Tides of Conquest Late Medieval campaign, turn 4, 1312 CE

[angusosborne]

The legitimate rule of the infant Alfonso XI has been confirmed on the battlefield.

Castille (anguosborne) defeats Castilian rebels (Indibil) 64-46

A very difficult and bloody battle. The field had a very large difficult hill in the centre with small areas of marsh and forests on the flank, but the Castilian men-at-arms met in good terrain in between with the rebels destroying every men-at-arms unit on my left flank.

However I did capture the hill, with great difficulty, but eventually destroyed every unit of medium foot in the rebel army. Which at the end left our crossbowmen picking off the disorganised rebel men-at-arms in the middle and eventually bringing several very close to autobreaking. The battle was ended when my remaining Jinete, which had been noodling about ineffectively the whole battle charged into the flank of a fragmented men-at-arms: breaking it and causing another to panic and break.

Clearly the nobility favoured the would be usurper while the common solider saved our king.

[LuciusSulla]

Sorry for the delays. Three tough wins in the last round:

East Romans intervene against Polish allies in Bulgaria
Map: Northern European Mountainous
Side 1: Byzantine (Central) (SS) - LuciusSulla
Side 2: Bulgarian (1186CE to 1319CE) Swords and Scimitars - SnuggleBunnies

Byzantine defeated Bulgarian 65-31

Hungarians attack East Roman-allied Cumania
Map: Northern European Woods
Side 1: Hungarian (1200CE to 1319CE) Medieval - SnuggleBunnies
Side 2: Cuman 1180-1394 (Medieval) - LuciusSulla

Cuman defeated Hungarian 65-47

East Romans try to pacify German allies in Serbia
Map: Mediterranean Hilly
Side 1: Byzantine (Central) (SS) - LuciusSulla
Side 2: Serbian (1040CE to 1319CE) Swords and Scimitars - Anderarcos11

Byzantine defeated Serbian 63-52

[Nijis]

Deadline should be today, so I'll start tabulating results.

[Nijis]

Any result on this battle? Apologize if I missed it.

English try to pacify Swedish allies in Denmark - CHALLENGE SENT
Map: Northern European Hilly
Side 1: English (1272CE to 1319CE) Medieval - wzfcns
Side 2: Danish (1200CE to 1319CE) Medieval - Doyley50

[wzfcns]

English（ wzfcns） defeat Danish（Doyley50），51-62.


Sir Aymer Buteler led the English army into the interior of Denmark and engaged the Danish army at the stream. The English arrayed their archers in the center, protected by loyal Welshmen, and 700 cavalrymen formed the two wings of the army. The Danish attack was concentrated on the British right flank, making for a scorching battle, but the British allowed their left flank to rotate and relied on decisive strikes from their knights to disperse the Danes.

[Nijis]

And the battle results are in. Here is the final map, in the Year of Our Lord 1320 (720 after the Hijra)...

As you can see, sometimes wars are fought over the same frontiers for a generation, but sometimes, if the numbers are right, sometimes there can be dramatic results.

I'll write up what happened, and do a final summation of the fortunes of the kingdoms.

Thanks to everyone who participated! I want to make some adjustments to the system, including a more explicit scoring system and to also make the domestic politics a little more accessible and meaningful (though the focus will always be the battles).

Once I'm done with that, I'll start up a campaign in 300 BC, the classic Diadochi/Rise of Rome period, which is always popular. If people are also interested in another medieval campaign, let me know.

Map1320.png (783.96 KiB) Viewed 1027 times

If anyone wants to look at the file in more detail in the Unity app, here it is...
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/4gayhuwx ... m76hi&dl=0

[Nijis]

CASTILE

Brimming with wealth after its recent conquests, Castile sent forth the greatest armada in its history to press its claim to the duchy of Brittany. The chivalry of Iberia led by the regent Estevan, uncle of the infant king Alfonso, came ashore in Saint-Malo, held by their ally the Duke of Normandy, and marshaled for battle. Though his country was wracked by internal unrest and anger against the elites, the French King Enguerrand was still personally popular. The battle was fierce, but the Holy Order of Santiago carried the day - a bitter irony to the French, as the Castilian kingdom was among the least orthodox to claim membership in the universal church. The French king was taken prisoner. Then, news that the Castilians had defeated a French-backed uprising led by conservative nobles added to the sense of catastrophe.

As royal officials announced tax hikes to allow France to ransom its king, a wave of peasant revolts flared over the Loire Valley, reaching as far as Burgundy. With the gentle-born of central France locked in their towers, fearing that the ragged "Jacques" insurgents would burn them alive, the Spanish armies looked like the only salvation. When it was over, virtually every city in central France had accepted a Spanish garrison and pledged loyalty to Alfonso, though patriotic resentment seethed beneath the surface.

In 20 years, Castile grew from a small kingdom in northern Spain to the dominant power in western Europe, with a solid foothold in North Africa centered around the crusader state in Tunis. Its comparatively humanist approach to religion and its alliance with Aragon served it well, but it still was engaged in conflicts with England over Aquitaine and Ireland and over the remnants of the kingdom of France.

Awarding 2 points for each fully owned province and one for each undisputed province in the sphere of influence, Castile rose from a starting score of 5 to a final score of 20. Net gain: 15.

[Nijis]

FRANCE

For years, the barons of southern France had sounded the alarm about the growth of Iberian power. Taking advantage of unrest in Rome, they obtained a blessing from their local bishops for a crusade into Aragon that the pope, dependent on French power, dared not contradict. Against the fierce almogavar hillmen of Aragon they deployed their own force of mountaineers. But their onslaught was halted at a small stream at the foothills of the Pyrenees near Gerona. The slaughter was great and troops from both sides were beginning to break, when there was a great cry from the Aragonese rear. A vision of Holy Mary had been seen in the sky, or so it was said, and troops that a minute ago were running in fear turned around to prepare for another attack. It was too much for the crusaders, who pulled back and prepared to return home.

But the disappointment of the Aragonese crusader was nothing compared to the crushing news that awaited them. The Castilians had invaded Brittany and captured the king. Now, thanks to a peasant revolt that only the victorious Castilians could put down, the entire center of the country was in Spanish hands. Provence was cut off from the capital, and though it nominally remained a vassal of the imprisoned king it kept its revenues for its own defense rather than sending them to the regency council.

It was a bitter blow to a French dynasty that had come to power 20 years ago promising to unite the realm, then locked in struggle with the English. Years of see-saw war in Normandy had ended with the French dominant, but the immense cost of war and the loss of Flanders to the Empire took the luster off the victory, as did the waning of its influence in Italy while its armies were occupied elsewhere. It was France's lot to be caught between four powerful neighbors - England, the Empire, Castile, and Aragon - and though it held the line for a generation, the catastrophe of 1320 was long in coming.

Still, the long struggle had awakened within France a sense of itself, of loyalty to something different than king and church. It was unclear whether this ember would burst into flame anew, or be snuffed out by the Spanish occupiers. Starting size: 14. Ending size: 3. Net loss: 11.

[Nijis]

ARAGON

The apparition of the Virgin at the battle of Gerona that rallied the Aragonese and ended the French crusader menace was culmination of several years of success for the kingdom's arms. Its allies fared well against the imperial army in Lombardy, although its own troops had less luck seizing Ghibelline cities. Meanwhile, Aragonese crusaders ravaged the lands of the infidel Marinids, coming home to celebrate the remittance of their sins and spend their plunder. By the year 1320, the Aragonese maritime empire was as strong as ever, with full control of the western Spanish coast as while as the islands of Sardinia, Corsica and Sicily.

Yet throughout the last 20 years Aragon had consistently found that the political payoffs from its victories never quite matched the sacrifice. Years of campaigning in the Italian from its base in Sicily had yielded only a few anti-imperial allied cities in Normandy, whereas in North Africa the Castilians dominated. A decade ago, it had battled fiercely with Castile for control of the vanquished Moorish strongholds of Andalusia. Its alliance with Castile and the de facto division of Iberia indeed granted it security, but perhaps at the cost of glory. It could be that Aragonese victories were never quite decisive enough, or that its rivals simply had better luck competing for the loyalty of the minor powers along Aragon's periphery.

Start size: 8. End size: 8. Net gain: 0.

[Nijis]

[SUMMATIONS TO COME: ENGLAND, THE EMPIRE, VENICE, EAST ROMANS, DENMARK, THE GOLDEN HORDE]

[angusosborne]

Brilliant mate. I love the fluff. I am definitely a starter for another of your campaigns.

[Nijis]

ENGLAND

A small force of English knights and archers, fighting on behalf of Danish rebel jarls. did battle with the Swedes across a muddy stream in the wet lowlands of Denmark. They defeated the northerners, but at such a cost that they sailed home before they had time to besiege any of the loyalist garrisons and end the civil war. Elsewhere, its domains in northern Ireland were harassed by Muenster raiders and its Aquitaine possessions ravaged by Castilians.

Young King Edward remains popular. He has toured his lands, listened to the complaints of commoners, remitted unpaid taxes, and sacked corrupt officials. English influence remains strong all along the edges of the North Sea, and it is beginning to make inroads back into Normandy a decade after it was driven from the duchy by French arms. In faraway Rome, an English pope has acceded to the throne of Saint Peter, a compromise candidate after the city grew sick of feuding between French- and imperial-backed contenders.

Looking back over the past 20 years, England has definitely come out on top in its duel with its traditional rival France. The formerly French-allied kingdom of Scotland is now firmly united with the English crown. But most of France's losses have been to the benefit of Castile and the Empire. The tribes of southern Ireland raid English lands with the aid of Spanish subsidies, while Wales is stubbornly independent and an ally of the Empire. It is the dream of Cnut, of a North Sea empire, that remains within Edward's grasp, while the Continental ambitions of the House of Anjou seem to be slipping out of reach.

Size in 1300: 12. Size in 1320: 13. Net gain: 1.

[Nijis]

THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE

The German knights and levies of the Empire campaigned on many fronts in the years from 1316 to 1320: in Lombardy, battling Aragon and recalcitrant cities; in Poland, supporting claimants to the marches; in the Balkans, against the proxies of Constantinople. When the dust had settled, the frontiers of the empire had changed little, although there was some loss of German influence in the Balkans and the east.

The imperial chroniclers count no less than 30 major campaigns fought by German armies between 1300 and 1320, more than any other power. Over half could be considered German victories. The grizzled general Augustus Bach, who directed the Emperor's forces throughout the two decades, raised the double-eagle banner over conquered fortresses from Flanders in the west to central Italy in the south to Serbia in the east to Teutonic Livonia in the north, with a brief foray as far as Wales. He fought the French, the Venetians, the Romans, the Aragonese, the Hungarians, the Polish, the Muscovites, the Lithuanians, the Danish, and a half-dozen smaller allied principalities.

By the end of these wars, the Empire could be said to have a solid hold on its Germanic-speaking heartland, with the addition of Frisia and the newly created Electorate of Flanders one of Bach's most lasting achievements. Its dream of a universal Catholic imperium remained elusive, however. Italy was a prize torn by the talons of too many predators, while the unexpected renaissance of the Other Roman Empire and the regional ambitions of Poland and Hungary contained it in the East.

Starting size 18. Ending size: 18. Net gain: 0.
(Note: the Empire ended the turn with a higher than average number of disputed provinces, which don't contribute points but are a strategic asset.)

[TomoeGozen]

It's been great ,I'll definitely be interested in a Macedonian successor campaign!

Please can we accidently leave out Venice's struggles from the official histories...?

Cheers,
Dave.

[anderarcos11]

THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE

The German knights and levies of the Empire campaigned on many fronts in the years from 1316 to 1320: in Lombardy, battling Aragon and recalcitrant cities; in Poland, supporting claimants to the marches; in the Balkans, against the proxies of Constantinople. When the dust had settled, the frontiers of the empire had changed little, although there was some loss of German influence in the Balkans and the east.

The imperial chroniclers count no less than 30 major campaigns fought by German armies between 1300 and 1320, more than any other power. Over half could be considered German victories. The grizzled general Augustus Bach, who directed the Emperor's forces throughout the two decades, raised the double-eagle banner over conquered fortresses from Flanders in the west to central Italy in the south to Serbia in the east to Teutonic Livonia in the north, with a brief foray as far as Wales. He fought the French, the Venetians, the Romans, the Aragonese, the Hungarians, the Polish, the Muscovites, the Lithuanians, the Danish, and a half-dozen smaller allied principalities.

By the end of these wars, the Empire could be said to have a solid hold on its Germanic-speaking heartland, with the addition of Frisia and the newly created Electorate of Flanders one of Bach's most lasting achievements. Its dream of a universal Catholic imperium remained elusive, however. Italy was a prize torn by the talons of too many predators, while the unexpected renaissance of the Other Roman Empire and the regional ambitions of Poland and Hungary contained it in the East.

Starting size 18. Ending size: 18. Net gain: 0.
(Note: the Empire ended the turn with a higher than average number of disputed provinces, which don't contribute points but are a strategic asset.)

How are province points counted? Actually the empire has won at least two complete provinces without dispute since the beginning, with the allies I am not so clear.

[Nijis]

How are province points counted?

I had intended at the start to award two points for direct ownership, one point for uncontested indirect control/alliances. That allows smaller realms who don't have the resources for direct expansion to score from establishing and maintaining large spheres of influence - ie, Carthage, Axum, Kievan Rus, etc. The problem is that alliances are fairly fickle - Germany had several provinces go from uncontested alliance to contested alliance as a result of that one battle with Poland - and there is more of a luck element.

A different system (say, 5 points for ownership, 2 points for alliance, 1 point for contested influence) would probably be a better reflection of the permanence of one's empire. Under this system, the Empire would show about a 9 percent net gain from her starting position (45 to 49). I will probably use that next time.

[Nijis]

EASTERN ROME

The armies of Rome marched westward out of Thrace into the Balkans. One crushed a coalition of rebellious boyars in Bulgaria, cementing the control of the pro-Constantinople Tsar Simeon. Another defeated the tsar of Serbia on the Plain of Blackbirds in the south of the kingdom, although heavy casualties, and the murder of the Byzantine strategos by a Serbian knight who pretended to defect, prevented the army from staying long enough to place their own candidate on the throne.

Thus the Roman renaissance of the 14th century entered its twentieth year. Of 15 major campaigns fought by the Romans and their allies since 1300, none could be considered a defeat. The emperor Epiphanios the Grim, who died in 1319, appeared to be yet another one of those rulers whom God sent to the Romans every few centuries to bring them back from the edge. In his lifetime he was able to conquer western Anatolia from the Ottomans, force the remaining Turkish beyliks of the peninsula to pay tribute, woo the royal house of Georgia, convince the Cuman tribes in the Danube delta to accept Rome as their protector, and turn the Black Sea into a Roman lake. He had somewhat less spectacular success in the west, where Rome came up against German and Hungarian influence, but still managed to extend its influence as far as Italy and the Carpathians.

Start size 7, end size 17. Net gain +10

[Nijis]

SWEDEN, VENICE, AND THE GOLDEN HORDE

Sweden and Venice both struggled to protect their power outside their small starting domains. Venice contested control of Italy with the Empire and Aragon, while Sweden mostly confined its efforts to Denmark and Norway where England and again the Empire checked its progress. The Horde for its part successfully made a transition from a nomadic confederation to an urban empire centered on the Volga metropolis of Saray, but in the process many of the far-flung tribes that it had once commanded became independent. Muscovite expansion in the north mostly came at the Horde's expense, while the triumph of Roman arms impressed numerous Turkic groups in the southern steppes who might otherwise have gravitated into the Horde's orbit.

[heidipie]

Nijis thanks for all your effort, great fun and for sure await your next campaign of any period

Cheers

[Nijis]

Glad you enjoyed it! I'll let everyone know when the next one is ready to go. And thanks to everyone who participated!