3. Reign of Maria II the Beautiful (1550-1573)
In winter 1550 our beloved queen Maria II was coronated, only 25 years of age. She had, as a woman, no military skills (MIL = 3) and had to rely on her father's war council when it came to deal with the rebellious Dutch. Among these counsellors were general Picard, the hero of Paris and the Thüringian war, now withdrawn from the battlefield following the loss of an eye and his left arm in the latter war.
The queen's abilities in administration were average, but she had a dazzling faculty when it came to diplomacy (DIP = 7; ADM = 5).
The rebels in the Low Countries however did not hail the new queen. They continued their assaults, this time on our forces in Hainault. On June 1st 1551 they proclaimed the free nation of the Netherlands, and declared war on Burgundy.
The first Dutch war (1551-53)
The Dutch had taken the provinces of Friesen, The Hague, Holland, Zeeland and Flandres. They had a small and untrained army made up by street rubble and notorious troublemakers. The northern armies of Burgundy were stationed in the nearby provinces of Calais, Artois and Hainault. Col. Gribeuval marched from Calais towards Flandres with 30000 men; Gen. Laval, capturer of Calais in the French war, advanced into Zeeland from Hainault with a similar force while Col. Da Sagazan attacked the rebels in their “capitol” of The Hague with a smaller elite force.
Gribeuval captured Flandres the same fall and marched on towards Holland and Amsterdam. In summer the following year, 1552, Zeeland fell to the forces of Gen. Laval and he hastily moved north to besiege Friesen. On Christmas day 1552 The Hague capitulated, just after the fall of Holland. Now the rebel Dutch only controlled Friesen.
Friesen fell in July 1553, and the Dutch were beaten. They were taken into our fold again, while the leaders of the rebellion were captured and beheaded.
The second Austro-Ottoman war (1551-53)
The same year as the Dutch war begun our allies Austria was attacked by the Ottomans and their lackeys the Hafsids. We proclaimed our support to the emperor along with Bavaria and Switzerland. While Burgundy were too busy fighting the rebel Dutch we had no troops to send to their support. If this was the reason for Austria's defeat is not known, but in a humiliating peace in Laibach the Austrians surrendered the lands of Carnolia an Odenburg to the Ottomans.
The third Rhine-war and The fourth French war (1553-1554)
Following the downfall of the Dutch rebel state in 1553 our neighbours must have grown weary of our strength, and worried about our plans.
In December 1553 Hessen, a nation of the same heretic faith as the rebellious Dutch, declared war on Burgundy. Their ally Cologne followed them. At the same time the French, supported by Poland-Lithuania, Navarre and Savoie, and Saxony, supported by Bohemia and Hannover, attacked us. Later, in the spring, Würtemburg followed them against us. The enemies were many, and they came from north, east and south. This was to become the first Grand test to the might of Burgundy!
(The first BB war! BB at moment: 35)
Allready stationed in the Dutch provinces of Holland and Friesen our two armies, led by general Laval and col. Gribeuval marched against Hessen. They started the sieges of Muster in January and Hessen in February. The battle-hardened troops were superior against the defences of the Hessians. Hessen fell to Laval in May, followed two moths later by Muster's surrender to Gribeuval on July 4th 1554. The Hessian nation ceased to exist from this day.
Unfortunately a stray bullet caught general Laval during the siege of Hessen. While he survived the initial shot, being hit in the shoulder, he soon became a victim of blood poisoning. The two armies of Laval and Gribeuval were combined under the command of the now promoted general Gribeuval and marched north towards the Saxons in Anhalt. The Saxons on the other hand had taken up a siege of Thüringen.
Col. Da Sagazan had moved his troops south from the Low Countries to face the French. While most of the Burgundian troops had fought in the Dutch war an army had been stationed in Calais under the capable leadership of young captain Picard, the nephew of the War Minister, to prevent any rebellions there. When news of the French attack reached Calais Picard immediately marched against Caux. The city fell in August, and the troops advanced into Normandy. Meanwhile, large French forces were besieging Orleans. We also received news that the French raided our colonies in America.
While engaged with most of our armies in the north our southern flank was left all too vulnerable. The French captured Orleans and marched against Lyon. To better be able to concentrate on our efforts in the north minister Picard negotiated an agreement with the French, settling for a status quo peace. It is told that he was fuming inside, but managed to calm his temper during the negotiations held in Orleans in November 1554.
There were many opinions on the French peace, and most at the court were of the opinion the French had gotten away too easy. This topped during Christmas when a party held by the war minister Picard ended in a mêlée when a young count accused the minister of being a coward. The old general was so infuriated he assaulted the young man. Even with only one eye and his left arm left on the battlefield he still managed to maltreat him so bad he died two days later. Many of the nobles were outraged by this treatment of one of their peers, causing much unrest throughout the country.
(Political crisis: -3 stab, monarch stats down to 2/2/2, not my favourite during a BB war..
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In late winter Anhalt fell to the forces of gen. Gribeuval, but also lost Thüringen to Saxony. A status quo peace was settled with the Saxons. Now the only opposition left was the minors of Würtemburg and Cologne. However, a new foe entered the stage as the Dutch rebelled again!
