Medieval Total War: The Hungarians

[Ironhead]

The Setup
Early Period (Using XL Mod)
Hard difficulty
Normal Unit Size
Victory conditions:
· Total Victory: Conquer the entire map
· Lesser Victory: Conquer 60% of the map

Starting Map


The Hungarians

Around 200 years ago, the Magyars were one of many nomadic peoples who left the steppes and rode into eastern and central Europe. Settling into the Danube basin, they became greatly feared for their raiding, which reach as far as Bremen, Orleans and Constantinople. As the kingdoms of Europe – in particular the Holy Roman Empire, which had borne the brunt of their attacks – set aside quarrels and organized their defenses raiding gave way to diplomatic activity. The Magyars of Hungary became established as an ally of the Empire, guarding its flanks instead of preying upon them. The process was complete when Stephen I adopted Christianity and was recognized as King of Hungary by the Pope and Emperor in 1000. He was even proclaimed a saint after his death in 1038!

After Stephen’s death Hungary fell into a period of turmoil as rival claimants to the throne intrigued and fought for control, a time which may have lasted until the present day. After a promising beginning, Hungary is weak, and needs a strong leader who can reunite the nation and guide its fortunes into the future.

King László I – 1087 A.D.

Strengths:
· Hungary is well developed for a nation in 1087, and should be able to produce higher quality troops than some of the surrounding nations
· The initial 3 provinces under my control (Hungary, Croatia, Carpathia) are rich in gold, silver and iron resources. The first two resources should help keep my economy stable as I look to expand the nation. The latter resource, iron, should prove key in aiding the quality of weapons I can equip my troops with as the years progress.
· Our King’s strong connection to the Papacy will hopefully result in, how shall we say, favorable financial considerations from the Pope.

Weaknesses:
· Of my three provinces Hungary is the only one that is capable of producing “field ready” troops. The only troops that can be trained in Croatia and Carpathia are cannon fodder.
· My king will have no heirs of serving age for 3 or 4 more years, and my nation has no other general with any command ability in the field.
· Any expansion does not improve the security of my borders. Any province that I take will just give one more province that I have to defend.

Opportunities:
· To the east of Carpathia is Moldavia, currently controlled by the Cumans. If I could take Moldavia I would hold a straight line of control over the top of the Balkan peninsula.

Threats:
· The Byzantines are right near my doorstep and are a major power. Any expansion south will require me to deal with their superior generals, units and numbers.
· The Holy Roman Empire also sits on the doorstep of Hungary. An early alliance would prove useful as we attempt to move south into the Balkans.

[Ironhead]

1087 AD:
Emissary Míklós Georgíus is dispatched to Austria to propose an alliance with Emperor Conrad II of the Holy Roman Empire. In a further attempt to bolster support on our northern front Princess Iolande is sent to propose an alliance with the Polish. My provinces gear up for conflict against the Cumans in Moldavia. I do not yet know what troops I will be facing, but hope to get an accurate report within the year.

1088 AD:
The year starts off on an ominous note, as I receive a warning from one of my advisors that brings into question the loyalty of my generals.


My emissary also reports that the Holy Roman Empire has rejected my request for an alliance. I have a feeling I can get them to cave in if I am persistent enough. I sent my emmisary back to Austria to try again. Princess Iolande reports that our request for alliance with Poland has been rejected, but that they would consider the idea again very soon.

On a positive note, the Pope has sent 1000 florins for our good standing as a pious Catholic nation.


An emissary also arrives from Genoa to propose an alliance between our nations. I accept, as I cannot turn down another good standing Catholic ruler.

I take “measures” to ensure that the generals of my army are indeed loyal. I receive word regarding the troop strength of Moldavia: 300 men, 2 units of spears and one unit of peasant like light infantry. I anticipate that number to increase by 100 in the next year, and we will be facing an army 400 soldiers strong. I rotate two units of Horse Archers to Carpathia where they will join with 3 other units. We will be ready to launch our attack into Moldavia in late 1089.

1089 AD:
The Polish have accepted our offer of alliance, but we have been unable to gain an audience with the Holy Roman Empire. My emissary is undeterred, and will try again. We send Princess Iolande to negotiate an alliance with the Bohemians, which would further solidify our northern front.

Our troops ready and with God surely on our side, at the close of the year we launch an attack into Moldavia. Our troops will be outnumbered, but I feel we have the tactical advantage.



1090 AD:
Recognizing our superior ability to outmaneuver their troops the Cumans decide to retreat to their fort. Cavalry will prove useless in an assault on their fort, so the troops take up position and being to lay seige. Estimates are that the troops garrisoned in the fort can only last for one year. I rotate a unit of spearmen to Moldavia to reinforce my troops their in case the Cumans decide to launch a counter attack.

The King of England has sent an emissary offering an alliance. We decide to accept, again not wishing to turn down any fellow Catholic ruler. The French also send an offer of alliance, which we accept as well. Good news comes from Bohemia, where Princess Iolande has once again convinced someone on our northern front to ally with us. I have received no word from my emissary regarding the status of the HRE, and decide to this time send a woman to do his job. I send Iolande west to seek an alliance and possible marriage with the royal family of the HRE.

To the south I have no concerns regarding the Byzantines moving against me yet. Serbia, however, looks to be building an invasion army led by their King that I could have trouble with.

I turn my attention to the Cuman nation of Wallachia, just south of Carpathia. They are now cutoff from all outside contact with the rest of the Cuman provinces, and they appear to have questionable loyalty. I implore my emissary to do something useful for a change, and send him on his way to bribe half of the Wallachia army to join our side. I expect him to reach the army at the end of 1091.

1091 AD:
The Pope has sent another 1000 florins into our treasury. Sicily has requested an alliance between our peoples and I accept. I receive word that the seige in Moldavia is almost over.



My King’s first son, Prince Laszlo, has come of age. He looks to be of a good stock and will be a fine warrior in battle. I send him east where I will look for him to press our attack against the Cumans.



My emissary has advised that it will take 3564 florins, almost half of our treasury, to bribe half the army in Wallachia. I do not want to divert manpower to win control of this province. I authorize my emissary to proceed.

Empire at end of 1091

[TonyR]

I never bought this game, but was curious as to how it plays out, so I'll be following your dynasty. Good start btw.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Ironhead

I expect him to reach the army at the end of 1901.

Wow, a little over 800 years, eh?

Nice start, btw. M:TW used to be my fave PC game until Crusader Kings

[Ironhead]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Wow, a little over 800 years, eh?

Maybe he was the grail knight from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade!



1092 AD:

1092 was a good year for Hungary. The siege in Moldavia ended, and our plan to capture Wallachia was going as planned. The Swedish offered one of their princesses hands in marriage to the young Prince Laszlo, which we gladly accepted. Still no luck getting an audience with the Holy Roman Empire, but we are undaunted in our attempts.

I divert two units of Feudal Men at Arms to sweep through Wallachia to make the battle there less troublesome. They should still be able to Moldavia to join our eastern front in good time.

I am becoming a little concerned about the troop buildup that is occuring in Lesser Poland. Hungary is not as well defended as I would like it to be at the moment. I decide to rely on my alliance with the Polish and do not move any more troops into Hungary.

1093 AD:


We outnumber the enemy 2 to 1. No cavalry or ranged units should make this battle a breeze.

Looks like this will be an uphill march, and I will likely take a charge as I am coming up. I set my formation with my spears up front, swords flanking each side so they can wrap around the enemy as the spearmen engage each other. The Slav Warriors are kind of like shirtless peasants, but they do have a decent charge attack. I place them at the back of the formation and will have them charge the enemy in the back while they are engaged.



Things go pretty much as I expected them to, the difference being that the enemy charged my left flank earlier than I expected and caught one of my spear units out of formation. The swordsmen did their job on the flanks, and the charge from the Slav Warriors in the picture below broke the opponents morale and sent them fleeing the field. Only two Cumans escaped with their lives.



HUZZAH! Our glorious empire has won it's first battle, and our general has been rewarded for his strategical thinking in the field.



Elsewhere, the Pope has sent another 1000 florins - he is like our second hand ecomony at this point. The Venetians offer to ally their interests with ours, and we accept.

The two men that escaped the battle of Wallachia have walled themselves up in the fort. With only the two of them they should have enough provisions to last several years. I will need to send a group of men in to swat these flies off of our land.

Word has come that Princess Iolande has been granted an audience with the Holy Roman Empire. I eagerly await their response to our proposal for alliance. The recently married Prince Laszlo has reached our new eastern front in Moldavia and has taken command of the 468 men there. He will prepare the army to push further east into Levidia.

1094 AD:
Our unit of Slav Warriors proudly assaulted the fort in Wallachia and finished off the remaining 2 men that escaped battle. The province is now fully ours.

With our ecomony doing well, thanks in large part to the Pope, construction beings on a true castle in Hungary. It will cost 2000 florins and take 12 years to complete.

The Serbians to the south are a concern. They only control one province, and will surely look to expand their realm soon. Their army is led by their King and his son, both fierce warriors in battle. To try and discourage any potential attack on Hungary I move my king to take command of the forces there. This leaves the men in Croatia under a green general, but if it ever came to it would rather lose Croatia than Hungary.

We current have 10 alliances, all with other Catholic rulers.

[path12]

Forgive the stupid question -- is this Medieval 1 or 2? I've been thinking about picking up the new one, but this one looks really cool.

[cubboyroy1826]

Very cool stuff. I have the first game and the expansion but honestly have never played it. Got it from my brother in law and my son snatched it to play himself. How good is the original game versus this one?

[Coffee Warlord]

That's Medieval 1 there (plus expansion). 2 has a lot of things that I dislike/fear, no reviews have put to rest said fears, and never picked it up because of it.

[path12]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

That's Medieval 1 there (plus expansion). 2 has a lot of things that I dislike/fear, no reviews have put to rest said fears, and never picked it up because of it.

Well that would certainly be cheaper! I understand that 2 is still waiting for a patch. I only had Shogun in the TW games.

[Izulde]

The Dark Ages campaign in the Viking Invasion expansion is a lot of fun, too.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by path12

Well that would certainly be cheaper! I understand that 2 is still waiting for a patch. I only had Shogun in the TW games.

I played MTW1 more than any human being...prolly should. Hell, I still fire it up occaisonally (though it may be the fact there's just nothing out right now that I am all that hooked on)

[Ironhead]

1095 AD:
Prince Bela has matured and I now have two potential heirs to the throne. Prince Bela looks like he will be a stone cold killer in battle.



I have received word from Princess Iolande that the Holy Roman Emperor has rejected our offer of alliance. After 8 years of pursing an alliance with the HRE I have decided to give up any further attempts at alliance with them.

Scanning the surrounding provinces there does not appear to be any increase in troop levels. I keep the empire at status quo.

1096 AD:
Another 1,000 florins have arrived from the Pope. On the diplomacy side of things I have received offers for alliance from the Norwegians, Aragonese and the big bad Byzantines. The first two I accept upon general principal of them being Catholic. After much thought I decide to accept the offer for alliance from the Byzantines, making them the first Orthodox Christian nation I have allied myself with. The Byzantines are currently allied with the Serbians, and my hope is that by allying myself with the Byzantines perhaps the Serbians will think twice about attacking Hungary. The last thing the Serbians want is to have two larger empires angry and ready to go to war with them.

Out on my eastern front I send scouts to ascertain what kind of landscape we might face in a potential battle in Levidia. Word is that the terrain is very flat, which I feel give an army full of cavalry the advantage. I send my emissary to spy on the Cuman army - I need to find out if I can expect them to send any reinforcements from the surrounding provinces.

1097 AD:
The Almoravids, a Muslim faction, have sent an offer of alliance which I decline. Just one year after we have aligned with the Byzantines they have gone to war with the Papacy. I choose to stick by my original alliance with the Pope, but without a navy I cannot send any troops to aid Rome.

Prince Bela has joined his brother in Moldavia, and together they will lead an attack on Levidia at the end of next year.


1098 AD:
The Pope has called for a crusade against the English, but we are not prerpaed to crusade at this time.

On the diplomatic front I have received offers for alliance from the Volga Bulgarians, the Seljuks and the Danes. I accept the Danes offer and reject the other two. At this time we are allied with almost every other Catholic faction.

With a force of around 700 men Prince Laszlo launches an attack against Levidia.

1099 AD:
One again the Cumans have decided they are no match for the might of our military and have retreated.



Levidia already has a strong infrastructure and will be a great anchor to our eastern front. At this time I don't think I have much to gain, aside from enemies, by pressing my attack into the surrounding provinces.

Well, well, well...look who has come to my doorstep. The Holy Roman Empire has proposed marriage between their princess and Prince Bela. We courted the HRE long and hard and they shut the door in our face. Now that they have been excommunicated by the Papacy they want to get in our good graces. We decline their offer and fart in their general direction.

Looking to our southern border I once again become nervous looking at Serbia. I feel it is only a matter of time before they try to expand their borders.

1100 AD:
Very quiet year for the Hungarian faction. I continue building the infrastructure throughout my provinces and increasing troop levels for defense.

1101 AD:
Princess Iolande is now 29 years old, and will soon be of an age where she will no longer be acceptable to marry. I offer her hand in marriage to our neighbor, the Venetians. And while I am at it I also look to rid myself of my other princess by marrying her off to the Bohemians.

Our economy seems to be slowing down, that or the lack of Papal gifts lately are starting to become more apparent. For now I shift the focus of my provinces away from military matters and ask them to focus on farming and mining.

1102 AD:
Another quiet year focused on improving our economy. I have stopped troop buildup in all but Hungary, which I am all too keen to have as protected as possible.

1103 AD:
The Irish have sent an offer of alliance. They are currently have a ragtag bunch of Muslim and Orthodox Christian nations that they are allies with. I decline their offer at this point in time.

The governor of Wallachia has gained the vice of "Unhinged Loon". Apparently he is convinced that he has been impregnated by an elephant, and people view him with much pity. I decide that perhaps he wasn't cut out for government work and replace him.

Both of my proposals for marriage have been declined. Rather irritated, I now send Princess Iolande to marry into the rich families of the Genoese.

My king has turned 55 years of age, and I need to be mindful of who his successor will be. Prince Laszlo is currently the next in line for the throne.

I am very pleased with the current state of affairs in my empire.

1105 AD:
In a surprise attack the Cumans attempt to retake Levidia!



This is a very unwise move on their behalf as this will be a bridge battle. Not only do they need enough troops to gain control of the bridge, but they also need enough to keep it once they get to the other side. I welcome the slaughter that is about to occur.

There are two bridges in the area. I decide to plug the first up with my Armoured Spearmen, who should be rather successful in dealing with most anything the enemy can send across the bridge. They should also take fewer casualties from enemy archers. I line all of my horse archers up across the bank of the river so they can pepper the enemy as they attempt to cross. I also deploy a second unit of spearmen and a unit of cavalry to guard the second bridge.

The Battle Begins

Exactly as I planned my spearmen hold strong to their position as the enemy sends units to break my position and cross the bridge, all the while taking heavy losses from my archers. I take losses on my side of the river from their archers, but nothing to the extent of the carnage on the bridge.

About halfway through the battle I notice that the Cumans have neglected the second bridge and left their archers open for attack. I send Prince Bela across the second bridge to attack their flank. Before he can reach their position the enemy realized their mistake, and in a panic most of their archers pull completely out of battle. The few units that remain are lanced and flattened by my charging Prince.

The only troops remaining in the fight are left on the bridge, and their rear flank is completely exposed to attack. I halt all arrow fire on the bridge and send Prince Bela to attack.



Surrounded on both sides the slaughter is quick. The enemy general falls dead on the bridge and we are victorious, but not before I unexpectedly lose a number of my knights.

The Final Carnage

1106 AD:
Prince Kalman matures, and I can now be certain that my royal line is very safe. Like his two brothers before him he should be a fine warrior.

[JeffNights]

Very Good

[path12]

After reading this dynasty I saw the original Medieval gold with the Viking expansion and picked it up. Getting ready to install now. Thanks!

[Ironhead]

1107-1202 AD:

Isolation. That sums this period of time up perfectly. In the early 1100's the Hungarian economy went to hell in a handbasket and production of virtually everything stopped. The death of the King in 1115 AD, combined with the non-existent economy put the empire into a deep sleep for almost 30 years. The empire would awaken in 1141 AD when one of Hungary's best generals rallied troops from across the entire stretch of the empire and led an attack of Serbia. The Serbians, their forces stretched thin in a war against the Papacy and in the middle of a succession change, could not defend their homeland and abandoned it without a fight.

The influx of florins from Serbia kick started the Hungarian economy. The backbone of the economy was strengthened followed by the infrastructure of the nation...for 60 years. For 60 years the Hungarian empire neither gained nor lost lands. No battles were fought with neighboring factions. No alliances were made though many were lost. The royal line, sitting high on the Hungarian throne, slowly forgot the art of war and became lazy. The knowledge of war was lost among generals, and the few that were held in high esteem were burned alive as atheists by Inquisitors from Castille-Leone. The King did nothing to prevent these acts, and as a result saw his influence wane. Serious threats to Hungarian lands exist on all borders, especially to the south where the armies of the Fatimids rolled over the strong Byzantine empire.

Welcome to 1203 AD.