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I didn't even know Moldavia could form them. I was completely surprised when it popped up. Now Scottish Great Britain doesn't seem as impressive.
I've been folowing your AAR for a while (wich is awsome BTW), staying silent, but i finally decided to say something. I really enjoyed whole series (if one can call it so), and it made me think, is there a posibility for another AAR like this after this one inevitably ends. Also i would love to see you play Romania in the nest update, since it is a rare nation, and it makes for an interesting choice.
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It seems like a new lurker appears every week. Do you mean another random nation AAR? I certainly want to do another AAR once this one ends, but I highly doubt I'll do yet another random nation one. There have been so many points in this AAR when I played a nation and wanted to keep going with them but couldn't. I think I'd prefer a single nation next time.
Okay, now for the tally:
Romania - 6
Russia - 3
With two-thirds of the vote, Romania wins! I'll admit, I'm excited to play a nation I rarely even see in EUIV. Hopefully I don't botch this one. Russia better keep me safe.
It seems like a new lurker appears every week. Do you mean another random nation AAR? I certainly want to do another AAR once this one ends, but I highly doubt I'll do yet another random nation one. There have been so many points in this AAR when I played a nation and wanted to keep going with them but couldn't. I think I'd prefer a single nation next time.
Okay, now for the tally:
Romania - 6
Russia - 3
With two-thirds of the vote, Romania wins! I'll admit, I'm excited to play a nation I rarely even see in EUIV. Hopefully I don't botch this one. Russia better keep me safe.
I hope you let us vote what nation you play
.It will be interesting to see Romania, I must admit. I didn't pick them because I doubt they will make a large impact on the European political stage. If you could get Russia into nasty wars, then things can get interesting.
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I hope you let us vote what nation you play
It will be interesting to see Romania, I must admit. I didn't pick them because I doubt they will make a large impact on the European political stage. If you could get Russia into nasty wars, then things can get interesting.
The chance of getting stuck with a nation for four centuries I might end despising is too high for me to put that up for a vote.
I've technically already started working on a potential second AAR, but I need to play a ways into it to see if it'll work out.Well depending on how long the truce with Hungary lasts, I could probably draw Russia into a war with them again. Romania also shares a border with
I'm just curious about something and anyone is free to answer or just ignore me if they wish. I've been contemplating what to do after this AAR and which way to go with my next one. I wanted to know what draws people to my AAR in particular. Is it the random nation aspect, or perhaps the specific style of gameplay AAR? I guess I just want to get everyone's opinion on what works so I can take that into consideration for my eventual next AAR. I'd hate to go in the completely wrong direction and make an AAR no one is interested in, or to leave out an aspect of my AAR writing that works well. I have a few ideas rolling around in my head, but haven't settled on anything definite yet. Lol, all the times I ask you guys for your opinions must drive you all crazy.
I'm just curious about something and anyone is free to answer or just ignore me if they wish. I've been contemplating what to do after this AAR and which way to go with my next one. I wanted to know what draws people to my AAR in particular. Is it the random nation aspect, or perhaps the specific style of gameplay AAR? I guess I just want to get everyone's opinion on what works so I can take that into consideration for my eventual next AAR. I'd hate to go in the completely wrong direction and make an AAR no one is interested in, or to leave out an aspect of my AAR writing that works well. I have a few ideas rolling around in my head, but haven't settled on anything definite yet. Lol, all the times I ask you guys for your opinions must drive you all crazy.
The random sure added to the thing but I really like your gameplay writing, that's really fun to read
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Well that's good to know. Sometimes I feel like my writing is too matter of fact, but maybe that's just me being my own worst critic.
The thing that got me into your AAR is a combination of your style of writing, and the random nation acpect. But the style you play, and write is really fun to read.I'm just curious about something and anyone is free to answer or just ignore me if they wish. I've been contemplating what to do after this AAR and which way to go with my next one. I wanted to know what draws people to my AAR in particular. Is it the random nation aspect, or perhaps the specific style of gameplay AAR? I guess I just want to get everyone's opinion on what works so I can take that into consideration for my eventual next AAR. I'd hate to go in the completely wrong direction and make an AAR no one is interested in, or to leave out an aspect of my AAR writing that works well. I have a few ideas rolling around in my head, but haven't settled on anything definite yet. Lol, all the times I ask you guys for your opinions must drive you all crazy.
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I'm just curious about something and anyone is free to answer or just ignore me if they wish. I've been contemplating what to do after this AAR and which way to go with my next one. I wanted to know what draws people to my AAR in particular. Is it the random nation aspect, or perhaps the specific style of gameplay AAR? I guess I just want to get everyone's opinion on what works so I can take that into consideration for my eventual next AAR. I'd hate to go in the completely wrong direction and make an AAR no one is interested in, or to leave out an aspect of my AAR writing that works well. I have a few ideas rolling around in my head, but haven't settled on anything definite yet. Lol, all the times I ask you guys for your opinions must drive you all crazy.
I'll be completely honest here. I've enjoyed this AAR for three main reasons. First, the random aspect changes things up every now and then. I've learned that focusing on one nation can get boring if you basically do the same thing over and over again in gameplay, especially when you become a superpower where you destroy anyone that challenges you. If someone makes it more narratives or history book style where they explore different aspects, then the AAR gets a lot more interesting over the long run. Secondly, I prefer the gameplay of someone who doesn't max and min since I find that removes the fun. Making mistake and trying to recover from them makes a better story than a nation blobbing out of control from the very beginning. Thirdly, I like to support people's AAR if they support mine. It's like I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine.
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Well if people do really love the random nation thing, I'd consider the idea of doing another one. I wouldn't want to do it in EUIV though, since been there, done that. There's always the option of trying to convert this game over to Victoria 2 when it's done, but who knows how that will turn out. Plus if you think my EU skills are questionable, my V2 skills will seem even more inferior. At least I know how to play, even though that blasted infamy limit always gets me, but who cares about infamy with random nations.
I have also been considering leaning towards a more narrative AAR next time to mix things up. I've been trying it out with a test AAR and it gives me a good excuse to cut out a bunch of useless information I always bombard everyone with in this AAR, although I can't manage the sheer amount of narrative you pump out in your AAR.
I imagine the max/min thing is me not being skilled enough to roll everyone over, although I know what you mean about being a blob and everything being too easy. Lol, that's funny because I first started reading your AAR because you were reading mine. I guess that worked out best for both of us. 
At first I picked your AAR among others because I thought this tour around the EUIV world would be interesting and could tell me a lot about the game. Then I followed thanks to your style, full of information as well as fine pictures and a touch of humor. Plus, I realized this approach (human interaction and overview interfering here and there in an otherwise binary development) could actually lead to some unexpected historical events : the fact that Spain inherited Austria instead of France, balancing the BBB's supremacy in Europe ; the fact that Naples could maintain a strong presence in the middle of the Mediterranean sea and be in position to form Italy ; the fact that Saxony or Prussia could survive, partly because you made them win one or two wars that mattered... and now, maybe the fact that Moldavia can form Romania ? Indirectly you took part in their destiny perhaps, when you played Hungary.
So let's move on till the end of this AAR, and see what you'll do next. I guess you'll find it weird to stay in the same country for 400 years after that, so why not imagine another new kind of game play that, even if not random, will allow (or oblige..) you to swap country every 50 or 100 years, or once a certain mission is accomplished, for instance ? I tend to like countries who can form another, larger or more modern one : to form as much of such countries as you can until 1820 and have a nice alternate world map to show us at the end could be fine. Maybe you would'nt include Russia, Italy, Scandinavia nor Romania this time ; but Moghol or Hindustan, Prussia, Germany, Spain (as Aragon, way too easy as Castile), the Netherlands, Japan, China... would still be doable.
So let's move on till the end of this AAR, and see what you'll do next. I guess you'll find it weird to stay in the same country for 400 years after that, so why not imagine another new kind of game play that, even if not random, will allow (or oblige..) you to swap country every 50 or 100 years, or once a certain mission is accomplished, for instance ? I tend to like countries who can form another, larger or more modern one : to form as much of such countries as you can until 1820 and have a nice alternate world map to show us at the end could be fine. Maybe you would'nt include Russia, Italy, Scandinavia nor Romania this time ; but Moghol or Hindustan, Prussia, Germany, Spain (as Aragon, way too easy as Castile), the Netherlands, Japan, China... would still be doable.
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Romania! Always good to see a former underdog have the spotlight for a bit.
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That's amusing to hear because I always felt like I was throwing too much information at everyone and overloading my screenshots with useless information.
And I suppose there have been some crazy developments in this AAR.That's an intriguing idea, but I can also see that dragging on by being stuck with a nation that takes forever to form another. Also some of those nations may require more skill than I possess if their situation is too tenuous. I honestly wouldn't mind playing one country for a longer time now since I was finding the jumping around in this one quite disruptive. Of course a single nation AAR would be very different from this one.
The vote is already over, but Romania did win so you'll get to see them in a week.
Saving Scandinavia
For centuries Scandinavia has been a mess. Now it is our chance to clean that mess up. Fortunately the AI has done a lot of that for us, so it shouldn’t be too hard. Sweden can easily claim the entire region, and that is what I intend to do.
Now for the usual info. Sweden has an alliance with Great Britain and Bohemia. It also has a royal marriage with the Teutonic Order, which suggests there might have been an alliance at one point. Their relations are negative though and Sweden chose the Teutonic Order as a rival for some reason. Those two won’t be getting back together. Sweden is actually over its diplomatic relations limit due to two military access agreements, but I need them at the moment.
The economy is experiencing a deficit and Sweden already has two loans. This is probably due to Sweden being way over both their army and navy force limit. Normally I’d fix this, but they need all these troops for their war.
Sweden already has a mission to take Vorpommern, which is held by Magdeburg. They are also spending one admin and one military point each month on the Naval School Act, giving +1 to navy tradition, and Modern Siege Weapons, giving +1 to leader siege and +10% to siege ability. I can’t cancel any of them for a decade, so I don’t concern myself with them. There also appears to be some sort of crisis called the Dacke War that looks like it will trigger in a few years. I’m not familiar with Swedish history, so I can’t say what will happen, but it does mention +5 unrest which doesn’t please me.
As for Scandinavia, Sweden only needs one province to form it. Unfortunately, that one province is Norway’s capital, so I’m not quite sure I can grab it this time around. I will have to make certain Sweden is in a position to take it themselves in the future.
Now as I have alluded to before, Sweden is at war. They apparently started a nationalist war with Pomerania over Lolland, which they’ve already occupied. Portugal and the Papal State are involved, but Portugal isn’t doing much and the Pope is weak.
With Lollard occupied, I can send the 41 regiment army sitting there down to Hamburg, a Papal province. Pomerania also holds Fyn, but the Teutonic Order is sieging it in a separate war. As my troops move, I start forging a claim on Nordjylland, Denmark’s sole remaining European province. They’ve already moved their capital to a colony in Africa, so easy pickings.
I run into the Papal army when I reach Hamburg and my superior numbers and stats gives me the advantage. With the Papal army on the run, I split my huge army and send one half off to Pomerania.
I notice that despite Sweden having an oversized army already, they still had more units under recruitment. I send the leftover stack of about ten regiments to siege Bornholm in the Baltic. On a random side note, almost all of Sweden’s navy consists of galleys. I have two navies of 12 galleys each blocking the straits and another of 9 galleys blockading Pomerania. Add on to that the main navy of 1/5/17/9 and Sweden has a formidable navy capable of dominating the Baltic.
I also take the time to culture convert Lappland to Sweden. Its culture is Sami, the only non-accepted culture in Sweden at the moment.
The second army arrives in Pomerania and is split again to siege their two provinces. I notice Pomerania’s army next door besieging Danzig, but it’s roughly the size of my army in Hinterpommern and the one in Stettin could easily reinforce it. Danzig falls soon after and the Pomeranian army marches off into Teutonic territory.
While waiting for sieges, I must have missed Naples making peace with Provence. I skim through the log and find out that they peaced out back in January for a bunch of ducats. That’s probably the best peace I could hope for, since taking the provinces would have been too burdensome with France next door.
The Papal army marches by and starts sieging Holstein, a Teutonic province. I also spend 50 ducats to upgrade my main fleet, which probably wasn’t the smartest decision with my economy going down, forcing me to take out a 90 ducat loan. At least I’m only losing 11 ducats a month.
The Pope decides he’s feeling suicidal and attacks my army in Hamburg. Somehow he thought this was a good idea despite me being on the defensive with better stats and similar numbers. You can guess the outcome of that battle.
In October of 1731, both Stettin and Bornholm fall. In India, Kathiawar keeps making borders ugly by splitting up Berar. Bad Kathiawar. Leave Berar alone!
Hinterpommern falls in February, but Pomerania is unwillingly to make peace. The war hasn’t gone on long enough for them, especially with allies to back them up. I gather my siege armies in Pomerania and march into Teutonic territory to find that army I spotted earlier. A claim is also started on Norwegian Sogn.
In the meantime, the Pope makes yet another suicidal run at my army in Hamburg. They do have slightly higher numbers this time, but the outcome is the same. Maybe they’re just bleeding me for manpower, since I’ve used up my reserves. I also track down the Pomeranian army and give it a trashing.
The Pope, adding to the list of bad decisions he’s made, decides that his army should retreat to Pomeranian-occupied Danzig, right next to my second army. Let’s just say the Pope was in for a big surprise. I also split my army in Hamburg to lay siege to Hannover too.
Pomeranian pretender rebels appear in Hinterpommern, threatening my siege. Hungary somehow manages a white peace with Lithuania. I’m amazed they made a comeback, until I see their provinces. They are almost completely occupied by Moldavia. As if the game knew I was watching Hungary, Moldavia forces a peace on them and takes a few provinces. That is one majestic Moldavia.
Despite my nonexistent manpower, I decide to take on the Pomeranian pretenders to avoid losing my siege of their province. I can’t afford to lose the warscore. On the plus side, I’m now making +5 ducats a month.
When given the option to introduce a military recruitment procedure, I decide to empty the treasury to get the biggest manpower boost. Then I gain a notice telling me that I now have the imperialist CB against Italy. Huzzah, they did it! I can die happy now.
I’m given the option to renew war taxes and don’t hesitate to do so. It’s probably why I have a surplus now. I also pay to lower war exhaustion, since my unrest is fairly high.
After waiting a few months, Pomerania is willing to negotiate. It actually said that Pomerania would reject the peace I sent them, but it also said that Pomerania would be destabilized if they rejected. Oh well, I still got two provinces out of them. I would have liked Fyn too, but the Teutonic Order had it occupied already. The coring cost is inexpensive. I also fabricate a claim on another Norwegian province.
A little investigation of the neighbourhood reveals that Saxony is willing to be my ally. Seeing as Norway is allied with both France and Portugal, they could be a useful counterbalance. I also build another transport to even them out to ten. I must not be the only one who hates uneven transport fleets.
With the war over, I decide to consolidate regiments in one of the armies, dropping me from 53 regiments to 41 in total. That should help with the manpower problem and economy.
Across the world, Shan annexes their vassal Bengal. Mwhahaha! Revenge is served. The Timurids are also reduced to an OPM.
An investigation of my manpower shows that it will take about two years to replenish my armies, so I decide it’s best to wait it out until starting another war. The Teutonic Order eventually leaves the war with Poland, while I focus on converting my two new provinces to Protestantism.
My army isn’t so grand now that there’s no manpower, but I can handle increased costs if I’m not recruiting anyway. I also turn down some architectural reform, since the price was too high for so few monarch points. A final claim is placed on the only remaining Norwegian province I can reach.
In Central Asia, Uzbek implodes or something since they are replaced by Bukhara and Sibir. Not sure what happened there.
More military dilemmas are presented to me and I opt for offensive style, since the boost to land force limit is much needed with me being over the limit.
The Dacke War is only a few percent from triggering, so I patiently wait for it. Eventually it fires, forcing me to lose three stability and face two particularist armies. Being the player and all, I of course don’t click the button and station my armies in the two provinces first before clicking. This leads to an interesting development when I get an event ending the war the day after. I guess since I didn’t click the event making the rebels spawn, the game thought I had defeated the rebels already. Anyway, when I do click it, the rebels pop up and instantly occupy the two provinces, despite the armies already being there. I also click to end the war to avoid the +5 unrest and regain one stability.
Both rebel armies are dispatched and the two occupied provinces sieged. While this has set me back a bit concerning manpower, I am able to pay off one loan and research diplo tech 26.
Lollard is liberated first and I decide to lower autonomy in Bornholm since the Danish patriots are a threat and I hate retaking islands. As if on cue, a few months later the Danish patriots rebel in Lolland, right underneath my army sitting there. That was a foolish mistake.
In a twist of fate, Hungary makes up for its loss against Moldavia by turning things around against Poland. They snatch two provinces and force Poland to return the ones they took from the Teutonic Order. Nicely done.
By the end of 1735, I’m making over 8 ducats a month and the particularist rebels are rooted from Smaland.
The AI decides to surprise me for a second time this decade by showing me another nation that rarely forms in EUIV. It would seem that Moldavia took the provinces needed to form Romania. That’s a rare sight.
I’m then informed that Denmark is no longer a valid rival, so I must pick someone else. Fortunately for me, Norway is a choice. That will do quite nicely.
I unlock admin tech 26, catching me up on all techs and unlocking another idea group. Sweden already has two of each type, but they are currently working on trade ideas. I decide a military idea is best, since they seem to have mostly military points to spend. I briefly considered the naval idea group, but they already had maritime ideas and I felt their navy wasn’t too important with most of their focus just on Scandinavia. I instead opted for quantity ideas, partially due to manpower problems and also the need for Sweden to be able to field a larger army. This idea group, combined with quality and offensive, should make Sweden a formidable nation militarily.
While my manpower is depleted, I only have half a decade to deal with Norway. That last quantity idea should help replenish my manpower at least. I take a closer look at Norway and their allies and decide going up against them would be unwise. They have France and Portugal backing them up and it would be nearly impossible to knock those two out of the war, which would be necessary to get Norway to give anything worthwhile up. The war with Pomerania taught me that. However, there is an alternate solution. It would appear that Norway has allied Denmark, who has no other allies. I have the nationalism CB against Denmark, which should also apply to Norway’s land as well. It seems fitting that the war to decide who will unite Scandinavia in the future will involve all three Scandinavia nations. They started together, and thus they will end it together.
A Norwegian trade fleet is wiped out right away, followed by the entire Norwegian army. I split my army in Norway to siege all four of their mainland provinces, while another army sieges Danish Nordjylland. I also pay off a loan and am forced to cut production investments.
Another Norwegian navy is eliminated as I transport an army to take Iceland. I’m also forced to cut trade investments as Nordjylland falls. That’s the war goal, so that helps a lot. I also notice Great Britain sieging Orkney. Good to see them doing something productive.
Two more armies are shipped to the Shetlands and Faroarna respectively as Agder falls. All of Norway and Denmark’s European provinces are under siege. Some of the armies are undersized, but I will replenish them in time.
I pay off the last loan, leaving Sweden with a lofty +12 surplus. Raising war taxes raises that to +17. Nice.
Akershus and Bergenshus fall next, leaving only one mainland province left. With Norway mostly occupied, I decide to take a little sailing trip. It would appear that Norway shares a border in Africa with Great Britain and are sieging their colonies. I plan to intervene, especially since Denmark’s new capital is nearby.
Great Britain calls me into war with France. Seeing as I would prefer not to go to war with France, Italy, and others, I respectfully decline. I can’t afford to let Sweden crumble with them so close to forming Scandinavia. Plus Great Britain is already in my war. I can afford to be a douche. At least Great Britain has Stockholm syndrome, since they are still willing to be allies. I’ll remedy that after their war with France has ended.
More provinces fall and I engage a small Norwegian army in British Karou. A Danish army intervenes, but can’t quite tip the odds. I also wipe out a ghost army fielded by Norway. That’s dirty pool right there.
With my economy booming, I decide to build two production buildings in Sjaelland and Skane, the only two provinces without them. An earth rampart is added to Bornholm, since I hate defending islands.
Rebels appear in Iceland, threatening my siege there. At least I get a nice event giving me prestige.
A Danish army is caught trying to sneak back into British Africa, a mistake on their part. Either that or they were fleeing from Benin, who has occupied all their provinces in Africa. That might complicate things.
I give people national institutions for a bunch of monarch points because I don’t want a stability hit. With my sizable surplus, I decide to hire a full staff of advisors. I first get a military advisor boosting manpower, followed by an admin advisor lowering unrest, and finally a diplo advisor boosting trade efficiency. Hiring these advisors allow me to introduce Church Taxes, Superintendents, and the Suffragan Bishop Act. Some of these might not seem worth the price, but I figured out that they all balance out. Overall, the unrest bonus cancels out the minus, while the tax modifier comes out to +4% and stability to -2%. So while individually they might not seem very good, together they are all bonuses.
I decide to engage the peasant army in Iceland before they can lift my siege. Epic art is produced in celebration.
A Norwegian army somehow manages to sneak by and land in Agder, but it’s too small to lift the occupation. Meanwhile, Denmark loses all but their capital to Benin in the region, making my job easier.
While the sieges progress, I forge a claim on Fyn, which I should take from Pomerania at some point.
I land an army in Denmark’s capital as the last Norwegian province in Europe falls. Now this opens the way up for a potential peace treaty. I first try to negotiate with Norway, but they are at most willing to give me either all their islands or just their mainland provinces. I can’t take Akershus, since it’s the capital, unfortunately. I instead go to Denmark, who it seems it much more willing to sell out their ally. Since I am using the nationalism CB, all the provinces are dirt cheap. Also it appears that since Denmark’s capital is overseas, they don’t attribute much warscore to any of the European provinces, including Norway’s. Thus Denmark hands over all of Norway’s remaining European provinces besides their capital. Sweden is one war away from unifying the region.
I only have enough admin points to core all but the mainland Norwegian provinces. I also raise autonomy in all the newly acquired provinces, since my unrest is still positive and I don’t want them to lose all those island to rebels.
After serving his country so well, General Fredrik Adlersparre passes away. I recruit a new general, who turns out to be a fire and shock god. Sweden shouldn’t have any problems in battle with that general.
Norway is no longer a valid rival, so I choose Hungary instead. I could have chosen Great Britain or England, but Great Britain was my ally and hopefully will be later while England is mostly in the New World.
Now that Norway only has their capital in Europe, I can forge a claim on it. That should encourage Sweden to take it later. They still have a truce until 1750, so it won’t happen soon though.
Looking at some other info, my economy is still booming. That’s surprising since Sweden doesn’t even have a trade fleet. They are in an excellent position then.
1740 has finally rolled around, meaning we’re done with Sweden. While we only had nine years with them, we still were able to manage a lot. Their economy went from dying to booming, probably due to a necessary reduction in military forces. However, their army is one of the strongest in Europe due to their ideas. I did manage to deplete their manpower, but they’ll recover in time. It’s worth it with almost all the Scandinavian provinces under Sweden’s control. Just the Norwegian capital is left. Perhaps in time Sweden might even be able to push into Russia and take back Finland. Only time will tell.
With the 1750 world update on the horizon, there will be no vote this week. However, I can use this opportunity to get your opinions on something. I've been having increasing difficulty picking nations to include in the vote without picking the same ones each time. It'd be helpful if any of you could point out any nation you think would be interesting to see me play. I am not officially taking suggestions, so they may not show up on any vote. I just need a better idea of what nations I can include. There may be some you all want me to play that I've been overlooking, so suggest away.
For centuries Scandinavia has been a mess. Now it is our chance to clean that mess up. Fortunately the AI has done a lot of that for us, so it shouldn’t be too hard. Sweden can easily claim the entire region, and that is what I intend to do.
Now for the usual info. Sweden has an alliance with Great Britain and Bohemia. It also has a royal marriage with the Teutonic Order, which suggests there might have been an alliance at one point. Their relations are negative though and Sweden chose the Teutonic Order as a rival for some reason. Those two won’t be getting back together. Sweden is actually over its diplomatic relations limit due to two military access agreements, but I need them at the moment.
The economy is experiencing a deficit and Sweden already has two loans. This is probably due to Sweden being way over both their army and navy force limit. Normally I’d fix this, but they need all these troops for their war.
Sweden already has a mission to take Vorpommern, which is held by Magdeburg. They are also spending one admin and one military point each month on the Naval School Act, giving +1 to navy tradition, and Modern Siege Weapons, giving +1 to leader siege and +10% to siege ability. I can’t cancel any of them for a decade, so I don’t concern myself with them. There also appears to be some sort of crisis called the Dacke War that looks like it will trigger in a few years. I’m not familiar with Swedish history, so I can’t say what will happen, but it does mention +5 unrest which doesn’t please me.
As for Scandinavia, Sweden only needs one province to form it. Unfortunately, that one province is Norway’s capital, so I’m not quite sure I can grab it this time around. I will have to make certain Sweden is in a position to take it themselves in the future.
Now as I have alluded to before, Sweden is at war. They apparently started a nationalist war with Pomerania over Lolland, which they’ve already occupied. Portugal and the Papal State are involved, but Portugal isn’t doing much and the Pope is weak.
With Lollard occupied, I can send the 41 regiment army sitting there down to Hamburg, a Papal province. Pomerania also holds Fyn, but the Teutonic Order is sieging it in a separate war. As my troops move, I start forging a claim on Nordjylland, Denmark’s sole remaining European province. They’ve already moved their capital to a colony in Africa, so easy pickings.
I run into the Papal army when I reach Hamburg and my superior numbers and stats gives me the advantage. With the Papal army on the run, I split my huge army and send one half off to Pomerania.
I notice that despite Sweden having an oversized army already, they still had more units under recruitment. I send the leftover stack of about ten regiments to siege Bornholm in the Baltic. On a random side note, almost all of Sweden’s navy consists of galleys. I have two navies of 12 galleys each blocking the straits and another of 9 galleys blockading Pomerania. Add on to that the main navy of 1/5/17/9 and Sweden has a formidable navy capable of dominating the Baltic.
I also take the time to culture convert Lappland to Sweden. Its culture is Sami, the only non-accepted culture in Sweden at the moment.
The second army arrives in Pomerania and is split again to siege their two provinces. I notice Pomerania’s army next door besieging Danzig, but it’s roughly the size of my army in Hinterpommern and the one in Stettin could easily reinforce it. Danzig falls soon after and the Pomeranian army marches off into Teutonic territory.
While waiting for sieges, I must have missed Naples making peace with Provence. I skim through the log and find out that they peaced out back in January for a bunch of ducats. That’s probably the best peace I could hope for, since taking the provinces would have been too burdensome with France next door.
The Papal army marches by and starts sieging Holstein, a Teutonic province. I also spend 50 ducats to upgrade my main fleet, which probably wasn’t the smartest decision with my economy going down, forcing me to take out a 90 ducat loan. At least I’m only losing 11 ducats a month.
The Pope decides he’s feeling suicidal and attacks my army in Hamburg. Somehow he thought this was a good idea despite me being on the defensive with better stats and similar numbers. You can guess the outcome of that battle.
In October of 1731, both Stettin and Bornholm fall. In India, Kathiawar keeps making borders ugly by splitting up Berar. Bad Kathiawar. Leave Berar alone!
Hinterpommern falls in February, but Pomerania is unwillingly to make peace. The war hasn’t gone on long enough for them, especially with allies to back them up. I gather my siege armies in Pomerania and march into Teutonic territory to find that army I spotted earlier. A claim is also started on Norwegian Sogn.
In the meantime, the Pope makes yet another suicidal run at my army in Hamburg. They do have slightly higher numbers this time, but the outcome is the same. Maybe they’re just bleeding me for manpower, since I’ve used up my reserves. I also track down the Pomeranian army and give it a trashing.
The Pope, adding to the list of bad decisions he’s made, decides that his army should retreat to Pomeranian-occupied Danzig, right next to my second army. Let’s just say the Pope was in for a big surprise. I also split my army in Hamburg to lay siege to Hannover too.
Pomeranian pretender rebels appear in Hinterpommern, threatening my siege. Hungary somehow manages a white peace with Lithuania. I’m amazed they made a comeback, until I see their provinces. They are almost completely occupied by Moldavia. As if the game knew I was watching Hungary, Moldavia forces a peace on them and takes a few provinces. That is one majestic Moldavia.
Despite my nonexistent manpower, I decide to take on the Pomeranian pretenders to avoid losing my siege of their province. I can’t afford to lose the warscore. On the plus side, I’m now making +5 ducats a month.
When given the option to introduce a military recruitment procedure, I decide to empty the treasury to get the biggest manpower boost. Then I gain a notice telling me that I now have the imperialist CB against Italy. Huzzah, they did it! I can die happy now.
I’m given the option to renew war taxes and don’t hesitate to do so. It’s probably why I have a surplus now. I also pay to lower war exhaustion, since my unrest is fairly high.
After waiting a few months, Pomerania is willing to negotiate. It actually said that Pomerania would reject the peace I sent them, but it also said that Pomerania would be destabilized if they rejected. Oh well, I still got two provinces out of them. I would have liked Fyn too, but the Teutonic Order had it occupied already. The coring cost is inexpensive. I also fabricate a claim on another Norwegian province.
A little investigation of the neighbourhood reveals that Saxony is willing to be my ally. Seeing as Norway is allied with both France and Portugal, they could be a useful counterbalance. I also build another transport to even them out to ten. I must not be the only one who hates uneven transport fleets.
With the war over, I decide to consolidate regiments in one of the armies, dropping me from 53 regiments to 41 in total. That should help with the manpower problem and economy.
Across the world, Shan annexes their vassal Bengal. Mwhahaha! Revenge is served. The Timurids are also reduced to an OPM.
An investigation of my manpower shows that it will take about two years to replenish my armies, so I decide it’s best to wait it out until starting another war. The Teutonic Order eventually leaves the war with Poland, while I focus on converting my two new provinces to Protestantism.
My army isn’t so grand now that there’s no manpower, but I can handle increased costs if I’m not recruiting anyway. I also turn down some architectural reform, since the price was too high for so few monarch points. A final claim is placed on the only remaining Norwegian province I can reach.
In Central Asia, Uzbek implodes or something since they are replaced by Bukhara and Sibir. Not sure what happened there.
More military dilemmas are presented to me and I opt for offensive style, since the boost to land force limit is much needed with me being over the limit.
The Dacke War is only a few percent from triggering, so I patiently wait for it. Eventually it fires, forcing me to lose three stability and face two particularist armies. Being the player and all, I of course don’t click the button and station my armies in the two provinces first before clicking. This leads to an interesting development when I get an event ending the war the day after. I guess since I didn’t click the event making the rebels spawn, the game thought I had defeated the rebels already. Anyway, when I do click it, the rebels pop up and instantly occupy the two provinces, despite the armies already being there. I also click to end the war to avoid the +5 unrest and regain one stability.
Both rebel armies are dispatched and the two occupied provinces sieged. While this has set me back a bit concerning manpower, I am able to pay off one loan and research diplo tech 26.
Lollard is liberated first and I decide to lower autonomy in Bornholm since the Danish patriots are a threat and I hate retaking islands. As if on cue, a few months later the Danish patriots rebel in Lolland, right underneath my army sitting there. That was a foolish mistake.
In a twist of fate, Hungary makes up for its loss against Moldavia by turning things around against Poland. They snatch two provinces and force Poland to return the ones they took from the Teutonic Order. Nicely done.
By the end of 1735, I’m making over 8 ducats a month and the particularist rebels are rooted from Smaland.
The AI decides to surprise me for a second time this decade by showing me another nation that rarely forms in EUIV. It would seem that Moldavia took the provinces needed to form Romania. That’s a rare sight.
I’m then informed that Denmark is no longer a valid rival, so I must pick someone else. Fortunately for me, Norway is a choice. That will do quite nicely.
I unlock admin tech 26, catching me up on all techs and unlocking another idea group. Sweden already has two of each type, but they are currently working on trade ideas. I decide a military idea is best, since they seem to have mostly military points to spend. I briefly considered the naval idea group, but they already had maritime ideas and I felt their navy wasn’t too important with most of their focus just on Scandinavia. I instead opted for quantity ideas, partially due to manpower problems and also the need for Sweden to be able to field a larger army. This idea group, combined with quality and offensive, should make Sweden a formidable nation militarily.
While my manpower is depleted, I only have half a decade to deal with Norway. That last quantity idea should help replenish my manpower at least. I take a closer look at Norway and their allies and decide going up against them would be unwise. They have France and Portugal backing them up and it would be nearly impossible to knock those two out of the war, which would be necessary to get Norway to give anything worthwhile up. The war with Pomerania taught me that. However, there is an alternate solution. It would appear that Norway has allied Denmark, who has no other allies. I have the nationalism CB against Denmark, which should also apply to Norway’s land as well. It seems fitting that the war to decide who will unite Scandinavia in the future will involve all three Scandinavia nations. They started together, and thus they will end it together.
A Norwegian trade fleet is wiped out right away, followed by the entire Norwegian army. I split my army in Norway to siege all four of their mainland provinces, while another army sieges Danish Nordjylland. I also pay off a loan and am forced to cut production investments.
Another Norwegian navy is eliminated as I transport an army to take Iceland. I’m also forced to cut trade investments as Nordjylland falls. That’s the war goal, so that helps a lot. I also notice Great Britain sieging Orkney. Good to see them doing something productive.
Two more armies are shipped to the Shetlands and Faroarna respectively as Agder falls. All of Norway and Denmark’s European provinces are under siege. Some of the armies are undersized, but I will replenish them in time.
I pay off the last loan, leaving Sweden with a lofty +12 surplus. Raising war taxes raises that to +17. Nice.
Akershus and Bergenshus fall next, leaving only one mainland province left. With Norway mostly occupied, I decide to take a little sailing trip. It would appear that Norway shares a border in Africa with Great Britain and are sieging their colonies. I plan to intervene, especially since Denmark’s new capital is nearby.
Great Britain calls me into war with France. Seeing as I would prefer not to go to war with France, Italy, and others, I respectfully decline. I can’t afford to let Sweden crumble with them so close to forming Scandinavia. Plus Great Britain is already in my war. I can afford to be a douche. At least Great Britain has Stockholm syndrome, since they are still willing to be allies. I’ll remedy that after their war with France has ended.
More provinces fall and I engage a small Norwegian army in British Karou. A Danish army intervenes, but can’t quite tip the odds. I also wipe out a ghost army fielded by Norway. That’s dirty pool right there.
With my economy booming, I decide to build two production buildings in Sjaelland and Skane, the only two provinces without them. An earth rampart is added to Bornholm, since I hate defending islands.
Rebels appear in Iceland, threatening my siege there. At least I get a nice event giving me prestige.
A Danish army is caught trying to sneak back into British Africa, a mistake on their part. Either that or they were fleeing from Benin, who has occupied all their provinces in Africa. That might complicate things.
I give people national institutions for a bunch of monarch points because I don’t want a stability hit. With my sizable surplus, I decide to hire a full staff of advisors. I first get a military advisor boosting manpower, followed by an admin advisor lowering unrest, and finally a diplo advisor boosting trade efficiency. Hiring these advisors allow me to introduce Church Taxes, Superintendents, and the Suffragan Bishop Act. Some of these might not seem worth the price, but I figured out that they all balance out. Overall, the unrest bonus cancels out the minus, while the tax modifier comes out to +4% and stability to -2%. So while individually they might not seem very good, together they are all bonuses.
I decide to engage the peasant army in Iceland before they can lift my siege. Epic art is produced in celebration.
A Norwegian army somehow manages to sneak by and land in Agder, but it’s too small to lift the occupation. Meanwhile, Denmark loses all but their capital to Benin in the region, making my job easier.
While the sieges progress, I forge a claim on Fyn, which I should take from Pomerania at some point.
I land an army in Denmark’s capital as the last Norwegian province in Europe falls. Now this opens the way up for a potential peace treaty. I first try to negotiate with Norway, but they are at most willing to give me either all their islands or just their mainland provinces. I can’t take Akershus, since it’s the capital, unfortunately. I instead go to Denmark, who it seems it much more willing to sell out their ally. Since I am using the nationalism CB, all the provinces are dirt cheap. Also it appears that since Denmark’s capital is overseas, they don’t attribute much warscore to any of the European provinces, including Norway’s. Thus Denmark hands over all of Norway’s remaining European provinces besides their capital. Sweden is one war away from unifying the region.
I only have enough admin points to core all but the mainland Norwegian provinces. I also raise autonomy in all the newly acquired provinces, since my unrest is still positive and I don’t want them to lose all those island to rebels.
After serving his country so well, General Fredrik Adlersparre passes away. I recruit a new general, who turns out to be a fire and shock god. Sweden shouldn’t have any problems in battle with that general.
Norway is no longer a valid rival, so I choose Hungary instead. I could have chosen Great Britain or England, but Great Britain was my ally and hopefully will be later while England is mostly in the New World.
Now that Norway only has their capital in Europe, I can forge a claim on it. That should encourage Sweden to take it later. They still have a truce until 1750, so it won’t happen soon though.
Looking at some other info, my economy is still booming. That’s surprising since Sweden doesn’t even have a trade fleet. They are in an excellent position then.
1740 has finally rolled around, meaning we’re done with Sweden. While we only had nine years with them, we still were able to manage a lot. Their economy went from dying to booming, probably due to a necessary reduction in military forces. However, their army is one of the strongest in Europe due to their ideas. I did manage to deplete their manpower, but they’ll recover in time. It’s worth it with almost all the Scandinavian provinces under Sweden’s control. Just the Norwegian capital is left. Perhaps in time Sweden might even be able to push into Russia and take back Finland. Only time will tell.
With the 1750 world update on the horizon, there will be no vote this week. However, I can use this opportunity to get your opinions on something. I've been having increasing difficulty picking nations to include in the vote without picking the same ones each time. It'd be helpful if any of you could point out any nation you think would be interesting to see me play. I am not officially taking suggestions, so they may not show up on any vote. I just need a better idea of what nations I can include. There may be some you all want me to play that I've been overlooking, so suggest away.
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It took me four tries, but finally they formed. They better not collapse or I'll be really upset after all that effort.
You could always go back to an older save assuming you aren't doing ironman.
It's still a great feeling seeing Italy form. Now, let's hope the AI is competent enough to form Scandinavia as well.
What's the situation with Portugal at the moment? They seem quite weak.
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Well it'd feel pretty gamey going back to fix a nation I'm no longer playing. They're holding their own though, so I don't see them collapsing unless something really bad happens.
Well as long as they can take that one province off Norway, they'll be fine. Too bad that involves getting France and Portugal involved in most cases.
Portugal is actually doing fairly well. Their navy is only rivalled by Spain, who is their ally. They have arguably the largest colonial empire, although I just loaded them up and the liberty desire of a few colonial nations are extremely high so that may change soon.