Love & War in Lithuania -- Let's Play Crusader Kings 2

Salix Babylonika

WHOA what's this? Mo' starting a new series?

Yes. Yes I am.

What we're going to be doing here is pretty simple. Starting at the earliest possible start date in Crusader Kings 2 ("The Old Gods", on January 1st, 867 AD, at the onset of the Sons of Ragnarr's invasion of Britain) we're going to try to forge a Lithuanian nation whole-cloth while facing threats from the Christian kingdoms to the west, and the more powerful Slavic pagan states that predicated modern Russia to the east. Why Lithuania? Simple, I don't know much about it and therefore, my knowledge of actual history can't consciously or unconsciously shape my gameplay (I will possibly do research as the game goes on if it is warranted). Also, Lithuanians tend to have pretty cool names.

So, we're left with a choice of a couple characters and respective small nations we could play as. I think the obvious one (Palemon of the Duchy of Lithuania) is the one we'll be sticking with.



I'll be referring to Palemon and his descendants as Dukes, even though the game calls them "high chiefs" for some reason (Paradox is not the most PC company in the world, let that never be said), for the record.

So off we go. The first installment will be forthcoming soon. I may save scum in the early game if necessary, but I'll try to avoid it once we get our momentum going.

Salix Babylonika

So before we "start start", let's take a quick look at our surrounding neighbors. We're doing this for two reasons: 1, we need someone to attack first. We're of a similar size or smaller to everyone around us, and we need some more land (and subsequently, manpower) if we're going to do any real expansion and 2, because it's interesting.

So, as immediate neighbors we have our brother-in-law Velnias, who rules over the state of Zemaitija.



the Yatviag peoples, ruled over by Pergrubrius.



the Lendians, under Lechoslaw



and the Kryvians, under Iziaslav Kryvich.



There are other neighbors of ours as well, but this is a pretty comprehensive look at nearby threats and opportunities. There's also the christian kingdom of Great Moravia to the west, and the viking Rurik's state of Holmgarther to the east, which we will likely have to deal with down the road.

For now though? We're going to target the Yatviags.

They're allies of ours, so they'll take a prestige hit, but they also don't have any other allies at all, and unlike everyone else around us, they're neither our size nor larger than we are, making them the ideal target.

Now we have to wait a little while to do this, unfortunately. Since attacking an ally will cost us some prestige (50 points of it, precisely) and we don't have quite enough. But that's fine, it gives us some time to plan our attack and possibly defuse any potential time bombs elsewhere in our immediate vicinity.

Salix Babylonika

Actually on second thought it appears we might have an even better target.



The Dregovichi to our southeast are a two-county state with no callable allies, and they're not allies of ours either, making them an even better potential target.

So I think we know what we're doing.

Salix Babylonika

Our conquest of the Dregovichi has been a success. But the cost has been twofold. We suffered a defeat early in the war that's left our army thin, and we've also dipped our toes into potentially dangerous waters by taking what is traditionally Ruthenian territory, as such, we open ourselves to attacks from the Kryvians.



Nonetheless, the counties are ours now, and an interesting opportunity has presented itself to the west.

The single county of Czersk has rebelled against the Polish duchy of Mazovia, and I think it may be prudent for us to snap up the small bit of land while it's untied from its masters.

The war is long, but successful. Czersk is now in Lithuanian hands, and governance is given to a personal friend of Duke Palemon's.

To the south, a rival state is forming. Lechoslaw, Ruler of the Lendians, has founded the Duchy of Kiev after defeating the viking ruler Dyre the Stranger, and taking his kingdom of Konungarther. Fearing a confrontation, I've had Palemon secure an alliance with the Curonian peoples to the north. Hopefully they will provide the strength we need should Kiev attempt to expand northward.

Salix Babylonika

While gearing up for war with the Lettigellians, we hit an unexpected snag.

The king of Great Moravia has declared war on us, over Czersk. However, this may be a blessing in disguise.

In order to end the war, we can convert to Catholicism. This will give us a much wider range of potential allies than we now have, and could potentially save us down the road.

We convert, and Palemon is baptized not long after. Soon, his second son is married to the daughter of the Tsar of Bulgaria, cementing a powerful alliance, and hopefully a solid deterrent to anyone who'd attempt to strike at Great Lithuania.

Salix Babylonika

Tsar Boris proved a powerful asset from the start. The Count of
Podlaise raised the flag of rebellion against his now Christian ruler, and without the help of the King of The Bulgars, the situation could well have escalated beyond Palemon's control.

A few months into the civil war (and the still-ongoing subjugation of the Lettigallians, now recontextualized as a holy war), six thousand Bulgarians arrived to help the Lithuanians. For a nation whose entire army consisted of scarcely 500 men, this was a coup.

Further political marriages followed, most to relatives of the Bulgarian king (including one between Palemon's granddaughter and the Tsar's son), but also one to Karlmann Karling, the great King of West & East Francia.

After the defeat of the Romuvan rebels, the Lettigallians were successfully defeated as well, expanding Lithuania significantly, and making it the undisputed lead power in the region. Palemon petitioned Pope Paul II to grant him a title sanctioned by the church, and in response, he was officially crowned Duke of All Lithuania, legitimizing the title he had claimed for so long.


(Lithuania under Grand Duke Palemon I)

However, the Duke was old, and afflicted by Great Pox (what we now know as syphilis). It seemed unlikely he would live for much longer.

Salix Babylonika

Europe: 1st of January, 877

Salix Babylonika

In the waning years of Palemon's reign, a crisis arose.

The viking lord Hrane of Vestergautland (a small, coastal nation in what we know as Sweden) declared his intent to invade Lithuania and claim its lands as his own. These invasions were a fairly common practice at the time, and a reputable leader who started one could often count on thousands of viking raiders to come to his side, in the hopes of gaining loot and land from the unlucky nation that happened to be the target.

Palemon called in all of his allies--even his pagan brethren who ruled over other Lithuanian states--and prepared for bitter war.

Again, it was Boris (now known as "The Accursed", due to his deep unpopularity in his homeland) and his Bulgarian soldiers who saved the day. The Lithuanians--united--could pull together roughly 1,800 troops. The vikings had almost twice that. The Bulgars led the charge in the initial battle, and broke the Viking ranks. The rest of the war was a long route as the Lithuanians chased the viking raiders around their own lands and up into Livonia, where they were sometimes aided by the locals.

Ultimately, King Hrane was humiliated, forced to pay tribute to both Palemon and Tsar Boris, and had several of his best generals kept as prisoners by the Lithuanians.

Salix Babylonika

Lithuanian expansion continued at a slow but measurable pace as Palemon's reign neared its close. His final years were dominated by securing marriages (and thus alliances) with rulers as diverse as the Emperor of Byzantium and the King of East Francia.

Palemon's last military campaign was the subjugation of the Duchy of Livonia to the north, and it was during this war that the pox that had plagued Palemon for over a decade finally took his life, and his son Kunos inherited the throne.

Kunos was celibate--having taken the vow after the death of his wife--and had only a single daughter to his name. As such, his rule was met with some challenge from those who objected to the idea of a celibate ruling their land. In response, Kunos named his brother Borkus his heir, and married his daughter to the King of Great Moravia, Petr.

This proved to be a shrewd move, as the various allies who had respected Palemon's military prowess and thus come to his beck and call, did not necessarily respect Kunos' diplomatic acumen--nor his cowardness--nearly as much, and were more hesitant to assist him than his father.

After finishing his father's conquest of Livonia, Kunos' affairs turned inward as he dealt with numerous rebellious vassals through covert action or diplomacy, and struggled to put down a peasant revolt in the Yatviagi lands his father had conquered.

Kunos' first attempt to conquer land in his own name came with a declaration of war upon neighboring Zemaitija, the same that had once been his father's ally. In the midst of this war came another viking raid on the Lithuania, halting the conquest as Kunos' forces were made to meet the vikings (this time under a warlord named Oddr) on the Livonian coastline.

This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Oddr was captured in battle and imprisoned, only being set free at the cost of his own surrender and the entirety of his personal coffers. Kunos walked away from the failed viking invasion a much richer man, and one with both the means and impetus to hire mercenaries. Zemaitija fell quickly, and was forced to surrender the county of Trakai to Kunos.


^{Lithuania under Kunos. Also pictured: Narvait the Scholar's state of Zemaiteje}

Justice4243

I need to play more non-Muslim campaigns.

There's far less murdering all your male family members. 

Bunny

Awwww, but that's the fun part of being a Muslim!

Salix Babylonika

The remainder of Zemaitija had been snapped up by the leader of the Curonians, Narvait the Scholar, who proceeded to reorganize his lands into a proper state. The Duchy of Zemaiteje.

Knowing that a confrontation between his own Duchy and Narvait's was inevitable (aside from religious differences, Narvait's father was one of Kunos' vassals), Kunos readied his nation for war yet again.

Declaring a crusade for Courland (the northern half of Zemaiteje), Kunos ordered his vassal armies to the field. Narvait, meanwhile, was joined by almost all of the Romuvan rulers in the area, who knew well what a Lithuanian victory would mean for their independence. In support, Pope Paul had dispatched a Papal emissary with funds and promise of a tantalizing reward.

If Kunos could take Courland and the rest of pagan Lithuania from the heathens, he would be granted a King's crown.

Narvait was killed in an early battle, leaving his infant son Narvait II as Duke of Zemaiteje, and real power in the hands of his chancellor Dovyat, without Narvait to lead it, the coalition of various pagan states that had formed in his defense fell apart. Estonia simply withdrew from the war, and while the Pruthenians continued to offer occaisonal support, they were too tied up in their wars with the Finns to do much.

The war was long, but eventually won, and Kunos gained Courland.

Salix Babylonika

By the time the war over Courland had concluded, Pope Paul had died, but his successor Urban II honored his predecessor's promise, and granted Kunos the title "King of Lithuania". Formally admitting the baltic nation to the height of medieval prestige.


^{The Kingdom of Lithuania on the date of its founding.}