The land near the edge: Duke of Holland AAR

[luisvicente]

Hello! This will be my first try at doing an AAR, and I decided to start out as Duke Dirk V of holland, because it´s a nation were you can still controll who your leader wil be, because he is only 12 in 1066, and when I play with him I always get
different traits. Also, being in the edge of the holy roman empire gives you a lot of prospects.
The first 4 years are kinda boring, so they will be mainly about the war for england. Since this is my first AAR, I don´t expect many feedback, but I'm doing this for fun, and to try to actually finish a paradox game, which I never did.
If my English is bad, I'm sorry, and if anyone actually reads this, know this: I am writting this AAR while playing. If you have any suggestions, please give them, because I'm a noob. I'm playing in easy mode, no cheats, and I will try to post twice a week, if I don't have many tests. If I do, I will warn you.

Ps: if you do read this, thank you

 

[unmerged(243792)]

Tip: Take a look at Hainaut, who the children are, and what they will inherit from their parents/grandparents. I'll leave it up to your imagination on how to use this.

 

[DLFebin]

Ye, one of my favourite places to start. Started walkthrough recently too, recording it and uploading to youtube. My thing is kinda boring (because it's just video without commentary), but I will possibly convert it to AARs sometime.

(Link, if someone wants to watch now, without AAR.)

 

[luisvicente]

Due to some reason, I lost the screenshots of the first 4 years, and of the first chapter, so I'm sorry, I don't know what happened. I hope it's not too boring. Maybe I'll do a 2nd chapter today if I can, to compensate the loss, hopefully whit pictures

----------
Duke Dirk V of Holland

CHAPTER 1

The year is 1061, the land is in mourning. Floris I of Holland dies, leaving his 7-year old son, Dirk Floriszoon Gerulfing, to rule over the duchy of Holland, as Duke Dirk V. Dirk is only a boy, and suddenly he ruler of a duchy. Carsten Mard-e, an old friend of his father and steward of Holland, becomes regent and tutor of Dirk.
4 years pass, and it is the 15th of September, 1066. In Normandy, the bastard Duke William II of Normandy sets sail to claim England, as does the king of Norway, Harald Hardrada. Dirk V, now 12, will pay close attention to this conflict, as it will not only determine the future of the isle, for it will also determine the fate of Europe. Dirk is becoming a great man, destined to rule, and with conquests in his mind. Although he does not believe in superstitions, or in much of what people tell him, he thinks that he can reach glory, dreaming of becoming one day king of Frisia, and who, knows, maybe emperor? The people love him, and he takes good care of them, being considered by the people a very just ruler, even though he is only 12.
In the end of the year, his spies inform him that William has occupied London and Bedford, and continues to conquer southern England, while Harald has disembarked in York, which will soon fall. York will again be sacked by Vikings, like it had been 2 centuries before.In the beginning of May, 1067 Dirk has realized the Saxons will fall. The question now was to whom: Norway, or Normandy?
In April, 1068, two guards entered in Carsten chamber. The duke, now 14, was also there, for theology class.
"Sir! We have news from England!"
“What is it? As Harold the Saxon fallen?” said Dirk. He was extremely interested, even though he was just a teen
"Yes, sire, to William! He was crowned 3 days ago, as King William the Conqueror!”
Dirk was fascinated, and now admired the Norman. Quickly, an emissary was sent to London, congratulating the new king. But he still had to deal with the Old Norwegian, Harald.
A year passes, and it is now September, 1069. Dirk is almost coming of age. To him, King William went from being a bastard to a hero, having almost destroyed the Norwegian invasion.
But pressing issues appear. Fratticelius, a Dutch priest, has converted the populace of Ostfriesland, just north of Holland. Dirk is not the most devout catholic, but is still a catholic, and believes this heresy must be destroyed.
In January, 1070, Dirk was officially crowned. The people chanted “Glory to duke Dirk V of Holland, as he has finally come of age!” Now that he was officially the Duke, his first decisions were to strengthen the military and to get married. His interest of the war for England was not only political, but also military. He studied intensely the reports of the battles in England, as well as the tales from the roman soldiers, Hannibal, and the Huns. No one was surprised by his decision to take out a pirate base, north of Vlaardingen. In the 6th of January, the day of the arrival of the three Wise Men with presents to our Lord and Saviour. In his first battle, no soldier of his was killed, and the pirates all perished. He truly was a great tactician!
He also had to choose a bride, but Dirk knew already who he wanted to marry. She was Adele, princess of England, eldest daughter of William the conqueror. He wanted to be allied to his hero, and to have William’s bloodline joined with his. And Adele was indeed one of the most beautiful women in Europe at the time.
William was a great soldier, like Dirk, and said yes to the proposal. William knew that, one day, that young Dutch duke would be more than that, a minor duke in the edge of the HRE.
Now Dirk was allied to a powerful nation, and felt he was ready to achieve greatness!
The first half of the month of January was one of celebration and happiness. First the coronation, then the marriage between Dirk and Adele! Dirk rejects any duty, has only the most prestigious of rulers do!
Meanwhile Flanders, a Dutch duchy, has rebelled against their liege, the French king. Could this be the time to invade Zeeland, a city which rightfully belongs to the duke of Holland? Dirk must decide: invade Zeeland, or stay out of the war?

END OF CHAPTER 1

 

[vitek69]

I don't mean to troll, but this is in the wrong forum. It should be in the Crusader Kings II - After Action Reports sub-forum, located here: http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?684

The mods will probably move it though

 

[NewbieOne]

Good luck with that!

 

[luisvicente]

I don't mean to troll, but this is in the wrong forum. It should be in the Crusader Kings II - After Action Reports sub-forum, located here: http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?684

The mods will probably move it though

Thanks, I'm kinda new to this, what can I do to change it? do I just "copy-paste" the thread to the rigth forum?

 

[Brian Shanahan]

Thanks, I'm kinda new to this, what can I do to change it? do I just "copy-paste" the thread to the rigth forum?

Contact a mod by PM. Just say something along the lines "I started this AAR in the wrong forum (giving the link), could you move it to CK2 AAR forum please?" and they'd be happy to oblige.

Red Ralph Wiggum is one of the CK2 mods, so he'd be a good contact.

Edit: One recommendation I would have is to sprinkle the updates with a few pictures and space out the paragraphs a bit more, especially when you go from one event or idea to a second one. Control the formatting of the reports so that your readers aren't faced with too much information, and with your clear writing style, and you could very well end up with a strong AAR.

Good luck.

 

[luisvicente]

Thanks for the feedback, it is really helping me! I'll try and put pictures in this one. I wont be posting like this, the next chapter will probably be posted on Friday or Saturday.
Here are the duke and duchess of Holland, Dyrk and Adele





CHAPTER 2

Dirk finally decided. He was going to war against Flanders. He had to act quickly. France could win the war at any time. Holland could raise a bit more than 400 troops, but the treasury had gone high enough to hire a war band, those who fight for money. Plus, with the help of the English, he could actually win.

On the night of 31st January, a month after the coronation, Dirk met his marshal, Engelbrecht van Schagen, and his steward, Carsten, his father figure.

“War is nigh, gentlemen. Now is the time to invade Zeeland, tomorrow, dawn. What do you think?"

Carsten was the first to respond "I agree. If we don't act now, we will lose our chance. The economy will be hurt, but it will be a small cost, I will take care of it."

"Let's go to war, for the glory of our duke! “Roared the marshal.

" Good. We are all in agreement"

The next day, at 7AM, the sun had not risen, the army already marched. 233 Dutchmen combined with 1500 Saxons, with 180 men from Westfriesland behind them. The English king couldn't be reached, but the invasion continued.



The first army reached Zeeland on the 10th February, followed by the Saxon band who got there on the 21st. But the French are already occupying Artois. Holland needs to act quickly!





The conquest continues, but the economy is bad. Sadly, the duke Dirk is not commanding is troops, because he went off to command troops for the emperor in Burgundy, the day the invasion was planned to start!
The Occupation of Zeeland ends in the 21st of October, but with severe losses. Even so, the invasion continues.



In the 27th October, the duchy receives joyous news: Adele is pregnant!



In the beginning of November, the army starts the siege of Bruges, the capital of Flanders.

When 1071 comes, Dirk's sisters, Adela and Bertha, come of age.



Dirk marries Adela to Alan mab Edouarzh, marshal of Penthievre, and Bertha to Ugues de Toulouse, spymaster of this duchy. These were matrilineal, and served to bring specialists to the realm, a plan designed by Dirk himself.

He must have gone soft with his sisters' weddings, because in the 12th of April, Dirk was wounded in battle. Hopefully, he will recover.

Well, if he dies, from the 28th of may forward, he would have an heir. The new-born has been named Dirk, like his father.

On 13 June, 1071, the dog that calls himself “the independent duke of Flanders”, Boudewijn, finally realizes that he was defeated, and sends an emissary to the duchy of Holland for peace, with the surrender of Flanders.
The next few days were of celebration throughout the duchy, even in the conquered region, Zeeland. Dirk's new vassal, Robrecht, liked his new liege, and was kept in power of his lands.

The duchy had expanded, and the succession was safe. But Dirk is still wounded. Will he survive?

 

[LordTempest]

You should totally Papal invade England or something...

Please, for the love of all that which is holy, don't use attachments! Display all your images using the

tags, it looks better!

 

[Dovahkiing]

This is cool, but you should use an image-hosting site such as imageshack or photobucket,
Following regardless!
EDIT:
I see Tanzhang has beaten me to the punch about the images, but I want to reiterate that I'm following this AAR.

 

[LordTempest]

This is cool, but you should use an image-hosting site such as imageshack or photobucket,

He is using imageshack for the last four images.

 

[luisvicente]

This is cool, but you should use an image-hosting site such as imageshack or photobucket,
Following regardless!
EDIT:
I see Tanzhang has beaten me to the punch about the images, but I want to reiterate that I'm following this AAR.

You should totally Papal invade England or something...

Please, for the love of all that which is holy, don't use attachments! Display all your images using the

tags, it looks better!

Thank you, I am using imageshack, but the first images I ticked yes for Retrieve remote file and reference locally. guess I ain't doing that no more

 

[vitek69]

Good job about the first war! I will be following you and Dirk for sure:]

 

[luisvicente]

Alright, here is the third chapter. It is only 5 years, but I have com to a point were there are some decisions I wanted to check with you, my councilors in this game. The writing is a bit confusing, because I still haven't decided to write this as chronicles (past tense) or as it happens (present tense). Anyways, here it goes:

Chapter 3: May God help us!

It's June, 1071. The duchy of Holland has expanded with the conquering of zeeland, and Dirk is now closer to achieve his dream of becoming king of frisia. But he is still wounded! What will happen? Will holland go trough another regency for another Dyrk? Let's see...

The war ended just in time, because only days after, Flanders also surrendered to France. But that was not the end of the conquest. Robrecht, count of zeeland, inherited the county of yperen, increasing the power of holland!

But Dyrk was now stressed, from the pains and the complications of his wound. But immediately something cheered him up. Adele is pregnant again!

In the 9th of June, 1072, a healthy girl, Beatrijs, was born!
But the destiny of the duchy was in even greater danger! In April, 1073, Duke Dirk was now ill from the infected wound! Only God can save him now!

But God has listened to the prayers of the people! After 4 mouths of illness, Dirk finally gets better!

March, 1074, Adele is carrying child again! But a couple of days latter, Dirk falls ill again!

Even so, he still controls the duchy, and decides to start the construction of better walls in the capital, Vlaardingen.

In 28 October, 1074, Dirk has a new son, Olivier. This gives strength to the duke, and he recovers from his illness in the exact same day!

One day, a famous monk, considered by many a living doctor of the church, offers to write the chronicles of the Gerulfing family. Dirk sees in this a way to increase his greatness, and decides to give patronage to the churchman, giving him all he needs.

In August 1075, Dirk finally returns from the campaigns in northern Italy for good. And he has war on is sight. Even though he is still injured and stressed, he already thinks of fighting again. But this time, commanding his own troops. There are two possibilities, and the two involve attacking his only neighbor, the duchess of lower Lorraine. The first option is to attack Sticht, a de jure county of the duchy of Holland. The second one involves a secret plot, created many years ago. In Friesland, the chancellor of Holland is doing his best to create a claim. Will the duke wait for this claim, or will he invade Sticht right away?

Also, with a second son, the gavelkind laws are in action, and if duke Dirk dies, the counties in the duchy will be divided, creating possible wars between the 2 brothers. The duke wants to choose a better succession law, but will the vassals agree with it? And, with Dyrk still wounded, noting is certain.

In September of 1075, Dirk is again commanding the kaiser's troops, but the questions still remain. Only God knows the future of Holland now.

 

[LordTempest]

That's much better.