Pics & History of your Empire

**Martok** · 11-20-2006, 07:52

Excellent, bamff! May King Stephen rule his people as well as his father did.

Unfortunately, I have bad news in regards to my Portuguese campaign. I seem to be suffering from a bad save file, and I can't get it going again.

I plan on starting another campaign in the near future, but right now I'm unsure as to whether I'll play as the Portuguese again or not. (And just when it had started getting interesting too!) Sorry guys.

**naut** · 11-20-2006, 11:49

Nice campaign bamff, I recently started a campaign as the English. Scots invaded Northumbria, Aragon invaded Aquitaine! GAH! But using professional armies saved me from defeat. Got excommed thought.

Originally Posted by Martok

Excellent, bamff! May King Stephen rule his people as well as his father did.

Unfortunately, I have bad news in regards to my Portuguese campaign. I seem to be suffering from a bad save file, and I can't get it going again.

I plan on starting another campaign in the near future, but right now I'm unsure as to whether I'll play as the Portuguese again or not. (And just when it had started getting interesting too!) Sorry guys.

That sucks I was enjoying reading that.

**Innocentius** · 11-20-2006, 22:08

In the year 1320 of our Lord, Duke Philippe II started overlooking his small kingdom of Burgundy, squeezed in between majos powers as France and the Holy Roman Empire in Western Europe.

Duke Philippe was already by this time a respected man, he was 38 years of age and wass well-known for being a highly skilled attacker. His troops were a constant threat to his neighbours, the French, who had just about enough troubles keeping the English (and their many other enemies as well) at bay.

Burgundy was a land tough to defend, as it lacked secure borders, and thus each corner of the kingdom needed strong garrisons, which would be hard to afford without a coastline or any trade network set up. The first major target was not to reach the Mediterranean however.
Philippe had long wished to claim the rebel lands of Switzerland as his own. Controlling these lands would, except from the obvious benefit of expanding the kingdom on the map, grant him with the well-known and dreaded swiss pikemen. Already in 1321, he started sending scouting patrols to Switzerland to learn of the strenght of the rebels. The prescence of even the smallest amount of troops however angered the Swiss, who in their usual manner armed themselves and went to fight the intruders. Duke Philippe wisely drew back his lone scouts.

He returned but a few years later though, this time himself commanding a highly professional army, including many mounted crossbowmen from Savoy. And in the summer of 1324, the Swiss were defeated in a humiliating battle.

However feared, the Swiss pikemen could do little to resist the impact and mobility of the mounted crossbowmen from Savoy. This unusual tactic scared the Swiss from any real fighting, and were instead concerned about moving out of range from the crossbowmen. But whereever they went, they were pursued and fired at.
In the end, the Swiss general was killed, this caused a major rout in the already demoralized swiss army, which broke ranks and fled. Duke Philippe II was able to take many prisoners this day. None were spared. This total defeat of the Swiss army meant there were no men left to defend the many castles and fortresses of Switzerland, which fell without a fight to the Burgundians.

With the potential threat in the east removed, and after getting his men some fighting experience, Philippe now turned his eyes south. It was to take a while until he felt strong enough to charge the French however.

In 1331, Provence was invaded. By this time, the French were already severly weakened. Although their main enemy, the English, had been busy fighting to hold their own homelands from the Scots, both the Holy Roman Empire, The Kingdom of Aragon and the Consul of Genoa (all of whom were allies to the Burgundians) had waged war against them, on all fronts.
A genoese force joined the Burgundians in the invasion. The French ran away, lacking the courage to meet the glorious troops of the Burgundian-Italian army.
In 1333, the last standing castle of Provence fell to the Burgundians, ensuring their position.

By 1335, the now 53 year old Duke Philippe II of Burgundy had already achieved his main goals. Burgnundy was no longer a landlocked little country, but was instead a growing nation, ready to enter the main scenes of action.

If this luck was to sustain however, remains to be told.

The Kingdom of Burgundy under the rule of Duke Philippe II in the year 1335 of our Lord:

**Martok** · 11-21-2006, 02:05

Nice, Innocentius! I don't think I've ever seen such a one-sided slaughter of the Swiss before, though.

That was a brilliant use of your mounted X-bows!

Well for my next campaign, I'm looking at going with either the Scots, the Bohemians, the HRE, the Fatamids (Egyptians), or the good old Byzantines--I haven't payed a visit to the Comnenus family in a while.

Any suggestions or opinions on who I should play as?

**bamff** · 11-21-2006, 02:52

A short(ish) update for you. Up to now I have been lucky enough to have fought almost all battles with numerical superiority - this changes a bit in this instalment.

The Chronicles of Bamff’s English

Chapter 4 – King Stephen II reign begins (1188 – 1195)

Having ascended to the throne in 1188, young King Stephen mused on his good fortune. The building and trade programs of his grandfather Stephen I, and thence his father, Richard I, had reaped great benefits for the kingdom of England. The treasury was full to overflowing, allowing Stephen to continue the great building programs of his forebears, and he set about this task with great gusto.

Our envoys in Aragon send word that the Aragonese monarch continues to resist all offers of peace. King Alfonso is a most stubborn man….but one thing that Stephen has learned from his father is that there is more than one answer to a problem.

Stephen’s building programme is rudely interrupted in 1190. The Holy Roman Empire have been massing their forces along our borders for some time now, and Emperor Heinrich chooses this year to unleash his horde into the province of Champagne. Of all of the English border provinces, Champagne is the most lightly defended. Sir William Marshall sends riders to call for reinforcement, but the enemy are advancing too swiftly. He is forced to meet the German onslaught of some 2096 men with his force of only some 684 troops. Yet again Marshall demonstrates his superb leadership skills, and carries the day. As the dust of battle clears, some 465 German troops lie dead across the field. 508 prisoners are taken, with the German general, Lord Plittersdorf amongst them. Our losses amount to 202. News of the victory, and of the hefty ransom received for the release of Plittersdorf soon spread throughout the kingdom.

With almost a third of the garrison lost in the battle for Champagne, Stephen directs reinforcements from Flanders to move to the beleaguered border province, to discourage the Germans from attempting a second assault.

His strategy is successful in this endeavour – inasmuch as the German forces do not launch a secondary attack on Champagne. Instead Flanders is their new target. Lord Blankenberg marches from Friesland with some 2013 troops. Lord Mercadier marched north to meet this threat with his entire garrison of 1570 men, choosing a field slightly north of the township of Dendermonde on which to make his stand. The field is flanked by heavy forest on both sides. The battle is opened, as two regiments of enemy archers advance in a skirmish line across the plain. Our Hobilars burst from the woods and smash into the archers from the rear. Nary a handful escape as the cavalry rides them down. The main enemy force now advance in a steady line. Our archers hold steady until all are within range, and then unleash a rain of death. Having lost all of their archers to the charge of our Hobilars, the Germans cannot return fire, and their casualties mount steadily. With our lines of Fyrdmen holding steady in the centre, the clansmen sweep in from the flanks, carving the enemy’s feudal sergeants and urban militia to ribbons. Blankenberg’s men are forced back and surrounded, and finally Lord Mercadier leads the cavalry charge from the rear of the enemy formation. The rout is complete. Blankenberg himself is captured after he is dismounted from his steed.

The combination of two heavy defeats, the failure of King Heinrich’s crusade to Antioch, and the work of our Inquisitor in Friesland have had a disastrous effect of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1194, rebellions are reported to have broken out in all provinces along our borders. The news is not all good for King Stephen in 1194, however, as the Egyptian forces launch another invasion of Tripoli. 572 brave defenders of the faith fall in an epic battle, but their lives are not lost in vain. Some 1077 enemy corpses litter the field, among them is the Egyptian Sultan himself. 882 prisoners are taken. It will take our enemies some time to make good such losses.
Word reaches court that Princess Isabella of Aragon has been found garrotted. With a rue smile, Stephen sends forth another envoy, with his instruction “Those who stand against us do so at their peril. Remind Alfonso that he has two other daughters…and peace would be in their best interests.”

The following year, 1195, our Crusade arrives in Palestine, and sets about reclaiming this province for Christendom. Too long have these lands been in Fatmid hands. Meanwhile in Europe, the Holy Roman Emperor is under ever increasing pressure within his own territories, and at last agrees to terms for a ceasefire. With the German threat removed, Stephen is free to focus once more on his economic and building programmes…although he still harbours doubts about the intentions of the burgeoning Spanish empire to the south….

**bamff** · 11-21-2006, 03:07

Incidentally - really sorry to hear of your bad save file Martok - like everyone else I was looking forward to hearing how that campaign panned out....and it had firmed my decision that my NEXT campaign will be Aragon (I was tossing up between the Turks and the Aragonese). I haven't got hold of XL or BKB yet, so Portugal wasn't an option, but Aragon might give me something similar....anyway, still some way to go with my English at present.

Innocentius - what a carve up! Well done, great use of mounted x-bows!

A strategic question for King Stephen - with Friesland and the province immediately to the south (sorry name escapes me) going rebel, I'm sort of thinking that it would be nice to grab them in order to reduce the number of provinces that border other factions. It would also men that I have a nice buffer zone around Flanders.....but....I don't want the kingdom to get too big....any arguments for/against?

**Martok** · 11-21-2006, 04:03

Originally Posted by bamff

Incidentally - really sorry to hear of your bad save file Martok - like everyone else I was looking forward to hearing how that campaign panned out....and it had firmed my decision that my NEXT campaign will be Aragon (I was tossing up between the Turks and the Aragonese). I haven't got hold of XL or BKB yet, so Portugal wasn't an option, but Aragon might give me something similar....anyway, still some way to go with my English at present.

Thanks, bamff; I appreciate the condolences. But I digress.

Yeah, Aragon is fun too, as it posses similar challenges to that of the Portuguese. They have the added dimension of bordering the French & English as well, which makes things....interesting.

In addition, you can secure the services of El Cid should you feel so inclined.

Originally Posted by bamff

A strategic question for King Stephen - with Friesland and the province immediately to the south (sorry name escapes me) going rebel, I'm sort of thinking that it would be nice to grab them in order to reduce the number of provinces that border other factions. It would also men that I have a nice buffer zone around Flanders.....but....I don't want the kingdom to get too big....any arguments for/against?

I definitely vote for taking Friesland and Lorraine. Flanders is too valuable to not have a buffer zone if you can give it one!

**Innocentius** · 11-21-2006, 17:34

Double post, sorry. Remove this one.

**Innocentius** · 11-21-2006, 17:35

Nice campaign you got there, bamff. Big battles seem to be in the pleny.

Shame to hear about the bad save-file, Martok

Had a couple of my own campaigns ruined in similar ways.

Originally Posted by bamff

A strategic question for King Stephen - with Friesland and the province immediately to the south (sorry name escapes me) going rebel, I'm sort of thinking that it would be nice to grab them in order to reduce the number of provinces that border other factions. It would also men that I have a nice buffer zone around Flanders.....but....I don't want the kingdom to get too big....any arguments for/against?

This would be a pretty obvious thing for a medieval king to do: the dominion of Friesland would lead him one step closer to a trade monopoly in the Northern Sea.
I say go for it