The Byzantines survive the fourth crusade the fall of the Angeloi a tl

Welcome back BG(some comments about the update a bit later).
Becareful about the last paragraph;the movements of medieval European armies were cumbersome and very slow over long distances(supply problems mostly and army cohesion-feudal armies-feudal lords) as a result Branas(reads Vranas) has plenty of time to prepare well.His forces in Europe are intact and he can depend on thousands of horse archers from his Egyptian and other muslim vassals;these archers can turn the march of the inexperienced European feudal armies into a nightmare until they start meeting proper Byzantine armies...on the latter's home ground!
 
Welcome back BG(some comments about the update a bit later).
Becareful about the last paragraph;the movements of medieval European armies were cumbersome and very slow over long distances(supply problems mostly and army cohesion-feudal armies-feudal lords) as a result Branas(reads Vranas) has plenty of time to prepare well.His forces in Europe are intact and he can depend on thousands of horse archers from his Egyptian and other muslim vassals;these archers can turn the march of the inexperienced European feudal armies into a nightmare until they start meeting proper Byzantine armies...on the latter's home ground!

That is true thanks for the advice. Will incorporate it into next update.
 
The War of the Three Sovreigns

Now in 1205 the HRE was facing serious trouble in Italy. Since the reign of Fredrick I the Lombard leauge a coalition of the northern italian states backed by the pope had been resisting imperial influence and valued autonomy.
Branas realized that he could exploit this rift and so in 1205 he sent envoys to the courts of the Italian states in the North and promised them that if they rise in revolt against the HRE then with Rhoman support the HRE would be defeated and the Rhomans would force the HRE to give full autonomy(something the stats desired) within the HRE and no interference int heir lands by the HRE.
After much deliberation the Northern States after a few months did just that.

On june 5th 1205 the Lombard leauge was once more renewed and this time it was fighting for complete autonomy within the HRE not just jursidiction over thier territory. When the states presented their demands to the HRE Fredrick as expected refused. However he fond himself in a quagmire. I March the HRE and the Hungarian forces marched into the balkans and so Fredrick really had no army to successfully put down the revolt. He decided tht he had no choice and so he ordered a recall of some of the imperial forces. However this proved to be a fatal mistake on his part.


By late June across much of Bosnia and Danube the armeis of the HRE and the Hungarians fought fiercly with the Rhoman soldiers. The Rhoman army raised by branas was large. It was split into three groups: the first numbered close to 10000 soldiers taken from a large number of egyption and Levantine levies from the east and it was used as a mainly defensive force that would be used in late 1205-1206. The Main rhoman army numbering some 10000 strong made of the best imperial troops including latinkons, trebizond archers, archons, etc and was the elite division that participated in the offensives during mid 1205 onwards. meanwhile the lst dividsion was the Balkan levies backed by Anatolian pronoiar cavalry and some kataphratacoi who held the main defense against the HRE and Hungarian armies. numbering some 8000 soldiers. However these 8000 soldiers were backed by arab and turkish cavalry of some 3000. These 3000 cavalry would prove essential in the successful defense of the Empire in the west.


The Imperial army numbered close to 30000 soldiers drawn from all the German princes wile the Hungarian army numbered close to 20000 soldiers drawn from levies, conscription, etc. However the HRE faced a problem. Given the large army numbers the maintenence, logistics, etc as well as the time it took to organize them. This coupled with the revolt of the Lombard leauge drew resources and troops away from the campaign against the Rhomans.

Fredrick recieved bad news in June of 1205. While he was busy preparing the imperial armies for battle his ally the Hungarian king felt that the Rhoman troops were weak and given how previously Hungary had destroyed the imperial troops during the time of the Angeloi shortly after the fall of the komnenoi, they believed they were facing a similiar army. One must remember that even during Komnenian times while the army was feared in the east, in the west it was viewed as effimenate, weak, and useless.

Fredrick hoewver knew better given he had participated in the campaigns against the muslims with the Byzantines and realized his ally made a terrible mistake. While Fredrick was angry and wanted vengence he still respected and understood the capability and might of the current imperial army.

After the war branas was to have replied that his greatest foe had been Fredrick and it was a godsend when the Hungarians invaded before the HRE could muster it's forces.

The Hungarian army met on the Danube the Rhoman 3rd division the balkan levies backed by some imperial cavalry and arab/turkish horse archers. The Hungarians had lost experience fighting horse cavalry and so the 3000 horse archers proved instrumental. using classical nomad tactics.

The muslim archers fired arrows upon the Hungarian troops and charged to the front of the superior Hungarian army and then suddenly retreated. The Hungarian army division numbering some 9000 soldiers soon thinking it had won let its defense down and chased the cavalry.

However the cavalry then returned fie and caused casulties among the Hungarian division now disunited and then rained more arrows surrounding it. The Hungarians put up a shield wall but still lost troops. Another detachment of the army numbering some 8000 also came to the aid of the Hungarians as they put up a shield wall. The cavalry once more retreated. The Hungarians realized they had no choice but to give chase and so they marched forward. The hungarian army marched across the Danubian plains suffering peppered by arrows.

Eventually they arrived at the foothills of the Danubian plain. Here the third Byzantine division lay in wait. When the morale broken and weakened Hungarian army arrived in November they numbered out of the two divisions some 12000 left. But they faced the entire rhoman balkan levy bolstered by cavalry that was fresh, high moralled,and disciplined and soon they attacked.

The cavalry encircled the Hungarian troops and cut off the 12000 from retreat. THough the cavalry only number some 2900 now the enemy army if it tried attacking the horses would be caught by the imperial forces. What ensued on the place later known as the patina and with the imperial assault the Hungarian divisions suffered a terrible defeat. THe entire force of 12000 suffered some 6000 casulties and the remaining six thousand were captured out of which only 4000 survived given 2000 had tried to retreat but were run down and shot down by imperial cavalry and horse archers.

Meanwhile on the Danubian plain the Hungarian King and his main army besieging the various cities in January found itself under attack by the rhoman elite force and at the ensuing battle of the danube in january of 1206 the Hungarian main army now numbering only 8000 backed by a couple thousand hastily gotten mercinaries was destroyed by Imperial forces lead by branas and the King of Hungary himself was killed.

When Fredrick heard of the losses he was outraged. However he had become bogged down in Norther Italy trying to destroy the Lombard cities who were resisting fiercly.

As such the situation had turned favorably for the rhomans and what would follow next would be the cause of the resounding rhoman victory during this war.
 
So,FB Frederick must really be scratching his head....interesting,Lombardy was important and critical at the same time...
 
Sure FB where have you been all the time since...January? I would rather you don't appear like a..comet and make your updates more frequent please!
 
Just noticed the update. I like, but two things: Can you update more often please? Also, can you put comma's in numbers: 8,000 for example. Makes things easier to read.
 
FB,

The above was only a friendly rebuke(and deservedly so!),I was really wandering what happened to you after such long silence and I was pleased
to see that you showed signs of life...
 
Okay guys ive decided to necro this thread and revive the tl. Hope its alright.

The War of the Three Sovereigns: The Byzantine Counteroffensive
After suffering a crushing defeat on the Danube planes the Hungarian army was for the most part broken. Pressing his advantage Branas soon drove the Elite imperial forces into Bacs, Csnad, and Pecs.

At the same time he sent envoys to the Cuman khan and after paying a handsome sum of gold, the Cumans invaded Transylvania after declaring war on Hungary.

What little hope Hungary had to stalling the rhoman offensive had evaporated. With the Cumans pouring into Transylvania which was ideal for steppe warfare quickly fell to the nomads with only the fortified cities holding out. Meanwhile in Hungary with Emeric dead, his wife Constance had a regency council in place for the young king Ladislaus.

Constance desperately appealed to Fredrick for reinforcements. However Fredrick was facing issues of his own.

Many of the German princes were chafing under the increasingly centralized rule of the Hohenstuafens. It appeared whenever the emperor dealt with his Italian provinces the german princes would plot to overthrow him. With Fredrick occupied in Italy, a coalition of princes lead by Otto IV of Brunswick the son of Henry the Lion convinced a group of German princes in the north to rise in revolt against the emperor. At Aachen they convened a council and sent a list of demands to Fredrick demanding him to restore privileges that he had deprived them of previously.

Fredrick of course who had the ambition of centralizing the HRE refused their demands and the German princes rose up in revolt.

Facing the lombards in Italy and the German princes in the north.Fredrick's army was preoccupied on both fronts and he was unable to send aid to his Hungarian allies.

With no help coming, a bankrupt state, and no real army left the Hungarian regency council realized that victory was impossible. Envoys were sent to the imperial court by the Hungarians offering to surrender. But at Branas urging to push into Hungary, Emperor Michael refused to negotiate and instead demanded the Hungarians surrender and become vassals of the Roman empire, in return for the Romans to cease their invasion of Hungary proper and aid the Hungarian in driving out the Cumans.

When the reply to their peace offer was sent back to Constance, it was said the Hungarian court was in an uproar. Not since Manuel Komnenos had the Hungarians been forced into such a desperate position. Finally after much discussion and with imperial troops pouring into the Hungarian heartland and Cumans ravaging Carpathia and Transylvania, the Hungarians accepted the Roman demands.

In August of 1207 after nearly two years of fierce fighting.(Mostly involving the rhomans besieging the well fortified Hungarian cities, castles, and citadels, and dealing with local revolts and rebellions) the Hungarians and the rhomans signed the treaty of Buda, which declared the Kingdom of Hungary was a rhoman vassal and young king Ladislaus and his mother were forced to swear loyalty to the Emperor of the Rhomans Michael.

Branas had by this point become what one would call a hero. It can be said that Branas was the main reason for imperial success in the west.

With Hungary under imperial thumb Branas turned his attention on the Cumans. In December 1207 the Cumans were sent envoys demanding they retreat back to their homeland. When the Cumans revelling in their ransacking of the Caprathian basin refused, Imperial soldiers declared war. On the outskirts of Braslav the Cuman and Imperial forces met.

Normally a steppe army could use tactics that would prove difficult for most European armies at the time to counter such as encircling and swarming.

However the Rhoman army lead by Branas had seasoned troops who had experienced fighting the Turkish soldiers and so knew how to handle Horse archers. Thus the imperial forces contrary to Cumanian expectations did not break free from their sheildwall when the Cumans retreated and run at them madly like most of their enemies. Rather it advanced slowly and methodically under the orders of Branas. Meanwhile the Imperial archers and turkish levies fired back at the cuman troops.

Meanwhile a smaller force of imperial latinkon had broken off from the main army and attacked the cumans from behind as they retreated. Hemmed between the heavy cavalry and the troops in shieldwall and facing a constrant stream of arrows fired by skill turkish horse archers and imperial archers the Cuman army was decimated. The Cuman Khan himself who had participated in the assault was captured by Imperial forces. After the battle was over he was brought before Branas.

In return for keeping his life, the Cumans would withdraw from Hungarian and Imperial territory and pay tribute to the Romans.

Now Branas could have chosen to also annex or vassalize the cumans but decided against it. After all Hungary had proved to be disloyal in the past and maintaning imperial control over it was already going to be a handful. He and of course Michael did not want a repeat of what happened when Manuel had died. Not to mention now with the Hungarians no longer a threat he had to contend with a far more deadly and capable force. The Imperial army under Fredrick Hohenstaufen.

By mid 1207 Fredrick signed the treaty of Milan with the Lombard states. In it the Lombards ceased their revolt and after being defeated by Imperial forces were revoked of the previous privileges they had enjoyed and were forced albeit unwillingly back into imperial fold.


Fredrick had won a string of victories in Italy. His forces overran Mantua, destroyed the Milanese mercenary armies and were laying siege to Milan. Meanwhile against Ferrara and Tuscany he had destroyed their armies as well during his siege of Mantua when they attempted to aid the beleaugered city.

The reason for such a string of victories had to do with the fact that the large army Fredrick had assembled to face the rhomans he turned against Italy. Facing such overwhelming odds lead by the brilliant emperor himself, their was little the Italian states could do. They put up stiff resistance but eventually crumbled.

With Italy pacified Fredrick turned his army on the Northern German princes. Throughout 1207-1208 for over a year his forces battled Otto's and in Trier the two forces met. The decisive battle of Trier in July of 1208 ended in complete imperial victory. The Northern army was crushed. Otto was captured, and the power of the revolting princes broken.

In the ensuing treaty of Worms signed in August, the Imperial princes were forced to give up more of their privileges.

And as a warning to any other would be revolters, Fredrick had the princes who opposed him deprived of their lands, which were then handed out to his loyal supporters and rival families to the deposed dynasties. This in turn ensured that many of the northern german electors were in the Hohenstaufen pocket since the new families owed their station to Hohenstaufen favour.

Across the rest of Germany and even in Italy, the princes and kings of the HRE slowly realized that Fredrick was serious. When he proclaimed his desire to centralize the HRE, he actually meant to follow through with it.

Of course trouble was still brewing but the example set by Fredrick at the Treaty of worms sent one clear message to imperial princes. They were free to rule as they wished within their own states provided their decrees did not conflict with Imperial laws, but if they revolted against the emperor or his dynasty, their very lands would be forfeit to their rivals and opponents.

Though Fredrick had temporarily pacified Italy and Germany, he knew that eventually the tenuous peace would not last.

The pope in Rome would be furious at his actions and would no doubt scheme to set up a coalition against him. He also knew that some of the more powerful imperial princes were angered by this display of what they considered Imperial tyranny and would no doubt eventually scheme to revolt.

On top of that he knew that the French in the west and the Poles to the East would also circle around his state if they found that his armies were depleted or bogged down in wars against the rhomans. Not to mention he was wary of the rapid growth in power of the imperial free cities in the baltic and the Danes.

He also knew that given that the greeks were formidable opponents, he was sure that regardless of his triumph, he would suffer many casualties and the prolonged conflict would deplete his treasury. So in 1208 his diplomats arrived at the court of the Emperor and after convincing the emperor of the fruitlessness of continuing the war and the ramifications it would cause on both their Empires convinced him to sign a status quo peace.

In late 1208 the two Emperors met in Trent where the treay of Trent was signed. It declared status quo of the current situation and Fredrick recognized Hungary as being an imperial vassal state in return for the Emperor of the Romans ending his involvement in the affairs of the HRE.

In 1209 Branas returned a hero. He was known as the conqueror of Hungary. Michael was pleased with his most astute general and soon promoted him to the rank of Grand Domesticos ton Scholon. Branas was now made commander of Imperial armies.

ue to this rapid rise in rank Branas loyalty towards Michael grew even more. Historians would tell how the two were instrumental in causing major ramifications that would eventually shake the empire to its very core.

Yet for all the pomp and celebration a storm was brewing within the empire.

For centuries the Imperial govt had been at odds with the landed nobility. Since the time of Nokephoros Phokas and his decrees empowering the landed aristocracy, to the Angelii and their rapid decentralisation of the Imperial state, it appeared power was being concentrated increasingly among a few powerful families and the previous pillar of the imperial nation, the small soldier farmer was losing his place in the new society. The battle for supremacy beetween the Emperor and his nobles was slanted heavily towards the aristocracy

With his borders secure for the time being and a genius commander by his side, Michael decided it was time to turn his attention to domestic matters. His target the increasingly decadent civil aristocracy.
 
It would b nice if you did,and,make your updates a bit more frequent! your last update was five months ago...
 
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