First Gallic War

[Enkidu]

I'll drop my understanding of it here.

I'd guess that Normandy had some control of or at least the range to attack all of Maine and perhaps further, but the line was pushed back from Le Mans to Mayenne and then the Normandy gate itself at which point the surrender negotiations took place. While the war was raging, they cooperated with some GRP and the Unione Corse (those were mentioned in infocards, could be others) and I guess there would be some who know about it and/or were descended from those who did.

The Royalist Gallia that remains today "won", and the Normandy rebels chose isolation rather than total annihilation (which was in the Royalists' favour, since it didn't cost them further losses). There would still be some military force on the other side of the gate but nothing to match the GRN these days (I doubt even Igiss had plans for another 10 systems full of resources, seems more to be one or two at most).
The Nogent-le-Rotroi battlegroup is ready to defend Maine from an initial attack force, and Segre is poised to completely destroy the gate to prevent escape or reinforcements. Doesn't seem likely that Normandy would try anything, given there has been little contact between the two sides and no hostility for about 200 years. Think of it like the Armistice Station in Battlestar Galactica.

I'm not sure what your plans are here, but there's absolutely no way for any contact between Normandy and Gallia without the GRN knowing about it. You could RP as supporting their ideas but they're not coming back, and no-one's getting through that wall of GRN steel any time soon.

EDIT: And yeah kikatsu, Gallic Artifacts have been retconned (I think they are now the Hogosha's "Sorted Artifacts").

Summer, permit me to correct you slightly using a few (well, all of the present) infocards (I'm not saying I'm entirely right here either)...


The Normans successfully managed to reach into Maine, true, and succeeded in desolating Mayenne to an extent, mounting a ground invasion and bombarding the GMS minesites after the land invasions failed. The threat of further troop movement was considered so significant that the corporations pulled themselves out, effectively ruining Maine's economy for a significant time.

A battle comparable to that between the GRN and the BAF broke out for Mayenne's surface twice, both times Normandy landing considerable ground forces on the planet's surface. Both times the Normans were repelled, due to the intolerably hostile weather conditions across Mayenne that the Normans proved unprepared for. None the less, the Normans succeeded in maintaining total air and space superiority over the planet for at least two years (between 505-507 AGS).

At the height of the invasion, the Norman Region forces (it's not entirely clear as to how many systems the Normans possessed; if it was a singular system or a chain of three - there is evidence that the Normans possess systems connected to both Auvergne, Touraine and Orleanais by jump holes minimum, cut off beyond the Normandy gate), succeeded in reaching in as far as Meyenne, but chose to move their fleet no further although it certainly appears they possessed the capability (or at least the GRN appears to suppose so). Tactically however, it appears the Normans considered it preferable to range strikes against key economic installations across Maine, most notably the aged GMS station which Chateau-Gontier Freeport is constructed from the remnants of - strikes which mostly met with success.

I'd disagree with Summer about the Normans successfully reaching beyond Maine - there's little mention of Normandy encroachment in other systems, and Normandy never actually attempted a dedicated strike on planet Le Mans (assumedly, the GRN was too well consolidated there to necessitate the risk). Fighting strongly for the rest of the war appeared to be mostly upon the Gallic side of the lines, and the Normans (at least in Maine) drew their assets back to the area of the jumpgate.


After multiple generations of conflict, neither side actually achieved any strategic progression beyond this point. We can only assume that the various choke points between the Royalist-held core worlds and whatever Normandy-held space proves existent proved suicidal to cross and/or impossible to hold for any duration.

As to the tactics utilised by the Normans, there is evidence to suggest either of two possibilities. Either the Normans succeeded in fielding comparable fleet assets to the GRN ship-for-ship for two centuries (likely due to Normandy's considerable planetary bombardment capabilities, the number of craft they were suggested to field, but also unlikely due the pure scale of the GRN and the maintenance such a fleet would incur), or the Normans simply proved superior strategists, remains an illusive detail.

Regarding the treaty... according to GRN and GRP infocards and particular bar room rumours, the agreement appears to have been mutually struck - both parties sealed the gates at both ends (excepting, now that I've found the correct card, the rare, minor freighter). Smuggling runs into Normandy appear to exist - although the exact nature of the commodity's exchanged remains illusive.


As for the possibility of the Normans returning, well, the GRN certainly appear to conclude the possibility, as do the GRP. Do not forget, a rough 45% of planet Mayenne's permanent residents are actually members of the fifty-thousand strong permanent Royal Marine detachment assigned to the surface, a second line of defence against a possible Norman reclamation of Maine. Remember, the battleship presently defending the gate is a replacement for an earlier rear-guard warship, so the GRN must certainly regard the threat as sufficient to necessitate added defensive bolstering. Rumours taken from the GRP hint at "trouble" brewing on Mayenne and the possibility of sedition without directly implicating the Normans, whilst the miners on Mayenne appear as aware of the Norman threat as IMG miners on Falkland are aware of the Outcasts.


To assure Summer and anybody else here - this thread isn't an attempt to add Normandy Region systems into the Discovery Mod, merely a work of field research. Apologies if we seem close to our chests.


Edit:

If the Norman Separatist's endgame was to secure independence for the "Norman Regions", then they could be considered to have won the First Gallic War resoundingly, with greater success than the Council Rebellion in the second. If the goal of the Normans was actually take command of the state, then they have failed miserably.

It's probably the Normans regard themselves as the victors as much as the GRN do. Remember both sides are almost entirely isolated, if not unaware of each other at the present day.

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THE SYNDIC LEAGUES
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