Aušra of Kretnga

Aušra of Kretnga
Portrait by Šarune Paksys
Pukias Sualkaranė
Reign	22 December 1601 – 4 September 1664
Predecessor	Skaidre the Tall
Successor	Žydrune II of Ravumo
Born	(1578-06-11)11 June 1578 Kretnga, Silua
Died	4 September 1664(1664-09-04) (aged 86) Ravumo, Silua
Burial	Ravumo Mausoleum of the Sun and Moon
Spouse	Ovidijus Bekeriene (m. 1598)
Issue	Skirmante, Gintare, Laimonas
Full name Aušra Vainauskus of Kretnga
Father	Matas Vainuaskiene
Mother	Raminta Vainuaskus, Karova of Kretnga
Religion	Kuvo
Military career
Allegiance	Silua
Service/branch	Siluan Army
Years of service	1595 - 1648
Rank	Commander-in-chief of the Siluan Army (1601 - 1664)
Unit	3rd Army of the East (1595-1601) 6th Army of Sun (1602-1648)
Commands held	22nd Husaras Pulkas
Battles/wars	Ogre War Exodus War Third War of the South Stoni War

Aušra of Kretnga was the Pukias Sualkaranė of Silua from 1601-1664. Aušra expanded the borders of Silua at the expense of its neighbors, most notably Shalum, and is frequently rated as one of the best military leaders of the 17th century.

Childhood and family

Aušra was born in Kretnga, seat of the Kretnga military district, on 22 December 1578 amidst one of the coldest winters ever recorded in Eracura. Her mother was Raminta Vainauskus, the korava (military governor) of Kretnga and the daughter of the Siluan war hero Ona Vainauskus. Her father was Matas Vainuaskiene, the son of exiled High Princess Ieva of Ogre. The marriage between Raminta and Matas was arranged by Skaidre the Tall in the hopes that the two would produce a daughter that could lay legal claim to the Ogre Principality which was under Shalumite control at the time.

The two were wed on 10 February 1568 when Raminta was 20 years of age and Matas was 16. The couple's first three children all died within the first year of life. In 1570 Raminta gave birth to a son, Gediminas, who would survive and live to the age of 60. From 1571 - 1576 Raminta was in near constant service in the Siluan border regions as Silua defended against incursions from several nations. After the conclusion of the conflict in 1576, Raminta once again began trying for a daughter. On 22 December 1578 she gave birth to twin girls, Aušra and Ugne.

As was common at the time, the two daughters of Raminta were not raised by thier mother as she was still in active service with the Siluan army. They were instead raised by thier younger aunt, Laima Rabaciauskas, who also acted as thier wet nurse. When the girls were ten years old, Laima enrolled Aušra in the military school of the Kretnga temple of Sual as she was the elder twin and Ugne was sent to study at the Kretnga College of Arts and Administration as the younger twin.

Aušra and Ugne were very close as children and were said to be inseparable from the moment they were born. They would frequently share thier lessons with each other, which benefited Aušra immensely later in life. The two would continue thier close relationship late into life, often supporting each other after Aušra was nominated and confirmed as Pukias Sualkaranė.

Early adult years and military service

Early military service

At the age of 16, Aušra was officially assigned to Siluan Army. She was placed in a provisional hussar company in the 3rd Army of the East along the eastern Siluan border and saw her first combat action four months after her sixteenth birthday in April of 1595. At the time, The Northern Coalition led by XXXX was at war with Silua and was attempting to wrest control of the eastern region of Petrašiūnai from Silua. Initially, Siluan commanders were of the opinion that the war would be over in matter of months, but the Northern Coalition proved a much tougher opponent than the generals thought and the war lasted five years, from 1595-1600.

During the course of the war, Aušra distinguished herself on numerous occasions and by the time of the war's end in 1600 she had been promoted to the rank of Fourth General and was in command of the 22nd Husaras Pulkas. During the war, her commanders and fellow soldiers noted her extreme courage, strength, tactical savvy. On more than one occasion, she was said to have withdrawn from an engagement that would have caused too great a toll on her subordinate troops only to return to the fray in a much stronger position and devastate her opponents. It was in part this battlefield ingenuity that led to her nomination by Skaidre the Tall for the position of Pukias Sualkaranė in the final months of 1600.

Off-duty life

Between engagements, Aušra read voraciously and was known to consume whatever texts she could get a hold of. These included Siluan, Saldian, various Nordic, ancient Makedonian, and Ridevan works of fiction and nonfiction alike. Among the many books that Aušra read, she was said to have found those concerning Siluan Predominance Theory, military treatises, and the often condemned sensual literature of Tennai exceptionally enthralling. These varieties of literature would inform her early political career and lead to widespread rumors regarding her sexuality which were only partially quelled by her marriage to Ovidijus Bekeriene in 1598 and the birth of her children following her confirmation as Pukias Sualkaranė.

During her early years of military service, Aušra developed her Pan Siluan philosophy which she would publish shortly after her ascension to Siluan leadership. Encapsulated in her philosophy was the idea that all those of Siluan and closely related ethno-linguistic groups should either belong to a single nation (presumably Silua) or at the very least a tightly-knit alliance of these peoples. On assuming the head position of Siluan government in 1601, Aušra further developed her philosophy and used it as partial justification for many of the wars she fought during her long tenure as Pukias Sualkaranė.

In early 1597, Skaidre the Tall took note of Aušra's military successes and academic interests and made a series of visits to the young Aušra's unit and by the middle of the year, she had begun to groom Aušra for the the role of Pukias Sualkranė. Also by the end of 1597, Skaidre had arranged a marriage for Aušra with the son of the prominent Bekerys military and religous family. Aside from the advantages of having such a doubly powerful and influential family tied to the top position in Siluan government, it has also been theorized that Skaidre also made this particular arrangement to help smother rumors of what was considered deviant sexual behaviour by the leading Kuvo religious leaders of the time. Skaidre herself had been at the center of rumors concerning her sexuality throughout her tenure as Pukias Sualkaranė and it has been theorized that aliging Aušra with a well known religious family was an attempt to help Aušra avoid the challenges to her rule that Skaidre had faced.

While the 3rd Army of the east was camped for the winter, Aušra and Ovidijus Bekeryte were married in January of 1598.

Advisors and councils

Ugne Vainuaskus

A modern portait of Ugne Vainuaskas

Ugne Vainuaskas was the twin sister of Aušra and is almost universally considered the most skilled and successful of her advisors by historians of the modern era. Although twins, Ugne was reported to have been born an hour after Aušra which made her both the second born and youngest daughter of her mother Raminta by Siluan legal standards of the 16th century. As the both the second-born and youngest daughter of a prestigous Siluan family she was assigned an education that focuse on the arts, administration, politics, and diplomacy instead of the military education given to the eldest daughter and those following after the second.

During the course of her education, Ugne reportedly impressed her teachers and tutors so thoroughly with her keen intelligence, cleverness, charisma, and dogged determination that they would frequently allow her into discourses usually reserved for the most knowledgeable and prestigous of scholars and philosophers.

With her excellent performance at the Kretnga College of Arts and Administration, Ugne was frequently able to visit Aušra while her sister was on campaign with the army. The two would spend hours in discussion, with Ugne sharing much of what she learned with Aušra, and often only retiring to rest in the morning after a whole night of discussion. These from Ugne, provided Aušra with valuable secondary education which provided her with important political, administrative, and diplomatic skills that would later be invaluable to her as Pukias Sualkaranė. These conversations also served to strengthen the already strong bond between the sisters.

During Aušra's term as Pukias Sualkaranė, Ugne was perhaps the most important and competent of her advisors. Many of Aušra's most important and influential policies and pieces of legislation were either co-produced with Ugne or constructed almost entirely by Ugne herself. As well as the important role the Ugne played in the administration of Silua, she was also very successful and important to Siluan international diplomacy during Aušra's tenure as Pukias Sualkaranė. She traveled extensively throughout Eracura, strengthening ties with Silua's allies and extrating favorable agreements from nations treated as neutral and enemies alike. Her charisma and diplomatic prowess when dealing with Shalum is generally treated as equally influential as Aušra's military victories in the successful conclusion of the Reunification Wars which saw the incorporation of a large swathe of eastern Shalum into Silua.

The Council of Foreign Born Siluans

Siluan leaders had in the past, on rare occasions, taken a few foreign born inhabitants of Silua into their retinues. This was generally done to provide linguistic expertise to Siluan leaders as well as provide insights into other nations. Aušra took the idea of incorporating foreign born citizens into her retinue and formalized it with the creation of the Council of Foreign Born Siluans. The expressed purpose of the council was to provide Aušra with knowledge of her neighbors and nations further abroad, enchance diplomatic endeavors with the use of individuals knowledgeable of other nations, and also espionage when needed.

Two of the better known members of the council were XXXX, a Gylic hailing from a small state in the Liúşai League and Annika Breuer of Blackburn, the daughter of a minor branch of the greater House of Blackburn.

XXXX came to Silua when she/he joined a Siluan mercantile company while in a Liúşai port city after being forced into exile. She/he was highly educated and had traveled extensively within Siduri and met Aušra for the first time during the winter 1598 while delivering a shipment supplies to the front lines of the war against the Northern Coalition. Aušra and XXXX were said to have spent several weeks of the winter encampment in discussion of XXXX's travels within Siduri. Aušra was so captivated by what she heard that she asked that a diplomatic officer be assigned to XXXX in case she needed to make use of their knowledge in the future. In 1604, Aušra offered XXXX a position on the Council of Foreign Born Siluans, which they accepted. Over the course of Aušra's long tenure as Pukias Sualkaranė, XXXX was instrumental in expanding Siluan trade in Siduri as well as establishing formal and regular relations with many of the major Sidurian powers of the time such as Arkoenn and Tennai. XXXX was generally impressed by Aušra and wrote in her/his memoir:

"Much unlike the common description of Northerners found in Southern lands, Aušra displays a deep love of culture to include literature, poetry, musical composition. She has a keen mind for not only war, but also diplomacy and administration and I have never met a Northerner so enamored with life and the desire to celebrate it. Many nights of drunken carousing and the resulting hangovers the following can provide ample witness this zest for life."

Foreign policy

Foreign policy during Aušra's time as Pukias Sualkaranė focused primarily on strengthing ties with Silua's tradtional allies such as Ossoria and absorbing or putting under direct influence ethnically Siluan and related ethnic communities in northern Eracura. The latter occured through a series of successful wars fueled by a Pan-Siluan idealology developed and promoted by Aušra herself. The former was a diplomatic campaign orchestrated be Aušra's twin sister and chief advisor, Ugne Vainuaskus.

Pan-Siluanism

Pan-Siluanism, a movement which crystallized in the early 17th century, is the political ideology concerned with the advancement of integrity and unity for the Siluan peoples. Its main impact occurred in Northern Eracura, where non-Siluan empires and kingdoms had ruled various Siluan ethnic groups for centuries. These were mainly Shalum and other neighboring Nordic states.

Extensive pan-Siluanism began grew from the sense of unity and nationalism experienced within ethnic groups after the subjugation of Siluan ethnic groups and the conflicts of the 16th century with the various Nordic powers of northern Eracura. Like other nationalist movements, Siluan intellectuals and scholars in the developing fields of history, philology, and folklore actively encouraged the passion of their shared identity and ancestry.

Commonly used symbols of the Pan-Slavic movement were the Pan-Siluan colours (black and yellow) and the Pan-Siluan anthem, ‘’Rise Siluans’‘.

The movement began taking hold within Siluan ethnic communities during the Northern Wars of the 16th century. Some of the earliest manifestations of Pan-Siluan movement thought within Shalum have been attributed to Ēra Birziņ in the 16th century and Vida Riekstina in the 17th century. Aušra picked up on the rising Pan-Siluan sentiment she encountered while on campaign in the late 16th century before rising to the position of Pukias Sualkaranė and began to write the ‘’Siluan Nation’‘. Within the ‘’Siluan Nation’‘, Aušra called for unity amongst all Siluan ethnicities and the violent expulsion of the “Nordic barbarians” from the ancestral and holy lands of the Siluan peoples.

During her tenure as Pukias Sualkaranė, Aušra widely distribute ‘’Siluan Nation’‘ throughout northern Eracura and her sister Ugne Vainuaskus also traveled extensively promoting the ideas of the Pan-Siluan movement. The actions of both women are credited with instigating the Reunification Wars which began with the Principality of Ogre electing to join the Siluan Hegemony in 1607. Following the success of the Ogre War, the Pan-Siluanism movement rapidly overtook and overwhelmed the attempts of Shalum and other Nordic nations to stymie independence and unification movements within their Siluan ethnic communities. The Pan-Siluan movement of Aušra not only drastically altered the borders of northern Eracura, but it ushered in an era of nationalism in Eracura that only began to subside following Eracuran War of the 20th century.

Domestic policy

The domestic policies of Aušra focused on strengthening the economy and protecting trade, expanding education, promotion and patronization of the arts, and strengthing Silua's maritime capabilities. With the assistance of her talented and capable twin sister Unge Vainuaskus, Aušra was highly successful in instituting her numerous policies and reforms. Some historians have even commented that "instead of a single capable woman leading with a singular purpose, you instead had two highly capable women working as one towards a common goal."

Education

Academic, non-military education was something reserved for the wealthy and expanding middle class of Silua during the course of the 16th century as it was in many nations across Eracura. This had the effect of creating a large, undereducated population of poor and usually landworking citizens. The lack of education among the poor also had the effect of stifling creativity and innovation which was at times exacerbated by the military focus of Siluan governments. During her military service prior to becoming Pukias Sualkaranė, Aušra saw first hand the effects that a lack of education had on the poor of Silua and its neighbors and she became convinced of the need of least a basic education for all Siluan citizens, rich and poor alike.

Upon assuming leadership of the Siluan government, Aušra conferred with her sister and chief advisor, Ugne Vainuaskus, concerning methods of putting into practice Aušra's idea of a basic universal education. After several years of planning and convincing of the Siluan elite class and leaders of the Siluan polities, Aušra introduced the Švietimo Mandatas (Educational Mandate) in 1610. The mandate opened schools that had previously catered exclusively to the wealthy and middle class to all citizens. It also created state-owned and administered general schools in all Siluan polities that served primarily the poor and also made basic education compulsory from the ages of 8-16. As in many nations at the time, one of the reasons that kept impoverished children from school, aside from lack of access, was the need for families to have every possible member of a family working. To help ease the burden that having a child away at school, the mandate provided for a small stipend for each child an impoverished family had in school. To offset the cost of this educational reform, small increases to tariffs and the creation of an early income tax for the wealthty and businesses were instituted.

Though Aušra is often given credit for the Švietimo Mandatas, many scholars and Aušra herself give much of the credit for it to her sister Ugne. Aušra and historians both credit Ugne's great intelligence, charisma, and persistence for the success in both drafting an implementing the educational reform. She is also awareded praise for the ease with which she was able to convince the wealthy elites of Silua to provide both thier full support and also monetary contributions to allow the program to thrive.

Patron of the arts

The arts, especially literature and opera were two areas for which Aušra had a very keen interest. Aušra was an avid reader and amateur novelist who was said to have a personal library that rivaled many national libraries of the time. After her assumption of the head of Siluan government, she invested large amounts of her own personal wealth into the patronizing of writers such as novelists Juta Kiuras and Lilija Didvalis, poets Rusne Rusilas and Annelies Hillerin, and the playwright Frida Bzezinskas. For much of Siluan history, most libraries were operated by Kuvo religious orders with only a small number of secularly operated libraries existing in some of the larger urban areas of the nation. During the administration of Aušra, an estimated 4,000 secularly operated libraries were created either through the conversion of old structures or the construction of entirely new buildings. This large increase in the availability of written materials coupled with Aušra's educational expansions and reforms are credited with transforming Silua into one of the most literate nations of the era, a legacy which carries on into the modern period.

Opera in 1601 was a young art form, with the earliest composition considered an opera, as understood today, being Džiuginta by Saldian composer Luka written in 1595. By the time Aušra had risen to Pukias Sualkaranė in 1601, opera had spread from Saldia and had become well entrenched within the large urban centers of Silua. It was during the period of 1595 and 1600, when she was not on campaign with the army, that Aušra became familiar with the emerging art form and quickly became enamored by it. This love of the art was made evident when the newly seated Pukias Sualkaranė on addressing a crowd in Ravumo, was reported as saying;

If there is an art form that matches opera in its perfection, then only the words of poets and the [novelists] come close to comparing. I shall therefore raise opera up as the national artform and make it available to all.

During the rule of Aušra, opera exploded in popularity throughout Silua and thousands of operas were written and performed in the more than six decades of her rule. With the increasing popularity of opera at home, Aušra promoted the art form abroad by sending performers abroad and inviting foreign composers and dignitaries to observe performances. Of those that were most influenced by Siluan opera were the Cacertan composer XXXX who successfully adapted and developed a uniquely Cacertan variety of opera and the Gylic composer XXXX who did much the same for the Gylics of the Liúşai League.

Alongside the promotion and patronization of opera, Aušra constructed the first Tyran national opera house in Ravumo and also supported the construction of many more opera houses throughout the polities that comprised Silua.

As general

Aušra of Kretnga was an extremely able military commander. Her innovative tactical integration of infantry, cavalry, logistics and particularly her use of artillery, earned her the title of the "Mother of Modern Warfare". Future commanders who studied and admired Aušra include XXXX and XXXX. Her advancements in military science made Silua the dominant Northern Eracuran power for the next one hundred years.

Aušra of Kretnga leading her army during the Ogre War

Aušra was the main figure responsible for the success of Siluan arms during the Reunification Wars and led her nation to great prestige. As a general, Aušra is famous for employing mobile artillery on the battlefield, as well as very aggressive tactics, where attack was stressed over defense, and mobility and cavalry initiative were emphasized.

Among other innovations, she installed an early form of combined arms in her formations, where the cavalry could attack from the safety of an infantry line reinforced by cannon, and retire again within to regroup after their foray. She adopted much shallower infantry formations than were common in the pike and shot armies of the era, with formations typically fighting in 5 or 6 ranks, occasionally supported at some distance by another such formation—the gaps being the provinces of the artillery and cavalry as noted above. Her artillery were themselves different—she would not let herself be hindered by cumbersome heavy cannon, but instead over a course of experimentation settled on smaller, more maneuverable weapons, in effect fielding the first light field artillery in history in significant numbers.

These were grouped in batteries supporting her more linearly deployed formations, replacing the cumbersome and unmaneuverable traditional deep squares (such as the Tercios that were up to 50 ranks deep) used in other pike and shot armies of the day. In consequence, her forces could redeploy and reconfigure very rapidly, confounding her enemies.

Her armies were very well trained for the day, so that her musketeers were widely known for their firing accuracy and reload speed: three times faster than any contemporary rivals. Later generals considered her one of the greatest generals of all time. She was also renowned for the consistency of purpose and the amity of her troops—no one part of her armies was considered better or received preferred treatment, as was common in other armies where the cavalry were the elite, followed by the artillery, and both disdained the lowly infantry. In Aušra’s army the units were extensively cross trained. Both cavalry and infantry could service the artillery, as her heavy cavalry did when turning captured artillery on the opposing Shalumite Tercios at the battle of Luakas. Pikemen could shoot—if not as accurately as those designated musketeers—so a valuable firearm could be kept in the firing line. Her infantrymen and gunners were taught to ride, if needed.

Reengineering

Aušra was a very forward thinking military engineer. She reengineered the way in which her army worked, with simple innovations that proved devastating to her adversaries. One example of this was the Siluan cavalry system. Cavalry had been pushed to the fringes of military worth and had been largely neutralized by the tercios. They were being ineffectively used to charge the enemy front or flank, fire broadsides with pistols and muskets and then retreat to reload and reform. However, Aušra used light cannons (reengineered to have 3 standard calibers, one of which was eventually called "The Regimental Cannon,") along with muskets to eliminate enemy pikemen, then the cavalry would swoop in and cut through enemy lines with lances and sabers.

Aušra then faced the problem of equipping this newly raised army. To do so, she thought it necessary to make sure everyone had the same equipment. Standardizing this way makes mass production, training and maintenance much easier. The major reform was reducing the weight of the musket. The musket was also standardized in caliber. Perhaps Aušra’s greatest contribution however, was her work in artillery. Making the artillery lighter and more maneuverable gave her the option of moving around instead of being in a fixed position. She formed an army that was quick to attack but also could defend.