The Rebirth of England - Woodhouse Dynasty Part II

Kurt_Steiner Yes, Methinks an expedition is in order at some point, although its dependent on whether I can get the resources.

RGB I'm afraid I'm not quite sure what you mean If its the dark bit in Estonia thats the Teutonic order, sorry about the confusion, I find it so hard to put myself in other peoples shoes who haven't had the inside knowledge that I have, hence the Terra Incognita mistake on my part.

In other news, update on the way!

Building on the reforms of George Talbot written in 1421, many priests througout Europe introduced radical ideas of their own. The Black Death and collapse and rebirth of the English Empire has polarised all strata’s of society. The English domination of the Holy See and of the Pope alienated many European rulers. The practice of indulgences though condemned eighty years ago was still widely practiced and the Church was still a major landholder. The Humanist movement fostered in Italy spread throughout Europe in the 15th Century lead to greater interest in the Classical World and a movement towards Academic learning. The establishment of larger independent nations gave way to safer trade routes and led to greater trading links with the Eastern Roman Empire led to an influx of Ancient Greek knowledge throughout Europe. England, with merchants working across the Mediterannean and West Europe, was especially benefitted by this. Italian artisans in English Italy created masterful pieces of work which found their way through France and England. The Reformation came to a head on the 13th of January 1500 when Clemens Steiger presented his eighty-seven point thesis to the Austrian University at Vienna. Modern Historians now mark this as the beginning of Protestantism.


Meanwhile England was once again embroiled in a war to reclaim the Kingdom of France which began in 1499, France was now reduced to the provinces of Vendee and Artois and had little hope of withstanding the English onslaught. On the 6th of March the city of Arras fell to England and just over a month later on the 14th of April France accepted peace with England. France ceded the province of Vendee and became Queen Anne’s vassal and relinquished all right to the Crown of France. Edward II, once King of France was reduced to the Duke of Artois and left a weak state bordering the English Empire and the growing Duchy of Brabant. France was crushed, for Queen Anne, all that was left to hamper England’s expansion in Europe was Burgundy, but England wasn’t ready for another bloody war with the Duchy. Instead Anne I focused on uniting a still factionalised England which had been plagued by Noble feuds and an independent York and London. Neither York nor Essex were in any way aggressive, but their capture was vital for a strong England and Anne, determined to conquer, began to ship soldiers from France back to England in preparations for an invasion.

On the 29th of June, 1501 preparations were complete and Queen Anne declared war on the Alliance of York, Essex and Leinster. Anne attacked with three armies of six thousand men and marched on Dublin, York and on London, the meagre Allied armies were defeated and scattered in minor skirmishes. The Allies, now defenceless were put under siege and waited for the inevitable. Meanwhile, England, the most powerful Kingdom in West Europe was being courted for an Alliance and maybe marriage with Queen Anne, after months of declining offers. Queen Anne accepted the offer of an Alliance between Karl IX, the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sweden, but declined a marriage with his son Prince Karl. Instead, on the advice of Parliament Queen Anne was married to her cousin, Edward, Duke of York. Edward was the son of Henry, Duke of York who was the brother to Bevan IV. Edward was crowned Prince Consort.


In early October the walls of London were breached from the North. Queen Anne was eager for a quick capture of London and to return the old capital to England. With this in mind she ordered an assault to quickly end the siege, the London garrison numbered just under two-thousand men, the English attackers numbered six-thousand. The English with numbers on their side swept into the breach and beat the garrison back while others scaled the city walls with ladders. The defenders held the breach for two hours but eventually were overwhelmed by the mass of soldiers flowing into the city. By Two O’clock the Tower had been captured and the garrison surrendered. London was occupied and the Officers of the army kept the discipline amongst the lower ranks, helped in part by the revolutionary military drill thesis’s first ascribed by de Hautville.

London was captured on the 25th of October, eight days later on the 2nd of November, Essex was reincorporated into the Empire, the Earl of Essex, Henry Percy was allowed to retain his title and was granted feudal rights over the land as had been practiced before its secession. Despite the peaceful outcome of the annexation of Essex many Kings of Europe could not help but feel that England had acted distastefully, agressively attacking and annexing a much smaller country, when a more diplomatic means to this end could have been found. Burgundy expressed her displeasure more through dislike of England rather than ethical reasons, Naples largely ignored the episode, Leon was on the side of the Secessionists and Saxony just kept quiet.

On the 18th of December 1501, rebels in Burgundian Italy threw off their masters yoke and declared themselves independent, Siena was reborn, Queen Anne, eager to annoy Burgundy took the chance to proclaim Siena’s independence.

Most of 1502 was a mundane year for England, the siege of Dublin and York continued, Protestantism gained a foothold in Austria, revolts in the near east began to spread from the Euphrates into Syria, and Saxony pushed inexorably towards dominating the Holy Roman Empire. On the 7th of July 1502, the Irish city of Dublin fell to the English and a week later, the city of York fell to the English after a long siege. Peace negotiations between England and the Alliance began in August and ended with the Annexation of York and the Vassalization of Leinster. Mainland England and Wales was finally united after over fifty years of dis-unity. Naples too was working on uniting Italy, it had declared war on Rome and intended to capture the city to further its position among the three great powers in Italy, England, Burgundy and Naples itself. England was content to leave Rome to Naples, in the greater plan, Queen Anne envisioned Naples becoming a part of England again, and with it Rome. Naples was Kinged by descendants of the Woodhouse Dynasty and had inherited the dynasties ambitious temperament.

When the Neapolitan army marched on Rome, the Cardinals of the Holy See, all of them English, left for the English Empire bringing with them scores of Classical art, literature and history into English control which fueled Humanist and Reformist movements and thinking. On the 20th of June, Rome was formally annexed by Naples, the Pope in Exile demanded the return of Rome, but was unsupported by neither England nor Burgundy. Naples declined the Papal demand and claimed its place as a part of the Triumvirate of Italy.

England spent the next two years at peace, discoveries in the far east opened new markets for English merchant ventures. Although these ultimately failed it pushed Queen Anne’s resolve to dominate the European markets. Merchants were sent to Burgundian Venice and slowly but surely they began to build a sturdy trading base in addition to dominating the Paris, Flanders and Mecklenburg trade centres. The Christian rebels in Beirut, desperate for protection and a catholic ruler defected to England, Queen Anne now had complete control over the Holy Land.

In 1505 Queen Anne prepared to go to war again, this time with Brittany, and her allies, Munster and Connacht. Brittany was ruled by descendants of the Woodhouse dynasty, but like so many had seceeded from Empire in the Civil War. Brittany had built a sizeable African empire, consisting of the Canaries and Northern Morroco, although the last war had lost her all of her African holdings, bar Tangiers and the Canaries. But her loss was truly compounded by the loss of the Province of Morbihan which became a Morrocan dependancy. Queen Anne had decided to secure Brittany and Ireland was handed into the bargain. Anne I moved her armies to Brittany’s border and to Ireland in preparation for the attack. On the 5th of June Anne I declared war on Brittany and sure enough, Connacht and Munster declared war. Anne I sent her armies to besiege Connaught, Blois and Armor, the Bretons moved to attack Maine and on the 12th of July were annihilated by a superior English force. The Irish lacked any standing armies and attempts to raise levies were put down immediately by vastly superior forces.

Throughout 1506 the Breton Alliance were under siege. Western Europe watched as England slowly rebuilt itself. Many were expanding themselves. The Flemish alliance led by the Duchy of Brabant dealt a heavy blow to Műnster in Germany and annexed many provinces. The Protestant Reformation had spread throughout north Austria and spilt over into Hungary. On the 18th of January the capital of Irish Munster, Blois in France, was captured. Two days later the first Irish province of Connaught fell to the English. On the 25th of March the Breton capital of Rennes fell to the English siege. On the 5th of July the Port city of Brest fell to English and with it the entirety of Brittany. A minor campaign had been enough to capture Brittany’s undefended African territory. The same day, in support of Sweden, Queen Anne declared war on the rebellious Gotlanders, despite the fact that it was Sweden’s war and Karl X was the Holy Roman Emperor, England still took precedence in the war, however, Anne I had no intention of fighting the war herself, she had much more important things to attend to and on the 14th April 1507 she signed a peace with Gotland. On the 9th of August 1506 the last free city, Munster fell to the English. Queen Anne annexed the southern Irish provinces of Munster and Leinster and turned to negotiate with the defeated Bretons. On the 2nd of March 1507 the peace of Paris was signed between England and Brittany, Brittany would cede the Province of Finistere, her colony in the Canaries and the City of Tangiers and pay fifty ducats. She would also relinquish her claims on the province of Maine and on Vendee. In 1507 an increasingly religious England looked to defend her borders and other Catholic nations from Heresy and from Heathen invasion. To this end many statesmen adopted the idea that England should protect the Christian world and that this was God’s Will or as some called it, Deus Volt!


England was now secure, she had won another war of re-conquest against Brittany. The country was stable, the people were content and growing rich. English merchants had infiltrated every rich centre of trade across Europe. The influx of Classical literature and history from the exiled Cardinals of Rome had brought a new view of England to the nobility. One of sophistication, of culture, of riches, and of Martial prowess, one that would rival the Roman Empire. And a new name for the people of the Islands. Britons, a long lost word once used to name the Celts. A new Britannia would bring the divided Anglo-Saxons and Celtics together under one name; Britannic. Throughout 1507 and early 1508 artisans worked tirelessly on a new United Flag to represent the peoples of the new Britannic Empire, the true successor to the Roman Empire. No longer would the Empire be ruled by a King or Queen of England, but a true Ruler of Britannia and all who live in its glorious borders.

Yeah, Burgundy's always gonna be there unless I take her out, its just a matter of reforming the army again, and then we'll be ready.

And Britannia does look as if its going to stick with Catholicism, at least for the moment, but the reformation is in its infancy at the moment..

On the 2nd of October 1508, in accordance to the will of God, Anne I declared war on Morocco and her dependent lands in Brittany. Morroco was militarily weak and was already embroiled in a war against Leon and Aragon. Anne I quickly moved her armies into Morbihan and defeated the weak army defending the province. Her army in Africa marched southwards and besieged the cities of Rabat, Melilla and Fez. The Moroccan armies were too busy fighting the Leonese in the south and were unable to defend the north from the Britannic armies.

Meanwhile in Europe, the Austrian Reformation slowly but inexorably spread across Austria and into Hungary, Austria after long deliberation broke from Papal Authority and became the first Protestant state. In defiance of the new state religion, the annexed state of Bavaria broke free from Austria and declared war. Leon and Portugal sent colonists to the west coast of Africa and Portugal herself began a war against Mali. The state of Castille, including lands in Spain and Italy was annexed by Leon. Britannia was again heading for mass centralisation, the new government had brought all power back to the monarch and the Senate, the new representative of the Empire, which had replaced such outdated institutions like the Estates-General and Parliament. The Aristocracy of Britannia burgeoned once again, but with it, brought innefectual Generals. Officers were placed according to their birth, not their skill, Britannia had hardy men, who were skilled fighters, their Generals, however let them down. The glory days of de Hautville had gone, England’s advances on Burgundy had been rebuffed once, would Britannia fare any better?

In 1514, during an unnaturally warm March, Britannia declared war on Burgundy, the case for war? Britannia’s grievances over Burgundian foreign policy in Italy and repeated border disputes in the Burgundy region in France. Baden, England’s old ally and now Britannia was only to glad to join the fray, but Sweden did not fight, now Kinged by a man who did not want an aggressive alliance (Sweden was having troubles of her own, Protestant Norwegians were rebelling against Swedish rule).

The 2nd Burgundian War

The Britannic navy sailed into the mediterannean to attack the Burgundian fleets, the Britannic army attacked from France, Switzerland and Italy in a concerted attack to put all major Burgundian cities to siege at once, while the Grand Army of ten thousand men lured the Burgundian army to the old battleground of Lyons were many thousands of men died just years before.

The Navy were the first to fight engaging the Burgundian fleet just off Rome in the Tyrrenean sea. The Burgundians, unused to naval combat and ill-prepared and disorganised were cut apart by the English ships and bombarded by cannon before fleeing for the Burgundian port of Venice. The Burgundians lost one ship and had many damaged, the Britannic’s captured the “Comtesse” and turned her on her old comrades.

Battle of Rome, 22nd March 1514 – Britannic Victory

Three days later the Northern Italian armies of Britannia were attacked by a Burgundian army out of Venice, the Burgundians, lacking good intelligence, blundered into a numerically superior army which pounced upon them. The Burgundians quickly gave ground to the Britannics and fled across the border, casualties on both sides were light, but the Britannic army was only days behind the Burgundians and ready to attack.

Battle of Meran, 25th March 1514 – Britannic Victory

The Britannic Navy, fresh from its victory near Rome, reassembled and headed north to destroy a Burgundian fleet intent to blockading Marseilles. The Burgundian fleet numbered but four ships and had been unable to link up with the eleven ships that were defeated near Rome seven days ago. The Britannic Navy, though lacking a true leader was a very real fighting force and succeeded in surrounding the small Burgundian fleet and pounding it into driftwood, the ships went down with all hands, the Britannic Navy headed southwards around the toe for a final battle with the Burgundian Navy.

Battle of Marseilles, 29th March 1514 – Britannic Victory

Throughout April the Britannic armies descended on Burgundian Italy, consisting of the dependent city states of Mantua, Verona and Venice. Verona was the first to be attacked by a Britannic counter manouvre, the already demoralised Burgundian army were pushed back by the larger, more boisterous Britannic army and by the end of the day lay dead in the Verona farm fields. The next day the second Italian army defeated the Burgundians at Mantua, once again Britannic numbers had won out over the bravery of the Burgundian defenders. The two cities were laid siege to and the Britannic armies settled down for a long wait.

Battle of Verona, 1st April 1514 – Britannic Victory

Battle of Mantua, 2nd April 1514 – Britannic Victory

As the sieges wore on an errant Burgundian army, seeking to outflank the besieging armies in Mantua marched through Lombardy but were caught by a larger Britannic army marching into Burgundy. The desperate Burgundians were trapped in enemy territory, outnumbered and twice defeated already. The Burgundians only had their equipment and training as their advantage, but even this was stripped from them as volleys of longbow fire tore into their ranks and caused chaos and loss of life throughout the army. As the Burgundians struggled through hilly terrain they were set upon by Britannic raiding bands who isolated the Burgundians and put them to death. The Burgundians, heavily defeated made the dangerous retreat back into friendly territory, now under siege by Britannia. The Burgundians left over two thousand dead on the field, for an Britannic loss of two hundred men.

Battle of Lombardy, 1st May 1514 – Britannic Victory

After a long voyage round the boot of Naples and into the Adriatic, the Britannic fleet finally reached Venice and the Burgundian Navy harboured nearby. In a desperate attempt to stop a Britannic blockade of the city, the Burgundians sailed out to meet their foe in the open waters of the gulf of Venice. The Burgundians fought bravely sinking one Britannic ship an a mad dash towards the enemy, but as their ships neared they were hit by a ferocious bombardment which lost them three ships, the “Bourgogne” was captured by the Britannic Navy. The battle ended any hope of Burgundian Naval power in the mediterannean and completely isolated Burgundian Italy.

Battle of Venice, 10th June 1514 – Britannic Victory

On the 6th of July, the city of Rodez, capital of the Rouergue province in the south of France, was captured by the Britannic Army

On the 29th of July the Burgundian conquest of Lyonnais came to a brutal end at the Battle of Lyons, Ten thousand Britannic soldiers faced nine thousand Burgundians. The battle was long and bloody, the Britannic, led by Thomas Button defended against the main Burgundian army led by Claude de Chalon - Arlay. Button chose a good defensive position outside Lyons around a small hill which blocked Burgundian passage to Lyons. De Chalon - Arlay urged his men onwards against the hail of arrows and had engaged the Britannic’s within an hour of the engagement. Button held his men firm but all the while they were taking and giving heavy casualties. The battle raged all around the hill with the Burgundians breaking off several times during the next two hours and then charging into the fray once again. At least once during the battle the Burgundian Commander, Claude de Chalon - Arlay, was de-horsed but still fought on with un-imaginable vigour. Despite the Burgundians skill, the Britannic army had a solid position and refused to budge from the hill, as darkness began to fall the Burgundians pulled back and retreated back to Burgundy. The battle had been a meat grinder for both sides, Britannia lost over four thousand men in defense of Lyons, the Burgundians lost over three and a half thousand and with it, all hopes of a offensive summer campaign were dashed upon the hill.

Battle of Colline Hill 29th July 1514 – Britannic Victory


Few battles were fought over the rest of the year, within a few months the summer campaign season was over, and a cold winter soon set in, the Burgundian armies were ruined, although, in all they had taekn smaller losses, they did not have the manpower Britannia commanded and could not replace their losses as easily. The Burgundians rallied what little armies they had in a desperate offensive to take Marseilles and force a white peace upon Britannia. Mean while over september, the cities of Dijon and Bern were lost to Britannia, in october, the cities of Verona and Mantua, and in November the city of Besancon was lost. On the 25th of November, the Britannic army engaged Henri II’s army at Provence, who was at that time laying siege to Marseilles. The Britannic army, as usual outnumbered the Burgundians, but Henri II was a real soldier and this time, was on the defensive. Enduring the Britannic longbowmen he replied with disciplined crossbow and cannon fire and then charged the disorganised Britannic lines. Button commanded the Britannic army and despite his best efforts to rally his men to the Imperial standard they broke and began to flee from the field. The Britannic army had been defeated for the first time in the 2nd Burgundian war, but for Henri, the victory was too little, too late, most of Burgundy had fallen to Britannia, and the rest of it would soon fall, Henri needed a miracle.

Battle of Marseilles 25th November 1514 – Burgundian Victory

Three months later, the fortress at Avignon fell to Britannia after a long siege, and then in April of 1515, the city of Venice fell. In May, only the city of Savoie stood against the Britannic invaders, in an effort to quickly end the war, Queen Anne ordered General Button to launch an assault against the weakened city. Button charged forth into the breach at the head of his men and fought in the breach against the Burgundian defenders. But, hours into the assault he was grievously wounded and brought to the rear where he died of his wounds, reportedly the last words he uttered were, “Left Tower”
The assault failed,the men disheartened by the death of their leader fell back from the breach exhausted and wounded, the siege would have to go on.

Battle of Savoie 16th May 1515 – Burgundian Victory

The failed assault did little to alleviate the Burgundian position, two months later on the 9th of July Savoie finally fell to the Britannic army. On the same day, the Burgundian army under Henri II was defeated at Marseilles and forced to retreat northwards. He reached the province of Dauphine, a captured city, with the hopes of restoring Burgundian control. He captured it by assault on the 19th of August. But once again, it was a minute reverse in a war that was dominated by Britannic victories. The final defeat came at the battle of Grenoble in which Henri II’s army was surrounded and destroyed by five separate Britannic contigents. The Duke of Burgundy was utterly destroyed and Queen Anne quickly brought him to Dijon to discuss the terms of Britannia’s victory.

2nd Battle of Marseilles 9th July 1515 – Britannic Victory

Battle of Grenoble 19th August 1515 – Burgundian Victory

2nd Battle of Grenoble 9th October 1515 – Britannic Victory

On the 1st of December, Henri, Duke of Burgundy accepted peace with Queen Anne of Britannia, Burgundy would cede its provinces of Bern, Franche – Comte and Bourgogne. This strip of land finally connected the Italian region of the Empire with the main body and halved Burgundy’s territory. It was a crushing defeat for Henri II, and a gratifying victory for Queen Anne, who after years of waiting had finally united her Empire.


Peace Once Again

Once again, Britannia knew peace, the war had done wonders for the economy, the monthly deficit had ended and the treasury looked truly healthy, something it had not done for many years. Richard II had built a vast fortune, despite his failure to hold the Empire together, subsequent monarchs had spent it wildly. But now it was truly on the road to recovery. Life went back to normal for the Empire, Italian and scottish noble families stil quarrelled and argued with one another but Queen Anne was good enough to resolve the situation among them, Prince Henry, Prince of Normandy toured the Empire with his father and met his future bride, Princess Aveline of Naples. With this marriage and a sizable dowry sent to King Bevan I of Naples, Queen Anne was able to secure an alliance with Naples, something that had been sought after for years. However, a month later on the 22nd of September, 1518, Queen Anne died at the age of forty-seven. Her young son Henry succeeded to the Throne of Britannia, he was barely sixteen but an able diplomat and administrator. Unfortunately, his soldiering left much to be desired, but many nobles accepted that the time of the true “Crusader Kings” had ended with the death of Bevan III in 1346. Prince Henry was crowned at Westminster and at Rheims with the new crown of Britannia.Henry VI was the first King in over a century to be crowned at Westminster. Henry VI, was thankfully for the nobles of the Empire, a capable King carrying on his Mothers work in the economy and also sent missionaries to convert the Muslims in the north African territories and took steps to strengthen Britannia’s position in Europes markets.


3rd Burgundian War

Throughout Henry VI’s early reign his eyes often strayed to Burgundy, now greatly weakened compared to Britannia’s titanic Empire weighing down upon her. On the 18th of December, Henry VI declared war once again on Burgundy and sent his armies to attack Burgundian positions in the south of France and in the Italian dependent states. The war got off to a good start, at the battle of Mantua the defending Burgundian army were overwhelmed by six thousand Britannic soldiers and massacred at Passaggio del fiume and the city was put under Britannic siege.

Battle of Passaggio del Fiume 30th December 1519 – Britannic Victory

On the 25th of January, the Burgundians were defeated once again at Savoie by a large Britannic army and pushed southwards, casualties on the Burgundian side were light, the Britannic forces lost many men,but had control of the province and put the City under siege.

Battle of Savoie 25th January 1520 – Britannic Victory

However, on the 5th of March disaster struck the Britannic forces when ten thousand men under command of General Horatio Bedford were massacred by Henri, Duke of Burgundy. The battle of Auvergne was meant to destroy Burgundian chances of a counter attack but instead, weakened the Britannic front and gave Henri even better conditions for a spring offensive. General Bedford had been promoted in the 2nd Burgundian war, but was entirely unsuited for command of an army, his men fought bravely but time and time again were led blunderouly towards death. Henry VI was furious at such a loss and considered commanding the war personally, but was advised against it by the Senate, who were only too knowledgeable of an outcome of the Kings death. General Bedford lost seven thousand men, and only managed to kill one thousand of the enemy.

Battle of Auvergne 5th March 1520 – Burgundian Victory

The rest of the year was silent, Henri gathered his forces in Auvergne and Henry VI began to bring all his forces to bear against Auvergne. The only good news came from the Italian front, where on the 27th of June, the city of Verona fell, then on the 23rd and 26th of December, Firenze and Mantua fell to Britannia respectively. But even these considerable victories paled in comparison of the defeat Henri, Duke of Burgundy would lay on Britannia. On the 14th of January, the same day as the fall of the province of Piemont, General Bedford attacked Henri’s nine thousand men with eighteen thousand of his own, it should have been an easy victory, but once again Bedford blundered into it, completely misusing the artillery given to him, he even hit his own men as they advanced on the Burgundian position. The Melee was terrible, Bedford commanded terribly, the Britannic soldiers fought tirelessly and did not break until the sun began to set, as the Britannic army left the field the losses it had borne became dreadfully apparent. Bedford had lost eleven thousand men, and killed one thousand. It was the worst defeat inflicted upon Britannia, the war was not going well.

2nd Battle of Auvergne 14th January 1521 – Burgundian Victory


My objectives for the sixteenth century, Britannic territory in black, hopeful aquisitions in yellow.

JimboIX It is indeed Charles V! He was the best period Monarchic pic I could find.

Kurt_Steiner Yeah it definately makes an interesting change

Cohort I'd be glad to crucify him, but at the moment Britannia is going through an entire slew of backwards military commanders.

RGB Yeah, I'm not quite sure why I didn't add them, I can grab Sardinia off of Leon at some point and I'm working on diplo-annexing Corsica at the moment!

Despite Henri II’s victory at Auvergne he was soon forced to withdraw to save his army from Britannic reinforcements who marched into Auvergne and lay siege to the hastily defended city of Clermont, on the 12th of February the city and province was liberated from Burgundy after a bloody assault. Henri’s beleagured army was being chased through the south of France and only the fortress city of Avignon remained in Burgundian hands. Just over a month later even Avignon fell once again to the Britannic invaders. Henri had an army, but no city was left to support him. Once again he had no choice to accept Henry VI’s terms. After just one day of negotiation Henri accepted the Peace of Amiens, Burgundy would cede Avignon, Rouerge and Firenze.

Peace, 1522 to 1524

Henry VI continued Queen Anne’s policy of peaceful expansion in the Mediterannean, after months of negotiations he secured the marriage of the Crown Prince Henry, Duke of Normandy, to Princess Elizabeth of Naples on the 22nd of July, and as a term of this marriage Naples and Sicily would become a vassal once again of Britannia. A year later Henry VI signed an alliance with the Kingdom of Corsica, ruled by a descendant of Gwydion Woodhouse, Duke of Gwynned.

Once again, as day followed bloody night, Britannia knew peace, the soldiers returned home and trade and economy, neglected during the war years were taken up again. The people of the Empire had adapted to this almost, macabre, way of life. For a few years men would work in peace, but every wife, mother and father knew that someday the Call to Arms would be raised and the Britannic soldiers would be sent out again. But life was good, and getting better, markets from across the world opened up to Britannic merchants who brought exotic goods from the far east back home into the houses of the Aristocracy and now even the middle classes had access to goods previously only dreamed of. The Aristocracy flowered with many rich families spread over the Empire ruling estates from Scotland to Palestine. Many of these families, filled with boisterous offspring and private armies to command grated against each other, often these were merely insults thrown across fences, but sometimes it erupted into armed combat between noblemen and their retainers. This flourished in Italy and Scotland and often forced the King to become involved. The outcome was always the same, unwilling to risk an open revolt or a drop in stability, the King always brought the nobles to the negotiating table, rather than have them fight in the open. However, Henry VI was well aware of the growing problems of feudalism, many theories abounded about the fall of the Empire in the mid fifteenth century, some sensible, others outlandish, but the prevailing idea was that the Empire could never have been mantained by many different nobles, each with their own private armies, the presiding message was that, Feudalism destroyed the Empire. Many of the Middle classes took up this grievance, seeing it as a way to break down the aristocracy and further their own station. Henry VI was only too aware of this and other countries that were moving away from Feudalism. Once again though, he had the means, but he lacked a strong support base to implement his changes, a sudden change of government would severly hamper the countries stability.

The War of Corsican Aggression

On the 23rd of July, 1524, the peace which Britannia knew so fleetingly was lost again, Corsica, her belligerence enhanced by Britannia’s treaty of Alliance, declared war on Austria. Britannia was only too happy to declare war, for many years Protestant Austria had financed Privateers on Britannic waters and attempted to incite revolts against Henry VI. Now would be Britannia’s chance to teach the Protestants a lesson. Henry VI spared no army in his invasion, the plan would be to strike deep into Austria, by sending multiple waves of armies, each reaching further in than the last. Unfortunately, Henry VI had not really planned for a war with Austria and was much more concerned with Burgundy, to that end, most of Britannia’s armies were stationed in Southern France, the Austrian armies had been able to march into northern Italy unopposed, but months later the Britannic army arrived in full force. The first battle between Britannia and Austria was fought in the province of Trento outside the town of Cavalese. The Britannics once again had the advantage, the wars against Burgundy had been tough, but Austria was a country that Britannia would have no trouble with. The Austrians, hoping to cut the Britannic’s off in a small pass attacked first but were drawn into the Britannic lines and slaughtered, few escaped to tell the tale.

Battle at Cavalese 26th September 1524 – Britannic Victory

The second battle was fought at the town of Udine in the province of Fruili, by this point the Austrians were facing armies many times their strength but still stood their ground. It would do them no good, the Britannic army pelted them with arrows before swarming among the disheartened Austrians and killing them to a man. No Austrians survived Udine, Two thousand lay dead in the fields and would forever be remembered by the widows and childless mothers of Austria.

Battle of Udine 8th October 1524 – Britannic Victory

The Britannic army began to spread through southern Austria, helped in part by the Catholic southern Austrians, however, a race to defeat the Austrians had begun, the Byzantines were invading from the south, the Hungarians from the east, the Bohemians from the north and the Britannic’s from the west. The Britannic army raced east to beat the Byzantines to the prize of Austria, one of the few Austrian armies left faced the Britannic army in the Province of Karnten, oustide the city of Klagenfurt. The Austrians stood no chance, already defeated in the east by the advancing Byzantines and now facing a fresh army from Britannia. Even the mountainous terrain of the province could not hold the Britannic’s out, the Austrians were roundly defeated and managed to retreat south but in bad order.

Battle of Klagenfurt 4th November – Britannic Victory

Mere days later an Austrian army was defeated again at Innsbruck, The Britannic army were unrivalled in the war of Corsican Aggression, Austria did not have the manpower to hold off such a juggernaut, let alone four rival powers picking it apart. The Austrian army were heavily defeated and fled north to attempt to defend Wein. Britannia would make no more moves for this year, the Campaign season was well and truly over, Henry VI himself was tiring of the war, Britannic gains had been insignificant compared to Byzantine gains who were now beginning to place themselves as leaders of any allied contingents, much to Henry VI’s annoyance.

Battle of Innsbruck 11th November – Britannic Victory

The battle of Innsbruck was the last Britannic battle fought in Austria. On the 10th of May, 1525 the city of Klagenfurt fell to Britannia. The King of Austria sued for peace offering to renounce their claims on Trent and pay a sum of seventy-five ducats to the Britannic Empire. Henry VI gladly accepted on the 25th of May. For Henry VI the war had been fairly pointless, if nothing else it had been another demonstration of Britannic might, but in Henry VI’s eyes, the world had seen enough for the moment.


The Reigning Peace

In April of 1526, Henry VI signed an alliance with Saxony, the dominant state of the Holy Roman Empire, with this new electoral ally, and with Corsica already under Britannia’s wing, Henry VI had a good chance to be elected as Holy Roman Empire, the Electors of Alsace and Mecklenburg also promised to cast their votes in favour of the Britannic Empire. Previously Britannic foreign policy towards the Holy Roman Empire had been subversive, encouraging its own states to secede from the Empire and thereby tarnishing relations with the Emperor’s of first Bavaria and lately Britannia’s old ally Sweden. With the 1526 electoral revelations Henry VI’s foreign policy took a u-turn, in order to secure his election he began to send gifts to the supportive German states in order to secure his election at Karl X Gustav’s death.

On the 7th of November, the Economic Minister to the King, Francis Wolfe released his lifes work entitled “The Wealth of Nations” the large volume detailed a new economic way of thinking, bringing the ideals of a Free Market to Britannia and introduced the concept of “The Invisible Hand”. The book was popular with the middle and lower classes, but less so with the Aristocracy who were uneasy with the concept of Progressive taxation and the books disdain for self interest groups. The books progressive ideas on economic policies also filtered through to mainstream politics fueling the popular distaste for a powerful intervensionist Aristocracy. Henry VI had his base of support and within a few months made the transition from a Feudal Monarchy to an Administrative Government, the private armies owned by the noblemen were banned and drastic changes to the law were put into effect. Farmers and tradesmen no longer needed to take their grievances to their Landowner, instead they could now be sent directly to the Imperial Beaurocracy.


On the 1st of January, the Province of Vermandois defected to Britannia. The province had once been owned by France, before that, it was held by England and before that France. The province was cut off from the rest of Brabant and had stronger ties with Britannia, when the province rebelled Britannia refused Brabant military access and waited for the inevitable.

Sideshow in the Holy Land

It was only a matter of time before Henry VI went to war with Ak Koyunlu and Qara Koyunlu, diplomacy between Britannia and the Islamic alliance had been terse at best, filled with border disputes and sometimes outright insults between diplomats. To make matters worse, Britannic gains in the war of Corsican aggression had been next to nothing in territorial terms. Britannia was an expansionist society, the Koyunlu alliance were not catholic, nor even Christian. The plan for war was simple, three thousand soldiers from Beirut would march north and capture Allepo, while the eight thousand soldiers in Jerusalem would capture the unprotected south. The war would take a few months at best, the Koyunlu alliance had few men and were generally backwards compared to Britannia. On the 15th of June war was declared and Henry VI ordered the invasion. Within weeks Allepo was under siege and the Jerusalem army had defeated the Qara Koyunlu garrisons in the south and had captured the undefended cities. But the war began to take an ugly turn, the siege of Allepo dragged on and kept the Beirut army in the north and out of use. The Jerusalem army had now by neccesity been split in order to cover the border against Qara Koyunlu who began to flood out of the unknown desert to the east. The unprotected Arabic cities meant that cities were gained and lost in a matter of days and the southern army spent its time either chasing down Arab armies or trying to take back its gains. The war had dragged on for a year and Allepo had not fallen. The southern army was taking too many losses to sustain its border and a large army commanded by the Bey of Qara Koyunlu had been spotted in the south. Henry VI sent eight thousand men as reinforcements to the Holy land in the hope of stemming the Arabic threat. When Allepo finally fell in the winter of 1528 the army was rushed south in order to meet up with the southern army and defend against the Royal Arabic army advancing on Gaza. The battle of Gaza was a disastrous embarrasment for the Britannic army, two thousand dead on the plains of Gaza and little to show for it. Henry VI sent ten thousand more soldiers to the Holy Land in the hopes of victory, it was only with these men that the Royal Arabic army was finally defeated and Gaza captured, this with Allepo, and some minor captures in the south forced the Arabs to come to terms in the winter of 1529, two years after it should have ended. On the 21st of November, The Koyunlu alliance agreed to cede Allepo to Britannia. For Britannia the war was meant to be a quick grab of land, instead it turned into a bloody mire that lasted two and a half years and cost around seven thousand dead and wounded. Despite the annexation of Allepo, Britannic pride had been wounded, the Kings brother, Edward, Duke of York had been killed at the battle of Gaza like so many others.

The End of Henry VI


Henry VI died at the age of twenty-eight, after his brothers death he had retired from court life and frequently fell ill. His son, Henry, Prince of Normandy, only fourteen years old was crowned King of Britannia at Westminster and then at Rheims. Henry VI had been a popular and most capable King and it looked as if Henry VII looked to follow in his footsteps. The Senate awarded him full Kingship on the basis of his learned disposition and readily accepted him as Sovereign of Britannia. Henry VII’s early reign was well administered, the economy was strengthened in accordance to Wolfe’s Principles as laid down in the wealth of nations and greater ties with the German electors were sought. Henry VII arranged his own marriage to Lady Amelia of Saxony, daughter to the Duke of Saxony. On the 9th of July he invaded Damascus and annexed it to Britannia. On the 1st of March 1531, Francis Wolfe, the author of “The Wealth of Nations” and minister to Queen Anne, and Henry VI and Henry VII died. His work was the foundation of the free market economic thought and influenced Britannic economic policies for centuries.

Kurt_Steiner said:

So... now is it now Austria's time to be conquered?

Click to expand...

Not quite sure, either I just leave it as it is and beat it up from time to time, annex it, or I've been thinking of Guaranteeing its independence and starting a war against Byzantium..

Thanks! Its quite a compliment to think the Woodhouse's have taken the place of the Hapsburg family. I'm hoping Henry VII does last longer, although EUIII Kings have a habit of dying quite early.

Romanorum Imperator Electus 1531 – 1535

On the 28th of December 1531, Karl X of Sweden died, the German electors elected none other than Henry VII of Britannia in his place. The Holy Roman Empire, with the addition of the Britannic Empire now encompassed most of Europe. Europe was still mostly Catholic, the protestant reformation was slowly spreading throughout Eastern Europe, Hungary had converted to Protestantism in order to defy the Britannic controlled Papacy. Protestant rebellions in Saxony sprang up despite its forward looking acceptance of both religions. Britannia was having religious problems of its own, the province of Melilla containing a large Muslim population had refused to be converted and had twice rebelled before being brutally crushed. Islam was the only religious minority in the Britannic Empire, protestantism had yet to infiltrate its borders and even reformed Catholicism had not set foot in Britannia.

Britannia knew a real extended period of peace, In may 1354 the first effects of an Agricultural revolution were known in France and England, previously common law fields were being brought and sold by Private farmers leading to an increase in the landowning middle class, while some farmers became richer, others lost their land and their ability to make a living, some worked as tenant farmers others, flocked to the cities to try and make their fortunes in Lucrative centres of Trade. New weapons manufacturies, wine refineries required skilled workers and the urban populations began to grow to meet these needs. The increased crop yield enabled Britannia to export more food abroad and thus made the treasury even larger.

In may 1535, in response to the zealous efforts of the Catholic Church to convert the Muslims in Allepo a rebellion had erupted. The Britannic army was sent from Beirut to combat the rebellion and defeated it that month and later led reprisals against the Muslim minorities there, leading to increased tensions between the Catholic aristocracy and Muslim population in Allepo.

The Eight Month War 1535-1536

On the 1st of September 1535, Henry VII declared war on the Koyunlu alliance. The Koyunlu alliance were now substantially weakened in the Holy land thanks to an unsuccessful war with the Timurid Empire. Henry VII was determined to avoid the quagmire last experienced in the war of Allepo in 1527. But compared to the 1527 war, this one was a walkover, Qara Koyunlu but up only obligatory resistance against the Judean Army who battered their way across the desert and captured Al Karak and then moved to besiege Gaza. The Koyunlu armies could not escape this time, and where unable to reinforce their soldiers. On the 29th of May 1536 it was over. The Province of Al Karak was forcibly annexed by Britannia.

The Loose Ends 1536-1539

Protestantism continued to infect Eastern Europe, in August of 1536 the Kingdom of Bohemia converted to Protestatism and it had grown to such an extent that it bordered Britannia’s Empire. There it seemed to halt, Britannia was a true Catholic Stronghold and with control of the pope to show for it.
On the 15th of March, 1537, the inept General Bedford died, he had not fought in a war for many years, Britannia’s relctuance to use him was so great that he was only ever utilised in the rear guard of an Advance.

During the extended period of peace, Henry VII set about peacefully finishing off old enemies. On the 11th of September, the province of Artois, Lorded over by the disgraced Duke of Artois was annexed to the Crown as was the Duchy of Argyll, the descendants of the instigators of the Civil war of 1449 – 1458. Mainland Britannia was finally, once again wholly united. After Leinster was annexed in August 1538 only Connaught stopped Britannia from being a single entity once again. Henry VII then set about further weakening the aristocracy of Britannia. On the 22nd of November he raised Land Tax but lowered Excise Tax in order to stifle the Aristocracy, bring money into the treasury and encourage the New order of Plutocratic traders.

The Regency 1539-1542

The new tax deal was the last piece of Legislation Henry VII brought in. Less than a year later he died on the 17th of August 1539, he was only twenty-four years old and there was a public outcry at his death. He had died too young, and worryingly for the nobles of Britannia, less than a year after he introduced yet more Legislation to de-power them. Suspicion was placed clearly on the Aristocracy who duly began to discuss another Regency council. Henry VII had died heirless, in what seemed to becoming a tradition. Gone where the days of Bevan Epee de Dieu’s six sons. Succession was a dangerous affair and often had Princes and Nobles of the Empire wringing their hands in desperation. Thankfully, Henry VII had a younger brother, Bevan, Duke of York he was chosen to be King of Britannia, or now as they were styled, Britannicus Rex.


The Regency were largely innefectual and spent most of their time preparing the young Prince for Kingship. The Regent himself, the Earl of Kent, was good advisor and administrator and helped to bring the treasury back to respectable levels. Prince Bevan was a hardcore Catholic like his ancestors and yet enthralled by the wealth of Classical learning at his finger tips, with an emphasis on the Roman Caesar’s the Kings of Britannia had become to resemble. Meanwhile in Sicily, a succession crisis loomed, Queen Mary I of Sicily had died childless and no heirs, she had no brothers, and her only sister had been Queen before her and died years earlier. Radicals in Naples called for a Republic, the Nobility were less keen than others. The Earl of Kent, however, offered them a different alternative. Reincorporation into the Empire of Britannia. The Neapolitan government, concious of the fact it wasn’t going to get a better offer, agreed to Kents offer. On the 12th of July 1542, The Neapolitan Empire was returned to Britannia, with it, the majority of Italy, and greatest of all Rome. With the city under his control, Prince Bevan could truly be crowned “King of the Romans” a title that previously existed only in name.

Bevanius VI Augustus Britannicus Gallias Romanus Rex Imperator


On the 7th of December, the Duke of York’s birthday, Prince Bevan was crowned Bevanius VI Britannicus Gallus Romanus Rex, King of Britannia, France and Italy. In addition to being crowned in Westminster, he was crowned again in Rheims and again, by the Pope in Rome. Bevanius VI’s policies would be a greater Navy, stronger ties with the Holy Roman Empire, and oddly enough, an Alliance with Leon. In January 1543, Bevanius VI married the daughter of the King of Leon, Princess Alicia of Leon and therefore gave rise to closer relations between the two countries. The marriage was sound, Bevanius spoke excellent Leonese, and the Lavish court in London, Paris and in Rome had no rival. Luxuries from across Eurasia could be found in Bevanius VI’s court. Things seemed to be going well, until February when Bevanius VI sank into a melancholic insanity, leading the Earl of Kent to administrate the Empire for a short time, thankfully Bevanius VI’s insanity was short lived. But not he did not recover quick enough to stop Kent from completely annexing Rome on the 29th of April and leaving the Pope to sit in his Estate guarded by Britannic soldiers.


Bevanius VI recovered in time to be informed personally of Leonese discoveries to the west of Europe. Reportedly a new World of wealth and riches beyond Europes belief, and even surpassing Britannia’s grand courts. Bevanius VI began to refit the old Britannic Navy in preparations of an expedition westwards.

The Kings of Britannia had lost the title of Holy Roman Emperor during the regency period to the Duke of Luxembourg, while unwilling to start a war unecessarily Bevanius VI was determined to retrieve the Crown of the Holy Roman Empire. The Duke of Luxembourg was an old man, Bevanius VI focused on getting the Electors on his side. On the 11th of September he signed an alliance with Luxembourg and sent gifts to the German Princes of the Holy Roman Empire. It paid off, like his father, Bevanius VI was granted the title Dei Gratia Romanorum Imperator Electus Semper Augustus and added Augustus to his stately list of names. On the 18th of March the Previous Holy Roman Emperor died and Bevanius VI was voted for by all but one Elector, The Duke of Burgundy. But perhaps, insultingly for Burgundy, Bevanius VI was not at all bothered, he was well aware that Burgundy amounted to no danger at all.


On the 2nd of April, Bevanius VI formally began his quest for the new world, granting an explorer named de Clifford command of a small fleet he sent him forth with the Imperial Britannic Seal to claim new lands for Britannia. In early May, de Clifford’s fleet was assembled and he set off westwards from Brest in Brittany. De Clifford sailed west but the expedition was a disaster, three months later he returned to the Canarias minus three ships and with a distinct lack of dominions for Bevanius VI.

In 1547, on the 12th of March, as a sign of new cooperation in Europe and the New World between Leon and Britannia, Bevanius VI signed an alliance with Leon, trade between the two nations flourished and the entirety of west Europe was now firmly behind Britannia.