[AAR] Scotland: An Alternative History

[Caillagh de Bodemloze]

Ah, the defeat at Valencia was a shame. No doubt if the army had been at full strength, that would have improved the odds - but, as Alwyn says, the fact that the Scots won at the Jucar crossing is pretty impressive, even though they lost so many men doing that.

[Balor]

XXI



In 1380 the invasion suffered another setback when Cathal, bastard son of Matne mac Bróccín, married a Venetian princess. This selfish and treacherous decision left the 16th, bound for Toledo, without a commander. Alas, there was nothing we could do as Venice remained our most powerful ally.

Cathal's brother Feradach, also illegitimate, was proving himself to be a more loyal and faithful servant to the crown. After taking Oporto with the legendary 4th Hibernian, he sailed south for Africa. In 1381 he smashed the local Portuguese garrison in open battle.



After taking out the enemy arquebusiers with his archers, Feradach charged his galloglaich and routed the foe.







The 4th then sacked Marrakesh and allowed the Moors to occupy the city before sailing north again.



In Iberia our long time rivals Norway have taken the English fortress of Pamplona and now move, with great numbers, on Burgos. Prince Cailean is under siege in Salamanca while the 16th, under a new commander, have fortified their position to the east of Toledo.

Our forces in Iberia are dwindling but, if these three armies can hold out a little while longer, help is on it's way. Etmond mac Gartnait has raised a large force in Rhodes and now makes his way west.

[Balor]

XXII



Sailing north from Africa, the 4th Hibernian landed at Oporto and broke the Portuguese siege. Trapping the besiegers between the garrison and his own forces, Feradach easily won the day.





To the east, the Norwegians attempted to take Burgos with a large army of musketeers. It was a disorganised assault and the experienced 10th division dealt with it effectively.

[Balor]

XXIII

While Feradach moved his now reinforced 4th Hibernian on Leon, Prince Cailean finally had the opportunity to strike south into enemy territory. In 1383 he was attacked on his way towards Toledo.



Taking position on a hill by a large country villa he rained down artillery and diseased carrion on the advancing army. Try as they might, the demoralised and sickened enemy had no hope of dislodging our experience soldiers.















Shortly after this battle Feradach was also attacked by the now desperate Portuguese. Though equipped with muskets and having many reliable swordsmen in their numbers, the advantage of high ground, catapults and artillery proved crucial in the battle that followed and the enemy were routed.







The tide of war in Iberia has fully swung in our favour. It will not be long now before the Portuguese are a spent force.

[Balor]

Exciting chapters! The Portugese forces, with their advanced pikemen as well as musketeers and arquebusiers, sounds like formidable foes, making Scotland's victories even more impressive.

The Writers' Study Yearly Awards 2016 are now open for nominations. Everyone is invited to submit nominations here.

Thank you Alwyn (I don't think one can submit oneself to that competition).

Ah, the defeat at Valencia was a shame. No doubt if the army had been at full strength, that would have improved the odds - but, as Alwyn says, the fact that the Scots won at the Jucar crossing is pretty impressive, even though they lost so many men doing that.

Yes, this was one confusing battle! If the conditions had not been as dire at Jucar we could have attacked Valencia in greater numbers. The battle for Valencia was undecided right until the very end. If we had even fifty more foot knights I think we could have won the day.

[Balor]

Exciting chapters! The Portugese forces, with their advanced pikemen as well as musketeers and arquebusiers, sounds like formidable foes, making Scotland's victories even more impressive.

The Writers' Study Yearly Awards 2016 are now open for nominations. Everyone is invited to submit nominations here.

Thank you Alwyn (I don't think one can submit oneself to that competition).

Ah, the defeat at Valencia was a shame. No doubt if the army had been at full strength, that would have improved the odds - but, as Alwyn says, the fact that the Scots won at the Jucar crossing is pretty impressive, even though they lost so many men doing that.

Yes, this was one confusing battle! If the conditions had not been as dire at Jucar we could have attacked Valencia in greater numbers. The battle for Valencia was undecided right until the very end. If we had even fifty more foot knights I think we could have won the day.

[Alwyn]

Thank you Alwyn (I don't think one can submit oneself to that competition).

Yes, that's right, writers cannot nominate ourselves or our own work in the Writers' Study Yearly Awards. Readers of AARs and creative writing can nominate writers and writing; writers can nominate other writers and their stories or poetry.

Your use of images is amazing in your latest chapter, I like the way that you use the vantage point on the hill to show a different perspective on the battle. It looks like the war in Iberia has turned decisively in favour of Scotland's armies.

[Balor]

XXIV

After defeating the Portuguese on the march to Toledo, Prince Cailean moved on the citadel with an army bolstered by mercenaries and men from the 16th. Wary of allowing Portuguese reinforcements to arrive, the Prince decided to assault at once, trusting that his cannons and trebuchet would be enough to break through three layers of curtain walls.





His main force entered Toledo by smashing the north gate with accurate culverin shot. Scottish mailed foot knights and noble swordsmen then rushed in to hold a forward position. They fought stubbornly against the deadly Portuguese halberdiers, refusing to give ground.



This allowed the noble highland archers to move to a flanking position on the walls and pepper the enemy with arrows.



After breaking the first wave of resistance, Prince Cailean moved his artillery into three positions, aiming to destroy the enemy ballista towers and a section of the inner wall.







Seeing the devastation wrought by this attack, the Portuguese sallied forth with demi-lancers but were easily rebuffed by a combination of heavy pike and ribault.





Once the towers were taken down, and a breach made in the walls, Prince Cailean gave the command to attack. Fierce fighting ensued. The ribault proved very effective in breaking enemy formations and our troops were able to fight their way forward.











Approaching the third and final gate of Toledo, our men were under constant attack from the enemy ballista towers and musketeers. They withstood this under terrible strain until, with bombard and culverin, we broke a section of the walls. Prince Cailean roared the command for an all out attack and his tired troops rallied for one last push.



Once inside they encountered fierce and dogged resistance from the Portuguese garrison until, finally, victory was assured by a charge from the highland nobles of the 13th.





Prince Cailean, magnanimous in victory, pardoned the defenders and did not allow the settlement to be sacked. With Toledo under his control the Prince considered our position in Iberia secure.

[Balor]

XXV

While war was raging in Iberia, Etmond mac Gartnait raised a force in Rhodes and, recruiting mercenaries on the way, sailed west along the coast of north Africa. His mission was to defeat the Portuguese forces in Africa and allow the Moors to retake their land.







After taking Algiers, Melilla and Fez he gathered the remnants of his force and sailed north. Confident that the war in Iberia was all but won, Prince Cailean has commanded mac Gartnait to stir up trouble in Norwegian held France.

[Alwyn]

Prince Cailean's attack on Toledo, facing a force of roughly equal size and having to break through three sets of stone walls "with bombard and culverin", is impressive indeed! The mercy which he showed towards the surviving defenders and inhabitants was a nice touch. The Norwegian empire looks very large, I wonder if stirring up trouble in Norwegian-held France might awaken a sleeping giant. If Norway declares war, will Prince Cailean's force have replaced its significant losses in time?

Meanwhile, the Writers' Study are currently running three competitions, everyone is invited to vote for your favourite writing:-

Writers' Study Yearly Awards 2016

Monthly Creative Writing Competition XIV

Tale of the Week 256

[Balor]

Prince Cailean's attack on Toledo, facing a force of roughly equal size and having to break through three sets of stone walls "with bombard and culverin", is impressive indeed! The mercy which he showed towards the surviving defenders and inhabitants was a nice touch. The Norwegian empire looks very large, I wonder if stirring up trouble in Norwegian-held France might awaken a sleeping giant. If Norway declares war, will Prince Cailean's force have replaced its significant losses in time?

The sleeping giant is already pushing south into Iberia... stirring up trouble in France is a desperate attempt to halt Norwegian progress. This will be an all out war against a very powerful enemy.

[Balor]

XXVI

In 1386 Etmond mac Gartnait and his mercenary army laid siege to the fortress of Toulouse in southern France. in 1387, when challenged by a powerful Norwegian force, he decided to break the siege in order to fight from higher ground.





It was a fierce and bloody affair but Etmond remained calm throughout, engaging the enemy heavy cavalry when they threatened his flanks and using his ribault and crossbows to great effect against the Norwegian infantry.











Once the battle was over mac Gartnait gave the difficult command to execute all captives. He could not allow the survivors to garrison Toulouse now that it lay open and vulnerable. Later that year he took the fortress and set about recruiting more men for his expeditionary force.

To the west, Feradach, bastard son of Matne mac Bróccin and now Lord High Marshall of the Scottish Empire, moves up the French coast with the 5th Hibernian after taking Pamplona and Bordeaux with ease. In the north the mac Chormaic's have been given free reign to expand their territory and unleash hell upon Norway.

From his throne in London, King Gille Micheil mac Eógaín has called for the outright destruction of the Norwegian empire and dismisses all counsel of peace.

[Socrates1984]

The clash we are all expecting for!!

[Balor]

XXVII

While Etmond mac Gartnait battled his way through southern France, the mac Chormaics began their assault on Scandinavia. Young Somairle mac Chormaic raised a mercenary force and struck at Uppsala in the far north of Sweden while his cousin Giric and the 6th Norse Raiders liberated Roskilde and Aarhus for Denmark and moved on Hamburg. The Norwegians desperately scrambled their northern forces but Giric, in 1389, reached the citadel and attacked in the foggy dawn.











That winter Inge Ironside attempted to retake the citadel.





While Giric prepared to defend the western gate, Ironside sent elite huskarls over the wall further south in an attempt to divide our forces. These were bravely rebuffed by a combination of norse raiders and peasant archers.



The rest of the enemy were slaughtered at the gate with devastating grapeshot.





One year later, King Giradino himself attempted to retake the citadel of Hamburg.



Thinking his warriors better suited to the freezing north, King Giradino launched his attack in the blinding depths of a snow storm. He was to learn a lesson the mac Chormaics were fond of teaching: never underestimate the resolve of the Baltic Scots.



It was a full frontal assault with siege tower, battering ram and ladders. The newly recruited culverin managed to destroy the siege tower just as it reached the walls...



While Norwegian soldiers climbed the ladders, the ill fated King sent the rest of his force through fiery gates of death to be hacked at by unseen defenders and impaled by rimbault and lance.

[Alwyn]

Never underestimate the resolve of the Baltic Scots, indeed! Great images and battle reporting! I enjoyed seeing the Scots take and then defend the same castle walls. It looks like the Scots' cannon provide a decisive advantage.

[Socrates1984]

At last! The biggest force in Europe fights with the most cunning one! I could see this coming since a few updates before and I will continue enjoying it thoroughly!

I still can't get it how the Scottish troops manage to defend their settlements so effectively... a what will their next move be? There are so many fronts, so many choices, so many dangers ahead!

[Balor]

XXVIII



Our continued aggression against Norway led to excommunication. With a large and elite Papal force camped in Iberia, Cailean mac Eogain, now King, made the decision to avoid further conflict with Rome but continue the destruction of the Norwegian empire.



To this end he instructed that Hamburg be ceded to a newly reestablished Denmark and for Giric mac Chormaic to return home and reinforce the 6th Norse Raiders.



Meanwhile, Etmond mac Gartnait moved his mercenaries north towards Dijon while the Papal States took Toulouse in his wake. He was challenged to the south of the city by a large Norwegian force but crushed the enemy.



















After taking Dijon he struck at the remaining Norwegian forces in the area, dealing with a failed ambush along the way.









With his forces seriously depleted, he returned to the safety of Dijon to see out the winter. The Papal States soon caught up with him and laid siege to the city.



King Cailean now played the game of diplomacy. He offered Rome a huge sum to reconcile our empire and, once this was achieved, called for a crusade against Norwegian held Frankfurt.





Allowing Dijon to rebel, Etmond mac Gartnait moved north once more and occupied a fort in the province of Metz. The desperate Norwegians once more attempted to halt his progress but were slaughtered at the gates by ribault.











Eventually, mac Gartnait reached his destination and took the citadel of Metz.

[Balor]

XXIX

While Etmond mac Gartnait made his heroic march through southern France, King Cailean moved up the coast from Iberia with the now full strength 13th Scottish Nobles and Giric mac Chormaic returned to the fray with his swollen 6th Norse Raiders. Already we had taken north-western France from the enemy with levies raised in Britain and now we made to strike the final blow.



While the King took Rheims and Feradach The Merciless took Burgos with little resistance, it was left to Giric mac Chormaic assault the last true stronghold of Norway: the citadel of Antwerp.





Giric first breached the walls with his culverin, allowing the supporting Venetians to shed first blood. While the defenders rushed to clot this attack, Giric sent his Nobles at the walls.



After the enemy infantry was destroyed, Giric led his cavalry into the citadel and hunted the enemy nobility through the empty streets.







The last King of Norway died at the hands of Giric mac Chormaic, their dynasty wiped from the face of the earth.

[Balor]

XXX

With the defeat of Norway and our strong alliances with Venice, Denmark and The Papal States, our position in Europe is secure.



It is finished.

(Thanks to everyone who read and commented. I can go no further. This, to me at least, is a satisfactory conclusion. Phew!)

[Alwyn]

A satisfactory conclusion, indeed! Congratulations on the successful completion of this impressive, dramatic and visually stunning AAR!