Forums / The hangaround / VU EUX AAR thread

VU EUX AAR thread
16:53:32 Jan 19th 11 - Mr. Ghouma: After Action Report thread for our 2011 edition of VU EU2. Map of Europe when our game started: Austria: Swifty Brandenburg: Spoon Denmark: Rhade England: Augh France: Ghouma Ottoman Empire: Nimic Russia: Love Spain: Tobleronex Venice: Pettsson Map of Europe at the conclusion of our session: Games are played Tuesdays 19:00 CET.
17:00:07 Jan 19th 11 - Mr. Ghouma: Kingdom of France 1453-1483. He hates war, the king of France. Since the age of Charles the great, second to god, the king of France. Allegedly even the Mongols hated war. Conquer when it’s holy. Conquer so you can be free, there is no one as free. He hates war the king of France. Like Kublai, the king of France. Poor Charles the seventh, all he was given was the throne and a list of plans, handed down from his father. He knew his father had been delusional; restoring the empire of Charles the great had obsessed him. Of all the plans, the most immediate one was a three part war plan; First; move into Aragon and seize Roussillon, old French lands, and the islands of Sicily, Malta and Sardinia. Second, invade the duke of Burgundy and seize the French speaking lands in Benelux. Third, claim Savoy and claim superiority over the Lombard lands in northern Italy. In 1453 Charles VII had a new sensation, he felt the weight of destiny on his shoulders and a new spirit pushing him towards his fathers crazy plans. He told his military council to go to war with Aragon immediately without any preparations. The army was located outside Paris when the war declaration reached Aragon, but in addition to the grand army in the north, another army was recruited in the south. The war was supposed to be a smooth affair, sweep in over the Catalonian lands with superior force and demand the islands. Unexpectedly however the Castilian lords objected to French forces in Iberia and sided with Aragon. Although hit by the zeitgeist Charles VII was not his father. He suggested a reduction of claims first removing the Sicilian island, hoping the Castilians would forget about Malta. The enemy would have none of it, so there was war. France being France, won the war, but Charles VII decided only to conquer Roussillon and Sardinia for the sake of good relations that would be handy when moving onto more important tasks. After the war an Alliance was entered with Bourbon, and the vassalization of Brittany was dissolved because of its strange agreement that would stop any development of the relationship until 1502. Having the experience of the prior war, Charles knew the war on Burgundy called for preparation. One army was located to the south Burgundy proper in mid-eastern France, led by the best French general. Another just south of the Burgundian Netherlands. Burgundy was allied to a whole range of German powers, most importantly, Loraine and the Palatinate. Excellent since Charles VII wanted Lorraine. War did not start good, the French army was beaten at Burgundy, and an allied army of 90 thousand men sieged Champagne. However winter was harsh and many enemies died of starvation. Meanwhile the French army increased its numbers and occupied Burgundy. As the enemy left Champagne having taken the city the French army having over 50 000 knights defeated the Burgundians in Franche-Comté. The war was turned; the French army took over Lorraine and moved into the Netherlands. Austria objected and invaded Lorraine themselves, but an agreement that France would only claim French provinces led to peace. Charles now had to look towards his own nation as Bourbon declared war on Provence, Charles would not let the opportunistic Frankish lords establish themselves any further as real powers so he claimed the northern part of Provence for the French crown. If there weren’t problems with opportunistic Franks, there would be the Italians. Genoa, seeing a window of opportunity took over Provence. Of course Charles VII would have began the third part of his fathers plans anyway, this only proved profitable, as Genoa would not be a hard opponent. He didn’t even have to declare war, having secured an alliance with Savoy; they did it for him. France was now at war with all of north Italy excluding Venice. One after one the Italians surrendered and France had gained major influence in northern Italy. During the reign of Charles VII, France saw heavy expansion, when he died Louis XI inherited a kingdom with a lot more subjects the one his father had inherited. Poor Louis XI did not hate war like his father, but his means would be diplomacy. Louis had to make sure that the lords his father had won loyalty from saw that centralized rule from Paris was the only possible future for their lands. Ten years after the war in Italy, Brittany, Bourbon, Lorraine, Savoy and Milan would all give in to the influence wielded by king Louis XI and the French crown was stronger then it been since the age of the Carolingians. Foreign relations analysis: Austria: Have been slowly expanding its influence in southern Germany, will get very strong if it inherits both Hungary and Bohemia and still manages to keep Benelux and claim half of Germany proper. Brandenburg: Due to expansive neighbours, if BB wants to avoid major conflict it may find influence in the east (read Poland) or perhaps look far away. Denmark: The French view was that BB would be a suitable friend, but is now torn when the meteoric rise of Denmark has shown that there is great power in the north. Perhaps a friendship that doesn’t have to stay bilateral. England: England has stayed very calm, and France has been happy with that. One wonders how much capital the English kings must have amassed. Ottoman Empire: The Greatest power by far, endless expansion if possible for the Ottomans if they do not get to involved in great wars in Europe. Its many conquests in Europe is slowing them down, perhaps they should give away provinces for treaties. Russia: The vassalization of Lithuania ensures Russia soon enters the action of mainland Europe, but Russia seems to look somewhere else. Spain: Looking away from Europe Spain could get very rich; if it is dragged into war in Europe it will only be slowed down. Should try a very conformist outlook on Europe. Venice: Expanding in Italy will probably give Venice an equal manpower to England. Again, probably, it will get great admirals so applying a similar strategy to that of England would be advisable.
01:16:30 Jan 20th 11 - Mr. Friendly Forum User: AUSTRIAN EMPIRE 1453-1483 Ladislaus the Posthumous, Duke of Austria, King of Hungary, King of Bohemia. By the Grace of God, Austria, the truest of Christian nations finds itself in 1453 bedded in the hegemony of the Holy Roman Empire. With France to the west, dozens of Germanic city-states to the north, Venice to the south and the infidels to the south east, Ladislaus recognised tactful diplomatic exertion had to be applied in order for Austria to flourish amongst the warring states. Austria's primary concern at the beginning was to secure its just inheritence -- Bohemia, Hungary and Burgundy. Militarily at this point in time, Ladislaus recognised brute force would not be enough to seize all 3 kingdoms. Careful negotations were made with Brandenburg, a large north Germanic state, to secure Bohemia's in return for other Austrian promises. Likewise, Ottoman aggression was checked in Hungary through appeasement. With Venice, Ladislaus saw they posed little threat, and indeed, even saw them as a possible thorn to Austria's enemies later on. A 20 year peace treaty was signed. With the negotiations over, Austria went about expanding. An alliance was formed with Bavaria to the north (with a view to annexation later on), and a 30,000 man army under the leadership of Maj. General Baumkircher invaded Wurtemberg, Baden and Helvetia in quick succession, annexing the first two and vassalising the latter. In 1457 Ladislaus died. Frederick V succeeded him as Duke. It is around this time that Venice, perhaps suffering from a bout of mental instability and/or illness, took it upon herself without warning to declare war on Croatia (and by extension, Hungary), abusing the good relationship and pact Austria and Venice held. Frederick was rightfully shocked and despite international indignation and the urging of other foreign powers for Venice to desist, she refused. Without consulting (even going as far as to ignore) Austria, Venice made peace with Hungary, seizing valuable provinces -- and Austria's inheritence with it. Frederick was not about to be pushed over in the first challenge of his realm. A war council was summoned. The Imperial Guard was promptly moved to lower Austria and a detachment sent through Hungarian lands to the newly created Venetian state. War was declared, Frederick refused to bring Bavaria into the conflict. Frederick's plan involved using the Imperial Guard to seize the Italian possessions -- Venice's lifeline, while mopping up Hungary with the smaller detachment and didn't expect much of a challenge. The Venetian response was slow, but eventually they mustered a 50,000 man army in Friuli and pushed back Baumkircher's 35,000 Imperial Guard advance, to the suprise of many. The Guard withdrew into upper Austria with the Venetian's hot on their tails, but a trap was to be laid. Outside the walls of Nieder-Oesterreich the Guard met up with the secretly withdrawn Hungarian detachments and despite being outnumbered still, turned and faced the Venetian marauders. Perhaps as much as 4/5 of the Venetian army in Austria was destroyed in the ensuing battle. Seizing the initiative, Baumkircher and 30,000 men then marched into Hungary, defeated and killed the remaining Venetians, including General Colleoni, and sued for peace. Hungary was once more in Austrian hands. Peace in Central Europe. The French during this time was busying themselves with expansion. Frederick didn't pay much attention, but upon being informed of France's war with Burgundy, Frederick felt once again threatened. In a bold and risky move, Austria declared war on France's vassal, Lorraine, threatening French interests on the border. The French were quick to negoatiate a deal which left them with Lorraine and taking only the French-cultured parts of Burgundy, which Frederick found acceptable. The Burgundian provinces were shortly inherited thereafter. Since then Austria has annexed Gelre, while Kleves, Wurzburg and the Palatinat have all been warred. Austria is yet a major power in comparison to its neighbours France and the Ottomans, but with careful diplomacy, it hopes to grow and restore balance to Europe.
03:37:21 Jan 20th 11 - Lord Protector Nimic: Ottoman Empire 1453 - 1483 As the only major non-Christian power in Europe, it was imperative that the Ottoman Empire grew powerful quickly, before the infidel kingdoms could rally and stop the inevitable Turkish advance into Europe. The Byzantine Empire had just fallen, and the Ottoman capital was moved to the city now known as Istanbul. It didn't take long for the Sultan to find another enemy of the Turks to vanquish. First, the proud Muslim people of Dulkadir were liberated from the evil tyranny of the Sultan of Dulkadir. Then followed the Greek and Slavonic peoples of Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and Athens. All of these conquests were done by the Sultan personally, a leader of extraordinary abilities. After these initial conquests, the people of Georgia, Moldavia, Wallachia and Armenia were brought into the fold of the grand Ottoman Empire. Armenia was a particularly profitable acquisition, as their gold mines were ripe for the taking, After this the proud people of Crimea, who had long yearned to be a part of the magnificent Empire, were more or less liberated from the clutches of the ever slowly collapsing mongol invaders of the Golden Horde. The Europeans would no doubt ignore the Ottoman effort in safeguarding their lands against the barbaric mongol hordes. Only the Rus of Muscovy took any notice, and then only to complain that the Sultan had liberated the people of Astrakhan from the mongol menace, a province that coincidentally had some minor significance as a Center of Trade. With all these new acquisitions to the Ottoman Empire, it was inevitable that some of them would not hold the one, true religion. They could not be blamed, of course, they simply had not had the opportunity. The Sultan immediately sent his kindest and gentlest missionaries to save these people from the damnation of the Christian religion. The effort was a great success, and the new lands were accepting Allah in record time. Despite the Sultans best effort in assuring the Europeans (and Asians) that it would be in their best effort to submit themselves to the Ottoman Empire, the enemies of the Empire had successfully spread vile and ludicrous tales that made the Sultan out to be some sort of warmonger. Despite this, some countries were more resilient to the evil propaganda, and accepted the Sultan as the friendly, benevolent leader he was. The previous and current borders of the Ottoman Empire, new acquisitions highlighted. The Sultan did not often have time to pay attention to the dealings of the Christian kingdoms of Europe, but that was enough to form initial opinions regarding the infidels. Denmark had grown steadily, and was now the premier power in Northern Europe. They had almost fully vanquished the equally pale Swedes, and were making a tidy profit from their many merchants all around Europe. None were yet to show themselves in Istanbul. England had remained very quiet, only showing signs of life early, when they ruthlessly conquered the Scottish and Irish kingdoms. At present they were not doing much more than trade and look wistfully out across the ocean, for whatever reason. France had grown more than any seemingly other, save perhaps for the Ottoman Empire itself. It's subject people had all been viciously annexed into the Frankish fold, and they seemed to have their eyes on both the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Iberia. The Sultan noted that they would perhaps make great potential allies. Brandenburg had grown larger than the Sultan thought possible, for such a puny start. It had perhaps been facilitated by the Danes looking northwards and the Austrians looking seemingly no direction in particular. They could also make potential allies. Austria was, by all appearances, just sitting there, waiting for lands to fall into their laps. They were yet to become a threat to the Turks, but that was surely not to last. They had at one point savagely attacked the peace-loving people of Venice, but the Sultan welcomed this inter-Christian treachery. Venice was, despite earlier claims, not very peaceful. They had already been in conflicts with two major powers, and were sure to resent the French moves towards Italy. It was hard for the Sultan to remain sympathetic, though, so long as lifelong Turkish cores in the Mediterranean were in their moneygrubbing hands. Something would have to be done about that. Spain had grown larger, partly from ruthlessly assailing peaceful Muslims in Grenada. Despite this the Sultan had no real hostile feelings towards the Spaniards, though that could change at a moments notice. The Spaniards would do well to take care not to anger their biggest rival to Mediterranean supremacy. Muscowy was growing steadily, moving all directions but north. The Sultan could not care less if they moved further into Europe, and they were free to take the freezing cold of Siberia, but they would be wise not to move too far south. Certainly any move towards India would be most unwise.
16:53:34 Jan 22nd 11 - Mr. Spoon: I'll put my AAR up tomorrow. Couldn't access my eu2 pc yet!
22:30:35 Jan 22nd 11 - Mr. Kastiel: DENMARK 1453-1483 <img src="http://www.fotw.net/images/d/dk-r-qen.gif"> In 1419 Denmark had been a very small but very important nation. Overlord of both Norway and Sweden, the combined strength of the Scandinavian alliance was greater than most anything the rest of Europe could offer. The former monarchs and advisors of Denmark had wasted this strength and multiple opportunities. This was all about to change. In 1450 Kastiel, a younger military man, was approached to help guide the recently inherited realms of Norway, who had opted to join the glorious Danish crown rather than break their vassalage as the Swedish had done. Three years later he had strong-armed his way all the way to the king's side, having become the king's right hand man. Kastiel was the true driving force behind Denmark. Almost immediately he convinced the King to turn their armies and navy against the Teutonic Order which had established itself on lands the Danish Crown had claims upon. By 1456 the Order was reduced to a single province and Denmark had grown considerably. The issue of the province of Ingria had become a question slightly earlier than that, as Muscowy needed a port to attract more colonists while Denmark would eventually need Ingria as a land connection to the Baltic lands she had just acquired. The other choice for Russia was to get a port in the south, while the other choice for Denmark was to take the lands of the German minors along the Baltic coast which would certainly upset Brandenburg and its supporters. Eventually the question of Ingria was settled in a dramatic and large-scale war which pitted Denmark and Muscowy against Novgorod, the Teutonic Order, Lithuania, and Poland. Muscowy emerged with a new vassal of Lithuania while Denmark vassalized the Teutonic Order, took a Lithuanian province and the three Polish Baltic provinces. <img src="http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/2774/eu2ump.png"> Throughout this time Kastiel had continued to urge the Danish King to focus on trade as well as normal production, and through this Denmark had become an economic power able to compete with its neighbors. Thus, when Sweden made the foolish step of making war in the early 1470's against Denmark's vassal, the Teutonic Order, Denmark refused to come to their aid, effectively breaking the alliance. Swiftly making preparations, Kastiel convinced the King to go to war with their longtime ally over such a grievous insult to Denmark's sovereignty and honor. The invasion was quick, but the long Swedish winters and the well-prepared and well-trained Swedish forces drew out the war considerably. In the end, however, Denmark was able to make peace on agreeable terms, though another war to completely subdue the Scandinavian nation is surely on the horizon. <img src="http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/9198/eu21483.png"> England seemed to be the other strong trading power, though also seems to be pulling ahead, especially in trade technology. Something to watch. France had grown into a true powerhouse, and its positioning meant that no real confrontation would likely need to occur between Denmark and France. The relationship, however, is likely to be defined by France's reactions to Denmark's future ambitions. Brandenburg is the second closest country and with the political climate in its current state, the most likely source of conflict. The Danish still hold a grudge against Holstein, and capturing that very tempting center of trade would certainly be a worthwhile goal. Brandenburg might do well to give it up freely in return for promises or aid. Austria doesn't currently seem to be in a position to much threaten the Danish or their goals, but with the ever-approaching acquisition of Bohemian and Hungarian lands, all that could change. Venice had its share of problems and turmoil, but, in all honesty, it wasn't really Denmark's worry. Spain was relatively quiet. Making gains on the Iberian peninsula was not something that concerned Denmark. Muscowy was to be a natural rival of the Danish, as their territorial goals conflicted. Once past the issue of Ingria, however, the two countries seem to be able to co-exist quite well. Ottoman Empire expanded at an incredible rate, but paid a heavy price in terms of reputation for it. How it handles the next few decades will be interesting. Also, it should keep its troops out of Sweden.
22:41:09 Jan 22nd 11 - Mr. Kastiel: Didn't do the images the way the VU boards like them, oops. Couldn't edit in time, either, apparently. They are: and
23:12:28 Jan 22nd 11 - Lord Protector Nimic: Nice, but could you please do it with the normal font and size next time? That is quite annoying to read.
16:07:02 Jan 23rd 11 - Mr. Kastiel: Is it not? I see the first paragraph that is smaller/in a different type but the rest looks normal.
22:57:39 Jan 23rd 11 - Lord Protector Nimic: It looks pretty fucked up. Mind you, I am using the "oldforum" link (because zeta likes to ruin things that are working perfectly).
23:24:06 Jan 23rd 11 - Mr. Kastiel: My bad then, stuff got weird when I copy/pasted something in but it looked as though I had fixed it. Thew 'new forum' looks mostly alright from what I can tell.
02:44:49 Jan 24th 11 - Lord Protector Nimic: I actually can't wait for the game to continue. If I'd have had my way, we'd be playing twice per week! =P
03:40:58 Jan 24th 11 - Mr. Kastiel: Tuesdays and Thursdays! Let's do it :D
01:12:02 Jan 29th 11 - Lord Protector Nimic: Current state of Europe, 1543.
20:13:53 Feb 7th 11 - Lord Protector Nimic: State of Europe, since everyone is too lazy to write an AAR.
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