Scotland cooperative game thread

[Velociryx]

Which brings us to the matter at hand....and once more brings this photo-journal up to date.

1451
National stability has been restored (+3)
Our treasury is brimming (719d)

We see a slight increase in inflation (10.2%) as we did some minting of coin once national stability was restored.

Our army stands at:
10,580 Infantry
6916 Cavalry
____________
17,496 total (max of 19k)

In short, our strength has returned. We are at peace, and in the company of strong allies. Further, the world has a generally good opinion of us. Now, all that is needed is for some spark....come catalyst to appear to propel us to new heights.....

-=Vel=-

[ravagon]

Nice going Vel (& co.)

My deepest condolences on those clerical SOB's. They know just when to pop up don't they?


Q: Are you actually planning to become Great Britain after overrunning England (as it seems you probably will now)?

[Velociryx]

All that, and more, good sir! And if you've thoughts on what future direction we might ought to take, it is many hours before I depart from work to tackle the next segment, soooo.....

-=Vel=-

(PS: I DO, however, believe that we should leave England alive for a time...probably an extended time, because we don't get many/any explorers on our own, and England gets many....so by raiding their maps periodically, we can snag an increasing awareness of the new world)

[Spaced Cowboy]

Okay, I've waited patiently, where is my next segment.

Also, thanks, now I'm going to have to buy this game. Awesome DAR BTW.

[Velociryx]

Innit cool? Endless variety and a lot of complexity....I LOVE it! And, I got caught up in playing last night and TOTALLY forgot to post an update (49 screenies waiting in the wings!)....will be getting off early today tho, so I shall!

-=Vel=-

[Velociryx]

1451

We are...idling. Waiting for our chance at greatness, and in the meantime, we have resources to burn and nothing in particular to do with them....so, various plans of middling importance are put into motion...nothing that will catapult us to dizzying heights, but good, solid, honest work nonetheless. Things like sending more merchants to Ile de France to gain a better understanding of the ways of the traders (a thing we still don't "get" very well, and sending colonists to our Irish posessions (low population...good cheap way to bulk them up quickly).

In February, while we're playing at being important and shuffling our resources around, Portugal, the head of our new alliance family, declares a war against Granada, and we readily support this war....far away from us, and against a nation that has no chance of reaching our shores in force....sure! Have at it! (and then we go right back to playing at being important).

But although these things...this idling and going through the motions of being a big, important power do not have overmuch impact on the world at large, they give us important practice that we will need later....they set the stage for greater things to come. We learn useful, practical skills like the basics of international trade and how to organize colonists to send to far-off places, what to do with them when they arrive...good skills, and so it is money and time well-spent.

And in the meantime, there is no doubt about it, but Scotland has grown from a small backwater state dominated by the whims and will of England to be a strong regional power...a rising star on the world stage. True, we are no match for the likes of France and Spain and vastly wealthy Portugal, or the supreme diplomatic finesse of the fine Austrians, but we are....a middling strong power and growing. We have proved ourselves in battle and come out stronger for it.

We are, in short, proud of our accomplishments. It's good to be a Scot!

And by May of 1451, there is evidence that we are learning and applying our newly developing skills as we gain marketshare in Ile de France (3 merchants there....8d per year in trading profits!)

In August, as we are paying some small amount of attention to the goings on on the continent (we'd better, now that we have a presence there!), we take note of the fact that ever-hostile Burgundy absorbs tiny Lux....we feel for them, of course, but it is no great concern of ours.

October sees a raising of War Taxes....not really needed, and our people grumble over it some (stability to +2), as the men of Granada are clearly no threat to our national interests, but it does give us extra cash, and one can never tell when that might be needed.

And so the year closes much as it began, it quietude, and with Scotland's strength growing steadily.

[Velociryx]

1452

Important for one reason alone....our young King James came of age and siezed full political power from his advisors, sending shockwaves through the ranks of the Highland Chiefs and our other nobles as he set about confiscating lands and monies to grow the Kingdom to new heights.

This was not the catalyst we had in mind for our greater glory, but it was a sad, noteworthy event in our history as it saw the destruction of two noble houses, the Livingstones, and even more sadly, the Douglases, of which our national hero, General Buchan Douglas was a member.

Nonetheless, his sterling reputation did not save his house from the wrath of the King for abuses of power his family was guilty of while the King was but a boy.

The ruination of those two houses plunged our Kingdom into disarray (stability to zero), even as it added to the King's power (to say nothing of his treasury).

[Velociryx]

1453

Having had good cause and good reasons (see previous events) for being terrified of the dangers of low stability, a Fine Arts Academy is commissioned in Lothian (+5/month to stabilty, among other benefits)....a move which nearly empties our national treasury. All our efforts too, are being plied toward the end of restoring national stability.

Production efficienciy now stands at 34%, with Trade effie at 37%...we're by no means masters of either, but have clearly come a long way from where we were!

By February, we see some signs of re-stabalization (+1)

In April, despite these various signs of our progress, our Merchant corps expresses their unhappiness yet again (-300 trade investment, and on the plus side, in October, our national stability improves again (+2). It is, however, a very dangerous time for us, because with our treasury so close to empty, it leaves us quite vulnerable.....

Vulnerable or not, opportunity knocks on the third of November, when Brittany and her allies declare war on the French alliance! This may well be the opportunity we have been waiting for!

1454
Stability +2, Treasury = 99d

Scotland declares an unprovoked war against Brittany (allies not called). Military goes on full alert, and we begin full minting of coin. The Bretagne regiment invades Armor and we raise 3k Infantry IN Bretagne.

March 2nd: Directly after our 3k new recruits are trained, we take a loan and spend 196d to recruit a mercenary company of 8000 Infantry and 500 Horse in Bretagne, giving us 11,000/500 there. These march on Morbihan, the capitol of Brittany.

[Velociryx]

Battling the men of Brittany:

[Velociryx]

In may, our siege force in Morbihan routs new recruits of Brittany (taking no losses themselves), and these forces route to Bretagne to lay in a siege there (4500/500 in the Army of Brittany). By June, Armor is captured and the Bretagne Regiment (4580/2916) returns to their home province to defend it and attempt to break the enemy's siege....meanwhile, the walls of Morbihan are at -2 and weakening.

July 1st, the army of Brittany is reduced to 2763/153....no longer sufficient to maintain a siege, it is no longer a pressing concern. Our regiment is at 4103/2821.

Losses:
Brittany: 1737/347 = 2084
Scotland: 477/95 = 572

A strong, solid win by any accounting.

In September, a haughty French commander wrests control of our siege in Morbihan, and we leave him to it, rather than suffering attrition damage as the French overstuff the province. War Taxes are raised (still full minting), and the Morbihan siege group is ordered to Bretagne with our Bretagne regiment.

1455
Stop minting coin (inflation at 10.6%, and 310d in our treasury)

We are at an impasse. We want Armor, but can't get the men of Brittany to make peace.

Nobles Feud over what course of action to take, and we let them squabble (stab to -1).

By August, the situation is unchanged, and we raise War Taxes again to further enhance our treasury, and on the 8th, the situation breaks loose, with France making peace with Brittany for Maine and 100d! Our forces return once more to Morbihan, taking a force of 7552/1661 to get the job done (recruitment in Brittany)

November first, 3k new cavalry recruits attack our siege train and are utterly defeated.

The rest of the year passes quietly.

1456
Stability is zero, 429d in our national treasury.

Walls of Morbihan at -4

Feb 21st, the capitol of Brittany capitulates, and on March the 7th, they approach us with an offer for peace consisting of Armor and 78d. We acceptp! Bailiff promotion in Armor and Scotland grows again!

Current army size ~19,000 Infantry
~8,000 Cavalry
Max = 21k (uh huh...like we care!)

-=Vel=-

[Velociryx]

1456 - Continued

One of the groovy things about being Scotish is that we never pass up a chance to better ourselves, or strengthen ourselves in the face of our bitter and hated foes, and so, in April, even though we're just off a war with the men of Brittany, it appears that it's time once again to grow...at England's expense of course, and it is good that we still have a CB with them (Yorkshire, long contested land, with both Scotland and England laying ancestral claim to it, and the perfect excuse to pick a fight). We see evidence of this because there are 7k rebels laying siege to Lincoln, and the English are doing NOTHING to prevent it. If they had the manpower, surely they would make use of it and send the rebels packing, so we must conclude that the rebels remain becauses English power on the Island is at an all-time low. Thus, the fleet is ordered to Bretagne on April the 22nd, and Cornwall is promptly reported as standing empty and devoid of English military presence by the Lord-Admiral of the Navy.

May 1st, we declare war against the English dogs who have, for so much of our past, dominated us with their superior strength, and in a surprising development, we catch a lone English ship off Land's End and sink it. Not much as a battle goes (our entire navy against one ship), but it marks the first ever Scottish naval victory over the English, and so was important in its way.

June 1st, we order an attack into Bristol as 8,000/2,000 from the Bretagne Regiment boards ships to return to the Scotish Isle!

[Velociryx]

June 16th, 6,000 Scotish Infantry, backed up by 4,000 cavalry hit England's Bristol Cavalry Command (the BCC, a predecessor of the BBC, which would come much later), consisting of 2853 horse. Our Northumberland Cav Command (2,000 strong) is en route to assist, and as battle is joined, we now take note of a 5k garrison in Anglia. These will have to be dealt with decisively before they can gather more men to their banner and become a force to be reckoned with. At their current numbers, we can take them...if we give them time to build....uncertain. Though she has lost territory, England is very much a dangerous opponent, and if left with time, she will surely use it well.

June 19th, before the Northumberland Cav group can arrive, the main body of our attack force utterly destroys the English cav force (570/114 losses for us, total of 684).

July 21st - Rather than striking us, the English garrison at Anglia makes for the rebels in Lincoln. They defeat them, but suffer nearly 20% casualties (4018 men left in their force). These, they continue marching north, to Yorkshire, intent on stirring up trouble for us. Meanwhile, we land our 8000/2000 from the mainland in Cornwall to open a new front in the war, and spend 133d to hire 3000/1500 mercs in Northumberland should the Enlish force be attempting to reach Sterling and points further north.

August 1st sees enemy recruitment in Anglia. A covering force is left in Cornwall, and the balance of our forces there (7014/1761) advance to Wessex.

August 2nd, our army in Bristol is attacked by 1k Infantry (we have 5430/5886) - the english are destroyed to the last, and we suffer no losses. If the Englishmen think we will spook so easily, they have made a gross miscalculation, and paid for it with one thousand lives.

Covering force is left in Bristol, and our army there advances to Anglia.

The Fleet retires to Wales, not wanting to press their luck further against the English.

[Velociryx]

August 18, our army arrives in Wessex and is promptly attacked amphibiously by 1827 English Cavalry. This turns out to be a collassally bad idea for the English, who lose the entire force and leave us with 6859/1725 still firmly in command of the province.

Our fleet is given conflicting orders, and is now ordered to retire to Bretagne in case there are any other surprises waiting for us.

September 1st, covering force left in Wessex and 5901/1484 march on to Kent, and on the 8th, our Mercenary force in Northumberland is ordered to invade Yorkshire.

October 1, covering force is left in Kent and we mass or forces in Anglia...by the 24th, we have 9674/6629 in the English capitol

November 1st, covering force left in Yorkshire and we invade Lincoln with 8962/6142, and on the 16th, we meet the English force of 2114/2842....utterly destroying them, losing only 1276 of our army (1064/212) (have 7898/5930 left in that force).

The island is once again secure and clear of enemy troops. All over but the waiting.....

1k cavalry are raised in Northumberland

November: a horrid scandal at court has irreperably damaged our relations with France! (-100). Given the cost of gaining the ear of the French King, there is no way we can undo the unintentional slight that caused such a rift between our two peoples, and overnight, France becomes Scotland's worst nightmare. Our three biggest concerns for the future are:

1) France
2) France
and
3) France

They are sooooo much stronger than even our allies combined that an attack would devastate us.

1457
Stability +1
Treasury 287
Military maint to 50% as we settle in for the long haul

By april, we see national stabilty increase (+2) and we have four sieges running:

Yorkshire (1)
Lincoln (-6)
Anglia (-1)
Bristol (2)

May 19, Lincoln is captured.

September, Aragon, ally to England offers us 114d in indemnities, and we accept this peace

October - Bristol falls (stability to +3, war taxes promptly raised, lowering it again)

December, Cornwall and Anglia are captured within days of each other.

[ragou]

Just want to say that I have really enjoyed reading this. Keep up the good work and may your forces soon annex the English infidels!

[Velociryx]

Thank ya! And once I get this one under my belt, I think I'll be ready to try with Lorraine again....little one-province minor...French AND German culture...sweeeeeet!

-=Vel=-

[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.

[Velociryx]

1460, Scotland

[Velociryx]

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

[Velociryx]

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....

[Velociryx]

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!

[Velociryx]

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

[Velociryx]

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=-

[Velociryx]

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.....

[Velociryx]

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.

[Velociryx]

The battle of Ulster

[Velociryx]

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....

[Velociryx]

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....

[Velociryx]

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

[Velociryx]

And our contribution to the war effort....

[Velociryx]

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?