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unmerged(199)

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Jun 12, 2000
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www.fenrir.dk
Imperial Denmark (1617 - 1647)

After 30 years at the helm of the Danish state, King Christian IV can view the results of his rule with justified pride. Sweden and Mysore annexed, and both Poland and France whipped in the tumultous time following these annexations. But is this truly Empire? No - there is still far to go.

In June 1618, we declare war on Hyderabad. In an extremely effective campaign led by Gert Rantzau, we annex the country in 7 short months of fighting. At the same time Jens Munk, Explorer, puts himself at the service of the Danish crown. His expedition immediately sets sails to chart the Indian and Pacific oceans. In September 1619, our wise King appoints a Minister - boosting all his monarch stats to max for the next 8 years - while Denmark prepares for yet another war.

Foreign affairs: Austria and Hungary once again invade Bohemia in 1619, resulting in that unfortunate nation getting annexed in 1621. King Christian donates money to the Bohemian cause, but otherwise is unable to intervene due to other concerns. Switzerland declare independence from Spain in October 1619. In July 1621, the 24 year old war between England and Spain ends in a white peace.

March 1620, we complete our wharf - effectively doubling the number of colonists produced (+1 extra colonist). From this time, the Danish colonization system improves remarkably. At the same time, we declare war on the Teutonic Order. We have ammassed a large army on our western borders, led by King Christian IV himself, ready to deal with the expected Dutch response; our navy is prepared to sail, forces are massed on our colonial borders with the Dutch... and the Dutch dishonor their alliance. Dissappointed, we turn instead on the Teutonic order, annexing them by September. In May, Gert Rantzau who created our Indian empire dies.

In February 1621, Netherlands, Scotland and Kurpfalz declare war on Spain resulting in the Dutch taking a province from the Spaniards. France has a short fight with Lotharingen and gains an indemnity. The Russian beat up on Astrachan and gain an indemnity as well. Several wars fizzle out in white peace.

In the meantime, King Christian IV, robbed of his Dutch campaign instead marches into Poland (the French support the Poles, though as usual not with any effect), and annexes Estonia and Ingermanland. Except for Pskov (which has no harbor), Denmark now controls the entire coastline of the Baltic. His +1 siege ability is too useful to waste, and the only check on Danish expansionistic dreams now is the time taken to raise the 2 stability points after every war declaration. In March 1623, Hessen is invaded. Their superior land technology lets them defeat the initial invasion led by the King, but after the initial repulse (and Hannover changing hands twice), Hessen is annexed in November 1624. In March 1626, Thuringen (vassal of our old ally Saxony) is invaded. The Saxons foolishly decide to resist and are duly annexed in January 1627; Thuringen joins them in August 1627.

In November 27, Sicily declares its independence from Spain - this is turning into an epidemic. Jens Munk discovers the English colonies in Australia and New Zealand - though characteristically these are in revolt. In general, it seems the other nations are not very good at keeping those nasty rebels down. In December 1627, the Tokugawa Shogunate isolates Japan from the rest of the world, closing all ports. In October 1628, Russia attacks and annexes Astrachan after a year of fighting. In November 1628, Jens Munk dies after having explored most of the Asian coastline and given us knowledge of many new lands. In October 1629, France+Poland+Sicily mixes it up with Netherlands + Kurpfalz + Scotland - a war that (as usual) ends up with a few indemnities and white peace. Russia begins their campaigns of conquest on Sibir.

These years, we spend our time building up the infrastructure of our lands - upgrading all the European provinces with marshals, etc., colonizing, and overseeing the defences. Christian IV retires from the army in 1630 after having personally helped enlarge the empire. In the meantime, we plan our next move - the Conquest of China and Japan. We decide to start off with the Japanese - both because it is a smaller nation, and as punishment for their temerity in closing their ports to us. Peder Galt, our new admiral, sets sail for India with 40 warships and 25 transports. In India, we build up an army of 70k men for the invasion, led by one of our efficient Conquistadors.

In January 1634, with our fleet standing by off the Japanese coast, we declare war on Japan. We are initially surprised by a huge Japanese army of 90,000 cavalry, but our technologically superior infantry manages to rout them though taking heavy losses. Our navy engages and sinks the Japanese navy, and with naval superiority, we are able to transport reinforcements forward with (almost impunity). Though numerically very inferior, we dextrously use our ships to avoid combat with the remnants of the huge Japanese army (still more than 60k strong in cavalry). One by one the Japanese territories fall (they only contain lvl 1 fortresses so sieges are very short), with the Japanese army unable to strike back or retake any provinces. In October 1635, Japan surrenders unconditionally. Because we have - as usual - avoided confronting the enemy armies, we gain a huge cavalry army of 51,000 cavalry from the Japanese that will surely come in useful when we target China. In addition, we gain the Japan COT - whose trade income is >1800d. Our share from the monopoly we quickly establish amounts to 1200d a year - though the Chinese soon attempt to interfere.

In January 1635, Hannibal Sehested (a 3/3/5 commander - the best we've had so far) takes command of the Danish army in Europe. Not wanting to waste such a great commander, we decide to liberate our poor Bohemian brother of the Lutheran faith from the oppression of the Austria-Hungarian alliance. We declare war on Hungary in ;arch 1636 (with Austria joining in just as we had expected) with our allies (England and Russia + a newcomer, Kleves). After beating up the Austria-Hungarian armies, Sehested makes a lightning raid to conquor first the Austrian and then the Hungarian capitals, while the rest of our armies take the four northernmost provinces in Bohemia. In March 1637, first Austria and then Hungary surrenders, netting us 4 provinces and a total 500d in indemnities. However, we make a blunder - Sehested was deep inside Hungarian territory when the peace was signed with Austria, and is 'locked' in Hungary - unable to march through Austrian territory after the peace. King Christian IV curses the High Command but to no avail.

For now, our focus shifts once again to the Asian theatre. A new General (not very competent 2/2/2) Ebbe Ulfeld takes command in Japan. In April 1637, he invades China with a huge army. Our 51k cavalry shows exactly how worthless cavalry is when they get massacred (and die from attrition) in the first 3 months of fighting - being reduced from 51k to barely over 4k. Fortunately, the Japanese are more than willing to enroll in the Danish army against their old arch-enemies, and good Japanese infantry soon help turn the tide. The huge Chinese armies are easily routed once Ulfeld receives more infantry support, and the first provinces fall to the Danish army.

The constant wars have hit our stability hard; Kurland, Narvik and Lappland revolt during 1637, followed by Jalisco in 1639. The european revolts are easily beaten down, though - true to form - the South Americans are almost impossible to defeat. In the meantime, we note that Sehested's army is slowly dying off inside Hungary - reduced from 28,000 men to 13,000. We are forced to take action and declare war on Poland in June 1638 while the war in China rages, and our armies are putting down the European revolts. Sehested marches into Poland from Hungary with relief, and after receiving reinforcements quickly finishes off the Polish armies and conquors Posen, Masovia and Pskov. The Poles cede Posen and Pskov to Denmark in June 1639, and the Baltic is finally and completely turned into a Danish lake. We also burned a couple of French tradesposts (France faithfully supported the Poles with empty promises as usual) in West Africa and replaced them with our own. In May 1640, our parliament implements a total trade ban against all other nations for 53 months - wonderful news as it allows us to clear out foreign traders from the 7 centers of trade we control (currently turning out a gross income of more than 200d a month).

In Asia, five years of uninterrupted warfare brings China to its knees. Our annual income of 1000+d is each year put into producing new troops, an average of 10,000 being produced each month in the first 5 months of every year and sailed to China. For almost the first time in several hundred years, we actually manage to temporarily run out of manpower in July 1640 (though by that time we had no more money anyway). After the initial successes of our infantry against the Chinese, our armies start becoming less effective, and we revert to the traditional methods of avoiding battle when possible. The remainder of the Japanese cavalry was wiped out by the end of the first year, but who need cavalry? Our mass of infantry duel it out with the large chinese armies (with 10s of thousands dying on both sides), while 2-3 other armies reduce the Chinese provinces one by one. After the initial two years with slow progress, things pick up until autumn of 1641. Despite setbacks against (still strong) Chinese armies, we destroy them by attrition and take the last Chinese provinces. China surrenders unconditionally in April of 1642.

The only surviving 'Great' power in Asia is the Moguls; but we decide to leave them alone for now. King Christian's ambitions return to Europe. Two plans lie ready to be put into effect - either to attack the Spanish again and conquor some of their South American cities, or declare war on the Dutch, which will allow us to destroy their undefended Colonial Empire - or even more ambitiously - annex them completely. The once powerful Dutch army of 300+k men is strongly reduced to only 150k men, and with the huge Danish manpower reserves (now at 96,000 men), there is a real possibility that this could be done in a single campaign. The only problem with that, of course, is that our manpower reserves are exhausted after the long war with China.

In May 1642, France and Netherlands, after a couple of years of desultory fighting, hold peace. France shortly declares war on Lotharingen and gains an indemnity September 1643. Meanwhile, the Danish royal marriage with Holland has expired, and King Christian gazes across the borders at Friezen. No Guts, No Glory - though our european army is only some 100,000 men strong, compared to Holland's 120,000 and Kurpfalz's 110,000, we declare war on Holland. Kurpfalz and Scotland join Holland, while Kleves, Russia and England side with Denmark.

Kurpfalz immediately concentrates on Kleves. Our cavalry army (the remnants of our experiments with cavalry, 20,000 infantry and 15,000 cavalry) get trounced unmercifully by the Germans when it is attacked by a 45k Kurpfalzer army in open plains, and King Christian swears never to recruit another useless cavalryman. The huge Dutch army also marches into Kleves, with the result that 150k men are soon besieging their capital (and dying like flies). In the meantime, Hannibal Sehested is active in the lowlands, and by May 1644, all of Holland is subjugated. The only remaining Dutch city is in Nehalem on the west coast of North America. Unfortunately, our armies can not march there overland and are forced to make costly seaborne assaults. In the heavy fighting, our armies are flung back time and time again and Tonder, our first (random Conquistador in the game, is killed (after 150+ yrs of meritous service). :(

A Danish expeditionary force lays siege to Calais (owned by Kurpfalz), but is joined by an English force led by a high ranking general. As a result, we are unable to control the siege, and Sehested returns to Denmark, leaving behind a small force. Calais falls in June 1646. Kleves manages to force the Dutch and their allies away from Kleves, and with Russian help, reduce the enemy armies. Finally in March 1646, Hannibal Sehested moves into Kurpfalz and finishes off the last remnants of the Dutch armies and lays siege to Mainz (the last independent Kurpfalzer city). At this moment, both Kleves and Russia accept an indemnity from the Dutch and withdraw from the war. In July 1646, Mainz falls and Kurpfalz is annexed - England regaining Calais as their share of the peace.

All our troops are now ferried to Scotland, but before the main part of the Danish expeditionary force can land, England settles for peace with Scotland in return for Yorkshire - a stupid decision, since they had captured both Yorkshire and Lancashire (the two provinces they had lost in an earlier war) and were besieging Lothian. Sehested simply shrugs and proceeds to subjugate the Scots with his small 30k man army.

By royal command (mission), we are ordered to make an alliance with Persia. One gift of 250d (at this time our treasury is at 6000d - inflation at 0%), settles that issue. Persia joins the alliance. In March 1647, we finally succeed in landing in Nehalem and besieging the fortress. Holland surrenders, and is annexed. In April 1647, Kleves - full of admiration for their Danish benefactors (or more likely scared to death) - agree to become Danish vassals. In August 1646, Scotland surrenders and we annex two provinces from the Scots (we could have taken Lancashire and annexed them entirely, but that will have to wait for the next war).

At the end of 1647, King Christian IV dies after 60 years of rule. When he took over the throne, Denmark was only just beginning the climb towards world domination and engaged in war with the Swedes for control of the Baltic. At the end of his rule, the Baltic has become a Danish lake, all of Lutheran Germany (except tiny Wurtemburg) is under our rule, North and Central America is Danish (except for a few scattered colonies, and English/French Canada), India, Japan, China and most of the asian islands are under our control. In short: Denmark rules the world!

Denmark 4527
Spain 2278
Russia 1231
Turkey 1047
Portugal 983
France 701
Mailand 644

[This message has been edited by strategy (edited 08-12-2000).]
 
Don't know if there's much point in continuing this AAR. The game will be pretty straightforward from here on - here is my forecast:

Attack in sequence, the Spanish Alliance, the French Alliance, and the Portuguese Alliance, finishing each war and recovering stability to +3 after each. Each war will net me an average of 2-4 cities/colonies + 250d-500d indemnity (the first couple of wars will net me much more, as I will annex all their minor allies), and take about 1 year on average (once the minors are annexed). By the time the last war in the sequence is fought, five years has passed and we are ready to repeat the circle. By the time the game (150 yrs left - so we have time to conquor at leas 60-70 provinces even if our plans are disturbed) is finished, Denmark should control all of the world, except for the Muslim parts (which we shall leave untouched) and the major power capitals. I don't think this will make for very exciting reading.

The only thing that might liven things up would be a large-scale American revolt, or possible a civil war. We shall see.

[This message has been edited by strategy (edited 08-12-2000).]
 
You played a good game and wrote a great AAR, Strategy. You certainly had more success than I did when I played my Denmark GC. But I bet you won't have as much fun if you play to 1792. That's the problem with strategy games. The more successful you are, the less fun you have. At some point you realize that you can't lose, and you ask yourself why you should bother to go through the motions of finishing the game when the challenge is gone and a new game with a new country would be more interesting.

This is not to say that one gets bored with EU as a game after a while. Every game is a lot of fun because the system is so well-balanced. But it's usually that second 150 years of gameplay that leaves you wondering what the hell to do next. This is especially true if you've already played a couple of games in which you've conquered your way to invincibility.

This is why I now find it necessary to impose certain limits on myself from the beginning. It's like coitus interruptus. So when I played as France, for example, I vowed not to annex any non-French speaking territory and to use my allies to do the annexing. It's too bad this is necessary, but unfortunately the only thing a computer can beat me at is chess. Maybe Paradox could tinker with the AI so that AI players form more fluid alliances to counter a hegemonic human player. Or maybe the random events should be made less random when a human player needs to be cut down to size.

In any case, if you do discontinue this AAR, please don't stop writing them altogether. I really enjoy your narratives.
 
Hi all, strategy,
I thought at first glance that the AI of this game was the best i have ever seen in a computer game; and it seems to be in some ways. However, i hear about great alliances made by the computer, and then a war starts against a human player and the first thing you do is get half the countries to leave the war in a white peace, often not to their advantage. I'm not saying that this never happened historically, i just think it happens too often and too randomly.
hmmm....
I think i might modify the leader file to lower the ratings of virually every named leader by '1' when i receive this game. What do you think? good/bad?
Something i think could be implemented is a 'the further a province is from your capital the less tax income you receive' all the way till nothing or even negative.
I believe even in the 1880's in Africa the colonies set up by Britain, France etc were, with the exception of India, money losers or at best breaking even. I'm not saying there were no advantages to colonies, but, without quick communication, Graft and corruption were often rampant and it was hard for the central government to react to changing situations. Maybe this is already modelled in the game... but that is not my impression. sigh.

Something that was mentioned in another post was the possibility of an ethnic rating which would effect recruitment, revolt risk, taxes etc.
One game i enjoyed many years ago was Medieval Lords where you could gain 'claims' to a province. that was simple and fairly effective.
Another thing; when there is a revolt in a province of yours, say Hannover, i'm assuming you have recruited troops from the Hannoverian populace; Do the troops ever revolt as well? It would be nice to see a drop in your army strength as troops desert.

Just some thoughts,

Michael
 
I think one nice thing about the EU AI is that, if it cheats (and I'm still not 100% whether it does), it does so in a quite discrete manner. This is a nice change from many other games, where the cheating is blatant and obvious.

Lycortas wrote:
However, i hear about great alliances made by the computer, and then a war starts against a human player and the first thing you do is get half the countries to leave the war in a white peace, often not to their advantage.

The diplomatic AI is not perfect, and the AI rarely has the stamina for a prolonged war.

I think i might modify the leader file to lower the ratings of virually every named leader by '1' when i receive this game. What do you think? good/bad?

I'm not sure it will help. From what I've seen, just a change of 1 is extremely powerful - 2/2/2 like Ulfeld isn't too bad (he actually lost a couple of battles), but once they get to 3/3/3, they start becoming brutal. Sehested at 3/3/5 was practically unstoppable by the AIs default generals, and had no problems at all blowing holes straight through lvl 3 fortresses. I think Marlborough is something like 5/6/6/2. IMO, leaders should only be half as effective as they are now. Alternately, halving their ratings might help but is probably not so much fun.

Something i think could be implemented is a 'the further a province is from your capital the less tax income you receive' all the way till nothing or even negative.
I believe even in the 1880's in Africa the colonies set up by Britain, France etc were, with the exception of India, money losers or at best breaking even.


Trade income is probably somewhat overrated in the game, but this can probably not be changed. Also, there should be some advantage to the colonies, otherwise why bother?

Something that was mentioned in another post was the possibility of an ethnic rating which would effect recruitment, revolt risk, taxes etc.

This is seriously lacking.

Another thing; when there is a revolt in a province of yours, say Hannover, i'm assuming you have recruited troops from the Hannoverian populace; Do the troops ever revolt as well? It would be nice to see a drop in your army strength as troops desert.

Nope troops do not revolt (only in civil wars). Nor are troops 'linked' to a particular area (except by name, which has resulted in the 'Terra Incognita Regiment' being created in this game :)).

Revolts basically result in a rebel force being created in the province, dependent on the population (in Zacatecas, the forces are typically 88k strong). Sometimes the city will revolt as well. But this is all there is to it.