Forgive the delay. The internet here has been very sporadic lately.
Beginning in March, the regiments of Breisgau and Sundgau were marshalled and marched south, to the County Aargau to await the declaration of war. I also rallied the Besancon regiment, for their capable commander, one of the few in our realm. The Count, our marshal Heinrich, and Markward are pretty much the only decent commanders we have (say, skill 10+).
War was officially declared on April 29, 1220. The troops marched south into the Alps for what all suspected would be a quick war. In the meanwhile, I authorized some distribution of wealth in order to raise more prestige for our cause.
Ulrich also replaced the Governor of Lombardy in June.
Our troops encountered the Burgundians in the valley of Bern in mid-June and a quick, clean skirmish sent their columns rushing back to Neuschatel.
By August, Bern was annexed and some 8000 of our men were halfway to Neuschatel to finish the conquest. The Ducal title was seized! All was going splendidly, until
an unexpected twist suddenly turned this little land-grab into a war.
The former Duke capitulated with little bloodshed. But no heed was paid; I was urgently summoning additional regiments from the heartland to bolster our forces.
At this time the war began to take its due toll on the realm.
The Savoyards were already on the move. On Sept 30, 1220 they arrived in Bern and soon after engaged the Count of Schwyz, in charge of defending the province. His 2,700 troops had been quickly mustered and marched to Bern just weeks before. His leadership was also dwarfed by the (skill 20) prowess of the invader and the battle was lost to his 2,300 man contingent.
But in the meantime, while the home guard assembled and marched into the Alps, Markward and his trusty generals marched south from Neuschatel into fair Geneva. They engaged a smaller force and took the field on November 8th.
Soon it became clear a massive Savoyard force was consolidating in Bern for another offensive. The winter snows would soon make maneuvers difficult. The invaders had to be repulsed, and quick. Markward left the ravaged city of Geneva behind and with his men marched back through the snowdrifts to Neuschatel to regroup. Meanwhile, another force of our Swabians had assembled in Schwyz, just to the east of Bern, unfortunately commanded by the inept buffoons that compose the rest of our officer corps. An assault on the province from east and west could drive the shrewd Savoyard commander and his large army from the field. It had to work.
By early December, the armies were in place, including a third detachment 3,000 experienced troops recently arrived from Nordgau. They would march from the north, making the assault three-pronged.
Markward marched to Bern, timing his arrival closely with that of the Schwyz detachment. The divisions arrived just before Christmas, and in January the battle lines had been drawn and the fight was on.
At first, our men were pushed back. Their tactics had our lines in disarray and we were clearly losing ground.
It was a long and bloody affair.
Only with the belated arrival of the Nordgau regiment was the flank of the enemy turned and the invaders driven from the green fields of Bern. Victory!
Enough blood had been spilled. Peace was signed with Savoie on February 12th. After the war, the debt, though not unreasonable was still cause for negotiations with the burghers.
This whirlwind of events, beginning a year before with the murder of Kunigonde and ending with the monumental battle of Bern, left our Markward in a poor state. Hopefully some spring air and peace will refresh him in the coming months.
So - Bern has been gained though Neuschatel remains staunchly independent. Offers of vassalization have been refused, and we have no claims on their title.
Ulrich hasnīt yet gone over to the Germans, also. As absurd as it sounds, perhaps an alliance with Ulrich would preserve Lombardy from German hands. It still is a powerful little state. If he really was interested in swearing allegiance to the German king he probably would have done it by now.
Another issue you may have noticed by now is our administrationīs low efficiency. Markward is only capable enough of administering two provinces directly, and there are at six in his demesne (personal holdings). Weīre still collecting about as much money as always - about 34 ducats per month. With full administration it would be almost sixty, probably. Rather than give these titles up to nobles, Iīm going to hang on to them to pass on to our heir Sigfried, who has an intrigue of 14 already, meaning heīll be able to administer them all very well when itīs his turn.
And we finished building our splendid Medium castle in Breisgau. Let us drink ale there to celebrate our realmīs glory!
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Topic: Letīs play Crusader Kings, Deus Vult - Swabian Ascendancy (Read 8428 times)