Chapter 3: Vengeance!
Something I forgot to mention in last chapter, is that I am over my diplo limit. I don’t want to give up the alliance with Hungary, however, in case I need some bodies to throw at Austria at some point. So I have started to annex Orleannais. The city that heralded France’s comeback in the Hundred Years War will belong to the crown once more!
There is a small matter of Picardie rightfully belonging to the French people. So here is the situation.
Brittany is allied to both Burgundy and England. England is in a coalition against me along with Burgundy. However this plays out, I am bound to run into the three of them sooner or later.
I do a little math.
Brittany has mil tech 4 and 8,000 men.
Burgundy, also tech level 4, has 41,000.
England, a paltry tech level 3, has 19,000.
Together, they could bring 68,000 men on the field.
France (39,000) and our combined vassals (14,000) can get up to 53,000. For a moment, I consider allying Scotland (8,000), but decide against it. Chances are they will just get killed and end up costing me warscore. And there would be no sane way that I could hope to reinforce them if needed against England.
So I need mercs. But with only 15 ducats in the bank, I need to save up first. Grudgingly, I wait, praying that Burgundy doesn’t pull even in the tech race. I do use the time constructively, however, by fabricating a claim on Artois.
2nd of January, 1458. I reach admin level 5. Temples and Constables mean more money and a larger force limit.
Aragon gets caught fabricating a claim on Toulouse. Now is that any way to treat your neighbours? You don’t see me doing that, do you?
Oh, wait…
Aragon wins a war against the pope. Avignon? That’s interesting. Within days, they are allied to Castille and Savoy, who are allied to a bunch of HRE minors. If I am going to do this, I will need to secure my back first, however.
Some time later, England, Brittany and Savoy are all caught fabricating claims on my provinces and I loose patience. Time to show them who’s boss around here!
I take out 3 loans of 75 ducats. Just enough to hire all 12 mercenary companies at my disposal.
Now who was it that betrayed France, and ended up costing her a century of bloodshed? Oh, yeah. Now I remember.
England. Brittany. Burgundy.
I have to move quickly. Losing 15 ducats a month is no laughing matter. Let’s just hope I don’t end up bankrupting the French treasury.
The goals are quite simple: I want Picardie, Franche-Comté and Calais. Picardie because Flanders has a core there. I can use it to release Flanders and feed them in later wars. Calais for obvious reasons. Franche-Comté because it is an HRE province. If the duke dies, it goes to Austria, which would only make things more complicated.
The initial game plan. The mercs will take care of Brittany, led by Denis d’Ornano, a shock-3 general, while Charles VII takes personal command of the main army with his shock-5 rating.
When Charles arrives in Picardie, I see Burgundy assembling its entire army in Calais. All 41,000 come charging in. Remarkably, they are led by an inferior general. The duke (fire-4,shock-4) is not in charge. That should make things easier, provided I win the battle.
It’s a massacre. My morale is still surprisingly good, in comparison with that of the Burgundian army, so I follow them, first to Antwerpen, then to Bourgogne.
Stupidly enough, I only now remember to raise war taxes.
England lands a sizable force in Normandy, forcing my vassals and mercs to stop sieging Brittany for a moment and deal with the threat first. They will lose the rest of their invasion force in Armor.
Charles, still chasing the main Burgundian army, is only momentarily held up by a siege stack in Caux.
From Hainaut, ploughing through a secondary force in Nevers, to Nemours. They cannot run. They cannot fight. They cannot hide. No escape for Burgundy.
December 1459. I think I am winning
After that, it is just a matter of waiting for the sieges to finish.
March 1461. Brittany goes first. Losing Armor means that I could force-vassalise them in a next war.
I had completely forgotten about Cleves. Luckily, my vassals didn’t. In July, they beg for mercy. I am feeling magnanimous, so I let them get off easy.
November 1461. The war is over. We have won. I wanted to release Brabant instead, which would have cost Burgundy half their ill-gotten land, but that would have brought me to 101% warscore. I opt for releasing 2 minors instead. As a side note, did you know that releasing Holland, all by itself, costs 58 warscore? A testament to the province’s wealth.
After the war, I end up with 8 loans, for a total debt of about 450 ducats.
And of course, everyone and their dog suddenly gets scared. Half a dozen embargoes in 2 days time, Utrecht and a couple of other minors joining the coalition.
And Austria demands the return of Franche-Comté, as expected. Unfortunately for them, I have allready started coring the province and I decline ever so politely. So now they too have a CB.
Guess I won’t be going to war anytime soon.
I do hit a snag, though. For some reason, I can’t release Flanders from Picardie. I don’t understand. It’s one of their core provinces. Why can’t I release them?
Oh, well. It’s not going to be raining on my parade, that’s for certain. France has annihilated the armies of England, Brittany and Burgundy.
See you next time, for a (hopefully) peaceful chapter.