[Kingdoms-BFTB-SS AAR] The Baltic Terror

[Thokran]

The Baltic Terror

Mod: Kingdoms Teutonic Campaign, Battle for the Baltic 2.0, and Stainless Steel 6.1
Faction: The Teutonic Order
Campaign Difficulty: Medium
Battle Difficulty: Medium
Unit Size: Normal
Goal: To showcase the tumultuous political and religious nature of the Baltic through a series of violent upheavals that threaten to plunge the region into total war. In a time marked by depravity and constant warfare, the Teutonic Order would prove itself to be a force to be reckoned with, willing to go to any length to achieve holy war. Over the course of three important periods, each marked by their own unique regimes, the Teutonic Knights would earn their namesake as Terrors of the Baltic.


I’ve been planning on writing this AAR for quite some time now, but I simply couldn’t choose a particular campaign for the faction, since they each had their pros and cons. So in the end, I decided to incorporate them all. It’s a new style I’m not quite used to, but one I hope to work with and refine over the coming months. It’s definitely the longest project I’ve done yet, but I hope to take my time with it and make it as enjoyable to you, the readers, as much as possible. I hope you enjoy!

[Radzeer]

This will be great, in fact I'm sure it will be epic! I'll follow this closely.

[Exarch]

aweomse
another baltic AAR!

[Thokran]

Part One: The Imperial Regime – Fall of the Hochmeister



Fall, 1249 AD



An overcast sky hung ominously over the dark and brooding forests of the Baltic. The day was like any other, gloomy and rainy. Except that this day wasn’t like any other. This day marked the rise of a new Grandmaster of the Order of the Teutonic Knights. This day was the day that Hochmeister Gunther von Wullersleben was elected into power in the mighty fortress of Marienburg.



Known as The Chivalrous, Grandmaster Gunther was a man in the prime of his life, having earned his stripes abroad in the far off lands of the Levant. Gunther was what many called an old grizzled dog, having warred against infidels in both the Holy Land and in Prussia. He was the participant of at least two Crusades, and a good friend of the famous Grandmasters Hermann von Salza and Heinrich von Hohenlohe, the latter of which had passed away just months before. Crusading was a way of life for him. It seemed only natural that he would become the next Grandmaster of the Order. He had surely seen enough fighting to retire to a peaceful administrator role as the new Hochmeister. But this grizzled old dog had enough fight in him for one last campaign…



For decades, the Teutonic Knights had done their part to spread the word of God throughout the pagan forests of the Baltic. Through the concerted efforts of leaders like Hermann von Salza, the Teutons were able to not only establish a presence in Prussia, but gain considerably tracts of land to the north in Livonia. There, Gunther’s second-in-command, Ordenmarschall Maximillian ruled the region from the city of Riga, while the rest of the Order maintained their Prussian headquarters in Marienburg.



But despite their successes, the Teutonic Knights had never managed to bring Prussia and Livonia together, the regions persistently divided by the lands of Samogitia. This was where Gunther would lead his campaign. He would muster his troops to march on Samogitia, a land known for its pagan-Lithuanian presence, and crush the opposition that continued to oppose his men at the fortress of Palanga. This campaign would define his time as Grandmaster, and forever place his name among the other great Grandmasters of the Order. His campaign would be costly though, and he would need the support of several key allies to secure success.



The most obvious of his allies was his second-in-command, Ordenmarschall Maximillian. Healthy, proven in battle and in the prime of his life, Maximillian was in a good position up in Riga as Grosskomtur of the Order. Though he would not play any role in the actual military campaign, his purpose would be just as important by maintaining order in Livonia and preparing a safe passage for Gunther’s eventual arrival following his presumed success at Palanga. He was loyal and pious, and that was more than enough for many.



Dietrich von Gruningen was another of Gunther’s key supporters. Born and raised in Germany, Dietrich was a man hungry for battle during his youth. Now in the prime of his life, his hunger only grows with each successful battle. Loyal and unwavering to a fault, he’s a man who follows his Grandmaster’s every word. His presence in Prussia would be key for success at Palanga.



Gunther’s last ally was more of a mixed bag. The Grandmaster knew little of this Hans, other than that his real name was Anno von Sangershausen, and that he had a solid knowledge of the lay of the land in Samogitia. Though Gunther couldn’t fully trust a man he knew so little of, he and his men would ultimately have to rely on Anno’s expertise with the Samogitians if they hoped to achieve victory.

Gunther was fast becoming popular with his ambitious military plans. But that didn’t mean the Grandmaster didn’t have his own fair share of enemies as well, many of which were his closest allies. There were many who didn’t agree with the Grandmaster’s plans, but they lacked both the authority and power to go against said plans. All but one, that is. Poppo von Osterna was the Landmeister of Prussia, and as such boasted considerably political power in the region. Poppo was a man with many connections in high places, especially within the Holy Roman Empire. Poppo was the only one with enough backing to actually do something contrary to the Grandmaster’s will. But in order to do so, he would need allies of his own, and a plan so perfectly executed that there could be no margin for error. This was a plan Poppo had been brewing up for years, ever since his participation at the Battle of Legnica in 1241. It was a plan that would finally come to fruition in the coming years, or so he hoped.

It was a plan that would begin with but a single knight…

[Thokran]

Spring, 1250 AD

A lone knight travelled through the open fields that the dense woodland eventually opened up into as it approached the coast. Albrecht Otterbach did not know why he was being summoned by his superiors, only that he knew it was a matter of great importance. He was quite a talented man for his age, and more than capable to fend for himself in battle. The higher-ups must have taken notice; otherwise he wouldn’t have been summoned. His destination couldn’t really be called a town just yet. The settlement was still very much in heavy development, and still lacked a name for the time being. Later on, that settlement would grow to become what many know as Konigsberg.



It was there where he was met up by none other than Anno von Sangershausen. Albrecht immediately bowed before his presence, but Anno simply laughed off the gesture as he approached the knight and placed a warm hand on his shoulder.

“Please, call me Hans for now. It is good to have finally met you in person! Come, we have much to discuss!”

And indeed, there was much to talk about. Albrecht spent hours with Hans discussing the political situation of not only the Baltic, but the whole Eastern region in general. Far to the south, the Teutonic Headquarters at Acre was once again in jeopardy with the recent rise of the Mamluks. For decades, the Teutons at Acre had been safeguarded by the Kingdom of Jerusalem and their stalwart allies, the Kingdom of Makuria. Christians from Africa, they made an unlikely rise to power in the early 13th century to liberate an occupied Levant and restore the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and its respective orders, to power. But now both Jerusalem and Makuria found themselves in dire straits against this resurgence of Islamic power. Further north, the Mongol Horde was providing another whole slew of problems much closer to home. The Mongols were an unstoppable military machine that had conquered all of China, Central Asia and much of the Middle East. This great empire now sets its sights on Eastern Europe and the neighboring Baltic region, which put all of the Order’s plans for Prussia in great jeopardy.

“Alas my lord, I’m sure you did not call me here just to discuss the daily news.” Hans couldn’t help but smile at Albrecht’s forwardness.

“I like how you cut to the chase, Albrecht.” Hans replied contently. “Very well. The Order has bestowed upon you a mission of great importance, one that only you are capable of doing.” Albrecht looked perplexed.

“What am I to do then?”

“You are to accompany Lord Dietrich von Gruningen on his journey to Bialystok. The villagers there have decided to not acknowledge our presence or sovereignty over their lands, and as such must be put down in a show of force.” Albrecht nodded, but he still didn’t see what was so important about accompanying Dietrich on a mission he knew Dietrich could handle very much by himself. Hans seemed to take note of Albrecht’s confusion and extrapolated.



“As you already know, our Grandmaster is planning a great campaign on Palanga. In Livonia, our Ordenmarschall is marching on Olysta in a similar fashion. And now Dietrich too will be marching on Bialystok. This is a critical time for the Order to assert its power. We can’t let anyone think that we are weak. We must crush these places absolutely, to show them all who the true power in the Baltic is! That is why you must go to Bialystok, Albrecht. Make sure Dietrich gets the job done as thoroughly as possible. I don’t care how many weeks or months it takes, make sure those people forever remember the power of the Teutons!”

Albrecht now understood. He nodded solemnly to accept his task, and rose up from his seat.
“I shall do as the Order and God command me to.”

“That’s the spirit! Now go, make haste to Dietrich’s camp!”

Hans watched as Albrecht left Konigsberg and returned south. Like the others had said, he was a great candidate. Little did Albrecht know that he was now merely another pawn in a much grander scheme of things. Bialystok would be his proving ground, where Hans and the others would determine his merit and his eligibility. There was much more afoot here than mere military campaigning, that Albrecht would learn soon enough. That is, if he survived to tell the tale.



Fall, 1250 AD

Fall was coming into full effect by the time Albrecht caught up with Dietrich and his men at Bialystok. The village had no established fortifications, but that still didn’t stop Dietrich from besieging it with an oppressive rain of fire from his catapults. The catapults came from the Landmeister himself, who wanted Dietrich to take his time in teaching the rebels of Bialystok a lesson in authority. Albrecht found it to be excessive, but he could not question the command of a Landmeister, especially one so revered as Poppo von Osterna.



Meanwhile, back in Marienburg, Grandmaster Gunther had finished his final preparations, and began the march north towards Palanga. He and his men would stop along several villages along the way before resting at Konigsberg for the winter. In his absence, Poppo von Osterna would help administer the Prussian provinces from Marienburg. For Poppo, Gunther’s absence was a blessing, for it gave him the space and time to do as he pleased. And he had much work to do.



The Teutonic Order received regular funding from the Holy Roman Empire, easily making them the richest faction in the Baltic. Some of that money had gone into funding campaigns like the one Gunther now led, but much of it remained in Marienburg, under direct control of the Landmeister. Poppo had ambitious plans, and the funding he needed was all at his disposal. But any good plan needed good allies, and that Poppo had as well. As he watched Gunther ride off north, he called one of them in.

Hartmann von Hohenberg was a few years younger than Poppo, but every bit as experienced as the Landmeister. Hohenberg knew the Baltic like the back of his hand. He had seen in action in both Prussia and Livonia, and had seen his fair share of combat deep in the heart of Lithuania. He had known Poppo for many years now, and knew that the Landmeister always confided in him. He was loyal without question to the Landmeister, something he must never let the new Hochmeister know.

“Hartmann, I have work for you.”

“Yes, Landmeister?”

“There is a noble coming up from the Holy Land. Tensions down there have driven him to pursue new goals out here on the frontier. His name is Heinrich von Wolfenburg. I want you to meet him at Thorn, and invite him back here. I’d very much like to speak to him of an offer to join our cause.”

Hartmann was always a quiet one. He simply nodded and turned away once his Landmeister dismissed him. He knew just as well as Poppo knew that their cause was precarious at best, treasonous at worst. In order for everything to go according to plan, they would need as much support as they could possibly muster.

[Thokran]

Spring, 1251 AD



Grandmaster Gunther was welcomed with great fanfare at Konigsberg as the warm spring sun worked to melt the layers of snow that blanketed the land. Winter had come early the year before, stalling Gunther’s march before he could reach Konigsberg. But now that he was here, he had much to discuss with the man many called Hans, Anno von Sangershausen.



Gunther didn’t particularly like Hans. There was something about him, a certain…arrogance, that irked him. As if he enjoyed having the Grandmaster come to him for help. But from what he heard of this man, he was naturally prideful. Hans had earned his keep fighting in the forests of Samogitia, that much Gunther could give him. The scars across his neck attest to that.

For now he would have to put up with Sangershausen’s pride, and hope that it is nothing more than that: mere pride. He simply couldn’t afford anything to jeopardize his mission. The Lithuanians held Samogitia with an iron fist. The place was crawling with those pagan bastards, and he’d rather have Hans close by his side rather than marching his troops blindly through uncharted territory.



As Hans finished mapping out the northern warpath, the Hochmeister feigned a smile in agreement before rising from his chair.

“Very well, then. We shouldn’t tarry too long here then, should we? I hope you’re ready to leave at once.”

“But of course, Hochmeister.” Hans smiled in return. “I have been waiting for this opportunity for months, now. Onwards to Palanga!”

Gunther was satisfied with Sangershausen’s response, and left him to his devices. Once Hans made sure that the Grandmaster was well away from his tent, he allowed himself to give up his composure and breathe a sigh of relief. Gunther had taken the bait and fallen for the trap. All that remained now was the execution. He only hoped Osterna and Hohenberg had what it takes to get the job done on their part.

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Meanwhile, many miles away Lord Hartmann von Hohenberg waited patiently for his host to arrive at the castle of Thorn. Heinrich von Wolfsburg was late in his arrival, but Hartmann didn’t put that against him. Heinrich had embarked on a long and arduous journey fraught with danger through hostile territory. Having left Acre on boat, he was assailed by pirates near Rhodes and again just before arriving at Constantinople. From there he traveled through Byzantine and Hungarian lands before finally entering Poland and Prussia. The trip was not an easy one, but it was that Hartmann couldn’t allow him to finish at Thorn. Once he had Wolfsburg in Marienburg all would be explained to him.

“Heinrich von Wolfsburg.” Hartmann began as he approached the tired, young knight. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Hartmann-“

“Hartmann von Hohenberg.” Wolfsburg cut him off. “And I know Osterna sent you as well. I have my connections, just as you have yours.” Hartmann was taken back by Heinrich’s serious composure and his network of knowledge, but he waved it off with a smile that Heinrich returned before continuing. “With that said and done, let me be the first to say that I am willing to hear out your offer. Should things prove mutually beneficial for us…then you’ll have my full support.”

“Osterna was right about you, Wolfsburg.” Hartmann stated, flashing a grin back at the younger knight. “Come, we have much to discuss.”

[Exarch]

very good mate
please continue

[Thokran]

Fall, 1251 AD



The siege of Bialystok took much longer than both Albrecht and Dietrich had expected. The village rebels had been secretly supplied by Lithuanian forces, who refused to let the village fall to the Order. Albrecht was growing impatient. So was Dietrich for that matter, who had grown to question the Landmeister’s standing orders to continuously bombard the village into oblivion. They had been here for over a year now, and Dietrich was desperate to join his Grandmaster at Palanga.

It was the coming of snow that broke Dietrich. He and his men had grown tired and hungry, laying siege to a village that was perpetually supplied by the very forests that surrounded it. Dietrich was not about to let them freeze through another harsh winter. The time had come to crush Bialystok.



Whatever ember of hope the people of Bialystok held on to was extinguished the moment they saw the Order move in to assault. The villagers cowered in terror and huddled together at the town center, perched high atop a large hill. The women and children hid inside their shacks sand huts while the men picked up their hunting bows and tried to assemble some sense of defensive force. They failed miserably. Their arrows flew all over the place, an unorganized mass of wild, missed shots that did little to stop the Teutonic military machine. Dietrich and Albrecht continued on unfazed, eager to shed pagan blood.



The people of Bialystok were doomed from the moment Dietrich ordered the attack on the village. There was no battle at Bialystok, only wanton slaughter. The villagers were little more than farmers and hunters; not one of them had any combat experience, much less the will or endurance to stand up against a full-fledged heavy cavalry charge. Teutonic lances ripped through their ranks, tearing them apart like ragdolls. Albrecht and Dietrich led a devastating charge that shattered any sense of enemy morale. The Knights reveled in the blood shedding. They hacked and slashed away with hearty laughter, fully convinced that this massacre was just another component of enacting God’s will.



The people of Bialystok went out without so much as a whimper. Once both Dietrich and Albrecht had their fill, they let the rest of their men pick away at the stragglers. These men had craved for pagan blood for months now, always out of reach by the command of their superiors. But now their superiors had given them free rein to do as they pleased, and they made sure not to waste the opportunity. They did as they pleased, and the results weren’t pretty.



Bialystok was a complete victory for the Order, if not a delayed one. Dietrich and Albrecht watched on as their men raped and pillaged the village for all it was worth. The men took the women and passed them along, forcing their ‘Christian influence’ down their every orifice. Meanwhile, others collected pagan relics and used them beat the children and elderly with them. Women were forced to watch in horror as their fathers and sons were beaten to death with their sacred relics, while the men had their way with their bodies. It was a gruesome scene, but one that Dietrich and Albrecht were all too familiar with. Years of experience in the Baltic had made them impervious to such horrors.



Dietrich had no wish to tarry too long at Bialystok. He would stay long enough for his men to satisfy their needs, and then he would march his men off once more. He was eager to join Gunther and Hans up at Palanga, and he would go to any length to participate in such a glorious campaign. He was worried though that the delay at Bialystok would have robbed him of that opportunity.



Unbeknownst to him, this was what Hans had wanted all along. Keeping Dietrich away from Gunther was vital for the success of the operation. Albrecht had passed his test. He had successfully enforced Poppo’s orders to maintain the siege of Bialystok long enough to ensure that Dietrich wouldn’t arrive at Palanga in time for the battle, essentially leaving the Hochmeister alone with Sangershausen. The timing was perfect, and for his unwitting help, Albrecht had to be rewarded.

Not a day after the battle had ended; Albrecht had been summoned to Marienburg to speak with Landmeister Poppo von Osterna. Albrecht wished Dietrich and his men the best of luck on their future campaigns before departing from army and riding west towards the Prussian capital. Little did he know that would be the last time he would ever see Dietrich.

[Radzeer]

Nice start! And an interesting plot too.

[Thokran]

Spring, 1252 AD

Albrecht reached Marienburg early in the year, when the forests were still in the process of defrosting. He found himself making his way through crowded streets of peasants, making great commotion over the latest news: the Order’s renewed alliance with the Kingdom of Poland. Albrecht merely shrugged. He had been in the Baltic long enough to know that the Polish were never trustworthy enough to get the job done. They couldn’t get the job done with Lithuania. That’s why they called the Order in the first place, to do God’s work for them. Lazy bastards.



He was here to speak with the Landmeister, Poppo von Osterna, who had summoned him to Marienburg to speak of an important issue. What that important issue was he did not yet know. As he entered Landmeister’s chambers, he realized he was not alone. Also in attendance were Hartmann von Hohenberg and Heinrich von Wolfsburg. Albrecht was not expecting their presence.

“What have you summoned us here for, Landmeister?” Albrecht queried.

“To explain our current situation, General Otterbach. Come, take a seat with us and I will explain everything.”

What Albrecht heard shook him to his core. He had become an unsuspecting accomplice in a coup to overthrow the Hochmeister! By having delayed Dietrich at Bialystok, he had essentially left the Hochmeister alone with a man who had every intention to not see him return from his campaign into Samogitia. Gunther was riding to his doom!



Anno von Sangershausen was leading the Hochmeister to a trap. The enemy Lithuanians massed at Palanga, eager to defend their lands to the last man. The last thing the Grandmaster needed was a Crusading noble plotting against him in the heat of battle. But it was too late for Albrecht to do anything about it. He was too deeply involved in the plot to break free now. He was just as guilty as everyone else in the room now. He looked on at them in disgust, but sighed in resignation knowing there was nothing to do now but wait.

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At Palanga, the time had come to assault the enemy castle. Grandmaster Gunther massed his troops in orderly fashion before the enemy walls. Gunther’s anticipation rose with every passing second. This was the moment he had been waiting for. Years of planning had finally come to this. The enemy had prepared well for this day too apparently, for hundreds of them swarmed within the walls of Palanga, while many more came from afar to join their pagan brethren in battle. All the better for Gunther, who was eager to kill as many pagans as he could in this upcoming pitched battle.



Under any other circumstances, Grandmaster Gunther would’ve had to have spent many months build rams, ladders and siege towers to take the city. Gunther had prepared in advance for the walls of Palanga however. He brought with his army massive siege catapults, whose deadly ammunition would tear through the Lithuanian fortifications with ease. The Teutons cheered and jeered as they watched the catapults fire away, launching shot after shot of flaming pitch.



The Knights of the Order cried out in excitement as they watched the walls of Palanga crumble before their very eyes. The pagans inside ran amok in a fit of terror and chaos. At the rate the catapults were firing, it would not take long before the front gates would give way. And once they did, the Teutonic Knights would pour in like the Grace of God and cleanse the fortress of its godless taint!



But the Lithuanians were not about to go without a fight. They braced themselves for the coming advance, and met the Teutons head on in battle. Both sides were evenly matched, but there was no doubt that the Order Knights were clearly better armed for the engagement. They wore heavy plate armor and steel weaponry which outclassed the pagan cloth and leather armor the Lithuanians wore. They made up for their lack of armor with their will to fight. This was their homelands they were fighting for. They would not surrender so easily to their enemy, no matter outclassed they were.



As the battle raged on at the gates, Hans watched quietly from the rear, observing the battlefield. Next to him, the Grandmaster grew increasingly impatient with the pace of the battle. He was eager to join his men in battle and forever drive out the Lithuanians out of Samogitia. Palanga would be the first step in that long and arduous process. It was in Gunther’s impatience that Hans found his opportunity to strike.

“Milord!” he cried out. “We should flank these pagan dogs, and hit them from where they least expect it!” Gunther, too engaged in the heat of battle to think of a batter plan, agreed with his lieutenant.

“Yes! Let us shed some heathen blood!”



And so they rode on to join their brothers in battle against the proud Lithuanians of Palanga. But what Gunther didn’t know was that Hans was leading him straight into a trap. Hans had spent many years in Samogitia. He knew all about Palanga and its surrounding territories. He guided the Grandmaster and his retinue of heavy cavalry towards the eastern gate, which he claimed to be relatively undefended. But in fact, that was the very same entrance from which the Lithuanians received their daily shipments of supplies and reinforcements from the Lithuanian heartland. And that very same entrance put Gunther and his men in a dead-on collision with a large force of reinforcements that came to Palanga’s aid.





Gunther threw himself into the fray, eager to contribute to the rampant slaughter. He drenched his blade in the blood of his enemies, hacking away at limbs with reckless abandon. Like so many others, this was what he had primarily joined the Order for. Frustrated with their lack of success in the Holy Land, many found Prussia alluring for the relative success the Teutons enjoyed in this region. The Baltic was a place where the Knights could face off against an opponent they could win against. The Muslims had left them bitter and embarrassed after decades of defeat. The dreariness of the Baltic was offset by the success they enjoyed.



But while Gunther indulged in the wholesale slaughter of pagans, Hans broke away from a chaos to find a way to isolate the Hochmeister from his retinue. He cried out for the Grandmaster’s help. Gunther heard his voice and followed it, just as Hans expected. It would be Gunther’s chivalry that would lead to his downfall. On and on he went, crying for Gunther’s help. And Gunther followed, until he was all alone in a sea of pagans. By the time Gunther realized the predicament he was in, it was too late. Try as he might to escape, he was simply unable to avoid the crowd of spears that closed in on him. One by one, the spears closed in, and the unthinkable occurred.



Hochmeister Gunther was dead. The Teutonic Knights could not believe it. How could these godless heathens have slain their beloved leader!? For a moment the Knights lamented and despaired, taken back in shock by the death of their leader. But all too conveniently, General Hans returned to rally the demoralized men and raise their spirits for a final push against the Lithuanians.

“Come now, we must not lose faith!” he cried out. “Our Hochmeister has gone to join God in the Kingdom of Heaven! A privilege these dogs will never experience. Let us send them to the fiery pits of hell for their heinous acts!”



And so the Knights lurched forth again, fueled with vengeance and hate against their Lithuanian foes. They drove on against the best the pagans had to offer, the famous Samogitian axemen, and bested them in their own field of combat. The Lithuanians were not expecting the Teutons to keep fighting once their leader had fallen. But it seemed as if the Hochmeister’s death only further spurred the Knights to action. These men were incensed with zealous fervor that sent the pagans into a full rout.

Palanga was a hard-earned victory for the Teutons, but it was a victory nonetheless. Thanks to the last minute leadership of Anno von Sangershausen, the Order had persevered against the greatest of odds, managing victory even after the death of their beloved Hochmeister. But there was no question that the victory was a costly one.



As Sangershausen and his men rested their laurels within Palanga, doubt began to settle in. Who was to lead the Order now?

[Desley]

Looks very promising. I like it !

[Thokran]

Fall, 1252 AD

The death of Grandmaster Gunther von Wullersleben sent shockwaves throughout the Baltic. The Order was left reeling from this stunning blow to their leadership. Without the Hochmeister present, who was to lead the Knights to battle? Some within the Order argued for the succession of the Ordenmarschall in Riga, while others believed it should be the Landmeister at Marienburg who should ascent to the position of Grandmaster.



The general consensus among the Knights of the Order was to call for the Generalkapitel, which assembled yearly to discuss matters of state and elect Hochmeisters to power. But the Generalkapitel assembled far to the west, in the imperial lands of Bohemia. Such a General Assembly would take months to organize. Who would lead the Order until then? Prussia was in a state of general grief and disorder. But while many mourned the death of their Hochmeister, others celebrated the success of their operation.

“Hans pulled through after all.” Poppo remarked, barely able to contain his excitement. Outside, the people of Marienburg mourned as they attended Grandmaster Gunther’s funeral procession. But high within the walls of Marienburg keep, Poppo and his conspirators reveled in their victory. This was their time to strike. Hans did not fail on his part. Neither could they on theirs.

And so the plan was put into action. Poppo and the others knew that they could not simply stage a coup without risking civil war against the Ordenmarschall and his forces up in Livonia. No, they would need to stage a bloodless coup, one fueled by political power rather than by force of arms. Poppo von Osterna had some powerful friends, particularly in Bohemia, where the Generalkapitel was traditionally held. The Landmeister was close friends with the Royal Premysl Family of Bohemia, including their King, Ottocar II. King Ottocar of Bohemia was the strongest political figure within the Holy Roman Empire, short of the Emperor himself. Having Ottocar on their side would greatly help their chances of rising to power, especially given the situation back in Germany, where the Holy Roman Empire was suffering from political upheavals of their own.



Hochmeister Gunther was not the only important political figure to have died in 1252 AD. Emperor Frederick II ‘Stupor Mundi’ of the Holy Roman Empire had also died earlier in the year, leaving the Empire in a state of crisis that would last for years to come as a time known as the Great Interregnum. The Emperor’s death essentially made Ottocar the most powerful man in the Empire. So when the Generalkapitel was finally arranged in great haste in Prague, it was King Ottocar of Bohemia who vied for Poppo’s election to power as Hochmeister of the Order. Despite dissent from some of the Livonian representatives, there was little the Generalkapitel could do to defy Ottocar’s support. Having no true say in the matter, they elected Landmeister Poppo von Osterna as the new Grandmaster of the Teutonic Knights.

Poppo wasted no time asserting his power as Grandmaster. His first action was to appoint Anno von Sangershausen as his Councillor and second-in-command, usurping the authority of Ordenmarschall Maximillian. He then had his Councillor march on Riga to drive out the Ordenmarschall from his station of power. Together with Hartmann von Hohenberg and several detachments of Bohemian troops, Councillor Anno von Sangershausen successfully ousted Maximillian from power. Both Maximillian and Dietrich were exiled and banished from the Baltic upon pain of death.

It was a flawless coup. Everything went according to plan. With Prussia and Livonia now both firmly under his control, Grandmaster could at last address the needs of the people he now led. The people may have felt secure knowing that they once more had a Grandmaster to lead them, but they still cried for vengeance against those who had taken the life of their last leader. Hochmeister Poppo von Osterna was all too eager to indulge them. At Marienburg, he gave a riveting speech to the Prussian natives he now lorded over. He publicly thanked the Bohemians for their support, and commemorated the city of Konigsberg in King Ottocar’s honor. He then went on to honor Hochmeister Gunther for his valiance and bravery. He went on at length describing Gunther as a hero and as a martyr, and the people ate it up. If only they knew that is was Poppo’s machinations that had led to Gunther’s death.

At last, he addressed the Lithuanians. He officially renamed the fortress of Palanga to Memel, to shed the castle of its godless stains. Though Prussia and Livonia were at last united by a thin strip of coastline, the lands of the Order were now more vulnerable than they had ever been before. The Order sought to lose everything if they did not capitalize on their success. The Order would have to press on deeper into Samogitia and drive back the pagan Lithuanians every step of the way. This was the only way to exact vengeance. This was the only way to bring about retribution for Gunther’s death. This was God’s way.



The people burst into a deafening roar of applause and praise for their new Grandmaster. They hailed him as a Champion of God, who would lead then on a new Crusade against the pagan hordes of the east. And with that, Poppo’s reign was secured, and with it the start of a new regime that would preside over the Baltic for decades to come.

[Radzeer]

What a coup! It was easier than I thought after the death of the Grandmaster.
Great story!

[Thokran]

Part Two: The Order Regime – Border Wars


Spring, 1253 AD

The last year had been a hectic one for the Monastic State of the Order of the Teutonic Knights. Through a series of political upheavals, the Order had lost one Grandmaster and gained another. They also gained a renewed purpose to strike out into the heart of Lithuania and crush the pagans that had caused them so much trouble over the last year. But before any of that could be done, Grandmaster Poppo and his supporters had to consolidate their control over their newly won lands.



The success at Palanga, now renamed Memel, had finally brought Prussia and Livonia together. It was a thin strip of land that connected them, but it was a huge step towards a more centralized Monastic State. The next logical step was to expand that thin strip of land by pushing deeper into Samogitia, which were a literal nest of pagan Lithuanian activity.

Expanding the Order’s hold on Samogitia would be critical in the longterm, as the Order found itself in a precarious political situation in the mid-13th century. The Order was surrounded by great powers in every direction. To the east, the Republic of Novgorod stands as a proud nation, while to the north the Scandinavian Kingdoms of Sweden, Norway and Denmark rule the Baltic seas. To the West, the Holy Roman Empire looks on at the Order like a proud father, while to the south the Kingdom of Poland reigns supreme over their territories. Only Lithuania stood as a viable option for expansion, and even that route would put the Teutons in dangerous proximity with the fearsome Mongol Khanate of Asia. Yet before the Order could go about expanding their territories, they first had to address the internal strife that already ran rampant within their own territories.

Prussia was the oldest region the Order controlled during their time in the Baltic. No less than three castles stood as proud testaments to the rise of Teutonic power in the region. Marienburg, Thorn, and Konigsberg were all bastions of Teutonic power, each boasting an impressive array of fortifications and men deep within their thick stone walls. Prussia enjoys a healthy amount of trade from the neighboring rich Polish city of Gdansk, and trade from the Baltic Sea in general. But even in the Order’s military and economic center, public order suffered, especially in the smaller towns and villages. During the political chaos of the past year, the villages of both Elbing and Braunsberg were left ungarrisoned and its people disorderly. Likewise, the people of Heilsberg to the east were also in open revolt against a regime that so far had not given them any semblance of order. Grandmaster Osterna sought to rectify that by sending garrison levies of native Prussian troops to each settlement in hopes of restoring order there. The resurgent military presence worked to great effect.



Further up north, the settlements along the Samogitian coastline also suffered from public disorder and open rioting. The people of these lands were still mostly pagan, which made them openly defiant to their new Catholic overlords. Memel in particular was a hive for religious dissent against Christian Catholocism. It was at Memel where the Teutonic Order focused their efforts, repeatedly reminding the people there of the devastation they had sowed the year before. Other villages up north like Goldingen and Hasenpoth suffered from the same symptoms that Elbing and Braunsberg suffered in Prussia. Thankfully, the Order held a prominent garrison at the Castle of Windau, from which they could send garrison troops to reinforce those outlying villages.



Up in Livonia, the Order centralized their power and authority around the city of Riga. It was from the rich coastal city of Riga that Councillor Anno von Sangershausen regularly supplied the border castles of Dunaburg and Kokenhausen with the men and armaments necessary to thwart off Lithuanian assaults. Councillor Anno used Riga as his base of power, and regularly frequented the castle of Wenden to the north to maintain correspondence with Lord Hartmann von Hohenberg, who remained stationed in Upper Livonia. There at Wenden, they would discuss and address the issues that plagued Livonia, such as the open revolts taking place in the outlying villages of Marienbourg and Ludsen. Those villages were known to show sympathy and support for the old regime, and it was rumored that they sheltered men like Lord Dietrich and Ordenmarschall Maximillian, who were exiled fugitives that openly defied the current regime.



Upper Livonia also suffered from outbreaks of public disorder, particularly at the outpost and the fishing village of Hapsai. Lord Hartmann von Hohenberg used the border fort of Dorpat as his base of power. From there, he did what he could to suppress the riots and strikes that plagued the region for months now. Hohenberg staged a large recruiting effort at the castles of Arensberg and Weiberstein, in hopes that the extra men would be enough to quell the public disorder.



Grandmaster Osterna was not the surprised with the state of the lands he inherited from Gunther. It was normal for the people to protest and riot, especially during such chaotic times. But in due time, the people would be subdued, and they would come to accept his authority and power. And once they accepted him, they would also come to accept his regime.



The New Regime:


Grandmaster Poppo von Osterna: Regarding himself as a Champion of Christianity, the new Hochmeister is a man who rose to power with a single goal in mind – to be hailed as a hero for his personal conquest of Lithuania. Poppo von Osterna was incredibly jealous of Gunther von Wullersleben when he was elected Hochmeister in 1249 AD. It was that jealousy that fueled his plot to usurp Gunther as Grandmaster of the Order. Now with his mission complete, his real work was about to begin. Poppo had both the military skill and will to wage total war on pagan Lithuania. The only question that remained was if it would be enough to bring down the proud nation.


Councillor Anno von Sangershausen: Sometimes simply known as Hans, Anno von Sangershausen was the man directly responsible for Grandmaster Gunther’s death at Palanga. It was Anno’s guile and cunning that got Gunther killed by a rabid mob of pagan spears. Now as Grosskomtur and second-in-command only to the Grandmaster, Anno planned to use that guile and cunning towards his own ends. He too shared the Grandmaster’s goals and plans for Lithuania, and he too would lead his own campaign from Riga deep into the heart of Samogitia.


Hartmann von Hohenberg: Lord Hohenberg had a lot to gain from joining Osterna in his plot to overthrow Grandmaster Gunther. He had lost a lot of land and prestige he once owned in Livonia to the Wullersleben family in the 1240’s. Now with the Wullerslebens ousted from power, he regained those lands and with them earned the prestigious title of Lord of Upper Livonia. It would take both time and money however to regain the authority he once held throughout those lands.


Heinrich von Wolfsburg: Heinrich had just arrived in Prussia from the Holy Land when the coup of 1252 AD occurred. Like so many others who had come to Prussia looking for an easy victory against a heathen enemy, Heinrich had come to the Baltic looking for both land and power, a rare commodity in the Holy Lands. Heinrich joined Osterna and the others in coup, and in reward for his support, he was given lordship over the castle of Konigsberg, where he resides and helps the Grandmaster prepare for the upcoming Lithuanian campaign.


Albrecht Otterbach: A loyal and stalwart Knight of the Order, Albrecht unsuspectingly aided in the Grand Coup of 1252 AD. Though it was something he was not proud of, he knew that in order to survive in such a new regime, he would have to conform to the whims of the new Grandmaster. Thus, his role was to stay in Marienburg and keep an eye on Prussian operations while the Grandmaster was off Crusading in Lithuania.


Fritz Seubersfdorf: Another of Osterna’s cohorts, Bishop Seubersdorf has always desired to spread the word of God in pagan Lithuania. With Osterna’s rise to power, that desire would come true as he joins the Grandmaster on Crusade into Samogitia.


Friedrich von Babenberg: Often seen as the last of the Babenberg dynasty of Austria. When King Ottocar of Bohemia came to assume control over the lands of Austria, it was Friedrich who turned from his family to aid the Bohemian King in his endeavors. Friedrich was a skilled diplomat who was rewarded for his efforts to aid the Bohemian King with an assignment in the Baltic. There, he was to serve Grandmaster Osterna in all affairs of diplomacy and trade.


Siegfried: A spy by nature, Siegfried has always been Grandmaster Osterna’s eyes and ears in places outside of Order control. It was he who had initially referred Poppo to Anno von Sangershausen for the operation at Palanga. It would be he who would serve to guide Osterna and his men into the heart of Samogitia, to crush the Lithuanians’ hold on that region once and for all.

[Thokran]

Thanks for the support, guys. The first part was more of a prologue than anything else, an introductory format for what's to come in the following years. I hope you are enjoying the story so far, I hope to expand it further in the second part of the story.

[Thokran]

Fall, 1253 AD



Efforts to quell the riots over the summer months were for the most part successful. Only the village of Goldingen continued to revolt, and that was because troops from Windau never arrived to reinforce order there. Now as the summer months gave way to the snow of winter, the people of the Baltic began to prepare for a long stay indoors. Not the Teutonic Knights though. Winter marked the beginning of their campaign. Already in Prussia, Grandmaster Osterna was sending men east into Osterna, where his army would rally for the coming campaign. Elsewhere though, the Knights were already on the move into Samogitia. Councillor Anno was the first to enter Lithuanian territory since the capture of Palanga/Memel the year before.



He had with him an impressive force of men composing mostly of heavy infantry and ranged support. These Schwerbruter as they were called were originally part of the Livonian Order before they were assimilated into the Teutonic Order following the Battle of Schaulen in 1236 AD. They were fearsome heavy infantry, and would do well against anything the Lithuanians would throw at them. Anno would need these men on hand for the coming battles, for they did not make their presence unknown as they entered Samogitia. It wasn’t long before a Lithuanian Army was upon them.





The pagans were led by a young general known as Treniota. Given his age, this was likely his first taste of battle he would have. It would also be his last. Councillor Sangershausen would make sure to teach the insolent whelp a lesson in the art of war.





The battle was a short but brutal one. Wave after wave of pagan warrior smashed into Anno’s infantry line, none of them meeting with any success. The Schwerbuter were experts in this line of work, and they made short work of Trenitoa’s foot soldiers. It was not long before the young Lithuanian general found himself with no more troops to send at the Councillor. He panicked and surrendered as the Teutonic forces approached him.





Sangershausen took in a great number of prisoners from the battle. He spent several das contemplating their fate. For a moment, he even considered releasing them into the wild or ransoming them off back to the pagans. But the arrival of another Lithuanian army on the horizon immediately dispelled those ideas from the Councillor’s mind. Young Treniota laughed, proudly boasting that his older brother, Lord Shvarno had come to redeem his honor. The Councillor killed him on the spot for his burst of insolence, and ordered that the rest of the prisoners be executed as well. It was a bloody spectacle, but the Teutonic Knights had no time to worry about prisoners when they faced battle on the horizon.





The Teutonic Knights had lost some of their men in the last engagement. But Councillor Anno had hired some local Samlander Swordsmen to bolster his infantry line. These natives were disenfranchised nobles who knew how to wield a sword. The Samlanders world work well alongside the Schwerbruter. As the enemy approached, Anno took note of their army’s composition. They were heavily laden with spears and missile cavalry. The missile cavalry in particular were quite deadly with a bow. Anno could only hope that his infantry would be able to hold the line long enough for him and his cavalry to neutralize the enemy missile cavalry.



This battle was much more difficult than the last one. The Teutons were tired and cold and generally unprepared for the mass of men that came at them. But still they fought on, determined to drive back the persistent pagan warriors. The Lithuanians came at them again and again, but they met with much more success than those from the prior battle. Shvarno was a skilled warrior and he commanded his men like any experienced commander would.





Anno knew he had to take Shvarno out of the equation if he hoped to achieve victory. He and his men raced through crowds of men too busy fighting to pay them any attention, cutting down those who did. Shvarno led him men from the enemy rear, but in doing so he had left his flank exposed to the infantry line that was supposed to be defending him. Anno spurred his men on and his heavy cavalry smashed through the Lithuanian infantry line, making a beeline straight towards the enemy general. Shvarno never had time to react. Before he could move, his men were overwhelmed by steel lances and thick plate armor.



Shvarno was killed in that initial impact. The pagans continued to fight on even with the death of their General, but they were much more disorganized than they were before. It wasn’t long before any sense of a cohesive line vanished among the Lithuanians. They panicked and routed, knowing that they were defeated. And they were chased down to the last man by the Teutons. Despite overwhelming odds in harsh winter weather, Councillor Anno and his men had prevailed. They were costly victories however, especially for so early in a campaign. Anno could only hope that there wasn’t worse to be had deeper inside the forests of Samogitia.

[Thokran]

Spring, 1254 AD

Councillor Anno’s successes against the Lithuanians did not go unheard of over the winter months. By the coming of spring, everyone knew of Sangershausen’s valiance and victory against all odds. Anno had won the Order quite a bit of popularity among the people of Christendom, and many flocked to the Baltic in hopes of making a stake of their own in God’s name. Sieghard Erhart was just one of many men who pleaded the Grandmaster for a leadership position within the Order. Like all the others, he too was rejected. Popularity was a mixed blessing. For every papal commendation the Order received, there were also two dozen power hungry leeches eager to ride on the Order’s coattails.



There was no doubt that the Order’s power was on the rise. Military successes against Lithuania meant that the Order could focus on commercializing its coastal settlements as the front lines moved further into Samogitia. Both Anno von Sangershausen and Heinrich von Wolfsburg had helped commission the construction of a port and a grain exchange in Wenden and Heilsberg respectively. As the respective Dukes of Riga and Konigsberg, Anno and Heinrich looked very similar, despite having never met each other. Anno would have surely seen Heinrich as a younger version of himself, and their attitudes were also very much similar.





The Order was still relatively small and far from supreme in terms of power. The Baltic was very much a domain of Scandinavian power. The Kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden and Norway dominated the northern seas, giving the Order little room to expand in that direction. Meanwhile, Poland continued to grow in power, bolstered by the pressing need to fight a war on two fronts against both the Lithuanians and the Mongols. The Mongols themselves were a massive powerhouse that led their veteran Hordes deep into the heart of Eastern Europe. Only Poland and Lithuania served to shield the Order from their wrath. Reigning supreme in power however was the Holy Roman Empire.



The Holy Roman Empire continued to suffer from the internal chaos that defined the Great Interregnum. But in the initial years following the death of Emperor Frederick II, it was the Premysl Dynasty of Bohemia that grew rich off the great wealth and legacy Frederick had left behind. King Ottocar used that wealth to enrich and develop the regions of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and Saxony. He also invested a portion of it into the Order’s operations in the Baltic as a sign of thanks for their honoring of his name at Konigsberg.



Having the Empire as an ally was a great strategic advantage for the Order, because it essentially safeguarded their holdings from external threats. All that they had to do in order to maintain that alliance was to continue acting upon God’s will by cleansing Lithuania against the pagan taint that had for centuries tarnished the land in evil.



And that they did. Councillor Anno and his men pressed their advantage on the Lithuanians by laying siege to their castle of Siauliai. Given how empty the garrison there was, it was clear to see that the Lithuanians had sent out their best men the previous year in hopes of stopping Anno’s advance. Clearly they failed, and now they were in a far worse position than they would have been had they not gambled their men on a daring winter raid.

Anno looked on as his men prepared for the siege. If all went according to plan, they would be inside Siauliai by the end of the summer.

[Radzeer]

Great updates! And I was really looking forward to seeing some action from the BftB world! Now I eagerly await for some more.

[Thokran]

@Radzeer: Thanks for the support! I've been looking forward to writing about the BftB campaign for some time now.


Fall, 1254 AD

As the Councillor had expected, Siauliai had fallen by the end of the summer. The garrison had been deprived of any and all resources during the siege, making them weak and feeble for when the Teutons scaled the walls. The defenders were easily dispatched, and the castle fell into Order hands. It was an easy victory, but a welcome change from the hard battles Anno and his men had to fight the year before.




Anno was not the only one seeking victory in the late months of the year however. In Prussia, Grandmaster Poppo had amassed an impressive army around the fields of Heilsberg and Konigsberg. He had with him scores of heavily armored spearmen and several detachments of local Samlander Swordsmen and Prussian Levy Archers. Also with him were his extensive personal retinue of heavy cavalry and two teams of siege experts manning the catapults. All these men were brought together to help bring about the Order’s greatest conquest to date.



The castle of Ragnita was an imposing eyesore on the endless horizon of frozen woodland. Large stone walls and high ramparts made Ragnita a forbidding defensive structure, built to keep outsiders from the inner sanctum of Samogitia and Lithuania. Ragnita was intentionally built between a deep river and impassable woodland to serve as an effective choke hold for any attackers coming in from the west. It was through this chokehold that Poppo and his men would march through, tearing down anything that got in their way, whether it were stone, mortar, or pagan flesh.





Like Grandmaster Gunther before him, Grandmaster Poppo brought his catapults to bear against the walls of Ragnita. It was a long process, because the walls of Ragnita were much more formidable than those of Palanga. But walls were walls, and they could fall just like any other with enough determination and patience.



And the walls did fall. It took many hours but the stone and mortar crumbled away, leaving behind a breach for the Hochmeister to capitalize on. He rushed his men in through the breach, eager to gain a foothold within the castle. His Order Spearmen were ready for the task, charging through the breach like an unstoppable wall of spears. Supported by the Samlander Swordsmen, these Order infantry clashed head on with the enemy garrison of Ragnita.



The battle raged on for what seemed an eternity. Neither side would give in to the other as the clash of steel drowned out all other noise. The Lithuanians fiercely defended their castle, refusing to give ground without first dealing some serious damage to the Teutonic infantry line. But they were inevitable pushed back. For all their heart and willpower, they simply lacked the tools necessary to neutralize the spear wall presented by the Order Spearmen. Their own spears did not possess the same impressive range of the Teutonic halberd, which skewered away at the Lithuanian mass like a human grinder. After much bloodshed and loss of life, the Lithuanians finally fell back. The breach was secured.





With the loss of the walls, the Lithuanians lost hope and despaired. Their will to fight simply vanished, and they posed much less of threat than they did when they were fighting for the walls. Grandmaster Poppo rode into the castle unopposed and made his way towards the center courtyard, where the last of the defenders held out. Backed by his retinue, he led the final charge on the pagans, utterly crushing them under his thunderous stampede of steel and hooves. Victory was attained!

[Thokran]

Spring, 1255 AD

The capture of Ragnita was a tremendous success for the Order. With their victories at Siaiuliai and Ragnita, the Order had successfully broken through the thick defenses of the Lithuanian Order, granting the Knights access into the exposed interior of Samogitia. All that stood between them and the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius was small villages. It was a rare opportunity they simply could not afford to dawdle on. Both Poppo and Anno moved in on the villages of Veliuona and Raseiniei, eager to advance their conquests while the enemy was still reeling from their losses.





Veliuona and Raseinei were both left undefended by the Lithuanians. Only the villagers themselves flocked to the defense of their homes. Both were perched atop a hill, like all Baltic villages tended to be. But the slopes only served to halt an enemy advance, not stop it in its tracks. The villagers stood no chance against the Teutonic raiding parties. The Hochmeister and Grosskomtur led similar cavalry charged right into the enemy line, with equally devastating results.





Victory was never in question. The villagers were mercilessly slaughtered by the cruel knights, who took pleasure in toying with those foolish enough to think that they ever had a fighting chance of survival. The cries of terror pierced the air as the knights ran down the villagers with wanton glee. For them, this was just another routine purging, all part of God’s will.





As things went well on the military front, back in Prussia other matters of state were being attended to. There was a general consensus among the Order Council of Marienburg that the Teutonic Knights should reach out diplomatically in search of new friends, or at least see how their enemies were faring. The Holy Roman Empire alliance was as strong as ever, but there were trade rights to be had with all sorts of Kingdoms and Duchies within the Baltic. Assigned to the task was Friedrich von Babenberg, who was sent west to engage in diplomacy with the Kingdom of Denmark.



So far the Grandmaster’s campaign had been flawless, and he intended to keepit that way. His men celebrated away in Veliuona and Ragnita, knowing that they had won great victories over the godless heathens of Lithuania. Each town they took, each victory they won, put them one step closer to their final goal, the capture of Vilnius.






Fall, 1255 AD



It was a relatively uneventful summer for the Grandmaster at Veliuona. He spent most of the season traveling between the village and Ragnita, making sure that his conquests were properly assimilated into the Order’s sphere of influence. He spent much of his time studying maps of the region, however incomplete they were, in hopes of finding the best possible route to Vilnius. His supply chain was becoming quite extended at Veliuona, but he had a feeling that he had enough men to take the city if he came across it. To make sure, he sent one of his most trusted agents, Bishop Albert, deep into enemy territory. His presence as a Catholic Bishop in a land full of heresy and paganism would surely cause about unrest, but he would not be harmed in any way, or so Poppo hoped. Albert would be his eyes and ears, learning anything and everything of the lands surrounding Vilnius.



He also took the coming of Fall to address other matters of state, such as the endless stream of applicants that came daily looking for a position within the Order’s administration. It was a mind-numbing task for the most part, but he did see some applicants that showed promise. One in particular he was quite impressed with. His name was Luther Groszschedel. He was ambitious, learned, and promising in battle. He was also loyal without fault, having served the Teutonic Knights since coming of age. Poppo took a liking to Luther immediately, and he brought him into the Order’s high circle. He would need someone to look over Samogitia as he and Anno pushed on towards Vilnius.



A few weeks later, the Grandmaster learned of great news. Bishop Albert had reached the walls of Vilnius unopposed! Not a single Lithuanian soul stood between them and the pagan capital! This was the time to strike! The armies of God would descend upon Vilnius like a swarm and cleanse it of its unholy taint once and for all! Those pagan dogs would once more feel the light of God shine down upon them!