Deus Vult! - War of 1119

Count Robert of Flanders, still bitter over Lorraine's destructive raids inside her borders, fumes and looks for a way to strike back. Word reaches him of a proclamation from the King in Paris:

His Grace Gaston the Duke of Lorraine and We, Philip, deo gratiae king of France, have concluded a peace agreement that will end the wasteful ravages of war between our two Most Christian realms. His Grace has agreed to publicly cede all claim to the lands of Nivernais to my lord of Burgundy and We of France, in Our love for Our lord of Burgundy, have agreed to publicly cede all claim to the lands of Champagne to Our lord of Lorraine. It is hoped that as God and nature permit, Our two houses will soon cement this commitment with the blessed sacrament of marriage. We pray you, therefore, you lords of Christendom, to give witness to Our oaths here today in the sight of almighty God to be forever peaceful with each other with one another's realms, interests and subjects.

Philip I
By the Grace of God King of France

This stills the count's hand for a time. However, when Lorraine fails to release Mathieus (who was lured into Lorraine and abducted on the premise of a food trade) he urges his nobles to initiate a war despite the peace accord. Eager to punish the Germans, they agree. Before the plans are fully cemented, Eduard of Utrecht crosses the border with 2100 Cavalry, raiding the region of Champagne.

Flemish agents infiltrate and rescue the hostage Matheius from the anguish of Lorraine's prisons. Matheius is sick, underfed and weak, and survives only mere weeks once he returns home. He thanks Count Robert for those two weeks with his family, however, and urges the Count to continue the war against his captors. Robert plans to, and in planning takes a massive mercenary contract out. He pulls 4000 Infantry, 5400 Cavalry and another 500 Engineers into Contract in Ghent.

Soon, however, news trickles into the countryside that Count Robert has died. This spurs the mayors of Ghent and Antwerp to proclaim autonomy from the County in hopes that they will avoid the costly and upcoming war. Eduart of Utrect, a stout loyalist who had been patrolling Brabant with a force of 2100 cavalry, moves immediately to fight the local cities. Antwerp takes a bitter siege of 9 months, at one point Eduart is even captured for a time, but his troops force the capitulation of the city. Eduart is much more ruthless in the crush of Utrecht, giving no quarter to the traitors. The city surrenders, but the hero general is later killed by the son of one of the city's knights who had fallen in the conflict.

In 1125, Duke Gaston of Lorraine recruits 2700 Cavalry and 8 more field forts for the nation, and all leaders station in the region of Lorraine awaiting an attack by Flanders. Count Derrick of Flanders picks up 1900 Cavalry and 300 engineers, then reacts out of Brabant in case of a counterattack by Lorraine. None comes. The Flemish Heir Philip, and General Griel collect 1000 cavalry and 100 engineers with the 9900 Mercenaries they had contracted for the offensive. They press into Champagne to attack. Duke Gaston reacts to meet them, along with three other national leaders at the head of 7000 Cavalry, and the Champagne garrison of 1000 Infantry and 3 field forts. The battle is a slaughter. Lorraine fields three leaders with good combat abilities, while Flanders has only slightly above average. While Flanders has more total units, Lorraine is almost all Cavalry, and thus stronger in the open fields. The entire Flemish host is decimated. Lord Stephan, bodyguard of General Griel gives his life so that Griel may escape being run down by the German horse and a cadre of Swabian hunters as he and Philip retreat to Brabant. All told, Lorraine sees a loss of 400 Cavalry and Lord Raymond. Flanders rounds out the cycle with another large bid for 5500 mercenary cavalry.

As his first act before the Diet, Emperor Stephen I moves to broker a peace treaty between Flanders and Lorraine. He spends many months in prayer with the Shroud of Turin, asking for the Holy Spirit to fill both Count Derrick and Duke Gaston with mercy. While both sides continue to add to their forces, neither nation makes a military move. Gaston does attempt to mobilize the nobility for Casus Belli, but the court is not interested in fighting. Gaston then releases the Burgundian Prisoner, Yves, that has been held captive for many years. For his part, Count Derrick offers appeasement to Lorraine for their incursions into Champagne. Thus, it is a surprise when the Swabians descend upon Ghent with their fleet and pirate the lucrative trading city.

Flemish investments in the military pay off with advances in Cavalry, Siege and Warships Quality. Ten light warships and 800 Infantry are raised. Count Derrick does not push the war, however. Rather, he travels to Ghent in the intention of founding a church. Soon ater his arrival, he goes missing. Lorraine, if they are in fact responsible, does not take advantage of the situation and remains simply at the alert. With the surprise merger of the Duchies, the war abruptly ends. Though, Derrick has the opportunity to press his war claims against the new Duchy if he wishes.