A great vintage Burgundy

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It is January 1419 and the English are again at war with the French. Burgundy has agreed to support the English against the French alliance. Our main army of 10000 infantry and 5000 cavalry are stationed near Dijon and poised to strike at any of the French or it's allies.

By the end of January, de Pressey has besieged Nevers while France besiege Artois in early February and a combined Bourbonnais/Orleans force besiege Bourgogne.

Our Northern army of 8000/2000/- marches on weakly defended Paris. The defenders are crushed by the end of March and a siege is commenced.

In early April, a second force of 6000/4000 are recruited in Flanders and march on 6000 new French recruits in Picardie. Their forces are all cavalry and arrive outside Paris before they are caught in Picardie. They are driven back although losses are small. We settle into a siege of Picardie but are forced to reinforce the siege of Paris when it is attacked again and suffers heavy losses. By the end of the year, the main French force from Artois attacks our force in Paris and drives it back to Artois.

The walls of Nevers weaken under siege from de Pressey while, in Dijon, the old Duke dies and Philip le Bon becomes the new Duke of Burgundy.

In September, Orleans is annexed by England and Orleans forces outside Dijon melt away, seriously weakening the siege force there.

Nevers falls in November and we agree a white peace with Auvergne and Scotland. De Pressey moves on Champagne but is caught by a large French army as he departs. After a short fight, he inflicts a crushing victory on them. In the same month, we attack from Artois the small force left to protect Paris. The French are defeated in Ile-de-France and the remanants of their army from Nivernais are crushed again by de Pressey outside Rheims.

In December, Denmark annexes the small german state of Mecklemberg. We use the same month to arrange military access with the English. When Bourbonnais offer us a white peace in December, we agree and are now only at war with France.

In January 1420, Candar are annexed by the Ottoman Empire.

In February, we raise war taxes and a mercenary army in Franche-Comte which is sent south to Lyonnais. A small group of lowland troops are sent to hold Picardie. Our mercenary forces defeat a small French army before beginning a siege of the province. By this time, English forces have captured Maine from Provence.

In April, Loraine joins the French alliance and declares support for the French in their war against Burgundy. They quickly offer us a white peace as our sieges of Paris, Rheims and Lyon continue to withstand small French attacks.

In June, the populace donate 5 warships in a show of enthusiasm for the navy. Rheims falls the same month to de Pressey and he marches south with his armies.

Further east, Croatia are annexed by Venice in July. In August, Holstein are annexed by Denmark. That same month, Lyon capitulates and the southern French provinces are at our mercy. Montpellier is besieged by the end of the month with Toulouse in September.

Further war taxes are raised in October as investments are diverted to land technology. The war is all but won.

As 1421 arrives, we receive a massive boost to income as nearly 200D of census taxes arrive. We arrange Royal Marriages with Castile and Aragon but delay an attack on Dauphine as winter sets in.

In April, de Pressey takes Montpellier. He then defeats a small French infantry force in Lyonnais before turning to the last French forces in Dauphine. Toulouse falls in May and, when Amiens falls in June, we offer the French peace in exchange for Picardie, Champagne, Nivernais, Lyonnais and Languedoc. They reject our offer. The same offer is made again in July but is once again rejected (stability in France to 1)

In August, Mantua is annexed by Bavaria and our offer to the French is repeated in August with the same result (Stab to 0). In September, we succeed on our second attempt to drive the French from Dauphine and Grenoble is put under siege. France reject another peace offer (stability to –1). In November we repeat the offer but add 200D to the demands. France reject again (stab to –2 ). We raise war taxes in the same month.

The French attempt to relieve the siege of Grenoble in November with nearly 8000 infantry. After nearly a month of fighting, De Pressey drives them off but losses are heavy on our side. Reinforcements of 4000 infantry are brought in to increase the strength of the siege.

January 1422 brings census income of 218D into treasury but we have few immediate uses for this. All investments are diverted to army advances. Our forces around Grenoble swell to 8700 infantry and 5600 cavalry as the city continues to hold out. The final French forces are defeated in January but with a severe winter in February, 4000 troops are returned to Lyonnais.

In March, another offer is sent to France demanding the five provinces plus 250D. They reject us again (Stability to –3). With little else to do with our current funds, we promote five bailiffs in core provinces. A similar offer is rejected in April.

As the siege continues news arrives that Pskov have scored a victory over Novgorod gaining the province of Kola. We have no idea where this is. By the end of the month, Grenoble falls and we add this to our list of demands. France rejects us again. De Pressey takes his forces west to Guyenne for the eventuality that Brittany agree peace with France and return Vendee to French control.

When 1423 arrives we realise that we have not taken out war taxes and income is down to a little over 100D. We nonetheless promote a bailiff in Zeeland and raise war taxes again.

In March, our forces in Burgundy suffer a humiliating defeat at the hands of rebels from Orleanais. The following month Dulkadir are annexed by Karaman as we receive an exceptional harvest (+100D and inflation –5% )

In May, Mainz is annexed by Cologne. De Pressey succeeds in driving the rebels from Dijon but losses are high. Further troops are raised while France continues to be obdurate in the face of our very reasonable demands.

In June, the most shocking news arrives that Jacqueline of Hainault has divorced her husband and married that rogue, the Duke of Gloucester. It is a clear attempt to replace Burgundian influence in Brabant with that of the English and it will not be tolerated (Relationship with England –100, Revolt in Artois). Our forces in Artois retreat to Flanders where they will meet with reinforcements from Holland

In August, De Pressey leads a major force to recapture Orleans. In Artois we suffer a humiliating reversal to rebels and retreat to Flanders having suffered heavy losses and inflicted few. The rebels continue to damage the walls of Arras. The Duke of Gloucester shall pay for the trouble he has caused us.

Finally, the French relent in September and cede to us the provinces of Picardie, Champagne, Nivernais, Lyonnais and Dauphine. We are now at peace and can look towards fortifying our lands. I receive my own reward in October with promotion to Viscount. In November we succeed in driving the rebels from Artois.

In December, Granada are forced to give up Gibraltar and swear fealty to Aragon.

In January 1424, census taxes are 132D and Philip le Bon (3/3/3/1) takes control of the army in the north

 

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Great start there Lionheart - a pity the Paris siege was disrupted so early, you could have had the French dogs begging for mercy and mortgaging their grannies for peace a couple of years back...

More!

 

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Originally posted by Ariel
Great start there Lionheart - a pity the Paris siege was disrupted so early, you could have had the French dogs begging for mercy and mortgaging their grannies for peace a couple of years back...

More!

It still fell early. At the end, I was sending them 66% offers with the war percentage at 100% and they still refused. One thing I couldn't understand was the revolt risk in captured provinces. With French stability and my religious and war exhaustion levels, some should have been at 3% but I didn't get a single revolt. IN the end I just used the diplomats to keep French stability at -3 and make them suffer.

The fighting bit was really very easy though De Pressey helped to neutralise the main French armies. Once I had removed the French allies, the dislocated French territories were easy to take out peacemeal.

Now to use Philip le Bon and his amazing monarch stats

 

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In January 1624, census taxes are 132D and Philip le Bon (3/3/3/1) takes control of the army in the north

Damn, that's one loop hole in time . Great start! It will be fun to see what you accomplish relative to the other Burgundy AAR "Burgundy: A Fistful of Dukes".

 

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USA : Touché. I've been known to make these mistakes in the past.

I think I might go and read want those Duke's have achieved. Though obviously not reading too far ahead. I wouldn't want any clues now would I

 

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A cloudy day in central Zurich brings welcome respite from the recent heatwave. Lionheart sits in front of his computer, still a little tired and spent after being woken up by the tropical storm that struck in the early hours of the morning. At least the cooler weather means that he will not have to drink 2 litres of water in this current sitting.

A quick look at the cigarettes presents a gloomy picture. Just two left which means a trip to the local kiosk to restock. Food stocks are also known to be low but sufficient to last through the next few hours.

More importantly, there is a day off before the next match in the world cup so he will be free to wage war, send diplomatic letters, arrange royal marriages, send merchants, explore and generally be a pain in the arse to France, his natural enemy.

Checking that everything is in order, he temporarily closes down his word document and clicks on the EUII icon. The Burgundy save game file is reloaded and the situation is reviewed.

We have two armies: Jean de Pressey (3/3/3/-) leads (15.4/5.6/-) in Bourgogne while Philip le Bon (3/3/3/1) leads (10.0/5.6/-) in Artois. We have a navy of 5 warships in Holland. With revolt risk at 3% in five of our new provinces, we may need to be cautious.

Philip le Bon is Duke with fine stats (5/5/5) which we hope to use for diplomatic gain. While Brabant has been a vassal now for 5 years, we also have a very strong relationship with Luxembourg and good relationships with many Christian states. Our only allies are England with whom our relations are neutral (+29).

We have a whole load of CBs against Lorraine, Brabant, Luxembourg, Geldre and Friesland from their ownership of land claimed by Burgundy. We also have CBs against Austria and Bosnia. Lorraine seems the most obvious target since they are part of the French alliance. We must wait until June of next year before we take advantage of our claim to their land.

Income is a healthy 172D which will help greatly in a future war.

Policy sliders are (using what appears to be standard measures):

Aristocracy: 9 (Leave this high for now. Trade income is still small)
Centralisation: 1 (Probably one to move up to take advantage of high production income)
Innovation: 3 (One for us to increase later)
Mercantilism: 8 (To reduce later when we need colonists)
Def/Off: 5 (No preference)
Land: 1 (No need to move)
Quality: 0 (No need to move)
Serfdom: 7 (Seems OK for now)

Technologically, we are on the verge of breaking land tech 2 which will allow us to fortify our key provinces. 100% of investments are directed to land to speed this up.

Now let’s start

January brings war in the east as Hungary, Siebenburgen and Luxembourg (?) declare war on Serbia, Moldavia and Wallachia.

Monthly income of 26.6D arrives in February. Almost 80% of this is tax income but goods production seems the way forward. We anticipate that land tech 2 will be achieved in January 1425. Stability returns to +3 as our smaller neighbours, France, recover to zero.

During the year we arrange royal marriages with Genoa, Lombardia, Kleves and Wurtemberg.

By June, English forces are besieging Paris although they are faring less well against their northern Scottish neighbours. The French alliance have now lost control of French Vendee to Brittany, Provencal Maine to England and Bourbonnais Berri to Brittany. Let us hope that this war contnues until we can rejoin it next year.

In July we suffer a revolt in Nivernais and De Pressey is sent to deal with this. Reinforcements of 3000 infantry and 1000 cavalry are also raised in Bourgogne and Artois. De Pressey ruthlessly suppresses the revolt by the end of the month.

As 1425 arrives, we develop the knowledge to improve our fortifications and monies are spent to expand those in Champagne. We now divert investments to Infrastructure with around 15% of investments to treasury to run a small surplus.

By the end of January, England capture Paris and agree peace with Provence taking 34D in reparations. Maine is returned to Provencal control. By March, Bourbonnais have recovered Berri but a large English force is returning for Paris in that direction.

In May, news arrives of the final defeat of the Moors in Spain as Granada are annexed by Castile.

June arrives and our declaration of war on Lorraine is sent. All their allies support them although the English ignore our call for support since they are already at war. Our first target shall be Provence so De Pressey leads 18000 infantry and 6000 cavalry towards their capital while Philip Le Bon marches for Maine.

In July, England accets peace with France gaining the province of Languedoc while Brittany gain Vendee. We suffer grave news of our own as rebels in Champagne sieze the fortress and disrupt the work in upgrading the current one. There is also a revolt in Nivernais. Philip Le Bon leaves a small siege force in Maine and returns to pick up troops to quell the revolts in Burgundy. De Pressey also leaves a siege force in Provence and marches west towards Guyenne. Toulouse is besieged by the end of August.

In September, Philip Le Bon marches north to relieve Nevers, where the Champagne rebels have joined in the siege. De Pressey leaves a siege force in Guyenne and marches into Bourbonnais lands to the north. Nevers is relieved by the end of September and Philip moves north to recover Rheims from the rebels. De Pressey lays siege to Limoges at the same time and, once more leaves a siege force while marching to the Bourbonnais capital to crush the small forces defending it.

In October, Philip arrives at Rheim and leaves a siege force before moving east into Loraine with 8700 infantry and 3000 cavalry. Lorraine’s army is nearly 12000 so this may be a close run thing. In the same month. The Bourbonnais capital of Tours is besieged after a brief fight against 1000 cavalry defenders.

News from the east reveals that Hungary have annexed the small nation of Wallachia.

November brings a great victory against the larger, but infantry only, arny of Lorraine. Nearly 10000 Lorraine forces retreat but we do not want them to upset the siege in Champagne. Philip lays siege to Nancy while a few more troops are raised in Artois.

When Le Mans falls in December, we agree a white peace with Scotland and the siege army moves on to Paris. The Lorraine army lays siege to Alsace and so does not disrupt the siege of Rheims.

January 1426 arrives with move census tax income and news that our siege force in Guyenne has defeated a second French attempt to relieve Toulouse. In the same month, the French are defeated south of Paris and the city is besieged.

In March, we receive news which will have serious consequences for Byzantium as they lose the province of Morea to the Ottoman Empire and are forced to cede military access.

April brings another French attack on Paris which weakens the siege to the extent that it becomes no longer effective. Troops are raised in Picardie to help the situation. In the south, Guyenne falls to our forces and they march on to Auvergne territory in Cevennes.

In May, De Pressey takes the Bourbonnais capital of Tours and marchs south to the Auvergne capital of Clermont. News in the north is less good as France manages to relieve Paris and our troops retreat to Picardie. In the south, we are driven away from Cevennes and our troops retreat to Lyonnais.

In June, we gain information back home which allows for the construction of fine arts academies. Sadly, we have no money to take advantage of this breakthrough. Investments are diverted to trade. At this time, we have a host of diplomats who arrange royal marriages with various Italian and german principalities.

In the east, Serbia gives up Kosovo and military access in return for peace with Bosnia. Back in the war with Auvergne, De Pressey drives the defenders from Clermont and lays siege to the capital.

In July, Sweden wins a victory over Pommern and gains the province of Hinterpommern while forcing Pommern itself to accept vassal status. Rheims is recaptured from the rebels and are forces move to Artois before collecting for a combined assault on Ile-de-France. By the end of July, we have succeeded in driving the remaining Auvergne defenders from Aurillac and the city is surrounded. With the capture of Marseille in the same period, reinforcements are sent to bolster the siege force. Provence agree to our peace demands for the province of Maine, military access and their total treasury of 61D.

By early August, we have collected 7600 infantry and 3800 cavalry for our second attack on Ile-de-France. Although we suffer heavy losses we succeed in defeating them and Paris is besieged.

September brings another revolt in Champagne and troops are raised in Franche-Comte to support Philip Le Bon in Lorraine and then to relieve Rheims. By late September, the last of the Auvergne forces are crushed in Guyenne and our forces march north to cover the rebel siege of Rheims.

In November, 4000 troops are raised in Lyonnais should winter be severe in Auvergne. Bourbonnais have the temerity to ask for 11D as a peace settlement when we hold their capital, have Limoges on the bring of capitulating, and have defeated all their armies, and those of their allies. We notices a small Lorraine force of 1200 infantry in Alsace and send a siege force of 4000 infantry and 1500 cavalry to deal with them. They perform their job admirably and now there are no enemy armies to disrupt our plans.

December brings severe weather in Franche-Comte and Bourgogne but Auvergne is spared the harsh conditions.

The new year brings the harsher weather to the Auvergne provinces and reinforcements are fed in. Paris falls and the French offer us Guyenne and 102D for peace. We reject this and demand Guyenne and their sworn fealty to the Crown of Burgundy as kings of France. They reject out demands. Limoges falls to our forces before the end of the month and we send our demands to Bourbonnais who agree to cede to us the province of Limousin, give up military access to our forces and empty their treasury to the tune of 94D.

In February, Loraine’s capital of Nancy falls to Philip Le Bon but we shall wait until we have broken the resistance of Auvergne before we can discuss terms with them. Philip leads his forces to relieve Rheims.

In March, our trade technology breaks into high renaissance and we divert funds to improve our naval infrastructure. Philip crushes the rebels and oversees a second attempt to expand the fortifications of Champagne. Forces are diverted from Paris to support his troops while leaving 1000 infantry behind to keep the population under control. (–5% growth with enemy troops for no reason but to stifle growth in Paris)

In April, France accept our demands for the province of Guyenne, rights of military access and 125D. Clermont falls the same month to De Pressey who marches towards Limousin to oversee fortification expansion in one of our more recent acquisitions. Work on the fortifications there begins by the end of the month. We now only have to deal with the siege of Aurillac (at –1) before we can reach terms with Auvergne and Lorraine.

In May we receive a letter from the Elector of Saxony with the outrageous suggestion that Philip the Good is a vile and evil warmonger who seeks to destabilise the Christian world while it faces the Moslem threat from the south and east. Sadly we have no land access to them so cannot, for now, use this as a pretext for their subjugation. Their suggestion is made to look all the more ridiculous when the Moslem world turns in on itself with the Ottoman Empire declaring war on Karaman, Mameluks and Tunisia.

As July arrives, we see the first signs of war exhaustion amongst our subjects. I have few concerns since I expect that we shall resolve our current difficulties before this will become serious.

In November, a revolt in Maine forces De Pressey north to deal with the problem. He defeats the rebels but suffers over 3000 casualties.

In December, Aurillac finally falls and we agree peace terms with them giving us the province of Cevennes, military access and the complete contents of their treasury amounting to 100D. All troops in the south are now diverted to Limousin to protect the fortification work. We then send our terms to Lorraine. They are to swear to Philip as their liege lord and to give us the sum of 132D. ( Damn, forgot to raise war taxes )

Well, now we are at peace again having gained four new provinces. Funds are up to 267D so fortification work in rebel provinces can continue. Nivernais is next on the list.

1428 arrives and census taxes are up to 201D. These are used to fortify Maine which has no land link to our other provinces.

In March, Aragon agree to become vassals of Castile. We send a personal letter to Lorraine in an attempt appease our former enemies (-152 to –143)

With peace restored merchants are sent out in March. Only one succeeds in expanding our business in Flanders.

A rebel uprising in Nivernais is suppressed by Philip Le Bon as fortification work is completed in Champagne and Limousin. At the end of April, a personal gift to the Duke of Lorraine dramatically improves relations (-144 to +10). A letter in June has only a small impact. We arrange a royal marriage with Bavaria in June to attempt to reduce the animosity between our two states. In July, Hungary annexes the small nation of Serbia. Siebenburgen agree, shortly after, to become vassals of Hungary.

In August, Mantua declare independence and are now at war with Bavaria. A revolt in Picardi diverts Philip’s forces from the defense of Nivernais. Mantua are quick to join the English alliance and support the English in their war of words with Auvergne. Certain naval reformations gain us benefits in developments of naval advances early in the same month (+250 to naval)

Another revolt takes place in September in Lyonnais forcing De Pressey to leave the Maine fortifications unattended while he deals with this new problem. Troops are raised in Burgundy to support him. We seem to be cursed this year with revolts when a third rises up in Cevennes. Meanwhile, Lyon’s walls are weakening well before De Pressey can relieve them. Lyonnais is struck by another revolt in December and De Pressey delays his attempt to relieve the city as winter sets in.

As the new year, 1429 arrives, census taxes of 191D swell our coffers and are used to send another gift to Lorraine (+7 to +162). They now regard us as very dear friends. Letters are sent to Emilia (to +74) and Wurzburg (to +47). Another large force of 8000 infantry and 5000 cavalry are raised in Bourgogne to protect our western provinces while De Pressey moves to relieve the siege of Lyon. He succeeds in February and moves to crush the rebels in Cevennes as another rebellion rises in Champagne where Philip is at hand to resolve the matter. Both provinces are cleared of rebels in March.

Back to OOC, I was very surprised how easy this period was. Obviously it helped having the other French war with England still in progress so I had few enemy troops to fight. Even so, Philip and De Pressey are seriously strong leaders. It was really just a matter of waiting out the sieges.

For now I’ll leave this and come back to see what is next on the agenda.

 

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It is March 1429 and the next stage in our development is in the Netherlands and northern Germany. Both Gelre and Friesen are rightfully part of the Burgundian empire and must be subjugated. They are in alliance along with Munster and Oldenburg although I see no shame in annexing these two nations also.

I suspect that we will need some funds for this war to ensure peace in our rebellious provinces so we divert 50% of income to treasury. The rest is spent on infrastructure. De Pressey and Philip are sent to the Netherlands.

In mid-March, Pskov seems to be in trouble when Novgorod, supported by the Teutonic Order and Prussia declare war. Sweden follow suit and their allies, Denmark and Norway, join in on the frenzy. Navarra agree to vassal status swearing fealty to King Juan of Castile

Later in March Poland brings its own alliance to bear on the Teutonic Order while Helvetia receive a declaration of war from Austria and its alliance.

In May we suffer a revolt in Maine but troops are raised in Zeeland to supplement De Pressey’s relatively small forces. We shall rely on the Bourgogne Army to deal with the rebels. By July, the rebels have been defeated although losses were high. Reinforcements are raised in Guyenne.

With our troops in position in Holland, the declaration of war is sent to Gelre. War taxes are raised across the kingdom. Philip leads (13.7/6.3/-) into Gelre while De Pressey leads (13.1/6.1/.) into Friesen. Philip quickly defeats the Gelre army and leaves a small siege force before moving with (9.1/4.3/-) on Oldenburg. Here he successfully destroys the Oldenburg army before laying siege with 8100 infantry and 4100 cavalry.

In Friesen, De Pressey meets 4400 infantry and 5600 cavalry with his larger armies. He is forced to retreat with having lost 7700 infantry and 1600 cavalry. Friesen lost 4400 infantry and 1600 cavalry.

In November, Croatia reforms from a rebellion to Venetian rule. They immediately declare war on their former masters. Sweden and its allies then make northern Europe more complicated when they declare war on the Novgorod alliance. The plucky knights choose this time, probably foolishly, to declare war on the Ottoman Empire.

December brings us grave news as Friesen succeed in defeating De Pressey in Holland and laying siege to the province. Our losses were, once more, grave. In the same month, Philip’s siege in Oldenburg is attacked and suffers heavy losses in driving off the Oldenburg recruit troops.

As January arrives, we raise a massive new army of 24000 infantry and 12000 cavalry in Flanders. De Pressey holds Zeeland from an attack from Munster. After successfully driving the Munster forces from Zeeland, De Pressey moves to reinforce the siege in Gelre. On sighting a large English force heading in the same direction, De Pressey decides to continue his march towards Friesen.

In April, De Pressey suffers another shocking defeat at when 6000 infantry and 4500 cavalry are repulsed in Friesen by 4000 infantry. (I will admit that this is very “De Pressing for me”). By this stage, the English have laid siege to Munster. I suspect I may have to send Philip to help them handle this once he has dealt with Oldenburg.

In May, De Pressey is successful in his third attempt to besiege Groningen in Friesen on account of there being no-one there to defend it. By late May our reinforcements have arrived in Zeeland and are sent to relieve Holland.

In mid-June, we capture Oldenburg and the English immediately agree peace for 50D. Cheeky buggers!! We shall send Philip to check upon their siege in Munster while peace is quickly arranged with Oldenburg. The y pay us 14D and agree to become our vassals.

At the end of June, in the middle of our war, a painter arrives in court. We agree to hire him ( cost 50D, +5VP, innovation from 3 to 4). Although perhaps the middle of a war is not the right time, we also make moves to greater centralisation (to 2). Stability drops to zero.

In early July, our new recruit army numbering 23400 infantry and 11900 cavalry give battle to the Friesen siege force of 9600 infantry and 3800 cavalry. They are annihilated while we suffer the loss of 1700 infantry and 300 cavalry.

When stability rises in August, we take the opportunity of raising war taxes. Stability cost about 11 months to recover each level so the benefit is significant. Our timing could hardly have been better when the Count of Brabant passes away and Philip inherits his lands. The province already has a small fortress and a tax collector. We also inherit an army of 5000 infantry and 500 cavalry although there is little use for this at the moment. Stability increases by 2 (to 2) and monarch values increased by 3 for 36 months.

In September, half of our main army is taken and combined with the Brabant army in Artois to form the core of our northern peace-keeping force. Later in the month, Arnhem, the Gelre capital falls to our forces and we await the completion of the other sieges before making peace. The siege force is moved to Artois to join the peace-keeping forces. Our timing here was perfect when Picardie revolt in October.

In December, we suffer an embarrassing defeat at the hands of rebels but succeed in making their siege ineffective. A day later, the last resistance in Munster ends and we arrange peace. The price is for Muinster to agree to become our vassals and for them to pay us their treasury of 77D. By the end of the month, Groningen falls to De Pressey and peace is agreed with Friesen and Gelre. Both agree to become vassals of Burgundy and pay indemnities of 70D and 125D respectively. After barely more than a year at war we have gained four vassal states and 276D in indemnities.

As January 1431 arrives, our coffers are swelled by census taxes of 513D. Now we realise why the English were so quick to arrange peace with Oldenburg for they are in a separate war with Gelre, Munster and Friesen.

We use our funds to increase fortifications in Guyenne and Lyonnais.

With a crash to desktop I have a little time to think about what to do with England. After the Duke of Gloucester incident, the new threat to annex up to three of my vassals has to be taken seriously. There are four options open to us.

1. Do nothing and stay in the English alliance. Hardly very thrilling I will admit although England are the only nation that could pose any immediate threat to Burgundy. There armies are probably larger than our own and their resources would be similar. But it wouldn’t help if England annex either Munster, Gelre or Friesen. All we could do in this situation to help our vassals would be to send gifts to allow them to rearm and to place troops in provinces under siege to reduce English siege forces by attrition. The second of these is a not a viable strategy in isolation and would probably be more expensive on our troops given the high supply levels in Friesen and Gelre. It would only work if combined with the policy of sending gifts.
2. Wait for the alliance to run its course. Unlikely to be very effective since one of us will be at war for the rest of the game
3. Actively seek to break the alliance through declaring war against opponents who England will not want to fight or wait for war to be declared on them and renege. We’re unlikely to find any candidates for the first option and, if we do, the stability cost will be higher than just leaving the alliance. Likewise, waiting for England to be at war before reneging is going to carry the same stability cost as option 4.
4. Leave the alliance and form own one amongst existing vassal states and/or Scotland and Luxembourg. Wait for CB on England.before cancelling our military access and declaring war. Here we’ll lose in total three stability points. Current stability is +3, so we should leave the alliance now in order to keep using the monarch values. The CB is fairly likely to come if England annexes any of the three vassal states and will be permanent if either of these are Gelre or Freisen. If we raise war taxes, the worst that can happen is for stability to reduce to zero. We can also fight English armies in the low countries to damage their prospects of annexing our vassals and would even have supply advantage if we have these nations in our alliance. The timing of the declaration would allow us to prepare in advance for a war.
5. Leave the alliance and declare war immediately. Apart from the greater stability cost, this does not allow us to prepare for war. We also have few targets to attack. Forget this and stick with 4.

Comparing our forces, England have about 18000 men in the low countries, 94000 (!!!) in Anglia and 20000 in Meath. They have one commander by the name of Talbot. By the looks of things, they can transport forces of over 20000 so sieges will be under constant pressure in coastal provinces. Our forces total around 72000 of which one-third are cavalry. We have two leaders, De Pressey and Philip.

I’ve decided to play the future conflicts with England as a battle for control of France. While I don’t want to give myself national shields on all French provinces, I will use the gameplay technique of leaving England with one of my core provinces while I capture the rest of them on the mainland – well I will if I win

Right, back to the game

In early January, Muscovy gets a favourable peace with the Golden Horde gaining the provinces of Vorones, Kazan and Tambow. When the rebels in Picardie are defeated, we begin work to upgrade the fortress.

We leave the English alliance and form a new one with Savoy. De Pressey leads 13000 infantry into Geldre. Another 3000 men are sent in February.

We send a state gift to Friesen which improves relations remarkable. They now regard us neutrally (-150 to 0). A personal gift is sent to Munster in March but is only grudgingly received (+45 to +47). Another sent in May is more favourably received (+47 to +87)

In May, I notice we already have a CB on England so we could have declared war already if we had not used our diplomats. I am not too concerned, though since it gives me a little more time to prepare. During the siege of Arnhem in Gelre, De Pressey has lost a little over 1000 men to attrition while English losses are nearly 3000, of which 20% are cavalry.

In May, the knights pay the Ottoman Empire 2D for peace. June brings Brittany reinforcements to the siege of Arnhem and attrition losses on all sides continue to mount.

In July, Talbot lands in Friesen with 17000 men and the Friesen army is defeated. By August, more reinforcements have landed in Gelre and we decide it is time to cancel our treaty of military access with England. The Friesen army is destroyed by the Anglo-Breton army in Gelre as Talbot marches to aid the siege while another starts ion Friesen. De Pressey leads his army north to Friesen to disrupt English supplies there. Cavalry units of 1000 men are sent gradually from Holland to maintain the pressure on supplies.

In October we suffer a revolt in Champagne and Philip is sent to destroy the rebel army which he duly does in November. We send another personal gift to Munster which dramatically improves relations (+86 to +195).

By the end of the year, Friesen is given up as lost and De Pressey returns with his troops to Holland. Philip the Good moves his troops from Picardie to Zeeland where another 6000 are being recruited. He has decided that the first phase of the war should be fought in the low countries. In the south of France, rebels have seized Languedoc from the English which, bordering both Guyenne and Lyonnais, may be a mixed blessing for us.

At the beginning of 1432, rebels in Mainz break from Cologne and agree to be part of Hessen. Early in January, Groningen falls and Friesen is annexed by Brittany. We now have a casus belli against Brittany. Our third army in Guyenne moves north to prepare for the spring offensive. The declaration of war is sent to Brittany at the end of January and De Pressey leads 23200 infantry and 9200 cavalry from Holland into Gelre to relieve the siege of Arnhem. Infantry forces in Limousin attack west into Poitou and Vendee while around 8000 cavalry march towards Maine where further troops are being raised. Another army is raised in Bourgogne in preparation for an attack on Orleanais.

Talbot’s first move is to lift the siege of Arnhem and march west. De Pressey changes tack and moves to strike in Zeeland while Philip moves his forces west into Calais. By February, Calais and Poitou are under siege although our plans are disrupted when the rebels from Languedoc lay siege to Guyenne and force us to raise additional troops in the south.

In March we suffer revolts in Picardie and Cevennes, further upsetting our plans. Our forces in Picardie are withdrawn. The first combat of the war brings a crushing defeat for Brittany in Maine where equal forces of 8000 cavalry meet. We lose nearly 2000 men but their army is destroyed. The same month, we are struck by news of a regional heresy in one of our French provinces. Unable to fund a suppression effort, we ignore it (Stab to zero). Funds are diverted in order to restore stability.

The first large encounter of the war takes place in Zeeland when Talbot’s forces of 18700 infantry and 300 cavalry, attack De Pressey with 22900 infantry and 9100 cavalry. Another 4000 infantry and 2000 cavalry arrive on draft during the battle and Talbot is forced to retreat having lost over 12000 men to only 2500 Burgundy troops. He leads an army of 16000 infantry and 8000 cavalry in pursuit as Talbot retreats to Gelre. The remainder are sent to Artois to be used to relieve the siege in Picardie.

In April, we experience more trouble with rebels as Nivernais rises up. In the west, a small force of 4000 infantry and 4100 cavalry move to attack the Breton capital in Morbihan. Breton resistance is swept aside and Nantes is besieged.

In May, we move to relieve Picardie from rebels as De Pressey meets Talbot for the second time to the west of Arnhem. He is again victorious and the English forces in the north east are wiped out. He immediately marches on Friesen to relieve our erstwhile vassals from the Bretons. We send a personal letter to the Duke of Arnhem which is politely received (-160 to –149). By the end of May, we defeat two Breton armies, the large in Gelre and a smaller one in Morbihan. The rebel siege of Amiens in Picardie is also broken and our armies march to relieve Nevers.

By June, De Pressey lays siege to Groningen – not the site of his most auspicious victories – and forces in the south have collected to relieve Aurillac from rebels. They are cleared by early July and march on towards Guyenne. Rebels are also defeated in Nivernais and our troops are freed to move on Orleans. When Guyenne is cleared by the end of the month, we are free from rebels and troops in the south march on Languedoc.

In August, we lay siege to Orleans and leave a small enough force to maintain this before marching towards Normandie. Montpellier and Caen are besieged by the end of August.

With the war seemingly under control – we have 95000 troops scattered around France and the low countries while England have 85000 standing around in Wessex and Anglia – we send merchants to various trading centres and send a well received personal gift to Gelre (-151 to –19). Later in the month, Calais surrenders to Philip and he marches towards Rouen

In October, Denmark annex the small north German state of Pommern. We shall probably soon have to turn our attention to the Danes but for now we have enough to deal with. As stability rises, we decide to raise war taxes. A personal letter is sent to the Duke of Lorraine and is well received (+79 to +104). By mid-October, Rouen feels the weight of Burgundy’s armies as Philip settles into a long siege.

In November we feel England’s first counter-attack as 19350 infantry attack our siege force of 6300 infantry and 4500 cavalry. We are driven back across the Rhone towards Grenoble with losses of 2500 infantry and 500 cavalry to English losses of nearly 6000 men. Better news arrives from the west as Vendee is captured by the end of the month. Our siege army moves north to the Breton province of Bretagne.

To our east, Helvetia is forced to cede Schwyz and give military access to Austria in exchange for peace.

Brief interlude now follows in which Lionheart watches tournament where German nationals defeat a team of East Asians. Michael Ballack wins the game for Germany but will miss the final after his second caution. Three pints late, Lionheart returns to follow the fortunes of Burgundy, fully stocked up for the sieges that lie ahead

When January arrives we receive the paltry sum of 135D in census taxes. There is much consternation that the expected war taxes failed to materialise. Brest is besieged by 7500 Burgundy troops in early January. By the end of January, the Breton capital of Nantes has fallen to our armies and they march on Rennes. We lay siege to Rennes in February and begin another siege of Montpellier in the same month.

In March we send letters to Lorraine (+100 to +129) and Oldenburg (+111 to +115) and a personal gift to Gelre (-23 to +93). By late March, Groningen has fallen to De Pressey. We defeat another Breton army in Armor and our bargaining power increases again.

In May, Brittany offer us Friesen and Vendee. Although these are the province which we hope to gain from them, being of a culture liked to that of Burgundy, we do not wish to harm our negotiating position with relation to England.

We suffer a revolt in Lyonnais at the beginning of June. De Pressey will deal with this. By late June, La Rochelle opens it’s gates to our troops and we continue our march to victory. England offers us 425D for peace in the same month but we decline. Our series of successes continue into July with Rennes surrendering.

With an improvement in nationwide stability in August, we take the opportunity to raise more war taxes. August sees the beginning of a siege of Bordeaux as English troops attempt to retake La Rochelle. Rouen falls to Philip Le Bon in the same month as we notice a reduction innationalist feelings in many of the former French-owned provinces.

In September, De Pressey defeats the rebels in Lyonnais. The latter part of the month sees a large English invasion of our vassals in the low countries. Philip Le Bon marches on Holland where further troops are being raised to repel the English. The English siege army in La Rochelle attempts to break the siege of Bordeaux but is beaten back. De Pressey marches towards La Rochelle to finish them off.

In the Low Countries, Philip is attacked by around 4500 English cavalry. From the movement of 25000 English troops through Zeeland, it is apparent that the object of their attack in the north is not the Munster/Gelre provinces but those of Burgundy in the North. The English cavalry are wiped out but with severe losses for Philip. When Montpellier falls by the middle of November, our troops are diverted to the north. De Pressey inflicts yet another victory on the English in Poitou and follows them north towards Vendee. After finally destroying their army, he marches east to reinforce Bourgogne from the oncoming English armies.

In January 1434, we receive census taxes of 268D. Most of this is used to raise a 14000 strong army in Flanders to rebuild Philip’s norther army. Letters are sent to Gelre (+85 to +97), Lorraine (+122 to +125), Oldenburg (+114 to +133) and Munster (+184 to +191)

When De Pressey arrives in Bourgogne at the head of 30000 troops, the English army in Nivernais of 24500 under Salisbury are seen to head west towards Orleans. De Pressey marches north to attack the English in Nivernais.

We are struck in February by a conspiracy of nobles against Duke Philip. No doubt this has been instigated and supported by the English. Rather than attempting to appease the nobles, Philip decides to fight them (Stab –4, revolts in Artois, Bourgogne and Franche-Comte, Centralisation +1, Aristocracy –1, Revolt Risk +4 for 36 months). Stability is now at a minimum and we must deal with this. We divert income in an attempt to restore order. Philip attempt to defeat the rebels in Artois while De Pressey leads our large army to crush the rebellion in Bourgogne.

It is at this time that we receive a peace offer from the English. They agree to cede us the provinces of Languedoc, Orleanais and Caux in exchange for peace. Although we are tempted to pursue the war against England, we decide that we must now deal with internal troubles. By accepting the offer, over 30000 troops are freed to tackle the rebels.

By some divine guidance, the inhabitants of Brest finally succumb and we are admitted to the city. The Duke of Brittany is brought before the council and required to signb a treaty handing over Vendee, Friesen, Armor, Bretagne and their full treasury. Quite astoundingly, he refuses and is thrown into jail until he wishes to be more realistic about his options. This is not what I had expected. Revolt risk in Artois and similar core provinces is now at 5%!!!. Even with war exhaustion removed and war taxes gone, I still need to recover 2 stability points to get rid of this.

When he returns in early March with an offer of all four provinces plus 95D, we agree to the terms. By this time, we have defeated the rebels in Artois andf Bourgogne so De Pressey is free to relieve Franche-Comte. Although we are now the most powerful country in western Europe, we are gripped by unrest which will remain a problem for some time. Our reputation now is extremely bad

April sees revolts in Limousin and Alsace and the fortress in Strasbourg is seized. Both are defeated by the end of the month and De Pressey begins a siege of Strasbourg.

By June, stability has improved a little as England begin a siege of Arnhem. There is little now that we can do to help our vassals in Gelre.

In this period of troubles we look to divert attention with a series of noble marriages with the royal families of Austria, Poland, Hungary, Byzantium and Eire. We hear reports from the Polish-Hungarian war that all is not well with Hungary having lost control of two provinces to Bohemia and Poland. Another two provinces are under siege. Late in August, Novgorod announces that they have incorporated the nation of Pskov into their own.

In November a revolt in Guyenne succeeds in driving away our smallest army and the rebels lay siege to Toulouse. More troops are raised in Limousin to prepare to counter this danger.

In December there many people arrive in court offering to become merchants for Burgundy in foreign trading centres – no doubt wishing to get away from our temporary problems. Unfortunately, we have no money to spend on them. Even though stability is improved, we still suffer unrest in all territories save the capital.

And that seems as good a time as any to stop. Burgundy now own 23 provinces and have 4 vassals states, although Gelre may be about to go to England. To be frank I don’t care too much about this since it will give me the CB on England that I need. In the last war, I picked up my first two provinces of “other culture” in Gaelic Brittany so there is an increased risk of rebellions for future wars. Fortunately, I now have 100000 strong army to deal with most of these problems.

I’m in two minds what to do for the next instalment. Unless I get served up some surprise, I think I’ll spend the next year bringing stability up so that the revolt risk in most provinces disappears. Then I’ll revert to normal investment and gradually improve the fortifications in the revolt prone provinces (after fortifying Bourgogne and Flanders).

The other general theme I will have will be to bring my vassals into my alliance.

All in all, it may be a peaceful period but perhaps the existence of two solid commanders and a large army might tempt me into more aggressive moves.

 

[unmerged(3525)]

First of all, an admission. I’ve just read some more of “A Fistful of Dukes” until I realised that I had read beyond 1434. It seems that De Pressey will not be with us for much longer. Of course I stopped reading immediately, don’t want to spoil the game for myself now do I?

Prior to reading that, there was another question I had been asking myself. I had been considering whether I might offer independence to any or all of three nations: Friesen, Orleans, and Guyenne. Each of these would give away a single province. I can think of the obvious pros and cons

1. I will retain 50% of the tax income from a loyal and close vassal who will easily be brought into my alliance if needed.
2. The sum of the parts are greater than the whole: As an independent nation, the provinces will gain income from trading activities and additional population growth from the capital province. I only need to ensure that I have trade agreements to avoid having this harm my own trading income.
3. An independent nation may develop its own infrastructure/fortifications and save me the costs (Guyenne already has level 2 fortifications)
4. Individually, the tech levels for the smaller nations seem better although this is a less obvious benefit for Burgundy.
5. I can temporarily remove a revolt prone province (Guyenne and Orleans only)
6. My reputation improves
7. My own stability costs are reduced at a time when it is at –1
8. The independent nation will not have my “time of troubles”

On the negative side, there are the following considerations:

1. As an independent nation, they may be annexed
2. In the case of Guyenne and Orleans, giving independence will harm tax income from provinces that would then not have a land connection to my capital. Guyenne would break the link to Limousin while Orleans would do the same for Vendee, Maine, Bretagne and Armor.
3. For moral reasons, Friesen is considered to be Burgundian territory. There is little logic in having Philip the Good give them independence.

In the end, I think I will experiment with Guyenne to see how things go.

In January, Philip the Good hears delegations from the populace of Orleanais, Guyenne and Friesen with calls to create independent lands, swearing to him as their king. He considers carefully their requests but informs them that it is a little too early to consider such a move before other matters are resolved.

Envoys from Portugal inform us of a war they are waging against a nation called Mali. We can only imagine that these people are somewhere nearer to the edge of the world but cannot place them on our maps. Doubtless, the Portuguese will not let us have their own so we shall need to work ourselves to improve them.

In February, we suffer a revolt in Picardie and Duke Philip leads his armies of the north to put down the rebellion. In the south rebels in Guyenne are defeated and Philip is able to offer them their independence. They join our alliance immediately.

In May we suffer revolts in Orleanais and Vendee. In the same month we see a noticeable improvement in stability (to zero). Unrest in our core provinces are now at an all time low. The rebels in Orleanais and Vendee are defeated in June.

Philip uses July to concentrate on improving relations with allies and vassals. A letter is sent to Savoy (-6 to +20) and to Loraine (+112 to +125). August brings a revolt in Bretagne and our armies in the north west are sent to quell the unrest. In September, Georgia announces that it has annexed Trebizond.

On 22nd September, Duke Philip is called upon to attend a meeting of the French and English in the city of Arras. Both sides look for Burgundian support although we had, until recently, been strong supporters of the English. It is somewhat ironic that they still claim to be involved in their long war since the French have been utterly and totally crushed. Philip is forced to choose one side or the other with massive implications for the relationship of Burgundy to either side. However, he is swayed simply by his desire to avoid losing faith with the nobles of Burgundy and elects to support the English side (Relations with England +200, Relations with France –200).

By October, the rebels in Bretagne have been dispersed as news arrives from Scandinavia that Sweden has cancelled its vassalisation with Denmark. Shortly after, England announce that they have annexed the province of Gelre, our vassals and rightfully part of Burgundy. It seems that the English have not learned their lesson from our last war. For now we must be patient but Philip is simply biding his time before meting out just punishment for the presumptious English. More reports from the north tell us of the break between Denmark and Sweden where the Kalmar Union is officially broken. Norway choose to side with the Danes, considering the Swedish act to be folly. Feeling exposed to the Swedish threat, they agree to join the Danish nation. Surely now, Denmark must be considered a greater aggressor in the Christian world than Burgundy has ever been.

In November, we notice yet more improvements in stability and the unrest in our core provinces is now gone. Philip orders income, that had formerly been diverted to restore stability by way of land grants and restitution of lands, to be spent on infrastructure improvements. Towards the end of the month, Philip sends a letter to Luxembourg, land nominally claimed as part of Burgundy. The Duchess receives the letter well (+91 to +124)

In 1436, new year census taxes are used to improve fortifications in our richest province of Flanders. Philip also sends a personal gift to Savoy but it seems that the Savoyards do not understand the ways of diplomacy (No change at +20).

In late January, Genoa and its allies from the Italian city states, declare war on Georgia and their Cypriot allies. The early part of the year sees little of note and we decide to invite Eire into our alliance. Not only will they be a thorn in the side of the English, when the inevitable war arrives, but they also have western ports for our ships (OK, I’ll admit, I did this more for game play than as another front against the English.)

In May, we revert to sending letters to Savoy and relations show a marked improvement (+20 to +56). Another to Loraine in June has little impact. June sees a revolt spring up in Vendee. It is quickly put down. A more serious revolt breaks out in Bruges as the locals react to pressure to bring them under closer central control (Stab –1, Centralisation +1, Revolt in Flanders). Philip himself leads the army to quell the unrest. He also orders income to be diverted to restore stability (Revolt risk in core provinces to 1%). July brings another revolt, this time in Bretagne which we will deal with once Vendee is under our control. Unfortunately, we fail to break the siege there and another army is brought from Limousin to recover the situation. August brings a revolt in Cevennes although Vendee rebels are finally defeated by the middle of the month.

In September stability recovers again and Philip is able to direct investments towards infrastructure again. De Pressey crushes the rebels in Cevennes. Duke Philip sends another letter to Duchess Elisabeth of Luxembourg and it is politely received (+120 to +132). I always knew that the Duchess had a soft spot for Philip. Other letters are sent to Eire in October and Oldenburg in November and both receive similar responses (+29 to +39 and +120 to +130). My suspicions of something between the Duke and Duchess Elisabeth were confirmed in December when the Duchess hosts a party in honour of Duke Philip and spends the whole time at his side (This was a Diplomatic Move. Relations +50).

In January 1437, census taxes of 243D reach our coffers and can be used to improve the capital’s fortifications. Letters are sent to Loraine (+114 to +131) and to Eire (+51 to +62). A new year revolt in Vendee forces us to send troops to restore order. Another personal gift is sent to Savoy and is received this time with much gratitude (+56 to +174). During the year we send letters to Oldenburg (+127 to +129), Munster (+174 to +178) and Luxembourg (+177 to +178). All were received graciously although none warmed especially to them. Perhaps the Duke is losing his touch a little. We sign a trade agreement with Savoy in October and with Eire in November.

In May, Burgundy mourns the loss of Jean de Pressey, one of its finest leaders. He will be remembered foremost for his great victories against the French. Sadly, his health had been declining for a number of years. He died of consumption in his bed shortly after Duke Philip had personally arrived to visit him. A few weeks later he is buried in his own private tomb alongside those of the former Dukes in Dijon Cathedral.

In August, Bohemia casts away its ridiculous ideas against the Catholic church and once again joins the fold of the true Christian faith – unlike the semi-heathen eastern nations who still look to Byzantium.

In October, the peasants in Languedoc rise up after a poor grape harvest. The region is devastated by the riots and we are forced to bring troops to restore the province to order.
Wurtemberg choose this time to send us a most insulting letter. The Duke is inclined to teach them a lesson until he is reminded that we have no military access to Wurtemberg’s borders: only those of its allies in the north. Since our quarrel is with the Wurtembergers, we have no option but to ignore the insult. In any case, the connections between our two royal houses would mean that any war declaration would cause some loss of stability even though the unrest from several years before has now passed.

In November, Novogorod concede defeat in their war with Suzdal. They are forced to hand over the provinces of Archangelsk, Kola and Karelia to Suzdal. Two days later, Tuscany announces that it has forcefully incorporated the island of Cyprus into its own kingdom. It is of little concern to Duke Philip who is more concerned with his own zone of influence in France, Germany and the Low Countries.

In December, the long war between England and Munster, the last remnant of our former war with the Dutch allies, comes to an end when Munster agree to pay England 32D in indemnities. Just days later, Duke Albert of Austria is named as the Holy Roman Empire. Philip is livid although, with hindsight, it appears the Albert gained the title through the use of judicious payments – or bribes – to the key Electors.

January 1438 brings the traditional census taxes and we use these to expand fortifications in Orleanais. It also brings the traditional rowdy celebrations in Vendee that spill over to revolt. Philip sends a new year gift to the Duke of Nancy and we are declared the closest of friends (+123 to +200). We shall soon make plans to bring Loraine into our own alliance once the French alliance expires at the beginning of next year.

The new year also brings an improvement in the stability of the realm. It is anticipated that we shall reach full stability by the middle of next year. Quite by chance, this will be the time when our truce with England expires although Philip is clear that he does not wish to recommence a war with the English while there remain links between our royal houses.

In March we send a gift to Eire and it is received with much gratitude (+62 to +197). It now appears that the Duke has rediscovered his diplomatic skills and we have a strong base of close friends among our allies and vassals. A letter to Oldenburg in May helps a little more (+124 to +135) although Duchess Elizabeth of Luxemburg fails to be impressed by Philip’s letter to her in June (+174 to +174). Another to Munster in August is greeted in much better fashion (+173 to +200) as is one to Savoy (+166 to +190). A letter to Guyenne is less well received (+181 to +183) and they are now a little cooler to us despite our generous terms given for independence.

The rebellion in Vendee is difficult to break and we are forced to raise reinforcements in Maine to bring the wayward province back into line. They are finally defeated in October.

In July, Poland declare war on their smaller southern neighbours, Moldavia. October brings civil war to Castile and rebels defeat a Castilian army in Cantabria. In November, Prussia forefully annex the province of Tver into their own Ducal lands. Duke Philip expresses privately that he does not believe Prussia will be able to maintain control of Tver for long.

Late November, Philip institutes the establishment of cantonments in Dauphine to increase the manpower pool in the province.

New census taxes in January allow us to fortify Languedoc. To date, we have small fortifications in nine of our twenty-three provinces. We have also appointed twelve tax collectors in our provinces

In February, the French alliance expires and Loraine are brought into the more powerful Burgundy alliance. Philip takes this opportunity to express his goal that Eire shall be brought into the protect fold of Burgundy as full vassals within the next five years.

In May we recover full stability. Loraine rejects an offer to become part of the Burgundy kingdom but a letter from the Duke helps to restore friendship (+198 to +148 to +173). Another letter to Luxembourg restores Philip to the high esteem of Duchess Elizabeth (+169 to +196). During the rest of the year, letters are sent to Oldenburg (+130 to +141), to Guyenne (+179 to +185)

In May, Byzantium rejects its non-conformist religious vies and converts to Catholicism. In June, Navarra are annexed by Castile.

In July, we suffer a revolt in Armor but our forces are on hand to suppress the trouble.

On 3rd August, England declare war on us and their allies, Brittany support them. We call upon our own allies and all rise to support us. Duke Philip orders war taxes to be raised and leads most of hist forces from Flanders to attack Calais. Some of his troops move to attack Gelre while other armies around the country move to attack Gascony, Poitou and Normandy. Troops are raised in Armor to lead an assault on Brittany.

Philip loses his first battle against the English in Calais and retreats back to Flanders. Our forces on the march to Gelre are ordered to wait in Flanders to meet the advancing English. When the attack does not come, they continue to march east. By the end of August, Caen and La Rochelle are under siege. Another 4000 men are raised in Holland to bring later to support the planned siege of Arnhem. Other troops are order to collect in Maine for an attack on Morbihan. During September, we begin sieges of Bordeaux and Calais.

October brings us the unwelcome distraction of a revolt in Dauphine. We shall deal with this when the war allows us. By late October, the Savoyards have destroyed the only English army currently in France and appear to have lost interest in the war when their forces march south. Philip politely requests that they make a small detour via Grenoble. By this time, we have collected another force in Maine who march on the Breton capital of Nantes.

By October, over 41 English ships have been sighted off the French coast. We continue to maintain pressure on them by laying siege to Arnhem early in the month. The defenders in Morbihan are swept aside by our forces in late November and we lay siege to Nantes. This allows surplus forces in the north to be diverted south to deal with the rebels in Dauphine. Further infantry troops are raised in Lyonnais to support the relief of Grenoble.

In December, Eire agrees to our request for military access.

Census taxes in 1440 reach a new high of 570D. Since our army is already adequately funded, we spend some of this on improving fortifications in Vendee and in Armor. Throughout the war, nearly 50% of investment has been retained in infrastructure with 10% in stability and the rest towards treasury. With surplus funds available, we are able to direct more investments towards infrastructure and only keep 25% of income diverted to treasury.

With the fall of Calais to Philip in January, he takes 10000 troops towards Bretagne. The remainder march east to support the ongoing siege of Arnhem.

In February, we discover mistakes of certain council members and realise a significant impact on our investment. Over 500D are lost in trade and infrastructure investment and stability suffers as a result (Poor Gov’t policies: Infra and Trade –250D, Stab –1 ). A large proportion of income, around 20%, is now diverted to restore internal stability. Later in the month, we fail in our attempt to relieve Grenoble and the city walls weaken further to rebel attacks (-3). To make matters worse, Lyonnais revolts in March and the rebels hold positions against our retreating troops. Rather than face the rebels in Lyonnais, who outnumber our demoralised troops, they retreat south to Languedoc where more troops are raised to support another attempt to relieve Grenoble.

In April, we capture Caen and the troops are freed to move south to relieve Limousin. In May, Philip arrives in Bretagne and our warships leave port to alow embarkation. We meet a small squadron of four English warships and engage them. In the same month our southern forces attack the rebels in Dauphine for the second time while the fall of the Breton capital in Nantes frees up yet more troops for our planned invasion of Ireland. By the end of May, the rebels in Dauphine have been defeated.

In June, troops from the siege of Caen relieve Limousin and in July, our forces in the south march to relieve Lyon. Sadly, in July, our fleet of five warships are forced to return to port in Brest and the invasion of Ireland suffers a major setback. Philip chooses this time to make peace with Brittany demanding military access and indemnities. After the indemnities have been shared among our allies, we receive only 12D.

In August, Philip heads south to oversee the sieges of La Rochelle and Bordeaux. With stability increased again (to +2), he orders war taxes to be levied again across the realm.

In early September, Bohemia force Moldavia to become their vassals as part of a peace agreement. By mid-September, our armies in the south combine to crush the rebels in Lyonnais. Two weeks after Philip’s arrival in Poitou, the garrison in La Rochelle agree to hand over the city. He marches straight for Bordeaux where our siege is having little impact on the walls. His arrival in November brings an improved morale to the troops and some weakening in the walls is detected (to 3)

January 1441 arrives and cesus taxes boost our treasury. We also receive a welcome gift of 200D from a group of wealthy merchants (I’ve been surreptitiously adding merchants to most centres of trade when an opening emerges and now have 32 operating in all the trading centres that I know. We now make more from trading than from goods production). The extra funds are used to build fortification improvements in Caux, Bretagne, Cevenne and Dauphine.

At the end of January, Helvetia once again finds itself alone in a war against the Austrian alliance. We use surplus diplomats to organise a few royal ties with lands in the north and east.

In April, Karaman is forced to the peace table with Ak Koyunlu and give up Sivas in a peace settlement. By the middle of the month, Philip’s impact on the siege of Bordeaux is clear as the city surrenders to his troops. The following month, serious unrest in the north leads to a rebel uprising in Armor. Unknown to us, the garrison in the province support the rebels and the fortress is captured. The rebel units are quickly destroyed but we must settle into a long siege. Philip is brought to the city to attempt to persuade the garrison to surrender.

In August, with stability near to its highest, we raise more war taxes. The end of August greets us with reports that Tunisia have cede Tripolitania and agreed to become sworn vassals of the Ottoman Empire as part of a peace settlement. I doubt they had any other option.

September brings us more revolts in Caux and Orleanais with the fortress in Rouen being taken by the rebels. As this news arrives we are greeted with more welcome news when Arnhem in Gelre falls. A delegation from England arrive and offer the provinces of Calais, Normandie and Gelre which we accept. England are now confined in France to their oldest province of Gascogne and the province of Vendee.

By mid-October, all rebellions have been broken although we still have to recapture Amiens and Rennes. We use our new found peace to send a gift to Loraine (+137 to +200) and letters to Eire (+153 to +159), Guyenne (+149 to +160), and Savoy (+150 to +179).

Another fine painter arrives in court in November and Philip insists that we hire his services before he goes elsewhere. In the same month, Philip sends a second offer to Lorraine to become part of Burgundy. They accept and another core Burgundy province is united with the mother country. We inherit an army of 18000.

December brings a new revolt in Calais. Troops from Loraine are diverted north to deal with the threat.

January arrives and the new census taxes increase our coffers to 736D. We use some of this to build fortifications in Normandie but will wait to recapture Calais and Caux before their fortifications are expanded. Personal gifts are sent to Savoy (+103 to +191) and to Eire (+108 to +133)

Early in the year, the Byzantine Empire meets its final end when it is incorporated into the vast Lithuanian lands. By late January, Rennes has surrendered to Burgundian control and Philip rushes to the siege of Rouen. The Calais rebels are driven to ground in February and work begins to improve the fortifications. Rouen falls the following month and funds are provided to ensure the city is adequately fortified.

In April we send personal letters to Luxembourg (+117 to +135), Munster (+54 to +56) and Oldenburg (+108 to +122).

In May and June, we defeat rebel uprisings in Picardie and Caux before 5000 men board ships in the English Channel. Their destination is Eire.

In July, our neighbours Helvetia, lose their independence and are annexed into the lands of the King of Hungary. However, Siebenburgen reacts to the news by cancel their own vassalisation with Hungary, presumably in protest. We send a letter to Eire and are well received (+130 to +154).

August sees another revolt in Armor but Philip is on hand to crush the rebellion.

And now I’ll take a break before returning to adjust some domestic policy sliders and continuing to expand the alliance and get more vassal states. I’ve started to notice France steadily plodding through the tech levels. No doubt she’ll wait until she thinks she can take on the might of Burgundy. I don’t expect she will have much success as long as we can keep near enough to her land tech

On the whole, everything is going too smoothly. With any luck, we should have level 2 fortress and tax collectors in every province before 1450. We should also have managed to vassalise Eire and Savoy and brought our other vassals, Oldenburg, into our alliance

 

[unmerged(6777)]

It looks like you're doing very well here Lionheart. I'm thinking that it's time for a nice little war with France but be warned...I think they may be hardcoded not to agree to diplo-annexation (although I have no proof of this) so you'll probably have to do it the badboy way.

You certainly got your money's worth out of de Pressy...what a trooper! (and nice to have so early in the game).

Any chance of a screenie?

 

[coz1]

I'm thinking that it's time for a nice little war with France but be warned...I think they may be hardcoded not to agree to diplo-annexation (although I have no proof of this) so you'll probably have to do it the badboy way.

France can be diplo-annexed by Burgundy. I have done it, but France was teensy-weensy compared to the size of mighty Burgundy. Plus, it takes a while and the whole time France is building back up so they may end up breaking the vassalation if they grow too strong while waiting the requisite 30 years.

And de Pressy is damn cool! Nice job here Lionheart. Burgundy is one of my favorites to play and now I have two AAR's to follow.

 

[Secret Master]

Originally posted by MrT
I'm thinking that it's time for a nice little war with France but be warned...I think they may be hardcoded not to agree to diplo-annexation (although I have no proof of this) so you'll probably have to do it the badboy way.

Nope, I can tell you with all certainty that France will accept diplo-annexation, even on very hard. In fact, that is my preferred method for getting rid of them, in accordance with my First Commandment for Avoiding BB: Thou shall not militarily annex a co-religionist, ever, ever, ever....

Make sure you are much bigger than France, and keep them as a vassal for about 60 years. Then, quietly end their pitiful existence. In fact, do it before they colonize, otherwise they might get bigger than you and you will be unable to do it.

 

[unmerged(3525)]

MrT: Screenshot will be coming up once I figure out why PageBuilder doesn't want to upload the picture. Fortunately, I took the time since then to read your Screenies thread so I'll try to fit the page.

Coz1: France will be militarily annexed if they declare war and then I'll work on diplo-annexing them. For the moment, I'll just leave troops at the border of Ile-de-France hurling insults and rotten vegetables as the French army.

Secret Master: No forecful annexation of co-religionists - my sentiments entirely. Unless the game forces me to consider another country as a mortal enemy, I shall stand by my principles on this. It's probably one reason why I only have an extremely bad reputation.

And don't worry about France. When the time is right, they shall be forced to submit to the real King of France. I have already started to call Burgundy a kingdom, or even an Empire even if Philip is still going by the title of Duke - while I am a Regent .

As for their explorations, I might try to use this to my own advantage by giving France its independence and then grabbing their maps - which they tend to leave lying around in the Royal Palace in Paris - on the next declaration of war.

 

[unmerged(1996)]

Excellent developments there Lionheart. I especially liked the way you neatly side-stepped the Englsih and stabbed them in the back. No less than the arrogant, overbearing, imperialist swines deserve...

Any hint as to your long-term plans? Domination of the lowlands and France is a given, but the rest of Germany? Or Iberia..?

 

[unmerged(3525)]

Ariel, it's on its way

 

[unmerged(3525)]

Philip sat proudly at the head of the long oak table looking around him at the 20 assembled lords who made up his most important body of advisors. Seated around the table were the Duke of Nancy, the Count of Hainault, the Earl of Bruges and many other most distinguished guests. In private discussions with Duke Philip, he had expressed his wish that this was to be a most important occasion of state requiring all the principal lords and nobles of the realm.

The parlement building in Dijon had only been completed several months earlier according to precise specifications of the Duke. The chamber in which we were now all seated was ornately decorated befitting the company it was designed to house. Philip had called the room, the Council Chamber and would be where all the important decisions of state would be made. Adjacent to this was a much larger hall, which Philip hoped would house a wider group of deputies and in which policy decisions would be discussed.

“My lords”, Philip spoke. “First I must thank you for attending this meeting which I have called you to. You are the first of many who I hope will sit in this very room from where all the matters of state are to be decided.”

All those in attendance listened patiently. Philip was loved, respected and admired by all present After all, wasn’t this the man you had taken over the mantle of Duke from his father, John the Fearless, and brought even greater wealth and prosperity to the realm.

Philip continued. “The time has now come for Burgundy to recognise its new found greatness. How can a nation of our size continue to be called a mere Dukedom, while France can call itself a Kingdom. This situation cannot continue and it is my most profound wish the Burgundy shall take upon itself the title of a Kingdom”

A small murmur spread around the chamber. Watching the faces of those in the room, I could detected some uneasiness at the news although there was also a recognition in those same faces that Philip was right. He waited for the room to be silent before he spoke again.

“Far be it from me to claim for myself the title of King: that decision is for you to make. Burgundy must decide for itself who shall be its first King. If you decide it is to be another, I shall gladly pay homage to whomever you should choose. If it is to be me, I will humbly serve Burgundy to the best of my ability.”

All in the chamber looked at each other and then to Philip. The Duke of Rheims was the first to speak. “My lord, Philip. There are many around this table of noble birth but none other than you could aspire to the title of King. As you are a servant of Burgundy, I will gladly submit myself as the servant of Philip, King of Burgundy. May God protect him and guide him”. The Chamber exploded in cheers and cries of King Philip. Philip remained impassive, watching carefully as his proposal gained rapid acceptance. My eyes remained fixed on Philip, searching for a way to learn how he mastered all those around.

A voice in the room called out. “Say not King Philip, but Emperor”. Philip’s countenance changed and his gaze became stern. “No!”, he cried out. “Burgundy is not ready to call itself an empire. I will not say that it will never become one, indeed it is my deepest wish that it will. But I will swear an oath now that no man shall call himself emperor of Burgundy until that empire control all the lands of the Holy Roman Empire. When the King of Burgundy has under his dominion, all the lands of Charlemagne, he may call himself and Emperor, but not before.”. Duke Philip had made his decision and it was not long before all agreed with him. The coronation was scheduled for April 1443 to allow time for preparations.

Having put aside discussion of the minor details, Philip then outlined his plans for the years ahead. Burgundy was to continue to grow and claim the lands that he had spoken of. But in contrast to his early conquests that had been gained through force, Philip wanted the land to be gained through peaceful means. The German and French provinces would be gradually brought into the Kingdom of Burgundy through careful diplomatic means. This would take time, a long time, and would probably not be completed until Philip had passed away. Oldenburg would be brought into the alliance when her own expired and discussions would be started immediately on its full incorporation into Burgundy. The same would go for Munster and Guyenne. Eire and Savoy were to be accepted as vassal states at the earliest opportunity. The next targets would be Luxembourg, The Palatinat, Cologne and Kleves as opportunity presented itself.

Philip then turned to domestic policy which had shown significant shifts in the last 25 years with moves to a more centralised and forward thinking nation. Philip now outlined his wish that government should be expanded to include the growing influence of the merchant classes in the kingdom. The gains in trading income and reduced cost of warships would offset the higher cost of raising cavalry with which Burgundy was already well supplied. But the prospect of future wars with England made the need for a strong navy of paramount importance. Philip described our impotence in the last war to threat of the Royal Navy. The ability to strike at England’s homeland would take on greater significance in the years to come.

After many hours of talking and debating the various issues, the council was disbanded. Philip was needed in the field to deal with rebels in north west France. The remainder of the council left to return to their estates, confident in the abilities of their new king.

******************

August brought news of more wars in the east as first Novgorod, then Suzdal, declared war on Muscovy. A letter was sent to Eire (+153 to +164). By the end of the year, we have placed an army of 8000 men in Ulster to help to protect our allies in Eire from the English threat.

Philip defeats two groups of rebels in Armor and Maine during the second half of the year.

Census taxes in January 1443, increase treasury funds to346D. These are used to improve the fortifications in Friesen and to send a gift to Eire (+162 to +200) and a letter to Savoy (186 to +187). In February we send Eire and offer to become our vassals but they reject our offer. A letter in March helps to repair the little damage done to our relations (+169 to +187). Another in May improves matters further and Eire declare themselves as our closest of friends.

In the eastern mediterannean, Karaman cede the province of Konya to Teke in a peace settlement.

In July, our patience is rewarded when Eire agree to become a vassal state of Burgundy. A revolt in Caux is quickly suppressed although rumblings in the church leads to certain demands which Philip is quick to reject. This still leads to move unrest (Stab –1). In August, revolts spring up in Lyonnais and Dauphine.

In September we send another letter to the Duke of Savoy and it is warmly received (+186 to +198). That same month, the rebels in Dauphine succeed in defeating a much larger Burgundy army who retreat back to Lyon. In October, Venice forefully annexes the province of Ragusa.

In November, a diplomatic mission is sent to Savoy to discuss terms under which they might gain the protection of Burgundy in return for swearing to Duke Philip as liege lord. The terms are rejected immediately by the Savoyards and the mission returns empty-handed.

In 1444, our coffers are once again full from census taxes and we expand the fortifications in Gelre. A gift is sent to the Duke of Savoy in an attempt to regain his friendship after the previous years misunderstanding. We are once again the closest of friends.

By February our closest contacts in our western provinces inform us of a marked reduction in unrest (Nationalism to +2). In March we lose again to the rebels in Dauphine and Savoy reject a second offer of vassalisation.

In April, we suffer a revolt in Champagne where we had understood unrest to be at an all-time low. An army is sent from Caux to defeat the rebels and recapture the fortress that was treachorously given up to the rebel leaders. The rebel forces are defeated in early May but we have to settle into a long siege to recover Rheims.

In May a gift is sent to Savoy but is less warmly received than our early one (+167 to +186)

During the year, we make a breakthrough in infrastructure development bringing a welcome increase in our production and the knowledge from which we can build refineries. Investments are now directed to land in order to recover ground lost to our smaller neighbours, France.

By June, we finally defeat the rebels in Dauphine while rich cloth makers and merchants in Arnhem answers the King’s call for improvements to our navy by donating 5 ships fully fitted for war. Another letter is sent to Savoy in August (+184 to +195). This is followed by our third offer of vassalisation to the Duke. It is our final offer as the Duke succumbs to the inevitable and swears allegiance to King Philip.

Developments in the east lead Poland to agree to become vassals of Lithuania in October. In November, Philip succeeds in recapturing Rheims from rebels. Philip sends a gift to Oldenburg in December and it is warmly received (+55 to +100)

The first news of the 1445 new year, is the defeat of Fez by Algiers in which the latter gain the province of Tangiers. New year tax income is used to fund fortification work in Alsace and Zeeland. A personal gift is sent to the Duke of Munster and is received with uncommon gratitude (+104 to +200). Another is sent to Oldenburg in April but is less graciously received (+100 to +114). Philip sends a letter to our vassals in Guyenne but it is barely acknowledged (no change at +108).

August brings revolts in Maine and Orleanais Both a suppressed by the end of the month.

News from the east looks bad in September for Muscovy as its capital and Vologda are controlled by Suzdal and its other three provinces are either controlled by rebels or under rebel siege.

The remainder of the year is confined to diplomatic efforts by arranging marriages with German royal families.

In January 1446, we receive the healthy sum of 400D in census taxes. We begin raising our fortifications in Franche-Comte. Another rebellion rises up in Dauphine to add to one in Lyonnais at the end of the previous year which drove away our southern armies.

Genoa gain the province of Sochi in a peace settlement with Georgia while Prussia take indemnities in exchange for peace with Muscovy.

In February, we send a personal gift to Oldenburg and it is well received (+114 to +200). We renew a royal marriage with Castile in April.

In March we suffer another revolt, this time in Limousin, but this is put down by April. In the south, the rebels had been cleared from Lyonnais and Dauphine by March.

 

[unmerged(3525)]

For those of you needing screeshots, let's hope this works

Europe in 1442

 

[coz1]

Good looking map. I thought I should warn you about one thing with France - depending how long they are around - they still get those inheritance events - Province and somewhere else, I think - it's a pain when you get them down to one territory (like you have - and it's ever so beautiful, too) but then they start adding again and it takes even longer to deal with.

I'm sure you have a firm plan in mind, but if someone else can learn from my mistakes, then good.

 

[unmerged(1996)]

Works absolutely fine. Even got a pic of Kirsten Dunst in her Spider-Man kimono on the ad bar into the bargain... nice... D)

And I must say that rich, dark blue spreading across France looks so much more dynamic and vibrant than the ugly pale shade blobbed in the middle, wouldn't you say, MrT?

So how do you plan to deal with the pesky Austrians in your quest to resurrect the Empire of Charlemagne - before they unite with Hungary and prevent your annexation of their capital province?

And according to my Penguin Atlas of Medieval History you'll need to take Bearn, Rousillon, Gerona, Genoa, Corsica, Milan, Mantua, Emilia, Tuscany, Rome and the whole of Wurtemburg, Saxony, Magdeburg, Bremen and Bavaria as well as the Swiss and Lowlands nations you've already gotten your claws into.

This should be very interesting indeed...

 

[unmerged(3525)]

Hopefully someone will come along and annex the Papal States before then. That will save me some bad boy points although even if I go the diplo-route, it still only has one direction to go.

wrt those small insignificant provinces, the Empire will be declared as such when I have all the provinces with French/Dutch/German culture, save perhaps Austria itself

Those Austrians scare me about as much as the French. Go ahead, annex your neighbours and take the BB hit yourselves.

 

[unmerged(3525)]

June-December 1446.

A revolt in Caux forces Philip to lead his armies to quell the unrest. He arrives just as another uprising increases the rebel forces to 22000 but manages quickly to resotre order. A personal gift to Luxembourg dramatically improves our relations (+115 to +200). Bosnia agree to become vassals of Hungary.

With relations between Burgundy and our allies/vassals at an all time high, the Duke sends a personal letter to Provence and they warm slightly to us while still regarding us an enemies (-118 to –93)

In November, England declares war having learned nothing from the past decades. They are supported by their weak but faithful allies in Brittany who seemed to have taken a liking for lessons in humility. If it weren’t for some ancient and obscure papal edict, we would force them to break their vassal status with England and become our own vassals. Our armies and navies are returned to full maintenance and march towards the English and Breton provinces. Our armies in Ulster march south to besiege Meath while our navy sails north to protect against a possible English landing. We raise war taxes in December and 20% of treasury are diverted to restore stability. Meath is besieged by the end of the year.

January-June 1447

A good year for taxes as our coffers swell to 892D. Fortifications in Holland and Artois are expanded and tax collectors are appointed in Champagne, Nivernais, Picardie, Lyonnais and Dauphine. We suffer a new year revolt in Cevennes and raise 12000 infantry in Languedoc to deal with them. In early January, King Philip gives 3000 Bretons a brief history lesson on the battlefield of Morbihan before laying siege to Nantes. Within a week of this, La Rochelle and Bordeaux are both besieged. February brings an end to a war between Moldavia and the Mameluks with the Egyptians gaining the Black Sea province of Bujak. By the end of June, Philip’s armies are making steady progress on the walls of Nantes.

July-December 1447

We send a personal gift in July to Provence and they further soften their stance to us by declaring themselves are neutral. (-93 to –41). Diplomats are kept in reserve for a new year diplomatic offensive in northern Germany. In Normandie, the population begins to suffer hardship from an English blockade and plague strikes. Over 1000 citizens of Caen are believed to have died as a result of the epidemic.

Nantes falls in early August and Philip takes 1000 cavalry south to attend personally to the siege of La Rochelle. A force of 10000 men are sent north to Bretagne to await possible embarkation for England while the remainder are sent to Maine to join with our main reserve forces.

In August, the Papal States annex Albania into the Papal lands and we suffer a reverse at the hands of Cevennes rebels. In Italy, Mantua agree to become vassals of Venice while Venice’s rivals take Modena as their vassals. Brittany agrees peace terms giving us military access and 60D in reparations at the end of August.

September is a month of great unrest in the east. In Georgia, the government are broken by rebels and a new one is formed. Turkey agree peace with Karaman gaining the province of Adana. In Russia, Kazan declares itself an independent republic and weage war on their former masters Muscovy. Philip arrives at La Rochelle in mid-September.

By the end of October, we have captured Dublin from the English although we are making less progress against the better fortified towns of La Rochelle and Poitou. Our troops from Bretagne board our fleet of the coast of Brittany bound for England.

In November, stability improves and allows us to levy further war taxes. In December we invite Oldenburg into our alliance and they accept. They join with us in our war with England although we trust that they have not made a foolish move. The month is also the time when rebels in Cevennes are crushed.

January-June 1448

The new year brings exceptional census taxes of 738D. Tax collectors are appointed in the six provinces that do not have such a post. We also commission an increase in our navy when eight warships are ordered in the channel ports (At 61D a time, they are not cheap)

The first combat with England in the war comes at see when our fleet is attacked of the coast of Wales. We are slightly outnumbered but with the risk of troop losses we decide to evade battle and retreat north. We suffer another defeat in the Irish sea and are forced to retreat to Dublin. This war has come to us an a most inopportune time since we had been scheduled to discuss terms with Oldenburg (and later Munster and Guyenne) for full inclusion into the Kingdom of Burgundy. Instead, we send a gift to Provence which has little impact (-41 to –22). A letter sent in April also has little effect.

Our campaign in the British Isles suffers another setback as forces in Meath are attacked by English cavalry and forced to retreat to the northwest. By June, our fleet has broken out through English lines from Dublin and our army in Ireland embark for the English mainland. Another force are raised in France to support the invasion.

July-December 1448

A small English force of just under 8000 men under the command of the Duke of York have beaten the Oldenburg defenders. We send in an army of 16000 infantry and 10000 cavalry to drive away the English. The Duke fights well and we are on the verge of retreating when a late cavalry charge breaks the English lines and the Duke is killed.

In August, an uprising in Armor forces us to send our reserve armies in Lyonnais to suppress the unrest. We raise yet more war taxes in September as 8500 troops disembark in Cornwall and defeat a small defending English army. With the rebels in Armor defeated, an army of 14000 embark for southern England. Our extra ships are ready and brought to the channel to ensure safe passage. News from the low countries is bad as an English army of 45000 under Northumberland have laid siege to Oldenburg. Our own sige of Bordeaux is starting to bear fruit as the defenders show signs of weakening. Philip is making much less progress at La Rochelle while the English are well on the war to recapturing Dublin. The Irish city falls to the English in late October and so our hopes for victory rest heavily on our current plans for the invasion of southern England.

In November, the new nation of Kazan make a most bizarre move and ally themselves with the French. The same month, our troops disembark in Wessex and lay siege to Portsmouth. Further embarkations are postponed when a small English flotilla of three warships attacks our convoy in December. Our fine navy is forced to retreat to port after sinking one of the English ships. December sees a cold winter in Oldenburg where Northumberland is besieging our ally’s capital. We raise another 11000 men in Friesen to prepare to relieve the city after the winter.

January.June 1449

Another good year for census taxes brings in 741D. Another 7 warships are order in Zeeland and 23000 men are recruited in our capital province. At La Rochelle, the resolve of the defenders is finally starting to weaken. By late January, Plymouth has fallen and our 8500 army move on Bristol. February brings a revolt in Nivernais which our new army will shortly deal with. Later in the month, we besiege Bristol and now have better information of English troops where 23000 men are stationed in Kent, Anglia, Lincoln and Wales. That same week, another 13000 strong army embarks from Armor bound for the English mainland.

Suzdal succeed in defeating Ryazan and force annex their lands. They are still at war with Muscovy but have two provinces, including the capital, under their control. Muscovy finally agree to peace paying 37D in indemnities.

In March, our military technicians bring news of improvements to our weapons (Land Tech 3). We continue to concentrate on land advances. Our siege army in Bristol successfully defeats two English attacks and the siege continues. In March our reinforcements arrive in Plymouth and march past Bristol to Lincoln.

La Rochelle finally falls to Philip in April and he marches south to Bordeaux. The remainder of the army march north to Normandy to await possible embarkation for England. The same month sees an attempt to relieve Oldenburg. Nearly 20000 infantry and 11000 cavalry attack an English siege force of 11500 infantry and 1500 cavalry. We are driven away with losses of 3000 infantry and 500 cavalry although the English lose nearly twice that number and cannot maintain pressure on the city.

In May we defeat an English army in Lincoln and lay siege to the city. Another large army attacks later in the month but we win a fine victory and drive them away. In June, another army begins to embark from Normandy. Their precise destination remains unknown and will depend on the progress of the war in England. However, we have obvious plans for them. Sadly, we fail to break the siege in Oldenburg and it is costly for us when another English army lands in June and the siege force swells to 28000.

July-December 1449

It becomes clear that the English have planned to attack our northeastern provinces when 10000 men are seen marching through Geldre. Our army in Friesen are sent south to cut of the English advance. In July, Bristol is captured by our armies and the force of 8000 men gain greater esteem for having been the first Burgundy army to land in England and have now captured both Cornwall and Bristol. They now march to Lincoln to support the siege there. When our fleet arrives in the straits of Dover, the fourth invasion army disembarks for Kent.

The English in Geldre manage to evade our Friesen army who are then sent to relieve Oldenburg. Our new army from Burgundy are sent from Calais to destroy the English invasion.

In August, the English defenders are driven from Kent and we begin to inves the town of Dover. Stability in the realm is restored in August and Philip orders war taxes to be levied again for what we hope will be the final time. We suffer a crushing defeat to the English in Flanders losing nearly 10000 infantry and 2000 cavalry to their losses of around 6000 cavalry. WE also fail to break the siege in Oldenburg for the third time.

In October, Philip finally captures Bordeaux and he takes his army north to meet the threat of the English cavalry currently ravaging our lands. Later in the month, Portsmouth is captured giving us five provinces from which to negotiate peace with England on very favourable terms. The siege army from Wessex are sent north to attempt to cut off reinforcements flowing into London where England appears to want to make its final stand.

November sees Burgundy and England involved in four major battles. In Poitou, Philip destroys the English army and marches north to crush a rebel uprising in Armor. In Oldenburg we fail again to break the English siege, only managing to weaken the defenders a little. In Bristol, we inflict two successive victories over the English and severely cutting the numbers of reinforcements to London. In the straits of Dover, our fleet meets a small English flotilla of 4 warships. After several meetings, the English ships are sunk when the new ships from Zeeland arrive. Our navy now stands at 25 warships and is now in a position to defend itself against the English navy.

January-June 1450

We win another victory over the English in Bristol as more troops are on their way from Calais. In early January, Philip leads his armies to victory over the rebels in Armor as we win further victories over the English. We finally achieve the long awaited goal of relieving Oldenburg province from the English. They have already been responsible for annexing one of our former allies and we shall not allow them to do so again.

New year taxes are used to raise a large army in Geldre to resist further attempt by the English to capture Oldenburg. We feel, however, that the English are all but spent and we will discuss terms with them when our sieges have been completed. In an early attempt to settle we offer the English peace in exchange for Bristol, Poitou and Gascogne. They reject.

Burgundy's invasion of England

In March, Lincoln falls and by the end of the month, we have begun a siege of Coventry. We send a revised offer of peace claiming only the provinces of Gascogne, Poitou and Wessex. The English finally accept and we have won a great victory, claiming land in England from which we will mete out more serious punishment should they wish to continue to fight us. The English have now been banished from France and we can once again continue to peacefully grow our kingdom. As the war ends, we send a personal gift to Oldenburg to recompense them for their losses. We also begin to expand fortifications in Wessex as our troops in England are moved to occupy the province.

Sadly, we are at peace for little more than one day as Aragon declares war. They are supported by their allies, Castile, Portugal and Naples. Our troops in France rush south to the border while those in England will have other tasks ahead….