JosefStalinator and I both play a historical strategy game called Europa Universalis, many of you have probably heard of it. We talk about our games quite a bit online, and one day an idea struck me, what if we were to play a game as the same country and compare how we do? Josef liked the idea, and we picked England because in 1419 there are a lot of possibilities for England.

So, we decided further that it would be fun if we wrote it up as an AAR (after-action report) and posted our progress here, so we can get some critisism, ideas, support from all of you guys. If you feel like reading, please go ahead, this is what the thread is here for.

Now, we did think of putting this in "All Other Games" but neither of us really reads that forum, and all our friends are here, in the NESing form, and so we hope that the mods will be understanding and will let us keep this AAR here, so it is easier for all of us.

I will try to play a little tonight and write the update up, but maybe I will run out of time. Josef, on the other hand, is up all night and you should be looking forward to an update from him by morning.

Have fun reading, please do comment. All criticism and suggestions are wlecomed.

My frist question is - should I try to win the Hundred Year's War or just leave it be?

The concept as such strikes me as vaguely familiar.

As for the Hundred Years War, up to you, really. Though for originality you can just pull out of France and instead attack, say, Denmark.

I demand that you play France! :p

Sounds very interesting. I will be watching. :)

Makes me so interested I almost bought the game off of Amazon. Than I remembered I need to buy a bike first.

I will follow this though ;)

Are you talking about the first or second version of europa universalis?

Its a good game, really. Haven't played it for a few years, alas, but I generally like Paradox games.

I demand that you play France!

Btw, how's that - conquer France, move capital to Paris, change tag to France and go on an Europe-conquering rampage. :p

if we help you out and help you decide o nthings, how is that a fair match between you two?

The concept as such strikes me as vaguely familiar.

As for the Hundred Years War, up to you, really. Though for originality you can just pull out of France and instead attack, say, Denmark.

I actually plan on doing just that, minus the Denmark part.

@Das I have all paradox games, and, once EU3 comes out, I am going to play a game from 1066 (crusader kings) all the way to 1958 (hearts of iron 2 doomsday). It will, needless to say, kick much ass.

EDIT: And Das, are you Das on the Paradox forums?

I've heard EU3 isn't as great as EU2, though..
Haven't bought it meself cuz I have to save up for my Golf.

(no, not little dimpled balls whacked by logs)

I've heard EU3 isn't as great as EU2, though..
Haven't bought it meself cuz I have to save up for my Golf.

(no, not little dimpled balls whacked by logs)

From who? It isn't even out yet :-p

EU I & II are both great games, I'll be reading with intrest. :)

From who? It isn't even out yet :-p

Indeed it isn't.

Are there any cheats alowed? Precisely I mean "alba" and "orange"...

I wouldnt win the hundred years war if I was you, I usually get bored once France is gone. Although it really depends on what your trying to do If your just trying to build a big empire you might aswell.

Edit: Are you playing one of the Mods?

I have played it, and hate it with passion.

Love the games, though Victoria and Hearts of Iron have disenchanted me with buying further from the series. And I have to say that EU2 gave me the idea of Centers of Trade, which das morphed into Economy Centers.

As for strategy... England is not my preferred nation to pick. But France, in my experience, is a bugger if you let it run free. Take that as you will.

Have you played Crusader kings north king? thats pretty good (as long as your not a count).

Nope. Like I said, I was getting pretty fed up with the series by the time CK was released. I only bought HoI2 because of the rave reviews... I regretted that. Terrible economic system.

Crusader kings has more in common with EU2, I dont blame you for not liking Victoria and HoI I had no idea what I was doing. Especially victoria.

I must say I have found the game 'broken' on several levels. I shall sticketh to civ 2 and my elvis advisors. "Sir, the people they cannot stop loving you! oh yeah! "

Crusader kings has more in common with EU2, I dont blame you for not liking Victoria and HoI I had no idea what I was doing. Especially victoria.

That's the beauty of Victoria and HoI, though. They are so rediculously complex once you figure it out (it tok me a while), the depth of the game makes it that much more fun.

My personal favorite of the series is Victoria, despite the fact it took me months to learn every single aspect of the game :p

Indeed. Victoria is too, my favorite.

Same here, especially after I altered the AI Chances in key events to tone down on the determinism.

I wouldn't mind the absurd complexity if it wasn't for the ridiculously cumbersome and difficult to use trading system.

The trading system is actually really really easy, just sell everything you make and import everything you need.

And the VIP mod made the game significantly better, to the point where I wonder why paradox just doesn't hire them for the expansion.

That's the beauty of Victoria and HoI, though. They are so rediculously complex once you figure it out (it tok me a while), the depth of the game makes it that much more fun.

My personal favorite of the series is Victoria, despite the fact it took me months to learn every single aspect of the game :p

Who has months to learn a game? I havent been able to stick to one game that long for years

Indeed. Victoria is too, my favorite.

Same here, especially after I altered the AI Chances in key events to tone down on the determinism.

Well you know what they say, moronic fools think alike.

I like Victoria too..but I agree with NK. It's very complicated, and thus I don't touch it very often these days..atleast without cheating as I cannot manage the economy for crap. :/

Funny you guys started this..my EUII came in Amazon two days ago. :) Of course, I'm still horrid at it, but I guess I'll get better as time passes.

So it Begins!

Shall we then?

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/201/startbp5.png

So it begins! There's the situation in France, basically the English get to conquer the few remaining French cities, make peace (which I do, it wasn't that exciting), and get the following event;

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/3218/troyesao2.png

Note the year, Paris took its darn sweet time surrendering. Regardless, I take the second option, and hope for the best...

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/4781/posttroyesys4.png

Note: England is red, France is the assortment of Blue, Gray, Brown, and Green (aside from Brittany and Burgundy).

So that's what France looks like... for now. I set that one little province in Aquitaine free ( I really don't care about them that much). What does annoy me, is that my idol Jean-Luc Picardie is sitting there between my two provinces of Calais and Caux, begging for liberation :(. Do not fret little one, the time shall soon come... and you will be freed.

Now is as good a time as ever to lay out my goals. I plan on fulfilling my protege's greatest trait- purging. All of Western Europe will be protestant by the time I'm done, and all the British isles will be anglosaxon in culture, including the currently celtic Ireland and Scotland (though Meath is just about to turn English).

Theres a little exploit- if you lower the population of a province below 1000, as soon as it raises back up, it will convert to the owners culture. As such, I will forcedly loot and occupy scottish and Irish provinces to do just this, even if it delays my other goals by quite a bit. At least, as much as I can, I won't lose sleep over it if i fail.

I must wait now, however, as protestantism doesn't even exist until 1519, and I don't get England solidly protestant until well into the 1540's. As such, I am going to start building up, growing my economy, and taking some provinces from Scotland and Ireland where possible.

Not much happens for a few years, while I wait for the peace treaty to wear out, and my repuatation to get better. Meanwhile, an event makes scotland my vassal :) (though that does nothing but delay my conquest). I also add southern Ireland to my territories, raising my BB by 9. :eek:

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/4461/yawnor4.png

Ok... so I get kinda bored, I can't wait for my BB to get down (I'm digging my own grave, probably), but I've got Portugal and Castille ready to roll against France with me :evil:

http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/8681/warfzf6.png

And so it begins...

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/1512/sillygu6.png

Oh France, when will you learn...

http://img234.imageshack.us/img234/8687/peacevm6.png

Sorry, forgot to get the "You made peace!" message. Regardless, my entire contintental possesions were getting overrun, so I quickly made a peace for my beloved Picardie. What I notice next, however, is that Flanders is controlled by a still very weak Burgundy, the perfect target for an early game war...

I've always hated Burgundy. I can't really explain it, but their lack of a definitive culture and annoyingly mishapen borders have long plagued many a EU2 or Crusader Kings game. They aren't a real Kingdom, damn it, they're a color!

However, my reputation is still rediculous, so I am going to have to just sit here and build up for a really long time. Anything of interest, or sudden changed in my plans, will be outlined in the next post...

My peace didn't last very long...

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/9785/burgundyaa3.png

Within about a year, the Burgundians were upon me, fully invigorated with the spoils of the Netherlands. They overran me pretty quickly, but a miraculous victory at Caux (4,000 men defeated an attacking force of 12,000 Burgundians), combined with an eventual destruction of the Burgundian invasion force, the only thing that prevented them from making peace was a surprise attack from the forces of Brittany...

This complicated things, but eventually the Burgundians DID offer peace, giving me 108 gold (go figure).

This left Brittany... who's surprise attack, combined with my own depletion of forces from fighting Burgundy, left them to rape my lands. However, my allies came through, and in the heat of battle, and after an invasion of the British mainland in Wessex, I notice my forces suddenly stop fighting. I scroll up in the events, and notice this;

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/5640/thanksbo9.png

Portugal, my ally during all this (along with Castile, neither of who did a damned thing) came through for me in the end and paid off Brittany. I salute you, Portugal, making England safe for another 5 years :salute:

England will not forget such actions... I'll pay you back someday.

However, notice the rebels and strife over in Holland. All is not well for Burgundy, and, after I pay off my loans (which have become really annoying), I will finally get Flanders...

But alas, the fools' opinions of me still remain incredibly low, as I still beat 14 Badboy and the contempt of all with a Casus Belli against me. Conquest will have to wait, as there are more pressing issues within Britain that need to be dealt with. Though, some good news, Southern Ireland is occupied by rebels and depopulating to make room for some nice anglo-saxon residents :).

About a year later, Denmark randomly declares war on me, but I accidentally clicke through both the box that shows the declaration, and the one that gets my allies to help (gulp). I'm actually not that worried, they'll just suicide themselves against me in ireland, but it will waste even more money...

...And then France declares war, and my allies abandon me. Sigh, time to make a good desperate battle... :(

Good luck against France, I am really enjoying this report. I love EU2, though I've lost the CD recently and have been unable to play it. Its fun to see this kind of thing played out.

@Little Boots Thanks, I'll be sure to name a colony, general, or something after you ;). Just say what :p

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/5130/grimoq7.png

So war continued... and within another few months, Burgundy joined in. Combined with rediculous defeats (An invasion force of 2,000 norweigens supplanted my 9,000 men in meath, twice), things seemed pretty bleak.

However, there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/3978/peace1lh3.png

France grew weary of war, and I threw them Poutiou (some worthless Aquitaine territory) for peace, turning to get rid of the Danes who had recently occupied my Irish holdings (but depopulating them, so not a priority ;)) and the Burgundians who were yet to throw unto me their full wrath.

I noticed Burgundy had gobbled up some little dutch states who stayed loyal to me, but of course, noone was on their ass. While I was beating off half of Europe for occupying southern ireland. Dirty bastards.

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/2849/rediculousnessro0.png

There's an example of what I'm up against :p Know that my unit was at full morale before I started the battle.


Now the war rages on, and I notice something. Burgundy is nowhere to be found. I look, and there isn't even a single unit on my border. That, is when I discover this:

http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/5577/idiotga9.png

The idiots have gone and embroiled themselves in (count em, well, you can see 4), SIX wars, against half of Germany. Needless to say I was filled with glee, Flanders shall yet be mine! :dance:

But Denmark won't make peace :mad:, despite the fact I have 10% on them in just battles (and they dont occupt anything anymore), they keep rejecting white peace. Eh, what do you know. Peace about 30 seconds after I write that, and some 15 gold too :).

Alright Burgundy, you are going down.

A mighty general of course, I think it'd be good for morale :p

I'm just waiting for a mod to close this... this is getting somewhat rediculous, but I can't stop playing, and I need to chronicle all I do :p

<deleted>
Just because it's not Civ, doesn't mean it's not piracy. --Padma

And so, with all but Burgundy made peace with, the time for war once again commences. A crushing defeat is dealt to the Savoyan army, where near 12,000 of their men, and less than 1,000 of mine, fall prey to the devestating tactics of an up and coming general, Littleboots ;) (I'll make it better next time, with pictures, as that was more of a retroactive one :p), and I move into Flanders, which defenseless falls quickly.

The French have joined the war against Burgundy now (maybe now Burgundy IS paying for doing what I did to Ireland), but this has only made things more complicated. The French steal credit for my seige of their capital (bastards), delaying the war for now, as I'll have to wait to get Flanders (it's worth 40 warscore, so I can't get it unless I occupy some other stuff as well). There's no way im wasting troops on attrition for any dirty Frenchmen. I'll wait till they take Artois (I hope they don't steal my Flanders if its their national province :mad:

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/7486/flandersrv8.png

Then suddenly I get this message...

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/711/flanders1kh6.png

Woohoo! Flanders is mine! :dance:

However, years of war have taken their toll. I've accrued 11% inflation in my struggles to stay out of debt, and I still have an outstanding 200 debt due. Much of Northern France lies in ruins, and Ireland especially is depopulated to the point where I lose quite a bit of income. On a lighter note, though, Ireland is so depopulated that it's almost out of people, with the exceptions of Ulter (which is still at 4,000 people :mad:) and the very south, which remains at about 1,700 people (getting there). Anglosaxon hegemony will soon be established...

A few years of peace is just what the doctor ordered, things are back to normal in the realm. Inflation is still about 12% (can't do anything about it yet), but im out of debt. My Monarch's diplomacy skill is the lowest possible, so my badboy is still about 14, but its going down. Unfortunately hes still gonna rule for another 15 years, then 10 more after a 10 year interruption by Edward, so I'm stuck with him. :-/

My ally makes me have to declare war again on Burgundy, which I do with please, as their empire is all strewn across Europe and their lands devestated by war. I'm gonna try to take Amsterdam for future investment. It's currently under Oldenburg's control... so I'll have to wait for a bit. Unfortunately, there are no Burgundian forces in the Netherlands (only around their capital, around southern Belgium), so it falls without a battle after the Oldenburgians leave. *sad face* (I'm running out of images, so I need to start substituting for smilies)

And so all is well. That is, until I realize, my nemesis... Denmark has returned!

http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/9539/fuan7.png

Makes no difference though, as Burgundy quickly falls... but the stupid bastards in hannover just take indemnities, rather than my getting holland! :mad:

And they still leave me at war with Denmark and Norway! Needless to say I'm angered, and almost take it upon myself to just declare war on Burgundy again... but knowing my badboy is bad enough, i restrain myself, resolving to take Holland another day. Denmark makes peace, pointless war over.

When oh no, its war of the Roses time! :scared:

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/838/rosesjw7.png

It's followed up by plague and poor government policy events, bringing my stability down all the way. Bad luck for poor Joe *sad face*. Then I raise it two levels, and then get "assasination of a noble -2 stability" event. *sigh*

Then our savior comes along! :jesus:

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/1492/littlebootsno6.png

And order is restored, thanks Littleboots for saving the realm ;) And on that note, I retire from EU2 for today. Tomorrow I shall continue, and eagerly await stormy's AAR.

I take it "alba" and "orange" are disabled....

Waiting for Storms report...

Thread moved. It *does* belong in Other Games, after all. ;)

You should be playing with AGREEP installed. :)

Out of the three 'French' countries I like Burgundy the most although from all three perspectives it ends up being quite easy to win the hundred years war.

I think he is playing with AGCEEP, on the third picture you can see the Dauphane, although things have turned out quite differently then usual

Good point was getting confused by the French armies in the south.

never played this game but any way. All hail The Grand English True hier to the thrones of europe!

Henry V in France

IN 1419 Henry V was leading an invasion of France by his forces. The French King, Charles VI, was putting up a hopless resistance against the English invasion and by late January his forces were defeated by Henry outside of Paris. Charles was forced to withdraw north to Amiens.

While on campaign in France Henry was presented with a dilema. Back in England a group of heretics called Lollards have once again made an appearance. The group has been founded over a century ago and has caused trouble for the English monarchs ever since. This time, however, the Lollards have calculated correctly, and their appearance went unpunished because Henry could not interrupt his campaign in France to deal with the problem.

Meanwile the Dauphine Charles, heir to the French throne, begun negotiations with the Duke of Burgundy, attempting to wrestle the inheritance of France from Henry's hands. He could not overcome his pride, however, and the negotiations ended with Charles killing John the Fearless of Burgundy. Following the assasination Burgundy quickly fell into the English fold and backed Henry as the heir to France. The only obstacle now was King Charles of France who continued to stubornly refuse to recognize Henry.

Before the end of the year, on December 19th, Paris fell to Henry's troops. The city put up a much harder fight than its King, as Parisians fought street for street with the advancing English soldiers. After a bloody fight, however, Henry was the victor. King Charles did nothing to save his capital from the onslaught.

In January of the following year Henry and Charles met again, this time near Amiens, and Charles' armies were defeated desicively. The King himself escaped to the south, but Henry was now in control of all northern French countryside. Only a number of French cities continued to resist Henry's rule.

The campaign in France dragged on slowly for over a year, with city after city falling to English soldiers under Henry. King Charles attempted to put together another army, but it was routed near Nevierns, assuring a victory for Henry in the conflict. After the last major city surrendered to Henry in May of 1422 Charles asked for a cease fire, which Henry granted on May 29th.

By July 24th the two kings have signed the Treaty of Troyes, in which King Charles disowned his son, the Dauphine Charles, and instead recognized Henry as heir to the throne of France. Henry's inharitance of France seemed assured.

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/5905/screen1pn4.png
Europe following the signing of Treaty of Troyes

A New Generation

Barely a month after signing the Treaty of Troyes Henry V fell ill. In August he went back to England, leaving his brother Bedford to command the forces in France. After a troubled route home Henry died on September 11 1422 in London.

Following the death of Henry the Dauphine Charles and other French princes saw their chance to defy the English claim on the French throne and on September 19th Dauphine Charles declared war on England, taking most of France into a massive war. Bedford was prepared for the move, but he did not expect the Dauphine and the rulers of Aragon to be allied, and once Aragon followed the Dauphine and declared war on England Bedford had to act fast and change his strategy. Instead of fighting to secure major cities of France the two main English armies in France would fight towards Borges and meet in central France.

Barely a month after the begining of the war Charles VI of France died in Paris. In accordance with the Treaty of Troyes Henry V's son, Henry VI of England inherited the realms of France. Henry VI is but in infant, however, and the burden of fighting fell entirely to his uncle, Duke of Bedford. As per an earlier agreement with Burgundy, the city of Amiens was given to the Duke of Burgundy in return for his support of Henry.

Back in England meanwhile it was time to decide who would govern the country while Henry VI is an infant. Bedford could not do it, as he was in France, waging the war. That left the Duke of Glouster, who was the regent during Henry V's campaign in France, or the Royal Council. Many magnates backed the Royal Council, as they found Glouster to be too meddling in their affairs, but after a few months Glouster emerged as the stronger figure and assumed the control of the English Regency.

Just a month after Glouster assumed control of the regency Jacqueline of Holland, the heiress of Holand, fled to England from her country. She was engaged in an inheritance dispute with another family, and her current husband was doing nothing to solve it. After she had reached an agreement with Glouster, Glouster sent an envoy to the exiled Pope Benedict, and Jacqueline received an annulment of her marriage. Glouster and her were married the next day, giving England, and Glouster in particular, a legitimate claim on Holland. The claim, however, did come at a high cost of antagonizing the Duke of Burgundy by interfearing in his lands.

On April 10th a major army of Dauphine besieged Paris in an effort to retake the city. The Duke of Bedford repelled the attack later in the month, but the strike showed just how weak English positions in France really were. To make matters worse, a rebellion begun at home when Glouster chose to back the commons over the lords in a dispute. It was put down, but at a heavy cost.

May 30th marked a bright spot in the news as Toulouse fell to the English army that attacked it from Bordeaux. The army moved to Toulouse in order to cut off a possible attack into France from Aragon. The victory was bittersweet, however, as the small country of Foix south of Guyana decided to join the war and attack the city of Bordeaux.

On September 23rd Bedford's force met a large force of Dauphine at Reims and barely defeated the enemy, taking heavy losses. It became evedent in that battle that if Bedford wanted to win over the enemy he would need to employ more cavalry in his armies, as the cavalry superiority that Dauphine had in that battle almost cost England its war in France.

And as Bedford was reorganizing the army the Duke of Barbant chose to enter the war on the side of the Dauphine. Now England faced enemies not only in the south, but also in the north. Bedford was forced to hastily retreat to Paris and prepare to hold the positions there against the coming onslaught of his enemies.

http://img470.imageshack.us/img470/4404/screen2xw4.png
The Diplomatic Situation

Bedford in France

The begining of 1424 proved to be a good year for the English as Bedford captured the city of Neveres. Both this city and the city of Reims were promptly handed over to Burgundy as part of the English plan to strengthen Burgundy in France at the expense of other French factions. As long as Burgundy remains the strongest French faction England can feel a little more secure in France.

More good news came from the southern city of Toulouse, which revolted from the Dauphine and declared a sovereign state of Guyane. The joy was short-lived however as the revolt was crushed a few months later by the armies of Provance, annexing Toulouse into the domains of Provance.

But even with these improvements Bedford realized that it was impossible for him to win a war on two fronts, and so by mid-1425 he signed a peace with Barbant in which England paid 50 gold to Barbant. While humiliating as it was, the peace was needed in order to concentrate on France.

The news in the south was much worse than in the north. After crushing the rebels in Toulouse, the armies of Provance, joined by a very large force from Aragon, crushed the English army stationed at Bordeaux. Within months the city fell to the Provance attack, and England lost the last of its pocessions in the south of France.

In the north Bedford was determined not to allow the problems in the south distract him, as he launched an attack at Main to punish Provance for their attacks. In June of 1425 the city of Le Mans fell to Bedford, and was annexed into England.

But the armies of Dauphine were once again threatening Paris and Bedford had to return to defend the city. While he won the combat against the Dauphine his army was decimated and he quickly retreated north as another large force was moving in to attack Paris. The situation looked very dire, with less than five thousdand English soldiers left on the mainland.

And then the Dauphine offered a peace agreement. Bedford, overjoyed at the fact that Dauphine did not know how dire the English situation was, jumped at the offer, and peace was signed in December of 1425. England had gained a much needed break from the war, but it was still not any closer to winning the decisive victory in France to become masters of that country.

http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/5599/screen3xe7.png
The Situation in mid 1426 After the Peace Agreement

The Crown of St. Louis

In the early months of 1427 England had prepared a large offensive into central France. The Duke of Salsbury was given command of the operation and in July England had once more invaded the Dauphine. The city of Orleans fell quickly, and England was ready to move on to the heart of the Kingdom of Borges

In April Bedford and Salsbury attacked a massive French army near the city of Tours. The battle lasted almost a week, and thousands died on each side. Eventually the English prevailed, but with heavy losses, and Bedford was forced to retreat back to Orleans.

Following the obvious weakening of the English positions in France the Duke of Burgundy, seeking the crown of France for himself, declared war on England, hoping to drive the English from the continent. Bedford rushed back to Paris to defend the city from the Burgundian attack.

The Dauphine aproached Bedford of a possible cease fire, and it was signed in September, allowing both the French and the English to focus on the Burgundian threat that has emerged. The English forces, however, were severely weakened by the great battle at Tours, and until the end of 1428 Bedford remained in Paris, defending the city.

In the beginning of 1429 the Dauphine saw the English weakness and broke the previous agreement he had made with Bedford, declaring war on the English. The situation looked dire, but then a surprise came. Burgundy responded to the situation by declaring war on the Dauphine. Now Bedford had to sit back and allow the two sides to fight each other.

By June of 1429 Bedford had moved his positions south and annexed the city of Orleans into the English lands. This marked the turning point in the war, as Bedford, Warwick and Salsbury begun a major offensive against both the French and the Burgundians. Both sides, weakened by the fighting with one another, provided little resistance.

Dijon and Tours both fell to the English before the end of the year. Flanders proved to be a lot more difficult. Here Bedford pressed for a peace with Burgundy, but Glouster, the regent of England, demanded that Bedford press on and force Burgundy to recognize his inheritance in Holland. And Bedford pressed on.

It took Bedford two years to slowly advance into Flanders, but then internal revolts have gripped France. Bedford and the rest of his commanders had to return to France proper to aid in the rebel fighting. A new experienced general, Tolbot, took the place of Salsbury and Warwick, both of whom were killed.

But the situation was not looking any better for Burgundy and the Dauphine. While the two countries could have used the opportunity to strike at England, they resumed the warfare between themselves, allowing England to quickly deal with the rebel problem. By 1432 Bedford and Tolbot were again pressing into France and the Flanders.

Bedford was the first to reach his goal in France. First Lyons fell in late 1433, and then, a year later, the Kingdom of Borges collapsed. As the Dauphine fled he had little choice but to recognize Henry VI as the King of France. International recognition followed quickly and on November 12th Henry VI was crowned King of France in Reims.

Tolbot continued his campaign in Flanders a little longer, but it too was coming to an end. Less than a year after the surrender of the Dauphine Burgundy signed a humiliating peace with England, and acknowledged by the Treaty of Amsterdam the inheritance of Glouster.

Only a month after the signing of the Treaty of Amsterdam the Duke of Bedford died in Paris. The Hundred Year's War was over.

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/8223/screen4uc4.png
Western Europe After the Hundred Years War

This is a most novel idea. Good luck to the two of you. Though Stormbringer may not need it, seeing as he's pretty much unified England and France.

Now, the most important question: What are you going to do with poor Scotland? :p

A Shaky Future

Following the coronation of Henry VI the Duke of York, Henry's uncle, was sent to France to restore order. After a few months he brutaly crushed all the rebels, but due to his policies the English were seen more as occupiers than as fellow countrymen.

But York faced more challanges than just French rebels. A coalition, led by Dauphine, launched a war against England with the goal of re-instating the Dauphine on the French throne. Savoy, Provance, Bourbonians, and Aragon all joined the Dauphine in fightin York.

Tolbot slowly advanced south against all of his enemies, but England's forces were small and he needed to act carefully. The goal in the war was not to win, but to sign seperate peace with some of the enemies, to make the war easier. The first to budge was Savoy, after one of its provinces fell to Tobolt. A peace treaty was signed and the enemy alliance weakened.

Provance and the Bourbonians appeared to be ready to fight to the death, both constantly attacking English holdings in the south of France, and Tobolt did not have enough forces to contain both of them. He tried to outmanouver them, but could not gain the advantage he needed. The victory came not on land, but on sea, where, after a number of defeats by the English navy, Aragon chose to sign peace, severely weakening the enemy alliance. Both Provance and the Bourbonians signed peace immediately after, leaving the Dauphine allone to face the armies of Tobolt. The last of the Dauphine's holdings were annexed in 1440.

In the meantime the Duke of York was recalled to England. He was accused of mismanaging the French posessions and of spreading corruption. Henry and his advisors wanted to make sure York remained under their control, and so he was removed from his position in France.

An English army then landed in Ireland, where a rebel duchy was trying to force the English out of the island. By 1442 the island was pacified and England at last was at peace.

The next decade of England's history is a period of serious economic buildup. Constant wars have left the country drained and it was in debt. The French posessions were underdeveloped and badly needed attention. By the end of the decade the economy of both England and France was begining to recover.

During the decade the Duke of Glouster died (or was killed). It is not clear which theory is correct, but the fact remaines that with Glouster out of the way the Duke of York is the heir apparant to the crown, and with his influence growing he may make a move and attempt to seize the crown. In an effort to prevent that Henry sends York to Ireland, but York succeeds there and pacifies the whole island with the same methods he used in France.

Finally, in 1450, revolts break out across the country. Henry's mismanagement of the post-war period has caused many to resent the current government, and the popularity of the Duke of York fueled furhter anger. The only way to prevent a complete civil war was to invite York to rule as a new Regent, which Henry did grudgingly in 1452.

This is a most novel idea. Good luck to the two of you. Though Stormbringer may not need it, seeing as he's pretty much unified England and France.

Now, the most important question: What are you going to do with poor Scotland? :p

Why, depopulate it and fill it with Englishmen, silly ;)

aww the scottish have a cooler accent.

And so, from 1454, I continue my quest for English dominance.

I am still waiting, as my Badboy value is at about 14, but things continue to make my rule miserable and unstable;

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/8858/yorkay3.png

Years pass, and little occurs, but I am promoted to Marquis :)

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/5531/marquigc7.png

Then suddenly, I finally get rid of the fat loser, Henry VI! (for now, at least).

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/7885/edwardar5.png

Note that I lose Desmond, for which I am having to sit here and do nothing for decades :-/. Regardless, time passes, more sliders are adjusted, as aristocracy goes down while centralization goes up. Amsterdam declares independence from Burgundy, and shortly thereafter Cleves asks me to honor my alliance and declare war on Burgundy's alliance. Seeing absolutely no gain for myself in the matter, I decline, and take the small hit in stability.

I find a much nicer alliance with Portugal and Castille from my old crappy one with some northern German states, and decide this is the perfect time to plot war with someone... but who... France, Brittany, or Scotland? Whoever posts first decides ;)

Scotland!!!

France or Brittany. Don't want them to grow too powerful.

I mean, come on....it's Scotland. What the devil are they going to do?

I once took over Scotland with Brandenburg although the main point of that game ended up being the colonisation of most of North America.

France or Brittany. Don't want them to grow too powerful.

I mean, come on....it's Scotland. What the devil are they going to do?
Speak Scottish. Duh. :rolleyes:




:p

I will be picking this up tonight. Any suggestions anyone?

An update, so I can enjoy more of this =D

A very quick update on what is going on

By mid march of 1454 we have managed to defeat the rebels that have been plaguing our English provinces. The next month however the Yorkist and Lancaster factions in our court came to a clash as York fled and prepared an army of his own. The battle came soon, and many were left dead. England was now in a Civil War.

The war quickly spread to France where the Yorkist and the Lancaster factions fought for power, and some local nobles attempted to re-install the Valois to the throne of France. It took all our forces there to hold down the constant rebellions.

In 1460 York died in one of the battles of the war, but sadly that did not prevent the war from going on. His son took over and continued the effort just as well as his father did.

Finally in March of 1461 the Yorkists were soundly defeated at the battle of Tawton, leaving the Lancasters in control of most of the kingdom. In 1464 the Yorkists launched a lst-ditch effort from Scotland to seize the throne, but were defeated, and by the end of 1465 most rebels were defeated.

In the few years of peace that followed England concentrated on rebuilding and developing its French posessions. By May of 1467 all loans that the country has taken out were paid in ful, and in 1471 the Dutchy of Orleans was re-incorporated into the Kingdom, solidifying English control over northern France.

Truth be told, the only reason England was able to hold on to its French posessions throughout the War of the Roses was the fact that no one attacked it. Had the Southern Coalition (Provance + Aragon) or the Central Coalition (Burbonians + Brittany) attacked and tried to restore France, England would be hard pressed to defend its French posessions. But it would appear that both thought England to be tougher than she was, and now, that there is some quite in the country, England can finally solifify her rule in France.

Go England!

Also, when you have time, more pictures please.

End of the War

In early 1476 Marie of Burgundy married the Austrian Duke, binding the largest French duchy to Austria. While the inherently French lands of Burgundy will remain English most likley, it is usettling to think that all the Burgundian low lands posessions will become Austrian, as it will most certainly lead to a confrontation between England and Austria.

Finally coming out of my diplomatic isolation (my BB points are pretty low now, after decades of peace) I have managed to sign an alliance with Castile, which should help be greatly in consolidating the south of France as my own.

In June we activate the alliance with Castile and attack Provance. Within two years of fighting Provance has been defeated, its pocessions in France handed over to England and the Duchy made into a vassal of the English crown. Her other allies dispearsed quickly, and the war was won.

Right after the war I gain a manufactury in Mons. I have my sliders set to very innovative, very free subjects, and so this event is likley to happen and is very beneficial.

In 1480 I ally with Portugal, creating a massive western European alliance system as Spain is now a single country. We are by far the most powerful alliance, and I begin to pick my next target.

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/8536/screen5xx3.png

Spain attacks Granada, I keep my alliance but do not assist Spain, she is perfectly capable of fighing the war herself. As I was right, within a few years Granada is annexed by Spain.

In 1481 I gain a weapons manufactury in Gremable, very useful, as I am a little behind in military tech. Hopefully this will help me catch up.

Finally in 1485 the War of the Roses comes to an end. Henry VII assends to the throne and the challangers from the Yorkist faction lose any legitimacy they may have had. A few desperate nobles in France try to re-instate the Valois one more time, but fail quickly.

In 1488 Henry VII begins his reforms, instituting both the justices of peace and the Court of the Star Chamber, weakening the authority of the aristocracy.

Late the same year Mary of Brittany marries the son of the Duke of Austria, denying our claim to the Duchy. While I had to let Burgundy go there is no way I will give up Brittany, and I immedatley declare war on her, dragging me into a war with the Burbonians, Brittany, Scotland, and a few small German states. Spain and Portugal promptly come to my aid.

The war was relatively slow, but with Spanish and Portugese help it ended with our desicive victory. Burbonians lost their lands and were forced into a vassalization, as was Brittany. Scotland had to pay reparations. And now, in 1494, it seems as though England has defeated all of her immedate enemies on the continent. Where to turn to next?

http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/8434/screen6lu4.png

Is the game over:confused:

No, I kept playing, but since nobody posted anything I did not bother to write it up here. It takes a while to write all of this, and if nobody reads it I don't really see the point. Maybe I could start a EU2 cooperative AAR, like the HOI2 one going on...

What would a cooperative AAR imply?

What would a cooperative AAR imply?

I presume it means he uses other members in the forum to become 'advisors', or hold fictional ranks in his game. He'll take their advice and attempt to put it into game terms.

like he's emperor of germany and i was the marshall of africa which reminds me to change my sig for my new position when i get home.

@Stormbringer: If you're currently working out who's interested or not in such a game, count me in. Be good fun :)