Hello all, thought I’d write a little a AAR for my Swedish campaign which I recently started.
While it may be a bit foolish to play a Grand campaign as a first campaign, nevertheless, that is exactly what I did.
The setting is Normal/Normal and it is my first campaign in EU, not counting learning the interface with the tutorial. Things have been going rather well imo, I studied Sapura’s AAR from the Baltic campaign so I knew patience was in order. I've made several silly mistakes so far but nothing catastrophic
My strategy for the first 50 years was/is this:
1. Denmark is Satan and must be gotten rid of. If something is bad for Denmark, it’s good for me. Patience is a virtue though so I’m going to take them piece by piece as I don’t have a chance to conduct a long war for some time.
2. I don’t want a serious war with anyone else but Denmark. At least not until I have a fleet capable of dominating all other fleets in the Baltic. Keep the Teutons and the Hansa and Russia happy and away.
3. I need allies baby. Almost anyone will do as long as they can do some damage against the Danes.
4. Don’t do anything overly drastic until Gustav Vasa is king.
As I started out a quick glance at my foreign relations made me wince. Basically everyone in the neighborhood hates me. Denmark is allied with Pskov and (gulp) Russia. A quick Royal marriage with Russia helped the situation somewhat and also gave me some insight into what troops were marching through it. This was to prove very useful later on. I immediately started fortifying Småland, Västergötland, Nyland and Svealand and built up some forces in those areas. The next step was to increase my stability, this took some time but was well worth it. Soon I had increased my knowledge in all areas and sent out traders, mostly to Novgorod and Kurland.
I had a fit when Danish troops started marching through Västergötland but then realized that I was still Denmarks vasall and the Danes were battling the Hansa. The bastards now control Holstein, a CoT. Not good. I decided to flex some diplomatic muscle and started an alliance with Hannover and later also Saxony, the only states around that likes me. Some royal marriages were also arranged to cement the deal.
In 1500 Denmark (and Pskov) held to their alliance and sent massive (for the time and area) troops to aid Russia in its war against Kazan. I watched with grim satisfaction at the attrition they suffered as they marched all the way from Skåne to Moscow and started to plot. I strengthened my troops and got ready to strike.
Mother Fortune can be a b*tch sometimes. Apparently a high official at the Royal Court decided to create a scandal and my crappy Kings diplomatic skills plummeted. That would not do, I had to bide my time some more.
Not many Danish troops came back from that war but apparently they had been a bit succesful. Oh well. I carefully studied the time it took for the troops to march back to Norway or Skåne. Meanwhile I had not been able to repay a loan to the Treasury and I also knew that I would need a new loan as soon as I went to war. Me having a fairly large standing army and poor trading skills remained an economic backwater nation but at least no one was making threatening noises towards me. Novgorod got me good money though even if I was still unable to get a monopoly there.
Thank the gods, in february 1503 Denmark once again went to war with Kazan and their troops started the long march once again. They were keeping a huge force (33k men) at Gotland but I hoped that Kazan would force them to dispatch these as well.
In November the same year I finally got a decent king (Natt och Dag) and as the Danish army at Gotland vanished into the steppes in March 1504, Sweden declared War on Denmark.
The Freedom War
Russia and Pskov joined Denmark and I declined help from Hannover and Saxony. I wanted them for later and this was going to be a quick and dirty war. A strong Swedish army marched into Skåne and put the city under siege. I did not believe that I would be able to take it but I hoped. Immediately Pskovian armies started marching toward Finland but I felt secure that my Karelian forces could hold them off, should they try to attack.
My lack of knowledge of how troops move and Fog of War became apparent as Denmark moved forces through Bergslagen and into Svealand which was only lightly defended at the time. They were promptly thrown out but had managed to do some damage already. A similar fate befell Gästrikland as I had not realized that troops could be marched between Öster- and Västerbotten. The war was a mess.
In the spring I had been thrown out of Skåne but the Danes had paid an extremely severe price for that victory.
It was only during their fourth attack at my siege forces that I retreated and the Danish forces were so beaten that they also were forced to retreat, leaving Skåne empty and ravaged. Pskovian heavily attrited forces were swapped away like flies whenever they entered Swedish territory and I sent my navy up the Botnian gulf were it soundly thrashed a Danish fleet three or four times as large. This was during the spring of 1505 and even if my economy was shot (a new loan), the Danes were reeling. They now had to walk through Narvik to get back from Kazan, I got a separate peace with Pskov, and I besieged Jämtland and Gotland. Jämtland fell after a bloody assault. Gotland was blockaded by my heroic and glorious navy who slapped the Danish fleet around like a red-headed stepchild but I needed more artillery to take Gotland. It never got through from Småland as a new strong Danish fleet defeated my fleet in Kalmar strait.
Even if I had refused all offerings of white peace from the Danes until now I realized that I would not be able to continue this war any longer. Sadly, I was stupid enough to accept a peace which only gave me Jämtland, I should have pressed them for money as well.
Peace was established in November 1505. Now it was time to sit back and rebuild my economy. This took several years.
In 1509 I arranged a Royal marriage with England. In 1510 England joined my alliance. I sent out traders and was established in Holstein, Flandres and Novgorod. Kurland achieved a monopoly (in Kurland) so I got out of there. In 1513 the King tragically died (unhistoric event) and Sweden will now be ruled by a ”förmyndarregering” (what’s the word in English?) which is good as it has a very high diplomacy rating, even if its admin skills leave much to be desired.
In 1514 I started courting Brandenburg (since the Hansa refused to deal with me) and created a new wonderful alliance with England, Hannover, Saxony and Brandenburg. I could then cut my standing military in half and invest in trade.
In 1516 I finally achieved the ability to achieve monopoly and promptly did so in both Novgorod and Flandres. All loans were promptly repaid which saved me 3.0/month. I’m making gobs of money presently and hope to build a maritime factory soon. As soon as it is done Denmarks days in Skåne and Gotland are numbered.
I just started a little ”trade war” with Denmark in Holstein which forced them to refuse trade with me. It is now 1518 and I’ll not fall for the temptation to attack Denmark just yet. Maybe I’ll wait for a new King. Maybe I won’t
Hope you enjoyed it, if so please say so and I'll continue it.
Winter
[This message has been edited by Winter (edited 28-12-2000).]
While it may be a bit foolish to play a Grand campaign as a first campaign, nevertheless, that is exactly what I did.
The setting is Normal/Normal and it is my first campaign in EU, not counting learning the interface with the tutorial. Things have been going rather well imo, I studied Sapura’s AAR from the Baltic campaign so I knew patience was in order. I've made several silly mistakes so far but nothing catastrophic
My strategy for the first 50 years was/is this:
1. Denmark is Satan and must be gotten rid of. If something is bad for Denmark, it’s good for me. Patience is a virtue though so I’m going to take them piece by piece as I don’t have a chance to conduct a long war for some time.
2. I don’t want a serious war with anyone else but Denmark. At least not until I have a fleet capable of dominating all other fleets in the Baltic. Keep the Teutons and the Hansa and Russia happy and away.
3. I need allies baby. Almost anyone will do as long as they can do some damage against the Danes.
4. Don’t do anything overly drastic until Gustav Vasa is king.
As I started out a quick glance at my foreign relations made me wince. Basically everyone in the neighborhood hates me. Denmark is allied with Pskov and (gulp) Russia. A quick Royal marriage with Russia helped the situation somewhat and also gave me some insight into what troops were marching through it. This was to prove very useful later on. I immediately started fortifying Småland, Västergötland, Nyland and Svealand and built up some forces in those areas. The next step was to increase my stability, this took some time but was well worth it. Soon I had increased my knowledge in all areas and sent out traders, mostly to Novgorod and Kurland.
I had a fit when Danish troops started marching through Västergötland but then realized that I was still Denmarks vasall and the Danes were battling the Hansa. The bastards now control Holstein, a CoT. Not good. I decided to flex some diplomatic muscle and started an alliance with Hannover and later also Saxony, the only states around that likes me. Some royal marriages were also arranged to cement the deal.
In 1500 Denmark (and Pskov) held to their alliance and sent massive (for the time and area) troops to aid Russia in its war against Kazan. I watched with grim satisfaction at the attrition they suffered as they marched all the way from Skåne to Moscow and started to plot. I strengthened my troops and got ready to strike.
Mother Fortune can be a b*tch sometimes. Apparently a high official at the Royal Court decided to create a scandal and my crappy Kings diplomatic skills plummeted. That would not do, I had to bide my time some more.
Not many Danish troops came back from that war but apparently they had been a bit succesful. Oh well. I carefully studied the time it took for the troops to march back to Norway or Skåne. Meanwhile I had not been able to repay a loan to the Treasury and I also knew that I would need a new loan as soon as I went to war. Me having a fairly large standing army and poor trading skills remained an economic backwater nation but at least no one was making threatening noises towards me. Novgorod got me good money though even if I was still unable to get a monopoly there.
Thank the gods, in february 1503 Denmark once again went to war with Kazan and their troops started the long march once again. They were keeping a huge force (33k men) at Gotland but I hoped that Kazan would force them to dispatch these as well.
In November the same year I finally got a decent king (Natt och Dag) and as the Danish army at Gotland vanished into the steppes in March 1504, Sweden declared War on Denmark.
The Freedom War
Russia and Pskov joined Denmark and I declined help from Hannover and Saxony. I wanted them for later and this was going to be a quick and dirty war. A strong Swedish army marched into Skåne and put the city under siege. I did not believe that I would be able to take it but I hoped. Immediately Pskovian armies started marching toward Finland but I felt secure that my Karelian forces could hold them off, should they try to attack.
My lack of knowledge of how troops move and Fog of War became apparent as Denmark moved forces through Bergslagen and into Svealand which was only lightly defended at the time. They were promptly thrown out but had managed to do some damage already. A similar fate befell Gästrikland as I had not realized that troops could be marched between Öster- and Västerbotten. The war was a mess.
In the spring I had been thrown out of Skåne but the Danes had paid an extremely severe price for that victory.
It was only during their fourth attack at my siege forces that I retreated and the Danish forces were so beaten that they also were forced to retreat, leaving Skåne empty and ravaged. Pskovian heavily attrited forces were swapped away like flies whenever they entered Swedish territory and I sent my navy up the Botnian gulf were it soundly thrashed a Danish fleet three or four times as large. This was during the spring of 1505 and even if my economy was shot (a new loan), the Danes were reeling. They now had to walk through Narvik to get back from Kazan, I got a separate peace with Pskov, and I besieged Jämtland and Gotland. Jämtland fell after a bloody assault. Gotland was blockaded by my heroic and glorious navy who slapped the Danish fleet around like a red-headed stepchild but I needed more artillery to take Gotland. It never got through from Småland as a new strong Danish fleet defeated my fleet in Kalmar strait.
Even if I had refused all offerings of white peace from the Danes until now I realized that I would not be able to continue this war any longer. Sadly, I was stupid enough to accept a peace which only gave me Jämtland, I should have pressed them for money as well.
Peace was established in November 1505. Now it was time to sit back and rebuild my economy. This took several years.
In 1509 I arranged a Royal marriage with England. In 1510 England joined my alliance. I sent out traders and was established in Holstein, Flandres and Novgorod. Kurland achieved a monopoly (in Kurland) so I got out of there. In 1513 the King tragically died (unhistoric event) and Sweden will now be ruled by a ”förmyndarregering” (what’s the word in English?) which is good as it has a very high diplomacy rating, even if its admin skills leave much to be desired.
In 1514 I started courting Brandenburg (since the Hansa refused to deal with me) and created a new wonderful alliance with England, Hannover, Saxony and Brandenburg. I could then cut my standing military in half and invest in trade.
In 1516 I finally achieved the ability to achieve monopoly and promptly did so in both Novgorod and Flandres. All loans were promptly repaid which saved me 3.0/month. I’m making gobs of money presently and hope to build a maritime factory soon. As soon as it is done Denmarks days in Skåne and Gotland are numbered.
I just started a little ”trade war” with Denmark in Holstein which forced them to refuse trade with me. It is now 1518 and I’ll not fall for the temptation to attack Denmark just yet. Maybe I’ll wait for a new King. Maybe I won’t
Hope you enjoyed it, if so please say so and I'll continue it.
Winter
[This message has been edited by Winter (edited 28-12-2000).]