[M2TW AAR] Scotland the Brave!

[skulkrinbait]

Prologue:

This is my first ever AAR, so please give me honest opinions, if you think it's crap please tell me with some advice how to make it not crap and I will try to learn!

This is played using vanilla MTW2, I think I have the patches, need to check that. All settings to medium, I'm fairly green at this game.

I am playing a special rule, I will never leave a city without a leader and will never send an army forth without a leader as well, this should make the game feel more realistic.

Summer 1080 AD - Clan Coluim


The Scottish uprising, led by King Malcolm III, begins:





I am Máel Coluim, great chief of the Scots and rightful King of the English as well. If not for that pretender to the throne William the Bastard I would have united these islands under the rule of a Scottish King.
I avenged my fathers death at the hands of Mac Bethad and I will not rest until England is under my rule, the raids of last year into Northumbria showed that the English military is to be respected but not feared.

King Malcolm of Scotland, his forces march



The first task in achieving my goals is to secure a safe power base, I have despatched my son, Prince Edmund, an able leader to ride North to Inverness, to lay siege to the castle there held by a garrison of English rebels.
I have ceded my finest units to aid Edmund in his quest, I fear the defenders at Inverness may be quite numerous.

Prince Edmund prepares to siege Inverness



I have also sent my diplomat and spy south to see what forces there may be around the English town of York.
The dawn brings foul news as my spy failed in his mission and was slain by guards inside York, but combined with my diplomat I did find out that the city was not yet held by English forces proper but by rebels. Despite this it is well garrisoned, although the quality of the troops is questionable.

The English Rebels at York



It soon becomes clear that the enemy garrison at Inverness is bigger than anticipated and so I urgently dispatch another force of men to aid Edmund in his siege.

Luck is on our side as the defenders, unaware of their advantage in numbers, decide to sit tight while our reinforcements join with Edmund's force and bring parity to proceedings. However, it will now be a long siege as the castle appears well provisioned.

Prince Edmund reinforced, lays siege to Inverness Castle



Time is of the essence and so I sent an emissary to Ireland, perhaps we can ally against the English or perhaps I can bring them under the Scottish banner through more aggressive means. My most senior clergyman, Cannon Alpin has been sent to Ireland under the guise of spreading the Catholic religion, but he has been instructed to send back reports from Dublin.

[Parky]

Nice AAR.
looking forward to the follow up, Scotland are pretty fun to play =D

[skulkrinbait]

AD 1085

Hard Times

It has become clear that the Scottish economy is in serious trouble, we are haemorrhaging money and at this rate soldiers will need to be allowed to return to their homes as the money to pay them will dry up within 3 years.

I have been improving the agriculture around Edinburgh to ease the situation and have employed a merchant to try to secure trade routes. My diplomat has also initiated trade rights with the hated English to ease the Scottish treasury.

Scottish Merchant at work



Patrick McDougall, my loyal diplomat has grave news, English forces are moving North from Nottingham in some force, two moderate sized armies appear to be heading for York.

I have ordered my 4th son, Alexander to patrol our border with his army to ensure the English do not approach too closely. I am hopeful that the English are simply going to arrive at York to retake it from the rebel forces there, but I need to be on my guard.

Preparing to defend Scotland



There is some happy news amongst the oppressing atmosphere of impending war, Edmund has found a bride and was able to leave the siege lines for a few days to marry Jane Cullen at Stirling Abbey.



Luckily, it soon becomes clear that the English do not intend heading further North than York, they no doubt fear a Scottish incursion and so wait safe behind their town walls.

I have now ordered Alexander to take his army, reinforced with some new units of spearmen recently recruited to try to capture Dublin. Our treasury is at last showing signs of recovery as my merchants have been busy finding new trade routes and I have been able to bolster my army somewhat.

Alexander marches on Dublin


The Battle of Inverness

At last the siege of Inverness comes to fruition and the English rebels decide to sally forth rather than starve, it's been a long siege and now it's judgement day.

On paper the Scottish forces led by Prince Edmund outnumber their English counterparts by 2-1 and so the battle should be over quickly. Especially as the English rebels will be demoralised and hungry.



Indeed the battle is swift and one-sided, the English rebels emerged from their hole and massed in a mob, firing arrows with little effect at our well-organised line.

A couple of their units of spear charged our line, that held firm, our own archers returning fire into the enemy mob.

As soon as the enemy spear were engaged, Edmund rode around the enemy right flank and charged into their rear unopposed, this routed the unit and panic spread through their ranks. The enemy surrendered soon afterwards, Inverness was now back in Scottish hands!

Edmund charges the enemy rear with his bodyguard, routing them

[BlackBart213]

this is a fun read! Although I think I probably would have gone for York first, knowing that Inverness would probably stay rebel for quite some time

Keep up the good work

[skulkrinbait]

this is a fun read! Although I think I probably would have gone for York first, knowing that Inverness would probably stay rebel for quite some time

Keep up the good work

Good point but I am role-playing more than I normally would, I tihnk the Scots would want their only other settlement under their own rule asap.

Will post the next installment later today.

Thanks for the comments, this feedback helps keep me motivated to carry on!

[Warrot]

Off topic question...How do you play Scoutland? I only hav METW(one) BTW.

[skulkrinbait]

Off topic question...How do you play Scoutland? I only hav METW(one) BTW.

In MTW2 I think it's a default country, in MTW 1 I don't think you can play Scotland, unless perhaps you Mod it.

[skulkrinbait]

With Edward safely ensconced at Inverness, the money is flowing into our coffers and at last we can spend some money expanding the army, ready to face the English.



AD 1098

Alexander arrives on Irish soil and marches on Dublin. I decided to send Edward to rendezvous with him to ensure we had overwhelming force for the siege and to give the troops a more seasoned leader, fresh from his victory at Inverness this would surely inspire the men.

After a breif siege the Dublin garrison sallied forth, their number being something of a surprise as they managed to field a force of equal strength to that of ours, although they are no doubt not of as stout a heart.

The Irish sally forth



The battle was brief and bloody. Edward lined up his men and waited the Irish to pour out of their town. It appeared that they had no leaders as they were just a mob who formed up into a disorganised knot and then charged at our lines.

Prince Edward lines up his forces while the Irish Rebels approach from Dublin




The charge did nothing but break upon our spears, we were able to quickly send our cavalry from the flanks into their rear areas and charge until they routed. We then pursued them back to the centre of Dublin, killing their number at will.

The Irish rabble charge the organised Scottish lines



However, there was one valiant unit of Irish heavy infantry that had been ordered to hold the centre of the town, they proved to be a tough nut to crack. With our entire force surrounding these valiant men, they stood no chance but would not yield. After several minutes of hard fighting we had subdued the Irish forces, but at quite a grievous toll of almost a 3rd of our force. Dublin was ours!

Victory!



So now we stand on the brink of war with England, Inverness and Dublin have been secured, our treasury is in a good state and we can now build forces ready to invade.

We need a few more seasons to get things ready and into place for the wr ahead. My two youngest sons both come of age in the next 4 years and they will be needed to help manage the new settlements under our sway while the older ones will lead our mighty armies into battle.

[Roman Knight]

Nice AAR

Well written, good pics and great choice of faction. Especially for a newbie.

+rep

[skulkrinbait]

1096 AD - Two Weddings and No Funerals

A period of peace is now breaking out as we consolidate our gains at Dublin and Inverness. It is a time to rebuild our armies ready for the major struggle ahead, we now have sufficient cash to be able to commission our first unit of Mailed Knights, who will make up a mighty armoured fist for the vanguard of our army as it heads south to face the English. The English Knights will be one of the most dangerous adversaries we will face and so this unit will be a direct challenge to that threat.

Unfortunately the cost of these Knights is so great that we can only invest in a single unit of them for now, but there may be more in future.

Scottish Knights commissioned at Inverness



1097 AD

Edmund has found a bride, it is a time of merriment as the spectre of war is not yet upon us and the ghosts of those who died in the battles we fought are beginning to fade. But we must make the most of these happier times as it cannot be so forever.

Edmund and his bride



1098 AD

I have dispatched my diplomat to see how the land lies with the English, under the guise of offering map information to them. They appear to be fairly friendly towards us and not aware of the designs we have to remove their King from his thrown. Indeed they even paid a small amount in return for the information we gave them, fools!



1099 AD

More happy news, my son Alexander has come of age! He is now a full grown man at 16 years, ready to lead our armies into battle against our foes. He shows some aptitude as a commander although he doesn't have any natural talent for it and of course lacks experience, he will not be expected to lead an army himself against any seasoned foes just yet, but he will be useful nevertheless.

There have been rumours coming from the south that a rebel army has been attacked by the English around the borders with North Wales, perhaps the English are seeking dominion over the Welsh? I need to investigate this further.

Alexander Canmore comes of age



1100 AD

Indeed the English are expanding and being aggressive, my merchant who is now in Northern France, has discovered an English army laying siege to a rebel settlement. Perhaps we can seek an alliance with the French to help in our struggle with the English?

Unfortunately soon after sending this report back my merchant was killed after a failed attempt to take over a rival French merchant's business backfired. Greed is a terrible thing!

The English in France



1101 AD

The Council of Nobles have met and decided that we should try to capture the rebel settlement of Canaerfon, in North Wales. Spies have informed us that the town is still neutral but that the English are showing interest in capturing it. If we can take it before they do then we will not only strengthen our own position but prevent them from gaining strength too.

As time is of the essence I dispatch my newly come-of-age son Alexander with all the units we can muster to help, including our new unit of Knights. They move into English terretory using the thick forests of Cumberlan to aid them evade detection.

If the English detect this force in their terretory that may precipitate a war between our nations and we are still not ready to fight such a war, so speed and cunning will be important until this force can reach the Welsh borders.

I have had to send Alexander as he is closest to the region having been with me in Edinburgh, hopefully the number of troops with him will make up for his lack of experience.

Alexander's forces march south



1102 AD

Alexander does well to arrive at Caenarvon in good time and lays siege to it with his mighty host.

Alexander besieges the Welsh Rebel stronghold



1103 AD

Meanwhile back at Edinburgh, my youngest son David has now come of age. He shows more promise than Alexander in terms of being a great leader and has a certain talent for sieges, this may come in useful in the next few years.

Prince David Canmore



1104 AD - Vive La France!

My trusted diplomat Patrick MacDougall has arrived in France after a long voyage by see from the Firth of Clyde, landing at Cherbourg on board the Scottish flagship.

He has had an audience with a high ranking French noble and they have discussed trade rights and map information. The meeting went well and I think we may be able to request an alliance with the French soon. Assumin the alliance is forthcoming and we can finish building up our forces, we can invade England and hope for some help to keep the full weight of the English army from our backs.

My diplomat approaches the French noble



1105 AD - The Siege of Caenarvon

Urgent news has reached me that the battle of Canaervon is now raging, the Welsh rebels sallied forth at dusk to attack Prince Alexander and his force of brave Scots. The odds are greatly in our favour, over 2-1 in number and the Welsh are poorly equipped. Even better news is that reports from my generals indicate that Alexander has learned a lot about warfare simply by commanding the siege and he has become a stronger leader because of it, the men respect him greatly.

The Siege of Caenarvon comes to an end



The Battle of Caenarvon Begins

It was a dull and grey day with the sun beginning to set when the Welsh sallied forth. As was to be expected from such a rebel army they had little organisation after leaving the town gates and simply milled around, their numbers dwindling as the Scottish archers rained fury down upon them from afar.

The Welsh were infuriated by this turn of events and some of their number charged our lines, but upon seeing this we used the hitherto successful tactic of pushing the cavalry forward on the flanks, ready to charge into their rear.

However, the Welsh responded to this by turnig their attention towards the cavalry themselves, our horsemen simply wheeled around and charged into the hapless Welsh footmen while the original lines now moved forward effectively hitting them in what was now their own flanks.



All too quickly the Welsh threat faded as they either ran for their lives back to the walls or surrendered, in ever increasing number.

Our cavalry performed well and soon had the town square under their control, we lost barely a score men while the enemy surrended in droves.

The final toll



The Aftermath

With Caenarvon now falling under the dominion of the Scots, along with Dublin and Edinburgh, we have no other course of action but to attack the English.

My plans are to consolidate our position and rebuild those units that have taken losses in the conquests we have commissioned to date and to spend another season or two building some more military.

Then we will march south, York will be the first target, but first we must try to ally with the French.

The Scottish Realm, AD 1105

[skulkrinbait]

1106 AD - French Letters

My diplomat has been doing sterling work in France and managed to get an audience with their King Phillip. The proposal for an alliance between our two great countries was greeted with enthusiasm and we are now allies. This means that we can truly begin preparations for war!

My diplomat approaches King Phillip of France



The alliance is cemented!



1107 AD - We March!

And so it begins. Spending another two seasons mustering our forces, my youngest son Prince David marches south at the head of a great host. I have chosen him to lead the invasion of England as he has shown great natural talent at commanding men and is a shrewd tactician, if lacking in experience.

The first goal on his mission will be to take the northern English outpost at York and then hold it until we can ready forces to push further south.

His force consists of our Knights, some light cavalry and several units of spears making up the back-bone of the army. There are some archers and town milita for support as well.

Marching south, the army reaches the English border and prepares to strike.

Prince David leads his army South into England



1108 - War!

David lay siege to York and that action brings about war between our nations. The fate of Scotland now lies with a few hundred brave souls.

WAR



1109 - King Edward of Scotland

It is ill news indeed that greeted me that grey morning. I was awoken and summoned to council with a messenger from Edinburgh, who told me the news of my fathers death a few days earlier. He died peacefully in his sleep, this news means I am now King Edward of Scotland!

I have returned to Edinburgh to be crowned and left Dublin without a commander, this means that the attack on England will be recalled with my youngest brother Prince David taking over from me as commander at Dublin.

The King is Dead



Return of the King

The journey back to Edinburgh was long and tiring, as I had to leave most of my force to defend Dublin while the town was uncommanded, it was also a dangerous journey as there are bandits in the wilder regions of Ireland.

King Edward leaves Dublin



The Dynasty continues



1111 AD - Defence of the Realm

With the death of my father, we are now forced onto the defence against the English, with barely enough commanders to look after the settlements we hold, we have nobody to lead our armies into battle. We will garrison Edinburgh well and let the English throw themselves against our walls!

The Scottish Kingdom at 1111AD



1112 AD - Strange Events

Dire news reached the walls of my brother's garrison at Caenarvon, a large English host was seen approaching the settlement. However, a few days later a smaller force of Welsh rebels arrived and marched down the valley by-passing the castle. It appears either the Welsh attacked and fought off the English or the English rebelled against their leaders. Either way the garrison had a narrow escape.

Rebel army near Caenarvon



1114 AD - Invaders!

News reached me that the English have invaded! A large force has been sighted a few miles inside the borders and they are headed for Edinburgh, Ihave ordered all troops in the town to be on full alert and scouts are now headed to shadow the force and to gain information about it's size and composition.

Initial reports suggest the force is around 600 men strong and has mainly footmen, some peasantry and is led by an inexperienced leader. If this is true then we should be able to fight them off easily enough, but I await more reports.

The English are Coming!



1115 AD - Sieged!

The enemy army has besieged the Scottish capital! This was not unforseen of course but it is not helping the Scottish economy by being surrounded we cannot trade.

Beseiged



The Battle of Edinburgh

With the Scottish economy barely in profit, I decided to sally force immediately to relieve the settlement and to catch the English off guard.

We mustered 900 men to the English 650 who were a rag-tag assortment of peasants with some good quality Knights scattered amongst them.

We Sally Forth!



Deployment

My initial plan was to taunt the English into assaulting our walls, so my archers could cut them down and weaken them before applying the coup-de-grace.

Archers on the Walls



Waiting

The English had built several great siege engines and so as we peered into the mist at their lines, we prepared for them to start moving forward.

Scottish Spears view the Enemy



The Bait

For several hours the forces eyeballed each other, but it became clear that the English were not prepared for a fight and wanted to wait us out. I ordered my Knights to leave the gates and to charge the first rank of the enemy lines and then to retreat, hoping to force the English into a reckless pursuit.

They did well, punching a hole through the English archers and then returning without loss, but the English lines held firm and did not take the bait.

The Scottish Knights as Bait



Emerging from Edinburgh

I was left with no choice but to meet the enemy in battle on the open plain before Edinburgh. Quickly I ordered the men out of the gates to form into two lines, archers in the front rank with spear and militia behind and cavalry on each flank.

This had the desired effect as no sooner had we formed that the English came at us.

The Scottish Line Draws the English



Charge!

The English plan was simple, they threw their cavalry at our flanks to try to destroy the outnumbered Scottish cavalry. Successive waves of English Knights were causing havoc on our left flank where the Scottish Knights were soon proven to be inferior to that of the English. Only close support from some of our fine spearmen and accurate fire from our archers evened things up.

On the right flank my own bodyguard was proving more than a match for the English however and we soon routed two units of English Knights with help from our spear driving into the English Knights flank as they were engaged with our own horse.

The English strategy might have worked had they also committed their own footmen, but they were stood a good hundred yards away watching the proceeedings, this was the measure of the inexperienced enemy leader.

Soon, the enemy horse were beaten off and a spent force, my own Knights were badly battered and had to move to the rear to wait as reserves if needed and now the English foot came on, under a withering fire from our archers.

By the time the two lines engaged we had a good numerical superiority and the quality of our forces told as the enemy line soon had holes in it as the enemy peasants soon broke under the full weight of battle.

With their line shredded, the English force was soon routing while my cavalry made them pay all the way back to the border.

The English Rout!




Victory!

Althought the final toll shows a clear victory for the Scots, there were times when the battle might have gone ill, if the enemy leader had been more seasoned. However, as things stand, we have beaten off a large English force and no doubt although they will be back, we've bought some time to rebuild and retrain.

The Result

[skulkrinbait]

1120AD - England Attacks

After just a few years respite, the English arrived back on our lands seeking vengeance for their ignominious defeat.

The English are not totally stupid, they have brought up a larger force, although it is still smaller than our valiant defenders and they have also brought up better quality troops. However, they still have some peasants among their ranks. One area that they still have to pay attention to is the quality of their leaders, once again they send a mere captain, no doubt their nobles are too cowardly to venture forth from their lairs.

The English approach again



Besieged Again

The dawn broke brightly and I awoke to find the English army camped before the gates of Ediburgh. My generals had already deployed our forces well with archers position on the walls and spear ready by the gate.

The Scots deploy



Nothing Ventured

I decided to try the tactic my father employed before with little effect, but this time with more juicy bait. I rode out of the town gates with my bodyguard, lances levelled and pennons furling in the steady southerly breeze. After pausing a few seconds we charged the enemy lines.

I knew that they had some archers screening their position with their seige engines behind, their main forces were a good hundred yards further away and the plan was to drive off their light troops and then turn back, hoping to lure their main units into bowshot from my archers on the town walls.

As my men bore down on the enemy they ran before the flashing hooves of our might war-horses, the fools who stood their ground were trampled into the dust. The enemy siege engines were now in Scottish hands.

The Scots capture the engines



Battle!

The English were not stupid, despite watching their engines being captured they stood their ground and formed up with those archers that had escaped my cavalry in their midst. With three units of Mailed Knights in their rear and a mix of spear and billmen in the vanguard they stood and waited.

Quickly I gave the signal for our own forces to form up on the field, they quickly emerged from the town gate and under the watchful eye of a unit of archers on the walls, they formed a line of spear mixed with town militia.

I then withdrew my Knights into the lee of the left flank of my spears, ready to command the army as events dictated.

As soon as all our forces were in place I gave the order for a general advance, with our archers in the rear protected by the front rank, we marched until they were within bow-shot of the enemy. My plan was to overwhelm the enemy with ranged combat as their own archers were decimated by my cavalry charge and only low quality peasantry, compared to my own Scottish archers.

As soon as we got within bowshot and started to fire, the English cavalry charged en masse.

It was a fearsome sight to behold, over a hundred horse with riders in full armour sped towards our lines, however the brave spearmen held their ground in the main and soon bloody hand to hand combat was breaking out along the lines.

Once again the English did not follow up this initial onslaught and instead of withdrawing their cavalry they tried to batter their way into our lines. With spare units we soon had most of the horse encircled by a hedge of spears and we took our bloody toll on them.

On the Scottish right flank the enemy cavalry managed to extricate themselves but they charged back into the fray almost immediately and this time were repulsed causing them to rout. This triggered a rout along the entire lines as all the cavalry that had engaged turned tail and fled.

I once again sounded the advance and now we charged into the enemy foot who had been watching events unfold and now appeared to be wavering at the sight of their crack units routing. By the time our spear and milita had engaged along the length of the line, they started to turn and run for their sorry lives.

The English Rout Again



The Aftermath

Once again the lord has smiled upon the Scottish children, despite heavier losses than in the battle my father masterminded, it has been a resounding victory for Scotland over the English curs.

Toll



1130 AD - Blockade

The English are determined I'll give them that. Ten years have passed since the second battle of Edinburgh and they have not dared to set a foot on Scottish soil, but instead they send their pathetic fleets to blockade our ports. This is a greivous blow to Scottish trade and will cripple us in time if left unchecked, but the tiny fleet we have ourselves cannot dare face the English in open battle but has to hide in the many inlets on the West coast.

My diplomat has been ordered to seek new trade agreements with the rich Mediterranean Kingdoms around Italy and has been doing well to augment our income. We have also managed to employ a merchant who has been building trading routes down to Spain which have also proved fruitful.

The English Fleet Blockades the Port of Edinburgh



1134 AD - Alicia Weds

At last some good news, my daughter Alicia has found a suitable husband who can marry into the family and will be a much needed commander.

Despite my daughter's relative lack of intelligence she has chosen a good husband who appears to be loyal to the crown and has something of a reputation as being a good leader of men.

Comgell Arthyn



1135 AD - We March

I've dispatched Arthyn south at the head of a large army to wreak havoc upon the English once more. His target is York, once again, this time fate will not intervene I fervently hope and pray.

The Scottish March South

[King Oz]

This is probably the best AAR here. I've read many, but this is one of the few I come to check if there is any update. It also inspired me to play as England so that I could unlock Scotland.

[skulkrinbait]

This is probably the best AAR here. I've read many, but this is one of the few I come to check if there is any update. It also inspired me to play as England so that I could unlock Scotland.

Thanks, I'm honoured by your comments.

Should be an update soon, within 24 hours I hope. I do try to update regularly when I can, I'm ejoying playing this more than normal as I'm thinking more about what I am doing as I'm reporting it on here.

I'm new to AARs so I am learning a lot about the best way to do one and trying various things with pictures etc. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't but I am still learning.

[boerekovic]

Really nice AAR!
especially as you say this was your first!

+rep.

[Ryoken]

Nice AAR for a first one.

Helpful tips:

- crop your images to cut out your interface (unit cards, etc). You have a good eye for screenshots, very good choice of what you take a picture of, you just need to clean them up a bit.

- turn banners off in your config file so that the images look more realistic. Turning off green unit selectors helps too.

- Dont give up! Kick some more English ass for me!

[The Good]

I really like this AAR, keep up the good work! In fact, you have inspired me to write a Scotland AAR! Thank you, and I will regularily look at your work. You get a reputation point.

-ΛΟΥΣΙΟΥΣ ΤΖΟΥΛΙΟΥΣ

[skulkrinbait]

1148 AD - The Scottish Navy

With my forces unable to initiate any battles at the current time, due to a lack of commanders, I have begun to build up a naval force. The Scottish navy is currently weak and the English have control of the seas, they have been blockading our ports at Edinburgh and Inverness with impunity and this cannot be allowed to continue.

We have laid down the keels of 4 new warships this season and we will continue building ships while the money holds out, until we have wrestled control of the seas from our Southern foe.

As soon as the fleet was ready, we set sail to blockade the English ports.

Blockading Nottingham



1150AD - Prince Nevin

At last I have a son! After the birth of four girls in the family, it is a good news that I have an heir at last, long may he live!

Nevin Canmore enters the World



1151 AD - English Incursions

The English are on the march again, large armies harrass the south of
Nottingham while the English navy set sail into the North Sea and cheekily blockades my point at York, where a small force of Scottish ships are anchored.

English Might on display



1152 - War at Sea

The Scottish Navy has earned it's title as today we bested the English in a battle at sea! Our force of 12 Cogs engaged their 6 Cogs and sank 2, the rest fleeing before our mighty prows!

Admiral Donald has proven himself to be a fine seafaring commander.

Admiral Donald



1153 AD - Scots take control of the seas

There were several more battles in the North Sea but gradually we wore the English fleet down, ensuring we repaired our own ships in between battles was expensive but it ensured we could finish off the English without losing more than a couple of ships ourselves.

We now had control of the North Sea and blockaded not only the enemy port at Nottingham, but also their main port at London and even the Channel port of Caen.

The Scottish Navy rampages around the Channel



To be continued............

1156AD - Anglo-Danish Alliance

My diplomat advises be that the English have forged an alliance with the Poles. No doubt this in a response to the thorough kicking my Scottish forces have given the English and they are hoping an ally can help them out.

It's not an issue that worries me however as the Poles are far enough away to not be a factor in the ongoing war, but they may have a navy that could cause problems in future.

The Pact is signed



1158 AD - Danish Aggression

Out of the blue the Danes are attacking, a large number of their longboats have attacked our small fleet just outside the port of Edinburgh and sank 2 Cogs.

These are grave tidings as a war with Denmark is not going to be easy for our Navy to handle as the Danes have one of the best fleets in the North Sea and their ships are much better in a fight than our Cogs.

We counterattacked the pirates and managed to drive them off for now.

Danes make war



1160 AD - Portugal

Strange tidings this day, a force of Portuguese has landed close to my settlement at Canarvon, it seems they mean no harm but they are not welcome on our shores, I have dispatched some naval forces to escort their ships away.

The Portuguese Land



1162AD - Marriage

My daughter Christian has married, her suitor appears to be suitable as he is loyal to the crown and would make a good commander, despite his young age I have plans for him.

My new son-in-law



1166 AD - Wealth

Since we have been concentrating on our navy, we have been able to concentrate more on the Scottish economy of late and the news that we are considered the richest of all European countries is a great morale boost.

The money will be needed as we wage war on the English now that we have a new commander to lead the Scottish forces forwards once again!

Rich



1168 AD - The Knights

A representative from the Knights Templar asked for permission to build a chapter house at Inverness, I granted them the rights and paid for the building, after all, having such holy men in our midst will ensure God looks on us favourably.

We are now able to commission units of these Knights for battle, they are formidable warriors indeed.

We have also continued adding to our own navy, to help keep both the English and Danish fleets in check.

Military Build-Up



1170 AD - Onwards to Battle

I have dispatched my new General south to attack Nottingham, he has been given a good amount of force to accomplish this task, although I wonder if perhaps his lack of archers and cavalry might be a problem.

As his army closes in on the enemy settlement, the fortress at Nottingham, a large enemy force is reported as approaching from the South.

Closing for battle



1172 AD - Tostig!

The enemy army engages our forces, led by the English commander Tostig, a fairly inexperienced commander of men who is not renowned for his battle prowess. However, he has a large force of men with him and will be difficult to overcome I suspect.

England vs Scotland



Battle!

The battle is going to be fought in a forest, which does not suit my forces at all as it makes the job of the leader harder as spotting the enemy will be tough.

After desperately searching for suitable terrain to deploy onto, my forces lined at the edge of a small clearing.

Scottish forces deploy



Readying for Battle

As the clouds desend from the leaden skies, the mist closes in making the enemy army more difficult to spot, although we can hear them crashing through the undergrowth ahead.



Enemy Spotted!

The English hove into view across the clearing, their forces in good order with peasants mainly on their left flank, billmen in their centre and cavalry on their left flank.

As they approach my men steady themselves for the trial ahead.

The English Come into View



Contact

The enemy cavlary charge our right flank and beging to drive back my men, also they try to outflank us as on this flank we are badly outnumbered.

English cavalry charges the Scottish right flank



Soon, the English cavalry realise that the Scottish spear are doing a good job of holding together, so one of their units tries to rush along our lines in an attempt to break through.

English Cavalry Charges



While the cavalry engage our right flank, the English footmen engage the rest of the line and manage to break through in one location, but the rest of the line stands firm.

English foot breaks through



On our left flank the English peasants are badly organised and the Scottish forces are able to engage on favourable terms, isolating the enemy and punishing them hard.

Disorganised English Peasantry



About now Tostig, the English General, is spotted and my General attacks with his own bodyguard, if we can kill the enemy leader quickly it will demoralise his forces. Our right flank is looking like it may rout soon as the enemy cavalry press their attack so we need to try something to turn things in our favour.

Tostig



The Scottish Knights attack with such ferocity that all too soon the English Knights are dismayed and overrun, Tostig succumbs like a lamb to the strong Scottish steel!

Meanwhile the Scottish spear are able to turn the tide against the enemy cavalry at laast with the news that their leader is now dead!

Scottish Spear vs English Knights



Now that their cavalry is forced back, several English units shred from the field of battle, some routing and others withdrawing in good order, the pursuit begins!

Scottish force pursue the English from the field



After the dust settles, the bodycount reveals that we have done well this day, we massacred the enemy for relatively little loss on our own part. My new General has indeed proven himself!

The Final Toll

[skulkrinbait]

Thanks again for the kind comments, this is a very friendly forum and I hope to stay here a long time!

[The Good]

Nice, I like the new updated part! I can't wait to see what happens next, after England is conquered, will you invade Gaul (France) or Iberia? The reason I say Iberia, is that apparently, you will be at war with Portugal soon, and it would be a good opprotunity to conquer their heartlands there.

-ΛΟΥΣΙΟΥΣ ΤΖΟΥΛΙΟΥΣ