I
A snake among the Christians
In 1419, Milan was one of the most powerful duchies of Northern Italy. Spanning across Lombardia and Emilia Romania, and ruled by the dreadful Filippo Maria Visconti, it was a true serpent in Italian paradise. The prince, obsessed with thoughts of grabbing the Lombardian crown, pursued his dreams relentlessly, ready to defeat anyone standing in his way.
The Duchy of Milan and its neighbours
Still, he was kept in check by two other leading powers of the penisula; the papacy and Venice. Should Visconti try to move against one, the second block would surely move in, ready to restore the disturbed balance of powers. In order to sway it to his side, the Milanese duke attempted a series of bold diplomatical missions to Helvetia, hoping to bring the dreaded Swiss mercenaries into his service. Those efforts paid off in 1420, when the Tagsatzung agreed to enter a formal alliance with Milan. A simmilar pact with Siena was signed soon after.
Year 1421 brough additional good news, as the Genoese merchants, fearing the growing power of the Kingdom of Aragon, offered their submission to the Duchy of Milan. They hoped that with Milanese protection, their most precious island of Corsica would be safe from possible Aragonese invasion. It was a true blessing for Visconti; an access to Genoa's immense wealth meant that he could easily fund more mercenaries, possibly gaining enough advantage over Venice and the pope to challenge them openly.
Meanwhile, as hostilities in France reached their peak, a group of craftsmen from Lyon reached the city, begging for shelter. The prince was more then happy to accept.
Year 1422 brought an end to Hundered Years' War. The duke of Burgundy refused English claims to the throne of France, supporting the Dauphin instead. Young Charles was consecrated in Reims, and with great energy he started expelling the invaders out of the French mainland.
In 1423 Visconti annouced his claim upon the duchy of Modena. An outright invasion, however, was not possible; the duchy was Visconti's ally, yet it acknowledged the pope as their formal sovereign. Unwilling to start a full scale war yet, the Visconti had to back down.
As the conflict over Naples started to escalate, Visconti observed the situation carefully. The fear of Aragon expansion brought Genoa into his alliance, and the prince hoped that, should the Trastamara dynasty seize Naples, the encircled pope would be an easy prey from his army. For that reason he decided not to support the Angevin claim on Naples.
Increasing Milanese influence meant that the prince had to guard his back. There were many people in the duchy, ready to replace him as the hegemon of Italy. One of such was a condottieri, Carmagnola. Visconti realised that the easiest way to get rid of potential usurper - exile - would not only reduce the ducal army, but also give Venice or the pope a possibility to hire this most skilled mercenary of southern Europe. Instead, the prince made him a governor of Genoa. Occupied by constant factional struggles within the City Council, the mercenary has been literally put out of action.
Fearing the Milanese expansion, the disturbed duchies and republics of the penisula formed a League against the Visconti. Thanks to his skillful diplomatic counteraction, a formal declaration of war did not follow, and the Milanese continued with preparations to attack when the time is right.
In 1426 the duke of Savoy proposed a pact - perpetual peace in exchange for a number of disputed villages across the border. Needless to say, such proposition conflicted with Visconti's grand abmitions and had to be refused.
In December 1428, the duke of Tirol invaded a number of Swiss cantons, hoping to strenghten his position in Austria. Milan and its alliance joined the war, sending their armies into high Alpine passes. In February 1429 a strong force, consisting of some 15 thousands of Tirol's finest troops attempted to center Lombaria through a mountain pass protected by Visconti's troops. A massacre resulted; the German force was annihilated completely, with only minor loses on Italian side.
This allowed the duchy of Bavaria to backstab the Tirolians. In March an army led by duke Ernst initiaten a siege of Innsbruck, while Visconti's forces retreated to Milan, unwilling to suffer too much loses. Ultimately, the peace was signed in October 1431, proceded by a brief invasion of Baden. Tirol paid 150$ and ceded Baden and Alsace to Switzerland.
Visconti then moved his forces southwards, and invaded Tuscany. The Florentine-Venetian alliance had expired and Filippo Maria wanted to use the oppoertunity to wrestle controll over the unprotected duchy. A series of mercenary battles occured and in October 1432, after a brief siege, the duchy became Milanese vassal.
Such an act of aggression should reawake the anti-Visconti league. But the prince's diplomatical mastermind prevented other Italian states from acting. More; in 1436 Visconti's mercenaries managed to capture the Aragonian king Alfonso and bring him to Milan. There, the two ambitious conquerors signed an alliance, hoping to force the Angevins out of Neapol once and for all.
This, however, infuriated the Genoese. The merchants quickly organised a plot to remove Carmagnola and broke every alliance they had with the "double faced" prince of Milan. For Visconti, this was not a big problem; who would think about small Genoa, while having a Mediterraean superpower among his allies?
Wars against Tirol and Florence served their purpose; Milanese alliance started to become the dominant power of the Italian penisula, ready to challenge anyone daring to oppose it. Still, the cost of mercenary armies was great and the strain put on Milanese economy was only barely bearable. Visconti realised that his final moves had to be planned carefully. His country was on the straightest path to become a hegemon; but should he run of of money, his hegemony would be among the shortest ones in history...
Summary:
- LT: 2 (Reached in VII 1426)
- NT: 1 (Reached in XII 1419)
- TL: 2 (Reached in II 1424)
- IL: 2 (Reached in VI 1425)
- BB: 2,6
- Inflation: 1,9%
- Loans: 1, expires in X 1441 (200$; 2,2$ interests)
- Income: 5,2$ per month
- Alliance: Milan-Switzerland-Siena-Mantua
- Vassal: Tuscany
- Possible enemies: Papal States-Modena-Neapol alliance, Tirol-Venice-Genua-Styria-Wirtemberg alliance and Savoy-Hesse alliance
Save:
http://www.savefile.com/files/1941813 - let's kick their asses, Olav!
