An EU2 story about an Italian dash for Greatness

[Kan' Sharuminar]

Are you sure it came with 1.08? I just downloaded a fresh copy (got a new computer, immediately installed EU2 but forgot the patch, oh the heresy), there be no land bridge.

Maybe you're thinking of one of the Beta patches? I do remember the debates that went on (I was against the bridge as well) and I don't think I ever got AGCEEP, so it must of been one of the official updates.

 

[Dell19]

Probably the beta that you have to install to download AGREEP?

Will try to remove it for my next game as the removal of the land bridge should solve the France problem as currently they can win against England easily and turn their attentions to other provinces.

 

[Pyotr Veliky]

Might be patch 1.08b, yes. Anyhow, their latest patch, OK!

 

[Pyotr Veliky]

Just being a good neighbour…

As a member of the French alliance, I am now at war with the Huguenots, but as soon as the possibility presents itself I peace out. In August 1563, Desmond, the smallest member of our alliance, is attacked by England. The calls for help from this brave Irish kingdom do not fall on deaf ears in Paris and Milan and again Italy finds itself at war with the English, the occupiers of Rome. Already in January 1564 the Holy City falls to Italian troops. The English make three attempts to land on Corsica, but they are defeated every single time. A handful of victorious battles in the Ligurian Sea complete this war as far as Italy is concerned and in March 1566 Desmond accepts an alliance peace in exchange for 224 ducats. Overall not very exciting stuff, like a lot of the small wars Italy found itself in during these years.

Meanwhile, I steadily increase my presence in some of the European centres of trade. A handful of CoTs have a respectable number of Italian traders present and monopolies are successfully maintained in Danzig, Tula and Austria. These may not be the richest CoTs, but slots there aren’t very heavily contested. Moreover, Danzig and Tula are centres where a lot of grain is traded and by controlling a sizeable share of that trade I manage to increase my military supply limit somewhat.

In June 1572, France declares war on the remnants of the Huguenot nation and its ally England. The war plan is tried and tested: take Rome, inflict some naval defeats and cash in by letting the English pay for peace. It hasn’t failed in the past, it doesn’t fail this time. Less than a year after the beginning of the war, I’m 225 ducats richer. Some year later, the Huguenots are forced to hand over two provinces to France and are also made vassals of the French King.

This period is one of relative peace and I use it to strengthen the economy. In 1578 I complete my fourth refinery already.

While this time is a quiet one for me, my ally France is gripped by turmoil with rampaging rebels taking control of provinces left and right:

Rebellious provinces can, when left under rebel control, declare independence or join a neighbouring nation. As shown on the screenie above, both Savoie and Piemonte are rebel held and as time passes by I see ever more opportunities for me to expand at France’s expense. When given the time, these provinces will declare independence and become Savoy. This newly independent nation will be at war with France and, as an ally of France, this would give me a great opportunity to join the war and help myself to a province.

Other nations that had already broken away from France in earlier years are the Netherlands (successfully) and the French Catholics (their independence was short lived, however). In March 1582, Savoy follows their example and declares itself independent from France. My armies had already been put into position to make good use of this opportunity were it to arise and now I order them west immediately. Savoy has no troops to defend itself so the military campaign more resembles a pleasure trip to the Alps than anything else. In December 1582 I take Piemonte, in June 1584 followed by Savoie. In the peace that follows (negotiated by France), I get Savoie and the alliance receives 126 ducats.

With the conquest of Savoie, Italy has for the first time expanded outside the geographical confines of Italy itself. Other interesting developments as seen on the screenie below are the rise of the Ottomans and the weakening of both the Austrians and Venetians as a direct result of this. France is still very much trying to cope with various uprisings, but after Savoie and Piemonte wasn’t going to lose any more provinces.

A new world

During some of the sea battles fought against the English in the 1570s, English vessels were captured and send to Firenze for inspection. There, Italian seafarers found maps of strange lands to the west, supposedly from the New World. Rumours about faraway lands with many riches across the wide expanse of the Atlantic Ocean had been circulating around Europe for many, many years now, but no evidence had ever been provided and Italy hadn’t judged these stories trustworthy enough to investigate.

With the capture of the English maps this all changed. Other European nations had already conquered and colonized some parts of the New World. Italy isn’t destined to remain a local Mediterranean power forever and has as much right to a place under the sun as any other nation. The quest to become a major world power now has begun. With the English maps as a guideline, an expedition is sent out to secure an Italian foothold from which further expansion could take place. To increase the flow of colonists, I build a shipyard in Firenze.

The English don’t seem to have a great deal of knowledge of the New World yet, though, since only a handful of provinces are shown. The wealthiest of them, Stadacone on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, is singled out to be the landing point for Italy’s first expedition. The first landing party, however, disappears without a trace, after which a second one is ordered. This one, too, is lost. Then the decision is made to set up a trading post in Stadacone first, instead of trying to build up a colony right away. This attempt is successful as in January 1591, Italy secures a small but promising presence in the New World which in 1592 is upgraded to a level 1 colony.

The neighbourhood is shared with the French, who were already there, and the Dutch, who settled the lands to the east and south of me just after my arrival. These settlements severely limit my options and so they’ll obviously have to go.

My plan is to wait until the Dutch settlements have grown a bit but haven’t yet reached city status so that in taking them over I would gain an almost completed colony without having to invest much in one myself. However, in 1598 I get a free CB against the Netherlands by event and I decide to use the given opportunity right away. In August of that year I declare war on the Netherlands to rid the Gulf of St. Lawrence of their presence. France joins my side, the Dutch find support from the English. This should be a cake walk. Before the end of the year I have taken both Bas St. Laurant and Saguenay and Rome is, again, under siege. It falls in February 1599. Also, to avoid further incursions into “my” territory, I send a colonist to Bangor who sets up a colony there. In March 1599 the Dutch, their homeland threatened by my French ally, agree to peace giving up their two Canadian settlements and 200 ducats. A short and swift war, just like it should be.

In 1600, at the turn of the century, this is how the world as seen by Italy looks like:

 

[Dell19]

France looks very scary on that map, owning quite a large chunk of Germany. How many provinces do Venice actually have left as it looks like they have been beaten up quite heavily and might be annexable at some point.

I took a different path in the Huguenot rebellion. About 20 years earlier relations had soured with France and when I went to war with the Ottomans (eventually gaining Morea, Albania and Bulgaria) they refused to join. Once the Huguenots appeared I declared war with the support of the Palinate. They eventually gave a province to the French but I had been successful in the south taking all the French provinces below the Huguenots and ended up taking Languedoc, Provence, Piemonte and Schwyz.

A bit of a shame I couldn't get Genoa and my badboy rating is quite high now but there is the potential for a further war against the Huguenots.

 

[Pyotr Veliky]

Your BB must be through the roof, right?

Nice empire, though.

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

Looking good. Nice work taking advantage of the French, and for sending Italy to the New World.

Couple of questions I may have missed the answers to; what's your policy regarding Rome itself? And are you going to attempt an annex of Venice, I hear it has a nice CoT

Good to see France crumbling though, if you're lucky that'll distract them for a while...those Ottomans are looking mighty strong.

 

[Dell19]

Your BB must be through the roof, right?

Nice empire, though.

Yep it went from about 7 to around about 16 or 17.

 

[Gelion]

How did you manage to get Crowned as Italy?!!! What version of the game is it?

 

[Pyotr Veliky]

AGCEEP mod. It really adds much extra goodness to the game.

 

[Gelion]

Will it work with non-English versions?

 

[Pyotr Veliky]

Will it work with non-English versions?

It worked with my version from 1C-Snowball.

 

[Pyotr Veliky]

Securing the Alpine mountain range for Italy

The first years of the 17th century are peaceful years for Italy. I use this period to build up my four Canadian provinces to full size colonies, expand my trade and build manufactories so that in 1614 Italy owns four refineries, three goods manufactories and one naval equipment manufactory.

Europe as a whole, however, is a far from peaceful place with Poland now taking over Austria’s role as punching bag of the east. Poland is cut down to size considerably in a war against Russia and Austria when it is forced to relinquish control over Livland, Belarus and Welikia to Russia and Wallachia, Ruthenia and Carpathia to Austria. It seems that Vienna is making somewhat of a come back.

The sweet scent of war is carried over the Alps to the Italian court by a strong wind from the east and it makes me decide to conquer the last of my core provinces not yet under my control: Piemonte. I declare war on Savoy in September 1614 without calling on the French for help since they would probably just get in the way. The small defence force Savoy has stationed near its capital is easily dispersed and a siege is begun while my armies in northern Italy start playing cat and mouse with the remnants of the Savoyan (?) army that keep moving in and out of my provinces there, thus creating the risk of burning down one of my manufactories in the area. Luckily, this doesn’t happen and I manage to push them to the east, towards Mantua and Romagna where they are left running around harmlessly until the siege of Piemonte is brought to a successful close.

In May 1616, Piemonte is captured and in that same month Savoy accepts my peace proposal: full annexation by Italy.

After this successful little war a new chance to increase Italy’s holdings and secure the northern border regions presents itself almost immediately when in April 1617 I get a free CB against Austria by event. The reinvigorated Habsburg Empire is currently at war with Saxony and thus its armies are horribly out of position. After raising some additional troops for what I expect to become a war of attrition, I in September 1617 declare war on Austria and this time I do invite the French. My goals for the war are Tyrol with its precious gold and Steiermark with its rich iron deposits. These provinces aren’t only valuable from an economic point of view, but also from a strategic one. Once under my control, they would block the way for Austrian troops heading for the Po valley as well as keep Venice safe from any future Habsburg annexation attempts. Venice is a prize I have already reserved for myself.

Before the end of 1617, both Tyrol and Steiermark are besieged by Italian troops, but already it is clear that the Austrians are feverishly relocating troops to the south. Diplomatically, Vienna scores a big success by securing peace with a battered Saxony in March 1618 for Brandenburg and 40 ducats. Both my siege armies are attacked, but these first Austrian attempts are fruitless. In April 1618, however, my army in Tyrol is defeated by a renewed Austrian offensive and is driven back. I immediately counter attack with my reserve army stationed in Milan, but to no avail. Meanwhile, Russia, Austria’s ally, offers me 121 ducats for peace and I accept. To dislodge the Austrians from Tyrol, I combine my previously unsuccessful armies in Milan and let them regain their lost morale. A new attack is ordered in August and this time it succeeds. Just after a new siege of Tyrol is started, the Italian court twice receives great news: in October the Ottomans declare war on Austria and in December Steiermark is captured!

I start 1619 with a siege of Salzburg, which is successful in October of the same year. In this month, too, Tyrol is captured. The Austrians at this point are trying to retake Steiermark, but I have already built up an army in Mantua that, together with my army in Salzburg, should be able to prevent this. With the French having taken Bayern, Sudeten and Erz, I decide to offer the Austrians peace for Tyrol, Steiermark and Salzburg, but they refuse. As can be seen on the screenie below, it probably would have been better for them if they had accepted:

Then, Austria pulls a nasty trick: it peaces out with France, handing over Bayern and Sudeten. Now I am definitely not going stop until I can walk away from this war with 3 provinces, no matter the cost. They should have taken the earlier deal…

In February 1620 I attack the Austrian army in Steiermark from Salzburg and Tyrol and soundly defeat it. I then order part of this force to Odenburg and start a siege there in March. Two months later Vienna itself is also under siege. Meanwhile, Italy constantly produces reinforcements, which are sent over the Alps where they brush aside Austrian armies stupid enough to try and take back Tyrol or Steiermark. In August 1620, Odenburg surrenders to Italian troops. I can now use these forces to increase the pressure on Vienna, while another army is being kept busy defeating Austrian armies in Salzburg or Steiermark.

In August 1621, Vienna falls in Italian hands, but still the Austrians refuse to give up Tyrol, Steiermark and Salzburg. Instead, they try to retake Salzburg, but a combined force from Vienna and Steiermark quickly puts an end to this attempt.

After this, the Austrians keep sending small armies south to recapture one of the provinces now under my control only to face defeat at the hands of my superior troops. Tired of this game, I decide to push on to Ostmarch, where a siege is begun in March 1622. Already in July it, too, surrenders to the victorious armies of the King of Italy. A madman is clearly making decisions for Austria, though, because still my peace offers are swept off the table as if the situation on the ground was one of strength for the Austrian side. And so further we go, on to Moravia and Erz this time. Erz is captured in June 1623, but no peace. I now head for Brandenburg.

In December 1623, the Ottoman Empire accepts peace with Austria in exchange for Presburg, Ruthenia and Carpathia. See? It’s not that hard to give up some provinces! Now, be a good boy and do the same for me, will you?

When in February 1624 Brandenburg too is captured, the Emperor must have had a stroke of sanity or something, because finally, after his whole country being ravaged by invading armies for years now, he agrees to give me the 3 desired provinces Tyrol, Steiermark and Salzburg and 100 ducats just for the fun of it. Let me hear a sincere “thank you” for our friend in Vienna!

 

[Pyotr Veliky]

On the shores of the Adriatic

The 3 new provinces in my empire are upgraded immediately to maximize their use for the Crown. Since both Salzburg and Steiermark are iron producing provinces, I plan to build weapon manufactories there as soon as my financial situation allows it. The first manu is started in Salzburg in March 1628 already. Apart from expanding my economy, I also rebuild my military and decide on a massive expansion programme for my navy. With Italy largely under my control and a powerful ally to the north, my next wars are bound to be fought in the Mediterranean and the shores surrounding it. By the end of the decade, my navy consists of 4 warships and 50 galleys, which should be quite adequate to deal with the navies the other powers in the area currently have at their disposal.

In February 1629, the Ottoman Empire once again declares war on Austria. Crimea joins the war on the Ottoman side, the Austrians are supported by Russia. This, btw, is the state of Austria at the start of the conflict:

Clearly, the severely weakened Austrians will face defeat at the hands of the Ottomans if nothing unexpected happens and this is not in my best interest; a Balkan peninsula divided by two (almost) evenly matched powers would suit me much better. I therefore decide to follow this war closely and intervene when necessary. The Ottoman Empire has since some time already been embargoing my merchants and this is just the pretext I need to declare war in February 1630 when I see the Austrians are virtually powerless in face of the Ottoman steamroller. For God, the European way of life and, oh yes, some provinces too, Italy draws the sword once more.

There are 3 Catholic provinces now oppressed by the heathens I have set my sights on: Istria, Dalmatia and Bosnia (which has the added bonus of a weapon manufactory already in place). Later, Croatia might also be a good addition to my empire. The first priority, however, is securing the Adriatic coast line and getting my hands on the manufactory in Bosnia.

The Ottomans are a difficult enemy to fight, though. They are a manpower rich super power and the theatre of war is very mountainous with provinces that have low support limits. These are all factors that benefit the defender. I position my navy at the mouth of the Adriatic since I know the Ottoman navy will show itself there and beating them would give me easy war score points, something that will be much more difficult to achieve on land. As an example, my first attempt to clear Istria of enemy troops ends in failure. However, when the Ottomans try to push on to Steiermark, they themselves are defeated, which allows me to strike down to Istria once more, this time with success. I move further to Dalmatia, however, since there my fleet will be in a position to support the siege.

A small Ottoman army meanwhile lays siege to Steiermark, but they are easily defeated. At sea, the Ottomans constantly try to break through the naval blockade of Dalmatia, but they fail every single time. In March 1631, I start a siege of Istria, but a strong Ottoman force dislodges me a few months later. Dalmatia, however, does fall to Italian troops in August 1631. I move in reinforcements to besiege Istria once more, but as I do that, Ottoman troops use Austrian territory to reach and besiege Steiermark. To add insult to injury, Salzburg is captured by rebels who move on to Tyrol. Since they now block the only land route I have to the theatre of war, I immediately move in to destroy the rebel forces and retake Salzburg.

In the Balkans I try to ambush small Ottoman armies to rake up some war score, but too often my armies themselves are ambushed in return by some huge Ottoman stack. The fact that there’s only a small strip of land that connects mainland Italy to the theatre of war and me not being able to freely move around due to low supply limit is slowing the offensive down considerably. Not for the Ottomans; they can throw piles and piles of men at me at will. In order to improve my situation, I need to capture Istria, but as of yet I haven’t been able to sustain my sieges there. Now, the Austrians are having a go at it and they do succeed. Great… Even if I manage to get something out of this war, I won’t be able to hook the new provinces up with the rest of my realm.

In April 1633 Salzburg is again under control of government troops, which frees up forces to fight the Ottomans. I start sieges in Ragusa and Bosnia, but I am driven back or forced to retreat every time. I use my fleet to ferry over reinforcements from Marche and start a siege of Bosnia in earnest now. Dalmatia is becoming my very own Normandy with ever growing numbers of troops landing there in order to support the offensive. Helped by the mountainous terrain, my Bosnian siege army successfully withstands all Ottoman attempts to lift the siege and in August 1634 Bosnia is captured.

Because of to the countless victories at sea I now have enough war score to demand both Dalmatia and Bosnia in a peace deal, but I decide to wait until Austria, which also has been doing well due to my intervention, makes peace with the Ottomans; maybe Istria won’t be part of the deal and then I might get another chance of taking that province too, thus creating a land route all the way to Dalmatia. However, since peace doesn’t seem to be on the Emperor’s mind, I give up and settle for Dalmatia, Bosnia, 300 ducats and Cyprus to France in February 1635. Five (!!!) days later, Austria agrees to peace with the Ottomans in exchange for Croatia, Carpathia, Presburg, Pest, Ruthenia and Banat. That’s damn near the whole Balkan peninsula except Istria!

Next time I’ll feel the need to intervene based on the principle of balance of power I know who I’ll be siding with. Krain and Croatia also make for a nice land connection to my Balkan enclave…

 

[Gelion]

Going for an Empire now ey? Great stuff! Keep it going!!!!!

 

[Pyotr Veliky]

The Holy City and the Big Apple

Again my focus shifts back to the economy and rebuilding the military for a future war. My economy is developing as planned. By 1640 I own 13 manufactories: 4 refineries, 4 goods manufactories, 3 weapon manufactories and 2 naval equipment manufactories. Colonial expansion, however, has dried up. New Italy consists of 4 Canadian provinces, just like it did at the beginning of the century. The reason for this is the lack of conquistadores needed to explore the lands to the west and south of my colonies. From the knowledge I do have about the New World I conclude that France and England have only very small colonial empires, which could indicate that they too have problems with discovering new lands. The size of the Spanish and Portuguese holdings is unknown to me.

I decide that if expansion can not come from building colonies, it needs to come from taking them from others, in this case England, even though at the moment I can see only one worthwhile English colony (Manhattan). They also own Rome, which is long overdue to be incorporated into Italy anyway. Hey, they embargo my merchants, what more do you want as an excuse for war? To prepare for war with England, I start building war ships in my colonies to create a New World navy capable of projecting some power on the other side of the Atlantic.

In October 1640, the Ottomans declare war on Austria yet again. Let’s see how the Austrians manage this time, without my help. I will be following this war closely, but it looks like the two sides are quite evenly matched, so there seems little reason for me to get involved in the conflict. Instead, I finish the preparations for my own little war and in 1644 I declare war on England and its allies Denmark, Poland and the Netherlands. France joins the war on my side.

The first attacks I get to endure are from ships from the English alliance, both in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Ligurian Sea. As of yet, they are beaten off successfully. My first move is, of course, laying siege to Rome. I also try to get my ships in the New World to drop off a landing party in Manhattan, but my attempts are constantly blocked by enemy ships either in the Gulf of St. Lawrence or further south. The Danes aren’t as successful against my navy as the others, though, and after inflicting some naval defeats on them, I agree to peace for 67 ducats in the beginning of 1645. The Poles agree to a white peace in that same period.

In March 1645, Rome falls to Italian troops. On the other side of the world, the English still have the better of me. Whenever my New World fleet, which consists of 15 war ships, reaches Cheasapeake Bay to unload an army onto the beaches of Manhattan, an English fleet, often smaller, but with a leader and better morale, beats me and I am forced to retreat up north to try again later in the hope of not being greeted by enemy ships. My larger Med fleet, on the other hand, is very successful against the English.

Meanwhile, the Dutch are pounded by the French and when in May 1645 they offer me peace for 95 ducats I accept. There’s no need for France to gain any Dutch provinces from all of this.

The English now increase their efforts. Unprotected French colonies are taken over and they even land in Dalmatia. I quickly retake the French colonies and destroy the English forces there, but I decide to wait in the case of Dalmatia. After taking Dalmatia, this army will most probably move to Bosnia where it will be destroyed. Time, therefore, is on my side. I am proven right when in August 1646 Dalmatia falls in English hands and the English move north to Bosnia where they are easily defeated. I now move in to retake Dalmatia.

In May 1647, England accepts peace with France in exchange for Northumberland, Ulster, Wales, Meath and Gascogne. With French soldiers on the island, England now is forever at France’s mercy.

Just after this peace deal was agreed upon, I finally manage to unload an army and take Manhattan uncontested. Regrettably, the other English colonies in the area aren’t yet discovered by me, so I can’t capture more of them. To avoid a further useless loss of war score points, I move my New World fleet to safety in the harbour of Bangor, where I just completed building a third naval equipment manufactory.

In the Med, too, the war is now clearly going in my favour when Dalmatia is recaptured in February 1648. Three months later England agrees to peace handing over Rome, Manhattan and 75 ducats. All in all, a good war, although it’s a shame England got owned by France. I would have liked them to stay a powerful counterweight against France.

The Manhattan colony wasn’t yet finished, so that is now my first priority, although I also start looking for the next victim for Italy’s expansionist plans. With Venice embargoing my merchants after I manage to get a monopoly there in April 1649, this new victim is quickly found.

In 1650 the war between the Ottoman Empire and Austria comes to an end with the Ottomans gaining Ruthenia and Banat. All things being equal, the Ottomans at the moment clearly have an edge over Austria. I think that in a next war I might have to defend the Austrians from collapse, if I want to or not.

The seeds of a Mediterranean empire

In September 1650 Italy declares war on Venice, the only surviving independent Italian state. Venice is supported by Spain, Aragon and the Order of St. John while France, like always, joins the war on my side. My goals for this war are the following: take Crete (a rich Catholic province) from Venice and gain a foothold on the Iberian peninsula.

Crete, so I found out before the declaration of war, is defended by a 13,000 men strong army. In order to overcome this force, I head for the island with two armies. One consists of only infantry and will return to Italy immediately after a successful landing and the second one is a canon heavy army to speed up the siege that will then follow. In October these two armies, together weighing 30,000, land on the island and defeat the defenders after which a siege is started.

Venetian troops meanwhile try to dislodge my army in Steiermark, but they fail. As soon as the Venetian navy leaves Veneto open for Italian troops waiting in Mantua, I move in to start a siege of Venice’s capital. Like in previous wars, my fleet in the Ligurian Sea works like a magnet on enemy ships looking for a serious beating, which results in some nice war score points without having to do much for them. More war score points are added when in March 1652 Crete surrenders to the Italian army on the island. I try to get Crete in a peace, but as of yet the Venetians aren’t willing to part with the island, the last pearl in their previously impressive Mediterranean crown. I do conclude a peace with Spain for 152 ducats, since I don’t want the French to take them out. Their turn will come later.

In November 1652, Venice agrees to peace with France in exchange for the province of Bearn, which the Venetians somehow managed to conquer in an earlier war, and 48 ducats. It is now time for me to take on the other major nation in the enemy alliance: Aragon. Just before the war, I expanded my Mediterranean fleet with 30 warships. They are now used to ferry a large army over to Iberia, where it lands in Valencia in the beginning of 1653. However, a small Ottoman army has already started a siege there (the Ottomans declared war on the Venetian alliance in January 1651). Not wanting to aid the Ottomans in their siege, I move north to Catalonia, Aragon’s capital province, where I chase away the defenders and start my own siege. The city falls in June 1653.

This first army then heads for the province of Aragon and at this time a second army is brought in from Italy to lay siege to Gerona. As the Ottomans leave, Valencia too is besieged. With the Aragonese disorganized and left with only the remnants of their original armies, my forces roam around at will as more troops are send to Iberia. The small Aragonese armies that try to lift the sieges are simple outgunned.

After a long siege, Veneto finally falls to Italian troops in January 1655, but the Venetians still aren’t willing to give up Crete. The Araganose, however, have a little more common sense and when in August 1655 their last province on the Iberian mainland is captured, they agree to peace giving up Valencia (with a refinery!), Aragon and 50 ducats. I started this game with Aragon in Italy, now it’s the other way around. And this is merely the beginning. With these two provinces as a base of operations, the entire Iberian peninsula lies open for further expansion.

A few attempts later, Venice, too, finally sees the hopelessness of the situation and thus Crete is added to the Italian empire as well as 175 ducats to its coffers. A new Mediterranean empire is born.

Oh, and New Italy also grows a bit in this period when in January 1660 the rebellious French province of Manicouagan joins my realm. Yay!

 

[Pyotr Veliky]

The missing link

Ten years after the successful expansionist war against Venice and Aragon, Italy is once again in search for blood. The war that is now being contemplated will be somewhat smaller in size, though, with far less ambitious goals. I want only one province this time and the country that’s gonna have to hand it over is the Ottoman Empire. The province in question is Istria, needed to link my possessions in the Balkans up with the Italian mainland.

I start gathering the forces I feel I need for a smooth victory and in May 1665 all my armies in the area are in position.

My plan is to strike at Istria from Steiermark and take the province in a siege which shall be supported by a small galley fleet off the coast. My main fleet, stationed to the south and mostly consisting of war ships, should stop any Ottoman reinforcements from reaching the main theatre of operations. The same mission, but then on land, is given to two large armies in the mountains of Bosnia and Dalmatia. The Dalmatian army, which is equipped with almost 190 cannons, can also be used to, if necessary, reinforce the siege army in Istria. I expect victory to be swift and relatively bloodless.

After I have declared war on the Ottomans in June 1665 (without, btw, asking the French to join), the first part of the plan fails when my Steiermark army is beaten by the defenders in Istria. Undeterred, I immediately move in part of my Dalmatian army, which easily brushes the defenders, now low on morale, aside and starts besieging the province. The forces in Dalmatia, reinforced by the army from Steiermark, and Bosnia prove to be more than strong enough to stop the Ottomans from breaking through, inflicting horrendous casualties in the process.

In the first months of the war, my main Adriatic fleet easily fights off the Ottoman and Crimean ships trying to fight their way up the coast, but in October they finally succumb to one of the numerous attacks. They retreat to the port of Dalmatia and since the Ottomans now move north, I order my smaller galley fleet supporting the siege of Istria to port also. When the morale of my main battle fleet is restored, I order both fleets to simultaneously strike at the enemy ships in the Gulf of Venice. The attack is a huge success and the Italian navy is now once more in complete control of the Adriatic.

On land, the Ottomans don’t manage to score even a temporary success. They try to land on Crete several times, but are obliterated every single time and in the Balkan mountains my armies form a wall of steel that the Sultan just can not breach. Even before the fall of Istria, in August 1666, I have a positive war score of almost 30.

As soon as Istria is lost, the Ottomans offer peace for Istria and 122 ducats. Not wanting anything else from them, I agree.

From a strategic and economic point of view, Istria is a good addition to my empire, but religion wise the Muslim province is greatly out of place in my Catholic nation. Since I went full Innovative, I have no missionaries to try and convert the heathens, so I just have to hope for a conversion by event. Until then, I move my tolerance slider for Muslims to the far right to avoid too much instability.

Gold rush

As the sixties draw to a close, I am more and more getting interested in the riches Iberia has to offer. There are two provinces I would love to add to the ever expanding Italian empire: Toledo, with its rich gold mine, and Andalusia, with its rich centre of trade. To provoke the Spanish into giving me a free CB, I start to spam their CoT with countless merchants. At one point, I have a virtually complete monopoly with only a lone Swedish merchant joining me. Still the Spanish refuse to embargo me, though.

Despite the Spanish being wiser than hoped, the redeployment of troops to the western Med I ordered earlier isn’t halted. Two large cannon heavy armies are formed in my Iberian provinces to subdue any Spanish resistance in the upcoming war. Spain has quite a lot of soldiers stationed in their homeland, the 49,000 men strong army in Cantabria (not shown on the screenie below) being their biggest concentration of troops.

Tired of waiting for a free CB, I declare war on Spain in May 1672. To deflect some of the Spanish’ attention, I ask France to join me. Despite this being a war of aggression, most of my forces are kept on the defensive in Aragon and Valencia. Only two relatively small armies are sent out to besiege the provinces of Toledo and Murcia. They are big enough to complete a siege and defend themselves against the first blows of a Spanish attack, but small enough not to suffer attrition. If necessary, the Valencia army could always send reinforcements. This is not needed however, because the Spanish focus their attention on the Iberian provinces already under my control. They are beaten back mercilessly. With the Spanish forces now out of position and with low morale, I split up my Aragon army to besiege Castilla, Spain’s capital province.

On the 6th of January 1673, both Toledo and Murcia fall to Italian troops. On that same day, too, an Italian army unloads from ships from the New World fleet onto the island of Cuba, which became visible to me after a victorious sea battle against the Spanish navy in the western Med. The Spanish defenders are dispersed and Moron is taken. The landing party would stay on Cuba until the end of the war and win many small scale battles against enemy troops and, as a bonus, also capture Havana.

Meanwhile, the events in the Iberian theatre of war take an unwelcome turn when French troops join my siege army in Castilla, not only taking over the siege, but also causing unnecessary losses to attrition. To add insult to injury, they attempt to assault the fortress there, taking my troops with them. The assault is not only costly, it’s also unsuccessful. I decide to let the French take Castilla by themselves and move my army to Estramadura.

At that point, Andalusia too is besieged and I position a strong army almost 30,000 strong in neighbouring Toledo to support either the army in Estramadura or Andalusia if needed. After the surrender of Andalusian garrison in July 1673, I order both my army in Toledo and Andulusia south to Granada, where the Spanish defence force is completely wiped out. After this, I split them up again, so that Granada and Gibraltar can be besieged simultaneously.

In August 1673 Estramadura falls before the victorious Italian troops. In October of that same year the Spanish send a large army into the province from across the river to chase away the occupiers, but even though they outnumber my forces more than 2 to 1, they are solidly defeated, after which they hurry back north with their tails between their legs.

In January 1674, France offers Spain a separate peace for Curacao and 78 ducats, an offer Spain accepts. The French could have gotten a lot more if they had been more patient, but I’m glad they didn’t. I’m especially pleased with the fact that they didn’t take any Spanish provinces in Europe.

February and March bring the fall of both Granada and Gibraltar and an ever weakening Spanish resistance. The failed attack on Estramadura was actually their last serious attempt to hurt me. With France out of the war and Castilla again under Spanish control, I decide to put even more the pressure on the Spanish and start a siege of their capital once more. I try to secure a peace for Toledo, Andalusia and Granada, but this would cost me too much war score (Andalusia alone is worth 40%) and although I’m at +99, I’m not surprised the offer isn’t accepted. Gaining Toledo and Andalusia seems to be the maximum I can hope for this time around and so this, in addition to 125 ducats, is put forward to the Spanish. In May 1674, peace is concluded on these conditions.

I have now robbed Spain of its two richest European provinces. I also gained some bad boy points, though. My bad boy score at this point is 33,9/45. Not a problem yet, but I’m walking a thin line.

 

[Dell19]

Nice progression. I wouldn't have invited France into that war with Spain since Spain isn't a strong nation in terms of military at least in Europe so France would only ever hinder your advances. Surprised that you had such massive armies in Spain. I tend to have about that many troops as my entire army although I rarely choose to fit other armies head to head.

Been playing as Poland lately and have found them hard to play as since you can build up a large empire but you have powerful German nations to the west and Russia to the east which makes wars costly when you don't have that much in the bank.

 

[Pyotr Veliky]

I had some 250k. Why not let them fight?

 

[Dell19]

True but I find that a massive army just tends to destroy itself through attrition and you have to pay for their support when that could be spent on research.

Btw I do like taking over Manhatten if I can as well since its nice to imagine having New York in the future if it still developed into a major city.