You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
alternatehistory.com
13
Wow, nearly 10,000 views and over 100 posts already. All of my thanks to the readers for getting this far.
-------
The Genoese-Venetian War: Round 3, Part II
When we last left off in the narrative we see Rome finally deciding to willingly enter yet another brutal and potentially destructive conflict. One that was had been taking a massive toll on both sides, spiraling into an ever more chaotic and ferocious warzone where it seemed like every battle was trying to up the ante on the carnage. You’d think that after a mere decade of reform it’d be unwise to return to like sticking one’s hand into a hornet’s nest. Even worse when you consider the historical track record: pretty much every time Rome decided to intervene in the affairs of the warring states, they ended up losing in some way or another. So why here? Why not just stay on the sidelines and watch both weaken themselves? Here it was somewhat different- Rome had quite a lot to gain for little work, relatively speaking. The fighting would be in their backyard (or so they thought), the Merchant republics (and the Beylik of Aydin) would do most of the work, and the tantalizing prizes of Athens, Naxos, and other former possessions would be open for reconquest without many complaining about aggression. It was a relatively reasonable proposition in terms of economic calculus at the time. And that economic calculus also explains the rationale for who’s side to take in this conflict. In joining the war effort alongside Genoa, Eastern Rome had more to gain: Revenge for the Fourth Crusade, forcing a major rival to start paying commerce taxes once more, regaining prestige, weakening an enemy and of course, seizing territory. Of which, that last one was likely the greatest material incentive to support Genoa. In antagonizing Genoa, Romania might regain the Crimea and once more cement Constantinople as the major trading center in the Black and Aegean seas (as Galata would most certainly be destroyed). But in siding with Genoa, Romanian opens herself up to taking all the Venetian territories dotted around her lands; the Venetian islands in the Ionian sea, the Duchy of Athens, the Duchy of the Islands (better known as Naxos), Euboea and of course the grand prize of Crete. (They of course weren’t thinking that Genoa might want some of that too but whatever). Venice was just too tempting to resist, and her allies far, far away.
With these questions answered, let us return to the narrative and continue onward. Upon the formal agreement to join forces with the Genoese “For retribution at the injustices, the expulsion, and final extermination of the Venetian Republic”, public sentiment in Genoa rose, as with it the desire to continue the war. Neither of the Italian Republics were blind to the developments going on in Eastern Rome, with its de-urbanization, naval expansion and fraternization with the Turkish Beyliks being treated as curious developments that while should not be taken a blind eye towards, were not enough of a threat to merit intervention- especially not when tensions had been rapidly plummeting with Venice and the other Italian states. Everyone in Genoa knew war would once more return since Venice began to occupy the critical niche Genoa had set for itself as the broker between the Steppe Khans of the Silk Road and Western Europe. Wasting resources to put the Byzantines back in line, critically when they’re united under stronger leadership than hadn’t been seen since the days of Michael VII would be a waste of money at best, and a grievous folly at worst. But that’s irrelevant now. What is, is that Genoa had seen a positive development of the East Roman state and gladly accepted its aid in a time of crisis.
And now back to the story. In the next month or so the two powers would see talks of coordination and mobilization of military assets in East Rome. These talks would prove a very fruitful endeavor, with a brilliant plan devised that would critically shift the balance in this war. Taking advantage of Rome’s outward neutrality and policy of naval rearmament to avoid suspicion, Genoa managed to smuggle many of its engineers, shipwrights and other specialists (disguised as Turkish merchants of all things) to build a Genoese fleet in Constantinople via the latter’s arsenal over the winter. At the same time, Rome would use a combination of bribery and diplomatic leverage to shift the piracy of Aydinids and their allies away from the Genoese republic, freeing additional ships to be used in the fight against Venice. In the Queen of Cities, the resources of the empire were put at work to expand the shipyards and docks to build the desired fleet. The urban poor would be put to work in building the fleet and Genoese loans would pay for the raw materials and upkeep needed. Not to say that our empire got a blank check, but Genoese banks were very generous in how they split the bill. Despite initial hopes, progress was slower than expected thanks to a combination of inexperience and lack of institutions that were present in the Merchant Republics to facilitate the building and outfitting of ships. In spite of that however, the winter was fruitful and 26 ships were built, outfitted and manned to Genoese specifications.
On the spring of 1352, the new offensive was launched. Not from the port of Constantinople, but from a field army in Northern Thessaly. Roman forces were too cut off and occupy the Duchy of Athens, preventing the arrival of reinforcements to Venetian controlled Euboea. The ‘field army’, comprising the bulk of the professional Roman forces, swept through the relatively impoverished region straight for the capital. Athenian forces, the descendents of the Catalan company that initially conquered the territory in the early 1300s put up decent amounts of resistance when the knights could, despite the deck being thoroughly stacked against them. Athenian forces were stretched thin following the war’s beginning (where under orders from Barcelona, the military had to support Venice as much as they could, which amounted to having a large contingent of troops stationed on the island and away from their manors) and the military wasn’t under the best conditions due to an increasingly worsening economy, that began to crack under the strain of no longer receiving Roman imports [1]. This was then followed up by Roman soldiers enticing revolts by the local Greek peasantry using the incentives of restoring Orthodoxy and lowering taxes. And, contrary to what one might expect at this point, nobles were not massacred (Ok most of the time). Instead ransoming being for a profit was the standard, for both money and for limiting the annoyance of Aragon, who still had limited engagement.
One can probably see where this is going. In just a few months, Athens is in dire shape; the military’s already overstretched with commitments overseas, the economy is rapidly contracting forcing higher extractions on the peasantry, the invading army is matching your forces better than expected, and the amount of fires needing to be put out in the form of revolts is growing more and more. Eventually this leads to troops deserting and most of the land being in enemy hands by May, and the capital being sieged in July. Oh, and your initial goal of defending the Venetian island failed. Horribly. Its no surprise that when the Romans reach the walls of the city, Duke Frederick [2] surrenders without much of a fight under the offer of clemency from Romania.
Oh, and speaking of Euboea, at the same time Romania’s troops marched down to reclaim their territory on the mainland, from Constantinople emerged a combined Roman-Genoese fleet launching simultaneous attack on the island. Overwhelming force was once again the rule, despite valiant resistance. The Island capitulated swiftly, and with it the major Venetian forts in the Aegean. It gets worse the Venetians, as word reaches the city that Naxos, their ‘ally’ has fallen. Its not from the usual suspects however; instead it was, of all things, the Beylik of Aydin, who made a calculated risk attacking a Venetian territory correctly guessing that enemy forces would be more focused on other matters than on a minor, if strategically located player in the Aegean.
The next few months would be a slow, steady advance for the Roman-Genoese axis. The fleet, split into several squadrons began to patrol and push out the Venetians from the Aegean bit by bit. The chaotic battles and rapid raids that characterized the war remained, but ever so slightly Venice began to withdraw more and more; raids became scarcer and smaller in volume and full on assaults with the attempt of conquest were by end the of year nonexistent. By early 1343, Venice had lost any semblance of control in the Aegean, with even its holdings in the Ionian isles being threatened. With such major obstacles out of the way, the two powers grew confident. They had the effectively succeeded at a major war goal: Pushing the enemy out of the vital Black Sea trade routes and eliminating resistance along the way. Drunk on victory, they began to plan bolder and bolder offensives- a raid on Corfu, on Dalmatia, on Syracuse. But those wouldn’t do. What was needed was a final knockout blow to cripple the Venetians in their entirety before striking the killing blow. And quickly the two powers found their target: The crown jewel in Venice’s empire, Crete.