Chapter 1: The fight over the supremacy of The Netherlands
A Brabant/Dutch AAR
Part 3: Two Monarchs and Two Wars.
Philippe I of Brabant
Not much is known about Philippe’s early years on the throne. Historians agreed that it was almost like a Civil War. When Philippe became the Duke of Brabant, a pretender arrived, under the name of Frederick, the Prince of Hessen, and said that the throne was his. Philippe was not ready to give up his birthright. Sadly, the Duchy of Luxembourg and Gelre recognized Frederick as the Duke of Brabant. The Count of Zeeland, the Count of Antwerp and the Duke of Friesland recognized Philippe. Philippe declared war on Hessen, Gelre and Luxembourg. Brabant’s technological superiority proved unmatched against the rebellious dukes and the Hessians. Gelre and Luxembourg was swiftly annexed and Hessen ceded the County of Berg, only to be sold to the Brandenburgers, which was the rising Kingdom in Germany. Brabant would later ally Brandenburg.
The First Partition of Burgundy
On December 1st, 1452, a messenger from France arrived at the Ducal Palace with the following message:
Le Roi de France said:
Le Royaume de France se prepare à envahir le Duché de Bourgogne. Le Roi vous assure que si vous le joignez , Les Contés de Vlaanderen et Hainault seront le votre.
Translated : The King of France is preparing to invade the Duchy of Burgundy. The king assures that if you join him, you will get the Counties of Vlaanderen and Hainault.
This was the perfect opportunity to kick the Burgundians out of the Netherlands once and for all! The duke prepared his troops. The army was doubled in size. The Koninklijke Leger were now at 10,000 trained men and the Jägers van Brussels were now at 4,000 heavily skilled hunters ready for war. The armies were moved to the border, with the Royal Army led by the Duke himself.
The plan was simple; the Royal Army was to move to Bruges, a very rich city. Since it was very important, the Burgundians would probably counter-attack there. French Spies located the Burgundian Army in Picardie; it was only about 4,000 strong. A fast and effective
Blitzkrieg into Burgundian territory would easily defeat the unprepared enemy. In early 1453, France and Brabant declared war on Burgundy.
The Dutch Armies moved immediately. In only a week, Bruges and Mons we’re both under siege. Bruges would fall after 60 days, while Mons would take until the rest of the Army came to help. The king decided to help the French with the sieges. The problem is that His army would be commanded by the French Generals while helping them. The idiotic French generals ordered an Assault the very first day they arrived, resulting in heavy casualties, while Dutch Strategists waited until a breach was made in the fortifications. The Duke received news; the Fort of Luxembourg was under siege. Only a regiment of Burgundians were there. The duke decided to take the Royal Army with him and personally break the siege. This might have been a bad idea...
When the Royal Army arrived in Luxembourg, the Burgundian ambushed the Ducal Armies, killing the duke himself when he received a bolt in his chest. This, in fact, did not destroy the soldier’s morale, but it became ever stronger. The Ducal armies wanted to avenge the dead king. All the Burgundian Soldiers were killed. Antoine I became the Duke of Brabant. After a couple of months of attrition and conquest, Burgundy surrendered, giving the Count of Vlaanderen to the Duke. The duke was only missing Hainault from the Burgundians, which came sooner than he thought it would be.
The Second Partition of Burgundy
France declared war on the rebellious duchy of Toulouse, which gained independence in the French Civil War. Since Burgundy was protecting Toulouse’s independence, he was forced to declare war on France, Brabant, and their allies. The Second War of the partition of Burgundy began. Dutch soldiers quickly
Blitzkrieg-ed again into Hainault. Easily capturing Mons since its Garrison had not yet recovered from the First Invasion. After a couple of months, Burgundy surrendered. Toulouse was annexed by France while the County of Hainault was in the hands of the Dutch. Only the County of Holland was in the hands of foreign domination. There was only one problem, the two wars drained the Manpower of the Duchy, and the Duchy had lost his stability it once had. Brabant gained half of its income that it had before the wars. The wars cost about 6,000 lives, including Duke Philippe I. The Duke’s advisors predicted that it would take a decade to recover the stability and its income.
New World?!
While Antoine was working, he received a message from a spy that was in England. England had in fact discovered a New-World. That New-World contained riches like Beaver furs, which was almost extinct in Europe. This was the perfect opportunity for Brabant to become rich and regain its stability. It could become a Major Power in Europe if they we’re able to get a piece of this “New-World”.
The Netherlands in the Year of our lord 1458
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Accomplishments of the Glorious Duchy, 1430 to 1458
-Gelre annexed (by AI)
-Luxembourg annexed (by AI)
-Gained Vlaanderen and Hainault.
-The duchy tripled in size in about 60 years.
-Government Tech 8, going 9 in early 1459.
-Burgundy kicked out of the Netherlands and reduced to a One Province Minor (OPM).
Current Mission: Conquer Liège
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