A newbie AAR (Holland Grand Campaign)

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This is my second game (In Nomine) and I will write this AAR as much for myself (to get to know the game and research and learn the mechanics) as I do for a larger public. At the time of writing this the game has progressed some 40 years. I'll do my best to get rid of the backlog and still continue the game as well.

I'm an archaeologist, primarily digging mediaeval and younger stuff and (obviously) interested in history. I started writing an introductionary story to my game (playing Holland from the Grand Campaign Start-date of 1399) and when I started to look up some historical fact it amazingly fitted quite well together. So I included quite some wikipedia stuff in the end and had to bend history only a little. I will bend it some more as the game progresses!

It's friday 14 october 1399...

Prince Willem is a bored adolescent at the Royal Court in Mons.
His Francophile uncle Albert (baptised as Albrecht) rules Hainaut, Zeeland and Holland. Born in the House of Wittelsbach, there are ties to relatives in Bayern, Pfalz and Brandenburg. Each relative makes sure they keep their own piece of the pie though, which already has led to the loss of Tirol to Austria. Complex family ties are bred into the family. Or perhaps inbreeding has led to complex family ties. Nobody knows for sure. Young Prince Willem's head spins when he learns of his family history though.

Prince Willem's father had inherited Hainaut, Zeeland and Holland. He was known as Wilhelm I, Duke of Bavaria-Straubing, as Willem V, Count of Holland, as Guillaume III, Count of Hainaut and as Willem IV, Count of Zeeland. That's enough to drive anybody mad. And if it wasn't enough, he inherited the lands together with his younger brother Albrecht and elder half-brother Stephan.

Wilhelm/Willem/Guillaume I/III/IV/V (Wilhelm for short) was the son of the Holy Roman Emperor Ludwig IV of Bavaria who had conferred Hainaut, Holland, Zeeland and Friesland upon his second wife Margaretha of Holland and Hainaut and shortly later also upon their (second) son. After Ludwig's death in 1347 Wilhelm ruled Bavaria, Holland and Hainaut together with his five brothers until 1349. With the first division of the Wittelsbach possessions in 1349 he received Hainaut, Holland and Niederbayern together with his brothers Stephan and Albrecht.

In 1350, the nobles of Holland asked Margaretha to return to their lands again. With Margaretha lay the origin for Wilhelm's inheritance as she had become Countess of Holland, Zeeland and Hainaut in succession to her brother Willem, who was killed in battle trying to beat proper submission into the Frisians. (He wasn't the first Count of Holland to do so nor would he be the last. The Frisian rabble had the habit of being subordinate to their overlords in name only). The nobles were not particularly happy with the tri-partite rulers and preferred the old woman. She then battled for power in Holland and Hainaut for some years with her son Wilhelm who refused to pay her alimony. Wilhelm was supported by the party of burghers of cities and the Cod league was formed on 23 May 1350. They were opposed to by Hooks, the party of disaffected nobles who were supporters of Empress Margaretha. Soon afterward, these factions clashed, and a civil war began. Wilhelm emerged victorious, obtaining Holland and Zeeland from her in 1354, and Hainaut on her death in 1356.
In the mean time the next division of Bavaria through the Treaty of Regensburg in 1353 led to a split between Stephan and his halfbrothers with Stephan walking off with Niederbayern. This left Wilhelm and Albrecht with this:

The sweet taste of succes over his mother was shortlived however when Wilhelm stabbed a noble at a party in 1358. Claiming Wilhelm was insane his younger brother had him locked up in the Castle of Le_Quesnoy and took up regency. After Wilhelm's death some 30 years later Albert claimed the throne. Insane or not, Wilhelm had managed to produce an heir by one of his 'nurses' in captivity. The legitimacy of the child was offcourse doubted, especially by uncle Albert, but as the old Wilhelm had been a widower for a long time and his insanity had made a legal marriage impossible many burghers from the Dutch speaking lands of Holland and Zeeland were all to willing to accept Willem as a contender to the throne, if only because they hated anything French and nobility to boot.

At the age of 10 Willem was send to Mons (or 'Bergen' as it was known to him) to be trained in the ways of a Royal Court for as his mother told him: “one day you will take the legitimate ruler of these lands. Make sure you are prepared”. Now 'Guillaume d'Hollande' has just turned 14 is bored. His uncle reluctantly tolerates his presence, but only since he doesn't want to estrange the burghers from the lands he wrestled from his brother's inheritance. The only effort he puts in Willem's education is making sure he doesn't get any. He makes sure that Willem's days are filled with lessons in French, proper bowing to the measly Walloon counts, sermons on piousness by the latin speaking monks and doing all sorts of useless labor.
If not bored, Willem is growing rebellious and he can only get his senses satisfied when some nobles take him hunting: Now that is a life worth living for!

Today he sits in the 'Ridderzaal', a big Royal Hall in The Hague, where the nobles of Holland and Zeeland celebrate his coming of age with three days of festivities.

But as Willem had noticed with his uncle: parties like this are just a cover for politics. During a festive hunting party he was introduced to two men: Barthout van Venray and Lodewijk van Schiedam. Skillfull officers who had served their lords well and offered their services to him on behalf of their masters. They promised him they could help build Willem a powerful army composed of nobles, burghers and, when the time would need it, mercenaries. A third man in the party, clearly not at ease in the dense forests surrounding the Hague was Gerard van Drenthe, captain of the carrack 'Graaf Wilem II', flagship of the Navy. “A lousy hunter”, Willem observed in his conversation with Barthout. The general laughed, “Wait till you see him on the seas. This man is capable of turning a cog into a feared warship. He'll hunt down any foe. His technical skills are highly valuable. If you ever decide to set sail, don't leave port without him.”

The other day a very formal meeting had taken place in this very Hall with just a few of the most esteemed burghers and nobles of Holland and Zeeland and three of their most trusted advisors. One men stood out among them: the Statesman Raes van Genk. He spoke eloquently and earned immediately Willem's trust. He introduced his two companions, the sherrif Joost Bieldeers and the diplomat Eberhard van Dordrecht. “A succesfull ruler must have a sound tax-policy if he wants both the State's coffers full and the people happy” he lectured the young prince, “his reputation should not be tarnished by the actions he takes. Appearances are everything. And while a King can show his subordinates his good intentions quite easily and ease their fear through just judgement, abroad your rivals are not so easily convinced. A skillfull diplomat is an invaluable asset on the interational stage. Eberhard here will serve you well in this respect.” Raes continued with an extensive presentation on the political state of the provinces of Holland and Zeeland. For the financial and economic situation he called in the Sherrif and lastly Eberhard van Dordrecht explained the international relations in which the two provinces had to negotiate their way. It seemed that no stone was left unturned. That evening Willem left the festivities early and fell immediately into a restless sleep.

As Willem ponders the events of the last days he knows that on the last day of his celebrations decisions will have to be made. His servants are already packing for the long trip back to Mons and his uncle. In a few days he will be back at a hostile court, so different from friendliness of Holland and its burghers. His young wife-to-be Lisbeth Hughe is waiting there for him and he knows the days of his childhood are gone forever. But for how long will he have to remain a servant of his uncle? With Albert in charge of these lands there is no chance he will actually be able to govern his people. As the party progresses and the first 'nobles' fall asleep or start chasing the maids he can see who his companions will be in the many years to come: those who stay alert and know more important things then beer and venison are to be had tonight: the power to change destiny! And so he decides to lives up to the occasion: He will show he has indeed become a man!
Willem leans over to Raes van Genk. “Sir, I've come to a decision. I would like you to join me to Mons tomorrow. I will need your advise on many state-affairs in the months or years to come. I will need you near, as there will be no time to loose on these occasions. I will leave tomorrow, and I need you to follow me as soon as possible. When can you be there?” Raes smiles and nods approvingly. “My liege, I had hoped you would honour me with this task. I've already packed my essentials. I can come with you tomorrow.”

 

[jii]

You're quite good at writing and your imagery choice, if not displayed in high amounts in this post, is fantastic.

 

[Ashantai]

Looks good to me! Nice start, and good image choices for sure!

 

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Part 2

The next two weeks a lot of work had to be done. No, not the wedding: that was all taken care of by his uncle Albert who had personally picked the bride from a wealthy family. She was pretty enough so Willem had no complaints. And she proved to be a joyful young woman and he immediately felt comfortable with her.

But there was not much time for playing around. During the coachride to Mons Raes van Genk had already made clear there were several pressing issues to be taken care of. “You've now arrived at the point where you need to start working on taking the reign over the lands that your father inherited”, he told young Willem. “Even though your uncle holds supreme power over Holland, Zeeland and Hainaut, you must know that he has little legitimacy outside Hainaut or even Mons itself. The burghers of Holland have not forgotten your father's just struggle against his mother and the nobles that wanted to keep the Burghers and Cities outside the ruling class. Remember that Holland is far from the Court and that your uncle has to practically beg Brabant or Burgundy to even visit his lands on the coast of Holland. His armies for sure cannot pass his neighbours lands. You can take advantage of that. Be carefull but swift: if you don't make your mark now as a young man then later nobody will believe in your strength nor will.”
“Why do you speak with so much urgency?”, Willem asked. “Holland seemed healthy and prosperous” “Indeed that seems to be the case, but unrest is brewing Willem. Your uncle is striving for a centralised government, but that wont work with his lands so far apart. His subjects are getting restless. So far they have little to complain, but the unrest is there and just a little spark will ignite it. It is important that Holland and Zeeland will get more leeway to govern their local business tehmselves. You must plea with your uncle for a less central approach.”

“He will kill me if I dare speak against him!”Willem cried out.
“Indeed he will, my liege” chuckled Raes, “The trick is not to speak against him, but still plea your case. I'll guide you.” “And there is more to do. Holland's finances are not that well. We are loosing money each year and our research budget is too limited to keep up with our neighbours. We must make choices in our fields of research, we cannot continue spreading our limited resources equally. If I may be so bold, but putting money into Governmental studies is silly. You already have the best teacher you could wish for. Nobody will be able to tell you anything I don't already know. And if they did, they'd probably first come to me to check if they won't make a fool of themselves with the novelties they discovered.” Raes' head seemed to swell a little.
“I see”, an intimidated Willem answered, not quite at ease. “Shouldn't we hire more advisors instead of just spending money randomly? I met three good militairy men and you brought your collegues. Why not hire them all?”
“I see that Joost has quite a job to do here.” Raes frowned. “Willem, I told you that Holland hasn't much money. Advisors need salaries, and having them move to the Court also comes at a price. Besides, you can't let all the work be done by others. You won't rule, but be ruled by the people you hire. No sir, never hire more then three advisors. Keep that in mind.”
“So we hire Sheriff Joost Bieldeers! Who else?”
“You are an impatient young man aren't you? You should probably not hire Joost right now, he can teach you a lot for sure, but he's too expensive for our treasury at the moment. There won't be a return on investment.” Raes hesitated. Then he laughed:”That's a lesson Joost will regret he taught me!” Apparently there was something very funny going on, but Willem couldn't quite appriciate it.
“Look old man, I'm not going to spend all my days with you as my sole advisor. There is money, I paid attention to the Sherrif's words back in The Hague. I've also noticed that plenty of merchants hang around our ports. If they would actually board a ship, or better yet: buy one and stuff it with salt and fish they could make a neat profit abroad, which we could tax just as neatly. With that money, we can hire any advisor we need!” Willem had turned red with rage, and now that he looked the baffled statesman in the eye he stayed as red, but now from blushing.
“Well, well,” Raes replied, “There's plenty of spirit in you. And brains as well. That's good, as you'll need them both. But we'll have to teach you not too loose your temper so quickly. It'll break the string of your bow and you'll shoot yourself in the foot. As for hiring Joost, it seems you might be able to do the math yourself and see why we shouldn't hire him now, even though I would like him to be around. The same is true for Eberhard, although with your temper he might be needed in Mons sooner rather then later.” Raes laughed again and Willem regretted taking him to that godforsaken Castle. “A soldier! I need a man of arms next to this monkey”, he thought.

Within days of their arrival Raes had already gained access to the upper regions of the Court and information on the affairs of State started to reach Willem. A multitude of Royal Marriages, Trade agreements, Military Alliances and such that had been forged in the past years and decades were brought to his attention. Willem couldn't quite fathom what it all meant. Most of the lands mentioned he hadn't even heard of before. He decided to focus his attention to the lands nearby and on those lands that kept be mentioned time and again. They sure had to be important.

The most distressing news came from the Court of Burgundy. King Phillipe II had set his eyes on his neighbour Lorraine and had declared war on them, apparently to vassalize them. Burgundy was a large French Kingdom that also held many provinces to the south and west of Holland and Hainaut. Recruitment for a large army had already begun. In response to this Brabant had also started to recruit. These armies could pose a threat to Holland as well.

Willem worked hard the following weeks. He wrote letters to his 5 potential advisors, asked them what they thought was necessary to do in their field of work. What the costs would be and what the rewards. Raes met with him everyday but never stayed long. He asked a few questions, gave some advise and still laughed a lot. They discussed the letters and Raes would often take them to his study and would give his opinioun the next day. His analysis were always very to the point and Willem started to appreciate the jolly nature of the man in the face of all this adversaries. Before the month was over Willem had come to several conclusions and together they worked out the details for handling them.

First and formost the economy had of Holland had to improve. The 51 ducats in Holland's treasury had seemed a lot to young Willem but he had learned they didn't get him anywhere. So ducats was what Willem needed most. Merchants were given subsidies to overcome the initial costs to compete in Antwerpen. Before the month was over two had succesfully settled in there. Ships with goods were traveling back and forth now and would bring cash with them.

Alarming letters from the Colonel and General convinced Willem he had to create an army for his nation. Only small efforts could me made though. There simply weren't enough funds to start training more then one new Infantry regiment so it would take some time to complete his task.

Willem had to count on his uncle to stay out of the war. Albert seemed confident and kept his single regiment on peace footing.

Willem had practically spend all his money and ordered to mint more. Joost the Sherriff had warned him of inflation but Willem hadn't understood a thing. He did understand he couldn't afford any research now, he needed the cash for subsidies and armies. He would need educated men to bring knowledge to his lands. He himself would put his modest education to good use in the fields of Production, Trade, Naval and Army technologies. With Raes at his side the Government efficiency would do well and now that he had come to age Stability in his lands could rise quickly. Joost had written the effects might show in a few months already which could increase tax income as a result.

Willem asked for an audience with his uncle to discuss the unrest that centralisation brought to Holland. As he had expected his uncle was upset with his insolence and despite all of Raes efforts a heated argument broke out. Albert flatly refused to do anything, no matter how well Willem pleaded. Willem went ahead with his plans behind the back of his uncle and when word finally reached the ears of the King, relations between them would never be as they used to be.

His anger was a bit softened by the fact that Willem's act had led to a significant increase in the taxes he received from Holland which made him ponder why he hadn't been able to do what his nephew achieved with apparent ease. He would have to watch this young man, perhaps he could use him after all.

One field had been neglected so far by Willem: his navy. It was a large asset consisiting of 12 vessels. As most of the trade would be conducted through the seas ample protection was needed. The Admiral Gerard van Drenthe was the man who could provide just that. Willem send him 6 ducats to set up a proper quarter in Amsterdam rather then to have him move to the landlocked Court and told him to train his sailors and improve the existing fleet. An overjoyed Willem received a shield of the carrack 'Wapen van Amsterdam' in return.

 

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And thanks for the encouragement guys!

 

[jii]

Good imagery again, and you're doing good at making being a junior partner of a PU seem interesting

 

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Part 3: Insult to injury

November was still an exiting month. Willem waited impatiently for the results of his work and was delighted to see that his income had almost doubled. Another merchant left for Antwerpen and managed to secure a position as well. Three out of four had now been succesfull under Willem's program, a decent score indeed. In the meantime he enjoyed the time with Raes who informed him on the news he received at the Court. The Burgundy war apparently caused great concern among it's neighbours and beyond. Lorraine had secured the aid of Württemberg and the Bohemian Holy Roman Emperor. Phillippe II now faced large armies. He managed to secure an alliance with Scotland, but they would not enter the war. They would secure his rear though in case anybody was foolish enough to attack their possessions in northern France. Brabant seemed particularly afraid of the military buildup. They secured alliances with Hesse, Trier and Münster. Willem urged his uncle to do the same, preferably with Brabant itself, but the old fool managed only to get treaties with Savoy and Switserland. What good would they do? They would have to fight their way through Burgundy proper first if they were ever to reach any beseiged cities in the Low countries. Convinced his uncle was just an old fool, Willem tried hard to find allies himself. But his options were limited. He was not taken seriously by any diplomat and the only thing he could do was to pledge a guarantee to the small state of Oldenburg when he learned that it's southern neighbour Münster was looking for access to the sea. Albert had a fit of rage when he learned this and stormed into the young man's room. Raes somehow managed to defuse the situation and Albert reluctantly accepted the facts. He couldn't afford to withdraw the guarantee for fear of making a fool of himself to his northern neighbours. He had to keep his back covered.

Winter came and times were dull. The only cheerful thing for Willem was the arrival of the yearly tithes. 30 gold ducats ended up in his hands. He had money to spend again! Most of it went to the army which desperately needed more recruits and weapons. His trade-subsidies also made a dent in his treasury and he faced a setback when the merchant failed to secure his place in Antwerpen. Uncle Albert demanded that Willem would come to him and explain his squandering of state funds. Since their fight over Oldenburg they hadn't spoken and this audience was sure not to improve their relations. Annoyed by the merchant's sloppiness Willem accused his uncle of jealousy over the successes his trade-program had brought and that failing once or twice was all part of the game. Albert was left gasping for air. Raes did what he could but was very aware that he had no control over the young boy's temper. He prayed to God that Willem's wife could.

His uncle was by now deeply worried. Reports of increased stability in Holland and Zeeland confirmed his fear that Willem was getting way to much influence. Since this was only a result of Willem's charisma and no policies were to blame he had to swallow his pride. Their relation had now reached freezing point. The messenger was to be the one that had to bear his full wrath.

When news of the newly recruited regiments reached Albert in March a similar confrontation ensued. This time Willem accused his uncle of cowardice towards the Burgundian threat. Albert threatened to teach the Burghers on the coast a lesson. Willem shouted: “Come and get them!”.

But as soon as he could afford them, he hired some mercenaries. With all his bravery, Willem was in fact deeply afraid of what might happen to him. He knew all to well that his uncle considered him only to be marginally better then an infidel. That same night he left Mons for The Hague. He instucted his wife and Raes to pack and follow him swiftly. Their days in Hainaut had finally come to an end. He now had an army to protect him and would do as he would see fit.

 

[sad king billy]

interesting strategy. Are you taking it slow because of a better narrative or because you wish to be certain of victory? (or do you dislike "gamey" tactics?)

Personally I've had a few holland games under my belt and I usually ask brabantian military access on the first day of the game, dissolve the alliance after they give it to me* and declare war on hainaut by december. Then build an army and throw guarantees on all of burgondy's potential targets.

*Assuming burgondy didn't get the mission to conquer hainaut because if so, we're already doomed.


Love the story though. I like a character-driven aar, if it's well written. This looks promising. Can I make one demand? once you have those territories, try to convert all walloon/flemish territories to the dutch culture. It will hopefully help to avoid the clusterfuck we're in now.

 

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interesting strategy. Are you taking it slow because of a better narrative or because you wish to be certain of victory? (or do you dislike "gamey" tactics?)

Personally I've had a few holland games under my belt and I usually ask brabantian military access on the first day of the game, dissolve the alliance after they give it to me* and declare war on hainaut by december.

I can do that? I'm pretty sure I can't. Uncle Albert won't let me

 

[sad king billy]

Whoops, I just saw that you don't have HTTT. Sorry about that. I have no idea what you can/can't do as the junior partner re:diplomacy. My apologies.

(you can declare war to the senior partner in HTTT, but if you don't have a casus belli you lose 2 stability. Luckily, Holland has a hainaut core...)

 

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So it begins

 

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test

It's friday 14 october 1399...

Prince Willem is a bored adolescent at the Royal Court in Mons.
His Francophile uncle Albert (baptised as Albrecht) rules Hainaut, Zeeland and Holland. Born in the House of Wittelsbach House of Wittelsbach, there are ties to relatives in Bayern, Pfalz and Brandenburg. Each relative makes sure they keep their own piece of the pie though, which already has led to the loss of Tirol to Austria. Complex family ties are bred into the family. Or perhaps inbreeding has led to complex family ties. Nobody knows for sure. Young Prince Willem's head spins when he learns of his family history though.


Hmmm... that was supposed to look something like this:

 

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Hey neighbour!

I like your narrative, it's very detailed... And sending insults to Hainaut is always fun.

What is you goal with Holland?? Forming the Netherlands? Forming the greater Netherlands? Not forming anything

 

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Part 4

Willem took op residence in the castle of The Hague (Die Haghe). This place had become the centre of Royal power since his great-grandfather Willem II, Holy Roman Emperor and Count of Holland and Zeeland had build a castle there. At his Court the Counsel of Holland, Zeeland and West-Friesland met with the Count to discuss matters of state. Being the ruler of Holland certainly didn't give him absolute power. Instead the Count had to negotiate his way between the largely independent cities and their Burghers. They didn't trust nobility much and this was exemplified by the fact that The Hague was never granted city-rights and thus as such had no seat in the Counsel itself. Without a city to unconditionally support him, the Count was powerful enough in their view.​

The next two months Willem had to get used to the ways at his new Court. It was much smaller then the one in Mons and many issues were settled by the cities themselves which left him with little to do. When finally the mercenaries arrived in may Willem held a great parade to inspect his army. Headed by two cavalry regiments the infantry followed, two from Holland, one from Zeeland and two mercenary groups, well equiped and fearsome looking. They marched to the dunes in the west and stood in line while a tournament was held on the beach. Willem was pleased to see that the final was contested between two cavalry men. The nobles had been shown their proper place.​

The following day the Counsel met in the Ridderzaal. The prince received praise for his efforts to secure the provinces against any immediate threat from their neighbours. Apart from the war-torn Burgundy no-one could match Willem's might. But concern was raised over the upkeep the army required and the Burghers had drawn up a petition to enlarge the state-subsidies on trade to other centers of trade. Willem took that as a compliment: clearly the cities were impressed with the results that had been made in Antwerpen. The cities promised the young Count to donate 50 ducats in his treasury if he would give unlimited subsidies to merchants jockeying for postions in Lübeck in northern Germany. An agreement was reached that if one quarter of the seats available had been secured the program would end.​

Subsidies or not, few merchants dared to make the necessary investments required. Willem was happy if two applications were made in a month. He spend a lot of time with his wife, made trips to the various cities in his realm and discussed matters-of-state with Raes almost every day. The regional situation was still tense with everybody wanting to be allied to anybody they could get. Willem was enraged when he learned that his uncle had turned down an offensive alliance with Brabant, their powerful neighbour. “What is that old fool thinking!” he shouted in disbelieve. “First he dishonours our family by refusing to fight on Savoy's side against Urbino and now he turns down this opportunity? Is he the man that declared my FATHER insane?” Burgundy was utterly exposed in Willem's eyes. Its heartlands were under serious threat with Franche-Comté and Nevers already fallen into enemy hands and Valenciennes on the southern border of Hainaut under seige by the Emperor. If there was ever a time to unite against the Burgundians, it was now.​

Willem proved right a week when later Phillipe gave up his attempts to vassalize Lorraine. He paid off the damage done with 17 ducats and made peace. The Emperor wasn't impressed though and refused to accept the agreement. Württemberg stood by the 'Kaiser' and continued the struggle unabated.​

Meanwhile Willem had turned 15 and there had been a small reprise of last years party. It was a sad goodbye to four of the men he had met last year. He had had no funds to pay for their services and they would soon take up positions abroad. Sheriff Joost Bielaards had a present of some sort for him though: “You did well, my prince,” he started his conversation with, “you've brought these small lands a future. Trade is booming and your income is growing everyday. I'm really concerned though about the Mint. You invest the money gained wisely, but the inflation it causes will destroy everything you have build. There's not really a cure for that, but its effects can be softened. I've heard that my good friend and colleague Roman Galindo of Valencia is looking for a job. He's an excellent mintmaster and he'll be able to get you new cash under more favourable conditions. I've told him of your situation and he has agreed to visit this court. Actually I'm surprised he hasn't showed up yet, but the road from Spain is long and dangerous. If this man asks for an audience, be sure to invite with with all regards. He'll ask a hefty sum in order to facilitate the transfer of his family to these lands but please, please consider his offer. Men like this are very hard to find and well worth the money.” Raes bursted out in laughter: “In fact, he'll coin it himself!”​

“Sir, Sir!, SIR!” Willem woke up with his wife in his arms and a squire shouting in his ear. “Sir, a large rebel army has taken the city of Frankfurt!”​

“My officers, I will send your men to the Hessian province of Nassau. They have grown fat and restless. Especially the mercenaries have been a growing pain in the royal butt as they hassle our fine women and I have been wasting way too much time hearing the complaints about stolen chickens. Some exercise will do them good and at least they will be out of my lands. Beat some sense into these peasants and earn the praise and gratitude of the Hessian King. Brabant has agreed to your passage but make sure your men will take nothing from their lands. They have a large standing army themselves and the last we need is a quarrel with them. So you will leave one regiment at the time, cavalry first. By the time you reach Limburg, my diplomats should have secured passage through either Kleve or Cologne. Prepare your men for the task. That is all.”​

 

[jii]

Bohemia at war with Burgundy? That never happens for me - all I get is Burgundy joining the HRE within days of the game start, and then conquering the lowlands unhindered >:|

 

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In all my games in IN, it starts this same way for Burgundy. They declare war on an HRE minor and then get beaten hard by emperor Bohemia that forced the release of Nevers. Always! Then sometimes France or Lorraine jump in and that's means the end of Burgundy. Usually after less than 30 years, they are gone.

 

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Bohemia at war with Burgundy? That never happens for me - all I get is Burgundy joining the HRE within days of the game start, and then conquering the lowlands unhindered >:|

In all my games in IN, it starts this same way for Burgundy. They declare war on an HRE minor and then get beaten hard by emperor Bohemia that forced the release of Nevers. Always! Then sometimes France or Lorraine jump in and that's means the end of Burgundy. Usually after less than 30 years, they are gone.

It may have helped that Burgundy got the 'Vassalize Lorraine' mission

 

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What is you goal with Holland?? Forming the Netherlands? Forming the greater Netherlands? Not forming anything

Surviving is my first goal

But offcource I hope that I'll form the Netherlands and become a big Colonial Empire as it historically did. I have no plans to play historically per sé and see where the game will take me. I've only been playing for a month or two (one small game as Friesland first) and if anything, this game and AAR is meant to have fun and get to know the game that has remarkable depth. I love it.

 

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Part5: Willem the Rebel Slayer

The new year kicked off good. In January a fifth merchant succesfully secured a place in Lübeck. A lavish banquet was held at the Ridderzaal where the cities presented Willem with 50 ducats in reward for his efforts. Raes had come to him to compliment him on his trade-program. “Now that you've secured commercial succes and military power it's time to improve your prestige, my liege” he had said. “Abroad the Royals and Clergy look down on you, if they have even noticed you. You have caught the eye of the Emperor though, I speak on his behalf”
“How should I do that?” the price asked. “The standing of nobles is measured by alliances they make, Royal ties they establish and other diplomatic ways I cannot persue until my uncle will set me and my lands free.”
”All you can hope for is winning a few battles with your fine army, Sir.” Raes gave him one of his strange smiles before he walked of to the roasted wild boar with a huge beer stein in his hand.

“Sir, our armies stand ready on the border with Nassau.”
“Well, give them the order to march forward.”
“The border guards won't let them sir.”
“What?! Have they gone mad? We're there to crush those peaky peasant rebels!”
“King Hermann II is perhaps not so sure. He requests we ask for his permission to enter his lands.”
“God have mercy on me... Make it so.”

“Marvelous! God granted us victory! What a massacre! Chase them! Chase them to the end of the world!” Willem jumped through the room. Oh, did he wish he could have led his army himself. What glory would that have brought him. Surely this victory would earn him the praise of his neighbours. His reputation was now well established. What a wonderful day!
Raes hesited if he should temper Willem's joy now or later. Fighting rebels wasn't going to bring him the respect he yearned for. “Sir, while this battle will surely make your name travel to Courts, but it will not bring you fame. Fighting peasants is not a very prestigious thing to do. Your army has gained experience, but that is about all you will get out of this.”
Willem looked at Raes in disbelieve. “What do you mean? Have you seen the size of this rebel rabble? This was not just a skirmish! Over a thousand good man have died. Only God knows how much are ours! I demand respect for this!”
“You certainly deserve respect, my liege, but you don't always get what you deserve I'm sorry to say. In particular from other heads-of-state. You'll have to find other ways to improve your prestige.”

So Willem had to pick a fight with another state. But with whom? And how? He could not declare war on anybody and could not get into an alliance. He could have tried to persuade his uncle to join the war against Burgundy, but it was too late for that now. Raes pointed out that the guarantee the prince had given to Oldenburg could potentially lead to a Call to Arms if they would come under attack. Willem wasn't so sure. Wouldn't they just send their messangers to Mons? Still, it seemed there were no other options and his diplomats were sitting idle anyway. Raes and he studied carefully which countries were under threat and by whom and drew up a strategy.
“But I'm not going to sit idle until my uncle is going to set us free. The Emperor has given me a task I cannot possibly accomplish. I will ask him to relieve of that burden.”
“But sir! The Imperial Court cannot accept such a thing, your prestige will drop even further! This is most unwise. I cannot support such an act.”
“Raes, we are cought between hammer and anvil. These lands cannot afford further stagnation. We must have gained some credit with the Emperor by quelling this revolt in Hesse. Please help me with writing the Emperor. I have no choice”

The next months Willem worked on getting the state-coffers full. The readiness of the army was reduced, mercenaries send home and trade focussed on Antwerpen again. When in August an army was assembled in Limburg Willem once again jumped in to crush the pretenders to Brabant's throne. He still believed Brabant was his best guarantee against troubles. They had send a warning to Burgundy shortly after France and its vassals had decided to attack the struggling nation. The combined forces of Brabant and Holland drove the rebels out of Limburg and finished them of in Brabant proper. Willem's army was now becoming a well experienced fighting force.

During that campaign Burgundy completely collapsed. At first it ceded Picardie to get France of its back but had to concede to the Emperors harsh terms soon after. ALL of the Burgundian lands in the north were wrestled from Philippe II and Margarete IV was put on the throne by the Imperial Counsel. Flanders was freed from their yoke!

A sigh of relieve passed through the Courts of Europe. Mercenaries were send home, readiness reduced, trade thrived. By request of the cities Willem enabled trade subsidies for Novgorod and send a considerable force to Slesvig in Denmark to quell a peasant revolt once again. The navy played a significant role: with their aid Willem was able to land his troops on the beaches and attack the rebels where they least expected it. If not fame had had by now gained a fearsome name: Willem the Slayer.

 

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Part 6: War on the Sont

Raes stormed into Willem's room: “Sir, we have received very disturbing news from our armed forces in Denmark.”
“Well, speak up! Can't they beat the peasants?”
“The Danish fleet has sailed. Their army is marching on Holstein!”
“Why should I care? Let them.”
“Sir, we've guaranteed their independence. Last June Denmark claimed their crown. We were swift to pledge our help in time of need.”
“Damn. Are our troops in danger?”
“I would say so. King Albrecht of Holstein will no doubt call for our aid. The Danish army in Jylland will probably march south, trough Slesvig, right past our troops. If we honour our pledge we can easily find ourselves fighting a united Danish force. And then there are the Norse and Swedes. The Danish King rules these huge countries much like your uncle rules here. They will join the Danish side, under threat if need be. The situation is very serious, my liege.”

The Call to Arms from Holstein did indeed arrive. Willem was a bit surprised they went straight to him and not to his uncle. He had hoped for this not too long ago, but now anxiety settled in. First of all his army was all too exposed already being trapped in enemy territory. Secondly, he was now confronted with a formidable foe, not just a band of rebels. He asked the Holstein envoy for time and was given a moon. By then his King would have to know what to expect. Days later news reached his Court that indeed Sweden and Noway had declared war on Holstein. As was to be expected the Emperor had jumped to the defence of his realm, followed by the Teutonic Order, Switzerland and (much to the joy of Willem) Brabant, who for some strange reason was given the lead in the war.
Confident he would not be alone he prepared for war. He ordered his troops to disengage the rebels and to board the ships again. Let Denmark worry about them! The navy sailed full strenght to the waters surrounding Denmark to gather information on the movements of all combatants. By the end of March in the year of our Lord 1402 Willem once more pledged his allegiance to Holsteins independence.

No sooner had the Holsteinian envoy left or news reached Willem that the Emperor had died and Friedrich VI of Ansbach had been elected as successor. This meant that Miliairy Access for the HRE-allies was severly restricted. Diplomats were send to Holstein and Bremen to get access for Willem's troops. Half his Slesvig army passed through the port of Bremen to guard Holstein, the other half landed in Jylland that had been abandoned by Denmark. The navy engaged in battles in the Kattegat (against the weak Norse navy), joined the Teutonic Navy in the Baltic and the Holsteinian in the Sont, thereby denying Danish forces free travel between Scandinavia and continental Europe. Holding the Sont was paramount to Willem's entire plan.

As a diversion Willem invaded the unfortified north of Scandinavia in the early summer. Landing in Trondelag a single cavalry regiment marched through Jämtland and Västerbrotten to Österbrotten where the Swedish colony was burned to the ground before they pushed on to loot the Finnish provinces. The expedition proved to be so valuable in loot as well as luring away Norse and Swedish regiments from the Danish front that throughout the war this unit was dedicated to hit and run tactics all over Scandinavia.

By the end of the year the enemy Navy had been all but destroyed and was largely confined to their ports. Holstein was now save from invasion and southern Scandinavia was threatened. After a short battle over Christmas Willem's army laid siege to Copenhagen. The new year brought a huge morale boost when Jylland fell early January.

Mid February the war reached Swedish soil with the Teutons invading Västergötland in a daring landing from the Kattegat. Steadily they build up a sizeable force ferrying in ever more troops (!). By August Skara had almost succumbed to hunger and disease when Norse troops attempted to relieve the city.

When a large Swedish army started their march on the province from Östergötland the Teutones fled to Småland. Disgusted by the cowardice of their allies Willem's lone cavalry regiment fled the battlefield as well.

This humiliating defeat was forgotten when on the island of Sjælland the last resistance was finally broken less then a month later.

By now the victorious rebels in Slesvig had set their eye on Jylland. Before moving to Skåne this threat had to be annihilated and it was quickly dealt with. Part of Willem's army then assisted the Holsteinian army in their siege of the rebel's fortress, which fell in June.

Willem learned a valuable lesson when Holstein agreed to a white peace with Denmark days later. He received an envoy who explained the precarious situation his King had been in, and Willem understood his plea. He was very disappointed in his allies though. And where were Brabant, Bohemia and Switzerland? Not a single regiment had turned up. Slowly it began to sink in that in war you're always on your own. He ordered his army to lay siege to Slesvig again, reinforced the seige of Skåne and renewed the raids into Norway and Sweden.

Despite the fact that the Kalmar Union fell apart in August the war dragged on for another year. “What have I gotten myself into?” Willem thought ever more often. He was getting weary and so was his army. Battles were won and lost but not much ground was taken. He couldn't persuade Denmark to make peace on any condition except a white peace. He was desperate to get at least something for his efforts so he turned that down more then once.

June 1405 was a disastrous month. First the combined forces of Holland and the Teutonic order conquered Västergötland and Willem was exstatic. So much the harder it hit him when first Bohemia accepted a white peace with the Teutones following a few days later. At least they had put some effort in it, now he was left alone with the petty Brabantians and Schwytzers. Afraid he would be double-crossed by them as well he was relieved beyond imagination when a Danish envoy reached his court with the message that Denmark was willing to cede Jylland in return for peace. Willem had great difficulty to restrain himself. He had written history.