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Encyclopedia: Habsburg Austria 1635-1703

Ferdinand II ordered the Navy be expanded and rebuilt after the losses in the last war. This would pay off in 1635 when Austria attacked the Republic of Venice for attacking Austria’s vassal the Papal States. Spain agreed to look the other way when Austria attacked its Vassal of Venice. However Spain expected Austria to get Venice to end its war on the Papacy only. When Austria forced Venice to cede Corfu and Crete, Spain slapped a trade embargo on all Austrian merchants in Andalusia. This was a crippling blow to Austrian trade, mercantile revenue plummeted 90%. The notorious 100,000 man Venetian army was destroyed but not without a price. Austria took 60,000 casualties and lost General Von Hatzfeldt.

When Ferdinand III became Archduke in 1637, he was upset with Spain and decided on a plan to end Austria’s reliance on foreign trade. He began to colonize more of North America and decided to take Venice and its important center of trade. He also began to spend vast amounts to build manufactories in Bohemia and Austria to boost infrastructure and the military. In 1645 Austria enraged the Spanish by annexing its vassal Venice. Most of all, this meant Spain no longer could choke off Austrian merchants. The once close relations between the Habsburgs of Austria and Spain became sour.

A man named Dachstein offered his skills to Ferdinand in 1652. He offered to explore North America further to open doors for further colonization. Ferdinand spent half of his treasury to support Dachstein’s mission and settlers that followed him. Domestic Policy was changed to encourage more Germans to settle the new world, non-Germans were excluded.

In 1658, Leopold I became Archduke of Austria and the Habsburg Empire. Leopold would spend even more effort than Ferdinand in colonizing the Americas. During the period of Leopold’s reign, Austria would benefit from all the developments of Ferdinand III. Leopold also was very keen on improving the military to avoid any further embarrassing defeats. Austria became the richest nation, surpassing even the wealth of colonial Spain. During the 1660s Austria colonized so much of North America, they took over the Indian lands of Huron and Iroquois. Austria led the world in Fur trade; the Venetian center of trade surpassed all other nations trade including Spain, Portugal, England and France.

Austria’s glory days of colonization were short lived however. Spain encouraged England and France to sign a Pact against Austria. This led to the colonial wars in the North America that cost Austria 90% of its land. England and France split Austrian and Indian land between them, after the small number of Austrian soldiers surrendered to the far numerous Anglo/French armies, the land was easily taken. By 1684 Austria was left with its original New Foundland colonies and abandoned hopes for much more.

Leopold had to deal with another problem. Hungarian nobles became increasingly resistant to Liberal Austrian rule. Further, Leopold tried to get the Catholic Church to convert the protestant church in Hungary. From 1668 to 1700 there was a great civil war in Hungary. About 325,000 Hungarian rebels were killed with about 100,000 Austrian casualties during the 30 years of revolts. Though Austria subdued the Hungarian Nobles, the Ottoman Turks saw a chance to take advantage of Austria yet again and claim Hungary for itself. The massive Turk Empire began to build its armies for the war against Austria as early as 1700. No one knew about the Turk plot until 1702 when it was too late. The Turks lined up a 200,000 man army on the border with Austria while Leopold had only 50,000 men in his army at the time.

The Ottomans were prepared; they had the navy deployed and another 120,000 reserve soldiers on the way. With a four to one advantage in men, a skilled admiral to lead the fleet the Ottomans launched the attack on a sleeping Austria. Leopold was more prepared than one would think however. He had spent his entire life planning to fight the Turks he just didn’t expect a sudden attack.

Leopold had built his naval flotilla in Istria to over 200 galleys; he had several capable Generals for the Army. Thanks to the many military manufactories, the Army was the most advanced and skilled in the world. Austria began the war with a very stable situation; almost all the nobility was behind the Archduke. Whereas the Ottomans had a very unstable Empire it could barely control. Leopold had a treasury overflowing with money and thousands of young men to draw upon for reserves. Leopold was determined to avenge the loss to the Turks eighty years ago. For him, this was not a nightmare but a godsend to prove that he and Austria were the greatest powers of all. As the war began in 1703, the nations watched as two juggernauts battled it out. Austria was the smaller, more advanced and wealthy Empire, the enemy was a massive Empire, with hordes of men but less money and equipment to support them. Though no one could tell who had the greater advantage, it would be the hundreds of thousands of unfortunate men who would endure the bloodbath that ensued.
 
Quite a series of troubles and woes Austria must endure. Hopefully they will be more successful against the Ottomans then they were against the English/French colonial forces.
 
The ups and downs of an empire. A shame you had to give up so much land in NA, but I trust you shall prevail against the Turk. Plus, that wonderful trade center in Venice is always nice.
 
Oh the war was sweet, I will write about it soon. I played Austria and Turkey over local network, i did best I could for both countries. Its amazing how busy the game gets even at the slowest speed.

Austria is really a machine, if i wanted to, I could run all over europe and take everything but I am trying to play it semi historical. Its so easy to beat the AI.

If there is anyone interested in playing MP, i could really use some mp buddies to play with.
 
1704-1707 The Second Austro-Ottoman War

The Ottomans had prepared as best they could for three years. When they moved their line of soldiers along the border with Austria, they envisioned a quick victory. They thought Austria would want to avoid another disaster and make quick peace. Not only did the Turks underestimate the military tact of Leopold, they had no idea how strong the fortresses of Austria and Hungary would be.

In Istria a 25,000 man Turk army rushed to Trieste to try to destroy the Austrian fleet at anchor. What they found was a massive and complex system of walls and moats surrounding the entire city and naval yard. Istria was the largest and best-defended docks in the world. The Turks came upon similar defenses all along the Austrian provinces, when they tried to assault the defenses, they took tremendous losses.

The walls of Austria were just the beginning of woes for Turkey. Generals Ludwig, Prinz Eugen, Von Starhemberg, Traun and Mercy all led armies in the three year war. In just three months Prinz Eugen and Starhemberg broke through the Turk lines with ease. The Ottoman advance was shattered and they were in full retreat by summer of 1704. As Austria sent Mercenaries and hastily called up reserves to the front the Austrian Generals quickly overran the weak Turk defenses. By the end of 1704 Bosnia, Serbia, Wallachia, Moldavia, Dalmatia, Kosovo and Bulgaria were under Habsburg control. The remains of the Ottoman army was already gathering for defense in Thrace as fresh recruits were called up.

Austria’s impressive drive to Thrace was not without losses. Generals Starhemberg and Traun were killed in battle and much of the original 50,000 men were casualties leaving a young and inexperienced army to continue. By the fall of 1705, General Ludwig and Prinz Eugen led a three-prong attack with a total of 90,000 men on the Ottoman defenses in Thrace. The Turks had amassed a 120,000 man army to meet in the decisive battle. After a month of intense fighting the Austrians were beaten, losing half their numbers in the process. The Ottomans looked to be ready to make a counter attack on the weakened Austrian army. In order for the Ottomans to attack, they had to break their large army into parts to avoid attrition. This allowed the Austrians breathing room to defend. The Turks attacked on all sides but the Austrian Generals were just too skilled in defending.

By the summer of 1706 the Ottoman army was shattered. Thrace soon fell to Austrian siege as did many other Turk territories. Austria’s leadership and far superior equipment and training for its troops finally paid off with a quick and decisive victory over the largest army in the world.

Another great victory for Austria came at sea. 200 Galleys left Venice and Istria to meet the Ottoman fleet. In the Battle of Otranto Straits the Ottoman navy was surrounded by a swarm of Galleys. Turk warships destroyed many of the Galleys but there was just too many and they were too fast for the guns. By the end of the Battle the Turk fleet of 110 ships was captured or sunk and Austria had lost 70 Galleys.

The war ended in early 1707 with Turkey giving up Dalmatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Wallachia, Bosnia and Moldova to Austria. Austria lost 289,000 men, about 50,000 of which were German mercenaries. The Turks lost over 600,000 men. Though the anti-war revolts were minimal in Austria, there were many revolts in Turk lands. A total of 250,000 rebel men also became casualties of the bloodiest war the world had yet seen.

What was worse for the Ottomans was their stability was in a shambles, they had barely an army to contain the unrest in its many realms. France and Sweden took advantage of this by taking land from them also. Austria came out of the war stronger and more stable than it had ever been. The economy and trade flourished and soldiers returned to civilian work boosting the economy.

Archduke Leopold witnessed most of his victory but he died in May of 1705. Josef I would benefit from the hard work of past leaders. Austrian relations with other countries was in ruins but they had the strongest defense and army so that no one could touch them.
 
Outstanding! Though you may be able to walk all over Europe, a nice victory is always lovely to read about! Did you end up MP with that? If so, thank God the Austrians won this time!
 
It's a pleasure to read this great story!:) And it's always good to teach those infidels a lesson!:D
 
Encyclopedia: Karl and Maria Theresa, Age of Greatness 1708-1768

When Karl became Archduke in 1711, there were already efforts underway to expand colonies in Africa. Some territory north of Ethiopia and some land in West Africa were about as much as Austria could get.

The Ottoman Empire after the war was in a period of turmoil. For the next fifty years the Ottomans struggled to maintain the Empire as rebel nations splintered off one by one. The war with Austria drained them of so many resources that the Turks could barely keep stability.

The Turks had successfully converted most Serbians to the Muslim faith. This was not acceptable to Karl and he began a program to convert them. From 1708 to 1740 this plan was met with fierce opposition and armed conflict. After over 100,000 dead, Serbia became catholic once again.

Another big change for Austria after the Turk war was its involvement with merchants. From 1706 to 1760 the amount of revenue from mercantile trade rose sharply. Soon one third of the Austrian economy was based on merchant activity in India and Europe. This wealth would help developments in the future.

Genoa had long been an enemy of Austria, so when the Doge led an attack to take Austrian vassal Milan in 1729 it prompted Archduke Karl to act. The war from 1730-32 involved Austria, England, Netherlands and Portugal against Genoa, Spain, Poland and Ukraine. The result was most of the Spanish fleet was sunk by the Austrian Galley Armada and Genoa lost all but Liguria. Corsica, Milan and Modena were given independence under Austria yet again.

Maria Theresa ascended to the Habsburg throne in 1740 and this caused great problems for the Empire. They voted on if they would accept a female as Empress. The opinions were split and it caused a break in relations between Bavaria, France and Austria. One supporter to Maria was Elizaveta I of Russia. The two women began to build strong relations between Austria and Russia in what would become known as the Sisterhood Alliance. A war was avoided with the Brotherhood Alliance of France and the Empire but the relations were strained for years to come.

Maria was a very skilled administrator even if she was not very good with Diplomacy. She held true to her friends and did not give into her enemies. In the end it was to her credit as well as Austria’s. No nation could touch the increased wealth and power of Austria by the end of her reign, especially when allied with the growing giant of Russia and her hordes of men.

Poland was slowly decaying and so Catarina II of Russia schemed with ally Maria Theresa to split the remaining lands of Poland. After a bloody war from 1765-67, Poland was made a vassal to Russia and lost much land to both nations. The bloodbath had sucked in Spain also in the war. Again at sea Austria’s fleet of Galleys proved lethal against even the largest of Spanish warships.

Due to the heavy losses and lack of men in the beginning of the war, Maria spent much of the treasury to build conscription centers. This would greatly improve her ability to call up men to the army for times of war. Her reign was one of the more peaceful and prosperous of all the leaders of Austria up to that time. The people called her the Mother of the Empire and they loved her dearly. The people would not have to worry about war until the last days of her reign in 1780.
 
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Getting close to the end now, Warspite! You had peace for awhile now, and war is going to once more erupt! Hopefully the imperial troops won't have become rusty during their lengthy rest period....
 
The Sisterhood Alliance - now that can't be good for anybody...except maybe the sisters. Looking forward to the war, even if the people of Austria might not be.
 
Encyclopedia: Legacy of a Lady, 1768-1820

1768 Archduchess Maria held a special ceremony to open the conscription center in Vienna, also to honor the 120,000 dead men from the last war against Poland and Spain. Her popularity among the people continued to grow and this spurred growth as well. She also continued to funnel money into improving the military. The soldiers and people all adored her.

Her policies became so successful that the treasury saw a 20% increase in income, mostly due to oversea trade. With the extra funds she did not spend it wastefully, instead she expanded the army and navy, placed governors all over the Empire which also increased income and stability. In 1776 she completed abolished serfdom while still giving power to the nobles.

Genoa did not think Archduchess Maria was willing to get involved in a war at her age in 1780. He gambled that Austria had too much of a delicate balance going to risk a costly war that would anger the people. So when he attacked Austria’s vassal Milan he was surprised to find out Maria was sending 170,000 men to stop him. By 1782 Genoa had been defeated, her entire 30,000 man army destroyed. Genoa then became a vassal to Austria.

Other nations were far behind Austria by the time of Maria’s death in December 1780. Catarina of Russia mourned her yet Maria’s legacy would continue in all she did to improve the military and economy.

Josef II became Archduke, and right away he was challenged, not by a super power but by the Kingdom of Songhai in Africa. The African King insulted Josef saying he did not belong in Guinea. Josef was a headstrong man and stubborn so he declared war thinking he his small army in Guinea would have no problem beating tribesmen. He also did little to help support the war. So when he learned that his army was being sieged in Guinea in 1783 by thousands of Africans with spears, he was stunned. To avoid any embarrassment he quietly made peace with the African King, handing over gold to him.

Catarina felt badly for her ally and sent a gift to ease Josefs embarrassment. He was the son of her best ally and she felt compelled to aid him and keep him on her side. Catarina was a crafty schemer and planner. She had already made plans to invade Crimea and needed Josefs backing incase things went badly. So she made sure to make Josef feel respected even though Catarina wrote a comedy about Josef and his African debacle. The comedy was done only for her closest friends until years later it became public.

In 1788 Catarina attacked Crimea, her hordes of men coupled with Josefs superior army took all of Crimea within nine months. Austria took Azov in the peace treaty.

The one area where Josef did well was in the area of government and policy. He took a gamble to solidify government control. He liberalized and centralized government, this helped to make Maria’s policies even more effective increasing trade and economy. The risk was anger from the nobility but because stability was so good there was very little unrest to deal with.


Leopold II became Archduke in 1790 but he had little time to make any difference and died in 1792. Franz II took control of the vast Austrian empire and also Holy Roman Empire.

Under Franz II the army was increased dramatically and had the most advanced technology of the day. The economy began to slow in the first years of his reign so he spent most the treasury to build refineries and focus on improving trade and helping Austrian merchants. His policies later would lead to a revolution in trading worldwide. Austria became so successful in the world marketplace that the economy of Austria increased 100% and dwarfed every other nation. From 280,000 ducats income in 1800 to 470,000 ducats income in 1809. Austria dominated too much and in 1810 other nations put embargoes and blocks on Austrian trade. The following years the economy dropped 30% of its income.

This prompted friction between Prussia and Austria. It led to a war in 1810. Russia and Austria faced Prussia and her allies Courland and Denmark.

Prussia had no idea how prepared for war Austria was. Franz let loose his 470,000 man army and 250 galley fleet. Within less than a year Prussia had been overrun and sued for peace. The Prussian alliance gave up any hopes of victory and the war came to a quick end.

Franz was in control of the most powerful and wealthy nation in Europe. For the next years he continued to upkeep the army and build relations with other nations. No other nation had the glory that Habsburg Austria had in 1820.
 
That wraps up this AAR, I think this is the first one I have ever done the whole 400 years on. It was a blast and I think I will do another, this time a beta CK AAR. That game is great.

Hope you all enjoyed my Austria AAR, i will post more screenshots of it later.
 
Great tale. I look forward to seeing some of the final screen shots and may check in on the CK forum if you start an AAR there.
 
Very well done Warspite. Hard to believe this is your first 400 year AAR. I look forward to seeing what you end up doing in CK!