The Fall of Byzantium: A Europe RP (IC, Open)

[Muldinith]

"To Francesci Foscarini, it shall be done. You have my word."

"To Frederick II,Kaiser
Very well,but be aware that I take your word.
And to secure the agreement I propose doing an more "official" version,which shall include it in all its extent and signatures of both nations.
The fleet will be organised and should arrive in dalmatia soon.
I already have instructed one of my major admirals.
Good Luck,
Francesco Foscarini

"Thank you. Surely God's Grace shines on you today Venice."

[The Jonathanian States]

"To Frederick II,Kaiser
Very well,but be aware that I take your word.
And to secure the agreement I propose doing an more "official" version,which shall include it in all its extent and signatures of both nations.
The fleet will be organised and should arrive in dalmatia soon.
I already have instructed one of my major admirals.
Good Luck,
Francesco Foscarini

"Thank you. Surely God's Grace shines on you today Venice."

Doge rp:
As he recieves the emperors letter he laughed.
Gods ambassador surely doesnt shine on venice currently.
But that'll change.
Either when he understands that Venice is the only one preventing foreigners from rolling over the peninsula.
Or when he sees the Venetians dominate the land from the alpine mountains to the Po valley.
Whatever came first.

[Alleniana]

To Trebizond,
Greetings. We would like you to become a vassal of the Ottoman Empire. You are close to us and a worthy nation. As you know, freedom of religion is practised as well as vertical equality, so anyone in your nation could become Grand Vizier by working hard enough. By our devsirme program, we will not force any of your people to join our army. We seek only a friendly relationship in which we both benefit by trade.
From the Ottoman Empire

To protect Constantinople, workmen are sent to begin to create a sea boom that will block off the Sea of Marmara. They will drag it out from Cannakale to block off the 750m or so that need it. The manufacture for the boom is still ongoing. Meanwhile, the navy continues to be built. The plan is to keep building until there are 500 galleys and 250 cogs. After that, the building will be slowed down. They are being built at Constantinople and the surrounds, e.g. Black Sea, Marmara, etc.

[Landenburg]

PARIS, FRANCE

Due to the Seljuk's taking over Constantinople, home to the Byzantium, defenders of Europe, France is declaring war against the Ottoman Empire. Thus, France joins the Coalition.

FRENCH ARMY, HEADING FOR VIENNA

The Parisian army, headed by Marquis de Montierre, is marching from Paris, to Vienna. Once there, the French army will be under the command of Austria unless France recalls the troops to defend mainland France.

[The Jonathanian States]

Military
Venices navy and marines all (excluding 400 ships) have spread themselves over the larger ports of Dalmatia,where they will wait for further commands.

[Alleniana]

The 25,000 men in Serbia are told to keep vigilant. They begin building strongpoints around the area to make it easier to defend. Meanwhile, the Serbs are told how life under the Ottomans will be with no forced conscription, religious freedom, regular taxes and protection.

To Genoa,
So, are you willing to aid us in our war against the Habsburgs? We will provide repatriations, land and other bonuses if you join us, including Black Sea coast and land from the Habsburgs and their allies near you.
From the Ottoman Empire

[Liberated Counties]

To: Ottomans
From: Genoa

Venice and I will discuss this within the council of the trade confederation. We will send a messenger with the results of the discussion.

[Muldinith]

PARIS, FRANCE

Due to the Seljuk's taking over Constantinople, home to the Byzantium, defenders of Europe, France is declaring war against the Ottoman Empire. Thus, France joins the Coalition.

FRENCH ARMY, HEADING FOR VIENNA

The Parisian army, headed by Marquis de Montierre, is marching from Paris, to Vienna. Once there, the French army will be under the command of Austria unless France recalls the troops to defend mainland France.

The Emperor sent a letter to the Virtuous French King.

"Your Majesty of France, we salute your Army and France altogether. Thank you for joining this coalition, and we will make sure that you are rewarded. May I inquire about the composition of the army?"


The Venetian Navy and it's marines were now under the command of the Holy League, under Frederick V.
"You will move along the Adriatic and Aegean Seas, and you will move the majority of your navy to the Sea of Marmara to completely blockade Constantinople.Also Blockade the Black Sea to insure Ottoman Trade does not escape. I leave it up to the captains to decide the compositions and the raiding. All spoils shall go to Venice and its allies."
Emperor Frederick

The army in Wallachia was ordered to get into battle line. The line was extended over miles of the Wallachian landscape. The hilly terrain proved good for their army, and they position most of the infantry around these rolling hills. The pikemen regiments were organized between the men at arms regiments. Every fourth pikeman carried an arquebus instead of a heavy pike. Despite this the bulk of the Archers were directly behind the infantry, behind some of the hills. The infantry that were not on slopes or hills, moved back into the reserve, about a half a mile back. They could not be seen from an opposing position. On both flanks, the heavy cavalry was positioned, but were also a mile out. They spotted the Ottomans but did not make a move. The Polish army was positioned directly on their hard left flank, and were given similar orders and compositions.

[Landenburg]

To: Genoa
From: France

We hope to sway you to join the Coalition. Surely you will assist the defenders of Catholicism, against the assaulting heathens? We would award you with land, should you decide to assist us.

[Alleniana]

At Cannakale, many siege weapons, crossbows, cannons and other longer-range deployments were to be built. They would be used for the defense of the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea beyond it, to control the Turkish Straits. The treasury levels were now quite low, so the taxes were raised a little all over the empire, more so on those less likely to notice (e.g. loyal ones, rich people, etc.). They were also to be put behind defenses and fortifications and a local group raised to man it. It was quite a project, but the full weight of the Ottoman Empire was behind it. After this, plans would be made for the same to be done at the other end of the Sea of Marmara as backup.

[Elerian]

Commander Adrian ordered his men to set up position a bit back from the Austrians to the right. Positioning his Heavy cavalry in front then behind them light infantry. His archers were placed a hundred meters behind the main force then on the left and right flanks the light cavalry were placed to hit the enemies flanks and kill of any survivors. Adrian smiled as he pictured the carnage that would ensue soon.

[Alleniana]

The army facing the Austrians was now reasonably close. It was positioned as follows:

Heavy infantry at the front, mixed in with hand cannoneers
Light infantry behind them
Archers behind the light infantry
Heavy cavalry to the sides
Light cavalry to the sides of the heavy cavalry
Non-combatants and siege weapon operators at the very back, commanding and preparing to heal wounded soldiers soon

Also, a very good singer was brought into the army and stayed with the general. Along with him, an odd looking metal cannister that was designed to be pointed up for shooting was brought in, but it didn't appear to have any ammunition, nor any aim. It was a flare maker, something recently invented by a man from Istanbul. It used a lot of resources and gunpowder, but it worked well and shot bright flares into the sky.

[Muldinith]

Emperor Frederick, almost two months into his war against the Ottomans, proclaimed the Holy League of Wallachia, in the city of Targoviste. His many allies proved useful and he was delighted to see that so many flocked to his cause.

The French Army under Marquis de Montierre would take around 15 or more days on the march from Paris to Vienna (calculated distances with Google Earth).


Meanwhile, the Ottomans had not marched further on to the Austrian lines. Artillery had been brought from the reserves in Targoviste. There were 16 Bombards positioned to the left flank away from infantry, but pointed at the Ottomans. 24 Trebuchets and Onagers stayed in the center, with enough room to fire. They were loaded and fired heavy stones onto the Ottoman lines.

The drummers and musicians in the Austrian lines began to play a fine tune to the loading and firing of the artillery. The men's moral undoubtedly went up. All around they shouted curses and prayers at the Ottomans. Emperor Frederick sat atop his horse, one mile out, on a high hill. He was getting older and prefered to stay out of the immediate battle. Guaridng him was a battalion of Heavy Hussars.

[Thanatttynia]

September, 1453
Temporary Royal Court, Coventry

There were whispered rumours to be heard all over the town. From the Halls of the Nobles of the Royal Court, to the alleyways inhabited by the servants of those Nobles, it was said that the King had entered into another bout of madness, although this was of a different sort. The heavily pregnant Margaret, his Queen, was continually weeping uncontrollably without any obvious cause, and the Dukes of York, of Suffolk and of Somerset, the Court Favourites, were unusually quiet. The King himself had not been seen for many days, and it was mentioned that even Margaret has not been with him for at least a few nights, as she couldn't bear to look upon him whilst he is unwell. Even to the untrained eye, it was clear, supposedly, that there were some hurried arrangements taking place within the Court, although what they were arranging was not public knowledge.

This air of uneasiness lingered around the town for weeks, whilst, around a hundred and fifty miles to the north, close to the town of Lancaster, the richest merchant families in the country engaged in open conflict. The heads of these families waited nervously and impatiently for the King to come back to his senses and deliver a judgement on the fighting, although this would never happen. On the morning of the 27th September, in the Year of Our Lord Fourteen-Hundred-Fifty-Three, His Majesty Henry the Fourth, King of England and Lord of Ireland was pronounced dead by the Archbishop of Canterbury, after his death rites had been carried out. The Royal State Funeral was held on the Second of October, to the backdrop of crippling civil unrest around it.

[Alleniana]

Facing the Austrians, the cannons had not been deployed. Rather annoyed at the fact, the general of the army ordered the cannons to be put in a semicircle facing the Austrians behind the army lines, facing upwards. They would be used to bombard the enemy if they got close enough. Meanwhile, the fortification of the strait near Cannakale continued with quite a lot of funds. In North Africa, the occupation force had been organized and the ships prepared to sail the troops back with a guard of many of the Ottoman navy's ships. THe new ships being built in the Sea of Marmara would be used soon, but they weren't ready yet, so the old Ottoman navy would have to do. They would sail them along the eastern Mediterranean coast, passing Egypt and the Levant before stopping at Anatolia.
OOC: Can you post your troop deployment Muldinith?

[Thanatttynia]

KINGDOM OF ENGLAND

Economics

The strain of an 116-year long war has taken its toll on the Kingdom of England, as it would any nation. The extremely bad governance of the nation is also partly to blame - it has not attempted to revive the failing economy, and as a result many merchants and traders are angry with the King. Despite all of this, Britain's traders are still famed for their cheap, good quality goods, and are noted as some of the most reliable to lend money with. The English still maintain a valuable presence in every market town of the known world, and the Kingdom's monetary problems are largely ignored by foreign investors and governments.

Military

The Military of the Kingdom is perhaps even more depleted than the Economy. Only one-thousand completely trained soldiers are still part of the Standing Army loyal to the King. However there are many more men in England than just this group, even if they're not as plentiful as before. England, as ever in history, seems to have an abundance of excellent military strategists and brilliant generals, and no short supply of vain, extremely rich and extremely powerful nobles to fund wars.

Religion

Almost the entire population of the nation practices Roman Catholicism, albeit with some more ancient, rather paganistic superstitions, beliefs, practises and the like. England has quite a few thriving Jewish communities, particularly in York, East Anglia and Norfolk, where they have been nearly completely integrated into the local community, although there are still some prejusdices about them, as ever. There is an even smaller population of Hebridean Catholics, mainly from Ireland and the extreme northwest of the country.

Society

Prejudice and public anger is mainly directed towards France at the moment, although there are growing divides within the country that threaten to engulf the country in civil war, perhaps. The two main factions seem to be the York and Lancaster Families - the former being principally active in Yorkshire, the West Midlands and the West Country, and the latter being prominent in the South-East, East Anglia and North-West of England (Including Lancashire).

[Muldinith]

Facing the Austrians, the cannons had not been deployed. Rather annoyed at the fact, the general of the army ordered the cannons to be put in a semicircle facing the Austrians behind the army lines, facing upwards. They would be used to bombard the enemy if they got close enough. Meanwhile, the fortification of the strait near Cannakale continued with quite a lot of funds. In North Africa, the occupation force had been organized and the ships prepared to sail the troops back with a guard of many of the Ottoman navy's ships. THe new ships being built in the Sea of Marmara would be used soon, but they weren't ready yet, so the old Ottoman navy would have to do. They would sail them along the eastern Mediterranean coast, passing Egypt and the Levant before stopping at Anatolia.
OOC: Can you post your troop deployment Muldinith?

OOC: I fired my trebuchets and onagers at you. They used heavy stone munitions. You've got to decide the casualities

Domestic
Despite marriage talks among other Princessess around the world, the young Maximilian visitied the Duchy of Burgundy in the Autumn of 1453, and fell in love with the daughter of Charles the Bold, Mary. He wrote to his father, notifying him that he wished to be married to Mary.

"My son, love strikes fire in the hearts of young men. What a delight, isn't it? You shall marry this girl if you wish."

The wedding was to be held after his father's war. Mary stood as the heiress of the Duchy of Burgundy.

Economy
The Chancellor, Johann Dresner had returned to Austria. The war effort was going smoothly among the princes of Europe, but the economy of Austria was beginnning to suffer. Supply seemed to take up most of the funds. Dresner ordered a special War Tax to be called upon the provinces of the Archduchy of Austria.

[Mauretania Tingitana]

Naples

The diplomat continued to walk. That, my friend, we cannot do at this moment in time. We are under a very real threat from the Turks to the south. We seek real protection. However, we would be willing to allow you access to our ports with a discounted tariff.

Venice

The Emperor had heard word that the Venetians had sent ambassadors to speak of political matters. He is waiting in his palace in Trebizond.

[Alleniana]

Facing the Austrians, the cannons had not been deployed. Rather annoyed at the fact, the general of the army ordered the cannons to be put in a semicircle facing the Austrians behind the army lines, facing upwards. They would be used to bombard the enemy if they got close enough. Meanwhile, the fortification of the strait near Cannakale continued with quite a lot of funds. In North Africa, the occupation force had been organized and the ships prepared to sail the troops back with a guard of many of the Ottoman navy's ships. THe new ships being built in the Sea of Marmara would be used soon, but they weren't ready yet, so the old Ottoman navy would have to do. They would sail them along the eastern Mediterranean coast, passing Egypt and the Levant before stopping at Anatolia.
OOC: Can you post your troop deployment Muldinith?

OOC: I fired my trebuchets and onagers at you. They used heavy stone munitions. You've got to decide the casualities

OOC: Are we close enough for that? I thought we were still a kilometre or more away.

To Trebizond,
Greetings. We would like you to become a vassal of the Ottoman Empire. You are close to us and a worthy nation. As you know, freedom of religion is practised as well as vertical equality, so anyone in your nation could become Grand Vizier by working hard enough. By our devsirme program, we will not force any of your people to join our army. We seek only a friendly relationship in which we both benefit by trade.
From the Ottoman Empire

To protect Constantinople, workmen are sent to begin to create a sea boom that will block off the Sea of Marmara. They will drag it out from Cannakale to block off the 750m or so that need it. The manufacture for the boom is still ongoing. Meanwhile, the navy continues to be built. The plan is to keep building until there are 500 galleys and 250 cogs. After that, the building will be slowed down. They are being built at Constantinople and the surrounds, e.g. Black Sea, Marmara, etc.

[Nijholtpade]

"Oke i will give you an opening offer". "You give us permission to build trading posts free of taxes, and we get a small area that we can colonize". "You will also help us conquer more places around the Black Sea". Said the diplomat. And in return we will protect you with military force,train your army and arm them and build fortifications. We will ally with you. And if you want we give you an offer to become our vassal but only if you want it. "So we get our interests and you protection against the Ottomans"."So do we have a Deal"

[Alleniana]

The ships set sail without warning from Africa, leaving earlier than was expected and on a dark night. The journey would take over a week since they were using a slightly longer route, but it would be a reasonably easy journey.
Meanwhile, the new ships being constructed were coming along well. They were of all shapes and sizes, brigantines and caravels and hulks and cogs and carracks and galleys. Most were being built near the Sea of Marmara, although few in the Aegean.
At Cannakale, the fortification continued very fast. The boom had proved expensive and time consuming, so the defenses were to be finished before it. Plans had also be laid out for the other fortifications at Istanbul. A local group had also been arranged to garrison it.
In Wallachia, the army had stopped just too far for the Habsburgs to hit them. They found the nearest hill and settled down there for the night with guards and watches as well as a primitive ditch and barricade.

[The Jonathanian States]

DELETED:
See my next post.

[Valentir]

Morocco, Sultanate of Morocco

Dear Ottoman Leader, I give you full control over the Moroccan Sultanate. All my land and my people are your to command. Sincerely Sultan Arablai of Morocco

OOC: I just can't fill this RP into my agenda so I will have to quit for now. If there is more room later I may come back if the OP allows it. Farewell

[Alleniana]

The Moroccan handover of control was a good windfall for the Ottoman Empire. Once the Atlas mountains were taken, all of North Africa would be Ottoman territory, as big as the old Islamic Caliphate days. People were sent over there to take over the government and rearrange it to suit the organization of the Ottoman Empire. They would be used to take the rest of the Atlas mountains to join Tunisia and the other north African possessions. Meanwhile, the fleet carrying the north African army had nearly reached Anatolia. It had made good time, but they saw Venetian fleet behind them, so they sailed faster.

[The Jonathanian States]

miltary
The fleet of candia [Ventian name if Crete] leaves candia for the northeast.
The Dalmatian fleet goes southwest towards Albania.

OOC:
Sorry for shitty post,made it from my phone.

Naples

The diplomat continued to walk. That, my friend, we cannot do at this moment in time. We are under a very real threat from the Turks to the south. We seek real protection. However, we would be willing to allow you access to our ports with a discounted tariff.

Venice

The Emperor had heard word that the Venetians had sent ambassadors to speak of political matters. He is waiting in his palace in Trebizond.

Eastern Diplomat:
The diplomat left the ship at trebizond and headed for the palace.
After explaining that he is a diplomat of venice he was let in to hold a meeting with the emperor in the palace.
He entered the hall and bowed,then started,while still bowing,"Greetings from Venice,your imperial excellency.I have been sent from Venice to negotiate an agreement which shall bring prosperity to us both.And I come in plans of both military and trade."

Yes,this could be counted as a small godmode,but I wanted to prevent unessary spam of small oneliners of formalitites,if something is wrong with this ill edit.

Military:

This will partially be a more detailed version of my last post,so see it as if it happened/started before.
No, I dont cheat,I simply prefer doing to things in one posts over editing one post and then making a second.

The fleets which had been gathered in Dalmatia and Istria,which where all adriatic ships except the venetian fleet,which together summed up to 1,900 ships,sailed south,first to albania,where they were supposed to raid a bit,and then to the ionian sea.
The fleets of Corfu and Venice both stayed in their homeports,but were mobilized and set to increased readyness.
The Candian [Creteian] fleet,was sent north eastwards,to cut off possible ottoman reinfocements from the south-east.
The Italian Vassal army in ferrara continues its siege of the city,waiting reluctantly,without using heavier bombardement.

Economy:
Well aware of what should come,the venetian merchants left Constantinople and all ottoman cities,after either selling all their goods for their real price,or taking away what they didnt manage to sell.

Construction:
Construction begins of forts in positions of great strategic importance/already existing ones are extended,with priorities set in following order:
-Venice/the lagoon.
-Angelokastro,Corfu
-Castle of Garizia,Görz
-Burg Bruck,Lienz
-Heraklion/Candia,Crete/Candia.
-Naxos,Archipelago
-City Fortress,Corfu