1504-1508

Circassia

Khagan Menli Giray ordered the gathering of a host to assault the tribesmen of Circassia, a popular raiding location and one seen as weak in the wake of the dissolution of the Grand Princedom in 1454. A force totaling 10,000 was broken into two equal forces, one striking directly from the Crimean coastline and another taking off deep following the Manych River and attacking the Eastern Circassian Tribes. The 5,000 follow the Manych River experience harsh conditions and what's worse, a tribal feud turned violent in the upper command leading to key herdsmen leaving the force. While the other 5,000 had perfectly safe travels, and less ground to initially cover, there was worse news for the Crimeans.

The Circassians were no longer a unified peoples as they were under Grand Prince Inal, but a noted effort by a Kabardian Chief claiming to be the successor as well as a coordination of Circassian priests created a somewhat less divided front. The force following the coastline was being lead by Menli's second eldest, Beg Burnesh Giray, and they gave fierce battle to the Circassian tribes most nearest to them. However, they found their enemy tirelessly opposing them and settlements well prepared for a raiding force. The force crossing the steppe was lead by Karachi Dawlat Bakhy and suffered much worse than Burnesh Giray did. A smaller and demoralized force at this point, their efforts were quickly ruined by a crushing defeat in the field. Blame was thrown, and the raid returned nearly empty handed.

ƒ270,802 gained in slave and loot value

Moldavian Misadventures

Menli Giray then desired to reduce the dependency on the following raid, halving the size relative to the invasion of Circassia. In the midst of managing the complicated geopolitics of the steppe, the Crimean Khaganate desired an invasion of the oft-raided, but well-defended, Moldavian Voivodeship. Bogdan the One-Eyed was no fool either, and not wishing to cause any harm come to his realm in the wake of the death of his father, made a deal with the Kingdom of Poland for aid to defend against an incoming host. The Poles responded with a very large army that was marched most hesitantly by both guest and host, ready to engage Crimean forces. There had been some minor skirmishes in the early months of the year, but by the arrival of the Poles the Crimeans had already vacated the Voivodeship in fear of the size of the opposition. Bogdan, in his case, quickly endeavored to send the Poles off after the Tatars to not only help defeat his enemy but remove the still-fresh Polish forces. Menli Giray's decision to still use his forces to achieve his strategic aims caused this low scale warfare to continue on for some time, where eventually the Poles were forced to return back to Poland under risk of starving. Bogdan was grateful for the Polish assistance, but was quick to restate his independence as Voivode of Moldavia in his communiques.

Crimea gains no loot, Moldavia loses honor, Poland loses money

Raiding Season Poland

With the hostilities of Eastern Europe once again causing the still-weary and oft-poor Kingdoms to war, the Crimeans prepared to profit. A massive host akin to the one raised in 1502 prepared to cross into the Wild Lands, where they had intended to repeat a similar campaign as well. However, in this case the Crimeans were concentrating their forces to strike deep into the Polish heartlands rather than across the border territories. This strategy would become apparent to King Sigismund when the castle of Bratslav falls to a simple assault by the Crimeans, the rest of the town captured in chains. From there the Crimeans splintered into their true organization, though they encountered difficulties doing so in the midst of a raid.

The northern half of the army marched upon Khmil'nyk, which had been recently improved and had an extra strong garrison. It's garrison was also in high spirits with recent developments within Lithuania. The commanders of the northern army decide to approach the fort with caution, and instead of a frontal assault they attempt to use morale breaking and scorched earth tactics to force the garrison out or have the garrison surrender. Yet, after a few weeks of slaughter and pillage, the fort of Khmil'nyk stands strong and morale strong enough. The Crimeans had also attempted a number of times to sneak into the fort, but all attempts had failed. They are forced to avoid the city altogether, and morale became a new concern. Eventually one part of the northern army reaches and assaults the town of Kranstanov, where they are easily defeated on the walls. The remaining forces of that portion limped back home, ending their campaign. The remaining men of the northern army had now made it to the first jewel of their campaign, Lutsk. The city was rich, and similarly well-fortified, and in the last raid of 1502 they were repulsed by a Polish-Lithuanian force. It was also here that an army of Lipka Tatars, loyalists spurred on by the Lord's Council in Vilnius mostly due to the late Grand Duke's heavy patronage of them, forced them to battle as the Crimeans had laid siege. The Crimeans numbered 11,000 while the Lipka numbered near 6,000. The Crimean senior commander, Beg Ahmed Giray, deftly manages a carocel on the Lipka left flank that caused a short break in their lines which was then promptly smashed by Crimean and Nogai Lancers. The Lipka, though battered in the end and out maneuvered, were fresh and fought with a ferocity that lent much pain to Ahmed Giray's army. Initially he had hoped they would have been able to win decisively and that Lutsk would surrender in the wake of it. In this case, Lutsk continues to stand strong against the threat of siege. Ahmed Giray once again proves his capabilities by drawing a large portion of the garrison out of the city on a feigned assault on the opposite side of the primary siege camp where the real assault was to take place. The quick seizure of the walls meant a quick and secured victory for the Crimeans, who plundered the city in revenge for their earlier defeats. The great victory raised spirits in these last remnants of the northern army, and they continue on to Chelm where they stand before yet another well-fortified and wealthy city deep in Poland. It is believed that Ahmed Giray was over-confident when he ordered a lightning fast assault on the city of Chelm, hoping to capitalize on the high morale of his men even in the wake of mounting casualties. This would be the shortfall of the assault on Chelm, where after the Crimeans were able to make multiple breaches and even occupy portions of the city they were repulsed by the strong and determined garrison. Regardless, the city itself was heavily damaged. With this repulsion the remaining Northern Army was forced to maintain what train of stolen goods and slaves they had and return home.

In the southern army, they gathered unified outside the town of Ploskirow, a town of middling import. The large host uses its numbers to assault and take it with ease, losing very few men. The host then splits its forces, with one attempting to take the very formidable fortress of Kremenets. This force, already smaller than the one at Ploskirow, attempts to demoralize and antagonize the garrison. Loud music is played throughout night after night, pillaging was limited to daytime hours to force the garrison to watch, and (mostly false) promises of free passage to anyone who betrayed the city. Once more, the garrison of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy stands strong against Crimean trickery, and after weeks have been lost the Crimeans are forced to give up the siege or otherwise face a bloody and likely futile assault. They, like the other armies have been, take much time to loot and sack the countryside. Up to this point, outside the Lipka Tatars, there has been nearly no force protecting the interior from the foreign Tatar threat. In this scenario as well, this meant the same force then prepared to attack the castle at Belz. They assault the castle after preparations were made, and they successfully secure a sack and a healthy supply of slaves. The final Crimean section, itself a part of the southern army, was on orders to strike the very important city of Lviv. They had attempted to take the city in 1502 as well, but instead they agreed to avoid the city in return for the city's Jewish residents to be given over as slaves. The Crimeans had expected a much larger haul after realizing the extent of the agreement, and were forced to leave in frustration. This time, they had no designs on cooperating with the city. However, much to the commanders anger, the force he had been sent with was much too small to attack the well prepared and well fortified city. The city, recognizing this fact quickly, also did not desire to watch its farmlands burn. In return for a short one-time tribute payment, the Crimeans happily moved on from the city. They then moved to take Przemyśl, which was also more fortified than the army was capable of effectively taking on. The city was also much less happy to engage with the raiders, and they would be rewarded when they found the army returning home in short order. The Crimean army camp had lost all enthusiasm after Lviv, and facing a solid degree of opposition in the face of the siege demanded they leave.

Regardless, the Crimeans operated with near full control of the countryside. The distance they operated in and the damage done to interior trade centers has caused a lot of economic damage in the region, and the Crimeans were able to secure a large return even with a number of failures. Polish and Lithuanian nobles and countrymen are confident in their soldiers, but they question the wisdom of their commanders in the deployment and location of their men.

Crimea gains ƒ3,861,010, much devastation in affected areas

TL;DR

• Crimean forays into Circassia turn disaster, major Circassian tribes begin dominating weaker ones

• Crimea attempts a small raid of rural Moldavia, faces a massive Moldavian-Polish retaliation force. Moldavian-Polish uneasiness is exploited by Crimea, neither side achieves much

• Large Tatar raid into Poland-Lithuania, targeted deep and primarily at wealthy cities. Faced significant difficulty, but lack of opposition from enemy forces guaranteed a strong degree of success

• Polish and Lithuanian nobility and magnates not happy with a lack of protection from their sovereign