Against The Odds: A Breton AAR (1453)

[Griminald]

Hey everyone.

Somehow of all of the countries I could have taken to run with, especially as a born-again newbie (I played a long time ago, stopped, then only recently returned), I don't know why I gravitated towards Brittany. As I've played them though, I've come to make it a challenge of mine to keep their country intact. Heck, I even went and researched the back history of the Duchy of Brittany out of curiosity.

I will make plenty of tactical and management errors as this goes, but I consider them all a growing pain as I learn how to best do things.

If I've got the terminology correct, I'm going with what you might call a "gameplay/narrative" approach to this AAR. Please feel free to critique me as harshly as possible, both in my play and in my presentation. The first few chapters may be a bit unpolished as this is my Rookie AAR.

That said, Enjoy.

(EDIT: I should mention that I'm playing this using the In Nomine expansion. I hadn't played EU since well before NA's release, so I'm bound to use some outdated tactics)
----

Against The Odds: A Breton AAR
(1453, onwards) ​

Primary Goals: Survival, with a focus on trading and possibly colonial expansion.​

Intro: A Cut of the Hundred Years War
(1453-1454)

In 1453, Brittany, under the rule of King Pierre II, was in a politically isolated situation. The country had supported England in the War, but it was as much out of obligation towards the French than out of an English rivalry -- the last thing King Pierre wanted to do was draw the ire of the French.

With only 6000 troops to his name, the Breton King decided he would at least try to gain something from this conflict. He tried marching his troops southward into Gascogne, but before he even crossed into France he saw one of their regiments laying siege to the city. So he partook in a Plan B, marching troops through France eastward to lay siege to the English foothold at Galais. In a matter of months, Brittany had driven the garrison out.

During this time, Brittany received and accepted offers for Alliances from both Savoy and Burgundy. The latter gave King Pierre a breath of relief, as the Kingdom of Burgundy lies just beyond the eastern border of France. Aragon also accepted a Breton alliance proposal, which at least gave the King a fair sense of security.

Pierre had a grand idea in his head that by the time Galais fell, England would be occupied with the French and he could sneak a few thousand men into the shores of Cornwall. However, with no naval activity at all from either France or England, the Breton fleet couldn't even depart Finistere. It looked like both sides' participation were winding down, so Pierre approached the English with a peace deal in February of 1454:

The King was pleased with this take, having lost very little to gain it, but now was not the time for rest.

 

[Griminald]

Part I: A Self-Sustaining Brittany - The Irish Wars
(1454 - 1456)

After arriving back home, King Pierre took stock of his country's internal situation: Brittany had only the income of four provinces, had nearly no presence in the trade market, and it looked like the only way to survive was to cut what little military he had.

The political sitaution around Europe also became complicated in a hurry, as nations split into three notable alliances:

England - Aragon - Portugal
France - Castille - Scotland - Portugal
Burgundy - Brittany - Aragon - Savoy - Papal State​

As there were a few memberships of several coalitions, Pierre was hopeful that times would be peaceful long enough to even out Brittany's budget. He looked to the only target around this region of Europe that wasn't a major power: the Irish Minors. He first issued a guarantee of independence to the little minor of Connacht.

Pierre quickly ordered the fleet to action in March 1454 and led 3000 men to the shores of Connacht. No sooner did he invade than the other three -- Leinster, Munster and Tyrone -- declare war on Connacht, granting Pierre the Casus Bellis he was looking for.

After a quick victory, he decided to immediately invade Leinster instead of simply vassalizing Connacht. Brittany made short work of both Leinster and Munster, securing much-needed financial payments, while electing to annex Connacht to keep a foothold on the island:

Unfortunately for Brittany, the English had guaranteed the Independence of the minor of Tyrone in the meantime, and Pierre had to settle without it.

In the short downtime between the attacks on Leinster and Munster, King Pierre had time to wonder about what might be "next" after Ireland. He wasn't sure Brittany had the army nor the political clout to feel fully secure in military conquest, but what choice was there for a country that needed more land?

Pierre had always wondered about the rumors about a "New World" to the West, and decided that, if the Bretons could get there early, there should be plenty of land for the taking! So he ordered Brittany to publically announce their intent to hire an Explorer to sail to the New World.

And with that, a new Explorer, Olier de Saint Meleuc was hired to sail one Carrack westward. During his first two voyages he had gotten further and further along, but circled back upon orders that he do everything possible to avoid losing the ship -- Brittany could not yet afford another ship in its current economic state.

It was during his third voyage that he finally struck upon land, an island nearly due West of Brittany. When word reached the King, he wasted absolutely no time in colonizing an area dubbed "Beothuk".

Brittany's trade also expanded during this time so that by January 1456, there were merchants representing the Kingdom's interests in Lubeck, Antwerpen and Venezia. The merchants were struggling to survive, however, and the King's advisor Sulio Couasnon de la Barilliere pointed out as a cause, Brittany's lack of pro-trader national ideas.

The King was nervous about having Brittany adjust again after just having been in several wars, but figured that so far as Breton longterm interests were concerned, they'd be better off foregoing conscripts in favor of trade -- and instituted a National Trade Policy for Brittany.

The effects were felt almost immediately -- despite the temporary destabilization, fewer merchants were already coming back home empty-handed; this left Pierre breathing at least a little easier.

By the end of 1456, Brittany's budget was inching closer to balanced, and still had more than enough money from war spoils that there was plenty of time to act.


Part II: Plans Have a Way of Changing
(1457 - 1459)

At the start of the Year 1457, Breton merchants were still slowly assimilating european centers of trade, helping the Kingdom severely reduce its rate of inflation and pay for colonizing efforts in Beothuk. The King was not satisfied staying idle though, and had his advisors come up with recommendations for other provinces to grab.

Of the provinces and minors suggested, one caught his eye in particular. It was a different ethnic group altogether, but was a very potentially rich place to secure -- and if he acted quickly, may be able to beat Castille and Aragon to it.

With that, he personally led 2000 men to quickly occupy and annex Grenada:

Pierre was willing to put up with what he'd sure would be a high chance of rebellion if he could eventually reap the economic rewards. With the instability of the province greater than expected (despite no uprising), the King decided to set sail back to the Breton homeland and let the merchants continue to expand.

That plan changed on January 6th, 1459, when the palace received a request from Savoy:

Now why, the King wondered, would Savoy need help with a little minor like Urbino? But it hit him quickly: Urbino's independence was guaranteed by The Papal State.

King Pierre could only laugh at the sheer irony of the situation: Savoy and The Papal State were both Breton allies, and accepting a request from one ally would put Brittany at war with the other.

Royal Advisor Venec de Tromelin chimed in, "Your Majesty... whether you accept or refuse, our two allies will still be fighting each other. In all likelihood one will gain territory from the other, while we would be left out. I suggest we agree to send aid, as The Papacy will not cancel our alliance over their guarantee."

Pierre nodded at this. He was the one who wanted to find provinces to take -- and despite the irony of the situation, this was an opportunity. So the King ordered the fleet to the ready, and personally led 4000 troops that would set sail for the Italian Peninsula.


Part III: So Much For European Peace...
(1459 - 1460)

During the voyage into the Mediterranean, word came from the Breton court that England declared war on the Irish minor of Tyrone, dragging Aragon, Cleves (which was coincidentally the leader of the HRE) and Portugal in with her. No matter, the King said; we had a purpose now.

The Breton Navy encountered stiff resistance from the Papal Fleet outside Roma, but were able to drive them off without casualties. The fight convinced King Pierre II however, that there was no avoiding a military conflict with the Papacy. The King wanted this over as quickly as possible, but decided that the best way to do so was to attack not Urbino, which was garrisoned by 2000 troops of its own, but the neighboring Papal state of Romagne, which had no military presence to speak of.

While continuing to win fights against the Papal and Urbinese Navy, Pierre II took Romagne in roughly six months' time. The Savoy military had barely reached Italy by this time, and the King feared they would negotiate peace prematurely, so he decided to see what he could take from the Papacy to go away in January of 1460:

To the King's surprise, the Papacy was willing to part with Romagne and a cash settlement for Brittany to release her grip. Pierre II repaired the ships a bit in Romagne and decided to set sail with the fleet back home.




Part IV: Should I Stay or Should I Go?
(1460 - Current)

The fleet had only gotten back to Grenada though when another message reached Pierre II, this one more urgent: While part of the English army was occupied in Ulster, Scotland had declared War on England, dragging in both France AND Burgundy for support!

Aragon wanted Breton assistance, primarily against the French who were seeping into the nation from the North. However, Brittany still shared a border with the French and lacked any sort of capacity to stand against them -- it would be nothing short of suicide! So the King, regretfully, refused to honor their alliance. At this point Pierre had a bad feeling, and ordered his regiments to immediately board the fleet to head back.

The next development came just as the Breton fleet crossed into Iberia:

Castille declared war on Aragon! Immediately after discovering this, the Court received a report from the garrison in Connacht: The Portugese and English Troops, still jointly besieging Ulster, suddenly turned on each other!

England supported Aragon in their call for help against Castille, but England's ally Portugal decided to support their Castillian neighbor instead, throwing another monkey wrench into the landscape of the war.

Scaling back to take a look at the situation across Europe, Pierre II was caught wondering, "How did I avoid THIS?" England, Scotland, Aragon, Castille, Burgundy, France, Portugal... all at war. It seemed the only country that escaped the chaos was his own!

What a confusing mess...

And for a better look at the landscape of the war in its hotbed:

The Breton King was unsure of his next move. The treasury was still full enough to support a military buildup, and he always has one eye open north to England. Pierre believed he could draw the English to Ireland by way of invading Meath and fight them there. However, England was still allied to Aragon, who would no doubt intervene. Plus, while technically at war with France and Burgundy, the latter two were too occupied attacking Aragon to prevent Scotland from being manhandled by the English army. Should the Scottish coalition break down, it would isolate Brittany against England and Aragon.

The War raged on as he continued to weigh his options...

-----

(Chapter IV To Be Continued...)

 

[Capibara]

Interesting choice, can be a challenge, you are doing great so far, I'll be following

 

[unmerged(78419)]

Brittany huh, i always wondered how one would go about playing them, if the AI brittany ever survives past 100 years they always seem to have a hand in Ireland, which i see you chose to do as well...pretty unconnected with granada and that papal province...good luck im interested to see what you do but no doubt need to take advantage of some country in that schism (portugal perhaps...troops spread out often, smallest but beware im sure they had a big navy)

 

[Griminald]

Thank you.

I have to confess something else too: I totally didn't realize when I assaulted Romagne that it had a University there haha.

The above wars ended already, in disappointing fashion -- I decided to idle, and Scotland and Aragon each lost only one territory. Considering the low war capacities pretty early on though, I guess I shouldn't be all too surprised.

My manpower is low enough where I'd have a very difficult time surviving in a war right now. I was looking at the Dutch provinces, and I still am, although that will just make my fragmentation worse.

I'd like to dominate in trade -- and I'm finally making ground, especially since my reputation and war exhaustion had a chance to recede. But when I see an opportunity to get more provinces, it's awfully hard not to just take the BB hit and squish them.

I need to make up my mind before my Brittany decides to lose focus. :>

 

[aHuman(oid)]

A fragmented state is good for survival, but not so good for being a major power. Possibly you could attempt to expand your Italian holdings, as there are several weak minors with universities there, and then move on to southern spain if they get involved in another huge war, because you will need that waypoint to be stronger, and because the spanish center of trade could be a very nice possession. I see a powerful transatlantic coastal empire in Brittany's future.

 

[Griminald]

I'm going to start writing the next chapter tonight after work I think. Pierre II finally died in 1473 or so, which is insane -- the last two times I played through Brittany in 1453, he died in the early 1460's.

The new king's even worse though. I wonder if I can RP sending him with a regiment to Africa and suiciding. :>

Coincidentally, I've done pretty much what you suggested in Italy. I made one mistake though: I captured the Venezia CoT without realizing that there's a nasty Compete Chance penalty for having a non-core Center of Trade. Between that and my new idiot King my grip on the trade market is steadily slipping.

Live and Learn.

 

[Enewald]

Looks like shall be an easy game as it looks vanillaish.