AHC: Most Dangerous Vlad Tepes Possible

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to make Vlad III of Wallachia as dangerous and powerful as possible. Go.
 

Swordman

Banned
Have him become either King Of Hungary or Holy Roman Emperor. As for being more dangerous, he's already a murdering psychopath who thinks nothing of impaling 20,000+ enemy prisoners to intimidate the Sultan....

Mike Garrity
 
I don't know if giving him more to work with will make him more dangerous. It was my understanding that a lot of terrror tactics were because he had little to work with(men, material, etc...). He was definitely cruel and sadistic. But with more resources at his disposal the cruelty may have become more of a hobby than a means to intimidate Turkey.

I think that if was able to gain more support from other nations he would have been a lot more dangerous, i.e. playing up the religious angle to European nations. If he could find some way to work with the Boyars without sacficicing his authority that would help. His brother Radu, was considered a competent leader. If he hadn't converted to Islam he could have been a strong supporter.
 
I have a nightmare version of him leading a protracted guerrilla war throughout the Balkans against the Ottoman's while the Turks and Hungarians bleed each other white. Eventually, they break and he is the only one able to fill the power vacuum. He briefly rules a large Balkan empire, which immediately collapses into civil war after his death. His Penultimate atrocity is the impalement of the entire population of Constantinople.
 
my 2 cents...

On June the 17, 1462, 60.000 ottoman regulars and 20.000 irregulars were about to attack Vlad's capital. That night, he led his 30.000 strong army into a surprise attack, aimed at killing Mehmed II. OTL, this failed, although they killed 15.000 Turks for 5000 of their own, but suppose everything goes according to plan.

Confusion is greater with the Turks even fighting among themselves in the chaos, the other half of Vlad's army that was supposed to attack does so at the best moment, the sultan is killed and the Turkish army routed and then consistently attacked as they try to retreat across the Danube.

Events play out in such a manner that a civil war breaks out in the ottoman empire.

Vlad however loses his throne shortly after to a boyar coup and flees into Moldova to his cousin Stephen III (OTL called the great). Together, they march into Wallachia where they achieve victory, but both Stephen and his son are killed. On his deathbed, Stephen appoint Vlad as his successor.

Vlad goes about killing whatever boyars oppose him in both Wallachia and Moldova and promotes lesser one into positions of power.

Then suppose the crusade that had been planned is finally launched, with the pope and the king of hungary hoping to take advantage of the temporary ottoman weakness. With a huge amount of luck, the campaign is successful, with several territories south of the Danube going to Wallachia and the Ottomans split up into various states and forced to pay tribute.

So, does this qualify as meeting the challenge ?
 
Last edited:

archaeogeek

Banned
Considering he failed utterly, I'd say anything where he's stable king of a country or a long-standing guerilla leader (as opposed to doomed princeling of a third rate power) is bound to make him more dangerous. Most of his exploits are mythical. My vote is on him being elected king of Hungary.
 
He was as dangerous as he could be. Though he could be lucky enough to kill Mehmed but that's not going to end well for him or Wallachia. He wasn't going to be elected King of Hungary - I thought the Jagiellons held that spot.
 
Vlad Tepes would not have made a good king. He had a tin ear when it came to politics, this played a large role in his ultimate demise. As a guerrilla leader or as a general he was unstoppable, the perfect ruthless murderous bastard who can and did win at any price. But put him in a room full of people with varying interests and he would lose all baring.

What Tepes needed was allies who could handle the politics, leaving him free to deal with the Turks.
 
Top