What makes it even weirder is that there is a small village in the south of Aix-en-Provence, Luynes, which was made a duchy by Louis XIII for his first favorite. I live there.
Óc...
Yeah, it is wierd..
The Land of Wine and Beer : a Franco-Burgundian TL
- Thread starter DracoLazarus
- Start date
-
- Tags
- burgundy france xvth century
- Status
Óc...
Yeah, it is wierd..
1474 - War Preparation
an update a day keeps the boredom away.
"Vis bellum, para bellum" Jacques de la Palisse, who didn't know he spoke Latin
1474 saw both France and Burgondy prepare for war, but what was new is that it wasn't for warring each other. While the French army was permanent, well-trained and well-organized, it was way too small for any war against a large country. Its current size only allowed for warring against feudal lords - which was precisely what the Spider King had done with it in Armagnac and Aquitaine. To war the Aragonese Trastamara, Louis needed to expand his army. Burgondy didn't have this problem. The series of rebellions in the Netherlands it unexplicably had had to quell had ensured the Burgondian army was large. However it was mostly made of mercenaries, which were costly and occasionnally disorderly. Burgondy thus trained local troops as a cheaper and more disciplined alternative to mercenaries.
In summer 1474, Charles reminded to his cousin lost in paperwork that he was supposed to meet his uncle. As a consequence Louis made his move on July 21st. He sent a messenger to René d'Anjou informing him that to deal with the reorganisation of Armagnac and Aquitaine, he needed to spend a few nights in Anjou before reaching Poitou. He then started heading to René's castle of Les Ponts de Cé. René however had a bad surprise waiting for him. While he was glad to provide a house for his royal nephew, he had opened the doors of his castle wide open. Meanwhile, Louis had come with quite a few men-of-arms. René was way too old to fight his nephew, so he tried to break a deal pointing at how indignated he was to have been betrayed by his nephew.
Louis had started by asking all of the inheritance, right now. Of course, he knew René would never agree. It was simply a way to show he was open to compromise, by dropping Provence temporarily.
Anjou, however, was a very rich province. Louis obtained Anjou and Angevin claims to the Aragonese Trastamara lands and to Lorraine as well as a favored situation in the Provençal succession. Of course, it was what Louis had wanted all along. René then left to Provence, where the people of Aix-en-Provence greeted their "Bon Roi René".
The last noteworthy event of the year was the death of Enrique IV de Castilla y Leon on December 11th. The day after his burial, his half-sister Isabella had herself crowned Queen of Castille and Leon, forcing Enrique's daughter Juana to seek help in Portugal. This triggered the Castillan Succession War and degenerated with French intervention. The French called it the War of the Iberian March.
1474 - War preparations.
"Vis bellum, para bellum" Jacques de la Palisse, who didn't know he spoke Latin
In summer 1474, Charles reminded to his cousin lost in paperwork that he was supposed to meet his uncle. As a consequence Louis made his move on July 21st. He sent a messenger to René d'Anjou informing him that to deal with the reorganisation of Armagnac and Aquitaine, he needed to spend a few nights in Anjou before reaching Poitou. He then started heading to René's castle of Les Ponts de Cé. René however had a bad surprise waiting for him. While he was glad to provide a house for his royal nephew, he had opened the doors of his castle wide open. Meanwhile, Louis had come with quite a few men-of-arms. René was way too old to fight his nephew, so he tried to break a deal pointing at how indignated he was to have been betrayed by his nephew.
Louis had started by asking all of the inheritance, right now. Of course, he knew René would never agree. It was simply a way to show he was open to compromise, by dropping Provence temporarily.
Anjou, however, was a very rich province. Louis obtained Anjou and Angevin claims to the Aragonese Trastamara lands and to Lorraine as well as a favored situation in the Provençal succession. Of course, it was what Louis had wanted all along. René then left to Provence, where the people of Aix-en-Provence greeted their "Bon Roi René".
The last noteworthy event of the year was the death of Enrique IV de Castilla y Leon on December 11th. The day after his burial, his half-sister Isabella had herself crowned Queen of Castille and Leon, forcing Enrique's daughter Juana to seek help in Portugal. This triggered the Castillan Succession War and degenerated with French intervention. The French called it the War of the Iberian March.
Last edited:
Tell me that the Spider will don't go for Barcelona.... or will he do it?...
or will he do it?...
Last edited:
Eh... Well, he will.Tell me that the Spider will don't go for Barcelona....
There is more than one way to win a succession war, you know. Keep Fernando de Aragon busy for long enough against France and Juana will be Queen of Castille.
Plus this way he can actually gain land from it. What else ?
I don't really get it. What is the difference between step-sister and half-sister ?
I knew they had one parent in common, but I read Wiki in French which doesn't help much when it comes to writing updates in English.
Benvenguts!
Cal investigar més abans de finalitzar els seus capítols ..Merci!
You need to research more before finalizing your chapters..
Désolé, je ne parle pas de langues d'Oc (occitan, provençal ou catalan). Mes parents sont descendus à Aix pour le travail. Je suis plus qu'à moitié ch'ti, et je ne parle pas patois non plus.
I checked stepsister in a dictionnary and, well, I gotta edit my update.
Step-sister does not share blood relation for exemple your father is divorced and he remary a woman who already have children but from a previous mariage they would be your step-brothers and step-sister.
Today's update is almost ready. Just gotta ask for a little advice for my first battle scene, but that's it.
1475 - Castillan Succession War I
1475 in France and Iberia : the Castillan Succession War
"There's only one thing more destructive than a civil war. A succession war." Louis the Spider, on the War of the Roses
The Castillan Succession War is a tricky affair. Both sides had at least some legitimacy to their claim and a reason to be expelled from power. On the Western side you had Juana de Castilla, the rightful heir to the Castillan throne which enjoyed the support of numerous powerful Castillan nobles. However not only was she still quite young, but neither did she have a husband to help her handle the affairs of State. On the Eastern side laid Isabella de Castilla. A treaty in 1470 had made her the heir to the Castillan throne and she was the one crowned. However she had broken the treaty which made it a condition that she remained sterile and unmarried by marrying Fernando de Aragon, and was little more than an usurper. However, while Juana was dependent on the nobles' ressources, Isabella could rely on the royal demesne and more importantly Aragonese ressources.
Alfonso V de Avis, King of Portugal and the Algarves was very rapidly a game-changer. While Juana had decided to throne in Toro for the duration of the civil war, she had also decided she needed to marry him. As a consequence, on May 15th Alfonso invaded Castille and Leon. Ten days later, Alfonso married Juana in Toro. However, this move lost Juana some noble support, as Castillans were afraid of the power it would give to Portugal over Castille. That opinion could be used easily to erode even further Juanista support by skillful negociation. Still, the main contribution of Alfonso was bringing the French to intervene. France had been concerned by the whole shebang as while Castille was a staunch French ally, Aragon was an enemy of France, so an Isabellista victory would simply turn an annoyance into a full-fledged threat. On the other hand, a Juanista victory would be interesting to France as it would maintain the balance of power in Iberia, since Alfonso was old and could die any moment. What's more, he already had a son. This would break apart the Castillan-Portuguese personnal union and restore the balance.
To be able win the succession war, France needed it to be seen as a "family matter". Invading Castille would be counter-productive as it would alienate too many nobles for Juana to ever have a stable rule. On the other hand, to wreck Isabellista support, all that was needed was invading Aragon.
On September 10th, Juan II of Aragon received word that many French companies were gathering near Montpellier. Three days later, he received a formal declaration of war from Louis the Spider. The French army numbered 15 thousand men, more than what France had fielded at the battle of Châtillon, and still had many more in training. Perpignan and Cerdagne were easily taken over by the Valois army as the Spider King was count of Roussillon and Cerdagne. The French army then followed the coast, stopping to seize Empuries, and went on towards Girona. An emergy army of 10000 men was raised by Juan II to stop the French before Girona, and it was channelled by boat to the fishing village of L'Escala. The French army was close enough to force the Aragonese to fight on the beach, but only on the following day, All Hallow's Eve...
Last edited:
This is an update in two parts. Now, the Battle of L'Escale.
FYI I'm listening to "Lullaby", by The Cure.
"The Spider King is having me for dinner tonight". Fitting, isn't it ?
FYI I'm listening to "Lullaby", by The Cure.
"The Spider King is having me for dinner tonight". Fitting, isn't it ?
Very Nice!
So, what was the official pretext for the war?
I've also wander what could happens if Juana had won the war... However, to consolidate her rule she need a son... Could his old husband provide one?
PS: poor Colombus... he will have hard time to found someone to finance his trip... someone that don't get very well how large is the Earth...
So, what was the official pretext for the war?
I've also wander what could happens if Juana had won the war... However, to consolidate her rule she need a son... Could his old husband provide one?
PS: poor Colombus... he will have hard time to found someone to finance his trip... someone that don't get very well how large is the Earth...
Last edited:
1475 - Castillan Succession War II - Battle of L'Escale
La Bataille de l'Escale
"Sand, Rock, Iron, whatever ! A king only sits on thrones and beds." Louis the Spider
L'Escale is considered a typical example of French war doctrine in the 1470s. Unsurprisingly, its reliance on obvious advantages simply hid the few flaws of the system.
Settings
The battlefield in L'Escale was an average mediterranean beach, that is a tilted plane with a slope of 2 or 3 % for approximately a hundred meters followed by bushy maquis.
The French forces, which had arrived from the North, were made of 4000 longbowmen and crossbowmen, 7800 footmen, 2000 knights, 1000 lancers and fifty canons with 4 servants each. They were led by King Louis himself on a special sand throne he built with a few foot soldiers. The relatively large amounts of missile troops are due to their relative ease in training and their being less expendable than footmen. It is estimated that at the time of the battle in France 9200 footmen were still in training but only 1000 missile troops.
They were deployed as followed : the bulk of the French foot soldiers and missile troops were on the center and West of the beach. In front of them had been placed the canons. On the East were deployed the knights and 900 lancers. The remaining lancers as well as 300 foot soldiers and 150 crossbowmen had been deployed in the maquis in case an occasion appeared or simply to make the Aragonese more bloody. They were to move from Northwest to Southwest.
On the other side, the Aragonese, led by Alfonso de Aragon, counted 1500 missile troops (mostly crossbowmen), 30 canons, 6400 foot soldiers, 1500 knights, and 500 lancers. The Aragonese had managed to scrape together using the bushes, boats' materials and a few logs from the fisher village to make a hemispheric hedgehog fortification oriented towards the Northwest. A few traps had been placed North of it. The canons had been placed in the West, the cavalry tasked with protecting the waterline in the East and the foot soldiers and missile troops were manning the small fortification.
Battle
King Louis was a pretty novice general. He only knew a few general rules : flanking an army reduces its chances of victory. Taking or destroying its canons makes it more vulnerable. And finally only your cavalry should be allowed to charge.
The French attacked at dawn, using a rain of arrows and canonballs which disorganised the Aragonese for a small while. Most of the rain was concentrated against the cavalry, hoping to take it out before it could do anything. It didn't. The Aragonese cavalry charged headlong towards the French infantry. The canonballs delayed the Aragonese along with the Aragonese traps for long enough to see the Aragonese cavalry half attacked from up front and half flanked by the French cavalry. The Aragonese were pushed into their own traps and on their own pikes. After scattering the enemy knights, the French returned to their position to regroup. At this moment the Aragonese missile troops started running out of arrows. A few minutes later, a small French party appeared from the bushes and seized the canons and fired it at the Aragonese. The fierce fighting around the canons distracted most Aragonese infantry for a while. The French cavalry used the occasion to charge on the remains of the Aragonese cavalry through the shallow water so as to avoid traps, while the French guns finally breached the Aragonese fortification. The foot soldiers were then sent on a massive assault. The three-pronged attack shattered Aragonese morale, and the Aragonese forces half-melted down, half were killed standing. Alfonso de Aragon is captured, the Aragonese are running to Girona without any supplies nor artillery.
Aftermath and casualties' count
The French have taken in the battle 23 canons to their 8 lost in anti-battery fire. They have lost 250 cavalry, among which 200 lancers, 1500 foot soldiers and 300 missile troops. An estimated 450 knights have been taken as prisonners to be released for ransom at the next truce. On the opposite side, the Aragonese are down to 300 knights, 100 lancers, 2500 foot soldiers and 650 missile troops.
The French have not been capable of building on this battle, having spent too many supplies before the siege of Girona. However, their return to Perpignan and Empuries allows them to integrate large amounts of reinforcements, reaching a total strength of 20000 men.
The Spider's Sand Throne, now a stone statue, still sits in the middle of the village of l'Escale thanks to the Spider King, knowing the importance of propaganda, paying the villagers to maintain it.
Last edited:
"All your possessions are belong to us"... Or rather simply that Juan II was an usurper, that René's wife should have been Queen of Aragon. And that he has come to uphold that claim.
For now she is too young, she is like 13... But in a few years' time, when she is old enough, she might have a son from Alfonso. However this son wouldn't inherit Portugal as Alfonso already has a heir.
What about Charles, the Dauphin ? The Spider will be dead by then (he's already in his 50s) and Charles was not very smart. That time France will be batshit rich soooo...If it happens before the Italian Wars or between it might be OK.
Cool battle. Surprised to see Louis XI as General. He despised being on campaign and was quite a poor commander...
So, the King of Aragon's bastard son was captured (Alfonso)...
Curious to read more...
So, the King of Aragon's bastard son was captured (Alfonso)...
Curious to read more...
Mediterranean autumn might be the only climate he might like campaigning in. The weather is basically like indoors.
This is a one-time trick to boost morale and also a bit of laziness on my side.
I think this easy battle is a bit of "been there, done.that". And I like the idea of the cool sand throne.
As for Alfonso.. Not sure what I'll do with him. It's mainly a way to divert Fernando from Castille.
Juana of Castille could marry the Dauphin after the death of her uncle and they would hire a regent for Castille, the difference between Juana and the Dauphin is 8 years I think, she could be a good ruler of Castille and regent for her teenage second husband.
This is a good idea. I'm just thinking France will cover like half of Western Europe if it happens with the addition of Burgondy, Catalonia, Naples and Castille... It's a bit of a bukkake. Still, might be interesting and is as probable as what happenedtto the Habsburgs IOTL.
I'll definitely consider it.
Don't forget Brittany... France without Brittany is not complete...
France in union with Castile-Leon will be a monster.... Hope it will not be too big for it's own sake.
- Status