[ index | archive | maps | rules | nations ]
Deus Vult! - Frankish War of Reassurtion
Turn 010
King Henri of France recalls his leaders to the capital, where they seek to generate a cause for war against Aquitaine. With the recent victories in the South, many nobles are eager to continue to press into Duke William's lands. "Duke William has abandoned his allegiences to the crown, spat upon the Frankish Alliance, and worse, allowed the Casildan heresy to spread into his lands uncontrolled. His lineage is questionable, tied to the throne only through the machinations of the illegitimate spawn Alienor. She openly embraced the Casildan plague, and I have little doubt her children will follow what she began. Duke William is hereby stripped of his Frankish title and lands, and our armies will move to dethrone William and reassert our claims to Aquitaine." King Henri promises many of his nobles the territories of Aquitaine in exchange for their support in the war. The support is granted and Henri raises 1400 more cavalry for the coming conflict. Poitou is quick to mimick that support as well, and downgrades to a Tenuous relationship with the Duke.
Turn 011
Burgundy answers the call of the King of France for allies, with the Burgundian Duke and two other leaders marching over 10,000 Cavalry and 4,000 Mercenaries to meet with the French forces. He joins with 4,600 cavalry under the King and one other French leader. The two armies combine in Anjou, their existing Military Alliance solving the problem of supply for Burgundy. They press into Poitou, where many of the locals greet and support the army in their march. They tell of the 6,000 Aquitaine defenders, led by Duke William and a Catholic Bishop, of all things. Bishop Bertrand urges Duke William of Aquitaine to fall back to friendlier soil in the homeland, but William has set his mind to the coming confrontation:
| My Friends and
loyal nobles of Aquitaine. I thank you for your continued fortitude and support in spite of the depredations of the tyrannical Capetian dynasty in Paris. The King has finally made his intentions clear and manifest for all to see. In spite of Eudes’ efforts to appease his Majesty and assure him of our continued support for his reign, despite our own personal reservations, he has managed to convince his own nobles in the North on a course of War against this Duchy. Thwarted diplomatically he has resorted to brute force to crush all that would question his vision. Witness the fate that has befallen our Uncle’s loyal ally, Remy of Auvergne simply because he decided to make common cause with the House of Poitiers in an attempt to strengthen the influence of the southern nobility within the Frankish realm. He now promises lands to his followers if they follow him on a course to War with this duchy. The example of Remy is clear. He will take away your birthrights and ancestral inheritances and hand them to his own favourites. It is doubtful that any of you would give these up willingly so it will no doubt be at the cost of your lives and those of your families. The King has decried the spread of the Casildan Heresy through our realm using it as a cause to sway his northern nobility to his cause for War. Yet he has never offered any assistance in combating its spread, nor has he encouraged any of the other Dukes of the realm to aid us in our own efforts to combat that spread. We have had to manage it alone with only the help of the Holy Father in Rome to aid us. The King has even gone so far as to make marriage alliances with the avowed heretics of Leon, which has succumbed to that misguided heresy. In truth the King shows himself to be nothing more than a Religious hypocrite, using the spread of the Heresy to serve his own ends. In spite of the many depredations of his Majesty in previous years, our Uncle and his Father did not disavow themselves of their feudal obligations. The Duchy has tried many times to resolve this issue through compromise that would suit all parties to no avail. His Majesty declares us rebels and through skillful manipulation and outright manufacture of events has managed to sunder the realm by his own action. He must bear the full responsibility for those actions in plunging the realm into Civil War. It is clear my friends that there is no place for Aquitaine and the southern nobility of France within the Capetian domains. We must sever all ties to the Crown and forge our own destiny. Guided by the only by the hand of the Church in Rome as they have been the only ones to come to our aid in these trying times of Heresy. We are well positioned to forge our own realm. Should the Hispanians ever get their act together and restore the Christian faith to the Peninsula of Hispania then many trade opportunities will once again open for our merchants in Bordeaux and Poitiers. I say our destiny and future opportunities lie with Hispania not France. We must stand fast to defend out birthrights in the face of Capetian tyranny and give whatever aid we can to the Reconquista and the Christian Realms of Hispania, that follow the true path set by his Holiness, should they act to evict the Moorish infestation of peninsula. Join me friends, and comrades in arms, in forging our own realm. Should we be victorious against our oppressors, we will forge our own Occitan Kingdom of Aquitaine. |
Bertrand sets up a defensive position, waiting for the onslaught of the French and Burgundian forces. He does not wait for long, and battle is joined in the thick of summer. When it all comes to an end, it is simply the allies' numerical advantage which takes the field. The complete domination of the allies with their thousands of Cavalry allow them to run rampant across the lines of the defenders. Duke William finds himself outmaneuvered at every turn, and when his men finally break, they are run into the ground by the pursuing cavalry. Only a handful of survivors (though all the leaders) survive to take refuge in Gascony. The only significant losses for the allies are among the mercenaries. King Henri takes a large gash to his side during the fighting, but presses on, sensing a long awaited victory. He presses on so quickly that he leaves no garrison in the region, and it reverts immediately to Aquitaine's control. Duke Rudolf of Burgundy refuses to follow further into Aquitaine, and keeps back three-thousand men on the border.
King Henri rides into Gascony, his supply line suddenly cut off by the loss of control of Poitou. Nevertheless, only three field forts litter the region. Duke William is caught in the third, and after a month of fighting, falls with the fortification. William's brother, Roland, flees with Bishop Bertrand back to the capital where Roland is quickly crowned Duke. Duke Rudolf of Burgundy, with the fighting in Gascony over, moves to rejoin the army. He learns of the minor losses and wounding of his general: Viscount Mark. The Duke remains in Gascony while the rest of the armies push into Aquitaine itself. Another four field forts stand in their way. Only one-hundred mercenaries are lost from the attacking units, but both Burgundian leaders take wounds in the fighting. For the Viscount, it proves to be fatal. Duke Rudolf again joins the forces after the fighting and is granted control of the region. He then takes up position with the allied army to lay a passive siege against Toulouse. Duke Roland has more than enough stores of food to last through the remaining year of the cycle due to a friendly shipme
Turn 012
Duke Roland of Aquitaine, concerned about the fall of his capital, attempts to sneak out from the besieged city. The Burgundians are vigilant in their choking off of the capital and Roland is captured. This leaves Bishop Bertrand entirely in charge of resisting the Siege. The French forces in Aquitaine move off, while the Burgundians continue to encircle the city with their nine-thousand cavalry. The French, under command of King Henri, initiate a passive siege of Poitiers, Crispin Sordeau sailing ten light warships to the city to cut off any supply by sea. Within two years, both cities have fallen. Duke Roland is marched to Worms, where Duke Rudolph of Burgundy gives him a choice: beheading, or the surrender of his titles and lands and an oath to join the Prince's Crusade. Duke Rudolph even promises to contribute yearly payments to the Crusade for as long as Roland serves. In the end, though Roland despises the Burgundians, he agrees to the terms. With the government captured, and France attacking into Limousin, little chance remains for Roland. He takes the oath. King Henri is victorious.
| His Majesty, Henri I, Deo gratiae Rex Francorum, declares an end to the War of Just Reclamation. He hereby creates the Grand Duchy of Burgundy, merging the duchy of Burgundy and the province of Aquitaine and grants the title of Grand Duke to Rudolf I of Burgundy. Let there now be peace in the Frankish Kingdom. |