a tear to my eye. Excellent job as usual. The Hungs apparently just wanted to do a raid behind your back and they did pull it off brilliantly. I still find it amazing that you are still keeping up with your emissaries, esp. with a 99% failure rate. I recall having stopped with that tedious nonsense a while back because if a faction wants peace or cease fire, they'll come to you.

Posted by MrBug

So Chief, what are my officals titles and duties?

Side note-Looks like Im getting that top pick after all

[Chief Rum]

Troko: Thanks. It's always hard to lose hgood mobility, but I think I will recover just fine. And, yes, it is always good to see chivalric men-at-arms do well and justify their training.
Anrhydeddu: You'e probably right on both the emmissaries and the Hungarians. I guess it makes sense to raid into the country you're at war with. That doesn't make me too happy about it, though. As for the emmissaries, I'm just a stubborn, persistent ass. Since I have had success 1 out of 50 times, I figure if I keep trying, I'll get it one day.

MrBug: You are the Grand Duke of Lithuania and the Chamberlain of Poland. That's about all I know.

Update: I forget if I told you all before, but my save game was in 1218, so when I finished the last update, I actually caught up with myself finally. So I would have more to report--but I have to actually play it some to have more to report.

So I'm going to play it a few years ahead and then begin writing it out some more. With luck, the Golden Horde will make its appaerance soon, and I will have a whole new thing to talk about (not that war with just about everyone in the known world isn't already interesting enough).

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

Posted by RealDeal

Chief Rum: I know this isn't X-com, but do you think you can give me a son so the RealDeal family name lives on?
He can be named RealerDeal.

[Anrhydeddu]

Happy days are here again!

[scooper]

Woo Hoo!! Welcome to your new home Heirs of Wladyslaw!

[Fonzie]

I am very happy.

Yes.

[RealDeal]

hello?

[Chief Rum]

Hello, Real Deal. I just wanted to take a moment to say that I may not be able to extend your family name just yet, at least not until I catch up with my current save game. But I'll revisit that when I get there.

And welcome back, all, to my MTW dynasty. I have started a basketball dynasty, and I think it would be criminal for me not to continue this and do that. I have actually been putting this off for some time for various reasons, not for lack of desire, but simply I have taken on so many other projects, that I haven't had much time.

So, anyway, without further ado, here are so more years in the alternative history of the Great Northern Kingdom of Poland.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

1218

War Events

If you will recall, I successfully turned two French generals of royal blood to Poland's standard. As a result, the province of Flanders has joined the Polish kingdom--with complications.

A French army moved into Flanders. It was a small army, and I;m not sure whatthe purpose was. I don't think the computer "knows" when a general is about to turn. But there it was.

Anyway, when my generals betrayed their roots and became vassals of Poland, their army was in direct conflict with the new French army that had moved into the province. Outnumbered, the French retreated to the castle in Flanders.

Flanders itself went over to us with the usual takeover difficulties: three facilities were destroyed and four damaged. We also plundered 2375 florins from the countryside.

The French Crusade had reached Poland last year. This year it moved on to Pomerania. It is my fervent hope the interlopers will take off for some place in the Middle East this year, and I won't have to worry about them anymore.

In the Mirtoon Sea, one of my caravels finally managed to catch that Byzantine galley that has been evading me. Battle was met and the galley was introduced to the depths of the Mirtoon Sea.

There does remain another Byzantine galley in the Black Sea, and I launch a two-barque attack on the galley which hopefully will be resolved next year.

World Events

We received notice that we once again have the strongest military in the world. This is the first time we have gotten this since just before the civil war almost 40 years ago. So, militarily, it appears that we have finally fully recovered from that and the subsequent wars with various factions int he known medieval world. Economically is another matter--we have still to really reach the level of progress we are at at that point.

The other Crusade making the rounds, the German one, has reached Bulgaria. I can't seem to find my notes on where the Crusades are going, but if I recall correctly, one is to Antioch and the other Edessa.

I gues we'll find out when they get there.

Royal Family and Nobility Events

I stripped a general of his titles, after I accidentally bequeathed them to him a couple years ago, and annointed the newly-converted French general Henri Poitevin the new Grand Prince of Kiev.

Lord Jagiello, the Prince of Chernigov, has wed the Princess Zophia, King Leszek's eldest daughter, strengthening his flagging loyalty to the realm.

Speaking of Leszek, with the acquisition of such territories as Flanders and the war conquests against the Byzantines, our king has risen from three crowns of INF to five. He finally seems to be moving up.

Covert Events

This is a short one. We caught and killed an assassin in Livonia that was likely a Byzantine.

Diplomatic Events

Flanders isn't the only province I have targetted for annexation, if you recall. The general in Sicily, Don Bohemond de Tankerville, has accepted our bribe offer and his army will officially join us in a year.

We got the usual diplomatic rejections (as Anrhydeddu shakes his head sadly). The Pope turned us down, asking us to prove our sincerity. Both Novgorod and Hungary rejected our supplications for a ceasefire. And the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire turned down our marriage proposal.

We are nothing if persistent. We proposed three no marriages to various countries and an alliance with Spain.

Economic Events

Income: 23719
Expenses: 13689
Profits: 10030

Treasury: 90005

The sinking of the Byzantine galley helped free up some of the routes deep into Byzantine territory, and our income went up as a result. We aren't receiving funds from Flanders yet, thanks to the surprise French army in the castle, so we shifted taxes there to Very low to build loyalty in the province.

We completed a Trading Post in Naples, as we try to move that very sea-accessible province into a trading powerhouse. Wessex added 20% farming improvements, Norway a Swordsmith and Ryazan a Royal Palace.

1219

War Events

I wasn't too surprised to see another French army move in to raise the siege in Flanders. I actually still outnumbered the collective forces of the French, but they had a handful of strong units, while I had some units decimated by the French's own assault on my forces in Wessex and two new generals I wanted to protect, so I decided to abandon the province altogether.

The total territory count remained the same, though, as Siciliy came under Poland's control with Tankerville's conversion. Four facilities were destroyed and three were damaged. We added 1900 florins to the kingdom's coffers from plunders.

The Byzantine galley didn't do as past galleys have and make a run for it. Instead, they stood and fought my two-barque attack. That didn't really help them much. We sunk them and reestablished Polish control of the Black Sea.

Of course, a Hungarian barque made the jump to the Sea Marmara, so the way is still effectively blocked at least for our non-Black Sea bordered provinces. So we launch a caravel-and-barque attack on the Hungarian vessel.

I moved a sizable army from Naples to Siciliy to help keep the peace.

I have begun to hatch a plan for the future deployment of my caravels that I have come to call the Five Points plan. The idea is to have a set of caravels at five key points in the seas and oceans around Europe to serve as protectors of my trade routes.

Once current naval hostilities have been settled, I would place five sizable fleets (five or more caravels each) in the Aegean Sea, the Central Mediterranean, the Western Mediterranean, the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. The result is that, with the caravels' ability to jump two provinces because of their innate speed, I am able to reach any sea in the known medieval world in one year.

This isn't in place yet, but most of the caravels have already been built. They are in various places around the world already, with many concentrated in the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea hunting down Byzantine and Hungarian vessels that keep turning up in the Black Sea and Sea Marmara.

World Events

The Byzantines fled before the German Crusade as it marched into Constantinople, but Byzantine forces filled in Bulgaria, the province the Crusade left behind, and reasserting Byzantine control there.

It turns out the French Crusade was headed for Antioch (or at least that's where they are now). They made the jump from Pomerania to Antioch, forcing the Byzantines to retreat there as well.

In Corsica, apparently the Germans failed to maintain a large enough garrison, because popular unrest in the former Italian island province has resulted in sizable impromptu armies arising from the local populace.

But the Germans' problems are nothing compared to the Spanish, whom have been relatively quiet of late. The kingdom of Spain, which had once been one of the world's most powerful, now seems to be broken down by constantly warring with the Byzantines in the Sinai and Palestine, and in sending failed Crusade after failed Crusade. Apparently, the straw finally broke this year, as the kingdom of the Spaniards plunged into civil war. Tunisia, Cordoba and Leon all went over to the rebel side.

What really made this interesting is the strategic ways in which the kingdom was broken up. Cordoba and Leon are both on the Iberian Peninsula itself, and form somewhat of a three-way stripe of rebel territory, splitting Spanish loyalist territories in three parts--the Valencia-Castile area in the northeast near Aragon and France, Portugal in the west, and Granada in the southeast. The Spanish suddenly had no way to get around without taking on rebel forces. And the reason they didn't have the forces present was because Tunisia formed its own little block between the main Spanish areas and the remnants of the remaining Spanish armies in the Sinai and Egypt. Thanks to their hostilities with us, they don't have a navy, so they can't go around Tunisia. It amkes for an interesting situation to watch, made none the less interesting for the fact that current Spanish monarch King Felipe is 77 years old.

Royal Family and Nobility Events

As usual, the bribed general was not the best suited for governing a province. That's okay, though, since I primarily bribed Tankerville for his excellent field skills, an attribute I plan to put to good use against the Byzantines, which have a few notable generals of their own.

Anyway, I found another strong candidate in the new army in Sicily, and named Don Orso Masci the new Count of Sicily. The title carries with it a +2 LOY and +1 COM bonus, which is nice.

Covert Events

We catch and kill an assassin in Novgorod, and not surprisingly, the ecidence suggests he is a Byzantine. Will they never stop?

In case they really won't, I have finally begun to resurrect my assassins program, using Poland and Sicily as the killer factories. As before, it is my plan to fill the provinces one-by-one until there is an assassin in all provinces. Then they'll get better by killing unwanted foreign diplomats and holy dignitaries that happen to pass throught he territory. If any get good enough, I may start sending them out into the world to find some generals to kill.

Diplomatic Events

For all their problems, the Spanish still had time to reject our alliance offer. They said they wanted our common borders to be less-defensed as a sign of our good will. We have heard this many times, but this is the first time we were even looking across a sea at them now that we control Sicily. Nice to see that make sense for once, evenif it leaves at the same place as always with regards to our diplomatic status with Spain.

The Holy Roman Emperor shot down another marriage proposal, so we proposed to Princess Sofia of Siciliy (actually in Malta, where the fledgling Sicilians are trying to rebuild their former kingdom). We didn't hear any news from our other marriage proposals.

I proposed ceasefires with Hungary, Novgorod and France, two of wich I had offered last year but were seemingly ignored without response. I also proposed another alliance with the Pope.

And probably causing Anrhydeddu to give up all hope for me, I have turned Ryazan into an emmissary factory, to do the same thing with my provinces that Poland and Sicily are doign with assassins.

Economic Events

Income: 22943
Expenses: 14124
Profits: 8819

Treasury: 95935

A slight fall in profits from the Hungarian barque in Sea Marmara, and a rise in expenses from my continued efforts to militarize the kingdom for war with the Byzantines, has resulted in a fall in profits to under 9000 florins.

Hopefully we can take care of that barque and get full trade income going again.

Some of my building reconstructions are finally nearing completion. This year, Pereyaslavl finished a Fort, Wales a Keep, and Volhenya a Castle--the latter of which was interrupted by the civil war 40 years ago, and had not been started up again for some years after Volhenya came back under Polish control.

Prussia added a Siege Engineer's Workshop, Northumbria a Swordsmith, Lithuania a Merchant's Guild--which should bring in nice additional income for a province that is already one of our richest), and Finland complete a Horse Breeder.

Sicily has been annexed into the Great Northern Kingdom, which is gradually becoming a misnomer thanks to the acquisitions of territories like Sicily and Naples. We bumped taxes up to Very High right away. Sicily suffered some damage from our takeover, and no doubt from the takeovers of the Italians in the War of the Boot in the late twelfth century, and from Italian rebels in the subsequent Italian civil war. Nevertheless, it seemd to come through pretty well. The range of income currently is already pretty high, from 343 florins at Very Low to 575 Very High. There are no natural resources of note, but Sicily trades in Silk, Sugar, and Grain. Three-trade export provinces are rare in this game. Not surprisingly, it is 98% Catholic, with a sprinkling of Moslems to fill in the rest of the population, and the people are very zealous (60% Zeal).

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

1220

World Events

The Germans continued their march through Byzantine territories. This year they advanced to Trebizond. And once again, the Byzantines filled back in in their wake, retaking Constantinople.

At the other end of the Mediterranean Sea, the Germans retreated before the Corsican popular uprising, leaving the island province in Corsican rebel hands.

And in troubled Spain, it was no shocker to learn that King Felipe had died, no doubt throwing the country into further chaos. The new monarch is Fernando II.

War Events

As has been the seeming practice with enemy ships in the Mediterranean Sea, the Hungarian barque slipped out of our attempted attack in Sea Marmara and bolted for the Aegean Sea. I set up a new attack with three caravels there.

Covert Events

Same-ole, same-ole. Another Byzantine assassin bites the dust in Novgorod.

Diplomatic Events

Ah, here we go.

Rejections from Sicily, Aragon and Hungary (twice) for marriage proposals. France and Novgorod also turned down our ceasefire offers,a nd the Pope continues to spurn us.

I offered three more marriage proposals to various princesses, and also offered a ceasefire with Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII. I don't expect any to be acceped, but it's not like none have ever been accepted throughout the history of this game. It's just a matter of hitting the right circumstances.

Economic Events

Income: 23025
Expenses: 14598
Profits: 8427

Treasury: 99321

We managed to get income to rise slightly, but that was mostly due to province improvements rather than clearing the trade routes. And regardless, profits drop becaise we are still adding units to the armies. I wouldn't still build them if I really thought the Byzantines or the Hungarians would accept my ceasefire offers.

Poland rebuilt its 40% farming Improvements, as it tries to regain the economic prosperity it enjoyed in its hayday before the civil war. Scotland added a Town Guard, Chernigov a Town Watch, Naples a Siege Engineer, and Livonia an Armourer's Workshop.

1221

Royal Family and Nobility Events

Rejoice, world, rejoice! The Queen has finally given birth to a son, a new Prince Heir. Kazimierz, named after his grandfather, will come of age in 1237.

War Events

Damnit all to hell if that Hungarian barque--one of the slowest pieces of crap still floating on the seas--didn;t manage to escape our attack again and fled to the Mirtoon Sea. I have a caravel in place there, which is now going to try to carry out an attack against the evasive enemy vessel.

World Events

It looks like Spain may have abandoned the Sinai. To my eyes (or those of spies and ships), there appear to be no more Spanish armies in the provincial border with the Byzantine Empire, as, I assume, they withdraw their strongest armies to retake Tunisia and work their way back to Spain to finish off the rebels.

The German Crusade finally advanced beyond my spies' eyes and entered the interior Turkish province of Rum. From what I can tell, it appears that they were finally confronted by a Byzantine army there. I have sent an emmissary up to try and find out what happened.

Diplomatic Events

Aragon and the Holy Roman Empire turned down our marriage proposals. We ignored that and moved on to marriage proposals to a Spanish princess and two Hungarian princesses.

The Byzantines refused our ceasefire offer, saying they weren't willing to take that step yet. The Hungarians never even granted an audience with us.

Economic Events

Income: 23025
Expenses: 14744
Profits: 8281

Treasury: 99881

Income stays exactly the same, and my expenses rise. Well, you know what happens to profits then.

Kiev finishes its Port, although you have to figure it won't bring in the real money until I manage to clear out those bothersome ships that keep showing up near it.

Pereyaslavl adds a Town Watch as it tries to actually civilize for seemingly the first time (the Byzantines didn't build a damn thing there seemingly). Wales completes a Spearmaker, Volhenya a Siege Engineer, and Pomerania a Horse Breeder.

1222

War Events

Isn't it funny what events prove to be the final straw? Apparently, I am not allowed to attack Hungarian ships, even though I'm at war with them, and everywhere they go, they blockade my trade routes. But more on that later.

Let's just say the anticipated matchup of my caravel with the Hungarian barque didn't end well. Against the odds, the barque sank my caravel, a much more powerful vessel.

World Events

And here's what happened. Pope Nicholas V decided he didn't like my aggressions against the Hungarians, embodied in this latest attack on the Hungarian barque, and so the bastard excommunicated King Leszek!

I was very surprised, as I had no warning this time (or at least no recent ones). Prussia is the only province to drop below 100 LOY as a result, although there was a kingdom-wide LOY drop, it would seem. We moved additional forces to Prussia to raise its LOY to appropriate levels.

The late King Kaz would be proud of his son, I'm sure, having been through this himself.

Of course, Leszek took things one step further, anticipating that this might happen. This was precisely the reason we took over Naples--so that we could exert diect control over the papacy if we wanted. And, no, the King is not patient with this sort of thing, and it really just pisses him off.

So we gathered a number of armies from the Kiev invasion forces and in other coastal parts of the kingdom and sent them by ship to Naples. Among the notables travelling to Naples are Sir Casimir himself and the recently-turned Poitevins in Wessex. They are accompanied by somewhere near 2000 men. And let's not kid ourselves--there is likely no diplomatic solution to this, and this breaking with the Pope will only be resolved by his death. Polish forces may soon be at the walls of Rome.

The German Crusade was apparently thoroughly routed in Rum, because my spies did not uncover any remnants of it there when they got close enough to check it out. Seemingly to confirm this, another German Crusade was declared this year, this one headed to Palestine.

Spain is confusing me with their intentions (and perhaps their intelligence, too) as they have returned their armies to the Sinai from Egypt. The rebel forces in Tunisia are weak are very easily outnumbered. I have no idea why the loyalist Spanish forces would not press the issue, especially given the three-way split of Spain itself by rebel-controlled provinces.

Famine seems to know where trouble is, hitting in Valencia, also on the Iberian Peninsula (but under the control of the Aragonese); and in the rebel-rocked province of Corsica.

Covert Events

Bodyguards introduced a shady individual to his maker in Prussia. He was suspected of being German, which is rather a surprise. We don't usually get visits from German assassins.

Diplomatic Events

Aragon and Hungary turned down our marriage proposals, so we introduced ourselves to six other princesses. At least there are a lot of options.

We also proposed a ceasefire to France.

Economic Events

Income: 23031
Expenses: 14981
Profits: 8050

Treasury: 101037

Always nice to hit the ole century-thousand mark. We actually fell under that by quite a bit when our trade income was getting hit the hardest. Still, income has leveled off, and our profit line is still dropping. I wish I could get out of these wars and return to peaceful economic progress, but one of the game's flaws seems to be that it's not interested in peace.

Chernigov joined neighboring Ryazan by finishing up a Royal Palace. I may add it to the emmissary producing line of prvinces, so I can get the job done faster.

Wessex becomes the first Polish province to complete a church. I have generally avoided religious institutions like the plague, but it has come to my attention that they aid loyalty in provinces, they lead to cathedrals--which can raise funds, and, of course, they allow us to build more spies, this time of the religious nature. In a world where no Islam factions and only one Orthodox faction currently exist, the need for religious subjugation is not truly needed. But you never know where these kinds of personages can be useful, and, of course, this can also lead to the training of Inquisitors, which is an aspect of the game I have yet to explore in any form at all.

Ryazan finished a Merchant and Norway a Spearmaker's orkshop as well.

Chief Rum

[Anrhydeddu]

So we gathered a number of armies from the Kiev invasion forces and in other coastal parts of the kingdom and sent them by ship to Naples. Among the notables travelling to Naples are Sir Casimir himself and the recently-turned Poitevins in Wessex. They are accompanied by somewhere near 2000 men. And let's not kid ourselves--there is likely no diplomatic solution to this, and this breaking with the Pope will only be resolved by his death. Polish forces may soon be at the walls of Rome.

That's exciting.

[Coffee Warlord]

You know, we should cut a deal with game producers to pay all of us. Best damn free marketing there is comes from reading the dynasty reports here.

Yes, I went out and bought MTW, and was immediatly hooked. Damn you all for making me spend more money!

[scooper]

Alight it's back! Paczqi's for everyone!

[condors]

i got the game last week due to reduced price(20 bucks) and the dynasties here, at first i tried the english but the danes is currently my favorite longboats + vikings in the early age allows me to control the seas and i seem to have very good success taking over the neutral guys and get into the top east coner and work my way thru the byzintines and then egypt turkey etc my biggest problem are religous uprisings before i can get my church monestary etc built although i been putting priests there before i take them over and it seems to help alot having them there before also got to emissaries with them as they tend to get assinated. although i love mercia(sp) billman andn welsch longbows in the late game maybe i will start my own dynasty although i am not a good writer

[Fonzie]

Originally posted by condors
i got the game last week due to reduced price(20 bucks) and the dynasties here, at first i tried the english but the danes is currently my favorite longboats + vikings in the early age allows me to control the seas and i seem to have very good success taking over the neutral guys and get into the top east coner and work my way thru the byzintines and then egypt turkey etc my biggest problem are religous uprisings before i can get my church monestary etc built although i been putting priests there before i take them over and it seems to help alot having them there before also got to emissaries with them as they tend to get assinated. although i love mercia(sp) billman andn welsch longbows in the late game maybe i will start my own dynasty although i am not a good writer

You may or may not be a good writer, but you sure can make a long sentence!

[DataKing]

I just got all caught up on your exploits with Poland, Chief. Very good stuff, and a darn fine read. I'm not familiar with the game itself, but am still able to follow along. And being 1/4 Polish myself, I'm naturally interested.

I'll be reading.

[Chief Rum]

Anrhydeddu: Glad you think so. I was all up and wondering what woul dhappen if I moved directly on the papacy. It looks like we're about to find out.

Coffee Warlord: I am getting paid. Aren't you?

scooper: Thanks, scooper. So what exactly is a Paczqui? I gather it's a Polish delicacy of some kind. About the only Polish things I got from my grandparents were their genes, some Polish meals in my younger days (none of which included a Paczqui, to my knowledge), and some stories of the old country (Polish-"held" Wisconsin, not actual Poland itself). Oh yeah, and my name and swarthy build.

condors: I'm glad you enjoy the game. Keep up the good work. I would enjoy a dynasty about MTW, especially one that goes into detail about battles like I do. It might have been a touch obtuse for Sir Fozzie to be so blunt about your lack of use of periods, but he does have a point, pun intended.

Sir Fozzie: Bad, Fonzie! You will write "I will not pick on the period-using--or lack thereof--habits of anyone who is even remotely interested in starting a dynasty using Medieval: Total War!" 1,000 times on the chalkboard. How's that for a long sentence? And not one period in it!

Data King: Welcome to the group, DK. For anyone who really wants to be engrossed in this, I of course would recommend reading the whole thing (including the first thread, still over at the old board and saved on my hard drive). I'm not sure if you read all that or just what we have here (which is long enough on its own). Anyway, I suspect starting this up again may get some new readers, so if you want a quicker read of the general path of the dynasty, I recommend you check out the "biographies" of my kings. They are fairly obvious, as they always start off with the name of the king and his birth and death years, as you might find in an encyclopedia. If you get through those four posts (Wladyslaw I, Wladyslaw II, Henry I, and Kazimierz II) and then read on from King Kaz's death in 1213, you should be able to catch up pretty quick. King Kaz's biography is right here in this thread.

I'll see what I can get up tonight. BTW, if anyone has any combat tips to use on Mongol warriors, let me know, because I may be needing them soon. Thanks.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

The 1223 Defense of Poland

I suppose it should come as no surprise that while I have been concentrating once again on the Byzantines and on my acquisitions in the Mediterranean that those bastards to the south of me would only be thinking of taking Poland.

They decided to once again try and catch me with my pants down, sending in a new army to capture Poland. King Leszek himself is at Krakow Castle, so this is no small conflict.

381 Hungarian soldiers marched into Poland for the third time in 40 years. While we crtainly did not have the troops in place we wanted to have, we were not without a presence in the homeland, with exactly 600 troops of our own. Most of them were feudal men-at-arms, but I had a wide varietly of troops present.

There is no snow this time, as it was eight years ago for the last Hungarian invasion (one that, incidentally, they won). The terrain was pretty hilly with some patches of wood. For the most part, though, it was barren and there was very little development in the area.

We took position on a high hill in our coverage area, staking out positions at the top. The feudal men-at-arms took up positions a little down the hill, forming a rough semicircle along the slope in the general direction the Hungarians were to come from. We set up mounted sergeants and crossbowmen behind them and near the edges, and a group of arbalesters--the heavy-armed crossbowmen--ready to respond behind them and near King Leszek's royal knights.

The battle that ensued was a strange one, if for no reason than that it seemed to showcase the Hungarians being morons. They brought a good deal of royal knights (three full groups of twenties) and also some mounted sergeant units. They also had their usual complement of foot archers and enough spear-types of units for getting in the way of cavalry. This was close to the makeup of the group they brought in 1215. Of course, I had different troops present then and was outnumbered. But I knew what their strategy would be: get close enough to use their archers on me and generally kick my ass with the royal knights.

The last time I faced this, I broke my mounted sergeants on their spear ranks trying to get to their archers and I just didn't have the right types of troops to engage. This time I had more mobile units and more missile types.

Still, as often happens when faced with a superior general, I knew my guys would have problems maintaining their morale. I always seem to run into that kind of trouble, turning seeming obvious victories into routs in the opposite direction. It's one of the reasons I have bribed generals like Tankerville, who are already accomplished generals.

Anyway, the Hungarians fired at me with some war engines as their troops moved slowly toward me. They had some mounted sergeants off to the left that went charging off my flank, so I sent a mounted crossbow group to deal with them. I also sent out a mounted sergeants group of my own to meet them.

Maybe it was the morale issue--I don't really know--but my mounted sergeants, as usual, failed to be up to snuff against them and were soon in rout. I eventually rallied them, but I could do little mroe than shadow them. The mounted sergeants were kept at bay a bit by my mounted crossbows, but one of the royal knight groups was headed to join up them. That's when things got freaky. I dropped my mounted sergeants back toward the main group, re-angled the mounted crossbows to stand between the new collection of Hungarian mounted sergeants and royal knights, and I swung some foot units, mostly fedual men-at-arms, of course toward that side of the flank.

But this enemy didn't seem interested in charging. They continued to seek a way around behind us (I assume). I kept forces turning to meet them, so that at one point I had half of my forces facing forward and the other half backwards. My position was flanked by one of the few deep forests in the area, so when the enemy moved around behind me, they disappeared into the forests. It's very hard to follow such units in the trees, so I set my units in as hard as possible, and moved the King and his royal knights up, toward the center of my formations and with some protection all around them, rather than in one direction.

Meanwhile, in the front, things were going relatively well. The big surprise was my arbalesters. I centered their focus on the royal knight groups, and their bolts were certainly hitting their mark. They weren't as strong with their ground troop types either as usual, with a lot of peasants and urban militia in place. They did have their archers, but I had mounted sergeants and mounted crossbows harassing them, and archers of my own finding their mark.

But still, their knights were working their way through our ranks, turning back our units and causing morale problems. And we couldn't really got close enough to affect their archers. That's when they made another weird decision. Their royal knights got too close and got engaged with some of feudal men at arms. I sent what mounted sergeants I could into the fray to hold them there and tried to overwhelm them with numbers. I also aimed the arbalesters directly at this group. This entire time, I was also keeping a nervous eye at my back, where those other knights and mounted sergeants had disappeared into the forest.

It was around now that I circled back with the viewer to find those units. And what did I find? They were standing in a clearing ont he other side of the forest doing nothing. There didn't seem to be any clear reason for them doing what they were doing (or not doing). It was like they were intentionally sitting out this battle.

So I sent in more forces from the back on the front and even got the King briefly into action. The royal knight group we had held in place finally got down to a few and then one. As is the case with MTW, this one took a long time to fall, because he is the general of the Hungarian army. It took a little bit, but he finally did fall.

After that, of course, it was all she wrote. The Hungarian forces were climbing over themselves trying to get away. And King Leszek had his first on-field battle, not that I spend much time trying to get my kings onto fields of battle.

In all, we suffered more casualties (184), but we won because of superior numbers and the stupidity of our enemy. We killed 115 Hungarian troops and captured three more.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

1223

War Events

As has already been noted, we successfully repelled the latest invasion of Poland by Hungary. We ransomed the three prisoners back for 50 florins, and King Leszek received a promotion for his handling of the victory, moving up to +1 COM.

Even with such strife at home, of course, my other plans continue. Sir Casimir Jagiellonczyk, leading a 2492-man army, marched into Rome with the sole purpose of placing Pope Nicholas V's head on a polearm.

Incidentally, in order to send in such a large army, I had to do some reorganizing of the garrisons in Italy, to keep loyalty above 100%. This would be the first step in many over the next several years, where I was drawing some forces away from other areas toward my Mediterranean holdings.

Diplomatic Events

We were turned down for four marriage proposals this year, as we so fondly love to have done to us pretty much every year.

We propose marriage to Princess Charlotte of France, as if our luck will change.

Speaking of France, they shot down our ceasefire attempt, saying they saw no advantage to it at this time.

The next step I will be taking is actually one I had not intended to take in quite such a manner, but quite frankly, the Spanish lack of interest in retaking their lost rebellious territories has left some openings for me to come in and take over. I really have little interest in Tunisia, but it strikes me as being remarkably well-placed strategically, as I already noted when I pointed out that its fall to Spanish rebels in the recent civil war was serving as a roadblock for Spain's still sizable armies in the Sinai and Egypt.

So I went ahead and authorized an effort to bribe a former Spanish lord named Don Sancho Velazquez, currently in control of Tunisia. The bribe attempt will cost me 2494 florins, if he accepts it.

Covert Events

Lots of assassin activity this year.

We catch and kill three of them, in Kiev, Lithuania and Ryazan, respectively. Two of them were almost certainly Hungarian and Spanish. The third revealed himself to be Byzantine.

Economic Events

Income: 22690
Expenses: 14664
Profits: 8026

Treasury: 105037

Income is down a little because of new enemy ships appearing (as always), but overall we're still holding very strongly.

A fair amount of construction was completed this year. Finland added an Armourer and Smolensk an Armourer's Workshop. Pereyaslavl finished a Horse Farm and Lithuania a Horse Breeder. And Kiev added +20% Farming Improvements. Income-wise, though, the most significant developments were the Port in Sicily and the Merchant in Northumbria.

1224

War Events

Considering the seeming importance of the seat of medieval Christianity, you would think the papal troops would have put up more of a fight. Not only did they refuse to engage us on the field of battle, the Pope and his armies left the province altogether, abandoning the Vatican and the city built by Romanus and Tiberius without a drop of blood.

Three facilities were destroyed, six were damaged and 2200 florins were pillaged from Rome.

As this was going on, it seems that my enemies have rejuvenated themselves for fresh naval attacks. The first was Spain, one of the few countries I had not yet been engaged to war with. They snuck attacked me in, surprise, Costa Verde, of course. Their barque sank my barque there.

The Hungarians still had their barque in the Ionian Sea and they attacked one of ym caravels. Alas for the Hungarian commander, it was the last mistake he would make, as my ship sent his to the depths of the seas.

But the damage wasn't just in high seas battles. The French built their first ship in some time in the English Channel, blockading me there (not that it matters anymore since I can now use the Atlantic Ocean to get around such blockades) and the Byzantines had a ship in both the Sea Marmara. Also, because Spain was now at war with us (civil war and all), they had a ship in the Straits of Gibraltar, and that was an effective blockade of the Mediterranean from my mainland areas and northern conquests.

The cost ended up being an immediate invasion of the Papal States. It was my intention to wrap up this mess with the Pope as quickly as possible, but with the acquisition of Rome and the continued need to maintain loyalties throughout the area, I needed to bring in more forces to do so. So the Sea Marmara and the Straits of Gibraltar effectively blocked any potential transport by sea of my other armies to Italy. I had to make do with what I had there already, so I put the invasion of the Papal States unhold until I could free those sea routes again of enemy ships.

I set up some attacks to do so, sending a caravel and barque against a Byzantine dromon (a speedy, lightly armored ship) in the Sea Marmara, and a four-barque attack on a Spanish barque in the English Channel. I wasn't set to free up the Straits yet, but that will come soon, too.

World Events

Hungary currently has the most content populace. It is my intent to make them a whole lot less content in the very near future.

The Byzantines didn't much like the French going down to Antioch, so they kicked them back out and all the way back by ship to Pomerania. Just leave, please.

The Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire bit the bucket this year due to old age, and Friedrich I was elected to take his place.

Royal family and Nobility Events

The Queen gives birth to a baby daughter, and the young princess is named Swatawa. What a horrible name.

Diplomatic Events

Through thick and thin, Germany has generally stood by our side, even when we had no other allies. For some reason, Spain attacking us was the last straw, and they chose Spain. Why the heck would they do that? Anyway, we are now back to having no allies. I frickin' hate the Spanish.

I did get a measure of revenge when Don Sancho Velazquez accepted my bribe offer. The "army" (actually a group of royal knights) will attempt to officially join the Great Northern Kingdom by next year, and bringing Tunisia along with it.

Covert Events

Two more assassins. They were both caught in Novgorod, no doubt their first and last stops in our kingdom. One claimed to be from France before he died, but the other snapped up tight, and we don't know where he came from. And, of course, since we have no allies and several nations at war withus, it could be anyone--not that it matters.

Economic Events

Income: 12985
Expenses: 14774
Profits: -1789

Treasury: 105444

Well, as you can see, the blockades at both ends of the Mediterranean have hit us pretty hard. We are now experiencing negative cash flow. While we do have a sizable treasury, this is not a state of affairs I enjoy. This and the war situation in Italy gives me all the motivation I need to clear those blockades as soon as possible. I'm certainly glad my effort to build the world's strongest navy is being put to good use.

Denmark finally finished its Keep this year. One of my least developed provinces, Denmark seems to have been building the thing since the turn of the millenium. It's nice to knwo they can finally move on and begin to approach the wealthy status my other coastal provinces generally achieve.

Scotland finished a Shipwright, which is a good place to have one, thanks to its connections to the North Atlantic, North Sea and the Irish Sea. Wessex, at the other end of the island, wrapped up a Royal Palace. Ryazan added a little more bite to its indurty with a Spearmaker and Naples added +40% Farming Improvements.

I immediately was able to move Rome up to Very High taxes, thanks to the large army present within its borders. Rome, as an economic province, makes for a damn fine religious province. Ugh. Not a darn thing of value here, it seems. No natural resources and no trade items of note either. Its current income range is just 215 at Very Low to 357 at Very High. It is, of course, 100% Catholic with the "bonus" of having 73% Zeal.

I had a good laugh when I checked out the province's structures and buildings and discovered that it didn't even have a monastery. I started work on one.

1225

War Events

War raged across the seas of medieval Europe this year.

In the English Channel, my four barques were more than enough for the Spanish barque there, sinking it without loss.

In Costa Verde, Spain attacked a two-barque Polish fleet with its own two-barque fleet (the one which initiated the current conflict with Spain), but lost. Both ships were sent to the bottom by my barques, although we lost a barque ourselves in doing so.

In the Malta Channel, a Spanish barque attacked my trade-ensuring barque there and sank it, giving us one more red province to clear.

The Byzantine dromon evaded my attack and moved on to the Aegean Sea, which still preserves the eastern blockade on my trade and army transports. Since I wasn't able to launch an attack in the Straits of Gibraltar this year at all, we would have to endure another year in Italy without support from outside Polish forces.

I launched five new sea attacks amazingly enough. With any luck, some of them might even happen next year. Here they are. I only have one barque currently in the Aegean Sea, but it seems like a match for the dromon, so I send it against the Byzantines. Two caravels have arrived in the English Channel, so I send the two and the recently victorious four barques on an attack on the French barque that appeared in the Channel last year. I bring about a three caravel attack on the Spanish barque in the Malta Sea. I send three barques at a new French barque in the Bay of Biscay. And I am finally set for the attack in the Straits of Gibraltar, with two caravels and two barques going up against a Spanish barque there.

Inside the Mediterranean, the switchover of Tunisia through "diplomacy" is complete, and the province officially turns over to Polish control. The province is hit hard unfortunately, with five facilities destroyed and four damaged. We looted 2750 florins from the area for the kingdom's coffers. The most interesting actions of the year turn out to be my further reorganization of the forces in southern Italy and Siciliy to get Tunisia above 100% Loyalty right away, but without allowing those Italian provinces to fall below that level either, nor jeopardizing our intention to continue the campaign against the papacy, holed up in the Papal States.

World Events

As if I needed it, famine hit Naples, hurting my income from that province.

The French Crusade, perhaps seeing the need for more reinforcements after being beaten back by the Byzantines in Antioch, have travelled south to Poland, the sons-of-bitches.

A great German scholar named Albertus Magnus has come to be notable. He espouses to be a scholar of the classics, having studied both Aristotle and the great Greek thinkers of the ancient ages, and the Arab scholars of more recent times as well. He is at once a force for reason and rationality, and yet is also well-regarded in religious circles, despite the notable truth that the Catholic Church does not often count rationality or reason as an endeared attribute, at least from my way of thinking. Nevertheless, his popualrity has ropped Zeal throughout German territories by 10%, but converted more of the population to the faith.

Royal Family and Nobility Events

The acquisition of Tunisia is pushing King Leszek up to new heights of influence. He now has 6 crowns of influence in world affairs. I only wish it would somehow translate itself into something palpable in diplomatic circles, because if it does, I have yet to see it.

It's probably just there so I can say, "Cool, like how great my king is."

Diplomatic Events

This is usually one my busier sections, but not this year. All I got for ya is the expected rejection of my marriage proposal to that French princess.

Covert Events

Four assassins this year. Sheesh, you would think these guys would get a clue sometime.

One assassin, whose source remains a mystery, was killed in Kiev. My guess is Byzantine, but maybe Hungarian.

Another caught and killed in Muscovy (which is actually not a sea province, so this one was probably fairly decent at getting around) was almost certainly German.

Then two assassins were caught again in Novgorod. One claimed to be Spain, and the other claimed to be from the Pope. I was surprised at neither.

Economic Events

Income: 14186
Expenses: 15027
Profits: -841

Treasury: 96430

Income jumped up a little, since I am able to trade a little with Constantinople now through Kiev, and because of economic and trade improvements in other provinces, but I am still operating at a loss. Obviously, the only clear solution is to continue the process of eliminating those blockades in the Mediterranean Sea.

Mercia, another province that feels like it has been building forever, finally finishes its Keep this year. Nearby Wales adds +40% Farming Improvements. Kiev makes itself more economically attractive by adding a Trading Post.

Lithuania finishes a Royal Palace as I try and get some other territories close to producing the kinds of units Poland was once able to make (before being debilitated by repeated invasions).

Volhenya completes a Bowyer's Workship and Prussia a Swordsmith's Workshop, as they move up the miliatry scale.

In Tunisia, my first originally Arabic province, I drop taxes to very Low, as I am spreading it thin enough as it is just to get this province above 100%. The province has Gold as a natural resource, which is a nice surprise. I'm not sure how the game handles such things, but I have to think it won't hurt the treasury none. There are no other natural resources, though, nor any trade items of note whatsoever. The income range is decent, with 288 at Very Low taxes and 412 at Very High. Real life Islamic fundamentalists would no doubt be very bitter to know that long Spanish occupation has turned the desert province into a 100% Catholic region, although they can take oslace in that the populace don't really follow it all that actively (10% Zeal). The province is famous for its development of dhows. I know--you got me. I probably can't even build a dhow, whatever it is.

Game Events

Well, as MTW gamers know, 1225 is a Game Event year, where the game tallies up the scores and adds points. As usual, we gain seven points for our homelands and our conquests. That moves us up to 84 points, just ahead of the Germans at 82, but the Byzantines are still way ahead of us, at 114.

Chief Rum