OC-CoN 1: The German Empire

## The Duchy of Brunswick

### Reign of Count Heinrich IV "The Founder" von Welf (1444-1464)

In the year 1444, Count Heinrich IV of Brunswick finds himself in a peculiar situation. His family's territories were split between himself and his brother in Lüneberg, yet Brunswick, holding several provinces in Northern Germany, was still a regional power within the HRE. Heinrich IV dreamt of uniting the Lower Saxon people under the single nation of "Hanover", and is often credited for introducing the concept of Nationalism to the people of Germany.

Heinrich, though not the most militarily-skilled ruler, was an intelligent man. He knew that for his nation to truly succeed, he would need to access the sea in order to exert his nation's power. And so, in 1446, he launched a 3-year invasion of Verden and Oldenburg, annexing their territories to gain a coastline. Following this, Brunswick briefly collected its trade income in the Lübeck trade node, before realizing it was not yet profitable enough and moving it back to Hanover.

Following this show of strength and ambition from the small County, Münster and Saxony accepted alliance requests from Brunswick, and Saxony accepted the request of a Royal Marriage. During this 10-year period of peace, Heinrich struggled to manage his growing armies and territories with his failing economy. North Germany is not a particularly well-developed region, leaving many of the territories there poor. Sensing weakness in the wealthy County of East Frisia, Brunswick invaded them and annexed the territory, widening Brunswick's coastline and finally getting some rich territories.

Two years later, Brunswick would invade the County of Dithmarschen and, after a short war, annexed the province. Brunswick now found itself controlling a considerably large chunk of the North Sea coast. Heinrich finally began to see some real profits from his conquests and began building a few churches and workshops in his major cities. Now considerably stronger than Lüneberg, Heinrich elected to invade his brother's lands and unite the von Welfs once again. A minor diplomatic mistake meant that declaring the war broke Brunswick's alliance with Münster, though at this point they had become fairly weak in comparison to Brunswick.

In 1464, Heinrich passed away at the age of 48 due to disease. His crown passed on to his son, Julius Ernst. He is best remembered for uniting the von Welf crown and establishing Brunswick as a regional power in North Germany.

### Reign of Count Julius Ernst I von Welf (1464-1465)

The reign of Julius Ernst I was remarkably short, lasting just over a year. Julius Ernst launched an invasion into the County of Magdeburg, with the assistance of the King of Saxony.

In 1465, Julius Ernst passed away at the age of 24. He was killed in battle, leading his army against that of Brandenburg. His son Heinrich V, a mere newborn, ascended the throne, though Julius Ernst's wife would act as regent in the meantime. He is best remembered for his short reign and glorious death, having died too soon to truly make a name for himself.

### Reign of Countess-Regent Amalia von Altenbaumberg (1465-1480)

Amalia, distraught by her husband's death, vowed to continue to lead the County in his stead. She finished the war against Magdeburg and Brandenburg, then moved on to swiftly conquer Anhalt. Following this, she moved her armies north and invaded Lauenberg, again swiftly conquering the territory in only a few years.

Amalia was regarded as a bit of a warmonger by the nations around her, but from the view of the people of Brunswick, she was merely carrying out her father-in-law's legacy.

Later into her reign, The Kingdom of Denmark was greatly weakened following Norway and Sweden's independence war against it. Seizing on this moment of weakness, Amalia invaded Denmark with the goal of annexing the German territory of Holstein. Only having to contend with the army of Lübeck, the Danes had to acknowledge their position and handed the territory over.

At this point, Heinrich V was old enough to rule and Amalia had begun to get too old to lead the nation. She left the crown to him in 1480. Amalia is best remembered for her long rule as a regent, during which she did not try to seize power, but instead to invest power in the nation itself. She also is regarded for raising the nation from a mere County to a Duchy.

### Reign of Duke Heinrich V von Welf (1480-1487)

The reign of Heinrich V, though a few years longer than his father, was still fairly short. Following his mother's conquests of many surrounding territories, Heinrich found himself more interested in developing the nation's economy than expanding its territories. An architectural visionary, Heinrich V is responsible for many of the buildings that still stand in Germany today, as with his knowledge in construction, they were built to last.

Heinrich V was a generally decent ruler, but a bad father. His first two sons suffered from severe mental issues, likely due to inbreeding. They were disinherited from the Brunswickian throne and mistreated for most of their lives.

In 1487, Heinrich V passed away at the age of 22. He fell off a building while overseeing a construction project in Hanover, landing on his head and dying instantly. The throne passed on to his third son, Karl I, who, like himself, was too young to rule, causing Heinrich V's wife, Gerhild von Holstein-Gottorp. He is best remembered for his elaborate constructions and planning.

### Reign of Duchess-Regent Gerhild von Holstein-Gottorp (1487-1500)

The Reign of Gerhild was fairly uneventful. She continued her husband's legacy of constructing buildings throughout the nation, but had far less skill than he did, resulting in economic struggles in the country. Despite this, she was a fairly competent military leader, and invaded the Bishopric of Münster in 1495. A long but successful war, this established the border between the Dutch-speaking territories to the west, and the German-speakers to the east.

Gerhild is also credited with establishing an alliance with the Republic of Switzerland, a burgeoning nation in South Germany.

Historians wonder if Gerhild could have had more potential as a regent if she were more engaged in the expansion of her nation than its infrastructure. Regardless, at the age of 15 her son, and the heir to the throne, Karl, rose to lead the Duchy of Brunswick.

### Reign of Duke Karl I "The Great" von Welf (1500-1521)

Karl I was a very successful ruler in Brunswick. He strove to be like his great-grandfather, Heinrich IV, and wanted to unite the Lower Saxon people. However, as Brunswick had come to now occupy territories of Westphalian and Saxon people, the goal now leaned more towards uniting the people of North Germany.

Early into his reign he invaded the County of Cleve with a powerful army, 36,000 strong. Brunswick had outgrown many of its neighbors and allies at this point, and was now arguably the 2nd or 3rd strongest nation within the HRE. Looking at this, Karl reevaluated his alliances and forged an alliance with the Emperor of Austria himself.

Karl assisted the Swiss in a war against Geneve and Milan, ensuring the Swiss armies safe passage through the alps without interference of any Italian armies.

Shortly after that, the King of Saxony died without an heir. A distant cousin of the von Welf dynasty was heir to the throne, and Karl would use this as pretense to claim the throne of Saxony and invaded them, winning after 3 short years. Karl now held the crowns of Brunswick, Saxony, and Thuringia, making him undeniably the strongest ruler in North Germany.

Karl did not rest after this. Invading his long-time rival of Brandenburg to the east, he conquered a key fortress on the Brandenburg border and weakened the state significantly.

Finally, Karl came to the assistance of his fellow Council nation, Tunis, in their defense against Portugal, Castile, Aragon, and England. With only the assistance of Switzerland, Brunswick struggled to fight off the Castilian armies in mainland Spain. Karl hired the mythical siege engineer, Friedrich Wilhelm Brach, as a general to lead his armies. With only 2 cannons, he could blast holes in the wall of any castle, and masterfully took Navarra and Toledo to push the Castilians out of the war.

In 1521, Karl I passed away at the age of 36 due to disease. While he was a generally poor diplomat, he was an amazing military general whose conquests are directly credited for leading to the eventual Kingdom of Hanover. The throne passed on to his son, Heinrich VI.

### Reign of Duke Heinrich VI "The Fool" von Welf (1521-1533)

Heinrich VI continued to lead Brunswick in its defensive war against Portugal, but he was far less successful as a military leader than his father. English armies landed from Ostfriesland and ravaged the cities of Brunswick while Brunswickian and Swiss armies were annihilated fighting in the mountains of Aragon.

Raising a new army cost the nation a fortune, and was a difficult task as each conscript army had to avoid English troops sieging the countryside. Eventually the new army gathered with the Swiss to push the Aragonese out of Switzerland, and then pushed the English out of Brunswick. The war won, the nation was in ruins. The populace was exhausted and many cities burned, the nation was in chaos.

One positive outcome of the war, however, was that improved relations with Austria allowed Heinrich VI to ask them to transfer the Electorate title from Saxony to Brunswick proper, and after that he was crowned the King-Elector of Brunswick. As the war ended, and with much of North Germany conquered, Heinrich VI proclaimed Brunswick as the Kingdom of Hanover.

## The Kingdom-Electorate of Hanover

### Reign of King Heinrich VI von Welf (1533-1551)

The rest of Heinrich VI's rule would be spent attempting to stabilize the country, though he did partake in a few wars. A short invasion of Sweden saw the conquest of the Danish Peninsula, and an Austrian call to arms saw Hanover's armies fighting in Holland. For the most part, however, Hanover spent this period of time recovering. This was followed by an invasion into Brandenburg, annexing their western lands.

Unfortunately, the Aragonese declared war on Tunis again, calling in Austria as an ally. Hanover, loyal to their fellow Councilmember, fought bravely against the encroaching Austrian armies, but they were outnumbered 2:1 by superior troops. Tunis ended up surrendering in this war and giving up territories to Aragon, following this move by abandoning the Council and denouncing the Swiss.

Heinrich VI, on the other hand, was inspired by Switzerland's democracy. Though the nation could not adopt a proper republic, they adopted a form of elective monarchy, the Estates General.

In 1551, Heinrich VI abdicated the throne, exhausted by his struggles to help the country recover. The von Welf dynasty would never rule Hanover again, though their vast wealth continued to influence the nation until the 1750's.

### Reign of King Alfred I von Trent (1551-1555)

The first elected King of Hanover, Alfred I was a skilled ruler. He led an invasion of Westphalia and conquered the nation in just under a year.

In some twist of fate, the King-Elector of The Palatinate died without an heir, and the throne was inherited by the King of Denmark. Alfred I, a distant relative of the former King of The Palatinate, contested the Danish claim to the throne and fought them in a short war. Denmark, at this point, was a very weak nation. Within 3 years the war was over.

The Palatinate had inherited the lands of Burgundy, so the size of the Kingdom made it difficult to control them as a subject. Unfortunately, Alfred I was not elected in 1555, and The Palatinate broke away from Hanover after this. The nobles of Germany were very upset with this turn of events, and so they prepared to abolish the Elective Monarchy.

In 1555, Alfred I peacefully stepped down from the throne after failing his re-election bid. He is best remembered for bringing The Palatinate under Hanoverian rule, and setting a precedent to claim their throne again in the future.

### Reign of King Wilhelm August I von Helffenstein (1555-1559)

Wilhelm August I's rule was short and uneventful. As Protestantism spread through Europe, and mostly in North Germany, he struggled to keep the realm stable as religious rebels constantly tried to gain superiority. Much of his time was spent trying to re-stabilize the country to prepare to invade The Palatinate once again.

Unfortunately, during this period the Protestant Reformation began to really hit Hanover hard. Religious persecution led to the Religious Turmoil disaster ravaging much of Hanover's land. It was as if the Elective Monarchy was getting worse with each and every new ruler. Religious extremism and violence would dominate the nation for some years.

In 1559, Wilhelm August I peacefully stepped down from the throne after failing his re-election bid. He is not remembered for much, as he spent his entire short rule struggling to stabilize the country and concentrate power in the crown. Unfortunately, he was not successful in quelling the nobles' desires for a return to the monarchy.

### Reign of King Adolf Friedrich I von Tunna (1559)

Adolf Friedrich I was elected as a puppet of the nobility, with the sole purpose of abolishing the new elective Monarchy. Only ruling for 5 months, he did next to nothing in his time as ruler, and only helped the nobility select a new dynasty to rule the nation. After some deliberation, it was decided that Friedrich I August von der Lippe was best suited to lead the nation.

In 1559, Adolf Friedrich I von Tunna peacefully stepped down from the throne after returning the nation of Hanover to a Feudal Monarchy.

### Reign of King Friedrich I August von der Lippe (1559-1604)

Following the disastrous half-assed attempt at implementing a democracy in Hanover, this new dynasty swore to preserve the monarchy, no matter the cost. To begin, Friedrich I August decided he must unify Hanoverian religion once and for all, and finally chose to change the state religion of Hanover to Protestant. This move was widely popular in the nation, as at this point only 1/5 of Hanoverian citizens were still Catholic.

To foreign nations, however, this was not a welcome move. To Austria, this was a major change in policy from battling the Protestants to outright supporting them. Though Austria would remain allied with Hanover, it was clear that the alliance would not last for long, as Austria's last Catholic bastion in the north had turned to Protestantism with open arms.

Friedrich I August spent most of his reign trying to convert the rest of Hanover, as well as Saxony and Thuringia, to Protestantism. The people were not always willing, but after enough violence they were eventually all converted.

Unfortunately, a few years before Hanover was set to invade The Palatinate again, the War of the Protestant League broke out. It was quite pathetic, with only Wolgast, Utrecht and Portugal actually on the attacking side. Being allied to Austria, Hanover had to join on the Catholic side and watch as Protestants across the Empire were annihilated. Friedrich I August quickly signed a separate peace and invaded The Palatinate again with help from the Swiss.

This invasion was much more difficult than the first one. The Palatinate was much more prepared this time, but against greater numbers they eventually fell. The Palatinate was brought back under the control of Hanover, and lands in Burgundy were sold off to the Swiss. These moves were hugely unpopular with other German states, who angrily joined a coalition against Hanover, though there was no intention to expand any further for the time being.

His final act of war was the conquest of Hamburg and Lubeck. The war was quick and had few casualties, but the conquest of these rich cities was inexcusable to many German states. Any who had an alliance with Hanover broke it off, and nearly all of them joined a coalition.

Friedrich I August spent the rest of his reign improving relations with Palatine Nobility, and late into his life he integrated the crowns of Saxony and Thuringia into the Kingdom of Hanover.

In 1604, Friedrich I August von der Lippe passed away in his sleep. The first ruler in a long time to leave Hanover in a better state than he'd found it in, he also established the von der Lippe dynasty as the rulers of Hanover.

### Reign of King Ernst August I von der Lippe (1604-1659)

Ernst August I inherited a stable Kingdom, though the other nations of Germany were still very upset with the aggressive expansion of Hanover. As a result, he spent most of his reign smoothing relations with the nations of the HRE while taking small conquests where he could.

Under his rule, Hanover formed a military alliance with the Archbishopric of Liege. A former rival, tensions were high until they could agree on a proper border. Liege was eventually invited to join the Council and became a long-standing, faithful ally to Hanover.

One of the few conquests under Ernst August I's rule was the conquest of Wolgast, completing Hanover's control of the Pomerania region. Austrian ports in the area would be a constant threat to the exclave but it would stand strong.

In 1659, Ernst August I von der Lippe passed away due to disease. During his reign, he was able to calm the minor German states' concerns about Hanoverian expansion, and successfully conquered much of Pomerania.