Buda, April 1368
The first meeting between Ioannis V and Louis I of Hungary had not gone well. Louis had not taken well to the emperor refusing to dismount first from his horse when they had met, and Ioannis had been faced with the demands by Louis for the unconditional surrender of the Greek church to the pope. Ioannis V would continue his journey to Europe empty handed.
Chalkis, July 1368
Vettor Pisani signaled to his ships to retreat. His fleet had pressed on trying to reach Chalkis and failed. Philanthropenos taking advantage of the proximity of the coast had loaded over a thousand additional infantrymen on his galleys. Between his fleet and catapults, archers and crossbowmen emplaced in field fortifications along both coasts the Venetians and their allies had been forced to turn back. Meanwhile, while Chalkis still held on, Philanthropenos troops were ranging all over the rest of the island carrying everything before them.
Crete, September 1368
Kallergis men were forced into one more retreat, Cypriot and Venetian troops had doubled the territory under their control since the start of the year with over a quarter of the island under their control by now. Were it not for Sicilian supplies and men things would had been far worse for the Cretans. As it were they held most of the island. On the Cypriot and Venetian side Peter had to deal with increasing discontent among his own men and wasn't all too happy with the progress of the war himself. But he was committed to the war and understood that to win it he had to stick to a common strategy with Venice. Which meant first crushing the Cretan revolt...
Chalkis, October 29th, 1368
The town was forced to surrender to Philanthropenos forces. For the first time since 1304 the entirety of Euboea was back in Greek hands. But further to the south the Venetians were still holding fast in Methone and Korone.
Adrianople, November 1368
Sultan Murad was back to his capital. His armies had seized Sozopolis in the Black sea coast and North Thracian plain up to it with neither the Bulgarians not the Byzantines being able to offer effective resistance. Meanwhile Ioannis V was still away in Western Europe begging for help from anyone willing to hear him.
Methone, February 1369
Alexandros Philanthropenos moved against Methone and Korone at the head of nearly 14,000 men and 38 Greek and Genoese galleys. The garrisons under Carlo Zeno were too weak at the moment to hold out for long if not reinforced.
Candia, March 1369
Vettor Pisani received the few news managing to slip out of the Venetian castles in the Morea with increasing concern. His fleet of 25 galleys was too weak to be able to directly challenge Philanthropenos, not without reinforcements and this were unlikely to come from Venice. Young Maniakes, was so far proving much more of a nuisance than his father had been over the years with his squadron operating variously out of Corfu, Bari and Otranto keeping the hands of the Venetian Adriatic squadron full. Peter had agreed with him for the need for the Cypriots to arm as many ships as they could but this was coming at a cost with Peter having to release part of his army.
Methone and Korone, May 1369
Forty-one Venetian, Cypriot and Hospitaller galleys helped by favorable winds entered the ports bringing over a thousand Turkish mercenaries along with supplies. The Sicilian sieges of the two Venetian fortresses would continue but the going would become much tougher.
Thrace, June 1369
The Ottomans had turned their attentions to the remaining Byzantine holdings in Thrace taking Saranta Ekklisies and Vizye. At the same time the campaign against the Bulgarians continued with several fortresses falling to the Ottomans.
Crete, September 1369
The campaign was proving too frustrating for king Peter's tastes. His joint army was only slightly numerically superior to Kallergis who had kept his advances checked. With increasingly bad news from Cyprus where the Turks had pushed the Cypriots out of their holdings in the Anatolian coast, renewed plague had hit the island and there was growing unrest against the absent king and the regency of his brother
John, the king would decide to return to Nicosia to set things in order during the winter before he could return to pursue the war.
Rome, October 1369
Ioannis V kissed three times the feet of pope Urban V and proclaimed acceptance of the union of the churches or rather subordination of the Greek Church to the pope. It was humiliating but it was not as if the basileus could do much given the tragic situation of the empire.
Palermo, December 1369
It had taken some work to arrange the meeting, the empire might had dropped out of the war with Sicily but no formal peace had been arranged yet. Ioannis V would had been normally loath to come begging hat in hand the Sicilians. But it was not as if he had much option with the Turks running amok in Thrace conquering everything in sight. The regent who had come all the way from Syracuse looked at him coldly.
"So you are coming here, to seek help?
"It is needed. The Turks, have conquered most of Thrace, invaded Bulgaria, attack the Serbs, they are a danger for all of us. Including you"
"And what are we to do, stop the war with Venice, throw the Cretans to the wolves and instead come marching to Constantinople's aid?"
"Venice holds Crete for the last 160 years. Do a bunch of unruly peasants matter to you more than the Turks threatening Constantinople and all of us?"
"Actually they do, my late father in in law was very careful to teach me how much this poor peasants matter. He had been taught that from his own father. This is why this realm has kept prospering while the lands your great-grandfather had taken from Theodore's cousin had not. But is doesn't matter. The truth is I don't give a shit about your current predicament?"
"What?" that Ioannis V had been taken aback by the language was an understatement.
"You helped kill my husband, after attacking his envoys and now you expect me to come to your aid? That is NEVER going to happen. Now please do all of us a favor and leave."
The audience was over.
Nicosia, January 1370
The three knights barged into the kings bedroom killing Peter I in front of his mistress. The unpopular plans of the late king for one more campaign in the west, coupled with the multitude of adulteries with nobles wives and daughters had proven a lethal combination.
Otranto straits, March 1370
The Venetian Adriatic squadron slipped south past Sicilian patrols to link up with that of VettorPisani. The Council of Ten had taken seriously the letters of Pisani that with the Cypriots out of the war his fleet was now severely outnumbered. But the Venetians would be sighted further south and the Sicilian fleet in Greek waters would be ordered by Philanthropenos away before it could be trapped between the two enemy fleets and hole up in Piraeus to wait for their Sicilian brethren to come to their aid.
Sapienza, July 1370
The two fleets were about evenly matched in numbers. Philanthropenos and Ioannis Maniakes, the younger man tended to use the second surname, reminding his illustrious ancestor, had 56 galleys, the Genoese had refused to renew their contract. The Venetians had 49 with 6 more provided by the Hospitallers. But the Sicilians could draw on more marines thanks to the proximity of their army and Pisani was well aware that the Venetian manpower reserves were nearly exhausted. With casualties nearing 3,000 on each side and the Sicilians showing no signs of retreating, the Venetian fleet would disengage first. But eith Venice potentially exposed Pisani would take his fleet back north...
Methone, August 28th, 1370
The fortress surrendered under terms to Alexandros Philanthropenos, the Venetian garrison would be allowed to leave for Crete. Korone would follow two weeks later. And with the Venetian fleet now away the Sicilians could attack the minnor Aegean islands with relative impunity. By the end of the year Samos, Ikaria and Kos had been recovered, annd Kythera and Karpathos, held by Venetian feudatories since the 4th crusade would fall to the Greeks.
Crete, November 1370
With the Cypriot army gone after the death of Peter I, the Venetian army in the island had found itself on the defensive. Kallergis troops had puhed the Venetians out of most of their gains in the past two years.
Avignon, December 1370
Pierre Roger de Beaufort became pope Gregory XI following the death of Urban V. When the news of the election of yet another French pope would reach Italy they would not be received.