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Dafool

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Apr 13, 2007
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All Glory to the Emperor!

Notes on the AAR:
This is an HttT AAR. I’m using the most recent beta-patch (IIRC). I’m going to be playing as England/Great Britain. I plan to write this in a “history-book” format, from the view of a modern day history book about the Empire. The goal of this AAR is to create an absolutely vast British Empire, 100 years before it reached its historical peak. I have somewhat historical goals in mind to make this seem less like a WC, but these goals are grand in scope. Obviously some things are a bit too gamey or almost impossible to justify in a historical sense, so this “history book” is going to contain quite a bit of jingoism, nationalism, and just plain irrational ideas. I will be using a few custom events to give myself a brutal civil war at some point, but other than that, I will not be cheating or otherwise modifying the game. Hopefully all goes well and we can put the world under our thumb. Feel free to let me know if anyone wants any specific info, maps, pics, screens, etc.


A History of the Empire: Vol. 2
Chapter 1: Internal Security and the Claims in France
1399start.jpg
Henry the IV rose to the throne of England amidst a period of political turmoil. Plotting and rebels were of constant threat. Henry was a man of no great talent, but he did seek to centralize the power of the monarchy in order to secure a sound rule over England. His policy of internal growth, while not particularly effective during his reign, it would have large effects on later events. This policy was not well received by many of the nobility who sought further conflict with France and desired expansion on the continent. While changing focus to the British Isles, Henry the IV came to agreement with the duke of Burgundy regarding some of the English possessions on the continent which would be controlled by Burgundy in return for political favors and some small monetary concessions. These concessions and favors were generally short lived and viewed as a defeat for the English crown and the nobility was greatly upset by this shift in power. In late 1399, shortly after his coronation, a group of nobles backed a pretender, Ernst Tarleton of Lancashire in his efforts to end Henry’s changes.
pretenders.jpg
Tarleton’s attempt to usurp the King resulted in defeat at the hands of the King’s army and he was later executed for treason. With Tarleton’s death, most opposition in England disappeared or at least lost most of its backing by the nobility.
The loss of most of the English holdings in France is thought to have helped avoid further conflict and would help to define the strict anti-continental view that would develop more during the next decade.

Chapter 2: The Conquest of Scotland and the Formation of Great Britain
When the rebellions ceased and stability returned, Henry the IV began to develop further plans to create a firmer control over the British Isles. Scotland, long an enemy on the English border, would be the first to be gained for the crown.
attackscot.jpg
The Auld Alliance was seen as a constant threat to English security, even after England had renounced much of its claims in France. Having fewer continental possessions is speculated to have contributed to the brutal success of this war.
attackingscot.jpg
Despite the assurances of Burgundian neutrality during any future conflicts with France, they still supported the French. The French entered the war wastefully to protect an old ally they had no means of helping. The only major battle of the war was in October of 1400 when the Royal Army clashed with Scottish forces in Cumbria. The battle was a disaster for the Scots and their king, Robert the III, was killed in the battle. Most of the Scottish royalty fled north, including the heir, James. English forces would spend about 2 years capturing towns in Scotland, along with hunting down enemy armies and capturing nobility. In late 1401 the Burgundians, aided by the French, would capture Calais, the sole possession of England on the continent. Its significance would be minor in the war. The French, desiring to defeat the English soundly, made several tremendous overestimations of their naval power, and attempted landings along the southern coast of England. These foolhardy attempts by the French would only result in numerous losses and the complete destruction France’s naval forces. These defeats would pressure the French nobility to oppose the war, and eventually the French would push for an end to hostilities.

In June of 1402, King Henry the IV would die peacefully and his son Henry the V took the throne. Henry the V would see out the conclusion of the war. With him, Henry would bring in a group of diplomats to help conduct a political transformation that would follow the war. In August of 1402, France officially ended the war with England, and Scotland was absorbed into the English crown when the young king James abdicated under pressure from English forces occupying Scotland.
Following the war, Henry, in an attempt to secure rights to all of the British Isles, created a union between Scotland and England. This union would result in Great Britain, which was declared, formed, and recognized by the end of the war. With the ascension of Henry to the British throne, the framework for the British Empire is said to have been laid.
1402gbnow.jpg

Chapter 3 and 4 will be ready later...
 
all_hail_britannia.jpg


ALL HAIL THE EMPEROR! ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!

Sorry, couldn't resist. :p This looks promising though. I'll follow. I'm surprised at just how quickly you managed to form Great Britain.
 
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nice AAR so far and nice pic! what is that from?
 
Sounds good. I'll follow. :)
 
Thanks guys.

@mayorqw: Yeah, I sold them to Burgundy to encourage some duality between France and Burgundy, and also to keep France from getting sea access to colonize later on.
 
I had to look that up, but I can now assure you there will be no giant robots in my AAR.

*Sniff, sniff* Now I feel betrayed... Honestly, you can't have a title like that and not expect people to associate it with giant robots. And Japan. :p
 
all_hail_britannia.jpg


ALL HAIL THE EMPEROR! ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!

Sorry, couldn't resist. :p This looks promising though. I'll follow. I'm surprised at just how quickly you managed to form Great Britain.

Is that from that anime thing in the 1700's with the warewolfs? Chevalier something? Great AAR BTW
 
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A History of the Empire: Vol. 2
Chapter 3: Unification of the Isles
Following the death Henry the IV, a successor to his son was to be named. Henry the V did not immediately name any of his siblings and instead favored his new born daughter as the prime candidate. Anne would be very influenced by her father and would end up taking some of his more extreme views once she ascended to the throne.
anne1.jpg

After declaring the Kingdom of Great Britain, Henry was pressed by his nobility to make good on the claims he had made. Since the union represented a combined kingdom of all areas of the British Isles, the nobility essentially sought to reverse their losses in France by making gains in Ireland. The Irish kingdoms, unprotected and weak, provided a good outlet for British expansion at the time.
attire.jpg

Henry quickly had armies mobilized and ready for war. The Irish nations were swiftly attacked and Henry’s armies quickly occupied their territory.
gbire.jpg

The conquest of Ireland would mark the beginning of Henry’s expansion during his brief reign, which would be important for the British ethos that would evolve and start to take form during this time period. Having the majority of the British Isles under his command, Henry sought to attack the last non-British controlled territory: Orkney.
attden.jpg

The North War, as it became known, was a conflict between the Danish crown and the British crown over Orkney, a small isle on the northern fringes of Scotland. The King proposed an invasion force to land in the lower part of Jutland. Henry’s nobility and war council preferred a less direct approach and suggested an attack on the northern outposts of the Norwegians. The latter strategy was the first to be implemented, but in reality, Great Britain was not yet strong enough to demand such claims based only on a small occupation of some outlying settlements. In the opening stages of the war, the Royal navy transported roughly 3000 soldiers to take control of Iceland, while the Army of Scotland attacked Orkney itself. The Danish responded by making some successful, yet ineffective landings in Scotland and Calais. Henry himself prepared his troops for the planned invasion of Jutland. This invasion would be highly successful and would be met with little resistance, as the British navy engaged and held up Danish forces in Zealand. It is during this invasion that the French resumed hostilities with Great Britain and Henry has his divine revelation, both of which will be discussed in chapter 4.
gbden.jpg

The conquest of Orkney, being the primary goal of the campaign was met with success. During the campaign another gain was made in the form of Iceland. While initially thought of as only a measure to ensure that Denmark would never be able to launch an invasion of Great Britain from there, Iceland would later be a vital steppingstone for the discovery of North America.

Chapter 4: Divine Revelation and French Threats
Shortly after the forces that would invade Jutland departed, an unexplained incident occurred that would have a profound impact on Henry. While in his private quarters, Henry is said to have seen a heavenly being that inspired him greatly to pursue and profess his faith. It is during this time that Henry, who would obtain the epithet “the Devout,” sponsored Christian artwork and pushed for more involvement in the crusades that were taking place in North Africa by Castille and Portugal. Another important effect of Henry’s change in attitude would be the building of churches across the Kingdom. Henry nearly bankrupted England in the process and many were upset that precious funds were being wasted during wartime.
patronarts.jpg

During this period of time Henry also pushed for a reform of the government. The gains made during the North War required a stronger government not as dependant on local lords for power. While not an empire in full form when passed on July 23rd 1409, these reforms helped set the stage for what would evolve into the pre-civil war British Empire.
imperial.jpg

Towards the end of the North War, the French declared war upon Great Britain, mainly in an attempt to regain Calais, the last British possession on mainland Europe. The French, who had long had difficulty containing Burgundy, feared that Calais might pass hands as Gascogne and Labourd had. Due to Burgundian opposition, the French troops were unable to even attack the land they sought to take. Henry took a relatively passive role during this war, mostly due to the relatively expensive campaign that took place during the North War, and the general lack of enthusiasm amongst the nobility to take back any lost French areas. During this period, there were small revolts in Iceland, but they accomplished little other than distracting the crown, but would have some ramifications later. France was unable to launch any serious attack and later another period of peace ensued. Shortly following this peace, Great Britain did in fact hand Calais over to the Burgundians in order to create more animosity between the two rivals.

Much of Henry’s enthusiasm toward crusading was met with uncertainty in most of Great Britain. Only after Castille and Portugal met with great success was he able to finance and lead such an expedition. Castille and Portugal had exerted much force on Morocco had in turn made expansion there difficult. Henry instead appealed to Italian relatives of the crown to allow him and his troops a brief stay while his forces assembled and attacked. Tripoli was the first and only target of Henry’s crusades.
tripatt.jpg

Tripoli, being located just south of Sicily, allowed Henry and his forces a good starting ground to attack from. The initial fighting was all relatively minor, due to rebels having recently taken over the kingdom of Tripoli and the military of the Islamic kingdom being in tatters from infighting. English forces were able to secure most of Tripoli by 1412 and much of the kingdom was added into the fledgling British Empire.
gbtri1.jpg

A few years after the first crusade, in December of 1415, Henry the V died of what was likely pneumonia after a return trip to England from North Africa. His only surviving child, Anne, would go on to take the throne. At the age of 12, Anne was counseled by a series of advisors until she was roughly 15, at which time she took the throne as the first Empress. Anne the I’s policies would be very much influenced by her father’s. Anne, while not as passionately religious, believed heavily in expanding Christian power in North Africa and advocated continued crusading. Through these measures she would be known as Anne the Crusader or Anne the Conqueror in later histories. These conquests will be discussed further in Chapter 5 and Chapter 6.
 
It was a good update, and you clearly made some progress, but why didn't you annex Tripoli?
 
@mayorqw: It's for storyline purposes. Don't worry though, it won't be dragging me down. :D

@GooseyPasture: No! The French can have their smelly cheeses and atrocious accents!

@dinofs: Sadly the Holy War CB I get from being an empire does not give me a bonus for annexation, so it's a solid 8 points to absorb them versus 2 to take those provinces. I was planning on more immediate warring, but the regency council sort of killed that idea.