The Legacy of Charlemagne - a Lorraine AAR

PROLOGUE: The Vision of Charles II

"HANS! HAAANS!"

Charles banged his fist against the table. Well, at least he tried, and actually managed to hit the table at the third attempt. A pair of men walked into his bedroom, both for some reason dressed as his most loyal advisor.

"Hans!", cried the Duke once again. "I... I didn't ask ya to burrring any.. anybhody wiff ya..."

"Your highness", said both men at once, a bit startled. "I came here alone. You may be seeing double."

Charles gave the notion some thought, attributed this to being tired ("I'm shober, Hansh, I'm com... Complephely shober") and decided to go on with his thoughts before they escaped him. "Do ya remember Chalre... Charlemagne?"

"Um, of course, your highness. How could I not know that part of history?"

"Yeah, yeah", Charles waved his hand, as he wasn't really expecting a response. "Remememember how... How his Franksh, yeah, were alsho Germansh and shtuff?"

"...It's not exactly the way you--"

"Whatever! It'sh kind of like we've got it here. Ya know", the Duke eyed Hans carefully, making sure he was getting his thoughts across, "in Lorraine. We could... BURP... We could be like shome kinda... New Frankish Empire. Or whatnot."

Hans raised his eyebrow. It was slowly beginning to dawn on him what the Duke's idea was, and he wasn't liking it one bit. "Your Highness may want to reconsider, we haven't got the resources or the manpower to..."

"WHATEVER!", bellowed Charles. His advisor flinched. "My name'sh Charlesh, innit?! It'sh a... whatchamacallit... A sign from the Lord! Or something! Now gerrout!"

The two-in-one advisor shrugged with resignation, he wasn't going to question the changing moods of a drunk man. He went out of the room, assuming the Duke wouldn't even remember anything in the morning.

He was very, very wrong.


CHAPTER 1: The First Wars

On May 3, 1419 Charles II, who later came to be known as "Charles the Visionary" (Hans, you see, as is customary, changed the tale of the encounter described above into something a bit more passable as a national legend than "the Duke got drunk as a pig and had delusions of grandeur") joined the French succession war on the side of England and Burgundy. This took several months of consideration and preparation, but proved to be a wise choice. 8000 Lotharingian infantry and 1000 cavalry began their march into the Champagne area. A relatively swift and oddly undisturbed siege of a few months would turn the province to Lorraine's control, causing much rejoicing in the court, and the troops began marching south towards Languedoc, with a quick victorious skirmish with some French marauders along the way. However, as soon as they had crossed Burgundy's border with France, the allies signed the peace informally known as the Peace of the North, on the first day of February 1421. It gave the rich province of Champagne to Lorraine. Besides this, France was horribly humbled, losing Ile de France to England and Nivernais, Lyonnais and Picardie to Burgundy. It was the first hour of glory for the Franco-German duchy.

Even before the celebrations started, the orders were issued to promote the province's bailiff to oversee the collection of taxes and to move the army into the newly acquired area to squash rebellions by the French King's loyalists. These were dutifully carried out by the ever-loyal, but still quite astounded Hans. It is at this time that the earliest known notes of his were written.

"Well, we've actually taken Champagne, obviously by some kind of miracle. I have no idea how the old fool Charles managed this. Don't get me wrong, I like him, but he's not exactly the brightest crayon in the royal box. I can't say I'm not happy about this, but I'm also a bit worried. I mean, we lucked out once, but what's to come in the future? What if England and Burgundy defeat France completely and don't let us get anything else? These "Franco-German empire" plans aren't going to come to anything, but there you have it." Excerpt from Hans Hansinger - The Political Diaries

What followed was several years of peace and relative prosperity, only disrupted by the arrival of a large army of rebels from Burgundy, who gave the Ducal Army a lot of trouble. It took several years and multiple battles to defeat them. [toughest rebels ever, they massacred numerically superior all-cavalry armies on plains] In 1928, the alliance went to war with France once again, but Lorraine decided to dishonour the call to arms, only to join the war in 1482. This time it was slightly less successful, but they still gained Vendee.

After this the Duchy settled once again. Ten years after the peace that had reduced France to a belt of land in the south came the first acknowledgement of Lorraine's right to rule the French people. The rebels who had held English-owned Paris for a long time declared that they were now part of Lorraine.

Whew, I thought I'd get no response whatsoever. Gamewise, I've played up to 1471 - not much, but it was a really tough, intensive game. Next installment should be today or tomorrow (CET) and I can tell you now that it's going to be eventful

CHAPTER 2: Jean the Great and the Crown of France

Darkness.

Silence.

Some light... A dark blur...

"Ah, Your Highness is awake."

Good old Hans... He may have a funny name, but he is to be trusted. There is no one else.

"I'm... I'm not going to hold out any longer. No, no, don't negate, you know it's true. Only promise me one thing." Hansinger raised his eyebrows inquisitively. "You'll... You'll make sure that the Franco-German Empire is created..."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Make them... Remember me... For this..."

***

On the 25th of January 1431, Duke Charles II of Lorraine passed away in his bedchamber after a long and successful reign of over 40 years. His senior advisor, Hans Hansinger, was retained by his heir, Ren d'Anjou, who was introduced to the late Duke's concepts and welcomed them as a great idea, much to the dismay of Hansinger.

***

In 1434 came the Second French War. Lorraine's troops marched west to liberate Vendee, as Orleans and Mains were already being besieged. The siege was, as previously, conducted with little interruption and the city soon surrendered. Once again, peace was signed shortly afterwards, ceding that province to Lorraine and Poitou to England. Military access through England was quickly secured in order to allow transport of troops between the two parts of the country, and a tax collector was promoted. The part of the army that had not been reserved for the garrisoning of Vendee was welcomed home with great celebration.

"Another part of France taken. It seems impossible, but it's true. The Duke, of course, insists that yes, it's pure luck, but that means it's a sign from God. Royalty is always the same. This will backfire horribly, but I've sworn to keep it up, damn my honour. I'm getting old, though. It is time to initiate my grandson, Ulrich. He may be only 15 right now, but the earlier the better. He may get the country out of this mess if I can teach him well." - Excerpt from Hans Hansinger - The Political Diaries

What followed was a relatively long period of peace. The new Duke watched with worry as France gradually set out on the path to rebuild its former glory by annexing its vassal states - Provence and Auvergne. In the 1440's, it won a war with Portugal and Brittany, with the peace earning it over 400 ducats and two provinces - Armor and Bretagne. It was becoming once again a power to be reckoned with, now firmly holding all of the southeastern French region and part of Brittany. Lorraine itself, however, was entering an era of prosperity, as the state had very few serious expenses, and money flowed into the royal coffers in bulk. Meanwhile, the young Ulrich Hansinger was introduced to the "ropes" of court life almost like a prince - which his well-respected grandfather had made sure of. He was taught the principles of government to be a good advisor, he was introduced to the highest of French and German culture, and he was taught fencing and the art of war, all in order to become a model for the future "perfect Lotharingian noble". This knowledge he accepted with gleaming eyes, dreaming of one day fulfilling Charles II's vision.

Ren d'Anjou died in 1452 after a fairly uneventful reign and was succeeded by Jean II, later known as Jean the Great. He expanded the army and appointed Ulrich Hansinger, now in his 30's, its leader. This Duke is considered to be the one that truly started Lorraine on its way to greatness. In 1457 he decided that the time has come and issued a declaration of war to France, which was duly followed by England, Burgundy and Kleves. The Coalition's forces swarmed France. Ulrich proved a brilliant leader, taking almost all of southern France without losing a single battle thanks to keeping his army in positions well-defensible against the French forces. France was crushed. The Peace of Clermont, signed on the 10th of January 1961, ceded Cevennes, Guyenne, Languedoc and Dauphine to Lorraine. In Paris and Nancy, people cheered in the streets. In celebration, and also in a brilliantly timed he Duke issued a proclamation of amnesty for all political prisoners. Ulrich Hansinger became a national hero.



France in the aftermath of the Peace of Clermont


Tax collectors were immediately promoted in the four new provinces - greatly increasing the Duchy's wealth - and armies were garrisoned there. The year 1461, however, also saw a sad revelation as Hans Hansinger, the most loyal servant to the Ducal Crown, passed away, his last words reportedly having been "He was right after all". He was given an excellent funeral.

The next five years passed in open preparation for the truce to end. Five years after the peace - almost to the day - war was declared again. And once again the Coalition overran France, with Lorraine besieging primarily the provinces surrounding the capital in Tours. The main body of the army arrived primarily from the southern provinces while the lightly defended north was occupied by smaller armies. The war took four bitter years, but in the end, on April 26th, 1470, the King of France agreed to sign a humiliating peace agreement that would reduce his country to Tours and its immediate surroundings. Hansinger rode to the capital for the triumphant peace ceremony.

***

The pen scribbled on the paper in complete silence, the depressed "king" of a single province apathetically signing the peace treaty that would reduce his monarchy to a farce. The wizened General Ulrich Hansinger of Lorraine stood next to him, smiling viciously.

"There. There you have it.", the king said standing up. "Now... Go away."

"Splendid", said Hansinger with a gleam in his eye similar to that wich he was famous for in his youth. "Now, hand over the crown."

"What?!", the king yelled, surprised.

"Just that. You're being couped. Don't bother calling the guards, they're ours now."

"That means the treaty is null! I retain rights to all these provinces! This means war!", the (ex?) monarch was fuming.

"Rights or no rights", explained Ulrich calmly, "We're the ones who have the armies stationed there. Hand it over, I'll have it--"

"You won't get away with this! Nobody will recognize your rights!"

"Actually, England and Burgundy will, it's already been agreed. Look, Your Royal Highness has two choices: either to hand over the crown, which will be sent to Nancy along with yourself, where you will remain as a member of the court and in home imprisonment, or to refuse and be sent to the dungeon, with the crown getting taken anyway. What'll it be, then?"

The king sat there with his head in his hands and a resigned look on his face. The next day, the Crown of France was sent to the court of the Duke of Lorraine.



After the Tours Treachery of 1470



OOC: Sorry for being late. Now that was intense, I can tell you. Unfortunately, I've now written up to the point I've played, so it'll slow down a bit. BTW, in case you didn't guess, I broke the truce with France because I was afraid I'd miss the Burgundy inheritance event.

Lord Durham said:

So, you have Nostradamus working for you?

Click to expand...

No, that was OOC