France in Chaos is the first scenario in the Disorder chapter as well as the third scenario of the The Hundred Years War campaign in Age of Empires IV. It depicts the civil strife in France during the mid-14th Century, as well as the Battle of Cocherel against the forces of England and Charles II of Navarre.
Intro[]
Scenario description[]
A storm of disorder threatened France's survival. The king's authority would have to be enforced... over invaders and peasants alike
Opening cinematic[]
The walls of Paris held out against the English onslaught. England's King Edward and the Black Prince abandoned the siege. They marched towards Chartres to try their luck at conquering a less formidable target. But before they could attack, a violent storm hit the army, killing a thousand English soldiers in a tempest of hail and freezing winds. To Edward, this Black Monday disaster seemed like divine retribution, a sign that it was time to stop waging war and make peace with France's King Jean. But even as peace between kings was reached, the people of France were still living in bloodshed and turmoil.
Between 1358 and 1370, France was in chaos. Peasant uprisings, rampaging bands of mercenaries, and civil war ravaged the country. Peasants rose in rebellion, killing their lords and wreaking havoc. Mercenary bands also roamed the land. Known as Routiers, they had once been hired by the English to fight against the French, but were cut loose when peace was reached. They systematically ravaged and pillaged towns across France. And with King Jean prisoner in England, his son Charles the Dauphin faced home-grown attacks on his rule by powerful French Lords. Beset from all sides, the Dauphin's forces had to regain control over their own country.
Loading screen[]
Taking the throne in 1364, the Dauphin became King Charles V of France. Facing threats from peasants, mercenaries, and invaders, the first test of his power would be to bring control to a realm in disorder.
Start of scenario[]
Having only recently been crowned king of France, Charles V dispatched his army to the French-held village of Evreux to forge order from Chaos. From here, the army would move to extinguish three major threats: bands of roving mercenaries harrowing the countryside, a peasant uprising, and attacks from a rival for the French crown - Charles of Navarre.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Age: Feudal Age
- Units:
- 2 Royal Knight
- 2 Scout
- 8 Spearman
- 9 Archer
- 9 Villager
- Resources (Hard Difficulty): 400 food, 200 wood, 400 gold, 100 stone
Objectives[]
- Stem the Peasant Rebellion.
- Recapture Jouy from the rebels
- Recapture Croisy from the rebels
- Recapture Cocherel from the rebels
- Optional: Stop the Routiers' raids
- Pay tribute to stop the English Routiers' attacks
- OR Destroy the English Routiers' camp
- Defeat Charles of Navarre's Army at their Campsite
- Protect the Monastery
Players[]
- Bertrand du Guesclin: The player starts in the small French town of Evreux with a small force of Archers, Spearmen, and two Royal Knights, along with two Scouts. The town is on fire, and the starting Villagers are put to work on repairing its buildings. The player is initially restricted to the Feudal Age, but will advance to the Castle Age automatically once the town of Cocherel is taken, and. The player is also restricted from building a Market and is limited to 185 population at the start, gaining 5 extra population each time a peasant-held town is captured.
Enemies[]
- Peasant Rebels (French): The Peasant Rebels hold the towns of Jouy, Croisy and Cocherel. The first two are small, unwalled settlements guarded only by Militia, while Cocherel has walls and outposts and is guarded by a larger force of Spearmen, Militia, and Horsemen, and after some time will send small parties of infantry accompanied by Monks to capture the three Sacred Sites around the map. They will also periodically send small parties of Militia to raid player-controlled towns.
- Routiers (English): The Routiers have a small base to the northwest of Evreux consisting of a few Outposts and military production buildings. They will periodically send waves of Horsemen or Spearmen, and later Men-at-Arms, to raid the player's town until they are either defeated by destroying their base or paid off by sending them a tribute of gold. Their camp is also guarded by a fixed quantity of Knights that will not respawn once defeated.
- Charles of Navarre (Holy Roman Empire): The last enemy the player faces, once Cocherel has been taken. He has a camp on top of a hill in the northern corner of the map, guarded by an army of Veteran Archers, Veteran Spearmen, Men-at-Arms, and Knights. He will periodically send small groups of Knights to attack the player at Cocherel until he is defeated.
Strategy[]
The first thing to do is to have the Villagers repair all the burning buildings in Evreux, so as to avoid rebuilding. This should include repairing the Outpost to the west and then rebuilding the palisade, as that will be the direction from which the Routiers will attack. It can be helpful to fortify or add emplacements to the Outposts, as the player won't really need the stone otherwise. From here the player should start building their economy, creating Villagers and tasking them to food and wood. The starting town has no Gold or Stone Mines, and the player is unable to build a Market, so initially, the player's only source of additional gold will be a few scattered Treasure Chests guarded by wolves, which can be quickly grabbed by the player's scouts. To avoid building Farms, there are several Sheep and Deer packs nearby, although if taking the Deer, it is recommended to build an additional Palisade Wall between the main wall and the forest to avoid Routier raids on Villagers.
The Routiers should be taken care of first, as they will periodically send waves of units to attack the player's base, and destroying their base will grant the player access to a Gold Mine and a Stone Outcropping. If the player is good at multi-tasking they can try to quickly capture the peasant towns while repelling Routier raids to gain access to their additional Town Centers and resources, especially the gold in Croisy which will enable Royal Knight production and make the attack on the Routier camp easier. The peasant towns are only guarded by Militia, so Archers will be able to easily take care of them. Otherwise, the player should focus on continuously expanding Spearman and especially Archer production to attack the Routier camp. Although the Routiers employ a lot of cavalry, Spearmen are not as good as might be expected, since they have a much smaller attack bonus against cavalry in this campaign. Additionally, Horsemen here do not have base pierce armor and are much more susceptible to Archers, which scale better in large numbers. Archers can also hide behind Palisade Walls while attacking raiding cavalry. The player will need a good-sized force to attack the Routier camp, as while it is not walled, it has a sizeable force defending it. Researching Siege Engineering and building some rams with the infantry can help to avoid losing units to the Routiers' Outposts, although Spearmen can also help here as well.
Once the Routiers are defeated, the player can turn their attention to capturing the Peasant Rebel villages if they have not captured them already. Any force that was able to take down the Routier camp should easily be able to capture the villages. Once the forces defending them are defeated, the villages will switch to the player's control and spawn some Villagers at the Town Centers. The nearer village, Jouy, gives access to some Farms and Berry Bushes, while the village of Croisy farther east will give the player access to a large Gold and Stone Mine. Once either village is captured, the Peasant Rebels in Cocherel will periodically send troops to attack them, so the player's army should be placed on the crossroads east of Cocherel to intercept any oncoming enemy forces until the player is ready to attack the town itself.
Cocherel is defended by a mid-sized army of early units and Militia, although the player should be able to attack the Outposts outside the town with rams without drawing out the defenders. The player can also eliminate the Monks and their defenders guarding the surrounding Sacred Sites easily with a small group of Archers or Royal Knights. Once Cocherel is taken, the player will advance automatically to the Castle Age, allowing them to upgrade their units and research additional technologies to improve them at the Arsenal, as well as granting access to Monks. This will allow the player to claim the Sacred Sites for additional income and grab the nearby Relic, although it is not necessary.
After taking Cocherel, the player will soon be informed that Charles of Navarre has arrived with his army to enforce his claim to the French throne. They can send Scouts up to the hill in the north corner of the map, staying within the Stealth Forests when possible, and once the player is close enough, the entire camp will be revealed and remain visible for the rest of the scenario. Charles of Navarre sends small groups of Knights to attack the player, but these can be easily defeated, especially with upgraded Archers or Arbaletriers. The approaches to the camp are defended by large groups of Archers, These can be charged with Knights quickly which should retreat before the enemy Spearmen arrive, or can be drawn out first with Arbelétriers' or Archers. It can be useful to build a Keep at the base of the Hill as well with Villagers to draw the enemy under its fire. Once enough of Charles of Navarre's army and camp are destroyed, the scenario is won.
Outro[]
End of scenario[]
The French army had repelled Charles of Navarre, stemmed the revolt, and held back the raids of the Routiers. In the struggle for control over France's lands, the king still clung to power
Post-game screen[]
The French army subdued the many threats against France, and Charles V's fragile power was restored.
Unlockable content[]
- Video: Disorder
- Video: The Warhorse
- Page From History: Les Routiers
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Trivia[]
- Although the in-game narration describes Charles of Navarre as having brought his army to Cocherel to claim the throne of France, in reality, this particular conflict had to do with his claim over the Duchy of Burgundy instead. Charles of Navarre did also claim the French throne on several occasions.