1495-1498 - Revenge (Part I)
Change was on the horizon for Aragon, in more ways than one. Probably the first sign of such change was the resignation of Cardinal Fernando de Vascona as Court Chaplain. After holding the position for over 50 years, the cardinal was forced to resign as Aragon prepared for a war with Castile, and thus the PapalState by extension. The man left for Rome before war could be officially declared. The position of Court Chaplain was left empty, with King Ferran not choosing a replacement as he focused more and more on how to deal with Castile.
Change also came in the form of rumours, ones of a path to India and China through the west, or even new lands never seen before. Some claimed that Portugal and Castile had already begun exploration of these lands. The people of Aragon did not want to be left out. Ambitious courtiers and unlanded nobles were already greedily looking to the west, imagining the limitless possibilities that could lie beyond the great wide ocean. Better yet, the King was starting to listen. If there were riches to the west, he certainly didn’t want Castile to get them.
In preparation for war, all forts were manned once more, excluding Messina, and the troops were shipped to Iberia. The army in Greece was sent to Naples to help protect against any Papal incursions. As the time drew near, Castile threw a wrench in the plan. A peace was signed with Tlemcen. Knowing the Castile was undoubtedly going to send their army home, Aragon had to strike now before the navy could transport the army home. This also presented a problem in the form of the Castilian navy being nowhere in sight anymore. At least reports had come in stating that almost the entire Castilian army had been spotted in Africa. There would be minimal resistance in Iberia.
Early 1496 did bring tragedy at first. Prince Joan, King Ferran’s brother, lost his wife, Eleanor de Avis. She died in childbirth, leaving the Prince without a wife or a child. She had given birth to two children years ago, but they died in their infancy. The Prince, who was rarely seen at court as it is, sunk into a deep depression and refused to see visitors. It would take time for him to move on.
With everyone as ready as could be, war was declared. Aragon was at war with Castile once again and they would get their revenge for the death of Alfons V.
In Naples, the small army under General Stefano von Thun was ordered to coordinate with the Neapolitan army. Their goal was simply to hold the peninsula and keep the PapalState at bay. An aggressive strategy against the Pope would not be looked upon favourably by others. Unable to engage any nearby enemy navies, the entire Aragonese navy under Admiral Ernst Wilhelm Lübecker was stationed in the Straits of Gibraltar to keep Castile’s and Portugal’s navies from entering the Mediterranean.
In Iberia, the three armies moved into Murcia, Jaen, and Cuenca. The latter two fell in a month. The smaller army under General Jean Charles de Fidèlle moved into Murcia to aid General Sebastián de Loarre, while General Luigi Castelozzi moved on to the capital of Toledo. A Portuguese army had marched through southwest Castile and was now besieging Granada, but Aragon would need to gather its entire army in Iberia to crush it with minimal casualties. Instead they hoped that France would arrive to help or that the sieges against Castile would finish first.
The first defeat occurred near Italy. The Papal navy attacked Naples’s navy and Aragon was not quick enough to intervene. The Papal navy had fled to port before Admiral Lübecker could arrive. The Papal army also captured Abruzzi, but could not move further without attacking the Neapolitan and Aragonese army in Napoli. The two were roughly the same size, but Naples had the advantage. Still, neither was big enough to risk initiating the attack. This led to a stalemate that would last for years.
In April, France’s army moved into Aragon on its way to Castile. The other French army was reported to be besieging Avignon. It was hoped that the arrival of the French meant an attack on Portugal could be conducted. General de Fidèlle moved into place in Almeria, ready to assist the French if they attacked the Portuguese in Granada. Instead the French marched to Jaen, turned around, and started marching back north. Vague reports came in that the English were planning something but nothing substantial at the moment.
Despite there being a war, or perhaps because there was a war, smugglers were running rampant, illegally moving goods in and out of Aragon. King Ferran was having none of this. In coordination with Grandmaster Ernst Wilhelm Lübecker, stricter policies were put in place to target smuggling. It was a costly process and angered the honest merchants who now found it harder to trade goods in Aragon, but it proved effective in cutting down the number of smugglers.
In the east, the heathens finished their war, with the Ottomans taking a brutal beating at the hands of the Mamluks. To make things worse for them, Genoa had declared war earlier in the year. Fate was not being kind to them, not that anyone in Aragon was upset about it.
In October of 1496, the Papal navy decided to make the interesting move of trying to pester the Greeks. The Aragonese navy chased them into the Aegean Sea, unwilling to let them destroy Byzantium’s navy. Despite this, the Papal navy fled the battle soon after Aragon arrived and fled back to Rome. They’d live to pester Aragon and its allies another day.
Murcia fell in November, a great victory for Aragon. General de Loarre moved on to Cordoba, while General de Fidèlle went after La Mancha, Castile’s gold producing province. A wary eye was kept on Portugal, who still sieged Granada. Up further north, the rumours of a potential English attack proved to be true as the English landed in Labourd. The French were clearly moving to intervene.
December brought a surprise when a single Castilian artillery regiments marched through Byzantium. They had claimed an “exile” status, whatever that meant, and were thus bound not to attack anyone until they reached home. While a single regiment was not a threat, the implication was. If this one regiment was in exile on its way to Castile, who was to say that the rest of the army was not as well? As expected the remainder of the Castilian army was spotted across the straits, but this time the Greeks intervened. They forbade the Castilians from crossing over into their land, exiled or not. The Castilian army would have to march all the way around the Black Sea if they wanted to get home.
Toledo, the Castilian capital, fell in December and General Castelozzi moved down into Badajoz. The Portuguese finally decided to intervene. Their army marched north into Jaen on its way to La Mancha, where the smaller Aragonese army was stationed. The two larger armies under Generals de Loarre and Castelozzi waited until the Portuguese were committed before moving in. With the advantages of being on the defensive and having superior numbers, the Portuguese were forced back. Aragon had won a significant military victory.
France engaged the English in Labourd with three times the numbers. The English were dealt a good blow and sent running. As for the Aragonese armies, they moved west to chase the Portuguese army, but it unfortunately fled north where the fort in Lisboa prevented movement against. Castelozzi remained behind in Lisboa to siege the Portuguese capital while the remaining armies moved back into Castile. This proved to be advantageous when the fleeing English army that the French had defeated arrived at Lisboa expected a friendly force to protect them. Instead they were slaughtered to a man with minimal casualties.
England proved more of a nuisance when they managed a naval invasion of Navarra. An English army now sat in the province with the Aragonese army too far to intervene. Fortunately the French returned to intervene, saving the province from the English, before heading north to take Calais. This was good news, like the fall of Alentejo, Badajoz, and Cordoba. On a sour note, Trader Ignasi Bergueda passed away and was replaced with the equally capable Miquel Gallart.
The Pope made another move against Naples at sea, dealing them a blow that forced them to port. This time though, the Aragonese navy arrived before the Papal navy could flee back to port. The Papal navy was dealt a crushing blow and two cogs were even captured in the battle. The Pope still had enough ships to pester Naples, but not enough to do any serious damage. This was meant to be a warning to the Pope that even though he was the head of the Catholic Church, his military forces were no match to Aragon’s.
As Caceres fell, the Portuguese army was spotted again, this time heading to liberate Alentejo. General de Loarre sprung into action, ensuring that he arrived in the province first. The Portuguese had not expected enemy forces, and were even more surprised when the remainder of the Aragonese army arrived shortly after. They had fallen into yet another trap. This time they were shown no mercy. In a stunning display of cooperation and coordination, the Portuguese army was completely wiped out with the Aragonese army facing minimal casualties in what would be known as the Battle of the Three Generals. King Ferran promised the three a hero’s welcome when they returned home once the war was done. The war was not done, however. General Castelozzi headed back to Lisboa, de Loarre to La Mancha, and de Fidèlle to Sevilla.
La Mancha and Sevilla fell easily, just as an English army with some Castilian reinforcements appeared in northern Castile. The French chased them all the way to northern Portugal. Due to forts blocking the way, Aragon could not aid the French. With more and more enemy forces arriving by the day, France was outmatched. They were forced to retreat. In a positive note, Caceres was retaken and Madrid fell next.
In August of 1497, the Castilian army was spotted again, this time marching through Byzantium. Despite the protests of the Greeks, the Castilians marched right through their land. With them now around the Black Sea, it was expected that they would reach Castile in several months. Time was running short.
The Portuguese attempted to retake Alentejo yet again, but were severely outmatched when Generals Castelozzi and de Fidèlle combined forces to repel the pathetic force. It was decided around this time that with the Castilian army on the way, the focus should be shifted solely to Castile. The siege of Lisboa was abandoned and forces sent to Cadiz and Gibraltar. It was around this time that Morocco decided that Aragon was a legitimate threat and declared it a rival. Up north, the French managed to take Galicia and Leon, as well as take Vizcaya for Aragon, before the enemy army drove them out.
November of 1497 brought a startling surprise when Genoa claimed a large portion of Anatolia. The Ottomans were a pathetic rump state at this point, doomed to failure. With enemies closer to home, the Ottomans attempted to normalize relations. King Ferran cared little for the Ottomans, but he felt it was a waste to consider such a failed state a rival anymore.
By the end of December, things in the north became more precarious. The English managed to take Navarra by invading by sea, while the French attempted to attack the English in Vizcaya. Unfortunately, the French were outnumbered as the full English army intervened. To make things that much worse, the Castilians finally arrived. Judging by reports of the enemy military, nearly the entire enemy forces, excluding the Papal army that had not moved from Abruzzi since capturing it, was now in Vizcaya. With the fall of Gibraltar, the army under General de Fidèlle was ordered north to bolster the siege of the last Castilian fort in the north led by General Castelozzi. It was expected that General de Loarre might have to abandon the siege of Cadiz if the large enemy army intervened.
It was around this time that King Ferran started feeling out the Castilians for a potential peace. Investigations reported that Castile might be willing to accept the cession of Murcia, Gibraltar, and Vizcaya. La Mancha and the coastal provinces were off the table as long as Murcia and Gibraltar were claimed. King Ferran refused to accept any peace without those two provinces, since they would be most beneficial and Aragon had claims to them. However, it was believed that Castile was very close to accepting the possibility of giving away La Mancha instead of Vizcaya. The question was whether or not to take those three provinces or to continue on in the hopes of even more. Aragon maintained naval superiority in the Mediterranean, something the Castilians could not compete with. While the French were about to face defeat in Vizcaya, they had another 18 regiments on the way from Calais. The Aragonese army in Iberia was roughly equal to the Castilian forces, and the French army on its way to Castile was enough to match the depleted English armies. If they coordinated well enough, they could outmatch the enemy army and get free reign in Iberia. With over half of Castile already occupied, it would not take long to claim the rest. Castile’s other allies were tiring of war, although it would still take quite a bit more to settle a white peace with them. King Ferran was optimistic that Aragon could achieve a total victory if they continued and claim more than three provinces from Castile. He just had to ensure his court would back his efforts.
((Spammity spam spam!))
Presenting His Majesty, Ferran II de Trastámara, King of Aragon and Naples, and Protector of the Greeks.
What we have accomplished over the last few years will live forever in the annals of history. We have nearly struck down Castile, humbled them after we failed decades ago. If we so please, we could weaken the Castilian beast and lay claim to Murcia, Gibraltar and Vizcaya. Clearly such a thing would be a great boon to us. However, the real question is should we stop at that? Losing a mere three provinces will not stop the Castilians in the long run. Their army still remains. If we want to bring them down, we must deal them a crushing blow. If we continue on with this war, we have the chance of doing just that. Rarely will be get such a chance again. Our treasury is filled with ducats and we still have a few thousand men in reserve. If we continue, we can bring down Castile. Thus I present this choice to you, my members of the court: do we settle for a lesser peace by taking the coward’s way out, or do we laugh in the face of danger and show the Castilians that we are not a people to be trifled with? What say you?
((I reached a crucial point in the war and decided to see what everyone wishes to do. I am presenting you with two choices: end the war now and take the three provinces mentioned or continue on to achieve total victory. The choice will be up to you. As mentioned earlier, we will have the numerical advantage in Iberia as long as France helps, although we certainly have the funds to recruit mercenaries in a pinch. The other enemy nations will most likely accept a white peace in a few years or after Castile is weakened even more. Of course continuing does doom that French army for sure and it will require some decent strategy to lure that enemy army into a battle, that is assuming they stick together. I personally think it is manageable, but that’s up to you. Here is the vote:
Castilian War:
Peace/War/Abstain
The first option is for taking the three provinces mentioned and the second for going for a better peace. Since we’re stopping anyway, I’d also like for our ministers to propose any plans for after peace is achieved. If we choose an immediate peace, then I can easily continue on. If the war is continued, then I have the option continue on after peace is achieved if I want. I will give everyone until
Saturday at 9am PST to propose any plans or vote. I currently need a Court Chaplain now that Andre has resigned. The other positions available I can fill for now if no one wants them. Anyway, remember to
bold your votes and included your character’s name and class, etc, etc.))
