Lorraine Cooperative Game Thread

[Velociryx]

Quite true...and with the French/German provinces ALONE (to say nothing of if we add the Italian ones), we'll have the richest provinces in Europe under our control, and two CoT's (four if we nab the Italian ones). That's....unstoppable...

-=Vel=-

[ragou]

Have you stopped playing, or are you just taking a short break?

*Eagerly awaiting what the future will bring to Lorraine*

[Velociryx]

Will have the update soon! Was just....putting the wraps on Scotland so I have lots of writing material for that while waiting for us to reach a consensus along the way in our various decisions here....

-=Vel=-

[Velociryx]

A Bold, Unexpected Direction for Lorraine

Having become thoroughly disenchanted with the French alliance, and with the dream of a "United France," our Duke Charles plots a new course for the nation, marrying one of his numerous cousins, a woman of surpassing beauty named Marie, to a prominent English Lord (RM with England, relations to -101).

Another suitable mate is found for the Duke of Geldre (RM with Geldre, relations to +48)

In March, our national stability is restored (+3), and a personal gift is sent to the Duke of Brabant, improving relations markedly with the tiny Duchy on our border (relations to +137!)

April sees a continued flurry of diplomatic activity, with correspondence to both the Duke of Burgundy (-193), and to the English King (-81), with additional missives written to Burgundy's Duke over the next two months (which see relations slowly thaw to -177, and then to -157, respectively).

In July, the English King hears from us again (-79), and the Burgundians reject a proposed Royal Marriage offer (-163)

In August, War Taxes are raised in light of the ongoing war with Orleanais, and with only a single Diplomat remaining in our Diplomatic corp at the moment, we stand pat. (three more merchants sent to Flandres)

It pains us greatly to see, but in October, Orleanais is no more, having been devoured by the haughty ambitions of the French King. (relations with France are now +78).

1429
National stability is +3, and our treasury is brimming, with 184d! (2 points of War Exhaustion remaining)

Our alliance is strained further when Provence cancells their vassalization with France, and we hold our breath and brace for the French declaration of war against them....a declaration which does not come....thankfully!

February sees another letter to Burgundy, with this one having no impact on relations (-163), and a month later, we try again to gain the ear of that stubborn Duke (relations to -133).

Our diplomatic offensive continues with Burgundy in June and August, which sees relations thaw to -99, and on August 21st, the Duke Establishes an Internal Trade Ordinance in Artois (taxval in Artois, +1).

The rest of the year passes quietly.

1430
Slider Adjustment, Aristocracy -1 (which sees further improvement to our Trade Efficiency, 33%, 14% production effie).

Stability is +3 (dropping to +2 when we adjust the slider), and our treasury is richly appointed with 210d!

More merchants (2) are sent to Flandern this month, with two more sent in February and another two in March.

Mid-year, with five (5) Diplomats on hand, we renew our Diplomattic Offensive with Burgundy, with additional letters written in June and July, thawing relations to -69.


In mid-July, Austria, Baden, and Bavari square off against Milan, England, Burgundy, Navara, Geldre, and the Golden Horde....a potential dark tiding for us, as we have no wish to find ourselves in an alliance family that would put us in the thick of a two-front war! We hold our breath and pray that their war does not last long.

Burgundy devours Brabant in late month, and much of our hard work is undone, as relations with the Burgundians sour (-159).

The remainder of 1430 sees the diplomatic offensive with Burgundy kick into high gear, with a trio of gifts being sent to the Duke, ending in November, when those efforts have improved relations to -1. We can breath at least a bit easier now....

1431
January 26th is a dark day for our growing nation....Duke Charles the Bold, of Lothringen, the wily and resolute leader who shocked the world by standing up against the combined might of both England and Burgundy, died peacefully in his bed, and without and heir.

The nation mourns the loss of their beloved leader, and his cousin, a robust man (and an even better diplomat than Charles!) named Rene D'Anjou takes the throne of Lorraine. He assures the Council of Lords that his every intention is to follow in the footsteps of his fallen cousin, and as his first act as Duke, he sends a gift to the Burgundians, improving relations to +100!!

By February, our national stability is once again at +3, we lose market-share in Flandern and promptly send three more merchants there to try and regain it.

[Velociryx]

April - The German alliance, led by the Saxons, has beat the hell out of Austria's allies, snagging Ansbach from Bavaria, and Bern from Baden...way to go Saxony!!!

[Velociryx]

In July, we arrange a treaty of Military Access with the Burgundians, further binding them to us, and in August, it seems as if the whole of our Duchy is rejoicing in the abilities of Duke Rene D'Anjou!

[Velociryx]

The rest of 1431 passes in relative quiet, with the only significant activity being two more letters written to the King of England, assuring him that the recent change in leadership in Lorraine has done nothing to pull Lorraine from it's newfound diplomatic footing and desire to improve relations between England and Lorraine, and the message is getting through...relations have improved to -53...the English still do not like us much, and are still smarting from the upset defeat we handed them in our unfortunate war, but we are making solid progress.

1432
With no inflation, stability at +3, a treasury containing 148 ducats, and a monthly economy of 15.7, we are truly on our way!

A Gift to the English King dramatically improves relations (+13) in January, and in February, a new Center of Trade opens in Thrace! We rush all available merchants there (4), to take advantage of this new emerging market. In June, we send another, and by July, we have five (5) merchants in business in Thrace, making it our single most lucrative market!

[Velociryx]

By 1433, our Duke Rene pauses to review the net diplomatic impact his efforts have had to date, and the picture for Lorraine is looking bright indeed!

[Velociryx]

1433
Diplomatically, our only remaining trouble spots are with Baden and Brittany, and these will be the targets of future diplomatic efforts, but in this year, having spent the greater bulk of our treasury to improve our standing in English eyes, there is little we can do about our strained relations with those two nations, so....we pray that they will not choose NOW to move against us, and continue on our way.

May 25th, new land is claimed in Zeeland (pop +2000, tax value +1, manpower +1), and by December, the alliances of England and Austria make their peace.

1434
Primarily, our focus this year is on improving relations with Baden and sending merchants to Flandern.

On both counts, we meet with some success, finally establishing five (5) merchants in Flandres (giving us five in both Flandern and Thrace), and the flurry of letters sent to Duke Jakob I, of Baden, sees relations with that aggressive nation improve to -144.

1435
With significant market-share in two centers of trade, Lorraine now boasts the world's eleventh largest economy!

[Velociryx]

1435 - Continued
A very busy year, filled with all manner of tidings for us, both good and ill....

On the plus-side of the ledger, our manpower and maximum army size has increased dramatically (32k), and we raise three thousand Infantry in Lorraine, the beginnings of a wholly new regimental addition for our armies. A gift to Jakob of Baden is also sent (relations to -26).

On the minus side, France annexes the House of Burbon, growing stronger (relations with France fall to +6). We count some forty thousand men under arms in France. Dark tidings indeed....

Because of this, and thanks to our earlier exceptional year, we begin full minting of coin, in a drive to bulk up our military in light of our new support limits, and in June, we add a thousand infantry and a thousand horse to the Poitou Regiment, with another thousand cavalry added to Artois in July.

September sees another New Regiment formed in Flandern, six thousand infantry strong, and in November, we raise an additional 3k Infantry for the Lorraine Regiment, and another 1k Cavalry for Artois, keeping our weapon smiths and training camps busy through the whole of the year.

1436
National stability is +3, Treasury stands at 91d, and our economy is 17.5/month, with inflation creeping up to 0.8%.

Another gift to Jakob of Baden improves relations to +70, and a Royal Marriage is arranged with the Duke of Brittany (relations -68), and then....it happens.

January 2nd, France declares a war against Brittany, and the French King demands that we honor our alliance obligations, which would put us in a war with Brittany, Savoy, and Genoa. We are not overly concerned with Brittany or Genoa, but Savoy has some 37,000 men able to march on Comte at a moment's notice, and thence to Lorraine herself. This is a fight we do not need and do not want, and so, we refuse to support the war effort in any way. Fate and circumstance have decreed that it is time for Lorraine to chart a new course, whether we are fully ready or not!

As of March, our armies at least, are as ready as we can make them, and The Army of Lorraine stands at four (4) battle-ready regiments:

Lorraine: 6000 Infantry
Flandern: 6000 Infantry
Poitou: 5000 Infantry/ 2000 Horse
Artois (the backbone of the Army): 7498 Infantry and 4000 Horse

Totals: 24,498 Infantry, 6000 Horse = 30,498 (max of 31k)

[Velociryx]

In July, our stability (which had dropped when we refused to honor our alliance obligations) jumps back to +3, and Duke Rene promptly cancels our treaty of Military Access with France (stability goes back to +2).

In September, the Austrian alliance butts heads with the German Minors again, and by October, stability has once again risen to +3, and in a diplomatic snafu (hit the wrong button), we break our royal marriage ties with the Bavarians) (stability back to +2). Oops.

[Velociryx]

All Fool's Day, 1437

Duke Rene sat in the secret room behind his throne, consulting with his War Captains. "All is in readiness, then?"

"Everything is prepared, My Lord Duke." General Jaeger told him with a bow. This was a far different sort of operation than the slipshod, seat-of-their-pants operation that sparked Lorraine's rise to greatness. The armies were larger than anything Lorraine had ever fielded, and her commanders now had the advantage of both practical experience in battle and and a formal military education at the University of Paris. Things were very different indeed.

"Excellent...the regiments have their initial orders, and I want no deviation from them. We will attempt to make a stand at the gates of Paris, but nowhere else, unless we can see some tactical advantage for doing so....the leadership of the French Armies is terrifyingly efficient, and although I trust you, my noble War Captains, and your faith and heart, the men we shall soon face on the field of battle wrote many of the books on strategy that you studied from....these are dangerous, cunning men, and unless we can gain some notable defensive advantage, have a care not to get in a standup fight with them....the Army of Lorraine is more important than any man's pride....remember that."

"Yes My Lord Duke!" Came the quick, sure reply from all present.

"Very good....you have your orders....you know what our objectives are, and what we seek to accomplish with this action....make me proud....make the whole of Lorraine proud."

OoO

Lorraine formally joins the Alliance of England, and on that same day, All Fool's Day, 1437, declares war against France, while the bulk of her armies are mired in a siege against Savoy.

And so it begins....

[Velociryx]

With the military (understandably) on Full Alert, we spend one month minting coin (to get the pillage money), and this sees our treasury swell to 165d - after that, we push all our efforts into improving our stability, which plunged to zero (0), after our shocking declaration against France.

June 16th - Feeling inferior to the Armies of France, and being worried that the war leaders, Dunois and Richemont might push the whole of the French Army to Paris and grind us to dust, we hire a Mercenary Band (Gunther's) 5000/500 in Caux, and march them to Paris to increase our forces there.

Loan taken.

We also hire the Luzern Regiment (mercenaries) 8000/1500 in Caux and march these to Paris as well. Back to full minting of coin, as Lorraine's army swells well beyond it's supportable size.

In July, the French make an attack against our siege crew, and our confidence grows as we defeat them!

[Velociryx]

In early August, the Army of Richemont is shattered (reduced by some 50%) by 29k from Geldre marching through Champagne to Nivernais, where the dreaded General is stationed, en route to Orleanais. Overwhelmed by the men of Geldre, his army retreats across the Sein and seeks the safety of Orleanais....fortunately, it does not look like he will be attacking us any tme soon, but nor are we eager to cross the Seine from Paris and attack him.

In September, having recieved some reinforcements, Richemont *does* send an expeditionary force against us to test our strength, but does not lead the attack himself, remaining in Orleanais to rally the army and gather more reinforcements.

[Velociryx]

Lorraine wins the second battle of Paris, but by November, Richemont is ready to march, having swelled his army to nearly the size of our own....and, we hate to admit it, but even attacking cross-river, he can probably demolish us.

Nonetheless, with good progress on the siege of Paris, and the defensive advantage of the river, we are reluctant to turn tail and run....we must try to give a good accounting of ourselves here....try to dent the mighty army that stands in the way of us and victory.....