Scotland cooperative game thread

[Velociryx]

The Matter of Brittany

Our "scandal" was the simple claim of the desire to see all Gaelic peoples united under the Scottish banner, and sadly, this includes Brittany. We have taken huge steps and risks to press our rightful claims there, and unbeknownst to us, this planted the seeds for the wide-and-growing rift between Scotland and France, for the French King also has ancestral claims to those lands, and he was greatly angered at Scottish insistence that as they are Gaelic in their cultural heritage, they should remain with Scotland, and that France should simply give up their claims against the land.

Needless to say, this did NOT go over well, and relations with our one-time ally tanked for it, but we must stand firm. We owe it to ourselves and to our Gaelic brothers in Europe to stand with them, even in the face of overwhelming odds....

In other news, the last Gaelic province, Morbihan, is added to the Burgundian fold...this....complicates matters, for Burgundy is also a rising regional star, and has an army several times larger than ours. Making good on our claim to unite the Gaelic people under Scotland's banner will prove a daunting task indeed now....

But, back to the matter at hand, and with the whole of the island locked down, it really IS all over but the waiting:

In April, unhappy peasants make their unhappiness known (stab -2, revolt in Bretagne of 6k)

Sadly, that wait is a longish one, and it is not until May of 1458 until the last of our sieges are brought to a conclusion, and we force peace with England for Bristol, Cornwall, Wessex, and Kent, totally shattering English power on the Scotish Isles.

1459
Slider adjustment, Aristoc -1, and after two abortive attempts, we defeat the rebels in Bretagne!

Our armies now stand at 18,951/8705 = 27,656 (max of 24k)

Breakdown of these forces:

Wessex Regiment: 9625/4045 (in Bristol)

Bristol Regiment: 9326/4660 (in Bretagne)

March - Stability reaches +1
April - Loan repaid (again)
December - Boundary dispute settled amicably with Burgundy, which puts us back to +3 stability.

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1460, Scotland

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1460, the Army of Ulster...a looming problem, and a look at our growing economy!

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Side note as a general comparison for ourselves:

Scotland = 18 provinces
England = 3 provinces
France = 21 provinces THAT WE CAN SEE!

Some relatively quiet times ahead for us, though 1460 DID bring us a new monarch....

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And 1461 saw an excellent minister rise to the service of our new King, which improved his already considerable abilities....he is, to date, the best ruler our nation has ever had!

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1462 passed in total tranquility, and 1463 saw even better news....the BEST, actually!!!!

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But...despite all the good and hope and light that our new King James brought to our nation (which includes all of the abovementioned things, and the establishment of Internal Trade ordinances in Meath and Strathclyde (+1 Tax Val in both!), there were problems looming.

For all his considerable diplomatic talent, it was simply too expensive for us, as a nation, to even attempt to repair the growing rift between us and France....our only hope was that there were other, easier targets for France to vent her anger against, and that a war with Scotland would be seen as too draining an affair to be worthwhile, and to that end, we did all we could to keep our army strong. True, our forces were scant indeed compared to those of the French, but Castile maintained the second largest standing army in Europe (behind the French, of course), and Portugal was a worthy adversary as well....it was these two staunch Scottish allies, more than anything else, that saved us from French fury, no doubt.

And then there was Ulster.

That was a problem that no amount of diplomacy could solve.

Gaelic land belonged to Scotland....it was that simple, and yet, there were more than forty thousand men under arms in Ulster who contested our right.

That was a situation that would have to change....

-=Vel=-

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And so it was that in the year of our Lord, 1464, knowing that the matter of the Army of Ulster could not be resolved peacefully....with our strength restored and a glorious leader at the head of our nation, plans were made to decide the matter of Ulster once and for all.

These plans were begun with the recruitment of 6,000 Infantry in Meath, and 6,000 Cavalry in Connaught, giving us a standing force in Ireland....not one that could hope to best the 40,000 in Ulster of course, but the seeds...the beginnings of a much greater force, and though it taxed our nation heavily (spiriling upkeep costs for troops if you're over your normal support limit), we knew that it was a thing that simply must be done, for so long as the Army of Ulster remained intact, it was a grave threat to Scotish security, and so, in addition to these forces, over the next two years, an increasing number were raised, and our two battle-hardened regiments slowly pulled from continental Europe and the Scotish Isle, and placed in Ireland for the greatest test our nation had ever faced. Failure against the Army of Ulster would, no doubt, bring swift French fury down upon our heads. If we faltered even once, or lost a key battle, our entire Kingdom could be stripped away from us by the might of French armies, and yet....we knew we had to do it.

For Scotland.

For our future.

And by the time 1466 dawned upon our nation, we were as ready as we could be.....

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By August of 1465, we have assembled the largest army to ever fly the banner of Scotland: 24,659/14,660 stand ready to press our claims against the fearsome Army of Ulster. There's a showdown looming.....no doubt.

October - the military goes on full alert.

January 1466 (pictured above), scotland has 24,659/18,583 in Meath, and we are at last.....ready (max army size = 28k....we're so far above that limit now that it's just not funny!)

January 1st, 1466 - war is declared against Ireland, and despite the daunting size of the force against us, we do NOT call our allies. This is a matter for Gaelic peoples to settle themselves....much as we respect our Iberian friends, this is not their fight....we must do this totally and completely alone, or we are not Scots!

Immediately after our declaration, the Irish march 39k of their force to Connaught, seeking to employ much the same strategy that we used against them before...the safety of the marshlands as a natural defense.

Unfortunately for them, this leaves only some 7k guarding Ulster....

February 1st, with an impressive 11,915/22,577 Irish army in Connaught, we dispatch 10,659/5660 of our own troops to attack the Irish in Ulster.

Feb 15 - 7766 stout-hearted Irish defending Ulster against our advance

The battle rages until March 3rd, and would have ended in a defeat for our attack force, but we hastily threw in 9,000 cavalry from the Meath reserve, which turned the tide of battle, resulting in the total destruction of the Ulster garrison, and left us with: 7836/12,753

Our losses amounted to 4730 in that fight (2823 Infantry and 1907 cav) and the Irish lost....everybody present.

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The battle of Ulster

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March - Despite the expense, two things happen to thaw our relations with france somewhat (border dispute amicably settled, and a 3rd party diplomatic move), and despite the expense involved in dealing with France, we DO send the French king a letter...not that it has much impact (-38 to -37....that's an expensive gain for 70d a pop!)

July - Unhappy peasants rise up in Bristol and route our cav garrison there (3k).

August - We transfer 5,000 Infantry and 3,000 Cavalry home to deal with the rebels (5000/5855) at home

September 7th - Ulster is captured, but given the size of the Army of Ulster, they refuse our demand of annexation, and we have no choice but to send the whole of our army into Connaught in an attempt to break the siege.

In mid-month, Ireland offers us 675d for peace, and the army is ordered to stand down.

That's a lot of coin.

September 21st, Bristol's rebel force is defeated and we vassalize Eire on the 7th of October, and demand the full contents of their treasury (675d)....we get 345d of that....not sure what happened to the rest...lost in transit? Split with the allies we didn't call? No matter, it's a worthy haul, and we would not have seen a ducat of it had we forced their annexation!

November, we begin sending gifts to Eire to improve relations with our vassals.....a new plan is forming....

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And by the way...don't you love the magic of attrition!? Not much left of the Army of Ulster in the shot above....

The essence of our King's plan is this:

We have already vassalized Ireland (took the money instead of the land...too tempting a lure to pass up), and England stands empty and unguarded....we could vassalize England as well, and form the Commonwealth of Great Scotland (Great Scot! What an astounding idea), thereby finding ourselves at the head of our own alliance, and eventually peacefully annexing both our vassals into our fold, then seeking new alliance partners.

However, we would be giving up a lot....the Iberians are stout, strong allies to have....

Nonetheless, we are determined to try, and so make preparations for yet another war with England, and by July 1st, 1467, all is in readiness, and we are prepared to take England totally by storm, while Castile and Portugal handle England's one ally, Aragon....

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July, 1467....war is declared....the Iberian front:

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And our contribution to the war effort....

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When the plan was first floated, however, it had its detractors....not everybody thought it prudent to abandon the Iberians....a portent of things to come?