To Rule the Earth (We Already Rule the Waves): An SS6.4 British Snippet collection

[Alwyn]

Good update! It sounds like well-trained longbowmen and cavalry provide a flexible and powerful combination.

[reaper101]

Since I'll be moving back to college fairly soon, expect update length to drop dramatically. Thinking I'll publish Walter's journal entries as singletons.

Recovered from Personal Journals of Walter Lacy.
Dated 1219

If one could question me on the why of things, of why I have bent the knee, why I have sent tribute to a foreign emperor, why I do not oppose an enemy until I am dead and gone and my line ended...it is spite.
Spite for the Germans, who betrayed us when allies against the Pope and his minions were solely needed. Spite for the Pope, whose machinations killed my father and ended the line of Normandy through all save my own blood. And most of all, spite for traitors like Guy of Pembroke, who took an army of Saxons and sorely needed Welshmen away from our cause, abandoning our siege lines that would have ended the French and restored our fortunes. All of them seek to see us beaten, broken, slaves to armies and tyrants.
I WILL NOT allow this.
Eustace of Abingdon, a loyal and leal subject, has brought an army from the United Kingdom to restore our shattered forces. With it, I will put down Guy and his traitors once and for all. And from there...
England will remember its humiliation. And when the Germans bare their throats those they thought their lapdogs will rise and tear it out.

[NorseThing]

Walter Lacy remembers the British enemies and also remember those within the UK who support him in his cause against the French. A good man to be on your side (if you are British) and a man who does not forgive and forget easily.

Short posts are great additions to your AAR thread. I just feel encroaching a bit when commenting if my comments becomes longer than the post!

[reaper101]

Recovered from Personal Journals of Walter Lacy
Dated 1224

France is vanquished at last. My losses were heavy, but the French armies were obliterated. Alongside this comes yet another excommunication from the Hungarian bastard who pretends to be the mouthpiece of God. No matter. Our German 'masters' have their own Pope to follow, and they think we are valuable enough an asset to protect from any untoward activity. Our borders are secured by our 'allies', and so long as we keep up the facade...we have little to fear.
Between the ransom of King Hugo two years beforehand, a kingly price indeed, and the funding earned by the sack of Paris, our coffers are finally full again. The funding is already being invested in our infrastructure and rebuilding the losses suffered in our brief campaign.
Meanwhile, a German princess by the name of Aleid has come to my court in Paris. An attempt to tie me further to the German throne? She is headstrong and wild, full of ideas about honor and chivalry. Naive. She lacks understanding of how the world works. Did the Kaiser think that a pretty face would entice me so easily? Does he look down on my youth that much?
Hah! Let him think me swayed. My spies are already beginning their work in the cities that once were French. Apparently with the French aristocracy destroyed my branch, derived from the Normans as it is, remains the only royal French line in existence. A useful tool indeed.

[Alwyn]

Good update, I enjoyed the observations about Walter Lacy's relationships with the Pope and the Germans and French nations. It sounds like Walter Lacy's (potential) connection to the German court and his ancestry might both be useful tools. Walter's comments about the attitudes of the German princess are interesting, I wonder if her attitudes will influence him in the future.

[Caillagh de Bodemloze]

Your repetition of the word 'spite' in the 1219 journal works really well, I think.

Walter seems to have an interesting situation there with the German princess. I wonder how it will turn out...

[Owlparrot3]

Finally the Normans rule France ,both in land and also in blood .The only royal line !!!

[reaper101]

Recovered from the Personal Journals of Walter Lacy
Dated 1225

I have spies in every corner of France, hidden in the cities and countryside, aided by the common people who hate their German overlords. I even have several in my own court, to guard against assassins and find the inner thoughts of every foreigner who brings themselves before my throne.
And thanks to them, I think I may be in love.
The German Princess, Aleid...I have intercepted documents, heard of her rage against her uncle the Kaiser. How she hated the injustice forced upon us, despised that the Empire did not aid its ally but instead turned against it. For that, she was sent here. From what I can decipher, it was to confront her with the reality of the situation, to 'prove' how 'content' we are with our vassalage. It only has made her more incensed, and that anger makes her even more beautiful.
This may be a trap. I will arrange to feel her out, see if her anger is an elaborate front or, for once, the actual truth.

Dated 1226

​The honeymoon will be in Paris.

[Axis Sunsoar]

I'm glad to see that even with less time you're still continuing to release updates, however small they may be. I always enjoy reading the next bit from the tales of this mighty Kingdom of England!

I guess this last chapter has given us our answer as to how Walter's situation with the princess turns out I must say the last entry was very effective, conveying the marriage without ever directly confirming it, and in just one line.

Keep up the good work!

[Alwyn]

It sounds like Walter Lacy's heart belongs to this princess, but were his suspicions well-founded? I look forward to finding out!

[NorseThing]

Short but great update. You Walter Lacy Journal updates need not be any longer than you have written them.

[reaper101]

From the Personal Journals of Walter Lacy
Dated 1237

The years have been ones of marriages and peacemaking. Our enemies have given up after the fall of Toulouse, no longer content to war with us with a new Pope in Rome and the 'protection' of our German allies. I have secured a marriage of my brother Owen, my heir until Hugh comes of age, to the Byzantine Princess Hypomone Komnenos Doukas. Our armies are stronger, the last of the rebels that plagued our lands purged, and my spies root themselves deeper by the day.
We will build up, and wait, and prepare ourselves to strike. But first we need funding.

Dated 1242

A Crusade is called for Jerusalem at our urging, the German Pope more than willing to accommodate us. Getting the men to oppose the Egyptians will take time, but haste is of the essence if we wish to control the East and its riches. I have instructed Owen to lead the second wave, but I will command the first. We sail in a month. Between the donations from the good Christians of the world and the fervor of countless pilgrims, our funding for the Crusade itself is secured.

Dated 1246
The Holy City is ours! The Egyptians had garrisoned it lightly and their men were no match for our own. I have commanded our mercenaries, a mix of Turkopole archers and Khwarezmian cavalry, to root out the numerous bands of foot still present in our territory.
My only concern is Hugh. An outspoken boy, my son seems to scorn me at every point. Even he thinks me a kneeler...I can only hope that when the plan comes to fruition, he will see what I have given to ensure he grows to manhood. Acre is lightly held, and he is near manhood...I should send a small portion of my force with him to take it and earn the gold and glory we still require.

[NorseThing]

1237 you needed funding. I suspect the funding came since the Crusade was successful 9 years later. Crusades are not cheap to fund. Raising the army on the cheap is not a good means to succeed.

[Caillagh de Bodemloze]

The waiting and building up paid off, it seems. I wonder how Walter's relationship with Hugh will develop...

[Alwyn]

Like Caillagh, I'm intrigued by Hugh's outspoken nature and his relationship with Walter de Lacy.

[reaper101]

This is the last of the journal updates. Next up will be the history of the British-Byzantine War, part of the conflict known as the Tripartite Wars.

From the Personal Journals of Walter Lacy
Dated 1250

My firstborn clearly despises me, and there is little I can do to remedy it. Not until things are done with on the Continent. In happier news, the office of Pope is now ours. To think, a mere generation after our near-destruction we are in place to influence the 'holy' office once again. My second son, Nicholas, is accompanying me as I return to England with the royal troops. Acre and Jerusalem will defend themselves under Hugh's care, and my firstborn will learn under advisors he does not know I am responsible for placing. Aleid thinks it cruel, but she bears it for the sake of our love and our need for vengeance.


Dated 1259
As is to be expected, Hugh has 'disobeyed' my orders to remain at Jerusalem and Acre, and instead followed his advisors and besieged the Fatimid fortress of Kerak. Heh.
The boy shows a good grasp of spycraft, ensuring the gates would be open to his cavalry, and taking the fortress from the small garrison easily. And with him being a 'rogue agent' securing peace was easy enough.

Dated 1260
Preparations are begun. Elias and Owen, my true and loyal brothers, have their orders. With the Germans and the Byzantines at war and our man on the Papal throne, we will never have a better chance than this.

[Alwyn]

Ah, Walter is a cunning father! Nicely done, looking forward to the British-Byzantine War!

[reaper101]

From 'The Apocalypse War: A Record of the Tripartite Conflict':

Out of all the enemies faced by the United Kingdoms, only one nation succeeded in, all by itself, posing an existential threat to the English nations. The Toulouse Crusade, the last such threat, had consisted of the majority of the Christian kingdoms working together. The Byzantine Empire, by contrast, required no allies. The Empire was fabulously wealthy, its domination of the Black Sea and the Aegean ensuring trade bustled even in wartime, while the ancient Roman highways- expanded upon as the Empire sank money into infrastructure- kept travel swift and reliable overland as well. Its armies were professionalized and hardened from warfare against the Mongol Horde, cadres of veterans providing a hard core to the massive numbers of recruits that the Empire's expansion provided. On paper, with the English borders relatively unfortified and the Kingdom's armies less numerous and unprepared for the onset of war, it seemed as though the Byzantines would have swift victory.
Two things prevented this: the composition of the armies, and the Black Death.
The first was a long-standing fact since the days of Walter the Peacemaker, but one that had not been apparent until the Battle of Haulies in the Portugese front of the Tripartite War. There, an entire field army of Portugese cavalry, including countless noble knights, died to the arrows of Laurence Goushill. The longbow, the traditional English arm, had previously been retained solely for anti-infantry duties, but with the advent of Haulies it became clear that it was even more effective against cavalry, capable of killing horses out from under their riders and often killing the rider as well as their dying steed threw them. English yeomen, firing from prepared positions, with stakes and other fortifications to ward off a direct attack, could turn a charging cavalry squadron into a threshing, arrow-riddled mess with a single volley. With the main striking arm of the Byzantine armies consisting of lightly armored Stratiotae shock cavalry, the effects of the English archers were devastating. And while the Byzantine Scoutatie infantry, heavily armored as they were, were far more effective and able to at least endure the volleys, against the English billmen they were almost entirely ineffective. Coupled with the devastating effects of mangonels against massed infantry, the Byzantine foot were as outmatched as the cavalry.
In addition to the technical superiority of the English armies, there was the question of motivation. English soldiers were, essentially, nationalized mercenaries- the government acted as a professional military contractor, hiring men under contract, paying them fairly, provisioning them and providing for them to a degree that private companies were, except in rare cases such as the Swiss and Flemish, unable to equal. Thus, even without the additional motivation of defending their land from invasion, the English soldier was sure to fight fiercely and loyally. By contrast, the Byzantine armies were a mix of conscripts, feudal soldiers, and quasi-professionals that, in comparison to the English, had far fewer benefits and were engaged in a war that seemed to many to be a product of the Empire's expansionist yearnings. English armies, thanks to the reforms and preparations of King Randolf, ate from prepared depots and were well-supplied by caravans and convoys of nationalized merchants, while their Byzantine opposites dealt with an incompetent bureaucracy and situations where food was hard to come by in sufficient quantity or quality. The English armies were led by competent generals and well-trained members of the royal family, while the Emperor sat in Constantinople and minor nobles and unqualified captains led entire armies to their deaths in pointless battles.
On the seas, the English navies were equally superior. While cannon would not see use on land until the 1360s due to difficulties in supply and sufficiently mobile carriages, mounted in holks or carracks in fixed positions they were a terrifying weapon. The Byzantine navy, while it made some use of Greek Fire, could not match such a weapon and was horrendously outnumbered besides.

[Axis Sunsoar]

Good update! Your history book continues to provide a nice perspective on the campaigns of the English. Your explanation of the advantages that England maintained over the Byzantine foes was compelling and plausible. Keep up the good work!

[reaper101]

From 'The Apocalypse War: A Record of the Tripartite Conflict':

All of these advantages that the English possessed would not have been enough, compared to the endless armies and massive resources of a resurgent Roman Empire.
Then came the plague.
Borne on the backs of the rats that infested the holds of countless merchant vessels, the cocktail of horrific diseases ripped through Europe like a poleaxe through flesh. Countless thousands died. But the plague harmed the Byzantines, dependent on the Dardanelles trade, far more than the English and their continental overland routes, and while both were shut down by quarantines and disease the Byzantines took the worst of it.
Without trade, both parties ran afoul of horrendous debt as taxes and funding dried up, and with plague ravaging recruitment centers and mustering grounds neither side could call upon more soldiers. This benefited the English, who relied on bleeding the enemy at range, far more than the Byzantines and their resource-intensive close-combat tactics. The plague made it possible for the English to survive the Byzantine onslaught as the Black Death robbed their armies of staying power and momentum.