Prologue
First off some mechanics for the AAR.
- Yellow shall be game mechanics stuff.
- red shall be my comentary.
The first part shall be the prologue to set the scene up to January 1419. The second part will hopefully be posted Thursday night.
PROLOGUE
The cross of Burgundy
The later part of the Hundred Years War saw the end of an independent French crown and the rise of the Dukes of Burgundy. The period is roughly defined as starting with Edward III refusal to pay homage to the King of France, Philip VI, the first Valois king whose legitimacy Edward contested for Guienne in 1337. Edward’s claim came from his direct dependence from Philip IV the Fair through his mother, Isabella of France.
Edward III refusing to pay homage to Philip VI
The hostilities that erupted shortly afterward between France and England would continue, with periodic truces, until 1422, hence the name, The Hundred Years' War. The early phase of the conflict was marked by crushing setbacks for the French at the hands of the English, (the Battle of Crécy in 1346 and the especially disastrous Battle of Poitiers in 1356, which resulted in the capture of King John the Good by the Black Prince).
The Black Prince's and John's armies battle at Poitiers
Before long, however, major military operations gave way to a war of attrition under Charles V. Charles found in one Bertrand du Guesclin, an able leader who rid the kingdom of the marauding Free Companies, bands of mercenaries who were pillaging the realm. By the time Charles V died in 1380 the situation had stabilized, and with Richard II’s policies of reconciliation, the end of the century fostered hopes for a lasting peace. But the madness of Charles VI and bitter feuding among the princes of the blood seriously weakened France.
Charles VI, King of France 1380-1422
Charles Dauphin or Charles VII
In 1403 A third son was born to Charles VI that would be called the Dauphin or by some Charles VIII. At the time of his birth Charles Dauphin was not expected to become dauphin as he had two elder brothers, Louis, duc de Guyenne (b.1397) and Jean, duc de Touraine (b.1398).
John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy 1404-1419
In 1407 John the Fearless, duke of Burgundy (since 1404) engineered the assassination of Louis of Orleans, the brother of Charles VI. This initiated a dramatic eruption of hostilities between the two factions, the Armagnacs (lead by Bernard VII, count of Armagnac) and the Burgundians.
Henry V, King of England
Henry V became king of England upon the death of his father, Henry IV (formerly Henry Bolingbroke), the first of the Lancasterian dynasty. The Armagnacs gained control of Paris through the cabochienne uprisings in April and May of 1413. The Armagnacs gained control of Paris in September, and ruthlessly expelled factions loyal to Burgundy. Charles VII was betrothed to Marie d'Anjou, daughter of duc d'Anjou and Yolande of Aragón. The House of Anjou allied itself with the Orleanist-Armagnac faction. In May, John the Fearless allied Burgundy with the new English king, Henry V. Henry seized the opportunity in 1415 to invaded France. Aided by the active neutrality of Burgundy, Henry captured Harfleur (23 September) and defeated the French army at Agincourt (25 October). In December, Bernard d'Armagnac became constable of France, based in Paris.
As Henry began his conquest of Normandy in 1417, France was divided. The Armagnacs controlled the capital Paris. The duke of Burgundy with close alliance with Isabeau of Bavaria, Charles VI’s queen, set up a rival government at Dijion. The master of Normandy, Henry V controlled Normandy, Caux and Calais. The two eldest sons of Charles VI died while “under the protection” of John the Fearless (Louis, d.Dec 1415, and Jean, d.April 1417), this left his third son, Charles as the Dauphin. In 1418 John the Fearless secured control of Paris and the Armagnacs were massacred. The constable, Bernard was killed. The dauphin Charles escaped south to Bourges, with the help of the Angevins and set up a rival government. In January of 1419 Rouen surrendered to Henry and his conquest of Normandy was complete. The duke of Burgundy controlled the government of Charles VI through the now mad king’s wife Isabeau and could convince the crown to take any direction. John also had the ability to guide England as Henry V and his nobles where indebted to John for his lack of action in 1415. While the Burgandians definitely used England’s ambitions to aid herself, they did not want England to become masters of France. The dauphin, Charles’ government ruled from Bourges and had control of the Southwest part of France, save for Guienne.
Game begins
