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I started in alliance with Salzburg, Styria, and Tyrol, with royal marriages and claims on the territory of the latter two.
- 26 April 1424: "After the execution of Jan Hus on July 6, 1415 in Constance a revolutionary movement formed in Bohemia, partly inspired by social concerns and nationalist ideas and directed against King Sigismund. As his son-in-law, Duke Albrecht V of Austria, had participated in military campaigns in Bohemia and Moravia starting in 1420. Hussite troops invaded Austria between 1425-1431 and devastated the provinces north of the River Danube. As a consequence of the Hussite wars the Austrian national defense system was reorganized on the basis of districts." For the cost of $50, I upgraded the fortress in Linz in Ostmarch to Small and moved the domestic policy slider one notch toward Quality.
- 7 January 1425: "In 1425 Duke Johann II the Merciless of Bavaria-Straubing (in Lower Bavaria) died and the Wittelsbach subbranch was extinct. Surprisingly, emperor Sigismund initially did not grant Straubing's possessions to one of the other Wittelsbach branches, but to Habsburg. This decision was opposed by the Wittelsbachs and revised in 1429 when Sigismund decided to divide it among the bavarian Wittelsbach branches, with Bavaria-Munich getting the majority." Although hurting relations with Bavaria, we can't pass up the increased taxes and population this event brings to Ostmarch. After all, fences can be mended. But first we move the fence...
- 27 December 1428: When Tyrol declared war on Helvetia, I took advantage of the situation and left the alliance to partner up with Bohemia, Hungary, Luxembourgh, and Serbia.
- 1 February 1429: After Styrian troops left to fight the Genoa, Helvetia, Milan, and Savoy alliance, I promptly declared war on Styria and set siege to its capital, Graz.
- 6 January 1429: "Facing strong opposition against his controversial decision to let the possessions of Bayern-Straubing pass to Habsburg, Emperor Sigismund reverted his judgement in 1429 and divided Straubing among the remaining bavarian Wittelsbachs." ... but I refuse to comply, hurting relations with Bavaria and Hungary. But they do nothing about it, so it simply becomes a footnote in history.
- 18 October 1429: The duke of Steiermark gives in, and his nation is incorporated into its rightful place within Austria. Meanwhile, Salzburg, which had already submitted to Bohemia and paid an indemnity in exchange for control of the city, is in turn besieged by me.
- 6 February 1430: Venice, who was foolishly convinced to join Salzburg, Tyrol, and the dukedom formally known as Styria, has received such rough handling at the hands of my allies that they offer me $86 for peace. Since I never lifted a finger against them and don't intend to (siezing their island provinces when I have no fleet will be tricky business) I readily accept.
- 18 October 1430: Salzburg surrenders to my armies. Since Salzburg is not an Austria home province, mindful of my Bad Boy rating, I only ask for their vasselation.
- 10 December 1437: "Sigismund of Luxemburg, King of Germany, Hungary and Bohemia, died without male issue. Having faced this for some time, Sigismund had chosen his longtime ally and friend Albrecht of Austria, who had proven to be a capable soldier during the Hussite Wars, as his successor in all three Kingdoms and married him to his sole daughter Elizabeth. The last years of his reign were almost exclusively dedicated to ensuring the succession, and the Hungarian Diet was successfully convinced that the Hapsburg would be exactly the right man to protect the country from the Turks. Following Sigismund's wish and what seemed best for Hungary, Albrecht was elected King of Hungary and crowned in Székesfehérvehár (Stuhlweißenburg) on January 1st 1438. Since he however also inherited Bohemia and the crown of the Holy Roman Empire, he was unable to fully concentrate on ruling Hungary. Thus he relied heavily on the Parliament to rule in his absence and in his short reign conceded numerous privilegues to them." "After the childless Luxemburg emperor's death, Albrecht of Hapsburg also succeeded him in Bohemia. The crowns of the Holy Roman Empire, St. Stephen and St. Wenceslas had all passed from the Luxemburgs to the Hapsburgs, and although Bohemia and Hungary were only held for a short time, this was the beginning of the Hapsburg dynasty's rapid rise that was to reach its peak when four generations later Charles V was master of an Empire where the sun never set." Hungary and Bohemia are vasselized to Austria.
- 9 April 1438: Hungary declares war on Bosnia, drawing Bohemia, Luxembourg, Serbia, and me into the war. The Ottoman Empire takes the opportunity to declare war on Hungary, and Luxembourg loses heart (good riddance), but I never saw a single Turk. By August, I am laying siege to Dalmatia while Hungary sieges to Bosnia.
- 1 May 1439: "When Duke Friedrich IV. of Tirol died, is son Sigmund was still a child. His uncle, Emperor Friedrich III, ruled the duchy for him until he was an adult." Tirol is vasselized to Austria.
- 4 July 1439: After a string victories against small, demoralized Bosnian forces, the remnants of the main Bosnian army eject us from Dalmatia. Since it seems unlikely that I will be able to reinitiate a siege in Dalmatia, I call a truce in exchange for their next year's tax collection. Let Hungary bleed itself if they want this war.
- 9 March 1440: "In 1439 Albrecht of Hapsburg, King of Hungary, fell ill, probably of cholera, while campaigning against the Ottomans. Within one month he died, leaving two minor daughters and his pregnant wife Elizabeth. For the case of the unborn child being male, Albrecht declared that his son would be his successor in all his fiefs just before his death. Based on thiswill, Elizabeth attempted to get the Parliament to appoint her Queen Regent for her unborn baby. Still feeling menaced by the Ottomans, a majority of the Diet consisting mostly of the middle and lower nobility however did not want to trust the country's fortune upon a woman and an unborn child and, led by the Transylvanian noble Janos Hunyadi, desired an adult King with a decent powerbase instead. It was Hunyadi who proposed the most obvious choice, Wladislaw of Jagiello, King of the other big christian Kingdom in East Europe, Poland. Initially with the consent of Elizabeth, deputies of the Diet approached the nineteen-year-old Wladislaw in Krakow and offered him the Hungarian crown. Meanwhile, Elizabeth gave birth to a son, the male heir Albrecht and she had hoped for, and called him Ladislaus. Since then, she was determined to secure the throne for her child and thus withdrew her approval of the offer to the Polish King. But instructed by Hunyadi and other magnates, negotiations continued. When Wladislaw eventually accepted the proferred throne on March 8th 1440 and everything seemed ready for his coronation and the union of the two Kingdoms, Elizabeth fled Hungary to Austria with her son and the stolen Holy crown of Hungary. She had Ladislaus crowned King in Székesfehérvár on May 1st, more than two months before Wladislaw's coronation on July 17th. The scene was set for a civil war between the supporters of Elizabeth and Ladislaus, called 'Loyalists' who were strongest in Western Hungary and Slovakia and championed by Ulrich of Cilli on the one side and the supporters of Wladislaw, the 'Nationalists', based largely in the East and Transylvania and led by Janos Hunyadi, on the other." My vasselation with Hungary is revoked as they tie themselves to Poland. Ungrateful vermin! I immediately rope Bohemia, Salzburg, and Tyrol into an alliance and declare war on Hungary. Tyrol has cold feet, but after another month Ipersuade them to join the righteous cause. Meanwhile, the resulting rebellion in Hungary catches our army returning from Bosnia. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, so I yield the province to the Rebels while I retreat to Austrian territory to regroup. Although my Bad Boy is still positive, I decide to attack Hungary while it is without allies and is vulnerable from war and rebellion. Furthermore, the gold produced in the Steiermark mines is causing rampant inflation in Austria, now just below 9% (not helped by the fact that I forgot to check my Treasury slider for some years). I need more territory to average out negative effects of gold.
- 27 March 1440: "In 1439 Albrecht of Hapsburg, King of Hungary, fell ill, probably of cholera, while campaigning against the Ottomans. Within one month he died, leaving two minor daughters and his pregnant wife Elizabeth. For the case of the unborn child being male, Albrecht declared that his son would be his successor in all his fiefs just before his death. On February 22nd 1440 Queen Elizabeth gave birth to a son who received the name of Ladislaus and has been accepted as successor of Albrecht to the Bohemian throne. This would be an opportunity to declare the throne hereditary within the Hapsburg dynasty." It sends my Bad Bay rating through the roof, but this is too good of an opportunity to pass up. I inherit Bohemia, doubling my number of provinces (from 3 to 6). This will mitigate the Steiermark gold inflation problem and provide manpower with which to fight Hungary. One downside is that, because this move doesn't exactly have popular support, Czech will not be added to my national cultures, and so there is an increased risk of rebellion in the former Bohemian provinces.
- 16 May 1440: In Presburg, the rumors fly quickly: "The Rebel Scum have withdrawn troops from the siege." "They have gone to meet our relief army." "God be praised, we have not been forsaken!" "Good thing too. I hear the garrison only had a few months supply of food left." But it was not a Hungarian relief force; it was Austria. After soundly defeating the Rebels on the plains of Presburg in 9 days, the Hapsburg family crest replaced the Rebel banner outside the walls of Prešporok. On 25 August 1440, Presburg is the first Hungarian province to surrender to Austrian forces. In fact, throughout Hungary, sieges started by the Rebels are carried through by Austrian forces. Hungarian forces, trying to simultaneously put out the flames of rebellion while fighting off evaders, are too weak to do much of either.
- 23 October 1440: My Bad Boy rating catches up with me as Brandenburg, Magdeburg, Pommern, and Saxony declare war on me. My plan is to take down Hungary and then deal with these interlopers.
- 27 December 1440: Rebel forces surrender Carpathia to me.
- 1 March 1441: We captured the province of Silesia from Hungary.
- 1 April 1441: We captured the province of Moravia from Hungary.
- 1 August 1441: We captured the province of Odenburg from Hungary.
- 1 October 1441: We have lost control over Erz to Saxony. You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs. The Saxon ambassador repeated sends me offers of peace, ceding Erz to Saxony. I reply that I will get back to him later... after I have crushed Hungary and liberated Erz.
- 1 November 1441: We captured the province of Magyar from Hungary.
- 16 November 1441: We captured the province of Maros from Hungary.
- 27 February 1442: We have lost control over Presburg to Hungary. But while the main Hungarian army has occupied itself with sieging Presburg, my forces have laid siege to most of Hungary with the goal is depriving Hungary of urban centers to raise troops and siezing cities faster than he can retake them.
- 23 April 1442: We captured the province of Banat from Hungary.
- 23 August 1442: We captured the province of Pest from Hungary.
- 20 September 1442: We have lost control over Sudeten to Magdeburg.
- 28 February 1443: Perhaps worried by rebellion back home, Magdeburg offers a white peace, which is eagerly accepted.
- 20 March 1443: Hungary captured the city in Maros from Austria.
- 27 May 1443: We captured the province of Croatia from Hungary.
- 28 May 1443: We captured the province of Presburg from Hungary.
- 27 January 1444: We captured the province of Krain from Hungary.
- 16 March 1444: We captured the province of Maros from Hungary.
- 27 March 1444: We captured the province of Ruthenia from Hungary.
- 30 March 1444: We have lost control over Pest to Hungary.
- 1 July 1444: The peasants in Sudeten are revolting! We've been at war over 4 years and the war exhaustion has finally caught up with me. Luckily, Sudeten is besieged by Saxony, who disperses the rebellion, probably losing a thousand men in the process.
- 30 July 1444: We have lost control over Sudeten to Saxony.
- 11 November 1444: "When on November 10th 1444 King Ulászló was killed in the battle of Varna against the Ottomans and Janos Hunyadi merely escaped alive, Hungary was plunged into another crisis. Succession of the dead King was unclear, a huge part of the Hungarian nobility had died in the battle, many magnates were glad to have no central authority over them. Austria, reviving Ladislaus Postumus' claim on Hungary, occupied the Hungarian border districts, Jan Jiskra seized Spis and the Cilli family took control of Slovakia, driving out the supporters of Ulászló I. Once again Hungary was heading for a full blown civil war." Hungary secedes Odenburg to us. And peasants in Carpathia, Krain, and Presburg are revolting from Hungary. Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell them that Austria controls those provinces... Hungarian stability also hits rock bottom and rebellions will simply get worse.
- 30 May 1445: We captured the province of Pest from Hungary.
- 15 October 1445: We have lost control over Croatia to Hungary. The attempt to relieve Croatia failed, and since János Hunyadi with his siege rating of 1 is leading the Hungarian army, this war is starting to go quickly southward. Our first peace offering was already refused.
- 29 December 1445: We captured the province of Transylvania from Hungary.
- 2 January 1446: "In 1446 Sigmund was finally adult and took over Tirol from his uncle Friedrich." Tyrol cancelled the vasselation she had with me. Of course, the day they choose for this announcement is the day that Burgundy and ally Hessen declare war on them. Salzburg dishonors Tyrol's call to arms, and I follow suit, reforming our alliance sans Tyrol. Good thing too, because the Papal States declare war on Tyrol two days later, followed by Naples, Siena, Tuscany, and Venice. A month later, Tyrol rejoins our alliance, but we are under no obligation to join her wars.
- 1 March 1446: Hungary returns to the peace table, offering Krain, Moravia, Presburg, and Silesia. We accept and start counting down to when we can give them the knockout blow. Meanwhile, our armies turn to face the Brandenburg alliance.
- 1 October 1446: We have lost control over Bohemia to Rebel Scum. Putting down the rebellions can wait. First thing's the invaders.
- 12 January 1447: We have lost control over Silesia to Saxony.
- 1 July 1447: We captured the province of Erz from Saxony.
- 8 January 1448: "The Kosaca-family rose to power in the 15th century under the wise leadership of its two members, Sandalj Hranic and Stjepan Vukcic. They had vast fiefs in the southern part of the country known as 'Hum and the Coast'. Under various kings they had been granted several privileges, they became the Grand Voivodes of Bosnia, lords of Pomorje and Zahumlje. Later, during the feuds, they managed to absorb the lands of their arch-enemy, the Pavlovic dynasty, establishing absolute power in the area. In 1448 Stjepan Vukcic assumed the title of Duke of Saint Sava, gaining independence from the Kingdom, and became the Duke( Herceg ) of Hum. From this very title developed the name 'Hercegovina'. The King, Stjepan Tomas, having no power to prevent it, accepted the separation, greeted Stjepan as a fellow ruler and married his daughter, Katarina. Stjepan Vukcic knew it very well that he won't be able to hold off the Turkish onslaught thus he started to look after supporters. Historically he found it in the person of Friedrich III, the Holy Roman Emperor, who officially became the defender of Hercegovina." But in this case, I turned them down since I couldn't spare the $100. Ragusa is too far away a concern, too.
- 20 February 1448: Salzburg captured the city in Brandenburg from Brandenburg. All this time, while I have been fighting off Hungarian, my plucky Salzburg ally has been mixing it with Bradenburg, Pommern, and Saxony.
- 19 August 1448: Having set siege all of our conquered provinces, we finally give the invaders some of their own back and siege Sachsen.
- 27 September 1448: We captured the province of Sudeten from Saxony.
- 3 January 1449: Brandenburg, with its capital in Salzburg control, offer $231, which is accepted. The War of Hungarian Succession is over. Now all that remains is punishing the Czech rebels for their opportunism.
