In the Name of the Most Serene Empire; a EU3 IN Venice AAR

You can vassalize a few German Minors, that is always fun and a waste of time. :)

And I think we all want to see Venice gain a few colonies, try going for Tangiers and stuff if it ain't taken. Also liberate more of Greece. Are you planning on forming Italy or not?
 
You can vassalize a few German Minors, that is always fun and a waste of time. :)

Why a waste of time? :lol: From what I know, I'd become very wealthy if I vassalised them all... it would also be a near-guarantee on becoming Emperor provided I kept good relations/became a monarchy.

And I think we all want to see Venice gain a few colonies, try going for Tangiers and stuff if it ain't taken. Also liberate more of Greece. Are you planning on forming Italy or not?

Morroco is coincidentally the current Crusade target, thanks to the Rey de Castilla's manipulation of the Pope...

Algiers and Tunis, in the same vein, have been royally screwed by the Morrocans, with Algiers only having 2 provinces and Tunis 1. Tripoli is a OPM as well. It will be easy to knock them all over, and I will get benefits when I make war upon Morocco. ;)

I will definitely be liberating Greece, and work on the overall disintegration of the Turks. Let's just hope their lucky tag + government bonuses(they not only get the badboy cap increase thanks to Despotic Monarchy, but they can support 10% more infantry and have 2.5% more discipline). I'll aim to seize Larissa to link up my Greek colonies, while leaving Albania for historical roleplay reasons(plus, Skanderbeg will give me a core on it when he finally croaks). After that, I will want Constantinople and the Turkish coast.

The way to obtain Constantinople is to take it from the Byzantines in our next war, which will prompt an event where Turkey will go, "Surrender Constantinople or all ur base r belong to us lololol." I will promptly rebuff them and work on destroying their empire piece by piece. ;)

Finally, yes, I am going to establish an Italian Empire. This will be that much easier since Tuscany is now a core(since my game rules state I cannot occupy a landlocked province unless it is a) a core, b) a historical province) or c) I become a great power, which I must hold Rome, Athens and Constantinople to become). I intend to take Siena in the same war, and thanks to the lovely guarantees, nearly all of Italy will be under my foot when it ends. :D
 
Chapter X: The Fourth Italian War (1434 - 1436)​



Spoiler :
1434



July 1434, with war exhaustion dissipated in Venice, the Papal States and Aydin(the chance of revolts in Cephallonia was still quite high), the Doge made plans to attack Siena.

September, Naxos was converted to Catholicism.



1435​



1435SienaClaims.jpg


January, with the treasury refilled with money, Doge Foscarini used agents to fabricate claims to Siena. With Siena considered a legitimate part of the Venetian Republic, war was declared.

As a result, Savoy, Genoa, Tuscany and finally Brandenburg all descended upon Venice, starting the Fourth Italian War.

Zaporozhie dishonored it's alliance with Venice. Foscarini remembered quickly why Venice only aligned with it's vassals.

January 10, the Florentine Army was completely destroyed.

1435ProvenceNaples.jpg


January 11, the Angevins of Provence inherited Naples. Aragon was not pleased, soon going to war with them over Napoli.

January 15, Siena's army was destroyed.

1435SienaOccupied.jpg


February, Siena was occupied thanks to an assault.

1435AragonandGenoa.jpg


Late February, Aragon pressed it's claims to Naples, triggering tensions with Provence.

Meanwhile, the Genovese Army was obliterated, leaving Genoa open to attack.

March, Siena was annexed by Venice. All forces converged on Tuscany, while supporting forces attacked Genoa and Savoy. Brandenburg had yet to send it's doomstacks to attack the Republic.

Late March, the College of Cardinals elected a clergyman from Venice to join it's ranks, leaving Venice with two Cardinals.

May, Florence was occupied while 1,000 soldiers under it's "mighty" command attacked Pisa. Annexation was demanded immediately. While many merchants were concerned about this move, Foscarini stated reasons that legitimised a Venetian occupation: a) Tuscany fit perfectly into Venetian territory and would make control of central Italy that much easier. b) Tuscany was rich and was another great commercial city. c) Finally, Tuscany was considered a property of Venice in international circles thanks to a dispute several years prior.

Annexation passed nicely, with the legislature signing laws that made Tuscany a full part of the Republic.

June, the Emperor's army arrived. ...With 3,000 troops. This was attributed to Brandenburg's small size.

Late June, the Genovese humorously embargoed Venice.

July, Marco Rovigo occupied Genoa. He was ordered westwards to seize Savoy.

August, Salzburg pressed a boundary dispute, causing Gorz to be considered part of their territory. Their basis was that they were the successor state to Styria. Never mind the fact Styria still held on to it's capital.

1435Insult.jpg


September, tensions flared with Salzburg after a diplomatic insult where the Archbishop called Francesco Foscarini a "bloodthirsty warmonger." However, Foscarini took the opportunity to issue a formal apology for the bloodshed in Italy, delivering such moving speeches - with the Underground's help of course - that relations improved with many of Venice's neighbors.

October, Foscarini's popularity allowed him to win another recall election.

A band of 450 Al-Misr Arabic rebels rose up in Diamentia, and 2,000 soldiers immediately were sent to take care of them. The usual antagonist was Tunisia, which we had seen financing rebels in Mamluk territory as well. The Tunisians had financed a revolt in Venetian territory once in the past, but it had been small and was crushed.

Savoie fell in October, while a battle between the Genoese and Venetian fleets off Greece resulted in the capture of one enemy vessel.

November, two Genoese vessels were sunk, while the Battle of Gorz resulted in a Pyhrric victory. It was decided to send more cavalry and infantry eastwards to better counter the Brandenburger threat. As expected, the Al-Misr Arabs were defeated as well.

December, 4 Brandenburger regiments were wiped out in the Battles of Brescia and Friuli. Several more Imperial regiments were wandering around in Treviso and Romagna, however, and the Serenissima's generals were tasked with taking care of that issue.



1436



January, a new Imperial force of 1,000 men arrived in Tirol.

As a sign of coming victory, Nice was seized in late January, taking Savoy out of the war.

February, tired of constant war, Brandenburg sent an offer of a white peace, prompting the Doge to accept. With the Empire's powerful 3,000 man army gone, Venice's hegemony was guaranteed.

1436MilitaryComplacency.jpg


April 1426, generals and commanders commented that the Venetian Army was invincible, never losing any battles during the Fourth Italian War, while even the navy was powerful, as the Genoese vessels were being torn to pieces off the coast of Liguria.

1436GazaRevolt.jpg


July, rebels rose up in Gaza, once more funded by the damned Tunisians. The Doge convened a war council and decided that Tunisia had to be knocked down a few pegs.

August, the Turks warned Venice. Doge Foscari put this into consideration, knowing that this meant the next war would have to be on the Islamic hordes of the East.

1436Crete.jpg


September 1436, Crete was converted to Catholicism. When finances were better, the Doge planned to send missionaries to Judea and Morea.

With Savoy and Genoa being doomed, the Doge sent peace offers. First, he ordered Genoa be annexed, thanks to it's trading center.

October, Savoy was vassalised, ending the Fourth Italian War.

1436SavoyVassalised.jpg


To avoid competition with the Serenissima, Savoy's coastline was snatched away and added to the "Liguria Region." Furthermore, Savoy's King was deposed, and replaced with a Doge.

December, with the end of the war, Venice's stability increased to 3.

With the end of 1436, the Fourth Italian War had concluded. Venetian hegemony was apparent, with only Mantua escaping the grip of Venice on the peninsula.

1436VenetianEmpire.jpg
 
Up next is some well-cooked Turkey. :D

And of course, more motivational music from the Underground. :evil:
 
Chapter XI: The Fall of Edirne and Constantinople; the Rise of Venice (1437 - 1445)



Spoiler :
1437



1437 was a tense year. The Venetian population trembled in fear of the prospect that Venice had to go to war with the Turks at some point. The reason this was so feared was the simple fact that the Turks had warned the Venetian Republic. Meaning they would take an active interest in Venice's upcoming campaigns. This paralysed Venice's pursuits around the world, with the most powerful option of war stripped from the Serenissima.

However, Foscarini was like all Doges, quite clever. First, he aimed to rally people to a future war effort.


Link to video.

He did this by having the Underground perform a new song, "Take a Chance." This did well with encouraging people to support a war with the Turks, however risky, as it would be quite profitable should Venice win.

After that, he went about making his own plans for a war.

First, the military access treaty that Venice enjoyed in Turkish territory could be used quite evilly, given the fact this would allow entire regions to be covered by troops.

1437Centralisation.jpg


August, Foscarini negotiated a significant piece of legislation to further centralise Venice. More and more power was being concentrated in the capital government, especially the Doge.

This of course, caused people to become anxious about increasing government power, causing a short-term loss of stability and a long-term amount of discontent.



1438



January, it was deemed that Venice was ready for a war with the Turks. A declaration of war was sent to Serbia, the Turkish ally, while forces amassed inside and outside the Ottoman Empire.

Days afterwards, as the Turkish armies marched, Tunisia warned Venice.

1438MantuaAttacks.jpg


More ambitious, the ruler of Mantua had the nerve to attack Venice. This of course, was a futile skirmish, and he managed to drop out before any real damage was done. The Doge planned to get his vengeance once the Turks were dealt with. (This event gives Venice a core on Mantua)

Mid-January, the Battle of Macedonia destroyed the Serbian Army.

As that went on, Venetian forces were engaged in battle against the Turks in Sea of Marmara. Venice had 6 Carracks and 8 galleys to the Turks' 14 galleys.

Aydin was surrounded by 18,000 Ottoman soldiers by late January, with likely more coming. Aydin was to be martyred as part of the invasion plan.

March, while fires burned across Greece and the Balkans, Burgundy annexed the Palatinate, adding 3 provinces to it's bulk.

April of 1438, the lone European Ottoman force of 1,000 men was finally defeated, after several back-and-forth battles. This left all of Turkish Europe as the prize for the Venetian Republic.

June, the Mamluks suffered a succession crisis. To give an idea just how bad it was, look at this recreation of the time:

1438MamluksPwned.jpg


The Doge was sure a well-led band of 35,000 soldiers, half cavalry and half infantry, would be sure to keep the Mamluks from trying to sneak into the war against Venice.

1438VictoryintheSea.jpg


July 1438, the Turks at last were finished off. They were left with a mere 4 galleys, while Venice only lost 2 ships in the whole battle.

August, Larissa was occupied, unifying Greece - except Edirne and Thrace - under Venetian control. More importantly, the Sunni missionaries in the region were exiled or executed, preserving the region's Christianity.

September, Serbia was occupied, driving the Serbian "King" south to Kosovo.

October 8, Edirne was occupied. The Sultan was driven out of his capital, retreating into Turkey itself, where he was secure.

December, as part of it's "last gasp", Serbia sponsored 700+ Orthodox rebels in Larissa as the region of Silistria was occupied by Venice.



1439​



January, Nis and Burgas fell simultaneously. This left only Kosovo and Albania under Turkish control.

Albania fell to the Pope's forces shortly later in January.

February, sensing opportunity, Greek nationalists rose up in Achaea, preaching mantras that the Greeks now had their chance to throw off Italian and Ottoman oppression.

Marco Rovigo's arrival in Achaea of course, wiped out the entire 4,000-man nationalist movement in a single battle.

April, stability increased to 2.

1437PapalController.jpg


June 1439, a Cardinal's "untimely" death allowed Venice to become the chief power in the Curia.

As well, Sultan Murad II was gathered across the straits in the province of Bursa, leading a force of 29,000 men.

October 1439, Foscarini was near-unanimously re-elected.

Late October, Kosovo was seized. The Turks officially had no active bases in Europe. It was now a question of how to dispose of Murad's massive invasion force...

The decision was made to set up as many soldiers as possible into a defensive position in Edirne, the Turks' precious capital. From there, the blockading forces would retreat, enabling the Turks to enter. The straits would then be blocked anew, trapping the Turkish Army in Europe, where it would be torn apart.

This would be no easy undertaking, and General Rovigo and General Razzini were told to work together, to command a 21,000 man force against the Turks' 29,000. It was believed that through defensive positions, leadership and the disadvantage the enemy would gain by crossing the straits, that the Republic's forces would emerge superior.

November 1439, Razzini finally died. He had served Venice for decades, but his heart could only take so much stress. He was given a full state funeral. Despite his mediocrity when compared to many other generals, he had been Venice's ticket to success in her earlier campaigns of expansion.



1440



January, all ships were removed from the Sea of Marmara. Murad II took the bait like a good dog, sending his 29,000-man force across the Straits against 23,000 Venetian soldiers. The Battle of Edirne would determine the future of the Ottoman-Venetian war, as more-or-less, the full forces of both sides in the conflict were present.

April saw the return to +3 stability, as the battle with the Turks raged. Venice and her allies soon outnumbered Murad 2,000 in cavalry and 4,000 in infantry, but the Turks had an advantage in home turf and fire. Venice's advantage was limited to numbers and shock.

1440BattleofEdirne.jpg


April 28, the Battle of Edirne ended with a Venetian victory. Despite high numbers of casualties, Venice and the Papal States lost only 15 men total, while the Turks suffered 2,000+ deaths.

The Pope's soldiers headed for Bursa, but General Rovigo took the full might of the Venetian Army against the Turks, who were heading for Bulgaria.

The Battle of Burgas began in May. For some reason, the Turkish Sultan was nowhere to be found. It was assumed he slipped away from his army to find a way to sneak back into Turkey. Coward.

The Battle of Burgas resulted in a Venetian victory. The Turks were reduced to 24 regiments to Venice's 23, while the Papacy was doing well in sieging Bursa.

1440BattleofEdirne2.jpg


Later in May, they were reduced to 0 regiments in Europe. Rovigo was given new estates and titles to honor his victory, as he had been the one to execute it. Foscarini collected the public approval benefits of the enormous victory.

After celebrations, Rovigo was ordered to invade Asia Minor.

August, 900+ Arabs rose up in revolt in Gaza, sponsored by Tunisia as usual.

September, Rovigo fought troops the Turks had the nerve to recruit in Aydin's territory.

1440BurgundyEmperor.jpg


September also had the election of the Duke of Burgundy as Holy Roman Emperor. Burgundy was now poised to be a fitting counterweight to French influence. Good, considering France was busy gobbling up northern Castile.

October, Antalya was reoccupied by the Beyliks of Aydin thanks to Venice's aid. Smyrna was targeted next.



1441



January, Venice advanced to Government level 8. The studies associated with it opened up the doors to Feudal Monarchy...

January 30, Smyrna was retaken for Aydin. Rovigo was ordered to attack the Turkish heartland to teach them the price of defying Venice.

March, standard procedures occured when the Tunisians funded another miniature revolt in Judea. Some fools never learned.

June, the position of Papal Controller was re-acquired(it had been lost to England temporarily in April) when a Cardinal from Macedonia entered the Pope's inner circle.

In the late months of 1441, Hungarian troops were seen marching through Turkey, mingling with the Venetian ranks. It appeared Europe had chosen to take an opportunity...



1442​



January, a Temple was commissioned in Treviso to exploit the many taxes collected from Venetian and Ottoman territories.

May, the Turks overran Trebizon, but did not annex it. They instead demanded 7 ducats...

Later in May, Venice lost control of the Curia.

June 17, Rovigo's combined cavalry and infantry forces obliterated Murad's 5-regiment army in the East of Turkey. This defeat hurt the Turks immensely, as what little chance they had at recovery slipped away.

1442TurkishFleetSunk.jpg


July, the Turkish fleet was annihilated in another battle in the Sea of Marmara. As a result, statistics revealed that the Ottomans no longer had any troops or ships.

September, Karaman was taken from the Turks.

November, Castile revoked it's trade embargo on Venice, possibly hoping to gain some aid against the French monster that was eating their entire country and their ally, Portugal. The Doge was happy to entertain the prospect...

Late November, Adana was occupied. This purged the Turks of their Mediterranean coastline.

December, Aragon annexed Corsica, executing it's claims on the region.



1443



January, both Erserum and Mus in Eastern Turkey were occupied by the Republic.

April, the Mamluk Pretender Kujuk II was able to take the throne, but he seemed to suffer from some sort of insanity...

1443TwoKujuksWTF.jpg


Despite being Sultan, he was still leading an anti-Sultanate force. He was henceforth known as "Kujuk the Mad."

April, Angora was seized, leaving nearly all of Turkey under Venetian control.

Mid-April, the Turks made with peace with Hungary, on the condition that Bosnia's vassalisation end.

October 1443, Foscarini survived a recall election.



1444



January, with Turkish taxes embezzled for Venetian purposes, the Republic made with peace with the Turks:

1444PeaceWithTurks.jpg


The Bulgarians were set free, while parts of Turkey and Greece were seized by the Serenissima. As a result, the Turkish capital was isolated in hostile territory.

Most troops were ordered to retreat back to Greece, with a few staying in Turkey.

However, the Doge ordered most of the army to take a detour to Greece...

...Through Constantinople.

Shortly after the decision was made to sack the city of Constantine, word arrived that Castile had blockaded Venice anew. As well, a Cardinal under Papal influence died, his seat passing to a Venetian.

February, the Turks "changed their capital" - meaning they fled - to Angora.

Later in February, one of the Cardinals under English influence died, causing the title of Papal Controller to be passed to Venice.

March, one of the diplomats under Venetian control died. While this was tragic, it did not mean anything, as Venice's control of the Papacy, Foscarini's personal talents, and other advisors at the court made sure Venice gained more and more of a good reputation.

With claims fabricated in March to Constantinople, war was declared in April. General Rovigo was to lead a massive force across the Dardanelles.

The ungrateful Bulgarians broke the alliance. Plans were made to punish Bulgaria in the future.

Tunisia and Georgia backed up the Romans, but they only possessed a mere 9,000 troops all together. Venice, by contrast, was nearing 40,000+ with it's alliances.

May, Rovigo obliterated the Byzantine Army, while more troops were raised in Constantinople. This was of no concern to the Doge, who knew they wouldn't be able to fight Venice's might.

1444LarissaConverted.jpg


Late May, mere months after missionaries began work, Larissa was converted to the Catholic faith.

1444RovigoDeath.jpg


July, General Rovigo was killed by a stray shot from the walls of Constantinople. His loss was mourned throughout the Republic, as he had led many armies to victory. On the positive side, Rovigo had no heir to turn over his vast assets to, and he left them over to the government accordingly. Foscarini planned to use them extensively.

August, the death of a Castilian Cardinal gave Venice 4 of the 10 seats in the Curia.



1445



January, all temples in Larissa began to undergo renovations paid for by Rovigo's estate. The largest and most important were named in his honor.

May, the Court Theologian died. In his honor, conversion efforts were sponsored in Morea.

Hungary offered an alliance later in May, but the Doge declined, wanting to press claims to Dalmatia, and furthermore, he didn't trust those outside the "Venetian Circle."

August, one of Venice's cardinals died, but he was replaced by another Venetian cardinal from Gorz.

September, a Cardinal under Austrian influence died, but he was replaced by a Cardinal from Venetian Liguria.

November 10, 1445, Constantinople fell to the Venetian military. This sent shockwaves across Europe, as they realised that the "Venetian Sea Monster" had devoured the small but well-fortified city of the Romans. If extensive fortifications could not stop the Venetian military, what could?

1445ByzantinesAnnexed.jpg


November 12, the Roman Emperor was deposed. There was to be only one Roman Emperor from then on, the one in Germany.

1445TurksWar.jpg


December, the Turks demanded Constantinople. Doge Foscarini convened a war council, and the verdict was that the second Rome would be under Venetian administration until the Turks could pry it from Venice's dead, cold hands.

The result was a second Turkish war.

1445NewGeneral.jpg


General Mose Casanova was appointed Supreme Commander of Venetian forces(besides Foscarini, of course), and ordered to obliterate all Turkish forces in Asia.

1445's end had another tense war's beginning. The Turks engaged the Venetians in battle nearly two years after the last conflict. Venice did not care for the scattered Tunisian foe, focusing on the threat of the Turks, Serbia, Bosnia, Nogai and the Khazak Horde.

All together, however, the Ottoman Alliance had 20,000 soldiers at the war's start, 1/5 of whom were under Bosnian and Serbian control. Distance and quantity of soldiers would be the Turks' downfall.

If Venice could pull off another victory, the Turks would forever be banished from glory. Then, it would be a sail to Tunisia to dismantle more Beyliks.

But the result was to be seen...
 
And with that, children, we are ready to take on the Turks again, and then I shall sale to Tunisia to finally punish them for CONSTANTLY supporting revolts in the Arabic provinces.

What should I aim for in the Tunisian war? Provinces, vassalisation, or both? I've added an event that allows a one-time chance for countries under a different religion's suzerainity to convert, and that could alleviate the issue of not being able to diplo-annex unless my little children decide to pick the 20% chance of keeping their religion.

Besides strangling Tunisia, where should our foreign policy turn to?

I feel that I should attack Aragon or Provence. Since they hold Italian provinces, I cannot qualify for the "great power status" I established for myself.

However, I could also aim at annexing the Papal States, because so long as they own Rome, I cannot change governments.

I could also attack Hungary. They still own the Dalmatian coast and all.

I also could attack Mantua to gain another core, and by vassalising them + kicking out Aragon and Provence, I would be able to obtain great power status.

Also, I get a free National Idea slot in the next chapter. Any ideas what I should adopt? I'd say Deus Vult, but that's worthless as the Orthodox states are mostly dead now. Quest For The New World also can't be adopted until 1492, regardless of when I get the necessary naval tech.
 
Solidify your position in the Mediteranean! Conquer Sicily, Malta, Sardinia, Corsica, Balearics for fun! :D

I also agree long term war with Hungary to gain Dalmatia, Maybe just warn them so you can declare war on them when you are prepared. (you keep Casi Balli even if you refuse to go to war at time)

Also, you must get Tangiers before Iberian guys get it! If you want to colonize new world that is.
 
Alright. War of pwnage against Aragon it is. :D The Baleares will be semi-useful once they core when it comes to colonisation, as well.

Tangiers, if I recall, has fallen to Castile already. : ( I will, however, be happy to rob Morocco and Algiers of territory at some point.

If I become really ambitious, I could try to snatch Gibraltar from the Castilians, just for fun! Become a Mediterranean-bound Britain. :D

Any ideas what I should acquire for my national idea?
 
Gibraltar is a bad idea, Castille automatically get's core on all of Iberia except for Portugal, Gibraltar under your hands will mean Castille declaring war on you every 10 years.

What NI do you have currently?
 
I'm sure I can handle Castile (and later Spain, which my events should form eventually) if I was cautious enough... :mischief: Venice has had to fight much worse battles before. ;)

My current National Idea is the Military Drill, which has prevented me from getting massacred against other powers that have it. It's also to serve as a means of fighting the French/Burgundian Hordes in the future.
 
If you were to annex Papacy and keep Constantinople, you would be essentially Rome right? ;)
 
More or less... all my AARs somehow drift into Rome...
 
Well, most of them are Venice.
 
I plead guilty to that. XD Venice is just awesome to me.

So, as a random question for everyone, has anyone's brain been scrambled by the Sonic Underground's music videos? :lol:
 
I have refused to watch them out of proper context. =P

Even though their supposed "context" in episode is questionable. XD
 
Chapter XII: The Mediterranean Voyage (1446 - 1455)



Spoiler :
1446​



By March, both the Bosnian and Serbian Armies had been wiped out, eliminating the Turks' shield in Europe.

June, Achaea was converted to Catholicism.

July, a white peace was signed with Georgia, removing a relatively minor power from the conflict.

September, half of Bosnia was occupied by the Venetians, adding it to the list of regions under effective allied occupation, Konya and Anatolia in Turkey being two other ones.

1446BosniaVassalised.jpg


October, the last fortresses of Bosnia crumbled before Venetian arms, and this prompted their surrender and vassalisation to the Serenissima. This ended the Turkish influence in Bosnia.

December, the Doge decided to further Venetian interests by adopting a National Trade Policy, increasing the efficiency of Venice's trade by 10%. This would greatly increase the amount of money harvested from trade - which made up 23% of Venice's income. Taxes made up 24% by contrast.

Later in December, Burgundy made peace with France, acquiring Cambray, Lyonnais and Auvergne.



1447



January, the effects of the National Trade Policy were easily seen, as Venice's montly trading income of 26 ducats jumped to 34 ducats, an increase of nearly 31%.

January 8, Kosovo was seized, ending Serbia's involvement in the war.

February, Doge Foscarini pulled some strings and had the vast Moroccan Empire made the target of a crusade, giving Portugal and Aragon bonuses for fighting it.

Later in February, the Kazakhs accepted a white peace after having their newly-arrived army humbled by a mixture of Papal, Aydin and Aragonese troops.

March, Edirne was occupied by Venice, driving the Turkish forces completely from Europe.

April, 5,000 Turkish patriots rose up in Angora, but being mostly infantry and going against General Casanova, they were doomed.

July, after the Papal-occupied province of Gabes was re-occupied by Tunisia, the Doge made peace with the Tunisians by signing a white peace.

1447AgriculturalRevolution.jpg


September, an agricultural revolution prompted the Doge to work to maximise tax revenue from farmlands. This had the greatest effects in Judea, which had recently bloomed with farms as a result of investment from Italia.

Late September, Sinope and Sivas were occupied by Venetian forces. Only Erserum remained as a Turkish province free from foreign occupation. Ottoman territories in the Black Sea and the Caucasus, however, also remained free.

October, Foscarini won a typical landslide victory.



1448​



January, missionaries were dispatched to convert all the provinces of the Near East and Egypt.

February, Georgia - the province, not the country - was occupied, leaving the Turks without a single province. The remainder of their country - Kaffa and Imereti - was under Aragonese occupation.

1448AlexandriaConverted.jpg


March, as Aragon made peace with the Turks and ended Serbia's vassalisation as a result, the heretic center of Alexandria was converted after mass conversion efforst began in January.

April, Serbia, now free from Turkish overlordship, was able to accept a separate peace with Venice. They paid 75 ducats, renounced claims on Zeta, and swore loyalty to Venice as their new overlord. The Turks no longer had sway over the Christian states of the Balkans.

April 11, Nogai accepted an offer from Venice for a white peace. This left the Turks with no allies, no vassals, and no armies.

June, Imereti was occupied, and all Venetian-led forces converged on Kaffa.

August of 1448, the heretics of Morea were converted, purging Orthodoxy from Venice's Greek possessions sans Constantinople.

August 29, Kaffa, the former colony of Genoa, was occupied by a joint Papal-Venetian force. With that, the entire Ottoman Empire was under Venetian occupation.

1448TurksSurrender.jpg


The Sultan caved in immediately, signing a humiliating peace treaty on September 1, 1448. The treaty ceded Edirne, Bithynia, Karaman and Kaffa to Venice, while it also caused the Sultanate to relinquish it's claims on Larissa.

And so, Sultan Murad II's attempt to retake his "rightful" territory of Constantinople from Venice had ended in complete disaster. The vassal states of Bosnia and Serbia were severed from the Islamic sphere and re-attached to the Venetian, and the Turks lost all European territories besides Albania, which was torn between the Orthodoxists and Nationalists under Skanderbeg and the Islamists and pro-Turks under the local governors.

With the Turks crushed and their empire falling apart at the seams, Venice was secure. It was prosperous, had a healthy surplus, was steadily converting the heathens of the Near East, and had a network of vassals that gave it effective control of most of the Balkans, Greece, Italy and Turkey. Now the Doge had to focus his efforts to strengthening Venice diplomatically and commercially.

1448CorfuAnnexed.jpg


He did this by annexing Cephallonia in October, bringing all of Greece under solid Venetian rule. Now programs of mass conversion could be undertaken, making "Greek Orthodoxy" an oxymoron.

Later in October, Foscarini persuaded the Pope to lift the excommunication that previous Papal controllers had placed upon Saxony, therefore securing better relations.



1449



1449FreeSubjects.jpg


January, Doge Foscarini passed reforms that further curbed serfdom in Venice. While some were concerned this might increase stability costs and make it harder to field massive armies, Foscarini mentioned that Venice already had a rather stable society thanks to great amounts of religious overtones and effective administration, and that the morale of Venice's people above all outpaced their number. Making people freer would also allow more freedom of thought and pursuit of opportunity, enhancing Venice's technological breakthroughs.

Mid-January, Burgundy annexed Trier, adding one more province to it's bulky size between France and Germany.

Foscarini began to make plans to attack Hungary and press claims Venice had on Dalmatia for decades. Attacking Hungary directly would be foolish, as the Hungarians were aligned with Poland and thus would be able to turn into a steamroller.

It was instead decided to attack one of the minor German states, who's guarantees would prompt Hungary to join in and protect them.

So, Foscarini made overtures to the Savoyard government(Venice's second-richest vassal after the Papal States), resulting in an alliance with Venice. Offers also went out to Bosnia, Venice's third-richest vassal.

Serbia and Ferrara joined the alliance after Bosnia accepted, creating an alliance composed of Venice, the Pope, Savoy, Bosnia, Serbia and Aydin.

It was decided that rather than attack Hungary, an attack would be launched upon France, which was allied with Provence and Hungary. In a single war, Venice would be able to kick the Angevins out of Provence, humble France - which was still reeling from it's war with Burgundy - and claim the Dalmatian coast.

This was of course a very shocking move to the legislature, but Foscarini assured legislators, plutocrats and the people that Venice and her allies had a combined force of 41,000 troops, with the ability to readily raise more on the part of all parties. Hungary's forces were estimated at around 20,000 due to the force near the borders, and this force was divided amongst several provinces, while also focused on fighting the Turks. Provence possessed only 1,000 troops, inside Provence proper. France's troops remained unknown, but it was assumed they were reasonably small due to the fact Burgundy had damaged them so much.

By February, war was declared after claims were fabricated to the French border(on the behalf of Savoy). The Underground voiced enormous protests against the war, saying they would no longer perform during it's duration.

1449WarWithFrance.jpg


The resulting alliance was Venice, the Papacy, Savoy, Ferrara, Aydin, Serbia and Bosnia against France, Hungary, Provence and Foix.

The Doge's strategy was to smash through the Hungarian Army, and then spread across their territory. The Pope would besiege Naples, allowing all remaining Italians to focus on defeating incoming French forces.

By March, most of the Hungarian Army had combined into one single unit moving across Bosnia, occupying the entire northern half of the country in a matter of days.

1449BattleofBosnia.jpg


April, the Battle of Bosnia ended with an epic Venetian victory, thanks to the leadership of General Casanova. The Hungarian Army mainly went towards Croatia, though a small force retreated to Osijek. Casanova was ordered to use his forces to first destroy the small force in Osijek, and then attack the main Hungarian army. Without leadership, the Hungarians were sure to crumble.

June, an alliance offer from Castile was accepted, even if they were likely to cancel it the moment Venice went to war.

1449BattleofDalmatia.jpg


September, the main Hungarian Army was destroyed while Mamluk-sponsored Sunni zealots rose up in Gaza. Casanova was given orders to leave Hungary and move to Italy to repel the full-scale invasion the French had launched.

September 19, the Sunni zealots in Gaza were exterminated. Conversion efforts continued unhindered.

October, 13 regiments - 10 cavalry and 3 infantry - joined underneath General Casanova's leadership in Verona. He was ordered West to liberate Lombardia.

December, likely as a result of the mass reprisals carried out following the Sunni revolt, Gaza converted to Catholicism.



1450​



January, Casanova's army was opposed by the full French army, equal in strength at 13 regiments, led by Pierre de Champmartin.

1450BattleofLombardia.jpg


The battle was epic, ending in a Venetian victory.

February, Banat and Osijek were occupied by Venice.

March, Naples was occupied by the forces of the Pope, Aydin and Ferrara, before being turned over to Venice. This freed up five regiments - one of them cavalry - to move north and help in repelling the French invasion.

April, the Battle of Piedmont destroyed all of Foix's troops in Italy.

1450BattleofLiguria.jpg


June, the Battle of Liguria turned the war in Venice's favor, with much of the French invasion force being wiped out. Casanova was taked with invading Provence and demolishing their military. Troops were also to be sent to Savoy to liberate it from French rule.

July, the Battle of Provence wiped out the entire Angevin army, and Provence was immediately occupied by Venice due to a lack of a French occupying force in the area.

September, Dalmatia was occupied, leaving Hungary's southern provinces under solid Venetian rule.

December, the Doge honored a call to arms from Castile, to fight against Morocco. This would give Venice income benefits for being on a crusade, even if Venice didn't actually fight them.



1451



January, Piedmont was liberated, allowing the Savoyards to once more have a role in the war.

February, Corfu was converted to Catholicism.

March, Aragon ended it's war with Morocco, taking Tlemcen and Mellila.

April, Janina was converted, eliminating Orthodoxy from Cephallonia.

July, Savoie was liberated, ending France's occupation of the Savoyard Republic.

October, the aging Foscarini retained his position as Doge despite public concerns of if Venice could continue to support the strain of the war effort.

This was a wise move on the part of all electors, as the province of Dauphine fell to Venice days later.



1452​



January, Languedoc was occupied by the combined might of Aydin and Venice. This left France's population in a panic, as they realised that the Venetians now were occupying their homeland.

March, Diamentia in the Near East was converted to Catholicism.

April, Burgundy pressed claims to the French province of Vermandois on their border. The Doge prayed Burgundy would soon take advantage of France's current situation...

July, Tunisian Asyut was occupied by Venice, minimising their threat to the Republic, as they were allied to Morocco. Rousillon was captured shortly after.

September, the short war with Morocco ended, with Castile taking away a large bounty of ducats as well as the provinces of Constantine and Ifni.

More importantly, Burgundy attacked France, quickly rampaging through the north. Hungary dishonored it's alliance, while Castile guaranteed France in the aftermath.

In December, Burgundy pressed claims to Savoie. It was expecting the Emperor and Venice would eventually go to war.



1453



February, Transylvania fell to Venice. Hungary had been driven more or less to it's outskirts.

April, Hungary's capital was occupied by a large Italian force, without any Venetians in it.

April 28, 3,000 Hungarian soldiers were massacred in the northwest of Hungary. Altogether, France and Hungary both had 2,000 soldiers on active duty across their vast realms. Venice and it's allies - and later Burgundy - had worked to destroy two of the most potent countries in Europe.

June, the last regiments of the Hungarian military were destroyed, leaving Franco-Hungarian forces with less than 1,000 troops total.

September, the short Franco-Burgundian War ended, with Burgundy taking Caux, Champagne, and 10 ducats. The Burgundians were sneaky enough to leave the one province they had a core on out of the peace deal. The Burgundians also ended the vassalisation of Foix.

Accordingly, the government of Foix sent a peace offer, wanting to regain administration of their territory.

1453FoixVassal.jpg


The Doge replied that Foix would retain it's independence, but would have Venetian oversight and protection. It was agreed that Foix would become a vassal of Venice.

October 5, Casanova's forces seized control of heavily-fortified Toulouse.



1454​



February, Limousin and Armagnac fell to Venice. The French leadership knew it's time was limited.

1454HungarySurrenders.jpg


March, Budjak, the last fortress of Hungary, fell to the combined forces of Aydin and Venice. The Hungarian King accordingly surrendered, turning large swaths of land over to the superior Venetian alliance.

The Hungarian phase of the Franco-Venetian War was officially over. Hungary was reduced to a landlocked country, losing it's control over all Croatian territories except Slavonia(which was now dominantly Magyar), and above all facing humiliation. Anarchy would follow the months after the war, as the Hungarian military was non-existent and local forces were both ineffective and corrupt, with the peasants themselves being very dissatisfied.

---

Now that France's Magyar pets had been put down, the Coalition's full efforts could be focused against France.

June, Delta was converted to Catholicism, reintroducing Christianity to the Nile Delta.

August, as a result of successive victories and the outright extermination of the French military, General Mose Casanova arrived at the outskirts of Paris. The French were doomed, and 13,000 soldiers crossing into France from Venice's allies was further proof of this.



1455​



May, Vermandois was occupied. This left only Paris and Normandy under actual French administration. There were reports that the King had fled incognito to Normandy and was planning to board ships bound for friendly countries, mainly Castile, which guaranteed the continuation of the French royal line.

August 1, 1455, the city of Paris fell to the Venetians. Just like the fall of Constantinople, this sent shockwaves throughout Europe. The powerful French military was unable to defeat the Venetians and their allies, prompting Europe to rush into the arms of the Holy Roman Emperor, Philippe the Good of Burgundy. Philippe's roles as Duke of Burgundy and Holy Roman Emperor made him by far the most powerful monarch in Europe, and so it was believed that he had the best chance of defeating the Venetians.


But such speculation would have to wait until another time to be proven. The King of France capitulated, ceding Dauphine, Languedoc, Naples, and finally renouncing all claims to the Venetian vassal of Foix's territory.

1455FranceSurrenders.jpg


The Kings of France and Hungary were humiliated thanks to the Franco-Venetian War of 1449-1455, with their armies wiped out, Venice's claims on Dalmatia realised, vassals gained, Hungary landlocked, and above all the transition of European leadership to Burgundy.

But of course, as soon as foreign troubles ended, domestic ones began. The merchants and those supporting Venice's role as a sea power raised hell on the issue of having vassals in landlocked and disconnected Foix, as well as the ownership of the provinces of Dauphine, Osijek and Banat.

The Doge said that Foix would remain firmly within Venetian hands, but that Dauphine would be ceded to Savoy, Banat to Hungary and Osijek to Bosnia. The legislative upstarts were pleased...



With the war over, Casanova left his victory parade in Paris to go to Savoy, to liberate the provinces under the control of heretics.

October, Venice lost control of the Curia, with England taking advantage of it's new powers to excommunicate the ruler of France.

October 14, Foscarini was re-elected Doge anew, against all odds.

November, the death of the Big Red Friendly Cardinal Clifford enabled Venice to become the Papal Controller anew.

December, a new Court theologian was appointed, helping to further conversion efforts in Judea and Edirne.

With that, 1455 ended. Venice had crippled two rivals, who were likely to be crushed by their neighbors in the coming years.

As usual, Foscarini had a lust for war. While eyeing the Roman Gem, he believed that his life was nearing it's end. But he wanted to go down with glory. So, he planned to unify the Italian people under Venice's leadership, and he would do this by crushing the Aragonese and their Portuguese and Salzburger allies. Once destroyed, Venice would be unquestionable overlord of both the Western and Eastern Mediterranean, with the unification of Italy complete and with a sphere of influence in Germany.
 
And in the next update, I will be sure to create the foundations of the Catalan nationalist movement...

...Until then, coursework awaits. :(

Also, kudos to anyone who gets the joke about the Underground suddenly having a pacifist streak...
 
1455EmpireMap-1.png


A bonus until the next update. A Map of the Venetian Sphere of Influence in 1455.

Aqua - The Serenissima itself and all it's outposts.

Green - Vassal states. Officially, each vassal is a condominium with governance shared between the Republic and the vassal. The degree of power each wields varies from vassal to vassal. Foix, for instance, has considerable autonomy due to it's disconnection from Venetian territory(the only viable route from Venice to Foix is overland through Castile from the port of Murcia, a very long voyage). Others such as Serbia and Bosnia have decreased amounts of authority due to their lack of real wealth and the fact the merchant(read: naval) interests do not want Venice becoming too entangled in the affairs of countries without a coastline.

Red - The "allies" of Venice. There is the Castilian Empire in the West, and the Moldavian Republic in the East. Both are expected to break off the moment a new war breaks out, as is typical.
 
*hunts for the save file*

It says:

"badboy=2.127"

I attribute this to Foscarini's level 7 diplomatic skill, my use of diplomatic advisors that contribute -.30 to my reputation each year, as well as my consistent control of the Curia. It's been higher before, such as when I annexed Siena and Tuscany all at once. If I recall right, that pushed me above 10+ badboy and crippled most of my relations.

I also am using a variant similar to last time, which makes badboy decrease slightly faster with a leader's diplomatic skill, hence why Foscarini is a god with reducing badboy with his high skill.

Even with the minimal badboy, however, I have trouble keeping good relations since with the exception of Burgundy, everybody has very low prestige...

Since I'm not a lucky nation and wouldn't mind a bit more of a challenge, maybe one of the benefits of being a lucky nation should be a +2% yearly prestige increase? Still not game breaking, but it certainly does give them an advantage.

On the issue of stability... for some reason, my stability cost is only in the hundreds(about 500 or so)... while I made stability cheaper, that still is rather odd to me... is that normal for the provinces I control, since many of them are wealthy? :confused: (The Curia bonus of 20% cheaper stability, the prestige bonus of 30+% cheaper stability, and the administrative rank of Foscarini could be major factors here as well; also, the fact most of my provinces are Catholic probably helps)
 
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