Burgundy the Mighty, an AAR

[Havard]

As I am about to describe the struggles of kings with the heathen enemy, of martyrs with pagans, of churches with heretics, I desire first of all to declare my faith so that my reader may have no doubt that I am Catholic. I have also decided, on account of those who are losing hope of the approaching end of the world, to collect the total of past years from chronicles and histories and set forth clearly how many years there are from the beginning of the world. But I first beg pardon of my readers if either in letter or in syllable I transgress the rules of the grammatic art in which I have not been fully instructed, since I have been eager only for this, to hold fast, without any subterfuge or irresolution of heart, to that which we are bidden in the church to believe, because I know that he who is liable to punishment for his sin can obtain pardon from God by untainted faith.

My name is Theodoric. I am a priest of position, and a historian of passion. In the year of 1592 I was called to my master, the noble archbishop of Reims. He presented me with a task with which I have devoted several years of my life: Historiae Burgundiae – the history of Burgundy, and the true story of its rise to power.

I have examined the chronicles of the monks in Hainault, the clerks in Dijon and the books of the trade companies. From this I will give the history of Burgundy from its dawn of light up to this day.

(The first 6690 years of the early history of the world is omitted – lets get down to the nitty-gritty!)

To open for a free Burgundy I have taken the liberty of altering the history a wee bit... After the death of Charles the Rash in 1477 his daughter Mary ruled Burgundy. Mary married Maximilian I, emperor of the HRE and was grandmother of Carlos I of Spain/Karl V of Austria. I assume that Mary had two elder brothers, Philip and Charles, and that Philip assumed the kingship of Burgundy in 1477. When Philip dies in 1492 the path is paved for his brother Charles...

1. Reign of Charles II, son of the Rash (1492-1508)

Upon the death of his beloved brother Philip, the throne passed on to his younger brother. Charles II, king of Burgundy, duke of Luxemburg and Brabant, count of Flanders, Artois, Holland and Hainault was coronated on new years day in the year of our lord 1492.

The new king, new as king though not young in years, was an accomplished military commander [4/3/3/1] and with reasonable diplomatic and administrative skills (DIP=6; MIL=7; ADM=5) his reign was to become the beginning of a new era.

At this time in history Burgundy was divided in 11 provinces: Bourgogne and Franche-Comté around the capital Dijon were separated from Picardie, Artois, Luxembourg, Hainault, Flandres, Zeeland, the Haague, Holland and Friesen in the low countries. The clothing industry in the Low Countries generated much trade through our trade centre in Antwerpen, while our merchant soon were busy trading in Paris, Lübeck and Genova.

Our beloved home country was friendly with Austria, where king Charles' brother-in-law Maximilian was co-regent, and with Spain. Our neighbour France was, if not hostile, at least not friendly. France claimed much of out lands as theirs, and had conquered Burgundy as recent as in 1477.

To counter the French our noble king entered an alliance with the Austrian Habsburgs. They too held land claimed by France, and would tolerate no aggression.

After sealing our alliance king Charles upgraded the fortifications of our most importand cities (Dijon, Antwerpen), and demanded the armies to be strengthened. As a most accomplished commander he himself took command of the Home Army (30k/5k/10) situated in Bourgogne. Colonel Crevecoeur commanded Flandres Guard (15k/2k) garrisoned in Artois. Additional infantry and artillery enlarged both armies, as we prepared for the troubles to come...

 

[Havard]

In the year 1497 the French aggressors started their work. However, it was not us they aimed for. In January French diplomats delivered a formal declaration of war at the court in Madrid, announcing that they were supported by their allies Savoie, Brittany and his Holiness the Pope. Spain answered by rallying their allies Naples and Milano to their support.

At the receival of this news the king started to plot in secrecy. Seeing France occupied by fighting Spain in the south was too good of an opportunity to miss. Secret meeting were arranged and messages sent and received in the night. The armies were additionally strengthened.

The king had long been worried by the division of his country by French territory. This was to come to an end.

The first Franco-Burgundian war (1497-1498)

In July 1497 it appeared what had been plotted. A delegate from the court delivered a message in Paris, announcing that Burgundy, Austria, Bohemia and Lorraine declared war on France. France received the support of all her allies. Some of our nobles murmured (stab -2), but no formal protests were raised.

At the same time king Charles moved his Home Army north to siege Nivernaise, while Crevecoeur moved south against Champagne. Champagne fell to our forces in September, while Nivernais capitulated to the king on November 19th. Still without any french armies in sight king Charles moved toward Paris – to deliver a stab in the heart! Paris fell to the might of the good king in spring, and at the peace in Reims we received the provinces of Nivernaise and Champagne. King Charles had, in less than a year, united the two Burgundies; we were again one!

When peace again returned to our lands, the king took time to review the finances of our nation. All fortresses were revived and upgraded where needed, and tax collectors were appointed. The armies, counting more than 80000 men at the beginning of the war, were now down to less than 55000. To mend this, and stay prepared for more troubled times 20000 new men were enlisted. It would prove to be a wise move...

 

[unmerged(2540)]

Hmm, very cool. I must admit I have never seen a Burgundy AAR. And I take it you will reclaim all of France?
And nice style, good luck with it

 

[Havard]

Thanks - it's my first AAR, so I'm happy for any comments.

I must admit I have some plans for France...

 

[unmerged(2540)]

How are you going to deal with the Dutch? Put massive armies there? Maybe change your religion so there is less likelyhood of them revolting(well, we know they will, but maybe you can force em not to leave your empire )
As For France, get em quick, or they will expand far enough away that you won't be able to annex em nice and neat.
Well, for your first AAR, I think you may have a good combination of interesting nation and interesting style.
Good Luck

 

[Havard]

Originally posted by Honour_Shogun
How are you going to deal with the Dutch? Put massive armies there? Maybe change your religion so there is less likelyhood of them revolting(well, we know they will, but maybe you can force em not to leave your empire )

You will see... the dutch will be delt with, sooner or later...

As For France, get em quick, or they will expand far enough away that you won't be able to annex em nice and neat.

I can reveal that I have some BB-problems at the time being, and have not been able to deal with the French the way I feel they deserve...

Well, for your first AAR, I think you may have a good combination of interesting nation and interesting style.
Good Luck

Thanks.

 

[The Danish King]

Great style and good luck!

 

[Havard]

The First Rhine-War (1500-1505)

At Christmas time in the year of our lord 1500 king Charles received an envoy from our ally the duke of Lorraine. He explained that the elector of the Palatinate had gravely insulted the duke during a lavish dinner held just before Christmas, and that he intended to wage war! The elector was known as the Upright, and it seemed as if his straightforward behaviour might now cause him trouble! The duke had already received an acceptance from Austria and Bohemia, and wanted to know if we wanted to share the spoils of war. Seeing that Burgundy always had been a friend of Lorraine our king accepted. The declaration of war was delivered just before the end of the year. The Palatinate received support from its neighbours Hessen, Baden and Kleve.

King Charles, acting as if to live up to his father's sobriquet, moved fast. In spring he met a large army in Pfalz and won a great victory, driving a larger army on the run. He laid a siege on Pfalz, while Col. Crevecoeur moved in to besiege Mainz. An attempt to storm the walls of Mainz in June 1510 failed, but weakened the defence enough to allow the city to be taken in August. Two months later Heidelberg and the province of Mainz fell to the power of Crevecoeurs army.

The king was not resting. Strengthened with fresh recruits from Hainault and Luxembourg he turned north to attack the capitol of Hessen, which fell in the following spring before he marched towards Düsseldorf, the capitol of Kleve. Here 15000 men raised in Zeeland reinforced his by now weakened army.

While we had good luck our allies Lorraine struggled. They decided to pay of Hessen with 50d for peace, giving us nothing in the peace negotiations. Seeing our ally starting to cave in the king decided to act to secure to Burgundy what we had fought for. On June 26th, in a grand ceremony in the palace of Mainz the elector placed the kings foot on his head, symbolizing his submission to the crown of Burgundy. From now on and forever the Palatinate would be a part of the mighty Burgundy!

After a short pause to reorganise the armies and train new recruits Col. Crevecoeur moved south towards Baden in the autumn.

The same autumn we received information that England was struggling. France, supported by Savoie, Brittany and the Pope, and Navarra, supported by Denmark, had declared war on England and her ally Sweden.

When Col. Crevecoeur conquered Baden the Rhine war ended on our behalf. After receiving 200d in payments we agreed to a peace on November 23rd 1502. However Lorraine continued fighting for more than a year and finally annexed Baden in February 1505.

Just before this England capitulated and ceded the provinces of Calais and Wessex to France and soon after Meath to Denmark.

While we supported Austria (and Bohemia and Lorraine) when they declared war on Venezia in October 1503 (to be followed by Scotland, Spain, Milano and Naples one month later), we never participated in the hostilities, and barely noticed the peace agreed nine years later, with Austria paying Venezia 250d.

During this war Burgundy expanded her armies to almost four times its size, and was surely becoming a force to be considered.

 

[Inferis]

Playing Burgundy

Originally posted by Honour_Shogun
Hmm, very cool. I must admit I have never seen a Burgundy AAR.

I've been playing as Burgundy, and it's not too easy. Especially when your BB rating gets too high, you'll get in a war with the whole of Europe. Several times.

And about the netherlands: I tried controlling them, but it seems impossible. I was able to recapture all provinces, but as soon as you annex them again, they start rebelling. Again. In my third annexation attempt, the rest of Europe decided to join the fun, so I decided to leave them be. Lucky for me, their capital was Friesen, and not The Hague (weird, no?). Now they're sitting there in Friesen with an 108k army, occasionally joining the fun when everybody else wants to fight me.

Inferis.

PS: If anybody is interested, i can post some screenshots, I think I still have some savegames...

 

[Havard]

Re: Playing Burgundy

Originally posted by Inferis


I've been playing as Burgundy, and it's not too easy. Especially when your BB rating gets too high, you'll get in a war with the whole of Europe. Several times.

I know... believe me, I do...

And about the netherlands: I tried controlling them, but it seems impossible. I was able to recapture all provinces, but as soon as you annex them again, they start rebelling. Again.

Oh, yes - I have notised this...

 

[unmerged(4629)]

I love the style of your AAR. Really outstanding. Don't leave us hanging

 

[Havard]

I'll be back with the next episode this afternoon (Norwegian time). There will be... (drumroll...) war with (surprise) France!

 

[Havard]

2. Reign of Charles III (1508-1550)

In autumn 1507 the king became ill, after eating some bad clams attending a dinner in Reims celebrating the ten years celebration of his victory over the French. He was soon weakened by his sickness, and appointed his eldest son, Charles, as his heir. When the good king died December 15th 1508 our nation mourned. His son was coronated king Charles III two weeks later.

While regarded equal with his father in administrative skills, king Charles III was not his father's match in economics and warfare (DIP=4; MIL=5; ADM=5). He assumed his fathers position of commander in the field, but lacked his boldness and trained skills [2/1/2/0].

Assuming the throne at young age, he spent his first reigning year with his father's ministers and advisors, learning. Trade was further developed and expanded our income base. Burgundy was by no means a poor nation. The yearly income was around 600d. This was, in the initial years of the new kings reign, wisely spent to promote tax collectors and enhance our fortifications. The armies were improved and equipped with modern artillery.

The king also spent months on the road, travelling to several of the courts of Europe. He had heard tales of a new land to the west. In England he managed to get copies of English maps showing the coast of this new world. Hitherto few had seen this land, and even fewer had returned to tell. A few traders had settled to do business with the heathens, while other brave men explored the country to find the passage to the Indies.

On his travels he also fell in love with Yolanda, the daughter of our faithful ally René II, the duke of Lorraine. Her father had passed away at the same time as the king's, and her brother Antoine was the new duke. After a short negotiation they agreed to the terms of marriage. The king and his young bride were sealed in holy matrimony by the archbishop of Trier in May 1511. In the winter the young king convinced his brother-in law that Lorraine on itself was an easy prey to enemies, and that she should put herself under our protection. In january 1513 duke Antoine of Lorraine sealed the documents proclaiming Lorraines vasallisation to Burgundy.

The second French war (1517-18)
In spring 1517 king Charles seized the opportunity seeing a weak France to arrange a quick attack. He himself led the army beseiging Lyon, while Col. Chambly assaulted Paris. The cavalry, led by Col. Ambleteuse, wreaked havoc in the countryside burning and pillaging. Within the year both cities fell, and France offered us the province of Lyonnais in exchange for peace. The opportunity to continue the war to gain an even better basis for bargain was there, and little is known why the king accepted. However it is believed that the reason was for grief that his young son Charles died while he was leading the siege of Lyon.

Colonisation of the new world
In 1522 a delegation of three free men approached the court, asking to see the king. They were leaders of a group of rootless young people who wanted to try their luck and fortune in the new world (random event: 3 colonists). They had some resources, but not enough to equip an expedition across the great ocean. The king agreed to cover half of their expenses and put ships at their disposal for the travel, but demanded that the new colonies should remain under control of the Crown and the Holy Church. Burgundy's first settlement in the new world, New Friesen, was founded on the island of Isle Royal, named in the honour of king Charles, the following fall. Soon another settlement, New Holland, was established on an island named Manhattan after its native inhabitants.

Heretics
In the year of our lord 1522 we heard grave news from Germany. The nobles as well as the populace were talking against the Holy Father in Rome, and denouncing the Holy Church. The bishops were concerned, but these new thought did not seem to found soil to grow in our countries. In the following years the principalities of Würtemberg, Thüringen, Brandenburg, Hannover and Sachsen turned away from the Holy Father and the true faith. The kingdoms of the north – Sweden and Denmark-Norway, later followed these heretic nations. Truly they will burn in hell...

 

[Vulture]

Very nice... Keep it going. I have always loved Burgundy. Now, if you could get some screenies sorted

 

[Havard]

I'll check my HD for some screenshots. Anyhow, I can dive back into the savegames to find some...

 

[Havard]

Unification
The following year saw further expansions of our realm, however in peaceful ways. After lengthy negotiations with the duke of Lorraine and his council they agreed to be included in the Burgundian kingdom. The duke, now the king's brother-in-law, was appointed heir to the throne and was to be regarded as second to none but the king. From this day the provinces of Lorraine and Baden became part of our growing empire.

The first Austro-Ottoman war (1524-29)
In December 1524 our ally Austria declared war on the infidel Ottomans and their ally the Hafsids. We joined in along with Bohemia. The war lasted for four years, and facing vast Ottoman armies we were beaten back. In the peace negotiations in February 1529 Austria ceded the provinces of Presburg and Ostmarch to the sultan.

In 1525 queen Yolanda gave birth to a girl, princess Maria. She was to be their only child living to grown age.

The 1530ies were peaceful times, at most. Austria attacked Venezia in 1536 and gained support from Burgundy, Bohemia and Bavaria. Venezia called on her allies Georgia, Savoie and Denmark. Since we participated only in the name no Burgundian blood was shed in this war.

The third French war (1540)
The king must have regretted his early settlement with the French in the last war. At least he was eager to take on the might of France again. In April 1540 Burgundy declared war on France and her allies Navarre and Poland-Lithuania. Our allies Austria, Bavaria and Bohemia joined us; though they were busy enough fighting the Poles to support us in France.

Col. Laval (31/0/91) marched against Calais; Col. Picard (32/8/98) besieged Paris while king Charles attached Orleans. A large army from Navarra (40k) under the command of Henri II engaged Col. Stainville (10/0/30) in battle in Lyonnais and drove our army away to start a siege of Lyon. Paris and Orleans fell to our hands in September, followed by Calais the following month. In the peace of Rouen Burgundy received the provinces of Orleans and Calais

At the end of the war Burgundy fielded almost 180000 trained soldiers, the largest army in Europe. This was made possible by our solid base for taxation, giving us 600d a year in taxes. In addition we were one of the most powerful trading nations in the world. Our merchants had a firm grip of the trade through Flandres, and although the new growing centre of trade in London had weakened the trade through Antwerpen we had a strong influence in Paris, Lübeck and Genova. Unfortunately the king had neglected the importance of science, causing us to fall behind compared to our neighbours (sliders to treasury to finance war).

In the period of peace after the French war the focus was kept on consolidation. Fortifications were enhanced in the newly captured provinces, and efforts were put into science rather that war.

The king was now aging but was comforted in his age by his daughter Maria, named “the Beautiful“ at the courts of Europe, and for obvious reasons. Many were the princes courting her favours.

However there were to be great disturbances when the war bells again rung over Burgundy...

 

[Havard]

Originally posted by VultureGFF
Very nice... Keep it going. I have always loved Burgundy. Now, if you could get some screenies sorted

A few screenies to be found in my fresh new .sig!

 

[Sharur]

Great job! I really like your narrative style. I hope you found the time to annex all of France

 

[Havard]

Originally posted by Sharur
Great job! I really like your narrative style. I hope you found the time to annex all of France

Hang in and you'll find out...

 

[Havard]

The second Rhine-war (1546-1548)
The puny principality of Thüringen declared war on Burgundy in October 1546. The king received envoys from the courts of our allies Austria and Bavaria but replied that he did not want to trouble his dear friends, and could deal with the heretics himself. No other nation entered the conflict.

And, indeed, he dealt with it himself. He marched from Dijon north to rendezvous with Col. Picard in Lorraine. He (30k/5k/150) then marched on the enemy, crushing a small Thüringian force on the fields of Mainz before entering Thüringen and besieging Erfurt in fall 1547. The siege ended in March, when the Thüringian prince surrendered his lands to us.

The Dutch rebellions (1549-51)
During the following winter rumours spread from the Low Countries that heretic thoughts were spreading. A man, Calvin, was stirring the people against the Holy Church and their rightful king. Revolting acts followed these revolting thoughts. Soon the cities and countryside exploded in rebellions. The rebels soon controlled The Hague and Friesen, and they marched a large, but unskilled, army south towards Flandres and Holland. Though untrained and unskilled they were many, and within two years they had captured the provinces of Holland, Zeeland and Flandres.

In this middle of this commotion the old king passed away. He had no sons, and the throne passed to his daughter Maria the Beautiful.