Savoy Truffle

coz1: Maybe both.

stnylan: Thank you.

Fulcrumvale: They are indeed.

SunZyl: I'm not sure they were, as I was attacking a mountain province.

The-Great-Dane: I meant to arrive in early March, so it was a bit mis-timed.

Duke of Wellington: Very close.

Katapraktoi: Cavalry aren't much good for attacking in mountains, so I need my infantry to perform.

chefportnen: As Coz says, the solo material.

CSK: The army of Languedoc is the force attacking Auvergne, with 6,000 fresh recruits added.

Wait

From "A History of Savoy" by J. P. Lerrier

The Battle of Issoire was fought on a cloudy February morning, with the Auvergnais army, led by Duke Bertrand, having a very definite defensive advantage. The armies on both sides were a mix of archers, pikemen and swordsmen, with of course sizeable contingents of cavalry. It was a classical pitched battle, with both sides lining up to face each other in accordance with the rules of chivalry. Most of our knowledge of the battle comes from a remarkable first-hand account, written by a Savoyard foot soldier, presumably a merchant or some kind of tradesmen in his normal life, that I shall quote:

"The sky was grey, but we were all roused by Duke Louis's rally, screaming as he rode before us on his mighty stallion. A few seconds later, he retreated, screaming "Fire!" so loud that I was nearly deafened. Our archers, well drilled and highly competent, fired in unison, as a volley of Auvergnais arrows smashed into our front line.

Then the cavalry came, the thundering sound of hooves causing the very ground to shake. Our pikemen raised their spears, and they held firm as the first wave of horses crashed into our lines, the pikes doing quite significant damage. As our two armies engaged, Duke Louis's orders became drowned out by the clashing of iron and the sounds of men and horses choking and dying. I acked and slashed for what seemed like hours, and I was so weary with exhaustion that only the sheer rush kept me on my feet, the knowledge that if I fell, my life would be skewered out of me.

It was not long before the Auvergnais advantage begun to tell. A second cavalry charge, all the more forceful through galloping down the slope, hit us, and all around Savoyard soldiers were falling, and morale was sapping quickly. It was a desperate fight, and when we heard the ominous sound of yet more distant hooves, we began to flee the field. But Duke Louis, still on his horse, barked at us to wait, he kept screaming it, over and over again. Inside I cursed him, thinking him mad; why was he so unwilling to retreat, to admit defeat and conserve his army?

We did as he commanded just through the sheer power of his commands, and when the new wave of horses came into view I could not believe me eyes, for they were bearing the standard of Savoy! How they had managed to ascend the hill without being noticed by Duke Bertrand I do not know, but the consequence was of course panic from the Auvergnais army, as it was crushed between the Savoyard infantry and cavalry. Those left alive immediately fled, and somehow Savoy was victorious!"

It is still unknown how the cavalry force was able to sneak behind Auvergnais lines like that, but it was stroke of genious by the Duke. Clermont-Ferrand was put under siege, and in June the city of Aurillac was taken, and Savoy moved north into the lands of the Duke of Bourbon.


King Charles VII realised that the war in the south was lost, and in November sent an envoy to Duke Louis offering peace in exchange for 120 Florins. The Duke is reported to have laughed hysterically at this offer, stating explicitly that he would not accept mre money for peace. He wanted land. The envoy was sent back to King Charles promptly, so that he would understand that Louis could not just be bought off. Clearly this was misunderstood, as in February another envoy arrived, offering this time 270 Florins. Louis rejected this without a second thought.


King Charles, realising that Louis would not accept money for peace, decided to try negotiating with Frederick V of Austria, hoping the Habsburg would be willing to go behind their allies back and deny Savoy the land they so craved. As it turned out, Frederick held firm, and refused peace without at least some territorial concession. After much negotiation, a treaty was hammered out which both sides could agree to: Savoy would gain Languedoc, and 240 ducats would be paid in tribute by the French King, to be divided equally between Austria and her allies.

News of the peace was slightly disappointing to Duke Louis's ears, as he had also craved Cevennes, but he was thankful that Austria had been able to secure him the rich region of Languedoc and the influential city of Montpellier. The French crown now held no territory in the south, and with the Dukes of Auvergne and Bourbon both pretty much independent from Paris, a united France looked a long way off.

Savoy with new province​

stnylan: It would be nice, but they own Maine and a province in, sigh, Ireland, so little can be done for the time being.

The-Great-Dane: It does, but no more war for a while.

Katapraktoi: The victory was fairly lucky. And I am also thankful I got anything at all out of the war, to be honest.

Fulcrumvale: Thanks!

CSK: Well France will inherit it soon, so maybe then...

Quintilian: Well I have got 400 years to cover!

Chief Ragusa: Yep, the peace was fairly good, considering. Austria could have sold me short, but didn't thankfully.

coz1: They do indeed, as well as Connaught (grr). Relations with Aragon are strong (+125)

Things We Said Today

From "A History of Savoy" by J. P. Lerrier

During the war with France trading had been disrupted, and so in the months following the truce Duke Louis concentrated on re-establishing a strong Savoyard presence in Genoa and Venice. It was largely a success, and once again foreign trade began to reap it's reward for the Duchy.

It was also about this time that Louis became a patron of the arts. Although Savoy lacked the funds for the fine art gallery that Louis desired to build at Chambery, the Duke became known across Europe for his keen artistic eye and his love of collecting antiquities, relics and other obscurities, and was a prime example of a "renaissance man". Savoy was a land torn between French and Italian identity, and Louis's actions indicated a clear shift towards favouring the latter. He restyled himself as Duke Ludovico and decreed that all court business must be conducted in Italian only, and if it wasn't for his love of Chambery and it's castle he would undoubtledly have moved the capital to Torino there and then.


Meanwhile, in Languedoc new taxation measures were introduced, and in March Ludovico recieved some interesting news from the Imperial Free City of Mantua. For many years the supposedly free city had been under very strong Habsburg influence, but the ruler Gian Francesco eventually grew tired of the Habsburg presence and threw them out of the city. This of course greatly hurt Mantua's relations with Austria, although the two remained allies. Ludovico, always the shameless opportunist, immediately sent a lavish present to Gian Francesco, a jewel-encrusted golden cross made by the finest craftsmen Torino had to offer. The gift was graciously recieved, and relations between Savoy and Mantua soared.

However, Gian Francesco was weary of any foreign interest in his realm after the business with Austria, despite grand promises of protection and prestige should Mantua become a vassal of the Duchy of Savoy. Luckily for Ludovico, Gian Francesco died, his successor being Lodovico III il Turco, a man much more willing to listen to Savoy's offers. On June 2nd, Mantua formally agreed to become a vassal state of Savoy, on the condition that the city would retain all the privileges and benefits of being a free city. It was an agreement that favoured both sides.


The Duchy of Savoy now dominated northern Italy, and so when war broke out between the Italian states to the south, Ludovico took great interest, as he knew very well that any conflict in that region could see a radical shift in the balance of power. It began as a personal squabble between Cosimo 'the Elder' of Tuscany and his counterpart in Modena, which soon engulfed all of central Italy. The Pope Eugene IV (with whom Ludovico's father Amedee still served as a cardinal) sided with Cosimo, as did the Doge of Venice. Modena for the time being stood alone, yet with the aid of highly skilled condottieri (mercenary leaders) was able to win a great victory, and to with much fanfare completely absorbed Tuscany in 1446, much to the horror of Europe.


Soon afterwards Siena entered the war on the side of Modena, drawing much scorn from many in Italy for so obviously waiting to see who had won before choosing sides. Savoy watched all this with great interest, and when Modena occupied the Eternal City itself there were a few tense days as Ludovico awaited news of his father, who fortunately had been able to flee alongside Eugene to Ragusa, where a new temporary Papacy was established.

Savoy's attention would soon be drawn away from the conflict in Italy over an issue much closer to home, as in Milan, Duke Filippo Maria Visconti lay on his deathbed, lacking a legitimate heir...

August 14th 1447
Castelo di Milano

The room was lit only with candlelights. Filippo could not tolerate any more light, and so the blinds remained shut. He lay delirious with fever on his bed, unable to move, his brow glimmering with cold sweat.

"Francesco...Francesco, come closer..."

The man sitting by the Duke's bedside hesitated before drawing near. Filippo could only speak in a whisper, but Francesco could not help but marvel at how powerful his voice was in spite of that. He was sure that the Duke's hoarse mutterings could be heard from several rooms away.

"What is it, my lord?"

The Duke blinked. "I know we've had our disagreements, Francesco...but I can trust you, can't I?"

"Of course you can trust me, I am married to your daughter and I swear on her honour that I would not betray you."

"There are plotters...those who themselves desire power...I want you to-" The Duke burst into a fit of loud coughing, before continuing, "Roberto...I want him to be Duke..."

The dying man fell back, exhausted with the exertion, and Francesco remained solemn and silent for almost a minute before saying, "of course, I will see to it that Roberto is made Duke."

"I will not forget...your loyalty."

Francesco left the Duke with a bow, and as he walked through the courtyard he laughed to himself. Roberto would never rule Milan, Francesco knew that. Roberto was a weak, arrogant fool, but more importantly, he was a bastard, although of course Filippo refused to acknowledge this.

Francesco left the castle, and wandered into the bustling streets of Milan, stopping at a tavern he knew well. He slunk in, casting his eyes around the gloomy darkness until his eyes fell upon a man he knew well. They nodded, and Francesco smiled.

"How is the old man?"

"He will be with God soon."

"Excellent."