The start of the war demands a new army be raised, so
Oliver Cromwell forms a New Model Army 20,000 men are called to arms at a cost of incredible exorbitance. They're only raised in the east because raising an army requires a core, which at this point are found only there. This carries a certain amount of risk: an enemy army landing, or the rebels moving into one of the provinces raising troops, could slaughter the new soldiers before they have a chance to organize.
The general Hug Guimet marches into Girona to confront the noble rebels.
On February 26, Ruma joins the war. No surprises, really.
That same day, Sameland, the hat of Scandinavia and nation voted most likely to be devoured by Skandistan, formally warns Catalunya not to go to war with its neighbors. Honestly, this isn't a problem, but such a warning is usually a precursor to declaring war. If there's anything Catalunya doesn't need right now, it's more enemies.
A large Faransan army besieges Dauphine, while the royal army, weakened by attrition, skirts around them to link up with the Catalunyan 1st Army.
March brings good news as the White Prince, Hug Blanc, is heavily defeated by Hug Guimet. Over 2000 rebel soldiers are killed with a loss of just 350 Catalunyans.
Instead of immediately pursuing them, Guimet assaults the ill-prepared fortifications of the noble army. In 5 days of fierce combat, the fortress falls back into loyalist hands. Now Guimet is free to give chase.
A new center of trade in the Baleares has grown to be the largest in the world, although Bursa, from which Catalunya's traders are excluded, remains a wealthy one. Catalunyan trade has grown considerably here - this is after just two months trading. Aragon is weak, and culturally indistinct from Catalunya, so incorporation might be a good idea. But there are bigger problems right now.
Liguria falls in May to an assault by an immense combined army from Ruma and Magyaristan.
Lombardia comes under siege a few days later. In the west, the noble army is pinned down and destroyed. The campaign was an unexpectedly resounding victory for the loyalists, throwing Catalunyan nobles into chaos.
The tourism slogan is changed from "a nice place to live" to read "a nice place to siege".
June finds a delegation of suspect aristocrats begging for mercy from Lluis. A practical man, he realizes that their wealth is more important right now than their heads, and so the nobles buy their lives.
The Catalunyan armies are merged under Guimet, and march to relieve Dauphine in July...
But are thrown back after three weeks of skirmish and march-countermarch culminating in a major battle. Catalunyan loses are more than a thousand greater than Faransan. However, the battle serves its purpose, and the Faransa armies withdraw from Dauphin to recover.
Magyaristan siezes the colony of Nice that same month.
Worse news await: Skandistan declares war in September, bringing its Sardinian ally, recently severed from Aragon.
Aragon, meanwhile, is formally annexed into Granada, putting yet another wealthy center of trade in the hands of an enemy who could embargo Catalunyan trade at any point.
Catalan patriots rise up in Liguria. They might have held against the larger Ruman force, but Magyari arms are powerful indeed and the arrival of their 15 regiments crushes the rebellion. However, this gives the grand army time to rest.
Late September brings peace with Faransa for a modest sum. What prompted the willingness to settle isn't clear, but it is 25 ducats happily paid.
A day later, very ordinary news comes from London. It is speculated that should a colony ever actually be successfully set up, the hundreds of corpses from earlier attempts can be used as fortifications.
The first battle of Nice ends in November as yet another Catalunyan defeat under Guimet. 14000 Magyari soldiers defeat 24000 Catalunyan troops; despite the defeat, the Magyari force is seriously weakened having suffered casualties of almost forty percent.
The defeat of the grand army prevents a relief of Lombardia, which falls and is seized in December.
The second battle of Nice is joined December 31. 17000 Rumans oppose 33000 Catalunyans. A defeat here will probably spell the end of the war, as Catalunyan manpower is exhausted and repeated defeats and thousands of deaths have driven war exhaustion up. Rebellions are increasingly likely among disaffected nobles and peasants.
In January 1484, Siena defects back to Ruma.
Despite over 11000 casualties, Guimet forces a victory in Nice and pursues the enemy army into Liguria, where they lay down their arms. It is not just the first real Catalunyan win of the war, it is literally the turning point of the war. 36 Ruman and Magyari regiments are captured.
The Rumans propose peace. If they had done a week ago, it would have been accepted. Now, they are flatly refused.
Skandistan begins to make its presence felt in the war, but their ships are intercepted by the growing Catalunyan fleet. We have an edge in big ships, the Skandistani an edge in galleys.
Another major land battle concludes in April with a narrow Catalunyan victory. 16000 fresh Magyari soldier inflict hideous casualties, more than 14000, on the exhausted Catalunyan force twice their size. Guimet nevertheless comes out looking good, killing nearly 10000 of the enemy. A force is left in Liguria while the rest of the army pursues into Lombardia.
Guimet manages to take up defensive positions with the aid of friendly Lombardians before the Magyari army arrives; when it does, the Magyari nevertheless decide to attack instead of surrendering, and pay the price. Unnoticed at first is that the Magyari king is slain in this battle at the head of his troops.
A resounding victory at sea, capturing Skandistani vessels. This is the first time Catalunya has opposed an enemy at sea with success. The enemy fleet decides to retreat to Sardinian ports, rather than back home, allowing them to be bottled up.
The dregs of the Magyari army are run down in Cremona in May.
A second naval battle is fought in June, this time inconclusively. Even battered, the Skandistani advantage in galleys can make itself felt in the inland sea of the Mediterranean where it could not in the rougher seas west of Gibraltar. The Skandistani make it to Sardinia.
The island of Corsica is put under close blockade. The Sardinians get a ship caught out in the open, which is destroyed.
At last! August is a good month.
Skandistan sends what is laughingly called a peace offer in September, while Catalunyan soldiers crush the enemy.
The successor to the Magyari king, slain in battle, is named Nur. NUR.
Ruma's bleak situation is confirmed by a Granadan declaration of war in January 1484. Granada brings in a number of north African states, including powerful Morocco.
The economy in March, after a 25 months of war. Heavy minting drives inflation ever higher, but the economy is robust.
Pursuing an important objective elsewhere, the Catalunyan fleet is forced to let the Skandistani fleet escape. This will cause some trouble later.
In May, the Ruman fleet is engaged and destroyed by a force of four nations.
Lluis can sometimes stand to be more diplomatic. In this case, shaking his fist in the face of a leading merchant who had come to tell him about a new toy, Lluis declares merchantry to be "the meanest art ever thought of by a class of devils". When word spreads, the king suffers a backlash by the prominent plutocrats.
Nur engages a Catalunyan army in July, and loses.
Six months after allowing the Skandistani fleet to escape, a new fire erupts for Lluis to put out: London is under siege.
Parma is seized in October. Unlike other Ruman colonies in the north, which were burned to the ground, Parma will be kept.
Peace with Ruma is signed later that month for a few coins. The reason London is now in peril is seen: Venezia was also gained. Although it will be surrounded on all sides by enemies, the lagoon can be held by a handful of men and a powerful fleet, and give a base of operations in the area. The province itself is quite rich, too.
The economy in February 1485, after 3 years of war. It has contracted significantly, although with a lower stability than usual this does not mean too much.
Peace with Magyaristan arrives in May 1485.
In July, London is in bad shape. Without relief, it will fall in a matter of weeks. Happily, that relief arrives just in time.
A colonial company expands into Alentejo in August. The province is of no real value, but there is no way to get rid of the colony.
Peace with Sardinia in October 1485. A new vassal, a new ally, and a chance to keep Christianity alive in some form. Skandistan accepts peace two days later, ending the wars entirely. Guimet will live just another four months, dying February 10, 1486, his health ruined by the 40 months of sharp war.
Essex is colonized in June 1486, expanding Catalunyan holdings in England.
Faransa tosses off a warning in October 1487. This is a very bad sign.
The next month, a declaration of war arrives. This is honestly a worse sign, and the possible start of a trend that could be very unpleasant. Happily, the Faransan army is smaller than the Catalunyan, giving some hope that this war can be ended quickly. Their lack of transports
The war begins badly, with the Battle of Dauphine ending in a major defeat of the reorganized Catalunyan Army of Italy under Ignasi Vilaplana, a veteran commander of the Ruman War.
The economy in January 1488. It has grown close to its normal level, but inflation has passed 14 percent and loans from the last war will come due soon. Revolving wars could destroy the country without some years of peace to recover.
Europe in 1488.