It is interesting that despite the fact that the Old Believers follow the old rituals and customs, their world view corresponds to the capitalist system. They are deeply individualistic not recognize the authority and power, while the medieval peasants could not imagine himself outside the church or the rural community.
The Silver Knight, a Lithuania Timeline
- Thread starter Augenis
- Start date
The next chapter will be a little late, because I'm working on a HoI4 mod (why? No idea, I just want to), and it's eating up a lot of my free time.
I'm actually a member of the dev team for the Kaiserreich mod, so that also counts. But don't worry, you'll have to wait less than a week for the next chapter, I promise.
I'm actually a member of the dev team for the Kaiserreich mod, so that also counts. But don't worry, you'll have to wait less than a week for the next chapter, I promise.
Chapter 30: The Ambition of the Bear
Part 30: The Ambition of the Bear (1611-1617)
The King was definitely not among the gentle kind.
Such a stance found him many enemies, but also many followers. The Army of the Kingdom of Lithuania was on his side, swayed with hopes of an even greater focus on their problems, needs and goals. A sizable portion of the nobility were in favor of him, too, but most of them for different reasons. Some were burning with revanchism against Visegrad and put their hopes of a victorious and glorious campaign to Podolia on his shoulders. Many reactionary magnates would have much rather preferred a nigh-absolutist regime than, say, a French-type revolution or a second Great Russian Rebellion. And what could the majority of population - serfs, peasants or poor city inhabitants - do against Albertas Jogaila I? You had to follow him, or else you won't have a good time.
However, the first years of the new King's rule weren't all that bad, mostly attributed to his inexperience in court matters and young age. However, military preparations for... something were taking place all across the Kingdom. Albertas Jogaila I was a staunch supporter of the military reform initiated during his mother's reign - after all, he was the one to push it through - and it's adaption was only hastened during his reign.
King Albertas Jogaila I around the year 1615
In 1612, the former Duke William VI of Bavaria, now just Wilhelm von Wittelsbach, fled to Austria with his family, and Maximilian IV, as the Holy Roman Empire, sent a demand to the Bavarian revolutionaries to restore the rightful monarch, to which they said no. The Austrian archduke threatened to use military force, but this immediately sparked a response from France, which stood in defense of the Bavarians. The Director of the Estates-General - more or less the highest office in Republican France and the head of the government - Maximilien de Béthune was a Flammantian with a burning heart, ambitious and zealous, and such an attitude clashed with the Holy Roman Emperor's sphere of influence. The numerous Reformist nations and movements across Europe began to band together, too, forming the Munich League, a development supported by France. Austria, meanwhile, weakened by a recently passed civil war, was in no shape to fight the French and the League all by itself - but nor was it wiling to stand back and let Reformists rip the Empire apart.
So, instead of saying "yes" or "no" in the diplomatic crisis with France and Bavaria, Maximilian IV turned to the Papacy. The Reformists may have been victorious, but they were not very numerous, and Maximilian IV hoped that a united front of Catholic nations, headed by the Pope and the Emperor, will crush the upstarts. Pope Paul V, having been appointed by the Spanish by and for the Anti-Reformation movement, was greeted by an envoy and a letter from the Emperor, written as "heartwarming" and "sincerely" as possible, calling for the Pontificate to cleanse the German lands from heresy so their children and grandchildren would find a way to Heaven. This letter was kept safe in the Papacy's archives and only recently released to the public.
Paul V agreed to the "recommendations" - an inch away from being phrased like demands - and declared the beginning of a "holy crusade against the French and German heretics", in the spirit of the numerous anti-heretical crusades that took place during the Medieval Era. An anti-Reformist coalition of crusaders began to form - Austria was the leader, but it didn't have a large amount of influence due to, as was already said, post-civil war weakness and war exhaustion. The Papacy, Spain, numerous Italian and North German states, like Milan, Brandenburg or Pomerania, and finally Visegrad all began to mobilize, and this "batch" of great powers all around France appeared quite terrifying from first sight. However, the Munich League did not back down and continued rejecting Austrian ultimatums to abide to the Salzburg Decree and to restore the Wittelsbachs in the Bavarian throne. Tensions were rising, both the hardened Anti-Reformists in Catholic states and radical preachers in Reformist nations were calling for war, and the kings and generals across Europe were willing to use military force to settle their debts, achieve revenge or spread their religion...
They asked for war, and war is what they got. On June of 1615, war broke out between Maximilian IV's Austria, the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, and Reformist Bavaria. The latter called the Munich League to arms, pulling most of South and Central Germany to the conflict. France still demanded for Austria to back down, but this was no use, because the crusaders of Spain and the Italian states began marching north, across the Alps and the Pyrhennes, bringing this Republican giant to war and pretty much forcing it to align with the Munich League. Charles IV of the Union of Visegrad declared his nation's entrance into the anti-Reformist Crusade to secure his nation's western borders and protect them from potentially falling to Reformism. The sudden declaration of war between Reformists and Catholics not only drew numerous nearby states to war, but also gave additional motivation to the "heretics" in Austria itself. The Reformist strongholds in Tyrol and Carinthia, loyal to Prince Charles of Austria, prepared for a new campaign for Vienna.
The alliances and leagues have been drawn. The great war has begun, and not many will live to see it's end.
The first shots of the war were fired near Salzburg. Imperial forces began to advance to the East, opposed by lightly armed Bavarian revolutionary militia. Despite a few unsuccessful pushes towards Munich, the Austrians held the upper hand, now also reinforced by the massive Visegradian armies. French and Spanish border militia were clashing and skirmishing in the Pyrhennes, and both nations were trying to take the border passes in preparation to invade the other.
Despite the slow beginning of what can already be called "The Last Crusade", the future looked grim for the Reformists. A number of small Munich League members had already been overrun, and France was the only strong nation in an alliance opposing three great powers of Europe, with many more potential enemies like Sweden and England, and few allies. If nothing is done, then the Reformation might be doomed to be destroyed.
But wait! One nation to the East has been overlooked!
Kievan retinue cavalry in preparation for a Western campaign
Declaring the Peace of Lutsk to be null and void and putting forward his claim on Visegradian Volhynia and Podolia as the cause of war, Albertas Jogaila I, King of Lithuania, sent an envoy to Visegrad Castle, declaring a state of war to be between the two countries. The next week, the first blood was shed as a Lithuanian unit on the border in Podlasie moved over the border and skirmished with the Polish garrison in Plock.
With the ferocity of a mother bear protecting his children, Albertas was ready to descend on his western neighbour...
Despite the slow beginning of what can already be called "The Last Crusade", the future looked grim for the Reformists. A number of small Munich League members had already been overrun, and France was the only strong nation in an alliance opposing three great powers of Europe, with many more potential enemies like Sweden and England, and few allies. If nothing is done, then the Reformation might be doomed to be destroyed.
But wait! One nation to the East has been overlooked!
The Kingdom of Lithuania, still seen by Westerners as a some sort of backwater, "somewhere in Sarmatia", was not oblivious to the decades of religious tension and strife in Central Europe - in fact, it saw the potential and now real war among the Westerners as a possibility. It was no secret that tensions between Visegrad and Lithuania were high, to the point that the two enormous nations could be considered rivals. Most recently, the Triple Crown outright invaded Lithuania and chopped off a part of it's territory during the internal crisis in the 1570s, a treacherous move that the Lithuanians were still heavily bitter about. Albertas Jogaila I rode on these feelings as his fuel and support base, and now that the Czechs, Poles and Hungarians were embroiled in a war in the West, this was the perfect time to strike! Especially since the Catholics might win at any second and the chance might vanish forever...
Kievan retinue cavalry in preparation for a Western campaign
Declaring the Peace of Lutsk to be null and void and putting forward his claim on Visegradian Volhynia and Podolia as the cause of war, Albertas Jogaila I, King of Lithuania, sent an envoy to Visegrad Castle, declaring a state of war to be between the two countries. The next week, the first blood was shed as a Lithuanian unit on the border in Podlasie moved over the border and skirmished with the Polish garrison in Plock.
With the ferocity of a mother bear protecting his children, Albertas was ready to descend on his western neighbour...
In a way Lithuania represents the knight in shining armor coming to save the Damsel in distress of Munich from the jaws of the evil Roman catholic overlords
I am a big supporter of Reformation, and never a fan of the Rome Church.
This only raises the question of how you would have reacted if I (for some reason) were to make Jogaila convert to Judaism.
Wasn't what I was referring to, but I can see where you got that idea.
This only raises the question of how you would have reacted if I (for some reason) were to make Jogaila convert to Judaism.
That would be very epic, and would love that.
Well, that was an uncomfortable site downing.
But, this is a reminder that the Silver Knight is nominated as a contender for Best Medieval timeline! Lithuania may not have great voter turnout, but still... get out there if you like this TL.
Do it for the Kingdom. Do it for Albertas Jogaila I and the white knight to the rescue of Munich.
But, this is a reminder that the Silver Knight is nominated as a contender for Best Medieval timeline! Lithuania may not have great voter turnout, but still... get out there if you like this TL.
Do it for the Kingdom. Do it for Albertas Jogaila I and the white knight to the rescue of Munich.
Does the site usually go down when the Turtledove Awards are going on?
It's a system similar to the old Estates-General under royal rule, or the English Parliament, except no king and no division into three estates. On a set date for election (usually around 4-5 years since the last one), the male citizens of each major town or city gather (in rural regions with no major centers of population, the citizens gather to one of the villages) and elect a representative from their ranks to be represented in the Estates-General, which is the main legislative body of the Republic. The size of the Estates-General varies after each election, but is usually around 400-500 representatives, who vote on matters of the state, and appoint the Directorate - basically the equivalent of the cabinet of ministers in modern terms.
It's not a perfect system, of course. For instance, despite the perceived universality of the elections, most lower classes, like peasants and poor city dwellers, avoid trying to candidate for becoming a representative because of the need to leave their homes for Paris and thus leave their families without a head, thus the nobility and the higher classes are heavily overrepresented. Though still, it's a breath of fresh air compared to their neighbours.
Chapter 31: Revenge
Part 31: Revenge (1617-1620)
Of course, this shouldn't be interpreted in the light of negativity against one religion or the other. The truth was that Albertas Jogaila I didn't really care about the Catholic or Reformist struggles in the West, he didn't attack to save one group of nations or defeat the other, even if it seemed like that from the outside. What he was looking for was his own selfish desire for power and glory, revenge against Visegrad, and the expansion of the Lithuanian kingdom - the Crusade was merely a great opportunity for him to do so. Nevertheless, Lithuania's entrance into the great war heavily shook the balance of power and tipped the scales in the favor of the Reformists. Visegrad, albeit they weren't at all concerned with the possibility of a defeat in Lithuanian hands, still had to pull out most of the troops from Germany and send them East, led by one of Charles IV's finest generals, Stephen Bathory. France could now take a breath of relief - for now, Spain was the only serious opponent they had to be concerned with.
The main Lithuanian army, led by Albertas Jogaila I himself, gathered near Zhitomir, and this is where both the retinues and the levied noble cavalry cathered for a great campaign to the heart of Visegrad. Voivodeship forces from Ruthenia Propria, Lithuania Propria, Black Rus', Smolensk, Vitebsk and others composed the core of the army, though estimates on the size of the force differ, and could be placed anywhere from 50 to 70 thousand. Albertas Jogaila I's plan was to lunge into Podolia and Galicia, take Krakow, and defeat the Visegradian forces on the battlefield to force them to make concessions that he wanted.
Simple, yet difficult.
How many times has Lithuania defeated Visegrad in battle? Now you know why there was reason to be worried.
Outside of the main Lithuanian force, there were numerous reserve units left behind - Russia, for example, was not even fully mobilized yet - in the case of an emergency. The Lithuanian-dominated East Prussian cities raised their own armies, too, and the skirmishes along the Vistula, around Elbing and Danzig, made up a forgotten front in the war.
On the fall of 1617, the main Lithuanian army crossed the border and marched into Podolia, and the sheer size and power of the forces allowed it to capture enemy castles one by one within days, if not hours. Kamianets-Podilsky, Tarnopol, and finally Lvov fell one after another - all of these were ancient castles, designed for Medieval era sieges, and crumbled easily against the might of modern cannon fire. The Lithuanians brought over 400 cannons - a sizable amount for such an army. However, the incoming winter slowed the already snail-paced Lithuanian crawl, and the first snow in November turned the front lines static for the time being. This was a saving grace for the Union of Visegrad, and a 40 000 men large force organized in Budapest. Stephen Bathory, the Voivode of Transylvania and one of the Triple Crown's most excellent military commanders, was leading the army.
1618 marked a dramatic expansion of the scope of the war, with the entrance of England into the conflict. This nigh-fanatical Catholic nation was swayed into arms by the calls for Crusade, as well as their own revanchism against France. This threw the North Sea basin into chaos - the Netherlands, wary of English expansion, decided to align with France and thus join the Munich League, The confederations of Catholic free cities in North Germany jumped in on this opportunity to kick their new trade rival down a notch, too, declaring war against the Free State. The war took to the wide seas...
Lithuania continued advancing forward, meanwhile. During the spring and summer of 1618, they captured Lublin and Przemysl, and by the end of June were merely 50 miles away from from Krakow, the capital of Poland, the Third Crown. Charles IV von Luxemburg wrote a letter to Bathory, declaring that "saving Krakow is the primary objective of this conflict. If it falls, so will we". He was right, in a way - if Krakow were to be captured, the rest of Poland would be cut off from the rest of the Union and thus an easy target for the Lithuanians to capture. Losing Poland would be a strategic catastrophe, and while the rest of the country would be safe from a direct assault thanks to the Carpathians and the Sudetes, Visegrad wouldn't be able to recapture the north, either. And thus, Bathory's army marched out of Budapest to the north.
On the beginning of July, the Lithuanian army reached the city of Krakow, and after heavily looting and burning the surroundings, it began a siege of the Wavel Castle. Fortunately for the defenders and for the whole Union, Krakow was not as easy of a nut to crack as the rest of Podolia and Galicia. For one, the castle had been heavily renovated during the 16th century, with additional defensive towers and a standing garrison, even with cannons of it's own. A large credit to this expansion that saved Visegrad goes to the Polish military commander Jan Zamojko, who pushed the expansion of the Wavel through the Sejm in the 1570s. Of course, in his grave he would never know that his efforts would end up applied in war...
Days became weeks, weeks became months, and in late August, news arrived to the camp of the ambitious Lithuanian king that the army of Stephen Bathory was approaching - scouts informed the high command that his 40 thousand men large army has crossed the Carpathians and is heading this way to relieve the defenders of Krakow. This put a stick into Albertas Jogaila I's plans, but he nevertheless accepted the challenge with dignity. The outskirts of Krakow were not an advantageous place for a battle, so he ordered his forces to call the siege off and march south. After a few days of reorganization, the march began, and the two armies met the week after at the fields of Nowy Targ.
The Battle of Nowy Targ begun.
Stephen Bathory's armies were outnumbered, but he was nevertheless confident in his troops - not just confident in their capabilities, but in the chance of victory in general. After all, has Visegrad ever lost to those Lithuanians, the hardly civilized Slavs of the East? However, an unbiased spectator would see that the scales were much more balanced than what he thought. Lithuanian equipment or army composition was in no way inferior to that of the Westerners, and both armies were led by capable generals. Of course, there were differences in the types of units present, especially cavalry. The Lithuanian cavalry corps was larger, but lightly armed and not as heavy as Visegrad's famous Winged Hussars, of which there were only two regiments. While Visegrad had lighter cavalry as well, they were planning to rely on these winged shock troops to repeat the victory during the Lithuanian internal crisis in the 1560s.
The battle began with a slow moving infantry skirmish. The sparse sound of muskets echoed across the battlefield for the entire fight. The Lithuanian cannon regiments roared into action, too, and while cannon shots were far from accurate, a direct hit into an enemy line could take out dozens of soldiers at once. Unlike, say, at the Battle of Czestochowa in the Polish Succession War, it was Lithuanians who held the higher ground this time, most of their forces were situated on a long and wide hill, while Bathory's troops were down below.
It didn't take long for both sides to start running low on at-hand ammunition, which was when Bathory began moving his infantry to the sides to release the charge of his country's famed Hussars. The terror of seeing a few thousand heavy armored soldiers on horses, each one with a pair of wings and a massive lance, should never be underestimated. But this was no longer the 1570s! Albertas Jogaila I was aware of this shock cavalry corps, and he had a plan to counter them, and he ordered a command to his infantry - put down the stakes and fall back! Hundreds of sharpened wooden stakes were drilled into the ground and aimed at the Visegradian ranks, and caltrops, made of either steel or wood, were thrown into the field before them. When the Winged Hussars arrived, they soon were forced to slow down and stop, or else they risked injuring the hoofs of their horses or even outright impalement on the stakes, and this loss of momentum was exactly what the young King hoped for - the Lithuanian light cavalry was ordered to counter-charge at the slowed Hussars.
The heavy armored Hussars didn't find enough time to accelerate back to full speed, and while the Lithuanian light cavalry didn't do much damage to their ranks, it warranted enough disarray and chaos that the swarm eventually forced them to retreat. The Winged Hussars were pushed back, and with them, the Visegradian army retreated, even if it was still strong enough to fight.
The Battle of Nowy Targ was inconclusive. Both sides received heavy casualties and couldn't fully destroy the other, and while the Lithuanians staved Bathory's forces away, the army of Visegrad could regroup to fight another day. Not to mention that the siege of Krakow was now broken, and Albertas Jogaila I's hope of a decisive victory to end the war failed.
But Lithuania was still at a higher advantage, for now.
In 1619, two very important news arrived to Albertas Jogaila I's camp.
First of all, the Ottoman Empire finished their long, but successful, campaign in Persia, and yet another great conquest by the Turkish behemoth was finished. The Ottomans could now turn back to Europe, where the greatest chance in a lifetime of pushing into Europe has presented itself right before their eyes. The great war may expand even further...
Not only it may, but it did, just in the opposite direction. Two new countries joined the Reformist-Catholic War in 1619 and 1620 - Sweden and Denmark. The wary situation in Visegrad, as well as France's initial gains in Northern Italy, led to Sweden officially joining the Crusade against the Reformists, declaring war on both the Munich League and on Lithuania in March of 1619. This immediately led to a negative reaction by Denmark, distrusting of Sweden's expansion in the Baltic and still bitter about the destruction of the Kalmar Union, and it used the opportunity to attack Sweden itself in October. Two more nations joined, at the time too, albeit unwillingly:
After years of Swedish manipulation in the Order and pulling the strings behind various city mayors and high officers in the Order, Livonia was pretty much forced to renounce all Lithuanian influence within their nation and declare war on the Kingdom, on Sweden's side, in January of 1620. Meanwhile, England, incapable of break Dutch dominance in the North Sea despite their best efforts, turned on a boogeyman - Scotland, a Reformist nation that harbored circles of English Flammantians and Reformists ever since the beginning of mass repressions against the "heretics" in England. After a series of diplomatic conflicts, the two nations officially entered a state of war in June of 1620.
The war now engulfed almost all of Europe, and it's end may not come any time soon...
---
Yes, provided they were not aligned with the English in the independence wars.
Catholics and Reformists and EXPLOSIONS, as far as the eye can see
Only one will survive I wonder who it will be
This is the ultimate showdown, of ultimate destiny!
Also, do I understand right that ALL OF PERSIA is Ottoman clay now? Holy crap. Where was their European border again?
Only one will survive I wonder who it will be
This is the ultimate showdown, of ultimate destiny!
Also, do I understand right that ALL OF PERSIA is Ottoman clay now? Holy crap. Where was their European border again?
Yup. Unlike in OTL, the Safavids failed to modernize their army in time, they lacked connections with Europeans for that (no England in the Indian Ocean and the Portuguese were uninterested), so the Ottomans put an end to them.
The Ottoman-Visegrad border runs through modern day Bosnia and the Carpathians.
