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Thread: Wallachia and Moldavia Research (XIII-XV AD)

  1. #61
    Visarion's Avatar Alexandros
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    Default Re: Wallachia and Moldavia Research (XIII-XV AD)

    Edited post #17. Vlad Dracula, Vuk Brankovic and Mathias Corvinus in Bosnia.

  2. #62
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    Default Re: Wallachia and Moldavia Research (XIII-XV AD)

    Edited post #1. Next in plan, inserting spoilers.

  3. #63
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    Default Re: Wallachia and Moldavia Research (XIII-XV AD)

    Re edited... best info is now in posts 1 2 and 3 with spoilers... also much easier to browse

  4. #64
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    Default Re: Wallachia and Moldavia Research (XIII-XV AD)

    Edited post #2

  5. #65
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    Default Re: Wallachia and Moldavia Research (XIII-XV AD)

    Added even more spoilers at post #2 for the subchapters of one of the main chapters of the title, Wallachians in Medieval times and relations with the Balkans: Hungarian hegemony, for a better read

  6. #66

    Default Re: Wallachia and Moldavia Research (XIII-XV AD)

    Quote Originally Posted by Visarion View Post
    Added even more spoilers at post #2 for the subchapters of one of the main chapters of the title, Wallachians in Medieval times and relations with the Balkans: Hungarian hegemony, for a better read
    Dude, arent you able to edit your posts ?
    The option should be available by now.

  7. #67
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    Default Re: Wallachia and Moldavia Research (XIII-XV AD)

    Yeah... well this a working thread...

    Edit: at the advice of Kjertersvein similar to the working threads / research threads in the dev subforum but if you guys are bothered by me posting here sure I will not announce my modifications no longer. Ty 4 reply! All the best!
    Last edited by Visarion; September 23, 2016 at 04:41 AM.

  8. #68
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    Default Re: Wallachia and Moldavia Research (XIII-XV AD)

    @ Ltd. Edited post #4

    Edit: Also adited post #5 with possible army comps
    Last edited by Visarion; September 23, 2016 at 03:35 PM.

  9. #69
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    Default Re: Wallachia and Moldavia Research (XIII-XV AD)

    @ Ltd.

    Another idea came to me...

    Playable Moldavia and Wallachia and starting as Hungarian vassals of:

    Dukedom of Fogaras 1212-1291 - End of Tartar hegemony in Transalpina -> Voivodship of Basarabia 1291-1397 - Radu Negru-Thocomerius-Basarab- Successors fighting over Vidin with the Hungarians after Basarab united Transalpina with Terra Lytua or Oltenia, conquered Cumania and took Severin by force -> Principality of Wallachia 1397-1500 Conquering Dobrudja and later receiving Banate of Severin and Dukedom of Fogaras from the Hungarians in exchange for vassalage and participating in anti-Ottoman crusades

    Voivodship of Maramaros 1212-1285 -> Dukedom of Moldavia -> 1282-1285 and again 1324-1365/87 Maramaros on behalf of the Hungarians after being invaded in 1285 by a mixed Cumano-Tartaro-Moldavian force that devastated Transylvania and Hungary and together with Hungarian, Transylvanians and Szeklers will start a campaign against the Nomads and will establish a permanent mark against their invasions during Ladislaus IV the Cuman and the Angevins -> 1387-1500 Principality of Moldavia - They will switch allegiance to the Poles and Hungarians will invade them during Mathias Corvinus but to no good. Later they will also fight their new suzerains, the Poles who betrayed them and turn to the Hungarians

    This could be extended to:

    Dukedom of Fogaras -> Mark of Campo Longo -> Voivodship of Basarabia -> Principality of Wallachia

    And

    Voivodeship of Maramaros -> Mark of Moldobanya --> Dukedom of Moldavia -> Principality of Moldavia

    Also horde mechanichs for both due to their guerilla warfare, scorched earth, abandoning and burning their own settlements or leaving 20,000 impaled enemies in their capital as Dracula did, desolating enemy cities and citadels, impaling 30,000 victims alongside the Danube, letting the enemy take their cities as Stephen the Great did with his major three cities captured by Mathias and burning the one he set his camp at, leaving his stronghold and ambushing the retreating Polonians, setting villages on fire so that the Ottomans have nowhere to stay or take food from or simply for not giving them the satisfaction, burning settlements with poor people and beggars as a social cleansing measure as Dracula did, pillaging, fighting in mountain passes, forrests, marshes, setting ambushes, fighting a guerrila war, using tough terrain and psichological war and offering a inhabitable country to their enemies, purposely poisoning and plaguing the land. They could also start as Hungarian vassal hordes in Transylvania, enemy to the Cumans and Bulgarians
    Last edited by Visarion; September 28, 2016 at 07:49 PM.

  10. #70
    Visarion's Avatar Alexandros
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    Default Re: Wallachia and Moldavia Research (XIII-XV AD)

    Also they had a semi-nomadic way of life, being mountain dwelling shepherds. Only during the winter they came back with their sheep from the Balkans and retreated in the mountains. The plains were occupied by Cumans, Pechenegs, Jasz and many Saxons and Bulgarians built villages and cities in the field areas. Still cities were scarce: Campulung, Curtea de Arges, Pitesti. In Moldavia they did have permanent citadels but they still used cavalry and mobile warfare. If they managed to trick the Tartars and caught them in a trap forcing them to fight in melee while others drowned trying to flee in the Dniester that tells a lot. Also archery was their mastery. Even if the Moldavian rulers had many citadels they still used guerilla warfare and when everything seemed lost abandoned the country, retreated in the mountains and gathered a new army as it happened against the Ottomans. Stephen was refused shelter by his mother in a fortified church and sent to die fighting for his country. He reached Vrancea, then Putna and promised land to the inhabitants for their military services, seven mountains to seven sons of a single mother that willingly gave all her sons as an exemple to others. That's the story. All being said they sure look like horde factions to me.
    Last edited by Visarion; September 28, 2016 at 08:07 PM.

  11. #71
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    Default Re: Wallachia and Moldavia Research (XIII-XV AD)

    For instance the capital of Wallachia was moved for four times in less than a century: Făgăraș -> Câmpulung -> Curtea de Argeș -> Târgoviște

  12. #72
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    Default Re: Wallachia and Moldavia Research (XIII-XV AD)

    Also Moldavia: three times in less than a century: Szatmarnemeti -> Baia -> Suceava

  13. #73
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    Default Re: Wallachia and Moldavia Research (XIII-XV AD)

    Also a lot of river crossings like Rovine or Lipnic!

    https://youtu.be/e0-9gWBnXxE

  14. #74
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    Default Re: Wallachia and Moldavia Research (XIII-XV AD)

    Forts like this type:

    https://youtu.be/WoN0nfDRkEs

    Wallachians did have river and Danube forts as rivers was their main way of transporting goods, by using barges

    Also near mountain passes and protecting the trade routes. And trap forrests, forrest forts, they would lure the enemy in forrests, swamps and prepare ambushes with lots of archers and spearmen with very long spears. Archers when finishing amo would come with spears and polearms including poleaxes and medieval picks to reinforce. Cavalrymen would dismount and attack with greataxes and poleaxes. The famous forrested settlements called literally Forrests of Vlachs and Pechenegs and with all sorts of barricades.
    Last edited by Visarion; September 29, 2016 at 07:45 AM.

  15. #75
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    Default Re: Wallachia and Moldavia Research (XIII-XV AD)

    Ohhhh yyyyeeeessss and this kind of river/Danube forts...

    https://youtu.be/cyULHbhgBTc

  16. #76
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    Default Re: Wallachia and Moldavia Research (XIII-XV AD)

    Oooohhhh and this kind of forts too...

    https://youtu.be/Jz1Rwt0chbw

  17. #77
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    Default Re: Wallachia and Moldavia Research (XIII-XV AD)

    A couple of countries that were much less important than the proper Vlach countries of Moldavia and Wallachia:

    1) Volga Bulgaria, failed alliance with Cumans and Ryazan-Murom against the other Kievans. Just a couple of years before they were crushed together with Ryazan by Suzdal. Defeated quick be the Tartars. Never regained their strengh.

    2) Cumans, failed alliance with the Kievans and Brodniks against the Tartars at battle of river Khalka. Replaced by Tartars. Best represented as allies of Bulgarians, Hungarians, Wallachians and Tartars.

    3) Chernigov and Kiev. Were replaced by Galicia and later Suzdal. Best add Galicia playable with access to all the other Kievan or Rus units.

    4) Lombard League short lived alliance but successeful against HRE, even if disestablished still powerfull and cvasi-independent cities in northern Italy but still less important.

    5) Other Polands. Lesser and Greater Poland is enough united under Lesser Poland.

    6) Walles, mercenaries for England and France and nothing else.

    7) Ireland, nothing grand.

    8) Scotland, mercenaries for France and some riots against England.

    9) Cillician Armenia, best represented as allies for Cyprus, later was it's vassal.

    10) Zengids, obsolete faction, they were the origin of the Kurd dinasty of the Ayyubids and that's that.

    11) Abbasids, future lords of Mamluk Egypt but still the Ayyubids can be given later Mamluk units as Ottoman units can be given to the Seljuks as a de facto continuum

    12) Makuria and Zagwe, what did they do? Some failed riots against the Ayyubids. Best a single playable slot.

    13) Antioch, a good slot but already many minor factions in Levant. Best replace the Armenians, as they were more important.

    14) Navarre, a obsolete faction. Taken over by Aragon. Lost Basque possesions. Best represented as allies of Aragon and Castile in the Reconquista.

    What did Wallachia do?

    Before unification:

    A) Fought against Tartars and won, the only country to do so, not even Hungary managed this, see Chronicle of Filip Mousket. After that they received Hospitallers as allies in their lands on behalf of the suzerain Hungarian king.

    B) Many times against Hungarians and won. See Painted Chronicle of Posada Battle. It was one of the greatest threat of the Hungarians before the Basarabids.

    C) Against Bulgarians allied with Dobrudja and Vidin and lost due to a successeful assassination.

    D) Before that they Defended Vidin against Hungarians after accepting vassalage from the Bulgarian Tsardom together with Dobrudja in exchange for large sums of many extorted from the tresspassing Byzantines coming from Hungary after a diplomatic meeting and territorial gains and defeated the Hungarians when they invaded as a revenge.

    E) Offered assistance to Serbians and Byzantines and later to Hungarians and Crusaders against Ottomans. They also sent 6,000 cavalry units to the Moldavians to end the civil wars there.

    D) One of the greates threat to the Ottomams together with Moldavians and Hungarians. Vlad the Impaler faced an army of 90,000 Ottomans in multiple battles after slaughtering 15,000 during a night attack together with dealing with a civil war started by his brother.

    E) Invaded Ottoman Bulgaria and killed 30,000 men.

    D) Invaded Ottoman Bosnia with Vuk Brankovic's supporters.

    F) Again invaded Ottoman Bulgaria together with the Bulgarian successor, Fruzhin, commander of the Hungarian allied force and devastated the Danube ports.

    G) Was present at every Crusade.

    H) Protected the Saxo merchants as Hungarian allies.

    I) Had acces to the Black Sea and traded with Venice and Genoa.

    J) Allied with Moldavia and Poland and made trade with Poles and Lithuanians.

    K) Hired Transylvanian merchants and received Byzantine allied troops to dethrone the Ottoman puppet king.

    L) Hired Bulgarians as mercenaries after they were subjugated by Ottomans.

    M) Basarab used Pechenegs as allies against Hungarians.

    N) Were joined by the Transylvanians, Szeklers and Saxons against the Ottomans.

    O) Many times received Hungarian allied troops.

    P) Had a proffesional army of veterans and mercenaries similar to the Black Army of Hungary





    What did Moldavia do?

    A) Annihilated the Golden Horde together with the allied Crimean Tartars and Theodoro.

    B) Defeated the Ottomans many times on their own and stopped them from expanding westwards.

    C) Sent reinforcements to the allied Wallachians and Hungarians against the Ottomans.

    D) Sent reinforcements to Theodoro against the Ottomans.

    E) Fought against the Teutones alongside Poles and Lithuanians.

    F) Defeated the invading Hungarian army and injured their king.

    G) Invaded Polish land and burned and pillaged Halych and Lvov. Defeated the invading Polonian army led by their king.

    H) Participated in the Crusades. Also planned a Ottoman counteroffensive with Poland, Brandenburg and Hungary but was betrayed by Poland who wanted to take the country for their own and informed by Hungary, preparing an ambush.

    I) Traded with Venice, Genoa, Poles and Lithuanians.

    Before unification:

    J) Invaded Transylvania, Land of the Szeklers and Saxons and Hungary proper together with the Tartars and Cumans.

    K) Withstood the expansionist Galicians and allied with both the Cumans and Hungarians against them.

    L) Probably offered allied troops to the Bulgarians joining the Cumans.

    M) Joined the Kievans and Cumans against the Tartars, being the first Europeans to do so.

    I am also strong in favor for also Croatia including Bosnia and Transylvanian including Szeklers and Saxons as playable sleeper factions allied to the Hungarians. The ssme treatment for both Wallachia and Moldavia. I mean Hungary, the way it is is just a big blob in central Europe, ahistorical and without identity.

    Also the majority of the fans favour strong mixed melee and ranged cavalry focused factions and it would be a new taste, samething more unique, a different flavour to Europe, a mixed western and nomad fighting style and using the tactics of the steppe dwellers, including Parthian Shot.

    A unique blend of massive bow focused troops capable in both melee and ranged while also wielding polearms and spears against cavalry and strong mixed ranged and lancer cavalry also able to fire arrows and then charge the weakened enemy. Just imagine poison arrows being shot at the enemy and also being prepared to counter the cavalry charge with mixed archer-spearmen foot troops while luring enemy cavalry with light horsemen that dismount, fire their precise shot, kill the enemy horses of the heavy cavalry, mount and charge the dazzled knights. Later they used noble, retinue and paid knights clad in scale suits of armor of Venetian origin that also dismounted and used greataxes while in settlements or when ambushing the enemy in forrests, marshes, swamps, forrest forts or mountain passes together with other peasant infantry wielding greataxes, poleaxes and other polearms, medieval picks, halberds and greatmaces, unique to the Balkan people with a devastating charge and using charge-withdraw tactics similar to the shock troops used by the westerners. Archers were defended by a militia unit of peasants wieldind a crude polearm similar to the voulge halberd of the French. Swords were scarce, especially taken from the defeated Ottoman Janissary and used by nobles. They had alongside the Turkish curved sword the great spatha. Probably only the units under direct rule of the Spatharus, the Spatarei permanent elite court cavalry regiment, wielded them when dismounted and the officers alongside the king. The elite retinue of kingsguards who sometimes fought dismounted like it happened at Baia or Poenari. The army was comprised of permanent troops including chosen veterans and mercenaries and picked paid burghers, fast assembling chosen nobles and lesser nobles and by nobles assembled only during times of need.

    Army corps:

    Permanent retinue army of knights and lancer-archers: Kingsguards, Spatarei (elite under the direct command of the cavalry commander), Curteni (retinue soldiers), Targoveti (paid burghers and mercenaries), Moldavian Allied Guard of Dracula, Knights of the Order of the Dragon. Later Viteji Chosen Horsemen and Voinici Infantry. The Curteni fought as foot archers too and also made use of javelins, spears, medieval picks, greataxes, poleaxes and halberds.

    Fast assembling army of borderguards: Plaiesi, Strajeri, Graniceri, Razesi Crusaders fighting as both Razesi Crusader Cavalry and Razesi Crusader Archers for Moldavians only. Moldavians also used Mounted Plaiesi Borderguars and Scouts and Hansari similar to the Hussars to scout the surrounding of the citadels guarded by Strajeri Archers and later Strajeri Handgunners. Wallachians mostly used Plaiesi Borderguards armed with bows and polearms and later firearms especially to guard the mountain passes. Wallachians used crossbowmen as well. The plaiesi also made use of javelins and probably still used slings. They preffered axes and maces instead of swords, used mostly by nobles, paid burgher cavalry and retinue troops but most likely some had Turkish swords. The shield was of wood covered by leather, of Tartaric influence. They also guarded the merchants as bodyguards and assured them safe passage on both land and water crossings. They were also rangers and guarded bridges, inns, markets, river and Danube forts and ports.

    The Great Army: Boieri Nobles and their Squires and Mosneni Lesser Nobles but only for Wallachians. The nobles also brought peasants armed with javelins, axes, maces and polearms. Probably they used slings as well. All had bows and poison arrows. A particularity for the peasant infantry is their greatmace and their guerilla tactics, being lightly armed shock troops. Also it seems the Voivode had a versatile guard of Huntsmen using both ranged and melee tactics of about 100 men. Alongside the Moldavians offered by Stephen the Great to Dracula and probably to his predecessors as well, they were foot guards.
    Last edited by Visarion; October 04, 2016 at 08:44 PM.

  18. #78
    Visarion's Avatar Alexandros
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    Default Re: Wallachia and Moldavia Research (XIII-XV AD)

    They would be similar to the Nabateans, Sabeans and Kushites of Ancient Empires, the fans enjoy so much, especially the Moldavians where every single foot unit had at least a bow and arrows and a sword during Stephen the Great as a direct order of the king himself. Also similar to the Parthians, Armenians and Scytho-Sarmatians they had the Curteni Lancer-Archers present at Grunwald. The Wallachians as well used bows and javelins and maybe even slings with great success in ambushes.

    At Posada in 1330, the half Cuman, half Vlach king Basarab used a mixed Pecheneg and Vlach contingent of foot archers using poison arrows to defeat the surprised Hungarians. They probably also used javelins and slings and also threw rocks. His predecessors Tochomerius, father or Radu Negru, probably grandfather as one of his sons was also called Radu, the Vlach tradition, present to this day is to give the nephews the name of their grandparents, probably came with this kind of army from Terra Blacorum et Bissenorum, Fogaras, Transylvania and occupied Wallachia so tier 2 units as tier 1 should be the Hungarian vassal troops of Lituoy that defeated the Tartars, were joined by the Hospitallers under Hungarian tutelage and suzeranity and later turned against Hungarians with bloody battles. During tier 2 Wallachians should also have Saxon troops due to the fact that together with Pechenegs and Vlachs, Saxons too migrated with Radu Negru from Transylvania and there were already Saxons present in Campo Longo and Severin alongside Cumans and Hungarians. Most likely Basarab also made use of Cuman cavalry as allied troops from mountain settlements or Baragan Plain, where they lived alongside Vlachs, Bulgarians and Pechenegs. Tier 3, the proffesional armies from the great grandfather of Dracula and onward, Radu I who ordered 10,000 suits of scale horse armor from the Venetians used also by his grandfather against the Turks and vassal Serbians at Rovine, Mircea the Elder. Mircea started using Bulgarian mercenaries hired by his uncle who united with Dobrudja and Vidin against Bulgaria proper represented by Tarnovo. He also hired burghers as permanent horsemen and had elite troops under the direct rule of his cavalry commander alongside retinue soldiers of veterans and mercenaries. He also started to give more power and importance to lesser nobles, the Mosneni, small land owners and craftsmen in the detriment of owners of great estates, merchants and office workers or Bojars. Vitjaz proffesional troops of chosen veterans and capable men regardless of social class during Dracula alongside mercenaries and Knight of the Order of the Dragon. Bojars were left out due to their treacherous ways. He also had the Moldavian Voyniks dismounted and acting as foot guards. As a disclaimer Bulgarians were only present in southern Oltenia, Burnaz Field, north of the Danube, Dobrudja and probably Baragan Plain alongside the mixed Cumano-Pecheneg allied contingent. To tier 1 could be given some Allied Bulgarians and even Cumans and Pechenegs due to proximity but also Hungarians and Hospitallers of Severin. Best would be the player beign able to choose between Hungarian Vassalage and Independency, having, if possible, different troops. This can be added in later tiers too, having to choose between Hungarian and Bulgarians in tier 2 and Hungarians and Ottomans in tier 3 as it really happened in the power struggle and many civil wars that fallowed.

    Moldavians should have allied Cuman and Bulgarian tier 1 troops, especially horse archers including Bolokhoveni Nobles that burned and sacked Halych and allied with the Hungarians against Kiev that most likely fought also dismounted and had citadel guards, fortified settlements between Dniester and Dnieper, Berladniks or Berladnics, fallowers of Prince Ivan Berladnic (1159), enemy of Iaroslav of Halych, his retinue including Kievan Bojars and Knyaz, rebels of Halych and joining the mixed Vlach-Cuman alliance fielding alongside the Nobles, Cuman, Druzhina and Voynik 6,000 strong cavalry, Bordini or Brodniks from Terra Bordinium next to Saxons and Szeklers and also alongside Bilgorod, Tauro-Scythian Horse Archers also using the Turkic like tactics including faint retreat and Parthian Shot, allied Tartar and Hungarian tier 2 troops, including Tartar like Horse Archers of the Allied Bordini of Ploskanea in the second half of the 13th century and Maramaros Voinici Hungarian Vassal Knights from the late 13th century and early and late 14th century and self standing proffesional army of 40,000 cavalrymen and 20,000 infantry of Alexander the Good and Stephen the Great including Curteni Lancer-Archers and Dismounted Nobles with greataxes and a devastating charge. Also Razesi Crusaders and Hussars including Serbian mercenaries. Voyniks of the Galician stock and Vitjaz of Maramaros origin were preserved as retinue soldiers, permanent veteran picked soldiers as the ordinary, probably conscripts were refferet to as Osteni. Also fresh recruits but sturdy were the Razesi who became the new noblity, lesser nobles receiving land for their military services. Plaiesi comes from "plai" or land, used as border guards during peace were also skilled skirmishers able to mount horses and stand their ground while charged and even face the enemy. Strajeri from "straja" or guard, also the Kingsguards were called Straja Domneasca, were citadel dwellers, very loyal. They kept defending forts even if massively outnumbered and refused to give up and let the enemy take the strongholds. A powerfull network of citadels, fortified churches and monasteries and river and mountain forts.later they received firearms. Also beign able to choose between West and Nomads would be sweet with different units for the players choice. Namely Hungary and Poland or Cumans and Tartars of the Golden Horde and later Crimean Khanate. Galicia was a suzerain only by force in the great majority of the teritorry. Only isolated regions near Halych namely Bukovina and Pocutia asked for vassalage to both Kiev and Poland-Lithuania. Still, later Moldavia will receive Pocutia as a guarantee in the exchange of a loan to the Polish king that was never fully returned. Halych had a mixed Slav and Vlach nobility and used the Ius Valahorum of the Terra Maramorus, Maramaros Hungarian district. Bolokhoveni were Vlachs, that's for sure as many times their lands were called Terra Blacorum.

    They never used the crossbow unlike the Wallachians who started using it very early, most likely as a copy to the Transylvanian skilled and famed Crossbowmen who used a permanent and elite contingent to defend their mounted and dismounted knights who made use of greatswords and large maces when fighting dismounted and were somewhat vulnerable to missile attacks due to their preffered weapons unlike the Hungarians who made use of the Hussite pavise. Also Transylvanians had foot squired armed with halberds, poleaxes and other polearms including the maces and hammers for blunt damage. Probably crossbowmen used the medieval pick for a melee weapon alongside maces. Their weapons were more proffesional due to the skilled Saxon blacksmiths. Also Wallachians were great importers of Saxon and Italian steel unlike Moldavians who used more crude weapons similar to the Nomads. Transylvanians from an early period started using halberdiers instead of spearmen similar to the proffesional armies of the West. They also used Vlach Immigrants as horse archers alongside the Szekler Avangard. Szeklers fought both mounted and dismounted and also fielded knights. They had three classes of warriors and were a very elite integrated and separate army as well, a self standing force alongside the Saxons and their knights who many times were sent to help the Wallachians on their own or together with the Saxons and some Hungarian supporting troops.

    If troops received after their alliance then Wallachians under the pro-Hungarian Vlad III "the Impaler" Dracula should receive Hungarian, Transylvanian, Szekler and Saxon troops while the pro-Ottoman Radu III "the Handsome" Dracula should receive especially Janissary and maybe even Sipahi for instance.
    Last edited by Visarion; October 04, 2016 at 08:29 PM.

  19. #79
    Visarion's Avatar Alexandros
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    Default Re: Wallachia and Moldavia Research (XIII-XV AD)

    I edited this post but page had expired so I copied the text:

    A couple of countries that were much less important than the proper Vlach countries of Moldavia and Wallachia:

    1) Volga Bulgaria, failed alliance with Cumans and Ryazan-Murom against the other Kievans. Just a couple of years before they were crushed together with Ryazan by Suzdal. Defeated quick be the Tartars. Never regained their strengh.

    2) Cumans, failed alliance with the Kievans and Brodniks against the Tartars at battle of river Khalka. Replaced by Tartars. Best represented as allies of Bulgarians, Hungarians, Wallachians and Tartars. Best making Tartars playable instead.

    3) Chernigov and Kiev. Were replaced by Galicia and later Suzdal. Best add Galicia playable with access to all the other Kievan or Rus units.

    4) Lombard League short lived alliance but successeful against HRE, even if disestablished still powerfull and cvasi-independent cities in northern Italy but still less important.

    5) Other Polands. Lesser and Greater Poland is enough united under Lesser Poland.

    6) Walles, mercenaries for England and France and nothing else.

    7) Ireland, nothing grand.

    8) Scotland, mercenaries for France and some riots against England.

    9) Cillician Armenia, best represented as allies for Cyprus, later was it's vassal.

    10) Zengids, obsolete faction, they were the origin of the Kurd dinasty of the Ayyubids and that's that.

    11) Abbasids, future lords of Mamluk Egypt but still the Ayyubids can be given later Mamluk units as Ottoman units can be given to the Seljuks as a de facto continuum

    12) Makuria and Zagwe, what did they do? Some failed riots against the Ayyubids. Best a single playable slot.

    13) Antioch, a good slot but already many minor factions in Levant. Best replace the Armenians, as they were more important.

    14) Navarre, a obsolete faction. Taken over by Aragon. Lost Basque possesions. Best represented as allies of Aragon and Castile in the Reconquista.

    What did Wallachia do?

    Before unification:

    A) Fought against Tartars and won, the only country to do so, not even Hungary managed this, see Chronicle of Filip Mousket. After that they received Hospitallers as allies in their lands on behalf of the suzerain Hungarian king.

    B) Many times against Hungarians and won. See Painted Chronicle of Posada Battle. It was one of the greatest threat of the Hungarians before the Basarabids.

    C) Against Bulgarians allied with Dobrudja and Vidin and lost due to a successeful assassination.

    D) Before that they Defended Vidin against Hungarians after accepting vassalage from the Bulgarian Tsardom together with Dobrudja in exchange for large sums of many extorted from the tresspassing Byzantines coming from Hungary after a diplomatic meeting and territorial gains and defeated the Hungarians when they invaded as a revenge.

    E) Offered assistance to Serbians and Byzantines and later to Hungarians and Crusaders against Ottomans. They also sent 6,000 cavalry units to the Moldavians to end the civil wars there. They will receive 4,000 guard troops from the Moldavians and Transylvanian, Szekler and Hungarian troops to regain the country during Vlad Dracula's third reign.

    F) One of the greates threat to the Ottomams together with Moldavians and Hungarians. Vlad the Impaler faced an army of 90,000 Ottomans in multiple battles after slaughtering 15,000 during a night attack together with dealing with a civil war started by his brother.

    G) Invaded Ottoman Bulgaria and killed 30,000 men without counting the ones that were beheaded on the spot. The victims were impaled alongside the Danube and about 20,000 in the Wallachian capital at a later time. Their allies, the Venetians thanked them for saving Caffa from a 300 Ottoman warships invasion, their actions, obliging the Sultan to postpone their expedition.

    H) Invaded Ottoman Bosnia with Vuk Brankovic's supporters. Dracula also burned a couple of Ottoman cities and impaled it's citizens and soldiers. He was caught in a forrest ambush but used a cavalry charge in the rear to destroy the enemy lines and decimated the opposition.

    I) Again invaded Ottoman Bulgaria together with the Bulgarian successor, Fruzhin, commander of the Hungarian allied force and devastated the Danube ports all the way to the Black Sea.

    J) Was present at every Crusade together with Hungary.

    K) Protected the Saxon merchants as Hungarian allies.

    L) Had acces to the Black Sea and traded with Venice and Genoa.

    M) Allied with Moldavia and Poland and made trade with Poles and Lithuanians.

    N) Hired Transylvanian merchants and received Byzantine allied troops to dethrone the Ottoman puppet king.

    O) Hired Bulgarians as mercenaries after they were subjugated by Ottomans.

    P) Basarab used Pechenegs as allies against Hungarians.

    Q) Were joined by the Transylvanians, Szeklers and Saxons against the Ottomans.

    R) Many times received Hungarian allied troops.

    S) Had a proffesional army of veterans and mercenaries similar to the Black Army of Hungary

    T) Vlad II "the Dragon" Dracul, later known as "the Devil" joined the Order of the Dragon together with Hungary, a secret anti-Ottoman military organisation started by HRE





    What did Moldavia do?

    A) Annihilated the Golden Horde together with the allied Crimean Tartars and Theodoro.

    B) Defeated the Ottomans many times on their own and stopped them from expanding westwards.

    C) Sent reinforcements to the allied Wallachians and Hungarians against the Ottomans.

    D) Sent reinforcements to Theodoro against the Ottomans. 300 skilled proffesional guard archers and 50 warships and also 4,000 guard troops to Wallachia.

    E) Fought against the Teutones alongside Poles and Lithuanians.

    F) Defeated the invading Hungarian army and injured their king.

    G) Invaded Polish land and burned and pillaged Halych and Lvov. Defeated the invading Polonian army led by their king.

    H) Participated in the Crusades. Also planned a Ottoman counteroffensive with Poland, Brandenburg and Hungary but was betrayed by Poland who wanted to take the country for their own and informed by Hungary, preparing an ambush.

    I) Traded with Venice, Genoa, Poles and Lithuanians.

    Before unification:

    J) Invaded Transylvania, Land of the Szeklers and Saxons and Hungary proper together with the Tartars and Cumans.

    K) Withstood the expansionist Galicians and allied with both the Cumans and Hungarians against them.

    L) Probably offered allied troops to the Bulgarians joining the Cumans.

    M) Joined the Kievans and Cumans against the Tartars, being the first Europeans to do so.

    I am also strong in favor for also Croatia including Bosnia and Transylvanian including Szeklers and Saxons as playable sleeper factions allied to the Hungarians. The ssme treatment for both Wallachia and Moldavia. I mean Hungary, the way it is is just a big blob in central Europe, ahistorical and without identity.

    Also the majority of the fans favour strong mixed melee and ranged cavalry focused factions and it would be a new taste, samething more unique, a different flavour to Europe, a mixed western and nomad fighting style and using the tactics of the steppe dwellers, including Parthian Shot.

    A unique blend of massive bow focused troops capable in both melee and ranged while also wielding polearms and spears against cavalry and strong mixed ranged and lancer cavalry also able to fire arrows and then charge the weakened enemy. Just imagine poison arrows being shot at the enemy and also being prepared to counter the cavalry charge with mixed archer-spearmen foot troops while luring enemy cavalry with light horsemen that dismount, fire their precise shot, kill the enemy horses of the heavy cavalry, mount and charge the dazzled knights. Later they used noble, retinue and paid knights clad in scale suits of armor of Venetian origin that also dismounted and used greataxes while in settlements or when ambushing the enemy in forrests, marshes, swamps, forrest forts or mountain passes together with other peasant infantry wielding greataxes, poleaxes and other polearms, medieval picks, halberds and greatmaces, unique to the Balkan people with a devastating charge and using charge-withdraw tactics similar to the shock troops used by the westerners. Archers were defended by a militia unit of peasants wieldind a crude polearm similar to the voulge halberd of the French. Swords were scarce, especially taken from the defeated Ottoman Janissary and used by nobles. They had alongside the Turkish curved sword the great spatha. Probably only the units under direct rule of the Spatharus, the Spatarei permanent elite court cavalry regiment, wielded them when dismounted and the officers alongside the king. The elite retinue of kingsguards who sometimes fought dismounted like it happened at Baia or Poenari. The army was comprised of permanent troops including chosen veterans and mercenaries and picked paid burghers, fast assembling chosen nobles and lesser nobles and by nobles assembled only during times of need.

    Army corps:

    Permanent retinue army of knights and lancer-archers: Kingsguards, Spatarei (elite under the direct command of the cavalry commander), Curteni (retinue soldiers), Targoveti (paid burghers and mercenaries), Moldavian Allied Guard of Dracula, Knights of the Order of the Dragon. Later Viteji Chosen Horsemen and Voinici Infantry. The Curteni fought as foot archers too and also made use of javelins, spears, medieval picks, greataxes, poleaxes and halberds.

    Fast assembling army of borderguards: Plaiesi, Strajeri, Graniceri, Razesi Crusaders fighting as both Razesi Crusader Cavalry and Razesi Crusader Archers for Moldavians only. Moldavians also used Mounted Plaiesi Borderguars and Scouts and Hansari similar to the Hussars to scout the surrounding of the citadels guarded by Strajeri Archers and later Strajeri Handgunners. Wallachians mostly used Plaiesi Borderguards armed with bows and polearms and later firearms especially to guard the mountain passes. Wallachians used crossbowmen as well. The plaiesi also made use of javelins and probably still used slings. They preffered axes and maces instead of swords, used mostly by nobles, paid burgher cavalry and retinue troops but most likely some had Turkish swords. The shield was of wood covered by leather, of Tartaric influence. They also guarded the merchants as bodyguards and assured them safe passage on both land and water crossings. They were also rangers and guarded bridges, inns, markets, river and Danube forts and ports.

    The Great Army: Boieri Nobles and their Squires and Mosneni Lesser Nobles but only for Wallachians. The nobles also brought peasants armed with javelins, axes, maces and polearms. Probably they used slings as well. All had bows and poison arrows. A particularity for the peasant infantry is their greatmace and their guerilla tactics, being lightly armed shock troops. Also it seems the Voivode had a versatile guard of Huntsmen using both ranged and melee tactics of about 100 men. Alongside the Moldavians offered by Stephen the Great to Dracula and probably to his predecessors as well, they were foot guards.




    My choice would be:

    1) Galicia with access at all Kievan troops playable without either Chernigov or Kiev as playable

    2) Mongols representing the Ilkanate playable

    3) Tartars replacing the Cumans as playable who only have access at tier 1 units and are not fit as playable. The Tartars established the Golden Horde, Crimean Khanate, Astrakhan Khanate and the Nogai Horde

    4) Only Lesser Poland playable

    5) Lombard League playable as it was a cvasi-independent entity

    6) Navarre left out

    7) Zagwe and Makuria turned into one faction, maybe adding Berbers instead

    8) Walles and Ireland left out. Scotland playable because of Braveheart and cool units I guess

    9) Cillician Armenia left out. Antioch instead. Or both in

    10) Volga Bulgaria left out because similar to the Cumans it would only have tier 1 units as it was smashed by the Tartars

    11) Wallachia playable

    12) Moldavia playable

    13) Croatia including Bosnia playable

    14) Transylvania including Szeklers and Saxons playable

    15) Zengids and Abbasids could also be left out

    16) Adding Suzdal in the territory of Ryazan-Murom and making it playable alongside Halych would be a option too as it was the "grandfather" of Moscow and "father" of Vladimir-Suzdal and Novgorod Princedom union

    17) Adding the Ottomans as a sleeper faction or even superior tiers to the Seljuks

    18) I don't know about Flanders and Brabant but Brabant lost it's importance after setting the Habsbourgs in Austria. Both Brabant and Flanders were merchant and diplomatic factions, sure from Flanders left crusaders in the Byzantine lands but we already have the Latin Empire there. Let's say Flanders faced the French but it kind of taken over parts of Brabant so Brabant could be left out

    19) Adding Hungarian Oligarchs as a faction similar to the English Earls/Barons
    Last edited by Visarion; October 05, 2016 at 01:01 AM.

  20. #80
    Visarion's Avatar Alexandros
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    Default Re: Wallachia and Moldavia Research (XIII-XV AD)

    By the way I have searched my family history and I am:

    37.5% Macedonian Greek
    37.5% Ukrainian
    12.5% Bulgarian
    12.5% Aromanian

    I can't be considered a nationalist and my research is not biased.

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