Timescale: 0.50 - half year per turn
Gameplay: 3.5 weeks
Kingdom of France
Rulers of the Kingdom of France: Capetian Dynasty (1180-1223) 1180-1198 King Philip Capetian the Chivalrous
1198-1223 King Louis Capetian the Honorable
De Lyon Dynasty (1223-1371) 1223-1226 King Guillemot De Lyon the Pious
1226-1257 King Charles De Lyon the Mighty
1257-1268 King Henry De Lyon the Crusader
1268-1274 King Micheal De Lyon the Champion
1274-1300 King Louis De Lyon the Saint
1300-1341 King Phillipe De Lyon the Wrathful
1341-1363 King Bernard De Lyon the Watcher
1363-1371 King Goise De Lyon the Tyrant
Capetian Restoration (1371-1390)
1371-1378 King Ronald Capetian the Champion
1378-1382 King Cambrian Capetian the Wretched
1383-1390 King Gillette Capetian the Horrible
De Lyon Restoration (1390- ∞)
1390-1430 King Charles De Lyon II the Champion
1430-1452 King Charles De Lyon III the Conqueror
1452-1477 King Henry De Lyon II the Explorer
1477-1480 King Bernard De Lyon the Mighty
1480-1504 King Everest De Lyon the Pious
1504-1525 King Louis De Lyon the Chivalrous
Hello and welcome to my first After Action Report. (AAR) I will tell the tale of the French Empire, from there glorious victories to the notorious defeats. We will follow the two branches of the French Monarchy: De Lyon Dynasty & Capetian Dynasty. We will see how the drama and tension builds and how full out war emerges. This AAR will be a ongoing tale updated often. This tale will go into overall occurrences in the Empire down to the major battles of the time period; accompanied by pictures and a story of epic proportions. Lets Begin!
Last edited by Espadas:Benson; May 19, 2010 at 09:06 PM.
1180, a turbulent time for the French Kingdom surrounded by enemy. The rebellious English to the north; the hostile Holy Roman Empire to the east; and devious Spain to the south.
1185: King Philip immediately issued new economic reforms keeping the Mighty French Kingdom affluent. After reconstructing the economy, the French King had suspicions that the Holy Roman Empire were planing to expand west of the Rhine into French territories, and his spies confirmed his suspicions.
1191: the Holy Roman Empire accumulated over 2,314 troops troops to invade France. The Holy Roman Empire claimed to have "Royal ties with any territories bordering the Rhine." Even though every Frenchman knew this was an excuse for an invasion for the humiliating defeat the Holy Roman Empire suffered from France in 1168 ending the Franco-Imperial war, the Pope and many other catholic nations fell for their lies. Refusing to give up there territories the first Franco-Imperial War (1191-1200) [in my AAR] was ignited. For the remainder of King Philips rule, he fought a defensive war.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The HRE fleet blockading me
The Border Between France and HRE
King Philip established a line of forts on the front, and garrisoned them with a decent amount of troops. King Philip saw no reason as to invade a people who were shrouded in lies, and just preserved the highly defended border. Due to his kind ways he was awarded the title: Chivalrous. He died in Paris, October 5 1198, peacefully in his sleep. He died knowing he did what was right.
1198: Prince Louis then came to the thrown as King Louis. King Louis saw a different approach to the war against the Holy Roman Empire. He used the 3,000 troops defending the border to attack. The French armies defeated the Imperial army in the Battle of Staufen, effectively conquering an Imperial possession. After 6 months the element of surprise was lost, and the full weight of the Imperial Legions was bearing down on the French forces. December 6 1199 the entire Imperial Army met the French Army at the battle of the Alps. Although outnumbered 2 : 1 the French still won because of better weapons and armors. The Holy Roman Empire offered a cease fire and had to pay a debt of 2,000 florins for 6 years.
1200: Now that the Franco-Imperial was was over, the French have demonstrated their power in western Europe. The respect France was granted due to its victory help ease diplomacy with foreign nations. King Louis established trade rights & map information with the Milanese, Spanish, Portuguese, English, and Denmark.
1201: King Louis spent the next ten years try to recover from the war. France was nearly bankrupt and has lost a 1,300 men in the war. The King built Farms, Armories, Roads, Churches, and established large cities. Since King Louis honored the common mans work, he was awarded the title: The Honorable.
1211: King Louis, has successfully revitalized the economy, and making France the richest faction in Europe. Now the King has a new threat, the Milanese. The Milanese & French tension began after the Milanese married into the Holy Roman Empire during the First Franco-Imperial war. The Milanese vowed to attack within X amount of turns, and it seems the Milanese are still executing there promises. The Milanese launched a mass invasion on Dijon and Marseilles igniting the first Franco-Milanese war. (1211-1224) The chain of events also encouraged the Holy Roman Empire to invade for the same exact reason as the first time "Royal ties" igniting the Second Franco-Imperial war. (1211-1223)
1212: King Louis, now in an impossible position to win, has called for the help of the Spaniards. A deal was made that the French would finance the war, paying Spain 2,500 florins a year for 10 years and the Spanish would send armies to help in the war effort. The two coalitions met at Dijon, and scarred the combined Milanese & Imperial forces back to their homelands
Last edited by Espadas:Benson; May 22, 2010 at 04:56 PM.
Very good start, though detail on the events of the battles would be nice. Funny that Phillip II of France in your campaign ended up focusing on the Holy Roman Empire. Historically, it was the Angevins dynasty's lands in France that he focused on. Do you intend to expand eastward?
Just a few things:
That would probably make more sense as: by enemies.
suffered from France in 1168
That would probably make more sense as: suffered, inflicted by France in 1168.
Yeah, a few typos, but thank you for pointing them out. What was this Angevin's land? In Kingdoms grand campaign I start in the year 1180, and so the game was nice enough to give me all of France except Caen and Rennes. (English) I was mainly building up an economy when my friendly little neighbors came calling, and since i didnt have enough troops to successful conquer there lands, i fought a defensive war. I also saw it was pointless to attack because most of their regions suck =P. When Louis came to power, the French were powerful enough to occupy staufen. I am currently trying to find the images for the battle of the ALPS & the battle of Staufen, and then that will compleate part 1. Within the next 2-4 hours i should have considerably more content to share.
The red, orange, brownish-red, and peach colored areas are lands that this dynasty held in France as of 1180 or so. The dynasty came from the County of Anjou, but had claims on the throne of England through marriage. The count of Anjou if I recall correctly was the nephew of the queen. They inherited Acquitaine through Henry I's marriage to Elanor of Acquitaine. I'd rather not go off-topic in this thread, so if you want more information, PM me some questions and I'll tell you more.
Thanks for the explanation by the way. Interesting that the game doesn't match up with the historical extent of France at the begginning, but oh well.
Last edited by dezikeizer; May 22, 2010 at 05:03 PM.