Vinzent von Schweistein

Schweistein in 1086

**Vinzent von Schweistein** (*Vinzent Michael Josef Alexander Niklaus Artur Wilhelm von Schweistein;* born 1040) is a Fengelian nobleman and general leading the Fengelian Intervention in the Raykorian Civil War. According to the Birzen Plan, should the Intervention in Raykoria succeed, Schweistein will be made the new "Grand Prince" (Großfürst) of Raykoria.

## Biography

### Family and Early Life

Vinzent was born in 1040, as the third son of Atharid von Schweistein, future head of the House of Schweistein. As with most Fengelian aristo-capitalist houses, his eldest brother Hans was destined to inherit the family business, and so Vinzent's future was to join the military. The Sixth Fengelo-Aulmierrese War had broken out on Vinzent's 8th birthday, and his family relocated to an estate in Anvern to escape the bombings. Much of the Schweistein family's civilian goods factories in Ostoryern were nationalized for the war effort and bombed, and while the government compensated them for the nationalization, the family suffered financially nonetheless. Vinzent remarked that as a child, all he ever asked was "when they could go back home" while his parents were worried about the family's financial difficulties and if their two adult sons could survive the frontlines. Vinzent's second older brother, Stephan, did not survive the War, and was killed in action in 1052 at the age of 17.

Atharid's sister, Charlott, married then-Crown Prince Ludwig of Ostoryern in 1046. Ludwig took the throne as Ludwig VII following the 1053-54 Crisis. This makes Vinzent the nephew of the King of Ostoryern, and is one of the reasons he was given the position of being the commander of the Intervention

### Military

#### Pre-Intervention

Vinzent entered the Royal Infantry Academy in Vinchen, Ostoryern in 1057. He graduated as an officer in 1060, and in 1068 was sent to Parintos as a military observer in the Fourth Medimarine War. In the War, the Parintian army, which was better equipped, trained under Heinese military doctrine and used Fengelian equipment, was defeated by the numerically superior Transrumellese army, which trained under Franzovan military doctrine and was better supplied, even though it had inferior weaponry. This result, alongside Franzovan remilitarization, was concerning for the Fengelians, and the Emperor was determined to remilitarize.

When Grand Prince Philip II died unexpectedly and Raykoria fell into a succession crisis, the foreign powers further incited conflict, leading to the outbreak of a full-blown Raykorian Civil War. The Fengelians initially favored the Babelist Movement, and Vinzent was sent as a military advisor to Babilhad. He was well received by the Fengelophile Prince Yohanes (Johan) of Babilhad, and was by the Prince's side in the Birzen festivals of 1076, 7 and 8. Vinzent also learned Raqori and a limited amount of Reza during his time. He could hold basic conversations in Raqori, although his distinct Ostoryernese accent made it difficult to understand for native speakers. Following Prince Yohanes' death and Alfred's ascension to the throne, Vinzent was recalled to Fengelia. He returned in 1083, but his relation with Prince Alfred was not as good as with Yohanes, and when the Babelist leader signed the Fabian Treaty with Kranowska in 1085, Vinzent was recalled again as Fengelia cut all support and funding to the Babelist Movement

#### Intervention

As the General Staff prepared for an invasion of Raykoria, it was suggested to have the Heinese general and Sixth War veteran Count Mitteldorf lead the intervention. However, as Emperor Franz August wished to improve relations with the southern states, he had Vinzent, nephew of the Ostoryernese king Ludwig VII, be the commander of the Intervention instead, with Count Mitteldorf as his second-in-command. Vinzent highly respected Mitteldorf, although Mitteldorf allegedly considered him an inexperienced and spoiled brat who only got his position due to nepotism. Mitteldorf also held disdain for the Raykorians, whom he considered savages, while Vinzent showed more interest in their culture and language