Paris ne vaut pas une messe! - A Huguenot IN AAR

[dem61s]

I, on the other hand, believe strongly that Henri should teach the Habsbourg what rising against the Protestant alliance means. They should understand at once that they cannot go on protecting catholic lands and expect that France won't do the same thing with Protestant territories.
Who really cares about a few nut cases in the English parliament advocating revolt to a couple of peasants? You can crush them anytime!
Sorry Lord Valentine

[Enewald]

Good, no more Habsburg Netherlands, yay!

[Grubnessul]

indeed, impressive work for France so far, now you'll need to defeat Austria... Oh, and deal with the English rebels

[Milites]

Good news!

I was at the conscription office today and managed to avoid the dreaded conscription! I think that a happiness update is in order
Anyways, does anybody know how to edit the save game into using random monarchs instead of historical ones?

@ Lord Valentine & dem

Henri obviously wants to crush the rebels. He's a benevolent king, but don't you dare go against his divine right to rule

@Grubnessul

I (ehm Henri..) shall his best to quell the Habsburg beast once and for all!

@mandead

Britain won't be a happy place for revolutionaries and communards and parliamentarians as soon as Henri is done with them.

[Grubnessul]

Danish conscription?

[Lord Valentine]

Good news!

I was at the conscription office today and managed to avoid the dreaded conscription! I think that a happiness update is in order

Congratulations mate! I myself prayed to avoid being drafted, but to no avail. So now I'm stuck with doing 9 months of social service as a substitute. So what would fate have had in store for you if you had been drafted?

Anyways, does anybody know how to edit the save game into using random monarchs instead of historical ones?

Considering this question it would interest me what version of EU III you are playing. Is it vanilla, Napoleon's Ambition or In Nomine? If I remember correctly with Napoleon's Ambition you could change the gameplay settings (difficulty, discovery times, monarchs and other stuff) each time you selected your save before reloading it.

Also may I add that I am relived to hear that Henri has the right concern for royal authority and divine rights.

~Lord Valentine~

[Milites]

Danish conscription?

Yeah it's kinda silly.. I mean we all know that the most effective weapon in the Danish army is the direct telephone line to the White House.

Congratulations mate! I myself prayed to avoid being drafted, but to no avail. So now I'm stuck with doing 9 months of social service as a substitute. So what would fate have had in store for you if you had been drafted?

Either I'd done the same as you and taken the civilian service (although we got lots and lots of nice jobs to chose from ^^) or I had joined the navy. The navy isn't all that bad, you get to go on a 4 week trip to Greenland and the Faeroe Islands on a destroyer (or some strange military vessel).

Considering this question it would interest me what version of EU III you are playing. Is it vanilla, Napoleon's Ambition or In Nomine? If I remember correctly with Napoleon's Ambition you could change the gameplay settings (difficulty, discovery times, monarchs and other stuff) each time you selected your save before reloading it.

Well I'm playing IN, but without the 3,1 update.

[Milites]

Chapter XV – Turmoil in Britannia


***
The Escalation
***


When the year 1609 arrived, the situation in England was becoming desperate for King James. Parliament had taken control of all of Wales and Ireland and, even worse, London.
The rebels besieging the Tower had almost starved the royalist defenders into submission before they stormed the castle in the early days of January. The royalists were all killed to the last man and the colours of James I Stuart were thrown into the gutters of London. With London in rebel hands, James moved his headquarters north to Oxford. Here he camped alongside 10,000 of his most loyal troops while another force of 10,000 men and cavalry made their way north to Yorkshire to defend the border from the Scottish rebels.

The Parliamentarians break into the Tower

James was flabbergasted at the loss of the capital and seriously contemplated on withdrawing to Scotland. To him it seemed like all of the country was against him and only the promise of French aid kept him from abandoning England to the parliamentarians. After the fall of London all of Wales and Cornwall had been captured by the rebels as well. The parliamentarians of Cornwall joined forces with the army of London and together the two armies marched on Oxford where the king still lay in camp awaiting French reinforcements. The Parliamentarian pikes quickly moved in on the Royalist infantry although the king’s artillery caused severe damage amongst them. When the two blocks of infantry locked in a deadly melee, the parliamentarian cavalry fell upon the royalist horsemen and routed them. By then the rebel infantry had knocked a hole in the king’s centre and the royalists withdrew in confusion leaving 2,000 dead and wounded behind.

Civil War, 1609

When James reached York he was informed that another rebel force was marching on them. The parliamentarians had sent 7,000 soldiers and dragoons against the royalists. What they thought to be 8,000 demoralized and hungry infantry proved to be 18,000 angry royalist troopers and cavaliers all thirsty for revenge. The battle was a slaughter without comparison as the 7,000 rebels were bombarded by the royal artillery and battered into submission by the fist of the king’s infantry before the cavalry surrounded and killed or captured most of the rebels. With the battle of York, James had regained his self-confidence and proved to his allies that the English could still pack a punch. Although the royalists hoped for it, the Parliamentarians were not very worried at the prospect of a French intervention. They had the support of the English navy, which was superior to the one currently employed by the French, and with France at war with the two largest continental powers it seemed to them that they were beyond Henri’s reach. Sadly for them, they were wrong on all fronts. In April 1609 the French army left port in Normandy, carrying with them the Army of the East, and smashed its way through the Parliamentarian navy. 15,000 French soldiers made landfall in Wessex and threatened London itself! Finally the sun shun on the royalists, but then disaster struck on the continent.


***
Disaster
***

Henri had retreated to Paris to enjoy some time with his mistresses and family when the French navy left for England. Until then everything had gone well for the reformed alliance. Soon England would be ruled by an absolute monarchy and parliament would only be an unpleasant memory. In Spain, the French armies had pushed the Spaniard forces aside and were besieging Madrid. Messengers arrived weekly to offer peace to the French king, but all were rejected. Henri intended to profit as much from the war as possible. In an effort to completely rout the Austrians, the king gave permission to the young Guillaume d’Ornano to lead the reinforced Armeé de Flandres across the Rhine and into the Austrian hereditary lands of Württemberg. Unknown to d’Ornano, the Austrians had been gathering all the weapons and soldiers they could spare by the Rhine for an incursion into the Netherlands. In May 1609 the French army started to cross the Rhine and soon advance through Baden and Alsace into Württemberg. Then the Austrians attacked. Guillaume was slain by the Austrian cavalry attacking his headquarters. The French retreated back to the Rhine, suffering crushing losses of men and material. The Huguenot incursion into Austria had been the biggest military disaster in all of Henri’s reign.

OUCH

When the remnants reached Metz they brought with them the news of the Austrian advance that had followed them from Württemberg. Within a month most of French Lorraine was under siege. Henri had no troops to field against the Austrians. One part of his army was in England, another in Spain while the third was regrouping. Now peace was the only option.

[Grubnessul]

Ouch! Seems invading England wasn't such a good idea after all...

[Lord Valentine]

Well first of all I must say it's nice to see that Germany isn't the only country in western Europe that hasn't yet got rid of this obsolete thing called "conscription". I always get all annoyed when I figure that some students in in my age will be about to finish when I begin my studies.

Where the changing of the monarch rules is concerned I had a look at the issue. As I thought in IN you can no longer change gameplay options after the game start so I had a look at the save-files. In one of the first lines there is a paragraph that goes (in my case) as follows:

}
gameplaysettings={
setgameplayoptions={
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 0 2 }

My theory is that these numbers represent the various gameplay options you have selected. However I do not know which one stands for the monarch options and haven't had time yet to experiment with it. Therefore I have two suggestions: You can compare these numbers with the ones in you save file. I took pretty standard options for that game if I remember correctly, I usually only turn of lucky nations and increase the amount of time for a spread of discoveries. Monarchs, leaders and advisers are all random. If you can live with these settings you could simply copy them and paste them into your save file. Otherwise you could start a new game with the options you would like to have, save it and then copy and paste these settings into your AAR-save file.
However all of this s purely theoretical speculation and I can't give any guarantee that it will work, so make sure you back up your save file. I don't want one of my absolute favorite AARs to get screwed because of my own incompetence.

So and now to the update itself:

I must say I love it, there where so many ups and downs in it! At first I was all down, since the monarchy in England seemed to be all but defeated in England but then came it's miraculous recovery. And then when things seemed to look brighter than ever before for France came this shattering disaster! How on earth could that happen? You had an overall numeracial advantage, you had artillery and your general wasn't greatly inferior to his opponent? Nevertheless such a calamity adds extra drama and suspense to the whole story! Can't wait to see how it turns out!

~Lord Valentine~

[Grubnessul]

Hmm I always thought the Netherlands were backwards in civilization :S

Through technically we still have conscription, you're just not called unless we'll have another total war here or something like that...

[dem61s]

No more conscription in France. Yey!
I am sorry to here about king Henri's trouble with Austria. Is there any chance for reinforcements to arrive before suffering substancial damage?

[Enewald]

Ouch!

Why don't you just recruit more troops?

[Milites]

A very quick response time as I have to leave in a hurry! There be drinking in sight.. yarrr!

Hmm I always thought the Netherlands were backwards in civilization :S

Through technically we still have conscription, you're just not called unless we'll have another total war here or something like that...

Yeah, technically I'm still drafted. However they'll only call me in if the Russians try something funny

Well first of all I must say it's nice to see that Germany isn't the only country in western Europe that hasn't yet got rid of this obsolete thing called "conscription". I always get all annoyed when I figure that some students in in my age will be about to finish when I begin my studies.

We only have to serve 4 months so it isn't all that bad.

Where the changing of the monarch rules is concerned I had a look at the issue. As I thought in IN you can no longer change gameplay options after the game start so I had a look at the save-files. In one of the first lines there is a paragraph that goes (in my case) as follows:

Seems like the way to get around the problem. Sorry for asking, but what did you use to open the file? Just the regular scenario editor?

I must say I love it, there where so many ups and downs in it! At first I was all down, since the monarchy in England seemed to be all but defeated in England but then came it's miraculous recovery. And then when things seemed to look brighter than ever before for France came this shattering disaster! How on earth could that happen? You had an overall numeracial advantage, you had artillery and your general wasn't greatly inferior to his opponent? Nevertheless such a calamity adds extra drama and suspense to the whole story! Can't wait to see how it turns out!

I was also extremly surprised. I am at the same land technology level as Austria so it really is a mystery.

[Grubnessul]

you can just edit in notepad

[Lord Valentine]

you can just edit in notepad

He's right. notepad or any similar editor will do the trick. I hope this will be the much sought life saver for Henri!

And just 4 months of national service? Man you heirs to the vikings have turned unbellicose! Over here it's 9 months.

~Lord Valentine~

[Milites]

I'm away from my main pc for the weekend so I can't try it off right away. But thanks a lot for the tips!

And just 4 months of national service? Man you heirs to the vikings have turned unbellicose! Over here it's 9 months.

And we get paid really well. Almost a 1000 euros after taxes a month
Not counting additional wages for food and supplies.

[Milites]

Chapter XVI – End of the Beginning


***
Peace of Lorraine
***

Although Henri had a hard time admitting it, the situation was getting dangerously unstable. The defeat of his previously invincible army of Flanders shook not only him deeply, but also the very French society. The Catholic enclaves became more and more hostile to his troops and rumours of revolution started to spread [1]. At the same time his most loyal followers began to ask him to end the war against the Habsburgs while the Protestants still were in the lead. Although he did it reluctantly, Henri agreed to seek peace with Spain in May 1609. It was wise seen from a military perspective. The fortresses in French Lorraine were old and ill kept and without the proper supplies and garrison. The choice of a quick peace would enable the French to avoid Austrian domination of the French Rhineland and eradication of Huguenot influence on the German princes. As the king of Spain was in charge of the Habsburg alliance French diplomats were despatched by Sully to take up parley with the chief Spaniard hiding in Portugal. The status of French conquest in 1609 was the following:

• Southern Italy was under Sicilian occupation
• Catalonia and Navarre were under French occupation (with Madrid under siege)
• Luxembourg was under Flemish occupation

The only counterweight the Spaniards had to this was the Austrian victory in Württemberg and the still ongoing sieges in Lorraine. Not much when French guns were bombarding the royal fountains and cavaliers ransacked Valladolid. With superficial politeness the Spanish delegates agreed to a truce and soon thereafter, peace was signed in Strasbourg. The peace was a diplomatic coup for Henri as the Spanish Habsburgs completely ignored the please of the Austrian Branch and signed an easy peace with France. Girona was transferred to the French crown and Luxembourg, the last remnant of the Spanish Netherlands, was given to the Flemish Republic. Furthermore, Spain had to acknowledge French hegemony over Breda [2].

Peace talks with the Habsburgs

***
Bringing Down a Parliament
****

Campaigns in Britannia May – June 1609

In the short time that had passed since the French first set foot on England’s green and pleasant land and the first offensive, the parliamentarians had succeeded in claiming Bristol and surroundings for their cause. Ignoring this, the French forces that had landed in Wessex quickly regrouped before marching north towards Oxford. Here a parliamentarian army under the duke of Gloucester had been besieging the city since the king’s defeat several months before. The siege was in its final phase as the walls were about to fall and disease and hunger harried the beleaguered defenders. Boissieu ordered the charge of his infantry which suffered horrendous casualties when it drove the parliamentarians out of the trenches. The Huguenot cavalry then failed to encircle and destroy the parliamentarians who retreated east towards Kent in good order.

The French expedition sees its first action outside Oxford

If the Duke of Gloucester had hoped to just march back to London and rearm in order to destroy the invading French, then he couldn’t have had a more impossible prospect. When the parliamentarians fell back towards the coast they saw a huge assembly of boats and vessels on the white beaches. When peace had been concluded, Henri had taken charge of the Army of Flanders and embarked for England. The Huguenot king was determined to bring the cure of absolutism to James himself[3]. The canons of the French army paralyzed the attacking rebels who lost almost half of their cavalry to the Huguenot forces galloping across the beaches of Kent.

Henri throws the duke of Gloucester back

As the news of the French king’s arrival reached Boissieu in Oxford he immediately mustered his men and royalist auxiliaries to march on parliamentarian held Wales. The old land of the hostile Welsh had declared for parliament from the very beginning of the conflict and eradicating their control over this, their oldest stronghold, would severely hamper rebel activity throughout the British Isles. The Huguenot troopers arrived outside Caernarfon where the parliamentarian cross of Saint George flew side by side with the dragon standards of Wales. A force of 6,000 rebels had hastened from the southern part of the principality to counter the royalist and French, but they were thrown back with minimal casualties. The Huguenots then proceeded to besiege the castle of Caernarfon with great efficiency.

The invasion of Wales

***
The Death Blow?
****

At the same time as the French advanced in Kent and Wales, James, who now had his back clear, led his loyalist force into Scotland where the rebellious nobles had seized most of the Lowlands. Outside Edinburgh James arranged his army and barely defeated the nobles in revolt. The Anglo-Scottish sovereign didn’t prove to be as benevolent as his French colleague when it came to dealing with defeated enemies. None of the captured Scottish nobles were spared of the executioner’s sword. This proved to be an unwise decision on James part as the remaining Scottish cities in rebel hands closed their gates for him in fear of suffering a similar fate.

James parades before his troops in Scotland

When James encamped himself in the Lowlands in the middle of June for the coming sieges against the Scottish rebels he learned of Henri’s landing in Kent. Genuinely encouraged and happy he sent messengers carrying congratulations to Kent where he thought the Huguenot king to be. A week later he heard from the very same messengers that the French monarch stood outside London with the ordered medicine. Henri had pursued the duke of Gloucester tirelessly from Kent and intercepted the rebel and his battered force a few miles short of London’s gates. The cavalry of Henri nimbly broke through the rebel soldiers and captured a great many of them while the enemy cavalry in its entirety was destroyed by Huguenot infantry. The capital of the two English states was under siege once more.

Next stop the Tower

[1]Revolt risk increases drastically
[2]Breda was made a vassal of France in the previous chapter although the Dutch had seized it. I waited patiently for them to annex (as they have cores, same religion and culture), but they must have been very estranged..
[3]See chapter XIV

[Lord Valentine]

Nice job! Although victory on the continent was less total than expected with Henri in charge the insurrection in Britain seems all but crushed!
Whatever that man touches turns into gold!


But a 1000 € per month for nationalservice, wow! I suppose every company would outsource this task. Just imagine how many Chinese you could pay with 1000 €.

~Lord Valentine~

[Grubnessul]

Impressive victories by Henri!