I didn't have any problems with it but my spelling and grammer are terrible anyway.
Sometimes I can't even find a word in the dictionary.:laugh:
Sometimes I can't even find a word in the dictionary.:laugh:
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Chapter V
Vive le Roi
After the peace with Aragon in 1424 the war of consolidation had been successfully brought to a close with France being noticeably stronger than before and its southern Iberian Rival deeply humiliated. Charles VI returns to Paris as a celebrated hero and lives out his last days in comfort and luxury. He dies peacefully in his sleep on the 24th of November 1432 leaving the throne to his 16 year old son Louis who is crowned in Reims on the 1st of December as Louis XI de Valois, King of France. Already married to Elisa of Orleans.Vive le Roi
Louis was a man (well boy really) of extreme piety. His days always started with 2 sermons in a row and his piety would come to have quite an effect on France in the coming years of his reign.
The Kingdom of Poland and its sister nation, the grand duchy of Lithuania had long been joined in a union under the King of Poland known as the “Union of Lublin” However upon the ascension of Kazimierz VI von Wettin on the 31st of May 1433 the union takes on a whole new shape and unites the two states into the “Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth” making it the undoubtedly strongest nation in Eastern Europe and a bigger threat to the Holy Roman Empire than France.
As stated before Louis Piety would have severe consequences for France as he in the spring of 1433 plans an invasion of the Excommunicated Duchy of Holland. Claiming divine will Louis neglects both common sense and his council’s warnings that such aggression against a small nation in the Holy Roman Empire will not be looked upon kindly. Regardless Louis leads his forces into the Netherlands with the clear intention of eradicating the decadent Dutch Heretics, soon afterwards comes the Empires response in the form of a coalition of Bohemia, Bavaria, Denmark and the small county of Hainaut threatened of being caught in the crossfire.
(The stage is set)
The French response is swift and brutal. Marshall of France Pascal de Béthune Annihilates the small Hainautian force, Pillages the countryside and lays siege to the city and clears the path for Louis and the Armeé Royale to invade Zeeland. Hainaut itself falls in October 1433.
Ever eager to prove himself as god’s servant Louis leads his army towards Amsterdam in an attempt to End the war with a single decisive blow.
On the 1st of December 1435 the Dutch and French forces meet. The Dutch has amassed a rather impressive number of cavalry as it is the preferred fighting method of Holland’s vast Merchant class. But no matter the composition of the Dutch army they prove to be very weak on the mental side, after a brief clash they mostly disperse into the countryside. Only a few manages a retreat to Amsterdam for their Last stand. The Dutch has fortified Amsterdam well by mounting ballistas on the walls and levying large parts of the populace to aid in the defense should Louis decide to storm the walls.
Bohemian forces have liberated Hainaut and are currently rampaging through both Provence and Vermandois. In command of the southern Front is the hero from the War against Aragon during the French consolidation, Gui de Saint Germain with 15000 men. Once again Germain faces a difficult challenge as Bohemian troops flood into France from Italy. In the north things look better as Pascal de Béthune takes command of the northern German Front with the Ultimate goal of pushing Bohemia from French soil and counterattack into Germany to force the Holy roman Emperor to recognize French dominion over Holland. France's bloodiest war yet has begun.
France c. 1436
Regency Council in the name of Charles VII de Valois
(ADM: 4 MIL: 4 DIP: 6)
Gratia Dei: Rex Francorum.
GDP: 48.5 Ducats/Year
Standing Army: 30000 Infantry, 15000 Cavalry
Navy: None
Reserves 68000
Discipline: 112.80%
Tradition: Army 64.20 Navy 1.90
Prestige: 28
Reputation: 10.1
Legitimacy: 85
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There will be a few wars started by "weak" Kings way to focused on expanding France rather than consolidating previous gains. As for the result, you will have to wait and see... *Cough*burgundy*Cough*.
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One advantage with france a HUGE manpower pool.
Burgundy is a problem till you annex them.
Burgundy is a problem till you annex them.
Yeah, it makes the Burgundian Succession event a huge weight off your back as France, because I'd say that Burgundy is, without par, your biggest threat.
Look at you with your fancy event. I still say that "Sharp swords settle scores" better than any Event ever could
Look at you with your fancy event. I still say that "Sharp swords settle scores" better than any Event ever could
well, you do need to play far more aggressively to beat Burgundy early on. Luckily in the early start Burgundy doesn't have the borders it does in the 1453 start so they're a little bit easier to take on, and you're consolidated your country to a degree.
Chapter VI
Into Germany
Into Germany
With an ever-increasing number of Bohemian troops flooding into France from both Italy and Germany It is quite clear to the French Regency Council that The Holy Roman Empire has no intention of recognizing French dominion over Holland. Peace negotiations swiftly break down and the french army launches a counter offensive spearheaded by veteran and war hero Gui de Saint Germain in the south and newly appointed Marshall of France: Pascal de Béthune in the North East. Initial success in both Provence and Vermandois is soon followed by a stinging defeat in Languedoc as Germain pushes his relatively small army a bit too hard against a numerically superior Bohemian force.
After the battle of Languedoc the war enters a bit of a stalemate that is broken in May 1437 with the French annexation of Hainaut. The small county had been used as a jumping off point for Bohemian forces and its incorporation into France now makes it the same for France to launch attacks into Germany and the Burgundian Netherlands should it be necessary.
From the moment French forces enter Bavaria the setbacks begin to pile up. First of all the march through Germany and Switzerland has claimed many soldiers lives, especially in Pascal’s army of the south who had to march through the Alps.
Secondly: During the Fighting in Schwaben Pascal is thrown from his horse when it’s struck by a Ballista bolt. His body is not found until a few hours after the battle almost mauled beyond recognition by horses’ hooves and foot soldiers boots.
Reinforcements soon arrive under Germain who pushes the Bavarian back to Munich and annihilates what is left of the Bavarian main army under Duke Ernst I von Wittelsbach in the winter of 1436. Shortly after this the message that Poland has thrown its lot in with the Imperials reaches Germain and a war council is called outside the walls of Munich. A unanimous staff of officers concludes that France has to withdraw to defend France rather than fight a hopeless fight with dwindling supplies in Germany during Winter. The last battle in Germany is fough in March 1438 as a rearguard action by Germain who is also severly wounded in the battle by two crossbow bolts, one in the chest and one in the thigh. He dies a few days later during the march back too France.
With neither side being able to make any long lasting gains against the other and the new leader of the coalition (Poland) unwilling to fight a war with a nation half a continent away a peace is concluded in The summer of 1438 when France pays a token sum of money to Poland and in return Holland is accepted as a County under indirect French control as a vassal state.
The war had taken a terrible toll on France and it was evident even to the lowest serf that it had all been very pointless. The offensive into Germany had been entirely unnecessary, the assault against a seemingly small and defenseless county on the order of (or at least encouraged by) a corrupt papacy and the horrible death toll among the French soldiers forced to fight and die far from their homeland . Thusly the Regency council wows to never again send troops abroad during the defense of France. Should France be attacked she will defend herself but never shall she send her sons to die far away from her borders unless ordered by a legitimate king of France.
After this time of turmoil and misery France finally settles down for a lasting peace. Most of France returns to its regular workings and everything seems rather well. All seems well with France, She has stable borders, a somewhat efficient Regency council and a young king being raised to the throne. Indeed it looks like a new era for France, at least until the Crowning of Charles VII de Valois, arguably the worst monarch in French history.
More on that next time
France c. 1445
Charles VII de Valois (ADM: 3 MIL: 4 DIP: 3)
Gratia Dei: Rex Francorum.
Charles VII de Valois (ADM: 3 MIL: 4 DIP: 3)
Gratia Dei: Rex Francorum.
Treasury: 412
GDP: 70.5 Ducats/Year
Standing Army: 40000 Infantry, 20000 Cavalry
Navy: None
Reserves 55000
Discipline: 112.80%
Tradition: Army 67.20 Navy 1.90
Prestige: 35
Reputation: 10.1
Legitimacy: 86
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It really is interesting, how after a certain number of games as European powers you start to recognize last names
Great updates...sadly you have a pretty mediocre King there.
Your writing as always was very good, and I liked especially the descriptions of the battles.
Your writing as always was very good, and I liked especially the descriptions of the battles.
What a bad king. but you might be able to make him great. :unsure:
If he lives for 40 years like most less endowed monarchs.
Wars like that just play wack-a-mole when they cross the border.
They will get tired of losing armys, or get 16 WE then take the war to them.
If he lives for 40 years like most less endowed monarchs.
Wars like that just play wack-a-mole when they cross the border.
They will get tired of losing armys, or get 16 WE then take the war to them.
Great updates...sadly you have a pretty mediocre King there.
Your writing as always was very good, and I liked especially the descriptions of the battles.
Yeah, Charles VII looks to be really crap. I will attmpt to do my best to justify his actions being a result of his incompetence.
What a bad king. but you might be able to make him great. :unsure:
If he lives for 40 years like most less endowed monarchs.
Wars like that just play wack-a-mole when they cross the border.
They will get tired of losing armys, or get 16 WE then take the war to them.
I won't say anything about how long he will live yet. I do agree, I took the war to Bavaria way too soon. I figured that a regencey council with a low MIL rating would be either inactive or try to end the war just to end up overextending themselves, wich is what happened. It made sense to me atleast.
Chapter VII
The First Burgundian War
The First Burgundian War
The era of peace that had decended upon France when the Regency council finally concluded a peace with Bohemia and Poland to recognize Holland as a French vassal state would not last long. Upon his Accencion to the Throne in 1445 Charles VII is bent on achieving the glory that was denied his predecessor.
Such an opportunity presents itself when Count Robert II of Artois, a direct subject of the Duke of Burgundy Philip III proposes that his realm would be far better of as part of the Growing superpower that is France rather than a faltering and failing Duchy.
Young and impressionable Charles takes the bait almost immediately and orders that troops are to be sent towards the Burgundian Low Countries and its heartlands in central France. The response comes almost immediately. Burgundy’s plea for aid reaches not only the New king of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor Vaclav V but also the Kingdom of Aragon.
Aragon has been in a military alliance with Burgundy for several years to prevent just this kind of situation. Once again France faces a very destructive war against a numerically superior enemy.
Despite this French forces performs remarkable well. In October they eject the Burgundian garrison in Artois and in November an army led by Philip II himself is defeated as it tries to enter French lands. ( forgot to take a screen, sry)
In the south things are worse. Maximilliem de Treville is soundly defeated when King Alfonso V of Aragon storms over the Pyrenees with 40000 men sweeping all Frenchmen before him.
The defeat of Maximilleim sends the French military leadership into panic. The south is completely undefended and Bohemian troops are estimated to arrive during the summer. French forces are hastily shuffled around but the initiative is lost. France now has to fight a defensive campaign.
Simon de La Porte, the most senior French commander takes command. He sends Maximilliem south with a new army and leads the French Armée Royale Towards a combined Burgundian-Bohemian force massing in Vermandois.
The Imperial force is very heavy in Cavalry. Most of them heavy knights but also lighter Cavalry volunteer from Hungary who fight in the manner of Horse archer, riding fast towards the enemy and release their arrows with deadly accuracy and then swiftly retreat as the enemy comes closer constantly peppering them with arrows.
The Bohemian weakness is their infantry, still nothing more than a massed peasant Levy with some rudimentary Training and equipment. This is where the Burgundians come in, apart from their very well trained cavalry their infantry is also on par with the French. There is however significantly less of them as de La Porte has been busy gathering all men he could find that wasn’t needed to fight in the south.
The Imperials open the battle with a thunderous cavalry charge as over half of their cavalry drive towards the French centre. In doing so however the imperials have left a huge gap between their Fast cavalry and the infantry struggling to keep up and de La Porte’s cavalry sweeps in from the flanks and behind trapping the Imperial cavalry and massacring them. With half of their cavalry eliminated in the first phase of the battle de La Porte counter attacks. His infantry charges the Burgundians holding the centre around which the Bohemian levies has anchored themselves. At the same time the French cavalry reserves attacks the levies flanks that rapidly collapses as the Burgundian centre falters. Within minutes the Imperial army is in full retreat. De La Porte has officially retaken the initiative for France.
(the great turning point)
With the Imperial army out of commission French forces overrun the Bohemian Low Countries and by October 1448 all of it is under French control with the County of Artois officially defecting to France. In February 1449 Almost all of Burgundy is under French occupation, the Bohemian armies routed and Aragon pushed out of southern France. A peace treaty with Burgundy soon follows in which Burgundy cedes all her northern Holdings with the exception of Antwerp to France and Grants independence to the Duchy of Nevers. Having yet again failed to protect the empire from France Bohemia soon withdraws from the conflict soon followed by Aragon.
(The Treaty of Artois)
France is now clearly the dominant force in Western Europe with Burgundy being relegated to the rank of regional power at best.
Despite being successful in a war King Charles VII is not popular among France’s people who mostly saw the war against Burgundy as ruthless power mongering. A large part of the French nobility plot to remove the king from his office, by assassination if necessary. It never comes to such extremes however as on the 27th of May 1452 Charles is found dead in his chamber after a lavish feast. Today we would list the cause of death as: Alcohol Poisoning.
With the only heir to the Kingdom: Louis XII only 5 years old regency is formed by pretty much the same nobles as the last time. Will France finally see peace?
France c. 1452
Regency Council in the name of Louis XII de Valois ( ADM: 7 MIL: 6 DIP: 3)
Gratia Dei: Rex Francorum.
Regency Council in the name of Louis XII de Valois ( ADM: 7 MIL: 6 DIP: 3)
Gratia Dei: Rex Francorum.
Treasury: 478
GDP: 52.5 Ducats/Year
Standing Army: 40000 Infantry, 20000 Cavalry
Navy: None
Reserves: 62000
Discipline: 127.80%
Tradition: Army 67.20 Navy 1.90
Prestige: 16
Reputation: 17.1
Legitimacy: 78
Chapter VIII
Silentium
Silentium
The death of Charles VII was the second premature death of a monarch in a row, it was however a welcome one. Charles war against Burgundy had not made him the popular monarch he had hoped it would but rather plunged France into another destructive and drawn-out conflict and the loss of many thousands of Frenchmen. Sure it had left France with a substantial gain in territory and weakened Burgundy but such trivialities were no comfort for the thousands of women and children who would never see their husbands and fathers again.
One of the reasons why France had been so exposed during the war had been the lack of a powerful continental ally. Whenever the French army fought one enemy another would simply bypass it and attack the French heartland. This is why when an envoy from the Kingdom of Castille arrives in Paris proposing a mutual defensive military alliance between the two Kingdoms it is swiftly accepted. Castille has recently concluded a successful campaign against Aragon and its military is in a high state of readiness. The Alliance states that both nations will come to the aid of one another should they be the Target of outside aggression. However neither nation is forced to provide troops for an offensive campaign against another sovereign nation.
The signing of the alliance with Castille was to be the only action of weight that Louis regency council would undertake as Louis is crowned King of France in Reims on the 13th of September 1461 at the tender age of 15. Will the reign of Louis be as brief and bloody as his predecessors or will he bring a new era of peace and prosperity to France, only time will tell.
(The Coronation of Louis XII de Valois.)
France c. 1461
Louis XII de Valois (ADM: 4 MIL: 6 DIP: 7)
Gratia Dei: Rex Francorum.
Treasury: 478France c. 1461
Louis XII de Valois (ADM: 4 MIL: 6 DIP: 7)
Gratia Dei: Rex Francorum.
GDP: 52.5 Ducats/Year
Standing Army: 40000 Infantry, 20000 Cavalry
Navy: None
Reserves: 62000
Discipline: 127.80%
Tradition: Army 67.20 Navy 1.90
Prestige: 10
Reputation: 3.1
Legitimacy: 82