Scotland cooperative game thread

[Velociryx]

1557 - Into the Meat-Grinder

Seeing our arrival in Eire, in force, and seeing our approach to our old battleground of Connaught to re-capture the keep that watches over that marshy ground, the Army of Ulster breaks off a contingent some six thousand strong to lay in a siege of Meath (pictured above).

In light of this development, and seeing an opportunity to smash a smaller force, rather than attempting to go head-to-head with the main body of the Army of Ulster, Hamilton leaves the calm and capable Malcolm with a siege crew, charging him with the task of re-capturing Connaught, while he leads the bulk of our army (16,553/2642) against the 6188 Irish cavalry in Meath.

By March 1st, in a series of fast-paced, back-to-back battles, Hamilton's force is reduced to a scant 8270/986 (nearly ten thousand losses), while the army of Ulster stands at 30,360 (~17k losses). These battles came about as a direct result of our daring assault against the Meath siege crew. Having defeated them, the Irish sought to continually press us and attempt to drive us from Meath by making a barrage of attacks with middling sized forces. The results were simply devastating to both armies, but the Army of Ulster caught the worst of it.

In May, the province of Wales revolts (5k) and we are powerless to prevent it, or take any action against it, our army being in a rather sad condition after trading blows fast and furious with the Army of Ulster. Still standing, it is true, but we dare not weaken our presence in Ireland in the least! Not while the Army of Ulster still exists!

Much as we hate to do it, we begin full minting of coin....we MUST raise additional forces if we are to survive this exhausting fight!

6k Infantry recruited in Munster, and 3k (Infantry) recruited in Lancashire.

Previous to these recruitments, our army had shrunk, through the dint of battle to a piteous 13,444/12,775 = 26,219 (max of 52k). Simply awful.

In May, the Irish send 139/5025 against Meath. Hamilton, who had returned to Connaught after the series of battles broke the siege of Meath, digs deep (siege of Connaught abandoned), and manages to muster 12,387/1669 to send against them. By June 14th, in a hellish battle, Hamilton reduces the Irish task force to 1842 horse (retreating back to Ulster), but is down to 7453/683 himself, and has little choice but to withdraw to Leinster, lest the full weight of the Army of Ulster come crashing down on his head (from Leinster to Munster in the following month, to put space between him and the Army of Ulster, which promptly re-invaded Meath upon our departure)

July - Fortification Effort increases our defensive ability in Belle Isle and Yorkshire. Good news, but not terribly exciting, given the events at hand.

August - Mil 14!
Five thousand Horse are raised in Munster to give Hamilton something more to work with.

A thousand Horse are raised in Lancashire with an eye toward ousting the Wales rebels.

September, Hessen declares against us for our machinations on the Scottish Isles, apparently uninterested in the chaos that has enveloped the rest of Europe and more intently focused on OUR doings than we realized, and suddenly we find ourselves at war with a fist-full of angry Germanic and Italian states. NOT a good sign!

[Velociryx]

1558 - The Tides Turn

Having recovered some of his strength, and marched cautiously to Leinster, Hamilton once again marches to Meath to engage the greater bulk of what remains of the tenacious Army of Ulster, and early in the year, he reduces the main body of their force from some 16k cavalry to just under 5k, and chases them to Connaught, where they flee to join a ~4k garrison. Recruitment begins in earnest in Ulster, much to our dismay.

In July, and in the midst of all the chaos, members of the Protestant movement in Scotland approach our King and demand that we confiscate many of the Estates held by the Catholic Church in Scottish lands. This move is seen as a means of compromising between the two positions that have risen up in our Kingdom....by maintaining that our State Religion IS Catholicism, but moving against some of the richer estates held by high ranking clergy in Scotland, it is hoped that we can continue to balance this fine line we presently walk (even Lothian, our capitol, has been given over to Protestantism). Added to that the fact that our treasury is disasterously low, and our army is in a sad condition indeed, we see no alternative but to comply with the wishes of the Protestants in Scotland, and duly move against the Catholic estates (First Covenent supported, stability plunges to -2, +300d in our national treasury as the riches from Catholic estates pour into our coffers).

All efforts to Stability, 7k Infantry raised in Scotland, and 3k Infantry raised in Ireland.

By the dawning of 1559, we are getting close to victory in Eire, with the Army of Ulster gone entirely, and our own forces laying in a siege of Ulster.

In this year, we also make a bold move toward Offensive Doctrine (governmental slider adjustment), giving our troops in the field a needed morale boost and additional training. This does not, however, help our suffering stability in any way (-2)

By October, our troubles seem grim indeed. Genoa (an ally of Hessen) has led a siege of Holland, and we are powerless to prevent it. Worse, revolts are cropping up EVERYWHERE on the Scottish Isles, and what remains of our army is mired in the siege of Ulster. Dark days indeed....

[Velociryx]

The Period between 1559 and 1562 was perhaps the worst in our nation's history. Stability at an all-time low with our disasterous decision to attempt to walk the middle ground between the Protestants and the Catholics in our realm, and rebellions cropping up everywhere as our war weary populace made their feelings known on the matter.....a difficult time for us.

We survived it, however, with patience and care, and cunning, as we have survived every other trial that has come our way.

In this period of darkness, however, there were some notable bright spots.

In October, 1559, an explorerr and self-styled adventurer named MacIntyre presented himself to the newly installed Duke of London, and offered his services to the Scottish crown. He and his 500 Horse were promptely dispatched to the new world, to begin exploring the continent of North America for us, and see what other riches and opportunities might be waiting for us there.

In December of that same year, the men of Tuscany grab control of the siege of Holland and capture the province. We use the opportunity to offload that troublesome province, using it to buy peace with the Germans and Italians, ending THAT matter, at least!

June 28th, 1560, Eire is added to our fold, as Ulster is formally annexed by our King, and the fight to unite the Scottish Isles comes to an end!

But, our nation is neck-deep in trouble, and so the remnants of our armies race home and spend the next two years quelling a heretofore unheard of FIFTEEN rebellions in Scotland!

In January 1562, desperate to stop the war weariness and gain some control of our population, we offer the Athens alliance 50d to opt out of the war, and our enemies graciously accept. At last....peace returns for Scotland, but the rest of Europe is still mired in war....

[Velociryx]

And as for Scotland.....

Part One - The Scottish Isles

[Velociryx]

North American Holdings....(New Scotland)

[Velociryx]

Island Holdings....

[Velociryx]

With four solid years of one disaster atop the next (speaking of the 1559 - 1562 period), the year of 1563 was JUST the thing to restore national confidence and put us back on the RIGHT track, and with this blessed event, our inflation rate dropped to a wonderfully low 5.6%!!!!!!

[Velociryx]

1563
Aside from the biggie event (pictured above), the only other event of note in this year was our Conquistador, MacIntyre, parking himself in Roanoake long enough to help oversee the establishment of a colony there to further strengthen our presence along the eastern seaboard....this is a thing we can ill afford, with our army in the sad state that it's in, but a thing which must be done to ensure our long-term growth.

1564
Stability -1, Treasury at 177d, and economly standing at 59.2 per month

Time now, to see to the needs of our military and take stock of what we've got to protect ourselves and our interests!

Max army size = 52,000
Current army size: 18,555 Infantry, 17,120 Cavalry. Can raise ~16k new troops.

We have 125d to spend on troops, and with our Infantry costing 10d on the thousand, we determine the best course of action we can take would be raise 12,000 new Infantry, and this is duly done!

7k from Yorkshire
3k from Lancashire
1k from Midlands
1k in Lincoln

By April, our new recruits assemble with our standing force in York, and the Army of Scotland once again has some teeth in it! (Total army size swells to 30,555 Infantry, and 17,120 Cavalry = 47,675).

July - Stability reaches zero (0), but it is not meant to last, for a month later, we are asked to, and refuse the support of French dissidents. Allied or not, if they were to break their alliance bonds, we do not need our relations with the French worse than they are (stability back to -1). Easy come, easy go.

1565
Stability -1, Treasury = 156d, Economy has pushed higher to 60.4 per month

New Max army size is 53k, and responding to that upward trend, we raise an additional 5k Infantry in Lancashire to help flesh out our ranks (total army size inches higher to 35,555/17,120) = 52,675 (max 53k). Better. Still only perhaps 15% of the French standing armies, but it's what we have to work with!

1566
A relatively quiet year that sees our stability increase to zero (from last year's -1), an Agricultural Revolution in Anglia (manpower there is +1), and New Land Claimed in Lothian. If only every year could be like this one!

1567
Inflation is down to 4.9%, and on the political scene, events reach a boiling point regarding Mary, Queen of the Scots....

[Velociryx]

The lure of the increase in national stability that Mary's abdication would bring about is simply too much to pass on. That, taken together with our hopes that Scotland's NEXT King will have more diplomatic savvy make it impossible to choose the alternative and support the Queen....alas, our new King (another James, wouldn't you know it!?) is no better....

[Velociryx]

1568
Stability is back to +3...finally, blessedly!, 243d in our treasury, and our economy has nosed higher to 62.6 per month.

Our ground-pounder, MacIntyre, has been busily mapping the northern reaches of this new continent called North America, and having discovered a number of valuable territories in and around the Hudson Bay, we send traders off en masse to the Canadas!

3k Cavalry raised in Standacone to help bolster our (mostly cav) force in the Americas.

1569
Stability steady on at +3, 213d in the national treasury, econ moves to 65.0 per month

This year was....amazingly important for Scotland. Another of those banner years that changed the face of the game forever.

By pure luck and happenstance, our worst enemies and the one nation that could bring about a swift end to everything we have been trying to do. That was the first piece to fall into place, and it enabled the second piece to come together, that being, finally unifying the Scottish Isles, but even those two together were not enough to catapult us into a position of dominance.

No...for that, it took a Shawnee chieftan, a misunderstanding of diplomatic protocol, and a friendly greeting taken as an insult (diplomatic insult with the Shawnee, CB against them for 24 months).

There is no choice....honor demands that we not let the slight go, intentional or not....besides, we see, in Shawnee lands, a means of exponentially increasing our presence in North America and growing our economy by leaps that are simply impossible without an invasion of Shawnee lands.

Add to that the fact that the Shawnee have proved themselves to be extremely warlike (having crushed the armies of the Creek and Cherokee and subjugated all their lands), and the course became blindingly clear. The Shawnee were a warrior people, and if we did not take this opportunity to strike at them, they could well take an opportunity of convenience to them to strike at us. Better then, that the battle be at a place and time of *our* choosing.

And so....it would be war.

May - Naval Tech 12 reached
Offensive Doctrine (slider adjustment) to provide an additional morale boost to our troops! We might not have many, but the ones we have are fine, well trained machines that press Scotland's claims with a level of professionalism unmatched anywhere in the known world!

September - We are dispatching nearly half of our standing army to the New World: 15,125 Infantry and 3029 Cavalry board ships bound for the Carolinas to avenge the (probably unintentional, we are well aware) insult to our King!

1570
National stability is +2, Treasury stands at 334d, Economy has slipped a bit, to 63d per month (on account of the stability hit)

Our forces arrive in the Carolinas, still 14,824/2969 strong. These are added to all of the Continental Cavalry commands we can spare and pull to the Carolinas to help prosecute this war.

The Shawnee are currently in a war with France, so we MUST act quickly! It would not do for our French rivals to wind up with key Shawnee territories!

February - Military goes on full alert and begins training and honing their skills

Formal Declaration of war against the Shawnee. 6707 Cavalry invade Savannah, and 6824 Infantry invading Alleghany.

Our bold explorer, MacIntyre is lost in battle as he scouts the way to Mobile (French territory), not realizing that a massive Shawnee invasion force of more than twenty four THOUSAND braves was attacking the small (1300) French Garrison there. MacIntyre threw his small cavalry command in with the French forces in a gallant but futile attempt to stem the tide--bad relations between our governments aside, it was a noble fight, and one worth making--but there were simply too many Shawnee, and every French and Scottish soldier was killed, scalped, and gutted.

A tragic loss of a true Scottish Hero, the pathfinder who opened the way to the Canadas and mapped much of Shawnee territory for us, which would prove invaluable in our war effort.

Our Infantry Regiment arrives in Alleghany in mid April, and immediately lays in a brutal assault. By the 22nd of the month, that province is in-hand, and we are ready to press deeper into Shawnee territory. Meanwhile, our cavalry force in Savannah fends off nearly 20k Shawnee braves, but loses more than half their number doing so. A savage, brutal fight indeed.

We send a force of 6469/2969 (the surviving infantry from the attack into Alleghany, and the survivors from the battle of Savannah) into Alabama, where Shawnee braves are massing, and 8,000 Infantry advance into Alleghany.

In the Canadas, more of our Cavalry commands are gathered, and 3k additional cavalry are recruited from Standacone, with an eye toward bringing these south via ship as soon as they are trained and ready.

[Velociryx]

By August the 12th, after more quick, brutal assaults, both Alabama and Kentucky fall to our forces.

Recruitment continues in Standacone, 2k Infantry and 1k Cav this time, and by September 1st, our forces are advancing to Erie, the fortified home of the Great Chief of the Shawnee.

In October, national stability has been restored (+3), and all our efforts are once more directed to increasing our knowledge in the ways of international trade.

A force of 4000/2695 arrive in Santee to reinforce our embattled positions, and our war continues!

[Velociryx]

The new (6k strong) Cavalry command we have in place in Savannah is nearly overrun by that selfsame band of 20k Shawnee braves that keeps skulking around Tallahassee, but our cav prove too much for the braves to handle, and they are driven off (1269 horse left, for our part, with additional reinforcements en route!), and by December, our armies are invading Memphis which will set up a final push to the south.

1571
Stability +3, 390d in our national treasury, and our economy swells to 70.1 per month (mostly on account of pillaged riches from Shawnee territories).

The early part of the year sees successes on a wide number of fronts. Colonists are sent to the Carolinas and Santee, expanding both, by March 12th, Miamis and Tennessee are captures, and our forces are massing for a final push into Tallahassee to complete our conquest of Shawnee lands.

May 1st, we achieve Trade Level 3 (trade effie jumps to 59%) and we order our entire army to invade Tallahassee....

[Velociryx]

In June, additional colonists are rushed to Santee and the Carolinas, and on the 22nd, we defeat the large force of Shawnee braves in Tallahassee, and as we have done in every other province, effect a quick, brutal assault on their feeble defense-works, and claim the province.

The same day the province falls, we demand, and get, the complete and utter surrender of the Shawnee to Scotland.

This, as they say, changes everything, and is further boosted by a 300d gift to the state in that same month!

Bailiff promotions abound in our new holdings, and suddenly, Scotland has hit the big time....

1572
National stability is a tranquil +3, our treasury stands at 242d, and our monthly economy has swelled to 76.5.

Our armies are reorganized, and we disband the (numerous) bands of roving Shawnee warriors, since they have put us far above our normal support limits, settling in at 51,000 troops (new max of 62k).

Raising 4,000 Cavalry for our army in Scotland from the province of Northumberland, and commissioning 2 new Transports for our fleets (which gives us a total fleet presence of 30 Warships and 10 Transports).

June 1st, our diplomats accidentally insult our Spanish alliance masters, souring relations with them (relations standing at +35).

1573
2k Cavalry are raised in Bristol, and Bailiff promotions continue through our new lands.

In August, Cities Demand Old Rights and are refused, sending stability plunging to zero (all efforts to stab).

Our old workhorse, General Hamilton, dies quietly in London, having served us well in our quest to unite the Scottish Isles, he will be sorely missed.

1574
More of the same....Bailiff promotions continuing in our new, former Shawnee territories. Aside from a smallish, unorganized revolt in Bristol (quickly quelled), the year passes in quietude, as does the year following.

1576
Sees the establishment of Internal Trade Ordinances in Midlands, Ulster, and Alabama (tax value +1 in each of those locations), and promotions continue as our surging economy struggles to fully implement our vast new holdings fully into the Scotish economy.

1577
Much as the previous years, save for the Council of Trent which helps close the vast rift between the Protestants and Catholics in our Kingdom.

And so it goes.

It is not until 1582 that our new holdings have been fully integrated with our economy, but the effect is unmistakable.

Now....at last, Scotland has truly arrived.....

[Asmodean]

Amazing thread. Very funny reading.

Asmodean

[Velociryx]

Glad you're enjoying! I don't think I'll be able to get another update done before Sunday sometime, but when I get back from my weekend getaway, I'll give this thread another treatment!

And may I say that the Aragon game I'm playing casually on the side is perhaps THE most intriguing one I've played to date! Not playing with any particular goal or agenda in mind, but the agenda has certainly become defined by the in-game events....it's been awesome! Intrigue and backbiting, some savage, desperate fights....the works!

-=Vel=-