To the West

As the century drew to a close, King Leonel I der Zintra looked once more at his maps of Germania and began to plan.

New actors had risen up since his original conquest of the Bavarian valley - to the northwest, the north and the east. Thankfully they seemed for the most part to ignore Cintra for now, or at least were too fearful of it to do anything.

Therefore, Leonel laid his hunger eyes on the southwest - at this moment it was divided between Counts and Dukes: the Duke of Augsburg, the Count of Gallen, the Count of Konstanz and the Duke of Swabia. The latter did not matter much to him just yet - they were only slightly more German than Celt. No... the prize that really got his ambitions running were the lands around Lake Constance.

Immediately after the last bit of snow melted, Leonel's army pushed westwards into Ravensburg - his mobile and veteran army after years of fighting going from settlement to settlement, ensuring that no armed levies could be called by the Duke.

As they reached the Duke's capital, they found it empty - the coward had left with his paltry forces to join up with the southern Counts in hopes to show a united front against Leonel and deter him from moving forward. When the Lion of Cintra heard this from a messenger, he only scoffed, ignored the siege of Ravensburg and instead pressed southwards to engage his enemies in pitch battle.

The movement caught the small alliance by surprise and they were caught on the banks of the Lake Constance, stuck between Cintra's forces and the water behind them.

Leonel's army consisted of a well-trained, but small heavy cavalry core, backed up by detachments of peasant archers and levies armed with spears. Added to this were his vassals' own levies, bound to fight for him when he called them. His conquests of the Bavarian valley had almost solely relied upon this heavy cavalry being as terrifying and destructive as it was.

And it was his cavalry that started the Battle of Lake Constance, crashing into the alliance's own cavalry - the crowned Lion standard raised high. The King himself was in the thick of the melee, revelling in the bloodshed. It did not take long for the ferocity of the Lions to break the enemy whereupon the King gave order for his levies to engage the remaining enemy forces.

If the battle hadn't been to the advantage of Cintra, it had now become a slaughterhouse as the freely moving Lionshield cavalry tore through the flanks of the levies. Many began to flee, some even going as far as attempting to run away by swimming into the lake.

As the Battle ended, the only the Count of Konstanz had manage to flee, the other two having been captured. However, as Leonel's army began to move out, a messenger from Konstanz brought surrender terms.

The southwest was now in his palm. He let the ruling Counts and the Duke of Augsburg to keep their titles on the condition they pledged absolutely loyalty to him. A pledge which was easily given thanks to the thousands of men behind the man asking for it.

A successful season of campaign ended, but Leonel's plans were far from over.

The Count of Linz

King Leonel was all too aware that the largest threat to him at this moment was to the east. Pressburg was bordering his vassal, the Duke of Passau, and had been increasingly pressuring the Count of Linz stuck between the two rising powers.

Leonel, as he returned from his campaign, opened talks with the Count. Discussions of security, peace and prosperity ensued and ended with the Count offering his daughter to Leonel's second son as well as pledging his loyalty on the condition that the eastern threat would be dealt with.

Leonel was all too happy to accept.

Expansion Map :Three to the West, one to the East