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Great Confessional War: Difference between revisions
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King Donnchad III reversed the Protestants' fortune in 1557 when he assumed the throne upon Riordan's death, launching a highly successful campaign against the Catholic forces. Donnchad managed to break a Catholic siege of Urceopolis led by [[Siegmar von Willing]] in the summer of 1559 before raiding Castle Welute, where he captured Prince Aedanicus, the Catholic heir and son of King Leo I. Donnchad imprisoned Aedanicus in Urceopolis until 1560, when the Protestant King had the Catholic Prince drawn, quartered, and beheaded. Donnchad mounted the head in a public square, and sent pieces of Aedanicus to various Catholic leaders. Donnchad then launched a campaign through Urcea and Gassavelia, scoring a series of victories in 1561 and 1562, leading to the siege of Cana in 1562. Donnchad's efforts were bolstered when Matthaeus the Turncoat betrayed the Catholic cause, launching an equally successful campaign in 1561 and 1562 to conquer Catholic-loyal Eastern Gassavelia. | King Donnchad III reversed the Protestants' fortune in 1557 when he assumed the throne upon Riordan's death, launching a highly successful campaign against the Catholic forces. Donnchad managed to break a Catholic siege of Urceopolis led by [[Siegmar von Willing]] in the summer of 1559 before raiding Castle Welute, where he captured Prince Aedanicus, the Catholic heir and son of King Leo I. Donnchad imprisoned Aedanicus in Urceopolis until 1560, when the Protestant King had the Catholic Prince drawn, quartered, and beheaded. Donnchad mounted the head in a public square, and sent pieces of Aedanicus to various Catholic leaders. Donnchad then launched a campaign through Urcea and Gassavelia, scoring a series of victories in 1561 and 1562, leading to the siege of Cana in 1562. Donnchad's efforts were bolstered when Matthaeus the Turncoat betrayed the Catholic cause, launching an equally successful campaign in 1561 and 1562 to conquer Catholic-loyal Eastern Gassavelia. | ||
Recognizing the need for new leadership amidst the Protestant advances, the Pope in 1563 proclaimed Leo de Welute as the rightful Urcean King. Leo had launched a successful surprise attack Julianum in 1560 using volunteers from Ultmar and the Ionian | Recognizing the need for new leadership amidst the Protestant advances, the Pope in 1563 proclaimed Leo de Welute as the rightful Urcean King. Leo had launched a successful surprise attack Julianum in 1560 using volunteers from Ultmar and the Ionian Plateau, successfully capturing the Protestant-held city in Northern Urcea. Leo organized these volunteers, and the remnant Catholic forces in the region, into a new army, which he marched South, scoring a series of victories against Protestant garrisons and smaller forces. Donnchad had to abandon the siege of Cana in order to move North to confront Leo's forces, leading to a series of skirmishes between Donnchad and Leo in 1564. Donnchad ultimately avoided a full-scale engagement, however, because he had been assured that Protestant forces from the electorates of Lucarnia and Hollona would reinforce him. Donnchad thus repeatedly ceded territory and strategic advantage, often sacrificing units to cover his retreat, in a doomed bid to buy time for support. | ||
Leo took advantage of Donnchad's hesitance by flanking the Protestant leader in 1565, leading to the landmark Battle of Drumfree. Leo's forces ultimately achieved victory in that bloody engagement, killing Donnchad, and definitively routing his forces. Donnchad's troops fled South, still hoping to find the reinforcements that were supposed to have been in route from Lucarnia and Hollana. But in reality, the two electorates had dispatched their forces East months earlier in a bid to stem the advances of Matthaeus the Betrayer, who in early 1565 again switched sides in the conflict, rejoining the Catholic cause. Ironically, amidst Leo's advance, Lucarna and Hollana withdrew those troops from Gassavelia, allowing Matthaeus to continue his advance largely unopposed. Matthaeus' successful campaign laid the groundwork for the establishment of Faramount, the only Protestant state to survive the Great Confessional War. | Leo took advantage of Donnchad's hesitance by flanking the Protestant leader in 1565, leading to the landmark Battle of Drumfree. Leo's forces ultimately achieved victory in that bloody engagement, killing Donnchad, and definitively routing his forces. Donnchad's troops fled South, still hoping to find the reinforcements that were supposed to have been in route from Lucarnia and Hollana. But in reality, the two electorates had dispatched their forces East months earlier in a bid to stem the advances of Matthaeus the Betrayer, who in early 1565 again switched sides in the conflict, rejoining the Catholic cause. Ironically, amidst Leo's advance, Lucarna and Hollana withdrew those troops from Gassavelia, allowing Matthaeus to continue his advance largely unopposed. Matthaeus' successful campaign laid the groundwork for the establishment of Faramount, the only Protestant state to survive the Great Confessional War. | ||