[MachTW:VM AAR] The Red Rose of England

[Grymloq]

THE RED ROSE OF ENGLAND


INTRODUCTION

King Henry was worried. The death of his father the previous year had given him the guidance of England, but the 28-year-old monarch was overwhelmed by his duties.
Lollardy, that had been led by John Wycliffe, was widespread and was the main cause of unrest, especially in Cornwall and Hampshire. Due to the high taxation the population had to sustain, many people were abandoning the greater Northern cities to go to live in the country.
On the Western border Wales has gained independence under the revolt of Owain Glyndŵr, a powerful local noble. In the North, Scotland was preparing for war, in order to avenge the defeat suffered at Homildon Hill.
In Ireland the heavily garrisoned city of Dublin, the last in English hands, had to face urban riots as well as destructive raids by the hostile independent Irish principalities.
In France the Truce of Bruges had left to England only the territories of Calais, Brest and Bordeaux.
Now the madness of King Charles VI of France had led the kingdom in a civil war between the Armagnacs and the Burgundians.

The king read once more the letter he had in his hands. John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy and loyal ally of the English, asked for help against Bernard VII of Armagnac.
Now Henry had to decide whether to help him, weakening furthermore the kingdom, or to remain idle, worsening the relations with Burgundy and leaving the English territories in France exposed to an enemy attack.

The Kingdom of England in 1414

[Grymloq]

CHAPTER I: THE BATTLE OF AGINCOURT

The army left Calais with the royal banner at its head, aiming at the French territories.
Having agreed a five-year truce with Scotland, now England could intervene in the French issues.
Lord Barnaby Allen had been riding alongside the king for almost an hour, when suddenly some lightly-armoured scouts asked to be received by the senior generals.
They rapidly knelt to the young monarch before reporting that an enemy army, probably led by the Constable of France Charles d’Albret, was approaching.
The army was ordered to leave the road and to deploy in battle formation, while longbowmen were cutting down thin trees to make some sharpened stakes.
All of a sudden the enemy came out of the forest, but then he stopped out of the range of the English archers.


The English now had to act before another army could arrive.
Barnaby Allen ordered his men to deploy beyond the stakes in order to shoot at the enemy.

The French advanced under a deadly volley of arrows, but they were still so many that they could surround the English army.
Lord Allen, who was in command of the left wing, charged the enemy light cavalry that formed the French right wing with his bodyguard, as did the English knights on the other side of the battlefield.

The archers were retreating before the enemy light cavalry and went past the stakes, while the French, carried away by the enthusiasm, were not able to stop.

Lord Allen’s bodyguard was succumbing to the enemy, when the king himself joined the battle.
The infantry, having defeated the French spearmen, rushed into aid of the English right wing.

Soon after the Constable of France fell and the enemy army fled the field.
A herald was soon sent to Paris to communicate the price of ransom.

The watchman shouted at his comrades to open the gates, as he saw the torches and heard the sound of hoofs on the ground.
Edgar of Bampton, the newly-appointed governor of Nottingham, rode swiftly through the castle entrance.

[Scottish King]

Good start! What is the name of this mod?

[Grymloq]

Thanks!
It is Machiavello Total War
It has 3 different campaign: I'm playing "Il Vecchio Mondo" campaign which focuses on Europe. It stretches from 1414 to 1614

[Grymloq]

Come on guys! Over 250 views, just 1 reply! Is this AAR so bad? Any suggestion, comment or question is welcome

[Grymloq]

CHAPTER II: A NEW WAR

The Earl of Nottingham looked at the English banner flying on the top of the rampart of the Edwardian castle.
The Welsh revolt had eventually been quelled. After the surrender of Owain Glyndŵr following a long siege, both Cardiff and Caernarvon had been subdued without fighting. The rebel leader was forgiven by King Henry and exiled in Ireland.
Now the army would prepare to sail for the island and conquer the FitzGerald principality, that was expanding fast.

Barnaby Allen led his men at full gallop through Oxfordshire, to meet the rebel host. His knights
had the duty to crush the numerous uprisings throughout the country. Many, both nobles and common people, were unsatisfied of the King’s rule; after the truce with France and the return of Henry in England, taxes were oppressive and still the treasurer’s chest was often empty. The king had agreed to establish a people’s assembly that had to control the monarch’s doings, but not even this seemed to solve the issue.

Laurence Bidell was just amazed. Venice was a marvelous and extraordinary city.
The English ambassador was escorted from his lodging to the Doge’s Palace by two guards; everything in the city seemed rich and wealthy.
After a short wait, he was introduced in the hall, where was the Doge, a severe old man, surrounded by the six ducal councillors. Then the heavy wooden doors closed behind him.
One hour later, when the foreign envoy left the Palace, he seemed very satisfied: the alliance between the Kingdom of England and the Republic of Venice had been stipulated.

In Brittany, Duke John VI the Wise, a former ally of England, who had previously married Joan, the daughter of the French king Charles VI, now changed side, directly threatening English-held Brest from his stronghold of Nantes.
Humphrey of Lancaster was in command of the English army that was besieging the city. The Duke had unsuccessfully called for French and Portuguese help. Soon Nantes surrendered and John VI was handed over to the English and sent to London.

A noisy crowd was gathered in the square, in the middle of it was a platform. John of Brittany was forced to kneel down and to rest his head on a wooden block. Then the black-hooded executioner raised his axe and pulled it heavily down on the prisoner’s neck, chopping his head.

The warship was still at the entrance of the harbour, not allowing the boats to come in. The Lion of Scotland was depicted on the sails. The war was just begun.


Edgar Bampton Earl of Nottingham stopped his horse and looked behind. The army was marching in a column, stretching beyond the horizon. They would soon enter the enemy territory.
A letter had been sent to him informing that the Scots at Carrickfergus were under siege and could not help their comrades.
The standard bearer rode up to where the Earl was, and warned that a numerous Scottish army was near.


The Kingdom of England in 1428

[Scottish King]

Good progress so far. Just one thing: I think you should make smoother transitions into events of a different or at a different location,something to indicate that you have changed the focus of story to something else. Other than that good job! Don't get discouraged by the number of remarks. There have been many times in my AAR where I would have only one or two people comment on a update or sometimes Ill go without one for an update or two. Just keep up the good work! + rep

[Grymloq]

Thanks for your kind words, Scottish King!

[Schrödinger]

Don't worry about lack of comments, plenty of lurkers around who do not post, you are at least being read

A promising start, but maybe centre titles and some pictures?

The mod looks interesting too with permanent forts- not a fan of the capitalisation of place names though

Good and bloodthirsty, shall keep reading!

[Grymloq]

Thanks!

[Grymloq]

CHAPTER III: THE NORTHERN FRONTIER


The knight looked worried at the advancing enemy. Hordes of Scottish clansmen were running toward them, screaming. Then the sign was given and the arrows started to fall on the enemy.

The kilt-wearing warriors stepped up, as many of them fell dead on the Irish soil.
They charged the English with lifted axes, not caring to pass through a forest of sharpened stakes.


Then the trees blocked the view on the battle, while the cavalry moved on the flank. The knight spurred his horse and lowered his lance. The first enemy was trampled with a scream, while the long weapon pierced the throat of a second soldier.
The shattered Scottish archers started to disperse. The warrior turned back just to see the English infantry fleeing through the woods.

Some shouts made him turn again, while a wooden lance hit him in the face, deforming the helmet and mangling his head.





The Earl of Nottingham watched satisfied his men firing at the haughty enemy, before retreating in front of the Scots.

Then the two armies clashed, screaming and yelling, in a chaos of dirt and blood. No soldier could remain in his unit, just trying to stick together with his comrades.

Edgar Bampton witnessed the fight for hours, without joining in. The battle’s future remained uncertain for the rest of the day, when the Scottish commander ordered his men to retreat and left the battlefield, marching through the sun-burnt brushwood of the Lowlands.





The Earl of Nottingham took off his helmet and walked among the tired victorious soldiers, watching how many of them were badly wounded or dead. He was suddenly interrupted by the coming of a panting young page, dressed in yellow and red livery, who announced that Scottish cavalry had been seen on the hills north-west of their current position. Another battle would soon begin.
The Earl ordered his men to deploy on the highest hill, waiting for the enemy.
After an exasperating wait, finally they came at sight: the English commander had expected them to be many more, but nevertheless his soldiers, tired and wounded, would have to face a fresh and well-prepared enemy.
The Scottish lines began running towards the hill where the English were. Only their leader stayed out of the longbowmen range, just to see his men cut down as they reached the enemy first line.

The English spearmen soon gained the upper hand on the fighting thanks to their better position, and even the intervention of the Scottish archers did not change the situation. In fact the poor-trained peasants were the last to enter battle and the first to flee, causing the rout of the whole army, that was soon butchered by the English knights.
At that point the Scottish commander lead an as heroic as desperate charge, resulting in his death and in the English victory.





That day the green fields of Ireland were covered with snow, blood and mud. The archer walked among the dead bodies riddled of arrows, searching for valuable items on the Scottish corpses and extracting the non-damaged darts that could still be re-used. The enemy had suffered a heavy defeat making him retreat into his fortress of Carrickfergus after two disastrous sorties. Now the invader army would soon besiege the last Scottish survivors on Irish soil.







Edgar Bampton looked for the last time at the dark walls of Edinburgh, before turning his white horse and ordering to march towards the English border. His campaign had been marked by a series of victories over the northern enemy, but now the English army was too small to successfully take the Scottish capital. Also the wagons carrying supplies in winter were slowed down by the deep snow and thus exposed to further enemy attacks. In England they could be re-supplied easily and they would receive fresh soldiers in order to replace the fallen ones.


The host marched towards Newcastle upon Tyne, all the vassals following the Earl of Nottingham. All but one: Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar, a Scottish noble who had sworn allegiance to the King of England, went deeper in the enemy territory with just his own small retinue.