Chapter 10: Burgundy, You Cheat!
I must say, I like those odds: Burgundy, Lorraine, England, The Hansa and Münster (the German one) against France and Poland + their respective underlings. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, as it will turn out, something did. I just don’t know exactly what, but we’ll get to that later.
The war starts fairly normal. 15,000 each to Holland, Lorraine and the actual duchy, with the rest on standby in case of English landings.
After taking care of the enemy forces, I start carpet sieging Burgundy and Lorraine. After a while, it becomes obvious that the English are too smart to land in France. Instead they go for Galicia, where I can’t get to. Yet. So I send my 4th army to Münster via Gelre, just in time to intercept a Hanseatic army. They turn back without engaging.
I freely admit it: when I saw those Austrians heading for my siege stacks, I almost broke the sieges up North to prevent a shattering defeat.
Then I realised that Austria was on my side. They hate France, the have rivaled us, but they love Poland too much not to help us. Very nice.
Remember that Hanseatic army that ran when faced with the might of French troops? Turns out that running wasn’t an option either. I am so glad that these guys are on my side.
With all those allied forces hanging around, the war became rather dull. It was just a matter of time to wait for the inevitable. Münster was the first to see the light. It will be a long time before they are a threat to anyone again.
The Hansa was next. I could have given Lübeck to Poland, but I don’t think I want them that close to me. Besides, Lübeck is way too rich for them.
Notice how I have practically all of Burgundy occupied, and have a warscore of 47? That’s when I began getting suspicious. I have almost all of the warleader’s lands. My score should be much higher. I think.
I was temporarily distracted by this lovely inheritance. With the potential backing of Poland, Napoli could become a summer retreat for king Louis XIII.
I have 30,000 men standing around, doing nothing. My warscore is 51.
By the time I have all of Burgundy sieged up, my warscore has only gone up to 57%. And before you ask, Burgundy was the warleader on their side. Galicia was under English occupation and my ports were (of course) being blockaded by the Royal Navy. But those elements shouldn’t have such a high score.
I check.
I double-check.
All of Burgundy? Holland, Breda, Zeeland, Brabant, Nevers, Charolais, Bourgogne? Check.
Burgundian allies and vassals? Occupied or peaced out? Check.
Why am I not at 100% warscore against them?? Burgundy was warleader, so the fact that England was untouched shouldn’t make a difference. I didn’t in my previous wars. Why now? Why??
Even if I wait a couple of months to let the ticking warscore (occupying Charolais) get to its maximum, I will still not get 100%.
I don’t understand.
In the end, I have to settle for this. It’s good to have Lorraine, but I wanted Burgundy broken.
What happened? What did I do wrong? I have no idea.
I play on a while longer, and finish integrating Flanders, while Burgundy leaves the coalition.
I am still so angry about this. Any thoughts or suggestions as to why I had a crappy 57% warscore after winning all the battles would be more than welcome.