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Ankios

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Apr 2, 2008
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Two kingdoms, three crowns !
Was it possible for the Lancasters to win the Hundred years war ?

This AAR has been written in June 2010. The goal here was to play only the Hundred years war as England.

In 1399, the three crowns of England, and the Bourguignon and Valois Houses were claiming the French Kingdom. As England, I had to win this Hundred Years war against those two enemies and unify the Two Kingdoms under one crown, to create the United Kingdoms of France and England.

This AAR then start in 1399 and ends in 1453, covered in 24 parts.

The second part of this AAR, History of the United Kingdoms, is posted here

Summary :

Addendums :

I) What to listen while you're reading this AAR
II) History of the United Kingdoms : the second part of this AAR

I) Henry IV Lancaster (1399 - 1404)
1) 1400 : First moves
2) 1401 - 1402 : tensions are rising
3) 1403 - 1404 : first war against the Valois House

II) Henry V Lancaster (1404 - 1406)
1) 1405 - 1406 : a sad white peace

III) Arthur I Lancaster (1406 - 1414)
1) 1407 - 1408 : time for peace and investments
2) 1409 - 1410 : war in France and Italy
3) 1411 - 1412 : Valois and Lancaster at war part I
4) 1413 - 1414 : Valois and Lancaster at war part II

IV) The Lancaster Regency Council (1414 - 1426)
1) 1415 - 1417 : everybody hates the Bourguignons
2) 1418 - 1419 : times of crisis
3) 1420 - 1422 : two alliances facing each other
4) 1423 : the three crowns at war ! Part I
5) 1424 - 1425 : the three crowns at war ! Part II

V) Henry VI Lancaster (1426 - 1453)
1) 1426 - 1427 : Time for a Lancaster revenge ! Part I
2) 1428 - 1429 : Time for a Lancaster revenge ! Part II
3) 1430 - 1431 : Scotland !
4) 1432 - 1434 : consolidations
5) 1435 - 1437 : a growing wish of peace in France
6) 1438 - 1441 : the last crusade Part I
7) 1442 - 1444 : the last crusade Part II
8) 1445 - 1446 : the last crusade Part III
9) 1447 - 1448 : Constantinople splits the Catholics
10) 1449 : two kingdoms, one crown !
11) 1450 - 1453 : conclusion




So what about this game :

Settings :

Difficulty : Very hard
IA agressiveness : Aggressive
Country played : England


One thing I already know is that playing France in EU III starting in 1399 is still very easy. I already tried it as France, so it means that playing England should be a rather good challenge.

Goals :

1399 - 1453

My ultimate goal would be to unite perfectly France, but I'm mostly betting on something more reasonable : to have the Valois house as my vassals ruling the south of France, and controlling the north and the west through vassals :



Giving something like that

And of course having also united Ireland and Scotland. All of this before 1453 !

And to be able to do that (and to have a solid kingdom), I still must take a great care of my BB, to not have a coalition against me willing to destroy me because of this BB !!! This would mean a total failure.


Initial situation :

In october 1399, the situation in the French kingdom is pretty messy. Three crowns are claiming they have the legal right to rule France. For more than 60 years, those three crowns are fighting.

The Valois House lost lots of their claims of lots of parts of the Kingdom a long time ago. However, they still claim they are the rightfully rulers of France.

The Lancaster House, rulers of England, gained lots of rightfull territories throughout the years. Their Kingdom was founded by a duke of Normandy and as so they claim their rights to unify the two kingdoms of France and England (AKA the United Kingdoms :D)

The Bourguignon House on the eastern parts of the Kingdom seems rather weak, but the perfect ally for England or the Valois House to defeat its ennemy.




The map of the current situation in october 1399

As I really liked the "one post a month" system with my Dixie AAR, I will do as much as possible a "one post for two years" AAR. However this might not be necessary in times of peace so might not always be like that.

So now, let's rule !
 
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1400 : First moves

In the last month of 1399, I had to begin to prepare England for war. First of all, I garanteed Brittany and Burgundy. Those strong crowns would be perfect allies in the war against France. Portugal is too far away and too weak to have a real impact so I'd rather depend on those houses.

Also, my king sent me my first mission : in order to have the strength to beat France, he wishes me to unite Ireland under English rule as soon as possible.


Creating a proper army :

In order to accomplish my goals, I need a strong army. First steps : of course creating a strong land army. This went through going one step towards "land" on my national policies : I already know the Valois house can't beat me on the seas. That assured, I will have to beat them on the land.

It was also time to begin to create new units, both cavalry and infantry.

First moves :

In early november 1399, the Bourguignon House went into a war against Barrois


In early December 1399, I went for my part in war against Leinster in Ireland to obey my King's orders.

By June 1400, both those wars were finished, Barrois and Leinster annexed. In the same time, the Valois reinforced their claims on the French Kingdom by annexing their vassal Berry that same month ! It will now be a race between the different crowns to gather enough power to be ready the day one of the other sides makes a mistake !

In july 1400, I continue to obey my King, and launch my armies on Munster (thanks to the conquest Casus Belli, I will be able to unite Ireland really soon ! I wasn't even hoping that at the begining !)

The real problem was that I was not the only one to begin diplomatic movements. The House of Bourgogne made an alliance with Scotland. This means that if they decide at one moment to side with the Vallois against me, I won't be able to fight right at the begining in the French Kingdom, as I would have to defend my northern border first !

However I am really willing to assure a potential alliance with the House of Bourgogne. So I proposed them a two way military access. I don't plan at attacking them right now, and it might protect me against a potential war against them. And that would make it easier for me to create this alliance.

By the end of the year, with Munster almost annexed, the situation is clearly not the same in the two Kingdoms... Now on the three sides, the House of Bourguignon is the worst threat to me, with their alliance with Britanny and Scotland. Second problem, Britanny just decided to take part in Ireland politics as they now garantee the independance of the last two independant territories. This means the first war might come against the House I did not wanted to fight for now ! The Valois House is strengthening, creating armies and preparing for war. Not being able to act when it will be the best moment might doom all my hopes.

The shadows of war against Britanny are rising. If Burgundy side with them, and if the Vallois decide to act during this war, Burgundy or myself will be doomed.



The two kingdoms in December 1400
 
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1401-1402 : tensions are rising !

At last by the first half of 1401, the good news arrived ! By the time I ended the war against Munter, Britanny and the House of Bourgogne had to end their alliance, as Brittany refused to follow them into a war against some members of the HRE (The Palatinate, Luxembourg, Baden) ! This was an open door for me to invade the remaining parts of Ireland, and to take care of Brittany !

What had to be done was now a fact. As I entered in Connaught, Henry IV, my beloved King, set foot in Armor with a 12,000 troops strong Army ! Brittany was a part of the English kingdom years ago. It will be again !

In the same time, the political tensions rose a lot around the Valois House. As they went to war against Provence, the Kingdoms of Naples and Bohemia decided to protect this independant territory located into France ! Now, not only the three Houses are at war with local neighbours in France to strengthen their forces, but also this war begins to be international in Europe as soon as september 1401 ! Those steps are decisives, as they promise bloody fights in the coming years !


In the begining of 1402, as the Vallois decide to forbid us to deal with them, Connaught is taken, and 12,000 more troops ae landing in vendée ! The mere 7,000 Britons troops can't stand against so much strength !!! ...


Or so I thought... Despite their 3,000 loses, they were able to send me back to my ships ! Not a problem... As the king was much disapointed, he was still confident in me. I decided to take those troops in Armor. It was time to organize a battle against their army where and when I wanted it !

As my 12,000 infantry army landed back on Armor, my king's 12,000 army went south to meet the Britons army in Morbihan. Against such a strong cavalry force, the Celtic Army was no match. The King then went back on the defeated army's tracks. There, in Finistere, the main battle of this war ended on a crushing Victory for England's armies. Twelve days later, Brittany had lost all its last units in Morbihan.



The most important battle of the war happened in Finistère

This meant that I was free to send the reinforcements that I was keeping in England for Brittany (we never know) into Ireland. The State of Tyrone would not be any longer the last remaining free territory of Ireland.

By december 1402, the three Houses of the two Kingdoms were stronger than ever. Bourguignons now have won their war and annexed Luxembourg. The Valois are on the verge of winning and were even able to invade Bohemia ! Bohemia itself is also invaded by Brandenburg, which considerably helped the Vallois in their bold action. And eventually the Lancaster were doing great in Ireland and Brittany. Despite the promise of a high BB by the firsts months of 1403, Ireland unified and Brittany defeated were two great movements to get me into a good position to move against the Valois !!!



The two Kingdoms in december 1402
 
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That's quite strong opening moves, is the Auld Alliance still intact?

This was a good news for me : Scotland and Valois (France) broke their alliance in the early months of the game ! Which permit Burgundy to send an alliance with Scotland...

I was lucky enough to have this conquest mission on the entire Ireland ! If I had not received it, I would not have been in a position to go there because of the huge BB and stability losses I would have received... ;)
 
Nice start, you look poised to take over Scotland and what's left of the Irish minors now. And then onto France!
 
@ dinofs : well Scotland might be a little harder... I was able to do that because of the casus belli ! i'll soon be able to tell you that though :)

@ Derahan : first you're still talking about my country :D and who talked about taking France down ? :D It'll just have a new king ! :D

However you're right, will be fun (if I succeed !!!) to see how Europe turns without "France" since the XVth century !
 


1403 - 1404 : First war against the Valois House

The first major event of this next period (yeah still no peace with Brittany ! Their cities are stong !) came in July 1403 when the Bourguignon House once again launched a war on its neighbours on the east (Brabant, Savoie, Lorraine). By that time, I was wondering why the HRE still did not respond by war against Burgundy. Well it appears that the current emperor is the king of Bohemia. And Bohemia is still invaded by the Valois House and Brandebourg !



The Bourguignons seems to like war, especially on the HRE ! If they grow too strong, they might become as dangerous as the Valois are !!! If they win... More about that in a dozen lines down :)

But more importantly, in august, Tyrone was at last annexed. This meant that now, I have no more risk of an Irish revolt. Add to that that now Irish is an accepted culture !

Ireland is now secured for long (despite the 15,000 revolters that I have to break in august ^^ I destroyed them entirely in January 1404), which gives me time and security to think about France.

What about actually ! Well by december 1403, things begin to be quite funny there ! Against Provence, the Valois have been kicked out of both Maine and Anjou ! Of course they are back and those territory by the end of the month in Anjou, and back by february in Maine. It still means that provence, this little state, is able to get strong victories against the Valois.

As you can also see on the next screenshot (took in late december 1403), the Bouguignon House is not doing graet in its last war. They were unable to take some ground on brabant (where it seems they sent their armies) and are losing ground against Savoie and Lorraine !


For my part, at last in March 1404, Brittany totally surrendered. I decided to make a bold move. I first thought of just making of them vassals. That would have meant for just 4 bad boy the whole Brittany fighting on my side. However, I needed a territory to invade the Valois by the North. So decided to split Brittany in two : the Northern part is now under my rule, while Morbihan and Vendée are still under Celtic rule.

Now I was wondering what should I do. The Valois are in a war that lasted for long now. As I can see, in Bohemia it seems they are almost out of the country with still going on ! Provence was even able to beat them ! It was a good time to strike, but I was worried of the fact that I did not had time to rebuild troops and have some money in reserve for a huge war that might last long.

On the other hand, was an easy target by that time ! Why not trying to break them since I was not able to make an alliance with them ?

2 facts made my mind between those 3 possibilities (2 wars or peace to invest). 1) The Valois are the worse threat and defeating them right now would be a great success in the Hundred Years War. 2) The new mission my king sent me was to take back Normandy (legitimate claim for Normandy, Caux, Picardie and Ile de France). All of this was enough to make my mind. My next move would be against France. I decided to attack by april, with my two successfull armies from Brittany's campaign !

By april the 1st, 24,000 english mens moved in Normandy, while vassals from Valois also crossed the border and entered in English territories in Aquitaine. And most unfortunate news, by the 27th of the same month, the Valois made peace with Naples, and then with Provence and Bohemia. I am now in a huge war without strong allies to win it !

So it was time to made a stategy that would assure me victory. I had only 10,000 men in reserve. I wished I could keep them, but I had an idea. The war in the north will be hard, but the strength of the Valois is the fact they have lots of vassals which brings armies. If I was able to break those vassals, then I would be able to send my 10,000 army without having to worry for Aquitaine !

So be it. By the end of may 1404, 10,000 english men led by James Brook landed in Gascogne to beat the Valois' vassals while my 12,000 cavalry was pillaging territories and ravaging armies...

However, by the end of July, Aragon sent its troops in Gascogne. I was unable to hold this ground against so much troops (almost 20,000 !). I had to get back to the ships by the 29th of this month... back in Calais ! Why Calais ? well during the battle in Gacogne, aragon sent troops in Calais 2,000 strong... easily beatable I hoped ! plus a 20 Galley fleet ! So in other words two really easy battles !

My final revenge against them was when they sent the exact same army that beat me in gascogne against my 12,000 stron men rmy in Ile de France ! the result is the next screenshot. enjoy ! I did :D


By december 1404, I'm begining to think if my move against the Valois was not too much bold... right now, Valois armies are gathering in the South of Ile de France. If I am not able in 1405 to keep them out of Paris, they might be able to send me back in Brittany, or worse ! In England...

I clearly lack manpower. I'm not able to make their cities fall as fast as they are able to do it. I also lack money to defeat them. I counted too much on the fact they might stay at war with Bohemia, provence and Naples. The positive fat is that they are at 6.5 war exhaustion, and Aragon at 11.5 while i'm at 0.4 ! This might play for me as revolts might become more and more common in Valois' hold territories.

A word about the Bourguignon House. They were able, against my WISH, to win there as brabant was the loser and finished hardly beaten. Right now, the Bourguignons House are clearly the one able to change everything in 1405 or 1406 if they choose to side with Valois or Lancaster !



The two kingdoms and the statute of the three crowns by december 1404
 
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1405 - 1406 : a sad white peace

As I hoped a few days before, the war exhaustion gave the wish to Aragon to end the war. Yes they asked a little to me, but this was really worth like peace with them !!! Aragon away, it was a major part of the Valois alliance army that was gone ! (at least 11,000 troops just for what I saw !)


Of course I immediately signed a new military access treaty with Burgundy !!! :rolleyes:

In march 1405, the Valois attack happened in Ile de France. My proud Cavalry went back to Caux, Followed by a too much strong Valois Army. On the very same day that I took Normandy, my 12 units strong cavalry only army has been destroyed by the Valois armies. This was a crushing defeat to me !!

And they went on !!! Following this victory, a 30,000 strong French pro Valois men attacked me in Normandy. My mere 18,000 men tried to hold on, killing 5,000 off them but our 2,000 loss were too much. My army retreated into Brittany !!!

Because of those crucial defeats, I took this time a very cowardly move : I proposed a white peace. With their war exhaustion and their defeats in Aquitaine, the Valois accepted it... But now, in July 1405, both the Houses of Valois and Lancaster are hating themselves and willing to fight once again !

And like if all those terrible events were not enough, by September 1405 Henry IV Lancaster died. Henry V Lancaster took england.

Then after this peace treaty, nothing major happened until december 1406. After years (7 to be exact !) of political talks between the Lancaster and the Bourguignons, at last an alliance was signed !



The alliance
Mu current wish is of course to see this alliance last ! With those two crowns allied, the Valois can't stand a war. Both of our crowns have legitimate territories to conquer on Valois. Now is the time to build : an economy, and an army. At last, the Valois House might not be the strongest in the French Kingdom !



The two kingdoms in december 1406
 
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With Burgundy as your ally, it looks like you're unbeatable. Subscribed.
 
@ JDMS That was my plan and I hope you're right ! the Valois can't win with a war on their entire eastern border... can they ? :rolleyes:

@ Derahan You're right that's the right strategy. It was obviously a mistake to attack on the north where the valois are the strongest ... an attack on their southern vassals could have gave me easy victory... I'll plan on that for the next war

@ Dafool no they did not. You're right about that. However my problem is that I am already high on my bad boy limit and I try to stay into the limit (i'm at 12.8, so if I attack provence I can't do an other war of annexion if I need/ have the opportunity to do it...)

However the real main problem is that they are in a personnal union with Naples. So to conquer them I need to beat Naples. Not hard but far away ;) i'll see to it
 

1407 - 1408 : time for peace and investments

By January the 3rd, my King died. His son Arthur I Lancaster succeeded him.

Unfortunately, not so much happened beside that during those two years. But after all those years of fierce war in the entire French Kingdom, this was a good news for the French and English people.

So I mostly used all of this time to invest. By december 1408, my stability is at 3. My army is rebuilt. I went again toward "land" on national decisions. I now got some money in reserve (300), a solid stability and an army ready and eager to fight !

An other good thing happened in Italy. Yeah that far away ! The Kingdom of Naples has been at war during those two years against the Pope. Now they are weaker than ever, with a lot of territorial losses.


Then my capacity at attacking Provence is better than ever. I will be able to get into war and win it in no time ! Starting in 1409...
 
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1409 - 1410 : War in France and Italy

As said, I launched my attack on Provence in February 1409. However most shocking news ! Burgundy decided to leave the alliance because of this action !

So as my troops are entering Anjou and landing on the beaches around Napoli, I know I must make an hard choice : start to work all the way again to conclude a new alliance, or preparing to strike against those traitors !

For now, I'm working on the first choice. I can't defeat (at least easily) the Valois for now so I need this alliance.

By october of this same year, Naples was taken and Provence beaten. They had no choice but to surrender. I was not able to vassalise Provence because of their personal Union. So I simply annexed Anjou


And as my troops were sailing back to Brittany, I sealed a new alliance with Burgundy.

Arrived 1410, and the warmonger spirit of the Bourguignon family was back. In March, they sent me with them in a war against Brabant and Lorraine. Without direct border with any of them, I was not able to intervene to have an impact on this war easily. So sending my troops in a war they can win easily by themselves and then keep my troops away from my own borders ? Not likely. I joined the war to keep the alliance strong, but without sending troops.


Then arrived the moment in which I was not in a truce with the Valois House anymore... Worried by the fact Burgundy was busy with their war on the east, I was hoping the Valois would not declare war on me right now... when this happened :


The real important consequence of this was that now, given my King's great skills and my Cardinals, I now am losing BB by 1.05 per year ! A huge good news.

In October 1410, Burgundy ended its bloody war and annexed Metz from Lorraine. Now the alliance is fully operational (strenghtened by a royal marriage) and ready for war with Valois. I'm now thinking about starting my second against them, with more troops and a strong ally that will be able to attack the Valois from their entire eastern border !

At last, on december 20th, 1410, the Valois decided to declare war once again on Provence. Once again, I will use this opportunity to attack them as they are fighting in Maine !

Those two years have been full of wars. But the next year will probably see a more violent once, which will have the three pretenders of the French crown fighting in the same war...:eek:



The two Kingdoms in december 1410
 
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Retake Normandy! Crush the Valois pigs!