La Chevauchée - A Modification for RTW: BI

[{nF}remix]

Hello everybody. Im calling out all modders interested in making a mod about the Hundred Years' War. It will be a mod portraying one of the most important conflicts in history. Players will be able to lead 4 major European nations and conquer rival nations. The mod will be historically accurate and fun. Units like the infamous English Archers, Knights of France, and Clansmen of Scotland. It will be a small but very detailed mod focusing on the conflicts between four nations locked in war. Im really interested in this period because i recently read Bernard Cornwall's The Archer's Tale. Fantastic book btw.

Factions:

* The Kingdom of England



The English are hated by many. It seems all of Europe despise the "unruly" English because they love to fight and war on everybody. These accusation may have truth because even now the English make war upon the French and the Scots. Though the English are a proud people and their country is rich and their army is the most professional in Europe. The English armies succeed through the use of the Longbow. Other nations have failed to adopt this deadly weapon because of the exstensive practice needed to utilize it, but in England, the archery phenomenon is booming and thousands of English youths aspire to become Archers to cut down the Scottish and French Knights. Though the English have some of the best units available, their numbers are small. France's armies dwarf the English expedition and the English will have to use cleverness and treachery to achieve victory. Chivalry means little in the battlefield, an ideal the french have not grasped properly. The English must use their superior tactics to destroy the zealous scots, reclaim their rightful land of Normandy, and to put an end to French dominance in Europe!

Unit List:

Royal Cavalry
Militia
Men-At-Arms (Spear and Shield)
Men-At-Arms (Sword and Shield)
Men-At-Arms (Falchion)
Men-At-Arms (Longsword)
Men-At-Arms (Bill)
Mounted Men-At-Arms (Spear and Shield)
Mounted Men-At-Arms (Sword and Shield)
Mounted Men-At-Arms (Falchion)
Mounted Men-At-Arms (Longsword)
Mounted Men-At-Arms (Bill)
Foot Knights (Sword and Shield)
Foot Knights (Mace "Morning Star" and Shield)
Foot Knights (Long Sword)
Foot Knights (Falchion)
Knights (Lance with Mace "Morning Star" and Shield)
Knights (Lance with Sword and Shield)
Archers
Catapault
Trebuchets

Only Recruitable in Wales

Welsh Hobilars
Welsh Archers

The English will be able to recruit special units from the Low Countries

Flemish Pikemen

The English will be able to recruit special units throughout the Low Countries, Normandy, and Brittanny

Crossbowmen

Only Recruitable in London

Italian Cannon
Italian Demi-Cannon

* France



Description Coming Soon

Unit List:

Royal Cavalry
Militia
Men-At-Arms (Spear and Shield)
Men-At-Arms (Sword and Shield)
Men-At-Arms (Falchion)
Men-At-Arms (Long Sword)
Mounted Men-At-Arms (Lance and Shield)
Mounted Men-At-Arms (Sword and Shield)
Foot Knights (Mace "Morning Star" and Shield)
Foot Knights (Sword and Shield)
Foot Knights (Longsword)
Foot Knights (Falchion)
Knights (Lance with Mace "Morning Star" and Shield)
Knights (Lance with Sword and Shield)
Gendarmes
Pavise Crossbowmen
Crossbowmen
Catapaults
Trebuchet

Genoese Mercenaries - The French will have the ability to recruit Genoese Mercenaries throught out the French realm

Genoese Crossbowmen
Genoese Pavise Crossbowmen
Genoese Mounted Crossbowmen

Only Recruitable in Paris

Italian Cannon
Italian Demi-Cannon

Only Recruitable in Gascony

Armagnac Mercenaries

The French will also be able to field special "Ally" units in Paris

Bohemian Knights
German Knights
Scottish Knights
Bohemian Men-At-Arms
German Men-At-Arms
Bohemian Mounted Men-At-Arms
German Mounted Men-At-Arms

* Scotland



Description Coming Soon

Unit List
Royal Cavalry
Militia
Men-At-Arms (Spear and Shield)
Men-At-Arms (Sword and Shield)
Men-At-Arms (Falchion)
Men-At-Arms (Long Sword)
Mounted Men-At-Arms (Lance and Shield)
Mounted Men-At-Arms (Sword and Shield)
Armoured Pike Sheltron
Pike Sheltron
Foot Knights (Sword and Shield)
Foot Knights (Longsword)
Knights (Lance with Mace "Morning Star" and Shield)
Knights (Lance with Sword and Shield)
Archers
Crossbowmen
Catapaults

Only Recruitable in the Northern Highlands and Northern Isles

Highland Cavalry
Highland Clansmen
Highland Warriors
Warriors of the Isles
Gallowglasses

* Burgundy



Description Coming Soon

Unit List:

Royal Cavalry
Militia
Men-At-Arms (Spear and Shield)
Men-At-Arms (Sword and Shield)
Men-At-Arms (Falchion)
Men-At-Arms (Long Sword)
Mounted Men-At-Arms (Lance and Shield)
Mounted Men-At-Arms (Sword and Shield)
Foot Knights (Sword and Shield)
Foot Knights (Longsword)
Knights (Lance with Mace "Morning Star" and Shield)
Knights (Lance with Sword and Shield)
Gendarmes
Crossbowmen
Mounted Crossbowmen
Pikemen
Armoured Pikemen
Pavise Crossbowmen
Handgunners
Catapaults
Trebuchet
Cannon
Demi-Cannon

The Burgundians will be able to recruit special units from the Low Countries

Flemish Pikemen

* Brittanny



Description Coming Soon

Unit List

Royal Cavalry
Militia
Men-At-Arms (Spear and Shield)
Men-At-Arms (Sword and Shield)
Men-At-Arms (Falchion)
Men-At-Arms (Long Sword)
Mounted Men-At-Arms (Lance and Shield)
Mounted Men-At-Arms (Sword and Shield)
Foot Knights (Sword and Shield)
Foot Knights (Longsword)
Knights (Lance with Mace "Morning Star" and Shield)
Knights (Lance with Sword and Shield)
Gendarmes
Crossbowmen
Pavise Crossbowmen
Catapaults
Trebuchet
Cannon
Demi-Cannon

-------------------------------------------

REBELS

* Irish Rebels

Irish Cavalry
Swordsmen
Light Cavalry
Skirmishers

* Holy Roman Empire (The German States)

German Knights
Pikemen
Men-At-Arms
Crossbowmen
Pavise Crossbowmen

----------------------------------

Campaign Map


Thanks goes to the Two Crowns mod team

Ignore the different colors, those are not finalized. The regions shown however are probably going to be finalized.

---------------------------------------

Historical Battles

The Battle Of Neville's Cross - Information

The Battle of Crécy - Information

The Battle of Agincourt - Information

The Assault on Caen

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Currently, i need a few people to get this project rolling:

Historians
Skinners/Modellers
Scripters/Coders
Mappers

- Thanks and Suggestions are always welcome.

[{nF}remix]

Updated with mod information.

[Uranos]

Have you seen this:
http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=50
maybe you could use some of their work, or get help from them.

[{nF}remix]

Ah, the two crowns mod. Very promising mod. Thought i think their inactive -

http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=51797

but i will attempt to contact them and see if their interested in merging. They do have a different approach though. My mod (name pending) is on a smaller scale - just France, England, and maybe Ireland. Their mod includes the Holy Roman empire and italia i think. I will still try to contact them though, and see if i could borrow their stuff, some of their stuff like the Warhorse looks neat. Thanks for the link.

UPDATE : Name changed, do you guys like it?

[{nF}remix]

REBELS

* Irish Rebels

Irish Cavalry
Swordsmen
Light Cavalry
Skirmishers

* Holy Roman Empire (The German States)

German Knights
Pikemen
Men-At-Arms
Crossbowmen
Pavise Crossbowmen

----------------------------------

Campaign Map

[dragases1453]

Yap...good name!

[{nF}remix]

Update



Scottish Militia



Scottish Foot Knights (Longsword)

[PyrrhusIV]

I'll see if my schedule permits, if so i'll help skin, even if my skills are moderate.

[{nF}remix]

Thats great, any help would be awesome.

I also really need a mapper that could do the campaign map


Thanks goes to the Two Crowns mod team

[dragases1453]

The only help i can give you is to use the models of Crusader TW that are good also for this mod!

So if you want contact me via PM and send me your messenger or email address!

[Sidus Preclarum]

No Navarre ?

[Maethius]

Looks interesting.

[{nF}remix]

The only help i can give you is to use the models of Crusader TW that are good also for this mod!

So if you want contact me via PM and send me your messenger or email address!

That would be great man!

Im also trying to use Caius' Models from his mod, if he allows, then i could slightly modify them to fit the time period. Ill send you a pm.

About Navarre, I think they did not have much effect on the Hundred Years' war, correct me if im wrong.

The Time Period will be 1302-1500

[{nF}remix]

UPDATE:

Here is an update with Unit cards and descriptions for the Scottish Knights and Militia





Notice the new long pikes in the sheltron

[Justiciar]

Yegads man. Avoid stereotypes at all costs. At least your scots aren't wearing kilts and woad...

Still.. English and French armies were for the most part quite similar. The only real difference was that in later years the English focus moved from it's Knights to it's "proffesional" armies. The Scots weren't all that impoverished either. Many Scottish nobles could afford decent armour and weaponry, esspecially in the south.

Good work, so far, just avoid the cliché monster. Also.. York and Lancaster.. hell, while we're at it- Welsh rebels (Owain Glyndwr)? Flanders, perhaps? Aquitaine? Gascony? I'm not sure how many faction slots there are, I'm affraid..

[Sidus Preclarum]

The only real difference was that in later years the English focus moved from it's Knights to it's "proffesional" armies.

shouldn't that read "in later years the FRENCH focus moved from it's knights to professional armies" ? (gendarmes d'ordonances, francs archers, and a modern field and siege artilleyr train ?)

[Justiciar]

Well if that's the case, then apparently it should read "both armies' attention moved from their knights to their proffesional armies".. though I did mean early 15th century. In which case the only difference was the Longbow, which wasn't acctually all that effective.

[Methoz]

very nice....and download?

[Uranos]

Maybe you could ask Webbird to use his highlanders units:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=38682

[Ranika]

Period highlanders didn't look like that. They looked like the Gaelic Irish. While lowland Scots for the most part followed the Norman-English model (and had an army that was structurally very similar; Scots in the lowlands should be able to use mostly the same units as England, though your Scottish foot-knights are a nice touch; I'd mention in the description their Normano-Gaelic heritage though, rather than being representative of all Scottish knights), the highlanders used the Ceitherne model (the Gaelic model; a 'Ceitherne' is a term for a regiment or warband, and is where the word 'Kern' comes from). Gaelic soldiery is divided into two classes (Ceithernea and Saighdiúira; Kerns and Soldiers, the latter word being from the word soldier, the earlier word being an old Gaelic one), with three types of clothing to differentiate them.

The 'Kerns' were support units. Skirmishers, militias, light pike and spearmen, archers (also slings, which were still used in portions of west Ireland), and light cavalry were in this class, as well as 'squires'; soldiers-in-training. They dressed in a thigh length shirt, with tight trousers, which were also often pulled up and worn as shorts, called trews. In this period, the wealthiest kerns (usually the squires of the ridire, Gaelic knights) may even have helmets and swords. Kerns that were intended to fight in a melee wore a padded coat called an acton or cuton, the same as light professional soldiers. Kerns were part-time soldiers, or, as mentioned, in training, so their morale and experience would be poor, but they filled a lot of roles. While all of these were 'Ceitherne', the term came to be more often applied to squires and attendants, both soldiers-in-training.

The Soldiers dressed in one of two ways. The poorer soldiers wore a knee-length shirt, no trousers (they fought bare-legged), with a very short cloak decorated with plaid that covers their shoulders. They would be axemen, spearmen, swordsmen, horsemen, and other experienced regulars who fight and drill on a normal basis. Most of them would wear an acton as well, and more would also have access to helmets. The wealthier would replace the acton with other, stronger armors. Such soldiers were actually pretty reliable (a lot of Irish mercenaries were from this class, and the English, of all people, swore by their usefulness and loyalty, despite a certain movie's depiction of them willingly switching sides for no compensation).

Knights and the aristocracy dressed in decorated robes with boots, gloves, and a lot of finery like jewelry or necklaces. They wore short cloaks, but a bit longer than other soldiers (not long enough to impede their movement). Knights, called Ridire or Rittire (from a Saxon term), and champions used various weapons, including longswords, bastard swords, heavy two-handed axes, spears, etc. They would be armored pretty well, with mail, and wore helmets of varying types; indigenous Gaelic helmets, almost anachronistic old helmets, Norman helmets, etc. The wealthiest of Gaelic knights in the latest periods sometimes would import a plate harness to wear. Irish hobilars fell in this realm; English and French imitations of them were more of an extremely light version, but actual Gaelic hobilars were heavy cavalry; their mobility was admired by the English and French though, so when they copied them, they lightened them more to make them faster. Various foot knights were most common in this class though; used to storm fortresses, gatehouses, slaughter light infantry positions, etc.

Almost all Gaelic soldiers carried javelins or larger throwing spears to throw before charging an enemy (not necessarily skirmishing, but just a spear or two to soften an enemy up). Gallowglass varied in station as 'knights', but most dressed like regular soldiers. The gallowglass were not 'trained' by Scots or Irish, they were hired as mercenaries (and by more than the Scots and Irish; England and France both had gallowglass that fought for them). They fought with an axe on a two meter pole called a sparth axe usually, but a lot of Irish gallowglass adopted the Irish two-handed swords. Shields used did include the very common target (which had a few variations), but heater and kite shields were used to some extent; kite shields were particularly popular in the Hebrides. Maces were somewhat popular, but not of a flanged nature. Ball and egg-shaped heads were prefered, or hammers, for breaking up shieldwalls.

Neither Irish nor Scottish Gaels were poor. Their armies were armed in a modern fashion, though most were not armored as such (this was not wholely due to some percieved poverty, but rather that certain forms of armor were impractical in the wet, boggy, or rocky regions, and were more a liability than an aide). Armor was preferably light, though there were, as mentioned, foot knights and other heavily armored infantry and some cavalry that was used for pretty much the same reasons as others.

Pegaso models (which can be rather hit-and-miss) has a rather nice depiction of an Irish knight from around the period; http://www.pegasomodels.com/details_en.asp?code=54-184 Well, it says Irish, but he could probably be a Scot too; highland Scots really weren't that different. His helmet is a bit more like what a king would wear, like what Cormac McCarthy may have worn in battle (Cormac was king of Munster and supplied men to Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn, and likely a few other battles; when questioned about this by his 'liege', he politely informed that Gaelic law didn't forbid him from doing so {since it was the chieftains' choice who to ally with}; the Irish vassalage was pretty much a vapor-treaty until much later, as 'Desmond' {Munster} continually ignored English law and acted indepedently with great voracity, siding with both France and Scotland against their technical liege). I should note here that beards were not as popular with Gaels as people seem to think. They were difficult to clean and maintain, so mustaches were much more common for facial hair (a handlebar mustache, essentially, was the most popular style). They tended to wear their hair long and well kept, and did a lot to keep clean.

I could have turned this into a whine about how people's concept of what the Scots and Irish were like has been mutilated by Braveheart, but have avoided it. Till now. The Irish did not turn on Edward. They were well-paid mercenaries, and he had more value for them than a lot of his own soldiers because they were more experienced. Why would they betray the English and side with the Scots? The Scots they fought were mostly a bunch of English-speaking Normans too. William Wallace himself was more culturally a Norman and had little if any Gaelic blood. The Irish would have been more willing to switch sides for Robert the Bruce, as he did have some rather prestigious Gaelic descent (in addition to copious Norman relations). That's not meant as a jab at Wallace, but simply pointing out that he would hardly be the man they'd want to turn on their employer for. The Welsh would be more likely, as they were more recently subdued, and Edward's Irish soldiers were rarely his 'subjects' in Ireland (many of whom simply ignored English law; English rule was rarely effective beyond the Pale, and even when it was, was usually confined to Leinster). His Irish were highly paid mercenary companies who had fought all over Europe like the Green Harper Company (which would be great mid-to-high-end mercenaries all over the map; slow to generate maybe, but they fought almost everywhere and for anyone with the money).

I know there's a lot of modern enmity between Ireland and England (being from Ireland, I find this enmity is actually more common amongst the diaspora than in Ireland itself). The truth is, at the time, the Irish and Scots were not close allies who loathed the English. The Irish were close to the highland Scots, because they had many relations and were culturally very similar. It wasn't until impassioned letters by Robert the Bruce inspired a concept of 'Gaelic unity' did the Irish much care for lowland Scots (the clinching point was that Bruce would refer to Ireland and Scotland together as 'our country', which may not seem too moving to you, but that was hugely inspiring to them). The Irish were not, however, jumping at the bit to fight the English, except where it might actually earn them something. However, a common point of the time was that 'tyrants are tyrants'; the Irish didn't want English rule, but didn't really want any foreign rule; they were close to the French fairly often, but numerous times rejected to give aide in exchange for swearing fealty to the French king; trading one foreign tyrant for another. It wasn't because the English were English, it's because they were foreigners. Robert's letters to the kings and chiefs about 'our country' is largely important because it help establish his brother as the recognized king of Ireland by the Irish (it only lasted briefly, but had he not died, the Scottish aide in Ireland likely could have pushed English influence out entirely). The Irish, with the whole unified-Gaelic-people meme spread around, were more than happy to instate a Scottish king, because they considered him a Gael, and thus, the same stock and worthy of ruling Ireland.

Sorry, that went on long. Anyway, unrelated to any of that; for units with longswords, would it be possible for them to also have a shorter sword and a shield when they're in close? The heavier swords were difficult to use in prolonged melees. At least including a shield slung on their back would be nice, and perhaps a sword in a scabbard at their side, just to make mention that they carried a back up weapon.

Also, errant knights may be of use for flavor. Like Keating of the Knights of St. John; he was master of the order in Ireland, but disregarded both English and Irish demands, and used his brothers in Ireland to capture Dublin castle (and was summarily expelled from the order). However, till that, the knights fought for the local governor or king. It was part of their contract to recieve lands. When a knightly order wanted lands for a chapter house and armory and such, they either had to pay for it, or they had to pledge temporary service to the local king. The English circumvented the technicalities by instating the Knights of St. George as a kingdom-run organization, but of a similar structure. If you really wish to differentiate factions, foot-note orders and minor warrior organizations would be more effective; many of the armies in the Franco-English sphere are more or less identical but for some minor differences and local varieties. The use of 'allies' for the French is a really nice touch, in that vein, by the way. For the English, a similar method would be the use of English auxiliaries. Gaelo-Norman soldiers in Irish territories (mixed-blood Gaelic-Norman soldiers, looked like Gaelic soldiers, and organized the same way, but used a lot of Norman equipment; they were pretty common in Ireland before the more oppressive periods), and Welsh auxiliaries might give them some decent variety. Scots could have various Gaelic soldiers in the highlands (with the more homogenized lowland armies); same soldiers in the highlands of Scotland could be in Ireland.