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LewsTherin

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Hello everyone!

Although I have been hanging out on these forums for several years now and been an avid reader of many AARs I haven’t been up to writing my own until now. I am not an expert on EU2 by any means, but probably competent enough not to screw up too bad. The purpose will not be to conquer the world, nor will it be to follow history as closely as possible. Instead, the point will be to partially roleplay.

As I thought about how I wanted to do this I actually got more and more into it. I even borrowed a book at the library :eek:o about the English kings and queens in order to try to put myself into the mindset of the various rulers:
How would they react in this situation?
What opportunities would they pursue?
How treacherous or honorable were they?

This AAR will be loosely based on history, actually more like inspired by it. I already changed some of the background history to better fit into the opening years. As such, I will still try to provide interesting tidbits from real English history. I myself know very little about the subject so this should be just as much of a learning experience as I hope it will be for you, dear readers.

Settings: Hard, Aggressive
Grand Campaign, Vanilla EU2 1.08 Nov. 19 beta patch
No reloads, except in the case of bugs like built manufactories not appearing. If I lose an important battle or fail to convert a very expensive province, so be it. This is mainly to challenge myself, because I am usually such a wimp. :D Besides, this will make me consider drastic actions a lot more carefully.

Without further ado, I give you:

Balance on the edge of a knife - an English Grand Campaign
 
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Part I (1419-1422) – Henry V

”The men are ready, Sire.”

He did not respond immediately as he stood surveying the terrain. He thought back on many things. Nobody could accuse him of having lived a boring life. Already at a very young age it was clear that he was destined for greatness. As a teenager he had taken part in quelling the Welsh rebellion of 1400. Later he was forced to fight his erstwhile comrades. These campaigns had taught him the importance of cavalry, but also given him some ideas on how to counter cavalry. This proved to be extremely useful at Agincourt in 1415. How the French knights had fallen like the harvest falls to the sickle! Yet this was not all. He remembered grimly the difficulties in convincing the various factions in Parliament to see things his way. By the time he had left for France for his first war against the French he was accounted a talented administrator and a shrewd politician. Convincing his father to abdicate in his favor had been…difficult. The old man and the old buffoons he had for advisors just didn’t understand the new way of doing things. And they had the gall to call him arrogant! No matter, events had panned out as planned. He also thought about his wife, Catherine, the daughter of the French king, Charles VI. Their marriage was part of the peace treaty between France and England after Agincourt – besides Normandie, Caux, and Calais. To his slight surprise, he had actually fallen in love with her, and she with him. But her father was a fool, and mad as a rabid dog to boot. He was the reason that he was standing on this field. Charles and his sycophants apparently thought that the English had been bought off and lulled into a false sense of safety after the last peace treaty and wanted to reacquire northern France. Well…he would gladly show his dear father-in-law the error of his ways. Besides, he himself had not actually been content with what was gained in the last peace treaty and this war turned out to be a god-send. And yet…he did not enjoy killing or battle, although he was very good at both. He thought about all the dead – both friend and foe – that he had seen through the years. No, but too often one had to what one had to do for the sake of honor, for the sake of duty, for the sake of what everyone expected. Besides, the French dogs had dishonored yet another treaty. His wife was not happy, but she understood. She was French after all, but that had other nice benefits. Their last night together before his departure had been…taxing, he thought with a silent chuckle. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if she was with child. But now it was time for action. Punching his gauntleted fist into his other palm, he turned around with strong determination. It was time to punish his enemies for their betrayal.

“Give the order, Thomas, we move…now!” That was his brother, the Duke of Clarence.

It was time for the young king Henry V to once again make history or become history.

---

Excerpt from the Encyclopedia Brittanica

The final years of Henry V of Lancaster

In early 1419 England and France were once again at war. The English were fighting together with their vassal Brittany and allies Burgundy against an alliance consisting of Scotland, Auvergne, Bourbonnais, Orleans, Provence, and France. The remarkable diplomatic astuteness of the English regent saw the English alliance expanded by Burgundy in 1418 in a situation that was by no means a foregone conclusion. There had been much maneuvering behind the scenes but Henry was one of the best.

On January 16, 1419 the main English army under the king and his brother, the Duke of Clarence attacked the main French army just outside Paris. Here the many offensive and defensive lessons Henry had acquired throughout his many campaigns were displayed in an astounding victory. Of the 19,000 French troops only 8,000 left the battlefield, while Henry only lost slightly above 1,000 men. Another brother, John, the Duke of Bedford, crossed the Garonne river in southwestern France to lay siege to Guyenne. Yet another brother, Humphrey, the Duke of Gloucester, was in command of the home army, on the Scottish border. He was to fend off several skirmishes and larger attacks successfully.

After the victory outside of Paris, Henry pursued the French armies. He was determined not to give them any respite. Primary sources suggest that the young king wanted to destroy the French armies. “One can always take the towns later. They won’t run away!” Indeed, there was much marching and counter-marching but in the end France ceded every province except Ile-de-France and Dauphine. Auvergne gave up Cevennes and Bourbonnais gave up Limousin. Yet tragedy befell the young king in his hour of triumph. Just as the main army had crossed the Rhône to lay siege to the province of Dauphine a small skirmishing force caught the royal entourage flatfooted. His soldiers luck had left him, although none of the enemy skirmishing force left the place alive. Henry V died a soldier’s death on December 6, 1421. He was never to see the fruits of his conquests. Yet his closest people were shrewd enough to keep his death a secret, at least until the news could get back to England so that a new monarch could be appointed. At any rate, the peace treaty was finally signed on April 5, 1423.

The eminent historian, Rafael Holinshed summed up the king’s reign as follows:

“This Henry was a king, of life without spot, a prince whom all men loved, and of none disdained, e captain against whom fortune never frowned, nor mischance once spurned, whose people him so severe a justicer both loved and obeyed (and so humane withal) that he left no offence unpunished, nor friendship unrewarded; a terror to rebels, and suppressor of sedition, his virtues notable, his qualities most praiseworthy.“

---

As the young king fell on the battlefield his last thought before darkness enveloped him was regret over never having met his only son, the future Henry VI.

Start.jpg


HenryV_War.jpg
 
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An excellent start, in both writing and frog-bashing! Why on earth have you waited so long to write an AAR? :p I especially like the idea of role-playing as the different monarchs of England - please keep this going!
 
Very nice setting! The mix between writing and pictures is ideal!
 
Queen Lor, bandman, Farquharson, Hastu Neon, thank you for your kind words.

Farquharson, I've kind of wanted to do an AAR for a while but I was kind of intimidated. I finally thought I had a good idea to build on so I decided to start one. So far, I've actually only played until 1429 so I expect to have an update once sometimes twice a week. Since I've pledged not to re-load I've found that certain key decisions are weighed a lot more carefully than how I've done it in the past. This is a good thing, as it will force my ability up. Already I almost think it is more fun to think up the continuing story than playing the game. :eek:
 
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Indeed it is good to see another England AAR. The first AAR ever that gripped me was Ariel's And Now For Something Completely Different English AAR for Eu1, so this sure brings back memories! Allthough in EU2, the English can start much more aggresive with the French territories and all. Let's see how you cope with stuff like the Lollard Heresy and ofcourse the always pleasant War of the Roses :wacko:.. Good luck!
BTW No reloads is indeed quite an additional challenge! Allthough the no-reload rule is quite irritating when you have just waited ten years for diplo-annexxation and the target not only refuses, but also breaks the vassalization..:(
 
Grundius said:
Let's see how you cope with stuff like the Lollard Heresy and ofcourse the always pleasant War of the Roses :wacko:.. Good luck!

BTW No reloads is indeed quite an additional challenge! Allthough the no-reload rule is quite irritating when you have just waited ten years for diplo-annexxation and the target not only refuses, but also breaks the vassalization..:(

Indeed, the War of the Roses will be nasty, but I already have a good idea how to work it into the story. I haven't played that far yet though. The Lollard Heresy I hardly noticed. You are correct about vassals breaking vassalization. This means I will probably end up waiting for more than just 10 years to try and make sure I have high diplo skills. Although with Charles VI it won't be easy. I'll just hope to get an excellent minister once in a while. Then again, the no-reload constraint adds to the "feel" of the story. Annexation negotiations break down etc... :D
 
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Part II (1422-1429) – Interregnum

The death of Henry V on the field of battle came as a shock to the leaders in England. He had been very popular, particularly for his panache, and while most people tried to hide it, there was a general sense of floundering. Fortunately, there were very able men at the extremities of the executive branch of government carrying out official policy. Men like the Duke of Bedford, who was the late king’s brother, was left in charge in France regarding everything that had to do with England. His slightly less able brother, the Duke of Gloucester, ran things on the home front. The war had been fought to a highly successful conclusion. Although the war had outlived the king by a year and a half the overwhelming majority of the success was owed to the late king, and everyone knew it. That is why neither brother dared declare himself regent. The baby, Henry now the VI had risen to the throne in the wake of his father’s untimely demise. His father had, after all, been in charge of the army that had inflicted every major defeat on France, all but destroying her armies.

The war, however, had taken its toll. The drain on the treasury was such that every ducat that was earned in the immediate aftermath was directed towards building up the civilian part of the administration. Tax collectors were promoted in the richest and the most populous provinces first followed by the poorer, money was made available to help out the poor, repair roads, etc. all to increase the sense of stability and safety. This meant that the army was not rebuilt for quite a while after the war, which was to have serious consequences.

Another effect of the war was that foreign policy had been somewhat neglected. As the war wound down the main events in Europe were reviewed by the two siblings acting as Lord Protectors. There had been a large war in northern Germany when Poland with allies had attacked Prussia with allies. No lands exchanged hands in that conflict, but everyone knew that this was not the end of this matter as Poland had fixed their greedy eyes on the port city of Danzig. Before this war had even finished Brandenburg attacked Pommerania with Magdeburg and Saxony, no doubt hoping to catch the Hanseatic alliance off-guard. Magdeburg paid dearly for this mistake and was incorporated into Mecklenburg. In the summer of 1421 the Ottoman Turks captured Morea from Byzantium. It seemed that it was just a matter of time before the once strong outpost of Christianity that was Constantinople would fall to the Muslim infidels. Thankfully, England was far too far away to be affected.

Here is how central Europe looked at the conclusion of the Paris peace treaty.

CentralEurope1423.jpg

-----

City of Rouen, location of Bedford’s court, 1423

“My brother’s marriage to the Countess of Hainaut apparently wasn’t as popular as expected. It has actually come to open rebellion in Artois.” said Bedford.
“For now that is a problem for Burgundy, but it could easily become our problem. We need to prepare the army to move towards them,” said Arendale, who was one Bedford’s most trusted advisors. “In fact, I will get to it right away!”

For a moment he just sat there, thinking. Then he nodded. Arendale got up to leave. By the time he had reached the door a dangerous light had appeared in Bedford’s eyes. Most rebellions led nowhere and were nothing more than a waste of time, lives, and money. But on the other hand, if the timing was just right, and the encouragement was just right…

“Hold, David, you will do no such thing. Here is what you will do instead…”

-----

Artois – a small clearing inside an unnamed forest

Though it was a beautiful spring day the dense forest made it difficult to see anywhere far. Here in the clearing it was easier but everyone present wore hoods pulled far forward to hinder identification, although by the type of clothes one could at least make a fair guess at the person’s station in life. Three people were there, one with gold-embroidered silk clothing. The other two were a sharp contrast in their rough woolens. Still, strength was evident in the way they carried themselves.

“So we are agreed then, you will not threaten the interests of my patron, and he will not move against you.”

Although the two men were obviously experienced in hiding their emotions – probably from many days spent haggling in the market place – the well-to-do man was skilled in noticing the more subtle body language that gave people away: a slight tensing in the posture, a slight increase in the rate of breathing. These small things could betray a man’s thoughts and emotions.

“How do we know that you won’t come after us here? Your ‘patron’ is allied with the duke of this land, after all.” He had expected the question.
“My patron has no interest in the further shedding of blood. The past few years have seen plenty of that. Besides, everybody has a right to stand up for their own destiny and to fight the oppressor. My patron only has the interests of the good people of this land in mind.”

After some further hesitation an agreement was reached. Both parties rode away knowing that the other was lying about the motives but reasonably assured that they would heed the agreement.

-----

Within two weeks of the Paris peace treaty a diplomatic legation from Brittany announced that henceforth they no longer considered themselves under the protection of England. Brittany could see after her own interests. Although it took about half a year to prepare, England declared war on Brittany over this. The delay had allowed Brittany to enter into an alliance with Gelre, Friesland, Savoy and Oldenburg. However, these states had no direct land connection to English lands and the English navy was strong. Still, a small force from Gelre managed to sneak by the English blockade and laid siege to Meath. This was but a minor distraction from the real struggle in the provinces of Brittany. The outcome was never really in question and by early 1426 England had re-asserted her status as protector of Brittany.

During this time Europe was ablaze from wars in each and every direction. Castile annexed Granada. Kleves annexed Lorraine. In a series of wars, Saxony first ceded Anhalt to Poland, and was then fully annexed by Pommerania. But most disturbingly of all, the Ottomans had captured Athens. This meant they had Constantinople in a death grip. But England was too far away to influence those events.

-----

Back to the city of Rouen, Bedford’s court

“You did well, David. Those rebels went to besiege Flanders after they had captured Artois. We were lucky because with our armies tied down in the war against Brittany they could have wrested northern France from our control, including Rouen. And now they are moving towards Dutch Burgundy. Strangely Philippe hasn’t moved at all. He should have stamped out this rebellion in its cradle.”

“Thank you, my lord. They weren’t fools, and neither were they fools since, but it seems they were content to hold up their end of the bargain if we held up ours.”

“Yes, and now Artois has declared independence from Burgundy and declared war on them.” With a slight smile he continued, “And we, as good allies, will come to the aid of our allies, indignant at being attacked. And if Philippe (of Burgundy) wonders why we didn’t move against the rebels…well, surely he should have been able to handle this himself. Besides, we were busy with Brittany. Maybe Flanders will follow in the footsteps of Artois…”

Rebels_1423.jpg

-----

The war against Artois turned out to be the quickest and most bloodless of England’s conquests to date. In fact, nobody died as English armies besieged the province before any troops could be raised. Philippe III, in a rare show of paralyzation, did not move. Thus, once Artois had been captured it was made a vassal of England. Rumors had the Duke of Bedford explaining to the citizens of Artois that it was better for them under English protection as Philippe had a reputation of being harsh against rebels. Indeed, within two years Burgundy had signed a white peace with Artois.

Artois_vassal.jpg

In the mean time, Flanders had defected to Brabant. A couple of revolts had to be put down in various French provinces. Otherwise, England continued to prosper. But peace was not meant to reign for long. In April, 1429 Orleans threw off the French yoke and claimed full independence. Inexplicably, within two months France declared war on Brittany. No doubt this move was inspired by another bout of insanity in Charles VI, also known as ‘the loon’. Auvergne, Provence and Bourbonnais all answered the alliance call, but Orleans declined. In fact, three weeks later Orleans attacked Bourbonnais. In a very important move Auvergne and Provence declined to heed the alliance call, although Provence was to rejoin the alliance at a later date. While Orleans only enjoyed another few months of independence before being added to the French nation, Brittany surprised western Europe by successfully fending off the initial attacks from her enemies.

Herein lies the dilemma for the English Lord Protectors: although Brittany is not an official alliance member, England is her suzerain. As such, this attack has given England a just cause for going to war with France. And Bedford very much wished to complete the work his brother had begun: namely the complete incorporation of France into the English kingdom. Unfortunately the English army is not prepared for such an ordeal.

It is early 1430 and if action is not taken within half a year the other European nations will not consider any English action to be justified by French aggression against Brittany.

War_1429.jpg
 
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I just love the internal politics of France during the HYW in the GC! And you seem to handle it very well! Great update!
 
Nice start, I like it! I'm hooked now.... oh, that wailing and gnashing of teeth that you hear is my boss realizing that I've just subscribed to another AAR, meaning less time I actually do my paying job. ;) Pay it no heed, it'll stop soon. :D
 
If it was me, I think I would take the cautious course - hold off from declaring war on France since the time is not ideal, and other opportunities will no doubt come along. But in the spirit of the AAR, you should of course rather decide what the Lord Protectors would have done - and I have no idea about that, but I look forward to finding out! ;)
 
A very promising start of this AAR (regarding early expansion and certainly regarding writing style)! I will be reading this!

Just a little nitpicking:

Your ‘patron’ is allied with the king of this land, after all.”

In my opinion, Burgundy was ruled by a Duke, not a King. :D
 
Meurtenµ said:
A very promising start of this AAR (regarding early expansion and certainly regarding writing style)! I will be reading this!


Thank you for those kind words.


Meurtenµ said:
Just a little nitpicking:

In my opinion, Burgundy was ruled by a Duke, not a King. :D


Yup, you're right! A small writer's bloop. :eek:o I will change it. :p
 
Grundius - It's fun to try to incorporate certain events into the story in a way that makes sense with what you are doing as well.

Draco Rexus - Just get your boss hooked on it as well. That way, you can go to AARA (AAR Anonymous) meetings together. :rofl:

Farquharson - we shall see, we shall see...but remember the title of the AAR... ;)

Update this weekend!
 
Now hey, that's an idea. I like it, AARA for me and the boss.... I just might be able to milk that for at least a hour or so. Okay, okay, okay, about a second or two, but it's worth the shot. I'll let you know how long it takes me for to get bounced out of the boss cubicle after I mention it. :D
 
Draco Rexus - if you get fired you will have more time for EU2 and reading/writing AARs. I don't see a problem... :D

Stroph1 - thank you! It's not easy working in history and events with how completely differently things are going compared to history. Things leading up to the War of the Roses will be difficult to make up considering what I've read about that conflict and how it started.
 
Part III (1430-1434) – The knife edge

“It’s not enough. It just isn’t enough!!!” Bedford was furious. In the first place, Parliament had been convened much too late after the French had declared war on Brittany. Second, now they wanted to go to war while anyone but a complete idiot should realize that the current force-balance was much too heavily tipped in favor of their enemies. And, as if these factors were not enough, the few precious years of peace that had been enjoyed since the subjugation of Artois had been spent on building up the economic strength of the kingdom, which meant that nothing had been spent on re-building the army, and this build-up had left the treasury almost empty. Couldn’t these fools see that 10,000 men-at-arms in Northumberland, another 10,000 in southwestern France and an equal mix of 12,000 men-at-arms and heavy horse in northern France would not be enough to defeat an alliance consisting of France, Scotland, Bourbonnais, and Provence? The only allies they had were Burgundy, with whom relations were cold at best. The only positive thing to be said about that alliance was that the Burgundians hated the French even more than the English.

“Sir Bedford, we are aware of the military strength of our enemies. But, remember that as we speak 15,000 men-at-arms are being trained here in London.” Gloucester threw up a hand to forestall a quick retort by his brother. He continued, “Also, we will bring Artois into our alliance. They have shown a remarkable ability to rebuild their strength. Why, they already have 20,000 troops with just one province!”

Bedford looked around in the room. There were many others present as well, of course. Even the boy-king Henry VI, their nephew, was there. Even though he was not even 10 years old he was required to be present for this sort of proceeding. Formalities had to be maintained and besides, hopefully his presence would teach him a thing or two about what was necessary to successfully rule a country. So far, most people realized he was a precocious child but he had displayed a disturbing tendency of naivety. Refocusing on the matter at hand, he knew that for the time being official policy was more or less determined by his brother and himself.

“Sir Gloucester, the strength of our allies notwithstanding, the combined strength of our enemies outnumbers us and our actual and eventual allies by at least 2 to 1. For this venture to have a reasonable chance of success we need a stronger army.”

“And how do you propose we do that, dear brother? The coffers are almost empty.”

It wasn’t that either one of them was against another war. Not really. It was just that he realized that their current strength just wasn’t enough, while his brother, Gloucester, thought that the extra 15,000 men-at-arms would be. Bedford took a deep breath. What he was about to suggest was close to heresy, but sometimes the tightrope one walked was so thin that it might as well be a knife edge. “We take a loan.” The buzz of whispering voices in the council chamber went dead silent. He pressed on, “The plains of northern France are perfect for maneuvers with cavalry. By doubling the size of the current strength in cavalry that is already there and adding the men-at-arms currently being trained our army of northern France will be our main battle army and a force to be reckoned with. The army of southern France needs to be strengthened as well, but they should avoid battle and focus on sieges. The home army needs to be expanded as well, but the Scots are foolish. The lion’s share of their army is in Ireland. Our navy will blockade the island and prevent their army from going back to where it matters. Meath will fall but that is just an inconvenience.” As he spoke he saw shock replace understanding and one-by-one more and more of the men in the chamber slowly started nodding as he went on. He knew he had won.

Within the hour a diplomatic legation was sent to Artois to invite them into them English-Burgundian alliance. They accepted. In addition, various bankers were contacted and a loan was negotiated. It would last for 5 years, with a 5% annual interest rate, and consist of 200 ducats. Immediately troops were raised in accordance with the plan laid out by Bedford. As for him, he knew that if this venture were to succeed his own star would rise to untold heights. If it should fail…he didn’t even want to think of that.

-----

Northern France, somewhere on the north shore of the Seine River

Bedford had rejoined his staff in the spring and immediately set about preparing for the upcoming war. And on July 1st, 1430 England declared war on France. Bourbonnais, Scotland, and Provence joined France in the defense. Artois and Burgundy heeded the English alliance call. The English army in northern France departed at once for the unguarded city of Paris. Bedford had gotten the news through couriers that the fleet had blockaded Ireland, trapping the main Scottish army there. This, of course, did not prevent them from laying siege to Meath.

Within a month of the start of the war, news arrived that Norway had been annexed by Denmark signaling the end of the Kalmar Union. But the news that Burgundy had annexed Brabant along with the province of Flanders and its’ rich trade really made Bedford angry. He had had big plans for Flanders.

By the end of August the French sought to relieve their capital in a counter-attack but it was beaten off successfully. The investment in cavalry had truly paid off. Unfortunately, Bedford had contracted a wound in the battle. It got infected and 15 days after the end of the battle he died. Bad news seldom travels alone. The army of southern France suffered a defeat at the hands of a French army marching out of Dauphine. Luckily, this army did not pursue the defeated English but pressed on through Auvergne towards Berri. The rout to Dauphine was once again open. Meanwhile, the home army laid siege to Strathclyde.

As the war dragged on, Burgundy ended up annexing Bourbonnais. The English laid siege to Orleanais and days before the city surrendered Philippe of Burgundy appeared on the scene and promptly assumed command. The result was a separated peace between Burgundy and France where France ceded Orleanais. English forces had already captured both Ile-de-France and Dauphine. The home army had captured both Strathclyde and Lothian from Scotland. All that remained was Provence. Maine was owned by Provence but the English army had captured it.

War_1433.jpg

Around this time French peace negotiators started appearing with rather desperate peace offers. France offered Dauphine and 204 ducats for peace, but the English leadership had one goal in mind: France was to become a vassal of England. Provence finally fell on April 28, 1434. The following day the peace treaty was signed.

Peace_1434.jpg

Most people thought it God’s mercy that mad king Charles VI of France had died before being forced to swear fealty to his own grandson. But the old loon had already passed on some of his character through his daughter…