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Woody Man

SWMH Bretwalda
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Hello and Welcome to Part II!
The Woodhouse Dynasty, 1187-1453 - The Directors Cut Check it out!


In 1237 A.D, Bevan Woodhouse the younger, 2nd Duke of Lancaster siezed the crown of England from his cousin, Waleran I, King of England. For just over two centuries, the descendants of Saint Bevan the Elder, named, Epee de Dieu The Sword of God, ruled England. Over this time, they would consolidate their hold on England forge a powerful dynasty that would be placed on many thrones. The Kings of England would collect many crowns themselves. These Kings of England were true Crusader Kings, Bevan the Elder had personally liberated Jerusalem and his heirs kept it sacred to their hearts. But, the Strength of Saint Bevan waned, and the Kings of England forgot their duty to God and began a slow fall from grace. Rebellious Nobles, unscrupulous relatives and foreign Kings began to weigh the once mighty England down. In 1449, a small scale rebellion set the Empire ablaze and plunged the Woodhouse Empire into full scale Civil War. This war would engulf England, Scotland, Wales, France, Flanders, Italy and Spain. For four long years, the aged King Richard II, the King of the eighth generation of the Woodhouse dynasty watched his Empire crumble. But with the will of God, England might rise again, and the Woodhouse dynasty may witness its rebirth.



..........​

Converted usingMichaelM's Scenario editor extra units from Merlin 2199's custom graphics although the new English black uniform is my own repainting.And of course the .bmp map is thrashing_mad's!

Well I hope you all enjoy and please leave feedback!



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Bloody constraint: for if you hide the Crowne
Euen in your hearts, there will he rake for it.
Therefore in fierce Tempest is he comming,
In Thunder and in Earth-quake, like a Ioue:
That if requiring faile, he will compell.
And bids you, in the Bowels of the Lord,
Deliuer vp the Crowne, and to take mercie
On the poore Soules, for whom this hungry Warre
Opens his vastie Iawes: and on your head
Turning the Widdowes Teares, the Orphans Cryes,
The dead-mens Blood, the priuy Maidens Groanes,
For Husbands, Fathers, and betrothed Louers,
That shall be swallowed in this Controuersie.

Henry V - Shakespeare

The Rebirth of England, Part I

The Cast

Richard II, the ailing King of England
Bevan IV, son of Prince William of Normandy and King of England
Princess Anne, sister to Bevan IV
Piers de Quincy, son of the Duke of York
Duke of Galloway, treacherous and false Ruler of Scotland and its fiefs
John de Hautville, a noble commander to the King
Cardinal Fonsesca and De Garbol, two corrupt Cardinals of the See
Henry de st John, Marshal of England
Lady Mary de Quincy, Wife to Bevan IV and Queen of England
Richard Grey, A Commander of England
Henry, Duke of Lancaster and younger brother to the King
Lady Eleanor of Essex, a young noblewoman an wife to Henry, Duke of Lancaster
John Cornwallis, A Commander of England
Stephen Byron, An artistic Genius


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Europe in 1453

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Richard II, King of England and France, Lord of Ireland and Scotland, crowned by the grace of God in 1392

Richard II was an old and broken King, he had ruled over an Empire on the brink of destruction and for the past four years, over a Kingdom torn apart by Civil war. A battle had not been fought since Grey’s hill for almost a year, Richard, though old had enough will to order his commanders to rebuild their armies and begin the war against, the Scottish Galloways, and the French Bourbons and Armagnac anew. Both the Royalists and the Rebels forces were weak in England, most of the fighting had and would be done in the fields of France. The Armies of the King were commanded by three men, Henry de St John, the Marshal of England, John de Hautville, a Veteran of the 1449-1453 wars against Galloway and Richard Grey a Capable Commander. De Hautville and de St John were deployed in the north of france, ready to liberate Paris, while Grey was deployed in Northern Italy to strike at the Galloway’s German lands.

On the 2nd of September 1453 King Richard ordered the Winter offensive, Henry de st John would lay siege to Paris, de Hautville to Orleans and Grey to Galloway held Romagna. A day later, cowering in fear, the Duke of Bourbonnais sued for peace and offered to hand control of Orleans back to England, Richard gladly accepted and sent de Hautville to link up withde St John’s army heading towards Paris.
In an attempt to bring the independent Duchies of England closer to his control, Richard II consented to a marriage between Princess Anne of Normandy, great-grandaughter to Richard II and Piers de Quincy of York. Late in September an Alliance was signed with prospects of Connacht returning to vassalage under England.

These last two diplomatic victories would be the last achievements of the Woodhouse dynasty’s longest reigning and perhaps most destructive King. His reign had seen both an increase in Royal Power and for the last four years of his life, total civil war. The likes of which had destroyed the Empire. While the nation mourned they hoped for a King better suited to ruling a demanding Empire. His heir, young Prince Bevan of Normandy, his great-grandson through his son Bevan of Normandy and his son William of Normandy. Prince Bevan was crowned Bevan IV in Lancaster Cathedral. Westminster was now under control of the independent Earl of Essex and Rheims was occupied by the Scottish Rebels. Bevan IV was the first Woodhouse King not to be crowned at Westminster and the first King since Bevan II not to be crowned at Rheims.

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Bevan IV, King of England and France, Lord of Ireland and Scotland, crowned by the grace of God in 1453

Battle of Rouen 2nd October 1453 – Royal Victory

Legend dictates, that the day Bevan IV was crowned, was the day the battle of Rouen was fought between the scottish rebels and the Royalist army led by de Hautville. The Scottish army had been fed false information and had foolishly mounted an offensive in Normandy,only to be met by de Hautvilles army numbering eight thousand men. The Scots were outnumbered eight to one and had no choice but to stand and fight. The battle was the first of the second half of the civil war and it ended in a total victory for the Royalists. Numbers taken down at the battle indicate that the Royalists lost a total of fifty-five men, compared to the Scots rebels who lost all their number of one thousand men. The Scots were crushed and the battle sent the Royalists morale into the Sky.

Late in October of that year King Bevan IV was approached by Scottish Ambassadors demanding the freedom of the Scot Kingdom. Bevan IV was well informed of the war and dismissed them. The Scots had hoped for an advantageous settlement before the war turned sour, for the Scots, their hopes had failed and now they faced Royal steel. In 1454 as Armagnac was laid siege to, its Duke begged for peace against the Royalist army. They refused, Armagnac was insignificant enough to be annexed and was of vital importance to join Gascony to England’s Castillian holdings. On the 12th of March Armagnac was captured by the Royalist forces and the province duly annexed by Bevan IV.

Armagnac annexed to English Gascony 13th March 1454

By April the offensive was in full swing, de Hautville was besieging Paris and de St. John was besieging Othe. The Scots in England, well aware of the lack of defense moved to attack Lothian and on the 12th of April they captured the Castle at Lothian. Such a minor reversal would soon be overshadowed by de Hautvilles’s liberation of Paris six days later. De Hautville did not rest, instead he pushed on, overtaking de St. John and besieging Champagne.

In August, in an attempt to turn Cardinals away from petty matters in Leon and into more crucial matters in England and France, Bevan IV sent gifts and letters to Cardinal Fonsesca and Cardinal de Garbol. The Cardinals were agreeable in England’s need to be represented above all others and began to put their views to the Holy See in Rome. While de Hautville, mindful of the need of discipline and courage needed of an army that would have to fight all over western Europe against highly organised foes completed his thesis on Military Drill and the needs of the modern army. The thesis, newly completed was sent to Bevan IV who endorsed it officially and would put it into use for training new recruits and old veterans.

Romagna captured by Sir Richard Grey 16th September 1454

November was an ambivalant month for the Royalists. The assault on the Scottish capital of Ayreshire failed resulting in heavy casualties for the besiegers. Othe was liberated by de St. John in France, but later on the 16th Schwyz was captured by the Scots who had taken advantage of the English absence in the alps to launch an offensive.

Othe captured by de St. John 8th November

Schwyz captured by Scots rebels 16th November

However, brighter news came near the end of the year, in which de Hautville, the Hero of England captured Champagne and pushed on against the Scots. Christmas and new year passed without war on English soil. The battlefield, as was usual was France.

January and February of 1455 were quiet months, the war continued unabated, but in the cold winter none moved from their camps to attack the enemy, most just stayed to siege each others cities. On the 6th of March, Ayreshire, the Scottish capital fell to the Royalists. However, James Duke of Galloway had fled to Switzerland, hoping to escape the looming grasp of the Royalist armies. Once again the war was in Royalist hands and the rebels were running out of places to hide. On the 28th of March, in the cold night in Valenciennes. Henry de St John, Marshal of England and veteran of the Civil War died. As was the tradition his body was boiled down and his bones returned to his country estate in Bedfordshire. John de Hautville was promoted to Marshal of England. Months would pass of quiet siege warfare. A mere day later to de St. Johns death the rebels besieging Lothian were attacked and defeated by a numerically and militarily superior force, giving yet another victory to the seemingly invincible Royalists.

Ayreshire captured 6th March 1455

Battle of Lothian 29th March 1455

Valenciennes captured 2nd June 1455

Barrois captured 18th July 1455

On the 18th of July Barrois fell to de Hautville’s army. Leaving a small garrison behind de Hautville, with Bevan IV’s blessing and a right of way from the Duke of Lorraine marched into Rebel held Baden to liberate the Germans from the Scots. The army was Jubilant, the Royalists after six years of defensive warfare were now truly on the offensive, hot on the reeling Scots heels.

On the 14th of October, in furtherance to Lancastrian policy towards York, Bevan IV married Mary de Quincy, daughter to the Duke of York. The marriage was well received amongst the people though less so among the Nobles who felt that the Breakaway Yorkists were getting better treatment than themselves.

On the 2nd of November, Scottish settlers in Cumbria raised a revolt in support of the Duke of Galloway and began to besiege the city of Newcastle, less than two weeks later the Scots under Galloway were defeated once again at the 2nd battle of Lothian, so far the rebels had yet to experience any victory in the second period of the Civil war. The rebels, demoralised from constant defeat met the English armies early in the day ten miles from Edinborough. As the rebels maneouvred into a defensive position they were pelted by longbow and cannon fire from the Royalist lines. Lacking any artillery or missile strength of their own the Scots had no choice but to flee. The rebel casualties were comparatively light, but their morale was desicated.

2nd Battle of Lothian 15th December 1455 –Royalist Victory

On the 26th of January the English army under Cornwallis felt safe enough from the Scots that they could engage the rebels in Cumbria. The Royalists and Rebels were evenly matched in terms of numbers. But the English were unbeatable in terms of Morale and Discipline, tempered by months of victory the Royalists advanced on the rebels supported by cannonfire. The rebels under such a hellish bombardment scattered and were quickly isolated and mopped up by the English men at arms. Although Cannons were making their way into pitched warfare, the Man at arms still reigned supreme.

Battle of Newcastle 26th January 1456 – Royalist Victory

Once again the war descended into sieges, early in march Metz and Baden were captured by the Royalist armies and de Hautville headed south into Germany to meet the Duke of Galloway in battle. In April dissidents, perhaps funded by the Angevin Duke of Gloucester rebelled against the King and ravaged the countryside. On the 8th of April de Hautville, cornered the Scots in a deep valley after their defeat by the Anglo-Italian army. De Hautville rushed to engage the Duke of Galloway before he could set a defensive position, once again the Royalists had the superiority of numbers and the Scots were engaged mid-march to their great disadvantage. Confused and out of formation the Scots were quickly rounded up and defeated. The Duke of Galloway was decisively defeated and his army suffered heavy losses.

Battle of Spirstock 8th April 1456 – Royalist Victory

On the 20th of July in continuation of their policy with York, Bevan IV arranged a marriage between his younger brother Henry, Duke of Lancaster and Lady Eleanor, daughter of the Earl of Essex an ally of York. The Wedding was great cause for a days festival and entertainment throughout England against the backdrop of war in France

A month later the city of Gloucester fell to the rebel forces there. It took Cornwallis until October to gather his forces from Scotland and join up with reinforcements north of Gloucester. The two armies met two miles outside Gloucester castle, the rebels, having plundered the armouries of Gloucester castle, were well armed and rested. The Royalists, however, were tired from the march. Rebel Cannonfire began the battle mid afternoon and both sides released volleys of arrows upon each other. Cornwallis blundered and left his line to thin. When cannon fire left gaps the rebels rushed in between to exploit the weaknesses. The reinforcements were the first to break, their experience low they fled from the field. The Veterans of the Scottish campaign withdrew too to protect the army from a mass rout. The Royalists had been beaten in their own territory and had to retreat south into Devon.

Battle of Gloucester 16th August 1456 – Rebel Victory

Previously in 1456 Spain had been suffering from a series of rebellions and rampaging peasants. In late october the rebels crossed the Aragones border into Anglo-Spanish territory and lay siege to the city of Aragon. November was another month of victories for Bevan IV, on the 5th Scottish Garrisons in Schwyz were ejected by de Hautville, on the 24th Breisgau was captured by the Royal North France army and on the 29th Cornwallis met the rebels on the Somerset borders. Given time to create a solid position on a nearby escarpment, Cornwallis fired first creating havoc among the rebels. As they neared a vicious exchange of Longbow volleys commenced, but by mid-morning both sides were engaged in deadly melee. The disciplined forces of Earl Cornwallis held their line against the rebels and inflicted heavy casualties before the rebels broke and dispersed.

Battle of Winford 29th November 1456 – Royalist Victory

In late autumn the Scots sent an ambassador to Artois France in the hopes of bringing them back into the war against England. The negotiations lasted months but in the end the alliance was declined owing to a war against Guyenne. The Scot navy was used to escort the ambassador to France, but it would now have to make its way back across hostile waters. The Captain of Calais was alerted to their presence of the night of the 27th as the Scottish fleet attempted to sneak away undetected. Launching his eighteen ships against the Scots five ships the Captain caught the Scottish navy on the early morning of the 28th. The Scottish ships were enveloped and fired upon by the English fleet. The Scottish were badly defeated, but managed to save their ships, they retreated back to France in the hope of escaping again and avoiding the English Blockade round the straits of Dover.

Battle of Calais 28th December 1456 – Royalist Victory

It would take a whole year for the Scots to repair their ships and attempt a break out again. On the 18th of September, the five Scottish ships boldly set out into the channel hoping to reach home. But the English fleet was on watch and caught the Scottish fleet and chased it across the channel before blocking it at southampton. There it cut off the “Unicorn” and the “Rainbow of Dundee” and sank them. The rest of the Scottish ships escaped to Scotland badly mauled.

Battle of Southampton 18th September 1457 – Royalist Victory

1457 was a almost silent year apart from the afore mentioned battle, Bevan IV spent most of his time negotiating a Military access treaty with Burgundy to attack the Scottish fortress in Lyonnais. By winter he had succeeded. De Hautville was poised to attack, England was peaceful and the rebellion in Spain had fizzled out only to be mopped up by Bevan IV’s waiting Spanish army.

In February of 1458 de Hautville attacked the Scottish army outside Lyonnais. The battle was a massacre, de Hautville’s army was invicible in terms of numbers, morale and experience. The Scots were simply outnumbered and killed, those few that survived retreated to the City walls and prepared for a siege.

Battle of Lyons 22nd February – Royalist Victory

On the 31st of March, the Royal artist, Stephen Byron presented to Bevan IV, a gallery of the Kings royal ancestry and renditions of their feats of arms and of governance. Byron was widely celebrated and the gallery was set up in the Royal Palace at Lancaster. England was entering an economic golden age, the war wasn’t even over yet its trade was flourishing, its merchants unbeatable in Paris, the standard of living was rising and discontent and falling across the land. Bevan IV was well on the way to restoring the Empire.

On the 5th of July Lyons fell to de Hautville. All rebel lands were occupied by the Royalists and Bevan IV prepared his peace proposals. In late July the Scots were met with demands of the return of Romagna, Lyonnais and freedom for the State of Baden as well as reparations for the grevious harm done to the citizens of the Kingdom.

On the 3rd of August, The Duke of Galloway accepted these terms. The Civil war lasted from the 17th June 1449 (Battle of Carisle) to the 3rd of August 1458 (Peace of Paris) Bevan IV had set the Kingdom back on the long road to recovery and greatness once again.

The peace did not last for long on the 14th September, in support of their allies Portugal, England declared war on Castile and Irish Munster who held lands in France. This would be an ample chance to regain lost lands.

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Europe in 1458
 
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Another megacampaign - Great, i`ll be reading this. I`m happy that you used my map - your alternative European setup looks very interesting. :)
 
Glad to see the Duke of Galloway brought low, he very much deserved it! Looking forward to watching your progress in this scenario.I will not miss Richard II.
 
Thrashing mad Great to have you on board and happy reading!

JimboIX Yeah its good to see Galloway put in his place, and as nasty as it sounds to say it, I'm glad Richard II is gone..
 
thrashing mad said:
Another megacampaign - Great, i`ll be reading this. I`m happy that you used my map - your alternative European setup looks very interesting. :)
where is the map and wher can I get it??
 
I believe its in Thrashing Mad's EUIII Poland AAR thread
 
English Patriot said:
I believe its in Thrashing Mad's EUIII Poland AAR thread
thanks.
 
Here! Here! Here!

Peti says that he's here, too. But don't ask... :D
 
Things are looking up for the Royal side...
 
English Patriot said:
Hello and Welcome to Part II!


The peace did not last for long

You're not kidding! Less than a month and you're back at it! :D War exhaustion must be at a, shall we say, interesting level by now. ;)

Joe
 
Storey It never rains it pours eh?

RGB They are and I'm glad as hell, Richard II's reign was very very trying. But I guess every country has to have some downtime

Kurt_Steiner Glad to have you back!

I was hoping to get a new update up today but so much happened in this update its taking ages, so my apologies to you all.

And I also overslept until 3:30pm today which kinda put me behind schedule, as well as making me late for work :eek:o
 
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"A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions."

- Marcus Aurelius

The Rebirth of England, Part II

The Cast
Bevan IV, King of England
de Hautville, Hero of England
Cornwallis, A commander of England
Middleton, His Majesty's Grand Admiral
Sir Henry Johnson, A Captain of Horse
Sir Louis Despenser, A Captain of Horse
Drake, A Mercenary Commander


It was only a day before a Castillian Spy was found in Normandy, and later hanged for his crimes. As the man swung from the scaffolding the Anglo-French armies of Bevan IV were marching for Spain and Munster held Blois. The Irish-French in Blois had already marched northwards to attack Orleans and the Castillians were moving on Gibraltar and Almeria. On the 18th October, the first engagment of the war was fought. Just across the English border a Munster scouting force was attacked by a English scouting force. The horsemen charged eachother, the scouts numbered about fifty on either side, the skirmish lasted a mere hour and was fought around a small copse of trees. The Irish began to take losses and started to give ground, the English, sensing fear pushed harder and broke the Irish lines. The Irish fell back and began to retreat. Munster left twenty-two dead on the field, the English lost five soldiers. It was quiet start to a bloody war.

Skirmish at Saint Aignan 18th October 1458 – English Victory

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The Skirmish at Saint Aginan

The English strength now became apparent to Blois who pulled their soldiers back across the border to defend the city. The English numbering six thousand moved across the border and engaged the Irish army, this time with full numbers. They met barely a mile from the city of Blois, the Irish had garrisoned their only army in Blois and yet only this numbered two-thousand men. Once again England had the advantage in numbers and experience. The soldiers in Bevan IV’s armies had barely rested since the end of the Civil War and were well versed in fighting. The Irish on the other hand had not seen a war for many decades and had not fought in the Civil War, preferring to secede quietly when Richard II had more pressing matters to attend to. These shortcomings had shown themselves at Saint Aignan and would appear again in the Battle of Blois. Seeking to protect their shorter flanks from the wide line of the English army, the Irish deployed with their right flank against a thick set of trees. This would be their downfall, for the thick wood and heavy morning fog marred their view of their own right flank enabling one thousand English cavalry led by Sir Henry Johnson, to make their way through the fog and around the forest unseen by the Irish. The Irish also insisted on firing their cannon at the English line hoping to bombard them through the fog. The English simply dispersed their men and kept quiet. The Irish had revealed their position and still had no idea of the English deployment. The English divided their force and positioned themselves on either flank but leaving an open centre, where the Irish cannon had been bombarding. As morning turned to afternoon the fog began to lift and the English began their bombardment. As the Irish desperatly tried to move their cannon English longbowmen let loose volleys of arrows into the Irish line causing havoc. As the Irish archers moved to Engage the English longbowmen withdrew and the main infantry line advanced. As the Melee began Johnsons cavalry began to move toward the Irish rear, as yet unseen. The Irish concentrated their efforts on the English infantry in front of them and were unable to see Sir Henry’s cavalry charging towards their rear, the din of battle dulled their hearing and Sir Henry was able to smash into the Irish lines. The surprise was total and the Irish lines began to break, at that point the English lines themselves pulled back and let the second Cavalry battle, led by Sir Louis Despenser to join Sir Henry’s unit in chasing down the fleeing Irish. Munster’s army was crushed and what meagre soldiers were left retreated southwards, never to fight again.

Battle of Blois 30th October 1458 – English Victory

In Wales, weary of the overlordship of the English Earls the Welsh people demanded redress, the Aristocracy were unwilling to address such an issue however and the Welsh began to rebel in defiance, the King, Bevan IV ordered the rebellion crushed and the English army was diverted from its original destination to go to Gwynned and crush the rebels. On the 20th of November, Leon, Aragon and Dauphine, in support of Castille declared war on England, Portugal, Connacht and Baden bringing the war to an almost unparralled level. Most of western Europe was once again at war. Bevan IV was mindful of the military situation, the English armies were spread to thin for a full scale engagment in the Iberian Peninsular and began to hire Mercaneries to fight against the Spaniards. On the 3rd of December the welsh rebels were crushed by the Royal forces and the rebellion was put down. Twenty days later, Castillian forces in Genoa invaded Lombardia but were defeated by John de Hautville. De Hautville was arguably the best commander England had had in almost a hundred years. The Castillians, though veterans of a war against their current allies Leon were outnumbered and out thought by de Hautville. The Spanish were attacked and quickly put to flight by de Hautvilles five thousand strong infantry corps. As the Spanish retreated they were harried by English Knights who were free to go about their work, the Spaniards lacked cavalry and could not defend themselves as they ran. De Hautville securing victory pressed on into Castillian Genoa and pushed the Spaniards into Nice itself.

Battle of Pavia 23rd December 1459 – English Victory

Christmas at Lancaster court was a luxurious occasion. English merchants were unhampered in Paris and had brought riches into the English economy, the middle classes had begun to expand but the Anglo-French aristocracy still held most of the power and wealth.The Royal Court was joyous over news of victory in Blois and Genoa and the mood was optimistic. On the 12th of January the good news continued when a Mercenary army under English pay defeated the Dauphinaise troops in Dauphine and three days later the Castillian army at Castillia La Vilja was defeated and the city was put under siege.

Battle of Vienne 12th January 1459 – English Victory

Battle of Osmo 15th January 1459 – English Victory

The English Navy, as yet undefeated in battle was sent southwards transporting thousands of English soldiers to reinforce Gibralter and Cadiz. On the 16th of January the fleet neared the Spanish coast and at Finistere bay sighted ten Leonese ships. With 18 ships under his command Admiral Middleton felt safe in pressing for conflict. With calm seas and a good wind the English ships moved in and engaged the Spaniards. The battle lasted for two hours, the Spaniards advancing towards the English were broadsided by the English ships who were waiting for their approach. Two Spanish ships were sunk as they approached and eight others took damage as they began to turn away. Middleton didn’t give chase, instead he resumed his journey to Cadiz.

Battle of Finistere Bay 16th January 1459 – English Victory

Middleton hugged the Spanish coast and neared Cadiz after weeks of sailing, on the 27th Castillian ships engaged Middleton in the hope that they could stop the burdened ships from reinforcing the weak English presence in southern Spain. The Castillians however, with bad intelligence had underestimated the size of Middletons fleet. The Castillians sent five ships to attack Middletons eighteen strong fleet! Luckily for the Castillians they had the good sense to turn and flee as soon as they counted the Penants of the English ships. Middleton gave chase and managed to sink one Castillian ship before turning to land at Cadiz port. His cargo, six thousand soldiers disembarked and travelled southwards to Gibraltar.

Battle on the Gulf of Cadiz 27th January 1459 – English Victory

On the 3rd of February Leonese forces had finished mustering across the border from English Aragon and launched an attack on the Mercenary army guarding the Province. The Leonese, in overwhelming numbers launched a highly disciplined attack on the slopes of Ordessa Vallery, and in spite of Gallant resistance the army was completely defeated and retreated to northern Spain, hoping to link up with reinforcements from Anglo-France.

Battle at Ordessa Valley 3rd February 1459 – Leonese Victory

The southern reinforcements led by General Cornwallis, veteran of the Civil war reached the surrounded city of Gibralter on the 21st of February, the Spanish had sent only their garrison of Granada, one thousand men, to take Gibraltar, the English outnumbered them six to one and had surrounded the Spanish who now had no choice but to fight. Cornwallis had no trouble in inflicting heavy casualties on the Spanish and by late afternoon had put the Castillians to flight, unfortunately for the Spanish, there was no where to run. The English cavalry soon found the retreating Castillians and put them to death. Cornwallis, after taking on much needed supplies then headed northwards.

Battle of Gibraltar 21st February 1459 – English Victory

The three-thousand Aragonese mercenaries that survived the Battle at Ordessa valley retreated northwards and linked up with English Soldiers heading towards English Aragon. They merged forces and attacked the Leonese in Aragon on the 13th of March. Both sides armies were equal in number, and neither were inexperienced, the Leonese had spent years fighting against Castille and Portugal. The battle started mid afternoon with the usual cannon bombardment, longbow volleys and then melee.The battle with such equal sides quickly degenerated into a slugfest that lasted for hours until the Leonese commander was wounded and pulled to the Spanish rear, Leonese morale began to falter and the battle broke off. The English too tired to give chase began to book and bury their dead. Losses on both sides were grevious, Ironically, according to archaelogical evidence, the English lost much more men than the Leonese had done. But nevertheless, the battle was won and the Leonese position of strength reversed.

Battle of Sarragossa 13th March 1459 – English Victory

In late March Admiral Middleton received orders to sail for Italy to pick up reinforcements under de Hautville and bring them to English Almeria to fight the Castillians there. On the 24th of March he set sail for Italy, however the Castillians, trusting their Military Intelligence reports sent a large fleet to the Gulf of Cadiz and on the 25th attacked Middleton’s ships. Middleton in his first mistake in his Naval Career, headed for the Spanish ships interspersing their lines. Five English ships were shot mercilessly until they sunk, realising his mistake, luckily before it was too late, Middleton pulled the rest of the fleet back and concentrated his attack on the enemy Carrack the “San Juan Batista” hoping to destroy it before it did any damage. As the English ships approached it, the Captain of the “King Henry” noticed that its starboard facing side was smoking, on of the “San Juan Batista’s” guns had blown and it was defenceless on its starboard side. The “King Henry”, along with the “Redoubtable” pulled in close to the “San Juan Batista” and boarded her, Spanish sailors were no match for the Pirates and Criminals that England employed, with the “San Juan Batista” captured, Middleton moved against the other Castillians who fled the scene. Middleton then resumed his course for Italy. That very same day, Cornwallis attacked and defeated the demoralised Castillian army in Granada securing Gibraltar against Castillian attack.

2nd Battle on the Gulf of Cadiz and the Battle of Granada 25th March 1459 – English Victory

In April, Aragon made a rare attack into English Bearn hoping to take advantage of the planned Leonese attack on Armagnac. But Aragon’s army was too small and ill-equipped, Aragons farm hands faced English Veterans who met them outside a small village named Saint Jean de Luz and quickly put them the quick to flight, and the slow, to death. The Leonese plan to attack Armagnac was just as unimpressive, with the majority of its forces either in English Aragon or in the south worrying itself about Cornwallis’s army in Cadiz the force sent to attack Armagnac was pitiful. The Anglo-French army that it faced had secured an easy victory just two weeks ago and their morale soared. Unexpectantly outnumbered the Leonese were surrounded at the town of Gers and killed. The Spanish offensive in France had failed utterly.

Battle of Saint Jean de Luz 15th April 1459 – English Victory

Battle of Gers 30th April – English Victory

In early May ambassadors from the Castillian Alliance of Castille and Munster were received at Bevan IV’s palace at Orleans. The Castillians sensed defeat and hoped to sign a peace to forestall such an event. Bevan IV needed his soldiers fighting the more dangerous Leon and happily agreed with a truce between the two alliances. On the 4th of May the treaty was signed and Bevan IV ordered his armies on offensives against Leon.

On the 11th, The mercenary army besieging Dauphine was attacked by Dauphine’s forces, the Mercenaries this time were outnumbered and had gotten used to the almost relaxing nature of siege warfare. The Mercenaries put up an almost obligatory fight before retreating across the border and into English held Lyonnais. Another defeat befell the English when Leonese forces launched another attack against English Aragon, returning with even more men they outnumbered the English soldiers who were again betrayed by the Mercenary contigent serving under them. Sensing defeat the Mercenaries broke and ran from the field leaving great gaps in the English line and giving the Leonese even more of a numerical advantage. The English suffered around five hundred casualties before pulling back and retreating northwards.

The Battle of Grenoble 11th May 1459 – Dauphine’s Victory

The 2nd Battle of Sarragossa 18th May 1459 – Leonese Victory

On the 29th combined forces from the southern french army and the recently defeated Aragonese force mounted an offensive in Navarra, hoping to incite the natives to rise up and join the English. They were met by a small Leonese garrison which was quickly defeated by such large army. The English then lay siege to the Navarran castle, no Navarrese rose up to join the English, but none fought against them.

Battle of Pamplona 29th May 1459 – English Victory


In June, in expection of his old Comrade de Hautvilles arrival, Cornwallis mounted an offensive into Leonese held Cordoba, with his six thousand strong army he engaged the Leonese garrison and quickly defeated it. On the 29th of June a white peace was signed between England and Dauphine in recognition of the war taking no direction between them. Leon now stood alone against England, and now de Hautville had landed in Almeria and on the 30th of June he engaged and massacred the Leonese army besieging the city. It was strong opening act for de Hautville, one of the greatest Commanders England had ever been given.

Battle of Cordoba 27th June 1459 – English Victory

Battle of Almeria 30th June 1459 – English Victory

Just over a week later Cornwallis launched his attack on Andalucia and defeated the army garrisoned there. The Leonese were being turned back and were onto the defensive, there were revolts near Galicia and the Leonese war in Portugal was bogged down. The Leonese were only making gains in Aragon, but the war was on their territory. On the 1st of September Leon captured Aragon from England but it was a small gain in an otherwise costly war.

Battle of Sevilla 8th July 1459 – English Victory

On the 9th of September Aragonese ambassadors sued for peace, their’s was an almost silent war, English and Aragonese forces had fought only once during the war and they were eager for peace. Bevan IV was eager to secure his eastern flank and accepted a white peace with Aragon. In September, two key cardinals supporting England in the Curia died and Bevan IV temporarily lost support of the Curia. Bevan IV sent gifts but it took two weeks to find a suitable Cardinal. On the 22nd of September Cardinal de Meneses visited the King and gave Bevan IV his assurance that he’d give his support to England at the Curia.

On the 21st of September a Leonese fleet was sighted in the gulf of Cadiz and Admiral Middleton launched his fleet to intercept. The Carrack “San Juan Batista” was notable addition to his fleet and sank a Leonese ship while Middleton’s Cogs captured the Mercurio, the other Leonese ships broke and sailed back northwards to friendly ports.

3rd Battle of the Gulf of Cadiz 21st September 1459 – English Victory

In November English and Leonese forces fought over control of Navarra, the English were ejected from the province after a gruelling battle on the 2nd of November.Casualties were heavy on both sides and on the 28th the English returned with reinforcements and defeated the Leonese army.

2nd Battle of Pamplona 2nd November 1459 – Leonese Victory

3rd Battle of Pamplona 28th November 1459 – English Victory

The second half of winter of 1459-60 was a quiet winter in military terms, but a terrible one in meteorogical terms, heavy snowfall and storms precluded any military engagements. The English armies sat outside Leonese castles and the Leonese army, unwilling to travel through Spains mountainous terrain sat still waiting for better weather
The English army army in Navarre moved to take advantage of the Galician revolt and subsequent lack of Leonese forces in the area and divided their forces. Leaving a few thousand men to besiege Pamplona and the surrounding country side, the rest headed west and attacked Vizcaya and lay siege to the city of Bilbao.

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de Hautville and Cornwallis in Southern Spain

Meanwhile in southern Spain the English offensive steamed ahead. On the 6th of March the garrison at Sevilla surrendered to Cornwallis after an eight month siege. A day later the Leonese garrison at Toledo surrendered to de Hautville. De Hautville marched to Badajov to cover Cornwallis’ right flank as he attacked Algarve. Twenty days later on the 29th of March a small one thousand man army stood in de Hatuville’s way. The Leonese stood valiantly against the seven thousand English, none gave ground. All died by the evening of the 29th slain by de Hautville’s veterans. The town of Badajov was put to the siege. The English were winning the war.

The Battle of Badajov 29th March 1460 – English Victory

The Spanish, rebellious in nature, as had been discovered many times before by the Woodhouse Royalty again displayed their colours. On the 1st of May a rebellion sprang up against Toledo, so recently captured by de Hautville. Four thousand Spaniards lay siege and trapped the English garrison in the town. De Hautville was sent the news but refused to send help, he trusted his soldiers ability to capture a town more than the chances he gave the rebels of overpowering the garrison.

By May Middletons repairs were completed and he was given orders to sail for the north of Spain and block the Leonese harbour of Galicia which held many Leonese ships. It was hoped that Middleton could block the ships in and thus keep the Leonese confined to Iberia. On the 30th of May the Leonese attempted to break out, and almost succeeded but their nerve failed at the critical moment. The two fleets met once again at Finistere bay, the Leonese fleet numbered twenty ships, the English only sixteen. Nevertheless the English sought battle and attacked the Spaniards. The ships exchanged deadly gunfire for three hours. After which the Leonese retreated back to port defeated, the Leonese had two ships sunk and lost the “Cartagonova” the English. The English however only scraped a victory having lost five ships to the Spanish guns.

Through June and July the war fell silent, no battles were fought and the sieges continued, on the 21st of June the province of Viscaya fell into English hands and just under three weeks later, control of Navarra was wrested from Leonese hands by the English. Bevan IV now had a strong bargaining position but wanted more. These gains were not enough for a true victory and he urged his armies onward.

In early August Middleton was ordered back to La Rochelle for repairs. The Leonese eager to fight again moved out and attacked the English who were in the process of withdrawing. The Leonese caught them in the Cantabrian sea and fired upon the English ships. Middleton attempted to turn and engage but was hit by a bad wind which precluded his ships from revealing their broadsides to the Spanish who were safe to bombard the English ships with all manner of missiles. Middletons ships were given such a pounding that eventually he gave orders for them to retreat. The English had sunk one Leonese ship, and lost nine of their own. The English navy had been decimated in one battle.

Battle at the Cantabrian sea 9th August 1460 – Leonese Victory

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The Battle at the Cantabrian sea​

The naval defeat shocked England and forced Bevan IV’s hand, on the 17th of August the Leonese offered peace and reparations to England. Fearful of more losses Bevan IV agreed and peace was signed in Madrid between the English Alliance and Leon.

The Spanish-English war had been unexpected and drawn Bevan IV’s intentions away from France, the true jewel in his crown. Over the generations France had become a birthright to the Woodhouse dynasty, Bevan IV’s ancestors had married the daughters of the Capetian Kings and for a time had more right to the throne of France to that of England. Less than a decade ago the disastrous reign of Richard II, Bevan IV’s great grandfather had lost them everything, even their position in England was precarious. But bit by bit Bevan IV had been pushing the Woodhouse dynasty back to their positions of power in Europe. The peace of Madrid gave England valuable breathing space in which to levy more men and transport them to the next war.

Once again France would be England’s battleground.

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The War against France

Bevan IV spent months rearming and levied eleven thousand extra to fight against France and her allies. On the 22nd of March England declared war on Scotland and France and her vassals, Provence, Auvergne, Bourbonnais and Gascony. Bevan IV directed four main strikes against the French, the first through Picardie to Artois, the second led by de Hautville went north through Gascony, the third went south through Anjou to link up with de Hautville and the fourth to attack Auvergne from the west. On the 6th of April the first battle was fought between English and French armies two miles from the city of Angers. The three thousand French were outnumbered by the seven thousand English and overwhelmed, the English swept across the land and lay siege to Angers.

Battle of Angers 6th April 1461 – English Victory

The second strike consisting of three armies had plunged deep into unprotected Gascony and laid siege to its castles. The two veteran Generals, de Hautville and Cornwallis led the attack, Cornwallis headed for Saintonge and de Hautville for Perigord while Drake led the third army to Vendee. On the 5th of August the Castles at Vendee and Perigord fell, de Hautville headed for Poitou and Drake went southwards to Auvergne, a month later on the 3rd of September Saintonge fell to Cornwallis’ army.

On the 12th of September the province of Othe, unprotected thanks to the first thrust into French territory, was captured by a three thousand strong Bourbonnais army while an army from Provence landed in Normandy and lay siege to Rouen. Bevan IV split his northern army and sent it to Normandy and on the 23rd of September it succeeded in defeating the invaders and forced them to retreat towards french territory.

Battle of Rouen 23rd September 1461 – English Victory

Three days later the armies of Bourbonnais seeking to help Gascony attacked the English forces at Gascogne, hoping to find a weakened and unobservant enemy they found a stronger more experienced army and were quickly defeated at the battle of Libourne.

Battle of Libourne 26th September 1461 – English Victory

On the 8th of November the northern campaign finally came to fruition when the province of Picardie surrendered to English forces, the army marched onwards to Artois and the main French army. On the 15th of December, the silent war against Scotland came to a close when their single province of Ayeshire fell to the English, two months later on the 8th of February and after heated peace talks the Scottish agreed to the English terms. Scotland would become a Vassal with the likelihood of reincorporation into the Empire and would pay reparations to England.

On the 9th of November Burgundy and Dauphine seeking to take advantage of the French weakness declared war on France and her vassals and launched an attack on Bourbonnais.

On the 1st of February the province of Vermandois was captured by a secondary army raised mere months ago to cover west Artois, it numbered only three thousand men but was not expected to do much fighting. On the 9th of April after eight months of bitter siege the province of Poitou fell to de Hautvilles army who now headed south to fight Auvergne. Gascony was entirely occupied by England. On the 19th of June the second northern army captured the Province of Hainaut, three days later the province Artois the French capital Arras fell to the main English army. The main army headed towards Othe with the intention of liberating the Province, three weeks later on the 5th of July Othe was liberated and the army headed northwards back towards Artois, the Burgundians had occupied the Bourbons to such an extent that any campaign there would not be beneficial. In Auvergne the southern armies were sieging most of Auvergnian territory and its ineffectual army was defeated time and again by the numerous English soldiers. The Capital province of Auvergne fell to the English on the 28th of August and at the end of the month peace negotiations with France began.

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De Hautville and Cornwallis meet with the Marshal of France

On the 13th of February the peace of Amiens was signed, France and her vassals would cede the provinces of Poitou, Saintonge, Anjou and Tolouse. The Victory over France was total and England had recovered most of the old Angevin lands in France. Bevan IV spent the next few months securing his new lands. England grew ever more prosperous, its merchants were the most powerful in France and were expanding into Flanders, Englands reputation recovered and it enjoyed decent, if not good relations with those outside the old Empire which eyed the old Overlord suspiscously.

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The Empire Now and Then

English Empire 1463
The furthest extent of the English Empire
The State's monarchies descended from the Woodhouse Dynasty
 
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So, the yellow lands are ruled by kings related to the Woodhouse dinasty who are now independent, isn't it?
 
They are indeed, the Black is territory ruled by the King of England, all others are independent..
 
England has good luck with Bevans, and horrible luck with Richards I wonder why? Keep up the good work.
 
I loved the battle description with the fog and the Irish. Very imaginative.
 
JimboIX Yeah its weird, in fact I'd go as far as saying that we've only really had the four Bevans as good Kings, Richard was terrible and Henry IV and V were pretty bad, Henry III wasn't so bad though..

RGBThanks! I'll try and do more of them, but sometimes there so many battles :wacko:

Cohort Thanks for joining and especially for having a look through the CK AAR
 
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"God take away your alms. For as you live by charity, so do I by war, and to me it is as genuine a vocation as yours."
- Sir John Hawkwood,
upon being greeted by two friars with the words, "God give you peace."

The Rebirth of England Part III

The Cast
Bevan IV, The King of England and France
Geoffrey Cornwallis, An English Commander
Charles de Bourgogne, Duke of Burgundy
George III, Duke of Artois, and the Pretender King
John de Hautville, Marshal of England
Uxbridge, A mildy compentant commander
Sir Henry Ayreton, An Impetous Knight
Middleton, An English Admiral
Emperor Friedrich, The Holy Roman Emperor

Bevan IV, was a Frenchman by birthplace, but an Englishman by birthright as many other Kings before him, as his birthright required he spoke both English, and French, he read in both languages and also in Latin, the language of the law. Bevan IV spent most of his time in his French lands surrounding Paris and Orleans, as became the tradition with post Bevan III Kings. The French lands were richer and strangely less rebellious than his English lands.The Woodhouse Dynasty’s hold on France was barely legitimate, the Old Semi-Salic Consanguine inheritance law had meant that Bevan II could inherit the French crown through his half-brothers death, since he was the closest male relative. Their right to France was legally tenous, but their legal right to England was worse, it was Richard II that tied the two families, the Angevin and the Woodhouse together by marrying a distant descendant of Richard I, Lady Anne Angevin. Other than these minor ties the Woodhouse dynasty held England and France by right of Conquest and no other. However, most had been good Kings and the people were happy with their reign.

The standard of living for citizens under the rule of Bevan IV was rising, the Black Plague that first hit England a century ago had given rise to greater privelages to the lower classes in reforms championed by Edward I. A mostly united England, Scotland and France had consolidated importation and exportation in the Kingdoms. The lucrative wool trade flourished now that there was no competition between the English and French Kingdoms. The middle classes were growing in population and wealth. The aristocracy although lacking as much power as they had wielded under King Richard II still retained a high social position untouched by the lower classes. Paris, the centre of the Anglo-French Kingdom had a burgeoning population and the wealth changing hands in the city was second only to Venice.

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Paris in the mid-fifteenth century​

In early 1464 in the hopes of closer ties and even vassalizing the Italian States, Bevan IV sent gifts to the Kingdom of Sicily, Urbino, Corsica and other Italian Cities. England had spent decades at war. Bevan IV thought it better to concentrate on a more diplomatic means of recovering the Empire.

Burgundy, an old Duchy of the Empire had grown strong since the Civil War and had absorbed small neighbouring Duchies and Counties. French Artois had fallen from her position of strength and the power vacuum in the south-east of France had been filled by none-other than Burgundy. Bevan IV felt it better to not pursue a line of close cooperation, it was better he thought to hamper its expansion, albeit only diplomatically at this point, as his advisors pointed out there was no reason for war, and England had been in many wars lately, the Civilized world would not look kindly upon such aggressive tendancies.

In May of 1464 England’s fears of an expansionist Burgundy were realised when war broke out between the Alliances of Burgundy and Lorraine against Castille, Hamburg and Ferrara. Bevan IV hoping to block Burgundian armies revoked their military access and ordered his armies to the Burgundian border.

On the 1st of June, Auvergnian loyalists in Toulouse rebelled against the King, within a few weeks four thousand rebels were besieging the city. Cornwallis, a General famous for dealing with rebellions was sent from the Burgundian border near Orleans to Toulouse to destroy the rebel army. Cornwallis reached Toulouse on the 12th of July and approached the city from the north west. The rebels, well informed by nearby sympathisers had ample time to prepare their position and deployed behind a fork in a nearby river. Their left flank was well protected by the river and the rest of the rebels were deployed on a hill close by. When Cornwallis arrived he found the rebels well positioned and eager to fight. His own seven thousand men were funneled into the plain by a thick set of trees on either flank. Looking out across the plain, he found to his horror, swampy ground emanating from the river, this coupled with the prevalent forests would make it nearly impossible to make a clean advance. Nevertheless, Cornwallis had his orders. The English archers took up their position in the muddy centre plain, the river fork protected both sides from close combat, but not from volleys of archers. Cornwallis also deployed his cannon in the centre and began to bombard the rebel positions but the wet ground reduced the bounce of the cannonballs and as such its lethality was greatly reduced. The English archers advanced and fired upon the rebels, the rebels with longbows of their own returned fire. Many on both sides died but the English, with the advantage of numbers did greater damage. Cornwallis’ infantry began to advance against the rebel right flank, positioned on the hill and came under longbow fire, which despite being relatively light caused many casualties. The English infantry began to run up the hill and were met by rebel soldiers, a bloody melee ensued, meanwhile Cornwallis and his mounted Knights made their way slowly through the forest and emerged on the rebels far right flank. The English Knights charged round the hill and hit the rebel archers behind the river, trapped by their own defence the rebels were slaughtered or drowned trying to escape. Meanwhile the battle on the hill still raged, the rebels fought with reckless abandon but Cornwallis’ men, with numbers on their side began to push the rebels back. Until after three hours of combat the rebel lines gave way and Auvergnians streamed over the hill. The retreat turned into a rout as the rebels were caught by the waiting English Knights.

In August, Auvergne, seeking protection from England’s expansionism dove into France’s arms.The King of France George III annexed Auvergne bringing most of southern France under his control. A month later on the 21st of September,Urbino joined the war against Burgundy, who despite having their forces divived in two by Anglo-Italy was still winning the war against the Italian states. Bevan IV only needed a reason to get involved with the war against Burgundy.

In Italy bad harvests had sparked riots and minor rebellions in the countryside,Bevan IV was unwilling to risk a revolt in a modestly defended Italy and subsidised food imports for Italy to help farmers and townspeople affected by the famine. On the 7th of January 1465 messengers from Italy brought Bevan IV the grave news that Burgundy had unlawfully annexed Siena and had signed a white peace with Castille. Bevan IV was starting to run out of time to invade Burgundy. Only weeks later the news of a personal union between Lorraine and France was brought to Orleans. Both France and Burgundy were becoming more powerful. Bevan IV would have to take at least one country out of the running, for almost two hundred years England had been the premier power in western Europe, if not Europe itself, it would not be usurped by these treasonous duchies.

With the intention of limiting Burgundian expansion and hopefully gaining some reason for war, Bevan IV sent a warning to Burgundy, declaring that if Burgundy continues its policy of expansion in English spheres of Influence, then England would have no choice but to intervene against Burgundy. Months later peace was signed between Burgundy and Mantua and Urbino. In December 1465 spurred on by taxes and a spreading famine across the southern English posessions, the county of Bearn threatened to revolt, Bevan IV had been enjoying the peace of late and once again, lowered taxes and subsidised food imports of southern France. The Royal treasury was strong enough to support leniency towards the Kings people.

By August of 1466 however, Bevan IV had become fed up with the peace and desperately wanted to join the war against Burgundy hoping to unite Anglo-Italy with the heart of his Empire. By way of insult Bevan IV sent the Duke of Burgundy a demand, in it were the terms demanded by the crown of England, that Burgundy, lacking the right to govern itself should return to the Empire, and “lay apart the borrowed glories, that by right of blood, belong to the true sovereign of Burgundy, King Bevan IV, King of England and all her lands”. Charles, Duke of Burgundy was naturally highly insulted by such demands, but declined to bring the matter to the battlefield as Bevan IV had hoped.

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On the 6th of November 1466, John de Hautville died, he had been the Marshal of England since the Battle of Greys hill in 1452 and had fought in the Civil War(1449-1458), the Anglo-Spanish war (1458-1460) and the French war (1461-1463). He was a legend in his time and the most favoured man in both Richard II and Bevan IV’s courts, he had been awarded lands in Norfolk and in Normandy for his many achievements and services to the crown. His funeral procession was led through the streets of Paris to his Mausoleum. The Royal family were among the mourners.

A year later, in December 1467, Auvergnian separatists, maybe related to those that rebelled at Toulouse rebelled against france and set up an independent state consisting of the provinces of Rouerge and Languedoc. France lacked military access through English held France and had no garrison in the newly annexed Duchy of Auvergne. The rebels were left to do as they pleased and began to march north. This was Bevan IV’s chance, if he couldn’t topple Burgundy he would cripple France, he had enough reasons for war and sent a cursory not to the Duke of Artois and “Pretender King of France” informing them of Englands intent to “support” the Auvergnian rebels, the same day English armies marched into French held territory. The French lacked true armies with which to stand against the English juggernaut and few battles were fought, before long most of France was occupied by England.

On the 5th of January an army led by General Uxbridge attacked the newly annexed French province of Nevers, the French army stood to meet him. Uxbridge was competant enough as a General, but not as good as de Hautville nor even as Cornwallis. The battle was traditional by most standards, the longbowmen on both sides (France had been under the same training laws as England since 1322) advanced and let loose volleys upon each other both sides, then when there quivers were empty the longbowmen withdrew to the rear and the men-at-arms advanced. The battlefield was plain and even, thankfully for Uxbridge there would be no complications as far as terrain and position were concerned. The melee was joined at midday, footsoldiers and cavalry swarmed about the muddy field fighting savagely. By six pm the French, outnumbered by the English began to break away from the fight and run. Uxbridge ordered his men to regroup and head towards the city of Nevers, but his orders were disregarded by a group of Knights led by Sir Henry Ayreton who ran the French down before tiring and heading back to the army. Uxbridge quietly ignored the transgression and drew up plans for a siege.

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The Battle of Nevers 1468​

On the 9th of March, perhaps fearful of England rising again, or hoping to take a chunk of the English Kingdom while they were preoccupied with France the Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich, Prince of the Palatinate, Holland and Ansbach declared war against Bevan IV and England. Bevan IV was incensed at this foolish act and sent a letter to the Holy Roman Emperor saying only this;

It is foolish to approach a Lion when his teeth are bared

-Bevan IV​

On the 24th of March French ships fleeing from the fall of Picardie were caught sailing out of port by the English fleet led by Admiral Middleton armed with a new English fleet with six new Carracks. The French were roundly defeated by Middleton who sank the two French ships with no loss. Four months later while patrolling the European coast Middleton was attacked by a dutch fleet off the coast of Holland, the battle lasted two days on and off and was a tough battle, but Middleton eventually won the day sinking eight Dutch ships for the loss of three.

In August the Dutch attacked an English army besieging Liege. The battle was fought on the 3rd of August, the Dutch outnumbered the English five to three, but the English stayed to fight. As the Dutch advanced the English Longbowmen let loose volley after volley of arrows upon them and then withdrew from the field as the Dutch neared. The English infantry put up a minor fight around some nearby woodlands and attempted to isolate small Dutch contigents but to no avail, by early noon the English army had retreated, both sides suffered light casualties but the Dutch had lifted the English siege on Liege. This was the only engagement between the Dutch and the English, a month later on the 21st of September both sides signed a white peace.

Five months later, on the 16th of March 1469 the Capital of France, Arras, fell to the English. Bevan IV began negotiations for peace with France. The negotiations almost ran the length of a year, Bevan IV would not here any overtures from George III, every few months Bevan IV would return to Arras and present his proposal to George and urge him to sign it. George refused four treaties until in February 1470 he signed the Treaty of Arras, handing over the provinces of Bourbon, Nevers, Picardie and Perigord. The 2nd French war (1467-1470) was over, Bevan IV was again, the undisputed winner, but still Burgundy stood against him.

England spent the next year in peace, Bevan IV waited for an excuse to go to war with Burgundy but still did not find it by 1471, Burgundy was well aware of the consequences and was doing its best to steer clear of them.On the 25th of February 1471 Geoffrey Cornwallis died, a skilled General he had fought in the latter half of the Civil War, the Anglo-Spanish War and both the French Wars. Now both Cornwallis and de Hautville had passed on, England had lost its two most promising Commanders, what were left were “hastily promoted Sprats” as Cornwallis had put it. Only time would tell how England and its Military would cope without such commanders.

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The Empire, at its height and in 1471​