Swissempire
Poet Jester
Oh damn... You planned for this IP????
NES2 VI - Last Semblance of Order.
- Thread starter das
- Start date
Insane_Panda
Deity
I've known you were in NA for some time.
Swissempire
Poet Jester
Its not me. its Grandmaster. You didn't know, because i haven't been for sometime. You don't even know where i am
Grandmaster
Deity
To Whoever Swissempire Might Be:
From the Red Stick Confederation:
Go away, or we'll kill you too. The Great Spirit demands it. And your scalp.
From the Red Stick Confederation:
Go away, or we'll kill you too. The Great Spirit demands it. And your scalp.
Swissempire
Poet Jester
To: The Red Sticks
From: Me
Where are you. If your [x] we might go away. PM us...erhm..me
From: Me
Where are you. If your [x] we might go away. PM us...erhm..me
Insane_Panda
Deity
Das, I see you! UPDATE! 
Insane_Panda
Deity
Me niether. Twas a false hope, really.
das
Regeneration In Process
Update 12 - Year 1752
Non-Military Events:
In EUA, the continued strain on the economy causes worsening social conditions (especially for the immigrants) (-1 Living Standards) and accordingly a rise of dissent (-1 Confidence).
Bowing to the demands of the liberal factions and of the less radical Commonwealthists, George II agreed to form a parliament, finally reconciling the royalists and the parliamentarists after a century of rivalry (+1 Confidence).
While giving a public speech, the Pope was killed by some insane religious fanatic (-1 Confidence).
The Byzantines desperately try to keep their very large Slavic minorities under control. Combination of Orthodox propaganda and decentralization reforms (autonomous Serbian and Bulgarian territories were created) had some effect, but it seems to have not been enough, the Bulgars being especially angry over large swathes of what they consider to be their land being kept out even from their autonomous region. Continued separatist agitation and the demands of wartime security caused the reforms to be rescinded, while the Byzantines begun cracking down hard on the separatists, hunting down and sniping some of their leaders.
The Russian government finally makes up its mind, integrating the territories gained in the old Krakow War into Lithuanian, Romanian and the new Polish guberniyas.
Ahmad Shah Bahadur, ruler of the Mughal Empire, declares himself the Caliph and restyles his empire as the Greater Islamic one. This has several reprecussions. Though the religious minorities greatly dislike this (-1 Culture), Ahmad Shah's prestige is predictably bolstered (+1 Confidence). The Ottoman one is shaken both by this action (after all, the Ottoman Sultan is also the Caliph) and by Ahmad Shah's propaganda calling for the unification of all the Muslims, as most of the Muslims - the ones in Arabia, most notably - seem to like the Mughals much more than the Ottomans who seem to be a crumbling empire (-1 Ottoman Confidence). A complete government overhaul ensues as well - a constitution is adopted, a bicameral popularily-elected parlement (conssiting of the Sabh and the Mansabh) was created to share power with the Badshah/Caliph, a new judicial system was adopted, territorial reorganization took place (autonomies were abolished) and a bill of rights was drafted up. These reforms, though fairly popular amongst the urban population and very much so amongst the modern French-educated intellectual elite, are misunderstood or simply disliked for being so European by the rural and/or pious (interestingly enough, both Muslim and Hindu) majority (-1 Confidence). But none dared raise their voice, ofcourse...
Conscription is introduced in the Imperial Republic of China, though at the cost of damaging the already-fragile economy (-1 Economy, +30 conscript divisions).
Military Events:
A sudden new front in the ongoing world war has been opened.
(see spotlight)
(+5 French irregular divisions, +5 Red Stick irregular divisions, -Charleville economic center)
(-1 Red Stick Fusillier division, -1 Red Stick irregular division, -2 "Acadian" irregular divisions, -3 French irregular divisions)
Despite logistical problems and the various nasty tricks employed by the Americans, the Portuguese succesfully attack and capture Belem, though the EUA forces, having an advanced warning, destroyed the city's port (they didn't act fast enough to burn the valuable plantations though, or maybe they just didn't want to antagonize their owners, so the city remains an economic center). Although casualties mounted, the Portuguese quickly moved west. Although they failed to capture the Amazons due to the American preparidness for defense there, the Portuguese did cut off most of a pretty big American force and defeated it; frustrated by the failure to advance beyond the Amazon, Prince Pedro led forces to besiege and ultimately capture - again, with many casualties - the city of Sao Luis.
(-11 American divisions, -2 American irregular divisions, -19 Portuguese divisions, -3 Portuguese conscript divisions, -1 Portuguese irregular division)
In La Plata, it is the Americans who are on the offensive. Despite problems caused by their own sabotage of the easier Andean passes, the Americans do achieve a breakthrough against the overstretched Portuguese defenders at Buta Ranquil. Though a more northerly attack fails (yet again proving the uselessness of a good cavalry charge straight at the well-prepared enemy positions), the Americans manage to advance to the Atlantic Ocean and, while the Portuguese frantically redeployed to prevent a flanking attack, assaulted and captured Buenos Aires using superior numbers. Though they are unlikely to hold on to it for long - the supply routes are imperfect, and the Portuguese have already recovered from the initial shock - this still is a major victory.
(-2 American divisions, -3 American EU Cabalerria Core, -2 Portuguese divisions, -2 Portuguese conscript divisions)
England finally contributed to the war effort as an Anglo-French task force, attacking and looting the remaining Portuguese trade centers in Africa (-Banana, Soyo, Porto Cabo economic centers) and then leaving, sailing further east. There, despite heavy and costly (-3 French squadrons, -2 English divisions) storms, the fleet has eventually reached its next destination - Nouvelle Gaulle, or Terra Australis. The Portuguese base therein was destroyed after the defeat of the small Portuguese naval detachment found there. Another small Portuguese fleet was defeated near Sulawesi later on as the fleet moved further north. What is unclear is where is the majority of the Portuguese fleet hiding throughout all this time...
(-3 English divisions, -2 French Foreign Legions, -3 French squadrons, -3 Portuguese conscript divisions, -10 Portuguese squadrons)
As most French forces have been redeployed, Spain is lit aflame by the resistance. Most of the countryside is controlled by rebels, though their coordination is far from perfect; order is only barely maintained in the cities, and even then some of them fell to the rebels as well. The greatest victory, however, happened not in the French held-territories but in the Gallician Republic. After O'Higgins' sudden death, a power-struggle begun amongst the Irish military junta. The Spanish resistance was not in position to take advantage of this, as in Gallicia it was weakened by the previous defeats. However, fortunately for them, the man who won in the end was a big Hispannophile, himself quarter-Spanish and married to a Spanishwoman. He was Colonel Michael Tone, he knew that Gallicia was doomed (as already, rebellions were beginning in the countryside after the decisive fighting for La Corunna decimated the Gallician army) and he had lots of ambitions. He met with resistance leaders, and agreed that in exchange for amnesty for himself and all of his men, Gallicia was to be turned over to the Spanish rebels. He then accepted command of the new "Free Spanish Army", the core of which, ofcourse, consisted of the remnants of the Gallician one, though it was reinforced by the various rebels. Despite some uneasiness amongst the resistors, "Miguel de Tona" was seen as Spain's best hope, especially as he marched to take Madrid and Toledo. Far from all have acknowledged his leadership yet, but of all the rebels he is the strongest.
Some garrisonless northeastern parts of Norway have been captured by Russian forces, but the Russians failed to advance further and the Danes couldn't bother to do anything about this as they, and their French allies, struggled to subdue Sweden. Although an attempt to break the siege of Stockholm had failed, the Swedes themselves succesfully fought back a series of Danish attacks coming from the west, while most of their fleet continued to evade their enemies. Yet Sweden's situation still was quite desperate. Stockholm's defenses were badly damaged by continued bombardment, and after the failure of yet another breakout attempt morale begun to plummet. And meanwhile, the large army raised to defend Central Sweden was beginning to run into a large logistical problem with the fall of Kalmar, the largest nearby city free and not under siege (the French have previously occupied Uppsala just in case). Finally, the Danes outmaneuvered the enemy army with a naval landing and defeated the Swedes at Vetlanda. The Swedish army didn't fall apart, but it was abdly shaken and weakened, while the Danes were able to break through towards Stockholm and assist the French in a final assault that forced the Swedish government to surrender at last. The army capitulated soon after. Sweden has been placed under Danish occupation (1 Economy from Sweden to Denmark-Norway) until it is decided what exactly should be done with this; however, the Russians occupied north Sweden with the help of local officials.
(-Sweden as an independent nation, -5 French Foreign Legion divisions, -17 Danish divisions, -1 Danish squadron, -1 Russiah Cossack division)
Finland was overran by the Russians, the French barely doing anything to stop this. The Finns went down fighting, but fighting disastrously; the attempt to relieve the siege of Helsinki was defeated, and Russian forces marched to take Oulu and Turku. After the elimination of a Finnish force right outside Turku, King Fredrik I, rather than fight on to the end, surrendered. Finland fell, though the French had by then evacuated everything of importance from there.
(-Finland as an independent nation, -8 Russian divisions, -1 Russian Cossack division)
Quite anticlimatically and at the same time horrifyingly, the Germans pulled out from most of their conquests - specifically, those beyond the Rhine. They pulled out not only their troops - they also burned down all cities and pulled out all of the population, most of which was never seen again - not this year, anyway. In an act of barbarism that was so often condemned its not even funny anymore, the Germans employed scorched earth tactics taken to the logical conclusion. Julien-Francois said they did so because they were afraid. That was true, but who wouldn't have been scared by the immense French fortifications that have been erected in front of the Germans, whose retreat across the Rhine made them (the fortifications) completely useless? Anyway, on the other side of the Rhine, the Germans prepared defenses of their own, though ofcourse not even nearly as elaborate or as powerful as the French ones. They prepared more fortifications still in the Netherlands. And finally, they prepared defenses on the North Sea coast. That turned to to have been a most foresightful decision, as the French decided to launch a naval assault against the treacherous von Dunkelheit. Their trademark appliance of naval firepower allowed them to eliminate some of the Germany fortifications, though only at the price of taking some casualties to the well-positioned coastal batteries. But what's worse, the German fortifications were often well-camouflaged, while the more distant artillery positions were not only camouflaged, but also too far off. When the French begun to land, despite naval cover they immediately suffered simply devastating casualties. Artillery bombardment mixed with expert rifle fire of the Guard of the Grand Chancellor and other forces deployed there. When it also became clear that there were at least as many Germans on the defense as there were Frenchmen trying to secure their beachhead, the French commander couldn't but order a retreat lest his entire army be eliminated. Several other French attacks were fought off - an attack in the Netherlands nearly broke through, but was defeated in the bloody, close-ran Battle at Lingen, and Russo-German defenders crushed a small French attack force in Holstein. But while the Germans were celebrating the excellent victory - how else could one describe the devastation of such huge enemy armies within mere seconds, as happened on the Lower Saxon coast? - the French landed at the Baltic port of Stralsund. Sure, there were some forces there, both German and Russian - but here at least the French were stronger, more numerous and generally more powerful, and facing meager fortifications, especially by comparison with the North Sea ones. Anyway, Stralsund fell. The railways south of it were cut. Desperate last-moment redeployments seemingly saved Berlin as a Russo-German army confronted a French one at Neuruppin, but the tired, dazzled anti-French coalition forces were routed. The German government did manage to flee for Magdeburg in the last moment, that much the battle at Neuruppin did benefit it, but though with a little delay the French still did enter Berlin, defeating the ragtag garrison (-1 German Confidence, Civilian Leadership, 1 German Economy to France). This year, thus, has not been entirely unsuccesful for Julien-Francois...
(-13 French divisions, -32 French Foreign Legion divisions, -3 French squadrons, -25 German divisions, -14 German GotGC divisions, -11 Russian divisions)
The French quickly evacuated Russian territory, burning down depots, storages and, ofcourse, trading facilities (-Odessa, Rostov economic centers). From there they headed towards Constantinople. Meanwhile, another French fleet travelled through the Mediterranean, defeated a Byzantine one at Malta and another at Catania, helped the Papal forces defeat the Byzantines that already landed on Sicily, and then moved on across the Aegean Sea towards the Dardanelles. Theoretically, another fleet was to move towards Greek soil, the Papal one, but when it tried to move it all ended with and at Dyrrhachium where most of the Papal fleet was eliminated, though another part of it was eliminated by superior Byzantine ships at Kerkira, or, as it was called for a nearby mountain (on the island of Kerkira, ofcourse) that was the last mountain many Papal sailors saw, at Pandokrator. That didn't really matter too much, though. What did matter was one of the largest (in scale) sieges history saw thus far. It was not just Constantinople that the French land (disembarked) and naval forces now besieged. It was the entire Marmara Sea, with all of the fortifications erected to protect it, with the Byzantine garrisons on both coasts and the Russian Black Sea Fleet that was skillfully trapped instead of trapping the French Black Sea force as it had hoped to do. Still, not all was going well for the French. The first assault on Constantinople was a horrible failure as the French didn't count of the elite Varangian Guard that was left to guard it and had prepared well for just such an occasion as happened. Also, as long as the Marmara Sea was free from the French, the Byzantines were able to supply their capital, how ever difficult and ultimately unrewarding the process was. But there is nothing one can't achieve with patience and lots of artillery, at least in the field of warfare. Eventually French forces secured Galipoli; the French Mediterranean fleet entered the Marmara Sea and eliminated the Russian one; Constantinople was shelled, and a final decisive assault gave it to the French, though, alas, the government had enough foresight to flee with much of the treasury to Ankara just after the arrival of the French Mediterranean Fleet in the Aegean Sea. But still, the blow to the Byzantines was heavy (-1 Civilian Leadership, -1 Confidence). Furthermore, after this the French were practically free to advance across the Balkans. They also helped finally transport the Papal forces to Dyrrhachium, now that the Byzantine fleet that used to be there was hiding from the various enemies. Though militias (+5 Byzantine irregular divisions), some surviving Varangian Guard units and the remnants of the Fourth Army (which was meant for the abortive Western Campaign, and was halved in Sicily) still made life difficult for the invaders, they hadn't much trouble while they took over the central third of the Byzantine Balkans and incited Slavic rebellions in the north (these were rather disorganized due to previous crackdowns, but they also proved mostly unstoppable, not with the amount of troops Byzantines still had there anyway). While the Byzantine government and army could only watch on with clenched teeth from across Asia where they had trapped themselves during this fatal moment...
(-9 French divisions, -4 French Foreign Legion divisions, -10 French squadrons, -7 Papal divisions, -15 Papal squadrons, -17 Byzantine divisions, -14 Byzantine Varangian divisions, -3 Byzantine irregular divisions)
Kanem-Bornu keeps expanding, despite the growing logistical and attrition problems. Several cities are built near oasises, though the population levels are predictably low.
(-3 Kanem-Bornu divisions)
The war between Sennar and Abyssinia goes on, but seems to have died down. The only major engagement this year was at Wad Madani, where an Abyssinian attack was defeated by joint Sennarese-Ottoman forces. The Sennarese forces have also captured some lightly-defended, mostly-insignificant territories, mostly sitting on the defensive though the Abyssinians have done the same. Aside from that, both sides concentrated on clandestine warfare, exchanging assassinations of important officers. Closer to the end of the war, however, the Sennarese begun making threatening moves towards Gonder itself...
(-3 Abyssinian divisions, -2 Abyssinian Imperial Guard of Shiba divisions, -2 Ottoman divisions, -3 Sennarese divisions)
Regardless of the events in Europe, the Byzantines press on, dealing blow after crushing blow on the Ottomans. Before the Ottomans had any time to properly prepare any defenses or offensives, the far numerically-superior Byzantines secured Pontus and Cilicia, overran Syria crushing the Turkish forces there against the anvil of the passive Byzantine Levant garrison. Though not yet attacking Baghdad where Suleiman has taken refuge, the Byzantines landed an even worse blow than that - having routed the Ottomans in Anatolia at Erzincan, they moved onwards to the Caucasus, where all was quiet until then, two huge armies on both sides of the front waiting for the other to attack or retreat. When news reached the Russian commander that the Byzantines were attacking the Ottomans from behind, he rejoiced and immediately gave an order to prepare for an assault. Caught between two huge armies, the Ottomans fought like cornered mountain lions, but eventually were overwhelmed. That was a good fourth of the Ottoman army destroyed in two-three battles. The occasional rebellions behind Byzantine lines are scarcely a compensation (+5 Ottoman irregular divisions).
(-17 Byzantine divisions, -9 Russian divisions, -3 Russian Cossack divisions, -41 Ottoman divisions, -3 Ottoman irregular divisions)
And further south, before the French fleet could arrive or any troops could be deployed to defend the vital Canal de L'Egyptien, the Byzantines quickly overran Sinai and secured the said canal. They also tried to do a maritime landing in Alexandria, but there at least the Ottomans got a victory, having eliminated practically the entire attacking force with coastal artillery and a strong garrison deployed in the city. The French fleet soon caught and crushed the Byzantine fleet responsible for all this at Aboukir. Still, the damage was done as the canal remains in Byzantine hands...
(-4 Byzantine divisions, -18 Byzantine squadrons, -3 French squadrons, -1 Ottoman division)
The Mughals, having already entered the World War on the French side by invading Portuguese India, have now, after transforming into the Greater Islamics [1], declared war on Russia. Thus far they encountered only minimal resistance as they invaded Central Asia, with the support of local Turkic and Uzbek tribes (+5 Greater Islamic irregular divisions). The Russian cossack divisions deployed there gave some resistance, but against the sheer number of attacking forces they could do not much, their efforts at guerrila warfare being offset by the aforementioned tribal volunteers. Samarkand, the capital of one of the great precursors of the Mughals, is in the hands of the Restorer of the West at last (+1 Confidence).
(-4 Russian Cossack divisions, -1 Greater Islamic division, -2 Greater Islamic irregular divisions)
The war in Manchuria has now clearly begun to go in Japanese favour. Though they did not retake Ninguta, their fleet has defeated its overconfident Russian counterpart at the small Korean island of Ulleong-do; as the Japanese have lured the Russians into a trap and then surrounded them, they managed to inflict huge casualties, though a sizeable part of the Russian fleet did fight its way out of the envelopment, limping back first for Ninguta. There, they were once more attacked by the Japanese who, but for a few Russian ships that instead of pursuing the Japanese in the first place partook in commerce raiding further east, now hold total naval supremacy in the theatre. On the land, the Japanese have reinforced their garrisons and strenghthened further their fortifications, though no longer able to disguise them properly. Russian attacks were forced back by sheer numbers of the Japanese defenders, though their fortifications had helped too. The war here remains in stalemate, but as that is exactly what the Japanese have been trying to achieve, it probably counts as their victory.
(-8 Russian divisions, -4 Russian Cossack divisions, -29 Russian squadrons, -2 Japanese divisions, -2 Japanese Ikkitousennonimusha divisions, -9 Japanese squadrons)
After an exchange of Japanese-supported peace endeaovours, the two Chinese Emperors continued the slaughter that now entered a final phase. Comparatively early on, while the land forces were still only beginning to engage each other, the Imperial Republic suffered a major setback when its risky naval raid on Shanghai turned disastrous due to the Xin Han naval program; though Japan continued to fight the Hanhua Emperor and even left some troops to assist the Imperial Republicans, the Japanese fleet was busy fighting Russians, and so the Xin Han have been free to build up fleet in a concentrated, powerful effort. This fleet, though only half-finished when the Imperial Republicans attacked, was able to surprise them and sink virtually the entire expeditionary force, including elite Republican Guard divisions. Back on the land, though fighting as always in this civil war was concentrated around two rather small regions - one in the west and another in the east - it was the east that clearly had emphasis. Indeed, in the west, in the Luzhou Valley, the Xin Han forces came out victorious quickly and easily as the Imperial Republicans desperately struggled to redeploy their forces. Kunming was quickly taken and the forces of the Usurper (as the Imperial Republicans styled their opponent) were free to advance to the Gulf of Tonkin. Further to the east, the Xin Han forces succesfully distracted the Imperial attention with a drive to Guangzhou, which was fought back at the price of allowing the Imperials to take not just Kunming, but also the besieged city of Fuzhou, with the help of a naval assault. From there, the Hanhua's forces moved westwards, slowly consuming the coastal cities. And the fleet, with some more troops onboard, moved in to attack undergarrisoned Macao, near which the Nan Chinese rebellion had begun three years ago. Macao was taken this time, and the new attack on Guangzhou came from two directions at once, the Hanhua Emperor himself (being a seasoned, experienced commander) leading the attack from the north. The Shanxi Emperor, also a general, personally took command of the defenses of Guangzhou after the failure of the initial attempts to stop the enemy attack. The ensuing battle was thus unofficially yet popularily termed the Battle of the Emperors. The Shanxi Emperor rallied all of his forces and managed to attain some minor victories, driving back several attacks and at one point almost breaking the enemy encirclement. But finally, naval bombardment and superior numbers commited to the region spelled the doom of both the Imperial Republican forces in the city and the Japanese expeditionary corps that forced there. The final assault was very bloody, long and tedious as building after building had to be taken even after the attackers broke into the city. It lasted well into the night. But on the morning, the weary, sleepless Hanhua Emperor received the capitulation of the Grand Council. The Chinese Civil War was over (1 Economy from Imperial Republic of China to Xin Han Chinese Empire). Clearly the world was too hasty when it thought that the Hanhua Emperor was doomed; and the leaders of the former anti-Qing coalition made a big mistake when, back in 1750, they withdrew from China Proper leaving it to its own designs. This mistake might cost them much, and soon...
(-24 Xin Han divisions, -12 Xin Han conscript divisions, -4 Xin Han Ma Bing divisions, -6 Xin Han squadrons, -Imperial Republic of the Chinese as a nation, -4 Japanese divisions)
Non-Military Events:
In EUA, the continued strain on the economy causes worsening social conditions (especially for the immigrants) (-1 Living Standards) and accordingly a rise of dissent (-1 Confidence).
Bowing to the demands of the liberal factions and of the less radical Commonwealthists, George II agreed to form a parliament, finally reconciling the royalists and the parliamentarists after a century of rivalry (+1 Confidence).
While giving a public speech, the Pope was killed by some insane religious fanatic (-1 Confidence).
The Byzantines desperately try to keep their very large Slavic minorities under control. Combination of Orthodox propaganda and decentralization reforms (autonomous Serbian and Bulgarian territories were created) had some effect, but it seems to have not been enough, the Bulgars being especially angry over large swathes of what they consider to be their land being kept out even from their autonomous region. Continued separatist agitation and the demands of wartime security caused the reforms to be rescinded, while the Byzantines begun cracking down hard on the separatists, hunting down and sniping some of their leaders.
The Russian government finally makes up its mind, integrating the territories gained in the old Krakow War into Lithuanian, Romanian and the new Polish guberniyas.
Ahmad Shah Bahadur, ruler of the Mughal Empire, declares himself the Caliph and restyles his empire as the Greater Islamic one. This has several reprecussions. Though the religious minorities greatly dislike this (-1 Culture), Ahmad Shah's prestige is predictably bolstered (+1 Confidence). The Ottoman one is shaken both by this action (after all, the Ottoman Sultan is also the Caliph) and by Ahmad Shah's propaganda calling for the unification of all the Muslims, as most of the Muslims - the ones in Arabia, most notably - seem to like the Mughals much more than the Ottomans who seem to be a crumbling empire (-1 Ottoman Confidence). A complete government overhaul ensues as well - a constitution is adopted, a bicameral popularily-elected parlement (conssiting of the Sabh and the Mansabh) was created to share power with the Badshah/Caliph, a new judicial system was adopted, territorial reorganization took place (autonomies were abolished) and a bill of rights was drafted up. These reforms, though fairly popular amongst the urban population and very much so amongst the modern French-educated intellectual elite, are misunderstood or simply disliked for being so European by the rural and/or pious (interestingly enough, both Muslim and Hindu) majority (-1 Confidence). But none dared raise their voice, ofcourse...
Conscription is introduced in the Imperial Republic of China, though at the cost of damaging the already-fragile economy (-1 Economy, +30 conscript divisions).
Military Events:
A sudden new front in the ongoing world war has been opened.
(see spotlight)
(+5 French irregular divisions, +5 Red Stick irregular divisions, -Charleville economic center)
(-1 Red Stick Fusillier division, -1 Red Stick irregular division, -2 "Acadian" irregular divisions, -3 French irregular divisions)
Despite logistical problems and the various nasty tricks employed by the Americans, the Portuguese succesfully attack and capture Belem, though the EUA forces, having an advanced warning, destroyed the city's port (they didn't act fast enough to burn the valuable plantations though, or maybe they just didn't want to antagonize their owners, so the city remains an economic center). Although casualties mounted, the Portuguese quickly moved west. Although they failed to capture the Amazons due to the American preparidness for defense there, the Portuguese did cut off most of a pretty big American force and defeated it; frustrated by the failure to advance beyond the Amazon, Prince Pedro led forces to besiege and ultimately capture - again, with many casualties - the city of Sao Luis.
(-11 American divisions, -2 American irregular divisions, -19 Portuguese divisions, -3 Portuguese conscript divisions, -1 Portuguese irregular division)
In La Plata, it is the Americans who are on the offensive. Despite problems caused by their own sabotage of the easier Andean passes, the Americans do achieve a breakthrough against the overstretched Portuguese defenders at Buta Ranquil. Though a more northerly attack fails (yet again proving the uselessness of a good cavalry charge straight at the well-prepared enemy positions), the Americans manage to advance to the Atlantic Ocean and, while the Portuguese frantically redeployed to prevent a flanking attack, assaulted and captured Buenos Aires using superior numbers. Though they are unlikely to hold on to it for long - the supply routes are imperfect, and the Portuguese have already recovered from the initial shock - this still is a major victory.
(-2 American divisions, -3 American EU Cabalerria Core, -2 Portuguese divisions, -2 Portuguese conscript divisions)
England finally contributed to the war effort as an Anglo-French task force, attacking and looting the remaining Portuguese trade centers in Africa (-Banana, Soyo, Porto Cabo economic centers) and then leaving, sailing further east. There, despite heavy and costly (-3 French squadrons, -2 English divisions) storms, the fleet has eventually reached its next destination - Nouvelle Gaulle, or Terra Australis. The Portuguese base therein was destroyed after the defeat of the small Portuguese naval detachment found there. Another small Portuguese fleet was defeated near Sulawesi later on as the fleet moved further north. What is unclear is where is the majority of the Portuguese fleet hiding throughout all this time...
(-3 English divisions, -2 French Foreign Legions, -3 French squadrons, -3 Portuguese conscript divisions, -10 Portuguese squadrons)
As most French forces have been redeployed, Spain is lit aflame by the resistance. Most of the countryside is controlled by rebels, though their coordination is far from perfect; order is only barely maintained in the cities, and even then some of them fell to the rebels as well. The greatest victory, however, happened not in the French held-territories but in the Gallician Republic. After O'Higgins' sudden death, a power-struggle begun amongst the Irish military junta. The Spanish resistance was not in position to take advantage of this, as in Gallicia it was weakened by the previous defeats. However, fortunately for them, the man who won in the end was a big Hispannophile, himself quarter-Spanish and married to a Spanishwoman. He was Colonel Michael Tone, he knew that Gallicia was doomed (as already, rebellions were beginning in the countryside after the decisive fighting for La Corunna decimated the Gallician army) and he had lots of ambitions. He met with resistance leaders, and agreed that in exchange for amnesty for himself and all of his men, Gallicia was to be turned over to the Spanish rebels. He then accepted command of the new "Free Spanish Army", the core of which, ofcourse, consisted of the remnants of the Gallician one, though it was reinforced by the various rebels. Despite some uneasiness amongst the resistors, "Miguel de Tona" was seen as Spain's best hope, especially as he marched to take Madrid and Toledo. Far from all have acknowledged his leadership yet, but of all the rebels he is the strongest.
Some garrisonless northeastern parts of Norway have been captured by Russian forces, but the Russians failed to advance further and the Danes couldn't bother to do anything about this as they, and their French allies, struggled to subdue Sweden. Although an attempt to break the siege of Stockholm had failed, the Swedes themselves succesfully fought back a series of Danish attacks coming from the west, while most of their fleet continued to evade their enemies. Yet Sweden's situation still was quite desperate. Stockholm's defenses were badly damaged by continued bombardment, and after the failure of yet another breakout attempt morale begun to plummet. And meanwhile, the large army raised to defend Central Sweden was beginning to run into a large logistical problem with the fall of Kalmar, the largest nearby city free and not under siege (the French have previously occupied Uppsala just in case). Finally, the Danes outmaneuvered the enemy army with a naval landing and defeated the Swedes at Vetlanda. The Swedish army didn't fall apart, but it was abdly shaken and weakened, while the Danes were able to break through towards Stockholm and assist the French in a final assault that forced the Swedish government to surrender at last. The army capitulated soon after. Sweden has been placed under Danish occupation (1 Economy from Sweden to Denmark-Norway) until it is decided what exactly should be done with this; however, the Russians occupied north Sweden with the help of local officials.
(-Sweden as an independent nation, -5 French Foreign Legion divisions, -17 Danish divisions, -1 Danish squadron, -1 Russiah Cossack division)
Finland was overran by the Russians, the French barely doing anything to stop this. The Finns went down fighting, but fighting disastrously; the attempt to relieve the siege of Helsinki was defeated, and Russian forces marched to take Oulu and Turku. After the elimination of a Finnish force right outside Turku, King Fredrik I, rather than fight on to the end, surrendered. Finland fell, though the French had by then evacuated everything of importance from there.
(-Finland as an independent nation, -8 Russian divisions, -1 Russian Cossack division)
Quite anticlimatically and at the same time horrifyingly, the Germans pulled out from most of their conquests - specifically, those beyond the Rhine. They pulled out not only their troops - they also burned down all cities and pulled out all of the population, most of which was never seen again - not this year, anyway. In an act of barbarism that was so often condemned its not even funny anymore, the Germans employed scorched earth tactics taken to the logical conclusion. Julien-Francois said they did so because they were afraid. That was true, but who wouldn't have been scared by the immense French fortifications that have been erected in front of the Germans, whose retreat across the Rhine made them (the fortifications) completely useless? Anyway, on the other side of the Rhine, the Germans prepared defenses of their own, though ofcourse not even nearly as elaborate or as powerful as the French ones. They prepared more fortifications still in the Netherlands. And finally, they prepared defenses on the North Sea coast. That turned to to have been a most foresightful decision, as the French decided to launch a naval assault against the treacherous von Dunkelheit. Their trademark appliance of naval firepower allowed them to eliminate some of the Germany fortifications, though only at the price of taking some casualties to the well-positioned coastal batteries. But what's worse, the German fortifications were often well-camouflaged, while the more distant artillery positions were not only camouflaged, but also too far off. When the French begun to land, despite naval cover they immediately suffered simply devastating casualties. Artillery bombardment mixed with expert rifle fire of the Guard of the Grand Chancellor and other forces deployed there. When it also became clear that there were at least as many Germans on the defense as there were Frenchmen trying to secure their beachhead, the French commander couldn't but order a retreat lest his entire army be eliminated. Several other French attacks were fought off - an attack in the Netherlands nearly broke through, but was defeated in the bloody, close-ran Battle at Lingen, and Russo-German defenders crushed a small French attack force in Holstein. But while the Germans were celebrating the excellent victory - how else could one describe the devastation of such huge enemy armies within mere seconds, as happened on the Lower Saxon coast? - the French landed at the Baltic port of Stralsund. Sure, there were some forces there, both German and Russian - but here at least the French were stronger, more numerous and generally more powerful, and facing meager fortifications, especially by comparison with the North Sea ones. Anyway, Stralsund fell. The railways south of it were cut. Desperate last-moment redeployments seemingly saved Berlin as a Russo-German army confronted a French one at Neuruppin, but the tired, dazzled anti-French coalition forces were routed. The German government did manage to flee for Magdeburg in the last moment, that much the battle at Neuruppin did benefit it, but though with a little delay the French still did enter Berlin, defeating the ragtag garrison (-1 German Confidence, Civilian Leadership, 1 German Economy to France). This year, thus, has not been entirely unsuccesful for Julien-Francois...
(-13 French divisions, -32 French Foreign Legion divisions, -3 French squadrons, -25 German divisions, -14 German GotGC divisions, -11 Russian divisions)
The French quickly evacuated Russian territory, burning down depots, storages and, ofcourse, trading facilities (-Odessa, Rostov economic centers). From there they headed towards Constantinople. Meanwhile, another French fleet travelled through the Mediterranean, defeated a Byzantine one at Malta and another at Catania, helped the Papal forces defeat the Byzantines that already landed on Sicily, and then moved on across the Aegean Sea towards the Dardanelles. Theoretically, another fleet was to move towards Greek soil, the Papal one, but when it tried to move it all ended with and at Dyrrhachium where most of the Papal fleet was eliminated, though another part of it was eliminated by superior Byzantine ships at Kerkira, or, as it was called for a nearby mountain (on the island of Kerkira, ofcourse) that was the last mountain many Papal sailors saw, at Pandokrator. That didn't really matter too much, though. What did matter was one of the largest (in scale) sieges history saw thus far. It was not just Constantinople that the French land (disembarked) and naval forces now besieged. It was the entire Marmara Sea, with all of the fortifications erected to protect it, with the Byzantine garrisons on both coasts and the Russian Black Sea Fleet that was skillfully trapped instead of trapping the French Black Sea force as it had hoped to do. Still, not all was going well for the French. The first assault on Constantinople was a horrible failure as the French didn't count of the elite Varangian Guard that was left to guard it and had prepared well for just such an occasion as happened. Also, as long as the Marmara Sea was free from the French, the Byzantines were able to supply their capital, how ever difficult and ultimately unrewarding the process was. But there is nothing one can't achieve with patience and lots of artillery, at least in the field of warfare. Eventually French forces secured Galipoli; the French Mediterranean fleet entered the Marmara Sea and eliminated the Russian one; Constantinople was shelled, and a final decisive assault gave it to the French, though, alas, the government had enough foresight to flee with much of the treasury to Ankara just after the arrival of the French Mediterranean Fleet in the Aegean Sea. But still, the blow to the Byzantines was heavy (-1 Civilian Leadership, -1 Confidence). Furthermore, after this the French were practically free to advance across the Balkans. They also helped finally transport the Papal forces to Dyrrhachium, now that the Byzantine fleet that used to be there was hiding from the various enemies. Though militias (+5 Byzantine irregular divisions), some surviving Varangian Guard units and the remnants of the Fourth Army (which was meant for the abortive Western Campaign, and was halved in Sicily) still made life difficult for the invaders, they hadn't much trouble while they took over the central third of the Byzantine Balkans and incited Slavic rebellions in the north (these were rather disorganized due to previous crackdowns, but they also proved mostly unstoppable, not with the amount of troops Byzantines still had there anyway). While the Byzantine government and army could only watch on with clenched teeth from across Asia where they had trapped themselves during this fatal moment...
(-9 French divisions, -4 French Foreign Legion divisions, -10 French squadrons, -7 Papal divisions, -15 Papal squadrons, -17 Byzantine divisions, -14 Byzantine Varangian divisions, -3 Byzantine irregular divisions)
Kanem-Bornu keeps expanding, despite the growing logistical and attrition problems. Several cities are built near oasises, though the population levels are predictably low.
(-3 Kanem-Bornu divisions)
The war between Sennar and Abyssinia goes on, but seems to have died down. The only major engagement this year was at Wad Madani, where an Abyssinian attack was defeated by joint Sennarese-Ottoman forces. The Sennarese forces have also captured some lightly-defended, mostly-insignificant territories, mostly sitting on the defensive though the Abyssinians have done the same. Aside from that, both sides concentrated on clandestine warfare, exchanging assassinations of important officers. Closer to the end of the war, however, the Sennarese begun making threatening moves towards Gonder itself...
(-3 Abyssinian divisions, -2 Abyssinian Imperial Guard of Shiba divisions, -2 Ottoman divisions, -3 Sennarese divisions)
Regardless of the events in Europe, the Byzantines press on, dealing blow after crushing blow on the Ottomans. Before the Ottomans had any time to properly prepare any defenses or offensives, the far numerically-superior Byzantines secured Pontus and Cilicia, overran Syria crushing the Turkish forces there against the anvil of the passive Byzantine Levant garrison. Though not yet attacking Baghdad where Suleiman has taken refuge, the Byzantines landed an even worse blow than that - having routed the Ottomans in Anatolia at Erzincan, they moved onwards to the Caucasus, where all was quiet until then, two huge armies on both sides of the front waiting for the other to attack or retreat. When news reached the Russian commander that the Byzantines were attacking the Ottomans from behind, he rejoiced and immediately gave an order to prepare for an assault. Caught between two huge armies, the Ottomans fought like cornered mountain lions, but eventually were overwhelmed. That was a good fourth of the Ottoman army destroyed in two-three battles. The occasional rebellions behind Byzantine lines are scarcely a compensation (+5 Ottoman irregular divisions).
(-17 Byzantine divisions, -9 Russian divisions, -3 Russian Cossack divisions, -41 Ottoman divisions, -3 Ottoman irregular divisions)
And further south, before the French fleet could arrive or any troops could be deployed to defend the vital Canal de L'Egyptien, the Byzantines quickly overran Sinai and secured the said canal. They also tried to do a maritime landing in Alexandria, but there at least the Ottomans got a victory, having eliminated practically the entire attacking force with coastal artillery and a strong garrison deployed in the city. The French fleet soon caught and crushed the Byzantine fleet responsible for all this at Aboukir. Still, the damage was done as the canal remains in Byzantine hands...
(-4 Byzantine divisions, -18 Byzantine squadrons, -3 French squadrons, -1 Ottoman division)
The Mughals, having already entered the World War on the French side by invading Portuguese India, have now, after transforming into the Greater Islamics [1], declared war on Russia. Thus far they encountered only minimal resistance as they invaded Central Asia, with the support of local Turkic and Uzbek tribes (+5 Greater Islamic irregular divisions). The Russian cossack divisions deployed there gave some resistance, but against the sheer number of attacking forces they could do not much, their efforts at guerrila warfare being offset by the aforementioned tribal volunteers. Samarkand, the capital of one of the great precursors of the Mughals, is in the hands of the Restorer of the West at last (+1 Confidence).
(-4 Russian Cossack divisions, -1 Greater Islamic division, -2 Greater Islamic irregular divisions)
The war in Manchuria has now clearly begun to go in Japanese favour. Though they did not retake Ninguta, their fleet has defeated its overconfident Russian counterpart at the small Korean island of Ulleong-do; as the Japanese have lured the Russians into a trap and then surrounded them, they managed to inflict huge casualties, though a sizeable part of the Russian fleet did fight its way out of the envelopment, limping back first for Ninguta. There, they were once more attacked by the Japanese who, but for a few Russian ships that instead of pursuing the Japanese in the first place partook in commerce raiding further east, now hold total naval supremacy in the theatre. On the land, the Japanese have reinforced their garrisons and strenghthened further their fortifications, though no longer able to disguise them properly. Russian attacks were forced back by sheer numbers of the Japanese defenders, though their fortifications had helped too. The war here remains in stalemate, but as that is exactly what the Japanese have been trying to achieve, it probably counts as their victory.
(-8 Russian divisions, -4 Russian Cossack divisions, -29 Russian squadrons, -2 Japanese divisions, -2 Japanese Ikkitousennonimusha divisions, -9 Japanese squadrons)
After an exchange of Japanese-supported peace endeaovours, the two Chinese Emperors continued the slaughter that now entered a final phase. Comparatively early on, while the land forces were still only beginning to engage each other, the Imperial Republic suffered a major setback when its risky naval raid on Shanghai turned disastrous due to the Xin Han naval program; though Japan continued to fight the Hanhua Emperor and even left some troops to assist the Imperial Republicans, the Japanese fleet was busy fighting Russians, and so the Xin Han have been free to build up fleet in a concentrated, powerful effort. This fleet, though only half-finished when the Imperial Republicans attacked, was able to surprise them and sink virtually the entire expeditionary force, including elite Republican Guard divisions. Back on the land, though fighting as always in this civil war was concentrated around two rather small regions - one in the west and another in the east - it was the east that clearly had emphasis. Indeed, in the west, in the Luzhou Valley, the Xin Han forces came out victorious quickly and easily as the Imperial Republicans desperately struggled to redeploy their forces. Kunming was quickly taken and the forces of the Usurper (as the Imperial Republicans styled their opponent) were free to advance to the Gulf of Tonkin. Further to the east, the Xin Han forces succesfully distracted the Imperial attention with a drive to Guangzhou, which was fought back at the price of allowing the Imperials to take not just Kunming, but also the besieged city of Fuzhou, with the help of a naval assault. From there, the Hanhua's forces moved westwards, slowly consuming the coastal cities. And the fleet, with some more troops onboard, moved in to attack undergarrisoned Macao, near which the Nan Chinese rebellion had begun three years ago. Macao was taken this time, and the new attack on Guangzhou came from two directions at once, the Hanhua Emperor himself (being a seasoned, experienced commander) leading the attack from the north. The Shanxi Emperor, also a general, personally took command of the defenses of Guangzhou after the failure of the initial attempts to stop the enemy attack. The ensuing battle was thus unofficially yet popularily termed the Battle of the Emperors. The Shanxi Emperor rallied all of his forces and managed to attain some minor victories, driving back several attacks and at one point almost breaking the enemy encirclement. But finally, naval bombardment and superior numbers commited to the region spelled the doom of both the Imperial Republican forces in the city and the Japanese expeditionary corps that forced there. The final assault was very bloody, long and tedious as building after building had to be taken even after the attackers broke into the city. It lasted well into the night. But on the morning, the weary, sleepless Hanhua Emperor received the capitulation of the Grand Council. The Chinese Civil War was over (1 Economy from Imperial Republic of China to Xin Han Chinese Empire). Clearly the world was too hasty when it thought that the Hanhua Emperor was doomed; and the leaders of the former anti-Qing coalition made a big mistake when, back in 1750, they withdrew from China Proper leaving it to its own designs. This mistake might cost them much, and soon...
(-24 Xin Han divisions, -12 Xin Han conscript divisions, -4 Xin Han Ma Bing divisions, -6 Xin Han squadrons, -Imperial Republic of the Chinese as a nation, -4 Japanese divisions)
das
Regeneration In Process
Random Events:
Though the war with Sweden seems to have stagnated, volunteers keep joining the Danish army (+5 Danish divisions)!
Abyssinians keep getting volunteers as well (+5 divisions)...
The "Acadian" rebels actually get some support in the captured territories (+1 Confidence).
The ongoing, increasingly hopeless struggle begins to sap Portuguese morale (-1 Confidence).
Separatist agitation all over the French empire grows (-1 Culture).
Desertation rates grow rapidly in the EUA Cavalry Core as it opeartes far from home (-5 EU Caballeria Core divisions).
Defections and assassinations damage Germany's scientific cadre (-1 Education).
As war goes on, life in Finland gets predictably difficult (-1 Living Standards).
Abyssinian roads get worse and worse (-1 Infrastructure).
Papal economy suffers from inflation (-1 Economy).
The Japanese military doctrine stagnates again (-1 Military Leadership).
The war effort distracts the Byzantines from their previous scientific efforts (-1 Education).
Government neglect damages England's conditions of living (-1 Living Standards).
Spotlight:
French North America Aflame.
"In those days any looney could build an empire."
- Charles Livingstone. Year 1746.
For almost a century now, apart from the occasional native raid or Spanish attack, nothing seemed to threaten French North America's safety, as the composite colonies peacefully developed, expanded and genocided those who got in its path. Things were, by the 18th century, calm and dreary as they often are in a developed colony. There still was the frontier, where Amerinds still did attack the French colonists and where border clashes - first with Spain, and now with EUA - happened even in peacetime, but even it was mostly peaceful. How dull.
In the city of Nouveau Amsterdam, the last major shakeup happened when an united French North American parlement was assembled, as opposed to separate Canadian and Carolinian ones. Debates did go on in the Parlement, but they too were rarely heated and mostly concerned various petty problems. The noisiest issue was, ofcourse, the ongoing campaign of terror (carried out, as is now known, by Amerind resistors) in the countryside. Nothing was being done about it at all. But nobody recognized how ominous it was in the beginning of February 1746. Next month, just as the last regular French forces in the whole continent were carelessly redeployed to the war front, peace ended, and blood was spilled.
There was no real reason for rebellion. There always were a few dissidents in the colonies, but at most they could get into Parlement and grumble incessantly there. Not all accepted French rule, but most people - apart from the Amerinds, but we'll get to them later - did, and those who didn't were not up to the challenge of doing anything about this. The religious and ethnic minorities? Yes, there were Huguenots, but they were even more loyal to the king than the Catholics in the colony; there were some Irishmen, who, having fled from the English war machine, were also very loyal; there were the Englishmen and the Dutchmen, but practically all of them were assimilated and loyal. There indeed was some social strife, the colonial elite was not too well-liked, not in Canada anyway, but it too was not anything this serious.
The real causes of the so-called "Acadian Revolt" (quite a misnomer, as Acadia was one of the most royalist parts of French North America and its militias have dealt a heavy blow on the revolutionaries in the very beginning) were awful French neglect (there weren't even any garrisons left by 1752) and opportunism of a few frustrated politicians and popular leaders, who, on March 11th, when the Parlement of which many of them were members assembled, launched a coup d'etat. Isaac Roosevelt, the leader of the conspirators, officially declared the independence of an "Acadian Republic", which was to encompass all of French North America. Before they could as much as protest, those of the parlementaries that did not support this (most of them didn't) were arrested, some of them killed in the panic. The "militias" secretly drilled by the conspirators occupied Nouveau Amsterdam and arrested all the real militiamen. The same was to happen all over the new Republic. In some places, like in Boston, things did go according to the plan. But the Republic that laid claim to half a continent only got a small coastal strip from Philadelphie to Machigonne[2]. There wasn't much one can expect from a rebellion that lacks popular support or proper preparation...
North of Machigonne, as already mentioned, the rebels clashed with the real Acadians - as some would joke, over copyright issues. At Champlain[3], one of the key cities of Acadia, the "Acadians" had also tried to stage a revolt, but were in bad luck, as a traitor in their midst warned the Acadian governor, Henri Thorez, who immediately mobilized the militias and subdued the rebels, hanging them all and leaving the city under command of the vice-governor. An old soldier, Thorez couldn't but appreciate such a godsend - one last campaign to fight in before he dies. He personally took charge of the militias and routed an "Acadian" force at Kennebeck. This and his subsequent campaigns have practically quarantinned Canada.
In the far south, "Acadians" didn't do much better. Though at first they made a few gains in northeastern Caroline, the conservative Carolinians didn't appreciate this at all and their militias limited the "Acadian" gains to the city of Charleville that they have captured early on. It was besieged, and eventually, with the help of some traitors and the local populace, the Carolinians broke into the city, slaughtering all the rebels that didn't immediately surrender. The next day, though, Charleville was broken into by another force. It didn't take any prisoners at all.
Had the French only had to deal with the "Acadians", who by now were succesfully contained without any government involvement, they really wouldn't have had much trouble. But they also had a different problem. For years now, as the latest investigations have shown, there operated in North America an extremelly well-organized Amerind rebel organization, built around the Cherokee but including some other tribes. It seems that indeed they were behind all those attacks on officials, patrols and merchants; perhaps they even were the ones who had burned Nouvelle-Orleans a few years ago. Over time, they grew even more organized, and it has been supposed that it was not without foreign help that they built up a secret army and procurred only slightly obsolete European weapons. Whatever. Facts are that suddenly, this organization - known as the Red Stick Confederation - ended its guerrila activities, called together most warbands to a base in the Appalachees, regroupped them into a semi-regular army, and struck out towards Charleville with most troops, pillaging everything in their path.
The tired, bloodied militiamen were unable to fight back, Charleville was taken by the fierce Amerinds in a daring, unexpected assault and, after a thorough looting, turned into a forward base of operations. This was perhaps the greatest victory Amerinds have ever scored against Europeans, even if there weren't any regular forces amongst them. From Charleville, the Red Stick Fusiliers proceeded to secure various other nearby territories, while other Amerind rebellions - some connected to the Confederation, some simply inspired - begun to start all over the place, using the confusion and power vacumm that existed in the megacolony since the arrest of the Parlement.
War has come to North America.
NPC Diplo:
OOC:
[1] Or whatever is the correct adjective/plural noun. Herr Silverstein?
[2] Machigonne=Portland, Maine.
[3] Champlain=Halifax.
For the last time. READ THE RULES. Most of you seem to have, but not all as evident from the orders. So read them. Read them carefully. If something is unclear - reread them. This is quite annoying, you know.
I'll update the nation descriptions after the war - doesn't make much sense to do so yet.
Though the war with Sweden seems to have stagnated, volunteers keep joining the Danish army (+5 Danish divisions)!
Abyssinians keep getting volunteers as well (+5 divisions)...
The "Acadian" rebels actually get some support in the captured territories (+1 Confidence).
The ongoing, increasingly hopeless struggle begins to sap Portuguese morale (-1 Confidence).
Separatist agitation all over the French empire grows (-1 Culture).
Desertation rates grow rapidly in the EUA Cavalry Core as it opeartes far from home (-5 EU Caballeria Core divisions).
Defections and assassinations damage Germany's scientific cadre (-1 Education).
As war goes on, life in Finland gets predictably difficult (-1 Living Standards).
Abyssinian roads get worse and worse (-1 Infrastructure).
Papal economy suffers from inflation (-1 Economy).
The Japanese military doctrine stagnates again (-1 Military Leadership).
The war effort distracts the Byzantines from their previous scientific efforts (-1 Education).
Government neglect damages England's conditions of living (-1 Living Standards).
Spotlight:
French North America Aflame.
"In those days any looney could build an empire."
- Charles Livingstone. Year 1746.
For almost a century now, apart from the occasional native raid or Spanish attack, nothing seemed to threaten French North America's safety, as the composite colonies peacefully developed, expanded and genocided those who got in its path. Things were, by the 18th century, calm and dreary as they often are in a developed colony. There still was the frontier, where Amerinds still did attack the French colonists and where border clashes - first with Spain, and now with EUA - happened even in peacetime, but even it was mostly peaceful. How dull.
In the city of Nouveau Amsterdam, the last major shakeup happened when an united French North American parlement was assembled, as opposed to separate Canadian and Carolinian ones. Debates did go on in the Parlement, but they too were rarely heated and mostly concerned various petty problems. The noisiest issue was, ofcourse, the ongoing campaign of terror (carried out, as is now known, by Amerind resistors) in the countryside. Nothing was being done about it at all. But nobody recognized how ominous it was in the beginning of February 1746. Next month, just as the last regular French forces in the whole continent were carelessly redeployed to the war front, peace ended, and blood was spilled.
There was no real reason for rebellion. There always were a few dissidents in the colonies, but at most they could get into Parlement and grumble incessantly there. Not all accepted French rule, but most people - apart from the Amerinds, but we'll get to them later - did, and those who didn't were not up to the challenge of doing anything about this. The religious and ethnic minorities? Yes, there were Huguenots, but they were even more loyal to the king than the Catholics in the colony; there were some Irishmen, who, having fled from the English war machine, were also very loyal; there were the Englishmen and the Dutchmen, but practically all of them were assimilated and loyal. There indeed was some social strife, the colonial elite was not too well-liked, not in Canada anyway, but it too was not anything this serious.
The real causes of the so-called "Acadian Revolt" (quite a misnomer, as Acadia was one of the most royalist parts of French North America and its militias have dealt a heavy blow on the revolutionaries in the very beginning) were awful French neglect (there weren't even any garrisons left by 1752) and opportunism of a few frustrated politicians and popular leaders, who, on March 11th, when the Parlement of which many of them were members assembled, launched a coup d'etat. Isaac Roosevelt, the leader of the conspirators, officially declared the independence of an "Acadian Republic", which was to encompass all of French North America. Before they could as much as protest, those of the parlementaries that did not support this (most of them didn't) were arrested, some of them killed in the panic. The "militias" secretly drilled by the conspirators occupied Nouveau Amsterdam and arrested all the real militiamen. The same was to happen all over the new Republic. In some places, like in Boston, things did go according to the plan. But the Republic that laid claim to half a continent only got a small coastal strip from Philadelphie to Machigonne[2]. There wasn't much one can expect from a rebellion that lacks popular support or proper preparation...
North of Machigonne, as already mentioned, the rebels clashed with the real Acadians - as some would joke, over copyright issues. At Champlain[3], one of the key cities of Acadia, the "Acadians" had also tried to stage a revolt, but were in bad luck, as a traitor in their midst warned the Acadian governor, Henri Thorez, who immediately mobilized the militias and subdued the rebels, hanging them all and leaving the city under command of the vice-governor. An old soldier, Thorez couldn't but appreciate such a godsend - one last campaign to fight in before he dies. He personally took charge of the militias and routed an "Acadian" force at Kennebeck. This and his subsequent campaigns have practically quarantinned Canada.
In the far south, "Acadians" didn't do much better. Though at first they made a few gains in northeastern Caroline, the conservative Carolinians didn't appreciate this at all and their militias limited the "Acadian" gains to the city of Charleville that they have captured early on. It was besieged, and eventually, with the help of some traitors and the local populace, the Carolinians broke into the city, slaughtering all the rebels that didn't immediately surrender. The next day, though, Charleville was broken into by another force. It didn't take any prisoners at all.
Had the French only had to deal with the "Acadians", who by now were succesfully contained without any government involvement, they really wouldn't have had much trouble. But they also had a different problem. For years now, as the latest investigations have shown, there operated in North America an extremelly well-organized Amerind rebel organization, built around the Cherokee but including some other tribes. It seems that indeed they were behind all those attacks on officials, patrols and merchants; perhaps they even were the ones who had burned Nouvelle-Orleans a few years ago. Over time, they grew even more organized, and it has been supposed that it was not without foreign help that they built up a secret army and procurred only slightly obsolete European weapons. Whatever. Facts are that suddenly, this organization - known as the Red Stick Confederation - ended its guerrila activities, called together most warbands to a base in the Appalachees, regroupped them into a semi-regular army, and struck out towards Charleville with most troops, pillaging everything in their path.
The tired, bloodied militiamen were unable to fight back, Charleville was taken by the fierce Amerinds in a daring, unexpected assault and, after a thorough looting, turned into a forward base of operations. This was perhaps the greatest victory Amerinds have ever scored against Europeans, even if there weren't any regular forces amongst them. From Charleville, the Red Stick Fusiliers proceeded to secure various other nearby territories, while other Amerind rebellions - some connected to the Confederation, some simply inspired - begun to start all over the place, using the confusion and power vacumm that existed in the megacolony since the arrest of the Parlement.
War has come to North America.
NPC Diplo:
OOC:
[1] Or whatever is the correct adjective/plural noun. Herr Silverstein?
[2] Machigonne=Portland, Maine.
[3] Champlain=Halifax.
For the last time. READ THE RULES. Most of you seem to have, but not all as evident from the orders. So read them. Read them carefully. If something is unclear - reread them. This is quite annoying, you know.
I'll update the nation descriptions after the war - doesn't make much sense to do so yet.
das
Regeneration In Process
Symphony D.
Deity
OOC:
[OBSOLETE INFO WAS HERE] Most excellent update though. IC:
TO: Xin Han China
FROM: Empire of Japan
Very well. It seems that you cannot reproach us for maintaining a force in the Imperial Republic despite efforts at a ceasefire when you yourselves did not observe it. Now that the Imperial Republic has ceased to exist, we are interested in negotiating a peace settlement.
If our claims in Manchuria, Korea and Taiwan continue to be recognized, we see no reason for continued interference in Chinese internal affairs.
No, they just stopped caring.
[OBSOLETE INFO WAS HERE] Most excellent update though. IC:TO: Xin Han China
FROM: Empire of Japan
Very well. It seems that you cannot reproach us for maintaining a force in the Imperial Republic despite efforts at a ceasefire when you yourselves did not observe it. Now that the Imperial Republic has ceased to exist, we are interested in negotiating a peace settlement.
If our claims in Manchuria, Korea and Taiwan continue to be recognized, we see no reason for continued interference in Chinese internal affairs.
Kentharu
Zebra Commander
mmmm intersting, is it possible for me to switch to the amerind rebelion? or is that just to much switching for one nes 
EDIT- nvm its taken already
EDIT- nvm its taken already
das
Regeneration In Process
Huh? What do you mean, Symphony?
Icmancin
WSNR Pte
The IRC is still on the map, that's what he means.
EDIT- You just fixed it.
EDIT- You just fixed it.
Icmancin
WSNR Pte
Double post...
Symphony D.
Deity
OOC: Oh snap, it's the MIB and their neuralizers! Everybody get down!
das
Regeneration In Process
No it isn't!
Icmancin
WSNR Pte
Who's idea was it to put Acadia in the New England-ish areas? Acadia is Nova Scotia!
Reno
The Studio Ghibli Fanatic
Sad, the Palmén rulership of Finland didn't last for long, as the whole state didn't last either. :/
