History of Urcea (1402-1575): Difference between revisions

Line 35:

Riordan V died in 1557 and was succeeded by his Protestant son Donnchad III, who was considered to be an exceptionally more talented commander than his father. Donnchad managed to break a Catholic siege of [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]] and maneuvered north to [[Castle Welute]]. Rather than besiege the Catholic stronghold, Donnchad raided the fortress and took Prince Aedanicus, the [[Ænglasmarch#Duchy_of_Holchester|Duke of Holchester]], and brought him back to Urceopolis. There, in 1560, he was drawn and quartered and his head was mounted high in the Pale for the city to see, with the remaining parts sent to various rebel leaders; this act was viewed as a severe atrocity by contemporaries and far beyond the honorable conduct of war, leading many moderate optimates in the countryside to abandon the Protestant cause. Next, Donnchad launched a campaign to the southwest to break out of the Urce valley and link up with Protestant forces from the [[Kingdom of Gassavelia]], which he did successfully. By 1562 Donnchad defeated the Holy League at numerous battles in southern Urcea and Gassavelia and the combined forces began to besiege the city of Cana.

===Leonine phase of the War of Religion===

[[Emperor Leo III of the Holy Levantine Empire|Leo de Weluta]], eldest son of Prince Aedanicus, assumed the mantle of leadership of the [[House de Weluta|Velucian faction]] upon his father's death. Leading a small force comprised mostly of Catholic troops from his [[Ænglasmarch#Duchy_of_Holchester|Duchy of Holchester]] and mercenaries given to him by the Emperor, Leo launched a surprise attack on the city of Roekdorse in modern [[North Ionia]] and took the mostly-Catholic city, overcoming the small Royalist garrison. Soon, Leo began to call upon the avowedly Catholic ~~[[Ionia]]n Moorlanders~~, who viewed "''Auld Royal Leo''" as their King, to flock to his banner, which they did. With the victory, the Pope proclaimed in 1563 that Leo was rightful heir to the Kingdom and gave him a Papal grant of the Kingdom stating as much, making Leo the de facto leader of Catholic Urcean forces. Reorganizing the shattered rebel forces and consolidating the Imperial-given forces, the Ionians, and the rebels into a new army, Leo began a march southwest to Urceopolis, besieging Protestant-aligned cities as he made his way down the river valley. The Protestant King Donnchad and his Gassavelian allies had to abandon the siege of Cana and march the two armies northeast. Leo and Donnchad's armies met for the first time in the ~~northeast~~ and engaged in a series of skirmishes for a year. Donnchad was continuously assured that a Protestant offensive from the Electorates of Lucarnia and Hollona would relieve him and attack the Imperial army from the rear, and continued to draw back his army in a series of bloody retreats in order to draw the Catholic forces in for a fight in which the allied armies would be able to strategically entrap the Imperial army. No reinforcements came, and Donnchad made the decision to continue the retreat on to Urceopolis in an attempt to draw the Catholic army into a siege of the well-defended city and potentially destroy them by sallying the Protestant forces forth. Leo managed to flank Donnchad with a detachment mostly comprised of cavalry and light infantry, positioning troops between Donnchad and Urceopolis, forcing the Protestant armies to stand and fight near Drumfree. At the Battle of Drumfree, which occurred on April 9th, 1565, both sides seemed deadlocked for nearly eight hours of fighting before Donnchad was mortally wounded by a primitive form of grapeshot, leading to the Protestant forces fleeing. Donnchad, abandoned by his troops, was then speared hundreds of times and his mangled corpse thrown into a ditch.

[[Emperor Leo III of the Holy Levantine Empire|Leo de Weluta]], eldest son of Prince Aedanicus, assumed the mantle of leadership of the [[House de Weluta|Velucian faction]] upon his father's death. Leading a small force comprised mostly of Catholic troops from his [[Ænglasmarch#Duchy_of_Holchester|Duchy of Holchester]] and mercenaries given to him by the Emperor, Leo launched a surprise attack on the city of Roekdorse in modern [[North Ionia]] and took the mostly-Catholic city, overcoming the small Royalist garrison. Soon, Leo began to call upon the avowedly Catholic Ionian Highlanders, who viewed "''Auld Royal Leo''" as their King, to flock to his banner, which they did. With the victory, the Pope proclaimed in 1563 that Leo was rightful heir to the Kingdom and gave him a Papal grant of the Kingdom stating as much, making Leo the de facto leader of Catholic Urcean forces. Reorganizing the shattered rebel forces and consolidating the Imperial-given forces, the Ionians, and the rebels into a new army, Leo began a march southwest to Urceopolis, besieging Protestant-aligned cities as he made his way down the river valley. The Protestant King Donnchad and his Gassavelian allies had to abandon the siege of Cana and march the two armies northeast. Leo and Donnchad's armies met for the first time in the northeastern plateau and engaged in a series of skirmishes for a year. Donnchad was continuously assured that a Protestant offensive from the Electorates of Lucarnia and Hollona would relieve him and attack the Imperial army from the rear, and continued to draw back his army in a series of bloody retreats in order to draw the Catholic forces in for a fight in which the allied armies would be able to strategically entrap the Imperial army. No reinforcements came, and Donnchad made the decision to continue the retreat on to Urceopolis in an attempt to draw the Catholic army into a siege of the well-defended city and potentially destroy them by sallying the Protestant forces forth. Leo managed to flank Donnchad with a detachment mostly comprised of cavalry and light infantry, positioning troops between Donnchad and Urceopolis, forcing the Protestant armies to stand and fight near Drumfree. At the Battle of Drumfree, which occurred on April 9th, 1565, both sides seemed deadlocked for nearly eight hours of fighting before Donnchad was mortally wounded by a primitive form of grapeshot, leading to the Protestant forces fleeing. Donnchad, abandoned by his troops, was then speared hundreds of times and his mangled corpse thrown into a ditch.

Using his cavalry, Leo trapped and annihilated the Protestant armies the next day, clearing the way for him to Urceopolis. Marching towards the city and then establishing camp outside the city, he felt himself unworthy to enter first, and sent for the Pope. The Pope and Leo entered the city on May 14th, 1565 at which point the Pope crowned Leo as King Leo II, ending the War of Religion and sending the [[Great Confessional War]] into its second phase as well as restoring the House de Weluta to the Throne. Following his coronation, the new King sent for the remains of his father and interred them at the [[Caeline_Basilica#Crypt|Leonine Crypt]].

@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 Riordan V died in 1557 and was succeeded by his Protestant son Donnchad III, who was considered to be an exceptionally more talented commander than his father. Donnchad managed to break a Catholic siege of [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]] and maneuvered north to [[Castle Welute]]. Rather than besiege the Catholic stronghold, Donnchad raided the fortress and took Prince Aedanicus, the [[Ænglasmarch#Duchy_of_Holchester|Duke of Holchester]], and brought him back to Urceopolis. There, in 1560, he was drawn and quartered and his head was mounted high in the Pale for the city to see, with the remaining parts sent to various rebel leaders; this act was viewed as a severe atrocity by contemporaries and far beyond the honorable conduct of war, leading many moderate optimates in the countryside to abandon the Protestant cause. Next, Donnchad launched a campaign to the southwest to break out of the Urce valley and link up with Protestant forces from the [[Kingdom of Gassavelia]], which he did successfully. By 1562 Donnchad defeated the Holy League at numerous battles in southern Urcea and Gassavelia and the combined forces began to besiege the city of Cana.
 ===Leonine phase of the War of Religion===
-[[Emperor Leo III of the Holy Levantine Empire|Leo de Weluta]], eldest son of Prince Aedanicus, assumed the mantle of leadership of the [[House de Weluta|Velucian faction]] upon his father's death. Leading a small force comprised mostly of Catholic troops from his [[Ænglasmarch#Duchy_of_Holchester|Duchy of Holchester]] and mercenaries given to him by the Emperor, Leo launched a surprise attack on the city of Roekdorse in modern [[North Ionia]] and took the mostly-Catholic city, overcoming the small Royalist garrison. Soon, Leo began to call upon the avowedly Catholic [[Ionia]]n Moorlanders, who viewed "''Auld Royal Leo''" as their King, to flock to his banner, which they did. With the victory, the Pope proclaimed in 1563 that Leo was rightful heir to the Kingdom and gave him a Papal grant of the Kingdom stating as much, making Leo the de facto leader of Catholic Urcean forces. Reorganizing the shattered rebel forces and consolidating the Imperial-given forces, the Ionians, and the rebels into a new army, Leo began a march southwest to Urceopolis, besieging Protestant-aligned cities as he made his way down the river valley. The Protestant King Donnchad and his Gassavelian allies had to abandon the siege of Cana and march the two armies northeast. Leo and Donnchad's armies met for the first time in the northeast and engaged in a series of skirmishes for a year. Donnchad was continuously assured that a Protestant offensive from the Electorates of Lucarnia and Hollona would relieve him and attack the Imperial army from the rear, and continued to draw back his army in a series of bloody retreats in order to draw the Catholic forces in for a fight in which the allied armies would be able to strategically entrap the Imperial army. No reinforcements came, and Donnchad made the decision to continue the retreat on to Urceopolis in an attempt to draw the Catholic army into a siege of the well-defended city and potentially destroy them by sallying the Protestant forces forth. Leo managed to flank Donnchad with a detachment mostly comprised of cavalry and light infantry, positioning troops between Donnchad and Urceopolis, forcing the Protestant armies to stand and fight near Drumfree. At the Battle of Drumfree, which occurred on April 9th, 1565, both sides seemed deadlocked for nearly eight hours of fighting before Donnchad was mortally wounded by a primitive form of grapeshot, leading to the Protestant forces fleeing. Donnchad, abandoned by his troops, was then speared hundreds of times and his mangled corpse thrown into a ditch.
+[[Emperor Leo III of the Holy Levantine Empire|Leo de Weluta]], eldest son of Prince Aedanicus, assumed the mantle of leadership of the [[House de Weluta|Velucian faction]] upon his father's death. Leading a small force comprised mostly of Catholic troops from his [[Ænglasmarch#Duchy_of_Holchester|Duchy of Holchester]] and mercenaries given to him by the Emperor, Leo launched a surprise attack on the city of Roekdorse in modern [[North Ionia]] and took the mostly-Catholic city, overcoming the small Royalist garrison. Soon, Leo began to call upon the avowedly Catholic Ionian Highlanders, who viewed "''Auld Royal Leo''" as their King, to flock to his banner, which they did. With the victory, the Pope proclaimed in 1563 that Leo was rightful heir to the Kingdom and gave him a Papal grant of the Kingdom stating as much, making Leo the de facto leader of Catholic Urcean forces. Reorganizing the shattered rebel forces and consolidating the Imperial-given forces, the Ionians, and the rebels into a new army, Leo began a march southwest to Urceopolis, besieging Protestant-aligned cities as he made his way down the river valley. The Protestant King Donnchad and his Gassavelian allies had to abandon the siege of Cana and march the two armies northeast. Leo and Donnchad's armies met for the first time in the northeastern plateau and engaged in a series of skirmishes for a year. Donnchad was continuously assured that a Protestant offensive from the Electorates of Lucarnia and Hollona would relieve him and attack the Imperial army from the rear, and continued to draw back his army in a series of bloody retreats in order to draw the Catholic forces in for a fight in which the allied armies would be able to strategically entrap the Imperial army. No reinforcements came, and Donnchad made the decision to continue the retreat on to Urceopolis in an attempt to draw the Catholic army into a siege of the well-defended city and potentially destroy them by sallying the Protestant forces forth. Leo managed to flank Donnchad with a detachment mostly comprised of cavalry and light infantry, positioning troops between Donnchad and Urceopolis, forcing the Protestant armies to stand and fight near Drumfree. At the Battle of Drumfree, which occurred on April 9th, 1565, both sides seemed deadlocked for nearly eight hours of fighting before Donnchad was mortally wounded by a primitive form of grapeshot, leading to the Protestant forces fleeing. Donnchad, abandoned by his troops, was then speared hundreds of times and his mangled corpse thrown into a ditch.
 Using his cavalry, Leo trapped and annihilated the Protestant armies the next day, clearing the way for him to Urceopolis. Marching towards the city and then establishing camp outside the city, he felt himself unworthy to enter first, and sent for the Pope. The Pope and Leo entered the city on May 14th, 1565 at which point the Pope crowned Leo as King Leo II, ending the War of Religion and sending the [[Great Confessional War]] into its second phase as well as restoring the House de Weluta to the Throne. Following his coronation, the new King sent for the remains of his father and interred them at the [[Caeline_Basilica#Crypt|Leonine Crypt]].

History of Urcea (1402-1575): Difference between revisions

Navigation menu

Search