Very nice compaign Innocentius. You'll find that Burgundian troops 1 v 1 are better than French troops. The Scots have done surprisingly well, normally they eventually get defeated by the English. Good luck with your next move Innocentius.
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Very nice compaign Innocentius. You'll find that Burgundian troops 1 v 1 are better than French troops. The Scots have done surprisingly well, normally they eventually get defeated by the English. Good luck with your next move Innocentius.
Thanks everyone, I've decided to go for the French whenever I get some time to play. My plan is to take Toulouse, but leave Aquitaine for the Spanish (factions actually have a nasty - and stupid - habit of attacking you if your provinces are blocking them from reaching their enemies). But I'll probably just go for whatever province that is the easiest to conquer and hold. Ile de France is nice, since it's almost always weakly defended, thus the French retreat, and when you're to defend it the next year - 'cause they will counterattack for sure - you often find yourself defending a bridge:beam:
Wage a guerrilla war against the French. Not only do you have mounted x-bows but you have javelin cavalry with an irresistible charge. Raid into their heart or flank, just avoid offensive bridge battles. Burgundy is highly defensible so just use those two cav units in tandem to wear the Frenchies out and temp them to attack you thru a chokepoint.
I'm playing the Byz / early / normal. The year is 1207 and the Byzantine empire in all it's glory streches from Tuscany to Georgia, from Morocco to Serbia... indeed the entire Eastern Med is under the command of Emperorer Alexius III vast hand. Peace has been maintained for 25 years of his rule and all ideas of expansion were put off in order to maintain the trade that had helped the empire flourish and put an overage of 30,000 flourins a year into the imperial coffers. Then the unthinkable happened, the Emperor died and his 20 year old son was crowned Emperor John II. He was young, hot headed and had an inflated idea of his own command abilities. The desire to finish rebuilding the great and glorious Roman Empire burned hot in his soul and so plans were made to invade some rebel provinces in what had been France. He assured his generals that England might get involved but they do not have the forces to stop us... and Genoa have been our allies for 100 years they wouldn't break the alliance. Still the generals had reservations as did the admirals. The Army had been neglected in favour of building projects and the navy was centered on the eastern med with only token forces holding down the trade routes. All questions were pushed aside and a grand army was mobilized for the expedition.
D-Day: The force of 7,000 men was landed with no problems on the shores of flanders. This force represented 60% of the standing army and mobile reserves available. The rebel force was pushed aside quickly and the remnants ran for the castle. Quickly the force left the reservists to hold the siege while the frontline troops spread out into Ile-de-France and the Champagne. Everything was going according to plan. As an even brighter spot the new neighbor Bohemia asked for an alliance.
Deception, Treachery and Rebellion: Emperor John met with his advisors and generals and was smug in his victory when the sound of fast footfalls was heard running towards the council chambers. A messenger ran in with the news that the army in Ile-de-France was being attacked. "By the rebels?" "No my Emperor, by England!" The English had scraped together a force and it was being led by King John himself. Outnumbered though they were the Byzantine general was a master strategist and send King John packing with over 2000 casualties. The English in Frisieland also attacked flanders but were defeated. The English lifeline to the continent was cut by a naval battle in the channel and everything seemed like it would be fine. In response to the English attack General Commena in Ile-de-France was reinforced from the Champagne and asked to attack Anjou. Meanwhile Forces were combed from Morocco and Algeria and used to attack Toulouse. Toulouse was quickly subdued. The English force in Anjou put up a good defense but was no match for the Byzantine force. King John was captured in battle but his ransom was refused and he was thrown into Paris dungeon never to be heard from again. But all this was a minor victory as Genoa decided to come to England's aid. An all out naval attack was ordered and one by one the Byzantine ships were hunted down and destroyed. In all, every naval unit west of Italy was lost to the Geonese fleet. If that was not enough, the Geonese supported a rebellion in Sicily that restored the Sicillians to the throne and quietly landed a large force on the shores of Rome... after 76 years the Pope was back on Italian soil.
Defeat, Heroisim and Assassination: Emperor John sat silently in his quarters in the Royal Palace at Constantinople. Everything had gone wrong, the Army in France was now cut off, the navy half-wrecked, the Pope leading a rebellion in Rome and the Sicillians leading a rebellion in Sicily. How could this have happened? It was all supposed to be so easy, just a simple expansion into rebel held lands. Now the Empire was faced with a war on 2 fronts, one it was not prepared to wage. Still he could not afford to brood on the situation. His Empire needed him, it was his mess and he was going to fix it. First to consider was the monetary situation. A 30,000 flourin yearly surplus had shrunk to 2,000, yet it was still a surplus. All building projects currently in progress would be finished but nothing new would be started... that would save some some money. The units were available for 2 new armies but it would be 2 years before the provinces could start cranking out new armies. There was also the intrigue factor. Syria had 3, 3 man assassin teams ready for a mission. All these assassins were 5 stars and knew their business well. Plus there was the enigmatic Bulgaricus... a 7 star assassin that had survived for longer than anyone could remember. Also the shipyards of the empire were already at maximum output with the newest design... the Firegalley. Every resource of the Empire would have to be martialed to survive. But that would take time.
Genoa invaded Morocco and Algeria in a preplanned attack with a small but extremely mobile force. The Reserve units in the provinces had no choice but to fall back to the castles and await the inevitable. In Rome the armies once again had no choice but to fall back to the castle, but there was hope for quick relief of the siege. Meanwhile in the French provinces Anjou was attacked by English troops from Brittany but once again the English went down in defeat. The one bright spot, if it can be called that, was a brilliant extrication of the troops in Sicily by the Byzantine Navy. It abandoned the province but saved 850 seasoned veterans for the campaigns to come. The Empire had lost 4 valuable provinces in one year and it's armies had suffered defeat. In the early hours of late December morning 2 armies crossed the border into Algeria... the tide was about to turn.
Revenge is best served cold...: A scream echoed through the halls of the Consuls Palace in Genoa... in the dark cold of night the assassins hand had struck down the consul of Genoa, the price paid for treachery to an ally. The next in line to the throne took command of the country and an intense search was started to locate the assassin. A few culprits were caught over the next few years but from that time on no Consul would rule longer than a year... all victims of the infamous Bulgaricus. In Rome the Papal armies rode out to meet the force arrayed against them. The Byzantine force facing them couldn't be more than half their number so they were smug in their assured victory. These were no ordinary Byzantine armies though... they were the new model armies, ones designed to be hard hitting and mobile. There was more cavalry and gone were the spearmen. Instead of the hordes of trebizond archers there was now a balance between them and the new arbalesters. Still present were the Byzantine Infantry and some Varanagian guard, but these were ones with better armour and arms than before and high morale at being led by a 9 star general. The battle was swift, the Byzantines elusive, cunning and destructive... in the end they only suffered 35 casualties but inflicted 3,700 on the papal armies and captured the rest. The Pope was once again defeated and sent into exile. In North Africa the Geonese armies were sent reeling by the Byzantine onslaught and retreated to southern spain. All territories except Sicily had been recaptured. The war on the high seas continued to be a draw with one side not getting the advantage over the other until a fleet of the new firegalleys defeated a combined of Geonese ships at Malta.
5 years later...: Emperor John II sat with his advisors and listened to the reports. The last Geonese heir had fallen to the assassins blade and the once mighty kingdom had fallen into warring rebel factions. Italy had been secured and all damage from the Papal uprising fixed. The trade routes were still in some dissarray but they were once again slowly streaching out their hand towards foreign lands. All of France was now under Byzantine control and plans were being made to gain control of all the rebel lands in Spain and Northwest Italy. The new model armies had proven themselves on the battlefield and the older armies were being phased out in preference to the new armies. Emperor John II was now 32 years old and in control of an empire that almost encompassed all the lands of the Old Roman Empire. The war with England had petered out of it's own accord and they were dealing with rebellion in Scotland. It had been a glorious gamble that had almost gone terribly wrong, but had shown the world the might of Byzantine arms.
Sigh! I really have to get myself either the BKB or XL mod!Quote:
Originally Posted by Martok
Thanks Martok.
Lovely stuff BrSpiritus! A well managed campaign and a great write up!:2thumbsup:
:idea2: Could I be so bold as to suggest that our mods might move this tale of Byzantium to the "Pics & History of your empire" thread?
I look forward to reading the next instalment to see how john salvages his Empire!
Very very nice. I too hate it when my armies get cut off from reinforcements, making you scramble to hire expensive mercenaries. I like your strategy with "New model" armies, In my view that reflects on your organization skills, organizing your armies takes loads of time and planning (Not to mention money).
Bulgaricus...I KNOW that I have seen a assasin of that name. Maybe a book, or in the game, but iv seen it somewhere.
This kind of makes me want to play a XL byz game right now.
Superb campaign and write up. :2thumbsup:
I don't play XL myself but a good Byzantine campaign to try is the vanilla high period one. By that time your forces are getting seriously outdated and you have to adapt or be wiped out. You start the campaign with only Nicaea, Rhodes, Georgia and Lesser Armenia. As some of you know I have modded the MTW campaigns, and removed the Georgia and Lesser Armenia from Byzantine control for all periods. This leaves the Byzantine with only Nicaea and Rhodes, more accurately representing the Empire of Nicaea which is what the Byzantine empire had become at that stage after the establishment of the Latin Empire after the fourth crusade. It is a struggle, and very satisfying in you can rebuild the Empire.
An interesting read BrSpiritus. Seeing how you destroyed the popes army overwhelmingly, going after the Sicilians should be no problem. :2thumbsup:
Quote:
Originally Posted by r johnson
I was going to trounce the Sicilians but then I thought it would be more fun to drop all my 5 star assassins on the island and just start picking off the armies...one by one Muwahahahaha!! The income on Sicily is good, but honestly I don't need it. I'm starting the buildup now to counter the Golden Horde when they pop up. John II will not be around when that happens but his heirs will inherit an efficient fighting force. Also I'm down to just a few powers left... Kiev (huge empire), England (in disarray after the war but making an attempt to rebuild), Danes ( same 4 provinces for 200 years), Venice ( a few Northern Italy provinces but I own the province of Venice itself), Sicily (my new plaything..."Klytus I'm bored! What new plaything do you have to offer me today?"), Bohemia (Strong in Germany and someone who bears watching), Cumans (2 non-joining provinces. About to get trounced by the Kievens) and the Serbs ( 1 province no hope of expansion as they're caught between kiev and Byzantine lands). Oh yeah and I almost forgot... there's the Irish who are still around and have been my ally since the start of the game.
~BrSpiritus
Quote:
Originally Posted by holybandit
Getting cut off makes for an interesting game though... I never hire mercs in my games even though I build inns in all my provinces. I was just lucky that the expeditionary force was made up of crack troops... even so those armies are shattered just the same from hard fighting. I was able to join them together into 2 stacks of basically Byzanine stormtroopers... they can take on anyone now and will come in handy for the inevitable showdown with Kiev.
I always have an "assembly line" system of building armies where 1 province makes this unit another province makes this one... it allows me to make the best use of each provices special unit ability if it has one.
I don't know if there was a real Bulgaricus, but in the game it's Constantine Bulgaricus. He was a member of the first 3 man unit I created and just was a stubborn bastard who accomplished every mission I threw at him while the others were caught. He's now a nine star assassin thanks to the Genoa affair and he's unstoppable. Just for a joke I hovered him over the Prince of Kiev, a well respected leader with high inluence and 9 star command... Bulgaricus had an 89% chance of success in killing him. I've never seen anything like it in all my games, but to be honest I never made such wide use of assassins before.
~BrSpiritus
Volga Bulgars: 1087-1110 A.D. (Early, Expert)
THE FIRST CLASH
Khan Subudai I surveyed his holdings. His people had only recently came onto the scene, and his Muslim followers felt isolated from the seemingly hostile surrounding Christian populations. However, the Khan's lone province of Volga-Bulgaria had only rebel neighbors, and the time was ripe for expansion. Subudai, an authoritative leader who would not tolerate disobedience, knew that he could not live off the meager and undeveloped farmlands for long, and that expansion was necessary for growth.
After a few years of building infrastructure and training troops, the Khan himself led an invasion force into Muscovy. The rabble of rebels quickly retreated to the fort and was besieged. A short two years later and the Subudai had more than doubled the size of his kingdom. By now the Khan's first-born son had come off age, Prince Subudai II. The heir to the Volga-Bulgarian throne would form his own invasion force and march westward into Ryazan. The rebel force of horse archers and spearmen initially decided to give battle, but once Subudai II started to advance on their position with his archers, they turned and fled into the fort.
Subudai II was an impatient man and he immediately made preparations for assault. The horse archers fought valiently but were no match for Bulgarian Royal Cavalry. Good times were on the horizon as the economy and size of the Volga-Bulgarian empire increased once more. Over the next few years a second son, Prince Temudur, would come of age and alliances would be concluded with several nations including Novgorad, Lithuania, Sweden, the HRE, Aragon, the Cumans, and the Venetians. While Prince Subudai was off fighting in Chernigov, his brother Temudur took command of the garrison in Ryazan. Once again the rebels would retreat to the fort and were assaulted, though the spearmen proved worthy adversaries and dealt the VB a fair amount of casualties.
For now the empire was set, the rebel garrison in Khazar was too strong and the depleted treasury meant bribery was not an option. The Khan now poured all his effort into strengthening the poor economy. Farmlands were built, forests cleared, and trading posts erected. Alims were trained and spread to all corners of the empire to spread the Muslim faith. Meanwhile, Novgorad and Sweden had declared war on Lithuania. Subudai decided to side with the Lithuanians, and this meant that alliances with Sweden, Novgorad, Aragon, and the Venetians were now void. While the foreign powers bashed on each other, the Khan saw a golden opportunity when he noticed that Novgorad had left their capital relatively unguarded. Subudai quickly formed an invasion force and let his new son Prince Ordhun lead the way into Novgorad.
The Prince of Novgorad formed up his troops in a defensive position but soon withdrew from battle and crossed the border into Finland (but not before losing a half unit of Druzhinas and one unit of Vikings). The rich province was conquered with little bloodshed. However, Ordhun was not naive and knew that he needed to fortify the new holdings. A unit of Steppe Cavalry was soon trained and added to the army of two units of archers, one unit of kursybays (like armoured spearmen but with more morale), two units of bashkorts (javelin units), one unit of horse archers, one unit of Cherne Klobuki (cavalry), one unit of slav warriors and the general.
As expected, the Prince of Novgorad came roaring back with four units of vikings, his heir Prince David, a half unit of Druzhina Cavalry, a unit of woodsmen and his own bodyguards. The Volga-Bulgarians outnumbered their opponents by about 500 to 350, but Ordhun knew he was in for a tough fight. He formed his defensive line on a slightly elevated hill and waited for the enemy. The Horse Archers managed to get out in front and harass the woodsmen for a few volleys before retreating off to the right. As the archers dueled with the Boyars, the woodsmen, Druzhinas, and a unit of vikings charged straight at the Kursybays. The Cherne Klobuki moved off to the side in a flanking manuever while the Bashkorts unleashed their javelins into the vikings. As the three units smashed into the spearmen, the Kursybays quickly began to falter. The Cherne Klobuki charged into the Druzhinas rear and managed to rout them.
Unfortunately, Prince David saw this and broke off his range dual to flank the Klobuki. Panicking, the Bashkorts switched their targets to the Boyars and managed to take down many. However, the CK were routed as well as the Kursybays. The Bashkorts then charged into melee with the vikings. They fought well, but the combined Boyars and Viking threat routed them too. The right line had completely collapsed and the archers were now vulnerable. Meanwhile, on the left flank a unit of vikings had somehow managed to trap a unit of skirmishing archers and were cutting them up. The Slav Warriors attempted a flanking attack but were hit in the rear by the Woodsmen and were quickly defeated. The other unit of bashkorts did what they could to help but it was of no use. Soon nearly every unit was routing. It looked like the day was lost but Ordhun and the Steppe Cavalry had managed to surround and destroy a unit of vikings. They then sped off to help the bashkorts and routed another viking unit and then obliterated the remaining woodsmen. Prince David was too busy slicing up archers to realize he was being charged. He was soon knocked from his horse and trampled to death. The last unit of vikings was easily surrounded and routed and by now the Prince of Novgorad had given up and withdrew. Victory had been pulled from the jaws of defeat. Nearly 350 Volga-Bulgarian warriors lay dead on the battlefield afterwards. Novgorad had been held.
But Subudai would not have much time to celebrate the great victory. He spent his final hours just weeks after the battle's end. His accomplishments, however, did not perish with him. Subudai had managed to increase the size of his kingdom more than five times its original size, had significantly improved the economy, and had proved to the world that Volga-Bulgaria was a force to be reckoned with.
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Note: It really looked like I was going to lose this battle, but the Steppe Cavalry helped me to a victory with some well-timed charges. This was the first battle I really realized how useful they are. Before I thought they were an extremely weak but fast cavalry unit. After the victory my army in Novgorad was nearly destroyed but strangely the Novgoradians did not attack me again. They had nearly a full stack of vikings in Livonia but just sat there while I rushed in reinforcements. Novgorad is now fortified.
Also, take a careful look at the last picture. I just recently noticed that two of my underage heirs are the same age - making them twins! How this happened I have no idea but I think it is pretty cool.:2thumbsup:
Simply awesome, BrSpiritus! I haven't seen an AAR on a Byz campaign in a while now, so I found this to be a particularly enjoyable read. (In addition, it was also an excellent write-up in its own right.) Nice campaign, and good work! ~:cheers:
Good idea; done. ~:)Quote:
Originally Posted by bamff
Cowhead, I am so glad somebody else enjous playing with my favorite faction - the Volga Bulgars in XL. They provide a great challenge because of the Horde arrival. By this time, since you are Muslim, you are also likely to attract plenty of Crusades. Achieving a good defensive position is critical. I usually go for Georgia to the south and a line of Levidia, Kiev and Lithuania to the west, which can be expanded to Prussia, Volhynia and Moldova.
Another challenge to the Volga Bulgars is the lack of sword/axe infantry and good missile infantry. You know you can produce Variangian swordsmen in Novogord and Kiev, right? They come in handy, even if a bit expensive, and of course if you conquer the Scandinavian provinces you can get housecarls. Limited to Early only but they still do a great job and have a huge impact on the game. The only solution to the archers problem I have found out to be taking Bulgaria for Bulgarian brigands, but it is hard to hold on to as you will have to fight off a combination of Hungarians and Byzantines, or Egyptians (if the latter take out the Byzantines). Not to mention that you need a citadel with a master bowyer. You can also get Sherwood Foresters in High in Mercia I believe and Welsh Longbowmen from Wales in late. The Heavy Steppe Cavalry has armor piercing bonus, but they are small unit sizes and run out of arrows too quickly. I do not remember if you could get desert archers, but I believe not and it is quite hard for the Volga Bulgars to expand that far south anyway.
I will love to see how your campaign develops.
Bad news guys. ~:mecry: First, I was gone all last week for the Thanksgiving holiday. When I returned home, my power supply smoked. Translation: my French campaign is at a very premature end. I'm picking up a new power supply tonight, but after two weeks away from it, I'm going to have to start from scractch. I get the most enjoyment from the role-playing aspect of it, and I can't stay 'connected' once I've lost that much time in a game. I promise though, once I get my PC up and running, I'll have an HRE game going to remember. Even better on the stories.
Nice write-up, Cowhead! I think you're the first to post a V-B campaign on this thread, so I congratulate you for being a pioneer. ~:cheers: I particularly enjoyed the battle to defend Novgorod; last-second heroics are always fun to read about!
@Don Corleone: Uff da; sorry to hear about your power supply man. And the French were doing so well, too! :sad: Good luck on getting your PC back in order. When you're ready, we look forward to hearing the exploits of Emperor Conrad. :yes:
As for myself, I hope I'll finally get to start a new campaign tomorrow. I've been too tied up with RL distractions this last week to really play at all--I ended up stuck in my hometown all of last weekend with car problems (and thus was far away from my computer and MTW for the better part of 4 days). :thumbsdown:
I'm still unsure which faction I'm going with, although I'm leaning slightly towards the Fatamids (Egyptians) at the moment. I'm also considering the HRE....but I'm not sure if I'm in the mood to get wolfpacked--I suspect that will depend on how masochistic I'm feeling tomorrow night. :wink:
The Chronicles of Bamff’s English
Chapter 5 – The reign of King Stephen II continues (1196 – 1220)
In a most curious development, word has reached the court of King Stephen in 1196 that Doge Lorenzo I has reclaimed the Italian crown. It had long been thought that all members of the Italian royal family had perished, but Lorenzo has convinced enough of his people that he is indeed the rightful heir to throne. He has quickly amassed a large following, and he and his followers have seized Milan and Tyrolia from the Holy Roman Empire. Provided that this newly reformed nation were able to survive its formative years, it could prove a valuable ally. King Stephen despatched an emissary to the court of the new Doge to congratulate him upon reclaiming the throne.
King Stephen had by now reached the age of some 32 years. His influence throughout greater Europe is but a shadow of that enjoyed by his legendary father at a comparable age, and the English monarch grows ever more anxious to rectify this situation. It is said that his fears of being less favourably remembered by his people than his noble father now trouble him so much as to prevent his slumber of an evening. His advisors counsel him that there is no better way to increase his fame, notoriety, and influence, than through conquest….and there is a need to secure our European borders as well, with the Holy Roman Empire and Spain both steadily building their forces.
Lord Martok of the Duchy of Theguild has strongly advocated the securing of our Kingdom’s breadbasket of Flanders by annexing the neighbouring provinces of Friesland and Lorraine from the Fresians and Germans respectively. King Stephen reacts most favourably to this advice. Surely the boldness of such a move, if properly executed, would lift his popularity and influence to the levels formerly enjoyed by his late father, Richard I.
One obstacle remains, however – the threat of Papal interference. Stephen dares not risk excommunication, and draws up a most cunning plan to achieve his ends. Sir Ralph Fitzalan is ordered to invade the Polish province of Pomerania. His forces wade ashore in 1197, and immediately march on Mikilenborg Castle. The small Polish provincial force flees before them, and despatches a messenger to Rome to beg the Pope to intercede on their behalf.
At the same time as Fitzalan’s men are drawing up their encampment at Mikilinborg, Sir Edmund Plantagent follows his ruler’s orders and crosses the border into Friesland. The Fresians, under the command of Heinrich Plittersdorf steel themselves for a spirited defence of their homeland. Their bravery on the field is laudable, but it is to no avail, as Plantagenet’s more disciplined and seasoned troops make short work of the Fresian army. Plittersdorf himself falls early in the battle, with several English arrows finding chinks in his armour.
With the attention of Pope Giovanni drawn to Pomerania, a papal decree arrives at court, instructing King Stephen to withdraw his forces forthwith. The King acquiesces, but even as Fitzalan’s men board their barques to leave Pomeranian shores, Lord Marshall, Count of Champagne leads our armies into Lorraine. Emperor Conrad IV is taken completely by surprise, and has little stomach for a fight. He withdraws hastily, leaving a substantial body of men under siege in Nancy Castle. With rations short, these beleagured defenders cannot hope to hold our forces at bay for long.
1198 is proving to be a watershed year for King Stephen II of England. News has just arrived that Jerusalem has fallen, and that Palestine is in English hands. The German garrison at Nancy also succumb. Weakened by disease and starvation, the once proud army surrender meekly to Marshall’s men.
As the New Year dawns, the bulk of the German army is trapped in Burgundy. King Stephen orders Lord Fitzwalter to lead the invasion, urging his General to crush the German forces as the local Burgundians would crush grapes…..then immediately reproaches himself mentally for the use of so clichéd a metaphor. English historians of the time share their King’s weakness for a cliché, recording that “it would appear that the German forces have more taste for the local wine than they do for battle”, as most of the German force fall back to Switzerland.
The losses suffered in Lorraine and Burgundy have severely weakened Emperor Conrad’s forces, and he stands in impotent fury within the shrunken borders of his Empire. He is also sorely pressed in the East by the Poles and Hungarians, and the Italians now strike at Austria and Venice.
Word arrives in 1199 that both Pope Giovanni and Doge Lorenzo I have accepted our offers of alliance. Indeed, Lorenzo is so set upon cementing our new alliance that he offers the hand of his daughter Brunilde to our Prince Henry. King Stephen graciously accepts on behalf of his son. If nothing else, it may help to dispel certain unpleasant rumours that have recently emerged about the young Prince’s preference for the company of young gentlemen….
Our new allies the Italians join forces with us in 1200 to subdue the rebel faction in Provence. A winter campaign is not to all tastes, but the decision of Sir William Stuart to attack at this time proves to be a masterstroke. The Italian and English troops acquit themselves admirably, despite the bitter cold and driving snow. At the end of the day, victory is ours, and the stark white snow of Provence is stained crimson where once the rebel army stood. The Italians cede control of Provence to the English, as our forces involved in the action were the greater.
King Stephen’s appetite for conquest is still far from satiated, and in 1203, he orders Sir Simon Montfort the Elder to lead our forces south to obliterate the recalcitrant King Alfonso and his followers.
The following year, the last vestiges of resistance in Aragon are crushed. A short peace ensues, but once his supplies are replenished and his army is reinforced, Sir William Stuart drives eastward to capture Genoa in 1207.
With the English armies rampaging across Europe, Stephen’s influence is at an all time high. In deference to this fact, the Egyptian Sultan proposes a ceasefire in 1210. King Stephen duly accepts – his ambitions lie elsewhere at present, and it is useful to secure Palestine and Tripoli….Egypt can wait – for now.
Both Switzerland and Franconia fall into our hands in 1216. Stephen is euphoric! Never has an English king ruled such an extensive kingdom! In a drunken celebration, he proclaims himself to be greater than God….and in 1219 is excommunicated when word of this heresy reaches Rome. This penalty is not suffered for long….as the shadowy Guy of Gisbourne’s blade cuts short both Pope Giovanni’s breakfast and the pontiff’s life itself.
Perhaps it is divine retribution or maybe just one of those peculiarly ironic twists of fate. Soon after word reaches Wessex of the demise of Pope Giovanni, and the consequent welcoming back to the bosom of the church of King Stephen, the English Monarch falls from his horse whilst enjoying an early morning ride. He never wakes, and some days later is pronounced dead by the court physicians. At 26 years of age, King Edward III is crowned in a memorable ceremony at Wessex. The king is dead – long live the king!
Excellent chronicle, bamff! Way to show the HRE and Aragonese what for. ~:cheers:
Obviously my favorite part. ~D Seriously, though, I'm glad that worked out. It never hurts to give yourself a buffer zone on your eastern borders (when playing as the French), particularly when your neighbor is the HRE! Personally, I'm never very comfortable when Flanders directly borders another faction--it's just too valuable, and therefore too tempting of a target. :yes:Quote:
Originally Posted by bamff
This was actually my favorite passage. It's not often that a campaign AAR makes me laugh out loud, but this one definitely did! :laugh4: :laugh4:Quote:
Originally Posted by bamff
Well done, bamff. Can't wait to hear how the English fair against the Spanish--assuming they're your next target, of course. Or will you be tackling the Holy Land & the Egyptians instead?
I've decided to end my Burgundian campaign as things weren't going all too well. First, I just couldn't find a target to attack, then I finally went for the province that had the smalles army, which turned out to be Swabia. I was outnumbered with about 2:1, but managed to pull off a draw, although I lost the battle. The casualties were pretty much exactly 400 on each side. Then I had to ransom about 80 of my own troops (I just couldn't afford losing any), though this set my treasury to -400.
The next year, the frenchies invaded Provence, but were slaughtered, as I had a bridge to rely on (I believe the casualties was about 700 on their side and 70 on mine). Although the same year, a Spanish crusade arrived in Burgundy, stealing about 10-20% of my troops there:furious3: This crusade was followed by a Portugese one the next year.
Although I had like 10 allies (including the Pope and Spain) I couldn't do much. I tried to take Toulouse, but facing a bridge and again outnumbered by more than 2:1 i retreated, although the French siezed the opportunity and took Provence by sea (I had lost a couple of sea battles the year before) without having to fight for it.
Then the French invaded Burgundy a couple of years later, without a bridge and outnumbered with what...4:1? (I don't recall exactly) there wasn't much I could do. With Burgundy lost and only Switzerland and Savoy left, an anual income of about 30 and puny armies, I decided that it was a situation that was so messed up there really wasnt any point in trying any more.
So that's that. I guess I have myself to blame for not attacking them Frenchies earlier. I'll probably start a new campaign soon, preferably in Eary for a change.
Thanks for your kind words Martok....I did have a bit of fun writing that last chapter (probably had more time because the battles all seemed very short!).
I suspect it will not be long before either the Spanish or the Byzantines decide that the English are worthy of attention...but we shall see....if not for the liklihood of excommunication, I would set the Iberian peninsula as my target (simply because Spain is more of a rival than tiny, fragmented Egypt).
Innocentius! What a shame to see the fall of Burgundy - I was looking forward to following your advance through French territory. It is devastating when it all turns so quickly - I am the first to concede that I have been incredibly lucky in this current campaign. Fngers crossed that my luck holds!
Wjhat am I missing since I see no pics - just red multiplication signs?:help:
Andrew
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Yeah, it's really a lot more common to fail than to succeed (at least to me), even more so when playing as a minor faction. Thinking of it, there is a way I could've solved the problem. I could've just attacked the French, retreated, and then waited for them to attack me. Since it's a lot easier to defend, I could have depleted their troops and then invade them when and where they were at their weakest. Anyway, I don't want to reload the game as it feels like cheating. I'm thinking of starting a Bohemian campaign, Early XL. I've only tried them once and had a pretty good go, although I was unable to play for long enough to really make myself an opinion.Quote:
Originally Posted by bamff
The main problem with Burgundy is that it's a crusade highway. The beauty of it though is that you're right next to Swiss lands and you can build a nice gun/pike/halberd army once you're able to afford it. Northern Italy is quite wealthy and it's close too.
Well you could always attack another Catholic faction to avoid the Papal warning with Spain--the HRE are a good target if they're not already excommed. Otherwise Italy is often a good target for diversionary attacks. Either way, though, I wouldn't dilly-dally in preparing for war along your southern border; as it probably won't be terribly long before the Spanish look north across the Pyrnees and decide that the "grass is greener" on the other side. ~D Even if you decide to not take any offensive actions against the Iberians, it's always best to at least be ready for them!Quote:
Originally Posted by bamff
As was I. Sorry to hear about your campaign, Innocentius. :sad: I was really looking forward to seeing the David-Goliath matchup as you moved against the Franks! It just goes to show that one ignores the French at their peril--a mistake I myself made a few too many times when I first picked up VI. ~:rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by bamff
As I finally got bored with my Sicilian campaign - I had got to a size where total victory was probably inevitable, so I lost interest - so time for pastures new.
So I have started a hard, GA, High Almohad campaign. My first go with these boys and they are quite interesting.
Nice start position - quite good borders and nicely developed provinces. Only disadvantage - only Portugal available for quick expansion.
So I start building, gather a bit of an army and take Portugal - like those AUMs, even in High - very nice. The Spanish seem fairly non aggressive, so a bit of building then hit the Spanish big time. I throw them out of Leon and Castile and they are left as a weak force in Navarre. I then tried to make an alliance with Aragon - who kept turning me down - so I invaded after I had consolodated my Spanish provinces. They fell quite easily so the question now is - what next. I have a nice army and trade/ money is going nice so who do I attack next? Egypt, mainland france - held by England and HRE or Sicily then Italy - any ideas??:2thumbsup:
Hey King Kurt! Good to see you again. ~:wave:
Given your current position & situation, I would probably take out the Sicilians next. Doing so of course removes one the game's more annoying naval threats, not to mention it would help you maintain control of the Mediterranean.
After that I would move against the Eggies, before they get too big. :yes:
Speaking of the Egyptians, I just started a campaign as the Fatamids last night. Nothing to report just yet--I'm building up my armies a bit before I take on the Seljuks. Wish me luck! :egypt:
Certainly, Martok, luck is something you'll definitely need, so best wishes from me :smile:
For some reason, I am never able to carry them Eggies any further than the early 1100's anytime I start a campaign with them :wall: Must be my ineptitude with handling Muslim troops, as my posterior gets royally spanked in every other battle :whip: I guess I've grown much too used to the Western knightly armies :knight:
Anyway, you incited my appetite. Maybe I should start a Fatimid campaign too? Even a GA one, so that I get to build that Grand Mosque in Egypt? ~:idea:
That's precisely what I'm doing. ~:) In fact, I actually had to restart my campaign last night, as I realized I'd accidentally started the game in Domination mode the evening before. :oops:Quote:
Originally Posted by Loucipher
I also set the level to Hard this time, which is fairly unusual for me. (I have a general tendency to play on Normal, as I'm only a fair commander against the AI. :blush:) I usually do so well with the Eggies, though, that I decided I should really up the difficulty a bit for when playing them. So we'll so see how things go.... [crosses fingers] :sweatdrop:
Currently suffering from MTW problems so I can't start a campaign yet. :inquisitive: